America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

"The nominees for Best Actor include George Clooney, Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Martin Davis..."

On stage, last year's Best Actress Helen Mirren looked at the big screen behind her and, after introducing the nominees, opened the envelope in her hand and directly read out the name, "The Best Actor is Daniel Day Lewis."

Applause erupted, and Martin joined in clapping. The result had been unveiled when the Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced.

The Academy's favorite, Daniel Day Lewis, went up to receive the award and took home the Best Actor Oscar statuette.

Leonardo didn't forget to taunt Martin, delivering a steady output, "Keep it up as the runner-up!"

Martin appeared very composed and said softly, "If I get the Oscar before you do, Leo, I will definitely give it to you publicly."

Leonardo didn't believe he would get an Oscar after Martin and said, "If you dare to give it, I dare to accept."

Martin couldn't help thinking about how to thoroughly mess with Leonardo once, to make him back off just like he would upon hearing '100 meters in 11 seconds'.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Elizabeth leaned over to comfort Martin, "The Academy people all like you a lot. Once you have enough experience, you'll win an award very soon."

Martin nodded, "I will definitely win an award before Leo does."

Nicholson heard this and agreed, "Leo might win an award if he keeps running for another ten years, but I believe Martin will grab an Oscar within five years."

Leonardo was emotionally hurt and didn't want to discuss it anymore, just as last year's Best Actor Whitaker took the stage.

Kate started to get nervous and subconsciously turned to look at Martin.

This time, she felt it was her best chance.

Martin had eliminated her biggest competitor, Kate Blanchett, ahead of time, and those on the nomination list were not as strong as her.

Similarly, there was no suspense for this award either.

Whitaker read out the final answer, "The Best Actress is Kate Winslet!"

Kate held her face in her hands, opening her mouth in an exaggerated manner as if in disbelief.

The surrounding crowd, including Martin, all clapped and congratulated her.

Kate gently hugged Sam Mendes, then stood up and walked towards Martin.

"Congratulations on making your dream come true," Martin said.

Kate opened her arms wide and embraced Martin tightly, overwhelmed with emotion.

Then, she let go of Martin and approached Leonardo.

All the camera lenses turned to them, as did everyone's gaze.

Crossing a decade, Rose and Jack embraced tightly.

Kate let go, raised her arms high, and waved to the crowd as she walked up to the stage to receive the Oscar statuette.

Whether it was a display of true feelings or the deep-rooted performance of a star actress, Kate's eyes were reddish and teary.

At that moment, the entire audience stood up, applauding and paying tribute to her.

Kate thanked the Academy judges, her team, her parents, and family, thanked Leonardo, and then turned to Martin.

"I also want to thank Martin. During the filming, many scenes were brought to life with his help. Without Martin, I couldn't have had such an outstanding performance or this amazing character," she said.

Kate pointed towards Martin and, remembering the crazy output before the Oscars, said loudly, "Martin Davis, you are the best partner!"

Martin raised his hand in acknowledgment.

Kate, holding the Best Actress Oscar statuette, went backstage.

The last two awards both went to "No Country for Old Men," with the Coen Brothers taking Best Director as well.

The award ceremony ended, but the Oscar night had just begun. Continue your saga on empire

Almost everyone rushed to Beverly Hills to join the Oscar night party organized by "Vanity Fair."

Including Thomas, each agent was present at the party too.

"Cheers!"

The core creators of The Reader team lifted their glasses together, with Kate smiling especially heartily.

After drinking two glasses of wine, Sam Mendes slipped away quietly.

Kate, not minding Eliza's presence, grabbed Martin by the shoulder, placing the Oscar in his hands, "This award is half yours!"

Martin called out, "Come on, everyone, come here. Let's take a photo with the Oscar-winning actress."

Vanity Fair's photographers came over with their cameras.

Kate, quite boldly, held onto Martin with one arm, Leonardo with the other, and the Oscar statuette on her leg, deserving the title of the biggest female winner of the night.

After the group photo, Georgina came over to congratulate Kate, with Harvey following close behind.

Georgina pulled Kate aside to talk, while Harvey approached Martin, "Let's have a word."

"Harvey, we're old friends. Whatever it is, just say it," Martin replied.

Harvey's biggest trump card was Quentin; Quentin was preparing a major project next, which meant high investment risks. He would definitely want to increase the project's resistance to risk.

"Quentin is preparing a new project and he's missing a leading actor," Harvey knew Quentin had a certain draw with stars, "The lead is a tough-guy type, the kind that can lead a special task force to take out Hitler."

Upon hearing this, Martin realized what movie it was, after all, he had watched Quentin's films more than once.

Although he didn't get along with the Foot Clan, he still liked Quentin's early and mid-career work.

Thinking, Martin asked, "Hitler? A World War II theme?"

Harvey simply said, "You could say it's Quentin's version of The Dirty Dozen, the male lead is very impressive and could help you take another shot at the Oscars."

Martin, with hands behind his back, gestured towards Thomas.

Thomas, who had been close by and listening intently, immediately came over and shook hands with Harvey.

"Harvey, you can't do this," Thomas, now facing Harvey, was completely different from before, very confident half-seriously, half-jokingly said, "I'm his agent, standing right here, and you're approaching Martin for a role without calling me?"

Had this been two years ago, Harvey would have boldly told him to beat it, but things were different now, and he could only smile and say, "I've heard that when it comes to selecting roles, Martin prefers to decide for himself."

While that was true, his overt statement had an ulterior motive.

Martin's covert glance swept over Bruce, who immediately pulled out his cell phone and approached them.

He shook the phone slightly, "Urgent call."

Martin clapped Thomas on the arm, "You discuss the specifics with Harvey, you know my requirements."

Indeed, he liked Quentin's movies, but liking movies was a completely different matter from business collaboration.

Martin took the cell phone and went elsewhere.

Thomas stood before Harvey, back straight, because he knew he represented Martin, and said directly, "Harvey, we're old acquaintances, there's no need to beat around the bush. Everyone in the industry knows Martin's acting fee, 15 million dollars or 5 million dollars plus a cut."

If the salary is negotiable, then other terms can be discussed. If the salary isn't right, there's no point in discussing anything else.

The fatso Harvey swore inwardly, and offered, "Five million dollars, plus a North American box office cut."

"No, not a North American box office cut, a cut from downstream revenue," Thomas, having been in Hollywood for many years, retorted, "Quentin's films are not known for box office earnings. If it's just a North American box office cut, it's extremely unfair to Martin. We want a share of the DVD sales and the television rights."

Harvey shook his head, "That's impossible."

Thomas was direct, "Then 15 million dollars."

Harvey frowned, "This role could compete for an Oscar. Many would be willing to take a significant pay cut to play it…"

"Martin isn't lacking roles to compete for Oscars," Thomas saw right through him. The fatso wanted Martin's commercial appeal but didn't want to pay the market rate. Although no specific numbers had been discussed, the implication was that offering two or three million dollars would be decent.

Harvey's collaborations with big stars always involved slashing their fees, and he was used to operating this way, emphasizing, "Don't forget, this is Quentin's project."

Thomas started to laugh, "Martin gets full pay for roles in Director Scorsese's projects."

The negotiation reached a standstill with Harvey.

Wanting to leverage Martin's strong market pull for the "Inglourious Basterds" project while being loath to pay a ten million dollar fee was an insoluble conundrum.

Seeing that Georgina was still chatting with Kate, Harvey left on his own.

Back at his table, the observant Ben asked, "Didn't reach an understanding?"

Harvey shook his head, "They don't realize their own position, actually asking me for a 15 million dollar fee."

Ben muttered, "Since Weinstein Films was established, has it ever paid anyone so high a fee?"

Harvey replied, "It's the first time someone has asked me for so much."

A dejected Cassie said, "If Martin Davis sets this precedent, inviting other big stars in the future will come at a steep price."

Harvey had already considered all this, "Let's drop it."

Cassie wanted to say more but was subtly kicked under the table by Ben.

Harvey picked up a glass of wine, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Martin and Elizabeth prepared to leave.

Kate came over to see her off, whispering while seizing the opportunity, "Do you have time tonight?"

Martin glanced at Elizabeth and replied, "Some other time."

Kate insisted, "Tomorrow morning, I'll wait for you at the usual spot in the hotel. You have to come."

Martin nodded, left the banquet hall, joined Elizabeth and Thomas, and got into the Escalade that Old Cloth had brought.

Thomas briefly relayed his conversation with Harvey.

Surprised, Elizabeth sarcastically remarked, "Why didn't he ask you to perform for free?"

Martin responded, "He would if he could, but he knows I won't make money for him for nothing."

Bruce, from the front, said, "He's already showing conscience by not asking you to pay to play the role. I remember back in Atlanta, you had to pay to act."

That evening, Elizabeth went home with Martin, and with Face Gang on her mind, she practiced her face wash skills under direct supervision from Martin.

The little witch even took it a step further, after all, face wash is good for more than just washing faces.

The following morning, after taking Elizabeth home, Martin visited the hotel to practically congratulate Kate on winning the Oscar for Best Actress.