America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Ellen's Show

"In today's show, we're fortunate to have invited Hollywood's horror genre godfather, Wes Craven…"

Ellen Degeneres's tone took a sudden turn as she continued, "And his new movie's leading man, Martin Davis, who is also Princess Annie's boyfriend!"

The audience erupted in warm applause.

Martin strode in from backstage, greeted the audience and Ellen, and took a seat on the white solo sofa.

Warner Bros. saw a bright future for the film and didn't hold back on their promotional resources.

WMA felt the same.

This opportunity for a talk show appearance was facilitated by both WMA and Warner Bros.

The one-seater that Martin was sitting on was separated from Ellen's sofa by a oddly shaped table that looked a bit like a wooden crate and appeared quite unique.

Since "The Ellen Show" started airing just over a year ago, it had garnered impressive ratings, and host Ellen Degeneres's stature had risen accordingly.

Ellen was direct, with a slightly harsh tone, "Martin, the truth is, before I heard about you, it was always in the context of Annie-Hathaway, did you pursue Annie to become famous?"

The very first question was off-script and Martin cursed inside, but he kept a smile on his face, "That's because you're not well-informed. My fame comes from starring in two movies, 'Zombie Stripper' grossed 7.02 million in North America, 12.3 million worldwide. 'Horror Wax Museum' just finished its run in North America, with 67.58 million at the box office, and over 100 million dollars worldwide."

He further emphasized, "My zombie Gatling gun dance is very popular in many nightclubs."

Ellen pressed on, "Undoubtedly, Annie has helped increase your fame."

Martin retorted unapologetically, "If I wanted to use a girlfriend to become famous, I could've chosen someone else, perhaps someone like you, who is far more famous than Annie."

Ellen frowned slightly, "I'm gay."

"Sorry, I didn't know," Martin apologized politely, "I apologize for my careless words."

He wasn't going to be polite to someone who left the script.

Being weak would only lead her to stir up more trouble.

Ellen realized she had a tough guest today, someone who could throw sharp jabs and yet apologize promptly to show manners.

His approach of advancing and retreating was well-measured.

The audience encouraged him with applause, clearly enjoying his style.

Ellen glanced at Martin's face again, forgetting for a moment, as a homosexual, that Martin Davis's looks naturally endeared him to people.

This damned world of judging by appearances.

Though Ellen's style had been criticized as harsh by many, she shifted gears and stopped mentioning Annie-Hathaway, moving on to a more casual conversation with a smile, "I've heard you're good friends with Wes Craven, so he chose you as the male lead?"

"That's part of it," Martin admitted, but he emphasized, "The key is that I have good acting and fighting skills. This horror movie has incorporated some action elements, and my performance and skills earned me this role."

Ellen, surprised, asked, "Good fighting skills? Even better than Seagal or Jack Chen?"

There was clearly a trap in her words, but Martin wasn't about to fall for it, "It's different, there are many kinds of fighting skills."

Ellen tapped the armrest of the sofa, sending a signal below, and continued to dig, "Do you have strong practical fighting abilities?"

Martin said, "It depends on who and how you compare…"

"What if, as the production team promotes, a psychotic killer appears?" Ellen's trap grew larger, "What would you do?"

Martin, barely catching onto some noise, was about to speak when the tabletop of the crate-like wooden table between the two sofas was suddenly pushed open.

A deformed person with a surprising appearance and a sharp knife in hand crawled out!

Martin wasn't the least bit cooperative as he grabbed the attacker's wrist, twisting it before the person could pounce, forcing the deformed man onto the crate, eliciting a scream of pain.

He snatched the prop knife with his other hand, tossed it aside, and then pressed down on the back of the deformed man's neck, immobilizing him.

This wasn't something they had discussed; having an emergency response was normal.

The audience, however, was thrilled, watching what didn't seem fake from close up, and erupted into excited applause.

Ellen quickly said, "Stop! Stop… this is one of our staff, just a little joke."

Martin let go of the man, giving his shoulder a pat, "Sorry, no one told me beforehand."

The deformed actor massaging his wrist gave Martin a look, sulking off the stage.

The attempt to scare had failed, and he almost got punched—the actor was understandably upset.

Ellen had to smooth things over, "We can now confirm that Martin's fighting skills are indeed very good."

Another wave of applause followed from the audience.

One unexpected thing after another went off-script, and Martin understood it was because of his lower celebrity status.

Famous variety shows bullying smaller stars was nothing new.

Martin stated coolly yet firmly, "Luckily, I didn't have a weapon in my hand."

Ellen replied with a laugh, "You are a very tough father, and we believe you can rescue your children in the movie."

Martin's reply was beyond reproach, "Protecting one's family is a man's responsibility."

Ellen pointed toward the large screen behind her, "Now let's take a look at the trailer for 'The Hills Have Eyes' and see Martin's performance."

The show switched to the trailer.

The talk show ended quickly, with little of the agreed outline covered.

Martin entered the green room, and Thomas followed, saying, "You should have played along and acted scared when the special actor came out."

"Taking action is consistent with my persona," Martin asked, "Did they notify you?"

Thomas quickly replied, "No, no one consulted me." He added, "It's quite normal for lesser-known stars and actors to experience such situations."

There was a knock on the door, and Martin said, "Come in."

Ellen pushed the door open and went straight to the point, "You're not being cooperative enough."

Martin responded, "I come from the slums, grew up among gunshots and chaos, my first instinct is to protect myself."

Ellen fixed her gaze on Martin, "If you can't handle it, you shouldn't come at all."

Martin maintained eye contact with her, "The ones who can't handle it are you guys, right? You didn't give me any heads-up or hints in advance, I was suddenly attacked and reacted instinctively, yet you come here to blame me?"

Ellen said coldly, "This episode will be aired as per the contract, and I won't work with you in the future."

Martin waved his hand dismissively, too lazy to bother with her.

After Ellen left, Thomas said, "That was unnecessary, she's going to bad-mouth you."

Martin looked at Bruce, who was sitting in the corner of the room.

Bruce put on his headphones, pressed something in his arms, and upon hearing the clear conversation, he nodded at Martin.

Thomas was at a loss for words, "You guys…"

Martin stopped him from continuing, took off his makeup, changed clothes, and once he was in the car, he said, "If she slanders me, and if there are staff members from the show who feel indignant, and they post this recording online to defend me, it would be perfectly reasonable."

Thomas, who considered himself a representative of a major talent agency, was also somewhat annoyed with Ellen.

These talk show hosts, once they gain some fame, always seem to lose control of their hands and mouths, never giving celebrities they can't provoke advance notice, disguising their bullying as teasing.

The unpleasant experience on "The Ellen Show" didn't affect the regular promotion of the crew.

Martin's appearance on the show actually won over a lot of viewers, and the number of his fans under his blog kept increasing.

Meanwhile, the viral marketing campaign entered its final phase.

In New York, Ted sat in front of the computer, controlling Bob as he charged into the freak town, unleashing carnage.

The game was quite simple, and Bob only had three skills: bat, release the dog, and concealment.

In addition, there was a simple decoding element: killing freaks and collecting children's belongings, letting the dog assist in locating them.

Ted's mouse and keyboard actions were lightning fast, blowing up several freaks' heads in succession, and he finally found the protagonist's child.

Controlling the protagonist to pick up the child, a lottery spinning wheel popped up.

Ted muttered prayers to God, Jesus, and grabbed the Coca-Cola next to him, guzzling it down.

Then, he hit the start button on the lottery wheel.

The pointer whirled around and eventually stopped on the super jackpot.

Ted couldn't believe it, he held his head and widened his eyes, looking over and over, confirming he had won the biggest prize.

He'd never won the lottery, but this time, he hit the super jackpot.

He would get to go to Los Angeles for free to attend "The Hills Have Eyes" premiere.

With ten days left before the premiere, various prizes were announced on the website, with people posting in the comment section about their joy of winning.

Over a million people participated in the website lottery, with over ten million total views.

After "House of Wax" was pulled from theaters in North America, the DVD and VHS were released to the market, and the trailer for "The Hills Have Eyes" was included at the beginning of both formats.

Martin's fan group also got into action, calling on those in Los Angeles via his blog to show up at the premiere to support Martin, and those elsewhere to support him by buying tickets once it was released.

As the premiere grew closer, Jessica and Emily stayed in close contact with Rachel.

The crew allocated a small portion of the marketing budget to produce a large batch of Martin's light sticks and posters.

Jessica arranged to meet with Rachel specifically.

"I have three hundred light sticks and a thousand posters," Jessica said, "Rachel, we're not short on materials now, but people. Let's mobilize as many as possible to the red carpet premiere to support Martin."

Rachel replied, "I can guarantee three hundred people will be there. As for those who come spontaneously, it's hard to say how many there will be."

She became aware of a new development, "Annie will be accompanying Martin on the red carpet, and I think many of her supporters will be there too."

Jessica was prepared, "We've also made a few of Annie's light sticks and posters."

Based on estimates from the marketing department staff, the film's release would draw in a wave of Annie's fans to buy tickets and watch the movie.

Rachel had organized a few events and was growing confident, "Leave the scene to me and Phoebe on the day, just bring the materials over in advance."

Jessica assured, "No problem on my end, the crew will move the materials to the premiere theater's warehouse a day ahead."

The two discussed some organizational issues for the day of the premiere, and Jessica left a contact for the head of security, so Rachel could call for support at any time in case of an emergency.

On Martin's side, he welcomed some important guests.

Like Wu Maoting and his daughter from Asia.

Since "Infernal Affairs" studio was not yet officially established, after Louise had shown them around Pacific Pictures, she also accompanied them to Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. Studios, even bringing in a Warner Bros. executive on the spot to keep them company.

Pacific Pictures was already in talks with Warner Bros. about a cooperative investment, and everything they showed was real, naturally winning Wu Maoting's trust.

After "The Hills Have Eyes" was released, both sides would discuss the investment details formally.