On the afternoon of May 11th, Zane, Nolan, and their team arrived in Cannes, France. They checked into a very fancy hotel.
Right away, they got an invitation.
"Sir," Zane's assistant, Alexander, said, "this is a dinner invitation from Gilles Jacob. He's the big boss of the whole Cannes Film Festival. It's a welcome party for all the filmmakers."
Zane understood. He held up the fancy invitation and smiled at Nolan. "Well, my friend, do you want to join me for a drink? We can go see all the famous filmmakers from around the world."
Nolan, however, shook his head. "Mr. Blackwood, I think I'll skip this one."
Nolan wanted to go. He was a new director, and meeting people would be good for him. But he had his pride. He didn't want to just be Zane's "plus-one." He wanted to one day earn his own invitation, with his own name on it.
"Alright, then," Zane said with an easy-going shrug. "Get some rest tonight." He didn't try to comfort him. He knew Nolan was a grown-up and a smart guy.
After Zane got freshened up, Alexander came back.
"Sir," he said respectfully, "here is the list of all the judges for the film festival."
Zane looked it over. The president of the judges was... Martin Scorsese.
"Oh, wow!" Zane said, surprised.
Martin Scorsese was a legend. He was a famous director from America who had already won a bunch of awards all over the world for his movies, like Taxi Driver and Goodfellas.
"Mr. Scorsese is super impressive," Zane thought to himself. "I should try to chat with him at the party tonight. Maybe we can work together in the future."
He then glanced at the list for the new short film contest. His eyes went wide.
"Good grief!" Zane was shocked. "There are so many movies in the first short film contest!"
There were over 1,600 short films sent in from all over the world! But only 16 were chosen to be shown at the festival. The chances of getting in were tiny.
Zane's movie, The Tuner, was, of course, one of those 16.
That evening, Zane walked into the party, and he was immediately swarmed by reporters from all over the world.
This big rush of reporters really shocked all the other filmmakers at the party.
"Who is that guy?"
"Is he a big movie star from somewhere? I've never seen him before."
"George, you don't know? I'm curious, too."
"None of us know him... but all the reporters sure seem to!"
All the invited filmmakers started whispering to each other. They were all directors, producers, and writers. Most of them weren't used to being chased by cameras. They couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous.
"Tsk, tsk," a screenwriter from Hollywood said, rolling his eyes. "Don't you guys ever watch the news? That's Zane Blackwood. The famous American billionaire. He's the guy who wrote Static, Juno, and The Sixth Sense. He owns the whole movie studio, Wald Pictures."
As soon as he said that, everyone nearby was stunned.
"Really?" a young director asked, his jaw dropping.
"Haha! Look at all those reporters," the screenwriter said. "Do you think it's fake?"
For a moment, all the other young filmmakers felt a little sad. How come he's so young and already a billionaire, and we're... well... us?
They felt even worse when they heard what Zane was saying to the reporters.
"What? Everyone, please," Zane said, his voice full of (fake) modesty, "don't talk to me about money. Yes, I'm a billionaire, but I really don't care about money. I've never been focused on it. I don't even know how much I make in a day! Please, just remember, I am just an ordinary director."
The reporters loved it.
"Yes!" Zane continued, " The Tuner is my second movie, and my first short film. You should all come and see it! And please, tell me what you really think. I'd love to hear."
Then one reporter got brave. "Hey, hey! You! What do you mean by asking if an 'established director' like me should be 'bullying' all these young directors in the short film contest?!"
Zane just stared at the reporter, his face a mask of pure innocence.
"I'm only 21 years old this year," he said, looking confused. "Am I not a young director?"
He then looked at the reporter with a hard, serious (but still charming) look. "I'm telling you, you need to report the truth. If you write lies, don't blame me for suing you. Believe me... I have the money to do it."
Zane spoke so freely, and the reporters... well, they were speechless. The other filmmakers were speechless, too.
You... you... you still say you're not bullying us?! they all thought. You've directed a movie that made over $100 million! You're the writer of giant box office hits! And you have the nerve to compete against us in the short film contest? How can you have no shame?!
Many of the other filmmakers were just... speechless. But there was nothing they could do. Zane hadn't broken any of the rules.
One young director from Australia just blurted out, "How the hell are the rest of us supposed to compete with that?"
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