America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 886 The Special Agent Sent by DC

Burbank, Warner Building.

Emerging from Kevin Tsujihara's office, DC co-chairman Hamada was in high spirits, his leather shoes making a crisp, rhythmic sound as they landed on the marble floor.

Producer Charles Roven, who was standing next to him, said, "God bless, everything is going well, and Batman v Superman will be released this summer. The Justice League universe is about to enter a new era."

Since the planning of Green Lantern began in 2010, and after experiencing failures and setbacks, the DC superheroes have finally reaped the rewards. Hamada was very happy: "Zack Snyder has already started preparing for Justice League! Charles, we are finally catching up with Marvel."

Although DC sent two executives to intervene, Zack Snyder stuck to his style with the support of Charles Roven, so Roven was very confident about the film: "In three years at most, we can catch up with Marvel and recreate the glory of The Dark Knight."

"Man of Steel gave us a glimmer of hope for the Justice League." At this moment, Hamada felt a sense of triumph. He had been under immense pressure after the failure of Green Lantern. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will turn that glimmer of hope into the midday sun."

Charles Rowan nodded at first, then seemed to remember something and said, "There's something that might negatively impact DC's plans, I don't know if you've noticed."

Hamada, whose mind had been entirely focused on "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and the "Justice League" which was already in pre-production, asked, "What happened?"

Charles Roven cautioned, "Regarding another DC project, Joker, which exists independently of the Justice League universe, Martin Davis, in an interview with The New Yorker, claimed that the script did not borrow any comic book stories or settings..."

Hamada's mood immediately turned gloomy: "I really shouldn't have given him and Warner Bros. the license in the first place."

It's too late to say all this now. Charles Roven knew very well that Martin had teamed up with Nolan to put pressure on Warner Bros., who lacked confidence in Man of Steel and ultimately granted the license.

Historical issues could have negative consequences. Charles Roven said, "If it were any other character, the success or failure of the film wouldn't matter, but the Joker is directly related to Batman. Martin's crew also emphasized Bruce Wayne's audition during the audition process. It is said that Wayne and his son will appear in the Joker solo movie."

"He's riding on DC's coattails." Hamada isn't worried about Joker's failure; on the contrary, he has doubts about the film's success: "Charles, if Joker is a huge success, the film's content and setting will inevitably become as deeply ingrained in people's minds as The Dark Knight. Their decision not to use the content and setting from the comics will cause moviegoers to misunderstand the Justice League series, thus affecting the film's reputation."

Charles Roven also expressed concern about this: "The success of The Dark Knight has led audiences around the world to believe that Batman never kills anyone. This idea is deeply ingrained, but they are neither willing nor interested in understanding that several versions of Batman in the Justice League have used guns and killed people."

As the producer of the Justice League series, he reminded Hamada: "We'd better communicate with Martin and make sure he doesn't go too far. The content and setting of the Joker movie shouldn't deviate too much from the main universe. After all, if things go smoothly on our end, the Joker will soon be added to the new movie."

Hamada knew he was referring to the planned "Suicide Squad," which, according to DC's plan, featured the Joker and Harley Quinn as the core characters.

But thinking about Martin's Joker, which he was currently filming, Hamada said, "Charles, I think the main storyline of Suicide Squad needs to be adjusted, and it would be best to reduce the Joker's screen time."

Charles Rowan understood his concerns: "When we hold a preparatory meeting, let's discuss the business more carefully, and first communicate with Martin's side."

"I'm going to Warner Bros. in a bit to discuss the distribution of 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' with Daniel," Hamada said simply. "I'll have a good talk with Daniel and get him to keep Martin Davis in check."

As for him talking to Martin himself, Hamada never even considered it, as the relationship between the two sides was rather bad.

Charles Rowan left soon after.

Hamada went to the Warner Bros. office floor and met with Daniel, the head of Warner Bros., to discuss the distribution of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".

Although their relationship isn't great, it won't affect their normal work.

Hamada attaches great importance to the Justice League universe; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to meet Daniel in person.

After discussing their regular work, Hamada thought about Martin Davis's ongoing film, *Joker*, and briefly mentioned potential problems and concerns. He specifically said, "Warner Bros. has been handling the *Joker* project. To avoid impacting the main DC Cinematic Universe, I would appreciate it if you could appropriately restrain Martin Davis, and ideally send a few producers over directly..."

This is standard practice for Warner Bros.: in addition to the project manager, another senior company executive is sent to the production team, and this executive has considerable power.

Daniel wasn't impressed with Warner Bros.' approach, saying, "I have faith in Martin's control over the project, and the chances of 'Joker' being successful are very high."

Hamada cautioned, "Don't forget, Martin directed and acted in this himself; he has very little experience."

"No, I think the exact opposite. Martin is a filmmaker with an exceptionally clear mind and a keen eye for choosing projects." The success of The Shallows gave Daniel full confidence in Martin: "Which film that Martin has personally worked on has ever failed? Before The Shallows was made, no one had high hopes for it, but what happened? The Shallows grossed over $3 million worldwide."

He specifically cited an example: "Not to mention the films Martin personally involved in, even those he invested in are constantly successful! Just this past weekend, 'Sicario,' which Martin invested in, received rave reviews and grossed $2000 million in its opening weekend. Conservative estimates put its North American box office at $6000 million!"

Hamada didn't say anything more and decided to try calling Martin himself later.

After seeing Hamada off, Daniel shook his head. As a veteran in the film industry, he could vaguely guess what Hamada was thinking.

But how could he possibly do something like that?

DC has already licensed the Joker standalone film rights to Warner Bros., and Joker is now a Warner Bros. project. If the project fails, the first person affected will be Joker himself.

Warner Bros. and DC executives led by Hamada both opposed the Joker project. If Joker were a huge success, Daniel Radcliffe would be able to prove his ability and vision.

Meanwhile, Hamada returned to his office and immediately had his deputy, Rogers, call Martin to discuss matters such as the Joker's character design and plot.

Unsurprisingly, the other side spoke politely, but their refusal was firm.

Rogers reported the situation to Hamada.

Hamada stated, "This Joker film is beyond our control, and I have a feeling it might harm DC's plans."

Rogers, concerned about his superiors' needs, thought for a moment and said, "DC is the copyright holder and has the right to supervise the film crew. Could we send a representative from the copyright holder to the crew to ensure that DC's copyright is not infringed?"

Although DC is not authorized to send producers to production teams according to the agreement, it is perfectly feasible to send a copyright supervisor, according to some unwritten practices in the industry.

Hamada considered for a moment, but ultimately was unwilling to let "Joker" completely slip out of his control, and said, "Here's what we'll do, Rogers, you will go to the Brooklyn Studios in New York for a while as DC's representative."

Rogers replied without hesitation, "Okay, boss, I'll get ready right away."

Hamada advised, "If possible, it's best to gain some say in the production team and influence the film's production."

Rogers nodded repeatedly: "I understand."

He can understand certain things even without being told by his superiors.

The boss's meaning was quite clear, he practically said it outright: projects like "Joker," which were out of his control and could potentially impact the Justice League universe, were best not to succeed.

…………

Brooklyn Studios, New York.

In the open-air set, the Joker crew is making final preparations before filming begins. In the street-style set, a large number of extras are taking their places as instructed by the assistant director.

Martin, dressed in an inexpensive magenta suit and carrying a traditional clown mask, had just hung up the phone.

Louise, who was standing nearby, asked, "What's going on with the call from DC?"

Martin simply stated, "They want to interfere with the content we're filming. DC believes we should respect the original comics, not create any original storylines."

Louise said, "The problem is that DC comics don't explain in detail why the Joker became the Joker, and there's no clear explanation of the Joker's origin in DC."

Just like when he starred in "The Dark Knight," Martin didn't know the specifics of DC Comics and simply said, "Don't worry about DC, let's stick to the plan."

Louise pushed up her black-rimmed glasses: "Focus your energy on filming and acting. If DC keeps causing trouble, just dump it all on me and let me handle it."

She paused slightly: "I've heard you mention Warner Bros. before. I'd like to see what kind of mess they're planning to make with our project."

Martin thought this was a good idea. He had to juggle the dual responsibilities of director and lead actor, as well as film promotion, and he didn't want to deal with the super talents of Warner Bros. He immediately said, "Based on Warner Bros.' past practices, they are very likely to forcibly send more people to the crew and interfere with our filming and production."

"They wouldn't dare!" Louise said coldly. "If anyone causes trouble on our set, I'll have them sent to the Brooklyn Bridge and thrown into the Atlantic Ocean to feed the fish."

At each key location on the temporary film set that would not interfere with filming, there were more than a dozen professional security personnel dressed in black suits and wearing headphones.

Martin finished his conversation with Louise, called over a photographer, and said, "Go and photograph the security personnel, but don't give them close-ups."

The employment contracts of these people all contain relevant authorizations that allow the videos filmed by the production crew to be used for the film's promotion.

Because of the shooting incident at the premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises," Martin Scorsese had the crew hire a security team specifically for their daily protection.

Martin would utilize every possible angle for promotion and marketing.

A photographer, holding a handheld camera, started filming the security personnel before the film crew began shooting.

Martin went to the location of the director's monitor, exchanged a few words with the first assistant director Steve Downton, and then called over the director of photography Jeff Crowes, saying, "For the first shot, the camera will be in front of me."

"I've got it all arranged," Klonwiss replied.

When Martin put on the clown mask, his demeanor changed instantly. Combined with the mask's special design, he looked somewhat颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of listlessness, decadence, or dejection).

This is also one of the key emotions the character expresses in this scene.

Martin entered the set, and the script supervisor came in front of the camera and clapped the clapperboard.

Filming officially began.

Martin sprinted across the sidewalk, which was filled with extras as a backdrop.

He ran past phone booths, long staircases, and subway stations, frantically and recklessly sprinting through the streets.

In the ensuing run, Martin burst into an alley, panting heavily with his hands on his back, while simultaneously pulling a revolver from his pocket and pointing it at the two men following behind him.

From the despondency before running, to the madness during the run, and then to the evil before the murder, this scene represents the Joker's transformation.

"Stop!" Steve Downton shouted, halting filming.

Martin took a deep breath, put away his revolver, left the set, and returned to the director's monitor.

Clone Wies also came over.

The three of them reviewed the footage they had just filmed.

Martin frowned slightly: "Simply shooting from the front produces mediocre results."

Steve Downton suggested, "Add another camera to film from behind."

"Okay." Martin thought for a moment and said to Clonewes, "Add another camera in the back. Don't use a handheld camera; use a Steadicam."

This allows for cross-cutting of shots from two different angles during post-production.

Soon, another cameraman entered the set and filmed from the same side as the main camera, so they wouldn't interfere with each other.

Martin returned to the set, composed himself slightly, and waited for the script supervisor to clap the clapperboard before sprinting off again.

This time, the filming didn't go smoothly. An extra playing a shopper mishandled a hot dog and blocked Martin's view when he turned around.

Steve Downton immediately called a halt.

"I'm sorry," the man said quickly.

Martin walked past the extra, patted him lightly on the shoulder, and returned to the starting point.

The rest of the crew members were reinstated.

This time, the filming went smoothly, but after Martin reviewed it, he requested that it be filmed several more times.

In accordance with Hollywood's consistent style, similar scenes would inevitably be completed using cross-cutting with multiple shots.

Martin wanted to ensure the crew had enough material for post-production.

After eight takes, Martin finally declared it a success.

Filming has just begun, and the entire crew is adjusting to the conditions, so filming is not progressing very quickly.

The crew shot a total of seven takes that morning.

However, after two or three days of adjustment, the speed increased considerably, since many of them had worked together on "The Shallows".

A copyright specialist from DC was then parachuted into New York.

(End of this chapter)