America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

In the Northville Community, a black Escalade parked by the street, as Thomas just got out of the car, he saw Martin coming out to greet him.

Mene followed him out of the car, curiously examining the house in front of him.

The detached villa was not particularly large, with a lawn in the front yard and a small garden in the backyard, and the structure was made of brick and mortar, not the cheaper wood.

Martin came to the door and invited, "Let's talk inside."

Bruce parked the car and followed at the back of the group.

Arriving at the villa's entrance, Thomas saw a beautiful woman in her twenties coming out to meet them, who bore some resemblance to Lily Carter.

Martin introduced them one by one: "This is Elena, Lily's sister, and behind are Harris and Holle, their younger brothers."

He then introduced Mene and Thomas.

Elena was gracious and after greetings, said, "Please, come inside."

Thomas and Mene handed the gifts they brought to Harris, and followed Martin and Elena into the living room.

Mene, noticing Holle glancing at him repeatedly, whispered, "Don't remember me? When we were filming the Wanted Order, you visited the set and we met."

Holle nodded: "I've always remembered you because you're famous for liking older women."

Mene seemed to have found some common ground with him: "Buddy, got a girlfriend yet? Want me to teach you a few tricks? Whether it's your female classmates or your teachers, try them out and I guarantee they'll be pleased."

Holle was skeptical, looking towards Bruce: "Old Cloth, is he boasting?"

"Not really." Bruce couldn't tell a lie with a clean conscience and told the truth: "Mene really has those skills, especially with women over forty."

Mene gloated: "Many people pay me, but I don't even want to deal with them."

Holle pulled him to a side hall: "You have to teach me, there's this teacher..."

The two sneaked off to one side to whisper, while Thomas chatted with Martin and Elena about some Hollywood anecdotes.

Then, he got to the point, "David Fincher gave a confirmed audition date, inviting you to Los Angeles for a costume screen test with the crew."

Martin replied, "It doesn't conflict with the schedule here, just reply to him directly."

As the two of them started discussing work, Elena stood up and said, "I'll go prepare some tea."

Thomas waited until she was out of earshot, then asked in a low voice, "I heard Bale caused quite a bit of trouble on the set?" Continue reading at empire

Martin replied, "Bale is not the type of disciplined actor that I am."

Thomas didn't ask further whether it had anything to do with Martin, such a silly question, and directly said, "Anything you need me to do, just say it."

Martin smiled, "Just handle things on Los Angeles's end."

"There's one more thing." Thomas had come this time not only to visit Martin on set but also for other work: "Cartier is looking for a global spokesman for their men's watches, and I've made preliminary contact with them."

Although Cartier is not a professional watch company, their watches are also luxury items. Martin asked, "Did they respond?"

"They've expressed some interest," Thomas roughly said. "As for specifics, there's still discussion to be had."

Martin nodded slightly, "You handle the negotiations, it'd be good if you can clinch it." He then asked, "No conflict with other endorsement brands, right?"

Thomas confirmed, "No conflict."

At that moment, Harris came over with the tea and poured a cup for both Martin and Thomas.

Martin looked around and, not seeing Bruce, asked, "Where's Old Cloth?"

Elena came from behind and said, "He went to the side hall with Holle and Mene."

Martin straightforwardly asked Harris, "Did you sort out the deal with the Australian horn?"

Martin had only paid attention to these matters in the beginning after Bruce told him, then he stopped bothering.

Harris said with a smile, "Elena, Bruce, Mene, and I have jointly set up an import and export company, acquired the necessary qualifications, and reached a supply agreement with the crew."

Martin learned a little and did not meddle further.

This business currently only has The Dark Knight crew as a client, but the profit isn't low, and for the four of them, it's a considerable income.

Bruce even specifically dragged Mene into it, and some business collaborations within the crew were also handled by Mene.

When it comes to verbal disputes, Mene has always been skilled.

Mene and Holle came out of the side hall, arm in arm, looking like close brothers.

Martin asked Bruce, "What were those two doing?"

Bruce said, "Mene taught Holle some of his special moves."

Martin looked at Holle, who had also grown up in no time.

It seems that when Harris was Holle's age, he was already tutoring a pair of twins, carefully guiding them, even ending up teaching them under the table.

Elena checked the time and took the initiative to invite, "I've prepared dinner, shall we eat and talk?"

The group moved to the dining room.

The next morning, Martin continued filming at the Gray Film and Television Center.

Thomas rushed to the Coca-Cola headquarters to discuss a new endorsement contract with Coca-Cola.

Both sides were prepared to sign a brand new global endorsement contract, with Thomas ready to increase Martin's endorsement fee to ten million US dollars a year.

Inside the soundstage of Gray Film and Television Center, the film crew convened a producers and director's meeting before starting the shoot today.

Because the scene involved the Joker's critical part, Martin was also invited to the meeting.

Emma Thomas said, "We purchased an abandoned candy factory in the suburbs, where we shot the scene of Rachel being blown up, and afterwards, we repainted and renovated the exterior; from the outside, it now looks very much like a hospital building."

She passed the photos to Charles Roven and Martin, "In a few days, this place will be completely destroyed."

Martin carefully examined the photos, which depicted a very massive building.

Nolan said to Martin, "This is the hospital building the Joker is going to blow up."

"Very interesting," Martin said with a smile, "No one is going to come after us for compensation, right?"

Charles Roven replied, "The place has been abandoned for years, there are no residential areas nearby, and we've also passed the relevant inspections."

Emma Thomas added, "Just go ahead and blow it up."

Martin nodded, "I have no problem with that."

Nolan handed him several pages of a brand new script, "I've had some minor adjustments made to the script based on the actual conditions on-site. Take a close look; the crew will film according to the new script."

Martin quickly glanced over it and still said, "I have no problem on my end."

The director's requirements did not exceed the contract terms, and the actor's job was to deliver quality performance consistently—a basic professional ethic.

Charles Roven urged, "Emma, make sure you coordinate with Atlanta's fire management department, just in case."

Emma said, "They've all been notified."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The film crew received substantial support, not just tax incentives from Georgia, but also full cooperation from Atlanta.

The meeting ended in less than ten minutes, and the group each headed into the soundstage to begin the day's shooting.

After a brief rest and adjustment, Bale returned to the crew.

Martin went over to greet him, loudly saying, "Hey Bale, I heard you ran into some trouble; if there's anything I can help with, just say the word. This is Atlanta; maybe I can think of something."

Upon hearing these well-intentioned words, Bale's eyes widened as he stared at Martin, his bloodshot eyes suppressing anger and ferocity.

Because Bale felt that the bastard was clearly mocking him.

There were many people in the crew, and quite a few had heard what Martin said. Seeing Bale's fierce gaze, their opinion of him dropped once again.

"Go away! Just go away!" Bale's words came out as if squeezed through the gaps in his teeth, grating and unpleasant, "Stay away from me and stop pretending to be the good guy!"

Martin's face, painted white with greasepaint, could not hide the sense of grievance seeping out from him, "Pretending to be the good guy? Ha ha..."

He shook his head, laughed, and left the place.

Bale glared at Martin like a mad wolf.

Suddenly, whispers arose around them.

"How can he be like this, taking his own mistakes out on someone else?"

"Martin was being genuinely kind; even if he doesn't accept it, there's no need for that attitude!"

"Exactly, compared to Martin, he's less capable, has a worse temper, and acts as though he is so important."

Following the voices, Bale turned his head and found it was a few temporary actors from Atlanta muttering. His anger surged.

But recalling that Director Nolan had been very displeased with him for the past few days, he swallowed the vile words that almost slipped out.

Bale took a drink of water, shook his head vigorously, and suddenly realized there were no good people in this crew!

Even Morgan Freeman and Maggie JillEnhall often hung out with Martin Davis.

The mocking and ridiculing words only disappeared when the shoot began.

Bale's state of anger did not affect the shooting since the remaining Batman scenes were mostly of him being provoked by the Joker.

Scene after scene, that pale face was always laughing in front of Bale, laughing wildly and manically, making him want to punch it hard.

During a break, Morgan Freeman joined Martin again, saying, "I've been acting for decades, and out of all the crews, The Dark Knight's is the most intriguing."

Martin grinned, "Really? Even more fun than the crews in the seventies and eighties? I heard they played even harder back then."

"It's different," Freeman thought for a moment and said, "Back then, actors were actors, and directors were directors."

He nodded towards the director's monitor, "Look at this crew now, the director doesn't seem like a director, the lead doesn't seem like a lead."

Martin agreed, "So, Morgan, that's why this is a new era crew, where filming is just a small part of the work; the rest is key to making the movie a big seller."

Freeman shook his head slightly, "I'm getting old, I don't understand it anymore." He pondered and said, "Maybe directors like Nolan will become the mainstream in Hollywood."

"Why's that?" asked Martin.

Freeman replied, "Because whether a movie sells big, the hype, promotion, and marketing have now surpassed the movie itself."