America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 383 Depression and Neurosis

"I'm not a coward, I'm tough!"

Inside the hospital ward, a hysterical scream rang out: "I'm not a troublemaker, I'm Batman!"

Nolan stood outside the ward, listening to Bell's familiar voice, and thought to himself that things were not bad; Bell still knew he was Batman.

Parker looked terrible; Bell had been woken up by another nightmare.

Yesterday, Bale was a little more lucid, and the two talked for a while. Bale felt that all the problems lay with Martin Davis.

But he asked dozens of people in the crew, some of whom were actors or behind-the-scenes staff under the company, and almost everyone thought that the problem lay with Bale himself.

From the moment Martin arrived in Atlanta, he was friendly to everyone on set, while Bale always had a dark expression and would get angry from time to time. After his wife came to visit the set and the two had a falling out, everyone on set had a terrible impression of Bale.

One person might be wrong, two people might be wrong, but surely not everyone is wrong?

Now, even Parker believes that the biggest problem is Bell, and the trigger should be that Hibby wants to divorce him and publicly called him a gay troublemaker, which caused him mental distress.

Parker had read the script for The Dark Knight, and Batman was portrayed as having mental issues. On top of that, he was facing a Joker who was insane and extremely evil. If Bale were to be subjected to these consecutive shocks, it wouldn't be impossible for him to develop some mental problems.

Just then, Bale's roar rang out: "I am Batman, I am the symbol of justice, I will kill the Joker! I will kill that evil Joker!"

The screenwriter who was with Nolan had a recorder with excellent recording quality in his pocket, and he recorded all of Bale's shouts.

Nolan has such a keen sense of smell; he considered turning bad things into good things even before he arrived.

Parker said, "Bale is so immersed in the role that he hasn't broken free of it yet."

Nolan nodded casually and asked, "Didn't his family come?"

"Hiby wants a divorce, she won't be coming." Parker sighed with a headache. "His parents are in England, so they don't see each other very often."

Nolan said, "Let's go see Martin."

The group went up one floor and came to a ward. Nolan stepped forward to greet them: "Old Brooks, I've come to see Martin."

Bruce, who was sitting on the bench by the door, stood up: "Please wait a moment."

Bruce went in, and then a group of people came out of the ward. Nolan saw Jerome, the owner of the largest entertainment agency in the area, and Kelly Gray, the president of Gray Pictures.

They nodded to each other in greeting.

Nolan and Parker went into Martin's hospital room.

But Bruce stopped the screenwriter.

"Old Bu..."

"You just wait," Bruce said, pointing to his pocket.

The screenwriter turned off the recorder, sat down on the bench, and smiled sheepishly: "It's part of the job, please don't mind."

Nolan entered the ward and found that, in addition to Martin and his agent Thomas, there was a beautiful young woman whose demeanor and style clearly indicated she was not from the entertainment industry.

Martin sat half-upright on the hospital bed, looking a little weak, and greeted Nolan: "Director, I'm fine. Thank you for coming."

"Of course," Nolan introduced Parker. "This is Bell's agent."

Martin's expression changed, and he said, "I've already made the biggest concession on this matter—I didn't call the police—and I won't back down any further."

Parker quickly said, "Mr. Davis, I've come here partly to visit you, and partly to express my apologies on behalf of Bell and to discuss how to handle the aftermath."

Martin looked at Thomas: "You go talk to him, I'm feeling dizzy and unwell."

Thomas walked over to Parker: "Shall we talk somewhere else?"

"Okay." Parker got up and followed Thomas out of the ward.

Elena served Nolan some English tea and said to Martin, "It's getting late, I'll head back now. Call me anytime if you need anything."

Martin nodded slightly: "Don't let Hall and Harris come over."

Elena picked up her purse and left the ward.

After the door closed, Nolan said, "Bell is mentally unstable and cannot apologize to you in person."

Martin said, "I heard from old Brooks that Bell is yelling that he wants to kill me."

Nolan corrected, "It was Batman who wanted to kill the Joker."

Martin didn't dwell on it: "I ask myself if I ever provoked him, yet he wanted to kill me."

Nolan asked, "Have you thought about what will happen next?"

"No." Martin appeared completely at ease. "Director, to be honest, I am feeling a little unwell, but it's not serious, and I don't need to be hospitalized for observation. I'm hiding in the hospital room because I want to avoid all the gossip and trouble."

This aligns with Nolan's assessment of Martin's physical condition, stating, "The industry we're in has such high visibility; there's no escaping it."

Martin bluntly asked, "What were the production team's considerations?"

Nolan had already discussed it with Charles Roven, saying, "According to the agreement, the production team has the right to deduct Bale's completion bonus and give you an additional $200 million as a special allowance."

Martin understood that the $200 million most likely came from the completion bonus that Bell had deducted, and the purpose was to shut him up and prevent him from calling the police.

Perhaps he will need to cooperate with others.

Nolan glanced at Martin, and seeing that Martin didn't respond, said, "You can voice your opinions if you have any."

Martin seemed to be thinking about the crew and the film: "I think we shouldn't reveal this to the public casually, in case it has a negative impact on the film's release."

Hearing this, Nolan suddenly felt relieved. Only the director who bears the burden of a $1.8 million investment can truly feel the immense pressure.

Otherwise, why would he personally come forward to talk to Martin about how to turn a bad thing into a good thing?

Nolan said, "The public disclosure of this matter has had a significant impact on the production team. I have discussed it with Charles and Orlin, and I have also spoken with Louise on the phone. We have come up with a preliminary plan."

Martin shifted slightly to sit more comfortably: "I'd like to hear more."

"Because the characters and plot design are so unique, you and Bale put all your energy into the performance, which led to you getting too immersed in the role." Nolan didn't tell the screenwriter this time, but sought Martin's opinion first, since Martin is the core key if it is to be implemented.

Moreover, if Martin disagrees and insists on calling the police, the plan will be useless.

He was careful with his words: "As filming went on, after several months of performances, you and Bale were both greatly affected by the characters' personalities and the scenes you played. Your relationship turned into an adversarial one, like Batman and the Joker. The hostility went from the screen to real life, and eventually, like the Joker and Batman, you fought each other."

Nolan thought for a moment and then said, "The cameraman, out of habit, filmed the conflict between you and Bell. I'll explain some things beforehand: if this is used as the basis for the film, the latter part of the conflict will definitely have to be cut."

Batman getting beaten up by the Joker couldn't be made public, and Martin already knew that.

He paused for a moment, then went straight to the point: "Personally, I think the Joker and I are more suitable as the core of the propaganda."

Nolan was prepared for this: "The Joker is the core of the entire film."

Martin looked like he was carefully considering the matter.

Nolan knew that Martin always had some tricks up his sleeve when it came to publicity and marketing, so he didn't say anything to bother him.

After a long pause, Martin finally said, "Could it be like this? My performance was so outstanding that, in order to maintain that state, I was constantly playing the Joker on set. As a result, Bale was drawn into the role and attacked me like Batman..."

Nolan grasped the essence of the matter, rephrasing it as: "Because your Joker was so outstanding that Bale, immersed in the role, mistook you on set for the Joker in the film?"

Martin, of course, wouldn't give up on what he wanted to fight for: "Yes, that's it. Bale always gets unconsciously drawn into the role by the clowns on set."

Nolan felt this offered even more selling points than he had anticipated, so he simply asked, "What about Bell's side?"

Martin generously shared his joy: "My portrayal of the Joker was so outstanding that it not only drove Batman to a frenzy and caused him to abandon some of his principles, but also put immense mental pressure on the actor who played Batman, leading to some mental health issues."

He smiled and said, "Whether it's depression, neurosis, or other mental health issues, the production team is more professional in this area than I am. They will definitely be able to find the most suitable mental illness for Bale based on his actual situation."

Nolan wanted to laugh, but it didn't suit him; a director needs to maintain a certain level of sophistication, not act like an actor.

He said very seriously, "Martin, you're right. The Joker is too outstanding—flamboyant, evil, insane, and brutal—reaching an insurmountable level. It even profoundly affected the actors who played opposite him. Bale, like Batman, was under immense mental pressure and developed problems. Of course, you also had problems."

"I understand." Martin, who too was tormented by the Joker due to getting too immersed in the role, asked, "Is Bell's condition serious?"

Nolan said, "The crew will find the best psychologists and mental health professionals for him to help him get back to normal as much as possible."

Martin muttered to himself that he had a feeling that if Bale continued to act so eccentrically, it might not be a bad thing from a commercial perspective for the films.

At almost the same time, Nolan, with his keen business sense, also had a similar idea.

A Bale who becomes neurotic due to the Batman vs. Joker showdown is more commercially valuable to the film than a normal Bale.

In the film's conception, Batman is a character with extremely serious psychological problems.

But neither Martin nor Nolan, those two scheming individuals, said a word.

How could a director and actor with such a good public image have such despicable thoughts?

Even if such a situation occurs during the production team's publicity and marketing, it is the publicity department that created it.

On Martin's side, apart from Bruce, nobody knew exactly what he had done.

Nolan was very satisfied with the results of his exchange with Martin, and even more satisfied with Martin himself, feeling that the young actor was exactly to his liking.

The two discussed for quite some time before Nolan took his leave.

There's still no result from Thomas and Parker's side; it'll probably drag on for a few more days.

Martin also realized that the $200 million was not only compensation, but also a publicity fee to buy his cooperation.

Nolan left Martin's hospital room, called his trusted screenwriter, and prepared to visit Bell downstairs while Parker was away.

After going downstairs, Nolan asked the screenwriter, "Where's the miniature camera? Did you bring it?"

The screenwriter patted his bag: "It's right here. Just open it and you can use it."

Nolan thought that similar material would be needed for later publicity. If Bale was fully conscious later, they could discuss it; if he was not, they would try to get the authorization.

He said in a low voice, "Take a picture of Bale in his current condition."

The screenwriter responded, thinking to himself that the director had leveled up so quickly, now using a camera instead of a pen.

(End of this chapter)