"Jeff, how are the sales of the merchandise?"
On the Pirates of the Caribbean set, Martin, dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow, sat with his legs crossed, talking on the phone. The scene was rather bizarre.
"Very good. The weekly sales of the merchandise have surpassed 25 million dollars. Quite a few of the retail outlets have run out of stock!"
Martin silently calculated in his mind.
Meyers Studios' commission from sales was 30%.
With 25 million, this meant that in just three days, he had earned... 7.5 million dollars.
Of course, that was before taxes.
On the other end of the line, Jeff Raymond continued, "According to the usual sales pattern for movie merchandise, the peak sales period usually comes a week after the movie's release, so this figure isn't the final peak."
"Great, keep monitoring it, and make sure the data collection companies stay on top of it. We can't let anyone suppress the numbers."
"Got it, Martin!"
After hanging up, a bottle of mineral water was suddenly handed to him.
Martin frowned. He usually didn't drink beverages given by others on set, including food.
When he turned his head, he saw Keira Knightley's flushed face and her nervous big eyes staring at him.
Oh, never mind!
He gladly took the water, opened it, and took a sip.
"Not bad, it's quite sweet!"
Keira Knightley immediately smiled, her eyes curving into crescent shapes.
"It's just mineral water. How could it be so sweet?"
"The water itself isn't sweet, but the person handing it to me is sweet, so the water is sweet."
Flattering a beautiful woman was just the nature of a charm demon.
Keira Knightley became even happier and was about to say something to Martin when she saw him suddenly stand up from his chair, looking surprised in a certain direction.
Keira Knightley followed his gaze and saw a black Maybach slowly stopping, with a handsome middle-aged man stepping out.
Keira was about to ask Martin who it was when she saw Martin already heading toward the man.
Who was this big shot?
Curious, Keira Knightley followed.
"Dad, what are you doing here?"
"I can't visit you? Besides, you haven't come home in so many days. Your mom is worried about you."
"Heh, don't worry, I'm fine," Martin said embarrassedly, scratching his head. Recently, he had been so busy with everything that he had neglected his family.
"Wow, your outfit is pretty eye-catching!"
Grant looked at his son's flashy attire, his face painted with smoky makeup, and couldn't help but twitch his lips.
Martin grinned and said, "I had to sacrifice for the role. I always immerse myself in whatever I do."
"Alright, stop bragging! I heard you secretly became a Disney shareholder? Even old man was shocked!"
Grant beamed with pride. He could never surpass his father, but his son was certainly stronger than his own! Ha ha!
"It was just a lucky opportunity," Martin smiled and circled around his father.
"Dad, don't say I'm flashy, you're just as eye-catching with that black windbreaker and sunglasses. You're basically in 'Neo' mode!"
Grant laughed heartily, "The outfit in the movie really suited you. I tried it on, and it worked for me, so I bought one."
"You should have said something. I would've given it to you!"
"Am I some broke guy?" Grant responded proudly before turning his gaze toward Keira Knightley.
As Martin circled his father, Keira did the same around Martin, the three of them like the sun, earth, and moon, making Grant smile.
"Who's this girl? Why is she following Martin around?"
Keira Knightley, unfazed, puffed up her chest (which wasn't really there) and said, "Martin's your son, I just wanted to see what parts of you are similar."
"Oh? What did you notice?"
"You both talk humorously."
Grant laughed loudly, pointing at Keira, "Ha ha, you're funny too!"
Keira Knightley looked disgruntled, "I'm being serious."
"Oh, sorry!" Grant's expression turned serious, "I'm serious too!"
Then he burst out laughing again.
Martin shrugged helplessly and introduced, "This is my dad—Grant Meyers, a guy with a very low sense of humor."
He pointed at Keira to his father, "This is Keira Knightley, someone who is determined to be my wife!"
"WHAT?" Grant froze for a second.
"That's right, I want to be Martin's wife," Keira Knightley puffed up her chest again, with a look of determination.
Grant shook his head, pretending to be serious, "You've got a lot of competition. Let me count—Miranda, Lindsay, Dorothy, Jessica, Scarlett..."
As Grant counted on his fingers, Keira Knightley's face gradually drooped, her expression filled with disbelief as she looked at Martin, looking like an abandoned wife.
Grant stopped counting, his gaze turning to Martin, asking with his eyes, "You've already made a move on this girl? Beast!"
(PS: Keira Knightley was under 17 when she filmed Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.)
Martin also answered with a look, "I swear, I haven't touched her a bit. She's acting! Wait, isn't it actually me who's the younger one?"
Grant responded with a look, "Oh, right, I forgot you're only fifteen!"
With his makeup and fake beard, Martin didn't look fifteen at all. He appeared as if he was a scruffy middle-aged captain!
At that moment, Keira Knightley chuckled, "Mr. Grant, you've been fooled by me! Heh heh!"
Grant smiled. She really was a little girl, younger than his son, yet more immature.
Then he thought to himself—wait a minute, isn't that the normal age? It's his son who isn't normal!
Grant was just there to check in on Martin and briefly discussed the Disney stock matter, staying for half an hour before leaving.
After Martin sent his father off, Keira Knightley's face suddenly dropped, looking like she was about to cry. She looked at Martin with a pitiful expression.
"Martin, is everything Uncle Grant said true?"
"What?"
"You know, about all those girlfriends... is it true?"
Keira Knightley looked at Martin with sorrowful eyes, hoping he'd say it was all a joke.
But Martin thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth. Charm demons had their pride, and they never used deceit to win over others.
"It's true, and there's more than what he mentioned!"