Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Giving You a Little Star

Beverly Hills, Jody rode her motorcycle to the main entrance of the Hilton Hotel and stopped by the flower bed.After removing her helmet, she picked up her camera and just happened to see Martin and Annie step out of the car and walk into the hotel together.

Jody instinctively pressed the camera shutter and thought to herself, "Don't come out, the lovebirds are going to spend the night together!"

These paparazzi were more anxious for gossip news than the people involved.

She waited for more than half an hour, but Martin never came out.

Jody found a spot to sit and while waiting, she pondered how to write up the gossip.

Soon, she came up with a suitable headline: Martin Davis holding hands with Hollywood princess Annie-Hathaway, this is what true love looks like...

Jody was a dedicated paparazzo, not only taking photos but also running a gossip column on an entertainment website. Seeing that the person wasn't coming out anytime soon, she pulled out a pen and notebook and started to write under a streetlight, following her previous train of thought.

Hardworking people will always be rewarded.

After a while, a tall figure suddenly blocked the light above her head.

Jody hurriedly closed her notebook, to avoid her peers stealing her ideas, and looked up to see Bruce's vile face.

"What do you want?" she asked.

Bruce didn't speak, just gestured with his finger.

Jody packed up her things and followed Bruce into a sedan.

On the way, she thought about turning on her voice recorder.

Bruce said, "You can go back, I'll find someone else."

Jody took out her voice recorder and under Bruce's gaze, disassembled it into parts.

Bruce opened the car door and got in.

Jody took the passenger seat.

Bruce pulled out a memory card, placed it on the armrest between them, and said, "Photos of Martin and Annie at the hotel."

He had taken them himself.

Jody nodded, picked it up, and put it away, then leaned towards Bruce with her hand heading straight for his pants' zipper.

Bruce glanced at her bland, prone buttocks, and felt no stir of emotion. He pushed Jody back, "Don't corrupt a good man like me with those dirty tricks of yours, I won't be tainted!"

Jody stood up, looking at Bruce, feeling inexplicably more noble than the man across from her, "What do you want?"

Bruce wasn't too demanding, "A hundred US dollars for your trouble, and the article you write must be favorable towards Martin."

Jody pulled out all the cash she had on her, stuffing it into Bruce's hand, "I will."

Bruce counted it, only over eighty US dollars, but he didn't fuss, "Martin won't come out until eight o'clock tomorrow morning, go home and get some good sleep."

Jody got out of the car and walked to her motorcycle, put on her helmet, and returned to her rented house, but didn't immediately go to bed. Instead, she stayed up all night writing, combining her own photos with those provided by Bruce, and published them on her website column.

There were still plenty of photos left, so she called a paper media she collaborated with and sold the photos to them.

In the early morning, Laura got up and picked up her camera, waiting by the door, peering through the peephole to watch what was happening in Annie's room across the way.

Having returned from Griffith Observatory the night before, Martin stayed in Annie's suite.

In the middle of the night, Annie snuck over, sweet yet tired, claiming she was exhausted from Martin's enthusiasm and needed to hide out for a little halftime break.

There was a movement from that side, Laura opened the door slightly, stretched the camera lens out, and aimed at the room. Sёarᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

She had practiced several times the night before, and it was now second nature.

The door to Annie's suite opened, and Martin came out from inside, with Annie in her pajamas rushing to the doorway after him.

One inside and one outside, they first gazed at each other tenderly, then passionately kissed.

Laura pressed the camera shutter, capturing a series of photos.

Martin held Annie's hand, "There's work at the studio, I can't stay with you any longer, take care of yourself."

Annie leaned in once more and kissed Martin on the face, "Work is important."

After all, his work was tied to her future.

"Last night was too hurried." Martin looked apologetic, "I wasn't prepared either."

Annie's cheeks flushed appropriately, "You... you did very well, it was perfect."

Martin smiled, "I'll prepare a special gift for you later."

Surprised, Annie asked, "Really?"

Martin nodded, "Of course, a surprise." He glanced at his watch, "I have to go now."

Annie leaned against the doorframe, watching Martin looked back three times before entering the elevator lobby.

A surprise? What kind of surprise could it be? Annie couldn't help but speculate: A luxury car? A beautiful diamond? Or a complete set of luxury jewelry?

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The door across the hall opened, and Laura peeked out, waving the camera in her hand.

Annie gestured to her to hurry up and get on with it.

Laura went back into her room and started making calls to the entertainment media and paparazzi, ready to sell photos of Martin leaving Annie's room.

Annie closed her door, picked up her phone, and called her agent Maha, updating her on the latest progress with Martin.

"I'll talk directly to Martin's agent," Maha said.

Just as a marriage on the other side of the Pacific isn't just about the two people involved, two stars coming together isn't just between the two of them either.

Meanwhile, Martin went downstairs, called Old Cloth, came to the hotel entrance, and Bruce just happened to drive up,

Martin got in the car and said, "To Warner Bros. Studios."

Bruce drove away from the hotel and simply said, "On the internet, in the entertainment press, there's a lot of news about you and Annie, and it's really heating up."

Martin asked, "What's the reaction on the blogs?"

"Your fans are discussing it with great enthusiasm, thinking you and Annie make a perfect match," Bruce had paid special attention that morning: "It's attracted a lot of Annie's fans, very lively, basically telling you to treat Annie well."

Martin had anticipated this; fan culture differed across the Pacific, with star relationships not having as much impact on fans.

Of course, there were still crazy, brainless fans.

Bruce continued, "Thomas called you, but your phone was off, so he called me instead. He said to keep up the good rhythm with Annie, extend it from a week to ten days, and ideally till 'The Hills Have Eyes' releases. If even a small fraction of the heat converts to market data, you stand to make a killing."

Martin nodded slightly and took out his phone to call Thomas.

After connecting, he briefly said a few words, bringing up an important matter, "Annie's agent Maha wants to meet with me, she mentioned it to you."

Martin said, "Annie told me about it last night, go talk to Maha."

Last night, Annie had simply mentioned that their relationship was getting a lot of attention, and her talent agency had spoken to her. If she and Martin were to be together, there were some things that needed to be negotiated.

Martin, of course, agreed.

Just after hanging up with Thomas, Daniel from Warner Bros., who was responsible for the promotion of 'The Hills Have Eyes,' called to specifically discuss how the romance could effectively increase the exposure of 'The Hills Have Eyes.'

The seemingly simple romance tangled with all sorts of interests.

Bruce was numb to it: "This crappy circle, one pile of shit connected to another."

But Martin said, "Fundamentally, it's no different from the arranged marriages of political families."

Bruce remembered something, "Like Schwarzenegger marrying into the Kennedy family."

Martin asked, "I'm planning to give Annie a special gift, what do you think is good?"

"What does she like? I think she's definitely interested in jewelry, luxury cars, and high-end goods," Bruce brought up an old topic: "Give her a big diamond. I heard there are man-made ones that are more beautiful and purer than natural ones."

Martin shook his head, "That's too commonplace, let me think... Ah, how about giving her a star?"

Bruce didn't want to talk to this guy anymore.

Martin, always a man of action, did as soon as he thought of it, and pulled out his phone to call Harris, "It's me, Martin. Get me a star that's easy to observe, name it Annie-Hathaway, yes, that princess. Make the star map and certificate exquisite, use the highest quality materials, right! It has to be high-end, classy, and reflect high taste, send it to me after you make it."

Harris agreed right away.

Martin easily solved the gift issue, it was romantic and not cliché.

If this time it's a star, next time it could be real estate, as he had previously discussed lunar development with Harris.

It was on a whole different level compared to those who gift seaside villas on a whim.

After all, one is in the sky, and the other on the ground.

Arriving at Warner Bros. Studios' 'The Hills Have Eyes' workshop, Martin attended another promotional meeting for the film.

Since the preview screenings for theater managers were well-received, and with the lead actor Martin's popularity, the previous film's success, and Wes Craven's golden endorsement, 'The Hills Have Eyes' was expected to open in around 3,300 theaters across North America.

Additionally, the wax museum attraction would end around January 20th, 2005, at which point Warner Bros. would release the DVD. In the DVD copies being pressed, they included an advertisement for 'The Hills Have Eyes.'

Martin then followed Craven and Aga into the producer's office.

Craven grabbed some documents and handed them to Martin, "Take a look, newly printed confidential materials."

Martin sat down and carefully examined the documents in his hands. The paper appeared slightly old, stamped with a red "Confidential" seal, and the header featured the insignia of the United States Atomic Energy Assessment Agency.

Aga was also looking, "It won't cause any trouble, will it?"

Craven smiled, "No worries, it just looks similar, there's no such agency in reality, we made it up."

Martin remembered a common saying in Hollywood, "As long as you don't mess with the IRS, go ahead and spoof any other department or agency."

"Exactly," Craven said, "These are just trivial, no one will care, and we're not purely making fake news. The movie poster and the first advertising edition have already been released. The public will soon make the connection to the film promotion."

Aga asked, "Viral marketing?"

Craven simply said, "A type of viral marketing, an idea of Martin's. These past months, all the fuss about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction during the elections caused media Split, including whistleblowers claiming Iraq only had laundry powder."

The crew and Warner Bros. took Martin's idea, also in tune with the current social climate, "The public is particularly focused on weapons of mass destruction right now, let's add fuel to the fire."

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