Chapter 38

Ticket! Give me some tickets!

The rehearsal went on until around eleven, and due to Carey Mulligan having to go to school in the afternoon, it had to be temporarily ended. Murphy had other work to do, so he said goodbye to the three people and hurriedly left the warehouse. However, as he pulled open the warehouse door, his peripheral vision sharply caught James Franco moving closer to Carey Mulligan...

By now, Murphy naturally understood James Franco's intentions. With Bill Rosi watching, there was no need for him to interfere rashly. He shook his head and walked out of the warehouse, heading to the Mitten Café to meet Jessica Chastain, then drove to a company in Hollywood that specialized in selling film equipment.

While driving, he was still thinking about James Franco. Had this guy done the same thing before?

American law is quite strict in protecting minors. In a place like California, if something really happened and a minor bit, it would be an incredibly troublesome situation.

However, James Franco isn't a fool.

The car turned onto Sunset Boulevard, a road notorious for accidents. Murphy quickly shook his head, dispelling these chaotic thoughts, and focused on driving.

This trip to Hollywood was mainly to pay the deposit for the film. Jessica Chastain, sitting in the passenger seat, looked over the cargo list and noticed an additional item, so she asked, "Why are there ten reels of Kodak 5222 film? Are you planning to shoot a black and white movie?"

"I'm using it for the opening scene."

This was something Murphy added yesterday. The planned opening of the film involves the brutal murder of a minor girl. After some consideration and understanding of the MPAA rating system, he was concerned that this segment might drag the entire film into an NC-17 rating, so he decided to shoot it in black and white.

Ten minutes later, Murphy's used Ford parked near a large film equipment store on Sunset Boulevard. He and Jessica Chastain had been there before to rent cameras and buy film, so they were familiar with the process.

A middle-aged man greeted them. Murphy didn't waste words and had Jessica Chastain hand over the film list. As long as the deposit was paid, the other party would deliver the goods in the afternoon.

In addition to the ten reels of Kodak 5222 film, Murphy also ordered a large amount of Kodak color film.

This 35mm Kodak color film, like the Kodak 5222, is 122 meters long per reel. According to current film shooting and screening standards, it generally takes about 27 meters of film to shoot one minute, so one reel can shoot about 4.5 minutes.

By this calculation, it seemed that 20 reels of color film would be enough.

But Murphy ordered 240 reels, and this was still a conservative number. The amount of film that would be used in the future would only increase, not decrease.

In Hollywood, almost all directors shoot material that is ten to several dozen times the length of the final film. Someone like James Cameron might even reach a hundred times.

The cost of film alone for a production is often a significant expense.

Fortunately, in this era, Kodak hadn't yet destroyed itself, and the price of its 35mm film wasn't as outrageous as it would later become. After some haggling, Murphy finally got the price of each reel down to $150.

"Total of 250 reels of Kodak film."

On the way back, Jessica Chastain reminded Murphy to prepare the money, "It will cost $37,500."

This number made Murphy's heart skip a beat. Including today's film expenses, the preparation for "Hard Candy" had already cost over $150,000 in personnel salaries, equipment and venue rentals, prop production, and the purchase of cosmetics and clothing, among other things.

He really doubted whether his $300,000 would be enough to complete the film.

The pre-production phase is the most expensive, and while the shooting phase might seem to cost less, Murphy wouldn't forget about post-production. He still needed to hire experienced editors and rent post-production studios...

Just thinking about it made his head spin.

Fortunately, Murphy was glad he had followed Kobe Bryant and earned $100,000 from it. Otherwise, with just the $230,000 from the Bill Road incident, he wouldn't have been able to complete the film.

Even so, Murphy felt that $300,000 might not be enough, especially since he was a complete novice and would inevitably encounter unforeseen difficulties.

Finally, it was October 2000. After a long period of preparation, and after Carey Mulligan and James Franco had gone through all their scenes, the "Hard Candy" production team began shooting at the Mitten Café in Old Chinatown, Los Angeles.

That morning, the Mitten Café owner, Lynch, placed a "Closed" sign at the entrance. The two large booths in the corner on the left side of the café were enclosed with screens and curtains, temporarily serving as the male and female dressing rooms.

From the moment they entered the café, Murphy stood at a distance opposite the counter, directing the lighting technicians to set up the lights according to the plan, the set designers to adjust the café's layout according to the storyboards, the prop master to check the chocolate cake and other props, and Jessica Chastain to lead three interns in managing miscellaneous tasks...

Since there was only one makeup artist, the makeup for all the actors had to be done one by one. Fortunately, there were only two main actors, and Lynch and his employees were just background characters, so they didn't need elaborate makeup.

No actor ever appears on camera without some form of makeup, and everyone, including Murphy, knew that what was called "no makeup" was just a natural makeup look.

"When will it be my turn?"

Seeing the café almost ready, Murphy had just caught his breath and was about to get a coffee to perk up when Carey Mulligan walked over. "I'm getting anxious waiting for my makeup."

She tightly pressed her lips, clearly very nervous.

This was Carey Mulligan's first time playing a formal role, and she was not yet sixteen. It was impossible for her not to be nervous.

"Carey, you're nervous," Murphy stepped back and leaned against a coffee table. "And you have dark circles under your eyes."

Carey Mulligan immediately touched under her eyes and managed a weak smile. "I had insomnia last night."

This wasn't a good sign. Murphy frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then changed the subject. "How are you getting along with James?"

The first impression of a rebellious teenager is hard to change. Carey Mulligan's mouth almost reached her ears. "He's always trying to win me over, but I think he has ulterior motives. I still don't like him."

Murphy couldn't help but shake his head. Carey Mulligan then reached out and tugged at his sleeve. "Don't worry, Murphy. I won't deliberately make him uncomfortable."

After saying this, she added with a hint of resentment, "Why do I still hate him so much?"

Just as he was about to say something, Murphy saw Jessica Chastain approaching with someone. He hurried over to greet them.

"Hi, Cara."

Walking over, Murphy opened his arms and gave Cara Fies a light hug. "I'm surprised to see you here."

Stepping back, she took off her sunglasses and said sharply, "I just wanted to see how you fail."

"You'll be disappointed," Murphy shrugged and pointed to a booth. "Feel free to sit."

Cara Fies put down her handbag and sunglasses, then pulled out a chair and sat down, waving at Murphy. "Go ahead and work. Don't worry about me. I'm just here to watch."

Murphy really wanted to roll his eyes but held back. He instructed Jessica Chastain to get Cara Fies a coffee and then continued with his work.

The others continued setting up the location. Murphy walked to the right of the counter, where a 35mm camera was already set up in the corner, and a handheld camera was nearby, ready for different scenes.

Compared to the cameras Murphy had used on the other side of the Pacific, these could be considered antiques. The film industry is a field of rapid technological development, with a shocking rate of obsolescence.

Murphy had already studied these two cameras in detail and was now just making some simple adjustments.

Time ticked by, and the preparations gradually fell into place. When Carey Mulligan emerged from the temporary dressing room, the shooting could begin.

The first scene had already been rehearsed several times by Carey Mulligan and James Franco. Murphy called them over, gave them some simple instructions, reminding one to act hypocritical and the other to appear innocent...

At the same time, Murphy also reviewed their costumes.

Like during the costume fitting, Carey Mulligan was wearing a red hoodie with a cap, and James Franco was in a gray jacket and glasses.

The glasses were a suggestion from makeup artist Jack Watson and worked well, successfully masking James Franco's slightly rogue appearance, making him look more gentle and refined.

From their costumes, it was clear that Murphy's intention was for Carey Mulligan to play the modern Little Red Riding Hood, and James Franco to play the Big Bad Wolf.

However, unlike the fairy tale, in this version, the truly dangerous and controlling figure is the seemingly harmless Little Red Riding Hood.

The shooting didn't start immediately. Murphy had Carey Mulligan and James Franco practice their movements at the café counter several times. He also picked up the handheld camera and, following the planned sequence and the positions of the two main actors, found the best camera angles.

This alone took nearly an hour.

It wasn't until ten in the morning that Murphy officially announced the start of the test shoot.

He carried the camera mounted on a Steadicam, first focusing on the counter to capture Carey Mulligan's slender and beautiful back. He quickly adjusted the lens and, when the café door opened and Carey Mulligan turned to look, gave her a close-up of her face.

"Cut!"

Seeing the close-up, Murphy immediately called a stop. The shot did not meet his requirements.