America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

The audition room door opened, and someone shouted, "Martin Davis."

Martin took out his cell phone and handed it to Bruce, striding into the audition room. He greeted director Ken Capis and casting director Hector enthusiastically, quickly scanning the room with his eyes.

This audition team isn't professional, no one's playing games!

Capis didn't ask him to audition right away but instead asked, "Familiar with British football?"

While in Brisbane, Zomi had talked about football with Martin a lot and mentioned many related things, which gave Martin some confidence, "I watch La Liga more often, and I catch the Premier League occasionally. I'm a fan of Ronaldinho, and even though he didn't lead Barcelona to a La Liga title, he is a true football magician."

Capis nodded and said, "There's a beauty across from you trying to seduce you, perform a scene where you're interested but don't make it obvious."

Martin got it right away, isn't this just asking him to be himself?

A few minutes later, he came out of the audition room.

Thomas came up to him and asked, "How did it go?"

Martin replied, "Felt pretty good."

Thomas led the way, "Let's head out, we should have news by tomorrow."

Bruce returned the phone to Martin, "You've got a text message."

Near the reception, Martin opened his phone and glanced at the text message, which was from Federal Express, informing him that his parcel had been collected and was ready to be sent to Atlanta.

He asked Old Cloth, "Did you ship something to Atlanta?"

Bruce wondered, "No, I never contact anyone in Atlanta."

Martin guessed who it was and stepped aside to call Louise, "You harlot, what did you send to Atlanta in my name?"

Louise's laughter was clear, "Proper stuff, a set of carving tools, as a return gift. The stuff was with Kelly and me, you didn't reciprocate, but we still have to be polite." .

Martin didn't believe this libertine, "Really? Nothing else?"

Louise said, "You can ask Kelly."

Martin hung up the phone and didn't bother to ask, signaling for Bruce and Thomas to leave.

He went to "House of Wax" post-production studio and chatted with Zomi. The post-production of "House of Wax" was in the final stages, and it was set to premiere in North American theaters in October.

Warner Bros. had already started the promotion and also secured trailer advertisements with "Resident Evil 2," "Exorcist: The Prequel," and "Alien vs. Predator."

In the evening, Martin made arrangements with Zomi, Craven, Aga, and a bunch of others for a barbecue dinner to socialize.

Thomas also went along, watching as Martin made connections effortlessly, rubbing shoulders with big shots like Craven, eating, drinking, and frolicking, speaking like an old lecher about how to play with women and so on.

He was truly cut out for this business.

The next morning, while Martin was practicing action sequences in the studio with new stunt recruits, Thomas called him to tell him he landed the football coach role.

He hadn't put much effort into this role, but the strong recommendation from a big agency was a kind of assurance for landing roles.

Thomas would go to the production team to discuss the pay and filming schedule. All Martin had to do was wait to sign the contract.

During a break in training, Martin called Robert, "Buddy, I got the role, I won't bother saying thanks, when are you coming to Los Angeles to advance your career?"

On the other end, Robert said, "I'm staying in Atlanta for the time being, too busy here with the band." He had developed a model and also confidence, "Whenever you need me, just give me a call."

Martin replied, "I won't be polite with you."

After hanging up, he asked Bruce, "Old Cloth, what's the best gift to send Robert?"

Bruce contemplated, "Robert won't take money, that's for sure. I imagine, he's always envied Jerome for driving a Cadillac."

Martin said, "After I finish filming these two movies."

At the entrance of the studio, someone called out, "Martin, a guy named Mene is looking for you, says he's your friend."

Martin gestured, "Let him come over."

Mene, with his bag on his back, walked in from outside, and from a distance, Martin noticed his lips were thick and bulging, like two plump sausages hanging there.

Bruce was astonished, "Was he hit by someone?"

Mene took a folding stool and sat beside a small round table, sounding different when he spoke, "The female casting director from 'Land of the Dead,' I don't know what she used to wash with, I pleasured her sweetly, and as a result, my lips reacted allergically and turned into this."

Martin asked, "Didn't you see a doctor?"

Mene with a strange expression as he opened and closed his mouth, "I saw a private doctor, Antonio's recommendation... I forgot what he said, that doctor nicknamed Hyena, specializes in proctology."

He added, "The doctor said it's nothing serious, it'll be fine in a few days."

Bruce patted Mene on the shoulder, "Buddy, you really have it tough."

"Much better than before," said Mene, who was naturally optimistic and always looking for the silver lining, "Finding a path to put in effort and then getting a return on it is better than most actors in Los Angeles; I managed to land that special zombie role."

Martin didn't say much, "Good luck, and I hope you land more substantial roles soon."

Mene laughed heartily, "I'd be content with a stable annual income of hundreds of thousands of US dollars." He patted his backpack, "Director Romero requires the actors to join the team early for special training; I came specifically to say goodbye to you guys today, I'm heading out of town this afternoon."

Martin said, "I'll be going to Mexico soon myself, if you need anything, call Old Cloth—it'll be hard to reach me, I expect."

"What could possibly happen?" Mene had his own way of coping, "Don't forget, I have a trump card."

Martin glanced at his nearly washed-out black face—by Hollywood standards, Mene did indeed possess a nuclear weapon.

......

In West Hollywood, an ordinary boxing gym.

Mike Vogel, with gloves on, pounded the training dummy until it resounded with thuds.

He drew back with his cross punch and landed a fierce blow to the dummy's head, causing it to wobble violently.

His agent Pinto entered from outside and asked, "Take a break?"

Vogel turned and nodded, raising his fists to the coach who removed his gloves, then walked over to Pinto.

"Please give us some privacy." Once the coach had left, Pinto said, "As expected, the company has recommended Martin Davis for the role of Eric as their first choice."

Vogel understood that the other party had secured the role, "I have more experience than him, all because of a Best Young Actor award?"

Pinto shook his head, "No, I've received reliable information; Martin single-handedly convinced Craven, that's why he got the award. Can you do that?"

Vogel knew he couldn't, but his defiant nature didn't allow him to admit it; he shook his raised fist, "I could beat all the horror monsters created by Craven into a pulp."

Pinto pressed his fist down, "There's also good news, you got the role of Cortes, the part isn't much smaller than Eric's, but you'll have to dye your hair dark."

Vogel responded, "You handle the negotiation for my pay."

Pinto sat down at the edge of the ring and gestured to the side, waiting for Vogel to sit next to him, then said, "Have you ever thought about changing your image and type of roles?"

Vogel was puzzled, "Why?"

Pinto explained, "Among the five-star and six-star clients aged between 20 and 25, you and Adrian used to have the highest priority, but now the company is tilting its resources towards Martin Davis at this tier."

He pointed at Vogel's hair color, facial features, and body, "Your temperaments, ages, and stylistic paths are very similar, so for roles that suit you, Martin Davis will have first pick—you'll need to change proactively, or you'll be left with his leftovers."

Vogel wasn't new to the business, he knew how ruthless the industry was, but he was comfortable with his current situation. After serious consideration, he said, "Give me some time, I need to think it over."

Pinto urged, "You haven't made a big name for yourself yet, making a transition now would be relatively easy, your role in 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' is similar to Martin's in 'House of Wax'. Now that Martin has the lead role in Wes Craven's new movie, if you don't change, you'll be overshadowed by him in the same type of roles for a long time."

Vogel asked, "I don't have any other resources?"

Pinto said, "For roles that Martin has passed on, you were involved in a few auditions, and I've made plenty of effort, but the company isn't willing to push you heavily—we haven't reaped any rewards."

Vogel jumped off the ring and walked over to the dummy, not bothering with gloves, he unleashed a torrent of blows. When he stopped, his knuckles were red and swollen.

Turning to Pinto he said, "I'll make a decision after I finish shooting this movie."

Vogel wasn't Pinto's most important client, so Pinto didn't push further, "Okay."

......

Three days later, with Thomas by his side, Martin went to "The Summer of Jeans" studio and signed an acting contract with the producer representing the crew, Brad Erisman.

After signing the contract, the latter shook hands with Martin, "Welcome to the crew."

Martin replied with a smile, "It's an honor for me."

Times had changed, as the winner of the Saturn Award for Best Young Actor, Martin had gained a bit of clout.

Brad took a photo with Martin holding the contract, to be used as future publicity material.

In another office, Bruce also signed an assistant agreement with the crew.

Similar to "The Hills Have Eyes", Thomas had secured an assistant position with a salary provided by the crew for Bruce.

Out of the entire cast, besides the four leading ladies, only Martin enjoyed this treatment.

Martin's role came with a pay of 250,000 US dollars, and in addition to the normal treatment of the main actors from the crew, the crew also provided him with two business-class tickets to and from Los Angeles.

"The Summer of Jeans" was also a multi-film project, with the main shooting location chosen to be Mexico; the schedule didn't overlap too much with "The Hills Have Eyes", so Martin had ample time to shoot Craven's film first, then join the other crew.

Moreover, for the indoor scenes, both crews chose to shoot in Cabo San Lucas on the Southern California Peninsula to set up the scenery.

This was a famous resort city and a popular shooting location for Hollywood crews.

The iconic El Arco de Cabo San Lucas, an arch-shaped rock formation at the beach that often appears in Hollywood movies, is located there.