America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 555 Who's Next?

Nolan has always been troubled by the Moroccan kidnapping and the shooting on set, and has told Martin more than once that he suspects the incidents are related to Mossad, the family of the hoopoe bird.

This organization is notorious for its countless dirty jobs.

Martin spoke a mix of truth and lies: "A few days ago, I heard some news from Harvey's wife, Georgina Chapman, about something, Chris. My relationship with her isn't exactly ordinary..."

Nolan nodded to indicate that he understood: "I get it."

"There's no evidence for these things," Martin said seriously, "but since it involves you and me, I believe you have the right to know."

Nolan himself had no intention of simply turning the page: "Actually, I have some suspicions."

Martin stated directly, "Georgina told me that Harvey instructed Pete and Ben to find someone to do this. Although she doesn't know who they found and there's no evidence, Georgina overheard them making phone calls occasionally."

Nolan frowned: "I have no connection with Harvey."

"So I apologize to you first. Harvey may have been targeting me in part." Martin mentioned the illegitimate child incident: "Some time ago, the paternity test that framed me was backed by Ben Affleck and Pete. They are core members of the Foot Clan and have been very close to Harvey over the years, especially Ben Affleck, who has cleaned up Harvey's messes dozens of times."

Nolan had heard about Ben Wallace and Harvey's affair, and combining this with Martin's words, asked, "Is the other part targeting me?"

Martin continued, "It's just a possibility that Harvey was Jewish and had close ties with a segment of Jewish power in North America."

Nolan was under immense pressure from the start of the kidnapping and had to compromise.

But for a director like him, who is ambitious and highly independent, the greater the pressure he exerts, the stronger his potential desire to rebel becomes.

Nolan had always believed that the Jews were behind this, and now the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became: "It's not impossible that they wanted to teach me a lesson through Harvey. After all, these people have done too many crazy things, and they've even taken down many UN officials who supported them, let alone a small director like me who has offended them."

Martin sighed. "I guess we're just unlucky."

Nolan retorted, "It's not that we're unlucky, it's that they've gone too far. Their greed is insatiable, and Harvey is a prime example of them."

Martin nodded: "Anyway, be careful of Harvey in the future."

Nolan replied, "I will be careful."

Getting out of Martin's car, he was somewhat agitated. Harvey had secretly messed with him; how was he going to get revenge?

Nolan lingered by his car for a while, then took out his phone and dialed Barry Mayer's number, saying directly, "Our $1.6 million project may have been sabotaged by Harvey Weinstein."

Barry Mayer asked, "You mean the last shooting incident?"

Nolan had his own inclinations, but also his own analysis: "The only explanation I can think of for quietly replacing the bullets in Tom Hardy's gun is that it was done by someone inside the crew. The person who did this wouldn't take such a big risk for no reason; they must have been influenced and instructed by someone."

He paused slightly, then continued, "That person must be very senior and powerful in the industry, and he must also dislike me, Martin, and even Warner."

The conflict between Harvey and Warner Bros. has been going on for more than a year or two, and the copyright issue of "The Hobbit" has caused old grudges to resurface and new hatred to arise between the two sides.

Barry Mayer said, "Indeed, Harvey fits all of that description."

The success of The Dark Knight gave Nolan leverage, and he said, "Warner Bros. said they would fully support me."

Barry Mayer paused for a moment, then said, "Don't worry, you'll see soon enough."

Nolan hung up the phone, got in his car and went home, where he found a note left by Emma Thomas.

Emma is going to Europe and will be back in a few days.

Nolan tossed the note aside, went into his film review room, and got back to work.

The success of the film was the key reason why Warner Bros. valued him.

…………

On the way back to Beverly Hills, Leonardo looked at Martin and said, "Old man, luckily Jack and I are both staunch non-marriage advocates, otherwise we would have kicked you out of the car long ago."

Nicholson shook his head: "I was a jerk when I was young, but compared to the scum you've done, I'm a morally perfect person."

Martin shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said I was forced?"

What awaited him were two middle fingers raised high.

Nicholson said, "If you had any shame, you wouldn't have said something like that."

Leonardo completely agreed: "Have you found your next target? Whose wife or fiancée? Jack and I will make some preparations so we can help you put up the banners."

Martin thought about it very seriously and said firmly, "There shouldn't be any more like this in the future."

"Nobody believes that!" Leonardo scoffed. "Who in the Foot Gang has a wife? Quentin Tarantino, that scoundrel, is neither married nor engaged. Robert Rodriguez seems to be the same way. Matt Damon?"

He asked Nicholson, "Is Damon married?"

Nicholson thought for a moment and said, "It seems so!"

"Can't you two act like human beings!" Martin pointed at them and said disdainfully, "All you do is think about is other people's wives. Even Satan would be overwhelmed by the stench of your bastards if you were thrown into hell."

The car had already entered Beverly Hills. Leonardo pointed towards the North Side of Sunset Boulevard and said, "Okay, be a decent human being, swear you won't go to see Charlize Theron tonight."

Martin retorted, "Envy and jealousy have warped your mind, Leo! I'm looking for someone like Charlize Theron, whom even Hawking couldn't get a date with in countless parallel universes, unlike you, who always seems to be chasing after the worst of the worst."

Leonardo was about to retort by asking if she had blonde hair and long legs when he realized his mistake and said, "You don't understand, true love is under 25."

Nicholson didn't want to deal with these two idiots and told Bruce to stop the car: "I'm going back to sleep."

Leonardo said, "I'm going too, to go back and recharge, so I can prepare for the next war."

After the two got out of the car, Bruce drove into the community. As soon as the car arrived at the east gate of Charlize's house, a small door opened automatically.

In the golden autumn, a red path runs through the grass that has turned from yellow to flaxen, waiting for Martin to explore.

Before Martin got out of the car, Bruce said, "I'm going to Jody's in a bit."

Thinking of the enormous sacrifices Old Brooks had made, Martin said, "Use less force, don't break anyone's bones."

Bruce's face darkened: "Jody is rushing to finish the news, editing and organizing the videos she filmed. This information can't be leaked in advance. She can't handle it all by herself, so I went to help her."

Martin gave Old Brooks a thumbs-up: "A manager who can't edit isn't a good bodyguard!"

Bruce waved and drove away.

Martin entered Charlize's house and soon set off down the narrow path.

Not long after, Bruce entered Jody's house.

The two went into the editing room and began editing a large amount of material, including photos, videos, and interview records of the parties involved, into a video news report.

According to the plan, the first version of the video news will be kept within fifteen minutes.

Times have changed. If a news article is too long, people browsing on their computers might just close it as soon as they see how long it is.

Jody is very experienced in this area and has an extremely keen news sense, knowing exactly what to pick.

Bruce has a stronger overall perspective and knows where he can further develop his strategies.

There is so much material about Harvey Weinstein’s coercion that the amount they have collected is piled up like a small mountain.

After cutting for a few minutes, Jody went to make two cups of strong coffee.

Bruce asked, "Isn't there any tea?"

"No." Jody said in surprise, "You like black tea?"

Bruce simply explained, "I've gotten used to drinking with Martin."

Jody said, "I'll buy some more in the future and keep some on hand for you."

Bruce felt a little flustered by these words, and he quickly waved his hand, "No need for that..."

Jody stared at him, a strange smile playing on her lips.

Bruce thought of the Kim and Kohler sisters and felt he had to make things clear to Jody: "We are friends and business partners, and there are no romantic feelings involved."

"Scumbag! Even worse than Martin Davis!" Jody almost spat out the word.

Bruce, having spent so much time with Martin, had picked up his habits and become adept at the "three no's" principle, readily offering excuses like, "Get this straight, I only wanted to check on you because I saw you were tired and working so hard!"

Jody said directly, "I still need your condolences after I finish work today." She preemptively added, "Can't you be a little gentler? Are you trying to break my bones every time?"

Bruce had gotten used to bumping into the other two, so even if they hit him hard, he had enough cushioning and there was nothing to worry about.

"I'll try my best!" That was all he could say.

Jody stopped discussing those things and got back to the main topic: "Soon, I'll be your whistleblower. Are you sure you have the power to handle Harvey?"

It was precisely because they weren't 100% certain that they chose Jody as cannon fodder to charge at the forefront! Bruce, of course, wouldn't say that. Instead, he said, "Go ahead and charge forward with confidence. We'll provide support from behind at any time. If you need us, no fewer than five powerful forces will rush to your aid!"

Jody couldn't turn back at this point, nor did she intend to. She asked, "Who are the five factions?"

"I can't tell you right now," Bruce replied vaguely. This wasn't a lie; the fact that it was out in the open was enough.

He secretly considered his options, and decided to count Martin's side as one side.

There's also the political influence ignited by Kelly Gray.

Louise is also said to be trying to persuade her father, given her deep-rooted ties with Martin, as Pacific Films now primarily collaborates with Martin on film projects.

As for Warner Bros., needless to say, Barry Mayer, Alan Horn, and Daniel will definitely not let Harvey go if the opportunity arises.

Then there's Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicholson. They also said that Harvey isn't an ordinary person, but they are just ordinary people.

There are quite a few others as well.

(End of this chapter)