America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

The Boston Opera House, which began as a movie theater, provides an excellent movie-watching experience.

The sound of gunfire echoed through the theater as Martin's protagonist rid the flower shop of both the owner and all the employees single-handedly, then they called the leading lady and used her to play the FBI, leaving Boston with a large sum of money.

The protagonist threw off the shackles of Charlestown and finally ran toward freedom.

There was no pretense of being artsy; the gun battles were explosive, and the outcome was satisfying.

When the film ended, the venue erupted into enthusiastic applause.

Director Denis Villeneuve stood up like a student waiting for their exam results and turned to look at the audience.

Then, with a lack of confidence, he asked Martin, "Did we succeed?"

Martin smiled, "You did a great job with the film."

Amid the applause, producer Graham came over to hug Villeneuve, "Buddy, you've made a masterpiece!"

Villeneuve finally smiled.

Afterward, Martin and Graham led the crew onstage to take a bow.

The premiere of "Thieves of the City" had come to an end.

As the moviegoers left and the bustle of the day wound down, the main creators of the crew prepared to leave the Opera House.

In the corridor, Villeneuve quickly caught up with Martin and said, "Can we talk in private for a moment?"

"Sure," Martin looked at the Daddario sisters to his left and right.

Catherine and Alexandra automatically slowed their pace.

Villeneuve seemed a bit anxious as he said, "Now that this film is complete and the premiere went well, my script for 'Border Killer'..."

Martin understood what he meant, "Of course my promise stands; submit a detailed shooting plan to the studio, Denis... um, the production budget is capped at 35 million US dollars."

The number was already higher than what Villeneuve had expected. He said, "No problem, I'll have a plan for you by the end of the month at the latest."

Martin still remembered the script he had read, and looking back at Alexandra, he said, "The most important female role, if she's suitable, use Alexandra."

Villeneuve also turned to glance at her; her acting wasn't particularly outstanding, and her appearance was a bit too striking. Would she be unstable during the tactical assault scenes?

This was somewhat divergent from the female lead's characteristics.

But Villeneuve, a director well accustomed to hardships, knew that when it came to casting, being passable was good enough, especially regarding the lead roles. His opinion wasn't important; what mattered were the views of the producers and financiers.

The script rights for "Border Killer" had already been sold to Davis Studio. If the producers were holding back the green light, the director could only wait helplessly.

Villeneuve only took a few seconds to make a heartfelt decision, "Alexandra is very suitable."

Martin nodded, "Get me a plan as soon as possible."

Exiting the east door of the Boston Opera House, Villeneuve got into a car and left first. Bruce arrived in an Escalade, and Martin got in the car with the Daddario sisters, then they all headed back to the hotel.

The three of them entered Martin's suite together.

Martin took a copy of a script from his luggage and handed it to Alexandra, "Take a look, the female character named Kate, I mentioned it to you before, I've just spoken to Director Villeneuve about it, he will contact you once the crew is set up."

Alexandra glanced at the cover of the script, and indeed, it was "Border Killer," the one Martin had previously mentioned to her. She said, "I won't be modest with you; I'll take the role."

Catherine then interjected, "Let's not discuss work here; we have more important things."

Alexandra put the script away and whispered in Martin's ear, "Catherine and I have thought up a brand-new set of game rules..."

Martin said, "I'm very interested."

Catherine and Alexandra each grabbed one of Martin's hands and pulled him into the room.

......

Downstairs, in another suite, Denis Villeneuve paced back and forth in the outer room.

Sitting on the couch, "Border Killer" screenwriter Taylor Sheridan could only be resigned, "The premiere is over, and the audience's response has already been sealed. Even if you stomped this building into the ground, the result wouldn't change."

Villeneuve walked behind the opposite couch, clenched his fist, and pounded hard on the back of the sofa, "The success or failure of this film directly affects our collaboration on 'Border Killer'!"

Sheridan poured himself a glass of wine, "Hasn't Martin Davis agreed to invest?"

"Martin has the final say." Villeneuve saw things clearly: "Although we all consider the film to be good, if the audience doesn't think so, the next 'Border Killer' will certainly be halted by Martin Davis."

Sheridan drank the wine in one gulp, "The fate of us little guys hangs on a few words from the big players; they don't even have to speak to severely affect us."

He raised his chin, "With homosexuality and transgenderism getting so much attention, should we adjust the script to add a gay character?"

Villeneuve rejected the idea outright, "No need! Taylor, we should focus on improving the content and quality of the film, not these messy topics."

Sheridan nodded, "Okay, you're the director, I'll listen to you."

Villeneuve's phone buzzed with a text message alert, and he hurriedly opened the message and sighed a breath of relief.

Sheridan asked, "How is it?"

Villeneuve said directly, "Disney Studios collected 132 feedback scores on-site at theaters, with an average audience score of 83."

"Wow, man, that's a high score!" In Taylor Sheridan's experience, commercially oriented films scoring this high often meant a positive market response. "Denis, you bastard, you're about to take off!"

Villeneuve also understood what that score signified. It wasn't a media score, nor was it from critics detached from the market, but rather the average moviegoer's score, which had considerable market representation.

With a series of positive reviews from the test screenings, the outcome was obvious.

He picked up the bottle of wine on the coffee table, poured half a glass, and said, "I'm 45 years old now. Counting from my first short film in 1988, I've worked as a director for over twenty years and I've finally made a name for myself."

Taylor Sheridan stood up to clink glasses with him, "To success, buddy!"

"To success!" Villeneuve downed the drink in his glass in one gulp.

After more than twenty years as a director, he was finally ready to take off.

Taylor Sheridan said again, "Next step, you take me with you."

Villeneuve laughed heartily, "We'll both be successful!"

...

"Fast & Furious 6," thanks to Vin Diesel's death, still dominated the North American film market.

By the time Friday arrived, "Thieves of the City" opened in North America across 3,772 theaters.

Although it didn't match "Fast & Furious 6"'s 4,000 theaters, this was a top-tier opening for an R-rated film.

This also meant that everyone, from Disney Studios to the theater managers, was confident in Martin's new film.

In key North American cities, the first-week release of "Thieves of the City" sold as many tickets as "Fast & Furious 6," which was entering its second week.

On one hand, Martin's draw and the appeal of the new film were significant.

On the other hand, the mournful enthusiasm crafted by Universal Pictures and the production crew had been largely consumed during the opening weekend.

Just like with "The Dark Knight Rises," it was hard to maintain such emotions over a lengthy period.

Even continued efforts to capitalize on it might backfire.

On the internet, there were already criticisms of Universal Pictures for "profiting off the dead," calling for an end to excessive marketing and respecting the deceased.

On its first day of release, "Thieves of the City" broke the solo dominance of "Fast & Furious 6" on the North American film market, earning $20.25 million and surpassing the latter's $18.45 million.

At the same time, Disney Studios began to push hard on the film's word-of-mouth marketing, from print media to television to the internet, with continuous praise.

Boston's local "The Boston Globe" praised, "The quality of the film is as outstanding as 'Infernal Affairs.' This is another sharply written letter to Boston from Martin Davis."

"Variety" said, "The film's main characters shine, and Martin Davis once again showcases his extraordinary acting standard and ability to create characters."

Focusing on market reception, "People" magazine succinctly stated, "A compelling and sensational crime thriller, definitely one of this year's most successful films."

Various accolades and scores for the film began to surface.

Rotten Tomatoes freshness was 89%, IMDB score was 8.3, and MTC's media composite score was 75.

"People"'s review wasn't the slightest bit wrong; "Thieves of the City" was indeed attractive to North American audiences.

The issues in the film weren't just in Boston; many American cities encountered similar choices, and for many ordinary persons growing up, similar dilemmas were inevitable.

For someone like Martin, who started from the bottom, there definitely wasn't any choice, oftentimes.

The film might be less popular outside of North America, but it was well-received within.

"A standout among similar films, Martin even makes wearing a robber mask look charismatic!"

"I bought the ticket intending to support Martin, but the film turned out to be surprisingly good!"

"Martin is good at intense robbery and gunfight scenes, but the delicate drama once again showed us the Oscar winner for Best Actor from 'The Martian.'"

Whether a commercial film succeeds ultimately depends on the market.

The positive word of mouth from the audience led to a stable box office trend.

After Saturday, "Thieves of the City" increased by $22.11 million, still outperforming "Fast & Furious 6" during its second weekend.

With the enthusiasm of the latter's audience significantly reduced, daily box office numbers started to decline.

Martin and his team also left Boston and headed to Chicago, continuing their promotion tour at a pace of a new city every two days.

A new week arrived, and the latest box office statistics were released.

During the opening weekend in North America, "Thieves of the City" earned $58.77 million across 3,772 theaters!

This figure topped "Fast & Furious 6"'s second weekend tally of $49.85 million and became the champion of the North American box office for that weekend.

No one was surprised at the success of a film starring Martin.

However, Denis Villeneuve, the not-so-young newcomer director, had finally caught Hollywood's attention.

After the first week's box office results were out, Davis Studio officially announced a new collaboration with Denis Villeneuve— "Border Killer."