America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 781 Others hoard food, I hoard guns

In the hospital ward, Bruce was placed on a hospital bed, while Martin, who had changed his clothes, sat in a chair, looking at a bruise on his hand.

"When did you get hurt?" Nicholson asked as he changed into a shirt.

Martin shook his head: "I'm not quite sure either." He then sighed, "Luckily, I got to the hospital quickly. The examination showed that I was injured. If it had been any slower, the scars would have disappeared."

Bruce raised his left hand and gave Martin the middle finger: "You bastard, you're laughing at me!"

Martin stated emphatically, "I am stating a fact."

Bruce's injuries were not serious; the bullet did not break any bones, and he only needed six stitches. He will recover after some rest.

Nicholson turned on the TV in the hospital room and switched to CNN news.

As expected, CNN, known for its timely news reporting, has already brought its live television broadcast truck to the Dolby Theatre.

"...According to our latest information, a gunman disguised himself as a movie fan and infiltrated the premiere. He suddenly opened fire at the end of the red carpet event. As of now, at least ten people have died and dozens have been injured."

The female reporter adjusted her earpiece, listened for a moment, and then said, "Breaking news: there were three gunmen in total. Two of them were killed, and one was wounded and captured. A photographer captured footage of the scene, and we are coordinating its broadcast."

While CNN, known for its speed and accuracy, was still urgently discussing related video news, TMZ, the leading entertainment gossip website on the internet, had already posted more than a dozen on-site videos on its homepage.

Without any editing, Jody directly posted the videos filmed by his subordinates, as well as the videos he bought, on the website's homepage.

TMZ's pageviews exploded!

Martin didn't pay attention to any of that for the moment, because he heard a commotion in the hallway. He went over to check it out and found Nolan and Emma Thomas.

He quickly opened the door and came out, seeing Emma Thomas's arm slumped around her neck. He asked, "Emma, ​​are you hurt?"

Emma Thomas forced a smile: "I tripped and fell after running into the Dolby Theatre and fractured some bones."

Martin nodded, glanced at Nolan briefly to make sure he wasn't injured, and said, "It's been a terrible night."

"Yeah, the premiere was a complete disaster." Nolan's first thought was of the film: "The Dark Knight Rises will definitely be affected by this incident, and who knows what will happen next..."

Martin offered a reassuring remark: "This isn't an event like 9/11. North American moviegoers are generally easygoing, so the films won't be too badly affected."

Nolan and Emma Thomas went in to visit Bruce.

After they came out, Nolan told Emma to go and rest first, and then pulled Martin aside to talk to him: "There may be some things you don't know yet. Christian Bell is also in this hospital. He was shot and has a big hole in his butt. When he fell, he hit his nose on the steps and suffered a comminuted fracture. He will need to rest for a long time."

His impression of Bale was already very poor, so he had little sympathy for him. Instead, he said, "The actor who plays Batman got injured at the premiere, which not only prevents him from participating in promotions afterwards, but also brings a lot of negative news. During the film's release, Bale was practically synonymous with Batman!"

Martin understood what this meant: the actors' real lives affect the films, and the films, in turn, affect the actors themselves; Hollywood is no exception.

Many big-name actors who play positive roles even have their contracts specifying how many punches they can be thrown at in a film.

Nolan had some ideas, but wasn't sure: "Vin Diesel, who played Bane, is dead. I think we can focus more on Vin Diesel in the follow-up publicity, such as holding various memorial events, hyping up some news about him, such as how much he sacrificed for the role of Bane, etc. I also plan to add a special tribute and commemoration to Vin Diesel at the end of the film..."

Martin looked at Nolan and suddenly thought of "The Dark Knight" from his previous life. He really is a top-notch film marketing master.

He felt no guilt about it, saying, "After something like this happened, it would be abnormal for the production team not to mourn Vin Diesel. They would definitely be attacked by the media and public opinion. It is only natural for the production team to publicly mourn Vin Diesel."

Nolan immediately gained confidence in his idea: "You're absolutely right. The crew must mourn Vin Diesel, and we must promote Vin Diesel extensively, letting movie fans all over the world know how much effort Vin Diesel put into this film!"

He suddenly realized that the dead Vin Diesel might be more useful to the film than the living Vin Diesel.

Nolan said something to Martin and left in a hurry. On the way, he called Daniel and asked him to meet with him as soon as possible.

Martin returned to the ward and found that Lily, Elizabeth, Lorraine, and Leonardo had all rushed over.

The group chatted for a while about the recent events, when the LAPD arrived.

Martin, Bruce, and Nicholson each gave a statement.

The Los Angeles Police Department also collected enough videos and pictures, and questioned too many people who escaped from the scene, so they have a very clear understanding of the whole incident.

Martin spoke his mind, recounting everything he had seen and heard.

After giving his statement, he came out of the private room and found McLean waiting outside.

After such a tragedy, shouldn't this prominent figure in the LAPD have remained at the scene?

McLean shook hands with Martin, went to a secluded spot, and said, "If you hadn't acted in time, there could have been more casualties. Each of the three gunmen had four magazines on hand."

Martin said, "I almost died, and Old Brooks was shot too. You saw that Escalade; it was riddled with bullets. If the car hadn't been bulletproof, I'd be in a hospital bed at best."

McLean said, "What happened today will put the LAPD under tremendous pressure. Could you coordinate with the LAPD?"

"We've been friends for years, so please speak freely," Martin said vaguely at first.

McLean said, "Keep a low profile, try not to give interviews, and don't make a big deal out of this in the media."

"I won't do anything except go to the memorial service tomorrow," Martin said after a moment's consideration. "On the condition that your public relations team avoids involving me as much as possible."

"Of course not." Too many people had died in this incident. After receiving reports from his subordinates about the gunmen, McClain already had a plan: "All three gunmen were lunatics, typical antisocial personalities!"

Martin asked in surprise, "You guys know what's going on?"

"According to the captured gunmen, there were three of them in total. The organizer was named James Holmes, a madman who worshipped the clown and believed that society was degenerating..." McLean briefly described the three men.

After hearing this, Martin felt he didn't need to say anything, because so many reporters had already taken videos and photos, so there was no need for him to step forward and create any more buzz.

Keeping a low profile is a good idea at this time.

McKlain then asked, "What about Warner Bros.?"

Martin frankly stated, "My relationship with Warner Bros. is very sensitive, and if I speak rashly, it's hard to say how things will develop."

McLean nodded and said, "I'll contact you again if anything comes up. I'm on behalf of the LAPD. Thank you."

Martin said, "We're old friends, no need to be so polite."

"I have to go back to the scene now, so I won't talk to you anymore." McKlain hurriedly left.

This incident put McLean under immense pressure.

The only slightly good news, aside from Martin's situation, is that of the three gunmen, only one has been based in Los Angeles for an extended period, while the other two came from other states.

This news will soon be leaked to the media.

It's not just Los Angeles that's embarrassing; of course, you have to bring along a few good friends too.

Bruce and Nicholson's statements were taken, and the group reunited in Bruce's hospital room.

Leonardo DiCaprio was scrolling through his phone, watching a video of a shooting, and slapping his thigh, exclaiming, "I missed it! I missed something so dangerous!"

He looked at Martin: "I should go hand you the gun and load the bullets!"

Before Martin could say anything, Elizabeth interjected, "No, I hope you never have to hand Martin a gun and load bullets."

Nicholson said, "Who could have predicted this? Three antisocial lunatics actually started a shooting at the premiere."

Lily muttered, "Haven't we always been like this in America? Gun violence has been on the rise in recent years."

She grew up in an Atlanta slum and saw far too much: "I grew up amidst gunfire; people in my neighborhood died every day from shootings or drug overdoses."

Martin said, "Living in America, you can never avoid dealing with guns. Everyone should protect themselves."

Nicholson suddenly asked, "Do you know which aspect is most affected after every mass shooting?"

Elizabeth chimed in, "A call for gun control?"

"No!" Nicholson had experienced a lot of terrible things in his life: "Every time there's a shooting that shocks the whole country, gun sales skyrocket! If everyone else has a gun and you don't, aren't you panicking? If you have an unreliable neighbor who also has a gun and you don't, can you sleep at night?"

Martin suddenly remembered a quote he had seen online in his previous life and said, "When a social crisis occurs, my neighbors hoard food, and I hoard guns."

Lily rolled her eyes: "Charlize Theron and the Stewart family next door should watch out."

Leonardo then said, "Many people believe the end of the world is coming soon, so I guess I need to stock up on a bunch of guns."

Lily said, "Your aim is terrible, hoarding guns is just letting others benefit."

Both she and Elizabeth were joking on purpose, trying to alleviate any potential psychological burden Martin might have.

Of course, Martin had no qualms about it. The gunman he killed had been firing at them with a submachine gun, and Old Brooks almost died. Emptying the magazine was just a basic operation for him.

After chatting for a while, people from Warner Bros. and DC Films arrived to discuss follow-up public relations matters with Martin and Nicholson.

This shooting incident resulted in significant casualties.

Around 10 p.m., preliminary statistics were released, showing that the shooting had resulted in 22 deaths and 97 injuries.

(End of this chapter)