American fame and fortune.

Chapter 900: Forced into a madman

In the conference room, Daniel stood in front of a poster of "Joker", looking at the male protagonist thoughtfully.

Louise pushed the door open and said with a smile, "Martin is still in post-editing and will come over later."

Daniel said, "No rush." ​​He changed the subject and asked, "What stage is the post-production of Joker at?"

Louise had coffee brought over and said, "The soundtrack and special effects have been added, and we are now in the final editing process. Martin wants to cut the film from the current 185 minutes to about 120 minutes."

Daniel suddenly sighed: "Both films are kept at around 120 minutes in length, so why do I feel that Martin's Joker is far more reliable than Justice League?"

Louise shared her personal experience: "Martin has been in Hollywood for 12 years and has always been very reliable when it comes to doing real work."

Daniel thought carefully about his collaboration with Martin and found that this was indeed the case.

On the other hand, the Warner team that controlled "Justice League" was actually a compliment to this group of super talents.

The door of the conference room opened from the outside at this time, and Martin walked in, greeted Daniel, and said, "There is a scene that needs to be adjusted temporarily, which delayed the time."

"It's okay." Daniel waited for Martin to sit down and said directly, "The reshoots for Justice League promoted by Joss Whedon have already begun. All the reshoots are green screen scenes in the studio. Warner and DC are keeping a close eye on it. Justice League will be released in November as planned."

Martin said: "Joker is released a few weeks earlier than them, and hopefully it will have a good result."

This is also the result of his deliberate request. If "Justice League" really fails like in its previous life, it will inevitably have a negative impact on other DC movies. Even if DC publicly breaks with "Joker", it is difficult to say what the specific impact will be.

Daniel is also aware of this: "It seems that you are pessimistic about Justice League."

Louise asked directly: "After so much happened to that project, are you still optimistic about them?"

Daniel smiled helplessly: "The top executives of Warner and DC still have confidence."

Martin's post-production work is almost finished, so he will have time later. He asked, "I know Gal Gadot very well. Do you have time to visit the crew together someday?"

Daniel shrugged: "You can go to Warner Studios at will."

He then asked: "Why do you insist on doing post-production at Disney Studios? The conditions at Warner are not bad either."

Martin said seriously: "I can't grasp what those people are thinking. They are all geniuses. If they do something that ordinary people dare not think about or do, it will be troublesome for us."

Daniel thought of those islanders and said, "A few years ago, I would have thought you were overthinking it, but now, I can't figure out what they are thinking."

After talking about some publicity and distribution work, Martin took Daniel into the editing room and showed him a refined cut.

Daniel said: "There is no trace of comics, and there is no trace of superhero movies. Instead, it looks like a movie adapted from reality."

He also had his doubts: "If it were someone else, I wouldn't dare invest too many resources, but Martin, you are different. Warner Pictures is willing to take risks."

Martin has been so successful over the years that they are willing to take risks with successful people.

Martin reminded: "Don't forget, this is the Joker!"

Of course Daniel remembered this key point. Warner Pictures was willing to invest resources in "Joker" not only because of Martin's success, but also because the Joker had already been deified.

Warner Bros. conducted a market survey and found that the version of the Joker that movie fans recognized was Martin's.

Half an hour later, Daniel left the Joker studio.

Martin plunged into post-production again and didn't come out of the editing room until the end of the day.

Louise asked him to go to Sherman Oaks, and they got into Louise's Rolls-Royce together.

Martin leaned back in his seat, his eyes closed due to mental fatigue.

Louise took out a bottle of water, unscrewed it and handed it to him: "Daniel and I have agreed to hold the first internal preview for Joker at the end of August. A total of four previews will be arranged before the public release in October."

Martin took a sip and said, "You decide on these matters. I will focus on the final production of the film in the next two months."

For the post-production of "Joker", he asked Thomas to turn down the invitation to the Cannes Film Festival.

When they arrived at Louise's mansion in Sherman Oaks, Kelly Gray also arrived.

The three of them sat at the bar in the living room, chatting and talking about their past in Atlanta. Louise even mixed a few cocktails herself.

She is now one of the top bartenders and vice president of the International Bartenders Association.

Louise first mixed a glass of paper airplane for Kelly and said, "It was this glass of wine that dragged me down back then."

Kelly took a sip of wine and said, "You slut, you've never regretted anything."

"I made too much money. I won without any effort." Louise mixed another glass of Penicillin and handed it to Martin: "Your wine has a rich taste and distinct layers. It incorporates all the ups and downs of life."

Martin said, "Isn't this your favorite?"

Louise also picked up a glass of Penicillin: "When you get used to the expansion and impact of this wine, it will be followed by rich and beautiful flavors."

She raised her glass to Martin and Kelly: "With these, I have become the top female master in the bartending world."

Kelly said, "Change the wine, change the wine, I also want penicillin."

Louise drank the wine in the glass and pushed Martin over: "I'll give you a glass of the best penicillin."

…………

At Warner Studios, DC's hugely invested "Justice League" is currently reshooting.

Joss Whedon, who replaced Zack Snyder as director, received full support from Warner and DC and gained full control of the project, including the final editing rights.

The black actor who played Cyborg sat in the corner of the studio, staring at Joss Whedon as if he was looking at his mortal enemy.

Just now, Joss Whedon asked his assistant to inform him that most of Cyborg's scenes would be cut.

This is completely different from Zack Snyder's version. In Zack Snyder's version, Cyborg is part of the main plot.

Ruining someone's future is tantamount to killing their parents.

Joss Whedon is in power and doesn't care what these young actors think. He has always been tough in the industry. As early as when he directed Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he caused a lot of controversy. The saying in Hollywood that "Don't let Michelle be alone with the director" refers to Joss Whedon.

In front of the green screen on the set, Joss Whedon stopped filming and came to Gal Gadot, who played the leading actress. He was quite dissatisfied with her and said directly: "Don't do those complicated performances. You don't have that ability, understand?"

Gal Gadot was quite surprised. Is there something wrong with this director? It's not enough to mess with a male actor, but he wants to mess with himself?
Are these actors hand-picked by Zack Snyder all his enemies?

Joss Whedon added: "You are just a vase, you just need to read the lines."

This statement is not wrong in essence, but it makes people feel uncomfortable. Gal Gadot is not an actor without foundation. She immediately retorted: "There is more to the script than just reciting lines. My character..."

Joss Whedon got annoyed and yelled, "Shut up! I'm the director and screenwriter. I told you to shut up and you can't complain! Just read your lines!"

This is completely different from Zack Snyder's style, which made Gal Gadot quite resist: "Sorry, I can't act like this."

Joss Whedon was furious: "Shut your stinky mouth, I can make your character look like a big idiot in the movie, and if you don't do what I ask, your career will be very miserable!"

Gal Gadot looked at the director in surprise, at a loss for a moment.

The set fell into an eerie silence.

DC's representative on the crew, Jeff Jones, rushed over, entered the set as soon as possible, persuaded Joss Whedon, and had a private chat with Gal Gadot for a while.

In the end, under the "persuasion" of Jeff Jones, Gal Gadot acted as a pure vase as required by Joss Whedon.

These are just the tip of the iceberg of reshoots. Joss Whedon showed no mercy to not just one actor, but six actors.

The reshoot crew of "Justice League" is like a powder keg that is heating up. As long as the conditions are right, it will explode violently.

But when this news reached the ears of the top executives at DC and Warner, in their genius minds, it was a completely different situation.

In the chairman's office, Hamada reported the latest progress of the project to Kevin Tsujihara: "Joss Whedon is experienced and tough. He has complete control over the crew. Both the actors in front of the camera and the staff behind the scenes have reached a consensus on their work. The reshoots are going very smoothly. If nothing unexpected happens, all the reshoots will be completed by the end of July."

Because of the setbacks in the project progress, Kevin Tsujihara faced pressure from Time Warner Group and the board of directors, saying: "The film must be released during the planned November holiday season!"

Hamada said: "There is plenty of time. It is definitely in time."

Kevin Tsujihara was still a little worried: "Is everything okay with Joss Whedon?"

"The communication was smooth. He listened to the opinions of the film crew and was not as stubborn as Zack Snyder, who insisted on making the film dark and super long." Hamada said roughly: "Joss guaranteed that the released version of the film would be around 120 minutes. The tone of the film would definitely be like The Avengers, which is light-hearted and entertaining. Many of the shots he reshot were funny."

The dark and serious style didn't work, so Kevin Tsujihara thought it was time to try a different approach: "Let's start the publicity and marketing. The initial cost is $200 million. We must create a big enough momentum."

Because the production cost of the reshoots exceeded $3 million, the final cost will be around $3.5 million.

Adding in the global publicity and distribution costs, the total cost reached $6 million.

This is of course public, and a lot of it involves Warner's media and subsidiaries, which have a different way of calculating accounts.

Kevin Tsujihara then asked, "What's going on with Joker?"

Hamada said: "Warner Bros. has confirmed that the film will be released nationwide in October, and pre-release promotions have already begun. We have publicly separated ourselves from the film, and whether it succeeds or fails, it will not affect Justice League too much."

“After the release of Joker, if Martin Davis still wants to make a sequel, don’t give him the authorization again.” Kevin Tsuji had a personal grudge with that bastard because of his sister and brother-in-law: “When we have Justice League, we can stabilize the situation again.”

Warner Bros. hasn't had an easy time in the past two years.

Hamada then left the chairman's office and went to the studio where the crew was reshooting, once again confirming Joss Whedon's central position in the project.

In the past, DC always didn't trust directors and sent various personnel to experience the crew's creation.

This time, the Warner team will definitely learn from their experiences and give Joss Whedon enough power to allow the director who created the huge success of "The Avengers" to help DC and the Justice League movie universe get rid of the dark and serious style and achieve a real transformation.

The strong support from Warner and DC also suppressed all the dissatisfaction from the crew.

At the same time, DC also released the first commercial directed and edited by Joss Whedon himself.

As soon as the commercial was released, it attracted a lot of attention.

Many movie fans want to see what "Justice League" will look like with a new director.

The changes in this commercial are not particularly big. Joss Whedon has been working in Hollywood for more than 20 years and has some ability. He knows that he cannot make drastic changes right away.

He plans to change the tone of "Justice League" step by step with the release of each commercial and trailer.

Therefore, this 30-second commercial, which no longer looks so dark and serious, did not cause much negative comments.

Among them, the conversation between the Flash and Batman about "money power" also attracted quite a lot of attention.

Warner and DC were encouraged. When Kevin Tsujihara visited the reshoot crew, he personally encouraged Joss Whedon to be bold and go for it in terms of the film's style.

Now it’s July and the official trailer for “Joker” has been released.

Compared to the light-hearted tone of the "Justice League" billboard, this trailer is dark, serious, heavy and depressing. It seems to be repeatedly rubbing the most realistic side of all the slums in the United States in front of the audience.

The Joker in Martin's film can resonate with so many ordinary people.

The Joker is a social animal at the bottom of society. His work is not going well, his colleagues are annoying, his boss is like an oil press, and his living environment is so chaotic that he can be robbed even when walking on the street.

All the suffering he experienced drove a living person into a madman.

So, at the end of the first official trailer, the Joker picked up a gun, quit his job, killed his boss, and beat the brains out of the wealthy elite who laughed at him!

Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for ordinary audiences to appreciate such films.

But the social environment has changed. Since 2008, the North American economy has been in a downturn, the gap between the rich and the poor has continued to widen, class stratification has become serious, and the number of bankrupt families has increased dramatically.

In the trailer, what the Joker suffered is what too many ordinary people have experienced in real life and work.

But most people still have to be office workers.

The heavy family pressure and the financial burden including mortgage and car loans force them to suppress all their emotions and dissatisfaction in their hearts, and they consume themselves like oxen and horses day after day until they collapse.

(End of this chapter)