Business is business

Chapter 51 Business is business

Before 10 o'clock, Kate Winslet left, and Martin mixed three refreshing mojitos, intending to finish them before saying goodbye as well.

Kelly’s words caught his attention: “Benjamin, the director the company has been working with for years, just gave me a script. He wants to make a theatrical film.”

She opened the bag she had brought, took out a script, and handed it to Louise: "You're experienced, take a look at it for me."

Martin was curious, but didn't go over for the time being. Scripts involve trade secrets, so it was best to be careful.

Louise only glanced through the first dozen or so pages before saying, "Any Hollywood film company has a ton of scripts in their library. You've worked in Hollywood before, and you know that for B-movies like this, the quality of the film isn't really related to the script."

She bluntly stated: "Zombie vampires are the most clichéd B-movie genre. The only fresh thing is that the vampire dancers have been replaced with vampire male dancers."

Kelly suddenly turned to Martin: "Actually, the initial idea came from Martin. He once played a dead body and joked with me about having a female supporting character pick up the corpse. I casually mentioned it to Benjamin, and Benjamin, combined with Martin's real experience working in a male strip club, wrote this script."

At this point, Martin had a good reason to interject: "Kelly, shouldn't you guys send me a red envelope, some royalties?"

Louise looked slightly surprised: "You really are multi-talented; you've even worked as a male dancer?"

Martin corrected, "The top bartender at the gigolo club." He then said to Kelly, "Did you write this script just for me? I'm so touched, how can I thank you?"

Louise suddenly said, "Penicillin can cure everything, thank you for everything."

Kelly was completely confused: "What do you mean? Penicillin? What have you done that you're afraid to tell me?"

Martin and Louise exchanged a smile, but neither spoke.

"You two adulterers!" Kelly laughed and cursed, then said, "To make this script work, it will cost at least a million dollars. The director's budget is a discount. Once filming starts, who knows how much more will be needed?"

Louise knew her friend somewhat: "Surely Gray Corporation can afford to be unable to come up with even a million dollars?"

Kelly said, "I plan to buy all of GM's factories and convert them into photography studios for rent. Given the current state of the automotive industry, GM is unlikely to restart the ATL production center. The factory area is near a large cemetery, so the land isn't very valuable."

The promotion to vice president gave Kelly confidence: "The film and television incentives introduced by Georgia can attract your crew, and in the future, they can also attract other crews. Atlanta does not have a professional filming base. I am communicating with the city hall and the state government through the Freedom Association, and by the way, I want to ask for a subsidy for the construction of a film and television base."

Louise agreed: "You're right. Many Hollywood companies are attracted by Georgia's tax breaks, and Gray can provide complementary services, so they're happy to cooperate. Kelly, you're a newbie when it comes to making movies, but in business, I'm not as good as you."

Kelly picked up the script: "If my cash flow goes wrong, not only will the plan be severely affected, but the company could even go bankrupt."

Martin looked at Kelly. This woman wasn't naive. The reason he was able to pull her up the ladder was because she saw his value as a tool.

Kelly, holding her wine glass, leaned against Louise: "Keep spreading the word about Hollywood for me."

Louise, that lecherous woman, grabbed Kelly's chin and looked at the mirror opposite her: "If I don't help you, who else can I help? We're in the same boat now."

Martin spread his hands: "Please use polite language."

Kelly laughed. From the moment she tasted that paper airplane, she had decided to treat Martin like a gun.

This gun is more useful than I imagined.

Martin had guessed all this, but he got what he wanted.

At this point, it seems that no one is losing out in this three-way deal.

Louise saw Kelly put away her script: "Are you really giving up?"

Kelly replied, "Unless there's plenty of money."

Louise said to Martin, "You're a tough guy, you can even make a kettle. Quick, think of a solution for Kelly."

Martin retorted, "If I come up with something, would you dare use it?"

"Go ahead and say it," Kelly said, not expecting anything from him and treating it as a joke.

Martin wasn't entirely making things up: "Carrie, you are... let me think... yes, you are Wendi Deng, Murdoch's wife Wendi Deng, and you call those people who want to be famous and say there's a movie project that needs a male lead, you happened to see his performance, praised him as a genius, and want to get involved, so send the money quickly."

Kelly frowned: "Such a low-level scam?"

Martin shrugged: "You can't expect me to run a financial scam. I've never been involved in one. Ladies, I'm just a nobody."

Louise countered, "It's possible, provided you impersonate a very important person."

"If the scam succeeds, the FBI will be at my door soon." Kelly could foresee the consequences: "Whether it's impersonating Wendi Deng or Katharine Kennedy, they will definitely put pressure on the FBI, and then I'm finished."

She casually remarked, "I'd rather learn from Hollywood and cooperate with money launderers."

Louise couldn't help but laugh: "You think you can handle this?"

Kelly was full of confidence: "I couldn't handle it before, but after the kettle incident, as long as it doesn't involve any big shots in Atlanta, I can handle it."

Even in the new century, money laundering and shady dealings are still common in this industry, and Kelly and Louise don't take it too seriously.

Martin poured himself another glass of wine, sat down, and slowly savored it.

After a while, he asked Kelly, "Can I see the script?"

Kelly handed it to him: "Don't overthink it. This isn't tailor-made for you. Our friendship is one thing, business is another. I can consider anything under $50."

"I'm just looking at it." Martin continued flipping through the script.

The plot is typical of a cheesy B-movie: a male vampire seduces women with his looks, drinks their blood, and uses it to worship an evil god. The older sister, seeking revenge for her sister, sacrifices her own body to investigate the situation and leads a group of busty female hunters into the male vampire club, resulting in a chaotic brawl.

The characters with the most screen time are the female lead and the leader of the vampire dancers.

Martin has been in contact with many film crews, and based on a rough estimate from the script, it would be difficult to secure $50 just for costumes, props, and action stunts.

…………

Saijo Street, Black Bar.

In the large private room on the second floor, Lynn lay sprawled on the sofa, in a strange state, seemingly floating and unaware of what was happening.

Adam Smith and Ward saw the dozen or so copies of the script he brought.

Ward said, "This vampire dancer is practically made for you."

Adam Smith closed the script and picked up the brochure beside him: "Martin Davis worked at a gigolo club, Lynn just mentioned that Benjamin used Martin as a model for his script."

He was incredibly tempted: "The male lead in a theatrical film!"

Ward gathered information about Martin, including various public details such as living in the Clayton neighborhood, working as an extra since he was sixteen, being a repairman, owing loan sharks, working as a bartender at the House of the Beasts, and joining the ATL Freedom Society by chance.

The door to the private room opened from the outside, and the owner, Poyet, and his Latin assistant, Diego, entered together.

"How's it going, Adam?" Boyette habitually reached into his pants. "Pretty good, huh?"

Adam pointed at Lynn: "It's all top-quality stuff. Look at him, he's really enjoying it."

Boyette sat down next to Adam: "I heard from Ward that you've been having some troubles?"

Adam gestured with his eyes toward the documents: "A jerk named Martin Davis is trying to steal my job."

"Where have I heard that damn name before?" Boyette couldn't place it. He said, "You can't lose your job! You can help me get in touch with those damn upper-middle-class people and sell the goods for a high price!"

At this point, he suddenly remembered: "Isn't the bartender at the Beast House across the street named Martin Davis?"

Adam said, "That bastard Martin does work part-time on the other side."

Boyetten stood up abruptly, pulled a gun from his crotch, and yelled, "I'm going to fucking kill him! Rumor has it that the Wild Beasts House is stealing customers, and it's all this bastard's doing!"

Diego quickly reached out and grabbed Boyette: "No, please don't!"

"He's just a poor kid from the slums," Boyette said.

Diego snatched the pistol and handed the documents to Boyette. Boyette looked down at them, his eyes blurring from reading the long passage of text: "I fucking can't understand this."

"Martin Davis is an official social investigator for the ATL Freedom Society and has received a special certificate of honor from the Freedom Society." Diego has a clearer understanding of the social situation: "Now that the Freedom Society is making such a fuss, if they really wanted to get rid of Martin Davis, would they ignore it?"

Poyet, impulsive but not delirious, retorted: "We're fucking Black, no, you're not, you're not either."

He gently tapped Adam's forehead: "Buddy, I promise you won't let me see that you're worthless in that damn job."

After Diego and Poyet left, Adam Smith and Ward looked worried.

After discussing it for a while, Adam Smith suddenly remembered an entertainment news story he had seen at the beginning of the year: "Robert Downey Jr. was released from prison last year."

(End of this chapter)