America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 506 Forming Cliques

Astra Cinema, Morocco.

The Inception crew rented six sound stages for set construction. But for Nolan, the master of practical effects, that wasn't enough. The crew also had three other teams in Paris, Los Angeles, and Canada to build other sets for filming.

With Martin and Menez arriving from France, all the main actors in the cast were present.

In the morning, as the film crew arrived at work, Michael Kane and Tom Hardy got out of their car, preparing to head to the office building for a meeting.

Two people got out of the Cadillac diagonally opposite.

Tom Hardy scratched his face and asked, "Is that Martin?"

Before Michael Kane could answer, Martin walked over and smiled at him, saying, "Long time no see."

Upon seeing that familiar smile, Michael Kane's heart skipped a beat, and he nodded slightly: "Long time no see."

Martin strode out of the parking lot.

Tom Hardy asked curiously, "This guy caused Bale psychological distress?"

Michael Kane suddenly became unusually serious: "You've been working in England all this time, so there are some things you might not be aware of. Tom, in this production, you can mess with whoever you want, even if you anger Nolan, the worst that can happen is you get replaced."

He solemnly warned, "But absolutely do not mess with Martin Davis, remember that!"

Tom Hardy, who wasn't very involved in Hollywood before, said: "Is it really that scary?"

Michael Kane said, "He's the Joker in real life, or even more terrifying than the Joker."

Tom Hardy was puzzled.

Michael Kane, not wanting his protégé to become the next Bale, said, "The Joker, people can tell he's a bad guy just by looking at him. Martin, most people think he's a good guy, a really good guy."

Tom Hardy understood now and said, "Work normally, don't interfere with each other."

Michael Kane said, "Let's go."

Meanwhile, Martin went straight into Nolan's office.

Nolan opened his arms and gave him a warm hug: "Congratulations on winning Cannes again."

Martin laughed, "We were lucky this time."

Nolan invited him to sit down, saying, "When we promote this film, in addition to the Oscar winner, we can also use the Cannes Best Actor title, which will have a greater impact in Europe."

Martin said, "Hopefully we can achieve great success once again."

"Success isn't just about the film itself." Nolan felt this more clearly after "The Dark Knight": "We need to think more about how to promote and market it."

Martin completely agreed: "Chris, you always have a knack for this."

Having finished filming "The Dark Knight" together, the two naturally developed a tacit understanding. Nolan said with a smile, "If you're active on set and cause a lot of trouble, it will inspire me."

He seemed particularly relaxed when writing the true behind-the-scenes footage of The Dark Knight, but this relaxation stemmed from the fact that everything that happened on set always sparked his inspiration.

Without inspiration, it's hard to write about real behind-the-scenes stories.

Martin didn't mince words: "Don't worry, I'm always the most active person on set."

Nolan's confidence in Martin's abilities was even greater than his confidence in his acting skills. He smiled and nodded, then took a small box from his desk drawer and handed it to Martin: "Your key prop. Familiarize yourself with it as soon as possible."

Martin opened the box and found a metal spinning top inside. He took it out and twirled it, and the top began to spin on the desk.

Nolan glanced at it: "You're very familiar with it, so it seems there's no need for further familiarization."

"Chris, I have an idea about the spinning top." The script Martin saw had a typical Hollywood happy ending, and the spinning top reminded him of the endings of movies he used to watch.

For Nolan, this movie ending is like Tom Cruise to Nicole Kidman—it's always the first thing he brings up when he needs to promote the film.

Martin offered, "I have an idea about the ending that might be useful for marketing and advertising."

Nolan had worked with Martin before and knew he was always reliable: "Tell me about it."

Martin asked, "Would it be feasible to keep Cobb's top spinning at the end?"

Aside from production and filming, Nolan is a typical marketing-minded director, and he immediately grasped Martin's idea: "If we handle the publicity and marketing well, this ending can generate widespread discussion and interpretation in the media, giving the audience more room for imagination and opportunities for reflection?"

He slowed his speech, his mind racing, and pressed down on the spinning top: "To make the film more profound and impactful!"

Martin is very clear about the boundaries between the lead actor and the director: "The specifics are up to you to decide."

Nolan grabbed Martin's arm: "You can never go wrong choosing Martin Davis."

Martin laughed and patted Nolan's hand: "Choosing Christopher Nolan is always the right thing to do!"

A few minutes later, the two met up with Emma Thomas and went into the conference room.

The other main actors have all arrived.

Martin glanced around and saw that, apart from the lead supporting actor May, there were also Nolan's usual Michael Kane and Cillian Murphy, and the other actors were also familiar faces.

French actress Marion Cotillard, who plays his wife, Tom Hardy, whom he just met, as well as Ellen Page and Ken Watanabe, among others.

Martin pulled out a chair and sat in the first seat on the right side of the conference table.

Marion across from him smiled.

Martin nodded in acknowledgment.

Ellen Page reached out her hand from beside him: "Martin, we meet again."

Martin recalls that the two talked at the Oscars, with Martin saying, "Little Red Riding Hood from Hard Candy and Kitty Phantom from X-Men are characters I really like."

He gently squeezed Allen's hand: "I didn't expect we could cooperate so quickly."

Allen, though small in stature, is a veteran Hollywood actor who proactively approaches Martin, saying, "I'm your assistant, your dream architect."

Martin smiled. "You're a good assistant."

Across from him, Tom Hardy curled his lip slightly, showing disdain for Allen's behavior.

It's perfectly normal for film crews to form cliques. Michael Kane, Cillian Murphy, and Tom Hardy, three British actors, sat together and formed a British clique.

Martin, Menez, and Ellen Page formed the American gang.

Director Nolan, seated at the head of the conference table, said, "We'll be working together for the next few months. I hope everything goes well."

He took out the script: "Let's start reading the script now."

The scriptwriting process didn't go very smoothly. The plot of "Inception" was too abstract to be presented in the script, and the literary skills of the stars were not worth expecting.

Besides Martin, there was also Menez, who received special training from Emma Thomas, while the others had a lot of problems.

The script meeting, which was scheduled for one morning, had to be postponed and lasted for the entire day.

Nolan wasn't afraid of the actors giving away spoilers and carefully answered all kinds of questions to reduce difficulties during filming.

In addition to these, including Menez, members of Cobb's team also need to undergo necessary physical and firearms training, and there will be many intense confrontation scenes in the dream.

These action scenes were nothing to Martin Scorsese; they were nothing compared to the filming of "John Wick."

Menez had been with Martin for a long time, and his skills with guns and physical movements were superior to those of the average male actor.

After training that day, Martin took a shower, changed his clothes, and went to his office, where he ran into Warner Bros. CEO Alan Horn.

He greeted them and said, "Do you have time? Let's chat for a bit."

Martin pointed to the recreation area and asked, "When did you arrive?"

Alan Horn said, "I just arrived in Morocco this morning and came straight to the set. This is Warner Bros.' biggest project for next year."

Unlike The Dark Knight, which was co-produced by Legendary Pictures and DC Comics, Inception was primarily produced and invested in by Warner Bros.

Martin joked, "Worried about us getting into trouble?"

"How could you possibly run into trouble with Nolan working with you?" Alan Horn said of The Dark Knight, which had finished its global run: "Your last film grossed a whopping $12.25 billion worldwide."

He added, "Second only to James Cameron's *Titanic*."

Upon hearing James Cameron's name, Martin exclaimed, "He's a miracle director who has made original films the highest-grossing films worldwide."

There's only one James Cameron in Hollywood.

Alan Horn added, "Your John Wick was good too. I remember it only cost $4000 million to make? It's already grossed $2 million in North America!"

Martin bluntly stated, "The market potential has basically been exhausted; the North American box office is only a little over $2 million."

He didn't underestimate himself: "I estimate that it will still make some money overseas. If the global box office can exceed $4 million, I will definitely praise God."

Alan Horn asked, "Has the sequel started production?"

"It's being planned." Martin, having guessed something, specifically added, "Alan, Daniel has already gotten involved."

Alan Horn sighed, "This guy's quick on the uptake."

Martin smiled but didn't reply. Daniel had already worked with him and Louise on the distribution many times, and there hadn't been any major conflicts between them, so of course they would continue to work together.

Alan Horn then asked, "Have you been following the North American summer movie season lately?"

"I first attended the Cannes Film Festival, stayed there for half a month, and then flew directly to Morocco after the festival ended." Martin remained focused: "I didn't pay much attention to the North American summer movie season."

"Warner Bros.' major film investment projects officially premiered last weekend," said Alan Horn, referring to Terminator Salvation, a film that almost caused a rift with Martin Scorsese.

He invited Martin to play the savior John Connor, but Martin politely declined. Later, he invited Christian Bale instead.

Martin knew what he was talking about as soon as he heard it, so he didn't ask.

Alan Horn stated, "Terminator Salvation was a failure; both critical reception and box office performance were less than ideal, failing to meet Warner Bros.' expectations."

It even had a Rotten Tomatoes score of only 33% and an average C+ rating from the live audience on CinemaScore.

He was deeply saddened: "The North American opening weekend box office was only $4225 million."

(End of this chapter)