America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 509 The Lucky Girl

In the film set, which resembled a first-class airplane cabin, the main cast, including Martin and Menez, formed a circle and, as if in a ceremony, were connected by conduits extending from a metal box.

Everyone was fast asleep, as if in a deep slumber.

A woman in a flight attendant uniform walked over, and the camera followed the slider.

Nolan shouted, "Stop! That's too much!" He glanced at his watch. "That's it. We'll start work promptly at 2 PM."

As everyone gradually woke up, Ellen Page even stretched.

On the next seat, Menez muttered, "I had a dream, a dream full of beautiful women."

Martin asked, "Are they all your muse?"

Menez laughed heartily.

As the group left the set, Ellen Page automatically followed Martin and Menez, asking Menez midway, "I heard from the crew that your next job is acting alongside Isabelle Huppert."

Where did the production crew get these rumors? They were all spread by Menez himself.

He said with a smile, "I was personally invited by Isabelle Huppert."

Ellen Page was quite impressed: "This is such a rare opportunity."

The three met up with Bruce and went to a nearby restaurant together.

A girl in her early twenties pushed a clothing cart over, and the stylist collected the suit jackets that everyone had taken off and hung them on the crossbar of the clothing cart.

After the stylist walked away, the girl quickly asked in broken English, "Hi Martin, could you sign this for me?"

Martin stopped, smiled, and nodded. "Okay."

The girl took a pen and notebook from a small bag hanging on the side of the stroller and handed them to Martin, saying, "My name is Giselle."

As usual, Martin quickly signed his name, added a greeting, and asked, "Are you Moroccan?"

"Yes," Giselle answered carefully, "I was recruited by the film crew because I can speak English, and that's how I got the job."

Martin replied to her, "You're a lucky girl."

Gisele flashed a bright smile at Martin and then asked Menez and Ellen Page for autographs.

After the others had gone some distance, Gisele found the costume designer, pushed the car to the temporary clothing storage area, and went out alone to prepare for dinner.

After leaving the studio, she turned around and slowly walked towards the studio where the giant centrifuge was set up. When she saw Mordecai come out of the studio, she immediately quickened her pace.

Gisele walked very fast and quickly, passing Mordecai in less than half a minute.

The road ahead was slightly uneven. After she stepped onto it, she twisted her foot to the side and fell to the ground with a thud, letting out a cry of surprise.

The sound immediately caught Mordecai's attention. The old professor saw someone fall down ahead, wearing a work vest from the same film crew, and quickly went over to ask, "Are you alright?"

Giselle's eyes welled with tears from the pain as she said, "I twisted it."

The kind-hearted professor said, "I'll call a doctor for you, please wait a moment."

Giselle quickly replied, "No need for that, I'll be fine after a short rest."

Mordecai still called a doctor and accompanied Gisele to the film crew's medical room. Fortunately, Gisele only had a minor sprain and would be fine after a rest.

…………

Ellen Page ate very little at the restaurant and finished her meal the fastest.

She pointed outside to the three people at the table and said, "I'm afraid of gaining weight, so I'm going out for some exercise."

Martin nodded.

After Ellen Page left, Bruce glanced at her retreating figure and asked, "Why did she hang out with us?"

Menez seemed to have discovered the truth: "Could it be that she has taken a liking to the boss?"

Martin pointed at her: "Don't joke around, she likes women."

"What a waste!" Menez shrugged. "Wasting two women at once."

Bruce cautioned, "Think before you speak."

Martin also said, "We're in Hollywood, we shouldn't talk about things like this."

Menez nodded repeatedly: "I only dare to say this in front of you. I keep quiet when others discuss these things."

Bruce glanced at Ellen Page as she walked away: "She might have been bullied on other sets, and when she joined a new one, she subconsciously wanted to find someone to rely on."

This reminded Menne of something: "I heard rumors on other sets that when they were filming X-Men 3, director Brett Ratner invited her to a hotel party, and she told him directly that she was gay. As a result, the producer went into her room that day and scolded her for being tactless."

Bruce said, "It's not easy for actresses to climb up here."

Menez chimed in, "It's not easy being a male actor either. If it weren't for Martin, I would definitely have used the hyena doctor recommended by that fat Antonio."

Martin, reflecting on his own experiences of being sexually harassed by Louise and Kelly, agreed: "It really has to be tough being a male actor."

In the afternoon, the crew moved to a new studio to film the main characters' scenes indoors.

At the nearby photography studio where centrifuges were installed, Gisele, carrying a bag, told the security guard at the entrance that she was looking for Professor Mordecai.

The security personnel made a phone call, and Professor Mordecai came out quickly.

Giselle gave a shy smile: "Professor, thank you for what happened at noon. My foot wouldn't have healed so quickly without you."

"Are you alright?" Mordecai asked.

"It doesn't hurt anymore." Giselle deliberately paced back and forth a few steps, her blue capri pants taut over her legs, emphasizing the most prominent area: "See, I can walk completely again."

Mordecai quickly looked away, turning his gaze to her shy yet innocent and beautiful face, and said, "It's alright, it's alright."

Giselle opened the bag and handed it to Mordecai: "This is something I just had delivered from home, a local specialty, Professor..."

Mordecai waved his hand: "No need to be so polite."

Giselle insisted on handing it over: "This is a token of my appreciation. It's not valuable; it's something I made at home."

Seeing that the other party was genuinely grateful, Modikai accepted the bag, since it did indeed contain only some local specialties.

Giselle seized the opportunity to ask, "Professor, may I have your phone number?"

She tugged at her crew vest and explained, "I'm just a general helper on set. It's not actually that busy. If you need any help with anything, feel free to call me anytime."

"I don't have anything for you to do," Mordecai said, but still took out his phone and wrote down Gisele's number.

What normal man could refuse the contact information offered by such a young and beautiful girl?

Giselle said, "Professor, I won't disturb your work any longer."

Mordechai waved: "Goodbye, Gisele."

Ellen Page was taking a break from filming at the entrance of another nearby studio when she came out for a smoke and happened to witness this scene.

She had just lit a cigarette when Menée came out from inside, talking on the phone.

Ellen Page vaguely heard Emma Thomas's name.

Menez hung up the phone and greeted, "Hey, Allen, what are you looking at?"

Ellen Page exhaled smoke and gestured with her eyes: "That pretty girl who collects the laundry at noon is delivering something to Professor Mordechai."

Menez didn't take it to heart and said, "Any more cigarettes? Give me one."

Ellen Page gave him one and lit it with her lighter: "You don't smoke much?"

"I quit for the sake of my future." Menne used to smoke, but he was worried that the smell of smoke in his mouth would affect his oral skills, so he forced himself to quit. He would only smoke one cigarette occasionally when he was under a lot of pressure.

Menez's success today is largely due to his self-discipline and hard work.

Ellen Page asked him, "Why are you smoking again?"

Menez simply said, "I've been under a lot of pressure lately. I've never played such a significant role before. Arthur, the supporting actor, has the second most screen time after Martin. If I don't perform well and let Martin down, I'll be letting him down for his strong recommendation."

Ellen Page remarked with a hint of envy, "I've observed that you seem to be having a very comfortable time on set."

"It's like this in almost every film crew." Menne thought about it carefully. He had been doing well in recent years and hadn't encountered much bullying on film crews.

There are two main reasons: either Martin is the lead actor in the production he joined, or all the pressure is on Martin.

He either fawns over female directors or producers to get into productions, meaning he has powerful connections and is someone most people wouldn't want to mess with.

More people came out of the studio; it was Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy.

The two men glanced at Menne and Ellen Page, then automatically went to the other side of the door.

Neither side seemed inclined to acknowledge the other.

It was obvious when Menez joined the team that the British faction looked down on Martin and had no contact with him outside of work.

He followed in Martin's footsteps and naturally looked down on these Englishmen.

Ellen Page returned to the studio, and shortly after, Martin and Bruce, who had finished filming, came out.

Menezes had finished filming his scene. Pointing to two British actors in the distance, he asked, "Old Brooks, didn't you brag about how you beat the Brits? Cillian Murphy's alright, but that Tom Hardy keeps giving us sidelong glances. Why don't you go and take him down?"

Bruce said, "I need mortars and mortar shells, the bigger the caliber the better. Are you in charge of getting them for me?"

Menez asked, "Is it not too difficult to buy weapons in Morocco?"

Martin shrugged: "I'm not sure. This is my first time in Africa, and I'm not familiar with the area."

Bruce thought for a moment and said, "It seems that 90% of the border between Morocco and Algeria is not clearly demarcated, and there are many border conflicts between the two countries. They also support the opposition in the other's territory, so it shouldn't be difficult to obtain weapons and ammunition."

Menez said, "I'll handle the mortars and shells, and you, Old Brooks, will take care of the British?"

"You two should settle down a bit," Martin said, heading back to the hotel and towards the trailer. As the two followed, he added, "It's unusually quiet on set..."

Bruce shrugged: "It's quiet because you haven't caused any trouble."

Menez changed the subject: "Remember that pretty girl from before lunch? Her name was Giselle. I just saw her give Professor Mordechai a gift... Oh, what a pity, how come her tastes are similar to mine?"

Martin casually remarked, "She could also aspire to knowledge and technology."

(End of this chapter)