America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 876 Breaking Through One's Limits

At the entrance of the Disney Studios, Krull put on his Variety press pass and showed his invitation to the security guard before entering the studio area.

Variety, one of the largest entertainment magazines in the United States, is known as the "Hollywood Bible" and is a trendsetter in the media and entertainment industry. Its influence is no less than that of The Hollywood Reporter.

Film studios are frequented by film crews, and fire prevention, theft prevention, and avoiding reporters are the main priorities of their daily work.

Security personnel escorted Krull all the way to the entrance of Studio One, where the "Split" film crew was located.

York, the head of the production team's publicity department, was already waiting there and accompanied Krull into the film set.

Krull spotted Martin immediately; he seemed to be preparing for a scene, and Martin was the only one sitting in front of the camera on set.

York said quietly, "Filming will continue for another hour. The crew has arranged an hour for your interview this afternoon. Please wait a moment."

Krull arrived early because he wanted to see the filming of this special movie.

Recently, there has been much discussion about this, as it is particularly difficult to play a character with multiple personalities.

Although he couldn't take photos in the studio, he could observe with his own eyes.

The crew began filming, and Krull stood quietly at the edge of the set, watching carefully.

His target was Martin.

Before coming here, Krull had carefully researched the project and read the media briefing sent by the production team.

It's not particularly difficult for an actor to portray two or even three different personalities or roles.

But in this project, Martin will play at least seven or eight completely different personalities, which is equivalent to seven or eight distinct independent characters.

It's terrifying to even think about.

Krull didn't know how far Martin could go in his performance, or what kind of acting style to use to deal with it.

This is a scene where several personalities rapidly switch within the same shot.

It demands extremely high acting skills.

Krull suddenly noticed that Martin's facial expressions were changing rapidly.

He used subtle eyebrow twitches, delicate changes in his eyes, and the ups and downs of his lips to reveal multiple faces that looked the same but had completely different expressions and temperaments.

The same face, captured in a single shot, reveals the characteristics of different personalities in a fraction of a second.

Krull worked as an entertainment reporter for nearly twenty years, including more than fifteen years at Variety, and interviewed hundreds of Hollywood actors on the spot. Very few people can do what Martin did.

Many people say that Martin Scorsese only makes action movies and only shows off his fighting and gun skills, wasting his talent.

At this moment, Krull completely disagreed; Martin's acting skills at this moment were simply genius-level.

"For this kind of role, no matter how hard you try, it's useless if your acting is bad," he thought to himself. "But a genius-level actor can turn the words on the script into a real and tangible character through hard work."

The half-minute long take ended quickly.

Martin went to David Fincher's office to look at the director's monitor, and the two were not satisfied with it, so they went back to shoot the take.

Under Krull's watchful eye, the shot was repeated five times.

He discovered that Martin improved with each appearance, and each changing face became clearer and more three-dimensional, allowing him to sense the personality hidden beneath each face.

After the shot ended, Martin went to the rest area, sat down in a chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

Krull didn't go over to disturb them because the crew was still filming.

With no actors on set, David Fincher directed the camera to shoot some empty shots.

Krull looked at it carefully for a while and found that these establishing shots also had special meaning.

For example, on the sink, there are multiple toothbrush cups, each containing a toothbrush of a completely different color or shape.

Krull counted them; there were 24 toothbrushes.

It corresponds perfectly to the male protagonist's 24 personalities!

As expected of David Fincher, Hollywood's most skilled director in making this type of film, he paid meticulous attention to detail.

Krull had a feeling that Martin Scorsese and David Fincher would create a film that would shock the entire United States and perhaps become the benchmark for this type of film.

The crew wrapped up filming, but David Fincher was still busy while Martin went to remove his makeup and change clothes.

The assistant director went to inform Martin that the Variety reporter had arrived.

Today's interview was arranged last week. Martin nodded and went back to the trailer to review the interview transcript one last time.

Like stand-up comedy, the interviews also have a script, and most of the questions are discussed in advance.

Martin quickly glanced through the manuscript, changed into casual clothes, and returned to the photography studio.

David Fincher is already here.

The crew used the film set as a backdrop, setting up three sofas and chairs, and the interviews were conducted primarily in a conversational style.

Martin recognized Krull, shook his hand, and sat down next to David Fincher.

After consulting with others, Krull turned on the recorder and spoke first: "I heard of Billy Milligan more than a decade ago. Hollywood has used him as a model to make many movies, but few people have directly filmed characters with so many personalities like you have."

David Fincher chimed in, "My previous films, 'War Room' and 'Fight Club,' actually drew inspiration from Billy Milligan. I've always been interested in him. When Martin showed me the script, I immediately agreed to take it."

Krull asked, "David, do you particularly like this type of person who is mentally unstable?"

David Fincher smiled and said, "Split should be the last film I make this kind of movie. In my limited career, I also want to try more different types of films."

Krull looked at Martin: "During the shoot just now, I saw you change at least four faces in a short period of time, like four completely different people. That must have been a challenge for you, right?"

Martin nodded: "It was very, very difficult. These were almost seven or eight completely different characters. I did a lot of preparation for it. From the time I was writing the script, I was looking for various cases of multiple personality disorder. I studied more than fifty cases carefully and also did a detailed analysis and reflection on each personality of the male protagonist. I took two big notebooks of notes. Only then was my performance relatively smooth."

Krull asked, "Which of these personalities do you think is the most difficult to mold?"

Martin said, "We've filmed two personalities so far, Patrice and Hedway, which are both very difficult. Patrice is a woman, and Hedway is a 10-year-old little adult. These are roles I've never played before, so they're not easy to act, especially when they're acting independently. I also have to be careful to maintain their inner connection, since they live in the same body."

"It's clear you were very well prepared," Krull added. "Your performance just now was breathtaking."

David Fincher added, "Actually, Martin still has a lot of potential in acting, and I will squeeze it all out in the later stages of filming."

Martin shrugged: "David, what you're saying is terrible!"

He deliberately created points that could be used for publicity and hype: "I'm only getting paid for one movie for this role, it's such a waste of my time!"

Krul and David Fincher both burst out laughing.

After the interview, York approached Krull and provided him with some behind-the-scenes photos and several newly designed posters and other promotional materials.

Krull left the film crew and returned to the newspaper office that very night, immediately starting overtime work. He first organized the interview recordings, then combined them with stills and posters from the film, and spent two days writing an interview article.

Variety is a weekly magazine, not a major entertainment event like the Grammys or Oscars, and it only publishes one issue per week.

After several revisions by Krull, the interview appeared on the front page of the latest issue of Variety.

Meanwhile, Martin's first poster for Split also became the cover star of this issue of Variety.

The cover slogan emphasizes the promotion of the video.

"Split: Martin Davis's ambitious breakthrough!"

The report detailed the film's content and included interviews with Martin and David Fincher.

This caused a strong reaction among movie fans, and after the online version was published, there were an unusually large number of responses from movie fans.

"I'm really looking forward to Martin's new film."

"I hope Martin can bring out the uniqueness of multiple personalities in his performance, rather than just making it superficial."

"This is a challenge of the century, and I believe Martin can do it!"

Split quickly garnered attention from moviegoers, and many remembered the name of Martin Scorsese's new film.

Filming continues, and David Fincher's shooting plan is not based on scenes, but on each personality of the male lead.

Just like the scenes Martin has already completed, film all the scenes of the female personality first, then the child personality, and then the fashion designer.

This effectively reduces the difficulty of Martin's performance and prevents him from getting caught up in the character's personality confusion.

In real life, people can be incredibly chaotic in their personalities and thinking, but for a movie to gain recognition and high praise, it must adhere to logic in both its plot and the characters' personalities.

A movie without logic is a bad movie.

Martin transformed into a trendy man again, and this split personality was much easier to perform than that of a woman or a child.

He frequently interacts with the fashion industry, and over the years he has had far more than a dozen relationships with Karolina Kurkova and Angela Lindwo.

Even though the two were engaged, they would still occasionally call Martin out to mess around with them.

Martin has met many fashion designers, so he can play the role with ease.

However, as relaxing as it may be, the midday foot massage cannot be skipped.

Every day after lunch, Ana de Armas would voluntarily get into Martin's trailer to relax his body and relieve his stress.

In the evenings, Anya Taylor-Joy would occasionally ask Martin out to continue rehearsing the scenes for the male and female leads.

These are all very helpful for work.

The former allows Martin to be fully focused and energetic during his performance.

The latter rehearsals ensured that the male and female leads were thoroughly familiar with their roles, allowing them to complete the filming in one take.

Of course, Martin was also a very discerning person, and he recommended Ana de Armas to a film crew at Disney Studios.

As long as her basic acting skills are up to par, getting a lead role in a medium-to-low-tier project shouldn't be a problem.

Martin had long planned to target Anya Taylor-Joy.

Any individual or organization that successfully slays a dragon will inevitably gravitate towards becoming the dragon itself.

…………

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, penthouse suite.

The rehearsal for the scenes between the male lead, who has a sadistic personality, and the female lead has just finished.

Martin treated Anya as if she were his beloved lover, carrying her into the bathroom and placing her in the bathtub.

Anya pulled him inside.

Martin adjusted the bathtub, and his raised backrest felt very comfortable.

Anya sat in front of him, leaning against Martin's lap, and said, "I'm only 18 years old this year, and I don't plan to have a boyfriend until I'm 24."

Martin understood what she meant: "You can contact me anytime during this period."

"Of course." Anya turned around, kissed Martin on the neck, and said, "I'm giving you the best years of my life. You can do whatever you want with me."

As an actress without any backing or connections, Anya is much more direct than other celebrity offspring like Blake Lively.

Just as he admired and was inspired by a certain spirit in Julie, Martin also appreciated this straightforward style, saying, "Every man loves eighteen."

Every female star is only eighteen for a short time, but Hollywood is full of eighteen-year-old actresses.

Anya let out a clear laugh. Her youth and beauty were her greatest assets; she had nothing else besides them.

Martin, however, recalled the girl who almost turned into a goldfish in his previous life and emphasized, "There's one thing you need to remember: don't get plastic surgery or lose weight until you're skinny before you turn 25."

Anya touched her face, which was full of collagen, and replied, "I've got it. No plastic surgery, no dieting, I'll keep my current figure and appearance."

Martin nodded in satisfaction and got down to business: "Filming for this movie should wrap up by mid-December. Do you have any other roles to play later?"

"Bad luck," Anya said, expressing a little frustration. "Of the auditions I participated in, the best I made it to was only the second round; most of them were eliminated in the first round."

She spoke frankly: "Actresses have to pay too high a price to get resources in Hollywood. Auditions often come with strings attached, and I refused those strings, so I was naturally eliminated."

Harvey Weinstein's downfall only slightly improved the atmosphere in Hollywood; perhaps those who favored using force became a little more restrained, but the industry itself will not change fundamentally.

Martin didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Take some time to go to the bookstore and buy a novel called 'The Queen's Chess Game.' My studio plans to adapt it into a series, and we're already writing the script."

Given Anya's circumstances, she had no other choice but to memorize the novel's title and ask, "Which type of chess? I want to learn it in advance."

Martin said, "Chess is definitely a female lead type of game. If you go to audition, and the conditions are right, you will be the female lead."

Hearing this, Anya was overjoyed and turned to look at Martin, excitedly grabbing his arm.

"Don't get too excited, there's one more project," Martin added. "A low-budget horror thriller, also centered around a female lead, and I think you'd be perfect for it."

Anya's hands trembled with excitement.

The female lead in a TV series, the female lead in a movie, or a genre where the female lead is the core.

An eighteen-year-old body is well worth the price of these benefits.

Anya's head sank directly into the water.

(End of this chapter)