America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 688 Disregard for Brotherhood

Before sunrise, several trailers were parked at the entrance of the studio. The set inside the studio was already set up, and the film crew was making final adjustments to the cameras.

David Fincher oversaw the entire project and directed the entire crew.

The extras acting as news reporters entered the set one after another, receiving old-fashioned equipment from the prop master.

Veteran actors Alan Arkin and Alec Baldwin entered the studio one after the other.

A few minutes later, Martin, dressed in an old-fashioned suit, came in from outside.

Because of makeup and a fake beard, he looked much older than his actual age.

David Fincher entered the set and pointed to the side door for Martin: "When we're filming, just stand over there, don't say anything, be an observer."

Martin nodded without saying a word, in keeping with the character's style.

Tony Mendes once said that CIA agents like him, who work in secret rescue operations, rarely speak unless absolutely necessary.

Ten minutes later, filming officially began.

Martin stood by the side door, looking like any ordinary member of the crew, watching the "Argo" crew hold a press conference.

The movie itself is fake, but all the pre-production work was real. Only a fake production team with a real crew can deceive the target and achieve their goal.

It's quite interesting to prepare a fake movie in a realistic way while filming a film.

"Stop!" David Fincher called for a halt to filming, telling the crew, "Give the main camera a three-second close-up of Martin."

The director of photography replied, "Understood."

Filming resumed, and Martin stood by the door with his hands in his pockets.

David Fincher called a halt to filming again, saying, "Martin, tone down your gaze and demeanor. When you're not doing anything, you're just an ordinary person."

Martin responded in the same way as Tony Mendes, without saying a word, only nodding slightly.

Filming resumed, but it was intermittent. The first take took half an hour to film before David Fincher finally called "cut."

Even so, he still reviewed the footage he had filmed.

The story in this script is very legendary, and it's relatively easy for it to be outstanding. If filmed well, it has great potential.

Martin appeared on screen quite a few times throughout the morning, but he didn't say a single line; he was completely silent.

David Fincher announced that filming was done for the morning, and the previously quiet set quickly became lively.

Martin spotted Tony Mendes at a table nearby, went over, and asked, "How was the first scene?"

Tony Mendes laughed: "Your budget is much larger than mine was back then. We only had a small press conference, not your big event."

David Fincher also came over and said, "A movie isn't appealing if the scale is too small. The events of that time were too bizarre. If we don't make it bigger and more realistic in the movie, the audience will say we're just making things up."

Tony Mendes stood up from his chair and said, "You've done a great job. That's all for today."

He shook hands with Martin and David Fincher: "I'm heading back now."

After seeing Tony Mendes off, Martin and David Fincher went to the dining car together.

As David Fincher walked, he said, "A few days ago, Randolph from Netflix told me that he had invited you to star in that Netflix TV series project."

Martin said, "He told me you would be directing and producing, and I asked a few questions out of interest, but I didn't have the time to act in it."

He then asked, "A political drama series?"

David Fincher said, "The TV series of the same name, adapted from the British drama 'House of Cards,' mainly focuses on the internal political struggles within the Washington authorities."

Martin had seen all of David Fincher's works, so he naturally remembered this series. He even recalled that the male lead's name was Underwood.

David Fincher added, "I have a secret agreement with Netflix that after the 2013 Oscars, no matter what the outcome, I will go and produce 'House of Cards' for Netflix."

His meaning was very clear: "Argo may be my last film made under the traditional Hollywood production model."

Martin encouraged him, saying, "The subject matter is perfect for this film; let's try to win a few more Oscars."

David Fincher said very seriously, "I don't have the perseverance of Leonardo DiCaprio and Scorsese. If this one doesn't work, I'm not going to play the Oscar game anymore."

Martin remembers clearly that David Fincher later became one of the leading directors in Hollywood who worked most closely with Netflix.

After lunch, Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicholson, who had nothing to do, came to the studio to visit the set.

When David Fincher saw that the infamous trio of scoundrels in Hollywood had all assembled, he quickly summoned two assistants and solemnly instructed them: "You two will follow these three the whole time. If they try anything, notify me immediately."

The two assistants realized the seriousness of the situation and responded immediately.

David Fincher glanced at the three bastards and thought to himself that Martin wouldn't joke about a production he had invested in.

In the rest area, Leonardo handed Martin a book and asked, "Interested in traveling to Africa together?"

Martin took the book and asked, "What are you going to Africa for?"

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "Making a documentary about mountain gorillas to promote animal protection is like you're carrying the banner of feminism, while I'm carrying the banner of environmental protection."

Martin sized Leonardo up and down: "It's just some publicity, is it really necessary to go this far? Going to Africa, no less!"

Leonardo seemed very serious: "The actual place we're going to is Congo, where there's a civil war, various factions are fighting for natural resources, and many poachers are armed poachers."

Upon hearing this, Martin didn't even glance at the book, tossing it to Leonardo: "I'd be crazy to go to a place like that!"

Leonardo revealed his true intentions: "I'm not confident if you don't go!"

"Look at me!" Martin pressed his cheek. "I'm made of flesh and blood, not steel. If a bullet hits me, my head will explode."

Nicholson interjected, "I'm not going either."

Leonardo sighed helplessly: "Look, you're not going, and Jack isn't going either. I was thinking that the three of us could team up again."

Martin ignored Leonardo and stared at Nicholson's old face: "Are you out of your mind? Aren't you afraid that a female gorilla will suddenly appear in the Congo rainforest and do *that* to you? We'll expel you from the human race then!"

"Leo made it sound interesting, and I was thinking of going to see it for myself, since it could be fun." Nicholson thought it over: "But after hearing you say that, I might end up turning into a gorilla if I go. I'd better not."

Leonardo pointed at them: "You two bastards are so unbrotherly."

Martin scoffed: "I have tens of millions of dollars in cash, hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, several Coca-Cola cult saintesses who are completely under my control, a dozen or so confidantes and muses, the sole test subject of two famous women's groups, and members of the Face Gang and the Trio of Scoundrels who can find fun anytime, anywhere..."

He asked Leonardo, "Is it boring to spend dollars? Are you unhappy being with beautiful women? Or haven't you had enough fun? Why go to a war-torn African country to suffer?"

After listening to Martin's words, Leonardo suddenly realized that these conditions also applied to him.

He immediately realized that Martin wasn't rejecting him or showing off; he was clearly trying to persuade him.

Nicholson said, "The thought of something happening to me in that place, before I've spent all my money or had enough fun, makes me feel uneasy."

Leonardo lost interest and said, "Alright, that's enough. I'm not going either."

Martin said, "If you want to make a documentary, just invest some money, find a production team, and film it in Congo. Do we brothers lack money? Don't you have Asian investors?"

Leonardo said, "I'm prepared to personally invest $100 million and then find a suitable partner." He frowned slightly, "My manager contacted major television networks and production studios, but they are all stingy and not interested in this kind of money-losing project."

Nicholson added, "Studios and television stations are not charities; they are very pragmatic, and their investments are driven by commercial profit."

Martin thought of a suitable partner: "What do you think of Netflix? I heard that Netflix is ​​developing its own content. You'll just be an investor and producer, and you won't need to appear on screen. Partnering with a streaming service like Netflix shouldn't be a problem."

Leonardo understood the problem Martin was pointing out: "I've won the Oscar for Best Actor, and this is a documentary. Even if I appear on screen, it's just to advocate for the protection of mountain gorillas. What's the problem?"

He looked at Martin: "But I'm not very familiar with Netflix."

Martin's two best friends had helped him a lot with getting people and causing trouble, so he naturally wouldn't refuse. He took out his phone and called Greg Peters, the content director of Netflix, who happened to be in Los Angeles. They arranged to meet that evening in Beverly Hills.

Leonardo said, "I'll go to Roadshow to get the proposal. Once you've finished filming here, we'll meet up in Beverly Hills."

Martin is the lead actor, producer, and investor on this set, so there's no way he'd cause trouble or have fun. Nicholson simply said, "I'm going with Leo; it's too boring here."

Martin waved his hand: "You can go now."

Shortly after the two left, the afternoon's filming began.

The crew initially filmed all the scenes in the studio.

After finishing work in the afternoon, Martin went first to a business club in Beverly Hills and met Greg Peters, whom he had arranged to meet.

The latter shook hands with Martin with extreme enthusiasm, saying, "I really don't know what to say, Martin, you're a friend of Netflix!"

He felt it was no easy feat to introduce Leonardo DiCaprio's projects to Netflix, even if they were just low-profile documentaries.

The first time is always the most difficult in this kind of collaboration.

Martin smiled and said, "I'm just here to make the introductions. Whether we can close the deal is up to you."

Greg said, "Netflix is ​​showing great sincerity."

A few minutes later, Leonardo and Nicholson arrived. After Martin introduced them, he took Nicholson out of the meeting room to go bowling, without interfering with their business talks.

When they returned, Greg and Leonard had essentially reached an agreement.

(End of this chapter)