"Yes, Dad, I know. Jessica and I are paying close attention to Mrs. Brown's lessons every day. We haven't missed any schoolwork, I promise."
"That's great, really great. The only problem is that I seem to be the one falling behind."
"Oh no! Of course not! You promised me! Don't you dare think about it!"
"Alright, Dad, we have to start filming now. I assume Uncle Sparrow reports my activities to you every day!"
"Okay, I love you, Dad. Say hi to Mom and Jennifer for me. Oh, and Mr. Alba, please tell him that Jess is doing well too. The Napa vineyards are just as beautiful as Forest Park. Goodbye."
Catherine shrugged and handed the phone back to Mr. Sparrow after ending the call.
"Life for kids is always like this. I still have 5 to 7 years before I can be independent. I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse," the little one said with a grown-up tone, spreading her hands.
"Do you always think about such things?" the agent asked, putting away the phone.
"That? Of course not. What I think about most is how to laze in bed all day. You know, Mom always puts a row of alarm clocks just out of my reach." The little girl laughed and ran toward the set.
At this moment, director Charles had just finished explaining the scene to Dennis and Ms. Brent, who played Josie. Seeing Catherine return, he waved her over. "Catherine, come here for a moment."
"Yes, Mr. Director, what's the matter?" The little girl stood properly, a bit nervously.
"Relax, it's nothing serious," Charles smiled at her nervousness. "The next scene is with you and Ms. Ryan by the swing. If you feel unsure, you can ask her to run it with you first. I'm sure Ms. Ryan would be happy to help."
"Thank you, Mr. Director." Catherine nodded and walked to the other side, unaware of the director's thoughts.
These past few days, the little girl's performance had truly surprised him. Since the shooting at the Palleg Hotel began, her acting seemed to have reached a new level. She not only performed naturally but occasionally even drove the entire scene forward. The number of takes was far fewer than at Arrow Lake, leaving the director puzzled. He had asked his wife, Nancy, about it, but she just shrugged and smiled, "She always manages to surprise us, doesn't she?"
Charles, of course, didn't know that in her previous life, the little one was a homebody who spent all day watching movies and TV shows. She repeatedly watched her favorites and classic films, like the original "The Parent Trap." As the saying goes, "Read poems a hundred times, and you can recite them." The little girl was like this with movies. She had also read many reviews and was familiar with the nuances of actors' performances in these films. However, she only watched many movies and didn't know how to act in front of a camera under many people's gaze. She was like a pH strip, overly biased towards acidity or alkalinity, unable to balance. This was why she struggled to act without imitating others in Forest Park.
But the shooting at the Palleg Hotel gave her a real understanding of on-camera performance, especially the bar scene with Big Mouth Sister and Sweetheart Sister. Both actresses, whose skills were still developing, provided a great example. Their insights opened a new door for Catherine, showing her another side of the same world, benefiting her greatly. However, the little girl hadn't fully digested these gains yet, and the crazy number of takes at Arrow Lake left her with some unspoken fear. Otherwise, the director might have been even more surprised and perhaps would have asked for a reshoot at Forest Park.
"Alright, little one, I admit you're smart, but you won't beat me!" Meg Ryan smiled lightly, with a hint of pride and expectation.
"I won't give up. This isn't over!" Catherine, sitting on another chair, puffed her cheeks in frustration, her feet swinging in the air in defiance.
"No, no, dear, it's over. I love Nick, and Nick loves me. I once regretted moving from Compton to work here, but now I've found the reason. I'm grateful for my impulsiveness back then," Sweetheart Sister said, looking into the distance. Although her facial expression didn't change, her eyes were full of affection.
The next line should be the little girl snorting through her nose: "Just you wait!" But Meg held her pose for at least a minute without hearing Catherine's line. Curious, she looked down to see the little one staring at her with wide eyes, mouth slightly open, as if seeing something strange.
Meg looked at herself. There was nothing inappropriate, so she waved a hand in front of Catherine. "Hey, dear, are you alright?"
Catherine seemed to snap out of a trance, shivering slightly. "What? Did something happen?"
Her behavior startled Meg. "Cathy, are you okay? You were spacing out."
"Spacing out? Oh, it's like this..." The little girl stopped mid-sentence, stared at Meg again, then seemed to make a decision. Her cheeks flushed with excitement as she jumped off the chair, saying, "Please wait a moment," and dashed towards Nancy, who was supervising at the edge of the set.
"Nancy, Nancy, I need paper and a pen! Right now!" Catherine quickly said as she reached Nancy.
"Alright, Cathy, hold on a second." Although she didn't understand what Catherine wanted, Nancy quickly found some script pages and a pen.
Catherine thanked her, then found a wooden chair, laid the script pages on it, knelt on the ground, and began scribbling furiously.
Nancy looked puzzled at the little girl, then glanced at Meg, who was still sitting on the other chair, also looking puzzled and shrugging. Jessica, who had been watching Dennis and Ms. Brent act, noticed Catherine's strange behavior. Ignoring Catherine's usual advice to observe others' acting, she ran over to see what was happening.
However, Catherine wasn't in the mood to explain. She shushed Jessica several times when she tried to ask. Jessica, disappointed, sat beside her, watching her write continuously.
Fortunately, Catherine didn't take too long. After finishing what she wanted to write, she reviewed it, clenched her fist with a quiet "Yes!" then ran the script pages to Meg, still sitting on the bench, and handed them over with a smile.
Meg took the pages, still confused, and read them carefully, realizing they were lines of dialogue. Catherine began explaining, "This girl overheard a radio story about a widower living in Seattle. His wife died two years ago, and he loved her deeply. Since her death, he hasn't dated anyone else and often spends sleepless nights thinking of her. His child worries about him and calls the radio station for help. Although this girl is engaged, she's curious about the man after hearing his story. She knows she has a fiancé but can't stop thinking about him. She decides to visit him after finding his address. But when she arrives, she sees his friend's wife visiting and mistakes her for his new wife. They only exchange greetings before she leaves. Back at the hotel, she calls her friend to talk about it, and these are the lines for that conversation! You have to express confusion and shame while..."
"Wait, wait," Meg interrupted, still confused. "What are you talking about?"
Catherine paused, scratching her head, unsure what to say. Jessica, who had been standing by, suddenly chimed in, "Is this a new script?"
"Yes, it's a new script!" Catherine quickly nodded.
"A new script?" Meg was still perplexed.
"Yeah, it's my new script... um, I wrote the script for 'The Parent Trap,'" the little girl explained.
"The Parent Trap was written by you?!" Meg's eyes widened.
"Yes, dear Sweetheart, that's correct," Catherine sighed. "You can ask anyone here to confirm."
"Alright, I'm sorry. I always thought it was just a namesake," Meg smiled, shrugged, and looked back at the script pages. After a moment, she asked with growing interest, "Can you tell me your main idea? What you just said was too brief."
"Well, let me think about it," Catherine said, then immediately began thinking deeply, arms crossed and holding her chin. She mumbled softly, mentioning things like New York, the Empire State Building, and "An Affair to Remember." Meg even thought she heard the name Tom Hanks, making her more surprised. She had asked out of curiosity and to hide her embarrassment, not expecting the little girl to start developing a script idea. Could she really come up with a rough outline in such a short time?
At that moment, as the shooting on the other side wrapped up, Nancy approached. Seeing the little girl deep in thought, she was about to speak when Jessica made a shushing gesture. Meg handed her the script pages.
Nancy looked at the pages, puzzled. She couldn't discern much from the lines, but the little girl's endless ideas made her hesitate to interrupt. Even when her husband wanted Catherine for the next scene, she stopped him. Perhaps this would be another surprise?