America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 445 Original Flavor

On Monday, Martin, Nolan, and Charles Rowan entered the Warner Building together from the underground parking garage and took the elevator upstairs.

The three of them stepped out of the private elevator, where Warner's president's assistant, Marissa, was waiting to greet them.

The moment the elevator doors opened, she strode forward, shook hands with each of the three people exiting the elevator, and said with a smile, "Barry and Allen are waiting for you."

Charles said, "Let's go over there."

Martin and Nolan nodded and followed them out of the elevator.

The door to a meeting room opened from the inside, and Warner Bros. CEO Barry Mayer and Warner Bros. Studios President Alan Horn came out to greet them.

"Welcome to our director who created a box office miracle!" Barry Mayer's enthusiasm was more like that of a fan than the head of a major company.

He first shook hands with Nolan, then shook hands firmly with Martin: "And the male protagonist who created a myth."

Martin laughed and said, "The script and characters were well-written, and Nolan gave me guidance, which enabled me to bring the Joker to life."

Alan Horn chuckled and replied, "Martin, you've already made your mark on film history. In the future, anyone or any media outlet talking about the most iconic villains in film history will inevitably mention the Joker and your name."

Martin shook hands with him. Warner Bros. had also invested in "The Dark Knight." Faced with huge commercial profits, all the unpleasantness between the two in the past vanished.

Just like in sports, as long as you keep winning, no problem is a problem.

After making some pleasantries, Barry got straight to the point: "Chris, I heard from Charles that you have a new project?"

"I had this idea before I even started filming 'The Dark Knight,' an original project." Nolan is well aware that big-budget original projects aren't popular in Hollywood, but he's now confident: "It combines elements of science fiction, adventure, action, and suspense, and the investment could be over $1.5 million."

If an ordinary director were to talk about an original, big-budget project here, Barry and Allen would immediately send the guests away, but Nolan is different.

Nolan kept adding weight to the deal: "Jonathan Ive is still writing the script, and Charles Ive is producing!"

He then stated the most significant point: "Martin will play the male lead!"

With Nolan directing and Martin Scorsese playing the lead role, Barry felt that such an original science fiction project was not impossible.

The combined appeal of these two should be quite strong.

The Dark Knight's $1.72 million opening weekend box office is truly convincing.

Alan Horn interjected, "Why not hand this project over to Warner Bros.? I'll figure out how to raise the funds." He felt he'd found the key: "Chris, I only have one requirement: Martin must play the male lead!"

Nolan looked at Martin as if Juliet had seen Romeo: "I don't recognize any of the other actors except Martin."

What could Martin say? He could only smile at the two of them.

A movie that becomes a box office smash has a powerful ripple effect.

…………

A small ferry terminal in Manhattan, New York.

Leonardo and Scorsese got out of the car, ready to take one of the oldest old ferries to Roosevelt Island to visit the long-abandoned mental hospital.

"Hey buddy, wanna become a clown?" someone shouted. "Only ten dollars!"

Leonardo looked in the direction of the sound and saw a series of pale faces with blood-red mouths painted on them.

He recognized the look; it was the Joker played by Martin.

A balloon vendor walked by, holding a red balloon in his hand and dressed as a clown.

Leonardo couldn't help but exclaim, "So many clowns!"

Scorsese said, "The character of Martin has had a huge impact; he's become a phenomenon."

Leonardo sighed, "This guy has something to brag about to me now: $1.72 million at the opening weekend!"

Suddenly, two assistants came over, pulled Leonardo and Scorsese into the car, closed the doors tightly, and the driver started the car to look into the distance.

However, a robbery occurred at a convenience store on the side of the old dock.

Leonardo looked out the car window and saw the robber running out of the convenience store. The guy's face was painted deathly white with a huge, blood-red mouth on it; he looked exactly like a clown!

"Martin's influence is fucking enormous!" Leonardo couldn't help but exclaim. "Even robbers are dressed up as clowns!"

Scorsese also observed: "Film has an impact on reality."

Leonardo DiCaprio, as one of the trio of scoundrels, couldn't help but gloat: "Martin's fanbase is about to be expanded to include a whole bunch of scumbags."

Scorsese suddenly turned to his own work: "Leo, you need to show Martin's spirit."

Leonardo scratched his head. "Sigh, I never thought I'd be outdone by Martin Scorsese." He asked, "If nothing unexpected happens, The Dark Knight should be this year's box office champion, right?"

With the release of The Dark Knight, Batman has once again shone brightly, but the Joker's influence is even greater.

Not only has the clown become the first choice for many people to get face painting, but many robbers and freeloaders have also painted their faces with clown paint, as if it could give them confidence to carry out their mission.

Negative voices were inevitable; The Washington Post pointed out that the clown could trigger a crime boom.

But Hollywood has never cared about such voices, and similar criticisms rarely have a substantial negative impact on films.

For example, when The Matrix was a hit, there was a boy who killed his parents because he believed he was living inside the Matrix.

Meanwhile, The Dark Knight continues to break box office records.

This film grossed over $200 million in North America in just four days, breaking the record for the fastest film to reach $200 million.

…………

Sherman Oaks, Coty Community.

In the past few days, Martin's house has been surrounded by numerous reporters, paparazzi, and fans.

Countless young people with their faces painted like clowns wandered around the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite movie stars.

Toni was one of them.

Although she was a girl, she was captivated by the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Over the past weekend, Tony went to the cinema three times, contributing movie tickets to The Dark Knight and The Joker.

In just three days, she also formed a clown sisterhood.

These blonde girls were all tall, sexy, and alluring.

Today, Toni brought them to the house across from Martin's.

Wearing red Coca-Cola T-shirts and with their faces painted white like clowns, the girls, led by Tony, got out of their cars and gathered together.

Upon seeing the fans and reporters gathered outside Martin's house, Toni shouted, "Sisters, let's express our love!"

Another girl, Elsa, replied, "Let Martin know that we love him, we love the Joker!"

A dozen or so girls puffed out their chests and swayed their hips, performing a zombie machine gun dance.

They quickly attracted the attention of reporters and paparazzi, who immediately turned their cameras towards them.

Toni shouted, "Listen to me, one, two, three, pull!"

A dozen or so girls, dancing energetically, simultaneously ripped open their tops, revealing a large expanse of snow-capped mountains and a line of words written on them.

"I love the Joker, I love Martin!"

Tony shouted first, "I love Martin! I love Martin!"

The other girls joined in the shouting.

This shout had a ripple effect, prompting other movie fans to join in: "I love Martin! I love Martin!"

Suddenly, a Latina woman ran out from among these young people, holding up a poster of a minor character from The Dark Knight, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "I love Menez! I love Menez!"

Unfortunately, she was alone and isolated, making it difficult for her to attract attention.

The fans' voices were so loud that they spread throughout the entire Coty community. Many residents who were initially just observing the situation became seriously dissatisfied and called the community council.

Suddenly, several reporters and paparazzi quietly moved to the side of Martin's house because they discovered a large bag of garbage rolling out of the garbage chute.

The sharp-eyed Toni also noticed this. She hastily threw on her coat and called out, "Sisters, come with me quickly. If we're lucky, we might get some of Martin's belongings or clothes."

A dozen or so girls picked up their clothes and ran in that direction.

Toni reminded her companion, "The key is used condoms. I'll pay anyone who can find them $2000!"

Elsa asked, "What do you need a used condom for?"

"Try Martin's flavor!" Tony exclaimed, her face filled with fascination. "If we're lucky enough, maybe we can even have a child with Martin, so Martin's bloodline will be with me forever!"

Hearing these words, the other girls felt secretly ashamed. None of them liked Martin as much as Tony did, nor could they do what Tony did.

A dozen girls rushed to the trash can like madwomen, pushed aside the reporters and paparazzi rummaging through the garbage, grabbed the newly dropped bags of trash and ran.

Toni shouted, "Quick! Quick! Let's find a place to sort them again!"

The reporters and paparazzi, caught off guard, didn't give up and quickly gave chase: "Don't run! We spotted them first!"

Seeing the girls about to reach the car, one of the paparazzi, quick-witted, shouted, "Don't let them get away! Martin's personal belongings are inside!"

Someone else shouted, "I saw two socks, definitely original!"

These words immediately stirred the interest of many people, and some of them immediately took action, rushing forward to grab the prize.

The already chaotic scene became even more chaotic.

However, before things could completely descend into chaos, vehicles from the Koti Community Committee arrived alongside police cars.

Several LAPD officers got out of their vehicles to stabilize the situation before dispersing the crowd.

Harold, the chairman of the community council, is also having a headache due to the large number of people gathering these past two days.

Behind the iron gate, Martin sat in front of the attic window, with sunflower seeds and cola in front of him, enjoying them immensely.

Bruce tidied up the sunflower seed shells on the table and reminded Martin, "Did you see that? Those girls are going crazy grabbing at the trash we threw away."

Martin asked, "Is there anything sensitive inside?"

Bruce said, "Besides household garbage, it's just the clothes we throw away."

"That doesn't matter," Martin emphasized. "Used condoms should be disposed of properly from now on."

Bruce deliberately teased him, saying, "Fine, you don't need it."

Martin saw the community council chairman walking towards the gate and said, "Harold is coming. Let's go see him."

(End of this chapter)