In the morning, inside the film studio.
An Asian with a dark complexion sat in the rest area, watching the filming along with Graham.
The set was busy shooting, and the two of them said nothing.
Martin stood at the iron table, skillfully disassembling the gun, oiling and maintaining it, then took out the magazine and pressed the bright yellow bullets into it, one by one.
After filling three magazines in a row, Martin picked one up, put it against the wall, and made a shooting motion as if aiming a gun.
Director Villeneuve shouted, "Cut, that's a wrap for this take."
Martin leaned his hands on the cold iron table and took several deep breaths, slling the familiar scent of gun oil before imdiately stepping out of his role.
Villeneuve ca over from behind the director's monitor, handing Martin a bag, "Here's a souvenir for you."
Martin looked inside and found it was the skull mask he wore for the bank robbery scene.
The lead actor's scenes were all wrapped up, and Martin announced loudly, "I've booked the hotel buffet for after work this afternoon, anyone who's free can join."
Villeneuve said, "The directing team will definitely be there."
Even though the lead actor's scenes were completed, the crew's filming would continue until Friday. Martin took off his costu jacket, accepted a wet towel from Old Cloth to wipe the gun oil from his hands, and left the set.
The crew needed to change locations, so the studio beca sowhat busy.
When Graham saw Martin co out, he called, "Martin, over here."
As Martin walked over, he sized up the dark-skinned Asian, noting the complexion wasn't East Asian but carried more of a Subcontinental vibe.
Just as one wouldn't mistake Koreans for Japanese, Martin had a peculiar knack for identifying people from the Indian subcontinent.
It could be said to be a basic skill for many in his past life.
When Martin approached, Graham made introductions, "This is Martin, and this is Knight Shyamalan."
The latter took the initiative to step forward and shook hands with Martin, "I've seen you several tis at awards ceremonies but never had the chance to et. You're one of my favorite actors."
The other man was very polite, so Martin responded courteously, "Director Shyamalan, I'm a big fan of your work. 'The Sixth Sense' is one of my favorite horror movies."
After exchanging pleasantries, the three of them sat down in the resting area and started chatting.
Knight Shyamalan was quite humble, perhaps because he had an uneasy feeling. His recent project, "After Earth," which had just wrapped in the Great Lakes region, seed to have considerable problems.
Of course, he didn't think the issue was with him.
Rather, it was because Will Smith was too eager, wanting to promote his son, ddling in everything from the script to the filming and even the post-production.
In recent years, Shyamalan had gone through several collaborators. If "After Earth" flopped, working with Will Smith and Sony Columbia wouldn't be an option anymore.
He needed to find new production and investnt partners.
Thinking this, Knight Shyamalan couldn't help but glance at Martin, who was offering him a friendly smile.
Seizing the opportunity with his friend Graham there, he quickly said, "I just finished shooting 'After Earth' with Will Smith and his son, and I have a new project in hand. Martin, are you interested in collaborating?"
Martin replied with a smile, "I've just finished filming a movie and haven't even left the studio yet. I need to catch my breath first."
"The Sixth Sense's" director had just worked with Will Smith and his son on "After Earth," and Martin imdiately connected this director with so profoundly concerning issues.
This director was known for his inconsistency.
And unlike Ridley Scott's inconsistency, which was mainly limited to non-epic films, Ridley's other movies were generally reliable.
Knight Shyamalan, however, occasionally produced an exceptional film, but most tis, his work was not reliable.
In Martin's past life, news reports had claid that Knight Shyamalan was an extraordinarily rare director who had managed to falter with almost every major and mid-sized production company in Hollywood.
At this point, Knight Shyamalan went to the restroom.
Seeing him walk away, Graham said in a low voice, "If you can avoid working with him, then do."
GK Films had a far deeper relationship with Davis Film Studio, both in terms of business entanglents and personal ties, than with Knight Shyamalan.
Martin asked another question, "Hasn't the response to several of his recent films been sowhat lackluster?"
"It's not just the recent ones," Graham said bluntly. "Since the success of 'The Sixth Sense,' none of his other films have been well-received, and all have bombed at the box office. However, a few did sell well on DVD, which has allowed him to maintain his stance."
Martin inquired, "I heard he's worked with nearly every major production company."
Graham replied, "He works with one and then moves on to another—a rarity in Hollywood."
He glanced over and added, "He ca to this ti because he wanted to get GK Films to invest."
Martin nodded, "Understood."
Graham chuckled, "I have a decent personal relationship with him, but friendship is friendship, business is business. An investnt of tens of millions of dollars is sothing I can't afford to lose."
Martin was surprised, "With his situation, he can still keep pulling in investnts and continue to work with big companies?"
Ridley Scott has plenty of stamina, yet he doesn't dare to make epic films one after another. He also needs to weave in sci-fi films to recuperate."
Knight Shyamalan has managed to dig a pit with all six big Hollywood studios."
Compared to Martin, Graham, as an old friend, knew Knight Shyamalan all too well. After a mont's thought, he said, "The Sixth Sense was such a success back then. With a production budget of 40 million dollars, it brought back nearly 300 million in North Arica and nearly 700 million worldwide at the box office. That year, it ranked second in both box office and video cassette sales, making Disney a fortune. Who wouldn't like that?"
Then, his tone shifted, "Another thing is that Shyamalan is a genius among geniuses. He's always bursting with brilliant ideas when writing screenplays, which moves the producers. The investnts by dium and large studios are usually a mixed platter. With the comrcial miracle of The Sixth Sense in the past, if a project succeeds, the profits are substantial. And if it fails, it's mostly the other investors' money that's lost."
Martin thought of Warner Bros., which had botched so many big production projects over the past year. Although the company's financial situation was tense, it was not yet at a critical mont.
The situation was the opposite for gan Ellison, who invested her own money in movies and couldn't hold on anymore.
Graham continued, "From a producer's standpoint, Shyamalan has one major issue. He can co up with unparalleled ideas and create stunning scenes at the story level, but he often cuts corners when it cos to execution, wrapping up what should be a dazzling story all too hastily."
This remark gave Martin a mont's pause, as he rembered watching a movie that started off brilliantly but ended on a disappointing note. The film even had a sequel, with the new Professor X, Jane Yii, shaving her head completely in the movie once again.
It seed the director of that movie was Knight Shyamalan.
These events were more recent to Martin since his arrival in North Arica, and he rembered them relatively clearly.
For instance, the female lead of that movie, as he recalled, later did a series about chess for Netflix.
That movie was quite interesting, as it had so promotional hype, claiming it was adapted from true events and the like.
As Martin was mulling over this, Knight Shyamalan returned from the restroom and began to talk about collaboration once again.
Graham said, "I'm still tied up with this project for now, so here's what we'll do. Send a copy of any projects, along with the screenplay and plans you have on hand, later."
"No problem." Knight Shyamalan didn't want to give up on Martin, feeling that collaborating with Martin might turn his fortunes around. He said, "I have a project I'm planning, and the lead role would suit you really well?"
Martin asked tentatively, "What kind of role? It isn't soone with ntal issues like Bruce Willis's character in The Sixth Sense, is it?"
Knight Shyamalan replied, "It's not that kind of character. I made that type of film in 2000, but the project was a disaster, and I don't want to ss with it again for now. This project is a sci-fi movie; it's not good to disclose more at this ti."
Martin responded diplomatically, "Whenever you think it's appropriate, send the screenplay to Davis Studio. I'll make a decision after I've read the screenplay and the role."
It was a reasonable request and Knight Shyamalan answered, "I will have it sent over as soon as possible."
After chatting for a while and as the crew ended the setup for the next scene, Martin was the first to leave the soundstage.
Not long afterward, Knight Shyamalan also took his leave.
On the way to the hotel, the director was quite pleased with his trip. If all went well with GK Films and Davis Film Studio, he would have a couple more chances to attempt.
Knight Shyamalan felt certain that he could again create a blockbuster like The Sixth Sense.
And what if the project failed? Knight Shyamalan didn't ponder that too much—after all, it would be soone else's money that was lost.
...…
Back in the makeup trailer, Martin removed his makeup, changed back into his own clothes, and rode back to the Hilton Garden Hotel in the Escalade driven by Bruce.
With so ti still before dinner, he returned to his room and carefully recollected the news reports he had seen.
The movie, starring Jane Yii that Martin had watched in his previous life, seed to feature a male lead with over twenty personalities, so of which were quite dangerous, involving the kidnapping of several girls and the like.
It was claid that this movie was based on a true event.
Martin asked Bruce, "Have you heard of any violent cri cases where the perpetrator had multiple personalities due to dissociative identity disorder?"
Bruce thought for a mont and said, "Seems like there have been a few such cases over the past years."
Martin pressed on, "What about soone with over twenty personalities?"
"Over twenty?" Bruce shook his head, "I haven't heard of such a case, that's just too damn exaggerated."
Martin took out his phone and called both Thomas and Jessica to relay the question and asked them to search for relevant events or news reports.
After over half an hour, Thomas called back with his findings. "I've checked thoroughly, and there was a similar case, quite a classic one, involving a person nad Billy Milligan. In 1977, he was arrested by the police for committing three rapes at Ohio State University. During questioning, Billy was diagnosed with a rare case of multiple personality disorder and was acquitted because of it."
He paused briefly, "A factual biography published in 1981 is based on this case, entitled '24 Bills'."
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