Chapter 156: Videotapes
Chapter 156: Videotapes
“Actually, I’m also very helpless when it comes to this kind of questioning, because my age is indeed a real weakness. There are very few directors under thirty in Hollywood, let alone someone like me, who isn’t even twenty yet,” Eric said fluently. “Originally, I didn’t need to respond to this kind of doubt. After all, reality is the best weapon for striking back. But as this viewpoint spread, I felt that even if I ignored those irresponsible media outlets chasing shadows, I should still give the movie fans who have always supported my films an explanation. As it happens, because of certain accidental factors, some footage from the filming process of Running Out of Time was preserved. Here they are, these videotapes.”
As Eric spoke, he took more than ten videotapes out of the small box and stacked them between himself and Sophia.
“Wow. Are these... behind-the-scenes footage?” Sophia asked.
Eric shook his head. “No. If they were behind-the-scenes clips, I definitely wouldn’t appear in the frame either. These are some miscellaneous things recorded with an extra camera when I was on the set of Running Out of Time.”
“You mean a documentary of the production process of Running Out of Time filmed from a third-party perspective? Is this kind of thing allowed during film production?”
Eric smiled. “Under normal circumstances, this kind of thing isn’t allowed, because the film’s content needs to be kept absolutely confidential. But the person who filmed these tapes has a rather special identity. I trusted that she wouldn’t leak the contents, so I let her mess around. And precisely because of my indulgence back then, I now have the chance to prove my innocence.”
After Eric finished speaking, the audience below all stretched their necks and widened their eyes. A few fans even softly urged Eric and Sophia to hurry up and play the contents of the tapes.
“Alright, everyone must be unable to wait any longer, so let’s watch them together,” Sophia said, not overly dragging out the suspense. She seemingly picked out a videotape at random and inserted it into the projector that had already been prepared.
Soon, a somewhat shaky image appeared on the large screen behind them. It seemed the person operating the camera was still very unskilled. Only after a good while did the image slowly stabilize. At the same time, a girl’s slightly overbearing voice sounded from offscreen. “Allen, hold the boom properly. If there’s no sound in what I film, I’m settling accounts with you later.”
Another voice sounded, carrying faint helplessness. “Yes, Your Highness.”
The audience laughed along. Quite a few people recognized that the girl’s voice should belong to Drew Barrymore, who had a very close relationship with Eric. Thinking of what Eric had just said, it was indeed only this girl who could behave so recklessly on set. If anyone else dared to play around like this on a movie set, they would definitely be thrown out.
On the large screen, the image began to move. Many people recognized that this should be a large soundstage. Looking at the full-scale street and house models in the shot, the audience let out faint exclamations. After all, this was not yet the era more than ten years later when the internet was developed and many things could be found online as pictures or videos. Although Americans often watched movies, they did not understand much about the specific process of film production. They had certainly never seen a large soundstage with full-scale models like this before, so it caused quite a bit of surprise.
Amid some background noise, the person carrying the camera soon entered a room. Eric, wearing an army-green director’s vest, appeared in front of the camera. In the image, Eric was gesturing animatedly while explaining something to Hanks. Seeing the camera move closer, Eric stopped his conversation with Hanks and smiled as he reached past the lens, seemingly knocking someone on the forehead. At the same time, the girl’s pained cry and the laughter of the people around them followed.
“Hey, girl, this Sony professional camera is worth one hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars. If you accidentally break it, I’ll have no choice but to hand you over to Columbia as repayment,” Eric said after knocking Drew on the forehead.
The camera shook briefly, and Drew’s frantic voice rang out. “Wow, you’re so annoying. How many times have I told you? You’re not allowed to knock my head.”
Eric waved at the camera as though shooing away a kitten or puppy. “Go, go, go. Stand farther away. We’re about to start filming.”
As the camera backed away, Eric’s voice directing the crew to begin filming sounded. In the shot, many crew members started moving. Hanks and several other actors also began taking their marks. A script supervisor walked forward, presumably about to clap the slate.
At this point, Sophia pressed the stop button at the right time and explained to the audience present, “Sorry. The next image will involve the contents of the film, so we have to stop here.”
Although it had only been one or two short minutes, the audience had still watched with great interest. Seeing Sophia stop the playback, quite a few people let out regretful sighs.
“Eric, I’m becoming even more curious about one question, and I believe the viewers in front of their televisions are also very curious about it,” Sophia said. She did not immediately start playing another videotape, but instead followed public opinion and asked what many people were wondering. “Although it was only a few minutes of footage, we could all see how much you dote on Miss Barrymore. You even let her play around with a camera worth more than a hundred thousand dollars like it was a toy. What exactly is your relationship with Drew?”
Eric hesitated for a moment, organized his wording, and then said, “How should I put it? Drew and I met while filming Back to Seventeen, and very quickly, I came to like this little girl.”
Seeing that some people in the audience were about to make noise, Eric quickly waved his hand to stop them. “Don’t misunderstand. It’s definitely not the kind of like you’re imagining. More than anything, I see Drew as my younger sister. At the time, Drew had picked up some bad... habits. Although she had gone to rehab several times, the results weren’t very good. Her mother was at a loss over it. I couldn’t bear to watch a girl with so much potential gradually sink like that, so in a moment of impulse, I discussed it with her mother and asked her to let the girl move in with me. Maybe I could supervise her and help her get rid of those bad habits. After Ms. Jaid thought it over, she agreed, and that led to the situation everyone sees now. Perhaps Drew and I simply get along well. In any case, she still more or less listens to me. Because of that, she has now completely gotten rid of those bad habits. She is currently studying at a girls’ school. I hope she can successfully graduate from high school, and after she becomes an adult, freely choose her own path.”
Eric felt no psychological pressure at all about this kind of nonsense. As someone in the industry, he had long understood that these so-called interviews were a form of showmanship. As long as he achieved his own goal, that was enough. In his previous life, after celebrities went on talk shows, countless messy incidents followed, from those who flaunted their love getting divorced to those who showed responsibility cheating. If someone still treated these kinds of programs seriously and became hot-blooded or teary-eyed whenever celebrities talked at length about their inspirational stories or romantic experiences, then that person was far too stupid.
Of course, although he inwardly did not take it seriously, Eric still played the part fully. When he said those words, his expression was sincere and highly moving, as though he truly were an angel sent by God to save a fallen girl.
Sophia also revealed a moved expression. As for whether it was real, Eric had no idea.
“Then let us all look forward to Miss Barrymore returning to the big screen and bringing us excellent works again. Now, let’s see what else is in the other videotapes.” As Sophia spoke, she selected another prearranged videotape and placed it into the player.
The camera was still somewhat shaky. This time, the scene was no longer a soundstage, but a sealed-off street. Many police cars were parked around the area, and quite a few camera cranes and tracks had been laid out. However, some staff members in the image were chatting in groups of three or five, some were tilting their heads back to drink water, and others leaned against car doors while fanning themselves with the folders in their hands. Judging by the scene, the crew was probably taking a temporary break.
The voiceover sounded again. “Hello, everyone. I’m Drew Barrymore, reporter from ABC. I heard that a bank robbery happened here. Let’s interview the scene commander, Mr. Eric Williams.”
The camera slowly approached Eric, who was not far away and wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. The girl seemed to say something, and then an extra-large furry boom microphone reluctantly appeared in the frame. It slowly reached in front of Eric and even accidentally poked his nose, looking very comical. An aggrieved male voice sounded. “Director, I was forced. Don’t blame me.”
Seeing this image, Eric and Sophia both laughed, while the audience present burst into loud laughter.
In the image, Eric removed his sunglasses and looked helplessly at the camera, wearing an expression that seemed to say, “What do you want now?”
“Mr. Williams, I heard there was a bank robbery here. How is the situation now? Could you introduce it to everyone?” the girl asked with a completely serious tone.
“Alright.” Eric pushed the boom microphone a little farther away from his face before lazily saying, “We’ve already brought the situation under control. Miss Reporter, look over there. Those two robber gentlemen are playing poker with the SWAT team members. The atmosphere is peaceful and harmonious. Negotiation expert Hanks isn’t really chatting with that plainclothes officer. He is actually testing the other party. We have already learned that the plainclothes officer is a mole, and we plan to arrest him later. Police chief Mr. Joe Pesci had to leave temporarily for urgent business and won’t be able to rush back until an hour later. I’m certain all the hostages will still be alive by then...”
Eric’s humorous nonsense once again made the audience burst into laughter.
After this segment finished playing, Sophia smiled and selected several more videotapes for brief playback. During this, conversations between the two of them and interactions with the live audience were interspersed. Before anyone realized it, because some segments needed to be recorded several times, the talk show, which only required forty minutes of airtime, took more than two hours to finish recording.