America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

In recent years, the San Diego Comic-Con has become another major promotional battlefield for Hollywood movies, aside from the Super Bowl, with Warner Bros. renting out an entire exhibition hall to promote its films.

In the exhibition hall, the most eye-catching are "The Dark Knight" and "Terminator 4".

The Dark Knight area gathered a large number of reporters and movie fans today.

The frontline reporters set up their cameras, just waiting for the promotional event to begin.

Cole, a reporter from "Empire", and a few colleagues were chatting idly.

"The memo from Warner stated that Bale and Martin, the two main actors, will be promoting together today."

"Do you remember the news from last year? Due to getting too deep into character, affected by the emotions of the roles, Martin and Bale had a fight on the set."

"I know, Bale was hospitalized to treat a psychological condition because of it, and Martin still sees a psychologist every week, even going to the mental illness center at Presbyterian Hospital in New York when he was there shooting a new film!"

"Have you seen the latest trailer? Joker is just an evil lunatic to the extreme. It's normal for Batman to lose control and hit him."

"You're confusing the filming with reality."

"Isn't that what the top-notch characterization and acting are all about?"

The noise suddenly disappeared around them; the entire media and audience area quieted down when Director Nolan took the stage.

In the waiting area offstage, Martin, accompanied by Bruce, was getting ready to make an appearance.

On the other side, Bale, who had been out of sight for a long time, slowly made his way to the opposite waiting area.

At that moment, Nolan's voice came through, "Please welcome Batman, Christian Bale, to the stage!"

Bale exited backstage and, accompanied by Nolan, answered some questions posed by the media reporters and fans.

Bruce, listening to the noise upfront, said to Martin, "Bale seems a lot more stable now."

Martin replied, "He hasn't been continuously provoked."

Bruce cautioned, "Go easy on him, don't beat him so badly it causes issues."

Martin said, "Today's theme is brawling, Batman brawling with Joker, not one-sided thrashing."

The psychological and mental issues that arose from him and Bale getting too immersed in their roles had been known for a long time.

But the media and the public don't yet know how severe the impacts of these have been.

Soon, Nolan's voice came from the stage again, "Next, please welcome Martin Davis to the stage!"

Martin straightened his suit slightly and strode up to the stage, waving continuously at the media reporters and the large area of red T-shirts below.

The applause started, much warmer than when Bale had come on stage.

Martin lowered his hands and looked forward, where he saw Bale clad in a tailor-made suit.

Almost simultaneously, Bale turned his face toward Martin.

Their eyes met, and the air seemed to twist and ignite.

The keenly perceptive reporters below smelled a hint of scorching.

Cole, from "Empire", whispered, "These two seem like natural-born archenemies."

On stage, Bale's expression was stern, resolute, and unflinching, like a natural-born Bringer of Justice.

Martin suddenly burst into laughter, starting brilliantly, like the midday sun in Southern California.

At its most radiant, his smile turned maniacal and evil, sending shivers down one's spine.

Martin called out to Nolan and Bale, "Why so serious?"

Nolan didn't say anything; the screenplay was already arranged by him.

Suddenly, Bale stormed towards Martin, picking up pace and roaring, "Bastard, you sold your soul to the devil, you're nothing but an evil, chaotic demon."

Martin was still laughing.
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Although there was a script, new grudges added to old ones made Bale's fury authentic, not an act.

He'd been wanting to punch this jerk!

Bale charged, like Batman, swinging his fist at Martin's head.

Martin reached out to block it, and Bale's fist landed on his shoulder; instead of wincing, he laughed even louder.

Bale threw another punch.

If it weren't for the need to promote the film, where Batman couldn't be shown getting beaten up one-sidedly, Martin would have struck with his knee against Bale's soft spot and turned him into a cooked shrimp.

He vigorously blocked Bale's arm, and the two men were now in a wrestling stance.

The media reporters and fans below the stage were stunned: What was happening, the two main actors of the film were fighting on stage?

All had seen the promotional trailer released by the crew, and it was almost an illusion as though Batman and Joker had taken their silver-screen battle into the real world.

Not just the reporters were dumbfounded; even Nolan and the staff on stage froze, and for a moment, no one stepped forward to separate Martin and Bale.

The cameras and camcorders of the reporters were continuously shooting, while quick-reacting movie fans took out their phones to capture photos and videos.

With a thud, Bale and Martin fell to the floor one after the other, entangling fiercely with each other.

Bale kept bellowing, "You chaotic evil demon!"

Martin just laughed heartily!

It seemed Nolan only reacted then, shouting loudly, "Quick! Pull them apart!" His voice was loud, carrying through the microphone around his neck and filling the room, "Damn it, those two characters are still affecting them!"

A few crew members rushed over to break up the fight.

Bruce also took the opportunity to get on stage, just in case something unexpected happened.

A few people surrounded Martin and Bale, and even though Nolan couldn't get a hand in, he truly demonstrated the professional restraint of a commercial director.

"Bale, you're not Batman right now! Martin, you're not the Joker! Both of you, enough!" He was so anxious that his face turned crimson and the veins in his neck bulged, "This is San Diego, this is the real world where you live, not Gotham!"

Finally, Martin and Bale were separated, with several crew members standing between them to keep them apart.

Bale's face was filled with rage.

Martin was still laughing, his smile wild, manic, and evil.

It was time to bring this unusual publicity event to a close.

Nolan directed people to escort Martin and Bale away, specifically reminding them through the microphone, "Go separately, don't let them meet again! They are still under the influence of Batman and the Joker's emotions!"

Only after the two were persuaded to leave the stage did Nolan speak apologetically, "I am very sorry, an unexpected situation arose that made it impossible to continue the interaction. That will be all for this morning."

Many reporters shouted from below, "Did they start fighting because of Batman and the Joker?"

Nolan then said, "I need to understand their situation right now, please pay attention to the crew's announcements, and we will report the specifics as soon as possible."

Without further regard for the agitated reporters and fans, Nolan hurriedly left the stage.

In a backstage lounge, Martin took off his ripped jacket, tossed it aside casually, and said, "As expected, luxury goods are all disposable."

Bruce glanced at it and said, "They say wearing a gift twice is a major devaluation."

Seeing Martin shake his hands, he asked, "Are you hurt?"

Martin rubbed his fingers together and said, "When I grabbed him, I held onto Bale's two wrists, I might have applied a bit too much force, my fingertips hurt."

He massaged his own hand, "Bale's wrists are too hard, not soft enough."

Bruce sympathized infinitely, "Poor Bale."

In another lounge, Bale put his hands in front of him, grimacing in pain as he looked at his aching wrists.

Both wrists were bruised, with some areas turning purple.

How much force did that bastard use?

Bale suspected that if no one had come to pull them apart in time, his wrist bones might have cracked.

Inside the exhibition hall, the reporters went crazy, each clutching their cameras, looking for places to transmit the data. Today's major news had to be sent out immediately.

In the age of the internet, things are different than before when they could take their time waiting for the newspapers to be published the next day.

Now, timeliness is everything.

A reporter from TMZ found a spot with a strong wireless signal, had a colleague whip out a laptop to connect to the computer, and hurriedly sent out the video they shot, then called Jody, "Boss, big news, Bale and Martin got into a fight, and it looks like they haven't fully recovered from their roles as Batman and the Joker.

They started fighting the moment they saw each other, a massive collision between good and evil in reality!"

Jody said, "Continue to watch The Dark Knight crew, it's clear that the psychological issues triggered by their characters have not been completely resolved for Martin and Bale."

Her reaction was super quick, "I'll have someone keep an eye on the Beverly Mental Clinic; Martin might go see his psychologist."

It took a long time before the video from that side was transmitted back to TMZ headquarters.

Jody personally edited the news. She didn't need much text; she took footage of Martin and Bale from the initial leaked behind-the-scenes video that showed them clashing on set due to deeply entering their roles, along with news of Bale's psychological treatment and Martin's weekly clinic visits, and compiled them into one feature.

She called the editor-in-chief for approval, and TMZ's website added a new section specifically for broadcasting news videos related to The Dark Knight, especially about Martin and Bale's conditions.

As soon as the video news was released, it sparked intense curiosity among the onlookers.

With deliberate guidance from the professional team hired by Warner Bros., the focus of the curious public shifted to what kind of plot and characters The Dark Knight had that could have such a profound impact on the two lead actors.

Meanwhile, under the watchful eyes of numerous media cameras, Martin, accompanied by Bruce, boarded a helicopter to leave San Diego early and returned to Los Angeles.

Then reporters at the San Diego airport caught a glimpse of Bale's departure.

Subsequently, The Dark Knight crew held a press conference, where Nolan spoke on behalf of the crew to report the morning's events and the status of Martin and Bale.

"Both actors are not in a good mental state and have left San Diego early," he said with a somber face. "Martin and Bale are both dedicated actors who have given a lot to play the roles of the Joker and Batman. I did not anticipate that two such special characters would impact reality..."

Besides making films, Nolan's ability to promote and hype was exceptional as well.

Facing the onslaught of reporters, he calmly answered all sorts of tricky questions, continuously using the art of language to stimulate the media's curiosity and exploration of The Dark Knight.

Before the evening arrived, The Dark Knight, along with Martin and Bale, had entered the top three trending searches on Google.