America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

The Oscar turmoil was still stirring when Martin suddenly received a notification from "The Dark Knight" production team, Warner Bros. had suffered a data leak, with hackers breaking into the production database, stealing a batch of important files.

It seemed the hacker had taken a leaf from Kim Kardashian's video scandal, selling all the data to TMZ.

The related news spread like a plague, swiftly sweeping across all major entertainment websites, with countless print media following suit.

Martin received a call from Nolan himself, responding to the production's emergency statement by giving an interview to the media journalists who had come specially to Los Angeles International Airport, urging TMZ not to release the stolen data arbitrarily.

Once on the plane, and settled into the stratosphere, Bruce said, "They should be paying us royalties."

"It's Nolan's plan," Martin unbuckled his seat belt and spoke broadly, "He's a remarkable director; ordinary directors concerned about artistic quality will not roll up their sleeves and enter the fray personally."

Bruce asked, "What got stolen this time? It's not videos of you messing with Bale, is it?"

Martin shook his head, "I'm not quite sure."

Bruce suddenly thought of a possibility, "Mene has been in close contact with Emma Thomas."

Martin frowned in thought, "Nolan wouldn't be that crazy."

By the time he rushed from John F. Kennedy International Airport to the hotel, and after taking a nap, TMZ had already exposed these heavyweight materials.

It wasn't the movie's master copy nor the ads and trailers, but behind-the-scenes footage archived by the production team.

All of it was behind-the-scenes footage from the production period, crafted by Martin and Nolan themselves!

Such authentic and interesting extras immediately attracted a multitude of movie fans' attention, keeping the buzz high.

The "The Dark Knight" production promptly released the first teaser, just thirty seconds long, entirely showcasing the duel between Batman and the Joker.

Naturally, the news about Martin and Bale's psychological issues as the two main leads resurfaced.

Not wanting to be left behind in the heat, the "John Wick" production spoke up; given Martin's poor state of mental health, the production would provide a professional psychologist for Martin throughout the filming.

The hacker incident combined with genuine and entertaining behind-the-scenes footage, along with news of Martin and Bale, plus the teaser of the duel, catapulted "The Dark Knight" to the top of the entertainment news, halting the ripple effects of the Oscars and becoming the hottest topic at the end of February.

The traditional media was one thing; on the internet, countless people were spectating.

In the list of the most anticipated films for the summer of 2008 on major movie websites, "The Dark Knight" outranked "Indiana Jones 4" and "Hancock" to claim the top spot.

On the way to Brooklyn Studio, Warner's Daniel shared a ride with Martin.

He said, "Nolan is a very thoughtful director."

Martin completely agreed, "A director for a new era, he might become a top-tier auteur."

Daniel, as the distributor's representative, was not only responsible for "The Dark Knight" but had also signed "John Wick" for Warner Bros. a few days ago. Concerned about both films, he made a suggestion for promotional considerations, "Let's make a big deal out of the MET Gala in May." Explore stories on empire

Martin inquired, "The Metropolitan Museum of Art's charity dinner? The Oscars of the fashion world?"

Daniel nodded, "It has been gaining more attention in recent years. You should be in New York then, so take a day off to join, will you? Warner Bros. is preparing the tickets for you, two of them."

Martin had a memory of this event, dubiously reviewed by the bigwigs in his previous life's group chat as chaotic.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "I'll think of a way to draw attention. If Warner has any good recommendations, let me know."

Daniel countered, "Those idiots at Warner, shackled by years of habit, are far inferior to you, even Nolan doesn't compare."

Martin felt somewhat regretful that Nolan had covertly adopted the method of hyping the video scandal, but he couldn't charge a royalty fee for it.

At Brooklyn Studio, the production rented two large sound stages and an outdoor set for constructing scenes.

Considering Martin's past encounter with a drugged driver, the production went the extra mile to hire professional security personnel to patrol the set and trailer area.

When Martin arrived at the trailer area, he saw Mene.

Dressed in a sharp suit with slightly whitened temples, he had the demeanor of someone accustomed to mingling with successful women, exuding an air of high authority.

This was the heaviest role in the entire series, apart from the male lead.

Mene had prepared very seriously; he came over and said earnestly, "Jonathan, you're late."

Martin pulled out a coin and gave it to Mene, "I want the safest room."

Mene led the way, pulling open the door of the largest trailer for Martin, making a gentlemanly gesture, "This one here."

Martin and Bruce entered the trailer, with Mene following and closing the door behind them.

Soon, the costume designer and the styling team entered the trailer as well.

Inside the soundstage, the various departments of the production were making final preparations for shooting under Chad's coordination.

Chen Hu called over a few stunt performers to remind them of safety precautions.

In the set designed to look like a factory, the extras had already taken their places.

Apart from forklifts and equipment, the factory's rest area also had bottles of Coca-Cola.

After Chen Hu finished, he went through the blocking with the extras once more, and Martin, wearing a Brioni suit custom-made for him, entered the soundstage.

Chad rose from the director's seat and beckoned Martin to the middle of the set.

Chen Hu grabbed Martin, informing him of important points, "All the Coca-Cola bottles are custom-made, so when you make your move, don't hesitate; be quick, accurate, and ruthless."

Martin said seriously, "No problem, I'm good at bashing people with Coca-Cola."

Chad handed Martin a wallet, "This is a very important prop, don't lose it."

Martin then opened and looked inside; there was some change and cards, but the place for a photo was empty.

Chad said, "This is where the female lead's photo will go. Your house will also need to have a group photo and a wedding picture. I've specially set aside time this afternoon. The female lead will go to Brooklyn Bridge later, and you'll take wedding photos together."

Martin put away the wallet, "I'm having a wedding photo shoot for the first time. Make sure to make me look handsome."

Chad laughed heartily, "No problem, I'll take the pictures myself."

The crew started with action scenes, almost all of which were shot live. After all the actors arrived, Chen Hu led Martin and others to do a warm-up first.

Bruce checked all the firearms and handed a USP pistol to Martin, who had been familiarizing himself with this model recently and found it quite handy.

At Chad's command, the clapperboard clapped, and the shooting began.

Martin, alone and armed, charged into the factory.

He hid by the corner, listening for footsteps on the opposite side, moved the muzzle down, and with a bang, shot the enemy's foot, then rolled out.

The shot enemy screamed and fell to the ground, no time to react, before Martin finished him off with two more shots to the head.

He forcefully pushed off the ground, rolling behind a forklift as two enemies shot in his direction, while explosives planted in the ground erupted in plumes of smoke and dust.

Martin fired from beneath the forklift, hitting one man's leg. As that man fell, the USP echoed once more, the actor's head jerking back to simulate a headshot.

Marcus, a former professional soldier who had seen hundreds of people get shot in Afghanistan, delivered a death act that was impressively realistic.

Martin sprang up from hiding behind the forklift, appeared on the other side, and his handgun thundered again, dropping three gunmen to the ground.

He had practiced countless times; his reload was lightning fast. As fresh rounds chambered, the gunfire resumed.

This was also one of the film's signatures, double tapping!

Any enemy that fell before the protagonist was always dead beyond doubt.

"Cut!" Chad called a halt to this long take, praising, "Guys, that was fantastic!"

The film, over a year in preparation, had involved several months of professional training.

Martin's ceaseless training, starting from Atlanta, with firearms training, greatly reduced the difficulty of filming the action scenes.

After a brief rest, they shot several short takes, preparing to film the pivotal Coca-Cola scene.

Coca-Cola was the crew's major sponsor, and Martin was still the Sect Hierarch of the Cola Cult; thus, the crew took the Coca-Cola commercial very seriously.

Of course, they would not allow overly awkward product placements.

Like an ATM from another country's bank appearing in rural America.

Stuntman Lewis entered the set and bumped fists with Martin, "My head's in your hands now."

Martin, having worked with him multiple times, replied, "Don't worry, I won't hit your face."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The bald Lewis touched his face, "This face is what gets the girls."

The shooting quickly started.

Martin charged into the factory's rest area, delivering a low kick that made a man clutch his groin. He then casually picked up a nearby Coke and smashed it on the person's head.

With a crisp crack, the glass bottle shattered, and Coca-Cola splashed everywhere.

Two other men brandishing knives charged, and Martin, with a Coke bottle in each hand, smashed their heads.

He rolled to dodge Lewis's gun, picked up a dropped Coke, and threw it with force, just like he did at Burbank Middle School with the gunman's head.

The Coke bottle exploded on Lewis's head; he seemed slightly dazed as Martin charged, eye-gouging, groin-kicking, throat-locking, and bringing him to the ground.

"Where is Ivanov?" Martin demanded.

"I don't know,"

Martin picked up a Coke bottle and smashed it on the hardest part of Lewis's forehead, waited for the bottle to burst, and asked again, "Ivanov!"

Lewis didn't answer.

Cola War God on scene, Martin picked up another Coke, cursing fuck under his breath, and gave him another bottle.

Chad yelled cut.

Martin quickly asked, "You good?"

Lewis gave a thumbs-up, "Piece of cake."

Both stayed motionless.

The camera position shifted, a prosthetic hand was delivered to Lewis, and the Coke was swapped for the glass bottle version available in stores.

Then, Martin wielded a real glass Coke bottle, smashing the fake hand to force the boss character played by Lewis to disclose Ivanov's hideout.

After extracting the information, he finished off the character with a bottled Coke.

The entire morning was spent filming action scenes.

At lunch, Chad extended the break to give Martin time to recover his energy.

In the afternoon, they filmed for just two hours before the crew announced that work was done for the day.

Martin was heading to Brooklyn Bridge Park to take wedding photos with the female lead.