America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 278: Chapter 275 Bizarre Customers

In the morning, Martin made a variety of foods including toast, fried eggs, and bacon sandwiches.

Blake came downstairs, stretched, sat at the dining table, and after tasting the fried egg on the white porcelain plate, she said, "That smells great."

Martin poured two cups of cowboy coffee, "You've been exercising a lot lately, eat more."

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However, Blake forked one of the eggs from her plate to Martin's and said deliberately, "You've been consuming a lot of protein these past few days, have some more."

She blinked and added, "I had lots of protein last night, so it's okay to eat less this morning."

Martin thought to himself that when it comes to driving, indeed, men need to step aside for women.

Blake took a bite of the sandwich. The taste wasn't important, it was the feeling of a male god cooking for her that made her revel in the moment, and she couldn't help saying, "How wonderful it would be to wake up to such a lovingly made breakfast every day."

Such things are a delight to do occasionally, but a torment if done every day, Martin wouldn't indulge her unrealistic fantasies, "I'll make you breakfast when I have the time."

Blake was brought back to reality by his words. As long as they'd known each other, this seemed to be the first time Martin ever made breakfast.

Usually, she didn't make breakfast, nor did Martin, it was Old Cloth who made breakfast more often.

Martin changed the subject, "When are you leaving? I'll drive you."

"No need, the crew is meeting up and heading to the airport together." Blake had secured the lead roles in a movie and a series, the former was about to start shooting, and she had to leave for Louisiana soon, "We've only been together for a few days, and now we have to part again."

Being together briefly and parting often was just the daily life of a star actor. Martin consoled her, "I'll also have to leave Los Angeles soon for a shoot."

"Limitless" was set entirely in New York, and the crew had secured a tax rebate slot in New York, so the entire shoot would be there.

Blake said, "I'll come visit you in New York when I have a break."

Martin nodded, "I'll also find time to visit you on set."

After breakfast, Martin brought down Blake's luggage from upstairs and drove her to Burbank Boulevard.

Eric Lively took the luggage from Martin, and after the two said goodbye, he called his sister to join him inside the studio.

Blake stood at the door until Martin got into the car.

Once her sister had entered a rest room, Eric reminded her, "He's all over the tabloids, doesn't that bother you?"

Blake seemed not to hear, completely ignoring him.

Eric added, "He got into a fight with Brad Pitt over Aniston!"

"Martin won the fight, he's really impressive, isn't he?" Blake's thinking wasn't on the same wavelength as her brother's at all, "How good is my judgement? The male god I found has endless charm!"

Eric was so exasperated he was lost for words and after a while pointed at Blake and said, "You think you have good taste? That's a male god? He's clearly a scumbag!"

Blake warned him, "Shut up, don't talk about my idol like that."

Eric was pissed off, "I don't want to argue with you."

Blake reminded him, "You should focus on preparing for your role. Being an actor means being dedicated and professional."

"How many years have I been an actor? I've been in this longer than you." Eric had little talent, but he wouldn't admit it, "Opportunity is all I lack! Just give me a good script and a good role, and I'll surpass Martin Davis with one movie!"

Blake pursed her lips, feeling her brother lacked any self-awareness.

Eric shook his head secretly, believing his sister had poor judgement in people.

......

Century City, WMA.

As soon as work began, Thomas contacted several high-level executives in the company and arranged a meeting time.

When 10:30 came around, he entered a small conference room punctually.

Whitesell and Ari Emanuel were waiting for him.

Thomas got straight to the point after sitting down, "Yesterday, an agent under CAA's Bryan Lord, Maha Dakshir, made direct contact with Martin, expressing a clear desire to poach Martin for CAA."

Whitesell managed the company's daily affairs, and this was under her jurisdiction. She quickly asked, "Has Martin mentioned this to you?"

Mentioning it or not reflects the client's attitude.

Thomas then said, "Martin told me proactively."

Whitesell was slightly reassured.

Ari, however, frowned slightly. WMA had just poached Halle Berry from CAA, and now CAA was making a move on Martin in response.

Even with a one-for-one exchange, this deal would be a huge loss.

How could an Oscar-winning actress on the decline, who happens to be black, compare to Martin, a rapidly rising new male star?

Ari reminded, "This could be CAA's retaliation for us poaching Harley Berry, or maybe they're targeting Martin! Thomas, don't take this lightly. Right now, two Harley Berrys aren't worth one Martin."

"Martin still wants to continue working with me. After all, we started from the bottom together," Thomas said, speaking of himself, not the company, making sure to secure his interests first to prevent the company bigwigs from making a switch.

He continued, "But CAA has offered him resources on par with Brad Pitt and only a 7 percent agency commission..."

"Fuck!" Whitesell couldn't help but blurt out a curse, "CAA's bastards are breaking the rules, this will only make those stars more arrogant and will encourage even more reckless firing of agents!"

WMA was able to poach Harley Berry partly due to the failure of Catwoman, which severely set back her career with no upturn at CAA.

On the other hand, Harley Berry is notorious for frequently firing her agents, with them inevitably taking the blame for any fluctuation in her career.

Thomas and Ari remained silent, both being top entertainment agents who were keenly aware that entertainment laws and industry rules tend to favor protecting clients' interests.

Contracts can only be signed for a maximum of three years, and if an agent can't find work for the client within six months, the client has the right to terminate the contract unconditionally, and so on.

Ari asked directly, "Does Martin want to leave WMA?"

Thomas replied with certainty, "I can assure you that wherever I am, Martin will be too!"

Agents rising with their clients is a common scenario, and Ari, with decades of experience, understood Thomas' intent clearly.

Whitesell said, "We can't offer Martin the treatment of a top-tier star, let alone a superstar. His influence and draw are far from that level."

She had many considerations, "If we give him too much at once, how will we increase his benefits as his star rises further? If he becomes a megastar or even a superstar one day, are we going to only take a 1 percent agency commission? This would cause a chain reaction, what would our other clients think and feel?"

Ari still turned to Thomas and asked, "What do you think?"

"Martin is different from other stars; his influence spans beyond just the movie and entertainment industry," Thomas was very clear, as long as he kept Martin as a client, he had enough capital. If WMA couldn't satisfy him, other companies could.

He now had the leverage to negotiate with company executives, "Martin is the hero of Los Angeles, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That alone could boost the opening week box office of his starring films by 5 million US dollars!"

Ari agreed with this, as it was already WMA's own assessment based on "Wanted Order."

Thomas continued, "While Martin's star power isn't yet on par with Leonardo's, just like Leonardo, he has the capability to initiate and participate in projects. 'Wanted Order' was initially launched by Martin and the currently in-preparation 'Limitless' was also initiated by him, in which he also has a financial stake.

Other companies like Pacific Pictures, Gray Film Industry, and House of Beast Entertainment also support Martin."

Ari admitted a hard truth, "Because Martin's projects have made them profitable."

"Yes, quite profitable indeed!" Thomas emphasized again, "How many actors in Hollywood can, like Martin, pull in tens of millions of US dollars in funding for projects they initiate?"

And to think about joining a cast for their very own initiated projects! The thought gave Ari a toothache, feeling like that little guy Martin had found stable investors even before coming to Los Angeles.

As Thomas reached this point, he suddenly realized something, that for him, Martin was the most important, much more so than WMA!

Without Martin, where would he find such a unique client?

Thomas had initially been slightly biased towards Martin's side, but now he was almost completely seated on Martin's side, stating, "I think it's necessary to improve Martin's treatment. CAA is not the only one eyeing Martin."

He emphasized specifically, "Among Hollywood's stars born after the '80s, in terms of commercial appeal, how many are stronger than Martin? Elijah Wood? Hayden Christensen? The former is in an ensemble cast, and the latter is in Star Wars! And Martin?

'The Hills Have Eyes' was just a small project, 'Wanted Order' had an unknown original work, but both achieved over a hundred million in North American box office!"

Whitesell said, "There is no precedent for reducing commissions before becoming a near-supreme star—if we start this..."

Thomas raised his voice slightly, "You worry about the chain reaction, but aren't you concerned about alienating such an important client?"

Ari raised his hand to stop them from continuing, picked up his phone, and spoke a few words to Jim Witt, another partner who was out of town.

He looked at Thomas, "The company will reduce the commission percentage for Martin's business from 10% to 8%! In addition, he will receive near-supreme star level resources from the company."

Thomas was basically satisfied, "I'll inform Martin."

Ari added, "If he needs to use company resources, notify us in advance."

Thomas nodded, "No problem."

Whitesell didn't say more.

Ari had his own considerations, Martin's ability to initiate and pool resources for projects was extremely important; it meant WMA could offer many minor stars or new actors a chance to show their faces.

How could Ari let someone else poach a client like Martin?

Ari then said, "When Martin has time, he should sign a new contract with the company. Remember to inform me when that time comes, I would like to have a good chat with him."

Thomas instantly became alert; now he had to guard not only against outsiders but also against his own company colleagues.

How exhausting!