I'm building Gundams in America

Upon hearing the undeniable words on the phone, director Josh felt his brain go blank.

What's going on?

He had clearly gone to the Happy Island agency's office that day and met Wayne, producer Victor, and his agent Aaron.

I witnessed firsthand how terrible the agent and producer's attitude was. They completely treated Wayne as a useful tool, and even respected him less than the puppet director.

How come, in just one day, according to producer Victor, Wayne is going to take control of the entire crew?

What happened in between?

"If Mr. Wayne has any requests, you must fulfill them. He is the soul of the entire project now!" Victor's voice trembled slightly with determination, as if something terrible would happen if Wayne's requests were not met.

Director Josh shrugged helplessly and said:

"Okay, Mr. Victor, I understand. You're the boss, you make the decisions."

Victor quickly corrected him:

"No, Director Josh, I think you need to get one thing straight: Mr. Wayne is the boss!"

Turning to look at the mild-mannered Wayne, director Josh shrugged again and said:

"Okay, I understand."

With that, he hung up the phone and said to Wayne:

"Okay, Mr. Wayne, I think things are clear now. You are the boss of the crew, and everything is done your way."

Upon hearing this, all the other staff members present were stunned, their expressions filled with disbelief.

As members of the production team, they knew a little about the producer, Victor.

Knowing that this producer had a very short temper, and could even be described as arrogant and conceited, he was known as the "tyrant on set".

He has always been a stubborn and self-willed fellow.

It is said that Victor was the one who finalized the theme and script for this film project.

How could such an unreasonable guy hand over control of the entire production crew so easily?

It's simply unbelievable!

Josh felt a deep sense of powerlessness at that moment.

If he weren't desperately short of money, with various loans needing to be repaid urgently, and if he hadn't already signed a contract, he would never have taken on this job.

It's already a mess before filming even started; the script and theme have been completely changed. Who knows what it will be like when filming begins?

"So, Mr. Wayne," Josh said cautiously to Wayne, "what exactly is the content of 'Saints Save America'? I think we need to have a direction, don't we?"

“Yeah…” the second male lead said with a frown, “America is the most powerful country in the world, a paradise in the hearts of countless people, a place of salvation chosen by God. What does it need to be saved? If America needs to be saved, then there is almost no place in the world that doesn’t need to be saved.”

Wayne scanned the crowd and slowly said:

"The content of this film is the life you are experiencing right now."

The dozens of people present all looked bewildered, not knowing what this meant.

"In the world's leading superpower, countless people are displaced on the streets. Everyone must fight desperately to survive, or they will be systematically slaughtered by the entire society. Except for a few extremely wealthy and powerful people, behind everyone is a beast that is chasing and hunting them."

"A veteran who fought for his country had to pay for his own weapons, equipment and food on the battlefield, and was discarded like trash after returning home."

"A surgeon who saved countless lives became a homeless man on the streets, starving, simply because he was injured and unable to operate."

"A poor Mexican man whose hometown was destroyed by drug cartels came to the United States only to find that this was the biggest market. The reason why drug traffickers were rampant in his hometown was because the United States had been buying drugs."

"A loyal patriot believed the president's claim that injecting disinfectant could cure the virus, and poisoned himself to death. The source of these viruses was the Fort Detrick laboratory established by the state."

"A conscientious person who couldn't stand Boeing's fraud claimed that he would never commit suicide, but just because he pointed out the fraud, he inexplicably shot himself several times and died in his car the day before the trial."

"And this is the very country that has launched the largest and most numerous wars in the world, turning other countries into hell while making America seem like heaven in comparison!"

"Does such an evil, depraved, weak, hypocritical, foolish, and disgusting country not need saving? Do your lives not need saving?"

As Wayne spoke, many people, including director Josh, nodded subconsciously.

Many of them are in difficult circumstances. In Hollywood, a place of fame and fortune, they may appear glamorous on the surface, but they have much more to maintain than just outward appearances.

For ordinary actors, ill-fitting shoes, out-of-season clothes, and unrefined makeup can all become reasons for workplace bullying and for not being able to find a job.

Even worse, some people might be eliminated during auditions simply because the shoes they're wearing don't sound high-end enough.

The nature of their profession requires them to expend more energy to maintain their dignity.

But being decent costs money.

To earn money to maintain a respectable appearance, and to maintain a respectable appearance, one must spend even more money.

Director Josh felt the same way; his life was also on the edge of a cliff, having lost everything in the industry because of the failure of a film.

Even more tragically, the film's failure was largely due to the interference and misguided guidance from the studio's top management, ultimately leaving the director to bear all the blame.

Just as everyone fell silent, the second male lead snorted coldly and said:

"I disagree with your point of view! America is the city upon a hill in this world, the paradise chosen by God, and we are all God's chosen people!"

"This is God's paradise, Earth's Eden. How could it possibly need any salvation? It's more like it's saving those Eastern countries that can't afford meat and can only eat cats and dogs!"

"Mr. Wayne, I've had enough of your capriciousness and madness. I took the role of Saint Peter because of the subject matter and the script, not to make some 'Saints Save America'! I strongly disagree with any changes to the project; it's against our contract!"

The second male lead who was speaking was named Cole. He was an actor who had recently transitioned from television to film. It was said that he had good relationships with some big shots and joined the "Death of Jesus" project by leveraging his connections in an attempt to make a quick buck.

He then looked at the other male and female actors beside him and appealed:

"Are we all just going to watch Mr. Wayne act like this? The projects we've taken on are incredibly important to our future development! We're here for the roles in 'The Death of Jesus,' not for some bullshit 'Saints Save America'!"

"I'm planning a joint boycott. Anyone want to join me?"

There were more than a dozen actors present, all of whom played important roles in the film "The Death of Jesus".

After all, there are too many important figures involved in Jesus, and these kinds of films are usually ensemble pieces.

These people all came because they received roles.

In their view, Wayne's actions were utterly reckless.

These are completely two different projects.

Upon hearing Cole's appeal, many people immediately became restless.

In Hollywood, actors have a high degree of autonomy even when working on non-top-tier projects.

At that moment, most of the actors present, except for the male and female leads, stood up and spoke:

"That's exactly right. Who changes the theme and script just before filming is about to start?"

"My character is one of the twelve disciples, and I came specifically for this role. If the script were different, I would refuse to participate!"

"This chaotic project is utterly ridiculous. We must unite and report this to the Screen Actors Guild..."

"This is disrespectful to us actors!"

"protest!"

In their view, the casting for the film "The Death of Jesus" took a long time to finalize, and these actors were difficult to replace, mainly because the production team's time cost was too high, and the production team absolutely could not afford to wait.

Wayne, who came to the set for the first time today, suddenly wanted to overturn the original script. It's just too arrogant.

In any case, the production company would not allow Bruce Wayne to be so arrogant and domineering.

As long as they protest, it will be Bruce Wayne, not them, who will eventually be replaced.

Get him out of here!

Seeing the actors stand up, the casting director sitting next to director Josh hesitated for a moment, then also stood up to protest.

The casting director, also known as the assistant casting director, is responsible for releasing casting information, inviting actors, screening works, and narrowing down the candidates.

It's fair to say that all the main actors in the crew now, except for Wayne, were recruited by him.

The sudden change of script did indeed make things difficult for him.

Director Josh gave a wry smile and said:

"Mr. Wayne, it seems everyone... isn't too happy with your suggestion. I think..."

Wayne looked calmly at everyone present and said:

"It seems that none of you who stood up are quite suitable for the movie 'Saints Save America.' In that case, you can go and pay your bills and leave. Of course, if the production team violates the contract, they will also provide you with sufficient compensation as agreed."

Everyone present was stunned by what they saw, unsure whether it was a joke or something serious.

"Mr. Wayne, with so many people... the breach of contract compensation alone will... amount to at least several million dollars..." Director Josh swallowed hard and said, "This is no joke..."

The movie hasn't even been filmed a single scene, and they've already paid out millions in compensation. They really don't treat investors' money like money.

Wayne looked calmly at the astonished actors and said:

"I'm not kidding, you can leave now."