Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm

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"What? I get 5% of the box office?" Martin was stunned. "Aunt Nancy, are you joking? Do newcomers usually get this kind of deal?"

Nancy burst into laughter, clutching her sides as she recovered from Martin's reaction. "You can thank your dad's investment—and your Aunt Nancy's negotiation skills."

"Not to mention, Mr. Eisner believes in you."

"But keep in mind, this is a one-time exception. If you continue in this industry, remember you're still a newcomer. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"I understand." Martin nodded earnestly, but he couldn't help asking one more question. "Are you sure it's a box office share and not a profit share?"

In Hollywood, the difference between a box office share and a profit share is huge. Profit shares are notoriously tricky, with studios often using "creative accounting" to show losses on major films. Can you believe even Harry Potter was claimed as unprofitable?

But box office shares were a safer bet.

"Relax. I've got it covered. And remember, your dad isn't just any outsider investor. He's experienced—he even invested in Jurassic Park back in the day."

"Then I feel totally secure," Martin grinned, doing some mental calculations.

In the original timeline, The Parent Trap grossed around $92 million with a budget of $15 million.

If he got 5% of that, he'd be looking at around $4.6 million—a huge sum, especially in the 1990s.

And he was confident that, with himself starring in the film, it would do even better. That's the demon charm talking.

---

November arrived quietly, and Kung Fu Panda hit the shelves.

Random House decided to hold back on revealing Martin's identity as the author. They planned a joint marketing campaign with Disney, set to begin in June, one month before the movie's July release.

When the time came, both companies would simultaneously promote Martin as a "prodigy writer" to generate massive public intrigue.

---

At school, Martin's friends were gathered around him as he said his goodbyes before heading off to join the movie set. Lindsay Lohan and Mark Zuckerberg stood beside him, with their towering classmate John—the former school bully—standing guard behind Martin like a personal bodyguard.

Lindsay Lohan: "Martin, I'm so jealous! You're off to be a movie star. I wish I could act in a movie, too."

Mark Zuckerberg: "Martin, you're really going to be in a movie. This is amazing! My best friend's going to be a star. Oh, hey, can I get your autograph first?"

Lindsay Lohan: "And mine too!"

The two eagerly pulled out brand-new copies of Kung Fu Panda from their backpacks.

John glanced at the three, scoffing to himself. "Ha, so childish—all three of them."

But inwardly, he was thrilled. "With Martin gone, I can be the big boss again!"

"John, John, what are you thinking about?" Martin's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Uh, I'm here!" John immediately straightened up, looking almost soldier-like. His obedience had become a reflex around Martin.

"John, while I'm away, you're not allowed to bully anyone, got it?"

"Uh, right, no bullying."

"And if someone else is getting bullied, you need to stand up for them."

"Right, stand up."

"Remember, you're not some villain who picks on the weak. You're supposed to be a hero."

"Right, a hero."

For some reason, every time John looked into Martin's bright blue eyes, a sense of loyalty surged within him, washing away any mischievous thoughts.

Martin smiled, nodding in satisfaction at John's eager obedience. For a demon like Martin, "persuading" someone was never difficult.

---

Meanwhile, at J.P. Morgan's investment office, Grant and Nancy were having a sibling conversation, one seated and the other standing.

"Nancy, when is filming set to start? I hope you can keep the schedule tight. I don't want Martin missing too much school." Grant sipped his wine and looked at Nancy expectantly.

"I'll make sure he has a tutor on set. His schoolwork won't suffer too much. But honestly, Grant, I never thought you'd let him go into acting. Hollywood's the most chaotic place on Earth when it comes to fame and fortune."

Grant set his glass down and replied with a smile, "Martin's a lot like you, you know. Dad was dead set against you entering the film industry, but you stubbornly charged right in, didn't you? Remember how furious he was back then? What was it he used to say?"

"We're a 'family of financiers!'" Grant and Nancy shouted in unison, both breaking into laughter.

"If I hadn't softened him up over the years, you two would probably still be feuding!"

"Hmph, like I care. That old man was always so stubborn." Nancy rolled her eyes, recalling her father's rigid, overbearing attitude that still frustrated her to this day.

Grant shrugged with a chuckle. "That's exactly why I don't want to be a rigid, overbearing father. If little Martin wants to try his hand at being a star, let him. Plus, he's a boy—he'll have it easier than a girl would."

"This industry is full of people who 'play for both teams,' you know," Nancy reminded him.

"Hmph. With me backing him, I'd like to see anyone try to mess with him."

As J.P. Morgan's head of investment banking, Grant wielded a powerful network of connections; he held the purse strings of countless wealthy clients.

"Alright, alright. Martin's not just your son—he's my nephew, too. I'll make sure no lowlifes get close to him."

"Perfect, Nancy. I'm entrusting Martin to you. Now, let's discuss the investment. How much do you need?"

"At least $7.5 million. I estimate the total budget for the film will be around $15 million, and Disney's only willing to cover half. Plus, they insist on handling distribution."

"Those greedy hyenas!"

"Hey, Grant, you're not backing out now, are you?" Nancy raised an eyebrow, looking ready to argue.

"Of course not. For my dear sister—and my dear son—I'll gladly invest $7.5 million," Grant said, spreading his hands. "Just keep an eye on that money, Nancy. It's not a lot, but I don't like being swindled. I have no interest in becoming one of those fools who throw cash at Hollywood for nothing."

"Relax. As the producer, I'll keep the budget under control."

"By the way, Random House only gave us eight months. That means we have to release the movie by next summer. If we miss the deadline, they'll move forward on their own. Time's tight. When can Martin start filming?"

"Are the preparations complete?"

"Absolutely."

"Then tomorrow. Martin already took today off to say goodbye to his friends."

"Good, tomorrow it is."

[•———•———•———•]

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

• 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮

• 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝

• 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

💬 𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩! 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 $30—𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 10% 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩! 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚: 𝗚𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥.

𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙋𝙏 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣-𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮, 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

👉𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧/𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥