Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 477 This extra isn't very calm
"cut!"

On the set of "Pirates of the Caribbean," after another shot was completed, Link looked at it on the monitor, felt it was good, and gave it a pass.

Boom!

The crew had just stopped filming when suddenly an explosion was heard from the Black Pearl pirate ship.

"What happened? Is anyone hurt?"

Link immediately stood up, boarded the speedboat, and headed for the Black Pearl pirate ship.

"Link, it's nothing. One of the explosion points was delayed by a few seconds. You know, our explosives are loud but not very powerful. Even if you hold them in your arms, they won't hurt you."

Chris Bauer shouted from the bow of the ship.

Bodyguard Bob first went aboard to inspect the accident scene. After looking around, he came out and told Link that it was a fairly normal accident for the film crew and no one was injured.

Who is in charge here?

Link asked.

"Uh, it's me!"

Chris Bauer carefully raised his hand.

"Six months' bonus will be deducted. If you make the same mistake again, your entire bonus for this year will be deducted."

“Link, you can’t do this. Maria is pregnant. Our family needs money, we desperately need it.”

Chris Bauer shouted with a mournful face.

"If you make a mistake, you should be punished. If you want to make money, you should be more serious at work."

Link didn't wait for him to make excuses and left the pirate ship with his men.

Chris Bauer has earned millions of dollars with the company's film crews over the years. He lives in a villa and drives a sports car, so a six-month bonus is not a serious punishment for him.

After disembarking, Link called a meeting with the heads of several departments of the crew. In response to the frequent accidents that had occurred on set recently, he said that starting today, each group would be more careful while working. At the same time, the crew would establish a safety team to patrol the set every day to prevent accidents from happening.

The group leader was assistant director Yu Feihong.

The production team will severely punish any group that makes a mistake.

"Link, isn't this going a bit too far?"

After the meeting, executive producer Mike Statham approached him for a chat, saying, "It's normal for accidents to happen on set, especially in fantasy films like ours with lots of action scenes, where the probability of accidents is even higher."

I have served as executive producer for more than ten fantasy film crews.

Almost every film crew experiences seven or eight accidents during filming, sometimes resulting in death, sometimes injuring or disabling the crew, and causing even greater financial losses. Currently, with four-fifths of the filming completed for *Pirates of the Caribbean*, only three accidents have occurred, making it the crew with the fewest accidents I've ever worked with.

Link said, “You have a point, but I’ve directed eighteen films and have relatively rich experience in managing film crews. In the past, my crews rarely had accidents, whether it was the war film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ or the action-adventure film ‘The Rock’. Now that accidents are happening frequently on set, I have to be more careful to prevent more serious accidents from occurring.”

Mike Statham opened his mouth, his face looking rather grim.

From Link's words, he discovered a terrible fact: in the past, when he worked with other film crews, accidents frequently occurred. However, after working with Link, film crews that had never had accidents before began to experience accidents.

Does this mean that the accident on set was entirely due to his poor performance?
Mike Statham decided to seriously reflect on whether there were any flaws in his work.

Lin Ke chatted with Yu Feihong for a few minutes, reminding her to pay attention to safety on set.

He did this extra work not because he found anything wrong with Mike Statham, but because he received a security alert from Blackwater—someone had hired assassins through a hitman organization to kill him.

Blackwater advised him to suspend his work outside and return to Los Angeles to rest for a while until they eliminated the safety hazards before resuming work.

Link rejected the suggestion. He was a billionaire, a Hollywood mogul, and a man of great status. There were bound to be many people in the world who harbored ill will towards him.

If he becomes afraid of everything because of these malicious acts, hiding at home and not daring to come out, then he won't find any joy in being a billionaire.

What he wanted was absolute freedom, to do whatever he wanted, without restraint or fear.

With his current status and strength, he is qualified to have these things, so he insists on making movies in film crews.

"Scene 131, 1 shots, begin!"

The crew continued filming.

Because there are several large-scale battle scenes to come, the crew needs to hire 300 extras. The assassin Jon and the bald Johnson also come to the crew's office to recruit extras.

"Jon, are we really going to join the film crew as extras?"

Bald Johnson looked hesitant, but also somewhat excited. In the past, when carrying out missions, all he had to do was rush to the target with his gun and take them down with two shots before they could react.

In order to take down Link, they actually came to the film crew as extras.

This is insane and thrilling! Even assassins are filled with endless longing for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

Hearing him speak, the assassin Jon looked around warily and lowered his voice, saying, "John, you know we have to do this. Link has a lot of professional bodyguards around him, and it's hard for strangers to get close to him, let alone point a gun at him. We have to get into the film crew, approach him as actors, and then find an opportunity to secretly kill him."

"I understand, but I can't act, and I get very nervous in front of the camera."

Bald Johnson swallowed hard.

“It’s okay. Before I came, I learned about the work of extras. They mainly act as background figures and atmosphere-setters. The crew won’t give us any screen time, and we don’t need to perform in front of the camera. This kind of work isn’t difficult.”

"Okay, I'll try."

The two continued to queue, waiting to be selected by the casting director. Since "Pirates of the Caribbean" is a fantasy film, the extras in the film need to fit specific identities, including pirates, royal navy, etc.

People with distinctive appearances and some acting experience will be given priority in selection.

"Wait, is that a dagger in your belt? What are you doing carrying a dagger?"

The casting team asked a Black man during an interview.

"Oh, this is a prop. Doesn't it make me look more like a pirate with a dagger tucked into my waistband?"

"No need. Weapons are not allowed on set. Next."

The staff waved and moved on to the next interview.

Hitman Jon and Bald Johnson exchanged a glance, quietly took a few steps back to the back of the line, went back to their car, put their pistols into the storage box, and then rejoined the line to wait for their interviews.

The interview ended after half an hour.

Bald Johnson was selected by the production team and received a one-week contract.

The assassin Jon was rejected because he had no distinctive features, a dull expression, and could neither cry nor laugh, nor even show anger. Such a person was simply not suitable to be an actor.

The casting team advised him to find another job, saying that he would starve to death as an actor.

“John, I can’t get into the crew, so the task of assassinating Link is yours.”

"No problem," the assassin Jon said regretfully. "It's just that the crew rules prohibit bringing any dangerous items onto the set. Without a gun, I'm afraid I'll have a hard time succeeding."

"Don't worry, you can film on set first and get a feel for the situation. I'll find a way to get the gun in from outside the set. It's such a big production with thousands of people, I don't believe we can't even get a single gun in."

"Okay, let's do it that way."

Bald Johnson couldn't help but feel excited about becoming an actor. He had been a soldier for five years and a gangster and hitman for seven years, killing many people, but he never thought that one day he would become an actor, let alone an actor in the film crew of world-class director Link.

The experience was so novel that he couldn't sleep the night before joining the film crew.

The next morning, Johnson bought a hot dog from a roadside vendor, took a few bites, and hurried to the film set to report for duty.

In the morning, the main task for the extras was to rehearse on set according to the instructions of assistant director Gary Febrari.

The assistant director sat in the car, shouting through a megaphone, sometimes telling them to move forward, sometimes to move backward, and sometimes to yell loudly.

Johnson was bored and kept yawning. He was even criticized by the sharp-eyed assistant director, who told them to cheer up. The crew spent more than $100,000 per scene and each shot was expensive. They performed and learned diligently on set, and with some experience, they would be able to do better on other film sets in the future.

Johnson scoffed. He was an assassin, not an actor, and didn't need to be so serious. But seeing everyone around him taking it so seriously, he had no choice but to patiently perform in order to stay in the crew.

By the end of the day, bald Johnson was almost exhausted, feeling that the training was even more arduous than when he was in Delta Force.

Back at the hotel, Johnson was too tired to shower and went straight to bed.

"John, how's the situation? Have you seen Link?"

The assassin, Jon, walked in and asked.

"Don't even mention it. I've been rehearsing all day. I don't even know where the film set is, let alone see Link."

Johnson waved his hand weakly.

"It's okay, there are still a few days left, we still have a chance."

The next day, Johnson and the other extras continued rehearsing, walking back and forth in the open space, repeating the same set of movements dozens of times.

Johnson was furious.

Before joining the film crew, he had a wonderful fantasy about the acting profession. He thought that the job of an extra was to act alongside the stars, to see the big stars in the movie on set, and if he was lucky, to even date the female stars.

But the reality is that being an extra is tough, tiring, and boring, more uninteresting than any other profession he has ever had.

He would never have wasted his time here if it weren't for the fact that he wanted to stay and kill Link.

On the third day, the extras continued rehearsing, and Johnson, numb and listless, became expressionless.

The good news is that Jon managed to get the pistol into the film crew through special channels. Johnson will have a chance to complete the mission if he sees Link on set.

On the fourth day, the extras were divided into two groups. One group went to the film set to shoot, while the other group continued to rehearse. Johnson was unfortunately assigned to the second group.

Johnson was very dissatisfied and went to argue with the staff, hoping to be included in the first batch.

The staff told him that the first batch of actors to play roles were Royal Navy personnel, who needed to have a presentable appearance, and that his appearance did not meet the requirements of the Royal Navy.

Johnson glanced back at the dozens of people left behind, each with strange appearances and varying heights and builds.

The staff told him not to be discouraged, that he would have more screen time as a pirate, and that the cameraman would give close-up shots to those who performed well. They added that he might become a star after the movie was released.

Johnson asked if he could meet Link, as he was a fan of Link.

The staff said it was okay.

On the fifth day, with only two days left before the end of his collaboration with the crew, Johnson finally saw Link on set. Although they were more than 300 meters apart and separated by dozens of people, he was relieved to finally see his target, Link.

Link wore a baseball cap, a loose t-shirt, and ordinary jeans. He was tall and imposing, and his presence was quite striking.

If Johnson had a sniper rifle at that moment, he was confident he could easily take down Link, but unfortunately he only had a single-barreled pistol disguised as a gunpowder gun.

To kill Link in front of hundreds of people and escape unscathed would be extremely difficult.

Johnson also noticed the two bodyguards around Link. The two bodyguards had bright eyes, were very vigilant, and had a serious attitude. Judging from the silhouette under their clothes, the bodyguards also had real weapons.

Noticing this, Johnson suppressed his murderous intent and focused on playing the role of an extra to avoid being seen through.

In the morning, the crew filmed scenes for the main actors on the ship, while the extras, including Johnson, who played pirates, stood around as background figures.

Watching the crew film scene after scene, Johnson felt that this job was more boring than the previous rehearsals, where at least he could move around.

When the lead actress, Catherine Zeta-Jones, appeared on the deck in a British court dress, Johnson and the other extras were immediately captivated, their eyes glued to the tall, beautiful woman in front of them. She seemed even more beautiful than in the movie.

"it's beautiful!"

Johnson couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Of course, that's Catherine Zeta-Jones, the most beautiful English rose."

The long-haired extra next to him licked his lips and said.

"I heard she's also Director Link's girlfriend. Director Link is eating too well."

The extras next door, holding harpoons, looked on with envy.

Johnson realized this too, and his expression gradually turned grim.

The previous attempt to kill Link was simply part of a mission, without any emotion or bias.

After getting to know Link, he learned more about Link's deeds and rumors, and he felt that people like Link deserved to be killed.

Link is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, eats delicacies every day, owns dozens of mansions and countless luxury cars, and lives an extremely comfortable life.

His wealth was mainly obtained through the exploitation of others; his villas and mansions were built on the corpses of countless poor people. While he was living a good life, ordinary people were gritting their teeth and enduring hardship.

This kind of person is despicable and deserves to die.

Furthermore, Link is a womanizer. It is said that actresses have to offer themselves to him in order to get roles, and some even have his children. He has taken advantage of almost all the beautiful women in the entertainment industry.

Thinking of this, Johnson's murderous intent intensified.

"calm down!"

The production assistant, holding a megaphone, shouted at the extras to be quiet. He said that important scenes were about to be filmed, and everyone had to be focused and take it seriously. Anyone who disobeyed instructions during filming would be fired.

The stagehand shouted a few times, then clapped the clapperboard in front of the camera.

"Scene 147, 2 shots, begin!"

Johnson stood on the deck, holding a harpoon, watching the main actors perform. Occasionally, at the assistant director's signal, he would shout, laugh, or make some fierce expressions.

During the performance, Johnson suddenly noticed that Link had appeared behind camera position number three, less than 50 meters away from him. Johnson narrowed his eyes and quietly gripped the pistol tucked in his belt.

(End of this chapter)