America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 462 No wonder you're famous

"Hey Martin, congratulations! The Dark Knight has surpassed $5 million at the North American box office!"

In the studio, Chad came over and bumped fists with Martin: "If John Wick's global box office exceeds $5 million, I'll go streak down Sunset Boulevard and run from the far east end to the far west end."

Menezes joined in from behind, saying, "You underestimate Boss Martin's influence."

Martin was clear-headed: "After all, it's just a medium-budget R-rated film."

Chad said, "Cut it to PG-13, and the film loses its most charming and essential parts."

Menez nodded: "That's true."

The three of them went to the dubbing studio together, where Jonathan and Winston needed to adjust some of their lines slightly.

Martin and Menez reviewed their lines one last time, then put on their headsets and went into the recording studio.

A table was set up in the recording studio, and Martin and Menez each sat on one side.

When the sound engineer announced the start, Menne's nonchalant expression vanished, and he spoke in a deep, resonant voice honed through years of practice: "Jonathan, if you really want to retire, leave New York."

Martin, having recovered somewhat, said weakly, "I want to stay where I can see Helen."

Mene added, "You left behind the Blood Oath Badge; they will come looking for you one day."

"I'm not afraid of them." Martin spoke like a devoted husband: "That's the house where Helen and I got married, and I won't leave."

Menez's voice grew deeper as he uttered his final line: "Jonathan..."

The recording was finished. Chad and the sound engineer listened to the recording carefully one more time, and then had Martin and Menez record it again to choose the best one.

The work was completed in less than half an hour.

Martin came out of the recording studio, ready to go to the editing room with Chad.

Mene leaned closer to him and whispered, "Boss, I'm leaving now."

Martin casually asked, "Got a date?"

Menne said, "A new dessert shop opened on South Bove Street, and Emma invited me to have dessert together at noon, so I couldn't refuse."

Martin waved his hand: "Go ahead."

Just as Menez was about to leave, he remembered something and said, "I might have a major supporting role in Nolan's new project."

"That's a good thing." Martin felt that Menez had the ability, and having a black character in the main roles would also attract black audiences. He said, "Have a good talk with Emma; she has a lot of influence on Nolan's set."

Menez chuckled and walked away.

Martin went to the editing room, barely spoke, and watched as Chad directed the editing process.

"I don't need short, rapidly switching shots, nor do I need to artificially create camera shake." Before starting work, Chad once again instructed the editor: "Martin's action shots are high-quality enough. Cutting the shots into fragments is actually detrimental to the presentation of action scenes. Stable, long action shots are our style."

The editing room edited entirely according to Chuck's requirements.

Martin watched for a while and decided it would be better to wait until the initial cut was finished before looking at it again. He happened to have an appointment with Nolan today, so he said goodbye to Chad and left the editing room.

Upon arriving at the studio's foyer, Taylor and her agent entered from outside.

The former was also carrying an insulated box.

As soon as Taylor saw Martin, she took his arm and said, "You must try these cookies I made myself."

Martin replied, "I haven't tried your cooking yet."

Taylor placed the insulated box on the table to the side, and winked at Martin as she opened it: "I've tried yours."

Martin ignored those alluring fox-like eyes and looked at the insulated box, which contained many small boxes of cookies, their shapes not very regular, clearly handmade.

Taylor handed a small box to Martin: "Have a taste."

Martin took a bite; it was crispy and sweet, not to his liking, but he still gave a thumbs up: "The taste is fantastic, but the appearance needs improvement."

Taylor's red lips brushed close to Martin's ear, and she said, "I deliberately made it irregular. If it were too round, how could anyone tell if I made it by hand?"

Martin genuinely praised Taylor this time: "Honey, no wonder you're so popular."

"I went to deliver cookies to the crew," Taylor said, her voice still low. "Shall I treat you to dinner later?"

Martin said, "Let me treat you. There's a restaurant I'm sure you'll like." He glanced at his watch. "I have to meet with a director. I'll call you when I get out."

Taylor nodded: "Okay."

Martin left the studio and went to a small building nearby.

At the studio, Taylor carried an insulated box and personally delivered a small box of handmade cookies to each office, starting from the front desk.

In the early stages, the rural villagers were very good at interpersonal relationships.

Because of the huge success of The Dark Knight, Nolan's new project easily received the green light from Warner Bros., and the production team was officially established, with the studio still located at Warner Bros. Studios.

When Martin arrived, the office building was being tidied up, and the interior was somewhat messy.

Nolan simply asked him to sit under a parasol by the roadside to talk. This was a filming area of ​​Warner Bros. Studios, and ordinary people couldn't come in.

"It was a bit chaotic at first," Nolan said, pointing behind him. "Every time we start a new project, we have to set up a separate studio, and it always takes a while of commotion."

Martin said, "The finances are accounted for separately."

Nolan reached for his briefcase: "I have good news for you, the script is finished."

He took out the script and handed it to Martin.

The script cover features only one English word: Inception.

Martin frowned slightly. What was the English title of Inception? He vaguely remembered it was a single word, but couldn't recall the exact name.

Nolan gestured for him to proceed.

Martin opened the script and began to read it carefully.

"At dusk, the waves roll."

The waves pushed a bearded man onto the beach, where he lay motionless. A gun barrel flipped him over, and the security guard with the gun called for his comrades!

Behind them was a cliff, and on top of that was a castle…

When Martin read the beginning, he was reminded of a movie he had seen several times, whose beginning was almost identical to the script.

That's right, this is Inception.

What follows is the castle scene from the first act.

Martin read very carefully. The script was more obscure than the movie, and he would occasionally stop to compare it with the plot in his mind, so he read it very slowly.

In Nolan's eyes, Martin read the script very carefully and meticulously, and did not get carried away by the huge success of The Dark Knight and the popularity of Joker, but maintained his professional attitude.

From the time he began conceiving this new project during the filming of The Dark Knight, Martin Scorsese was Nolan's only male lead.

Compared to Bale, who caused a lot of chaos on set, Martin is truly a model of ability and dedication.

Martin closed the script after reading less than a fifth of it and said, "Shall I take the script back and read it at my leisure?"

Nolan took out the script, which was for Martin: "Don't rush, it might be a bit complicated, study it carefully."

Martin nodded and said, "I feel that the male protagonist's mental state is not very stable."

Nolan admitted: "In reality, people's mental state is unstable, and so are my protagonists."

Martin recalled that the protagonist of Memento was an amnesiac, Day and Night was a detective suffering from insomnia, and Batman and the Joker, needless to say, both had mental problems.

"I'll study the script and the character carefully when I get back." Martin asked, "When are you planning to start filming?"

Nolan said, "The exact time hasn't been determined yet, but it should be around next summer. Make sure you have the time available."

Martin did the math: "My schedule should be fine."

Nolan patted Martin on the shoulder and said, "You have to pull off that Joker look!" He was brimming with confidence: "Let's work together and shock the world again!"

"Definitely." Martin had just finished speaking when he noticed an electric scooter passing by, with a familiar fat man sitting on it.

Harvey Weinstein also saw him and Nolan, told the driver to stop the car, jumped out and greeted them, "Hi, Martin."

He then turned to Nolan: "Is this director Nolan?"

Nolan stepped forward, politely shook hands with Harvey, and exchanged a few casual pleasantries.

As Martin shook hands with him, he asked, "Harvey, what brings you here?"

Everyone in Hollywood knows that the Weinstein brothers and Warner Bros. are locked in a bitter feud.

Harvey laughed: "Warner Bros. and Peter Jackson want to start The Hobbit, the prequel to Lord of the Rings. I own part of the rights, so they had to ask me to come and discuss it with Peter."

Martin casually complimented, "Harvey, you have a great eye; you've got a gold mine."

Harvey laughed even harder and said, "Interested in joining us? I'll introduce you to Peter Jackson."

Martin, however, knew that to gain even a small benefit from this fat man, he would have to pay a tenfold price, and said, "I need to devote all my energy to Nolan's new project."

Nolan was a little unhappy that Harvey poached him right in front of him, but Martin's unwavering refusal made him feel very proud.

Harvey looked at Nolan, in his usual style and manner: "A new project? Director Nolan, we could totally collaborate. You've made a commercial breakthrough, and as for awards..."

Nolan may not be so obsessed with the Oscars these days, and he said in a seemingly very polite manner, "Sorry, Harvey, my project has too high an investment, and independent studios can't afford it."

Harvey, thick-skinned as ever, remained unfazed: "If you have any designs on the Oscars, feel free to come find me."

Nolan just smiled and didn't say anything more.

Harvey's gaze then turned to Martin.

Martin cut him off before he could even speak: "Harvey, I have at least three or four projects on my hands, not counting the agency. My schedule is packed for the next few years."

Harvey didn't say much, waved, got on his electric scooter, and waited until he was out of sight. He glanced back at Martin and Nolan, thinking, "You guys are at the peak of your careers, with huge fan bases. You look down on me, an independent producer. Just wait until you're not famous anymore..."

Martin put away the script, said goodbye to Nolan, called Taylor, and they went to the Smoke House restaurant outside for dinner.

After dinner, he naturally wanted Taylor to sing.

(End of this chapter)