Duke was mainly filming the scenes between the male lead played by Leonardo and the dream architect Ariadne. When the crew arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Scarlett Johansson and Michael Caine, who had arrived earlier, were already waiting there. Aside from the snow mountain exterior scenes in Canada, Paris was already the last overseas stop for the crew. Because there had been enough rehearsals during the early preparations, after adjusting to the time difference, the crew quickly got into shooting mode. However, filming in Paris came with some troubles. Duke needed to shoot some explosion scenes, but the Paris authorities were not cooperative and strictly forbade the crew from using explosives. Fortunately, Duke was well-prepared and had previously instructed Joss Williams’ team to conduct numerous experiments, using high-pressure nitrogen to simulate explosion effects. During the early preparations, the crew tested for several weeks. The actual filmed effect turned out to be excellent. You have to know, the two leads were in the center of the explosion, but during filming, they were completely unaffected even the paper cups on the table remained perfectly still. In high-speed slow-motion footage captured from six different camera angles, the explosion debris floated in the air like suspended particles, creating an extremely shocking visual impact. After filming the scenes between Scarlett and Leonardo, Charlize Theron who was promoting the South Africa World Cup also arrived in Paris on schedule to report to Duke and the crew. Duke rented a classic old hotel in Paris to film the scene where Charlize Theron’s character jumps off a building. Of course, this wasn’t actually filmed from a high floor. The shooting location was on the first floor, and then through camera misalignment and editing techniques, the required effect in the film could be easily achieved. Outside the hotel, beyond the perimeter of the crew, Scarlett stood with her arms crossed, looking at Charlize Theron sitting on the windowsill. She slightly pursed her lips. She said to Tina Fey, who was standing beside her, "She stabbed me this morning during filming." Tina Fey turned her head and looked at Scarlett with slight surprise, not quite understanding what she meant. In this morning’s scene, Scarlett had entered Leonardo’s character’s dream and was then killed by a figure from the subconscious... Scarlett’s right hand hung down as she gently rubbed the area just below her chest line. "I don’t know if she did it on purpose. When she stabbed me with the prop knife, she used a bit too much force. It still hurts..." Tina Fey didn’t know what to say either. Whether it was intentional or not, no one could be sure. And even if she really had done it intentionally, in that kind of situation, no one would be able to say anything. Looking at Charlize Theron on the windowsill, Scarlett was still muttering something, probably thinking about finding a chance to return the favor. However, as soon as filming in front started, she immediately shut her mouth. Scarlett was very clear that, regardless of the reason, nothing could be allowed to affect Duke’s work. Two cameras were positioned at diagonal angles that did not interfere with each other, aiming at Leonardo and Charlize Theron who were at opposite windows. The boom mic for on-site recording slowly descended to the edge of the window from above. Leonardo walked to the window and, seeing Charlize Theron sitting on the opposite windowsill, asked in surprise, "Darling, what are you doing?" "Come with me," Charlize Theron said as she swung her legs now and then. "Go back inside," Leonardo said while making a calming gesture with his hands. "Okay? Go back inside, quickly!" "No!" Charlize Theron refused without hesitation. As the lighting crew adjusted the lighting on the scene, her face gradually became covered in shadow. "I’m going to jump. I want you to jump with me!" "No, I won’t jump." Leonardo slightly shook his head and continued, "Darling, listen to me now. If you jump now, you won’t wake up, understand? You’ll die! So please go back inside, okay?" "Please!" he continued, "Go back in, and let’s talk this over." "We’ve talked enough!" As she spoke, Charlize Theron kicked off one of her high heels. The shoe quickly fell and landed on the green cushion placed beneath the window. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚·𝔫𝔢𝔱 "Sally!" Leonardo immediately frowned, his eyes wide open. "You get out here right now, or I’ll jump down this instant..." Before Charlize Theron could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Duke’s shout, "Cut!" He waved to Leonardo, who jumped down from the window, took a few quick steps, and walked up to Duke. "My fault?" he asked, pointing at himself. "Frowning, wide eyes..." Duke replayed the footage just shot, pointing at one of Leonardo’s actions, and said bluntly, "Two of the three biggest issues I told you about in your acting just showed up at once!" Leonardo raised his chin and looked at the still frame that Duke had paused on, nodding. "I’ll work on fixing it." Duke waved at him, "Go touch up your makeup. We’ll continue." Years ago, Duke had pointed out the three biggest problems in Leonardo’s acting—frowning, glaring, and yelling... These were three very obvious issues, and the most direct consequence was that all the characters he played, in certain ways, turned into Leonardo DiCaprio himself. Since meeting Leonardo DiCaprio during the filming of Saving Private Ryan in 1995, Duke was very clear that Leonardo’s acting was definitely not bad. Perhaps he lacked a bit of natural talent, but every film he acted in showed that he worked extremely hard. Among actors of similar standing, Leonardo was definitely one of the hardest working. Duke still remembered being shocked by a scene when he watched Django Unchained Nowadays, in Hollywood and even across the entire North American film industry, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and Leonardo DiCaprio are frequently compared. The three share similarities: all are among Hollywood’s top stars, all aspire to win the Best Actor Oscar, yet none are favored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In fact, as long as these three can maintain their status, they will inevitably be recognized by the Academy in the future. There are simply too many examples of this from the past. After all, the Oscars’ acting awards have never been solely determined by roles or acting skills. Among the three, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio have taken a very broad path, while Johnny Depp is different. If the Pirates of the Caribbean series encounters any issues, it won’t take long for him to fall from his superstar pedestal. This also relates to the difference in their styles. To some extent, Brad Pitt follows the suave rebel path, which fits his image; playing a bit of a rogue makes him more appealing to audiences. Johnny Depp’s acting swings between gloomy and eccentric. He has great range, but neither direction is mainstream his style is unique and highly distinctive. Leonardo, on the other hand, represents the classic Academy style, with meticulously crafted performances best suited for Hollywood-style protagonist portrayals. It’s just that Leonardo’s intentions to win an Oscar have become too obvious in recent years, and coupled with the fact that he offended some of the Academy’s older members when he was younger, winning won’t be easy for him. However, in Duke’s opinion, among the three, Leonardo has the highest chance of winning the Best Actor Oscar first. Johnny Depp, on the other hand, might be the first to fall. His non-mainstream path, if it continues, means that any trouble with Pirates of the Caribbean could push him out of mainstream cinema very quickly. In fact, he relies even more heavily on a single franchise than Tom Cruise once did. Depp had once left a deep impression on Duke, but outside of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, he caused a string of six high-budget flops and not minor ones either. They were the kind of catastrophic box office failures that made investors bleed money. Duke was quite satisfied with Leonardo’s performance in Inception, except for one thing he really isn’t suited for action scenes. Compared to his appearance and acting skills, his action scenes fall far short. Fortunately, there’s a thing in this world called a stunt double. After filming the scenes between Charlize Theron and Leonardo DiCaprio, Duke temporarily handed over the remaining work of the crew to Anna Prinz. He then entered the hotel with Tina Fey. Jamie Johnson, who was in charge of publicity and distribution for Warner Bros., had just arrived in Paris from Los Angeles today. His visit was both to check on the filming progress and to discuss some promotional matters with Duke. In the café, Duke placed Tina Fey’s custom Apple device in front of Jamie Johnson and said, "I think we need to place more emphasis on promotion via terminal devices." By now, in 2010, smartphone penetration was already quite high. Social media sites like Instant Share and Twitter had more users on mobile than on PC. "The rise and spread of new media, represented by the internet, mobile phones, and various PDA devices, means that today’s consumers are no longer just passive recipients of content, but have transformed into producer-consumers who actively participate in the production of knowledge like content and information!" Though not as professional as Jamie Johnson, Duke was referring to the larger trend. "The old model of monopolizing information production and controlling the flow of information is being replaced by a more democratic and diverse form of media based on public participation. This transformation not only enriches media content and diversifies the voices being heard, but also provides opportunities for the formation of communities of shared interest and collective identity and intelligence." He stated solemnly, "These are all aspects that must be taken seriously in film promotion." "I know!" Jamie Johnson nodded and said, "Warner Bros. is already formulating targeted promotion strategies based on your suggestions." Duke knew well that for Inception to be even more successful, it had to excel in its marketing and publicity.