Chapter 236: Taking a Bullet While Lying Down
Chapter 236: Taking a Bullet While Lying Down
After he first considered having Nicole play the female lead in Sleepless in Seattle, Eric had also auditioned her once. Although Nicole had met his requirements that time, her performance had been nowhere near her current state.
This time, Nicole had practically turned herself into another person, an Annie Reed exactly like the one in the script.
It seemed that during this period, Nicole had not become intoxicated by the glory of winning the female lead role in Sleepless in Seattle. Privately, she must have put a great deal of effort into studying the character.
In Hollywood, as an actor, one ultimately still had to speak through acting ability. Compared with many beautiful actresses who became unable to extricate themselves from the glamour of being a vase, Nicole had clearly understood this point early on.
Hearing Eric’s praise, the woman showed a happy expression, then carefully probed, “Eric, can I make the lip color a little lighter?”
Eric looked at the woman’s rather heavy bright-red lipstick, then looked toward the two makeup artists. For a moment, he could not remember what had happened with this.
The older makeup artist quickly explained, “Mr. Williams, this is the styling we did for Miss Kidman according to the original makeup test photos. Back then, I also suggested making Miss Kidman’s lip color lighter, but it seems you personally rejected that suggestion.”
Eric thought about it, then suddenly understood. “Oh, I remember now. This is just right. No need to adjust it.”
“But this looks very unnatural,” the younger makeup artist weakly objected.
“That’s exactly the effect I want,” Eric explained. “If even this flaw is fixed, Nicole will look too perfect. Don’t forget, Annie Reed is a somewhat careless and easygoing woman in daily life. How could a woman like that dress herself flawlessly? Having a few shortcomings suits her personality better.”
Hearing Eric’s words, all three of them nodded thoughtfully.
Eric continued, “I know you’re both very professional makeup artists, but don’t forget that you’re styling actors. So your job isn’t to make actors look flawless. Whether beautiful or ugly, your job is to shape the actor’s image according to the director’s requirements as much as possible.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Williams. We understand,” the older makeup artist quickly nodded.
Because she had prepared thoroughly, Nicole’s shots had almost no NGs. Therefore, the scene where Sam and Annie first met at Alki Beach was completed very quickly. After a few more airport shots were filmed in the next few days, Nicole could temporarily leave the crew if she wished.
As usual, the crew did not film any complicated shots on the first day. Aside from Sam and Annie’s meeting, most of the scenes were just Sam playing with his son.
In order to properly portray the father-son relationship with the child actor Victor Morris, Hanks had already begun spending time with the boy day and night a week earlier. Therefore, by the time filming began, there was no longer any barrier between them. After only the first day’s adjustment, the “father and son” had already entered the right state.
And since the schedule absolutely did not allow the crew to proceed slowly step by step, the crew began shooting more complicated scenes on the second day. Naturally, problems followed.
The scene’s background was that Jonah had revealed the family’s address to the radio station, so Sam quickly received love letters from all across America.
A large pile of mail sat on the dining table in the living room. Jonah casually picked one up, opened it, and read, “Dear Sleepless in Seattle, you are the most attractive man I have ever heard. Pfft…”
The little guy made a “pfft” sound, tossed the letter aside, and reached out to open another one.
Before Hanks could say his line, Eric once again called cut.
The boy’s expression did not contain the mischievous look it should have had. Instead, his face was full of tension, and even his eyes could not help darting around.
Eric gestured to the others and said, “Forget it. Let’s take a break first. Victor, come here, alright? Let’s talk.”
“Director, did I mess up again?”
The little guy hopped down from the chair and came to Eric’s side, asking anxiously.
Although there had only been five NGs, from the third time onward, the boy had already started shrinking back. Seeing this, Eric decisively stopped filming. He knew that forcing the shoot to continue would definitely place even greater psychological pressure on the boy, perhaps even causing the little guy to lose the confidence to keep acting.
Hearing Victor’s words, Eric quickly shook his head. “No, no, no. You’ve already done very well. You just haven’t done your best yet. Do you want to be the best one?”
Victor nodded hard. “Of course. When I grow up, I want to win an Oscar too.”
“Mm, you’re really an ambitious good kid. But Oscars aren’t that easy to win. The ones who can stand on the Oscar stage and receive the little golden statue are all the very best.”
“Then what should I do?” Victor asked expectantly. Under Eric’s patient guidance, the little guy temporarily relaxed, and at Eric’s beckoning, he sat down beside him.
The crew members knew Eric was using his own method to teach the little guy acting. In order not to affect the two of them, most people consciously left the room. Only a few staff members remained inside, and they all moved quietly.
Hanks also pulled over another chair and sat down beside the little guy with a smile. This action made Victor feel even more at ease. After all, compared with Eric, Hanks, who had spent more than a week with him, gave him a greater sense of security.
Eric rubbed the boy’s head and smiled. “It’s very simple. When you encounter failure, you absolutely can’t become discouraged. It’s like the filming just now. Since this take wasn’t good, we just do a few more takes. But if you lose confidence just because one or two takes didn’t work, then you’ll never improve.”
The boy nodded as though he half understood. He seemed to realize something, but then he picked at his fingers and said softly, “But seeing so many uncles and aunties wasting time because of me makes me worried. I’m afraid they’ll get angry.”
“No, you’re thinking about it wrong,” Eric said. “You’re being paid to act. Likewise, these people are also being paid wages. And they’re different from you. Their wages are calculated by time. The longer you take to film, the more money they earn, so they’re actually quite happy inside.”
As Eric spoke, he casually pointed at Nickel, who was wearing a faint smile as he changed the film in the camera. “Nickel, you’re very happy right now, aren’t you?”
Nickel released the smile he had been holding back and nodded with a laugh. “Of course, little guy. You can try as much as you want. The more times we shoot, the happier we are. Of course, you can’t deliberately mess up the shots, because if you do, the director will definitely notice. Then we still won’t get paid.”
Eric glared at Nickel to stop him from continuing to talk nonsense, then said to Victor, “Now, let’s talk about your performance, Victor. Have you seen Home Alone?”
“Of course. Kevin and the two dumb thieves. But unfortunately, I only watched it once before Mom wouldn’t take me again. Director, Mom said that movie was directed by you too. Will this movie we’re making now be as interesting as Home Alone?”
“That’s certain. So if you perform well, all the children in America will admire you the way they admire Kevin.”
The boy immediately revealed a look of longing. Although he did not fully understand Eric’s words, because he had not yet learned the meaning of “admire,” the little guy instinctively felt that being admired by all the children in America must be something incredible.
In order to keep the boy from leading the topic astray again, Eric said, “Since you’ve seen Home Alone, you definitely remember what Kevin was like in that film. The character you’re playing, Jonah, is similar to Kevin. What you performed just now wasn’t quite right. When you read the letter, you should be a little more mischievous. Bare your teeth, widen your eyes… right, can you make a funny face?”
“Wah—”
The little guy immediately hooked the corners of his mouth and rolled his eyes, making a funny face.
Eric patted the boy’s shoulder. “That was very good. Then, later, you need to do it like this…”
Ten minutes later, filming resumed.
It was still the same pile of letters. The little guy opened one and read as usual, “Dear Mr. Sleepless in Seattle, you are the most attractive man I have ever heard. Pfft…”
“Cut!”
Eric instinctively shouted, but immediately realized something was wrong.
He had just built up the little guy’s confidence. Originally, he had planned to at least wait until the boy finished performing the entire scene once before saying anything else. But when he saw that the boy’s expression was not quite right, Eric instinctively called out. Now it was too late to take it back.
The boy’s bright but anxious eyes looked over again. Eric had a sudden idea and casually grabbed a baseball cap beside him, throwing it at Nickel not far away. It happened to hit the innocent cinematographer in the face.
“Nickel, you idiot! Such a good shot was ruined by your camera shaking.”
As Eric “roared,” he winked several times at Nickel. Although the poor cinematographer was taking a bullet while lying down, he did not dare pretend he did not understand what Eric meant. He could only smile apologetically and say, “Sorry, Director. That really was an accident. I’ll definitely pay attention next time. Please forgive me, alright?”
“I’ll let you off this time. If you dare do that again, I’ll… dock your pay.”
After Eric finished through gritted teeth, he instantly switched to a kind and gentle expression and said to the boy, “Victor, this time it wasn’t your fault. Nickel messed up the shot. See, adults make mistakes too, so don’t be nervous. Let’s continue, alright?”
“Mm, Director.”
The little guy nodded hard.
Perhaps encouraged by the fact that adults also made mistakes, although there were several more NGs afterward, this shot still passed smoothly.
And since he discovered this method could stimulate the little guy’s confidence, Eric then singled out several more “idiots.” Even Hanks cooperated by acting foolish a few times.
The result was that the boy’s acting improved at remarkable speed.