Chapter 118. Part 2.

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

1. Hollywood: Head-Hunting System. (Upto chapter 120 completed) (Chapter 121: 30% done)

2. Naruto: Road To Kage. (Upto chapter 10 completed) (Chapter 11: 75% done)

3. Rewrite of Star Wars Phantom Menace. (Chapter 4 completed) (Chapter 5: 69% done)

4. In The Shadows Of The Leaves. Shikamaru SI (Prologue completed) (Chapter 1: 50% done)

5. Marvel: Price Of Power. OC Protagonist (Prologue completed) (Chapter 1: 40% done)

6. "I am Ironman." Tony Stark SI (Prologue completed) (Chapter 1: 20% 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).

I hope you guys didn't dislike the previous part of chapter 118. Some people didn't like that Mark proposed to Anne (Jk Rowling), it was just a proposal relax, though it is true that they would eventually be a married couple. So will the other women he considers "waifu" material in his harem.

An important poll to decide something about the main character from I am Ironman will be hosted with the posting of this chapter. All members free and paid can vote on this poll, so please dont forget to head over to my patr eon and vote. Your votes matter.

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

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~ Quote of the chapter ~

"War.. war never changes."

"Only those who are dead have seen the end of war."

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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 118.1 —

He might even be more frustrated than him, the man was trying to mask his anger but if looks could kill then Marc Spector would be dead 10 times over.

As he looked back at the stage, the reporters and fans had finally shifted the focus from River Phoenix, the talented young actor who had completely stolen the show with his portrayal of the Joker.

Now Continuing —

"Marc, a question?" The reporter asked when he got the mic.

"Sure. What have you got for me, Mr. Williamson?" Marc replied casually, enjoying watching the people be so enamored yet afraid of River's performance.

The reporter was a little surprised that Mark knew his name, but then he remembered that the young director was touted to have a genius IQ. How hard would it be for him to remember a few names?

So, he focused on the question he had prepared. "Marc, What was it that drove you to make a film like this? I don't mean it as an insult; personally, I really liked it."

"Thank you." Mark said with a nod.

"But I am really curious as to how you decided on making such a film. One with so much violence and such an unusual ending."

"Hmm." He hummed for a second in thought, thinking of how to approach this question and how much information he felt was appropriate to reveal. "I think it's no secret that I love comic books, and I am a fan of Marvel."

"But I've had my fair share of DC Comics as well, my favorites being those of Batman."

He started off his answer in a nostalgic and lighthearted tone, as he decided to reveal the whole truth to the audience. This would ensure that the people from Warner who were looking at him like fresh meat wouldn't be able to twist public opinion so easily to bully him.

"Despite all of its plot holes, continuity issues and flaws. I still loved to read the stories of such interesting characters. But I always felt like there was one story that was missing."

By now, the audience was invested into Mark's story; he just had this knack for making things up on the go and making it sound like it really happened. And obviously, the charisma from HK always came in handy in moments like these.

"You see, for some benign reason, the writers at DC never made a comic about the origins of the Joker." They could feel his resignation and frustration just from the tone of his voice.

"I don't know if the people in the audience are familiar with him, but he simply said he is the main adversary of Batman and from his name you must've guessed it. He is the character that started all this." He sounded like a kid telling them about his favorite toys, he was just full of this childish wonder and genuine love for what he did.

"This untold origin story of the Joker became something that stuck with me through the years. And after joining Hollywood last year, I decided that I'd do it myself."

"I even wrote a screenplay and had my team of lawyers reach out to DC Comics to discuss terms last year."

"Obviously, they rejected my offer for a collaboration; it was a sensible choice. I would've done the same." He admitted it like it was a fact, not trying to put down others; he maintained a humble persona but one that knew his worth. 

"After all, at the moment, I was an unknown face in the industry with no credentials. But we still got something out of that deal; we got the "okay" from our legal team that I could go ahead and make this film."

"At first, I was thinking of doing something with a low budget and just focusing on the story of Arthur Fleck. But then my friends and I went out to see the new Batman Film, and right after I bought a comic book company."

"Many people called me a fool for it, thinking that I was wasting good money and that the age of superhero movies was over. I wanted to show them that superhero movies aren't just about wearing a cool suit, having powers and beating bad guys."

"It's about telling a story that would give hope to their audience."

Mr. Stan Lee, who was also present in the audience, couldn't help but nod along with Mark's statement with a smile on his face. He felt glad that Marvel had finally found a good successor, a good leader, and someone who could truly fulfill his dream.

"So I decided to go all in; we gave it a $50 million budget, and I rewrote parts of the script, introducing the Joker in the same movie."

"It's why this film is over 2 and a half hours long and feels like it's telling two stories at the same time, because it shows Arthur's playing out in the past and the Joker's in the current day."

"This dichotomy between the characters of Arthur and Joker was how this film came to be, Mr. Williamson. To be honest, though, I couldn't have done it without River and Rycork."

"I wanted to give River Junior writers credit, but he adamantly refused. You wouldn't believe just how many dialogues of Arthur and Joker's he had improvised."

"But changes like these come at the cost of losing continuity and coherence in the script, and this is where Rycork came in."

"He is a new hire from France, and I must say he was a godsend. It was he who kept reminding and keeping River from going totally off track from script. He truly has a keen eye for detail and diligence that can't be beat."

"Now coming to the ending.. I kept it hopeful and positive because, despite everything that happened in the movie, In the end, I believe that as long as people don't give up, there's always a chance to overcome any challenge life throws at us."

Marc had given quite a comprehensive answer and even revealed the story of him approaching and doing their due diligence with Warner Bros. He was about to move on and pick the next person when the reporter spoke again, asking a question with a pleading look on his face.

"Marc, just one more question please. Why is there so much violence in the film? Your film has a beautiful theme and a very important theme."

"Don't you think that if you tamed down the explicit violence, then you might be able to get a PG rating for the movie, and then more people will be able to watch it?"

Marc was a bit surprised at not being bombarded with controversial questions, but he decided to just take it as a win and not look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Absolutely, you're correct in that assessment. But if I did that, then I might not be able to attain one of the goals that I set for myself when I was making this film."

"I showed such explicit violence in the film, because I wanted the people to hate the Joker and to never find it in them to give a reason to justify his actions. I know it feels a little lazy to split such a complex issue right down the middle, with Arthur being the good one and Joker the evil."

"But as I've said, I didn't want the Joker's actions to be condoned. Instead, I wanted them to relate to Arthur, to feel bad for and root for him, and to even cry when they saw what became of him in the end. Thank you."

"Hmm, let's see. Ah, that's a familiar face in the crowd. Hello, Rian." He said, pointing right at him. The fanboy in question pointed at himself, a little surprised that Marc still remembered him and could easily pick him out in a crowd. "Yes, you, buddy, you got a question for any of us?"

"Yes, umm. One for you and one for Ms. Jeniffer."

"Oh, one for me?" Jennifer was happy to be asked a question, this gathering had a lot of people from the upper echelon of Hollywood. 

So answering a few questions was basically like giving a live audition in front of these industry leaders who could take her career to the next level. But she also wasn't overly excited, as she had coincidentally found herself entrenched in Marc's camp. 

"Who do you want to ask first?" Marc questioned again.

"Marc, you said the characters of Arthur and the Joker were inspired by DC's joker. But while DC's Joker is also clinically insane, he doesn't suffer from multiple personality disorders. Why did you choose that mental illness for Arthur?"

"Because the story had to be grounded in reality.. Ask yourself this Rian. If Arthur and the Joker were the same person, then wouldn't you question why he hadn't been punished or given the death penalty for all the crimes he had committed.

But because multiple personality disorder makes it so that Arthur wasn't in control of his actions, his body wasn't even under his control, and it was the Joker who committed those crimes. 

"This makes it much easier to explain why he was given such leniency; it makes it easier to shift the blame to his other ego, the joker, who committed those crimes."

"Unlike him just being a psycho in the comics and having comic book nerds like me rage about why he hasn't been put down already despite all the atrocities he has committed."

He was unabashed in his answers, telling them about his interests and calling himself a nerd. It painted a picture of a young man with a carefree attitude, and the people watching felt like he was being honest with them.

"The logical answer is obviously because he is an iconic villain, and it is almost impossible to replace the clown. But that isn't something that can be mentioned in a comic book, now, can it?" He asked back with a smug smirk that could be felt despite the mask on his face.

"No. Thank you, Marc." Rian replied, feeling awe at Marc's daring to call himself a comic book nerd, as doing so was like a death sentence to one's social life. But Marc seemed like the guy who had zero fucks to give about what others thought of him.

He really wanted to be like that when he grew up.

Marc just nodded with an eye-smile. He nodded back and then turned to Ms. Connelly to ask his question about a rumor he had heard about her.

"Ms. Connelly." As he said that, he saw Jennifer perk up, paying attention to him. It felt nice to be noticed by a beauty like her.

"I want to confirm a rumor I heard of." The reporters sitting in the front rows had their ears perked up the moment they heard the word rumor.

Oblivious of this development, Rian continued with his question, "It's about the standout scene between you and River."

"I've heard that it was almost completely improvised and that your screams after being thrown off the ledge are genuine because you really thought you were gonna die. Is this true?" The young fanboy asked.

Jennifer was blushing up a storm, at how that embarrassing rumor had spread. She took a deep breath to calm down and turned back to the front.

"Well, the entire scene was actual—" She goes on to explain how she couldn't watch River harass an old man, though it was later cleared up that the old man didn't mind. The next scene is vividly described by her from her perspective, how she didn't even know if the camera was still rolling or not.

She explained how she tried to look towards Marc for confirmation, but River held onto her face and didn't allow her to turn away. It was such a frightening experience for her that for a moment she even forgot that this was just acting and not real life. 

She felt like the Joker was in front of her and that she was gonna die. And when he finally flung her from the ledge, she didn't know that they had created a small platform right below it to catch her fall. 

She hadn't asked if they were going to do the scene where she falls that day itself or not, and she thought that there was nothing to catch her fall, and when finally River let go of her, she really thought this was the dead.

The interview was going really well and even Scarlett got a chance to speak up and tell them about her experience on the set. But then the moment came, the one that Mark was dreading about and hoping would not arrive.

One of the reporters asked Mark if he was a hypocrite because he showed illegal medical practices in his movie. But then went around and did the same by taking over a medical company and was now being sued by the former owners.

Mark just darkly chuckled at the stupidity of that question and got ready to rip him to shreds, "Hypocrite? Sure why not. But at least do your homework if you are going to accuse me of something."

"I am not conducting any kind of illegal medical practices. I have just bought a medical R&D facility in the UK from its former owners - the renowned Pfizer."

"It has been over 4 months since I took over that company. Can you tell me how much profit has been generated by doing these so-called illegal medical practices?"

"That company has earned me nothing since I bought it from Pfizer, instead I am at a net loss of over 30 million dollars because of this purchase."

"They had been working on the formula of a promising serum that unfortunately didn't pan out for them."

"We made took a bet on it, feeling that it might have some other uses than the one it was being developed for."

"So we bought it, pivoted our aim and were successful in the human trials that were approved by the FDA and MHRA."

"Then why are you being sued over by the former owners?" The reporter asked as if he had caught Mark slipping.

"Well, isn't that something that you should find out after doing your own proper research? I already gave you enough information to prove my innocence."

"And I don't have anything to prove to you; this answer was for my fans and supporters that are sitting in the crowd that believe in me, that believe in Eidolon, and in what we're doing for society."

He internally cringed at that ending bit, as it was quite corny, but his charisma was able to carry him through it. Obviously he didn't want to give such dramatic answers, but it was necessary to win over some of the people present here.

After that, he thanked the audience for their patience and presence, and told them to enjoy the small banquet they had arranged for them. But before he took his leave, there was still something left to be said. 

He stood with the mic in his hands as the rest of the cast began to vacate the stage, he took a few steps forward and sincerely made a request to all the critics, to all the reporters that were present there. 

He told them not to advertise his film, saying it was a must-watch that everyone should go and try. 

They were asked to warn the audiences that this was a very intense film and if they were suffering from any kind of mental illness like depression or anxiety or couldn't handle stress. 

Then it would be better for them to skip this film until they get the proper help and are feeling better. 

He knew it might cause initial box office numbers to be lower, but at least it would not build up more negative word of mouth than was inevitable.

He did this particularly for 2 reasons: firstly, because he had recently bought the special skill [Word's Worth]. 

It increased the efficacy of the word-of-mouth of anyone who consumed his product. And it was one of the major factors why the demand for his comics and books were growing steadily.

It wasn't like his stories weren't in demand before; it's just that after the purchase there was a noticeable steady growth. His market research team chalked it up to their brand image growing. But he knew the real reason, he also remembered the caution it came with. 

He didn't want people who would most likely not enjoy watching his film to be the ones to watch it. And then spread negative word of mouth about how it's too violent, and then reduce the number of future film goers in turn.

So he was trying to play it safe and first cultivate a good number of positive words of mouth before the negativity inevitably reared its head. The second reason was a simple reverse psychology trick: asking the viewers who are faint of heart or suffering from mental illness to not watch this film. 

Regular people will feel emboldened to prove to themselves that they are fearless and brave and to prove that they will watch his film, which will in turn raise the box office. 

After he was done making his small request, he went off-stage and exited from the back door on his way to the banquet, using the secret side halls. On his way, he saw that River was waiting for him while leaning against the wall. 

"Hey River, why are you waiting for me here? Shouldn't you be with Joa?"

"He'll be fine; I left him with Keanu." He explained, to which Mark just nodded and waited for him to let it out.

"I wanted to apologize, Mark." He finally said, after a few seconds of silence.

"What for?" Mark asked, confused.

"The movie is done filming; now I am the main lead. It is my job to be the one going on publicity tours and doing interviews. But instead, I'm just dumping all that responsibility on you guys and leaving."

"Hey, don't talk about my friend like that. You already did the hardest part perfectly, your performance as both Arthur Fleck and the Joker were beyond my wildest imagination."

"Now all we need to do is advertise it, and we both know what happened with Knives Out. So you just focus on your journey of healing and finding peace."

"I'm just glad that you accepted my suggestion to arrange for a few bodyguards and a guide for you."

River chuckled, embarrassed, as he scratched the back of his head and replied with an apologetic smile. "Well, after thinking about it with a cooler head, I realized that traveling to India alone would be a very risky thing to do, as I know nothing about the place or the language."

"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.

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

1. Hollywood: Head-Hunting System. (Upto chapter 120 completed) (Chapter 121: 30% done)

2. Naruto: Road To Kage. (Upto chapter 10 completed) (Chapter 11: 75% done)

3. Rewrite of Star Wars Phantom Menace. (Chapter 4 completed) (Chapter 5: 69% done)

4. In The Shadows Of The Leaves. Shikamaru SI (Prologue completed) (Chapter 1: 50% done)

5. Marvel: Price Of Power. OC Protagonist (Prologue completed) (Chapter 1: 40% done)

6. "I am Ironman." Tony Stark SI (Prologue completed) (Chapter 1: 20% done)

To find my Pa tre on page just use the link provided in the Authors Thoughts Section at the bottom of the chapter are Google my name theramenlord with pat.reon.

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).