LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 457 Out of Control
In the morning, Martin finally extricated himself from the entanglement with Jolie and Aniston, picked up his phone to power it on, and a string of notification messages came through; someone had been continuously calling him.
Fortunately, it wasn't Nicholson, or else he would have rushed to Sunset Boulevard, set fire to the house where Nicholson stored his fireworks, and give everyone in Los Angeles a daytime fireworks show.
Martin then went to wash up, carefully avoiding the items scattered on the floor.
Apart from the clothes of the three, there were several Joker statuettes of varying designs.
All of which Jolie and Aniston had found and used at his place last night.
After he came out of the bathroom, he picked up his phone to return the calls.
The missed calls were all from his investment manager Flynn, who had arranged to meet him this morning and was preparing to come over.
After hanging up the call, Martin saw that Jolie and Aniston were already awake. They glanced at each other, then quickly turned away, neither willing to engage with the other.
"You two keep catching up on beauty sleep," Martin said as he went back to the master bedroom to look for his suit, adding a reminder, "Please tidy up the room after you wake up."
Aniston retorted discontentedly, "Aren't you being too mean? After toying with us, you still want us to clean up the room for you?"
Martin replied, "Mainly because I still have things to do."
Jolie stretched a leg out, "Is there anything more important than this?"
"It's broad daylight, don't talk nonsense; I have serious business," Martin spoke with unusual firmness as he pointed at the Joker statuettes scattered on the floor, "Feel free to use these two."
Before leaving, he picked up a DV camera, "Remember to record it so I can thoroughly enjoy it later."
Aniston grabbed a pink water bottle from the nightstand and threw it at him.
Martin quickly left the room, only to hear a loud bang behind him.
After changing into his suit and going downstairs, he waited for a while, and a BMW drove into the estate, stopping by the fountain.
Flynn, clutching his briefcase, hurried into the villa.
Bruce welcomed the visitor.
Flynn greeted Martin and sat down on a single sofa next to him, "The last 5 million US Dollars were all progressively invested in Apple stocks over this period."
Having recently boned up on this area of knowledge, Martin had at least basic discernment ability. After carefully reviewing the certification, he said, "I will transfer another 5 million US Dollars soon, just like before, all into Apple stocks."
Flynn inquired, "Would you like to consider others? The Apple stocks you first bought in 2006 have increased more than fourfold in price. Considering the current environment, Apple..."
Martin pondered a moment then decided, "For now, just buy Apple."
This he remembered very clearly.
Martin was no deity; things he had frequently come into contact with in his past life were what he remembered vividly. After thinking for a while longer, he asked, "I seem to remember a company called Netflix."
Flynn said, "A company in Silicon Valley."
"You help me collect some related information," Martin requested. He had watched many Netflix shows, and their early content was synonymous with quality. However, as the number of series and movies they produced increased, it was inevitable that a large number of duds were released.
Flynn readily agreed, "I'll have someone get right on that."
The sound of high heels clicking down the stairs interrupted their discussion of stock investments.
Jolie and Aniston walked down from upstairs.
Upon seeing the two A-list Hollywood actresses, Flynn was somewhat taken aback, casting envious glances at Martin.
He could also tell at a glance that Jolie and Aniston had just gotten up and applied light makeup.
Tabloids had been speculating about Martin frequently hanging out with Jolie and Aniston as a trio with no concrete evidence to show for it.
A fan of Friends himself, Flynn thought Martin was damned lucky.
Jolie, noting Flynn's glance, cocked her head and spotting a stranger, said nothing.
Aniston took her to the dining room.
Flynn didn't stick around, he discussed a few more matters regarding Netflix and soon excused himself to leave.
The chef Martin had hired had already prepared breakfast.
He joined them for the meal.
Aniston, wielding a knife and fork, looked out the window and said, "This house feels different to me."
Jolie asked, "How long have you lived here?"
Speaking softly, Aniston replied, "Less than a year, and then you..."
At this point, she clenched her knife and fork, staring at Jolie's uplifted chest, ready to stab it to see whether air or blood would come out.
Jolie held up her dinner knife, "Jen, you seem to have forgotten, I frequent action movies and have specially trained in throwing knives."
Martin said, "Enough, remember what we talked about yesterday."
Annie, confident that she didn't have to take any risks and could in fact benefit, said, "Considering you've invested hundreds of millions, I'll help you."
"You pushed hard yesterday," Jolie's words sounded strange, "Jen pushed hard too, and I agreed."
With that, the matter was settled, and Martin said, "Just wait for the news in the media."
Jolie and Annie left one after another.
Martin went to Warner Bros. Studios and arrived at "The Dark Knight" studio, where he saw Nolan.
Now, Nolan was triumphant, no longer the image of someone burdened with immense pressure.
Trusting Martin's expertise in promotion and marketing, Nolan asked, "There's something I'd like to get your opinion on."
Martin nodded, "Go ahead."
"As 'The Dark Knight' continues to play and more people see it, word of mouth will inevitably decline." Nolan wanted to push the box office higher, "The Rotten Tomatoes freshness score has fallen to 93%, and I have an idea. Now many of the reviewers eligible to rate on Rotten Tomatoes have their price, should we make a move?"
"How much does a positive review cost?" Martin inquired.
"50 dollars," Nolan replied with a figure that wasn't high.
"That low?" Martin scratched his head, "I thought it had to be at least 100 dollars."
Nolan said, "There are countless critics in Los Angeles and New York, and paying for Rotten Tomatoes reviews started years ago; it has now become a substantial business. In fact, on IMDB, paying for ratings is very common too."
Martin thought for a moment, "Other films might need it, but I don't think 'The Dark Knight' does. The film has already brought in a host of fanatic fans. Just guide them properly, and they'll make a bigger splash on the internet."
Nolan knew Martin had many ideas and asked, "Have you thought of a way?"
"On IMDB, there is a TOP 250 Best Films list, and currently 'The Godfather' and 'The Dark Knight' are the top two, often swapping places..." Martin briefly explained past events and then said, "Currently, on IMDB, fans from both sides are fervently voting, and an oppositional trend has emerged."
Nolan immediately picked up the phone next to him and dialed out, waiting a few minutes before he got a callback.
He said, "You're right, the trend is very clear now. Fans of both films are on IMDB, frantically giving good reviews and high scores to their preferred movies, and the momentum is growing stronger. Even if we don't join in, it will cause a big commotion."
Martin honestly admitted, "I can't be certain whether this will benefit or harm the film."
"It will definitely attract more attention," Nolan pointed out, "but it might also turn some viewers away."
As one of the masterminds behind 'The Dark Knight', with significant authority now, he only considered for a moment before saying, "No film, not even 'The Godfather', 'Star Wars', or 'Titanic', can please all viewers. There is always something gained and something lost."
Martin didn't interrupt.
Nolan continued, "The box office trend in North America is stable, sure to exceed 550 million dollars. The reaction overseas is slightly weaker. Creating some noise on our part can also raise overseas attention; whether the film can exceed 1 billion dollars globally, the overseas market is very important."
Compared to 'Spider-Man 3', 'The Dark Knight' had a lower overseas box office percentage.
The former made 336 million in North America and 558 million overseas.
Martin asked, "I heard the crew is preparing for an overseas promotional blitz?"
Nolan nodded, "Mainly Europe and Latin America, which are the markets with the most potential for 'The Dark Knight' overseas. Emma will take Bale and Michael Caine to Europe, while the two of us head to Latin America."
This was part of his contractual obligations, so Martin had no qualms, "No problem on my end."
That very afternoon, when Martin met with Nolan, many enthusiastic "The Dark Knight" fans suggested on various film websites, including IMDB, that they could band together to give high ratings to 'The Dark Knight' on IMDB, so that it could dethrone 'The Godfather' and top the TOP 250 list.
When people grow deeply fond of something, they often become very impulsive and emotional.
A massive number of fans swarmed into IMDB and wildly boosted 'The Dark Knight's score, allowing it to surpass 'The Godfather' to the top of the TOP 250 once again.
The fans of 'The Godfather' followed suit, also refusing to be outdone and issuing similar calls to regain the top position.
With the number of participants on the internet, the situation can easily spin out of control.
Inevitably, the newly formed fan groups for 'The Dark Knight' and 'The Godfather' started quarreling, not only giving high scores to their favored films but also downvoting and leaving negative reviews for the other.
This wave quickly spread from IMDB to other websites, and even caught the attention of traditional media.
'The Dark Knight' found itself at the forefront of discussion once again.
By the time Martin was preparing to leave Los Angeles for the overseas promotional tour, these two factions were not just attacking each other, but had also dragged 'The Shawshank Redemption', ranked third, into the fray.
Before leaving, Martin met with Nicholson.
"Jennifer has been staying at Franco's acting school, so you can keep up with the details." Nicholson was having a great time lately, "Ben and James Franco spoke the other night, resulting in preliminary collaboration, and with Cassie's situation speeding up the partnership."
He broadly outlined the situation, "Cassie's lawyer had the first formal meeting with the victim's lawyer, all the evidence was extremely unfavorable to Cassie; if he can't reach a settlement, he's very likely to end up in prison, but like you said, Cassie has no money."
Martin nodded, "So, Ben Affleck is going to collaborate with James Franco?"
Nicholson chuckled, looking as if he was right out of 'The Shining', "You're no use staying in Los Angeles, head to Latin America in peace, I have the whole situation under control!"