Chapter 41

Today, there will be three updates, one at 3 PM and another at 9 PM. Please give me your recommendations!

"Here we are, this is the place."

Three vans, a slightly worn minibus, and a black second-hand Ford sedan stopped in front of a detached house in the northern basin of the San Fernando Valley. Murphy got out of the Ford and loudly said, "Quick, unload the vehicles. We'll be staying here today."

The makeup artist Jack Watson, the lighting technician John Douglas, the prop master Mia Suckre, the set designer Sunny Cleg, and three interns including Paul Wilson now had a new identity—loaders.

Murphy had only rented the three vehicles and had no intention of hiring loaders. After a quick call to the crew, he took off his jacket and threw it onto the driver's seat of the Ford, then walked to the back of the van loaded with camera equipment, opened the rear door, and jumped up first.

The director leading by example, the others did not dare to slack off. These people were at the bottom of Hollywood and knew that being multi-talented was a characteristic of small productions.

James Franco, of course, had no interest in helping. He got off the minibus and unconsciously walked to the back door of the Ford, but the windows were tightly closed. Inside, Bill Rosies seemed to be giving some instructions to Carey Mulligan.

"Murphy has already hired a professional tutor for you, someone I recommended..."

As if not seeing Carey Mulligan's expression, Bill Rosies said formally, "She will be here by tomorrow at the latest. You must maintain at least four hours of study time each day. She will be taking my place in accompanying you over the next few days."

Carey Mulligan's dissatisfaction was evident on her face. "Can we not have a tutor?"

Since joining the production, she felt like a bird that had escaped from its cage, free and happy. The experience of filming was also wonderful; this was the life she wanted.

Study? Tutor? A routine life? Striving for university? She was really fed up with all of this!

Bill Rosies glanced at Carey Mulligan again but did not say much. Instead, he opened the car door and got out, first glancing at James Franco standing on the other side of the car, then looking into the distance.

At the end of his line of sight, a bowl of clear water could be seen. The clear lake water and the blue sky brought a rare sense of comfort. The weather here was much better than the dry climate of downtown Los Angeles.

"Hey, Murphy."

He retracted his gaze and walked toward the van, asking Murphy, who was carrying several reels of film toward the house, "Do you need any help?"

"Thanks, we can handle it." Murphy freed one hand and waved at him. "Just take care of Carey."

Carrying the film, Murphy entered the rented house, passing through the foyer into the living room. Jessica Chastain stood on the left side of the living room, directing everyone to put the various items they had brought into two rooms that would serve as temporary storage. Wayne, the real estate agent they had met before, stood nearby, constantly reminding the crew to be careful to avoid damaging the house's delicate decor.

Although most of the detached house still looked the same as when Murphy had last visited, the scenes used for filming, such as the living room and kitchen, had completely changed. Before the official start of filming, he and the set designer Sunny Cleg had visited this place several times and planned the set's background style.

Sunny Cleg and two interns from the University of Southern California had been busy for a full week, working with the professional team Wayne had found. The living room and other rooms used for filming had been completely redecorated with new wallpaper, and the covers for the sofas and chairs had been changed to the colors Murphy wanted.

In short, the scenes needed to fit the requirements of the dialogue between Haley and Jeff, and the colors had to match their costumes. Therefore, the overall color scheme was primarily gray and red.

A good story is the foundation of a film, but the importance of visual stimulation is clear to anyone, not just to someone like Murphy with professional training. Even ordinary film enthusiasts understand this.

After unloading the equipment and goods, and seeing off the real estate agent, Murphy had Jessica Chastain take the others upstairs to choose their rooms. To save costs, the entire crew would be living here for a long time.

The house was not particularly large, so it was impossible for everyone to have their own room. Apart from Murphy and the lead actors James Franco and Carey Mulligan, the others would have to stay in dormitories.

There was also the issue of meals. With the filming at the café completed, the free meals provided by old Lynch had come to an end. Now, Murphy had to use the production budget to cover this expense. For him, the cost of feeding a dozen people for at least a month was a significant amount.

However, there were no actors of star status in the production, so the meals did not need to be of high quality. Murphy decided to serve mainly cheaper foods like hamburgers and pizzas.

Since they had arrived in the afternoon, the sun soon set below the horizon. After eating the pizzas delivered by a fast-food restaurant, Murphy returned to his room upstairs and continued reviewing the shooting plan he had previously formulated. After a period of filming at the café, he had a clearer understanding of himself and realized he had overestimated his abilities. The shooting plan, which he thought would not be too difficult, had been delayed for a long time just due to lighting issues.

Sitting at a desk, Murphy reviewed the plan item by item. There would definitely be many unforeseen difficulties in the future...

A gentle knock on the door, and James Franco's voice came from outside, "Are you in there, Murphy?"

"Jim..." Murphy closed the plan and turned off the desk lamp. "Come in."

The door was pushed open from the outside. James Franco, holding a bottle of wine in his left hand and two glasses in his right, walked in, looked around, and then sat down on the small sofa opposite the door. He placed the wine and glasses on the coffee table. "Still working? Have a drink to relax."

Murphy put away the plan and walked over, sitting on the sofa on the other side of the coffee table. Without being too formal, he took the bottle of wine, opened it, and poured a glass for himself and James Franco. He raised his glass in a toast and took a small sip. "Very nice whisky."

"This is something I brought from home." James Franco clinked his glass against Murphy's and drank half a glass in one go, a look of enjoyment on his face. "Top-quality Scottish Chivas whisky."

After finishing the drink, Murphy put down his glass and turned to look at James Franco. "It is indeed good..."

He couldn't really tell if it was good, but James Franco must have come for a reason.

James Franco poured another glass for Murphy. Seeing the sly smile on his face, Murphy asked directly, "Is there something you need?"

"Sort of." James Franco paused, seemingly considering his words. After a while, he said, "Murphy, I don't know why, but Carey Mulligan always seems to have some hostility toward me. We have a lot of scenes together, and this will affect our work. You get along well with her. I want to know how you do it."

He added, "If our relationship improves, the filming will go much smoother."