America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

In the conference room of Legendary Pictures, a series of producers, including Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, were convening a meeting to discuss the next key steps.

As an essential part of the Hollywood film industry and even every production crew, Howard, the representative from Firefighter's Fund Insurance Company, was also present at the meeting.

This company provided completion guarantees for the production crew.

The ability to attract global investors to Hollywood hinges on the completion guarantee system, where insurance companies provide coverage to investors, ensuring the film can be completed. In the event of an accident on set, the insurance company even has the right to take over the production crew and recruit people to finish the filming.

If the production can't be completed, the insurance company would pay a heavy price.

Therefore, during the early stages of the crew's preparation, the guarantor would eliminate all unfavorable factors.

As the meeting progressed item by item, Howard refrained from interjecting; the completion guarantee is about the smooth operation of the crew, not meddling in the work.

Charles Roven, who chaired the meeting, soon turned to an extremely important point: casting auditions for the Joker.

"The film features a dual showdown similar to 'The Wire'," Charles Roven said, standing at the front of the conference table, "and the role of the Joker is vital. Currently, multiple actors have passed our initial selection."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He introduced them one by one: "Martin Davis, the hottest young actor in recent years with strong commercial appeal; Robin Williams, an Oscar winner capable of handling diverse roles; Adrian Brody, an Oscar winner for Best Actor a few years back; Heath Ledger, a representative of skilled actors among the younger generation with ten years of experience..."

All the actors who had passed the initial selection appeared on the projection screen.

Charles Roven stated, "The crew will send out audition invitations to these actors."

Nolan took over, "We'll make a decision after the make-up auditions."

Warner Bros. and DC Comics supported Nolan.

Another producer expressed concern, "Heath Ledger doesn't seem quite right, he..."

"Heath Ledger is a fine actor," Ellen Horn from Warner Bros. cut in: "His brooding quality is perfect for the role; Hollywood has always kept life and work separate. As long as the character is developed well and the movie is shot well, personal issues don't amount to much."

Louise did not speak but glanced at her watch. She had just received a text message with just a few words.

"It's handled."

She had known beforehand that Martin, that bastard, planned to take out the most threatening opponent before stepping into the boxing ring to duel.

In the break room next to the conference room, Howard's assistant Phil received a call from someone claiming to be an employee of the Firefighter's Fund Insurance Company.

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The person on the phone instructed him to immediately check TMZ, which was crucial to the success or failure of the collaboration with Warner.

Phil opened his laptop, connected to the nearby Ethernet, logged onto the TMZ website, and saw the front-page headline and video.

After quickly scanning through it and confirming its significant relevance to the project, he hurried out of the break room, gently knocked on the conference room door.

Company policy required that he notify the relevant person immediately in such circumstances.

The conference room door opened, and the interrupted meeting was briefly paused.

Phil apologized and quickly approached Howard, whispering, "There's been an incident, concerning actor selection for the crew, from TMZ..."

He succinctly relayed the information.

Howard nodded, signaling him to find a temporary seat, straightened his tie, propped his arms on the conference table, and said, "There's been a situation. I suggest we pause the meeting to look at the report on TMZ.

Without having seen the report, he was not willing to hastily state his position and simply added, "It's directly related to the crew's future work."

Charles Roven instructed an assistant, "Project it onto the screen."

The assistant immediately performed the relevant operations, and TMZ's homepage quickly appeared on the screen.

Everyone in the conference room saw Heath Ledger's name.

Ellen Horn frowned slightly, sensing trouble.

Nolan appeared contemplative.

Emma Thomas was immediately reminded of the mess that Heath Ledger had made before.

The success or failure of this movie was too critical for the couple's career.

If it failed, they might never recover.

Charles Roven said, "Open it."

The news opened, and three videos played one after another, all featuring the same person, Heath Ledger!

The last video, with the shooting date showing today.

The people in the conference room, all Hollywood insiders, were no strangers to these kinds of things and understood immediately what had happened with just a glance.

Howard's job was risk management, and as he watched the video, he considered the implications. Once the video finished, he stated, "Heath Ledger once endangered others' lives with personal behavior on the Brooklyn set in New York. I did not object before because I thought he had reformed, but the current situation doesn't look optimistic."

He made a judgment: "Considering the safety of the crew, I have reason to suspect that Heath Ledger could endanger other actors' safety. If the crew uses Heath Ledger, it could jeopardize the filming and completion of the movie."

Charles Roven looked to Ellen Horn, hoping that Ellen, being in the same company, wouldn't do anything foolish.

Ellen Horn didn't speak further, as if these matters had nothing to do with him.

Because of Bale's request, he mentioned in passing that Ellen Horn was fine, but he was absolutely unwilling to take on too much risk for this.

Charles Roven exchanged glances with DC Comics' Supervisor Aulin and quickly came to an agreement, saying, "Cancel Heath Ledger's audition invitation; he's not suitable for this ensemble."

Emma Thomas immediately followed up, saying, "I agree."

Nolan didn't speak; Bale had assured him, but that assurance was clearly unreliable.

With no objections from those present, Heath Ledger was crossed off the audition invitation list for the ensemble.

At the end of the meeting, Howard sought out Charles Roven for a brief exchange.

"The work done by the production team on this matter wasn't rigorous enough," Charles Roven gave the appropriate attitude, "I promise it won't happen again."

Howard reminded, "Charles, we've worked together many times, but this time, the budget is too high. A production cost of 180 million US Dollars; if any accident occurs midway, even changing an actor could lead to losses of tens of millions of US Dollars, and we both would be finished."

Charles said, "Don't worry, the ensemble will definitely choose the most suitable actor."

This time, Howard really felt the pressure, "I hope the actor the ensemble chooses isn't just talented in acting, but also isn't too bad in terms of professionalism and work ethic."

Charles responded in agreement.

Howard then left Legendary Pictures and immediately communicated with his superiors at the company upon his return, proposing to temporarily place Heath Ledger on the blacklist of Firefighter's Fund Insurance Company.

This insurance company underwrites completion bonds for nearly eighty percent of movie projects in Hollywood!

......

The news that Heath Ledger wasn't invited for the ensemble's audition reached Martin first.

In the suite at the Four Seasons Hotel, Martin put down his phone, picked up a glass of wine, and poured it into his mouth in one go. The wine flowed down his cheeks, crimson like blood.

A playing card fell from his hand.

The card, gouged with several holes by Martin's fingernails, landed on the carpet, its blankness contrasting against the dark carpet beneath, resembling a devil's face.

The blood-red wine, trickling down the corner of Martin's mouth.

Drip, drip—

Falling on the devil's face, it stained a blood-red Big Mouth.

Bruce suddenly stepped back, thinking to himself, did this bastard have blood in his head instead of shit?

"Ha..." Martin casually wiped the wine stain, his reddened lips parting, "Old Cloth, we've achieved our first target, taking out the biggest threat fair and square!"

Bruce couldn't help but say, "We're too damn righteous. Everything we've done is like divine justice."

Martin laughed heartily, unrestrained. The things that had been pressing down on him were all tossed away as he said, "We didn't do anything but give them a tiny push from behind."

Bruce said, "Exactly, if Heath Ledger didn't have serious issues, how could he have been kicked off the audition list?"

"But such a result makes me exceptionally happy," Martin stood up, dancing and gesturing, "That heartfelt relief is something I've never experienced before."

Hearing this, Bruce suddenly became serious and asked tentatively, "You haven't gotten too deep into character and turned into a real psychopath, have you?"

Martin laughed loudly, "How could I? I'm just enjoying all this, shedding all burdens, the feeling of true relaxation from spirit to body—it's absolutely enchanting."

Bruce's phone rang, and it was Thomas on the line.

The two talked for a while, discussing some movie project details.

Bruce hung up and said quickly, "David Fincher called Thomas personally, claiming that the auditions for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' would be postponed to the second half of the year. He hopes you can wait for the ensemble for a while and then go for the audition."

Martin replied, "No problem."

Having recently freed himself from constraints, some words naturally slipped out, "Tell that ensemble, I don't like Kate Blanchett."

Recently, there were rumors that "Benjamin's" ensemble wanted to invite Kate Blanchett for the female lead's audition.

Bruce made a note, and he would inform Thomas later, leaving the wording to Thomas.

He added, "Rory's First Kiss has been renamed, officially titled 'The Dark Knight.' Auditions for the Joker will be held in three weeks, and the ensemble has sent you a formal invitation."

"Good," Martin said, "Find me a stylist and costume designer, absolutely reliable ones, as per my request."

Bruce acknowledged, "Thomas is on it."

Martin said, "Time flies; we should move on to the next step. Remember to remind that blockhead Leo next week."

Bruce understood what he meant, "Your efforts will be seen by everyone in the ensemble?"