This Movie Is Screwed

The day before the start of filming for Fragments of You.

"This movie is going to be screwed."

Kate McCushey let out a long sigh, a Marlboro cigarette—a habit she had forced herself to learn—clutched between her lips.

Hailing from South Texas, she was a rare female director in a Hollywood heavily dominated by macho culture. The prevailing theory among the crew was that she had beaten out several prominent candidates for this film primarily due to her extensive experience directing romance movies.

But Kate's thoughts were slightly different.

"They probably just put someone easy to manipulate in the director's chair so they could do whatever they wanted."

"What? Weren't you the highest-ranking person on set?"

"A film set is merely a place to realize the blueprint drawn by the higher-ups."

"Well, guys like Stanley Kubrick aren't like that."

"Even if you're a director, it's not easy to do that unless you reach the level of those 'higher-ups.'"

In response to her husband's question, Kate answered with a long sigh.

"Especially this movie. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It's a project put together by some of Hollywood's biggest players. They say 'indie' is going to be the next big trend. You know how it is. The moment something becomes a minor hit in subculture, the mainstream immediately co-opts it. It feels a lot like that."

"You're really going through a lot."

"And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the actors are a problem, too."

"What's wrong with them?"

Her husband offered a mechanical reaction. To maintain peace in the household, a husband had to be a good listener.

"You know Sion Lee, right?"

"Of course I do. He's incredibly famous these days. But what about him? Did he cause trouble?"

"The problem is I'm worried he will. The shooting schedule is insanely tight. It's already July, and it's scheduled for a December release."

"...Wait, is it even possible to make a movie in five months?"

"Based on probability, it's not zero percent, but it's not easy. But getting it done somehow is a professional's job. Anyway, I don't know how his last movie went, but a friend who worked with Sion before told me that if the schedule slips even a little or if there's extra work, oh my god, he throws the most insane tantrums. They said he's a total madman."

"But didn't he seem mature in his last work? Maybe he's gotten better."

"He might have run wild on that set, too. It was an indie production in Chicago, so rumors didn't spread here. Since there was nowhere for it to leak, it would've been easy to hush them up with a little blackmail... Anyway, whatever. I'm the director, so I have to do my best."

In the end, there was no other way. Within such a tight schedule, the director's primary concern had to be maximizing efficiency.

The production team's plan was to shoot the scenes requiring computer graphics or special effects first, so that post-production could run parallel to the rest of the shoot. It was an absurd schedule, but as long as the investors demanded it, they had to make it work.

Chewing over the unexpected difficulties she had inherited, Kate let out a long sigh.

"Come to think of it, Elena Asimov might be a problem, too."

"Why her?"

"I heard she's usually a very good actress. Talented, professional, and never causes trouble on or off set. The problem is her chemistry with Sion Lee. I heard there was so much friction when they worked together on their previous project."

"Because of Sion Lee?"

"Who else? But since they were such a mess working together once, will they really cooperate quietly this time?"

"Then why did they cast them like that?"

"For the buzz. Both are highly recognized for their age, and since they have a history, people are highly anticipating how the result will turn out and what will happen."

"..."

"This movie is doomed from the start. It can never go well."

"...Why didn't you reject it?"

"The money was too good..."

Whining, she snuffed out her cigarette in the ashtray. Her husband gently patted her back to comfort her.

"Is there nothing good?"

"Ah."

"Hmm?"

"The script is good. Yes, the script..."

If filmed well, it could certainly become a masterpiece that would leave a mark on the world, whether long or short. But to wish for that naively was to ignore too many realistic constraints.

July 4, 1991. The first day of shooting for Fragments of You.

Heading to the pre-arranged filming location, Sion entered Paramount Pictures' indoor studio after completing the formal check-in procedures.

The massive green screen studio filling the space was quite impressive. With a large number of staff already preparing for the shoot, Sion headed toward the director first.

"Director."

"Ah, Mr. Lee! Good morning!"

Today's shoot was for the early part of the movie, where the story truly begins. It was the scene where the protagonist enters the virtual world created by a corporation called Memory Company to store memories of his deceased wife.

To use the words of the higher-ups involved in the production, it was meant to "blow the audience's minds with flashy CG."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. I think we can make it go well."

"That's a relief. We'll be running the tech rehearsal, so you can get your makeup done and come out."

Nodding, Sion Lee was guided into the makeup room. Watching his retreating figure, Kate carried out her duties as director while inwardly reflecting on him.

He definitely seems different, though.

She had felt it during the script reading as well, but Sion Lee's acting was beyond stable—it seemed to have reached some highly advanced technical realm. When she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠saw him effortlessly portray the emotional arc of Elliot, the protagonist in his late twenties despairing over his wife's death, everyone, including Kate, had been left spellbound.

He's got a cocky side, but he hasn't crossed the line yet. Did something major happen to him? Did he really see Jesus during that motorcycle accident like some people say?

Thanks to that, Kate felt a tiny bit more at ease, but there were still too many other problems scattered around for her to let her guard down. Furthermore, today's footage had to be of high enough quality to be handed over to the CG team, which would take the most time, so finishing the shoot on schedule was the top priority.

Around the time the tech rehearsal finished, Sion came out. Kate called over Sion—who looked slightly disheveled in a checkered shirt and makeup designed to make him look older—and the actor playing Tom, Elliot's friend and an employee of Memory Company, to begin her explanation.

"Have either of you done green screen shooting before?"

"No, I've done it in another project before," Tom replied.

"It's my first time. Well, I'm sure we'll manage somehow," Sion said, looking around the green screen set with a confident smile.

Kate and Tom looked at him with slight concern. He had shown a perfect performance during the script reading, but acting in an environment where everything was green definitely required an adjustment period.

"Don't take it too seriously. Just keep it comfortable, okay?"

"Yep," Sion replied in a relaxed voice, moving to find his marking tape.

Watching his retreating figure with an anxious expression, Tom whispered to the director, "Will he be okay?"

"...Even if he isn't, we don't have a choice. We'll have to see how he does first."

And the crew members who overheard that brief exchange all harbored similar thoughts.

We should prepare to suffer today.

He was fine during the reading, but will he be now?

The lead actor really needs to take the lead for things to go well.

While everyone watched with a mix of worry and anticipation, Sion stood at the starting point of the first shoot.

Kate McCushey put a Marlboro cigarette in her mouth, unable to hide her astonishment.

"What the heck was that...?"

That was the first sentiment she uttered upon returning home after the first day of shooting. And as a good husband dedicated to preserving household peace, her husband knew that when his wife reacted like that, he had to listen even more closely, whether the situation was positive or negative.

"Honey, what on earth happened?"

"In all my years of being ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a lousy film director, something like this has never happened."

Kate recalled Sion Lee's acting. It was the green screen set where Sion Lee was shooting for the first time. After finishing the rehearsal, he took a deep breath, composed his emotions, and gave the signal.

While every staff member gathered on set—from the camera, lighting, and sound crews to the makeup artists—watched to see how that handsome face would move, he behaved like a revolver with a single bullet loaded.

"That's the conclusion I came to after talking with the staff for a few days. Isn't that insane?"

"Wow, that's really amazing, honey."

'A revolver with a single bullet loaded.' The ultimate narrative device for creating tension. Yet, no matter how many times you pull the trigger, the bullet never fires. Most Russian roulette scenes in media are depicted that way.

And Sion's presence on set was exactly like that. They had been on edge, expecting the worst, but his stable acting brought continuous relief.

Elliot, who had entered Memory Company after spending a fortune to save his deceased wife's memories, suppressed the overwhelming despair and anger that threatened to explode at any moment, spitting out his frustration to Tom.

"What the hell is this? Where am I right now?"

"Calm down, Elliot. You're in a virtual world. It's a space to upload her memories."

"Upload?"

"Recall a memory. Anything is fine. Her name, her face, her personality, anything."

Even though the world was entirely green, somehow the cybernetic world that Kate had envisioned in her storyboards seemed to unfold right before her eyes.

Sion looked only at the exact positions and stood in the exact spots. He acted precisely as directed during the script reading, adding just a tiny bit of personal detail that only a few would notice. It was mechanical, yet artistic.

Am I only feeling this way because he used to act so terribly? No, but...

"But?"

"He was good. Seriously. If Tom hadn't gotten a bit flustered, we would've finished on the first take."

"Who's Tom?"

"Oh, just a character's name."

Kate exhaled smoke, wondering what kind of miracle this was. Filming with Sion Lee was fantastic.

A movie is a comprehensive art form where countless people and technologies come together to intentionally craft a visual and auditory narrative. And the actor is the one who binds all their efforts. The face and the center.

With Sion showing such an overwhelming performance...

"The atmosphere on set is really great."

"That's good."

"It feels like the sign of a successful movie."

"Isn't that a good thing then?"

"Usually, when things go this well, some kind of problem is bound to happen."

Kate, believing in jinxes like many in the film industry, trembled with anxiety. Her husband gently approached her to comfort her.

But in the next moment, the ringing of the phone shattered the good mood he was trying to build.

"Hello?"

Leaving her awkward husband behind, Kate answered the phone and was startled by the unexpected voice.

"Sion? What's going on at this hour?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"It's true. We have to transport the filming equipment, and doing it any other way would be too expensive."

Kate explained that it was an unavoidable choice. Of course, there was a slight contradiction in that. If they were truly worried about the equipment, it would have been better to shoot within Hollywood. But to give this film an "indie" feel, the higher-ups had deliberately gone around scouting remote rural areas, ultimately selecting Oregon as the primary filming location.

In the film's setting, this was the place where Elliot and his wife, Noah, had lived. Crater Lake, the deepest lake in America and, as the name suggested, a lake formed in a volcanic crater. They planned to conduct location shoots centered around that lake, with the cooperation of nearby towns.

"We have no choice. It's for a good movie."

Even as she said those words, Kate felt a slight twinge of annoyance at Sion's childish complaints, as if her earlier amazement had vanished. Unlike the actors, who were desperately protected by their agencies, the crew was treated as practically disposable. Whenever something happened, they were always the first target for cost-cutting. The problem was that this severely crushed the crew's morale.

"What? No, what do you mean..."

She tried to say something, but the call had already ended. Since she wasn't even sure where he was calling from, she hesitated to call his house back.

It's ominous. Too ominous.

He acted too well. His attitude was even great. He was completely different from the image portrayed in the media.

But just now, he sounded exactly like his media image.

A few days later, Hollywood Burbank Airport.

A large charter plane capable of carrying about fifty passengers.

"..."

"..."

Sitting glued to their seats, the crew members of Fragments of You were in a state of daze, unable to comprehend the reality unfolding before them. After suddenly receiving a notice that their travel plans had changed, they arrived at the airport and boarded a charter plane they had only ever heard of.

"...Did we get a massive investment from somewhere?"

"I don't know. Chartering a plane and loading all the equipment must have cost a fortune."

"They have money to spend on peasants like us? Maybe Longday Studios is actually a good place!"

"...No, it's not."

Unable to listen to the chatter among the staff any longer, Kate McCushey stood up from her seat and stepped into the aisle.

"This charter flight was rented by Sion Lee out of his own pocket. He said he didn't want to see us suffering through a ten-hour drive. Yes, our lead actor paid for the entire cost of getting us from California to Oregon!"

Hearing those words, the staff's eyes widened.

It wasn't just because of her announcement. Right at that moment, Sion Lee, wearing sunglasses, appeared behind Kate.

Sion spread his arms wide in front of the dumbfounded staff and tilted his head.

"How about a round of applause?"

"Whoa, ohhhhh!"

"We believed in you, Sion!"

"I'm going to tell everyone for the rest of my life that you're the best actor I've ever worked with!"

The staff cheered and applauded. In such a wonderful atmosphere, the filming crew of Fragments of You headed to Oregon.