Chapter 85

It's the weekend again, and it's time for another day of intense writing. I'm not going out today; I'll stay home and type away. Everyone, give me some encouragement.

Murphy clearly remembered the data he had seen online. The pre-production of this film took less than a week, and the shooting was completed within twenty days. Although he couldn't confirm the accuracy, it was evident that a relatively mature film company like Lionsgate and a shell film company like Stanton Studios had a significant gap.

The production team entered the final preparation stage.

For Murphy, the final preparation meant that everything was in place, and the first shooting day was only a few days away.

Was there anything else left to do? Of course, the most important thing was that Murphy needed to recharge himself.

Now that he had pressed the start button and was ready, it was time to focus on the task ahead, trying to forget all the pressure and burdens, and not to be too exhausted to think.

He also needed to ensure that his crew members, including the director of photography, art director, lighting technician, and prop master, got a good rest before the filming began.

As the director and producer, most of the decisions Murphy made at this moment could not be reversed, so he had to focus on how to use the available resources to complete the work.

From now on, his physical and mental strength would be put to a huge test.

Unfortunately, the busy work during this period caused Murphy's headache to flare up again, and it was worse than before, almost as severe as when he first arrived in this world.

"Murphy, your head is hurting again."

In the studio's study, Carey Mulligan knocked and entered, seeing Murphy leaning back in his office chair with a hot towel on his forehead. She quickly walked over, "Is it very painful? I'll go with you to see a doctor."

"No need." Murphy pulled off the towel, intending to throw it on the table, but Carey Mulligan caught it and placed it on a nearby rack. She turned to look at him, her golden eyebrows furrowed, "You must go."

"I went to the University of California Medical Center yesterday," Murphy waved her off, feeling another wave of splitting pain in his head, and quickly reached to rub his forehead.

Carey Mulligan immediately moved behind the chair, extending her small hands to gently massage Murphy's temples.

As she massaged, she asked with concern, "Do you have the test results?"

Murphy withdrew his hand, "Everything is normal."

To avoid affecting his work, he had specifically checked yesterday, and the results showed everything was fine.

For now, that was all he could do. After all, Murphy knew the reason for his headache, but he couldn't tell the doctor.

"Carey,"

The pain eased slightly, and Murphy gently shook his head, freeing himself from Carey Mulligan's small hands, "I'll do it myself."

"It's okay, I'm not tired," Carey Mulligan's hands were back on Murphy's temples, her voice lowering, "I'm happiest when I can help you."

The eyes behind Murphy's back were unusually bright.

Just as Murphy was about to say something, there was another knock on the door. After saying "Come in," Seth Rogen pushed the door open.

He saw Carey Mulligan's hands on Murphy's head and looked a bit awkward, rubbing the back of his head, "I, I—"

He stammered a couple of times and then said, "Sorry, continue."

He was about to step back and close the study door but was stopped by Murphy, "Seth, is there something?"

Carey Mulligan, lacking social experience but quite smart, immediately withdrew her hands and moved to Murphy's side, taking his cup and getting a coffee from the coffee machine.

Seth Rogen had no choice but to enter the study and said, "Baker's dummy is almost done. He wants you to come and take a look."

Apart from his own role, Seth Rogen was also assisting other departments in the production. This fat man was very diligent and knew that opportunities were hard to come by.

"Let's go," Murphy took a sip of coffee, stood up, and said, "We'll go together."

Seeing that he was about to work again, Carey Mulligan reminded him, "Murphy."

Murphy nodded at her, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Downstairs, Murphy followed Seth Rogen out of the living room and into the small courtyard in front of the house. Prop master Baker Kleibert and his assistant were crouched on the ground, working on a charred "corpse."

Carey Mulligan also came down and, after just one look at the "corpse," covered her mouth and hid behind Murphy.

"Hey, Baker." Murphy greeted the prop master, his eyes on the "corpse."

The "corpse" was charred black, with an uneven surface and some areas showing a dark red, very much like a person who had been burned.

"This is a polyester mannequin I modified," Baker Kleibert told Murphy, "Given our conditions, this is the best we can do."

Murphy circled the "corpse," amazed at how realistic it looked, "It's excellent."

In the plan, most of the corpses would be played by actors, but the person burned to death in the briefcase game was not among them. This dummy was more than capable of the role.

Often, the saying "you get what you pay for" holds true. The highly paid Baker Kleibert was exceptionally skilled and had already created a large number of murder traps in the rented warehouse according to Murphy's ideas over the past period.

"Gross," Carey Mulligan peeked out from behind Murphy, "It looks a bit like James Franco burned."

Seth Rogen turned to look at her, cleverly pretending not to hear. A few days ago, when he was drunk, James Franco had told him some terrifying stories about Carey Mulligan. Given that this girl was clearly close to the director, he had already listed her as someone not to provoke casually.

He also secretly admired James Franco's good temper; if it were him, he would have quit long ago.

But thinking about the conflict that night and the interactions over the past few days, Seth Rogen knew that James Franco was a quirky and relatively timid person.

However, such a person was easier to get along with.

Murphy turned and glared at Carey Mulligan, making a gesture as if to flick her forehead. Carey Mulligan quickly shut her mouth, covered her forehead, and obediently moved to the side.

Although she no longer targeted James Franco, it was hard for her to avoid disliking him.

Shaking his head lightly, Murphy felt better and asked Seth Rogen, "Where's James? Didn't he come today?"

"He's at the set," Seth Rogen said, "He's going to watch the rehearsal of the torture scenes this afternoon."

That was Murphy's plan for the afternoon. He checked the time and said, "Let's go there too."

After a period of preparation, the brutal scenes and murder traps had been set up, but their actual effects still needed to be tested with the actors in costume to identify any shortcomings.

...

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