Chapter 40

Starting tomorrow, there will be three updates a day, each chapter 2000 words, at 9 AM, 3 PM, and 9 PM. I'm still asking for recommendations.

Anything, if not actually done, will not reveal how difficult it is.

After rearranging the lighting, the actors rehearsed their positions again, and the crew was all set. Murphy, the director and cinematographer, began a test shoot. Just like last time, when Carey Mulligan turned her head, he called a stop again.

Everyone on the crew looked at Murphy, not knowing what he was going to do. Carey Mulligan, who is very expressive, was already scratching her head in frustration.

She had spent a long time building up her emotions, but after just one action, she was called to stop, which inevitably made her feel depressed.

James Franco simply found a chair to sit down. He had figured out that this was a completely unreliable director with a bunch of other unreliable people.

Fortunately, his purpose was not the role or the movie; otherwise, working with such a group of beginners would drive him crazy.

There was a hint of disdain in his eyes when he looked at Murphy. This so-called director talked a good game, but in practice, there were constant problems.

This was for the better, so that Carey Mulligan wouldn't idolize him so much.

Compared to the eccentric James Franco, Jessica Chastain, who was a proper academy graduate, had more professional qualities. After Murphy called a stop again, she immediately came over to take the camera and asked, "What's the problem?"

Without hesitation, Murphy blurted out, "Carey's eyes aren't bright enough, not lively enough, which will weaken the charm of the female lead."

"What?" Carey Mulligan clearly heard Murphy's words and pointed to her eyes, about to argue, but was interrupted by Murphy raising his hand, "Carey, it's not your fault, it's the lighting."

The camera lens is different from the human eye. Eyes that look bright and lively to ordinary people will appear much dimmer when captured by the camera.

"Eye light!" Murphy slapped his forehead in frustration, "How could I forget about the eye light?"

He sighed; this was a trouble brought by lack of experience.

This was the first close-up of the female lead, Hailey. If her eyes were dim, her charm would be greatly reduced. Eye light was essential.

For a movie like "Hard Candy," the bright eye light of the actress can leave a deep impression on the audience.

Following Murphy's instructions, the gaffer Douglas added a Fresnel spotlight below the main light, specifically to create eye light for Carey Mulligan.

After a busy half day, the desired lighting effect was finally achieved. Murphy, though still a bit headache, felt a slight relief. The scenes to be shot at the café were not many and relatively simple, with the biggest issues being the shooting and lighting.

After adjusting the lighting, Murphy specifically had Carey Mulligan face him and took a random close-up. Carey Mulligan's eyes in the lens were bright and innocent, as if they could pierce into one's soul.

Such a pure, beautiful, and cute girl could stir the criminal's thoughts, making him lose his mind, right?

Fixing the lighting did not mean the crew could run smoothly.

The crew was full of beginners, and there was no prior collaboration experience. The process of getting everyone to work together was inevitable, especially for Carey Mulligan, who, like all new actors, could not immediately adapt to film shooting.

After restarting the test shoot, Murphy's shots of her background and the moment she turned her head went relatively smoothly. However, when James Franco pushed the door open and came to greet her, her facial expression and tone of voice changed.

Just like before, her emotions were too exposed. Even the café owner Lynch could tell that she disliked the person coming to greet her.

This couldn't be shot. At this moment, Hailey, played by Carey Mulligan, should display an innocent and cute side to lure Jeff.

"Cut!" Murphy directly called a stop for the entire crew, "Take a half-hour break."

After spending so long on the lighting, he also needed a breather. He drank a cup of cold coffee and called Carey Mulligan out of the café alone.

"Sorry, Murphy..."

Standing at the café door, Carey Mulligan looked like a well-behaved child who had made a mistake, "It's all my fault, I didn't do well enough."

For someone like Carey Mulligan, blaming her would only backfire. Instead, Murphy asked, "Is James that讨厌?"

During the previous rehearsals, Carey Mulligan had already been able to control her emotions towards James Franco. There was nothing particularly unusual in the morning, so why did she suddenly become like this?

"During lunch..." Carey Mulligan lowered her head, "He said a lot of讨厌 things."

She then looked up, "Murphy, I really don't like him. During rehearsals, he always flirts with me on purpose, clearly with ulterior motives."

"Oh?" Murphy looked at her. Carey Mulligan was innocent and rebellious but not stupid.

"I think... I think James Franco is like... " She looked up at Murphy, seeing his encouraging smile, she no longer held back and said directly, "I think he's like Jeff in the script."

"Is that so..." Murphy was not surprised but rather pondered, chin in hand. Carey Mulligan looked at him eagerly, her bright eyes twinkling, as if waiting for Murphy to replace the讨厌 guy for her. After a while, Murphy said, "James does indeed resemble Jeff in the script."

"What?" Carey Mulligan's eyes widened, "Is that true?"

She was inexperienced but not stupid, looking somewhat panicked.

"Calm down, Carey." Since Murphy said this, he naturally had a solution. He reminded her, "You forgot, Hailey in the script is facing Jeff..."

"And I'm facing James Franco..." Under Murphy's comforting gaze, Carey Mulligan gradually calmed down, her bright eyes showing a thoughtful expression, "A guy even more timid than Jeff."

Murphy looked at her, his eyes full of encouragement, "Dealing with James Franco should be interesting."

"Right!" Carey Mulligan almost shouted, quickly covering her mouth, and through the transparent glass door, she cautiously looked at James Franco inside, then lowered her voice, "I can use Hailey's methods to deal with him!"

"Just a slight lesson will do." Sweat beads appeared on Murphy's forehead.

However, he did not stop Carey Mulligan. This was his deliberate provocation, and this was not a movie. He believed the girl opposite would not do anything too extreme, at most making James Franco a bit uncomfortable.

The benefits were obvious. When facing James Franco and his portrayal of Jeff, Carey Mulligan only needed to act naturally, which would undoubtedly reduce the difficulty of her performance.

Back at the café, Carey Mulligan's performance during the shoot was completely transformed. Facing James Franco as Jeff, she fully displayed a girl's innocence, cuteness, naivety, and a bit of sexiness, even causing James Franco to be momentarily stunned during the test shoot...

Looking at Carey Mulligan in a red hoodie, like Little Red Riding Hood, with her innocent and cute appearance and demeanor, James Franco almost couldn't suppress his impulse for a moment. Fortunately, he was already an adult and had played similar games a few times before, though he had never encountered such an engrossing type, he could still control himself.

"Cut!" James Franco was still in a daze when Murphy called a stop, giving a thumbs up to the two actors, "This take is good. Jim, Carey, you both did great!"

This was originally a test shoot, but the result exceeded Murphy's expectations, especially James Franco's momentary daze when facing Carey Mulligan, which vividly portrayed his eager inner self hidden behind his refined exterior.

Given James Franco's current acting level, it would be difficult for him to deliver such a performance again.

"This is natural acting!" Murphy muttered to himself, "If these two can act naturally, the effect will definitely be the best."

Just like Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man, actors often perform best when the character is similar to themselves in real life.

An occasional smooth run could not hide the various problems in the "Hard Candy" crew. Subsequent shooting entered a cycle of mistakes, mistakes, and more mistakes. The main reason was Murphy's lack of experience, and the other crew members' average abilities were another factor.

Over three days, the short few minutes of scenes at the café were not completed, and sometimes only one take could be passed in a day. Murphy finally realized that the reason he could hire these people at such low prices was that their abilities were directly proportional to their cost.

Fortunately, he chose a relatively simple movie like "Hard Candy." Otherwise, as a novice director with a group of average crew members, attempting to shoot a larger-budget film would have been a disaster.

These three days also made Murphy fully realize that watching movies, analyzing them, and studying them at film school were one thing, while shooting and producing a movie was another. The gap between the two was at least as wide as the distance from Los Angeles to New York.

Despite the numerous difficulties, Murphy never thought of giving up. It was impossible to give up now, as he had already invested tens of thousands of dollars. Giving up would mean all the investment was wasted.

Murphy was determined to persist, but the frustration was inevitable. Another person as frustrated as Murphy was the owner of Minton Café, Lynch.

To shoot the scenes, Minton Café had to suspend operations. When signing the contract with the crew, old Lynch thought the few scenes would take at most two days, and he didn't notice that Murphy's contract had no time limit. After a few days of shooting, he regretted it deeply.

His café could not operate, and he had to provide free meals for the crew, which was a significant expense...

Fortunately, the scenes at the café were really few. Before old Lynch's patience reached its limit, Murphy finally finished the single-digit number of shots and led the team to the San Fernando Valley.

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