America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 490 The Song of Martin

On Monday, the crew was flying to London for promotion.

Early in the morning, as soon as Martin came out of his room, he found Chad waiting in the hallway.

Chad's eyes were red and puffy, it was clear he hadn't slept well the night before. He walked up and hugged Martin tightly, his voice hoarse as he said, "We're fucking box office champions!"

Martin laughed, "Buddy, we did a hell of a job!"

Seeing Louise coming out of Martin's room, Chad thought to himself that Martin indeed did a hell of a job, never repeating the same female companion night after night.

Just in the past few days, he had personally seen Taylor Swift, Alexandra Daddario, Angela Lindvall, and Louise Mel.

Louise waved cheerfully at Chad and went back to her own room to do her makeup.

The hallway was momentarily empty, Chad said, "With such a huge success, I really need to find a few women to celebrate."

Martin joked, "That's the spirit, then I can hug you without any worries!"

A door closing sound came, and Mene, who was staying on the same floor, came out. Chad strode over and hugged him tightly, "Thank you, buddy!"

Before Mene could answer, the door opened again, and Celine Dion came out.

Chad was taken aback.

Celine Dion, looking radiant, nodded at Chad and said, "I saw that movie you made, it was fantastic."

She then looked at Martin, "You were so cool!"

Martin smiled, "Thank you."

Mene asked, "Am I not cool?"

"Darling, you are the coolest." Celine Dion gave him a light kiss, "Your sweet talk is incredibly cool!"

Suddenly, Martin remembered a key issue. For the Cannes Film Festival in May, the jury president seemed to be Isabel Huppert.

From which era was she born again?

Chad looked enviously at Martin and then at Mene, sighing to himself that he was such a failure as a director.

He didn't understand the unwritten rules and the red couch at all.

Mene pointed to the elevator, "I'll go see Celine off, and we'll talk later."

Celine Dion waved at Martin and Chad, following Mene away.

Chad turned to Martin and said, "The lead and supporting actors are out playing the field, and here I am, a miserable single dog of a director."

Martin joked, "The next film has a few female roles, right? You call the shots for casting, but if you promise something, you have to follow through, or don't mess around with people."

Chad waved his hand, "I should find a proper girlfriend instead."

The two headed downstairs together, and every time they encountered a key member of the production crew, Chad would go up, hug them, and say thank you.

At the restaurant for breakfast, Chad said again, "$58.89 million in opening box office, better than I expected. It's a pity that to ensure the film's quality and selling points, we could only make it R-rated, so most teenagers can't get into the theater."

Martin, cutting his fried eggs, said, "It's okay, that target audience won't be lost. When the DVD comes out, they will become the biggest consumers."

Chad slapped his forehead, "I've been so busy lately I got all muddled and forgot there's a DVD market after the theaters."

He asked, "How much have The Dark Knight's DVD sales reached?"

Martin concisely said, "After I got the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, Warner Bros. released a special edition DVD, which boosted sales. Currently, the sales are at $400 million, though it's unlikely to increase much recently. I expect that in another year, the total sales might reach $500 million."

He remembered that in his previous life, the total global DVD sales for "Avatar" surpassed its North American box office.

Chad, who also had a Director's Guild mandated share in the DVD sales, sincerely said, "I hope 'John Wick' DVD can sell over $100 million."

"It's very likely," said Martin, who was one of the investors, of course hoping for the same. He reminded Chad, "After you finish the publicity tour, take some time off, then get ready for the sequel."

Chad said, "I'm already brainstorming the sequel's plot structure and action sequences."

Martin's phone rang at that moment, he glanced at the caller ID and answered directly.

Taylor Swift's voice came from the other end, "Martin, my first hit song 'You Belong With Me,' is officially charting today, don't forget to respond."

Martin said, "I will."

With the heat from "John Wick," Taylor's song "Safe and Sound" had already made it into the top ten of the Billboard chart.

In the music video shot for it, the tall Taylor Swift, wearing a long white chiffon dress, walked barefoot through the deserted wilderness and peaceful forests, like a fairy sprite.

"John Wick" also brought Taylor a large wave of new fans.

Even many Cola Cult followers spontaneously included her in the list of divine maidens of the religion.

......

In Nashville, the release party for Taylor Swift's new single was underway.

Big Machine Records and her publicist had already spread the rumor that "You Belong With Me" was written by Taylor specifically for Martin.

This piece of gossip was widely circulated in the streets and on the internet, sparking widespread interest.

With Martin's endorsement, Taylor was even more capable of grasping the trick of pulling in traffic.

Almost a hundred media outlets attended the new single release party, and apart from Taylor Swift's own fans, another group had shown up.

Hundreds of Cola Cult followers wearing red cultural shirts were holding banners and appeared at the release party.

The banner read — Support the Cola Cult's Saintess!

The press conference began, the band played music, and Taylor performed the new single she was preparing to chart.

The journalists and fans were dumbstruck, the song was clearly about a young girl harboring a secret crush on a boy!

The song was Taylor's creation for Martin Davis, as for who she was crushing on, need that be said?

When the song finished, it was time for the media to ask questions, and all the journalists became excited.

They didn't care about musical style or the composition of the melody. None of that mattered. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire

The first reporter to be called on took the microphone and asked, "Taylor, did you write this song for Martin?"

Taylor, who had already mastered the art of attracting attention, said, "Yes, during the time I was writing 'Safe and Sound' for 'John Wick,' Martin once asked me if I could write a song for him. Later, I went to Los Angeles to record the theme song for 'John Wick,' and since I was working with Martin quite often, I was inspired by him and wrote this song."

The media erupted, it was indeed a creation for Martin!

The next reporter asked more directly, "Listening to the lyrics you sang, it seems like a story, a story of a girl having a crush on a boy. Taylor, do you have a crush on Martin?"

Of course, Taylor didn't deny it, replying instead with a question, "Wouldn't someone as outstanding as Martin be the dream lover of every young girl?"

The reporters didn't bother with the song anymore; their questions were all focused on the gossip, "So, you have a crush on Martin too?"

Taylor was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, I like Martin."

Scott Borchetta, the boss of Big Machine Records, stood at the side of the stage. Listening to Taylor's composed answer, he silently gave her a thumbs-up. This girl knew too well how to draw media attention.

A singer of the new era needs to do more than just sing songs.

The following reporter, who was particularly knowledgeable about Martin, took the microphone and asked, "As far as I know, Martin's current girlfriend, Elizabeth Olsen, was the cheerleading captain during middle school. Is she the cheerleading captain you mentioned in your lyrics, Taylor?"

Taylor said, "The cheerleading captain is just a metaphor, not referring to anyone in particular."

The reporter wouldn't let her off easily, pushing with another question, "What is your relationship with Martin now?"

"We are very close friends," Taylor answered, knowing the game well, "Of course, I'd be over the moon if it went further."

The press conference had completely changed its course; the new single release event turned into a gossip-filled Q&A, but the effect was astonishingly good.

Online, Martin's blog, the Cola Cult's official website, Taylor's blog, as well as various movie and music forums, were all abuzz discussing this piece of gossip.

There had been a few young stars before who had publicly expressed their crush on Martin, but none could do it like Taylor, with a "song for Martin."

Taylor and her new single's popularity soared, just like 'John Wick,' becoming a hot topic in entertainment news across the US.

......

London, Heathrow Airport.

The 'John Wick' production team had just walked out of the arrival gate when they were startled by the array of British paparazzi facing them.

There were at least a hundred people equipped with cameras, microphones, and voice recorders, blocked near the arrival gate by airport security.

Mene exclaimed in surprise, "Are we this popular in England?"

Chad shook his head, "Listen carefully, they seem to be asking about Martin's gossip."

Martin knew what to expect and walked out unruffled.

The voices of reporters kept reaching him.

"Did Taylor Swift write a song for you?"

"What do you think about Taylor's public confession to you?"

"Did you cheat on Elizabeth Olsen and betray her?"

"Martin Davis, are you a playboy?"

"Are you afraid to respond publicly?"

Martin stopped and, seeing a reporter from The Sun nearby, nodded at him.

The reporter hurried over with a voice recorder.

Martin said, "The song by Taylor Swift was indeed created at my invitation, it was originally just a joke between friends. I didn't expect her to be inspired and actually write such an outstanding song."

The reporter pressed further, "Did you two have an affair?"

Of course, Martin wouldn't admit to it, "Taylor and I are very good friends. Also, my girlfriend is Elizabeth."

After speaking, he answered no more questions and left the airport with the film crew.

The madness of the British tabloids is world-famous.

Martin's response, aside from being reported "as is" by The Sun, was twisted into all sorts of nonsense in other entertainment magazines.

The media in both the UK and US went crazy with their reports. 'John Wick' and Taylor's new single became explosively popular.

Even those who didn't like country music or weren't familiar with Taylor Swift grew curious about how a female singer could express her love for a Hollywood star through a song.

What songs and movies in their promotional stage need most is popularity.

'John Wick' continued to dominate the North American box office in the new week, and Taylor's charting new single rose to the top of the Billboard chart in just three days!

Taylor Swift, with the help of Martin, garnered the first number one single of her career.