"This role is hard to come by, you should cherish it more! If you anger Cesare, it will not do you any good. Mr. Smith even called me to ask me what's going on with you lately!"
The agent's expression was a little ferocious. Laura swept the things on the dressing table. With a "clang" sound, all kinds of cosmetics and styling items were pushed to the ground by her. The powder box was broken, and the fine loose powder floated out, covering her feet.
She swung her feet in disdain and lifted the hem of her skirt:
"Send that damn Chinese woman away, she will definitely attack me!"
When Jiang Se was filming the "burning man" scene that day, Laura made some tampering, which led to serious consequences. Jiang Se had to cover his face and head these days. Coupled with the rumors from people in the crew, this made Laura believe that Jiang Se's face was ruined by her own hands.
The smugness of the previous few days turned into uneasiness when she learned that Jiang Se would not leave Modena for the time being and would even stay in Italy for a while.
Especially Jiang Se's eyes, as if he wanted to seek revenge on her, which made her even more worried.
"I can't do this scene today, Jack!" She couldn't get the powder off her feet, so she took it off angrily and smashed it against the dressing table.
The shoe hit the mirror with a bang and then landed on the dressing table. Her face in the mirror turned red:
"This Chinese woman wants revenge on me. Did you see that? In today's scene, she will also destroy my face!"
As soon as she finished speaking, her agent grabbed her arm angrily and lifted her up. Cesare had already said in advance that the winter scenes in "Divine Redemption" must be filmed before February. It was already early January, and the filming was not going smoothly due to weather and equipment problems, so it had been postponed. Laura said she didn't want to shoot at this time. Even if she didn't shoot for one day, it wouldn't delay the crew's progress much, but Cesare would vent all the anger that had accumulated during this period on her!
The agency had spent a lot of money to get the role of Lanny. "If you anger Cesare and get kicked out of the crew, I don't think you'll be able to withstand Mr. Smith's wrath when you return!"
"No matter what happens today, you have to be alert for this scene." Jack said this, cursing:
"I warned you not to play pranks at the beginning. I thought you had learned your lesson on the first day because of that Chinese girl's personality!"
On the first day of filming, Laura brought disgrace upon herself, proving that Jiang Se was not someone to be trifled with. Yet Laura chose to provoke him again, and now he hasn't done anything. She has already been greatly affected. If she continues like this, she will not be able to calm down and concentrate on filming.
"Listen to me." After the agent lost his temper, he took a deep breath and motioned for Laura to follow him and take a deep breath, trying to calm down:
"Because of your previous actions, we have to be more careful about her, so we will carefully check the fire extinguisher, protective clothing, asbestos insulation clothing, and fire retardant oil. We will not give her any chance. You should believe me."
Laura quickly remembered that on the day of Jiang Se's filming, her agent had checked the filming equipment and devices again and again, but in the end she still found a loophole.
"She is Cesare's friend. Cesare may have kept her here just to let her take revenge. We can't take any risks, Jack. I think I should find a double to help me complete this scene."
When she said this, she felt relieved as if she had found a great solution.
The film took three full days to prepare for this shoot.
If Shireen's death was the prelude to Andre opening the door of desire, then this scene was the key point of the whole play "The Divine Redemption", and Cesare cared about it very much.
The shooting time was scheduled for after nine o'clock in the evening. The crew members began to set up the scene in the morning. The snow and ice and the cliff trails were all prepared, the props were also ready, and the cameras were in place. Cesare checked again and again to make sure everything was foolproof. However, news came from Laura that she was not feeling well today and could not shoot, and hoped to use a stand-in to complete the special shots.
After Laura's assistant came over and finished speaking, she thought she would be met with Cesare's wrath, but Cesare just smiled coldly:
"For today's scene, I don't think it's necessary to use a body double."
When all the crew members were ready, Laura was the only one who was not ready time and time again.
"Everyone in the crew has been filming in cold weather since the beginning of the filming. If Laura Brown feels unwell, there is a doctor in the crew and an ambulance can be contacted at any time."
If Cesare was furious, the assistant could still bear it, but he held back his anger at this time, leaving the assistant speechless.
Laura hasn't put on her protective suit yet. It's almost eight o'clock in the evening, and there's still more than an hour before the shooting time. If there is any delay, today's shooting plan will have to be postponed again.
The situation was at a stalemate. Jiang Se sat aside, watching Jack's anxious communication with Cesare, and holding back the smile on his lips.
While talking to Cesare, Laura's agent kept biting his lips, occasionally looking at Jiang Se with a helpless look on his face.
Jiang Se was reading the novel "Prisoners", but at the same time he was paying attention to the direction of Jack and Cesare, and pricked up his ears to try to catch their conversation.
"Mr. Cesare, I know this is very difficult for you, but please believe me, Laura did not do this on purpose, it's just that she is very sensitive to fire, I hope you can understand..."
Jack's words did not soften Cesare's attitude. He was very tough, and even after hearing Jack's words, there was an undisguised sarcasm in his tone:
"Oh, really?" He asked back. "I thought Miss Brown had already seen this problem in the script we sent over. The character she played died in the sacrifice and was devoured by the fire. Could it be that the staff made a mistake and deliberately cut out this important part of Miss Laura's script?"
"Of course not..."
Jack looked a little embarrassed, and said reluctantly:
"But I think there is a clause in our contract that Laura can use a substitute under special circumstances. Sir, I don't think this violates the principle, right?"
"Yes, but you know, this is a special case, and I don't think it is a special case."
Cesare's expression was already very impatient. "Before filming this scene, other actors in the crew had also filmed this scene." When Cesare said this, he turned his head and glanced at Jiang Se:
"So what are the other questions?"
Having said that, Jack helplessly spread out his hands and made a gesture of obedience:
"OK, OK, I'll communicate with Laura again."
He turned away somewhat dejectedly. When he came out of the dressing room again ten minutes later, Laura followed him. He was dejected, and it was obvious that the communication with Laura was not smooth this time.
After Laura came out, the atmosphere on the crew was tense. Cesare was sitting on a chair and Jiang Se was sitting among a group of staff. Her agent and assistant were not beside her. Laura's eyes fell on her, and she gritted her teeth and looked at her hatefully for a long time before looking away.
"Mr. Cesare, I am very sorry, but I still hope that you can allow me to use a double to complete this scene."
Cesare turned his head slowly, his expression somewhat stern. Laura felt a little uneasy, but still expressed her wishes:
"I know the crew had filmed the 'burning man' scene before, and the actor didn't use a body double, but that's why she got hurt, isn't it?"
She took a deep breath. Seeing Cesare's expression, the prop master of the crew came over to explain:
"Ms. Brown, when Ms. Jiang was filming the scene with Xilin, it was actually an accident. The injury was not that serious. The crew doctor also dealt with it afterwards. If it is not suitable for reshooting, I think Director Cesare will definitely think of other ways to deal with it."
The pyrotechnician also went on to assure:
"What's more, we have learned from experience. The protective clothing, heat-insulating clothing, fire-retardant oil, etc. have been checked again. There are absolutely no problems. I guarantee that the accident last time will not happen again. In fact, if we follow the procedures, the flames will not even burn a hair on your head."
Such a reassurance was hard to reassure Laura, especially since Jiang Se was sitting on the side, smiling in an ambiguous way. The malice in his eyes made Laura even more nervous, making her even more resistant to the following scene.
No matter what the crew said, she insisted not to shoot this scene, and promised to shoot more seriously and hard in every subsequent scene:
"I know the terms of the contract, and Jack has explained it to me very clearly, but I think there are always exceptions to many things, and not everything needs to follow the rules."
She pointed at Jiang Se:
"For example, people who have finished filming their scenes should have left the set, but they are still sitting there."
Laura was targeting Jiang Se, and everyone in the crew saw it.
In fact, many people in the crew had heard about the conflict between her and Jiang Se. Many people had privately discussed the fact that Laura embarrassed herself in front of Carlo Borgia, one of the investors, on the day of the start of filming. However, the two actresses at least maintained superficial calm and did not tear their faces apart in public, causing a scandal.
At this time, Laura's words made some people quite embarrassed. As Laura pointed over, everyone nearby turned to look at Jiang Se. Jiang Se was holding a novel, and before he could say anything, Cesare smiled and said:
"As an actor, Jiang has already finished filming Shilin's part, but as a friend, I very much welcome her to be here."
His smile gradually faded, and his eyes gradually became sharp:
"Ms. Brown, didn't your agent tell you that with me, there are no exceptions. I am the rule?"
The atmosphere became a little tense because of Cesare's words. Jack felt a little embarrassed and picked up his phone several times, trying to find a middleman to comfort Cesare and ease the atmosphere.
He found the assistant director designated by Huandao Company in the crew and whispered to him to come out and say a few words. After everyone discussed for a while, Jiang Se noticed the sound of a vibrating cell phone in the pocket of Cesare's assistant.
Everyone was immersed in the argument and didn't notice that Jiang Se lowered his voice and called his name softly. After attracting his attention, Jiang Se pointed to his clothes pocket and made a gesture as if answering a phone call.
The assistant suddenly realized, opened his mouth, and silently thanked Jiang Se. He picked up the phone and walked away, and soon returned to Cesare's side:
"It's Mr. Borgia."
Cesare gestured to pause the conversation, picked up his phone and walked to the corner.
The expression on his face was not very good, and it was obvious that he was not happy with the conversation with the head of the investment company on the other end of the phone.
From what the group of people just discussed, Jiang Se probably understood the crux of the conflict between the two sides.
Laura had attacked herself while filming the "burning man" scene a few days ago, resulting in severe burns. So after Jiang Se finished filming all the scenes belonging to Xilin, he did not leave the crew as she wished, but stayed and waited for her to film the "burning man" scene. Naturally, she was worried that Jiang Se would "retaliate" against her and tamper with this scene, so she refused to film this scene and asked to use a stand-in in this scene.
But Cesare rejected her suggestion. To shoot such a special scene, not only the actors need to muster up courage, but the stand-in also needs to have strong psychological qualities.
This Hollywood sweetheart was extremely resistant to the 'fire' scene, and even though she had a body double with a similar body shape, she looked worried at this moment.
The crew has professional male stand-ins and some thin ones, but the figures of men and women can be distinguished even from the back.
Especially under such special shooting conditions, it is necessary to wear thermal insulation clothing, which places even more stringent requirements on the actors' body shape.
As the female lead, in order to fit the character of Lanny in "God's Redemption", Cesare asked Laura to lose 15 pounds at the beginning of filming, so that her image would be more in line with the slender and fragile appearance of Lanny in the original play, and her body shape would be very different from that of men.
Even though the filming took place at night, with the cover of darkness and post-production retouching, it would be difficult for this to escape the eyes of sharp critics and discerning audiences after the movie was released. Cesare would not make concessions for Laura's fear.
His attitude was very tough, and even when someone from the investor called to explain the situation, he still showed no sign of being moved.
Jiang Se was sitting in the corner at this time. She had taken revenge on Laura Brown's malicious teasing at the beginning, and her heart was beating like a drum now. No one knew how anxious she was under her calm surface. Laura refused to shoot the "fire" scene. Cesare's insistence on using a stand-in made her seem to see a vague opportunity, like a half-closed door, slowly unfolding in front of her. Should she take a step forward and push it open, or step back and close it
In Jiang Se's mind, there was almost no need to think about what choice to make.
She straightened her collar, licked her lips, put down the script at hand, and stood up:
"I thought, if Miss Brown can't find a suitable replacement, I think maybe I can." (To be continued)