In the office, Thomas glanced at his scheduler and said to Martin, "Svetlana has been taking accent lessons, and Natasha referred her to our client director Jas Mangold's crew, but there has been no response yet."
Martin was familiar with this director, whom Jolie had introduced, the director of "The Soul-Switching Lady," with which she had won the Best Supporting Actress award.
Thomas went on, "Marina passed an audition for a production called 'Ga of Dogs,' securing a supporting role with so lines. She's currently preparing for the shoot."
Martin asked, "Any other special situations?"
The matter of Marina possibly being a swallow was known only to the Trio of Scoundrels; Thomas was oblivious to it. After pondering for a mont, he shook his head and said, "Nothing out of the ordinary."
Martin nodded and said, "Have Natasha keep a close eye on her."
"Alright." Driven by curiosity, Thomas couldn't help but ask, "Is this Russian woman that special?"
Martin answered vaguely, "Quite special."
Upon reflection, Thomas recalled that the woman seed ordinarily beautiful but possessed a very distinctive aura.
Great detective Nicholson had returned to Los Angeles and had been keeping an eye on Marina; Martin prepared to seek out Nicholson.
But at that mont, Thomas said, "We've received several new casting calls. Since you're here, you might as well take a look, and I won't have to fax them to you separately."
Not in a hurry to find Nicholson, Martin replied, "That's fine."
Thomas flipped through the project information he had prepared earlier, placing the projects and roles he was most optimistic about on top.
On top of the pile was a 150 million US Dollar project called "Gravity," directed by xican director Alfonso Cuaron. Sandra Bullock, the Oscar-winning actress from the previous year, had been locked in as the female lead, and they were looking for a male lead.
There was no script or story summary.
Martin set it aside, as he had seen the film already; it was practically a solo performance by Sandra Bullock. The male lead might as well have been called a supporting actor, with few appearances.
Unless the lead role was changed from female to male.
But such a change of the lead's gender would greatly diminish the film's emotional resonance.
n are inherently endowed with qualities like resilience and strength, making the sight of a woman fighting for survival in space far more jarring.
Thomas glanced at the project, which he was quite optimistic about, yet Martin had dismissed it without a second thought.
But Thomas didn't say more, instead, he put away the project brief, waiting for the company's next round of selections.
Hollywood production companies sent projects to WMA, and Martin had the first pick; only after he made his choices could others get their turn.
Martin had already turned his attention to the second project, another big-budget project, this ti from Sony Columbia Pictures, also boasting a 150 million US Dollar budget and with Roland Emrich confird as the director.
Martin knew this director well; his films were catastrophically epic.
His trademark works included "Independence Day," "Godzilla," "The Day After Tomorrow," and "2012."
Upon examining the project's details, Martin found it to be a story about an Arican hero single-handedly saving the White House and the President.
Having seen all of Emrich's films, Martin also set this project aside.
If it were about a hero leading a group of won to storm the White House, he might have considered it.
Thomas was montarily lost in thought, sinking into a deep self-doubt: "Is my judgnt really that poor, picking all the wrong projects?"
Martin saw the third project brief, also seeking a male lead called "Argo." It was from his old friend Graham King's GK Films.
Ever since the casting for "Infernal Affairs," Martin had known Graham. Later, it was Graham who introduced "Prince of Thieves" author Chuck Hogan to him.
The project's details weren't too elaborate, but it was noted to be adapted from a part of CIA senior employee Tony ndez's autobiography "Master of Disguise," related to a then-recently declassified CIA secret rescue operation.
Martin asked Thomas, "Is there a copy of the original book?"
Thomas snapped back to reality and quickly said, "There's a copy of 'Wired Magazine' underneath, which has a feature about Tony ndez."
Martin saw the magazine and flipped it open to the page featuring the story.
He had a hunch and began reading attentively.
It was a report on a CIA operation to rescue Arican diplomats. During the 1979 Iran revolution, so radicals stord the US Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Aricans hostage. However, in the chaos, six people escaped and hid in the ho of the Canadian ambassador.
The CIA was tasked with rescuing these six individuals. Extraction expert Tony ndez devised a plan, contacting a few Hollywood friends to create a film project called "Argo," intended as a cover story to scout film locations in Tehran. ndez disguised the six as crew mbers, successfully bringing them back to Arica.
It was an astonishing operation, where Hollywood's significant clout played a pivotal role.
Martin had seen the film and vaguely rembered it as "Escape from Tehran," possibly an Oscar winner for Best Picture in so year.
In places other than North Arica, he couldn't say, but on the North Arican market, it enjoyed both robust box-office returns and rave reviews.
Moreover, for what it's worth in North Arica, the film was extrely politically correct and t his current needs.
Martin rembered that the original male lead was Ben.
What a coincidence.
Martin took it out separately.
Thomas breathed a sigh of relief, telling himself that he still had so discernnt, although the first two projects he picked out were rejected by Martin, the third one had been affird.
After looking over the other project proposals, apart from "Escape from Tehran," Martin returned all of them to Thomas and asked, "Has a director been confird for this project?"
Thomas shook his head, "No."
Martin inquired further, "Did Graham say anything else?"
"No," Thomas recalled before adding, "It seems that several other major agencies have received invitations as well."
Martin took out his phone and dialed Graham directly.
The call connected almost imdiately, "Martin? How co a busy person like you has ti to call ?"
"The 'Prince of Thieves' script you recomnded is adapted," Martin didn't start with "Escape from Tehran" but ntioned the previous friendly collaboration first, "Are you available next year? I plan to invite you to be a producer for 'Prince of Thieves'."
Graham responded, "If you're inviting, I will make myself available even if I don't have a suitable schedule."
Martin said, "With you managing this project, I can rest easy."
There was no doubt about the abilities of this producer; Martin Scorsese's longstanding partner had taken on the role of producer for films like "Drug Connection," "Ali," "The Aviator," "Infernal Affairs," and "Blood Diamond."
"I saw one of your GK Films projects at the agency," Martin got to the point, "Based on the adaptation of CIA senior employee Tony ndez's rescue case, 'Argo,' are you searching for the leading man?"
Graham imdiately understood Martin's implication, "Are you interested in this role?"
Martin stated directly, "I'm indeed a little interested."
After so thought, Graham said, "I am currently out of town; how about we talk face to face when I return to Los Angeles?"
Martin replied, "That's fine."
Graham had worked with Martin on "Infernal Affairs" and knew he was an actor with great acting skills, comrcial appeal, and true dedication, "I will call you when I get back."
After both sides hung up the phone, Thomas had already instructed the new assistant to purchase Tony ndez's autobiography, "Master of Disguise."
Martin put away the project proposal and the magazine, and said to Thomas, "Take this project out separately; I want it."
Thomas imdiately made a call to seal off this project in the database.
As the company's top priority male actor, any project Martin was interested in would temporarily be closed off to others.
The new assistant quickly brought Tony ndez's autobiography, "Master of Disguise."
Martin glanced at the ti and said, "I'll be taking off now."
Thomas saw him out.
After Martin got in the car, he secured the magazine and autobiography and asked Bruce, "Old Cloth, have you heard of Tony ndez before?"
"I've heard of him; supposedly he did a lot of covert stuff," Bruce started the car, pulling onto the road, "When I was serving in England, I believe Laxton signed off on declassifying many of the CIA's secret operations, so of which involved Tony ndez."
He didn't forget his routine jab at the English: "Compared to MI6, which the Brits hype up, the CIA is much more efficient, and even the Russians are better than them."
"The Russians have swallows," Martin took out his phone and called Nicholson, asking Bruce to drive toward San Fernando Valley.
In a small studio in the Valley, a Hollywood crew had recently set up shop; most of the footage for "Ga of Dogs" would be shot there.
Near the studio, there was a hotel where the great detective Nicholson had booked a suite with a balcony facing the studio.
When Martin arrived, he found Leonardo watching the crew from the balcony.
"What's the situation?" Martin asked.
Nicholson said, "After I got back from New York, I've been secretly keeping an eye on Marina and even paid a hefty sum to have her phone tapped."
Leonardo chid in, "She sotis talks to her uncle in Paris on the phone, discussing her daily life in Los Angeles."
Nicholson remarked, "Calling loved ones to check in is normal, but coupled with our conjecture, she becos even more suspicious."
Martin nodded, picked up a pair of binoculars, and looked at the crew in the studio, asking, "What's the deal with this crew?"
Nicholson had done his howork, "'Ga of Dogs,' a very generic film crew, with an investnt of about 3 million US dollars. I asked around about the script, the details are confidential within the crew, and it's known to be an artsy film."
Leonardo added sothing, "I've seen two people in this crew."
Martin inquired, "Who?"
The one who answered, however, was Nicholson, "The mother-daughter duo we t in New York, Catherine Oxenberg and her daughter India."
Martin sensed sothing off, "They're in this crew too?"
Nicholson explained, "Catherine Oxenberg is the producer, and India seems to be one of many actors."
He suddenly broke into a laugh, "Isn't it interesting?"
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