America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 376 Stirring Up Trouble

In the Northville neighborhood, a black Cadillac Escalade was parked on the side of the road. Thomas had just gotten out of the car when he saw Martin coming out to greet him.

Mene got out of the car and curiously looked at the house in front of him.

It's not a particularly large detached villa, with a lawn in the front yard and a small garden in the back. The house isn't made of cheap wood, but rather a brick-and-mortar structure.

Martin came to the door and invited, "Let's talk inside."

Bruce parked his car and came over, following at the back of the group.

Upon arriving at the villa's entrance, Thomas was greeted by a beautiful woman in her early twenties who bore a resemblance to Lily Carter.

Martin introduced them one by one: "This is Elena, Lily's older sister, and behind her are Harris and Hall, their younger brothers."

He then introduced Menez and Thomas.

Elena, poised and confident, greeted them and said, "Please come in."

Thomas and Menez handed the gifts they brought to Harris, and then followed Martin and Elena into the living room.

Seeing Hall glancing at him repeatedly, Menne said in a low voice, "Don't you remember me? We met when you visited the set during the filming of 'Wanted'."

Hall nodded: "I've always remembered you because you're known for your fondness for older women."

Menez seemed to have found common ground with him: "Hey buddy, got a girlfriend yet? Want me to teach you a few tricks? Whether it's your female classmate or your female teacher, I guarantee you'll love it after trying them."

Hall didn't believe it and looked at Bruce: "Old Bruce, is he bragging?"

"No, I don't think so." Bruce couldn't lie, so he told the truth: "Mennet does have that ability, especially with women over forty."

Menez said smugly, "Many people pay me to come, but I don't want to bother with them."

Hall pulled him to a small hall next door: "Teach me quickly, there's a teacher here..."

The two went to the side to whisper to each other, while Thomas chatted with Martin and Elena about some interesting Hollywood anecdotes.

Then he got to the point: "David Fincher gave you a specific audition date and invited you to Los Angeles for a dress audition for the film."

Martin replied, "It doesn't conflict with the schedule here. Just give him a direct reply."

Seeing the two discussing work, Elena stood up and said, "I'll go prepare some black tea."

Thomas waited until she was out of sight, then asked in a low voice, "I heard Bell caused a lot of trouble on set?"

Martin said, "Bale is not the kind of actor I am who is content to stay in the mainstream."

Thomas didn't ask any more silly questions about whether it was related to Martin, and simply said, "Just tell me if there's anything I need you to do."

Martin smiled and said, "You take care of things in Los Angeles."

"There's one more thing." Thomas came here partly to visit Martin on set, but also for other work: "Cartier is looking for a global ambassador for its men's watches, and I've made initial contact with them."

Although Cartier isn't a professional watch company, its watches are still top-tier luxury items. Martin asked, "Have they responded?"

"They expressed some interest," Thomas said generally. "We'll have to discuss the specifics later."

Martin nodded slightly: "You're in charge of negotiating; it'll be good if you can secure the deal." He then asked, "Will it conflict with other endorsement deals?"

Thomas confirmed: "There is no conflict."

Harris then brought over some black tea and poured a cup for both Martin and Thomas.

Martin turned around and, not seeing Bruce, asked, "Where's Bruce?"

Elena came up from behind and said, "I went to the small hall at the back with Hall and Mene."

Martin bluntly asked Harris, "Is the Australian bull horn issue resolved?"

After Bruce told him about these things, Martin only paid attention to them at first, and then stopped caring about them.

Harris said with a smile, "Elena, Bruce, Mene, and I jointly invested in an import and export company, acquired the relevant qualifications, and reached a supply agreement with the production team."

Martin knew a little about it, so he stopped interfering.

The business currently only has one client, the Dark Knight crew, but the profits are not low, and it is a considerable income for Harris and his three partners.

Bruce also specifically dragged Menez along; some of the business collaborations within the production team were handled by Menez.

Menez was always adept at verbal sparring.

Menez and Hall emerged from the small hall, arm in arm, looking like close brothers.

Martin asked Bruce, "What did those two do?"

Bruce said, "Menee taught Hall some of his signature moves."

Martin looked at Hall; he had grown up in the blink of an eye.

It seems that when Harris was about Hall's age, he was already tutoring a pair of twins, teaching them diligently and even teaching them under the table.

Elena glanced at the time and offered, "I've prepared dinner. Shall we eat and chat?"

The group then went inside the restaurant.

The following morning, Martin continued filming at the Gray Film Center.

Thomas went to Coca-Cola headquarters to discuss a new endorsement contract with Coca-Cola.

The two sides will sign a brand new global endorsement contract, with Thomas preparing to raise Martin's endorsement fee for GG to tens of millions of dollars a year.

In the studio at the Gray Film and Television Center, the production team held a meeting with producers and directors before filming began today.

Martin was also invited to the meeting because of his crucial role in the Joker's scenes.

Emma Thomas said, "We bought an abandoned candy factory in the suburbs where we filmed the scene where Rachel was blown up. We then painted and renovated the exterior, and from the outside it now looks a lot like a hospital building."

She sent the photos to Charles Rowan and Martin: "In a few days, this place will be completely destroyed."

Martin looked closely at the photo; it showed a very large building.

Nolan said to Martin, "This is the hospital building the Joker is going to blow up."

"That's interesting," Martin said with a smile. "Won't anyone come after us for compensation?"

Charles Rowan added, "This place has been abandoned for many years, there are no residential areas nearby, and we have passed the relevant reviews."

Emma Thomas added, "Go ahead and bomb it."

Martin nodded. "I'm fine."

Nolan gave him a few pages of a brand new script: "I've had the script slightly revised based on the situation on set. Study it carefully, and the crew will film according to the new script."

Martin glanced at it quickly and said, "I'm fine on my end."

The director's requirements did not exceed the contract terms, and the actors performed their duties to a high standard, demonstrating basic professionalism.

Charles Rowan advised, "Emma, ​​contact the Atlanta fire department, just in case."

Emma said, "Everything has been arranged."

The production team received a lot of support, including tax refunds from Georgia and full cooperation from Atlanta.

The meeting ended in less than ten minutes, and the group went into the photography studio to begin today's shoot.

After a short rest and adjustment, Bale returned to the film crew.

Martin went over to greet him and said loudly, "Hey Bell, I heard you've run into some trouble. If you need any help, just let me know. This is Atlanta, maybe I can think of something."

Hearing these well-intentioned words, Bell stared at Martin with wide eyes, his bloodshot eyes filled with suppressed anger and ruthlessness.

Because Bell felt that this bastard was clearly mocking him.

With a large crew, many people heard Martin's words and, seeing Bell's fierce gaze, their opinion of him plummeted once again.

"Get away! Get away from me!" Bell's words were squeezed out from between his teeth, harsh and unpleasant: "Stay away from me, and don't pretend to be a good guy in front of me!"

The white face paint on Martin couldn't hide the injustice radiating from him: "I'm pretending to be a good guy? Hah..."

He shook his head, smiled, and turned to leave.

Bell glared at Martin like a mad wolf.

Suddenly, murmurs arose from the surrounding area.

"How can this person be like this? He did something terrible and then took it out on others."

"Martin meant well, and he not only doesn't accept it, but he's also acting like this!"

"Exactly. Compared to Martin, he's less capable, has a bad temper, and acts like he's so great."

Bell turned his head in the direction of the sound and found a few extras from Atlanta whispering among themselves, which made him furious.

But considering that director Nolan had been very dissatisfied with him these past few days, he swallowed the profanities that were on the tip of his tongue.

Bell took a sip of water and shook his head vigorously, suddenly realizing that there were no good people in this film crew!

Even Morgan Freeman and Maggie Gyllenhaal spent a lot of time hanging out with Martin Davis.

The sarcastic and mocking remarks didn't completely disappear until filming began.

Bale's angry state did not affect filming, because most of the remaining Batman scenes were after he was provoked by the Joker.

As filming scene after scene continued, that pale face was always smiling in front of Bale, a wild and unrestrained smile that made Bale want to punch it hard.

During a break, Morgan Freeman sat down with Martin again and said, "I've been making movies for decades, and The Dark Knight crew is the most interesting one I've ever worked on."

Martin grinned. "Really? Even more fun than film crews from the 70s and 80s? I heard they had even more elaborate games back then."

"It's different," Freeman said after a moment's thought. "Back then, actors were actors, and directors were directors."

He gestured towards the monitor with his eyes: "Look at this crew now, the director doesn't act like a director, and the lead actor doesn't act like a lead actor."

Martin agreed: "So, Morgan, this is the new era of film crews. Filming is only a small part of the job; the rest is the key to a film's success."

Freeman shook his head slightly: "I'm too old to understand." He pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps in the future, directors like Nolan will become the mainstream in Hollywood."

Martin asked, "Why?"

Freeman said, "Because whether a movie can be a box office hit, the hype, the marketing, and the marketing have become more important than the movie itself."

(End of this chapter)