America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

The makeshift set was still as chaotic as a flea market, and somehow, a piece of gossip began to circulate. Within minutes, everyone had heard it.

"Just heard some of the crew talking, part of the group is heading to Hot Spring Village nearby to shoot bikini scenes."

"I heard the same, specifically looking for twenty-something young and pretty girls."

"They say it's going to be quite revealing, topless."

The more the news spread, the more exaggerated it got. With each retelling, it got a bit more sensational, and by the time it spread across the set, it was almost unrecognizable.

"Martin Davis and Charlize Theron are heading to Hot Spring Village to shoot an explicit scene outdoors, with over twenty naked beauties cheering them on in the opening week."

"Sounds like there's some special ritual in the film, where Martin Davis and Charlize Theron will both debut fully nude."

"Hot Spring Village is such an open place, if we follow along, aren't we in for a treat?"

It wasn't just the men who were interested, but women as well.

A few young girls asked excitedly, "Does that mean we'll get to see Martin's butt?"

An older lady with graying hair retorted, "Who cares about Martin? I heard his buddy Mene is also appearing in this film. Wonder if we'll get to see his behind."

While the spectators were buzzing with speculation, the most conspicuous trailer on the temporary set opened up, and around twenty well-figured women stepped out one after another.

Dressed scantily, they wore nothing but three-point bikinis, apart from their shoes.

The one in the lead had headlights that seemed to be installed with automatic spring mechanisms, and her gait appeared to have been specially trained, causing the headlights to bounce up and down as she moved.

The not-yet-eighteen Kate Upton, although slightly chubby, had a figure that was seriously explosive.

As she headed toward a bus, most gazes shifted her way.

The twenty-something bikini-clad women boarded the bus one after the other, blowing kisses through the windows, which instantly confirmed the rumor milling among the crowd.

A convoy of utility vehicles and Cadillacs set off first, followed by the bus.

The set became even more chaotic, with rubberneckers leaving to follow the caravan to Hot Spring Village.

The place was neither too far nor too close; even those who hadn't driven could walk there.

Even most of the media reporters had taken off.

Not long after, the temporary set quieted down.

Only a scant twenty-some spectators remained, and the media could be counted on one hand.

These people were unlikely to affect the shooting.

In the midst of the set, David Fincher stepped out of a trailer and picked up a walkie-talkie, shouting, "All departments, start prepping immediately."

The formerly quiet set quickly bustled to life.

Everyone climbed down from the trailers and got busy with their tasks.

Martin, holding a storyboard, came over to David Fincher, glanced around, and said, "The effect doesn't look too bad."

David Fincher nodded, "Your method is quite effective," he reminded, "Hurry up with the preparations."

"I'll familiarize myself with the marks right away." Martin was about to leave when he remembered something and suggested, "Everything that just happened can be recorded as behind-the-scenes footage for later publicity."

David Fincher paused for a moment, then catching on, instructed his assistant, "Write it down, make a note quickly."

Purely in terms of directing skill set aside, when it comes to publicity and marketing hype, Nolan could leave David Fincher in the dust by at least two streets.

There are mainly three scenes here. The scumbag protagonist, Nick Dunne, strolls and chats by the riverside with his wife Amy, sister Margo, and mistress Andy.

Feeding Amy sweet nothings, enticed her into a field romp with him.

Discussing with his sister how to get Amy to fork over money for opening a bar.

Drawing the mistress to secluded meetings, admiring the particularly bright headlights Andy possessed.

No nudity, no exposure, no art.

Without sufficiently explosive artistic scenes, why even bother competing for an Oscar?

The scene we were shooting today does indeed involve a provocative scene with Martin and Charlize but not at Hot Spring Village, it's right here.

The Hot Spring Village scenes are all about Amy's whereabouts after she goes missing.

Once Martin and Charlize became familiar with their marks, at Fincher's command, shooting began.

Martin and Charlize walked by the river and had barely started their dialogue when a loud "bang" came from the water nearby, as some object leapt out and then splashed back in, causing a sizable spray.

Charlize was startled and quickly hid beside Martin.

Martin caught a glimpse and remarked, "That's a big fish."

If he wasn't mistaken, it looked like a carp or something similar, collectively known as Asian carp in America.

They're said to be rampant in the Mississippi River.

Fincher had not called cut.

Martin and Charlize were quick on their feet, using the unexpected event to improvise and continue the scene.

After all, the end result of this scene wouldn't change; they were meant to sneak into the woods together and end up fooling around with their clothes off.

For Oscar's sake, there would definitely be more artistic scenes.

In Fincher's filming plans, just the artistic scenes between Martin and Charlize amounted to more than 15.

Perhaps not all of these would make the final cut, but it was better to have too much footage than too little. Naturally, the camera would capture an abundance.

Two people, dressed and tidy, slipped into the woods, quickly startling a whole host of birds, then came out disheveled.

Martin had another scene, so he went to the trailer to touch up his makeup and change clothes.

Charlize also headed to the trailer area.

Martin asked, "I heard that in the nineties some people really went for it when filming these kinds of scenes?"

"What, you're interested too?" Charlize said with a cold face, "I'm not going to play these crazy games with you!"

Martin spread his hands, "I was merely curious, just asking."

Charlize sized him up carefully, assured it was only a simple inquiry, and said, "There are many rumors, but no one knows the truth except those involved."

As Martin arrived at the trailer, he thought of something, "Sally, how about we take a trip together this weekend?"

Charlize wanted to go, but she had no time, "An official film crew from the South Africa World Cup is coming, and I need to collaborate with them to shoot some promotional videos."

She curiously asked, "What kind of activity are you planning?"

Martin, thinking of the fish he had seen earlier, had an idea, "I heard there is a fish shooting event in the Mississippi River."

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Charlize turned to look at the river, "The Asian carp here are a serious nuisance, apparently both the authorities and environmental groups are quite troubled by it. They're known to jump onto boats and injure people."

"I've been to Asia, and there they're quite peaceful in the rivers," Martin said, reiterating rumors, "Who knows what Americans have dumped into the river to make them turn into river monsters."

Charlize laughed, "When did you start subscribing to these conspiracy theories?"

Martin spoke earnestly, "Since I began frequently dealing with politics."

Charlize waved her hand and went to her trailer.

Martin got on the vehicle, changed clothes, touched up his makeup, and returned to set to continue filming the scene walking along the riverbank with Lea Seydoux.

All of Nick's expenses depended on Amy.

The house, the car, daily life.

Even the money for his sister to open the bar came from Amy's trust fund.

In other words, Nick was a very successful man at the start.

This scene was about Nick discussing with his sister Margo how to get Amy to fork over the money to open the bar.

Unfortunately, the carp started to leap out of the river again. Martin was fine, he handled it with ease.

But Lea Seydoux's mental resilience and ability to improvise didn't match Charlize's, and she immediately lost her character.

David Finch had no choice but to call cut and start the scene over.

Who would have thought, the fish in the river became crafty; they rested when the crew paused, and once filming resumed, they joined in as if it was their scene, making splashing sounds as soon as the clapperboard was struck.

After several NGs, David Finch's face was turning green with irritation.

Lea Seydoux apologized to him.

David Finch waved it off, "It's not your fault."

Many actors get startled and lose character; you can't blame the actors for that.

David Finch didn't blame Lea Seydoux, he was just fed up with the fish in the river.

Martin called some crew members over, threw stones into the river to scare off some fish, but some large ones, whether bold or frightened, leaped out of the water like bombs.

Who knows how many giant Asian carp there were in the river.

Martin thought to himself, this could only happen in America, anywhere else and they would be protected animals!

Taking the chance while the fish were scared off, the crew hurriedly completed the scene.

Kate Upton had come back around, going to get her makeup and change her outfit.

David Finch walked to the riverside observation deck to be used for shooting, leaned on the railing looking down, spotting several swimming shadows.

Martin came up from behind, "How about taking a break this weekend, relax a bit?" He pointed to the large fish barely visible in the water, "How about we organize a fish shooting competition? Let them know humans are not to be messed with."

David Finch replied, "Good idea, count me in!"

Martin waved Bruce over and asked him to take care of organising it.

Bruce went straight to Gillian Flynn, since she was from Missouri and had lived in Cape Girardeau for a while, so she was more familiar with the area.

The crew quickly set up the dolly tracks and cameras in the location.

Kate Upton also arrived on set.

David Finch specifically called her over to discuss the scene for a while.

This girl was the flashpoint of the conflict between Amy and Nick, as well as the catalyst for Amy to truly drop her cool girl façade.

Charlize Theron had an extremely attractive appearance and aura, her only flaw being her chest.

In Gillian Flynn's original book, when Amy cursed Andy, her words focused on the much larger breasts.@@novelbin@@

Therefore, the focus of Kate Upton's first appearance in the film was naturally on her chest, not her face.

During the shoot, Martin only needed to appreciate and not actively participate or say much.

Kate Upton, on the other hand, was keen on Martin having a go.

For a devotee to offer themselves to the Sect Hierarch they worshipped, wasn't that to be expected?

But Bruce had already reminded Martin early on that Kate Upton was not yet eighteen.

Martin, the hand behind the Nannygate, the Teaching Scandal, and the Harvey incident, obviously wouldn't make a mistake in this area.

During filming, Martin's performance merely needed to show that Nick was sufficiently attracted to the exaggerated headlights.