Chapter 250: This Genius is Truly Remarkable

[TL/N: Since im kinda feeling generous today, ill upload 15 chapters or till my back sore sitting and translating with a laptop. You should also fucking support me on patreon. PLEASE!]

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In Jeff Raymond's office at CAA.

Martin and his agent were having a conversation.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

Jeff responded.

The office door was pushed open, and Robin Baum entered with his client, Orlando Bloom.

Upon entering, Robin Baum immediately greeted Martin and Jeff respectfully, bringing Orlando Bloom with him.

"Good afternoon, Martin."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Raymond."

After greeting, Orlando Bloom stood shyly to one side, waiting until Martin gestured for him to sit down before carefully sitting on the sofa.

Jeff glanced at Orlando Bloom, nodding in approval, satisfied with the young man's discretion.

Then, he turned to Robin Baum and said, "Robin, I've already spoken with Warner and New Line. Orlando and Martin will be promoting together."

Robin Baum was overjoyed, "That's great, thank you so much! Orlando and I won't forget this favor."

"Alright, come over here, let's discuss the details…"

Jeff and Robin Baum huddled together to discuss the promotion details, while Martin started chatting with Orlando Bloom.

Although Martin had a bit of sympathy for Orlando—who had lost both a role and a wife (Miranda Kerr) to him—it wasn't much.

"Orlando, did you get the blacksmith role in Pirates of the Caribbean?" Martin casually asked.

He had helped Orlando with this role, but hadn't really kept track of it. It seemed like Jeff had mentioned the outcome, but Martin had forgotten.

Orlando sat up straight. Upon hearing Martin's question, he immediately leaned slightly forward and respectfully replied, "Yes, I got it. I'm currently training in sword fighting."

"By the way, Martin, I know you're great at sword fighting. Once I'm on set, could you give me some guidance?"

Martin chuckled inwardly.

As expected, no one in the entertainment industry is an innocent one.

Orlando had trained in sword fighting extensively for his role as Faramir, and his swordplay for the performance was absolutely fine. The so-called "guidance" was just an excuse to get closer to Martin.

"Sure, we can spar together when the time comes."

Martin had already decided to play Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.

——

In the Warner Brothers executive office:

Alan Horn flipped through a thick stack of materials, shaking his head and sighing, "I knew Martin had strong appeal and influence, but I didn't expect the combination of Martin + Legolas to create such a powerful chemical reaction."

"Even though Peter tried to give Martin more screen time, Legolas was still a relatively minor role. I had thought Martin's decision to take this small role was a bit careless. Now I see how sharp his vision is."

"Look at these numbers—my goodness, is this real? The replies to all the posts about Martin and Legolas have already surpassed two hundred million! Is the entire United States really paying attention to him?"

Alan Horn's astonishment was genuine.

When they first decided to invest in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Alan had suggested to Martin and Jeff that Martin should choose Frodo, the character with the most screen time. Of course, his intention was not to lower Martin's status by choosing a supporting role, but because Frodo's larger role would attract more viewers with Martin's face.

Now, Alan was incredibly glad that Martin had rejected his suggestion. Given the incredible hype around Martin's Legolas, the box office for The Fellowship of the Ring was guaranteed to soar.

——

At Miramax:

Harvey put down the newspaper in frustration.

"Is Martin really the 'Chosen One'?"

"How can playing a supporting role generate such huge attention?!"

He regretted deeply giving up the rights to The Lord of the Rings—if he hadn't, he would be making a fortune now.

——

At Disney Headquarters in Burbank:

Michael Eisner also put down his newspaper.

He turned to his trusted aide, Reed McCas:

"So, Martin is determined to play Captain Jack Sparrow?"

"Yes, Mr. Eisner, I told him that his age might not suit a character who has seen the harshness of life, but he insists. If you personally spoke to him, maybe you could persuade him to change his mind."

Michael Eisner looked at Reed McCas with surprise, "What are you talking about? Why would I persuade Martin to give up the role? Haven't you seen how popular he is right now?!"

"When Martin chose to invest in The Lord of the Rings, many people mocked him; when he chose to play Legolas, people mocked him again, but look at him now. It's clear that Martin was right—he's always right!"

"As long as Martin hasn't lost yet, he can play any role he wants. If he wanted to play a boat, I'd agree without hesitation!"

——

At DreamWorks:

Jeffrey Katzenberg looked at Steven Spielberg and sighed, "Honestly, Steven, I think you were a bit too ambitious with Pearl Harbor. You had too high expectations for Michael Bay. The promotion was a bit overdone."

"Comparing Michael Bay to you and James Cameron? He's not even in the same league."

"This is a nearly two-hundred-million-dollar blockbuster—you should have directed it yourself, or at least kept final editing rights."

"Then there's Tom Cruise. His box office draw isn't as big as we thought. His salary takes up more than ten percent of the budget, and he's taking 15% of the box office too. What a greedy guy."

"Dammit, he's taking too much…" Jeffrey Katzenberg shook his head. "At this rate, we won't even recover our costs by the time the movie leaves theaters in December. We've given up too much in the international market, and we'll have to wait for the long tape market to slowly recoup some funds."

Steven Spielberg nodded, "My fault. I didn't expect Michael Bay to focus less on explosions and more on a love triangle in Pearl Harbor."

He shook his head, seemingly disappointed: "In fact, before Pearl Harbor, Michael Bay hadn't lost—looks like his continuous success made him get carried away."

"Some people just don't get carried away!" Jeffrey Katzenberg pointed to the newspaper on the table.

"Are you talking about Martin?" Steven Spielberg paused for a moment before marveling: "This genius, he really is something special!"

"Should we try to collaborate with him?" Jeffrey Katzenberg asked.

"I'll think about it!" Spielberg was intrigued.