America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

In the afternoon, Martin's autograph signing event continued at South Coast Plaza.

Despite feeling drained and his skin and muscles stiff, he maintained an enthusiastic attitude and signed DVDs for every fan who made a purchase.

There are many little stars in Hollywood, and when they band together, they can be pretty terrifying.

By 5 p.m., the signing finally ended, and like the previous days, Martin picked up a few newspapers before getting into his car.

Bruce asked, "Where to?"

Martin pulled out a copy of the "Los Angeles Times" and said, "Let's find a place to eat first, and after dinner, I'll treat you to a facial cleanser, only the softest can really let a person relax."

Scoundrels naturally understand each other's language. Bruce said, "Facial cleanser, you describe it so aptly."

Martin replied, "It's clearly facial cleanser, what's wrong with what I said?"

This time, Bruce had no comeback.

Martin flipped through the entertainment section, and there was no news about Jolie and Pitt today, clearly, they were controlling the rhythm.

When he looked at the society news, he was drawn to the front-page headline.

A few weeks ago, the FBI's Los Angeles division had arrested three Russian-American businessmen, and by yesterday afternoon, the Los Angeles Federal Prosecutor officially charged them with a series of crimes, including smuggling, human trafficking, and controlling the underground music market, and requested the court to freeze their assets.

Martin asked, "Are many of the streetwalkers in the old district Eastern Europeans?"

Bruce wasn't very clear either. "I've heard Mene mention that, it seems they are mostly Eastern Europeans and Mexicans." He asked, "Do you want to sponsor them?"

"Not interested," Martin said casually, "I'm not short of female companionship."

After dinner, the two headed to the underground car park to switch cars, making sure they weren't being followed, then went to the Strip Club together. Martin skillfully chose two young dancers and shared the pleasure of a facial with Old Cloth.

Tipping well gets you serviced with the latest facial cleansers, which are quite refreshing and relaxing.

After enjoying a round, Bruce said, "No wonder you and Wes Craven always like to discuss work here, it really does stimulate the mind."

As the facial cleanser flowed copiously, Martin was invigorated, "If one day you can't get your thoughts together, you should try coming here, it'll open up your mind."

Bruce, the scoundrel, suddenly thought of Cohler Kardashian; if Cohler provided the facial cleanser, he was sure his thoughts would be super active, maybe enough to write a screenplay.

Of course, it wouldn't be an ordinary movie script, but a tape full of creative potential.

While these two scoundrels were enjoying their facial cleansers, the three students they had seen during the day had arrived in north Burbank.

Entering an apartment, Andre stood in front of a mirror, examining the bruises on his face.

Victor and Sergey sat on the couch, rubbing the sore spots where they had been hit.

They weren't weak, but in front of the basketball team members, they were like dwarves.

Moreover, the other side was always overwhelmingly superior in numbers.

Sergey touched a tender spot and gritted his teeth, "I'm going to slaughter those bastards Miller and Jackson!"

Those two were the captain and co-captain of the high school basketball team, and also the ones leading the bullying against them.

Victor asked, "Andre, didn't you break up with Judith from the cheerleading squad?"

Ever since Andre managed to get together with Miller's ex-girlfriend, a feud had arisen.

There used to be a small group around Andre and the others, but as their fathers got into trouble and were arrested by the FBI, the group disbanded on its own.

As the rumor that their families were involved in smuggling and controlling Eastern European prostitutes spread throughout the school, the three of them were completely isolated.

From bullies to the bullied.

If it wasn't for the fact that they were graduating this summer, Burbank Middle School might have taken some action.

Victor still harbored illusions, "It wasn't like this before, why are they so domineering now?"

The usually silent Andre said, "Because we are Slavs, because our fathers are under investigation by the FBI, our family members have been arrested, they look down on us, convinced that no matter how they bully us, no one will stand up for us."

Victor felt helpless, "If they keep targeting us like this, how can we stand our ground at school?"

"We're all eighteen now," Andre said through clenched teeth. "We're about to graduate from high school and become adults, we can't count on anyone but ourselves now."

Sergey was hungry, "I'll go out and buy some food."

Andre patted his stomach, "Bring back more."

Sergey left quickly and came back just as quickly, but empty-handed, "The credit card's been locked."

Upon hearing this, Andre knew things were bad and took out his phone to call his father's lawyer.

The lawyer informed him that the court had frozen all their family's assets and specifically warned, "You three aren't involved, so don't concern yourselves with these matters, you can't do anything, don't drag yourself into it."

Andre asked the key question, "What about the colleges we applied to?"

The lawyer spoke candidly, "There's no hope."

The other two also heard this, and for a moment, they didn't know what to do.

Victor crouched on the ground, clutching his head.

Sergey paced back and forth restlessly.

Andre, the leader among the three, said, "We still have some cash, what are you guys planning to do afterward?"

Unable to hold back, Sergey blurted out, "I want to slaughter those who bullied us! Just because we are immigrants, they have always discriminated against us, even before our family had troubles!"

Victor lifted his head, looking at his two friends.

Sergey continued, "You know how it's been since we arrived in Los Angeles and started school; those people always treated us like beasts from Siberia, calling us 'dumb bears' behind our backs!"

Family tragedy turned the bullies into victims, and they were beaten up yet again, at an age fueled by impulsive anger. Even Victor said, "When I drink Coke, they mock me saying I should drink antifreeze instead. When I want to find a girlfriend, the cheerleader Bi Chi laughs at me and says I should go to the zoo and find a polar bear."

Andre didn't say a word; he went to the TV cabinet, searched through a stack of discs, found one, inserted it into the DVD player, and pressed the play button on the TV.

"Watch this movie first," Andre beckoned his two friends to sit down.

The three of them sat on a long sofa, watching a movie made by Americans called "Elephant"!

Seeing the movie's introverted and feeble protagonist being bullied by others and just enduring it, Sergey exclaimed with extreme dissatisfaction, "Fight back, idiot!"

Endurance only led to more bullying.

In the film, the two protagonists bought firearms through the internet and decided to make a big move.

Victor clenched his fists forcefully, "That's right, that's what we should do, wipe out all those sons of bitches!"

Andre had been quiet all along. Though he seemed mature and calm on the surface, that impulsive beast within him had already awoken.

As the movie reached its climax, gunshots rang out, with Victor and Sergey cheering along.

Before the movie ended, Andre suddenly turned off the TV and asked, "How did our parents manage to establish themselves when they came here?"

They might not have been involved in their elders' affairs, but they knew a bit of their parents' rags-to-riches story.

Andre didn't wait for an answer, "Our future is already ruined! Our home is gone, our property is gone, and our future is gone too!"

Victor and Sergey both glanced at the turned-off TV.

Andre, appearing to be calm, said, "I want to wipe out all those bastards."

Victor and Sergey looked at each other, almost saying in unison, "Count me in."

Andre took out a set of keys from a nearby drawer, "Remember when that dumbass at school lost his driver's license? I rented a small storage unit with it, and secretly stashed some stuff."

The three went downstairs, bought some food from a convenience store and, under cover of night, drove to a storage rental company, finding the unit Andre had rented.

The storage wasn't large, only about twenty square meters.

Andre turned on the light, pulled down the storage door, and dragged out a wooden box covered with tarpaulin.

Sergey couldn't wait, opened the long wooden box, revealing the firearms inside.

Everything was there, from AR rifles to Glock pistols.

These men had played with guns countless times. They might not boast excellent marksmanship, but they were familiar enough.

Victor picked up an empty magazine and started loading it with shiny, orange-colored bullets.

Andre said, "Since we've decided, there's no turning back. Don't blame me for being ruthless if any of you reconsider."

Sergey grabbed an AR without a magazine, aimed at the wall; with the weapon in hand, his audacity surged. "Tell me, how are we going to do this?"

Andre had already made up his mind, "In a few days, it's Burbank Middle School's open day. Not only will there be large crowds visiting, but Burbank Middle School will have a basketball game with North Hollywood Holle Middle School. All those who mocked us, the basketball team members, and the cheerleader Bi Chi will be there."

Picking up a gun, he took a shooting stance, "By then, we'll settle all of them!"

......

To capitalize on Martin's rising popularity, Warner Bros. launched a personal poster for "The Summer of Jeans" featuring him, even bestowing upon him the title of the male lead.

In the reworked opening credits, Martin's name surpassed the other three female leads, lining up alongside Blake Lively.

Even more exaggeratedly, the producer, Brad, and the director, Capisce, adjusted the post-production editing. In the recut version, Martin's screen time nearly doubled without affecting the storyline.

He didn't have much screen time during shooting; they used almost every shot they took of him.

In the project's cast, the only one who truly qualified as a star was Martin.

The production team also rolled out a poster featuring Martin and Blake as the lead couple, gazing intently into each other's eyes.

If Blake hadn't been underage, the production would have surely released rumors to the media about Martin and her falling in love on set.

The friendship between the four female leads naturally became the focus of the production's promotion.

No matter how many private groups Blake and Aibo set up on MSN, they always appeared deeply united as sisters before the media and public.

"The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" is a youth film, aimed primarily at audiences around the age of 18.

Therefore, the focus of this promotional campaign naturally included the open day event at Burbank Middle School, which Martin and all four female leads were set to attend.