Chapter 117. Part 3.

{A/N: I'm sorry for not uploading this chapter together with the part 1 and Part 2 what happened was that as I was copy pasting this chapter I actually fell sleep. Sorry (⁠─⁠.⁠─⁠|⁠|⁠）

Anyways this is the final part of chapter 117 I hope you like it and if you want to read ahead and want to read chapter 118 right away then had over to my patreon.

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Anyways let's get on with the story, this is theramenlord signing out.

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~ Quote of the chapter ~

"Some gifts are big some gifts are small but the ones that come from the heart at the best gifts of all. To me, my biggest gift are my readers. So, thank you for reading my work."

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Date: 23rd, March, 1991.

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Time: 06:22 pm.

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Last time on the Hollywood: Head-Hunting System chapter 117. Part 2 —

He tried to ask Joker if he knew about the man who called him on the phone, but the joker just laughed at him and said, "There are no strings, on me.. for I am free." He said with a knowing smile.

It only served to frustrate Gordon, as he couldn't understand the Joker's intent. The two exchanged a series of dialogues that conveyed their ideologies. The Joker with his intent to see the world burn and Gordon with his intent to save every innocent man he could, and how he believed that deep down inside him, Arthur was alive could be saved.

Now Continuing —

Hearing that at the end made the Joker snap as the clown berated him for being too late to save him, as Arthur was already dead. But Gordon's reply surprised him and the audience watching. The seasoned detective explained how most of Joker's actions till now had been to silence Arthur's ego that still remained.

The joker killed everyone that Arthur every cared for in his life, killed his mother whom Arthur loved the most, killed the people who betrayed Arthur, who insulted or took advantage of him like the bank manager and the doctor; and even Murray who he had respect at one point of time in his life. 

He even fulfilled his dream of performing live on TV, why, why indeed. This reveal finally brought the Joker to his knees, he made guttural sounds as he struggled against his chains, until all of a sudden he stopped. 

The joker raised his head, but his expression was different, there was no malice to be found. 

Instead, with tears streaming down his face, Arthur begged for forgiveness. He tried to tell him the address of where the Joker's henchmen were keeping Brooke, but before he could finish. 

Arthur slammed his head into the metal table so hard that it made him bleed, and after a moment of tense silence, he suddenly started laughing maniacally.

When he raised his head, it was the joker staring at Gordon with a demented grin on his face.

"Did ya' really think it was gonna be that easy, Arthur." He spoke with an ugly grin stretching across his face, at that moment he truly looked like the devil. 

It surprised the audience as how could a man go from Arthur to this demon so fast. Jim Carrey, who was also present in the audience, admired River's performance and couldn't help but imagine himself in his place.

"I told you, to go back to sleep or else I'll kill every person who ever made the mistake of treating you kindly."

That line put the fear of god in the audiences, as they just had goosebumps from watching River's performance. This scene of the movie, Mark had written after taking inspiration from movies he watched that featured split personalities like—Split, Anniyan/Aparichit, Primal Fear and Fight club. 

Though most of it came from Anniyan as Mark had River perform both as Arthur and the Joker in the same scene, as they both begged for Gordon to kill them. But with Arthur begging him to kill because he is disgusted by the horrific things he had done and the joker because he wanted to see Gordon break his saint like persona.

Meanwhile, despite the half-heard address, Bruce was able to discern Brooke's location. After playing around for a while, Joker finally told him that he would let him talk to Brooke, Jim agreed on immediately wanting to hear from his daughter. 

He should have thought about it, maybe even left the room, so Joker couldn't pull any stunts. But in his stress and worry, he made a mistake and as soon as the call connected, the Joker shouted and told punchline to go ahead with the plan. 

All they heard was a "yes boss," before the call was cut off, Gordon immediately went ballistic and slammed Joker on the table.

The impact broke Joker's nose, and he was about to make a crass joke, but the angry dad wasn't done with the clown just yet. He lifted him up by his throat and started strangling him, other officers tried entering the room to stop him. But Gordon had already locked the door behind him when he first entered the interrogation room. 

As this struggle was going on, the shot changed to Bruce, who seemed to be fighting a few goons. The fight looked odd for some audiences, they felt like he was fighting more recklessly, he was still taking down the henchmen as he did before. 

He was taking some hits now, and just as he was about to wipe the floor with them, one of the goons managed to sneak up on him and knock him out with a hit to the back of his head.

Meanwhile, Punchline told one of his men to break Brooke's kneecaps and then rape her, one of them tried to say that she was too young. But the hulking brute just lifted him up by the neck and almost squeezed the life out of him. 

The man's face turned red and then slowly almost took on a purple shade as he couldn't breathe. He stopped right before his underling would pass out from the lack of oxygen and dropped him to the floor. 

The man was coughing and breathing in haggard breaths in relief of being spared. While, Punchline told him to just follow the bosses orders.

The man nodded and went towards Brooke, he apologized for having to rape her as he lifted a big hammer. He didn't care about hurting children but taking their innocence was a new low even for a heartless monster like him. 

After closing his eyes to take a deep breath, he swung down the hammer and shot cut to Bruce being dragged by the henchmen through corridors filled with dozens of men in clown masks with a variety of weapons. 

As they reached the end of the corridor and drag him into the room, they heard a girl's scream of pain and agony. The camera was at such an angle that they saw Bruce's fingers twitch, it showed that he was awake from the very beginning. 

As the man was about to make his second swing, he was interrupted by the henchmen, who dragged Bruce into the room. They reported to Punchline that they have captured a man who had infiltrated their base and taken out a lot of their people. 

When Bruce was woken to be questioned, it was he who questioned them instead, asking about what kind of men would hurt an innocent child and requested them to stop.

But Punchline didn't listen and moved towards Brooke to finish the job himself, and then Bruce dropped one of the coldest lines in the movie. His kind request brought goosebumps to almost everyone who heard it, Mark had Brad do over 25 takes of just that particular dialogue till he got it just right. 

And then came the fight scene that the audiences didn't know they needed but were happy to have gotten.

Till now Joker and his henchmen had been getting away with almost anything with the police being highly incompetent at stopping. But now they suspected it might not be the police that is incompetent, but other forces behind it that might be pulling the strings.

For now, watching Bruce just brutalize and stomp the henchmen like bugs was cathartic. It was the perfect pay-off after such a big build-up that had been slowly built up throughout the movie.

The realism of the fight scene took aback, and also the moments when they saw Bruce through the eyes of the henchmen. It almost felt like Bruce got taller and a bit bulkier when he was being seen through their eyes.

But considering the way he was ripping them apart, him looking like a demon in their eyes was quite appropriate actually. Especially when one considered how much Mark loved using the unreliable narrator trope in his movies.

Also, almost nobody in the crowd knew about it, but the other demonic Bruce was actually Mark himself. It was his first time being front and center of the camera and not be hiding in the background.

Thankfully though he didn't have to act or deliver any dialogues, and his martial arts skill was already at the peak of the master tier. So filming this fight scene was a breeze for him, it was super easy, barely an inconvenience.

As this fight was almost over with Bruce dropping that V for Vendetta line, they saw more goons start flooding the room. Punchline goes down by saying that he might defeat him but there will be more, Bruce's eyes look determined as stared them down.

The shot then cut back to the interrogation room, they saw Gordon finally regaining his calm and asking Joker what he had done. But the Joker just laughed at him and then explained that his henchmen were going to break his precious daughter's kneecaps, and then they were going to get a call. 

If Gordon killed him before that call then his daughter wouldn't lose her innocence, but if he didn't comply then his daughter would be mauled by multiple men and then killed. But it didn't end there, as he descriptively explained how they would parade her naked dead body around town.

Surprisingly, Gordon remained calm through all of it, he asked the Joker how would his men know that he was dead. The Joker just laughed and told him not to worry about it, Gordon looked at the window of the interrogation room from the corner of his eyes. 

He hoped that Bruce would get to his daughter on time, while his mind was analyzing the Joker's motive. They got to see internal thoughts of the detective as his mind went a mile a minute, it made them just how smart Gordon truly was when he was in his element.

In just a minute, Gordon had figured out the Joker's motive and couldn't help but want to confirm. He asked what would happen if he killed him, the Joker nonchalantly replied that his daughter would get to live. 

But then the detective asked if he didn't have a bomb planted somewhere ready to explode when he killed him. Joker was stunned into silence a few seconds before he burst out into laughter. He admitted to his accusation but said it won't make a difference, he glanced at his watch and said that his men would be called them any moment now.

And true to his statement, Gordon's phone did start ringing, and it just made Joker laugh even harder. He felt like he had won, the crowd was at the edge of their seats, waiting to see who was gonna come out on top. Hoping for Bruce to win, to save Brooke and help Gordon defeat Joker in his own twisted game.

Gordon picked it up, after a few seconds of listening to it. He said, "could you repeat that," as he put the phone on speaker. 

The scene cut back to Bruce who was walking out of the room, he had wrapped Brooke in his cowl and over his shoulder they saw dozens of men laying defeated on the ground, bloody and bruised but alive.

This was Bruce showing them mercy at Brooke's request, or else he would have crippled each and every single one of those monsters for life. The Joker just laughed maniacally and admitted defeat, he even congratulated them with a clap, all while having a sadistic grin stretching across.

It promised that he might have lost the battle, but the war wasn't over just yet, and with that the screen went black. The soft music of Experience started to play in the background that signified the end of the movie and the credits began to roll.

However, none of the audience got up as they wanted to sit through the credits and see the people who were involved in the making of his incredible movie and with the tradition of including pictures of the Behind-The-Scenes people. 

They knew they would get to see it all.

Directed by

Marc Spector.

Screenplay by

Marc Spector.

Story by

Marc Spector.

Produced by

Marc Spector & Angel Studios.

Starring —

River Phoenix as Arthur Fleck and The Joker.

J. K. Simmons as Jim Gordon.

Brad Pitt as Bruce whose last name shall not be named and Vigilante #1.

Scarlett Johansson as Brooke Gordon.

Jennifer Connelly as Rachel Dawes.

Alec Baldwin as Harvey Trent.

Marc Spector as Vigilante #2 and the Voice of Radio Show Host – Marc Spector.

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After that, the screen went dark, and they heard the click-clack of someone in heels walking. The screen lit back up as they saw the back profile of a blonde woman in a lab coat walking along a corridor.

She seemed to be whistling a melody that they just knew was gonna get stuck inside their head for days, if not weeks. The background score and music choice had always been on point with the film, this was the assessment that both the critics and the casual audience had come to.

At the sound of a buzzer going off, the door was unlocked by the guards stationed outside, and she was ushered into the room. The following shot was taken from behind her right at the angle above her shoulder, framing the shot perfectly as it took in the form of the Joker.

"Mr. Arthur. I am Dr. Harleen Quinzel. I will be your new psychiatrist, seeing how your previous one is indisposed at the moment." She spoke, introducing herself as she came towards the table and sat down.

And it was one of the few times in the movie that the Joker laughed from the heart. It wasn't one of the laughs that Arthur had because of his disorder or one of his fake laughs he did to scare people but a genuine one.

He was laughing at her naïveté, she hadn't even been notified that he had been the reason behind his previous therapist being indisposed. But because of the fate of this chance encounter, as Ms. Quinzel looked just like the woman Arthur had dreamt of.

Right then, he decided that he would manipulate her and make her his, that he would mold her into his own image. The audience who finally got to see her face were also surprised, but when they heard the Joker's inner monologue, they felt bad for the young woman.

But then suddenly they heard a muffled, "no," in the background. It was Arthur, he was still alive.

"What's so funny?" She asked cheerily, trying to break the ice.

He stopped laughing as he threatened Arthur in his mind, and then thought back to the only man that was able to thwart his mad plans. 

It wasn't the newly promoted chief detective James Gordon. But rather the unnamed man who had helped him and thwarted his plans despite being 5 steps behind him.

"You wouldn't get it.." He finally said after his laughter died down, "this is between me and him."

He is then seen being led away by the guards who had buzzed her in. As he moved away, the camera panned down to his footsteps, and they see that the right foot is leaving behind a red imprint as if it was soaked in blood, while the left foot is pristine.

This was to symbolize the duality of two minds that shared one body, Arthur who just wanted to make people laugh and smile and; the Joker who just wants to see the world burn. The scene came to an end as the screen went black with the Joker's laughs echoing in the background.

Roger Ebert and the rest of the critics enjoyed the film, yes, they enjoyed watching it because they had stopped analyzing and dissecting it a long time back. They couldn't help but think that this might be the best movie that they had ever seen, and with that the credits started rolling again.

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Executive Producers

Marc Spector, James Smith and Nina Jacobson.

First Assistant Directors

Todd Philips and Quentin Tarantino.

Second Assistant Directors

Sofia Coppola and Joakim Jönsson.

Director of Photography

Dean Thomas.

Script Supervisor

François "Rycork" Godard.

Camera Operators

Randall Cook, Jeremy Phillips and Ravi Bhatt.

First Assistant Cameras

Sean Smith and Anderson Lucas.

Production Design by

Philippe Techer, Hyuga Tobirama and Siddharth Ravi.

Music by

Hans Zimmer and Marc Spector.

Art Direction by

Jeremy Woodward and David Mcnasty.

Costume Design by

Edna Mode.

Makeup Department

Lead Make-up Artist

Charlotte Tilbury

Assistant Makeup Artists.

Matt Murlock and Ryan Biggins.

Lead Hair Stylist

Jen Atkins.

Assistant Hair Stylist

Jeff Billon.

Casting by

Wendell Rand and Kevin Stacy.

Supervising Producer

Caleb Woods.

Production Assistants

Carlos Bihain, Steven Mullen, Daniel Morales, Saad Ait Zaoui and Mitchell Howard.

Prop Master

Jean A.D.

Head of Special Effects

Xavier "Haze" Reed.

Stunt Choreographer

Matias Alberto Penros Casanova.

Stunt Coordinators

Jeremy Philips, Kahurangi, Alex Hyunh and Jean-Pierre Ivanvic.

Special Thanks to —

Richard Michael Daley, Mayor of Chicago, Illinois.

Inspiration for the creation of Arthur Fleck drawn from "The Joker," created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, appearing in DC Comics.

Distributed by

Universal Studios.

Filmed on location in

New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

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As the end credits came to an end the theater room was once again shrouded in darkness, the audiences were about to get up and applaud but they heard the sounds of wheels squeaking.

The screen lit up again, and their heart strings were pulled as they saw Brooke sitting in a wheelchair and being pushed by Bruce with Gordon right beside him. They are walking in amiable silence, while the young girl is animatedly telling them about her day.

Bruce just nods and gives short answers while Gordon speaks softly to his daughter still filled with the grief and guilt of failing to protect his daughter.

They hand her over to a doctor and the stand in silence that is finally broken by Bruce, who couldn't help but ask him how he was able to keep his cool against the Joker. As any other parent would have immediately lost their mind and shot him dead.

Especially when he knew that no matter what he did his daughter would most likely be bound to a wheelchair for life. Gordon at first had a sad smile on his face as he acknowledged his failure to protect his daughter.

He told Bruce that the only reason he was able to not fall for his tricks was because he had him. Maybe if he didn't have Bruce, he might have taken a different decision in the heat of the moment. But due his backup he was able to think calmly and realize Joker's plan.

After a full body checkup and scan they found a trigger inside the Joker that was tied to a pacemaker. So the moment he killed the Joker the signal would be transmitted and the bombs planted around the critical areas of the city would have exploded.

Bruce just nodded his head in understanding and then Jim Gordon continued saying that he knew his daughter's spirit wouldn't be broken that easily. And despite what the doctors say, he had faith that she would recover, as he finishes that line.

The camera pans to Brooke who had been undergoing physiotherapy treatment for months. And right at that moment, she stood up for the first time since that incident.

She had tears in her due to the pain or maybe it was because she was overcome with emotions. But she had a determined smile or her face, that was mirrored by a proud smile on her father's and Bruce's face.

— THE END —

After seeing that end credit scene, Roger Ebert couldn't help but think that he was wrong. It was unquestionable that this wasn't one of the best but rather the best movie that he had ever seen.

There was a term that had recently become popular to express this, he remembered it was called "greatest of all time." The Killing Joke was definitely the strongest contender for that title, at least for now he could say that it was the greatest movie of all time.

Title Revealed: The Greatest Movie of All Time.

— To be continued...

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Word Count: 3347 words (after excluding the disclaimer, opening Author's Note and the closing Author's Note.)

Total Word Count of the chapter: 9688 words (after excluding the disclaimer, opening Author's Note and the closing Author's Note.)

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{Closing Author's Note: If you guys want to read ahead of the public release or if you guys like my work and would like to support me then please do subscribe to my pat reon it really helps me out, as it reduces the amount of work I need to take on and can focus more on my writing.

You will find the link to my pat reon in the authors thought section or you can just Google my name theramenlord and patr eon together to find me.

Joining my pat. reon will give you access to the following –

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Sorry for not being able to upload any chapter in so long. Unintended it might be but I took a week long break from webnovel. But now I am back.