America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

The helicopter had just entered the Los Angeles area when Bruce poked Martin with his finger, pointing outside the window.

With one hand holding his noise-cancelling headset, Martin turned to look in that direction. A helicopter, emblazoned with a TV logo, followed at a safe distance—its crew and cameras faintly visible.

This was the kind of media attention only superstars received!

Of course, it might have been orchestrated by Nolan ahead of time, since the goal now was to build as much hype as possible.

The helicopter carrying Martin descended over Beverly Hills, landing on the helipad of his newly purchased mansion.

Thomas, who was waiting there, immediately ushered Martin into a car, with Bruce driving straight to the psychology clinic on Sunset Boulevard, the helicopter above tailing them all the while.

In front of the psychology clinic, over twenty informed entertainment reporters and paparazzi were already waiting.

Ivan had leaked the news before the helicopter took off from San Diego.

Several male staff members at the clinic kept a path clear, and as soon as Bruce arrived in the Cadillac, they blocked the surging crowd of reporters, allowing Martin to enter the clinic right away.

The entrance was engulfed in the flash of cameras.

In an office on the third floor facing the street, the clinic's largest partner couldn't stop smiling. Was there a better way to publicize than this?

Hollywood stars were all prime customers, given their immense pressure!

The partner picked up the phone and dialed Martin's personal doctor's number. Once connected, he said, "Laura, I don't care what requests Martin makes, you're to accept them, understand? Even if he asks you to strip-tease to relax, you must cooperate!"

"But..." there was hesitation on the other end.

"Just do it!" The partner hung up the call abruptly.

Downstairs in the consultation room, Laura saw Martin come in and said, "Take a seat anywhere. What can I help you with?"

Martin pointed to the cabinet behind her, "Where's my blanket?"

Laura opened the cabinet and handed a blanket to Martin, "Don't you need therapy?"

Martin lay down and said, "Unless you're willing to help me form an army of beauties, storm into Washington, seize the White House, and dissolve the United States Federal Government."

Seeing that Martin was not engaging in any outrageous behavior, Laura relaxed and laughingly said, "Aren't you the Sect Hierarch of the Cola Cult? Just call on your followers to accompany you."

Martin bluffed, "I'm missing a saintess who can brainwash people."

Laura was curious, "Aside from brainwashing, does the saintess have to do anything else?"

Martin casually said, "If you're willing to do other things, I don't mind."

"How about the saintess's salary?" Laura was very curious. In fact, if the pay was high enough, she was not opposed to considering a career change.

After all, it was just a job to make money.

Martin chuckled, "Of course, it's for free. You must understand, the saintess's mission to dissolve the United States Federal Government is a grand one and shouldn't be measured by money. Many people are even willing to donate all their property to join this great cause."

Laura shrugged her shoulders, "Your brainwashing skills are quite poor, lacking allure."

"That's why I need a professional like you." Martin stopped the nonsense, covered himself with the blanket, and went to sleep.

Laura sat back at her desk, took out a book, and began to read.

Forty minutes later, Martin woke from a light sleep, folded the blanket, handed it to Laura, then headed to the adjoining washroom for a quick freshen-up, ready to leave.

Out of the blue, Laura said, "Remember to come here every week on time."

Martin replied, "No problem."

The phone on the desk rang, and the partner called Laura to the reception room.

Martin had already coordinated with The Dark Knight Crew and had Thomas arrange a mock news conference about him, which Laura would attend as his psychologist.

Since Martin was generous with compensation, Laura hardly thought about it and readily agreed.

The next morning, representing Martin, Thomas held the news conference in the Warner Building press room.

Dressed in a black suit, Laura faced the many media cameras with some nervousness, but she had the basic psychological strength and only needed to present Martin's "condition."

In Laura's introduction, Martin's case wasn't considered extremely serious but couldn't be ignored and had to be addressed immediately.

Thomas, on behalf of Martin, announced that for the remainder of 2008, Martin would not accept new roles or start filming new movies.

For the second half of the year, Martin was set to participate in post-production for "Benjamin" and "John Wick," discuss new projects and roles with Nolan, among plenty of other work.

As the North American premiere of The Dark Knight approached closer, Warner Bros. and the crew tried everything to create buzz and attract the attention of passersby and potential viewers.

To promote "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros. designed nearly 30 websites related to the movie's plot, covering all facets of Gotham City, from the police department and railway company to taxi services, banks, churches, newspapers, and television stations.

Even on the Gotham City television station website set up by Warner, netizens could watch a series of programs revolving around Batman, the Joker, and other main characters of the movie, with a level of realism akin to operating an actual TV channel.

Martin made at least one call to Nolan every day to communicate timely about marketing hype.

The quality of "The Dark Knight" was assured, but there were too many examples of good movies failing, a good movie with good publicity is key to a big hit.

To create buzz, Nolan put in as much effort as he could.

He even claimed that at first he didn't want to shoot a sequel to the Batman movie but rather wanted to make an original cop thriller, yet he was captivated by the script.

......

Over the weekend, Jack Nicholson arrived on time at The Helen Show on the Warner Television Network.

Helen initially made a name for herself with her brave reporting following Martin, and later leveraged this popularity to start her own show, now rivaling "The Ellen Show" in terms of influence.

After chatting about Nicholson's illustrious past for a while, the conversation quickly moved onto the Trio of Scoundrels, especially Martin.

Helen, on a mission, asked directly, "Last year, you publicly stated that Martin should not have taken on the role of the Joker, and you had a fight over it in the media, with many people saying you had fallen out?"

"A little argument is normal, falling out is an overstatement," Nicholson said, appearing considerate of Martin, "I said those things at the time for Martin's sake because I understand him. He takes every role very seriously, always puts in extensive work, and immerses himself deeply, and the Joker, being so dark and crazy, once he falls into it, it's hard to get out."

Play aside, tiffs aside, the leader of the Trio of Scoundrels wouldn't make a mistake.

Nicholson first had to affirm his own correctness, "I wasn't wrong. Martin is having problems now, his hostile state with Bale, even extending from fiction to reality... Ah, that fool didn't listen to my advice!"

Helen asked, "Do you think there's something wrong with the role Martin played?"

"No, the role isn't the problem, it's even better than I expected," Nicholson said as he firmly planted his flag of correctness before moving on to his main point, "I specifically attended Warner Bros.' internal screening for 'The Dark Knight,' Martin's Joker scared me, it was unforgettable, that Joker was real yet shocking!"
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He didn't wait for Helen to ask again and continued, "Martin's performance is absolutely top-notch, I couldn't ask for better. His Joker's every glance, every movement, even every breath, is perfect for the character, without a trace of superfluity."

Helen aptly asked, "Is it really that good?"

Nicholson replied, "It's even better than my description because right now, I can't find the right words to do it justice."

He made a flurry of hand gestures, yet his expression was utterly serious, "Martin's portrayal of the Joker will revolutionize all past villain portrayals in Hollywood, setting a bar very hard to surpass, because he is interpreting this role with his life and soul!"

Helen cooperatively added, "His agent announced that this year Martin won't take on any more roles."

"I visited Martin yesterday," Nicholson sighed, "He really needs a good rest, especially to completely let go of the character. He's sunk too deep."

He asked, "Have you seen 'The Dark Knight' trailer?"

Helen nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it's very special."

Nicholson added, "Do you feel it, even though Martin's Joker sends shivers down your spine, it also irresistibly makes you fall in love with him, you can't ignore the charm radiating from this character!"

After some thought, Helen conceded, "Indeed, that's true."

Nicholson brought up another point, "I saw the San Diego Comic-Con footage of Martin and Bale, or rather the Joker and Batman's feud extending into reality. Although I'm completely on Martin's side, I think Bale made a very good point."

Once again Helen asked, "Which one?"

"Martin traded his soul with the devil," Nicholson concluded, modifying only the first part of Bale's remark, "to deliver such a stunningly superb performance!"

After a few routine interactions, this episode of The Helen Show came to an end.

The show was broadcast on the television network and would then be made available on several major websites as arranged with The Dark Knight Crew, to ensure it reached a wider audience.

Nicholson barely stepped out of the Warner Television Network when his phone started ringing incessantly.

"Hey, old buddy, is that kid's role really as good as you say?"

"Better than what I've described," Nicholson was having a good time these past years and didn't mind giving a little boost to a junior, "The Dark Knight will be released soon—just go watch it in theaters, and you'll know if I was bragging."

As soon as he put down his phone, another old friend called, inquiring about the same issue.

"With forty years of acting experience as my guarantee, you will see one of the most charismatic film villains in history," Nicholson declared.

On the way from the television studio to the parking lot, Nicholson took six calls, all from old friends who had watched The Helen Show.

Such praise from Nicholson was rare, and they were all very curious.

Nicholson got into his stretch Lincoln and received a call from Martin, who said bluntly, "Did you watch it? I did well, didn't I? Kid, you owe me a good show!"

"First, watch a small show," Martin responded over the phone, "I've lost something."