America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 831 Legal Arson

In the hotel lobby lounge, Ivan slowly flipped through the newspaper, occasionally taking a sip of coffee, seemingly very relaxed, but every person who came out of the elevator would catch his eye.

Suddenly, he saw a very familiar person turn out of the elevator.

Ivan had seen this man's photo many times because Bruce had told him that he was one of the people he paid close attention to on a daily basis.

In particular, Bruce mentioned Warner's name this time.

This person is none other than Kevin Tsujihara, the CEO and chairman of Warner Bros.

Ivan took out his phone, turned on the camera, and quietly took a few photos.

Kevin Tsujihara walked through the lobby alone, without an assistant or any entourage, and exited the Burbank Hotel.

Ivan put away his newspaper and phone, merged into the crowd leaving the hotel, and followed them out.

In front of the hotel, Kevin Tsujihara got into an ordinary car and left.

Ivan secretly took a few more photos.

The phone vibrated, and Ivan answered, "It's me."

Luke's voice rang out: "Charlotte just drove that BMW out of the parking lot."

Having worked as a part-time paparazzi for so long, Ivan had a keen sense of smell and immediately contacted Kevin Tsujihara. The two of them finished their rendezvous and left separately.

A few minutes later, Ivan, who was waiting near the exit of the underground parking lot, got into the car that Luke had driven up.

After briefly exchanging what they had seen and photographed, Luke said, "It seems highly likely to be Kevin Tsujihara. The information you brought indicates that Charlotte Kirk was introduced to Nolan's film crew by Charles Roven. Charles Roven is Warner Bros.' most senior producer. If it wasn't Charles Roven himself, then logically it could only be a high-ranking figure at Warner Bros...."

Ivan interrupted him: "Your guess makes a lot of sense. Wait a moment, I've had someone check who owns that suite."

The car pulled into a parking lot, and after waiting for a while, Ivan's phone vibrated again.

He answered the phone, and the person on the other end said, "That's one of Warner Bros.' long-term hospitality rooms in Burbank, but I don't know any more details."

"That's enough," Ivan said. "Thanks. I'll pay you the information fee next time we meet."

"Okay." The other end of the phone hung up.

Ivan took out his notebook, organized all the photos and videos that had been preliminarily processed, uploaded them to his email, wrote the message he had just received in the email body, and then clicked send.

Luke stretched: "Is this job done?"

Ivan nodded: "Okay, go back to sleep."

Luke started the car and said as he turned the steering wheel, "It would be great to have work like this every day—easy work, high pay, and short turnaround time."

Ivan didn't sleep well last night either: "Stop talking nonsense and go back to rest."

…………

Atlanta, Gray Center for Cinema.

Martin still came to the studio today even though the male lead didn't have any scenes to film.

Opportunities to learn directing from Nolan in practice are rare.

Martin continues to observe more and speak less, trying his best not to disturb Nolan's normal work.

The crew kept changing models, and even in the depths of space, Nolan insisted on shooting primarily on practical effects.

To meet Nolan's filming needs, a huge props team was either building models or on their way to purchase materials for building models.

Nolan and the film's science advisor, Kip Thorne, had disagreements on the space and black hole scenes.

Nolan never intended to make a purely hard science fiction film; everything had to serve the film's theme.

During a break, he fiddled with a black hole model in his hand and said to Martin, "On one hand, there are wormholes and relativity, and on the other hand, there are the needs of the film. Sometimes directors have to make trade-offs."

Martin understands: "You can't violate existing laws of physics. All imagination must be based on science, not just the screenwriter's imagination. That's really difficult."

He looked at Nolan, humbly asking, "How do you plan to resolve this?"

"While adhering to the laws of physics, we simplified some complex concepts and science in a way that the audience could understand." Nolan is ultimately a commercial director, and his choices were not unexpected: "After all, these are just to serve the theme of the film."

Martin understood, saying, "No matter how hard science fiction it looks, with wormholes, black holes, space adventures, and multidimensional space... at its core, it's still about family and love."

Nolan nodded slightly: "Science and theory actually serve emotions, using a hard shell to wrap the softest feelings. That's why it's not a serious science fiction film like '2001: A Space Odyssey,' but it has a richer emotional depth."

He specifically said, "As a director, before a project is in preparation, you should know what you are best at, what you want to express through this film, and whether there is a market and audience for these. Everything else should serve this purpose, so that all the work will have a very clear goal."

Martin understood: "That made me realize something, Chris, thank you."

Nolan waved his hand: "It's nothing. You'll figure it out yourself once you've experienced more."

Martin knew that the principle was simple, but sometimes people found it difficult to see through the thin layer of paper separating them.

The prop masters rearranged the models on set, and filming resumed.

After the film crew wrapped up, Martin returned to the rest trailer and took out his notebook to write down some of his thoughts from the morning.

Bruce opened his phone and saw a new email. He quickly opened it and said, "There's news from Charlotte Kirk."

Martin twirled his pen: "Tell me."

Bruce explained in detail: "Ivan personally followed Charlotte Kirk for two days. Just this afternoon, he discovered that Charlotte was having a rendezvous with someone at the Burbank Hotel. He waited for a while and when Charlotte Kirk left the hotel, he saw Warner Bros. CEO and Chairman Kevin Tsujihara come out of another door of the hotel."

Martin stopped writing and asked, "Is it really Kevin Tsujihara?"

"Ivan isn't entirely certain," Bruce said, looking at the email. "Ivan and his assistant filmed Kevin Tsujihara and Charlotte Kirk leaving the hotel separately, within three minutes of each other. Furthermore, Ivan learned that the suite Charlotte Kirk entered was a long-term commercial suite owned by Warner Bros.

Upon hearing this, Martin immediately concluded: "One coincidence could be a coincidence, but two together can't be. The person behind Charlotte is most likely Kevin Tsujihara."

He suddenly recalled some of Charles Rowan's inexplicable actions and tone that day, and said, "Given Kevin Tsujihara's position, it would be hard for Charles Rowan to refuse if he were to give Charlotte an unimportant role in the film crew."

Bruce agreed: "It's a small matter. Charles can guess why when he sees Charlotte."

He handed the phone to Martin, which contained photos sent by Ivan.

Martin glanced through it and said, "Is Kevin Tsujihara directly involved in this secret filming incident?"

Bruce thought for a moment, then reasoned in Jody's manner: "In Hollywood, would you believe that Charlotte and Kevin Tsujihara didn't have a romantic relationship?"

Martin shook his head: "Are you talking about plots from fantasy movies?"

Bruce shrugged: "Jon Berg, the former president of Warner Bros. whom you ousted, is Kevin Tsujihara's brother-in-law. It's said that Kevin and his sister have a very good relationship. This short guy from the island nation might be having someone secretly collect evidence against you."

He went on to say, "If you hadn't discovered the hidden camera that day and hadn't been able to resist having sex with Charlotte, you would be in serious trouble if she accused you in the future, given the increasingly surreal state of our society."

Martin sighed. "Why don't Warner's management team focus their energy on the business?"

Bruce said, "How can you call yourself a top-tier group if they don't jump around every now and then?"

Martin handed the phone back to Old Brooks, leaned back on the sofa, and reminisced about his past with the Warner Bros. team.

What impressed him most was that Warner Bros. ruined their winning hand, resulting in frequent instances of management bypassing producers and directly interfering with the filming and production process. Often, it wasn't just one or two managers directly micromanaging the production team, leaving the director with a lot of complaints.

Fortunately, Warner Bros. was a large and powerful company that could withstand the turmoil; a typical small or medium-sized company would have gone bankrupt long ago.

Do other Hollywood studios have similar questionable practices?

Martin can give a clear answer: other companies have just as many questionable practices, such as Disney, which went wild after Robert Iger stepped down in his previous life.

The problem is that Warner Bros. has failed miserably in this area, spending more than a decade and billions of dollars, yet still far from its goal.

The losers are naturally engraved on the pillar of shame, subjected to constant scorn and lashing.

This is also the main reason why Martin was so impressed with the Warner Music Group.

Without a doubt, Kevin Tsujihara is the leader of the Warner Bros. team.

Martin vaguely recalls that around 2020, Kevin Tsujihara was the CEO of Warner Bros.

And then it was all over.

Martin thought back carefully and realized that the reason announced in the media was due to an infidelity scandal; Kevin Tsujihara had an affair with an actress.

That's right, that's how it was reported in the media at the time, and Kevin Tsujihara resigned as a result.

But to think that a woman could bring down a leader of one of the Big Six Hollywood studios is pure nonsense.

Let alone Kevin Tsujihara having an affair with one actress, even if it were a dozen or twenty, it wouldn't be a problem.

Martin believes the root cause lies in performance.

Warner Bros. is on the verge of collapse due to the machinations of the Warner Bros. dream team.

Martin wondered to himself, could Charlotte Kirk be the woman who forced Kevin Tsujihara to resign?

If so, that would be interesting.

Martin recalled more details, though he couldn't recall exactly where he had seen it in his previous life; it seemed to be an interview with that woman.

Martin didn't remember the others, but one sentence stood out because it involved the Wonder Woman movie.

The woman claimed that Kevin Tsujihara had promised to get her the role of Wonder Woman, but she didn't realize she'd been tricked until Zack Snyder announced Gal Gadot as Diana.

That's roughly the idea.

Seeing that Martin was deep in thought, Bruce did not disturb him and waited patiently.

After a while, Martin opened his eyes, looked at Bruce, and said, "Old Bruce, have people keep a close eye on Charlotte, especially on her relationship with Kevin Tsujihara. We need to make sure that if Kevin Tsujihara attacks us, we have weapons to fight back. After all, he is the CEO of one of the six major Hollywood studios."

Bruce nodded in agreement.

Martin paused briefly, then added, "Also, have someone investigate as soon as possible whether Charlotte Kirk auditioned for Wonder Woman or had any involvement with a role in the film."

"I think I've heard about this before." Bruce took out his phone. "I'll make a call and have someone ask around."

The call was made, and not long after, someone called back. Bruce answered, said a few words, and then hung up to Martin, saying, "A while ago, I overheard some people on the set talking about the casting for Wonder Woman. I asked around, and the rumor probably came from Charlotte Kirk."

As one of the three key figures in the production team, Martin rarely heard the latest rumors circulating among the crew: "What rumors?"

Bruce said, "Charlotte Kirk said she auditioned for Wonder Woman and made it all the way to the third round, but Gal Gadot suddenly appeared and stole the role from her through underhanded means."

He cautioned, "Most of those claims are false; it would be very difficult for her to compete for the role of Wonder Woman."

Martin knew, of course, that it was incredibly difficult for an actor to land a major role in a big-budget project simply by sleeping with someone.

The logic is very simple: how much risk can a hole hold in a project that involves tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars?

He considered for a moment: "Send a few people to follow Charlotte closely, monitoring her daily activities, especially her relationship with Kevin Tsujihara."

Bruce will handle these matters; Martin doesn't need to worry about them too much.

As filming for "Interstellar" neared its end in Atlanta, the crew returned to the farm to shoot the final exterior scenes in the cornfield.

Jessica Chastain joined the cast and crew for filming.

In one scene, in order to force her sick brother and his family to leave the farm, she led a group of people to burn down a cornfield suffering from wilt disease.

Nolan insisted on practical effects, so the arson scenes had to be filmed on a real fire.

The entire crew, including Martin, insisted on joining the filming, doing things like murder and arson—presumably legal arson—it was so interesting.

Burning down 300 acres of cornfields in one go sounds exciting.

To prevent the fire from getting out of control, the crew cleared a firebreak around the cornfield.

Martin, Bruce, and the others put on their uniforms, grabbed their helmets, and carried gasoline cans to the side of the cornfield.

Jessica Chastain broke off an ear of corn, peeked at the tender kernels inside, and said, "This cornfield will be ready to harvest in a month at most. 300 acres of corn will bring in a lot of money."

Martin said, "We're a film crew, not farmers."

The crew had checked the wind direction, and Nolan stood below the temporary shooting platform, raised a megaphone and shouted, "Clear the area, filming will begin in three minutes."

Martin picked up the helmet and put it on.

Several extras in the vicinity also put on dust helmets.

As the script supervisor clapped the clapperboard, filming began.

A group of extras, spaced about twenty meters apart, rushed to the edge of the cornfield carrying oil drums and poured fuel onto the corn stalks and the field.

After Martin finished splashing the oil, he threw the oil drum in as well, then took out a sparkler from his waistband, twisted it to produce sparks, and threw it into the cornfield.

The fire suddenly flared up, setting a large area of ​​corn on fire.

Martin quickly left, retreating beyond the firebreak.

Not only him, but all the other actors, including Jessica Chastain, also withdrew.

The fire raged and devoured countless ears of corn.

Nolan and part of the film crew stood at a high vantage point, shooting the entire scene from above.

Jessica Chastain stared intently at the distant fire, seemingly unable to believe she had started it. After a long while, she said to Martin, "No wonder some people like to set fires; it feels really good."

Martin joked, "You can try it in your bathroom later."

"How about tonight?" Jessica Chastain said bluntly, "I'll go to your hotel suite and set it on fire, what do you say?"

Martin said solemnly, "Then I must take on the responsibility of putting out the fire."

Jessica Chastain asked, "How do we put out the fire?"

"Of course, we'll use water." Martin patted her hand. "It's okay if you don't have water, I'll make it for you."

Jessica Chastain, whose face turns red very easily, laughed and said, "Okay, I'll wait for you to make it for me."

The fire was raging and the temperature was rising. Martin pulled Jessica Chastain back into the trailer, and the convoy drove back along the road, gradually moving away from the fire.

But Nolan's film crew continued to shoot scenes of burning flames.

This was the last scene the crew filmed in Atlanta.

Afterwards, the crew had a five-day break, and Martin didn't go back to Los Angeles; instead, he stayed in Atlanta with Elena for five days.

During this time, Martin participated in a Coca-Cola event. As Coca-Cola's lifelong spokesperson, he led members of the Coca-Cola cult from all over the world on a tour of the Coca-Cola Museum and the old campus.

In August, Martin left Atlanta for London, England, where he joined the crew before heading to Iceland to film the final location scenes.

Nolan has visited Iceland many times for filming and has a particular fondness for its outdoor scenes.

The film features two scenes set on an alien planet, both of which were filmed in Iceland.

One of them is a frozen planet. In the words of the show's scientific advisor and Nobel laureate in physics, Kip Thorne, the frozen planet was the greatest scope of artistic freedom he could allow.

Filming in Iceland consisted entirely of outdoor scenes, but fortunately the climate was cool, and Martin, wearing a thick spacesuit, didn't feel too hot even when moving quickly.

During his downtime from filming, Martin wandered around. Iceland's scenery is very special, preserving many pristine landscapes.

The crew made thorough preparations, and filming went very smoothly. Martin only stayed in Iceland for a week before completing all his scenes and leaving the crew to return to London.

He waited in London for several days until he met with an official cultural exchange delegation organized by Washington.

This was an official event aimed at strengthening cultural exchanges between the United States and Eastern Europe, and Martin was participating in preparation for his trip to Kyiv.

The final round of auditions for the "Saintess Astronauts" organized by Alexandrovich is about to begin.

(End of this chapter)