America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 884 Chaos is also a kind of order

San Diego, a city in Southern California.

In the parking lot of the Gulf Hotel, Martin, Lorraine, Leonardo, and Nicholson got into a somewhat old bulletproof van.

The bodyguards who followed got into another dirty SUV.

Inside the van, Martin's two bodyguards, who had worked with him for many years, were inspecting the weapons. The bodyguard in the passenger seat said to Martin, "Boss, your gun is under the seat."

Martin pulled out a black bag, opened it, took out a pistol, and put it into his armpit holster.

Another civilian version of the AR short rifle was placed at his feet.

Lorraine from childhood

Having grown up in a privileged environment, he asked, "Is it necessary to carry a gun?"

"It's necessary." Nicholson wiped his sunglasses. "Our next destination is a rather chaotic neighborhood in California, filled with Black people..."

Leonardo corrected him: "African American!"

Martin also cautioned, "What you say easily in everyday life can easily slip up in public."

Nicholson nodded: "It's a predominantly African American and Mexican area, rife with drugs, depravity, and crime."

Lorraine asked, "Can't we go to a slightly safer neighborhood?"

Martin smiled and said, "Don't listen to your father's exaggeration. This isn't the most dangerous place in San Diego; it's just an ordinary African American and Mexican American community."

San Diego, which borders Tijuana, Mexico, is the first transit point for drugs entering California.

The bodyguard in the passenger seat contacted the vehicles behind, and the two cars drove out of the underground parking lot one after the other, heading towards southeast San Diego according to the pre-arranged route.

Nearly an hour later, as the car approached the target community, the number of black cars on the road became noticeably greater.

When a large number of such people gather in a certain place, it often becomes a chaotic mess.

Martin reminded Lorraine, "Be careful with the footage."

Lorraine had already set up the camera and was filming the crowd on the roadside.

Martin also took out a DV camera to shoot footage.

Although he grew up in Atlanta’s underprivileged neighborhoods, Martin has been away from that life for almost a decade.

Over the past decade, life has reportedly become even more difficult for the American working class.

The open community has uneven roads with cracks like spider webs. The walls of the detached houses on both sides are covered with graffiti, and the wooden houses look extremely dilapidated. The people on both sides of the road are mostly dressed in black.

These people are not numb; on the contrary, they are full of energy.

Just as the car rolled over a pothole, a sudden gunshot rang out, like a drop of water falling into hot oil, causing chaos in the surrounding area.

The crackling sounds came continuously.

Martin told the driver to stop the car.

A group of black men rushed out of the alley ahead. They were probably from two different groups. The dozen or so behind were chasing the four or five in front. Each of them had a gun.

Two of the pursuers were also carrying a shotgun of a certain model.

These people were excellent marksmen; each one was a master of soul-searching marksmanship. You could hear the gunshots, but no one fell down.

A dilapidated pickup truck burst out of another box, and the gunman inside opened fire on the pursuing crowd.

This time, someone finally fell on both sides.

The agonizing screams of the black men couldn't be drowned out by the gunfire.

"My God!" Lorraine's face turned pale. The scenes she'd seen on TV and in movies were nothing compared to the impact of witnessing it firsthand. "This place is hell!"

Leonardo said, "These kinds of mass shootings are isolated incidents; we just happened to be there."

Nicholson completely agreed: "The main roads here are generally quite safe during the day."

Martin didn't say anything; he just filmed everything that was happening.

His focus was on chaos!

The Joker represents chaos, and that won't change in the new movie.

The gunfire stopped, and the surroundings quickly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Martin and his companions remained in their car for a long time without hearing any sirens.

Lorraine asked, "The police have abandoned this area?"

Martin had lived in a similar community: "It will probably be a while before the police arrive, at least until they are sure the gunfight here is really over."

Nicholson said, "That's normal. People here basically don't pay taxes, but they have all sorts of welfare expenses. They only give and don't receive, so who would want to protect them?"

The car started and continued moving forward.

Lorraine, filming scenes of community life through the car window, remarked, "Everyone here seems to be sick."

"They are indeed sick." Martin slightly adjusted the DV camera lens. "Their illness is so serious that not even God could cure it, let alone a doctor."

Leonardo looked slightly surprised: "I haven't heard of a large-scale AIDS outbreak in Santiago."

Nicholson said, "It's not AIDS, it's poverty."

Lorraine, who rarely encountered these things, felt it deeply today: "This country is hell for the poor."

Nicholson patted his daughter on the shoulder and said, "Not just in America, but everywhere in the world, the poor live in hell."

These words reminded Leonardo, who looked at Martin: "You came here for the Joker role, the Joker is someone who crawled out of hell?"

"That's part of it," Martin simply said. "The Joker came from a place even more chaotic than this community. He was originally just an ordinary person with a weak personality who was often bullied, but a series of changes made him taste the benefits of chaos, and his ambition and madness spread rapidly."

At this point, Martin pointed outside: "These chaotic places will become his territory, and the Joker's worshippers."

Nicholson understood Martin's meaning: "Are you planning to integrate this with reality?"

The car stopped near an open space. Martin temporarily turned off the DV camera and said, "A person doesn't fall into depravity for no reason. There's always a reason. It's easy to find. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the US economy has been declining, and social order has been getting worse. The heavy pressure faced by the lower class can drive people crazy."

Besides being an actor, Leonardo DiCaprio is also a producer and investor, and he immediately understood Martin Scorsese's meaning: "To make this film an outlet for public sentiment?"

Martin elaborated on his vision: "I plan for the exploited and oppressed American underclass in the film to be inspired by the Joker's series of events to launch a massive urban riot."

Lorraine asked in surprise, "Are you trying to incite an American riot?"

Martin laughed heartily: "Commercial movies, of course, are made in a way that attracts the majority of the audience. Most of the people who pay for Hollywood movies are ordinary people who are oppressed by corporations and are quite dissatisfied with society, believing that the authorities are a bunch of pigs in power."

Nicholson laughed, "Is all the fault of the authorities, all the fault of society?"

This is also part of the plan, Martin said: "Chaos is also a kind of order."

"Have you forgotten Martin's goal?" Leonardo exposed Martin's so-called true self revealed when he was drunk: "He wants to march on Washington and take over the White House..."

He jokingly asked Martin, "Is this film part of your plans?"

Martin also began to ramble: "I am pointing out an effective path to development for the suffering American people."

This group spent their day filming and watching the excitement, gathering a lot of material.

At night, these places become much more dangerous, and Martin couldn't risk the safety of his close friends, so he simply stayed in the hotel and watched the footage together.

Although neither Leonardo DiCaprio nor Nicholson has ever directed a film, they have decades of experience in the industry and can offer Martin some useful advice.

For the next few days, Martin and his group spent their time in San Diego and nearby cities.

During this time, I also encountered an American-style iaido.

Two Black men were walking near Chula Vista Park when they were questioned by police, and one of them pulled out a knife.

As expected, the two Glocks emptied their magazines, and the black man with the knife was hit by more than 20 bullets.

Then, large-scale protests by Black people broke out in Southern California.

Inside the Bay Hotel, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in his suite's living room, Martin gazed at the small square not far away, where many people were staging a sit-in protest.

After observing for a while, Leonardo remarked, "It seems there are more white people than African Americans among the protesters."

Nicholson pulled up a chair and sat down: "All the social problems these days are concentrated on these rotten things."

Martin said, "If a clown had raised his arms and shouted that he would have become a role model for the whole country, would it have led to the riots of the early 1990s?"

"I've figured it out." Leonardo raised his glass to Martin: "You've always harbored a desire to destroy America."

Martin laughed heartily: "Unfortunately, I don't have that ability."

The protesters in the square were relatively restrained, and the police did not take any other action besides maintaining order.

After all, these people aren't protesting against America's squid daddy.

After spending four days in San Diego, the group returned to Los Angeles.

Martin immediately began preparations for "Joker".

Louise has signed a third-party guarantee with the Firefighters Fund Insurance Company on behalf of the film studio, and the casting director has begun selecting actors for the various main roles.

Some of the behind-the-scenes staff who worked with Martin Scorsese during the filming of "The Shallows" have joined the crew.

However, the previous director of photography, Dan Rostersin, led a crew that included members of Chad Stahelski's team. Chad is currently preparing to film "The Continental Hotel," and his schedule conflicts with Martin's.

Martin chose Jeff Cromwell, who was recommended by David Fincher.

The latter began working with him when David Fincher was directing Fight Club.

Martin Scorsese and Jeff Crowes worked together on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Gone Girl," so they knew each other quite well.

Jeff Crowes felt that filming television series did not align with his career plans, so he did not follow David Fincher in working with Netflix and instead stayed in the film industry.

This photographer's style perfectly complements the dark and neurotic style of "Joker".

As for filming locations, Louise recommends New York, where there are established production studios and favorable tax refund policies.

Martin participated in several shoots at Brooklyn Studios, the only challenge being filming location scenes, which presented some difficulties.

The film has a very important supporting male role, and Martin tried to invite Nicholson, given the huge publicity potential.

But Nicholson was determined to retire and refused outright.

Martin also suggested choosing one of Nicolas Cage, Al Pacino, or Robert De Niro, depending on the audition in makeup and availability.

"I don't think Cage is suitable." Louise rarely rejected Martin's suggestions regarding casting, but this time she was unusually insistent: "These past few years, Cage has taken on any kind of terrible film to pay off his debts and taxes. Just throw him any script, and if the price is right, he'll sign the contract."

Martin suddenly remembered the movie "The White Ghost," and realized that when people are poor, they really have no choice.

Louise added, "With one failed movie after another, Cage has ruined his reputation. Now, every movie he stars in is touted as his comeback film, only to disappoint fans after its release. After a few such incidents, fans are reluctant to buy tickets when they see Cage's name in the credits."

Martin didn't stick to his opinion: "Cage was removed from the shortlist."

After a moment's thought, he added, "In that case, Al Pacino wouldn't be a good fit either. He's been taking on all sorts of terrible movies lately."

Louise nodded: "That's right, he took on films like crazy to support his bunch of sons and daughters."

Martin said, "Robert De Niro is slightly better than them."

Louise said, "Choose Robert De Niro. You worked with him on 'Limitless'."

Martin replied, "Yes."

Louise handed the storyboard back to Martin after she finished looking at it, saying, "You've put the Joker in a realistic context."

"Although the movie is adapted from a comic book, the main content is closely related to real society." Martin certainly wouldn't give up the influence of the comic book: "Bruce Wayne will also appear in the film. With so many fans of the Batman, we need to find a way to attract them to buy tickets."

Louise asked, "Who are you planning to cast as young Bruce Wayne?"

Martin stated directly, "For minor roles, we'll select through auditions, but we need to create a buzz—this is the Batman casting!"

Louise pushed up her glasses: "DC will have objections."

"Don't worry about them," Martin said. "The rights to this sequel are entirely in Warner Bros.' hands, and Daniel will support us."

Louise nodded and said, "I've spoken with Daniel, and the film will be released during the holiday season next year, either October or November is fine."

Martin thought for a moment and said, "I have a film called 'Split' this year, and the release date is just right next year. It seems that Leo is also planning to invest in 'The Revenant', which is also scheduled for release next year... Haha, maybe I can get Leo out of this."

Leonardo DiCaprio, who has already won Best Actor once, can win again for "The Revenant"?

In the time that followed, Martin focused on preparing for "Joker," concentrating his energy on directing, while leaving all the affairs of the production team to Louise.

The two of them had a bit of the presence of Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas.

By April, The Shallows had ended its overseas screenings, with a cumulative global box office of $3.17 million.

Martin led the crew from Los Angeles to New York for final preparations and filming.

(End of this chapter)