America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 383 Depression and Neurosis

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

Inside the hospital ward, a hysterical voice rang out: "I'm not a troublemaker, I'm Batman!"

Nolan stood outside the ward, listening to Bale's familiar voice, and thought that the situation was not bad, as Bale still knew that he was Batman.

Parker's face looked very ugly, and Bell was awakened by another nightmare.

Bale was a little sober yesterday and the two chatted for a while. Bale felt that all the problems were with Martin Davis.

But he asked dozens of people in the crew, some of whom were actors or behind-the-scenes employees of the company, and almost everyone thought the problem was with Bale himself.

Since arriving in Atlanta, Martin has been very friendly to everyone on the crew, while Bale always has a gloomy face and gets angry from time to time. After his wife came to visit the set and they had a falling out, everyone on the crew had a very bad impression of Bale.

One person may be wrong, two people may be wrong, but it can't be that everyone is wrong, right?
Now, even Parker thinks that the biggest problem lies with Bell. The trigger should be that Hibby wanted to divorce him and publicly called him a homosexual troublemaker, causing him mental shock.

Parker has read the script of The Dark Knight. The mental state of Batman in the script is problematic. Opposing him is the Joker who is crazy and extremely evil. If Bale is hit one after another, it is possible that he will have some mental problems.

Just as he was thinking about it, Bell's roar came over: "I am Batman, I am the symbol of justice, I will kill the Joker! I will kill that evil Joker!"

The screenwriter who followed Nolan had a tape recorder with excellent recording quality in his pocket and recorded all of Bell's roars.

Nolan has a keen sense of smell. He considered turning bad things into good things before coming.

Parker said: "Bell was so immersed in the role that he has not yet gotten out of it."

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

"His parents are in England, so they don't have much contact with him."

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

The group went up one floor and came to a ward. Nolan stepped forward and said hello: "Old Bull, I'm here to see Martin."

Bruce, who was sitting on the bench at the door, stood up and said, "Please wait a moment."

Bruce went in, and then a group of people came out of the ward. Nolan saw Jerome, the owner of the largest local entertainment agency, and Kelly Gray, the president of Grey Pictures.

Both sides nodded and greeted each other.

Nolan and Parker entered Martin's ward.

The screenwriter was stopped by Bruce.

"Old Bull..."

"Just wait." Bruce pointed to his pocket.

The screenwriter turned off the recorder, sat on the bench, and smiled shyly: "It's my job, don't be offended."

Nolan entered the ward and found that in addition to Martin and his agent Thomas, there was also a beautiful young woman whose temperament and style clearly showed that she was not from an insider.

Martin half-sat on the hospital bed, looking a little weak, and greeted Nolan: "Director, I'm fine. Thank you for coming here."

"Of course." Nolan introduced Parker: "This is Bale's agent."

Martin's face changed and he said, "I have already made the biggest concession in this matter. I didn't call the police and I won't back down anymore."

Parker said quickly: "Mr. Davis, I came here this time, on the one hand, to visit you, and on the other hand, to express my apologies on behalf of Bell and negotiate the follow-up matters."

Martin looked at Thomas and said, "You go and talk. I feel dizzy and unwell."

Thomas walked over to Parker and said, "Let's go talk somewhere else?"

"Okay." Parker stood up and followed Thomas out of the ward.

Elena brought Nolan English black tea and said to Martin: “It’s getting late, I’ll go back first, call me anytime if you have anything.”

Martin nodded slightly: "Don't let Hall and Harris come over."

Elena picked up her purse and left the ward.

After the door was closed, Nolan said, "Bell is mentally unstable and cannot apologize to you in person."

Martin said, "I heard from Old Bull that Bell was clamoring to kill me."

Nolan corrected: "It's Batman who's going to kill the Joker."

Martin didn't make a fuss about it: "I never provoked him, but he wanted to kill me."

Nolan asked, “Have you thought about the follow-up?”

"No." Martin said frankly, "Director, to tell you the truth, I feel a little uncomfortable, but it's not serious and I don't need to be hospitalized for observation. I'm hiding in the ward just to avoid all the gossip."

This is consistent with Nolan's assessment of Martin's physical condition. He said: "In the industry we are engaged in, the exposure rate is too high. You can't avoid it."

Martin simply asked, "What does the crew think?"

Nolan had already discussed it with Charles Roven and said, "According to the agreement, the crew has the right to deduct Bale's completion bonus and give you an additional $200 million as a special subsidy."

Martin knew that the $200 million was probably deducted from Bale's bonus for completing the film, in order to silence him and prevent him from calling the police. Or maybe he needed to cooperate with something else.

Nolan glanced at Martin, and seeing that Martin did not express anything, he said, "If you have any opinions, you can raise them."

Martin seemed to be concerned about the crew and the film: "I think this matter should not be disclosed to the public casually. It would be bad if it had a negative impact on the film's release."

Hearing this, Nolan suddenly felt relieved. The director on whom the pressure of a $1.8 million investment falls will be the one who feels the enormous pressure like a mountain.

If not, he would not have come in person to talk to Martin about how to turn a bad thing into a good thing.

Nolan said: "This matter has been made public and has had a great impact on the crew. I have discussed it with Charles and Orlin, and also talked to Louise on the phone and came up with a preliminary plan."

Martin shifted slightly to get more comfortable. "I'd like to hear more about that."

"Because the character and plot design are too special, you and Bale put all your energy into the performance, which led to you getting too immersed in the role." Nolan did not say this to the screenwriter this time, but asked Martin for his opinion first. After all, Martin is the key to implementing it.

And if Martin disagrees and insists on calling the police, the plan will be useless.

He was more careful with his words: "As the filming went on, after a few months of performance, you and Bale were both greatly affected by the character's personality and the role. The relationship turned to opposition like Batman and the Joker. The hostility turned from inside the play to outside the play, and finally fought like the Joker and Batman."

Nolan thought for a moment and then said, "The cameraman filmed the conflict between you and Bell out of habit. I explained some things in advance. If this is used as the tone, the second half of the conflict must be cut."

Martin already knew that Batman being beaten up by the Joker must not be exposed.

He was silent for a moment, then said directly: "Personally, I think the Joker and I are more suitable as the propaganda core."

Nolan was mentally prepared for this: "The Joker is the core of the whole film."

Martin pretended to consider it carefully.

Nolan knew that Martin always had some ideas about publicity and marketing, so he didn't say anything to interrupt.

After a long time, Martin said, "Can it be like this? My performance is too good. In order to maintain my condition, I am always the Joker in the crew. Therefore, I brought Bale into the play and attacked me like Batman..."

Nolan grasped the essence of this and said it another way: "Because your clown is so outstanding, Bale, who is immersed in the role, mistook you on the set for the clown in the play?"

Martin certainly won’t give up what he should fight for: “Yes, that’s right. Bale is always unconsciously brought into the play by the clowns on the set.”

Nolan felt that this had more selling points than he thought, so he simply asked, "What about Bell?"

Martin shared his happiness generously: "My Joker was so good that not only did he force Batman to lose his temper and abandon some of his bottom line, but the actor who played Batman also experienced tremendous mental pressure in the Joker's madness and extreme evil, which led to some mental problems."

He smiled and said, "Whether it is depression, neurosis, or mental problems, the crew is more professional than me in this area. They will definitely be able to find the most suitable mental illness for Bale based on his actual situation."

Nolan wants to laugh, but it’s not appropriate. The director still has to maintain his standard and can’t be like the actors.

He said seriously, "Martin, you are right. The Joker is too outstanding. He is flamboyant, evil, crazy, and cruel. He has reached an insurmountable height and even profoundly affected the actors who played opposite him. Bale, like Batman, was under great mental pressure and had problems. Of course, you also have problems."

"I understand." Martin was also tortured by the clown because he was too immersed in the role. He asked: "Is Bell's condition serious?"

Nolan said: "The crew will find the best psychological and mental doctors for him to restore him to normal as much as possible."

Martin muttered to himself that he had a feeling that if Bale continued to be like this in the future, it might not be a bad thing in terms of the film's commercial aspects.

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

A neurotic Bale caused by the confrontation between Batman and the Joker has more commercial value to the film than a normal Bale.

In the film, Batman is a character with extremely serious psychological problems.

But Martin and Nolan, the two guys who had ulterior motives, neither of them said it out loud.

How could a good director and good actors with a good external image have such despicable thoughts?

Even if such a situation occurred during the crew's promotion and marketing, it was caused by the publicity department.

As for Martin, no one except Bruce knew what he had done.

Nolan was very satisfied with the results of his communication with Martin, and was extremely satisfied with Martin himself. He felt that this young actor was exactly what he wanted.

The two discussed for quite a long time before Nolan said goodbye and left.

There is no result yet for Thomas and Parker, and it will probably take a few days.

Martin also figured out that the $200 million was not only compensation, but also a publicity and promotion fee for his cooperation.

Nolan left Martin's ward and called the caring screenwriter who was with him, preparing to go downstairs to visit Bale while Parker was away.

After going downstairs, Nolan said to the screenwriter: "Where is the micro camera? Did you bring it?"

The screenwriter patted the bag and said, "It's right here. Just open it and use it."

Nolan thought that similar materials would be needed for future publicity. If Bale was completely sober later, they could negotiate. If not, he would try to get authorization.

He whispered, "Take a picture of Bell's current state."

The screenwriter responded, thinking that the director had upgraded so quickly, using a camera instead of a pen.

(End of this chapter)