America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 316: Declaring War on the Trio
With the release of the main poster of "The Departed", the film officially started its release promotion.

In this poster, Leonardo, Martin and Nicholson stand in a three-way competition.

The competition for the ranking was not very fierce, and the crew handled it very reasonably.

Leonardo is on the far left of the poster, and his portrait is also the largest, showing the position of the first brother.

Martin stands on the far right, a bust one-fifth smaller than Leonardo.

Nicholson’s full body is the same size as Martin’s, but he is positioned behind the two protagonists, so he is a supporting role after all.

The two-minute official trailer was also played on major TV stations across the United States, and a version full of foul language appeared on the Internet.

Martin's personal blog and the official website of the Coca-Cola Cult announced the specific time of the film's release in major cities across the United States early on.

On the website of the Coke Cult, there is also an additional trailer for Martin's version of his personal character, which recreates the classic scene of a bottle of Coke exploding on his head.

The character he played, Colin, was attacked by criminals and he grabbed the Coke at hand and fought back.

The crew didn’t get the millions of dollars of sponsorship from Coca-Cola for free.

Martin, Leonardo, Nicholson and Scorsese divided into four groups and frequently attended various promotional activities.

Sometimes they would gather together to cheer for the film.

In October, when no heavyweight film was released, "The Departed" is undoubtedly the only one.

In mid-September, the main creative crew went to Toronto.

The Toronto Film Festival is different from European film festivals. It does not have an official award ceremony and is more of a platform for film screening, promotion and trading.

Due to geographical factors, in the eyes of many American movie fans, this is the world's largest international film festival.

The world premiere of "The Departed" was held during the film festival.

In the bar of the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, Martin took the drink handed to him by the bartender, raised it to Nicholson and said, "Do we have a tacit understanding?"

The two of them just discussed making a big move on something next year.

Nicholson sneered, "It's such a fun thing, I'll participate even if you don't ask me."

Leonardo clinked glasses with Martin: "You are really an expert at making things worse."

The three of them drank a cup together, and Martin pointed to the TV hanging from the ceiling: "Look, this is an interview with our director."

Martin Scorsese was interviewed by NBC this morning and was on the news this afternoon.

Most of the content is for promotional purposes, with one section dealing with the asshole trio.

The reporter asked: "Some media reported that during the filming, the three main actors in the crew, Martin Davis, Leonardo and Jack Nicholson, formed a trio. Did this organization play a positive role in promoting the filming?"

Scorsese's expression was quite strange: "They formed a very strange organization, which did help them build tacit understanding among each other, but most of the time they were causing trouble on the set, which was a headache."

Martin was quite innocent and asked his two companions: "We didn't cause any trouble on the set, did we?"

Nicholson and Leonardo shook their heads at the same time: "Absolutely not!"

On TV, Scorsese added: "Sometimes, I don't agree with them on the characters. They are as stubborn as cows, and it takes me a lot of time to convince them and reach a consensus."

He emphasized: "And when the three of them were causing trouble, I felt it would be better to use their pay to hire a few cows to film."

The TV interview ended here.

Leonardo asked, "Are we as stubborn as cows?" He spread his hands and said, "Are we worse than cows?"

Martin said seriously: "Good actors must have unique insights into their roles."

"Scorsese is declaring war on our trio!" Nicholson, as the leader of the trio, rushed to the front when preparing to make trouble: "Leo, Martin, we have dealt with many people before, do you want to deal with Scorsese this time?"

Leonardo pondered and said, "Director Scorsese is old, and his body can't compare to yours. You have to do it within his tolerance."

Martin looked as if he was considering it seriously.

Nicholson asked, "You have so many bad ideas, come up with a good one quickly. The trio has been attacked by the director and must respond!"

He has been friends with Scorsese for decades, and he knows what he is talking about: "We are going to make Scorsese pay."

"You two bastards, listen to me!" Martin gradually came up with an idea: "Here's what I'm thinking. As the most capable trio in Hollywood, we have to respond to the director's remarks while creating an eye-catching effect and making some explosive news to promote the crew. In this way, the crew can reimburse us for the expenses of doing things."

Nicholson said to Leonardo: "Look, he has the most bad ideas."

Martin asked, "This is my first time in Toronto, and I'm not very familiar with this place. Do you two know any ranchers?"

Leonardo said: "I have people I know, people who are rich and people who are friends."

Nicholson said disdainfully: "They are not true friends. They are after your money."

Martin poured wine for the two of them: "We are true friends."

Leonardo deliberately put on a wary look: "What are you planning to do to me?"

Martin patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, I will never plot against you." "Wait!" Nicholson raised his hand to interrupt the two bastards: "You are off topic."

Leonardo changed the subject: "What do you want to do?"

Martin said, "It's simple. The premiere is coming soon. Should we give Director Scorsese a big gift at the premiere?"

Nicholson laughed: "Good idea!"

"I agree!" Leonardo thought more: "Martin, is this a publicity plan you and the crew conspired with?"

Martin neither admitted nor denied it, but simply said, "Aren't we known as the strongest trio? If we want to stir up trouble, we have to make it a sensational hot topic. Those petty fights are meaningless."

Leonardo suddenly remembered something: "After Jack and I left Pinewood Studios, I heard that Emma Watson peed her pants in the toilet because someone blew up firecrackers with her. Did you do that?"

"How could I bully a little girl?" Martin thought he had the best character among the three people: "I swear, it wasn't me."

Leonardo took out his cell phone and made a few calls, urging Martin and Nicholson: "Let's go! There is a big ranch over there. The owner is the cousin of one of my exes."

Martin followed him out and said to Nicholson, "There are many benefits to having many ex-girlfriends!"

On that day, news of Scorsese's TV interview spread quickly. Although he obviously used a joking tone in the interview, the gossip media didn't care. The entertainment media, which would fabricate contradictions out of thin air when there were none, immediately started hyping the news.

"The crew of The Departed is at odds, and the director and the lead actor are having a lot of conflicts!"

"Scorsese slams three leading actors for not acting as well as cows!"

"Shocked! The three big stars in Hollywood are not as good as cattle..."

However, the TMZ website, which was established last year, has taken a different tune from all kinds of gossip media and published several photos in a prominent position on the homepage of the website.

It's all about the crew of The Departed. Whether in public or in private, the relationship between the "badass trio" and Martin Scorsese is very harmonious, and there is no sign of any conflict.

TMZ gradually showed its differences from ordinary gossip media.

Some even call it the Internet version of The Sun.

The parties involved did not speak out until the premiere of "The Departed".

The Ryerson Theater in Toronto is the main venue of the festival, where the premiere of the film is held.

Because from the director to the leading actor, the crew gathered top directors and superstars, and there were also the so-called contradictory reports before, a large number of media reporters gathered at the premiere.

Hundreds of people packed the media area.

Movie fans who came to the film festival to watch movies also listed this gangster film as their first choice for watching movies at the festival, and the red carpet was packed with people.

The members of the Toronto diocese of the Church of Coca-Cola had hung up posters of their leader early on, waiting for Martin to walk on the red carpet and take part in the famous scene that has spread across the world - drinking Coca-Cola together.

Director Martin Scorsese came. The great director was all smiles and was completely unaffected by the media reports.

The leading actress Vera Farmiga has also arrived. As the only heavyweight female face in the main creative lineup, she has also attracted a lot of attention.

Matt Damon, who was absent from almost all promotional activities, rushed over from London, England to attend the premiere. He was very low-key and walked the red carpet as if it was a routine. He neither communicated with fans nor declined media interviews.

When the film was formulating its publicity and promotion plan, Matt Damon communicated with the crew and wanted to use the role of Ding Nan to compete for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but was rejected by the crew because the candidate proposed by the crew was Martin Davis.

One of the two protagonists had to compete for the Best Supporting Actor nomination, so Matt Damon's role had to be abandoned.

Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Jodie Foster also walked the red carpet to support the event.

Movie fans and media reporters at the scene discovered that the three main male protagonists of the film had not shown up yet.

"No way, is there really a contradiction?"

"Aren't they at the premiere?"

The media area was abuzz with discussion.

On the red carpeted platform in front of the theater, Robert De Niro approached Scorsese, who was very familiar with Martin and Leonardo, and asked, "No way, are you really in conflict with them?"

Scorsese just laughed.

Robert De Niro felt something was wrong: "Although Martin likes to stir up trouble, he is a smooth and sociable person, not to mention Leo..."

Suddenly, the horn of the truck sounded, and a van painted with posters of the three male protagonists of "The Departed" drove over from a distance.

No matter fans or reporters, everyone's eyes were focused on that place.

The van stopped in front of the red carpet. Martin, who was driving, got out from the driver's seat first, followed by Leonardo and Nicholson.

The three men came to the back of the car and opened the rear door of the cargo compartment. A piece of iron plate slid down automatically, creating a slope between the compartment and the road.

Martin entered the carriage and pulled out a cow!

The whole place was in an uproar!

(End of this chapter)