America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 520 The Heat Has Arrived

Los Angeles, TMZ headquarters.

After getting off work in the afternoon, Jody packed her things, slung her laptop bag over her shoulder, and left the company. When she arrived at the parking lot, someone waved to her.

A news source from Warner Bros.

The man, wearing a baseball cap and carrying a paper bag under his arm, quickly approached Jody's car and asked in a low voice, "Big news, are you in or not?"

Jody asked, "What news?"

The man quickly said, "When the crew of Christopher Nolan's new film 'Inception,' starring Martin Davis, was filming in Morocco, the physics professor they hired was kidnapped. The kidnappers were arrested before they even left the hotel."

Jody's first reaction was, "Martin took down another group of thugs?" She frowned slightly, "This kind of thing happening to Martin isn't exactly top news, and the price probably won't be particularly high."

"Uh..." The man was slightly taken aback, then quickly said, "It has little to do with Martin. Director Nolan used the knowledge and experience he gained from making genre films to detect the anomaly, and directed the crew's security personnel to set up an ambush, easily solving this major case."

It's not that Martin's news isn't interesting, but when the same kind of news happens to Martin, it's definitely not as appealing as before. When Jody heard that Nolan was the protagonist this time, her interest immediately piqued: "Is there a video? I need to see a clip."

The man followed Jody into the car, took out a USB drive from a paper bag, and handed it to her: "Take a look."

Jody took out her computer, turned it on, and plugged in the USB drive. The video was very short, only a few dozen seconds long, but bursts of shouts could be heard.

Inside the elevator, four women were stopped by more than a dozen armed men. Some of them were holding the women in check, while others opened a suitcase, revealing an old man inside.

Then, Nolan entered the frame, calmly arranging the relevant matters.

Jody instinctively wondered, "Isn't this a movie shoot?"

The man laughed: "You can look at the press releases issued by the Moroccan security authorities."

Jody took out her phone and made a call.

My colleague quickly checked the news and replied: "The Moroccan security authorities just held a press conference at the Astra Cinema, issuing a series of statements regarding the case of Professor Modigliani, the physics consultant for the film 'Inception,' stating that they will thoroughly investigate the matter and severely punish the perpetrators!"

Jody hung up the phone and said, "I want the video."

After agreeing on the price, the man received the check and quickly left.

Jody returned to the company with the storage disk in the paper bag and called each department staff member to tell them to come back and work overtime.

The poor corporate slaves were forced to turn their cars around before they even got home.

That evening, TMZ's homepage once again broke entertainment news, showing a video of Nolan solving the kidnapping case and arresting the perpetrators.

To avoid any suspicion, Jhodi also cited a press release from the Moroccan security authorities on the news page where the video was located.

As expected, North American media exploded, and the popularity of "Inception" skyrocketed, climbing to the top of Google's trending search list the following morning.

Nolan's fans are always crazy, and they flooded the internet with comments under related news articles.

"No wonder he's the director who made a crime film like The Dark Knight; taking care of a few kidnappers is a piece of cake."

"Nolan's command was decisive, and the prisoner was captured with ease."

"I think Nolan could easily adapt this into another crime film."

With Inception generating a huge amount of buzz, Warner Bros. took the opportunity to announce the film's North American premiere date.

In the UK, The Sun also received a similar video, and the British public reacted even more strongly after the news was published.

Some newspapers also targeted Martin, who had just received the Medal of Freedom.

"Without the fact that the so-called American national hero Martin Davis was aware of anything, Nolan had easily and effortlessly resolved a major crisis for the crew, making it clear who the real hero was."

…………

Astra Cinema, Morocco.

Before the crew started filming in the morning, Nolan specifically sought out Martin and said, "I didn't expect the British media to react this way. I can explain it to them."

Martin waved his hand: "No need. Mene and I just provided a clue. Chris, the real decision is yours. If it were me, I would just grab a gun and rush in. I don't have the ability to command and coordinate so many people and save the professor so easily."

He added, "Regardless, the perpetrator was caught, the professor was rescued, and the news brought a lot of attention to the film. We are all beneficiaries."

Nolan, recalling the news coverage from North America and the UK, said, "Martin, there are always unexpected gains from working with you."

This time, his desire to cause trouble was satisfied, and most importantly, the gains far exceeded his expectations.

Even if you painstakingly fabricated thirty true anecdotes, it wouldn't compare to the explosive nature of this incident.

Martin went to the makeup trailer to prepare for today's shoot.

Nolan stood at the entrance of the studio with his hands on his hips, his seemingly serious face filled with a barely perceptible smile.

Emma Thomas and a middle-aged man then approached.

Nolan knew Alabat, the deputy director of the Security Bureau.

The latter quickened his pace, stepped forward, and shook hands with Nolan: "The crew encountered such a problem due to our negligence."

"The criminals are too cunning; they even managed to sneak in using the film crew's recruitment opportunity." Nolan didn't want to escalate the conflict with the Moroccan authorities, so he simply said, "Deputy Director, I have only one request: these criminals must be severely punished!"

"We will definitely give the production team an explanation," Alabat said. "Once the results are out, I will personally call Director Nolan and Ms. Thomas."

Nolan got the sensational effect he wanted and didn't ask for more: "Thank you for your support."

"Morocco has always provided the best service to Hollywood film crews," Alabat said with a smile.

Nolan exchanged a few more polite words, then said goodbye as it was almost time to go to work and went into the studio to prepare for the morning's shoot.

Ababat was relieved and drove back to Ouarzazate. As soon as he arrived at his temporary office, his assistant came over to tell him that someone had come to visit.

It was Hamil, a colleague from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who came in and immediately said, "You just arrested four women?"

"It wasn't us who made the arrests, it was the American film crew." Arabat had some guesses about what had happened, but pretended to be confused: "They tried to kidnap the film crew, but were caught red-handed by the famous director Christopher Nolan and his crew's bodyguards."

Hamil said, "The situation is very complicated. They give them some punishment, such as financial penalties, and then deport them."

Alabat had a different opinion, saying, "Just over half an hour ago, I met with Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, and they made a demand that the perpetrators be severely punished."

He emphasized, "Morocco has spent so much money to become the Hollywood of Africa, and if we don't give the perpetrators the punishment they deserve, their reputation built up over many years could be ruined."

Hamil said, "This is a complicated matter..."

Alabat raised his hand to interrupt him: "It's no use talking to me. A big Hollywood director is watching me. If this gets out, it will have a negative international impact."

Hamil understood: "I'll figure something out."

Alabat felt a great sense of relief after passing the buck.

Who the hell wants to take on this mess?

Inside the Astra Studios soundstage.

Martin was fast asleep in a chair. Menez came over and shook him vigorously, but he couldn't wake up.

The wooden walls were shaking, and outside the open glass windows, a dozen extras were making noises as people ran frantically.

Mene grabbed Martin's chair and shoved him backward, sending Martin tumbling into the large bathtub with a thud.

As the water washed over his face, Martin grabbed the edge of the bathtub with both hands, pushed himself up, and sat up. He wiped the water from his face, as if suddenly awakened by a dream, and exclaimed, "Why is it ahead of schedule!"

Menez said, "The situation has changed."

"Stop, that's a good take!" Nolan was satisfied with the result. "Get ready for the next take."

Ken Watanabe and another actor of Arab descent entered the set.

The camera is turned in that direction via a slider.

Emma Thomas then came over and said, "Chris, you have a phone call."

Nolan said directly, "Let's talk about it after filming." Without looking at his wife, he asked loudly, "Are you ready?"

Martin gave a thumbs-up, and the other actors echoed him.

With the sound of the clapperboard, filming resumed.

Martin filmed scene after scene in his soaking wet clothes, and only left the set an hour later to shower and change.

The film crew is taking a break.

Nolan took the phone from Emma Thomas and asked, "What's the matter? Why the rush?"

Emma said, "It's a call from London City Hall, from your Jewish classmate."

Nolan found a quiet place and dialed back; the call was answered quickly.

After exchanging a few words, it turned out things were a bit complicated. The other party said they had seen the relevant incident and tactfully asked Nolan not to pursue the matter too much.

Before I even got off work, a Warner Bros. executive called again.

Although the words are different, the meaning is similar.

Nolan soon realized he had stirred up a hornet's nest. His phone rang non-stop that night—from classmates and friends in the UK, collaborators in the industry, executives and investors at Warner Bros.

Even Martin's lover, Louise Meyer, one of the film's investors, called him.

Nolan, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, is not Jewish, but he couldn't withstand such a bombardment. In just a few days, he discovered something: the media was hyping up the kidnapping case, but it never spread to other areas.

It seems that Professor Mordecai's case is simply a kidnapping.

Nolan was well aware of the immense power of the Jewish forces and did not put further pressure on Morocco. When Alabat called him again, he simply said that he would handle the matter according to Moroccan procedures.

North American and British media outlets are focusing on Nolan and the crew's bravery, downplaying the four women.

Although Nolan never said anything, Martin could tell that the great director was quite annoyed by the constant pressure from Jewish forces.

Menez whispered to Martin, "I heard from Emma last night that the director was very angry and cursed those vampires several times in his room."

Martin said, "This is none of our business."

Menez said in a low voice, "Boss, you have a good eye."

After observing silently, Martin had a very clear feeling that he might have changed Nolan in some way, such as the deterioration of relations with Jewish forces.

I just wonder if he'll lose control one day and become the new Mel Gibson.

(End of this chapter)