[Shout out to Howellsy, ALMIGHT_FLEX, and Abdul!]
Hollywood What If Chapter 20
The shooting went smoothly. There were no rough spots. The actors were good in condition... they might need acting lessons after this movie. But hey, Napoleon Dynamite didn't need great acting anyway. It was a comedy.
'My first impression of Napoleon was sleepy. He always looks sleepy. Also, the way he acts is kind of weird.'
The actors were good, Pedro Pascal and Ed Helms just got into the right mood and got into their roles. The other actors were also good.
Because of this, Kazir's already fast shooting became even faster.
However, there was no such thing as perfect. There were still rough edges that needed polishing.
"Cut! Let's shoot this scene again. Ten-minute break!"
Calix stated after four NGs (not good). He looked at the certain actress who could not keep her acting.
The dance hall lit up and the music stopped. They were shooting the prom scene, the scene where Deb and Napoleon were dancing to be exact.
Reese was sweating and her complexion was pale. She knew she was the reason they had to reshoot.
She approached Kazir with a guilty look on her face.
"I'm sorry director, I accidentally looked at the camera."
"Reese. In the first take, you made a mistake by forgetting your line. The second, you stepped on Ed's foot. The third, you made a mistake and said the wrong line."
"I'm sorry."
She bowed her head. Her eyes became teary.
Kazir chuckled, comforting her instead.
"You don't have to apologize. Everyone makes mistakes. Even great actors like Nicholas Cage and Tom Hanks are not perfect. You don't have to beat yourself up."
He said, tapping her shoulder.
"Okay, follow me. Inhale... Exhale. Again, inhale... Exhale."
Reese took a deep breath and calmed her mind. She thought the director would be angry because she had already made four mistakes. She smiled when she realized that Kazir was not angry.
"It's good to see you smiling. Now go retouch your makeup and relax. Remember, you don't have to burden yourself. No one is perfect."
"Thank you, director!"
She happily left Kazir with her prom gown.
'... The cost of a 35mm Kodak film is about $80. A 35mm Kodak film can record up to 4 minutes and 30 seconds. So far, we have wasted three rolls of film with Reese's mistakes. To be honest, I'm angry. But I know the consequences of getting angry. Reese will lose confidence in herself and the shoot will be affected. As much as I can, I want to stay calm. '
Reese was still a young actress. She didn't have the mentality to handle criticism. If Kazir showed his true feelings, the woman might break down and cry, which would be uncomfortable for the crew.
'So for God's sake, Reese Witherspoon, get your acting right! Don't fuck it up!'
Kazir kept his sanity by gritting his teeth.
The ten-minute break ended and the shooting began again.
Fortunately, Reese Witherspoon's acting was better this time. At least she didn't make any mistakes.
"Cut! Reese, you did a good job. But I want to see more. Let's take it again."
The clapperboard made another sound and the shooting started again.
The background music was faint, enough for them to hear Napoleon and Deb's conversation.
Kazir watched the scene unfold on the monitors. He nodded after getting a nice scene.
"Cut! This is good. Let's move on to the next scene!"
For three minutes of worth of scenes, Kazir and his crew decorated the hall like a real prom. After shooting all the scenes, they cleaned the place. They wasted almost 5 thousand on the prom scene alone.
Making movies has never been cheap. Even if the total budget of Napoleon Dynamite was only $500,000 and they wanted to make it cheap, they couldn't cut costs.
They would immediately move on to the next location once the preparation was done.
"Tomorrow, if we're lucky, we might finish the whole shooting."
Renner stood next to Kazir, talking as he checked the camera.
"That's right. We've been here almost a month."
"Yeah, I miss Los Angeles."
"We both miss Los Angeles."
The two laughed.
Their next scene was in the hallway, the scene where Napoleon would meet Pedro for the first time.
'Pedro Pascal acts well. To make sure that this movie will have a better audience, I made sure that the way they deliver the lines is perfect. Especially the jokes.'
"Okay, adjust the camera. Renner, turn up the lighting. Yeah, that's right."
Kazir motioned to the man holding the clapperboard. The man blocked the camera with the clapperboard. Then he said, "Lights, camera, action," and clicked the clapperboard.
Everything went well. The crew sensed how much Kazir had evolved his shooting. In just one year, during which they missed each other, Kazir matured a lot. His mentality was great.
"Today is the day! Finally!"
The last day arrived. The crew had only one scene left to shoot. They planned to shoot this scene last because it was more complicated to prepare.
First, the crew hired extras and signed them up for the shooting. They didn't have any important roles. They would be the audience watching Napoleon dance.
"Okay, everything is ready!"
Kazir started shooting.
The music started and Ed Helms, who had practiced the dance steps, went to work.
He started to dance, his curly bob hair shaking around, his hips moving to the beat.
'Looks like he's taking it seriously.'
Kazir could see that Ed Helms was dancing better than he expected.
After the first dance...
"Cut! Ten-minute break."
Kazir Grey approached Ed Helms, who was sweating.
"Ed, I want you to dance again. I will save all the best parts of your dance and combine them."
"No problem, director."
Ed Helms smiled. At least Kazir appreciated his hard work.
[Hi, I just want to promote my other novels:]
1) MC's not part of the story
- This novel is already finished with 526 chapters.
2) The Only Fuel Is Using The D.
-This is my most read novel for some obvious reasons, ahem.
3) Reincarnated As A Deadbeat Dad
-This is a new novel. A slow progressive slice of life about a deadbeat dad.
4) Hollywood What If
- Mc returned to Hollywood in 1994.
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