America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 603 Black Shadow

Bichat Hospital, 18th arrondissement of Paris.

Nolan, Emma Thomas, and Martin, all dressed in black, hurried down the corridor with a senior police officer to a treatment room.

The medical staff stopped them and said, "The patient is receiving treatment; please wait."

Martin heard hurried footsteps behind him and turned to look. It was a stranger.

Emma Thomas recognized him, saying, "Tom Hardy's agent."

Martin nodded.

The agent rushed over and asked, "What happened?"

The senior police officer briefly explained: "Yesterday, a truck driver who works on the way to Charles de Gaulle Airport heard Mr. Hardy's cries for help on a road in the 93rd arrondissement. He rescued Mr. Hardy from a roadside drain and kindly brought him to this hospital."

He paused briefly, then continued, "All the hospitals in Paris received our requests for assistance, so they notified us immediately."

The agent asked, "Is Tom injured?"

The senior police officer stated, "Preliminary assessment indicates it was a robbery. When the truck driver found him, he was completely naked, had lost his teeth, and then..."

He suddenly stopped speaking at this point.

Just as the agent was about to ask further questions, he suddenly remembered something and quickly turned to look at the sign on the wall.

This is the proctology department!

Martin then realized that they had come to the proctology department!

Bruce muttered to himself, "Robbery is one thing, but why include sexual assault? And this sexual assault is even more...unpleasant."

Martin glanced at Old Brooks and thought to himself, "You're a real talent. It's a loss for America that you didn't get into an Ivy League school."

The door to the treatment room opened, and a doctor came out.

The agent preemptively asked, "Doctor, how is Tom Hardy?"

"The patient's wound was severely lacerated, and the hospital's resources are limited. I only cleaned the wound to remove the filth." The doctor said very responsibly and solemnly, "You'd better transfer him to a larger hospital as soon as possible and find a skilled surgeon to perform the suturing."

The agent wanted to go in: "I need to see Tom."

The doctor stepped aside and advised, "The patient has suffered a great deal of emotional distress; please don't talk to him too much."

Martin and several others went into the medical room together.

Tom Hardy lay on a hospital bed, groaning in pain. His wide eyes seemed to have lost all their luster, much like the bulging eyes of a deep-sea fish being pulled aboard a boat.

Nolan turned to Tom Hardy and whispered, "Tom..."

Tom Hardy looked up slightly, and his eyes were immediately drawn to Nolan's black clothes. His lifeless eyes instantly filled with terror as he cried out, "Don't come any closer! Black man, don't come any closer! Black man..."

He was strapped to the bed by the doctor, trying to pull himself back but unable to. Terrified, his voice trembled: "Black man, get away! Get away! Get out!"

Martin discovered that the change in voice was not just due to fear; Tom Hardy's open mouth revealed no teeth.

What the hell has happened?!

The doctor rushed in and said, "Please leave. The patient is emotionally unstable. Please leave."

Nolan and Martin turned and left.

The agent, dressed in black, was also kicked out by the doctor.

The agent went to communicate with the hospital.

Nolan quickly told Emma Thomas, "Go and help his agent with the transfer to another hospital. Let them handle the rest with Warner Bros.

He was fed up with Tom Hardy: "If they have a problem, let them talk to Warner Bros. We're just temporary employees of Warner Bros., we can't solve anything."

Emma Thomas replied, "I know how to handle it."

Martin said, "Tom Hardy will definitely not be able to participate in the upcoming promotional tour."

"It doesn't matter if he's not here." Nolan looked at Martin: "As long as you and I are here, there will be enough to watch."

Martin was very confident about this: "Then let's make more news."

A Paris police officer turned from the passageway and whispered something in the senior officer's ear.

The senior police officer approached Nolan and said, "We found several witnesses who saw a group of black men steal the victim's clothes and shoes in the 93rd precinct, and some of them also assaulted him."

Martin and Nolan suddenly realized why Tom Hardy was so sensitive to black.

Nolan asked, as if it were a routine question, "Have you caught the murderer?"

"No." The senior police officer seemed to have a special relationship with Nolan, speaking very directly: "District 93 is a lawless zone. Not to mention us, even the French authorities don't have much of a solution."

Nolan didn't bother asking any more questions. After Emma Thomas helped Tom Hardy's agent complete the transfer to another hospital, he left the hospital with Martin and Bruce.

Back at the hotel, after lunch, the crew departed on time for Spain.

On the way to the airport, Ellen Page secretly slipped into the car where Martin, Bruce, and Menez were.

Bruce had already sent the driver to another car, and they would drive the car back to the hotel after arriving at the airport.

Ellen Page didn't need to hide it; she laughed heartily as soon as she got in the car, a truly joyful laugh.

Menez said, "So happy? Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd hooked up with Monica Bellucci."

"I'd love to! Could you ask Sophie Marceau to introduce me to someone?" Ellen Page, equally sharp-tongued, replied, "She was stunning in 'Malèna,' but her costume in 'The Matrix' didn't suit her; it made her look too old."

Menez gave her the middle finger: "I want to go and get one, but I don't know where to start."

Ellen Page leaned forward, patted the back of Martin's seat, and asked, "Boss, I heard from Emma Thomas's assistant that Tom Hardy was... you know... by a group of Africans..."

She looked at Menezes: "I didn't mean what you said."

Menez waved his hand casually, and like most Black people in America, said, "Black people in Africa, they are a different species."

Ellen Page continued, asking Martin, "Is Tom Hardy crazy?"

Martin stated the current facts: "He suffered physical trauma and psychological distress. He was taken to the Pitié-Salpetril Hospital for sutures. In addition, he experiences extreme fear and anxiety upon seeing black."

Ellen Page laughed again: "That was awesome! Those Africans did a good deed!"

Martin casually remarked, "God bless Tom Hardy."

Menez lowered his voice and asked, "Boss, is it...?"

Martin shook his head: "It has nothing to do with us. He brought it on himself and ran into a mountain."

Menez didn't understand, but he didn't ask any more questions.

Ellen Page was still gloating: "I wish him a life shrouded in darkness!"

Tom Hardy will definitely thank Ellen Page for this blessing.

The crew arrived in Madrid, got off the plane, went to the hotel to drop off their luggage, and the main creators, including Martin, rushed to the theater to attend the film's Spanish premiere.

The following morning, Martin, Menez, Ellen Page, and Nolan's group also made a special trip to visit Real Madrid and the Bernabéu Stadium.

Inception is currently showing in theaters, and the production team will do everything they can to increase its exposure.

So when the crew arrived in Barcelona, ​​another major city in Spain, the main cast and crew visited the Barcelona Football Club and Camp Nou stadium.

After concluding their trip to Spain, the crew flew to Istanbul to continue their promotional tour.

Inception also spent its third weekend in North American theaters, maintaining a steady performance and earning another $2972 million, bringing its North American box office to over $2 million, for a total of $2.12 million.

Overseas, more countries and regions joined the screening, and after this weekend, the film's overseas box office totaled nearly $1.5 million.

The film's box office success also generated wave after wave of buzz, and speculation about the spinning top at the end quickly spread from North America to the rest of the world.

From newspapers to the internet, countless people are discussing whether the protagonist Cobb has returned to reality.

The production team has been repeatedly asked this question by the media and fans from North America to Europe and then to Asia, but Martin and Nolan have never given a direct answer.

Once a topic has a definitive answer, it loses its value in generating hype and attracting attention.

Not to mention now, there will never be a definite answer in the future.

On the plane to the port city, Nolan specifically instructed Martin: "Never answer this question directly, under any circumstances."

Martin feigned complete ignorance: "Chris, there are no answers in the script you gave me."

Nolan laughed and said, "I plan to keep this topic going for a long time. The movie is now showing worldwide, but there will be a DVD release later, and then we'll bring it up again to generate hype."

Martin thought even further ahead: "As long as the buzz is strong enough, when your next movie is released, reporters will still be asking you about the torpedo and whether Cobb has returned to reality."

Nolan is just as good at marketing as he is at directing, saying, "Even if the media reporters have forgotten, I can arrange for a reporter to ask a question to wake up the memories of the media and movie fans."

Martin gave Nolan a thumbs-up and said, "Chris, you are a model of a new era of cinematic mastery!"

"I wouldn't call myself a master; I'm more of a craftsman," Nolan said modestly. He added, "In terms of marketing and hype, I'm no match for you. You were the one who first suggested the open ending, and using a spinning top for hype was your brilliant idea. In that respect, I can only be considered your student."

Martin smiled and said, "Don't be modest. Let's learn and improve together!"

The two exchanged knowing smiles.

In Hong Kong, besides promotional activities, Martin also met with Wu Maoting, who had allocated funds to produce Jennifer Sybil's "Romantic Troubles" and told Martin that he would continue to invest in Davis Studios' projects.

The long overseas promotional trip lasted until mid-August. Martin returned to Los Angeles exhausted and took a good break.

At this point, Inception's North American box office had already surpassed the $3 million mark, while its overseas box office had surpassed its North American box office, accumulating $3.88 million.

Warner Bros. predicts the film will gross around $9 million worldwide.

(End of this chapter)