America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 995 - 900 Driven Mad_2
Chapter 995: Chapter 900: Driven Mad_2
Chapter 995 -900: Driven Mad_2
Louise emptied the glass of alcohol and pushed it toward Martin, “Here’s a cup of the best Penicillin for you.”
…
At Warner Bros. Studios, the DC-funded “Justice League” was undergoing reshoots.
Joss Whedon, who had replaced Zack Schneider as director, received full support from both Warner and DC, including complete control over the final cut of the project.
The black actor playing Cyborg sat in the corner of the studio, his eyes fixed on Joss Whedon as if he were staring at a mortal enemy.
Just moments ago, Whedon had his assistant inform him that most of Cyborg’s scenes would be cut.
This was a complete reversal from Zack Schneider’s version, where Cyborg was central to the plot.
Destroying someone’s future was no different from killing their parents.
Joss Whedon, with all his power, didn’t care about what these minor actors thought. Known for his assertive style in the industry, he had previously stirred up a lot of controversies while directing “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
The Hollywood inside saying “never let Michel be alone with the director” was about Joss Whedon.
In front of the green screen on set, Joss Whedon halted shooting and walked up to Gal Gadot, who was playing the lead actress. He was evidently dissatisfied with her and bluntly said, “Don’t go for those complex performances; you don’t have the talent, got it?”
Gal Gadot was taken aback. Was there something wrong with this director? Tormenting one male actor wasn’t enough, he wanted to harass her too?
Were all these actors handpicked by Zack Schneider his enemies as well?
Joss Whedon added, “You’re just a pretty face; just say your lines.”
Although fundamentally true, those words upset people. Gal Gadot, who wasn’t without her own merits, immediately retorted, “The script is more than just lines, my character…”
Joss Whedon, annoyed, snapped, “Shut up! I’m the director and screenwriter. When I say to shut up, you have no right to complain! Just say your lines obediently!”
This starkly different style from Zack Schneider’s made Gal Gadot incredibly resistant: “Sorry, I can’t perform like this.”
Joss Whedon grew furious, “Shut your damn mouth! I can make your character look like a complete fool in the film. If you don’t follow my directions, your career will be very bleak!”
Gal Gadot looked at the director in astonishment, at a loss for words.
The set fell into an eerie silence.
Geoff Johns, Warner Bros.’ representative on the DC team, rushed over, entered the set immediately, exchanged a few words with Joss Whedon, and then spoke privately with Gal Gadot for a while.
Eventually, under Geoff Johns’ “persuasion,” Gal Gadot complied with Joss Whedon’s demands and resigned herself to being merely a decorative element.
These were just the tip of the iceberg during the reshoots; Joss Whedon wasn’t just targeting one actor, but showed no mercy toward six.
The “Justice League” reshoot set was like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode under the right conditions.
However, when this news reached the ears of Warner and DC’s top executives, they saw it as a completely different situation.
In the chairman’s office, Hamada reported the latest project progress to Kevin Tsujihara: “Joss Whedon is seasoned and assertive, totally in control of the set, aligning both the actors in front and the staff behind the scenes in their duties. The reshoots are going exceptionally smooth, and if nothing unusual happens, they should wrap up by the end of July.”
As project progress hit snags, Kevin Tsujihara faced pressure from Time Warner Group and its board of directors, asserting, “The film must be released during the planned November holiday season!”
Hamada reassured, “There’s plenty of time; it’s completely doable.”
Kevin Tsujihara was still uneasy, “No issues with Joss Whedon, right?”
“Communication is smooth; he takes advice from the production side, unlike Zack Schneider who was stubborn, always wanting a dark tone and overly long runtime.” Hamada briefly explained, “Joss guarantees the release version will be around 120 minutes, absolutely similar in tone to ‘Avengers,’ leaning toward light-hearted entertainment. Many of the scenes he reshot are comedic.”
Acknowledging that the dark and serious tone wasn’t working, Kevin Tsujihara thought it was time to try a different approach, “Let’s start promotional marketing. With an initial budget of two hundred million US dollars, we’ve got to create substantial buzz.”
Due to reshoots, the production cost of the film exceeded 300 million US Dollars, and the final expenses would be around 350 million US Dollars.
Furthermore, including global marketing and distribution costs, the total expense was heading straight for 600 million US Dollars.
This was, of course, public information, involving many of Warner’s media and subsidiaries, with a different set of accounting methods.
Kevin Tsujihara then asked, “What’s the situation with ‘Joker’?”
Hamada replied, “Warner Bros. has confirmed a full release in October, pre-release promotions have already begun, and we have publicly distanced ourselves from the film, so its success or failure won’t excessively impact ‘Justice League.'”
“After ‘Joker’ is released, if Martin Davis wants to shoot a sequel, do not authorize him again,” Kevin Tsujihara said, harboring a personal grudge against that bastard due to his sister and brother-in-law, “Once we have ‘Justice League,’ we can stabilize the situation again.”
It hadn’t been an easy couple of years for the Warner Bros. Team.
Hamada subsequently left the chairman’s office and went to the reshoot set at the studio to reaffirm Joss Whedon’s core position in the project.
Previously, DC did not trust directors much, sending various personnel to get a feel of the crew’s creativity.
This time, the Warner Bros. Team would definitely learn from past experiences, giving Joss Whedon ample power to help the DC and Justice League movie universe escape from dark, serious tones and achieve a genuine transformation.
The strong support from Warner and DC also suppressed any voices of discontent within the crew.
Meanwhile, DC released the first commercial edited under the direct supervision of Joss Whedon.
As soon as the commercial was launched, it attracted considerable attention.
Many fans were eager to see what “Justice League,” with a change of directors, would turn into.
The changes in this commercial were not particularly drastic; Joss Whedon, having struggled in Hollywood for over two decades, was competent and knew better than to introduce radical changes right off the bat.
He planned to gradually alter the tone of “Justice League” with each commercial and trailer release.
Thus, this thirty-second commercial, which no longer seemed so dark and serious, didn’t generate much negative criticism.
In it, discussions like the one between The Flash and Batman about “financial capability” even generated quite a buzz.
Encouraged by this, Kevin Tsujihara personally motivated Joss Whedon during a visit to the reshoots, to boldly handle the film’s style.
By July, “Joker” had released its official trailer.
Compared to the light-hearted trend of the “Justice League” billboards, this trailer was dark, serious, and oppressively heavy, rubbing the gritty reality of America’s slums over and over in the audience’s face.
Martin’s portrayal of Joker resonated deeply with many ordinary people.
The Joker, a lowly grunt in society, struggling with his job, despised by colleagues, heavily exploited by a boss, and living in chaotic surroundings, could even get mugged walking down the street.
The adversities he suffered pushed a living man to madness.
Therefore, in the last scene of the first official trailer, Joker picked up a gun, quit his job, killed his boss, and blew the brains out of the wealthy elite who mocked him!
Normally, it would be difficult for the average viewer to appreciate such a film.
But the social environment had changed. Since 2008, North America’s economy had been declining, the wealth gap had been widening, class solidification had intensified, and bankruptcies in families had dramatically increased.
In the trailer, the hardships Joker endured were all too familiar to many ordinary people in their real lives and jobs.
Yet, most still had to slog like beasts of burden.
The heavy pressure of family responsibilities, including mortgages and car loans as economic burdens, forced them to suppress all their emotions and dissatisfaction, consuming themselves day after day like cattle, until they collapsed.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
