Inside the Shrine Auditorium, as the audience marvelled and gasped at the shot of Catwoman kicking and shattering the window of the Batmobile, Sherry Lansing, who had come specifically to show her support tonight, subconsciously glanced at her watch.
7:16 PM.
The film began screening at 7:00, and the five-minute stunning prologue quickly drew the audience into the plot.
Now, 15 minutes in, just as the audience's emotions had slightly relaxed due to the previous dramatic scenes, Catwoman's powerful strike instantly recaptured all their wandering attention.
Studio heads always repeatedly emphasize controlling the plot's pacing during the development of a film project. However, even with the most meticulous early planning, few creators can achieve this perfectly. At this moment, Sherry Lansing was almost certain that Simon's 'Batman Begins' was sufficient to reach the level of a commercial film textbook in terms of pacing control.
While Sherry Lansing was lost in thought, the plot on the screen had already shifted back to Roman Sionis' mansion.
The 'Angel' test report documents in the safe were stolen. A frightened and furious Roman Sionis smashed everything in his study, and the party had to end early.
From his very first shot, Willem Dafoe, with his natural villainous face, perfectly portrayed the dangerous aura of Roman Sionis, who seemed like he could spiral into madness at any moment.
The safety issues of the 'Angel' face cream revealed during the party, Janus Company's operational difficulties, and the pressure from the board of directors all undoubtedly pushed this villain toward a breakdown. Many in the audience couldn't help but wonder how 'Black Mask' would eventually turn to the dark side.
Outside the Sionis mansion, the two Gotham Gazette reporters, John Allport and Vicki Vale, failed to dig up any information about the party's incident and were chased away by the bodyguards, forcing them to call it a night early. As they were about to drive away, Vicki Vale discovered the documents left by Catwoman in her shoulder bag.
The scene shifted again.
At Wayne Manor, Alfred looked over the sports car's shattered window, then turned to enter a secret door. He took an elevator down to the Batcave beneath the mansion. Looking at Bruce Wayne busy at the console, he said, "Young Master, I'll have someone send the car for repairs tomorrow".
Bruce Wayne quickly finished the last few strokes, scanned the portrait of Selina Kyle into the computer screen at the console, and finally spoke to Alfred, who was clearly waiting for an explanation: "This is the woman".
As the portrait was inputted, various data streams began flashing across several computer screens simultaneously.
A moment later, Selina Kyle's information popped up.
The method of matching information via computer would become ubiquitous in later films; ten or twenty years later, similar technology could even be achieved in reality. But at this time, such a high-tech operation was once again a fresh experience for the audience in front of the big screen.
It could actually be done like this!
One must realize that even in North America, personal computers were far from being widespread in this era, and most ordinary people were still completely unfamiliar with PCs. However, after their initial amazement, they rationalized it, feeling that such an arrangement was very reasonable.
If Batman didn't have enough information sources to support him, it would be impossible to fight crime single-handedly. As the richest man in Gotham, Bruce Wayne obviously had enough financial resources to support the collection of such information.
On the big screen, Alfred looked at Selina's photo on the computer screen with considerable satisfaction and advised earnestly, "Young Master, you still need to be a bit more gentle with women".
"Alfred, she's a criminal".
Bruce Wayne said as he casually pressed a button on the console. Amidst the sound of mechanical gears, the Batsuit slowly rose from the nearby pool.
"As long as it makes the master of the Wayne family settle down, who cares if she's a criminal", Alfred muttered. Seeing Wayne walk toward the Batsuit, he tried to dissuade him: "Young Master, are you going out for another 'adventure' tonight?"
"Sal Maroni failed to ship the goods last night, so he'll definitely try again. These weapons are too dangerous; if they get out, many people will die".
The scene shifted; it was already early morning.
Smoke was still rising from the messy pier cordoned off by the police. On the rooftop of a building not far from the pier, a short, stout Middle-aged Man surrounded by a group of men in black clutched a cigar while surveying the area. He suddenly threw the cigar down violently and roared with a distorted expression, "I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill that Bat".
A follower in a grey suit, whose attire was clearly different from the ordinary thugs, saw his boss's rage. He waited a moment before stepping forward tremblingly and said, "Boss, Viktor said he doesn't want this batch of goods anymore and wants us to refund the money".
The Middle-aged Man, who was clearly Sal Maroni, suddenly pointed toward the pier: "The money is all down there! What am I supposed to refund him with?"
The follower didn't dare say more.
Sal Maroni gradually calmed down and happened to notice a giant advertisement for 'Angel' face cream by the roadside below.
The follower noticed where his boss was looking and stepped forward to whisper, "The two men Sionis hired to commit arson, I've had people watching them".
Upon hearing this, Sal Maroni quickly formed a plan and leaned in to whisper a few instructions to his subordinate.
The scene shifted again.
At the Gotham Gazette office downtown, the two reporters, Vicki Vale and her colleague, who had unexpectedly obtained the 'Angel' test report, had already begun a secret investigation. Their secretive behaviour piqued the curiosity of a colleague. After failing to get any information, the colleague peeked at Vicki Vale's notes while they were in a meeting with the editor-in-chief.
Having learned the inside story, that colleague dialled Roman Sionis' number from a roadside phone booth after work.
Inside the Sionis mansion, the study that was burglarized last night was still in disarray.
Roman Sionis promised some benefits to the deputy editor-in-chief of the Gotham Gazette who had tipped him off before hanging up. His face immediately darkened as he looked down at a stack of blurry surveillance photos. Staring at the centre photo of Selina Kyle arm-in-arm with Bruce Wayne, he muttered viciously to himself, "Bruce Wayne, Wayne Enterprises, Janus is mine, no one can take it away, no one can take it away, no one!"
In the original 'Batman' comics, Roman Sionis took over Janus Group after killing his parents. Due to poor management, the company gradually declined and was eventually taken over by Wayne Enterprises. The corrupted Roman Sionis thus grew to hate Bruce Wayne.
Even if one hadn't read the comics, the earlier party scene made it clear that the Janus Group director who threatened to kick Roman Sionis out of the company was actually a shareholder representative from Wayne Enterprises. This was clearly shown in the dialogue between that person and Bruce Wayne at the party.
This was also the reason Bruce Wayne was able to get an invitation to last night's party.
Therefore, it seemed logical for Roman Sionis to mistakenly believe at this moment that Bruce Wayne had sent Selina to steal that information to oust him and take over Janus Group.
The Batcave.
Alfred came in with a tray, placed a glass of water by Wayne's hand as he worked at the console, and handed him a newspaper. With a smile, he said, "The Elliot family was also burglarized last night. Young Master, it seems you need to catch that Miss Kyle as soon as possible. Why not make that the theme of your 'adventures' for now?"
The danger level of catching a thief was clearly much lower than facing a group of armed gang members every night.
Not to mention...
He might even be able to bring back a mistress for the Wayne family.
Compared to the pursuit of justice, Alfred valued his young master's safety and the legacy of the Wayne family more.
Bruce Wayne was well aware of the butler's thoughts. He stopped typing and said, "If I get the chance, I'll catch her, Alfred. However, Maroni will soon be unable to hold out, and I want to completely destroy his gang".
Janus Group headquarters.
Roman Sionis was still dealing with the crisis brought by 'Angel'.
In the office, as the secretary was reporting to Roman Sionis that the editor-in-chief of the Gotham Gazette had declined the lunch invitation, the door was pushed open with a bang.
Sal Maroni's follower in the grey suit burst in with two thugs, followed by several security guards.
Roman Sionis' face immediately grew tense when he saw the two thugs brought by the man in the grey suit, and he waved everyone else out.
"Remember me, Roman? Derek Benson", the man in the grey suit introduced himself. He sat down casually across from the tense Sionis, placed a box on the desk, and said, "Even if you don't remember me, I'm sure you remember Jack and Ben. Three years ago, someone hired them to start a fire that killed an innocent, poor couple".
Roman Sionis didn't wait for Derek Benson to continue and interrupted, "What do you want?"
Derek Benson waved for the two thugs to leave and then continued, "I come on behalf of Mr. Maroni. Roman, perhaps you've heard that we've encountered some trouble lately and need money. Twenty million dollars".
Roman Sionis stared fixedly at Derek Benson and said slowly, "I don't have that much money".
"That's not my concern." Derek Benson smiled smugly, satisfied with the cold sweat on Roman Sionis' forehead. "By the way, since this is a visit, the Boss had me bring you a gift. I heard you like masks".
Derek Benson said, opening the box in front of him and taking out a clearly crudely made Black Mask.
Roman Sionis glanced at the mask and shook his head. "I don't need your gift, and I have no money for you. Mr. Benson, please leave".
Derek Benson toyed with the mask indifferently and said, "I originally wanted to bring you a head, but I noticed your father's coffin was made of such beautiful wood, so I had someone carve a mask out of it."
Saying this, Derek Benson suddenly stood up and moved to place the mask on Roman Sionis' face.
Roman Sionis' face filled with extreme terror upon hearing that the mask was made from his father's coffin. He tried to retreat but wasn't fast enough. The moment the mask touched his face, his body stiffened as if frozen. One hand rose tremblingly to knock the mask away, but Derek Benson grabbed it and held it down.
"Mr. Sionis, I want to see Twenty million dollars in three days. Otherwise, we'll make your 'little secret' public".
Derek Benson left, and Roman Sionis remained stiffly pressing the mask to his face.
The office was soon filled with self-talk again: "One in a hundred thousand, twenty million, one in a hundred thousand, twenty million..."
Compared to his previous aggravated complaining about Bruce Wayne in the study, this mechanical self-talk clearly carried a crazy and eerie element of complete collapse.
In front of the big screen, all the audience members realized that 'Black Mask' was born.
The continuous self-talk grew quieter, and the camera cut to a place filled with clutter inside an abandoned warehouse.
Sal Maroni sat at a long table surrounded by his men, looking at two figures in the shadows. "As long as you can kill that Bat, I'll give you each one million dollars".
Before the two figures could reply, a certain self-talk drifting in the air grew from quiet to loud again.
"One in a hundred thousand, twenty million, one in a hundred thousand, twenty million..."
The voice drew closer, and everyone in the warehouse looked toward the door. A figure in a sharp suit with a crude Black Mask on his face walked in, talking to himself like a madman.
Sal Maroni asked dissatisfiedly, "Who are you?"
Before the masked figure could answer, Derek Benson hurriedly said, "Boss, this is Roman Sionis".
Derek Benson stepped forward and gave Roman Sionis a rough shove. "Roman, did you bring the money?"
Roman Sionis' figure swayed 'fragilely' under Derek Benson's shove. He struggled to grab Derek Benson's hand to steady himself and said, "Oh, twenty million, of course, there will be twenty million, and there will be one in a hundred thousand".
Muttering crazily like that, Roman Sionis noticed Sal Maroni still staring at him. He suddenly raised an index finger to signal for silence, stepped forward, and picked up a pencil from in front of Sal Maroni. "What a coincidence. Let me perform a magic trick for everyone first. Do you know how to make this pencil disappear?"
Everyone looked at Roman Sionis as he struggled to stand the pencil upright in front of Sal Maroni. Even Sal Maroni couldn't help but sit up straight, unsure about what this madman was going to do.
In front of the big screen, over 1,200 pairs of eyes also looked doubtfully at the pencil that was soon stood upright.
In the entire hall, only a few people who had seen the completed film beforehand had expressions of lingering fear, but not one of them was willing to look away.
Roman Sionis set the pencil, then stood up like a magician to show those around him. "Okay, count to three. One, two, three..."
The camera, which had been drifting, suddenly froze. In a flash, Roman Sionis slammed Sal Maroni's head against the pencil standing on the table.
Bang—
A dull, loud thud.
Instant silence!
On the big screen, Sal Maroni's obese body lay slumped over the edge of the table like a pile of dead meat in a bizarre posture. Everyone in the warehouse was frozen in place.
Infront of the big screen, over 1,200 audience members in the Shrine Auditorium simultaneously took a deep breath. A pencil, which is almost ubiquitous in daily life, now seemed like the most terrifying murder weapon as it was driven directly into a human skull. This... how much must it hurt!