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The Red Project - S1M5 - Tour Azerbaidjan
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| duxili |
Posted on 15-11-2013 19:39
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Domestique
Posts: 562
Joined: 18-09-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Config Info
Version: PCM 11 v 2.4
Database: PCMDaily FCM_beta_2012 (with some edits for the needs of the story)
Evolution: 0.5
Difficulty: Hard
Potential: Random
Team: Custom (10%)
Details of db edits:Spoiler Description | db table(s) | db change(s) | Effective Date | | Sponsor budget overwritten to 500k | DYN_sponsor | value_i_budget = 500 000 | 2012-01-02 |
Introduction
When it all started
The Project Launch
Octobre 10th: Pitching the « Red Project » to MAPFRE’s Board
October 12th: Departure to China
October 17th: Looking for a Chinese co-sponsor
November 1st: License and 1st riders' signing
November 3rd: Co-Sponsor 2nd round
November 11th: Sponsor final decision
November 20th: The Team
November 21st: 2012 Goals & Budget
December 24th: 2012 Shirt
Season 1
January 5th: Team Organisation & January Racing Calendar
January 18th: Tour of Wellington - Stage 1
January 20th: 1-2-1 Jonathan Castroviejo
January 21st: Tour of Wellington - Stages 2 to 4
January 22nd: 1-2-1 Jose Herrada
January 28th: Tour de Langkawi - Stages 1 to 6
January 29th: Tour de Langkawi - Stage 7
January 31st: January Wrap up
February 1st: Tour de Langkawi - Stages 8 to 10
February 2nd: Diner with Miss Zhang
February 5th: Etoile de Besseges
February 7th: 1-2-1 Alexandre Shushemoin
February 8th: Tour Mediteraneen - Briefing
February 9th: Tour Mediteraneen - Stage 1
February 11th: Jose Herrada phone calls
February 14th: Tour Mediteraneen - Stages 2 to 5
February 15th: News for National Championships
February 20th: Tour of Oman
February 21th: Valentin's diner
February 23rd: Giro di Sardegna - Stages 1 & 2
February 24th: Marconi's contact
February 27th: Giro di Sardegna - Stages 3 to 5
March 1st: February wrap up
March 23rd: Tour of Taiwan - Stages 1 to 5
March 25th: 1-2-1 Mohamed Shawal Shafee
March 28th: Tour of Taiwan - Stages 6 to 10
April 3rd: Mapfre's Board Meeting 1/2
April 3rd: Mapfre's Board Meeting 2/2
April 22nd: Tour de Korea - Stages 1 to 8
April 23rd 1-2-1 Devendra Rahman
April 25th: Tour de Korea - Stages 9 & 10
April 29th: Jonathan is getting angry
April 29th: Alexandre feeling uncomfortable
May 1st: Vuelta Asturias
May 3rd: April wrap up
May 19th: International Azerbaidjan Tour
Edited by duxili on 07-03-2014 09:32
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| duxili |
Posted on 15-11-2013 19:39
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Domestique
Posts: 562
Joined: 18-09-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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SEASON 1 - MAPFRE LINING 2012
THE TEAM
March Up-date
THE BUDGET
April Follow-up
THE GOALS
1. 1st Asian team in the Continental Pro Team 2012 Final Ranking;
2. Top 5 in the Continental Pro Team 2012 Final Ranking;
3. Our best rider in the Top 3 of the Continental Pro Individual 2012 Final Ranking;
4. Our second best rider in the Top 20 of the Continental Pro Individual 2012 Final Ranking;
5. At least 25 victories in 2012;
6. At least 3 victories in 2012 HC races;
7. At least 10 victories in 2012 cat 1 (or higher) races;
8. At least 10 victories in 2012 in Chinese races;
9. At least 1 victory in 2012 for one of our Chinese rider;
10. At least 1 victory in a 2012 National Championship.
April Follow-up
THE SHIRT
The old shirts
THE PROGRAM
THE RESULTS
Spoiler Category 2.HC Jonathan Castroviejo - Tour de Langkawi - GC - Stages 2, 4, 5, 7 & 9
Alexandre Shushemoin - Tour de Langkawi- KoM
Category 2.1 Alexandre Shushemoin - Etoile de Besseges- Stage 2 - KoM
Lance Cowley - Tour Mediterraneen - Stage 1
Xu Gang - Tour Mediterraneen - KoM
Liu Daming - Giro di Sardegna- Stage 1
Xu Gang - Giro di Sardegna - KoM
Category 2.2 Jonathan Castroviejo - Tour of Wellington - GC - Stages 1 & 2 - Points
Jonathan Castroviejo - Tour of Taiwan - GC - Stages 1, 2, 5 & 8 - Points
Mohamed Shawal Shafee - Tour of Taiwan- Stage 10
Alexandre Shushemoin - Tour of Taiwan- KoM
Muhamad Adiq Othman Husainie - Tour of Korea- Stage 9 - KoM
José Herrada Lopez - Tour of Korea - GC - Stage 10
Pengda Jiao - Tour Azerbaidjan - Stage 2 - KoM
Kun Jiang - Tour Azerbaidjan - Stage 4
José Herrada Lopez - Tour Azerbaidjan - GC - Stage 5 - Points
THE COMMON LIFE
January 20th: 1-2-1 Jonathan Castroviejo
January 22nd: 1-2-1 Jose Herrada
February 2nd: Diner with Miss Zhang
February 7th: 1-2-1 Alexandre Shushemoin
February 11th: Jose Herrada phone calls
February 21th: Valentin's diner
March 25th: 1-2-1 Mohamed Shawal Shafee
April 23rd 1-2-1 Devendra Rahman
April 29th: Jonathan is getting angry
April 29th: Alexandre feeling uncomfortable
Edited by duxili on 07-03-2014 09:36
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| duxili |
Posted on 15-11-2013 19:40
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| duxili |
Posted on 15-11-2013 19:40
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Posted on 22-11-2024 07:51
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| duxili |
Posted on 15-11-2013 19:40
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Domestique
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It was in late September, a working day, as everything was quite after the rush of August. Crazy French teenagers were already back to homeland.
We lingered, our feet in the swimming pool, enjoying Tamariu bay’s view. Manuel was kind enough to let me stay in his magnificent villa for the afternoon.
I was happy to have motivated myself for the 3 hours long drive from Barcelona!
When Juan arrived with Champagne, we put back the beers in the fridge and replaced them with crystal cups. Just 5 months after having been appointed “Asia Managing Director” he was closing the biggest deal in MAPFRE SEGUROS’ history: buying Kunming Life Insurance for 850 million Euros and change. That was worth a Champagne celebration with his best friends!
It was around 3 am. I had called XiaoFei long ago to let her know I’ll stay the night at Manuel’s and we were drinking the last bottle of Champagne.
As usual between us, we were talking about cycling.
It had all started in high school when Juan, Manuel and I had joined the local cycling team. I may have been the more gifted, or it might have been Manuel. As he had soon decided to stop cycling to concentrate on real estate business, we would never know. Benefiting from Spanish Real Estate golden years, he has accumulated a real fortune. And he has had the great idea to sell his business just before the Euro crisis. He has since lived from his rents in his Tamariu’s villa.
Juan and I have continued cycling till semi pro but lacking strong results Juan has quitted too to focus on his carrier. I however got my moments of glory in local races along Costa Brava. Not enough to become pro but I could still live from it thanks to a part time job provided by the club. At 35, I had to quit though and found myself a stupid part time club manager with very low income, no business experience and some modest savings. I still remind Manuel telling me:
“China is future. You speak Chinese, you get a job. Easy and well paid.”
I was crazy (or desperate?) enough to follow his advice. I went to Chengdu, Pandas’ city, to learn Chinese. Finally, as we were reaching our 40, I was back in Barcelona, more or less speaking Chinese, with no Panda but a lovely Chinese wife. Unfortunately the economical crisis denies me any job opportunity and after 4 months spent looking for a job that didn’t exist, I have decided to go back to college, sponsored by my generous friend Manuel.
It was good being with my friends and not thinking about my problems. Simply discussing our passion:
« You got Xu, of course he is no Contador, but he can beat Japanese and Koreans in a good day. Plus I am convinced there are plenty of young talents in China. I have myself spotted one or two…
- Off course! And a Chinese will win Le Tour in 2020, how can I doubt it?
- Why not? Who would have bet on a Spanish 10 years before Indurain?
- Are you serious here?
- Well, China is lacking good cycling infrastructures, good clubs, best trainers… So maybe not.
- What if China had a strong team structure?
- Even then the chance would be remote, but it wouldn’t be impossible. And for sure they would beat the Japanese and the Koreans regularly!
- Hum, if a Chinese wins a Tour de France stage, what a buzz it would create!
- That is for sure. Have you noticed Tour de France audience in Japan this year, just because of Arashiro’s participation?
- You are getting interesting Bautista: we will need to get our brand known in China and elsewhere in Asia. If you really think cycling can help us, it is worth considering. »
We did not know it at the time, but the « Red Project » was born.
Edited by duxili on 15-11-2013 19:47
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| duxili |
Posted on 16-11-2013 07:07
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Domestique
Posts: 562
Joined: 18-09-2013
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By the time I woke up, I had forgotten everything. Either because of the Champagne or because it was too good to be true. But Manuel started before coffee was ready:
“They put 850 million on the table to buy their stupid business, how do you think an image is worth to them? And cycling is going to be less expensive than football or TV advertising. So either you do something or they will sponsor Kuniming second league football team! Come on guy, wake up!”
In addition, XiaoFei was willing to go back to China: “Kunming is Spring City and Yunan province is wonderful, Dali, Lijiang… See?”
If even XiaoFei was pushing for it!
So I’ve worked like mad man to set up my project: 1 million Euros per year for 2 years, enough to hire two good Spanish riders to secure results in the first place and help training local riders. One or two experienced Chinese riders will also help to attract local media’s attention. We will need a local co-sponsor to strengthen MAPFRE as a local brand. The rest of the money will go into coaching and scouting new talents. After 1 year and a half we would measure the local riders’ progresses and verify the media’s impact. And if everything has gone as planned, we would move up to the next step: looking for World Tour promotion…
I have phoned to some of the Chinese talents I had identified and they were all highly motivated to join the team. In Spain, I still had some contacts within cycling so I was confident I could convince two riders, good enough to win some Asian races. All I had left to do was to convince b]MAPFRE[/b] to start the project!
Heu Manuel?
“Yes my dear. That sounds fantastic. It will need a little bit of repackaging though. First, we need some names. For the Chinese use whatever you want, the guys would not have a clue anyway, but for Spanish we need at least someone a little bit famous: famous enough for the Board members to know him and offer local advertising possibility. Oh, one last thing: look with Juan which Asian countries they have or will have business with. And find some riders there too. This would be our last massive argument: rather than 5 TV campaigns, 1 cycling team will attract media’s attention in 5 countries; and for much cheaper! I’ll work some slides on that basis and let’s go for the show!”
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| duxili |
Posted on 17-11-2013 06:54
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Domestique
Posts: 562
Joined: 18-09-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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2011 Octobre 10th, 8:30 am, Madrid, Calle Sor Angela de la Cruz Nu
I got the feeling that this tie wants me dead. This band of big fat old men seemed very satisfied of themselves in their three-piece suits and Rolex. I would be comfortable too if only wearing a cycling short and jersey. But here I was wearing suit too, not a three-piece suit and without any Rolex but a suit nonetheless.
Juan didn’t look comfortable either and the smile he gave me to cheer me up missed its goal. Fortunately Manuel started talking. He was brilliant, as usual. I could not reproduce his style and conviction but I preciously keep the slides as a souvenir. If one day, thanks to us, a Chinese wins the Tour de France, they would be part of cycling History!
The Red Project looks so good. I’ll be damned if those stupid Board members reject it!
Edited by duxili on 03-02-2014 21:14
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 17-11-2013 16:30
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Liking the graphical aspect duxili  |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 17-11-2013 16:52
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
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Wow. Very, very promising and love the graphics. Hope this goes well!!! |
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| The Rider |
Posted on 17-11-2013 18:47
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4543
Joined: 29-02-2012
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I hope you can manage with two stories at once. 
I will catch up with this next week. |
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| duxili |
Posted on 18-11-2013 06:52
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Domestique
Posts: 562
Joined: 18-09-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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@ sutty68 & Ian Butler: Tx, I'll try to maintain to catch with your expectations
@ The Rider: don't worry: I have managed 2 stories in // for 1 month already. I may slow down a bit the frequency of the publication though. Hope yu like it as all this comes from your story's inspiration
@ all: I am very much afraid that my English level isn't good enough and that the text I post is unclear, not nice to read...
Please let me know if it is the case: I'll cut it down and simplify in the future.
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| duxili |
Posted on 18-11-2013 06:57
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Domestique
Posts: 562
Joined: 18-09-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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2011, October 10th, 8pm, Tamariu
XiaoFei has cooked some Chinese food, from Yunan she says but I suspect she instead prepared Sichuanese dishes. Anyway the 2 provinces are so close that their foods often taste similar.
Looking at Manuel’s red face, what is for sure is how spicy it is!
"We will get it! Have you seen President Marquez’ face?
- We are so lucky he loves Castroviejo
- I’d rather say how talented you are to convince such a famous rider to join our project!
- By the way, Manuel, why did you ask for 900k?
- The Board guys they have to demonstrate how useful they are. So they can’t agree right away. I bet they will reduce the envelope. So at the end of the day, after you have paid taxes and bribes to Chinese authority, you’ll be lucky if you’ll save the 750k you need.
- And was it really necessary to put so much pressure? Only 3 days to decide?
- Of course: license request deadline is coming so fast. Plus Mapfre’s enthusiasm for China magic market might very well vanish soon…”
2011 Octobre 12th, Barcelona
I am leaving for Beijing. Night flight. We need to hurry to prepare our license request, plus I’ll make contact with possible Chinese co-sponsors as soon as Manuel would have joined me. He stays in Spain for a few days to finalize the details of our agreement with Mapfre’s Board.
XiaoFei is flying to Kunming tomorrow. As we have chosen the Spring City for our headquarter, she is in charge of arranging things locally. Not only will we be next door to our main sponsor (and thus Juan its CEO) but also will we have all the hills we need and a nice climate to train all year long!
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 18-11-2013 08:57
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
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There are no worries from me about your English, it is very understandable |
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| duxili |
Posted on 19-11-2013 07:43
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Domestique
Posts: 562
Joined: 18-09-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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@ sutty68: tx for the answer, I'll do my best to keep that way, but please let me know if I fail sometime
2011 Octobre 17th, Beijing
Manuel is in Beijing. The license request has been sent on time thanks to some petty cash given here and there. Today we have meeting with 3 possible co-sponsors. Only 3 as ICBC has declined the offer already.
We first see Mister Wang, WaHaHa Communication deputy director. You know WaHaHa, one of the famous Chinese water brand?
He has listen carrefully until bursting out laughing:
" I can see it in the press: "WaHaHa’s riders were not only drinking water"."
We explain about our anti-doping program, how medical and secure it would be. But he doesn’t believe. Cycling image is altered even in China.
We then meet with Miss Zhang from Lining, a sweet young lady newly graduated. She looks so good that XiaoFei could be jealous. But she has obviously no power to decide. She listens very carefully, she even asks intelligent questions then concludes that Lining will give us an answer "soon".
After these two meetings, even Manuel was losing a bit of his legendary optimism. Yes Manuel, China is not a piece of cake!
Our last meeting is with Miss Chen, working for Haier as a communication executive. She seems really interested and asked many details about Chinese riders and cycling media’s impact in Europe. That is the boost we need to conclude the day!
2011 October 27th, Kunming
This long week is getting on my nerves. I am in a very bad mood today and neither the great villa that XiaoFei has rented close the city centre, nor the lunch with Juan and Manuel have helped it.
One week of stressing. The only thing we have done was to contact new possible co-sponsors:   and some others…
But only DongFeng (1st logo), the car manufacturer has answered for a tentative meeting in 10 days.
When my mobile bip, announcing a new mail, I freak out, as usual for the last week. This time it is a Haier’s mail and my tension grows even further.
First glance:“very interesting indeed and we would like to make an offer”
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, it sounds good so far! Let’s have a look at the whole thing:
“Shit. They want a completely different thing that what we have sold to MAPFRE. And I bet they will ask for a minimum media exposure without providing us with the necessary budget to hire top European riders…
- You are unbelievable! We receive a positive answer from one of the biggest Chinese companies and you find a way to complain. You were the one saying that everything is possible in China. So let’s prepare our arguments, open our minds and enjoy Beijing fresh air.
- Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world.
- I would have bet you would say that! Haha.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 19-11-2013 13:59
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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This is going to be a very hard decision indeed  |
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| duxili |
Posted on 20-11-2013 06:48
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Domestique
Posts: 562
Joined: 18-09-2013
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@ sutty68: getting even more tricky...
2011, November 1st, Kunming
Our license request has been accepted! We are officially part of 2012 Asia Pro Continental Tour ! In the next hours, the two contracts with our Spanish riders have been signed! They stay in Spain until the training conditions are too bad, then they will move in to Kunming.
Xu Gang is also coming to Kunming tomorrow to sign his contract and establish himself in the Spring City. Jiang has signed his contract today (it was close as another team wanted to sign him as well).
For other Chinese riders (Jiao and Liu) we delay the signing, waiting for Haier’s negotiations to move forward. Of course we have to delay our Taiwanese friend, Huang‘s signing too.
The Othman, Shushemoin and Rahman’s contracts should be signed before the end of the week. However, despite their previous saying, Rastra and Lipohongu don’t seem so eager to sign with us anymore.
I really hate this period where everyone is playing a Poker game, lying and bluffing to optimize their interests. And it is a real pain for me to have to join this party because of our lack of understanding with any Chinese co-sponsor. I am looking forward Thursday and our meeting with Haier!
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 20-11-2013 07:16
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
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Indeed tricky times, but very important days for the team's future
Hope you make all the right signings! |
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| atlanta |
Posted on 20-11-2013 07:21
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Protected Rider
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Some stressful times but im sure you will make the right decisions. |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 20-11-2013 12:05
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
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Hopefully the team will get the riders they want |
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| The Rider |
Posted on 20-11-2013 18:00
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4543
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I just caught up and it is certainly interesting , a real page turner. Interested to see the jersey when the sponsors have sorted out there differences.
Don't you guys know anything about doing business in China! You have to bribe the Chinese!!!! Nothing gets done in China without wining and dining and BRIBES!
I swear I have seen Mr Camunas before.....maybe in a movie..  |
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