America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

"I'm not a pushover, I'm tough!"

In the hospital ward, a hysterical voice cried out, "I'm not a shit-stirrer, I'm Batman!"

Nolan stood outside the ward, listening to Bale's familiar voice, thinking the situation wasn't too bad as Bale still knew he was Batman.

Parker's face looked awful as Bale had been awoken by a nightmare again.

Yesterday, Bale had come to slightly, and the two had talked for a while. Bale felt that all the problems lay with Martin Davis.

But he had asked dozens of the crew, some of whom were actors or backstage staff under the company's banner, and almost everyone thought the problem lay with Bale himself.

Ever since arriving in Atlanta, Martin had been friendly to everyone on the set, while Bale always had a scowl and would blow up from time to time. After his wife came to visit and the two had a falling out, everyone's impression of Bale had plummeted to rock bottom.

One person could be wrong, and so could two people, but surely not everyone could be mistaken, right?

Now, even Parker thought the biggest problem was with Bale and that the trigger was probably Hiby wanting a divorce and publicly cursing him as a homosexual shit-stirrer, which had impacted his psyche.

Parker had read the script of The Dark Knight; Batman's mental state in it was already problematic, countered by an Intensely evil and crazy Joker. It wasn't impossible for Bale to have some psychological issues if he had been repeatedly shocked.

As he was thinking, Bale's yelling came through, "I'm Batman, I'm the symbol of justice, I'm going to kill the Joker! I've killed that evil Joker!"

The screenwriter following Nolan had a recorder in his pocket with excellent recording quality, which captured all of Bale's shouting.

Nolan's nose was sharp, and he had already considered turning a bad situation to his advantage before coming.

Parker said, "Bale has gone too deep into the role and hasn't extricated himself from the character yet."

Nolan nodded nonchalantly and asked, "His family didn't come?"

"Hiby wants a divorce and won't come," Parker replied with a headache. "His parents are in England and don't visit much."

"Let's go and see Martin," Nolan said.

They went up a floor and arrived at a hospital room. Nolan greeted, "Old Cloth, I've come to see Martin."

Bruce, sitting on the bench outside the door, stood up, "Please wait a moment."

Bruce went in, and then a group of people came out of the room. Nolan saw Jerome, the boss of the biggest local entertainment agency, and Kelly Gray, the president of Gray Film Industry.

They nodded and greeted each other.

Nolan and Parker went into Martin's room.

However, the screenwriter was stopped by Bruce.

"Old Cloth..."

"Just wait," Bruce pointed at his pocket.

The screenwriter turned off the recorder and sat down on the bench, smiling awkwardly, "It's my job, no offense."

Nolan entered the room and found that in addition to Martin and his agent Thomas, there was also a beautiful young woman who clearly wasn't from the industry based on her aura and style.

Martin sat up in bed, looking a little weak, and greeted Nolan, "Director, I'm okay, didn't mean to trouble you to come."

"It's only right," Nolan introduced Parker, "this is Bale's agent."

Martin's expression changed, and he said, "I've made the greatest concession in this matter, not pressing charges, and I won't back down anymore."

Parker quickly said, "Mr. Davis, I came here partly to visit you and partly to represent Bale to express his apologies and negotiate the follow-up matters."

Martin looked at Thomas, "You handle it, my head is spinning, and I don't feel well."

Thomas walked over to Parker, "Shall we talk somewhere else?"

"Sure," Parker said, standing up to follow Thomas out of the room.

Elena brought Nolan some British-style tea and said to Martin, "It's getting late, I'll head back first, call me anytime if you need anything."

Martin nodded slightly, "Don't let Holle and Harris come over anymore."

Elena picked up her purse and left the room.

Once the door closed, Nolan said, "Bale's mental state is unstable and he's unable to apologize to you in person."

Martin said, "Old Cloth told me, Bale was yelling about wanting to kill me."

Nolan corrected, "It's Batman who wants to kill the Joker."

Martin didn't dwell on that point, "I never provoked him, yet he wants to kill me."

Nolan asked, "Have you thought about what you'll do next?"

"No," Martin said candidly, "Director, truth be told, I do feel a bit unwell, but it's not serious and there's no need for hospitalization. I'm hiding in this room to avoid the gossip."

This matched Nolan's assessment of Martin's condition, "In our industry with high exposure, it's impossible to hide."

Martin asked, "What's the crew's take on this?"

Nolan, having already discussed with Charles Roven, said, "According to the agreement, the crew is entitled to withhold Bale's completion bonus and will give you an additional 2 million US dollars as special aid."

Martin understood that the 2 million US dollars was most likely deducted from Bale's completion bonus, with the purpose of keeping him quiet and preventing him from calling the police.

Perhaps some cooperation was needed too.

Nolan glanced at Martin and saw that Martin had no comment, said, "If you have any objections, just speak up."

Martin seemed to consider the film crew and film's interests: "I think, we shouldn't leak this incident carelessly. It could bring negative impact on the film's release, which wouldn't be good."

Upon hearing this, Nolan suddenly felt relieved. The pressure of a 180 million US dollar investment could only be truly understood by a director who bore the weight of such a colossal mountain.

If not for this, he would not have come forward personally to discuss with Martin how to turn a bad situation into a good one.

Nolan said, "Making this public would greatly affect the crew. I've discussed it with Charles and Aulin, and I've also phoned Louise. We've come up with a preliminary plan."

Martin shifted slightly in order to sit more comfortably: "I'd like to hear the details."

"Because of the uniquely designed character and plot, your and Bale's entire focus on acting has led to you both becoming too engrossed in your roles," Nolan didn't tell this to the screenwriters first, but rather asked for Martin's opinion because if they were to implement the plan, Martin was the key.

Moreover, if Martin disagreed and insisted on calling the police, the plan would be useless.

He chose his words carefully: "As shooting progressed, after months of performing, both you and Bale have been significantly affected by the personality of your characters and your parts in the film. Your relationship turned into one of opposition, from on-screen adversaries to off-screen hostility, ending in a physical altercation like Batman and Joker."

After thinking for a moment, Nolan continued, "At the time, the cameraman out of habit captured the process of your conflict with Bale. I want to clarify some things beforehand, that if we are to use this as a selling point, the latter part of the conflict will definitely need to be cut."

Batman being beaten up by the Joker certainly couldn't be publicized; Martin was aware of this early on.

After a moment of silence, he stated bluntly: "Personally, I believe that Joker and I are better suited as the centerpiece for promotion."

Having anticipated this, Nolan replied: "The Joker has always been the focal point of the entire film."

Martin put on an appearance of careful consideration.

Nolan knew Martin had some tricks up his sleeve when it came to promotion and marketing; he didn't interrupt him.

After quite a while, Martin finally said, "How about this: My portrayal of Joker is so outstanding that to maintain my state, I'm always Joker on set, which leads to Bale getting too caught up in his role, striking at me just like Batman would..."

Nolan grasped the essence of Martin's idea, rephrasing it: "Because your Joker is so remarkable, did it cause Bale, who was immersed in his role, to treat you on set as if you were the Joker from the film?"

Martin, who wouldn't give up what he was due, asserted, "That's right, that's exactly what happened. Bale is always unconsciously drawn into the film by the Joker on set."

Nolan felt this provided even more selling points than what he initially thought and asked straightforwardly, "What about on Bale's side?"

Martin generously shared the excitement: "My performance of Joker is so exceptional that it not only forces Batman in the film to rage and abandon some of his principles, but the actor portraying Batman is also under immense psychological stress due to the Joker's madness and extreme malevolence, resulting in some mental issues."

He laughed, "Whether it's depression, neurosis, or some other psychological issue, the crew is more professional in this aspect than I am. They could surely, in line with Bale's actual condition, find the most suitable mental illness for him."

Nolan wanted to laugh, but it wasn't appropriate. As a director, he had to maintain his dignity, unlike the actors.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He spoke very seriously, "Martin, you're correct. The Joker is too outstanding - flamboyant, evil, mad, brutal, reaching an unsurpassable height, even profoundly affecting the actor playing the adversary. Like Batman, Bale is under immense psychological stress and has encountered problems. Of course, you've encountered issues as well."

"I understand." Martin would also be tormented by the Joker due to being overly immersed in the role. He asked, "Is Bale's situation serious?"

Nolan said, "The crew will find the best psychiatric and mental health doctors for him, to help him return to a normal state as much as possible."

Martin muttered to himself, having a feeling that if Bale continued to be confused in the future, it might not necessarily be a bad thing from a commercial standpoint.

Almost at the same time, Nolan, who had a sharp business sense, also came up with a similar thought.

A Bale with neuroticism caused by the confrontation between Batman and Joker was of more commercial value to the film than a normal Bale.

In the film's setting, Batman himself is a character with serious psychological issues.

But neither Martin nor Nolan, these two schemers, voiced their thoughts.

How could a director and actor with such a good public image harbor such lowly thoughts?

If such a situation arose during the film's marketing, it would be the work of the marketing department.

Aside from Bruce, hardly anyone knew what Martin had actually done.

Nolan was very satisfied with the outcome of his exchange with Martin and was extremely pleased with Martin himself, feeling that this young actor suited his taste perfectly.

They discussed for quite some time before Nolan took his leave.

There was still no resolution on Thomas and Parker's end; it seemed like it would be a drawn-out matter.

Martin also figured out that the 2 million US dollars was not just compensation but also a fee to buy his cooperation in publicity.

After leaving Martin's hospital room, Nolan called his close screenwriter to make use of the absence of Parker and visit Bale downstairs again.

Once they got downstairs, Nolan asked the screenwriter, "The micro camera? Did you bring it?"

The screenwriter patted his briefcase, "It's right here, ready to use."

Nolan, thinking about the promotional material needed later, decided if Bale fully recovered, they could negotiate, but if he remained confused, they would attempt to secure authorization.

He whispered, "Record Bale's current condition."

The screenwriter agreed, thinking to himself that the director had quickly upgraded from using a pen to using a camera.