Laila had fully recovered a week after Roy's vigilant care. Under his watchful eyes, she rested for two more days before returning to the film set.
Regret tinged her expression when she realized she had wasted over a week on recuperation. If she had known, she would have rested properly from the beginning instead of falling ill.
In reality, filmmaking isn't a nine-to-five job; scheduling time precisely is nearly impossible. Night scenes require shooting at night, sunrise scenes at dawn, and weather-dependent scenes like mist, rain, or snow need suitable weather conditions.
Roy, with remaining work commitments, eventually left New Zealand after Demi took over caring for Laila. The close care during this period made Laila understand that physical contact between men and women is indeed needed to enhance the relationship. Although they hadn't taken the final step, their feelings had progressed.
Due to her illness, the film's progress lagged, and Laila had to rely on the actors to minimize retakes and complete all the scenes quickly.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy, when combined, is approximately five to six hours long when screened in theaters. There are extended editions, Blu-ray versions, and more, extending to around ten hours.
Adapting such a great literary work into three films posed significant challenges. The source material contained many classic elements, and Laila was unwilling to omit any of them. However, shooting all of them might require ten installments, which was impractical.
Given these constraints, they had to extract the most iconic elements from the classics and compress the moderately essential parts, with some reduced to a mere mention to keep the audience informed.
Fortunately, Laila's sick leave was not in vain. The assistant director prepared many scenes during this time, and the actors delved deeper into their characters. Fortunately, all the scenes were filmed before Christmas, and she could finally go home!
News of the completion of The Lord of the Rings film set surfaced shortly after Laila's return. In reality, Laila herself released the news, leveraging the Moran family's media outlets.
Laila's plan was simple: capitalize on the attention she garnered and periodically release updates about herself and the film. She had already set up a dedicated website and Facebook account for the movie, allowing interested audiences to find detailed information online.
Every now and then, she would post wallpapers and other bonuses on the website, while the Facebook account would feature audience-friendly content to generate interest. Although these were considered outdated strategies in the future, during this era, utilizing the bustling energy of Facebook, even surpassing Weibo, would ensure a vigorous promotion of the film.
Additionally, purchasing a Super Bowl advertisement slot to air the movie trailer was one of her favorite and highly effective methods. While it was costly, the return on investment was considerable. Ensuring a visually stunning trailer would attract significant attention.
Editing the film herself, Laila knew firsthand how visually appealing the scenes were. Now, she faced the challenge of choosing the most captivating shots for the trailer. She was not struggling to find suitable shots but rather overwhelmed by the abundance of excellent footage, experiencing decision paralysis.
Just as Laila was engrossed in creating the film trailer, a phone call from Janet completely disrupted her plans.
The call itself was ordinary, expressing Janet's longing for Laila, expectations for her film, and a plea for Laila to spend more time with her poor mother. However, each time Laila received such a call, she couldn't help but marvel at her mother's acting skills.
A woman with a fiancé and a son, where was the loneliness or the need for pity? And why mention being alone? With a husband like Mr. Quentin, was there a chance she would ever be alone? Every time Laila returned, these two individuals would put on a show, leaving her puzzled about how her grandparents endured them!
Yet, it was a mother's call, and Laila usually didn't refuse such requests. So, on a weekend, accompanied by Roy and Abel, she boarded a plane bound for New York.
In her past life, she lacked a strong connection with her relatives, either due to their distance or her aloofness. Over time, she stopped seeing the need to meet them.
In this life, however, her family's unwavering support and love were boundless. Laila reciprocated their genuine affection with her own sincere emotions.
After enjoying Grandma's exquisite cooking, the most authentic Eastern cuisine, each time she visited, Janet, after dinner, pulled Laila aside for a private conversation.
"Come, Laila, I want to talk to you." After the meal, Janet took Laila's hand and surveyed the room, whispering something inconsequential to her.
"Sure." Laila found her mother's behavior a bit strange. She didn't think they needed to discuss private matters away from the rest of the family. However, considering her mother's unpredictable artistic temperament, she could suddenly understand the dramatic approach. Perhaps Janet had thought of something.
With Laila's agreement, Janet immediately led her outside. "Let's walk in the garden while we talk."
Laila gladly complied. Grandma's culinary skills were exceptional, almost at the level of opening an authentic Chinese restaurant. Laila had eaten so much that she could barely walk.
Holding Laila's arm, Janet strolled with her through the garden, engaging in idle conversation about the film crew, and actors, and even expressing curiosity about the Eastern actor chosen to play a role in a Western fantasy story.
In the end, after much circling, Laila couldn't help herself and asked, "Mom, I don't think you wanted to discuss these things, right? Why bring me to the garden for these trivial matters?" It seemed her mother had thought of something else.