Chapter 119. Part 1.

{A/N: Sorry, guys I had been on break. Taking some time to myself. I even lowered my upload speed on patron to 1 to 2 chapters a week. I'm back now, but still there wont be any fixed upload schedule. I will upload here whenever I upload a new chapter on patron.

Also, I would like to thank the new members who has joined me on patr eon, thank you Dwaaljam.

Link to my patr eon will be provided in the authors thoughts section at the bottom of the chapter or you can just Google my name "theramenlord" and patr eon together.

Or just join for free and vote on the polls for the Hollywood novel to decide what books Mark will write, what movies he will direct, what women he will be in a romantic relationship with, etc.

Also free members can read my other works that I have been working on. Anyways onto the chapter.

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Last time on chapter 118.2 –

"It's a good thing that you're finally using your head. Come, let's head to the banquet. The people are waiting for their jester."

"Let's give them a laugh." River replied with a smile, happy to be leaving all this hustle and bustle of the Hollywood in a few days for a long vacation.

Now Continuing –

He couldn't wait to have a conversation with Marc. Last year, at the test screening of his first film, the young man had told him that this movie was going to be one to watch. And he had delivered on his promise, he still felt the rush of excitement from watching the movie.

He sat alongside the other guests in the banquet, waiting for the arrival of the men of the hour. Yes. Men. Because, Marc had made it very clear in his end credits just how many talented artists were involved in the creation of this masterpiece.

And while he respected each one of them for putting in the efforts that went into creating the film. He wanted to personally thank Marc and also talk with him about his involvement with the film.

In the end credits he had observed that Marc had been credited with writing the script, directing the film, serving as its executive producer, editing the film, doing the voice acting for the radio host and even starring as Vigilante#2 in The Killing Joke.

He couldn't think of any other feature film where its creator had been so heavily involved with the project. Marc had even been credited as one of the Stunt Choreographers of the film, and that was the part that surprised him quite a bit.

The action, the stunning fighting scenes, they were so good that they couldn't even be compared with the other movies from Hollywood. With the Killing Joke, Marc had set a new standard for what action and stunts could be in a film.

It was clearly an art film, with various messages and social commentary. But it was the raw and visceral action scenes that made it clear that it was also a commercial blockbuster.

At first when he heard that Marc put in $50 million into the project, he was skeptical but after watching it made him want to question Marc on how he could make such a fantastic film just for $50 million. It felt like it was made with a $100 million budget.

Last year it was Batman Forever made with a budget of $100 million, and it spectacularly failed at the box office.

Its abysmal performance at the box office brought him some joy because he hadn't been invited to the test screening and also because these arrogant studios were starting to believe that as long as they threw money at the film it was bound to be good.

Higher budget doesn't always mean a good film.

He still remembered how, in their last meeting, Mark had made it clear that he wanted to create films that struck the delicate balance between artistic expression and commercial success. And The Killing Joke seemed like a home run on that front, he had seen almost every member of the audience give it a rating of A+, himself included.

While he was lost in such thoughts, his assistant tapped his shoulder, drawing his attention. "Hmm?" He questioningly hummed in reply.

"Sir, Mr. Spector has just entered alongside Mr. Phoenix. It is the perfect moment to start your conversation as the two are together."

His assistant told him to look over towards the door, through which Mark and River had just made their entrance and were now being swarmed with media personalities and industry insiders congratulating them on the great film.

"Let's go." He said, and stood up with a grunt, feeling the muscles of his backache with increasing age.

By the time he got to the duo, he heard the backend of Marc's reply that seemed like a slap to the woman's ego.

"If you truly think that River won't be able to surpass his performance in this film, then I have no words for you. He is even younger than me, you're saying that a man who is just 20 years old has reached his peak, that he'll never get "better" at his craft?"

"He isn't a basketball player Ms. Everhart, he is an actor, an artist, and please don't forget that art is subjective. As for myself, I know that he will give even better and more nuanced performances in the future."

"But for now he deserves some rest, for he has more than earned it." Marc replied as he dismissed her, turned away and began to walk away from her when she suddenly called out to him in a higher tone.

He needed to only take one look at her face to see how badly she had taken Marc's dismissal.

"Is it true that your crew members are leaving?" That statement seemed to grab Marc's attention as he stopped and turned around to look at her questioningly.

His stared must have unnerved her as she just blurted out the reasoning behind her question. "In the end credits of The Killing Joke, except for the heads of the department, we saw many new faces in the end credits."

She said like it was a big secret finally being revealed, "Did you fire them or did they abandon ship?" She asked, at the end derisively, wanting to get a rise out of Marc.

He gotta give credit to Marc because he didn't let the women get under his skin. Instead, what he did was just stare at the woman like she was a special kind of idiot, and then suddenly burst out laughing.

After a few seconds of laughing uncontrollably, he eventually got it under control, and then he stood up straight and apologized to the woman despite her rude question because he laughed at her.

"Man, the reporters in Hollywood really don't do their research, do they?" He asked her teasingly, and before she could make her retort, he gave the answer to her question.

"The reason over half of my crew is "leaving" and is being filled with new faces is because I requested them to. I asked them to help around the new film crews that we've hired for the two films that were in production at the time."

"Abandoned me?" Marc just chuckled at the words he had mockingly asked of her and then left. Thankfully it was in his direction so it was easier to intercept him.

"Marc.. River.. a minute?" He said to the duo as he called out to them.

"Mr. Ebert.. of course. River?" Mark gave his consent and asked River if he was up for it.

"Yeah." The young actor replied, casually.

"Marc, congratulations on making such a great film, you might just redefine what filmmaking means with this one." Mark smiled and nodded in thanks for the compliment.

"And River, this has been one of the most brilliant performances I've ever seen in my life." It immediately brought a small smile to River's face as he also thanked him for his kind words.

"Thank you for the kind words, Mr. Ebert. River really sacrificed a lot for this movie." Mark said, patting River on the shoulder.

"Me?" River asked in a humorous tone before deciding to reveal just how hard Mark had worked on this film.

"What about you?" He asked, elbowing Marc, with a widening grin. "Mr. I do my own stunts." He said mockingly, though he had a fond smile on his face, happy to get a chance to tease his friend.

"Mr. Ebert, believe me when I say this." the critic nodded along, happy to get some backstory or insight.

"During the filming, it almost felt like Marc was possessed by something. The amount of retakes we did, the sleepless nights he spent working with the VFX artists, or with Jean, our props master working on creating 3D models, or with Hans working on the music and background score."

"It's true, he was a taskmaster that worked us to the bone, but nobody, and I mean nobody, worked harder than my friend right here. And don't believe his answer to that reporter for a second, he—"

"River." Mark called out as he shook his head, gesturing to not speak any further.

"But Mark? It's not like Mr. Ebert would leak anything we tell him in confidence." River asked, in turn, he didn't like critics, but he knew that a man of Roger Ebert's stature knew what can and can't be exposed.

"I know that, I just don't want him to write highly of me or our film because of sympathy." Mark replied earnestly.

"Sympathy?!" It was Roger himself who butt in this time, "Marc, do you know what I called your movie when it finally ended?" He asked, looking Marc in the eye.

Marc shook his head, wanting to hear what the renowned critic thought of his film. To be honest, he was a little insecure about it, because, while it was adapted from the Joker and The Dark Knight.

A decent chunk of the story was written by him actually, over 30% of the film's plot was his own original story arc written in an attempt to seamlessly connect the story of the Joker and The Dark Knight.

He took around 30% of the scenes from The Dark Knight that mostly featured the Joker and 65% of the scenes of the Joker but compressed it so it would only take 40% of runtime of the movie.

It was done through flashbacks, quick cuts, using BGM to replace dialogues and leaving it to the viewer's imagination. It wasn't an easy task, especially with him having to serve as the lead editor as well, but it worked in the end.

"The greatest of all time.. that's what I called it, The Killing Joke is the best movie I've ever seen." Mr. Ebert replied with an excited grin.

"Thank you for the praise, Mr. Ebert, but I can't accept such a title when greats like Mr. Coppola and Mr. Scorsese; even Steven and Lucas are in attendance." Mark replied humbly.

"Doesn't matter, most of them are already in agreement." Roger said nonchalantly.

"What?" Mark asked back, a bit surprised, but inwardly feeling happy at the success.

"I had a chat with them on the way to this hall. I gave it straight to them. I told them that I really liked their movies, but the Killing Joke surpasses them all." That statement made Marc's eyes widen with disbelief.

"And even though it's over 2 hours long, I didn't even feel the time pass by."

"I wished it was longer.. I wanted to see more, I wanted to know what happens next.. is Arthur going to be saved? Or is the joker here to stay?" He asked earnestly.

Marc stayed mum despite his questions.

"Marc, please tell me there's a sequel?" He requested, hopefully, wanting to experience more of this beautiful and dark tale that Marc had captured on the silver screen.

"Before I answer that, I have a question for you, Mr. Ebert. You understand how the academy doesn't like comic book adaptations. Do you think my movie can win them over? After all, even if it isn't adapted from a comic book, we all know it's inspired from one."

"If my movie wasn't just inspired by a comic book character, but rather adapted from one, would you have loved it just as much?" Mark asked this question because he wanted to know if one of the most renowned critics of the current times would act snobbishly towards comic book adapted movies, or if he would appreciate them.

It had become a hot topic of debate later on when Martin Scorsese had equated the Marvel Cinematic universe and its movies to theme park rides rather than actual films.

"Absolutely, Marc."

"Your level of filmmaking has transcended almost anything I've seen before. The way you edited each arc of the film, giving the audience room to breathe and digest what they've just experienced. Making them stew in anticipation of what was to come next."

"It felt like you were putting on a master class, the two different stories of the same man yet two different characters separated by time was just beautiful. The way you so masterfully used the unreliable narrator trope when showing Arthur and the Joker was on a completely different dimension than Knives Out."

"I could go on for hours on things that I loved about your film, but more than that, I think you need to hear me say this."

"Marc.. I honestly don't care if the movie is adapted from a comic book, or a novel, or even a video game. All I care about is the story."

"I know what most people in the industry think about us critics.. that we are snobbish people with an elitist mindset. That all we can do is criticize an art form rather than trying to create something of our own."

"But as a critic, all I want is for people to appreciate good stories even if they don't find them very entertaining."

"Because if the movie doesn't even have a story that's worth telling, then why even make it in the first place." with that he fell silent, having said his peace.

Mark took a few seconds to take in all Roger had said, and then gave his own. "And that's where you and I differ, Mr. Ebert. I am of the thought that as long as enough people are willing to appreciate and listen to a story, then it's worth telling."

"Think about it for a moment, if everyone is selfish and all everyone ever does is make stories that they want to tell, then they'll eventually end up facing one loss after the other and go broke."

"But if they're smart about it, they will try to understand what kind of story the people want to see and then make that story come to life. And after doing so a few times, they'll have enough saved up to be selfish for once."

"And also because they told stories that the people loved, the people will also trust in them to deliver good stories. And when eventually they make a story for themselves, the people will still give it a try even if it isn't what they usually prefer. Their fans will do so out of respect and love for them."

"The Killing Joke.. took about 50 million dollars. It was me being selfish. But I only did so after being sure that I'll be able to recoup my losses elsewhere." Mark said with a shrug.

"So that's why you're making 3 movies this year." Roger said, realizing what Mark had planned.

"Yes, but it's not just about trying to mitigate my losses but also for expansion." Mark replied with a nod.

"I see. So a sequel?" He asked again with a hopeful look on his face.

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. For now, all I can say is that I'll definitely be making more films and even TV shows that will continue the story of the Killing Joke. Mr. Ebert I would appreciate it if you could keep that information between and instead say that for now this film is a standalone."

"Sure, I can do that." Roger said making a promise, he then grinned and said, "I can't wait for the next movie. You have made me a very happy man, Marc. Thank you for that."

"You're welcome, Mr. Ebert, I am glad that you like my movie so much." Mark replied with an eye smile.

"So, what was it that you wanted to tell me, River?" He asked River, feeling a little bad at neglecting the young actor.

Normally, actor's of his age would have either left or would be incensed at not being the center of attention. But he seemed perfectly content with taking the backstage and standing silently as he listened to their conversation.

"Oh that?".. His question seemed to have woken up the man from his thoughts.

"Well, you see, Mark had been quite sly in his reply to the reporter." River said, nonchalantly.

This piqued the old critic's interest, and he wanted to know more, so he gestured for the young actor to explain further.

"While it is true that Mark had transferred over half of the original crew from Nirvana towards the newly hired film crews that had been formed."

"It is also an undeniable fact that a few people had been poached by other studios, the biggest hurt was when the lead editor whom Mark had personally trained was poached as well."

"It was because of this very reason that Mark decided to edit the entire film himself as the lead editor, thankfully he had two new assistant editor's with him: Geoffrey Abbott and Mürsel Kenan who proved to be of great help." River said, at the end, with a grateful smile.

This statement caused Ebert to think of a well known phrase: whatever happens, happens for good. After hearing all this from River, he couldn't help but look at Marc with even more admiration and respect than before.

His enemies had tried their best, from burning a set, to poaching crew members. He wouldn't be surprised if he saw reviews painting a false narrative about the Killing Joke. Now it was up to people like him who still had some sway in the public to inform them of the truth.

"Looks like you really went through a lot to make this film, Marc." He finally said with a sigh.

"It was worth it, and it's not like I didn't earn a hefty sum from the early termination fee. Their absence will be missed, but it won't cause much hurt to us. After all, this is Hollywood and here.. everyone's replaceable." Mark replied nonchalantly, with a shrug.

"But not you, Marc.. People like you, who are willing to risk so much to tell a story, are a rare, dying breed now in this industry. I hope you hang on till the end." Roger said with a hopeful smile on his face.

"I will give it my due praise and I'll also give them the warning that you asked for." Marc gave him a grateful nod at that.

"But are you sure about it? It will only cause your chances to recover your production budget even harder." Roger couldn't help but want to ask Marc, as it didn't make any sense.

"You may be right Mr. Ebert but think about it.. If some person who's chronically depressed watched my film, what kind of effect would it have on them?" He hadn't looked at it that way.

"I don't want my film to be the straw that broke the camel's back, and then they might take some rash action like suicide or even go ballistic and shoot up a public area, taking the lives of many innocents." He wanted to make a retort that he was talking in extremes and even if it happened, it wouldn't be his fault, but Marc beat him to it.

"I know it's a very extreme hypothetical situation, but one that I want to make sure or at least do my very best to make sure that never happens."

"I want to sleep peacefully at night knowing that I did my due diligence.. that I did the best that I could." After hearing Marc say that, he couldn't help but feel even more respect towards the young director. If that was even possible.

'His parents raised him right.' He thought to himself, as he quickly left the venue in a hurry to go back home. He wanted to immediately begin writing a review that would ensure that the people who read it knew just how great of a film Marc Spector would be bringing to cinema this summer.

This zeal of his was empowered by a feeling.. after seeing the Killing Joke and talking with Marc. He felt like he owed it to the man that everyone who read his review at least knew what this film is about and gave it an honest chance without being misled by the other paid critics and greedy reporters.

— To be continued...

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Word Count: 3319 words (after excluding the opening Author's Note and the closing Author's Note.)

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{CA/N: Current list of stories being written over at my Pat. reon —

1. Hollywood: Head-Hunting System. (Upto chapter 122 completed) (Chapter 123: 25% done)

2. Naruto: Road To Kage. (Upto chapter 10 completed) (Chapter 12: 35% done)

3. Rewrite of Star Wars Phantom Menace. (Chapter 4 completed) (Chapter 5: 75% done)

4. In The Shadows Of The Leaves. Shikamaru SI (Prologue and chapter 1 completed) (Chapter 2: 30% done)

5. Marvel: Price Of Power. OC Protagonist (Prologue completed) (Chapter 1: 60% done)

6. "I am Ironman." Tony Stark SI (Prologue and chapter 1 completed) (Chapter 2: 30% done)

If you wish to read ahead.or support my work, then head over to pat reon page, the link will be in the Author's Thoughts section at the bottom of the chapter. Or you can just google theramenlord and patr eon (no spaces).