America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 783 The Clown's Deification

If you were to evaluate "The Dark Knight Rises" on its own, it would be a commercial film that scores over 80 points. However, many things are difficult to compare. With "The Dark Knight" preceding it, it's hard for movie fans and the media not to compare the two films.

Variety's column directly points out: "The difference between the two films is obvious, the biggest difference being the characters! Batman is still Batman, but Bane lacks any villainous charm like the Joker! After this new Batman movie is released, when we look back, Martin's Joker is more than just a classic!"

The Hollywood Reporter bluntly stated: "We have no disrespect for Vin Diesel, and his portrayal of Bane is excellent, but Bane pales in comparison to Martin's perfectly crafted villain, the Joker."

Given that Vin Diesel is gone, media commentary has been relatively mild, maintaining a basic level of civility.

But it's a different story among Batman trilogy fans.

Film fans can be forgetful sometimes; they've already mourned what needs to be mourned, and they'll naturally voice their dissatisfaction.

One of them has gained widespread recognition.

"Martin's Joker could cause nationwide riots, inspire imitation and chaos, and drive people to madness to commit massacres! Can Bane do that?"

"In any future Batman movie, Martin's Joker will be an unavoidable topic for villains."

"After Martin, there will be no more Jokers!"

"We used to think Martin Scorsese's Joker in 'The Dark Knight' was good enough, but looking back today, we realize that past praise wasn't nearly enough. Scorsese created a god-like character!"

Similar sentiments have taken root on the internet, and more people are dressing up as clowns and wandering around the streets and cinemas across the United States.

Cases of clown robberies and free purchases have been ongoing for years.

Since the 2008 economic crisis, the US economy has slowed down, the upper class has continued to exploit the lower and middle classes, making life increasingly difficult for them, and social mobility channels have become increasingly tight.

Not just those three gunmen, many people have fantasized about becoming the Joker.

The premiere shooting, Vin Diesel's Bane, and two Batman movies, along with the overall situation in North America, all these messy factors combined to make Martin's Joker a true legend online.

The shooting, in particular, truly elevated the Joker to the level of a faith.

In a society like America, it's impossible to ban the Joker.

If they did that, Warner Bros. and all of Hollywood would explode.

…………

At Warner Bros. Studios, Martin entered the Interstellar studio and waited in the meeting room for a while.

Nolan has something urgent to attend to and will be able to come over later.

Martin picked up his phone and scrolled through Twitter. Perhaps because of the shooting, many Twitter accounts of the main actors from "Fast & Furious" popped up on his feed.

Paul Walker was among them.

Martin clicked to take a look and found that Paul Walker's latest tweet was a tribute to Vin Diesel.

The accompanying photo is of him with Vin Diesel from "The Fast and the Furious," captioned: "God has gained a true angel."

Martin felt a particularly strong sense of contrast after reading it.

In a past life, I often saw Vin Diesel commemorating Paul Walker.

We'll probably see Paul Walker commemorating Vin Diesel quite often in the future.

Martin then followed Paul Walker's Twitter account.

There are also Twitter accounts for several other main cast members, such as Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Gal Gadot, and Jason Statham, among others.

Then came a notification that Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot had also followed him on Twitter.

Nolan returned at that moment and smiled at Martin: "Something came up with the crew, sorry to have kept you waiting."

Martin put away his phone: "I just got here."

Nolan asked, "Is Old Brooks' recovery going well?"

"He's alright now." Martin came this time because he had received some news: "I heard that Warner Bros. is interested in putting you in charge of the entire DC superhero movie project?"

Nolan nodded: "Kevin Tsujihara and DC President Hamada did talk to me, but I turned it down. This job... how should I put it, 'The Dark Knight Rises' might be my last comic book superhero movie, though it won't be perfect."

He joked, "Unexpectedly, the Joker, who has become a god among internet users and movie fans, has become the reason and justification for criticizing this Batman movie."

Martin laughed and said, "It's mainly because your script is good. You used the camera to give the Joker life, making him a character with a complete evil ideology who also caused great terror."

Everyone likes to hear nice things, and Nolan is no exception. He said, "I gave the Joker life, but you gave him a soul."

Martin deliberately asked, "Are we just flattering each other?"

Nolan said with unusual seriousness, "That's called having similar interests."

The two of them burst into laughter at the same time.

Nolan returned to the previous topic: "I recommended Zack Snyder to Warner Bros., the director of '300' and 'Watchmen'."

Martin, of course, knew Zack Snyder and asked, "Does DC have any new plans?"

Nolan said, "Let's ditch Green Lantern and start over with Superman."

Seeing Martin's interest in the DC franchise, he guessed what was going on and asked, "Do you have any ideas for the DC superhero universe?"

Martin stated directly, "The Joker character is incredibly popular. As long as DC continues to make movies, the Joker's popularity won't decrease. They could even make a standalone Joker movie."

Nolan understood what Martin meant. In the future, whenever a DC superhero movie is released, the villains will inevitably be brought up by the media and movie fans for a comprehensive comparison with the Joker.

"The Joker certainly has the potential to be a standalone film," Nolan said with a hint of doubt. "The only problem is that he's a supervillain."

He laughed to himself: "In the current situation, the villains are not the problem."

Martin agreed: "Whether the Joker is a villain or not is irrelevant to the audience, but the key is that the plot must be compelling, the character must be sophisticated, and the story must meet the audience's expectations."

Nolan asked, "It seems you've thought this through carefully."

Martin nodded slightly: "In The Dark Knight, the Joker has a large group of loyal followers. Although the plot explains this to some extent, it is not explained in detail. Also, why the Joker became the Joker. Regardless of the comic book plot, the audience will still be full of curiosity about the psychological changes of this version of the Joker."

Nolan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Shall we work together to promote this project?"

"This version of the Joker was born from your film." Martin had been paying close attention to public opinion and online trends, and when he felt the time was right, the first person he approached was Nolan.

The two are still working together, and it's impossible for Nolan to be left out of this project.

Nolan readily agreed, "We'll work together to get Warner Bros. and DC to start this project. You're familiar with Daniel's side, so Warner Bros. is your responsibility. I'll talk to the people at DC Films; there shouldn't be any major problems."

Martin glanced at his watch and said, "Chris, I won't take up any more of your time. When I go out later, I'll stop by Daniel's office."

Nolan said, "I have an appointment with Hamada and Zack Snyder from DC tomorrow to discuss something, and I will bring it up in detail then."

Martin said goodbye and drove his electric scooter to the back entrance of the Warner Building, called Daniel, and then went straight to his office.

Daniel's secretary was waiting at the office door, and as soon as Martin arrived, she quickly led him inside.

"You haven't been here much lately," Daniel said, stepping forward to shake hands. "Warner Bros. is an old friend of yours."

Martin then added, "So, I've come to ask an old friend for help."

Daniel immediately asked, "Are there any film projects you're collaborating on?"

"Have you been following the recent public opinion? About the Joker?" Martin didn't need to beat around the bush; he hadn't gone to see God because of the Joker character.

The Joker that made him a legend is the Joker he starred in, not the character from the comics. If Warner Bros. and DC want to make a Joker movie, they can't bypass him and Nolan.

Daniel, a veteran filmmaker, immediately understood Martin's meaning and asked, "You want to promote a movie about the Joker?"

Martin said, "Director Nolan and I wanted to push for a Joker solo film."

As Daniel predicted, ever since the media reported that three people dressed as the Joker were involved in the premiere shooting, the Joker character has been elevated to an even higher status by countless movie fans, to the point that calling him the "God of Ugliness" wouldn't be an exaggeration.

But he also had concerns: "Martin, the Joker is indeed very popular, and this popularity can even last for three to five years, but there's one thing I don't know if you've noticed: the Joker is being hyped up too much."

Daniel cited a recent example: "The Dark Knight Rises received a lot of negative reviews, which is not unrelated to the fact that The Dark Knight raised a lot of people's expectations."

"This is what I'm thinking..." Martin, who was prepared, selectively repeated what he had said to Nolan, adding a few extra sentences: "Making and producing a film, moving from one peak to another, is extremely difficult. So instead of trying to climb another peak, we're turning back and focusing the plot on how the Joker became the Joker."

Daniel said, "A story that takes place before The Dark Knight? Like a prequel movie?"

Martin replied, "Yes, it's like a prequel to The Dark Knight, an evolution of the Joker. In this way, we're starting from a very low new starting point to climb the peak that's now called the Joker."

Daniel laughed heartily: "Great idea!"

He also needed to achieve results after taking office, so he quickly said, "Martin, how about this project be jointly promoted by you, director Nolan, and Warner Bros.?"

Since Martin didn't have the copyright, he naturally wouldn't refuse and replied, "No problem."

Daniel's smile faded, and he said seriously, "I'll have the relevant materials prepared today to expedite the project's initiation. However, the Joker involves the DC, and according to procedure, the project can only be initiated with DC's approval."

Martin said, "I won't be going to DC. You and Chris are enough."

Daniel nodded: "Wait for our good news."

Martin achieved his goal and soon left Warner Bros.

As for the script and director, those will have to wait until DC Films and Warner Bros. approve the project.

(End of this chapter)