America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 728 - 721 Europe’s Number One Sweetheart
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This time period, not only is it Hollywood's award season, but also the award season of the North American music industry.

As the Grammy Awards were underway, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry suddenly got into an argument while sitting together, and afterwards, they swapped seats with Selena Gomez and Blake Lively.

Right after the ceremony ended, Katy Perry took to Twitter, dissing Taylor Swift: "Watch out for the mean girl in sheep's clothing!"

Taylor quickly retaliated on Twitter, "I once thought you were trustworthy, but you had to ruin everything! The trust of the past destroyed in an instant, you just had to attack me?"

The two started their feud that night, and their fans followed suit, causing a stir on forums and social media.

Gossip media immediately abandoned the Grammy winners, focusing all their attention on the two female singers.

The crowd didn't care who got more Gramophones, the weight was more significant.

Watching others receive awards is not as interesting as watching female celebrities tear each other apart.

Gossip media speculated why the two turned against each other, and "US Rumors" even thought, based on their recent tweets, that Martin was the direct reason for their fallout.

"As early as three years ago, there were rumors of Martin and Taylor Swift. A few days ago, Katy Perry came to Los Angeles, and someone saw her enter Disney Studio. Soon, a photo of her with Martin and Taylor Swift appeared on social media. Sources revealed that Katy Perry was too close to Martin in Disney Studio, causing Taylor Swift to be extremely dissatisfied..."

Compared to TMZ, America's leading gossip media that sticks to facts and evidence, these traditional gossip tabloids are too unprofessional.

TMZ's policy is to make news when there is none, not to fabricate stories.

Taylor Swift and Katy Perry maintained a high-intensity social media battle for three days, which temporarily subsided on the eve of Valentine's Day.

The two snatched a considerable amount of limelight from the Grammys.

Before Taylor left Los Angeles, she made a special call to Martin, "Sorry to drag you into this mess with the media, it must be tough to explain to your girlfriend, right?"

Martin replied, "It doesn't affect me much. When is your next round?"

Taylor on the other end said, "Didn't you remind me not to do it too frequently and to vary the drama? Next round will be when our new songs are released. She'll mock me in her new song, and I'll diss her in my new single, then we can both attract attention."

"Good luck to you, Taylor." Martin glanced outside the car window, drawing closer to the theater, ready to end the call, "I'll visit Nashville when I have the time."

However, Taylor said, "I'm planning to move. I'll probably leave Nashville this year and move to New York, the center of pop music."

Martin chuckled, "New York is good, too."

"I'll be waiting for you in New York." Taylor hung up the phone.

Martin vaguely remembered from a previous life that Taylor, after leaving the village, changed her style and seemed to have settled in New York for a long time.

This ambitious female singer's goal was not to be a country sweetheart, but the next Madonna.

Bruce drove to the Nokia Theatre.

As the car slowed down, Martin glanced at the red carpet in front of the theater.

Napoleon's fame might have some appeal, and Disney put some investment into it. The film was also promoted during "Lone Survivor," and with his strong endorsement on Twitter and other social media, a fair number of movie fans gathered on both sides of the red carpet.

This was the premiere of "Napoleon's Aphrodite," starring future global village chief Alexandrovich.

The premiere was not big, but it had everything necessary—media, fans, and interviews.

As Alexandrovich and Orlina walked over the red carpet, they frequently interacted with fans, taking photos and signing autographs.

He showed plenty of charisma.

The car drove past the theater's entrance, turned down another road, and stopped beside the back door.

Martin got out of the car and went straight into the theater.

In the waiting room, Alexandrovich, who had just finished a media interview, came in.

Upon seeing Martin, he was more excited than if he had seen his own father, his eyes reddening with genuine overwhelming emotion, "Last year at this time, I couldn't even dream that a movie I starred in would be released in America!"

Martin shook his hand, "Congratulations on your dream coming true!"

Alexandrovich continued, "Martin, I see the best of America in you, but I don't know how to repay you. I swear to God, even if it costs my life, I will make 'Servant of the People' an outstanding series."

Orlina approached from the other side, "We've already contacted the Ukrainian side. Once the promotion period for 'Napoleon the Great' ends, we will immediately go to Ulank to prepare and shoot."

Martin nodded, "I'll be waiting for your good news."

"Napoleon's Aphrodite" was a small production with only a $5 million budget, and neither Davis Studio nor the distributor Disney Studios were going to invest a lot in the premiere, which didn't have any special guests. The biggest name was Svetlana, who was confirmed to play Viper Lady in "X-Men: Wolverine 2."

The film itself was nothing to write home about; to cater to the English-speaking market, the story was changed to a love-hate romance between an English drag queen and the French lover Napoleon.

In short, it was a vulgar mockery of Napoleon with all sorts of crude humor.

Even though the theater was not full at the premiere, the audience was constantly laughing during the film.

Like "The Hangover," as long as it makes the audience laugh, the market's response wouldn't be too bad.

And the romance between the drag queen and Napoleon fit well with the Valentine's Day atmosphere.

Probably no other movie in the world had ever presented Napoleon as such a charming and adorable character.

A true European sweetheart.

When the premiere ended, the venue was filled with laughter and enthusiastic applause.

Martin high-fived Marius, Orlina, the village chief, and Svetlana, saying, "This is a very entertaining comedy."

The creative team was greatly encouraged.

Of course, what Martin said was just a formality, as he couldn't grasp the humor in the film at all.

It was like when he watched "The Hangover"; he never found it funny, just bewildering.

After the premiere, Martin even leveraged his personal connections to arrange an exclusive interview with "Entertainment Weekly."

In Martin's Atlanta days, a production budget of 5 million US Dollars would have definitely been considered a huge investment.

For Disney Studios, however, this was just an insignificant film.

In North America, "Napoleon the Great" debuted in only 950 theaters, grossing a mere 1.35 million US Dollars on its first day.

But online, fans who loved crude humor gave the film not-so-bad reviews.

"Spoofing Napoleon is just too funny."

"I've never seen such an adorable Napoleon!"

"It's ridiculous and hilarious!"

"Napoleon is so cute, so silly, so pitiful!"

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For this kind of trashy film, nobody cared about professional reviews and ratings; being fun, funny, or even outrageous was enough.

On the second day of its North American release, "Napoleon's Aphrodite" saw a significant increase in box office revenue, bringing in 2.16 million US Dollars in a single day.

The reputation of the film began to spread, and it managed to earn some recognition in the upcoming Valentine's Day slot.

The film grossed 4.82 million US Dollars in North America over its opening weekend.

Then, on Valentine's Day itself, it took in nearly 3 million US Dollars.

After the second weekend in North America, the film's cumulative box office total reached 12.25 million US Dollars.

The creative team then left North America to focus on promotion in Europe.

As expected, they were heavily criticized by the French media.

Alexandrovich, who played the charming and sweet Napoleon, was particularly lambasted by the French press.

But the film received a better response in England.

An English lieutenant, dressed as a drag queen, successfully hooked up with Napoleon—a very amusing premise!

Many English people enjoyed the film greatly.

This also made it easy for the film to recoup its production and promotional costs through box office revenue share.

Martin took the first successful step with the village chief, and now it was time to take the second.

Those interested in this film included not just Martin but also Alan Horn, CEO of Disney Studios.

In his Brentwood mansion, Cody Horn curiously watched his father reading a newspaper; once he put it down, she picked it up.

The paper featured a report on a comedy movie.

Cody asked curiously, "When did you start paying attention to these kinds of films?"

Alan Horn said, "This is a comedy produced by Martin's company."

"Martin? Did he act in it?" Cody became even more curious, "Isn't acting in a comedy beneath him, degrading his status?"

Alan corrected her, "He invested. It's made by a few people from Ukraine or Russia. The film is very successful, with production and promotional costs totaling just 10 million US Dollars. The estimated global box office could reach 35 to 40 million US Dollars."

Cody didn't understand what her father meant.

Alan had always wanted his daughter to progress in film management, and even though Cody seemed more like she was playing in the film industry, he still patiently explained, "Some time ago, Martin pitched a project to me, something he was keen on but wouldn't star in. I was a bit worried, but it looks like my worries were unnecessary."

He pointed at the paper, "The two films that Martin was optimistic about and invested in, 'Lone Survivor,' now has a North American box office of 146 million US Dollars, and the other is the comedy that spoofs Napoleon."

Cody hadn't been paying attention to her father's words, merely mumbling, "Aren't Martin's films always commercially successful?"

Alan was concerned about a situation like the one Warner Bros. faced, but it seemed that Martin had been holding back on Warner Bros.

He said, "Projects that Martin is optimistic about are a different concept from the projects he stars in."

Cody's mind wasn't on the topic, "I think the movies he acts in are pretty good."

Alan sighed, not wanting to continue the topic, and picked up his phone to call Martin, "When do you have time? Let's talk about that live-action movie project you mentioned."

That same afternoon, Martin, who was preparing for the Oscar ceremony and had just helped Elizabeth choose a gown, headed over to Disney Studios to discuss the next cooperative venture with Alan Horn.

The two sides had roughly finalized their intentions, agreeing to co-invest in the production of a live-action fairy tale movie—"Beauty and The Beast."

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