America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 506 Forming Cliques
Astra Studios, Morocco.

The crew of "Inception" rented six studios for setting up the scenes, but for Nolan, who is crazy about real-life shooting, these are far from enough. The crew also has three teams in Paris, Los Angeles and Canada to build other real scenes for filming.

With Martin and Mene rushing over from France, all the main actors of the crew were present.

In the morning, when the crew had just started work, Michael Caine and Tom Hardy got out of the car and prepared to go to the office building for a meeting.

Two people got out of the Cadillac diagonally opposite.

Tom Hardy scratched his face and asked, "Is that Martin?"

Without waiting for Michael Kane to answer, Martin walked over and smiled at him: "Long time no see."

Seeing this familiar smile, Michael Kane's heart skipped a beat and he nodded slightly: "Long time no see."

Martin walked quickly out of the parking lot.

Tom Hardy curiously asked: "Is it this person who gave Bale a mental disorder?"

Michael Caine suddenly became very serious: "You have been working hard in the UK, and some situations are not clear. Tom, in this crew, it doesn't matter who you provoke. Even if you make Nolan angry, the most you will get is replaced."

He solemnly warned: "But never provoke Martin Davis, remember!"

Tom Hardy didn't work in Hollywood before: "Is it really that scary?"

Michael Caine said: "He is the real clown, or scarier than the clown."

Tom Hardy was puzzled.

Michael Caine didn't want this junior to become the next Bale, and said: "The Joker, people know he's a bad guy after watching him. Martin, most people think he's a good guy, a very good guy."

Tom Hardy understood now and said, "Work normally and don't interfere with each other."

Michael Caine said, "Let's go."

On the other side, Martin went straight into Nolan's office.

Nolan opened his arms and hugged him warmly: "Congratulations on winning Cannes again."

Martin smiled: "I'm lucky this time."

Nolan invited him to sit down and said, "When we promote this film, in addition to the Oscar winner, we can also put the slogan of Cannes Best Actor, which will have a greater influence in Europe."

“Hopefully we can have another great success,” Martin said.

"Success does not just depend on the movie itself." After "The Dark Knight", Nolan felt this more clearly: "We need to think more about publicity and marketing."

Martin couldn't agree more: "Chris, you're always inspired in this regard."

After the two finished filming The Dark Knight together, they had a tacit understanding. Nolan smiled and said, "You should be more active in the crew and do more things. This will inspire my inspiration."

He seemed particularly relaxed when writing the real behind-the-scenes footage of The Dark Knight, but the reason he felt relaxed was because everything that happened on the set always gave him bursts of inspiration.

Without inspiration, it’s hard to write real behind-the-scenes stories.

Martin was not polite at all: "Don't worry, I have always been the most active person in the crew."

Nolan's confidence in Martin in this aspect was even stronger than his acting skills. He smiled and nodded, took out a small box from his desk drawer and handed it to Martin: "Your key props, get familiar with them as soon as possible."

Martin opened the box and found a metal top inside. He took it out and twisted it, and the top started spinning on the desk.

Nolan took a look and said, "It's very familiar. It seems that there is no need to be familiar with it."

"Chris, I have an idea about a spinning top." The ending of the script Martin saw was a typical Hollywood happy ending, and the spinning top reminded him of the ending of an old movie.

The ending of this movie is to Nolan what Tom Cruise is to Nicole Kidman. When publicity is needed, it is always the first to be dragged out.

Martin volunteered, "I have an idea about the ending that might be useful for marketing."

Nolan had worked with Martin before and knew he was always reliable: "Tell me about it."

Martin said, “Would it be possible to keep Cobb’s spinning top spinning at the end?”

In addition to producing and filming, Nolan is a typical marketing-oriented director. He immediately grasped Martin's idea: "If we do a good job in promoting and marketing such an ending, can it arouse widespread discussion and interpretation in the media, giving the audience more room for imagination and opportunities for thinking?"

He spoke slowly, his brain working at high speed, holding down the spinning top: "It makes the movie more profound and influential!"

Martin is very clear about where the line is between the leading actor and the director: "It's up to you to decide how it will work."

Nolan grabbed Martin's arm and said, "Sure enough, choosing Martin Davis will never be wrong."

Martin laughed and patted Nolan's hand: "Choosing Christopher Nolan is always right!"

A few minutes later, the two joined Emma Thomas and entered the conference room.

The other main actors have arrived.

Martin took a quick look and found that apart from the leading supporting actor Meiwei, there were also Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy, who were usually cast by Nolan, and the other actors were also familiar faces.

French actress Marion Cotillard, who played a couple with him, Tom Hardy who he had just met, as well as Ellen Page and Ken Watanabe.

Martin pulled out his chair and sat at the first seat on the right side of the conference table. Marion, who was sitting opposite him, smiled at him.

Martin nodded.

Ellen Page reached out her hand and said, "Martin, we meet again."

Martin remembered that the two chatted at the Oscars and said, "Little Red Riding Hood in Hard Candy and Cat in X-Men are both my favorite characters."

He gently squeezed Allen's hand: "I didn't expect that we could work together so soon."

Allen is a young man, but he is a veteran actor in Hollywood. He took the initiative to approach Martin: "I am your assistant, the dream builder."

Martin smiled and said, "You are a good assistant."

On the opposite side, Tom Hardy curled his lips slightly, showing disdain for Allen's behavior.

It is normal to form cliques within the crew. Three British actors, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy, sat together and formed a British gang.

Martin, Mene and Ellen Page formed the American Gang.

Director Nolan, who was sitting at the head of the conference table, said: "We will work together in the next few months, and I hope everything will go well."

He took out the script: "Now start reading the script."

The script will not go smoothly. The plot of "Inception" is too abstract as presented in the script, and there is nothing to expect from the literary attainments of the stars.

Apart from Martin, there was Menez, who was given special treatment by Emma Thomas, but everyone else had constant problems.

The script meeting that was planned for the whole morning had to be postponed and lasted for the whole day.

Nolan was not afraid of the actors revealing spoilers and carefully answered various questions to reduce difficulties during filming.

In addition to these, members of Cobb's team, including Menez, must undergo necessary physical and firearms training, and there will be many fierce confrontations in the dreams.

These action scenes are a piece of cake for Martin, far inferior to the filming of "John Wick".

Mene has been with Martin for a long time, and he is better than average male actors in terms of gun handling and body movements.

After the training that day, Martin took a shower, changed his clothes, and came to the office, where he met Alan Horn, CEO of Warner Pictures.

He greeted me and said, "Do you have time? Let's chat for a while."

Martin pointed to the recreational lounge area and asked, "When did you come here?"

Allen Horn said: "I just arrived in Morocco this morning and immediately rushed to the crew. This is Warner Pictures' biggest project next year."

Unlike The Dark Knight, which was co-produced by Legendary Pictures and DC Comics, the primary producer and investor of Inception was Warner Bros.

Martin joked: "Are you worried that something might happen to us?"

"You and Nolan teamed up, how could anything go wrong?" Alan Horn said of "The Dark Knight" which ended its global screening: "Your last film grossed $12.25 billion worldwide."

He added: "Second only to James Cameron's Titanic."

Hearing about James Cameron, Martin exclaimed: "He is a miracle director. His original films can make the world's top box office."

There is only one James Cameron in Hollywood.

Alan Horn added: "Your John Wick: Chapter 4000 is also good. I remember the production cost was only 2 million U.S. dollars, right? Now the North American box office is million U.S. dollars!"

Martin said frankly: "The market potential has been basically exhausted, and the North American box office is just over $2 million."

He is not underestimating himself: "I think we can still get some success overseas. If the global box office can exceed $4 million, I will definitely praise God."

Alan Horn asked, "Is the sequel in the works?"

"It's being planned." Martin guessed and said specifically, "Alan, Daniel has already intervened in advance."

Alan Horn sighed: "This guy is quick to act."

Martin smiled and didn't respond. Daniel had collaborated with him and Louise on distribution many times, and there hadn't been any major conflicts between the two sides, so of course they would continue to collaborate.

Alan Horn then asked, "Have you paid attention to the North American summer movie season recently?"

"I attended the Cannes Film Festival first and stayed there for half a month. After the festival ended, I flew directly to Morocco." Martin has been very focused: "I didn't pay much attention to the North American summer season."

"The film project that Warner Bros. invested heavily in was officially released last weekend." Alan Horn was talking about "Terminator 2018", which almost caused a falling out with Martin.

At that time, he invited Martin to play the role of savior John Connor, but Martin politely declined, and later invited Christian Bale.

Martin knew what he was talking about as soon as he heard it, but he didn't ask.

Alan Horn automatically said: "Terminator 2018 failed. The word of mouth and box office were not ideal and did not meet the expectations of Warner Pictures."

Even the Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating is only 33%, and the average CinemaScore audience score is C+.

He was extremely sad: "The North American box office in its opening weekend was only 4225 million US dollars."

(End of this chapter)