Chapter 42: Miami

Florida, Miami.

In the restaurant of the five-star Fontainebleau Hotel on South Beach, Charles was sitting next to the window, having lunch.

"Charles, let's enjoy the sun and the waves on the beach after lunch," Megan Fox said softly.

"Sure. I also need to head over to Italy later. You went to Los Angeles right after graduation, didn't you?" Charles had come to Miami for vacation. After all, he hadn't seen the sexy Megan Fox in ages.

"Yeah, Mrs. Carpe helped me find a few roles in comedy movies over the past couple of years. It'll be more convenient once I get to Los Angeles," Megan Fox had no hope of getting into college right after high school anyways.

"Let's go!"

After they had lunch, they headed to the beach - sunshine, bikinis, waves, and delicious drinks.

Charles lazily reclined on a beach chair under a sun umbrella, while Megan Fox, in her bikini, lay beside him soaking up the sun.

"Miami is indeed a great place," he said, noticing the beach filled with enthusiastic Latin women and non-stop lingerie shows.

"Charles, why don't you buy a house in Miami? Then you could come over anytime to vacation and enjoy it," Megan Fox asked without even opening her eyes.

"I will, of course, I will!" Real estate is always one of the top choices for investors.

Charles then went to the filming location of The Passion of the Christ in Matera, a historic town in the Basilicata region of southern Italy.

First, he landed at the international airport of Bari, a port city in southern Italy, 60 kilometers from Matera. He then drove to Matera.

Dona had already arranged everything earlier. Matera, a small town built in a canyon with dwellings dug into rocks, was mainly visited by tourists for its cave houses.

"Mel Gibson's movie will definitely advertise this small town again," he thought as the car approached the center of Matera, and the stony town became clearer.

"Matera has traces of human habitation since the Paleolithic era. Until the fifties and sixties, it was synonymous with poverty - rough mountain roads, lack of water making development difficult. It's driven by the tourism industry," Dona explained with a smile.

Charles shook his head. Cave culture? Dusty stone houses, mountaintop churches - what's there to see?

What did it remind him of? Charles vividly remembered that future James Bond chase scenes would be filmed here.

After checking into the Civita Cave Hotel on the mountaintop, Charles and the film crew had dinner in the cave hall in the evening.

Director Mel Gibson, actor Jim Caviezel who played Jesus, and Monica Bellucci who played Mary Magdalene sat on the terrace drinking beer and enjoying Matera's night view.

"This movie needs a heavy historical and substantial feel. We've gone to great lengths to represent the Romans, Jews - their clothing, artifacts, architecture, and eating habits, even their walking and speaking styles," Mel Gibson said.

"The dialogue also uses long-lost Latin and Aramaic. I won't add subtitles to the movie. I believe the visual impact alone will be stunning."

Mel Gibson spoke at length. He was indeed a devout Catholic, very meticulous about the script adaptation.

However, there were a lot of assumptions. Jesus was his faith, the embodiment of justice, God's spokesperson on earth.

Latin and Aramaic? They spoke Greek back then. Jesus carrying the cross to the execution ground? That was also a fabrication to highlight Jesus' suffering. People were speaking old Italian dialects, not Latin and Aramaic.

Of course, the movie is art. These are artistic adaptations, and it's at least strictly following the Catholic Bible.

As for not adding subtitles, Charles just felt comforted by this idea. The distribution company would surely add English subtitles; how many people understood what was being said anyway?

"I saw the torture devices you prepared. Can the actors handle it during filming?" Charles asked, looking at Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus and would bear the suffering.

"I'm fine. Reading the script deepened my faith in the Lord," Jim Caviezel said confidently.

Charles didn't care. He only cared about the movie's box office performance. Controversy wasn't bad as long as it didn't violate Catholic doctrine. The more controversy, the faster it spread.

The Italian beauty Monica Bellucci then remarked, "I heard this movie received a lot of flak, being labeled anti-Semitic. It's a fact that Jesus was killed by the Romans, as depicted in the movie. Not the Jews. So why call it anti-Semitic?"

Mel Gibson shrugged, "Because the truth scares people. The results of the Second Vatican Council didn't eliminate their worries, and my movie dredges up this memory!"

*****

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