Chapter 47: Chaos on the Set

He strolled leisurely into a film set in utter chaos. Yet the commotion before him seemed quite different from what Henry had imagined.

Normally, at this early morning start time, behind-the-scenes staff prepare for the shoot while actors get their makeup done. If costumes have special requirements, fittings and changes must also be arranged.

The order naturally follows the protagonist, then supporting roles, and finally extras. If there are enough makeup artists and the lead has a dedicated one, work proceeds in parallel.

But now, no one was getting makeup done; many people crowded around the location scheduled for today's shoot, shouting loudly.

Henry walked over to several extras who had arrived earlier and been watching the spectacle for a while, asking, "What's going on? I thought we were filming a big scene today, yet no one is preparing."

"Looks like the problem is with that big scene itself."

"What happened?"

"The stunt performers say the safety measures for today's scene weren't properly arranged, so they refuse to shoot."

Henry exclaimed in surprise, "You can do that?!" Then he asked, "Didn't they sign a contract?"

A few old hands who had long worked in Hollywood looked at Henry with an expression of rare ignorance and said, "You're new here!"

"Yeah, I only came to Los Angeles last Christmas, so I guess I am new," Henry said honestly.

The person who had originally mocked him paused, then sheepishly remarked, "Well, you really are new," and added no more cutting words.

A Hollywood veteran who loved to lecture explained, "Besides higher pay, the stunt performers' contracts are much like ours; breach of contract naturally incurs penalties. But they have one additional clause."

"That is, when safety measures are insufficient and there is a risk of injury, they can refuse to perform unconditionally. The problem is, what constitutes 'sufficient safety measures' cannot be clearly written into the contract."

Henry said in astonishment, "It's hard to imagine Hollywood having contracts with such obvious loopholes. Are they even Americans? Even a dog raised by a lawyer could draft harsher terms."

That veteran actor continued explaining, "Actually, if you think seriously about it, it's not hard to understand. Stunt performers shoot dangerous scenes. If the production deliberately cuts safety measures to save costs and then forces stunt performers to perform using huge breach-of-contract penalties..."

"... if an accident truly occurs, who is responsible? If just one person in the team is willing to testify that the injury was caused by the production forcing the actor to perform, then they must pay a huge, damn astronomical compensation."

"Moreover, when performing, if one has doubts or even resists the performance, mistakes are more likely. In stunt scenes, wouldn't that be fatal? Who dares force someone to go on?"

Hearing this, Henry understood. Ultimately, this is filmmaking, not documentary. Everyone pursues the most realistic shots. But that doesn't mean to film a killing scene, they actually kill someone.

In that case, from the producer to the director, they would all happily receive a murder charge and enjoy a prison tour. Although California still retains the death penalty, it hasn't been carried out for a very long time.

Similarly, those scenes that look extremely thrilling on screen are all filmed in safe environments. No matter how crazy Hollywood gets, it wouldn't cash in a human life for a single shot; at least such things cannot become the norm.

... Yes, just cannot become the norm. This implies Hollywood has indeed done such crazy things.

While Henry was still on the outskirts eating melon and watching the show, the lead actor's stunt double at the center of the dispute turned around, flung the same denim jacket the lead wore onto the director's face, and left without looking back.

Some stood stunned, some raged and cursed furiously, and others whispered among themselves.

Regarding the stunt performer's sudden strike, it was hard to pick out who was angriest among the producer, the director, and the head of the action team. All three were nearly going mad.

That bald, old white man in a suit, looking like a proper gentleman, sprayed saliva at the director, shouting, "If you can't shoot it, go back to the studio and build the set! I won't agree to apply to the government again to close the street for filming. Do you know how much that costs?"

The director, in turn, screamed at the producer and the head of the action team, shouting, "I won't compromise on this shot! This is the biggest scene in my film, the climax of the entire movie!"

"If you don't want to apply for other street-closure times, that's fine, as long as you let me film the shots I want according to plan today. I don't care who performs; I just don't want plastic models and dummies, or explosion scenes solved with firecrackers, in my film."

The head of the action team, who couldn't even hold back his own actors, also wanted to vent, but he couldn't point the finger at the producer or director, nor could he take his anger out on his subordinates.

Because the remaining people were props crew, responsible for behind-the-scenes stunt tasks. These people were either fat or short; the only usable actor had just stormed off.

As a third-rate action team boss who had long roamed Hollywood, the work they usually took on was playing the henchmen defeated by the protagonist.

Otherwise, they buried firecrackers and blood packs in their bodies to act out being shot or gunned down. At most, they added props like severed heads or prosthetic limbs, splashing large amounts of red paint.

This time, they rarely received an action scene involving car chases plus explosions. For their team, this was an opportunity to elevate their reputation.

If they did well, wouldn't that bring other better opportunities, with people reaching out to recruit their team?

In Hollywood, only a few with keen eyes invest in an uncertain future. Most judge the feasibility of people and things based on past credentials.

They had finally designed a set of action sequences with the props brothers and gained the director's approval, only for the actors to refuse to work!

What kind of situation is this!

This team leader wanted to shout more than anyone else. He knew the application for street closure was only valid for this morning, until noon.

The other actors under his command mostly worked on other film crews; who could run over temporarily to fill this gap?

Who could be contacted at any time? Did they really think everyone had nothing to do during the day, sitting at home waiting for phone calls?

The head of the action team, nearly driven to doubt life by the producer and director, finally squeezed out an idea, saying, "How about we have the male lead perform it himself? Afterwards, we can use the gimmick 'All exciting shots performed by the actor personally' for promotion."

Then this man, whose age was clearly advanced but whose body remained burly and imposing, was instantly scolded into the shape of a dog, curling up and trembling.

The new book has been signed; please follow, bookmark, and recommend. Thank you~~



(End of this chapter)