"I ntioned in the car that there was a Citroën following us," Martin continued with his earlier train of thought, "If there was a swallow in the car who also wanted to use the party to get close to the three of us, she would have ensured the party went on smoothly, so she must have notified the people behind to get rid of Tom Hardy."
Bruce nodded, "That's a very likely possibility."
Martin ca to a crucial point, "Who is the target of the swallow then?"
"Nicholson can be ruled out first, he's semi-retired and hardly interacts with the political scene," Bruce glanced at Martin, "Leo's chances are also slim. Although he advocates for environntal conservation, he rarely gets involved directly in politics…"
Martin was aware, "That ans I'm the most likely target." He recalled the previous night and did not notice anything unusual, "Natalia, Sasha Rose, Marina, and Svetlana—who could it be?"
Bruce reminded him, "Rember, Leonardo started planning this gathering since the end of last year."
Martin nodded, "He had inford Natalia back then, so the ssage might have been leaked a long ti ago."
Bruce said, "Considering Damao's abilities, it wouldn't be hard for him to make preparations."
Martin disliked the idea of being watched, "I'm going to catch that damn swallow and subject her to seventy-two different tortures!"
Afterward, they went to ask for the latest updates.
The film crew had reported the incident, and the Paris police had officially taken the case. Tom Hardy was still missing, and nobody knew where they had gone.
Martin and Bruce remained silent.
They had gotten into the car yesterday and spent the ti enjoying drinks and conversation, not paying any attention to the vehicle behind them.
With limited manpower in Paris, the crew was unable to do much. Nolan and Emma Thomas, worried about further accidents, had issued a lockdown order: crew mbers were not allowed to leave without necessity, and those with urgent business had to report to him or Emma Thomas in advance.
At dinner ti, Martin sat at the sa table with Nolan and Emma Thomas.
"The Madrid side will have to be postponed," Emma Thomas said, "I've communicated with them, and although not too happily, they've shown understanding."
She indicated, "We can only delay it by one day. If there's no news by tomorrow, we must leave in the afternoon, and the evening's events will be canceled. It would adversely affect the film, and the crew may face breach of contract risks."
Nolan could barely eat, "No matter what the situation, we'll leave for Madrid after lunch tomorrow. Leave your assistant here to assist Tom Hardy's agent."
Emma Thomas agreed, "We have no other choice."
Nolan asked Martin, "I overheard your phone call just now. Soone was looking for you. You can go ahead and attend to your matters, just rember to return by tomorrow morning."
"It's nothing, Leonardo called about that party we organized last night. Don't worry about it." Martin was cautious about such matters to maintain Nolan's authority, "Right now, it's more important for to stay with the crew."
To himself, Nolan thought that Martin was the type of good actor he appreciated and couldn't help saying, "If Tom Hardy could learn even a fraction from you, he wouldn't be so prone to accidents."
Speaking of this, Nolan was reminded of the incident involving Tom Hardy during the Los Angeles shootout, "During street filming in Los Angeles, a shooting occurred. If he had just let Old Cloth take a closer look, he could have avoided the risk earlier. Instead, he had to act like a know-it-all. And then there's this ti…"
Emma Thomas kicked Nolan under the table, indicating he shouldn't speak recklessly in public.
But Nolan had had enough, "Emma, from now on, Tom Hardy is officially on my blacklist for cooperation. He is banned from any roles in any of my future projects."
Emma Thomas responded, "Understood."
Martin didn't say much, finished his al with Nolan, and as they left the restaurant, passing through the hotel lobby, a short man suddenly approached.
Bruce stepped forward, blocking the man.
The short man shouted in English with an Eastern European accent, "Martin, Martin, I am an actor, Vladimir Alexandrovich from Ukraine, could I have a mont to talk with you?"
Martin recognized the short man's face and, thinking back to last night's events, told Nolan, "I ran into a friend, I'll chat with him for a bit."
Nolan nodded and left.
Martin crossed the lobby and entered a nearby coffee house, with Bruce and Alexandrovich following.
Alexandrovich, having failed to network through Natalia, had heard about the location of the "Inception" crew and ca directly to them.
He had specifically inquired around, Martin had his own independent film production studio, and could attract investnt for filmmaking and projects.
No sooner had they sat down than Alexandrovich eagerly pulled out a screenplay from his briefcase and respectfully placed it in front of Martin, saying, "This is a film I am planning with a director and screenwriter friend of mine. We're looking to make a cody about Napoleon."
Martin looked at him, this small-statured Jewish actor wasn't yet well-known, probably hadn't played a president or such roles yet.
Alexandrovich showed his brightest smile, "This is definitely a creative project…"
Martin raised his hand to stop him from boasting, "Let take a look at the screenplay first."
Alexandrovich imdiately fell silent, even his breathing softened, afraid of disturbing Martin.
Martin quickly skimd through the script. It was written in English, and the title was "Lazarevsky vs. Napoleon," which were the nas of the two main characters.
The main content was about the lascivious lunatic Napoleon invading Russia, after which Russian Lieutenant Lazarevsky, for a special mission, cross-dressed to seduce Napoleon, and Napoleon ended up falling for "her".
It even involved Lev Tolstoy...
Martin read about half of it and then flipped directly to the end, closing the script after a mont.
Alexandrovich hastily asked, "The script is okay, right?"
After thinking for a bit, Martin said plainly, "Are you planning to make a Russian film?"
"That was the initial plan," replied Alexandrovich, who was extrely shrewd and flexible in his stance. He said, "If I can get an investnt from Hollywood, I'll definitely shoot an English version."
Drawing on his years of experience, Martin said, "If you shoot an English version, a lot of the background settings will be problematic. Arican audiences might be interested in Napoleon, but not in Russia making a fool of Napoleon. To be precise, most Arican viewers aren't interested in things that happen to Russians."
Alexandrovich couldn't understand, "If it doesn't happen in Russia, the entire story setting of the script is useless."
"Arican audiences are interested in English affairs," Martin suggested, "You could change the background and turn it into a story between the English and Napoleon."
With such changes, the script would need major revisions, making Alexandrovich hesitate.
A story with Russians in Russian, Martin would never invest in that, even with Wu Maoting as his financial backer. He still paid attention to the return on investnt.
If made according to the script, the film's main market would be limited to Russia and the forr Soviet region. Even if it could generate a profit, there was no guarantee the profit could be secured.
Martin didn't want to get involved in any lawsuits over there. He would be foolish to invest in projects in that region, especially after possibly receiving a warning from a flying swallow last night.
To attract Arican viewers' interest, the English and French mishaps would be more appealing.
Alexandrovich asked again, "Does it really need to be modified?"
"If you want my studio to invest, and you want the film to be screened in North Arica, it's best to make so changes," Martin said bluntly.
Thinking of the possibility that the film could be screened in Arica stirred Alexandrovich's heart, but the script was not his alone; it involved two other people as well. He said, "I have to discuss it with the screenwriter and director first, one person can't decide."
He pleaded, "Could I have a contact to reach you? If they agree to the modifications, I'd like to be able to contact you."
Martin nodded, and Bruce gave him and the studio's contact information.
"Thank you," said Alexandrovich as he carefully saved it.
Martin rose, shook his hand, and said, "I hope to see you in Los Angeles. I think highly of you and this cody."
"I'll do my best," Alexandrovich replied.
Martin nodded at him and left the coffee house with Bruce.
Alexandrovich packed up the script and hurried out, making a phone call to book a plane ticket. He needed to get back quickly to convince his collaborators.
Arica was the place he longed for most!
On the other hand, Martin went straight back to his room, taking a call from Leonardo on the way.
The bastard inford him that he and Nicholson had chartered a yacht to set off from Monaco, taking one hundred and seventy-eight babes to the diterranean for a vacation.
Martin was envious but couldn't join because he had a long list of promotional commitnts for "Inception" to complete.
This overseas promotional tour would start in Western Europe, pass through Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, then fly from Western Asia to South Africa, and head to Latin Arica, before making its way north back to Los Angeles.
The high salaries of movie stars included this part of the expenses. Although Martin was quite a scoundrel, he never shirked from his responsibilities.
Back in his room, Bruce asked, "That Russian...no, Ukrainian codian, is there sothing special about him?"
"There's sothing a bit special. He might beco a way for us to make money in the future," Martin replied vaguely before adding, "If he contacts you, have him co to Los Angeles. He's got a real talent for cody."
Bruce nodded slightly, "I got it."
In the past two days, first the beautiful girl from Damao's family had co, then the codian from the second household. Martin suddenly felt as if he had a special connection with that place.
Should he seize that potentially existent swallow?
A beautiful babe seducing the national hero of Arica, whose will remains unshakeable, who, with selfless sacrifice, probes the depths of the babe, paying a price of several hundred billion, in the end capturing the spy!
Looking back, Martin thought this experience could be turned into a movie, one that's particularly politically correct!
The following morning, the crew received notification from the Paris police, who had found the missing Tom Hardy.
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