America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

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In the office, Thomas looked squarely at WMA's top mogul, Ari Emanuel, with an illusion that he could sit as an equal.

He immediately corrected his own thought; it wasn't an illusion!

Thomas was very aware that he wasn't just representing himself, but Martin as well.

Given Martin's current momentum, they would be treated as VIPs at any talent agency they visited.

Ali asked, "What does Martin need? Just say it."

Thomas touched his balding forehead and, though still quite polite, said, "Isn't elevating Martin to a second-tier client a bit too conservative?"

Ali reminded him, "Martin has yet to complete his first three-year contract with WMA, and above him, there are only first-tier clients and superstars, but people's demands and desires have no limits."

Thomas disagreed, "But Martin deserves better treatment at the agency; among all the post-80s Hollywood actors, he is the only one who can truly carry a box office on his own!"

Ali was still deep in thought, weighing the pros and cons.

Thomas reminded him, "This year is the last of Martin's three-year agency contract."

The longest a client could be signed was a three-year contract, and while the entertainment law clause caused agencies to grind their teeth in frustration, there was nothing they could do about it; even Ali couldn't change this reality. He said, "I want you to guarantee that Martin will continue to sign with WMA."

Martin had an extremely positive image, and it wasn't just his acting fees that were impressive—his commercial appeal was also strong.

Ali glanced at Thomas, some words held back.

He could see that, compared to WMA, Thomas was more on Martin's side.

The clients are the foundation of an agent's career, and this was something Thomas saw very clearly.

With a client like Martin, if missed, he might not encounter a second one in his lifetime.

"I can guarantee that," Thomas said, his heart fluttering as he sought the best interests for his client while considering his own, "about my treatment at the company..."

Ali had a plan in mind, "You'll move from the downstairs co-working office up here, choose one of the senior agent offices, and all your benefits will be upgraded to that of a senior agent."

Thomas turned his head; the glass curtain wall faintly reflected his figure, and his hair was getting even sparser.

He had more than that in mind and probed, "What about partnership?"

Ali frowned slightly and said, "It's too early to bring up a partnership now. Martin isn't a superstar yet, and you don't have two top-tier clients in your portfolio, so you'll need to wait a bit longer."

After having gently refused, he dangled a carrot, "Once Martin becomes a superstar, you won't even have to bring it up; the firm will invite you to become a partner."

Thomas wasn't expecting to leap to partner status immediately, but he wanted to give the company a precautionary reminder—that he expected future advancement.

If an employee doesn't take initiative in seeking a better compensation package, can he really expect the company to do so?

Thomas added, "I'll ensure that Martin renews his contract with the firm." Find exclusive stories on empire

Ali nodded and said, "All of the company's project resources will be made available to Martin; you can take him to the resource management room later."

Thomas responded and left the office, seeing Martin not far away on the phone and waited a moment.

After Martin finished the call, he came over and asked, "Did the talk go well?"

"I'm now a senior agent," Thomas walked forward, pointing to the real private offices on this floor, "I'll be able to move up here tomorrow."

Martin said, "Congratulations."

Thomas, full of elation and with his balding forefront, radiated confidence, exuding the allure of money, "Congratulations to you too, for you are now the agency's first-tier client, and one more step up is superstar treatment."

He made his stance clear, "If you renew with the company at the end of the year, I'll negotiate a 5% commission for myself."

Martin also took a stand, "We are the perfect partners."

Thomas asked, "You don't have any other urgent matters to attend to today, do you?"

"No," Martin said, "Is there some good news?"

Thomas led the way, "As a first-tier client, you have the right to view all projects and roles currently available in WMA's collection."

A few minutes later, they went downstairs to a meeting room.

Thomas exchanged a few words with someone, and the eight assistants from the mailroom got busy immediately.

Martin sat in an armchair, watching the bustle.

One person opened a laptop and connected it to the projector in the meeting room.

Another carried scripts sent by the production companies, placing them on the conference table.

Yet another organized the accompanying pitch books and relevant explanations, ready for Martin to review at any time.

Everyone was at Martin's service, as if he were their deity.

All Thomas needed to do was to stay by Martin's side and wait.

Martin said softly, "Three years ago when we looked at the company's scripts, some were entirely out of reach, and the ones we could see were leftovers picked through by others, and we had to print and copy them ourselves."

Thomas also thought back to that three-year period, "Back then, I was cramped in the lobby working, without even an office of my own."

Martin encouraged, "Next, we aim for the highest standing in the circle."

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Thomas was full of energy, "Definitely."

Soon, an assistant came over and asked, "Mr. Davis, shall we start now?"

Martin nodded, "Let's begin."

Another assistant opened a laptop, and the projector displayed images on the screen: a compilation of all the recent project listings and roles that WMA had received.

Inside WMA, a mailroom staff was in charge of tracking updates, ensuring that every project or role's latest information was updated promptly.

For instance, if a project just confirmed its director, WMA's database had to update the related information on the same day.

Martin saw many movie project names or codes, some of which were memorable.

"The first row on the list, the third one," Martin said directly, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, give the relevant materials to Thomas."

A female assistant immediately took the corresponding materials and handed them to Thomas.

Martin continued to look down and saw the titles "Righteous Kill," "Midnight in Barcelona," and Roland Emmerich's "10,000 BC," all of which were familiar.

There was also "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2."

Thomas also saw it and said, "I played golf with Barry Meyer and Ellen Horn a few days ago. Ellen Horn extended an invitation to you to star in the sequel to 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,' which I refused."

Martin said directly, "Similar youth idol movies, as well as fart and poop comedies, should all be refused."

With his current status, taking on such projects would lower his standards.

After a moment of thought, Thomas added, "Ellen Horn also mentioned a mega project with an investment of over 180 million US dollars. It's not Batman, but the specifics weren't disclosed, only that they will discuss with you after the script is confirmed."

Martin said, "I'll talk about it after I've read the script."

Thomas knew he had no say in project and role selections, so he didn't say anything more.

Martin's gaze fell on "10,000 BC" again. If he remembered correctly, that was another dud.

He remembered someone saying in his previous life that Roland Emmerich's departure from disaster films was a disaster in itself.

Having looked over all the listings and revisited the content synopses, apart from "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Martin found no new discoveries.

Martin told Thomas to keep the materials safe and asked, "Is that all?"

"Just these for now," Thomas explained succinctly, "These are part of the projects currently recruiting actors. Some companies and projects might not plan to cooperate with WMA.

Others might have the main actors predetermined, with public auditions just a formality, or they might send direct invitations for specific actors to audition without opening up recruitment, preventing their entry into our database."

He said, "Nearly a thousand projects are planned in the industry each year. Those that make it into WMA's database are less than twenty to thirty percent."

Martin nodded, "Let's go."

Afterward, the two went to Thomas's office to study "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in detail.

Based on the novel of the same name, the director was confirmed to be David Fincher, with Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures jointly producing, and an estimated investment not less than 60 million US dollars.

Martin had seen all of David Fincher's movies, recalling that the lead actors in this film were Pitt and Blanchett.

Now, there was no need to consider Pitt.

How was the box office for this film? Martin couldn't remember, only that it was very famous, even one of Fincher and Pitt's signature works.

Thomas reminded, "Fincher's new film 'Zodiac Killer' had a lukewarm response at internal screenings and will be released in March."

Martin said, "Contact the production team and express a preliminary interest in collaborating."

Thomas asked, "What about the salary?"

Martin thought for a moment and then said, "Go with the usual rate."

With the box office success of "Limitless," it was normal for Martin to demand around 13 million US dollars. For anything less than 12 million US dollars for non-purely artistic films, Thomas wouldn't bother negotiating, and if someone proactively asked for a quote, he had set the starting price for Martin at 15 million US dollars.

For new commercial endorsements, the standard was set at 10 million US dollars.

"Limitless" had a great box office run, indicating a new film production model to Hollywood, with many producers starting to explore how to immerse the audience further into the characters.

Alan Green, the original author, resigned from "Empire" magazine to become a full-time writer and screenwriter. Hollywood producers virtually wore out his doorstep with their visits.

Alan Green's novel in progress, "The Land of Winter," had become a hot commodity among the major production companies.

Success always attracts followers.

Meanwhile, "Limitless" had its third weekend in North American theaters. Despite the Super Bowl weekend impact, the film still maintained a steady performance, grossing another 17.58 million US dollars for a cumulative North American box office of 112 million US dollars.

Martin had another movie that crossed the 100 million dollar mark in North American box office!

Overseas, the film continued to expand its showing, and the global box office had already surpassed 200 million US dollars.

Many Hollywood production companies and projects had turned their attention to Martin.

Warner Bros. had made a handsome profit from the films starring Martin in recent years, and naturally, other companies wanted in.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

For capital, actors who can bring substantial box office revenue are the most worthwhile pursuit; as long as the profits are high enough, they spare no expense in offering high salaries.

After Thomas made contact with the "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" production, Ellen Horn brought people to Martin.