America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 316 Declaring War on the Trio

With the release of the main poster for "The Departed," the film's promotional campaign has officially begun.

The poster features Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin, and Nicholson standing in a three-way standoff.

The competition for top billing wasn't particularly fierce, and the production team handled it quite reasonably.

Leonardo DiCaprio is positioned on the far left of the poster, and his portrait is the largest, demonstrating his status as the top star.

Martin stands on the far right, his bust is one-fifth smaller than Leonardo's.

Nicholson is about the same size as Martin, but he is positioned behind the two main characters, after all, he is a supporting character.

The two-minute official trailer was also played on a loop on major television stations across the United States, and a version full of profanity appeared online.

Martin's personal blog and the official website of the Cola Cult had already announced the specific release dates of the film in major cities across the United States.

On the Coca-Cola Cult's website, a new trailer featuring Martin's character has been added, recreating the classic scene of a bottle of Coca-Cola exploding in someone's head.

His character, Colin, grabs a can of Coke and fights back when attacked by criminals.

The production team didn't get the millions of dollars in sponsorship from Coca-Cola for nothing.

Martin, Leonardo, Nicholson, and Scorsese split into four groups and frequently attended various promotional events.

Sometimes they would gather together to cheer for the film.

In October, when no major films were released, "The Departed" was undoubtedly in a league of its own.

In mid-September, the main crew members traveled to Toronto.

Unlike European film festivals, the Toronto International Film Festival does not have official awards and is more like a platform for film screenings, promotion, and trading.

Due to its geographical location, this is considered by many American film fans to be the world's largest international film festival.

The world premiere of "The Departed" was held during a film festival.

In the bar of the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, Martin took the drink from the bartender, raised it to Nicholson, and said, "So, we've reached an agreement?"

The two of them just discussed making a big splash on something next year.

Nicholson chuckled coldly: "This is so much fun, I would have participated even if you hadn't invited me."

Leonardo clinked glasses with Martin: "You're a real expert at making a mess of things."

The three of them shared a drink, and Martin pointed to the television hanging from the ceiling: "Look, it's our director being interviewed."

Martin Scorsese was interviewed by NBC this morning and appeared on the news this afternoon.

Most of the content was for promotional purposes, and one section was related to the trio of bastards.

The reporter asked, "Some media outlets have reported that during filming, the three main actors, Martin Davis, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jack Nicholson, formed a trio. Did this group play a positive role in promoting the filming?"

Scorsese's expression was quite strange: "They formed a very strange organization, which did help them build rapport, but more often than not they caused trouble on set, which was a headache."

Martin, looking quite innocent, asked his two companions, "We haven't caused any trouble on set, have we?"

Nicholson and Leonardo both shook their heads: "Absolutely not!"

On television, Scorsese added, "Sometimes, I don't quite agree with them on the roles. They're as stubborn as oxen, and it takes me a lot of time to convince them and reach a consensus."

He emphasized, "And when those three were causing trouble, I think it would have been better to use their salaries to hire a few cows for filming."

The television interview has now ended.

Leonardo asked, "Are we as stubborn as bulls?" He spread his hands. "Aren't we even as stubborn as bulls?"

Martin said in a serious tone, "Great actors definitely have unique insights into their roles."

"Scholes has declared war on our trio!" Nicholson, as the leader of the trio, naturally took the lead when it came to causing trouble: "Leo, Martin, we've dealt with a lot of people, how about we take on Scorsese this time?"

Leonardo pondered for a moment and said, "Director Scorsese is getting old, and his body can't compare to yours. We need to keep it within his limits."

Martin looked like he was seriously considering it.

Nicholson asked, "You're full of bad ideas. Come on, think of something good! The trio is under attack from the director; they have to respond!"

He was a longtime friend of Scorsese for decades and knew what he was doing: "We're going to make Scorsese pay."

"You two bastards, listen to me!" Martin gradually had an idea: "Here's what I'm thinking: as the most troublesome trio in Hollywood, we should respond to the director's remarks, create eye-catching effects, and generate sensational news, which will benefit the production team's publicity. In this way, the production team can reimburse us for any expenses incurred in causing trouble."

Nicholson said to Leonardo, "See? He has the most bad ideas."

Martin asked, "This is my first time in Toronto, and I'm not very familiar with the area. Do either of you know any ranchers?"

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "I know people, I have money, and I have plenty of friends."

Nicholson scoffed, "They're not true friends; they're after your money."

Martin poured drinks for the two of them: "We're the real friends."

Leonardo deliberately feigned a wary expression: "What are you plotting against me?"

Martin patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I definitely won't be after your ass."

"Wait!" Nicholson raised his hand to interrupt the two scoundrels' ramblings: "You've gone off-topic."

Leonardo steered the conversation back on track: "What do you want to do?"

Martin said, "It's simple. The premiere is just around the corner. Should we give Director Scorsese a big surprise at the premiere?"

Nicholson laughed heartily: "Great idea!"

"I agree!" Leonardo, however, had more on his mind: "Martin, is this a publicity plan you conspired with the production team?"

Martin neither confirmed nor denied it, but simply said, "Aren't we known as the strongest trio? If we're going to cause trouble, we should create a sensational, high-profile event. Small-scale skirmishes are meaningless."

Leonardo suddenly remembered something: "After Jack and I left Pinewood Studios, we heard that Emma Watson was hit by firecrackers in the bathroom and peed her pants. Was that you who did it?"

"How could I bully a little girl?" Martin, who considered himself the most virtuous of the trio, said, "I swear, I didn't do it."

Leonardo took out his phone, made a few calls, and urged Martin and Nicholson: "Let's go! We're going to the suburbs. There's a big ranch there, and the rancher is a cousin of one of my exes."

Martin followed him out and said to Nicholson, "Having many ex-girlfriends has its advantages!"

Scorsese's television interview quickly spread that day. Although he clearly used a joking tone during the interview, the gossip media didn't care about that. Entertainment media, which would fabricate conflicts even if there were none, immediately started hyping it up.

"The Infernal Affairs crew is experiencing discord, with major conflicts between the director and lead actor!"

Scorsese criticizes the three lead actors, saying they didn't perform as well as the bull!

"Shocking! Three Hollywood stars are no match for an ox..."

However, TMZ, which was just established last year, went against the grain of various gossip print media and published several photos in a prominent position on the homepage.

Everything is related to the Departed crew. Whether in public or in private, the trio of bastards and Martin Scorsese have a very harmonious relationship, with no signs of conflict.

TMZ is gradually showing its differences from typical gossip media.

Some even call it the internet version of The Sun.

Neither party involved spoke out until the premiere of "The Departed".

The Ryerson Theatre in Toronto is the main venue for the film festival, where film premieres are held.

Because the production team, from the director to the male lead, included top-tier directors and superstars, and given the previous reports of alleged conflicts, a large number of media reporters gathered at the premiere.

Hundreds of people packed the media area.

Film fans attending the festival also listed this gangster film as their top choice, and the red carpet was packed with people.

The followers of the Coca-Cola Cult in Toronto hung up posters of their leader early on, waiting for Martin to walk the red carpet and participate in the world-famous scene of drinking Coca-Cola together.

Director Martin Scorsese arrived, beaming with smiles, completely unaffected by the media reports.

The lead actress, Vera Farmiga, also arrived. As the only heavyweight female face in the main cast, she has also attracted a lot of attention.

Matt Damon, who had missed almost all promotional events, came from London, England to attend the premiere. He kept a low profile, walked the red carpet as if it were a routine matter, neither interacting with fans nor giving interviews to the media.

When the film's marketing and distribution plan was being developed, Matt Damon's team communicated with the production team, wanting to use the character Ding Nan to compete for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but the production team rejected this because their preferred candidate was Martin Davis.

With one of the two leads competing for a Best Supporting Actor nomination, Matt Damon's role had to be dropped.

Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Jodie Foster, who came to show their support, also walked the red carpet.

Fans and media reporters at the scene noticed that the film's three male leads had not yet appeared.

"No way, there really is a conflict?"

"Aren't they going to be attending the premiere?"

The media area was buzzing with discussion, almost erupting into chaos.

On the red-carpeted platform in front of the theater, Robert De Niro approached Scorsese. He was familiar with both Martin and Leonardo DiCaprio. "Really? You really had a falling out with them?"

Scorsese just laughed.

Robert De Niro sensed something was off: "Martin may be a troublemaker, but he's a smooth operator and very good at socializing, not to mention Leo..."

Suddenly, a truck horn sounded, and a van painted with posters of the three male protagonists of "The Departed" drove up from a distance.

Whether they were movie fans or reporters, everyone's eyes were focused on that spot.

The van stopped in front of the red carpet, and Martin, who was driving, got out of the driver's seat first, followed by Leonardo and Nicholson.

The three men went to the back of the vehicle, opened the rear door of the cargo compartment, and a metal plate slid down automatically, creating a ramp between the cargo compartment and the road.

Martin entered the carriage and pulled out a cow!

The entire audience erupted in uproar!

(End of this chapter)