# THE BAKER: Nicolas Lathouris Theme and Scene Email

**Date:** 2026-05-09  
**Source:** `emails/2026-05-09_01_Fwd_RONNY_NICCO_THEME_AND_SCENES.txt`  
**From:** Ronny Mouawad, forwarding Nicolas (Nicco/Nico)  
**To:** Maroun NAJM, Aya Blouchi, Tracey Mair  
**Status:** New source. Review against existing deck and audience notes.

## 1. What Nicolas confirmed

### 1.1 The quote origin

Nicolas confirms:

> "Almost all great men are bad men" is a famous quote of Lord Acton's which begins with "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

**Deck implication:** The cover slide is now fully sourced. Ronny's line is not random. It is rooted in Acton, and Nicolas validates it as thematic.

### 1.2 The deeper theme

Nicolas frames the film's core not as "contradiction" but as **tragedy**:

> the "tragedy of Fredric," which is also the tragedy of many great men who seek power is that he seeks status and respect from without instead of within.

He extends this to political and personal relevance:

> This is Trump's tragedy. This is my tragedy. And probably yours.

**Deck implication:** This is stronger than "contradiction inside Fredric." It gives the film a classical tragic framework. Fredric is not confused. He is pursuing the wrong thing (external status) and the film shows the cost.

**Audience implication:** This makes the film more portable. It is not about Lebanese crime. It is about all men who mistake status for worth.

### 1.3 Isabella as the heart

Nicolas:

> Isabella is the heart of the movie.

And:

> Definitely any of the scenes that show Fredric's emotional connection to Isabella.

**Deck implication:** The Audience Proof Bible already flagged Isabella as the tenderness proof. Nicolas confirms it. The deck should make Isabella's role visible if it is not already.

### 1.4 The contradiction redefined

Nicolas's final line:

> Fredric has built a toxic empire from which he is trying to extract a family that just wants to go deeper into it and build it even greater.

**This is the cleanest one-line contradiction in the package.**

Current deck contrast:

| Old framing | Nicolas framing |
|---|---|
| A dying patriarch tries to leave a clean legacy | He built a toxic empire and is trying to extract a family that wants to go deeper |
| The house is bound to violence | The family wants to build the empire even greater |

**Deck implication:** Nicolas's line is more active and more tragic. It should at minimum be considered for the next deck revision.

## 2. Nicolas's scene list

Nicolas listed the following scenes as important. They are not in any order.

### 2.1 Scenes Nicolas recommends

| Scene | Screenplay location | Deck status | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the car with Magda when Fredric exposes the theme | Car conversation | Existing deck mentions Fredric and Magda | Medium |
| The killing of Cash | Communion and Cash cross-cut | Already in deck as "Communion and Cash" | High |
| Vatican room when Fredric berates Billy | Vatican Room sequence | Mentioned in deck | Medium |
| Gives Vincent the gun / Billy questions Vincent about it | Beretta gift and later confrontation | Already in audience proof | High |
| Fredric holding the smoking gun | Fredric with gun | Not explicitly mentioned in current deck | Medium |
| Deal with Osman and then with Wass | Sydney business negotiations | Mentioned briefly | Medium |
| Holmes realises that Aida has played him | Aida and Holmes at Rockpool / Senator | Not in current deck | Low-medium |
| Magda in the kitchen when Renee flashes her ring | Family kitchen scene | Not in current deck | Medium |
| Fredric's emotional connection to Isabella | Multiple Isabella scenes | Already in audience proof | High |
| Magda and Fredric on the dialysis machine | Fredric's illness scene | Not in current deck | Medium |
| Lebanon and ultimatum to George | Lebanon village confrontation | Mentioned briefly | Medium |
| "I know who to blame George. Lucky it's not you" | George confrontation | Mentioned in audience proof | Medium |
| The General's assassination | Beirut assassination sequence | Not in current deck (spoiler) | Medium |
| Aida and Vincent at the front door | Apartment scene | Not in current deck | Low-medium |

### 2.2 Interesting additions not in our existing scene lists

**1. Fredric holding the smoking gun**

This is a new visual scene Nicolas flags. We had the "gold-plated Beretta" but not the smoking gun image.

**2. Holmes realises Aida has played him**

This is an Aida scene that Nicolas thinks sells the film. Aida is underused in the current deck.

**3. Magda in the kitchen when Renee flashes her ring**

Nicolas sees this as a key moment about family, children, and Magda's maternal claim. It proves the house is warm before it is dangerous.

**4. Dialysis machine**

Fredric's physical decline with Magda is another tenderness-decline scene.

**5. Aida and Vincent at the front door**

This is the sexual passion scene. Nicolas includes it in the list, though he says "some ugly moments" for The General's assassination. This suggests he sees passion as part of the film's truth.

### 2.3 Nicolas on trailer/edit approach

Nicolas:

> Not sure it needs scenes as a sequence of moments strung together in a fast moving display of Fredric's emotional dilemma as it builds vertically not horizontally…

> Ending with Magda taking control.

**Deck implication:** Nicolas thinks the trailer should be moments, not scenes. This supports our "share moments" approach in the Audience Proof Bible. He also wants Magda at the end, not Fredric.

## 3. Ronny's additional context

Ronny also mentions:

- A Zoom with the sales agent and "the lady in Doha"
- The sales agent "really loved the script"
- Another Zoom coming
- The questions were for "positioning and selling the project to cast and buyers"

**Deck implication:** The sales agent is actively selling. The deck should support this, not duplicate it.

## 4. Differences from existing deck

### 4.1 Our priority scenes

| Our deck | Nicolas recommends |
|---|---|
| Byblos escape | Not mentioned by Nicolas |
| Nancy loyalty question | Not mentioned |
| "Everybody eats bread" | Not mentioned |
| Fredric and Monsignor | Not mentioned |
| Beretta | Mentioned (with Billy questioning) |
| Magda makes the call | Mentioned as "Magda taking control" |
| Cemetery | Not mentioned |

### 4.2 What Nicolas sees that we did not include

- Dialysis machine scene
- Kitchen with Renee
- Aida and Holmes
- George confrontation specifically
- Aida and Vincent apartment
- The General's assassination
- Fredric holding the smoking gun

### 4.3 What we included that Nicolas did not mention

- Byblos escape and crucifix
- Nancy's loyalty question
- "Everybody eats bread"
- Monsignor confrontation
- Cemetery coda
- Nadine's confession

**Assessment:** Nicolas is focused on Fredric's active story and family warmth/pain. We weighted Byblos, Nancy, bread, and Monsignor because they are more portable and less spoiler-heavy. Nicolas is thinking trailer/pitch internally.

## 5. What to do

### 5.1 Nicolas's tragedy framing

Stronger than our current "contradiction" language. Consider:

- adding Nicolas's line to the deck as a working film thesis
- citing Nicolas as the source

### 5.2 Isabella

Nicolas says she is "the heart of the movie." The deck should verify whether Isabella's role is visible enough.

### 5.3 Magda ending

Nicolas wants Magda at the end. This aligns with our spoiler-controlled approach. It may mean the internal trailer concept should end with Magda, not Fredric's death.

### 5.4 Share with Ronny

Ronny forwarded this to Maroun, Aya, and Tracey. This makes it canonical.

### 5.5 Nicolas's scene list as secondary source

This is not Ronny's scene list. It is Nicolas's. Both are valid but different.

In Cannes meetings, the team should be prepared to answer:

- "What scene made you want to make this film?" — Ronny might answer Byblos. Nicolas might answer Isabella with Fredric.
- "How do you see the trailer?" — Nicolas says vertical moments. Ronny says 92-piece orchestra.

## 6. New canonical audience line

From Nicolas:

> He seeks status and respect from without instead of within.

This is the film's moral anatomy in one sentence.

## 7. Source register update needed

Add:
- `emails/2026-05-09_01_Fwd_RONNY_NICCO_THEME_AND_SCENES.txt`
- `notes/EMAIL_2026-05-09_NICCO_THEME_AND_SCENES_IMPLICATIONS.md`

## 8. Questions from this email

1. Does Nicolas's tragedy framing belong in the deck, or is it for internal use only?
2. Should Isabella have a dedicated character or scene highlight in the deck?
3. Should the trailer/montage concept be updated to emphasize vertical moments and Magda ending?
4. Is the "Fredric holding the smoking gun" image or scene known to the sales agent, and should it be part of the Cannes pitch?