America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 507: Problems with the Action Scenes

Los Angeles, Santa Monica Commercial Plaza.

In the large lounge, Bell sat alone, looking somewhat dazed.

A knock sounded at the door, and the agent reminded from outside, "The event will start in fifteen minutes."

Bell snapped out of his daze and replied, "I know."

The upcoming event is a very important promotional roadshow for "Terminator Salvation".

Santa Monica Commercial Square is the setting for classic scenes from the Terminator series, where John Connor first encountered the T-1000 and T-800.

Therefore, the first promotional event after the film's North American release was arranged here.

Bale, however, was not in a good mood because the North American box office was only $4225 million in its opening weekend!

Compared to Martin Davis's new film after "The Dark Knight," its opening weekend box office doesn't seem to be much lower.

But the $2 million investment versus the $4000 million investment, the PG-13 rating versus the R rating, and the difference in promotional and distribution scale...

A complete and utter defeat!

Bell was overshadowed by Martin in The Dark Knight, and originally hoped to turn things around with his new work and overshadow Martin.

But while the idea was good, reality was harsh.

Bell checked the time, suppressed his discomfort, and walked out of the lounge, heading down the corridor to the event venue.

As soon as he stepped onto the stage, before the host could even speak, boos and shouts erupted from the audience.

"Are you filming Terminator?"

"This piece of garbage has tarnished the name of Terminator!"

"Christian Bale, you don't deserve to be a savior!"

"Get off the stage! Nobody likes your lousy movies!"

"You don't deserve to stand here!"

Many of the people who came today are die-hard fans of the Terminator series, and they love the series to the extreme.

These people love the first two Terminator movies as much as they hate this one.

In the 1990s, Arnold Schwarzenegger stood on this stage and began promoting Terminator 2.

The reception of Terminator Salvation was so bad that even fans of the series denied that it was a Terminator movie.

"Get off! All of you, get off!"

When fans get crazy, they become completely unreasonable. Some people throw their Coke cans onto the stage, making a loud clattering sound.

Bale's face was unusually grim. The film's failure had already put him in a bad mood, and this scene only made him angrier.

He has never been a good-tempered person.

During the filming of "Terminator Salvation", a cinematographer made a mistake and casually chatted with Martin, which caused Bale to lose his temper and berate the cinematographer for more than 2018 minutes on set. Even the director and producer couldn't stop him.

With a loud bang, a Coca-Cola bottle smashed on the edge of the stage, the shattered bottle spilling liquid that landed near Bell.

Bell turned around and walked straight off the stage without a moment's hesitation.

Bryce Howard, standing next to Bell, was bewildered, unsure whether to follow him.

The audience erupted in uproar. Paparazzi and reporters went crazy, scrambling to the stage exit to interview Bale.

There were too many people and it was too chaotic; the security barriers that the guards had set up were teetering on the verge of collapse.

Bell strode off the stage.

A reporter from TMZ, adhering to the principle of creating news where there is none and creating sensationalism where there is none, reacted with lightning speed, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Bale, doesn't the failure of 'Terminator Salvation' prove one thing? The huge success of 'The Dark Knight' was due to Martin Davis, not you!"

The scene was chaotic, but all the words reached Bale's ears. He suddenly stopped and stared coldly at the reporter.

The reporter continued, "Martin's new film made a fortune on a small budget, while yours? Your new film, in which you starred, suffered a major loss!"

A reporter followed up: "The Dark Knight brought you star power, but did you benefit from Martin's fame?"

Another reporter's microphone pierced through the security barrier: "Bear, don't you think you're overrated?"

Bell forced himself to turn back and walked forward step by step.

A reporter's question came from behind: "Your silence is an admission, right?"

Bell said nothing and quickly left the roadshow venue.

The male lead left early, and the promotional tour ended abruptly.

The next day, the Los Angeles entertainment media unanimously attacked Bale, saying that he was overrated and that was being too kind; some even went so far as to call him box office poison.

Praising one while belittling another is a trick the media excels at. The American media naturally favors Martin, and at this moment, they seized on Bell's mistake and launched a vicious attack.

An angry Bale subsequently announced via social media that he was withdrawing from the post-screening promotions for "Terminator Salvation".

This action was taken without prior consultation with Warner Bros., and Warner Bros. was extremely angry with Bell.

Many Warner executives immediately blacklisted Bale from working with actors.

…………

In June, filming for Inception officially began at Astra Studios.

Nolan initially filmed all the scenes indoors.

Given Martin's own characteristics, the production team slightly enhanced the action scenes, but of course, they wouldn't turn Martin's character into a killer like Jonathan.

In the film set, which was set up like a Japanese palace, Martin went on a killing spree with a pistol in hand. Amidst the banging of gunshots, he easily took down several black-clad gunmen and then shoved another one away with his shoulder.

"Stop!" Nolan shouted, halting filming.

Martin stepped forward and helped the stuntman, who was wearing protective gear under his suit, to his feet, asking, "Are you alright?"

"It's okay, it's okay." The stuntman was working with Martin for the first time and didn't expect such a big star to be so nice.

Martin patted him on the shoulder and looked at Nolan who was walking over.

Nolan said, "The action scenes are a bit off."

Martin put away the prop pistol and asked, "Was my positioning wrong, or were my movements not smooth enough?"

Nolan famously gestured and said, "Your movements are too clean and crisp; your skills on camera are too good."

Martin asked, "Is being good at fighting a problem?"

As Nolan spoke, his understanding in this regard became clearer, so he called Martin over to the director's monitor to watch the footage that had just been shot.

In the footage played, Martin is like a tiger descending the mountain, swift and powerful.

Nolan pointed out, "Do you see the problem?"

Martin gradually understood and nodded slightly: "My makeup and blocking are fine, and the dialogue scenes are fine too. The problem is with the action scenes. My movements are like those of another Jonathan."

"That's right," Nolan emphasized. "Martin, you're Cobb now, not Jonathan. You're a dream thief with considerable fighting skills, not a super assassin."

Martin took all of these words to heart.

Nolan said, "Tone down your action scenes a bit, make the character less skilled than you are."

Martin nodded. "I understand."

"This isn't just your problem; the action director and I misjudged it." Nolan hadn't expected Martin's skills to be even stronger than he'd imagined. It was probably because he'd just played Jonathan and still retained some of his old habits, making him appear exceptionally sharp on screen.

Other film crews face numerous challenges when shooting action scenes, as the actors' skill level falls far short of the role requirements.

With Martin, the actors are expected to be a bit slow and less sensitive.

Nolan called in the action director, paused filming, and together with Martin, the three of them discussed adjustments to the action scenes.

Most importantly, Martin's fighting ability cannot be much higher than that of the supporting male character Menez, or even about the same.

Menne trained his body by playing with guns with Martin, and by taking him out, Martin had a clear standard of measurement.

Filming resumed, but Martin slowed down, and his movements became less crisp and sluggish.

Nolan still insisted on practical effects, avoiding CGI whenever possible. Including this Japanese palace building, almost all the scenes in the film were built as real sets.

After finishing work in the afternoon, Martin removed his makeup and went with Nolan to another studio.

Menez is training here for a crucial action scene.

The script includes a fight scene in a dream corridor, which will be presented in a rotating manner.

To achieve the desired filming effect, Nolan hired a physics professor from Morocco and spent a huge sum of money to build a massive centrifuge.

This is a piece of equipment frequently used in Hollywood for filming space and weightlessness scenes, but it hasn't been used for many years. After the cost of CGI special effects decreased, this thing became both expensive and time-consuming.

It's only because Nolan, the master of practical effects, just created the brilliant success of "The Dark Knight" that the insurance company's completion guarantee would be such a difficult hurdle.

When Martin arrived, a huge centrifuge made of steel was spinning.

This thing is over ten meters tall and nearly forty meters long; it looks quite astonishing.

The rotating corridor used for filming, fixed in the center of the centrifuge, is where Menez and several stunt performers are training.

An old man, accompanied by an assistant, is monitoring the operation of a centrifuge using instruments.

Nolan Chong made a gesture, and the assistant director informed the actors inside that the centrifuge slowly stopped.

Martin followed Nolan.

Nolan introduced Martin: "This is Professor Modicay from the University of Casablanca, an outstanding physicist."

Martin was a poor student, but he respected knowledgeable people and took the initiative to shake hands: "Hello, Professor."

Professor Mordecai, with a completely bald forehead and a remarkably large nose, was very enthusiastic: "My daughter is a fan of yours. Could you perhaps give me an autographed photo sometime?"

He said with a smile, "I'm helping an elderly father fulfill his daughter's wish."

Martin readily agreed: "No problem, I'll have someone deliver it to me once it's ready."

"Thank you," Mordechai said, turning to the large centrifuge he had overseen the construction of, and said, "This kind of equipment shouldn't be dismantled and disposed of as garbage after filming. Director Nolan, could I disassemble this equipment and take it back to Casablanca after filming is complete?"

Nolan thought for a moment and said, "You need to pay a garbage collection fee."

Modikai quickly replied, "I'll call the academy right away; they'll definitely be happy to pay for it."

When he went to make the call, Martin said, "This professor is very dedicated."

Nolan said, "The conditions here are limited. Many professors have trouble even getting research funding. If it weren't for the generous compensation offered by the production team, and Professor Mordechai's lack of research funding, we wouldn't have been able to invite him."

(End of this chapter)