[Chapter 766: Sudden Developments]
"Cameron had a heated argument with Titanic producer Eric Williams and jumped into the sea."
"The Titanic project spiraled out of control. Eric Williams personally went to Rosarito, and overwhelmed by pressure, Cameron attempted to end his life by jumping into the ocean."
"Eric Williams and James Cameron got into a physical altercation on the Rosarito set, pushing each other into the sea, and the Titanic project might be completely derailed."
"..."
Because there was no footage leaked from the set, rumors began to spread wildly, fueled by gossip. In the following days, the media in the United States reported increasingly absurd stories about Cameron jumping into the sea. The Firefly Group's public relations department's attempts to clarify the situation failed to quell the rapid spread of these rumors, and more media reporters began to converge on Rosarito, Mexico.
In a hurry to address the situation, Eric decided to have ABC send journalists to the set to specifically record some behind-the-scenes footage of the crew. Although this did not completely suppress the spread of rumors, the absurd comments soon fell apart after the related videos were aired.
The day after Eric arrived in Rosarito, Stan Winston, CEO of Digital Domain, also came to discuss post-production issues.
Titanic was set to utilize a lot of very innovative special effects techniques. According to Eric's vision when he founded Digital Domain, these new special effects methods would be specially organized, and if possible, patents would be applied for. Even though many of the special effects ideas emerged from Cameron's imagination, he was completely absorbed in the film once Eric provided sufficient budget support and had no intention of keeping track of these details.
After a morning of shooting, Eric had already spent five days on the Rosarito set. With the oppressive atmosphere of budget constraints gone, although Cameron occasionally still displayed some irritability, the sense of being on the brink of explosion had completely disappeared, and the interpersonal relationships on set improved significantly.
...
During lunchtime, as Eric was with Cameron and others in the restaurant, Jon Landau walked in hurriedly.
After getting his meal, he came over to Eric's table and said, "Eric, are you going back this afternoon?"
"Yeah," Eric replied. "It seems like things here are wrapping up, and I can't really help out any more."
Jon nodded, hesitated for a moment, and warned, "I think you should be careful on your way back."
"Huh?" Eric looked up, puzzled.
Jon continued, "I heard there have been several robbery incidents targeting journalists lately. There were even two unfortunate guys who had their ribs broken. You know how expensive their professional filming equipment is. Also, I just had a chat with Victor, who's in charge of security on set, and he said there have indeed been some unidentified people around here lately. So, you know."
Eric nodded seriously. He was well aware of the security situation in Mexico. The country only had a little over a hundred thousand regular troops, but the number of illegal armed groups led by drug traffickers was comparable to that of regular forces. Currently, things were somewhat manageable, but in the coming years, as security further deteriorated, Mexico was even ranked by the United Nations among 'war status' countries like Somalia and Yugoslavia. Given that Rosarito was close to the Mexico-U.S. border, the local security situation was even worse. On the advice of the security team, Eric had not stepped out of the filming location since his arrival in Mexico.
Hearing Jon's warning, Cameron's expression turned serious too. "Eric, if it comes to that, you can take a helicopter back. It might be a hassle, but it's definitely safer."
Unlike in the U.S., helicopters were primarily controlled by government departments in Mexico, and it was difficult for ordinary citizens to obtain flight permits. Eric chuckled and shook his head. "There's no need to go to such lengths. It's only 30 kilometers from here to the border. If we drive fast, we'll make it in half an hour, and besides, my convoy might be safer than a helicopter."
Eric wasn't being arrogant. The twenty-three bodyguards accompanying him were mostly seasoned ex-Marines. The five SUVs he traveled in, while not up to presidential standards in equipment, were certainly equipped for safety and protection. As long as they didn't encounter any severe firepower attacks, they could hold out just fine if they ever got stuck.
After lunch and some more conversation, Eric said his goodbyes and left the Rosarito set with his female assistant.
...
Still on the coastal highway in southern California, once the vehicles were driving smoothly, Eric looked down at the latest version of the script for Casino Royale coming in from Los Angeles. Seated next to him, Kelly happened to glance in the rearview mirror and noticed that a few cars were following them, recalling Jon Landau's warning from earlier that day. She anxiously tapped Eric and pointed behind them.
Before Eric could respond, Carter Moen, sitting in the front passenger seat, said, "Ms. Haynes, it's nothing. That's just the reporters' car; they might be following us back."
"Oh, I see," Kelly chuckled, feeling a bit sheepish about her earlier paranoia.
The convoy soon passed through the town of Rosarito and continued forward. Eric flipped through a few more pages of the script and stretched his neck while chatting a bit with Kelly. Just as he was about to dive back into the script, Carter suddenly pressed his earpiece and spoke softly, urgently, then turned to Eric and said, "Eric, there might be some trouble up ahead."
Eric looked up, puzzled, "Huh?"
Kelly felt the tension and nervously grabbed Eric's sleeve, her face melting into worry.
"A container truck has stopped about a kilometer ahead, blocking the road," Carter explained and added, "a very cliched move."
Eric glanced out the window. Though this was a four-lane highway, the central barrier was made of cement blocks, and a container truck could effectively block off half a lane.
Eric knew he didn't have time to hesitate. He calmly told Carter, "I don't know anything about this. You handle it."
Carter nodded, instructed the two to fasten their seatbelts, and quickly began giving orders over his earpiece while retrieving a handgun from the glove compartment, followed by a semi-automatic rifle.
Taking a deep breath, Eric noticed Kelly's nervousness and patted her shoulder, reassuring, "Don't worry, it'll be fine. Even if we run into trouble, there will be help from the border in less than ten minutes."
"Yeah," Kelly's face relaxed a little as she held Eric's hand with one and reached into her bag with the other, realizing the phone was useless for making calls in Mexico, she put it back down.
In the midst of their brief exchange, the convoy suddenly accelerated, and moments later, Carter turned to Eric, commanding, "Everyone buckle up."
Then, a loud bang echoed from the front of the convoy.
Sitting in the left side of the rear compartment, Eric felt it was not a gunshot. Confused, he leaned toward the window to look outside.
The front SUV had rudely crashed through the central cement divider, forcing a lane change into oncoming traffic. Subsequently, the second and third SUVs followed suit, and amid the chaos, the fourth SUV Eric was in also veered onto the other lane, scraping against the remaining cement barrier, creating a horrible screeching noise.
In the front, Carter, gripping the semi-automatic rifle vigilantly, gazed out the right window. Eric regained his focus amid the bumpiness and looked to the right. A blue container truck sat squarely in the right lane, and he caught a glimpse of two bewildered Mexican men standing next to the truck as they passed by.
The convoy passed the container truck without changing lanes again. Fortunately, this coastal highway had sparse traffic, making it easy to maneuver around any oncoming vehicles.
Though Eric didn't see anyone pursuing them, Carter remained vigilant, continuously communicating with the bodyguards in various vehicles. Finally, after about ten minutes, the town near the border came into view, and everyone finally relaxed.
Kelly sighed heavily, glancing at Eric and then at Carter, who was disassembling his weapon and stowing it into a backpack. After a moment of thought, she said, "I just saw... maybe it was a misunderstanding?"
Eric recalled the expressions on the faces of the two Mexican men and felt some doubt. Still, he didn't question Carter's judgment. It was always better to be cautious.
Carter secured his weapon and looked through the rearview mirror. "It wasn't a misunderstanding, Ms. Haynes. If you look closely, you should have noticed that the guy in the blue jacket was concealing a submachine gun. Plus, the container doors were clearly wide open. If they were really stopped due to vehicle trouble, they wouldn't be in that position."
Kelly questioned further, "Why's that?"
Carter suddenly shifted the topic and asked her, "Ms. Haynes, do you know what's the most important thing when driving at night in Mexico?"
"Huh?"
Carter replied, "The most important thing is if you see a red light, you run it. Never stop. Because if you pause for even a few seconds, armed robbers will appear by your window, robbing you blind. What we just encountered is similar to that scenario; if we had stopped, I guarantee you that dozens of armed individuals would have come out from that container before we knew it, and we'd be in a world of trouble."
Kelly glanced at Carter's serious expression in the mirror, then shot a look at Eric. Seeing Eric nod in agreement, she instinctively touched her chest and said, "I've heard that Mexico can be pretty chaotic, but this is way too bold. Don't they fear harsh government crackdowns?"
Carter said, "To be honest, they really don't. This country is beyond repair, and it's very difficult to restore normal social order."
Hearing that, Eric recalled some things. He remembered how the later president of Mexico, Calderon, tried to take strong measures against crime, only to exacerbate social unrest; during his administration, the death toll of innocent civilians affected by violence exceeded twenty thousand.
Reflecting on this information, Eric suddenly realized he had been too careless this time. His profile was too high; it might be best not to return to Mexico in the future.
As they drove through the town adjacent to the border, Eric could see the customs entrance in the distance. Suddenly, he felt the vehicle slow down. He looked up to see Carter leaning out the window, handing a black backpack to a middle-aged man outside, so he didn't really pay it much attention; crossing customs usually required discarding any "contraband."
While Mexico had strict gun control laws, in practice, due to its proximity to the U.S. and social chaos, this ban was nearly nonexistent. Carter had mentioned to Eric that in this small border town, there were probably over two hundred gun dealers.
Once the convoy joined the flow of traffic entering and exiting the border, Kelly completely relaxed. Then she remembered something and suddenly said, "Oh right, Eric, didn't they say a few reporters were driving behind us? They won't be in any trouble, right?"
Eric had momentarily forgotten about them. He looked towards Carter, who was checking in with earpieces. Carter turned back and said, "No worries; they're all still following us."
"That's good, but..." Kelly glanced at Eric and said, "Perhaps when we get back, the media will have a field day."
Eric understood what Kelly meant. Given the events that had just unfolded, it was only logical that the media would latch on to the story.
...
Sure enough, on the very day Eric returned to Los Angeles, some evening papers published headlines such as "Eric Williams Nearly Kidnapped in Mexico," complete with numerous illustrations -- photos of the container truck blocking the road, the mangled barrier, and the noticeable scratches on the SUVs. With clever captions, the media sensationalized the entire incident.
Things indeed turned lively. As a world-renowned tycoon with a net worth in the tens of billions, Eric's influence was unmistakable. The Mexican government, unwilling to let such events tarnish its international image, swiftly reacted, claiming it was just a misunderstanding and even accusing Eric's vehicle of damaging public property, demanding he compensate for the damaged barrier.
However, these rebuttals fell flat. The identities of the two Mexican men next to the container truck were quickly unearthed by the savvy media; both were documented criminals, even wanted by the Mexican government.
Consequently, things only got noisier.
The Mexican government no longer mentioned compensation, making vague statements about swiftly apprehending criminals, before quieting down.
In light of all the external commotion, Eric had no time to dwell on this minor mishap. At the very least, this incident overshadowed the earlier rumors about Cameron jumping into the sea. He simply handed over the media-related matters to Firefly's PR team and continued busying himself with work.
*****
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