America achieves both fame and fortune

Medal of Distinguished Freedom, Chapter 508

Inside the set, which was decorated as a seaside room, Martin stood by, holding a rope and leaning against a wooden chair, waiting for director Nolan to make a decision.

Nolan paced back and forth, occasionally going to the window to look outside.

Marion, dressed in a deep V-neck evening gown, glanced at Nolan and simply sat down in a chair.

She and Martin had been waiting for some time.

After a moment, Martin asked, "Chris, should we tie him up or not?"

Nolan paused, thought for a moment, and said, "Film one scene each, with and without the binding."

During filming, the director would come up with many ideas, and it would be good if only one-tenth of the footage was actually used in the final cut.

Nolan returned to the director's monitor, gave the order, and filming began.

Martin and Marion entered the room, brought out chairs, placed them in the center of the room, and said, "Please sit down."

Marion sat down in the chair and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Martin tied the rope around the chair leg and made a knot: "I'm going out for some fresh air. You sit here quietly and wait for me to come back."

He grabbed the rope, climbed onto the window, and jumped.

"Stop," Nolan said. "This take is good. Now let's film the bondage scene."

Martin came around from behind to untie the rope.

Nolan's new assistant, holding a pen and notebook, approached him and said, "Director, we haven't had any behind-the-scenes stories to write about."

This assistant was promoted to assistant director by Nolan because he wrote some great behind-the-scenes stories during the filming of "The Dark Knight".

Nolan said softly, "Be patient, it will happen soon, because we have Martin."

The crew members were reassigned.

Before filming, Martin, as always, said to Marion, "I'm afraid I'll offend you in a moment, please forgive me."

Marion smiled and said, "It's okay, we're all doing this for work."

The script supervisor slammed the clapperboard, Martin pushed open the door, and brought Marion into the room. He moved a chair for her to sit on, shook the rope in his hand, and skillfully tied Marion to the chair.

He had practiced with a prop master on set beforehand, and after being tied up, Marion, whose figure wasn't particularly outstanding, suddenly became glamorous and sexy.

Martin tied the rope in a knot on the chair leg again, and then jumped out of the window while the two were talking.

"Great, that's a good take!" Nolan thought the shot turned out very well.

He ignored Martin, who had gone back to untie Marion's ropes, and beckoned to his assistant: "During filming, Martin specially studied rope art to achieve the filming effect required by the director, and became a rope art master."

The assistant picked up a pen and quickly jotted things down in the notebook.

Martin helped Marion untie the ropes, pulled her up, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Marion smiled and said, "The craftsmanship is excellent, very artistic."

Martin laughed, "I've been practicing for a while."

The two left the film set while talking.

The scene depicting the Japanese palace has reached its final phase, which is the part where the palace collapses.

This scene meant that the entire set had to be destroyed, and any NG (no good) shots would be very troublesome.

Stunt performers are easy to talk about; they basically never show their faces.

As the male lead, Martin naturally has to be of a high standard.

Nolan specifically asked him to rest for half an hour before filming began.

Martin sat in the chair, letting his mind wander.

Bruce came over and asked, "Would you like me to give you a massage?"

Martin frankly admitted, "I only get massages from women."

Bruce pointed to the crowd: "Shall I find one for you? There are a few really pretty girls among the local helpers the crew hired."

Martin asked curiously, "Why would someone so pretty work as a helper?"

"I heard they're all from ordinary local families." Bruce had overheard many people on the crew talking about this over the past few days: "The crew pays the local workers in US dollars, which is considered high-paying work in Morocco."

Martin knew a little about this. One of the conditions for the production team to obtain large tax refunds and preferential policies in Morocco was to employ a large number of locals among the extras and general laborers.

"Arab?" he asked.

Bruce said, "There are Arabs and Jews." Knowing Martin didn't understand, he explained simply, "There are many Jewish families in Morocco, but not every Jewish family is wealthy."

"You know a lot," Martin said deliberately. "Old Brooks, be careful, AIDS originated in Africa."

Bruce didn't hesitate to give Martin the middle finger.

After chatting with Old Brooks, Martin truly relaxed. As soon as his break was over, he went straight to the set. The stylist came over to fix his suit and makeup, and filming resumed.

As the camera pans across the set, the constructed real-life buildings continue to collapse.

Martin also performed at his best, quickly moving through the hall to "avoid" the collapsing building.

After filming more than twenty shots, the palace buildings were already in ruins.

Then comes the final scene of this sequence.

As Martin raced at breakneck speed, the prop master opened the water tank, and tens of thousands of gallons of water that had been stored beforehand poured out.

Houses collapsed, and floodwaters poured in.

Martin stood on the stair landing, completely soaked.

As soon as Nolan called "cut," before Bruce could even act, at least six or seven crew assistants ran over, each carrying a blanket.

The treatment of the top star in the production crew goes without saying.

Martin, with a blanket draped over his shoulders and another in his hand, dried his wet hair as he left the set and got into a trailer to shower and change.

When Martin came out again, he found Bruce waiting for him at the door.

Bruce said, "Thomas just called and the White House has officially invited you to this year's Independence Day celebrations."

Martin immediately thought of the Santa Monica Pier incident and asked, "Are you going to award me the Presidential Medal of Freedom?"

Bruce followed him forward: "It's confirmed that this is the Distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom, which consists of two parts: the Star and the Grand Medal."

He added, "You can bring a female companion."

Martin calculated the time difference, got Bruce's phone, and called Elizabeth Olsen.

"Hi, honey, didn't we just talk on the phone this morning?" Elizabeth was in her studio watching Lily work on Martin's award-winning sculpture.

Martin simply said, "Leave the Independence Day holiday to me. Don't go out with your family, okay?"

Elizabeth's sweet laughter came through the receiver: "Darling, will you take me on vacation? I can come to Africa to see you."

Martin laughed and said, "Let's meet in Washington. The White House notified me to attend the Independence Day celebrations, where I'll be awarded a medal."

At such an important moment, Elizabeth certainly wouldn't miss it: "Okay, I'll go with you."

She noticed Lily, who was sculpting, stop what she was doing and quietly prick up her ears to observe them. Raising her voice slightly, she said, "Could we take Lily with us? She'll be on summer vacation then and doesn't want to go back to Atlanta..."

Martin didn't think much of it and said, "Okay, I'll have Bruce book the plane tickets and rooms."

Elizabeth said, "I'll go tell Lily right now; she'll be so happy to hear that." She lowered her voice, "You have to be nice to Lily."

"I know," Martin said as he saw Nolan's new assistant, the particularly perceptive screenwriter, walking towards them. "I'm busy right now, I'll call you later tonight."

Elizabeth responded and hung up the phone.

Lily put down her tools, washed her hands, and came over to ask, "I heard you talking about me with Martin?"

"Oh, it's like this, Martin received an invitation to the White House's Independence Day celebrations..." Elizabeth briefly explained the situation: "You were complaining to me yesterday about being bored during summer vacation and wanting to go to Africa to visit someone on set. How about we go to Washington first, and then go to Africa with Martin later?"

Lily looked at Elizabeth, smiled, and said nothing.

Elizabeth thought Lily across from her was smiling like a cunning fox, but seemed oblivious, and as usual, pulled her upstairs, asking, "Aren't you going? To witness Martin receive the Distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom. You want to miss it?"

Lily looked at this seemingly naive and innocent girl her age and said, "Go ahead, why not?"

"I last visited Washington when I was a child." Elizabeth said, focusing on her longing for the trip: "Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument... I've forgotten what they looked like."

Lily decided to play dumb: "I wonder if I'll run into Russian spies. I was even thinking of catching a few and getting a medal too."

Two girls, their minds as sharp as honeycomb, arrived on the first floor laughing and told the housekeeper they were going to the third-floor terrace to drink tea and chat.

Upon reaching the rooftop, Lily noticed something amiss next door and remarked, "Charlize Theron seems to be arguing with her boyfriend."

Elizabeth said, "Her boyfriend is amazing, but it's too far away to hear what they're saying..."

From a distance, all they could see was the two arguing in the yard. Lily added, "I heard from people on the set of The Dark Knight that this man also abused Charlize."

Elizabeth shook her head: "I'm not sure about that, but I saw a gossip report two years ago that he publicly berated Charlize, making her cry."

The two of them were drinking tea and eating melon, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

…………

At Atlas Cinema, the assistant director approached Martin, struck up a few pleasantries, and asked, "Did you notice anything worth noting?"

Martin immediately understood: "You're writing the behind-the-scenes footage?"

"It's not fiction, it's a true record!" The assistant director, very professional, emphasized this point, and added, "Martin, you provided a lot of behind-the-scenes footage when filming The Dark Knight."

Martin smiled and said, "Then you can write that I'm very popular in Africa and idolized by countless Moroccans."

The assistant director was scratching his head in frustration; the key to his promotion to this position was the genuine behind-the-scenes stories.

Martin said, "Here's a tip: Martin took leave from the filming to go to Washington for the Independence Day celebrations."

The assistant director, paying close attention to Martin, asked, "Are you getting another medal?"

Martin confirmed, saying, "The Distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom."

The assistant picked up a pen and quickly jotted it down in his notebook, saying, "Thank you, Martin. This tidbit will definitely attract attention."

(End of this chapter)