America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

In the screening room, the test viewing of "Death of a Gunfighter" starring Brad Pitt was underway, with Warner Bros. executives like Daniel, Ellen Horn, and Charles Roven, all with expressionless faces.

On the silver screen, Brad Pitt, dressed as a cowboy, looked quite imposing, exuding his characteristic raffish charm.

But for these executives from Warner, the thought of Coca-Cola's latest advertisement almost simultaneously came to mind.

The cowboy, who should have been suave and gentlemanly, somehow felt awkward.

Even, it felt like this person should be trampled underfoot, crying and repenting in agony.

If Pitt had used another style in the film, it might have been alright, but the gunslinger James he portrayed was a typical cowboy.

Those harboring such thoughts were not only from Warner; even people on Pitt's side were not spared.

Including Maggie Dukeshire.

She felt that the film might not go smoothly.

The test viewing ended, and the Warner executives and film experts, having exchanged glances, came to an understanding without waiting for Pitt, the producer and leading actor, to speak.

Ellen Horn said, "Brad, we need to have a small internal meeting, just wait a moment."

Pitt smiled, "Please go ahead."

The executives and film experts from Warner entered the adjacent office.

Ellen Horn asked directly, "Does this film seem a bit odd?"

Several film experts had already come to a consensus, with one saying, "It's not that the film is odd, it's that Pitt looks odd in his cowboy getup, too easily reminiscent of Coca-Cola's latest ad."

Daniel joined the conversation, "Indeed."

Charles Roven said with a resigned smile, "Whenever I see Pitt in cowboy attire on screen, Coca-Cola bubbles up in my mind."

Seeing the others nod, Ellen Horn asked, "Would the audience be taken out of the experience when they see this?"

"Some might not be affected," the film expert said, "but there's definitely a portion that will think of that ad."

Daniel suggested, "I recall the company signed a distribution contract with the production team?"

Ellen Horn explained, "A distribution agreement was signed when the project was approved, but at the time Pitt was very confident and refused to let us participate in the production investment. Besides today's viewing, we have made no other preliminary investments, practically zero investment."

Charles Roven chimed in, "Since we've got a distribution contract, let's hold it back for now and wait for the influence of the Coca-Cola ad to wane before releasing it."

Ellen Horn couldn't possibly give up on the movie, and considering it was only for distribution, the risk of a loss was small.

He made a decision, "Let's settle on that."

This internal discussion wrapped up within minutes, and Ellen Horn had someone fetch Pitt to officially inform him of the decision.

"A delayed release?" Since marrying Aniston, Pitt had never been treated like a second-tier star and was somewhat dissatisfied, "Ellen, the film is complete. Time is money..."

Ellen Horn raised his hand, interrupting, "Warner Bros. has a very full schedule, and we can't find a suitable slot right now. We can't let such a film face a head-on clash with those big commercial releases, can we?"

Being respectful to Pitt, a star of his level and a major shareholder of Plan B, "Give Warner a little time. When there's a good slot, I'll have someone notify you."

The Big Six distributors being at the very top of the industry chain, it's normal for schedules to be tight. Pitt pressed a little more and then left Ellen Horn's office.

As he went downstairs to join the others, he encountered Banks from Warner Bros., who had attended the viewing.

"Hey Brad, let's chat for a minute." Banks, having a tough time making a name at Warner Bros., inevitably had other ideas.

Pitt inquired, "What's the matter?"

Banks relayed, "Regarding the distribution of 'Death of a Gunfighter'..."

He quickly expressed Warner Bros.' concerns.

At first, Pitt didn't think much of it, but as he listened, his expression darkened, his own thoughts unavoidably drifting to the Coca-Cola ad.

"That's the gist of it," Banks, having sold his piece, quickly took leave, "I have other matters; I must be going."

Pitt, hands in pockets, still trying to maintain his composure, took the elevator down.

Upon entering the spacious lobby of the Warner Building, he saw a new promotional poster on the Coca-Cola vending machine: Martin, dressed as a cowboy, was using cola as gospel to convert another cowboy villain who looked very much like him.

Pitt settled down in the lounge to have a moment to himself.

Regaining his composure, it wasn't hard for him to see that Warner's decision was sound; if "Death of a Gunfighter" were released when the ad had the greatest impact, it could have been a big problem.

A wait might be for the best.

Realizing this, Pitt's anger flared again, why should I be the one to suffer?

......

At the Warner Bros. Studios' snack bar.

Martin approached the counter for a cup of tea.

Mia, the part-time actress, cheerfully took the money and gave change, "The usual black tea, no milk, and no sugar?"

"Right!" Martin, having been here before and familiar with Mia, saw her cheerful demeanor and asked, "Did you land an important role?"

Mia nodded emphatically, "Yes, almost ten lines of dialogue."

Martin gave her a thumbs-up, "A big step forward."

Mia's face, dotted with freckles, broke into a satisfied smile, "Of the five of us sharing the apartment, I'm the first to get lines."

Martin took the red tea she handed him and suggested, "Have your agent hustle more. The more he hustles, the more work opportunities you'll get."

Mia said, "He doesn't pay much attention to me."

"Take it one step at a time," Martin said as he sat down at an empty table with his tea, waiting for Thomas to bring people over.

Marcus had finished dealing with the aftermath of Daisy and John's two dogs, and several African Americans had been formally arrested; he would soon be able to extricate himself and start working on the memoir.

From the signed writers and screenwriters within WMA, Thomas had found a suitable candidate to ghostwrite and assist Marcus in completing the memoir.

Today, Martin was going to meet with that playwright.

The cold drink shop was customer-free at this moment, so Mia picked up a pen and started writing in her notebook.

She recorded everything she observed and felt at the studio.

Working on this side for over a year, Mia was still a small-time actress, but she had started trying to write things outside of acting.

Not out of initiative, but out of necessity—it's simply too hard for an actor to stand out on their own.

At that moment, Thomas entered the shop with a man in a gray shirt.

The man, in his thirties, was slightly overweight and sported a beard.

Thomas introduced:

Martin had Mia bring over two cups of coffee.

Thomas introduced, "This is Robinson, a playwright signed with the company, who has been involved in many film projects."

Martin shook hands with him, invited him to sit anywhere, had Mia bring two more cups of coffee, and asked directly, "You've been involved in many film projects?"

Robinson was not a newcomer to Hollywood and understood the importance of a resume, saying, "I was previously a member of Mark Boal's writing team."

Martin hadn't heard of this person and appeared puzzled.

Robinson elaborated, "Mark Boal is the screenwriter of 'Black Hawk Down,' and I was part of the team that worked on the screenplay for this project."

Martin knew that many Hollywood screenplays were the product of assembly-line teamwork, with many well-known screenwriters supported by a team behind the scenes.

These screenwriters naturally couldn't be credited in the films; Hollywood only allows up to three screenwriters to be credited for each film, and those credits dictate the various on-and-off-air royalties set by the Screenwriters Guild.

Robinson emphasized projects related to war, "My most recent work involved 'Battle of Eylau,' directed by Paul Haggis. Like with other projects, I was a team member and did not have the right to be credited."

Martin asked, "Do you have any screenplays or works you've written with you?"

Robinson pulled out a printout and handed it to Martin, "This is the part of 'Black Hawk Down' that I was responsible for. 'Battle of Eylau' has just been filmed and hasn't been released yet, so the screenplay can't be disclosed."

Martin nodded and started reading intently.

When it came to writing in English, Martin was barely scraping by, downright mediocre, but his reading ability was normal. After having read so many scripts, he also had some discernment.

'Black Hawk Down' wasn't just any film, and he had reviewed it recently for a project.

After about fifteen minutes, Martin put down the script and asked, "Why did you leave Mark Boal's team?"

Robinson hesitated a moment, then decided to be truthful, "I worked in his team for five years and still didn't have the right to be credited. I felt that if I worked another five years, it would be the same situation. Although he, as my boss, made me various promises, I think the chances of them being fulfilled are very low."

He laughed helplessly, "I too want my name on the scripts I create, to be credited in films. This time, with Marcus's memoir, though I have no rights to it, I can be credited."

Martin nodded slightly, "Aside from compensation, there indeed will be a credit, but the ghostwriter's name has to come after Marcus's."

Robinson said, "No problem."

"In that case, I'll set up a meeting with Marcus, and we'll meet together," Martin decided to evaluate him in a more practical way, "You listen to a story from Marcus, and then write it down."

Robinson agreed readily.

Martin called Marcus and arranged to meet at Davis Film Studio.

In less than half an hour, the two sides met in Martin's office.

Marcus was somewhat like Martin; he was fine speaking off the cuff, but when it came to putting words on paper, he was at a loss.

Spoken and written forms of expression are entirely different.

Marcus was quite excited to see that Martin had quickly found a suitable playwright. As he spoke, gesticulating with his hands, he described an experience from when he first joined the SEALs.

Robinson took down notes in draft form and, after Marcus finished telling a segment, went into an adjacent conference room to begin the writing process.

Just before closing time, Robinson emerged from the conference room and handed over the segment he had written to Martin.

Martin quickly read it and passed it to Marcus.

After reading it once, Marcus said, "Yes, that's it!"

Martin then had Thomas read it to confirm there were no issues, and decided to hire Robinson.