An hour later, Wayne, now wearing a worn-out sweater and looking much more exhausted, along with the similarly transformed Jessica, returned to the set. By then, the set, lighting, cameras, and extras needed for the scene were all ready, and they had familiarized themselves with their positions under Doug Liman's direction.
"Let's try a take first!"
Doug Liman checked Wayne and Jessica's makeup and costumes, and after seeing that everything was in order, they began shooting a trial take.
Wayne took a deep breath, quickly channeling the emotions he'd been building while getting into character, ready to immerse himself in the scene.
Having just used his American passport to hide in the embassy and avoid the police, 'Bourne' let out a small sigh of relief. After scanning the embassy's staff and structure, he quickly noticed 'Marie' arguing with a staff member at one of the service windows.
Of course, at this point, he had no particular interest in 'Marie,' so after a quick glance, he continued to survey his surroundings, instinctively planning how he would escape if he were to be pursued in such a setting.
His caution soon paid off.
He quickly noticed that the supervisor, dressed in a black suit and wearing an earpiece, had heard something through the earpiece and started looking around, clearly searching for someone.
Although there was no hard evidence, 'Bourne,' relying on the intuition he'd developed through years of life-and-death situations, suspected they were looking for him.
Without hesitation, 'Bourne' immediately turned and headed toward the stairs.
The police outside the main entrance were likely still there, so his plan was to go up to the second floor and escape through a window in one of the offices on the other side.
However, there were security cameras in the lobby, and under the cameras' guidance, the supervisor had the two guards stationed near the stairs block his path before he could escape.
In true American fashion, the guards reached for their guns.
'Bourne' glanced at the two guards, who already had their hands on their weapons and looked highly alert. After a quick internal calculation, he decided to comply, raising his hands and trying to look as harmless as possible.
Seeing that 'Bourne' appeared disheveled and exhausted, not particularly muscular, and unarmed, the guards relaxed, holstered their guns, and approached to detain him.
At that moment, 'Bourne' finally showed his true nature. As the guards drew closer to restrain him, he pounced like a leopard, swiftly taking them down and grabbing one of their guns. He then pointed it at the supervisor and two other guards, forcing them to back off.
Meanwhile, the civilians in the lobby, there to apply for visas, were briefly stunned into silence. But soon, chaos erupted as they screamed and fled in all directions.
This provided the perfect opportunity for 'Bourne' to escape.
Wasting no time, 'Bourne' turned and headed for the stairs, dismantling the gun in his hand as he walked and casually tossing the pieces onto the ground.
In the shot, 'Bourne's' retreating figure looked especially cool.
The supervisor and the two guards, though eager to give chase, were blocked by the panicking crowd and could only watch as 'Bourne' ascended the stairs and disappeared around the corner.
"Cut!"
"Great!"
"That's a wrap!"
Doug Liman's voice came from behind the monitor.
Of course, such a long scene couldn't be filmed in one continuous shot. In fact, this five-minute sequence was broken into over a dozen shots, taking an entire day to film.
Still, the pace was remarkably fast.
Keep in mind, Doug Liman's original shooting schedule had planned for this scene to take two or three days to complete.
"Great job, Wayne! That move you pulled off was so cool! Even better than what the stunt coordinator came up with! My gosh, how long did you train for this film?"
Doug Liman couldn't help but pat Wayne on the shoulder as he praised him, though it was unclear whether he was genuinely impressed or just flattering him.
"Actually, I didn't train that long. I just enjoy combat and shooting in my free time, so I've had some practice," Wayne explained with a smile before smoothly changing the topic to discuss the next scenes.
It's worth mentioning that the staff member who argued with Jessica's character, Marie, was initially going to be played by Annie. After all, it was a minor role with a couple of lines and two camera shots—still a decent supporting role.
However, since Annie already had a significant role in *Gifted*, she wasn't interested in this smaller part.
Without Wayne needing to say anything, she turned it down, citing her focus on preparing for *Gifted*.
To keep costs down, Mia suggested they cast a local actor for the role. While Switzerland's film industry wasn't particularly advanced, there were plenty of French actors nearby.
Wayne didn't mind, though the actor Mia had in mind was quite different from who he was thinking of.
Wayne had originally wanted to cast Sophie Marceau for a cameo. The famous French goddess was well-known in Europe, but her fame was more modest in Hollywood, meaning she was quite affordable. For a role like this, they could've gotten her for no more than $200,000—a steal, really.
But after some inquiries, Wayne learned that Sophie Marceau was currently filming *Belphégor: Phantom of the Louvre* and wasn't available. So, with a smirk on her face, Mia took over the casting process.
Little did Wayne expect, Mia had quite the eye for talent.
Of all the French actors she could've chosen, she picked none other than Eva Green—who, though now just a theater student about to graduate from Paris' Saint-Paul Drama School, would later become even more famous in Hollywood than Sophie Marceau.
"How did you end up picking her?" Wayne couldn't help but ask Mia after seeing Eva Green on set that morning.
Mia's answer left Wayne speechless.
"Don't you think she just has that 'bad girl' vibe at first glance? Someone like her would argue more believably with Jess, right? Plus, she only cost $1,000."
"..."
Poor Eva Green. In this world, she might start down the path of playing bad girls even earlier than she did in the parallel one.
(End of Chapter)