America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 282: Chapter 279: The Disc Explodes in Popularity

As the year approached 2006, "Wanted Order" finally surpassed the 200 million US Dollar mark at the North American box office after nearly two months of release, thanks to the accumulation of time.

After a fresh weekend passed, the cumulative North American box office reached 204 million US Dollars, and the global box office exceeded 450 million US Dollars.

It also set the highest box office record for both Martin and Jolie.

Since the number of cinemas in North America dropped to less than 200, the attendance was so low it was negligible, Warner Bros. planned to release the DVD widely after the New Year.

Martin's main job recently has been to promote the DVD release of the movie.

In this project, he invested 5 million US Dollars, so he would get a slice of the pie, whether from box office or post-release earnings.

Before New Year's Eve, the official website of the Cola Cult was officially launched.

The homepage featured a large poster of Sect Leader Martin holding a cola scepter, draped in a red robe, and wearing a red crown, more imposing than the Vatican Pope.

The internet headquarters of the Cola Cult also moved from Martin's personal blog to the official Cola Cult website.

In just one week's time, more than 3 million users registered as members of the Cola Cult via the official website, and the number continued to grow by hundreds of thousands each day.

In addition to promoting activities of the Cola Cult, the website also created a special section for the Sect Hierarch for online worship by the devotees.

It's no exaggeration to say that, among the waves of movie fans and Cola Cult followers, Martin had already amassed a sizeable number of hardcore fans.

As the number of registered members of the Cola Cult soared, even Coca-Cola's stock experienced a continuous rise around the New Year.

Warren Buffett, the largest shareholder of Coca-Cola, mentioned Martin in a New Year's interview with The Wall Street Journal: "I know Martin Davis, a magical Hollywood star whose movies are a delight to watch, and the Cola Cult he came up with is a stroke of genius. The management of Coca-Cola did a good job hiring him as a spokesperson.

If the opportunity arises, I would like to have a chat with him personally."

These words, once exposed, inadvertently raised Martin's prestige.

The members of the Cola Cult might not all watch movies starring Martin, but if even one-third of them were willing to buy tickets, it could increase the film's opening weekend box office by tens of millions of US Dollars.

After the New Year's holiday, sending off Blake who had come back for a vacation, Martin transformed into an enthusiastic autograph-signing machine, traveling across major cities in America to sign DVDs for the release of "Wanted Order."

On the first day of the signing, the Beverly Business Center saw long lines, with hundreds of movie fans eager to get their DVDs signed by Martin firsthand.

Coca-Cola, as a sponsor, also teamed up with Warner Bros. to host an event where anyone who purchased the 39.9 US Dollar commemorative edition DVD set received a Cola Cult commemorative Coca-Cola.

Martin was well aware that, at this stage, the fans who got up early to queue for the DVDs were the foundation of his status and income.

Therefore, even though his status had significantly improved, he still faced his supporters with the most enthusiastic attitude.

"Thank you for your support," Martin would say with each signature.

And he did not distinguish between fans buying the standard edition and the commemorative edition.

By the time he finished signing in the morning, Martin's face was numb from smiling and his hand ached from fatigue.

He left the store without giving interviews to reporters, got into a business car, and went to rest at the nearby Four Seasons Hotel before heading to the afternoon signing event.

Bruce and Thomas accompanied him throughout.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the three went to dine together in the restaurant, where Bruce asked for ice cubes to help Martin ice his hand.

Thomas asked with concern, "Is the pressure too much? Should we shorten the afternoon session?"

"No need," Martin shook his head and smiled, "What's this pressure compared to my life at the bottom in Atlanta? The pressure of being a star is much greater."

Bruce chimed in, "Gang-ridden streets, incredibly low income, no house, and not even sure about the living expenses for the next day after getting through today. What's this bit of pressure for a star?"

Thomas, who had never experienced such a life, commented, "Perhaps it's your experiences in Atlanta that have given you such a high tolerance for pressure."

"Compared to my past life, living now is like being in heaven," Martin said much more casually as no one else was around, "Luxury cars, mansions, beautiful women, money—if these are called pressures, I'd rather they be bigger than the Himalayas!"

Thomas thought of Jolie and Aniston and wished he could have such pressures too.

After lunch, Martin and Bruce went upstairs.

Bruce glanced at his phone, reading a message from the discreet bodyguard, and said in a low voice, "Aniston has arrived; she went up to your suite."

Martin sighed heavily.

Bruce patted his shoulder, returning to their previous conversation, "Looks like you're under a lot of pressure?"

But Martin said, "It's not about pressure. It's mainly some academic problems that are tough to study, like why butterflies on the shore have a taste of the sea, the best methods to explore a tunnel, under what conditions water can become threadlike…"

Bruce thoughtfully pondered these purely academic problems.

Martin entered the suite and began to study the profound issues with Aniston in a rigorous academic manner.

It's study that enables one to progress.

In the afternoon, despite a bit of fatigue, Martin still showed up with professional dedication and enthusiasm at a chain store near the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, to continue signing DVDs.

By the end of the day, nearly 2000 copies of the "Wanted Order" DVD had been signed and sold by Martin alone.

Jolie, who went to the East Coast, was also very popular, with a heated scene at the book signing.

After having dinner outside, Martin returned to the Cody Community.

As he arrived at his doorstep, Gillian Flynn across the street waved to his Escalade.

Martin lowered the car window and asked, "What's up?"

Gillian smiled and said, "I want to chat with you for a bit, get some exclusive news."

The "Limitless" project originally stemmed from Gillian introducing Alan Green, Martin saw there weren't many people around, got out of the car, and stood by the roadside: "Feel free to ask whatever you want."

Gillian worked for Entertainment Weekly, a stylish media outlet, and she didn't pry into gossip; instead, she asked about film-related matters: "I heard that during the shooting of 'Infernal Affairs,' you, Leonardo, and Nicholson formed an organization?"

Martin scratched his face and laughed embarrassingly, "Just a small group for having fun."

Gillian showed great interest: "What's it called? It's not The Rat Pack, is it? Hollywood already has one of those."

Martin said, revealing something that could be made public: "It's called Trio of Scoundrels, Nicholson is the boss, then it's Leo, and I'm at the end."

He didn't forget to pass the buck: "Whatever the Trio of Scoundrels did, it was mostly Nicholson and Leonardo calling the shots, I could only follow behind waving the flag and shouting."

Gillian had not the slightest doubt, as from seniority to star status to age, Martin was indeed the lowest.

She went on to say, "We just did a special interview with Director Scorsese. According to him, you three were competing with each other in acting during the shooting, and all of you were extraordinarily in a good state, which added a lot of highlights to the film, is that right?"

Martin was quite confident about that: "Absolutely! I can responsibly say that viewers will see a brand new Leonardo, Nicholson, and Martin Davis in 'Infernal Affairs'! Don't define us by our past roles, because we have made new breakthroughs."

Gillian wrote down all of Martin's words with her pen and notebook.

Having a red-hot star for a neighbor certainly brought many exclusive stories, but Gillian also knew when to stop and not to annoy Martin all at once.

She would speak well of Martin in the media, "The DVD of 'Wanted Order' just came out, right? I'll write a column for you, specifically mentioning this."

Martin nodded, and casually asked, "Working on any new creations? Or have any good novels to recommend?"

At those words, Gillian thought of "Endless." Although she knew Martin first, he ended up buying the film adaptation rights to Alan Green's work.

This spurred Gillian on, and she said, "I'm planning a novel, which may take two years to complete."

Martin paid a compliment, "It must be a masterpiece."

"If I finish it, help me take a look," Gillian was very clear that to make a novel popular, it needed film or TV adaptation, and she subtly hinted, "I'm planning to use Agatha Christie as a model."

Martin inquired, "A mystery genre?"

Gillian didn't reveal much: "A dark mystery."

Martin said, "I look forward to reading your work."

The two shook hands and quickly returned to their respective homes.

Gillian first organized the interview notes from Martin and then began to research, focusing on the famous Agatha Christie disappearance case of the 1920s, with plans to set it in modern times.

Similarly, as a marriage failure herself, Gillian sneered at the family and marriage ideals promoted by mainstream American society, believing that marriage was essentially mutual torment between men and women.

Across the street, Martin finally took a break for himself, not having to work himself to exhaustion tonight and still paying out billions.

He and Bruce went into the game room and sat down at two computers to play a few rounds of CS.

In reality, Old Cloth had better gun skills than Martin.

In the game, however, he was put into a sorry state by Martin.

Approaching ten o'clock, Martin wanted to rest early, but then Leonardo called, "The Face Gang is having an event tonight, you coming?"

As a core member of the Face Gang, Martin certainly couldn't miss the gang activity, plus washing one's face was a form of relaxation and entertainment.

The Trio of Scoundrels, along with Craven and Aga, appeared at the Night Color Club.

The only regret was that the Foot Clan seemed to have changed their base of operations. Since that night, the Face Gang had not encountered the Foot Clan at group events.

The next morning, Martin left Los Angeles full of energy, flying to San Francisco to continue the DVD signings.

'Wanted Order' reached over $200 million in North American box office, met with a fiery response from the market, had a short theatrical release window, the male and female leads had high topicality and fan support, and with vigorous signing events, the DVD sales were explosive upon release.

The various DVD box sets sold $37.6 million in just one week!

Warner Bros. estimated that in just the North American market, 'Wanted Order' DVD sales could exceed $80 million within a year!

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Just the DVD alone could support the era of crazy Hollywood investments.

(In reality, 'Wanted Order' DVD seemed to have sold around $70 million in a year.)