Hollywood's Backyard

Every March, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, known as "March Madness," took place, along with college spring break, the Oscar ceremony, and more;

Spring in the United States was exceptionally lively in March, drawing countless eyes.

Even this year, with NASDAQ tech and internet stocks swelling to frightening levels and Wall Street fueled like a fire doused in oil, Los Angeles remained a scene of extravagant decadence;

Countless parties, receptions, and press conferences filled the city, while innumerable glamorous Hollywood stars enjoyed the flashbulbs and splendor in luxury hotels!

"What? You said France was preparing to shoot a commercial blockbuster and invited you to be the female lead?"

In the bedroom of a villa in Mandeville Canyon, Beverly Hills, Aaron lay on top of Sophie Marceau. He looked at the beautiful, mature, sexy woman beneath him with an astonished expression.

A French director making a commercial blockbuster? Had the blow dealt by Luc Besson's The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc not been severe enough?

Sophie Marceau rolled her eyes at the man on top of her. "France has commercial films too. The script is adapted from The Phantom of the Louvre, a mystery horror novel by the 1920s writer Arthur Bernède."

"This time, the development of The Phantom of the Louvre has an investment of more than 100 million French Francs!"

Of course, at the current exchange rate, 100 million French Francs amounted to less than 20 million U.S. dollars, but for a French film, it was a major investment;

After all, it could not be compared with Luc Besson. Both The Fifth Element and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc had been developed according to the Hollywood commercial-film model. The former had cost 450 million French Francs, while the latter had also cost