America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 368 Turning Against Each Other

Ever since Martin Scorsese received a special thank you for Best Director at the Oscars, the trio of old, middle-aged and young rascals who messed around together have become infamous throughout North America.

I wonder how many people, like Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale, are waiting to see the trio turn against each other.

Nicholson's scathing rebuke of Martin, which also touched on Warner Bros. and DC Comics' major project "The Dark Knight," immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Martin responded quickly after communicating with the production team.

"Jack's Joker is still a classic. I believe he perfectly portrayed the Joker in Tim Burton's mind. But the Joker in The Dark Knight is completely different from the previous ones. Compared to Jack's version, this version has many more interesting aspects. I am confident that I can play this role well."

Sending out this response was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

Nicholson adopted the air of the leader of the trio, the demeanor of a three-time Oscar winner, and once again began to point and gesticulate.

"Success comes from hard work, effort, and talent. Acting is not just about putting on a beard, wearing a wig, or gaining or losing weight. With my years of experience in the industry, I remind my younger brother that you must accept the truth that you need to work hard."

Martin engaged in a war of words with Nicholson through the media: "You told me that when you encounter difficulties, stop complaining, don't hesitate, muster your courage, and fucking do it!"

Nicholson then responded through the media: "If you're hard, go for it; watch your farts!"

Numerous gossip media outlets offered wild interpretations, all believing that Nicholson was using this method to satirize Martin and tell him to watch his words.

In just two or three days, the war of words between Martin and Nicholson became the focus of entertainment gossip across the United States, with almost all entertainment media paying close attention, and it even made it to the top of Google's trending searches.

The media and the general public not only enjoy prodigal sons returning home, but also enjoy brothers breaking up.

"Martin and Jack's friendship, despite their age difference, is over."

"Because of a clown, the two officially broke off their relationship!"

"The Joker is incredibly powerful. He hasn't even appeared on screen yet, and he's already brought down Hollywood's trio of bastards."

"Beware of the clown; he can break people's hearts."

Extensive media coverage and enthusiastic public attention quickly spread the story of the Dark Knight and the Joker, making them the hottest gossip topic across the United States.

"Did the trio of bastards really have a falling out?"

In the hotel room, Blanchett was also watching the drama unfold, asking Bell, "Are Martin Davis and Nicholson about to break up?"

Bale has been thoroughly enjoying the gossip lately, and said with a laugh, "They're probably going to become enemies."

"Dogs fighting!" Blanchett said angrily. "I really hope they start fighting."

Bell pondered for a moment and said, "Once I officially join the group, I'll have someone secretly sow discord, and maybe we can really make a move."

Blanchett leaned in and said, "That's great."

Seeing Blanchett press against his arm, Bale suddenly took a step back: "And Leonardo, they're all damn bastards."

Blanchett grabbed Bell: "Shouldn't we celebrate?"

Bell felt a lingering fear and a sense of utter distaste when he thought of the sponge that Blanchett had torn apart at Pinewood Studios.

He had lost interest in that: "Well, let's do it another day, I have something to do."

Before Blanchett could reply, Bale broke free from her arm, grabbed his phone, and ran away.

Blanchett retorted angrily, "Useless man."

Bell really had something to do. After leaving the hotel, he went to the Santa Monica Sunshine Hotel to take Heath Ledger to the airport to return to New York.

Brothers are more important than women.

…………

Martin and Nicholson's verbal sparring inevitably spilled over to Leonardo DiCaprio, the other member of the trio.

A reporter went to interview Leonardo.

Leonardo said he would invite Martin and Nicholson out to dinner to discuss the matter.

On an ordinary spring morning, Leonardo DiCaprio arrived at the Los Angeles Country Club first.

There were more than a dozen reporters and paparazzi following him, and more people kept coming from Los Angeles.

Within half an hour, fifty or sixty reporters and paparazzi had gathered in front of the country club.

All the long guns and short cannons were set up.

The most outrageous thing is that two TV stations each sent a TV broadcasting van over.

Not long after, a stretch Lincoln pulled up in front of the club. Jack Nicholson got out, glanced at the reporters surrounding him, and went into the country club.

Seven or eight minutes later, the Cadillac drove through the crowd, and Martin got out of the car expressionlessly, pushing open the club door alone.

"Unfortunately, we can't get in."

"Anyone with an informant at the club, go and find out!"

Reporters all wanted to see Martin and Nicholson fight.

The trio of bastards met in the hall. Martin and Nicholson glanced at each other, neither of them spoke, and both looked very unhappy.

Leonardo said, "Let's find somewhere to talk."

The three of them went into a private lounge.

Several club staff members immediately sent out messages.

"The two were extremely dissatisfied with each other."

"They got angry and almost started a fight."

In fact, as soon as the lounge door closed, Martin burst out laughing: "Fun! So much fun!"

Nicholson said, "It feels fucking awesome to mess with the media!"

"Hey! Hey! Be serious!" Leonardo DiCaprio said, displeased. "Have some professional ethics as an actor, okay? You two are having a fight, about to become enemies!"

Martin sat down on the armchair, crossed his legs, and said, "Leo, do you want to join us?"

Leonardo shook his head and said, "Don't you think the job of mediating is more suitable for me?"

Nicholson countered, "Like the US president mediating between Israel and Palestine?"

Martin laughed: "That's too damn image-building!"

Leonardo said, "There's nothing I can do, I came on too early."

Nicholson laughed too: "You found the later parts even more interesting?"

Martin became slightly more serious: "Didn't Warner Bros. and DC contact you?"

"They're looking for me," Nicholson said mysteriously. "Do you know what they're saying?"

Martin, a master of hype and marketing, could easily guess what Warner Bros. and DC were thinking. He said, "Nolan and Emma Thomas have been fanning the flames in front of me, urging me to retaliate against your attacks. It's not hard to deduce that your old acquaintances at Warner Bros. and DC are definitely making you bombard me even more fiercely."

"You truly deserve to be called the one with the most rotten ideas in the trio of bastards." Nicholson gave Martin a thumbs up: "Those bastards, in order to attract attention and for business interests, deliberately tried to sow discord between us, wanting us to really become enemies."

Martin nodded: "That's normal. This film has a very high budget. Including marketing and distribution costs, it's estimated to be between $2.7 million and $3 million. Without enough buzz, how can it attract people?"

Leonardo DiCaprio pointed out, "Batman is the second most popular superhero in America."

Nicholson, who has starred in Batman movies, understands this clearly: "If a film can't attract enough casual viewers, it's too difficult to make a huge profit. Don't forget, Batman movies have had some truly horrific disasters."

Martin said, "What Jack and I did was partly to attract the attention of passersby."

Leonardo asked, "There's more than that, isn't there?"

Martin revealed some details: "Jack is actually a bellwether. All the negative criticism in the early stages is just paving the way for the evaluation of my character after the film is released. The more harshly he criticizes me now, the more attention will be drawn to the praise later, especially for a superb actor like Jack."

Nicholson retorted, "If you mess up, I won't change my tune; I'll just bombard you even more fiercely!"

Martin had no objection: "Jack Nicholson is a typical representative of Hollywood's acting prowess, and I can't let him joke about decades of reputation."

He didn't seem to be joking: "Jack, if I really mess up, you can bombard me with artillery fire, I absolutely won't fight back."

Leonardo DiCaprio immediately chimed in: "I want to give Martin a blessing, I hope your film and your character both collapse."

Martin was in immense pain, as if making a difficult choice: "I treated you all as brothers, but you treated me as an enemy!"

Nicholson was furious, raising his voice: "Who kicked my ass? Who was it, you bastard!"

The waiter, pretending to be passing by, overheard this and, not daring to linger, quickly moved on.

He turned into a secluded corner, took out his phone, edited a text message, and sent it to the reporters outside: "Martin kicked Jack's ass."

The reporter who received the text message couldn't help but laugh. The two bastards had fallen out, it was confirmed!

In the dressing room, Leonardo glanced at the time and said, "It's about time. You should all leave one after another. Make sure your acting is convincing."

Nicholson said, "Of the three of us here, you're the least reliable actor!"

Martin looked at Nicholson, who had plenty of money and free time and was always finding ways to have fun, and said, "Old Jack, I envy you so much. You have endless things to do and endless fun to enjoy."

Nicholson laughed heartily: "When you get to my age, you'll understand that you have to live life to the fullest. Life is too damn short; you have to live it to the fullest!"

Leonardo said, "You need to have money first."

Martin ignored Leonardo, already in character, and opened the door to leave the lounge first.

Many of the waiters who were watching the scene turned their attention to Martin, and just by looking at his gloomy face, they knew that things were not going well.

Then, the faint sounds of Leonardo and Nicholson arguing could be heard coming from the lounge.

Not long after, Nicholson, who always had a smile on his face, came out of the lounge, but there was no smile on his face at all.

Meanwhile, Martin exited the club.

Reporters and paparazzi swarmed around, loudly asking, "How's your chat going?"

"Have they started fighting?"

Martin raised his head, his sinister expression causing many to instinctively fall silent.

He didn't say anything, got into the car and left.

Before the reporters had dispersed, Nicholson came out, and they surrounded him with questions.

Nicholson casually remarked, "There's not much to say. Young people these days are too arrogant and conceited."

Martin's expression, coupled with Nicholson's words, was enough.

The reporters and paparazzi dispersed to rush back to write their articles.

It's foreseeable that the news of Martin Davis's battle with Jack Nicholson and his kick in the butt will dominate the entertainment pages of various newspapers tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)