Santa Monica, Resort Hotel.
Eric and Chloë Sevigny lay on the bed, savoring the afterglow.
"Is the movie promotion over?"
"Pretty much. There's not much to promote for an art-house film. It was released last week, and the response wasn't great. I'm not counting on the box office anyway; I'm not an actor with box office appeal."
"If there's no box office, you can win awards. This year's Oscar and Golden Bear are too late, but Cannes and Venice are still something to look forward to."
Eric comforted her. He wasn't the type to completely disavow after the deed was done; after all, they were still lying together.
"Heh heh, I know the quality of this movie. It has no hope. And for me, Cannes and Venice are important, but only winning an Oscar can truly excite me."
"Oh right, I almost forgot. You've already been nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. You have higher aspirations."
Chloë Sevigny sighed, "But this last step might take decades, or even a lifetime to achieve. You need to encounter a good script, a good Director, good actors, and a good crew."
"At the same time, you have to hope your competitors aren't strong, and that the committee members aren't blind. In short, too many people can only gaze at that little golden man their entire lives."
"I don't have too much hope for Best Actress. Instead of expecting that, I'd rather increase my box office appeal, at least to earn more in acting fees."
"Hahaha, are you still short on money?"
"That depends on who I'm comparing myself to. Compared to a server, I'm not short. Compared to you, I'm very short. Besides, is there anyone who doesn't love money?"
Eric turned on his side, his large hand rubbing vigorously, truly vigorously. He knew this girl's preferences.
"Let's talk business. I remember the film you were nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscar was 'Boys Don't Cry', right?"
"Wrong! And a Golden Globe Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actress."
The woman gave him the middle finger in protest.
"You just said these awards weren't important."
"Yes, but I changed my mind. Is that not allowed?"
"Allowed, of course it's allowed, hmph!"
"F*ck! You're hurting me!"
"Let's talk business. I remember you played a lesbian lover in 'Boys Don't Cry,' and in 'If These Walls Could Talk,' you cross-dressed, right?"
Sevigny's hand reached down, "That's right, what about it?"
"I have a movie here, a lesbian-themed one. I hope you'll play a role."
"Another lesbian film!" Chloë Sevigny was speechless.
Then she glared at Eric and asked, "You gave me a small role in transformers, it's fine, consider it a cameo. But will this movie you're talking about get me an Oscar?"
Eric told the truth, "Not necessarily. At most, a nomination, and it's possible not even a nomination, depending on the competition."
"So why should I act in it? Eric, I don't want people to think I can only act in lesbian films. I also want to enter mainstream cinema, but you're pushing me out."
"Don't say that, Sevi. This role won't take much time. It's actually similar to a cameo."
Suddenly, Eric felt a tightening below, and the force increased.
"Ugh, alright, Sevi. There are currently no suitable projects for you at MGM, but I promise, if one comes up, you'll absolutely be the first choice, okay?"
"Whether it's good or not depends on your ability!"
"You need to let me rest. I have to work tomorrow."
"That's your problem, I don't care!"
"Wait, I suddenly remembered a horror film. If you dress a bit more innocently, you should be able to play the female lead."
Santa Rosa City, transformers film crew.
Eric and Chloë Sevigny both joined the crew. Of course, they couldn't arrive in the same car, as that would inevitably lead to rumors.
They could drive cars, but not the same one.
Today was Monday. To avoid traffic jams, MGM's cars had already driven in before students arrived at school, and preparations were now complete.
Speaking of Santa Rosa High School, there's a story circulating in Hollywood.
Dimension Films' "Scream" initially decided to film at this school. They had already negotiated with the school, and the crew had arrived.
However, when it was time to start filming, the school suddenly said they couldn't, because the movie involved horror elements, which were detrimental to the health of young people.
There was nothing they could do. The crew had to find a new school temporarily, which caused a lot of delays.
It's still a mystery who was behind this, but Director Wes Craven couldn't swallow it, so he heavily complained about it at the end of the movie.
Dimension Films also issued a notice to the entire industry, threatening to blacklist Santa Rosa High School.
Santa Rosa High School then realized the seriousness of the problem. Hollywood brought a lot of fame and money to the school, so the school quickly backed down.
After experiencing that incident, the school also learned its lesson. Who would turn down money?
After Eric arrived, the crew was split into two again, with him and Patty Jenkins each leading one.
Eric filmed the male and female leads' side, while Patty Jenkins filmed James McAvoy and Chloë Sevigny's side.
transformers, Scene 35, action!
As the filming command was given, all the actors who had been standing still came to life. These were all extras.
"Sam, she's great, isn't she?" An extra nudged Chris Evans.
The young Captain America looked at the youthful wonder woman walking not far away, seemingly completely captivated by her.
"Yes, she's the best!"
Cut!
Eric shouted loudly, "Chris, emotion, more emotion in your eyes. I need you to show desire, understand?"
Chris Evans nodded, "Okay, Director!"
"Again!"
Filming restarted.
"Sam, she's great, isn't she?"
The camera zoomed in. This time, Chris Evans's eyes seemed to have a glimmer of light, "Yes, she's the best!"
Cut!
Chris Evans quickly looked at Eric, mentally prompting himself: "Chris, what's wrong with you today? You're best at this kind of scene. Relax, relax. All the movies you've filmed have been this kind of scene."
Eric didn't mean to blame him. In filming, there's no such thing as never making a mistake. Even a genius can't do that.
"Chris, the look in your eyes just now was very good, but it felt like something was missing. Next, I need you to smile slightly at the corner of your mouth, thinking of something sweet in your heart, not cheese, but first love. Think about your first love."
"I understand, Director, but please give me five minutes."
"Why?"
"It's too much. I need to recall it properly."
The third retake clearly improved by another level. Looking at the monitor, Eric finally nodded with satisfaction.
"Very good, next!"
Unconsciously, the entire morning passed in intense filming. After Eric arrived, the crew's progress more than doubled.
Originally, there were about two days of scenes left, but now most of it was completed in one morning. Patty Jenkins could film the remaining parts.
"Neil, come here!"
During the break, Eric called over his Director's Assistant, Neill Blomkamp.
"What is it, Director?"
"I'm planning to let you lead a team as well."
"What! Me? But... but I'm worried I won't do well. It's too sudden."
Neill Blomkamp was very surprised. Of course, he wanted to be a Director, but the prerequisite was that his ability had to be sufficient.
He who desires the crown must bear its weight. Otherwise, he would be sitting on a fire, and he would only mess everything up, which would ruin his future.
Eric gave him a speechless look, "What are you thinking? I'm asking you to lead a team to Hoover Dam to shoot exterior scenes."
Upon hearing this, Blomkamp actually breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you remember my requirements?"
"Yes, I must shoot according to the storyboard!"
"Mmm, you can shoot other things too, but you must not forget the storyboards I designed."
"Okay, Director!"
The next day, the crew returned to Los Angeles. Today's filming was the climax of transformers, the final urban battle.
This scene was also the most difficult to shoot among all the scenes because it involved a problem: road closures.
Since tall buildings were needed as a backdrop, a film studio was definitely out of the question. Using special effects would be asking for trouble, as the Autobots were already difficult enough. So, they could only do live-action filming.
And whether in Hollywood or China, live-action filming with road closures is the most troublesome thing. In China, due to such incidents, film crews often clashed with the public, then ended up on trending searches and got criticized.
In Hollywood, especially Los Angeles, because it's the film capital, residents are more accepting, but conflicts still often occur.
During filming, many things also need attention, for example, if there are shops on both sides of the street, their names cannot appear.
It's not about free advertising, but rather it would be an infringement, and the crew would have to pay them.
So usually, the shops seen in movies are all under contract, and many have their names changed with special effects.
After all, signing contracts one by one is troublesome, and verbal agreements are unreliable. Who knows when a passerby might jump out and demand compensation?
Also, the passers-by seen in movies are actually extras. Generally, real passers-by are not used, and even if they are, their faces are not shown.
This also involves infringement; if a passerby has nothing better to do, they can sue you.
Furthermore, there's the classic newspaper problem: why do movies specifically use prop newspapers produced for the purpose, instead of buying one from the roadside? Still infringement!
In Hollywood, it's that strict.
More than a month in advance, MGM applied to the Los Angeles Municipal Government for a filming permit. Since they were all acquaintances, the procedures were approved quickly, and an announcement had already been issued a week in advance to remind residents.
So, after the morning rush hour ended, traffic police began to maintain order, warning lines were set up, and vehicles were prohibited from passing. This is the treatment for large companies.
Small companies that don't pay much tax in a year, do you also want traffic police assistance?
Dream on! It's already good if they even approve you.
At the same time, staff began visiting shops and residents on both sides of the street, door-to-door, giving everyone small gifts.
The gifts were not expensive, all made by the prop team themselves, but they showed sincerity. When residents were happy, there were fewer problems.
During this process, they also had to ask these people not to record videos or take photos to prevent spoilers, but it was basically useless.
People would secretly take photos through the glass, and you wouldn't find out. Even if you did, you couldn't go to their door and snatch it.
Wind can enter, rain can enter, the king cannot enter, but the tax bureau can enter.
But are you the tax bureau? Do you want to be shot?
With the cooperation of the residents, the clearing of the area was completed first.
Then the prop team quickly set up the scene. Several trucks carrying scrapped cars sponsored by General Motors parked by the roadside. With a new coat of paint, they were good cars. If they were smashed, they would be repaired, repainted, and reused.
Over there, the makeup team was racing against time to apply makeup to the actors. With hundreds of actors, more than 50 makeup artists were employed.
On the other side, the explosives team began installing explosives on the cars. These explosives were specially made; they looked loud but had a small damage radius.
Including the nearly 500 busy staff members currently on the entire crew, not counting the actors, small companies simply couldn't afford it.
Under the mechanized process, the preparation work took a full hour to complete.
Eric looked at Patty Jenkins. She quickly surveyed the area, listened to reports from each team, and then gave an OK gesture.
Picking up the megaphone, Eric shouted loudly, "transformers, Scene 127, action!"
As his voice fell, the cameraman, carrying the equipment, ran into an alley. In front of the camera, Ryan Reynolds, Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy, and Ben Foster leaned against the wall, their clothes and faces covered in dust.
Behind them, a group of soldiers transferred from a nearby military base followed.
"They're coming!"
Ryan Reynolds roared, and the cars on the road were suddenly violently pulled into the air by a crane. The car bodies exploded, as if they had been blown away by some monster.
The crane truck quickly reversed until more than a dozen cars were blown up and smashed. All the footage was transmitted to the monitor screen.
"OK, that's a take!"
A cheer immediately erupted on set. Once such a large scene is repeated, the money spent is secondary; the time cost is more important.
Patty Jenkins sat next to Eric, pointing at a car, "Its landing position isn't good enough, causing the road to narrow. It might affect Gadot's scene later."
"It's okay. We'll move it with special effects in post-production. If such a small problem is found, it's a reward for careful movie fans."
"Heh heh, that's quite a novel way of putting it."
"Patty, it's still the same old saying: time is our biggest enemy. Notify the prop team to move that car and prepare for the next scene."
The next scene was Gadot's car chase. She had to drive a pickup truck and perform various stunts. The purpose of this scene was to showcase the female lead's abilities and resilience, which was very important for character development.
Eric looked at Gadot in the distance. Seemingly sensing his gaze, Gadot nodded slightly.
Not far away, Chloë Sevigny, who had been watching Eric, couldn't help but smile.
"transformers, Scene 128, action!"
Bang!
Eric's voice fell, and soon, the roar of an engine sounded. A pickup truck drifted and fishtailed out of a street corner, the friction of the tires instantly leaving a dark mark on the ground.
"Oh no, she's going to crash!"
In front of the monitor, Patty Jenkins's expression changed.
Eric's fist also instantly tightened. Was it really too exaggerated to turn a novice into a car expert in a short amount of time?
In the pickup truck, Gadot desperately controlled the steering wheel, her peripheral vision scanning the rearview mirror. The tail of the car was about to hit a prop car.
This was not a training ground. There were no protective measures around, and according to the plot, she had no time to fasten her seatbelt.
In this situation, if she really crashed, at the current speed, the car would definitely flip, and it would definitely not be just a few superficial injuries as before.
Generally, dangerous stunts are often performed by stunt actors, but due to the need for full-angle close-ups, the effect of using a double would certainly not be as good as the actor doing it themselves.
"I can do it, ah, I must be able to do it!"
With a loud shout, the blood vessels in Gadot's arms and neck suddenly throbbed. The feeling of impact in her mind did not appear, and the tail of the pickup truck swiped past at an incredible angle.
Then the speed increased again. The pickup truck suddenly seemed to be divinely assisted, speeding through the chaotic streets, until finally ending with another beautiful drift and fishtail.
"Excellent, absolutely perfect!"
Eric shouted loudly, standing up from his chair. Both staff and actors couldn't help but applaud. Such a brave and determined person deserved respect.
Phew.
After a brief pause, she got out of the car. Gadot felt her legs a bit weak. She couldn't even remember what had just happened, only gasping for breath.
Eric walked over and praised, "Gadot, seeing you, I feel as if I'm seeing that little deer leaping in the flames."
Gadot leaned against the car door, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, "Bambi, that's a really good analogy."
Patty Jenkins also walked over, smiling, "Girl, that scene was so thrilling. You were only a few centimeters from that car. You truly looked like a little deer running in flames, but I also saw another figure."
"What? Is it another character?"
"Tom Cruise. He also likes to do everything himself. Keep at it, and you'll become the type of actor Directors love most."
One more chapter. Are there any readers who would like to give a reward?