King of Hollywood-Chapter 281 - 9 Continue Filming and Cameo Appearances

Chapter 281: Chapter 9 Continue Filming and Cameo Appearances

Chapter 281 -9 Continue Filming and Cameo Appearances

“Well done, Gary, now I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you like to hear first?” Adrian, behind the monitor, lifted his head and said loudly to Gary Sinise, who was playing Lieutenant Dan on set.

“Hmm…” Sinise glanced around and shrugged. “How about the good news?”

“The good news is that you look fantastic, and I’m very pleased,” Adrian said with a smile.

“And the bad news?” Tom Hanks, who was standing next to Sinise, asked before anyone else could.

“The bad news is that my technical advisor told me that the blue material wrapped around your legs is off by just a bit, so we’re going to have to shoot this scene again,” Adrian said, throwing his hands up in the air, and immediately, groans arose from all sides.

They were shooting the wedding scene of Forrest Gump and Jenny at the end of Forrest Gump, where Lieutenant Dan comes with his fiancée to attend, and this scene marked the first and only time the two most important people in Forrest’s life, Jenny and Lieutenant Dan, met.

Regarding this scene, Adrian remembered once reading a review that said: Two representatives of America’s diametrically opposed and even extreme views made peace because of Forrest.

Jenny undoubtedly represented the young people of America’s 60s and 70s that were described as the beat generation; drugs, promiscuity, radicalism, a thirst for freedom, the desperate desire to stand out and be noticed, while Lieutenant Dan represented those conservative, traditional people, resistant to change, like his belief that if he went to battle, he should have died there and not lived on as a disabled person.

In the end, they both lost the goals of their lives and their faith in life. In contrast, Forrest Gump, with the simplest view of life, always remembered his mother’s words and kept running forward no matter what happened, achieving success that others could not. The stark contrast was not only satirical but also profoundly meaningful.

So it could be said that Forrest Gump was a quintessentially American film, even though the character Forrest Gump was fictional, he was still seen by many as a representation of the American Dream: that success comes with hard work!

Many people were actually aware that the American Dream was largely an illusion. Sure, there are people like Steve Jobs who started from nothing and became successful—and that’s why Forrest invested in an Apple-selling computer company—but there are many more like Bill Gates who had both talent and connections. Self-made success stories might be one in a hundred thousand, if not fewer unless one lowers their standards.

However, giving hope is always better than offering nothing at all, which is why Adrian appreciated the spirit of the Oscars, even though the Film Academy could be conservative and not entirely fair. Just look at each year’s Best Picture winners, and one will see that the vast majority of films, no matter how dark and negative the overall story is, there is always a dazzling ray of light that brings encouragement and hope. Take, for instance, the movie American Beauty from a few years ago, many said it stripped away the shiny surface of the American middle-class, but the line after the death of Linus, “I’m proud of my petty life,” elevated the whole theme.

That’s why entirely dark films like Seven Deadly Sins, no matter how outstanding, would never win Best Picture at the Oscars. A country’s large media groups will inevitably promote mainstream cultural views and values, whether in America or the country where Adrian lived in his past life, though it took China several years to realize this and fall in line, and even then, their propaganda work was dreadful to witness.

There were many reasons for this, Americans were more familiar with the system and knew better how to integrate their value stories into their storytelling, subtly influencing people, such as Adrian’s current project, Forrest Gump.

Beyond this, cultural dominance and certain institutional factors also played a role. However, some idiots within the Chinese film industry were also to blame, and as someone who had mixed in that circle in his past life and now, owing to his innate advantages, was calling the shots in Hollywood, Adrian was fully justified to slap the idiot label on some people’s heads.

Alright, enough about that, back to the set. Since Lieutenant Dan, played by Gary Sinise, lost his legs in Vietnam, his legs couldn’t be exposed while filming. It was simple enough when he was in a wheelchair, with his legs hidden underneath, but in the scene at Forrest’s wedding, he had to walk on crutches and roll up his pant leg to show Forrest his titanium alloy prosthetic. Consequently, his lower legs had to be wrapped in blue special cloth and removed in post-production to be replaced with the prosthetic, so the blue cloth had to be perfect, with no room for error.

Thankfully, after re-shooting, the scene went smoothly. They shot it one more time for backup and then most of the Alabama scenes were nearly finished, with just some odds and ends and reshoots left.

Adrian had handed over some less important scenes to the assistant director, Richard Ryan, before leaving. Richard had done a fairly good job, except for a few shots. For instance, the scene where Jenny first returns to Forrest’s side, and the two of them end up walking in the field near Jenny’s old home. Recalling various past events, Jenny angrily picks up stones and throws them at the house, eventually falling to the ground and crying softly. Adrian’s original intention was to shoot from a low angle to create a feeling of immensity and distance, in order to reflect the emptiness and loss in Jenny’s heart at that moment.

Although Richard did just that, the resulting footage didn’t quite meet Adrian’s expectations, so after some thought, he decided to reshoot the scene. Fortunately, the shot where Forrest had the cottage demolished after Jenny left had not yet been filmed, so it could still be used. Even if it had been demolished, setting up a similar scene would only take a few days. But why not use the existing set if it was available?

“You were already doing very well, Linda, so all you need to do is recapture that original feeling,” Adrian was currently discussing his requirements with the lead actress Linda Dylan, while Tom Hanks stood by.

At 25 years old, Linda Dylan was merely a second-rate actor in Hollywood, but her acting was quite decent, and she had a good grasp of the character Jenny. None of the women currently around Adrian were suitable for the role, so he had chosen an actor at random. However, two weeks into shooting, Rachel had come knocking on his door.

Yes, the image of a drug-addicted, promiscuous woman that he described to Rachel was indeed Jenny’s character in “Forrest Gump.” Although it was a bit odd for a British woman to play a typical American woman, Adrian believed that if Rachel could bring out her best, she might very well capture the essence of the character. After all, he knew her well, and guiding her to master the role would not be difficult. And when he had said that Rachel had a narrow range of roles available to her, it was not an exaggeration. Indeed, she was well-suited to playing sophisticated female characters but acting too much in such roles could easily limit her. Wanting to change that later would not be easy, which essentially was the same as pop idols trying to transition into different roles.

“Yes, Mr. Director, I understand,” Linda nodded and then walked aside to start immersing herself in the emotion.

Adrian then turned to Hanks. He had nothing more to say to Hanks; he just patted his shoulder. Hanks, dressed in a blue and white checked shirt with white trousers, a typical Forrest Gump costume, simply smiled and did not speak.

One must admit, as an actor, Tom Hanks was truly exceptional. His understanding of Forrest was just right, and there had been very few NGs since filming began, so Adrian had no worries at all.

As the clapperboard snapped down, the set fell silent for a moment. Linda, who played Jenny, suddenly picked up stones from the ground and threw them at the cottage, one after another. Finally, she slipped, fell to the ground, and then started sobbing with her head hung low. Hanks, who portrayed Forrest, then stepped forward and silently supported her.

Jenny was also a woman with dreams, but unfortunately, her father had hurt her from the start. Forrest’s lines made it very clear: her father was very loving and always touched her with affection. Just what that meant—domestic violence or something deeper—was up to the audience to interpret. In any case, Jenny, who had suffered from a young age, developed a rebellious character. She was desperate to prove herself and find her own way.

But the more she tried, the deeper she got hurt, eventually standing on a balcony, overseeing the city lights. Fortunately, in Alabama, there was a man who always loved her, from the very beginning, without any reservation. So Jenny eventually stepped down from the balcony. However, she was still confused, even after returning to Alabama, back to Forrest’s side, until…

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“Though I’m not smart, I know what love is,” Forrest said, somewhat indignantly and sadly.

At that moment, Jenny finally understood Forrest’s feelings for her, leading to the rest of their story.

The shot was completed in one go, and both Linda and Hanks performed perfectly, so much that Adrian called “cut” with applause. After these fragments of scenes were finished, the filming of Everwell Town was nearly concluded, and then the crew moved to Montgomery, the second largest city in Alabama, to shoot urban scenes. These included shots of Forrest’s college and Jenny’s women’s college, but most importantly, Forrest sitting on a bench narrating his story to every passerby waiting for the bus.

In the original movie, these scenes were filmed in various places, including North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. But Adrian thought that since these stories took place in Alabama, they should be shot there. After all, if one was willing to look, there were plenty of suitable places for filming, and the sets needed were easy to prepare.

“Well done, ma’am, thank you for your help,” Adrian said to a young black woman on a T-shaped street in Montgomery. She was an extra and was the first person to speak to Forrest while he was waiting for the bus.

For these roles, Adrian had not sought overly professional actors. In his words, having locals play the parts was more suitable and blended better with the ambient atmosphere.

“I can’t thank you enough, Mr. Adrian,” a woman named Jeanne said excitedly as she thanked Adrian and then immediately started talking to Hank with eagerness, unfortunately for him, she was a fan of his, and a very enthusiastic one at that. Even more unfortunate was the fact that it wasn’t until now that everyone realized just how patient she could be.

Of course, Hank could deal with that headache, as Adrian called over the assistant director, Ray: “Ray, where’s the middle-aged man I need for the next scene, the slightly overweight one with the balding head?”

“Sorry, director, we’re still not sure who would be the best fit, maybe you could take a look?” Ray said with a forlorn expression. Finding a local actor with performance experience and the right look was not an easy task.

“Alright, bring me what you have,” Adrian said with a furrowed brow.

Ray quickly brought the information over, but after a quick look through, there was no suitable candidate, deepening Adrian’s frown.

“Why don’t we shoot the old lady’s scene first?” Charlize, who had been by his side, suddenly suggested.

Adrian pondered for a few seconds, looked at Charlize, then at Ray, and was about to agree; he knew finding a decent temporary actor with good performing skills wasn’t easy. But just then, Hank, having escaped his own dilemma, came over: “I have an idea, Ed.”

“You have an idea?” Adrian looked at him, somewhat surprised.

“Yes,” Hank nodded, smiling cunningly, nothing like the honest Forrest Gump.

“How about you play this role?” he suggested.

“Me?” Adrian’s mouth twitched, “I think there might be one thing you’re overlooking, Tommy, what I’m looking for is…”

“Come on, Ed, the script doesn’t explicitly say if this guy is tall or short, fat or thin, so why can’t you make a cameo?” Hank said nonchalantly, and then without waiting for Adrian to reply, he suddenly started clapping his hands. The crew members and some onlookers immediately turned their attention toward him.

“Hey, guys, I’ve got a suggestion…” Hank said aloud, smiling as he repeated his earlier proposal and emphasized the reasoning, “…Ed’s the director, and he obviously understands what the story wants to convey better than anyone else. And we all know he made a cameo in ‘Friends’ and did a pretty good job, so there’s no need to worry about his acting. So why not let him make a cameo in this role? What do you guys think?”

When Hank started clapping to draw attention, Adrian had already guessed what he was planning, but it was too late to stop it. And even if he stopped it this time, Hank could do it again—could he stop it every time? So, it might be better to let Hank say it out loud and then suppress it himself.

But Adrian made two mistakes, first, he underestimated Hank’s ability to stir up the crowd; second, he overestimated his own authority. Just as he cleared his throat wanting to speak, Hank clapped loudly and shouted again, “Ed! Ed!”

At first, only a few actors followed Hank in clapping and shouting, then slowly, other crew members joined in, and eventually, even Ray standing beside Adrian did the same. Although he stopped as soon as Adrian glared at him, he went off to the side and started clapping and chanting again.

In no time, calls of “Ed!” and clapping echoed one after another, drawing the gaze of people on other streets. Adrian looked at them with a wry smile, then at Charlize beside him, who though not joining in the applause and shouting, turned her head away with an “I don’t know anything about this” demeanor.

“Alright, alright,” Adrian reluctantly raised his hands, if he didn’t calm them down now, filming for the day would be impossible, “I agree to make a cameo, okay, everyone? I’ve agreed, are you satisfied now?”

The entire crew erupted in cheers.

“I think I should change my directing style to be stricter, more authoritative. What do you think, Matthew?” Adrian, gazing at his own reflection, spoke to the makeup artist busy at work on his face.

“I think it’s quite good as it is,” Matthew said, trying to hold back a laugh.

“Good? Would you dare do this if I weren’t so temperate?” Adrian grumbled.

“This just shows that everyone likes you, Ed,” Matthew tried to sound serious, “If they didn’t like you, why would they play along, right?”

“Ha, so you admit you were stirring things up?” Adrian retorted immediately.

“Alright, Ed, let Matthew finish up your makeup quickly, or else we won’t be able to complete today’s schedule,” Charlize said, not too kindly, from the side.

Adrian glanced at her, huffed, and finally fell silent. Matthew looked at Charlize but quickly returned his attention to applying the director’s makeup.

After half a day’s prep, Adrian finally got himself neatly dressed and sat beside Hank, also known as Forrest Gump. He wore a gray suit with some padding under his stomach to look somewhat portly, and his made-up face appeared several years older, transforming from a young man to a middle-aged uncle.

“I never thought I’d be acting alongside an Oscar-winning actor,” Adrian muttered to himself after going over his lines a few times.

“But you must have known that one day you’d direct an Oscar-winning actor,” Hank responded with a smile.

“That’s true,” Adrian shrugged and signaled to the assistant director that they were ready to start. He took two deep breaths and prepared to face Hank.

Although he was confident that there wouldn’t be a significant problem, as his previous guest appearance on ‘Friends’ had gone well and the viewer feedback after that episode aired was generally satisfactory, as soon as assistant director Richard Ryan called action, he messed up ten times in a row!

The shot was actually quite simple: it was just Forrest Gump finishing his story about Vietnam, and Adrian, playing a bystander, asking curiously, “That was a bullet right? The one that jumped up and bit you in the butt?”

A very simple line, but for some reason, Adrian’s performance just couldn’t pass muster, not only in the eyes of the assistant director but also according to Adrian after reviewing the footage on the monitor.

“I’ve always said, I’m not a professional actor!” Adrian said, half annoyed and half frustrated.

(To be continued, for more, please visit www.qidian.com, the chapters there are more complete, support the author, support original reading!)