Chapter 221

This allowed later films like Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Jungle Book to employ them more easily, shooting more realistic special effects.

These techniques were even more masterfully applied in the gaming field, promoting the development of games like The Last of Us, Detroit: Become Human, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

Facing an era of rapid transformation in the film industry, Xu Can, as someone who had been there before, naturally had to seize the trend and even become its leader.

So right at the start of the year, he gathered the crew and began filming his new movie, Source Code.

Holidays? Rest? Non-existent!

Everyone, get to work for me!

Xu Can also experienced the feeling of being a ruthless capitalist.

However, once the entire crew assembled, everyone was in high spirits and working feverishly.

Especially the assistant director, Deng Ken Jones, who seemed more pumped up than Xu Can himself, constantly urging members to speed up.

"Why are you so excited too?"

"Xu, the fact that you're willing to make movies makes everyone happy. After all, your movies mean box office and bonuses!"

Deng Ken Jones was full of vigor and spirit.

Although the film crew members did not share in the box office, the higher the box office, the larger a portion of the bonus they could receive to encourage the efforts of the behind-the-scenes staff.

Therefore, everyone was happy to follow Xu Can to make movies.

If his movies succeeded, the crew members would also have face.

Going out and telling people they participated in works like Spider-Man, The Dark Knight, and La La Land,

was far better than saying they worked on some obscure flop.

Besides the behind-the-scenes staff, the cast was also fully in place.

This was a low-budget film; Xu Can, Emma, and Tay were already big stars, so there was no need to hire stars for the other minor roles.

They were all talented but unsung Hollywood stalwarts.

They were equally excited to make movies with big shots like Xu Can and Emma.

But everyone was even more curious: Would Taylor Swift really be able to act?

The first scene filmed was the confrontation between Xu Can and Tay.

Even many people with nothing to do gathered around the set out of curiosity, wanting to witness the performance of the country little songstress with their own eyes.

Taylor Swift immediately felt her pressure multiply.

"Why is everyone staring at me? I'm a bit nervous."

Tay looked worried, her hands and feet trembling.

"No, you had no problem facing tens of thousands of people at concerts; how many people are there on this set?"

"But singing and movies are different."

Tay felt somewhat helpless; for some reason, she felt timid and restrained on set, unable to let go.

To be fair, she had performed in plays during her student days and never felt this kind of nervousness.

Performing or singing casually in front of people was always second nature to her.

What was going on today?

"Adjust yourself first; I'll be right back."

Xu Can had intended to use his god-level director's insight to help Tay get out of her predicament.

But there was a situation on the crew side that he needed to go handle, so he could only let Tay find her own feel first.

At this moment, Emma Stone, who had been watching coldly from the side, vaguely guessed the reason.

Perhaps it had something to do with herself, or perhaps with Xu Can.

Taylor Swift could not possibly care about the opinions of others on set; she was always full of confidence.

Even with acting, which she had never touched before, she would not be stage-frightened.

The only possibility was that since both Xu Can and she were accomplished actors, Tay, facing a counterpart and an intimate person, subconsciously made comparisons.

Perhaps she worried that she and Xu Can would look down on her due to her clumsy acting?

Thinking of this, Emma Stone couldn't help but smile.

It was not mocking Tay; it was just that her appearance reminded Emma of her own childhood.

Stone Sister had suffered from severe anxiety disorder when she was young; that nervousness made it physically difficult for her to breathe.

Later, as her acting experience gradually increased, she began to enjoy this stage, even using acting to resolve emotions and release inner feelings.

For the sake of acting, Stone Sister even persuaded her family to move to Los Santos, and after countless auditions and countless failures, she finally successfully auditioned for the role of Gwen Stacy, reaching this point.

Putting aside any prejudice against Taylor, she was indeed a very good girl.

The reason she felt fear and worry was precisely because she wanted to act well and could take Xu Can's movies seriously.

Thinking carefully, Emma Stone suddenly got the cuteness of Tay.

She couldn't help but step forward and pat her back.

Pat—

"Ouch, Emma, what are you doing?"

Tay glared angrily, not knowing why Emma was patting her.

Did she want to fight?

"Straighten your back! Look at your height; what does being all slouchy look like?"

Stone Sister at 168 cm was not actually short, but Tay at 180 cm was truly tall; Stone Sister had to stand on tiptoes to pat her back.

"Huh?" Tay was completely baffled.

"Learn from me: lean your back against the wall, press tight, take a deep breath, focus your mind..."

"No, what are your intentions?" Tay looked at Emma with extreme vigilance.

"What ulterior motive could I possibly have? I just want you to get into character quickly. Are you going to learn or not? If not, forget it; I'm too lazy to teach anyway."

Emma Stone rolled her eyes.

"Really?"

Though suspicious, Taylor Swift obediently stood close to the wall and took deep breaths following Emma's method.

"Yes, deep breaths, then let your consciousness scan downward from the top of your head. Wherever it scans, that part relaxes..."

Just like that, Emma Stone, like a hypnotist, continuously guided Taylor Swift into self-hypnosis to adjust her state.

Taylor Swift actually gradually felt that her mindset seemed truly much more relaxed,

just like before appearing at a concert: the heart still accelerated, but not from nervousness, rather from excitement and anticipation!

"Tay, I've handled my side. Now let me help you... hmm?"

Xu Can entered the lounge and suddenly found Taylor Swift and Emma Stone sitting calmly together,

even chatting and laughing with each other? 【】

Xu Can even looked up at the sign at the entrance, thinking he had traveled back to his original universe.

When did they become best friends? Why didn't I know?

Seeing Xu Can, Taylor Swift's eyes lit up.

"Darling! I've adjusted. Let's start!"

"So fast? Alright, let's shoot one take to test the scene... Emma, you rest a bit; we're going to shoot the first scene."

After greeting Emma Stone, Xu Can led Taylor Swift toward the film set.

In the lounge, Emma Stone gazed at the two figures' backs,

Xu Can, handsome and steady despite his youth, and the energetic girl Taylor jumping beside him,

actually really seemed like a perfect match.

"Then, what do I count as?"

For a moment, the smile on Emma's lips gradually froze, and her eyes couldn't help but go vacant.

What she didn't know was that, when watching 'Spider-Man 2' and 'La La Land' back then,

Taylor Swift had felt the exact same thing.

"Scene 2, Take 1, Attempt 1!"

"Action!"

Inside a train carriage, Xu Can and Taylor Swift sat facing each other.

Xu Can, playing the protagonist Colt, woke abruptly from a dream and found a strange woman staring at him from across.

"'I followed your advice. It was very good. Thank you.'"