America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 488 North America March Box Office Record

In the apartment near Central Park, Martin finished washing his face with cleanser, panting heavily, really a supreme indulgence.

Alexandra Daddario's natural advantage was just too overwhelming.

Martin caught his breath and said, "I almost suffocated!"

Alexandra got up to pour two glasses of wine, handing one to Martin, and asked, "Was that the director who called just now?"

Martin took a sip of wine, finally breathing easily, and replied, "Chad went to a midnight showing, must have been quite the shock."

Alexandra clinked glasses with Martin and said before drinking, "Will you come to see me often in New York? I feel so lonely by myself."

In the midst of speaking, she sat on Martin's lap, her gifts unabashedly on display before him.

Martin, a man with a conscience, had already introduced Alexandra for a project produced by Wes Craven, where she played the leading lady in a horror film called "The Haunting."

The lead actress in a horror film need not be highly skilled in acting, but a standout figure and looks were generally preferred.

And so, Alexandra was proactive and eager.

Martin was certain, Alexandra was extremely gifted; he took a bite and said, "Of course, I'll come often."

Alexandra pulled out a cleanser and asked, "Want to take a full-body wash?" Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire

Martin, of course, wouldn't refuse and was pulled by her into the bathroom.

Applying cleanser on top of more cleanser, then washing away Martin's advantages beneath, the sensation was extraordinary.

In the end, Martin returned the favor and washed Alexandra with the cleanser as well.

In the morning, as Martin and Alexandra sat in the restaurant enjoying the breakfast she had carefully prepared, Martin's phone rang.

The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.

Martin answered, and it was Chad's voice coming through, "I went to a midnight showing last night, picked a secluded cinema, and ended up getting robbed, a Joker took my phone..."

Hearing Chad's description, Martin couldn't help but laugh, "You're too confident in New York's public safety, going alone to a secluded cinema."

Chad said, "I thought places like that were more representative."

Martin thought for a moment and replied, "I'm not at the hotel now, I'll head over in a bit."

After quickly finishing their breakfast, Alexandra drove Martin back to the Hilton Hotel.

The production team had rented the hotel's conference room, and when Martin entered, not only were Chad and Marcus there, but Louise and Daniel had also arrived.

Daniel said, "No matter what, it's still news that can attract people's attention."

Chad, whose skin wasn't as thick as Martin's, said, "I still feel a bit embarrassed."

Louise stated, "Don't you want the movie to be more controversial? Moreover, you've already called the police, there should be related reports by tomorrow at the latest."

Thinking about the movie's box office, Chad gritted his teeth and said, "Fine!"

Martin thought further, "The guy who robbed Chad was dressed as a Joker… How about this, I'll try calling for him to return Chad's phone."

Louise chimed in, "Do you think he will return it? Won't the PD use this opportunity to catch him?"

"We'll just say he borrowed Chad's phone," Martin understood the PDs' style, "An ordinary iPhone is worth only a few hundred dollars, even if NYPD catches him, the expenses would far outweigh the gains, typically they turn a blind eye to such matters."

For such small cases, the PDs also did cost calculations.

Daniel immediately grasped the essence, "Doing this could draw media attention."

He asked a key question, "What if he doesn't return it?"

Martin started to laugh, "What we want isn't the phone, but the attention."

He looked at Chad, "You don't have to force yourself if you disagree."

This was his first directing endeavor, and Chad wanted success for the film even more than Martin did; he thought for only two seconds before saying, "Okay, let's do it your way."

Martin nodded, asking, "Your phone didn't have any nudes or anything, right?"

"No," Chad was confident about that, "You gave me that phone last year, I've been totally focused on the film, not having time or energy for women."

A few people drew up a strategy and immediately notified the professional team; in less than half an hour, Martin's personal blog featured a new message.

"'John Wick' director Chad Stahelski lent his phone to a fan last night, forgot to retrieve it due to a hasty departure, and hopes the fan can contact the crew or Chad himself to return the phone to the front desk of the Manhattan Hilton Hotel."

There was also a temporary contact number.

Soon, the message was shared by numerous websites.

Before noon, the entrance to the Hilton Hotel was clogged with reporters.

Anyone with a little understanding of social reality could tell, the so-called borrowing was merely a euphemism,

Suddenly, the film that was already hot added more fuel to the fire.

Ray had also seen Martin's statement; ever since 'The Dark Knight' was released last year, he'd been crazily idolizing Martin and the Joker.

Originally just a poor man, he actively learned from the Joker, dressing up as the character and frequently engaging in 'zero-dollar shopping.'

The incident at Santa Monica Pier made him admire Martin even more, a true Hollywood star with combat abilities.

Coming out from the midnight showing of "John Wick," Ray was riding a high from the movie—it was just too thrilling and left him so pumped that he wanted to celebrate. Just then, he ran into someone unfortunate enough to be holding an iPhone.

Couldn't let an opportunity like that pass by.

Ray hadn't expected that the person he robbed would turn out to be the director of the film he so admired.

After mulling it over at home, Ray logged onto a website and checked out Martin's blog, deciding against selling the phone.

He wasn't just a fan of the Joker, he had also joined the Cola Cult, and of course, he had to heed the Sect Hierarch's call.

But dropping it off at the Hilton Hotel reception? Ray wouldn't do that—he was wanted for a slew of robberies.

If he were to get locked up at Arkham Asylum, then he might've considered it.

Ray thought about it only briefly before pocketing the phone and leaving the house. He headed to Manhattan and looked at the Hilton Hotel from a distance. Putting on a commonly seen battered hat, he found a nearby public phone with no surveillance and dialed the number he had noted down.

As soon as the call went through on the other end, he squeezed his voice and said, "Hilton Hotel's back door, south-west side, the first red trash can."

After hanging up, he walked slowly over, put the phone in a black plastic bag as if he was just tossing out trash, and threw it into the trash can.

He made a round and stopped at the hot dog stand across the street, bought himself a hot dog, and settled behind the glass curtain wall to watch the trash can across the way.

Ray hoped that the Sect Hierarch and the stars he worshipped wouldn't let him down.

Inside the hotel, Chad put down his phone and looked at Martin and Louise, who were chatting idly, and said, "Got a call, the phone's in a trash can behind the hotel."

Louise picked up the phone and dialed a number, "Release the news, say that there's a message on the phone."

The assistant downstairs immediately sprang into action, leaking the news to the reporters and paparazzi at the door.

Martin tidied up his attire slightly, and with a professional ethic, put on the Cartier watch that was set aside. He also took out the latest model Nokia phone, ensuring the side with the brand logo was visible.

When it came to getting paid for work, Martin was always reliable.

Chad rushed out in a hurry.

Martin quickly followed.

Chad asked, "The reporters, they're all at the front entrance, right?"

"They should be," Martin said as he passed by a window, making a point to take a look.

Chad, new to publicity stunts, fretted, "But the phone is at the back."

Martin reminded him, "Can't we just go out the front door and loop around to the back?"

"That could work!" Chad realized.

The two took the elevator down and exited the hotel's main entrance, flanked by a few security guards and under the escort of Bruce.

At least two or three dozen reporters crowded in, asking loudly, "Martin, did Director Chad find his phone?"

"Someone said the phone was delivered?"

"Where's the person? Can he take our interview?"

Martin said nothing, just looked at Chad, and Chad spoke up loudly, "We're going now to get the phone, please make way in front."

The reporters and paparazzi automatically cleared the path.

Martin and Chad walked around the hotel to the back entrance and instantly spotted the red trash can on the south-west side.

Chad dashed over, reached for the phone, and unfortunately got a handful of some unfinished ice cream, leaving his hand smeared with a milky white substance.

The cameras and video recorders around all captured the embarrassing moment of the up-and-coming action director.

With "John Wick" so hot, no worries about the lack of attention.

Each one of these news stories represented traffic, which translated into money.

Chad wiped off the milky substance from his hand and finally pulled out a black plastic bag. Upon opening it, inside was the Apple iPhone.

Flashbulbs went off wildly as Chad, under the glare of a dozen cameras, entered the unlock code and powered up the iPhone. Its background image was a photo of him working the camera on set.

"It's my phone!" Having learned a bit from this experience, Chad proudly showed the phone's screen to the reporters, "He returned it!"

After capturing the phone, the cameras turned elsewhere, seeking the person who returned it.

Inside the hot dog shop, Ray finished his hot dog in no rush, watching the reporters once again swarm around Chad and Martin, and he couldn't help but laugh.

The Sect Hierarch didn't disappoint him—didn't bring the NYPD along!

Ray, an old hand at zero-cost shopping, could smell the PD from fifty meters away.

He pulled out a BlackBerry he had robbed last month, logged onto the IMDb website, and entered the "John Wick" section. In the comment section, he posted his message.

"Martin's truly a star who actively supports his fans. I will always worship Martin! Long live the Sect Hierarch!"

As the comment posted, Ray left the hot dog shop and moved away from the Hilton Hotel.

The continuous stream of news and messages related to "John Wick" kept fueling audiences' desire to enter the theaters. Although the movie's R-rated classification cut off a significant number of young viewers, every theater showing "John Wick" managed to maintain an extremely high occupancy rate.

In North America, on its opening day, the film grossed $21.78 million across 3,806 theaters, setting the record for the highest single-day box office in North America in March!

Previously, no Hollywood movie had ever been able to haul in over $20 million in a single day during the traditionally slow season of March.