America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

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With Danny Boyle in place, the project officially entered the preparation phase, and Warner Bros., through routine procedures, also gave the green light, continuing to participate in investment and serving as the film's distributor.

The studio for "Limitless" was quickly established, with the principal investment coming from Sophia and Vincent's House of Beast Entertainment Company, Gray Film Industry, Pacific Pictures, and Davis Film Studio.

The public cost was 36 million US Dollars.

In the third weekend of November that followed, "Wanted Order" lost the North American box office championship, and the new Harry Potter knocked it from the top spot.

Martin also attended the premiere of the film and even took a photo with J.K. Rowling, who had not yet been expelled from the Harry Potter franchise.

As for the famous three white wolves, they are still little brats.

That weekend, "Wanted Order" took in another 14.55 million US Dollars in North America, bringing its cumulative North American box office to 141 million US Dollars.

It also appeared in more countries and regions overseas, with the global box office already surpassing 250 million US Dollars.

Carrying this strong commercial momentum, Thomas, representing Martin, conducted multiple rounds of negotiations with the "Limitless" production crew and finalized Martin's pay.

Martin's compensation was divided into two parts, with the crew initially paying 5 million US Dollars.

Stars maintain a high quality of life, expenses are quite high.

Moreover, Martin also needed certain funds to continue buying Apple's floating stock in the market.

He planned to hold the stock for the long term.

The remaining 3 million US Dollars, together with the money Martin invested in the early stage of "Limitless," were accounted as a total of 6 million US Dollars of investment by Davis Studio, included in the production cost of "Limitless," and entitled to actual investment returns.

Inside the office of Davis Studio, Martin carefully reviewed the draft contract, including the insurance clause and additional clauses.

The latter mainly included various services provided by the production crew to Martin during filming, such as Bruce must serve as the property master for the production crew, luxury suites and business-class plane tickets are needed for shooting outside of California, the types and classes of cars provided, etc.

This time, an additional clause was added for the production crew to cover the expenses of two bodyguards.

After reviewing the contract, Martin asked Thomas, "I thought my compensation could be 10 million US Dollars."

Thomas was prepared for this question from Martin, explaining, "If 'Wanted Order' was a movie like 'The Hills Have Eyes,' with the male lead solely carrying the film, this time I could help you get 10 million US Dollars in compensation, but it's not."

Martin asked, "Because Jolie and I hold up this movie together?"

Thomas nodded, "Yes, 'Wanted Order' is a film belonging to both you and Jolie, the pulling power of the female lead is also key. The two of you held up the film, sharing the film's dividends, unlike 'The Hills Have Eyes,' which belongs entirely to you."

He gave a straightforward example, "Will Smith received a 5 million US Dollar compensation for 'Independence Day,' although the movie was a huge success, his compensation for 'Men in Black,' which followed, was still 5 million US Dollars because the biggest selling point of 'Independence Day' was the special effects, it was an ensemble cast, and the roles were seriously shared."

Martin nodded, understanding that this was normal.

Thomas continued, "'Men in Black' was also a big hit, but Smith's pay for his next film contract only increased by 2 million US Dollars because Tommy Lee Jones was also a key actor in 'Men in Black.'

Martin had some understanding of Will Smith and asked, "Does that mean 'Enemy of the State' was the key to Smith's skyrocketing pay?"

"The previous films were also important, allowing Will Smith to complete initial accumulations," Thomas said. "'Enemy of the State' truly propelled Will Smith's compensation past the 10 million mark, as that movie, although far less in box office than 'Independence Day' or 'Men in Black,' was a film that Smith carried alone.

Other actors like Johnny Voight and Gene Hackman were entirely supporting Smith's lead."

Martin understood that being the sole lead and having dual leads were completely different.

No one could ignore Jolie's significant role in the success of "Wanted Order."

Thomas added, "If 'Limitless' again crosses a hundred million in North America, when it comes to your next commercial film, I will be able to secure for you a minimum of 12 million US Dollars, or even higher compensation, and possibly involve backend deals."

This involved more complex calculations, like the leading actor and the production company agreeing on sharing the film's net profits, as well as post-break-even sharing.

The latter entailed a contractual agreement between both parties, for example, if a film's North American box office reached 200 million US Dollars, the lead actor would be entitled to share the subsequent box office or profit generated.

There are indeed many possibilities to play with here.

Fortunately, according to Martin's development model, he will certainly be involved as one of the producers in the movies he stars in the future.

The script for "Limitless" was still being adapted, the main characters were basically set, with Martin playing the absolute lead character Eddie, and the second-most important role was the female lead.

Additionally, an older actor was needed to play a Wall Street big shot.

Martin made a call to Nicholson, compared to the four actors of his generation like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, the old scoundrel Nicholson chose his roles carefully, not wanting to ruin the reputation built over decades for a few million US Dollars.

Ordinary character actors could be recruited through announcements, Los Angeles had no shortage of actors.

As for the female lead, including Louise and Boyle, all leaned towards choosing a famous actress.

The biggest advantage is that female stars easily create buzz, facilitating promotion and marketing.

Newcomers cannot compete with this.

The male lead Martin is to portray is older than his actual age.

For the female lead, someone in their thirties would be most suitable.

The character settings were basically determined, and the related recruitment announcements were sent to the actors' guild and WMA's internal platforms.

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......

In Century City, the newly completed Death Star Building loomed.

Jennifer Aniston's agent, Steve, was busy in his private office when he suddenly received a phone call from a friend at WMA who wanted to switch to CAA.

"Buddy, didn't you ask me to keep an eye on Martin Davis and his new project?" the person on the other end quickly spoke, "An internal bulletin just got posted: Martin's new project 'Limitless' is casting actors, including the lead actress. They're insisting on a well-known female star."

Steve made a mental note and replied, "Thanks for your call, I owe you a coffee when you have time."

After hanging up, he considered briefly, then dialed Aniston's number and carefully relayed the information.

Inside a cozy villa in the Cody Community, Aniston said into the phone, "I got it, let me think about it."

Placing the receiver down, Aniston's gaze fell upon the coffee table in front of her, upon which lay a newspaper—'US Rumors', a typical gossip tabloid.

Normally, Aniston wouldn't care about the reports inside.

But today was different.

Right there on the front page headline, her image stood opposite Jolie's, with both their names as the title.

"Angelina Jolie once again defeats Jennifer Aniston!" the article's introduction compared their roles as lead actresses in the two films "Wanted Order" and "Off-track Pursuit".

The numerical comparison was startling: 141 million US dollars to 21.81 million US dollars.

The former belonged to Jolie, the latter to her.

The comparison beyond box office numbers was even more outrageous.

"In May, Aniston lost to Jolie in a battle of marriages. Now, in the box office war of movies where they played lead roles, Aniston still loses terribly!"

"From this, can we draw the conclusion that Aniston is far inferior to Jolie in terms of personal charm, acting and appeal?"

Aniston, with her substantial capital, usually didn't worry about such temporary losses, but she was infuriated by being frequently compared to Jolie.

It was one thing for Jolie to hog the limelight, but to steal her husband and flaunt it was something Aniston couldn't stand anymore.

What was the right way to fight back?

Aniston had previously thought about it, so it wasn't hard to make a decision. After sitting silently for a few minutes, she called her agent back, "Steve, submit my profile to the 'Limitless' production team and tell them I'm interested in playing the lead actress."

Steve cautioned her, "The payment might not be high, given that your last movie didn't do too well at the box office."

Aniston certainly wasn't about to work for nothing, "No less than five million US dollars is fine."

Steve said, "I'll head over to Warner Bros. Studios now and see Louise Mel at Pacific Pictures."

Aniston was direct, "Secure the role as soon as possible."

Steve hung up and immediately left CAA, heading to Burbank. He submitted Aniston's profile to the 'Limitless' crew and met with the producer, Louise Mel.

......

Weinstein Films' Los Angeles branch.

Brad Pitt, a rising star of the Foot Clan, was specially invited by Harvey Weinstein for a meeting.

"I'm planning to push a project," said Harvey, who actually took good care of actors who leaned towards him, earning a large base of supporters in the circle, "It's a biographical drama and the male lead would suit you perfectly."

Upon hearing this, Pitt thought of the Oscars, especially as Harvey has been known as the biggest Oscars campaigner for the past decade.

Still not giving up on the Oscars, Pitt asked, "Whose biography is it specifically?"

Harvey handed him a thick fairy tale book, "Have you read this? It's about her."

Pitt noticed the book was titled 'Peter Rabbit' and inquired, "A biopic about Beatrix Potter? She's a woman."

When Harvey got this project, he had some ideas, especially after integrating the pre-show promotion of Jolie and Martin for 'Wanted Order' and thus had a bold thought.

"As I said, you'd play the male lead," Harvey declared.

Pitt immediately asked, "Who do you plan to get for the lead actress?"

Harvey mentioned a name that wasn't surprising, "How about Jennifer Aniston? She plays Beatrix Potter, you play the male lead. You both co-star in the same movie."

Such news was bound to explode in the media!

Pitt pondered for a moment, "I have no problem with it, but can you get Jen?"
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Harvey thought the scheme was promising, "We have to try," he looked at Pitt, "You could also help persuade her."

After being dumped by Jolie, Pitt realized Aniston's worth and nodded, "I'll give it a try."

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