America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 369 Maintaining Ecological Balance

The falling out between brothers, the transformation of love into hatred, satisfies the psychological needs of too many onlookers: there is no real friendship in Hollywood, they are all fake brothers or sisters.

Media reports also revealed that Martin and Nicholson had a long-standing conflict, with the latter once using homemade fireworks to bombard Martin's residence, which even attracted the attention of the LAPD.

The latest issue of Vanity Fair features the Joker from DC Comics on its cover and includes an article analyzing the falling out between Martin and Nicholson.

"Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker has become one of the most classic characters in film history, and it has always been praised. Jack has never been a magnanimous person, and his criticism of Martin Scorsese's Joker is inevitably driven by this mentality: if Scorsese's Joker surpasses his own, wouldn't he lose face?"

Reporters and paparazzi flocked to the entrance of Warner Bros. Studios, surrounding anyone they saw from the Dark Knight crew and asking for their opinions on Martin and Nicholson.

Even before filming began, Martin and the Joker had already stolen all the entertainment headlines.

Nicholson had a blast, so much so that he dressed up as the Joker from the 1989 Batman movie while watching the Lakers' first playoff game of the season.

According to media interpretations, Nicholson was using this method to tell Martin that there is only one Joker in the movie version!

"Look at us, do we lack attention?"

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his Warner Bros. office, Charles Rowan pointed to the dense crowd of reporters at the entrance to the studio complex and said to Orlin, "Even without the production team's efforts, the actors themselves alone have generated enough buzz to grab most of the entertainment headlines."

Orlin, who's been following the gossip lately, said, "The casting of Martin is perfect. What's that Silicon Valley saying again? Right, he brings his own built-in audience!"

Charles Rowan said, "Warner Bros. has been working with Martin for a long time, and he has brought Warner a lot of profits over the years. Judging from the current situation, he can generate even more in the next few years."

Orlin still offered a reminder: "No matter how high the popularity is, the work itself is the key. Without high-quality works to support it, it's all just an illusion."

Charles said, "You saw Martin's performance during the audition, his acting skills are definitely not a problem. What I'm most worried about is Nolan. Can the audience accept such a dark, heavy, and realistic story, where the Joker's role is equal to or even greater than Batman's?

Orlin added, "The script is based on The Dark Knight Returns, a highly acclaimed comic book."

There was a knock on the office door, and Nolan walked in.

Charles asked with a smile, "The crew hasn't been disturbed much, has they?"

"Most of the crew went to Atlanta a long time ago for pre-production; there aren't many people left here." Nolan came with an idea: "The Martin and Nicholson thing is very hot right now, but it's hard to keep it going..."

Orlin asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Nolan's talents extend beyond filming: "Once filming reaches a certain stage, Warner Bros. and DC can invite Nicholson to visit the set and see how Martin's Joker is doing."

Charles nodded: "Okay."

Before Nolan could finish speaking, he suggested, "We can continue to think of ways to work out with Martin Davis and Jack Nicholson."

He suddenly lowered his voice: "Or continue to stir up the conflict between the two and let their verbal battle continue."

Orlin laughed: "Good idea."

With a production cost of $1.8 million, Nolan took on this enormous responsibility, focusing not only on the film itself but also on other aspects.

In the last seven or eight years, there have been far too many good movies that didn't do well at the box office.

With publicity and marketing becoming increasingly important, Nolan added, "I think Martin's ability to generate buzz and create news far surpasses Bale's. Whether in terms of films or publicity, Martin should be the core focus."

He became more and more excited as he spoke: "It's not just the relationship between Martin and Nicholson, but also the relationship between Martin and Bale. They've cultivated a harmonious image in the public eye. But when the film is being shot and their conflicts erupt, we can say in our public relations that they were too immersed in their roles and were influenced by them."

Charles Rowan looked at Nolan with admiration and said to Orlin, "See, I told you so. If Martin is the best marketer among actors, then Chris is the best marketer among directors."

Nolan smiled and said, "You flatter me."

"The huge investment is like a mountain," Orlin said.

Nolan continued, "There's one more thing. I plan to have a member of Jonathan's writing team follow Martin on set the entire time to record his words and actions. I've already discussed this with Martin, and he agrees, but any published reports must be approved by him."

Charles understood Nolan's intention: "Martin is someone who never lacks news to attract public attention." He nodded to Nolan: "Okay, I'll send someone to discuss the matter with Martin's agent."

Orlin laughed. With such a director and actors who knew how to stir things up, the film was sure to attract the attention of passersby.

…………

A van drove into Warner Bros. Studios, circled onto a side road, and stopped next to the warehouse of The Dark Knight Studios.

Lily followed in her newly acquired red Cadillac, parked the car, and ran to the side of the van.

Linda, who was in charge of the handover from the film crew, had already opened the warehouse door.

Lily said, "Manager, all the goods are in the truck; I've moved them all over here."

The production team offered good terms, so she cleared out all the clown sculptures in one go.

She gets a cut of every single one sold.

It was given to Martin, and he didn't earn a single cent.

Lily felt that a solid economic foundation was crucial for her to truly stand up to Martin and her sister Elena and reject the iron fist of their affections.

We need to work hard to make money!

Linda had the goods unloaded from the truck and found that the goods were packed in several large boxes. She opened one of the boxes to inspect them and found that every clown carving was lifelike and could be called a masterpiece.

She looked at Lily and realized that it was no wonder that the sharp carving knife was as nimble as a finger in the girl's hands, able to stab wherever she wanted.

"Supervisor?" someone asked as they approached.

Linda said, "Hurry up and count them, put all the items into storage."

Several workers got to work.

Linda remembered clearly that Lily Carter was a relative of Martin Davis, who was notoriously difficult to deal with in Hollywood. She immediately laughed and said, "Lily, you've sculpted so many!"

Lily recalled the terror of being overwhelmed by a massive amount of Australian bison horns, still feeling lingering fear: "For the past six months since I enrolled, I've spent all my free time practicing. Even my birthday present was a huge pile of carving materials. I... I want to cry."

Linda thought to herself, "What kind of bastard is so cruel as to torture such a beautiful girl?"

She examined the material being carved in her hand carefully and asked, "Where did this raw material come from? It looks good."

Lily, who was very aware of her job-seeking mentality, said, "It looks like an Australian bull's horn."

Linda asked, "Where did you get your goods from?"

Lily didn't dare approach Martin, fearing a brutal crackdown, and said, "Should I ask someone?"

Linda nodded: "Okay."

Lily called Bruce.

A few minutes later, Bruce came over.

Lily gave a brief explanation of the situation.

Linda proactively asked, "Do you have a source for these materials?"

Bruce nodded: "Yes."

"The production crew might need a lot more later." Linda thought for a moment, "Leave your contact information."

Bruce left his business card with Linda, then suddenly remembered something: Martin couldn't exterminate the Australian bison by himself, so he needed to bring in another film crew.

Linda went to assist with the inspection of the goods.

Lily came over and quietly asked Bruce, "Are there many Australian bison?"

Bruce wasn't quite sure either: "They shouldn't... be extinct, right?"

Lily is not an environmentalist and has no interest in protecting animals, saying, "As long as they don't go extinct, that's fine."

Bruce called Martin about the matter.

After a moment's thought, Martin offered a solution: "Hey, Old Brooks, you and Elena and her brother should register an import and export trading company. Harris should know about these things, so let him handle the details. If the film crew needs it, he can supply them with Australian specialties."

The overpopulation of Australian bison and saltwater crocodiles is a boon to maintaining ecological balance.

After hanging up the phone, Martin looked at Kelly and Louise in the office and said, "I just received a call from Wu Maoting in Asia tonight. He doesn't plan to continue investing in our project."

Louise recalled what had happened recently: "Warner Bros. contacted him?"

Martin said, "Yes, Warner Bros. invited him to invest in Terminator 4, making many promises that we couldn't give."

"A promise?" Kelly couldn't help but laugh. "Didn't you tell him that all promises in Hollywood are bullshit?"

Martin shrugged: "I told him, but no one listens. Hollywood has a reputation for being a major player. Wu Maoting thinks that if he can work directly with big companies and cut out the middlemen like us, he'll make more money."

Louise said, "Perhaps. Everyone has their own ambitions, and you can't force them."

Martin nodded: "I'm going to Atlanta soon. Lily's on set, can you look after her for me?"

"Don't worry, leave it to me," Louise said deliberately. "Since we used something made by Lily, we should at least give her some compensation."

She tugged at Kelly: "You slut, am I right?"

Kelly leaned on Louise's shoulder and laughed heartily.

In May, the Dark Knight cast and crew chartered a plane to Atlanta.

Even though most of the staff had gone to Atlanta early on, the plane was still packed with people.

The director of the film crew was a realism fanatic, and the two cargo planes were filled with all sorts of goods.

One of the IMAX cameras was of paramount importance in the transport.

Although Hollywood already has some 3D films, Nolan refused to include The Dark Knight in them.

After arriving in Atlanta, Martin locked himself in his hotel room and devoted all his energy to preparing for the role, without even going to see Elena.

He didn't leave the hotel until two days before filming began, when he met with his old friends in Atlanta.

(End of this chapter)