After a series of intense battles, Black Mask was defeated and detonated the cargo ship he intended to use to escape Gotham. Batman escaped the battlefield at the critical moment, hanging beneath the Bat-Pod and watching Black Mask and the cargo ship perish in the explosion.
Back on shore, large numbers of police were arriving from all over the city.
Catwoman subdued Deadshot, said goodbye to Batman, and left; Batman did not stop her.
The plot began to conclude with softening music.
Gotham returned to peace, and Wayne Enterprises took over Janus, announcing the cancellation of the Angel IPO plan.
Deadshot and Killer Croc were sent to Arkham Asylum.
On the streets, Selina Kyle casually pulled a copy of the Gotham Times from a white-collar worker's satchel. It featured a front-page article praising Batman. The woman smiled sweetly, put on her sunglasses, and merged into the city crowd.
Commissioner James Gordon worked until dusk. Nearing the end of his shift, he received a note and went to the police station rooftop, where a giant searchlight had been installed.
He pulled the switch.
The soundtrack here once again became impassioned.
In the light of the searchlight, a giant Bat silhouette was projected onto the clouds in the sky.
Residents on the street looked up, passersby pointed and whispered, children let out surprised screams, and criminals abandoned their deals and vanished into the darkness.
The camera gradually pulled back.
Atop a clock tower in the city centre, Batman stood tall, his black cape fluttering like a flag.
The image froze.
Then darkened.
The music did not stop; instead, it grew even more soaring.
As the end credits slowly rolled, applause soon erupted in the Shrine Auditorium.
The increasingly fervent applause lasted for more than three minutes until the big screen unexpectedly lit up again, and everyone quickly quieted down.
At Arkham Asylum, a large, heavy-set black woman finished flipping through Deadshot and Black Mask's files, slapped the folder on her desk, and said to the Middle-aged Man opposite her, "They're strong, but I need more".
As her voice fell, a close-up shot swept across the file on the desk, revealing the words 'Task Force X Project'.
Without giving many people a chance to react, the camera flashed out again, and the music and credits resumed.
Many people in the hall couldn't help but start whispering.
Audiences familiar with DC Comics immediately recognized this as the suicide squad, which had only been released in the last two years. The heavy-set black woman was Amanda Waller, the founder of the suicide squad, and 'Task Force X' was the official codename for the suicide squad's files.
Could it be that Daenerys and Warner Bros. are going to collaborate on a suicide squad film next?
All sorts of thoughts were still swirling in the hall when the credits finished, and the screen lit up again.
A novel dual-post-credits scene setup.
Many media professionals couldn't help but think this, combining it with the various news released by Daenerys and Warner Bros. over the past year. Clearly, Simon Westeros intended to play a very big game.
On the big screen, this time it was a messy Room.
A slender figure stood with his back to the screen. In the corner of the Room were two bound henchmen, eyes filled with terror, whimpering for mercy.
"I've always tried to make this city better with justice, but it's been futile. Now, let's leave this to fate".
As this voice spoke, the camera slowly turned, first showing one normal side of the slender figure's face. After he showed a coin with one side scratched to the two henchmen on the ground, the camera finally fully focused on the man, revealing his other completely ruined, terrifying face.
Ding—
The coin was tossed into the air.
Before it could fall, another object flew rapidly, colliding with the coin.
In a close-up shot, a distinctive Batarang firmly pinned the coin to the wall.
The screen flashed and then went completely dark.
Amidst the renewed enthusiastic applause, almost everyone in the hall had one name in their minds.
Two-Face!
Compared to Black Mask and the suicide squad, who have only gained notoriety in recent years, Two-Face's history is almost as long as Batman's, making him as well-known as the Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, and other supporting characters in the Batman series.
Other audience members familiar with the comic plot also wondered how Two-Face would be born in the sequel, given that Sal Maroni, who splashed acid on Harvey Dent, disfiguring him, had already died in this film.
However, they didn't dwell too much on this issue.
Although the movie is based on the comics, it will certainly be adapted. The recently concluded 'Batman Begins' begins made extensive adaptations in detail. After all, if the comics were completely copied, much of the movie's appeal would be lost.
All sorts of thoughts did not affect the sustained applause in the hall.
The applause didn't stop until all the film's main creators had assembled backstage, waiting for the upcoming media interaction session.
Staff arranged a row of chairs on the stage. Simon was about to lead everyone up when he saw Nicole walk in from the hall entrance, her posture noticeably awkward, her exquisite face even flushed with an unusual blush.
Seeing Simon, Nicole froze like a small mouse encountering its natural enemy.
Simon smiled strangely and subtly gestured in one direction. Nicole, as if granted a great pardon, took small steps, pretending nothing was amiss, and moved towards the restroom.
As he led everyone to the stage, the applause in the hall, which had begun to subside, erupted again, mixed with some cheers.
Simon naturally took the central seat, with Adam Baldwin, Valeria Golino, Willem Dafoe, Tommy Lee Jones, and Anthony Hopkins arranged on his left and right.
Billy Crystal, who was hosting the media interaction session, waited for everyone to be seated, then gestured to the audience to quiet down, and the hall gradually fell silent.
"Everyone, please wait a moment, I need to take care of some personal business", Billy Crystal said after the surroundings quieted, winking at the audience with his microphone, then looked at Simon and said, "Mr. Director, this film was truly amazing. Since you're making a sequel, could you arrange even a small, extra role for me?"
As Billy Crystal finished speaking, laughter erupted in the hall.
Everyone, of course, knew this was an indirect compliment to the film.
However, Billy Crystal's words also expressed the sentiments of many filmmakers in the hall.
Look at the people around Simon Westeros.
Aside from Valeria Golino, who starred in 'Rain Man', who knows who these other people are?
If time could be turned back, they would never have allowed Adam Baldwin and these other second- and third-tier actors to get the chance to star in 'Batman Begins'.
Now, everyone could almost certainly say that with the film's release, these lesser-known actors in Hollywood would undoubtedly see their status rise significantly, then seize resources that should have belonged to them.
On stage, Simon naturally agreed.
After a few jokes, when Billy Crystal indicated that the audience could ask questions freely, a ripple went through the hall, and almost everyone raised their hands.
To prevent unexpected questions from catching the creators off guard, some matters were pre-arranged.
Billy Crystal skilfully called on an acquaintance of Simon's, Peter Butler, a reporter and film critic from the Los Angeles Times.
Peter Butler stood up, took the microphone from a staff member, and said, "Simon, first, congratulations on creating another classic film. I'm very curious, how did you conceive of those wonderful details in the film that we've never seen before? For example, the bat-pod, which is truly too cool, and Batman retrieving Catwoman's identity based on a hand-drawn portrait, Deadshot's slow-motion bullet action, and most importantly, those action designs that are even more stunning than Bruce Lee's Kung Fu back in the day?"
Peter Butler's question probably reflected the doubts in many people's minds at the scene.
The development of film models is traceable, and because action films involve investments of tens of millions of dollars, producers usually do not dare to make large-scale innovations.
However, Simon's new film almost completely broke away from the muscle-bound, gun-toting action film model led by stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger in recent years. It's realistic and visually stunning action design seemed to suddenly usher Hollywood action films into another era.
Details like the bat-pod, facial recognition, touchscreen operation, and video calls, which were quite sci-fi for that era, also gave the audience a fresh experience.
Simon waited for Peter Butler to finish, then raised the microphone and said with a smile, "Perhaps, there's a group of ghosts giving me advice, who knows".
The audience below was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
The release of the sixth sense in the summer unexpectedly sparked discussions about Simon being a psychic, and this matter is still often brought up by the media; everyone certainly hadn't forgotten it.
After a joke, Simon quickly became serious and said, "Actually, it's mainly because I had enough preparation time. I've been conceiving this film for two years, and to perfectly present the Batman I envisioned on the big screen, I researched a lot of material and came up with countless ideas. So, what you've seen is just a part of my many thoughts, and I believe future sequels will bring even more surprises".
Such an explanation couldn't satisfy many people, but it was a common practice in the industry.
After all, Peter Butler's question was a bit too broad.
Another female reporter wearing glasses quickly got a chance to ask a question. She stood up and said, "Mr. Westeros, I'm Jane Trevor, a reporter from Variety. Two years ago, I had the privilege of attending the premiere of 'Run Lola Run' in Park City, then 'Pulp Fiction', and this is my third time attending the premiere of your new film. Moreover, I watch most of your screen written films as soon as they come out".
Simon couldn't quite remember her but politely said, "Thank you for your support, Jane".
Jane Trevor didn't expect this young man on stage to remember her. She habitually adjusted her glasses and got to the point, asking, "Mr. Westeros, is the budget for this film really only $50 million? In my opinion, compared to some action blockbusters with budgets around $50 million in recent years, 'Batman Begins' begins truly exceeds them by too much".
"That's right, only $50 million", Simon nodded and said, "I'm someone who pays great attention to cost control. Once a budget ceiling is set, I try my best not to exceed it".
Simon answered the question, but he clearly didn't fully explain Jane Trevor's confusion. There were many high-paid big names still sitting in the hall, and being too direct would be offensive.
Such verbal conflict wasn't worth it; Simon preferred to act rather than speak.
However, many people in the hall actually understood the reasons behind it.
For films with the same $50 million budget, the expenditure structure of 'Batman Begins' and other films of the same magnitude would definitely be different.
For example, Sylvester Stallone's new film, 'Tango & Cash', which opened last Friday, a week before 'Batman Begins', had a budget of $54 million. Rumour has it that Stallone alone took $15 million. Kurt Russell, a quasi-first-tier male supporting actor, and Andrei Konchalovsky, a veteran Hollywood director, would also have high salaries. Including other supporting actors, the expenditure for the main creative team alone would account for over 50% of the film's budget.
In contrast, apart from Simon, there wasn't a single star in 'Batman Begins' whose net worth exceeded $1 million.
As for Simon himself, he continued with his single dollar base salary plus 10% of North American box office revenue and 5% of video sales, which greatly reduced the film's expenses for the main creative team. Producer Joe Silver's salary was also not high, only $2 million, with no profit-sharing scheme. This was the offer Simon personally made; he was well aware of the project's potential profits and thus would not make the mistake Warner made with Nicholson in the original timeline by promising Joe Silver a profit-sharing scheme.
Although he had been promoted to a first-tier golden producer after 'Lethal Weapon' and 'Die Hard', Hollywood producers' salaries were actually not high, far below the level of first-tier directors and first-tier stars.
At this time, Hollywood's golden producers, such as Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced 'Top Gun' a few years ago and had a higher status than Joe Silver, also had a fixed salary of only $1 million. However, golden producers often enjoyed profit-sharing schemes.
Simon paid Joe Silver $2 million in one go, which was equivalent to an advance payment for his profit share.
Producers usually manage many projects simultaneously, and the combined fixed salary and share they receive from most films often do not exceed $2 million.
Moreover, Joe Silver could only be considered the second producer of 'Batman Begins', only responsible for logistical support, while Simon was the first producer with absolute control. Therefore, a salary of $2 million was already generous for Silver.
The result was that because Simon took a $1 base salary, the salaries of lead actors like Adam Baldwin were only a few hundred thousand dollars, and the highest-paid producer, Joe Silver, only received $2 million. The total expenditure for the producer, director, and lead actors in 'Batman Begins' was less than $5 million.
Simon's investment in the film's production exceeded 90% of the budget cost. In comparison, the film's quality naturally far surpassed action films of the same calibre.
After Simon answered this question, Billy Crystal didn't give Jane Trevor a chance to follow up and pointed to someone else.
The lively premiere and subsequent after-party lasted until late at night.
The next day, Simon took Janette and flew to Australia early in the morning.
Meanwhile, the word-of-mouth for 'Batman Begins' exploded across North America.