America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Hollywood, Kodak Theatre.

Today, numerous Ancient Egyptian-style decorations were set up in front of the entrance. Giant posters hung from the top of the theatre, showcasing Christian Bale parting the Red Sea with a shepherd's staff.

The premiere of Warner Bros.' latest production, "Pharaoh and the Gods," which cost $160 million to make, was about to take place as the opening blockbuster of the summer season of 2011.

In a Mercedes on its way to the red carpet, the agent kept reminding Bale, "If you see Martin Davis at the premiere, don't pay any attention to him. Just stay away; tonight is your premiere, so don't get physical."

Getting physical in public would indeed result in a beating, and with so many media reporters around, it would seriously damage one's image.

The agent knew that Bale was particularly sensitive about Martin, so he dared not speak these words out loud.

"I'll pretend I don't see him," Bale still couldn't let it go, "This is my premiere. Why invite Martin Davis to attend? Everyone knows Martin Davis is my enemy."

The agent explained, "Inviting Martin was the idea of Jon Berg, the president of Warner Bros. He probably wants to show Martin Davis that Warner can do well without him."

After thinking it over, he added, "This project was originally something Martin was keen on. He had picked it out, wanting to collaborate with Warner Bros. In the end, Warner got the project and pushed him aside."

Bale's impression of Martin was irredeemably bad: "He got what he deserved!"

The Mercedes arrived at the red carpet, and as soon as the car stopped, someone came over to open the door.

Bale got out, buttoned up his suit, and walked towards the theatre along the red carpet, waving to both sides and provoking a wave of screams.

Because of the incident at the Oscars where Bale almost clashed with Martin, many members of the Cola Cult held a grudge against him.

Some of them, taking a leaf from the black fans of football star Ronaldo who yelled for Messi, suddenly shouted loudly, "Martin! Martin! Martin..."

A group of Cola Cult members pulled off their jackets in unison, revealing red T-shirts that identified them as followers of Martin, and yelled at Bale in unison.

"Martin! Martin!"

Bale turned green with anger, stopped waving to fans on both sides of the red carpet, and walked briskly past, not even entering the media area. He went straight to where the sponsor's backdrop was, took a few photos, and then entered the Kodak Theatre.

At the window on the second floor of the theatre, Daniel looked worried, but Jon Berg, standing next to him, was still full of confidence.

As an old member of the Warner management team, he could clearly feel the atmosphere at Warner changing.

Perhaps due to the outstanding performance of Warner Bros. over the past decade, the management at all levels were brimming with confidence for Warner and its projects.

Jon Berg patted Daniel on the shoulder, "Don't look like that. Is it such a big deal that the screenings didn't have good word of mouth? A minority can't represent the wide audience's opinion."

However, Daniel was mired in self-doubt, "After two screenings, we still haven't lifted the embargo on the film's reception, and the market already has questions."

The final cut of "Pharaoh and the Gods" was under Daniel's personal control, and he believed these weren't issues, "In the past, there were many films in Hollywood that had poor screening receptions but went on to be box office hits, right?"

Daniel couldn't deny it because it was indeed the case.

Jon Berg simply gave examples, "During the test screenings of 'Star Wars,' it was almost entirely negative reviews, what happened then? 'Judgment Day,' 'Armageddon,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' 'Transformers,' and so on all had poor reception at screenings but they all sold well at the box office and became models of commercial success."

Daniel couldn't bring himself to say that the quality of his own film was worrisome, so he didn't say a word in response, hoping deep down that it would succeed.

After all, this project was one he had personally stolen from Martin.

As the red carpet event was drawing to a close, the two men left the window area and headed for the nearby VIP lounge.

Upon entering, Jon Berg immediately saw Martin and went straight over to him.

He came forward and shook hands, "We meet again, Martin."

"This is a grand premiere!" Martin spoke very politely, "Thank you for the invitation."

Jon Berg unveiled his scars on the spot, "Don't mention it, this was a project you were fond of and chose. Warner Bros. should be thanking you for your help. Without you, 'Pharaoh and the Gods' wouldn't exist."

Martin realized that lately he really had become widely regarded as a good guy. A few days ago Megan Ellison thanked him for his kindness, and today Jon Berg thanked him as well.

Receiving such acknowledgment face-to-face felt pretty good.

Martin's expression unchanged, he still smiled and said, "I have old ties with Warner, there's no need for such formality."

Jon laughed heartily, "No, no, we must properly thank you. You must come to the film's celebration party."

With such enthusiasm, Martin found it difficult to refuse, "Just let me know when it's time."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Jon Berg left the lounge.

Martin took a few steps forward and found Ridley Scott.

The latter, with a grave expression, said to Martin, "He butchered my film in the edit, cutting out over thirty minutes of content. The screening responses weren't good, and I can't understand how he can be so confident."

After some thought, Martin said, "In the past decade, Warner has had too many successes—they probably think success is a given."

Ridley shook his head, "A man like that running Warner Bros...."

Considering he was the director of 'The Martian,' Martin offered some consolation, "The film hasn't been released yet; it's all an unknown."

While they were talking, Martin caught sight of Bale, who was just ten meters away.

Bale also spotted Martin and forced himself to look away the moment he saw him.

This bastard is too vindictive!

Bale had thought back carefully in private about the root of their conflict, which originated from Heath Ledger's DUI at the Brooklyn Studio, when he had pressured Martin, who wasn't yet wildly famous, to back down.

But not only did the bastard not back down, he also made him into an enemy.

He's just a mad dog.

Bale also heard that this film was initially eyed by Martin, and the lead role of Moses must have been prepared for himself by Martin.

Once the film was a huge hit, he would have truly regained some ground.

The premiere screening was about to begin, and the guests entered the hall first.

Martin had just sat down when Annie-Hathaway, dressed in an evening gown, sat down next to him.

"Didn't see you just now," Martin said.

Annie's big mouth split into a grin. "I got stuck in a traffic jam on the way here, almost arrived late."

She was in a particularly good mood. "I passed the audition for 'The Dark Knight Rises' and got the role of Selina Kyle."

Martin nodded, "Congratulations."

Annie leaned towards him. "This is the first time I've gotten a paycheck of 7 million US dollars for a single movie."

Martin asked, "Will your financial situation be a bit more relaxed?"
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Annie nodded, "My financial crisis is over."

In fact, Martin was still quite tender-hearted towards his ex-girlfriends and said, "The past is in the past, and you have nothing to blame yourself for. There's no need to dwell on bygones; look forward from now on."

Annie said, "Tonight, can you give me another chance to be filled? No strings attached, I just want to be purely filled by you."

What else could Martin say?

Just then, the movie started, so they simply stopped talking.

The film opened like 'Gladiator', with a fierce military battle that was spectacular and imposing.

The epic feeling was instantly evident.

In terms of special effects and scale alone, it was definitely top-tier.

Ridley Scott had spent every penny of the budget where it counted.

But the film just couldn't arouse any sense of anticipation.

Because every audience member knew what would happen next.

Perhaps due to the immense Jewish influence in Hollywood, Ridley didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble, or perhaps what Ridley loved the most was precisely this epic feel; the film followed the story of Exodus very closely and didn't deviate at all from the main plotline.

Plus, the film was extremely polished: a great opening battle set up the conflict, which led to a turning point, forcing the protagonist to make a choice, then the protagonist saving everything, with a climax at the end.

Ridley had really seriously and dutifully made a story about the Exodus.

Even though Jon Berg cut out a lot of content, it actually didn't have much impact on the direction of the story.

The film didn't have any major flaws, but it also didn't have any surprises.

This was a Hollywood-style mythical epic that was as polished as it gets.

Perhaps if the film had been of a different genre, it might have made over a hundred million at the North American box office, but epic films, especially those directed by Ridley Scott, were in some ways as cursed as Johnny Depp's performances outside 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.

Hollywood loved this genre to the bone, and countless companies ventured one after another to revive the epic film.

Martin had recently heard that Paramount Pictures had invested a huge sum of money and invited Oscar Best Actor Russell Crowe to prepare to adapt another part of the Bible, "Noah's Ark", into an epic film.

Word was that Germany's Constantine had joined forces with Lionsgate Films and Sony Columbia Pictures among others, planning to adapt the destruction of ancient Pompeii, another epic venture.

Strictly speaking, 'Lone Ranger' could also be considered a Western epic.

No wonder Ridley saw science fiction films as just work and life, while epic films were his true love.

The epic atmosphere was strong within the circle.

The film quickly reached the part where Moses parts the sea; the special effects were still impressive and the scale was still grand, but most people found it just okay.

After more than a decade of being bombarded with special effects, the audience's thresholds had all increased.

The film screening ended, and as the applause started, Annie said to Martin, "These special effects, this scale, this epic feel, must've been really difficult to shoot and produce."

Martin asked directly, "What's your immediate impression then?"

"Uh..." Annie thought for a moment, then decided to be honest, "Mediocre, no highs or lows. It feels like the movie isn't bad anywhere in particular, but it's also not particularly good anywhere."