Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 478 Accidental Discharge of the Prop Gun

On the Black Pearl pirate ship, Link stood behind camera number 2, watching the photographers snap pictures.

The lead cinematographer is Darrez Wolsky, 42 years old, with superb cinematography skills, and has collaborated with Link many times.

Besides being technically skilled and experienced, Dariusz Wolsky also has the advantage of being able to understand what he says.

Before each shoot, Link would hold a meeting with the cinematographers to tell them what type of shots were needed for the scene and what feeling and meaning they wanted to convey.

Darrez Wolsky was able to quickly understand what he meant and deliver a perfect performance during filming.

"cut!"

After filming a set of shots, Link watched it over and was very satisfied. Both the lead actors and the extras performed very well. The lead actors brought out the characteristics of their characters, and the extras who served as background characters were also vicious and looked like a group of real pirates.

This shows that assistant director Gary Febrari is very good at directing extras.

After this scene was filmed, the crew got busy again, and the next scene was filmed ten minutes later.

Bald Johnson, under the direction of the assistant director and production assistant, repositioned himself. Because of his good performance, Johnson was given an extra line, which, although only three words, made the other extras very envious.

After a busy day, bald Johnson dragged his tired body back to the hotel, took a can of Boston beer from the refrigerator, and gulped it down, instantly refreshing his sunburnt body.

"John, did you see Link today?"

The assassin, Jon, rushed in.

"Not only did I see him, I almost killed him."

Johnson grinned, revealing a sinister smile.

"Oh, what happened?"

“When we were filming, Link came behind the camera to watch. He was less than ten meters away from me. All I had to do was draw my gun, pull the trigger, and blow his skull off.”

Johnson raised his index finger in a shooting gesture, then blew on it after firing. "Unfortunately, there were too many people around, and Link's bodyguards were also nearby. If I had drawn my gun, I might have been discovered. The risk was too great, so I didn't act rashly."

“You’re right. Link is a public figure who appears in public frequently. It’s easy for us to assassinate him. There’s no need to rush. It’s best to shoot him at a secluded time and place to avoid being exposed.”

“I understand, but Link is always surrounded by bodyguards, so it would be difficult to find an opportunity to kill him quietly.”

Bald Johnson had seen Link's bodyguards before. They were very vigilant, always on high alert whether they were patrolling or resting, and seemed quite formidable.

"There will be opportunities; we need patience."

The assassin Jon chatted with Johnson about the film crew and asked him about the filming process.

Johnson said filming was boring and not as exciting as watching a movie. He also mentioned the beautiful Catherine Zeta-Jones and called Link a lecherous devil who claimed that he had all the beautiful women in the world by himself.

Jon also envied Link.
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“Basalva is so hot; filming in the open air is torture.”

At the seaside hotel, Catherine Zeta-Jones emerged from the bathroom after a shower, wearing a silk nightgown. Her slightly damp, long, curly hair cascaded over her shoulders, and a faint floral scent filled the air.

"Hang in there, we'll be done filming in a few more days."

"understood."

Catherine Zeta-Jones lowered her head and kissed his cheek, then sat on the sofa, her long, slender legs curled up. She turned to look at the documents in his hand. "This week's box office figures? How are our company's movies doing?"

"not bad."

Rush Hour 2, There's Something About Mary, and Dizzy's Got Talent continued to maintain relatively stable box office growth.

Guess what? Movies has another new movie coming out this week, a romantic comedy called "As Good As It Gets" in collaboration with Columbia Pictures.

The film tells the story of Melvin, an eccentric old man who, influenced by his neighbor Simon, a waitress named Carol Connelly, and others, transforms from a proponent of racism and sexism into a philanthropist.

Directed by James Brooks, and starring Jack Nicholson, Julianne Moore, and others.

The film had a production cost of $5000 million and grossed $2439 million in its opening week in 1572 theaters, a respectable box office performance. Film critics also gave the film high praise.

As word-of-mouth spreads, this movie should be able to achieve higher box office returns.

However, with the release of "Armageddon" next week, the box office performance of "As Good As It Gets" will likely be somewhat affected.

"Boss, it's Chris Bauer on the phone. Something's happened on set."

Aishwarya hurried in, phone in hand.

Link answered the phone. Chris Bauer was still online. "Link, something's happened. As you instructed, we're supposed to re-inspect the props on set every day after we finish work. Just now, while inspecting the props, we found a real gun. One of our employees was injured, but thankfully it only pierced his palm, so the situation isn't serious."

“The muskets in the film crew are all props, how could there be real guns?” Link asked, frowning.

"I don't know, but I can guarantee that all the prop guns are fake. We checked them many times. The barrels of the prop guns are all solid, so they can't be loaded with bullets or have their triggers pulled. I have no idea how this real gun got mixed in. It's damn good!"

Chris Bauer cursed in frustration. According to Link's previous rules, the props team had caused another problem, and he could forget about getting his bonus this year.

"First, get the wounded to the hospital for treatment. I'll leave the gun issue to the security company; they're professionals in that area. By the way, could you keep the number of people at the scene confidential for now, so we don't let more people know?"

"Well... there were only a few of us from the props team at the time. But after the gunshot, people from other teams came over to watch the commotion. When we were taking the wounded to the hospital, there were also many people watching and discussing. At that point, it was probably too late to keep it a secret."

"I understand. You take care of the wounded first, I'll arrange the rest."

Link calls executive producer Mike Statham and asks him to appease the crew, control internal public opinion, and deal with the media reporters who may appear at any time.

He then called Wallace and asked him to bring men to cordon off the scene and see if there was any chance to find the culprit with real guns.

Link had originally planned to go on a date that evening with Catherine Zeta-Jones, as well as the newcomers Kate Beckinsale, Kate Winslet, and Aishwarya Rai.

Since something like this happened on set, he could only postpone his date and go to the set first to see what was going on and discuss a solution.

He'd spend time with his girlfriends after he finished work. The next day, bald Johnson arrived at the film set. While in the restroom, he overheard someone in the next stall saying that a prop gun had accidentally discharged the previous evening, killing one member of the props team.

Upon hearing this news, Johnson curled his lip. There had been news reports before about prop guns turning into real guns during filming, resulting in the accidental killing of actors and cameramen. He never expected something like this to happen on the set of "Pirates of the Caribbean." How amusing.

and many more!

He suddenly remembered that his handgun, which he had disguised as a prop gun, was left at the film set. He was worried about being searched when he came in, so he hadn't taken it with him after filming.

'Could it be that gun?'

'Will I be exposed?'

"Should we escape now?"

However, running away at this point would seem like a guilty conscience, and would expose one's true intentions.

Johnson touched his bald head and, steeling himself, went to the props department to check on the situation.

"Come in and get your props. Use the same things you used yesterday, and don't take anything else."

Chris Bauer, the head of the props department, stood at the door with a dark expression, shouting at the more than forty extras playing pirates.

Johnson mingled in the crowd, quickly walked to the cabinet, looked at it, picked up a similar short gun, and tucked it into his belt.

In the end, only one pirate extra remained who hadn't found his gun.

"Is this your gun?"

Chris Bauer asked, pointing to the remaining pistols on the counter.

"No, my gun isn't that heavy."

The slender extra shook his head.

"So whose gun is this? Who took the wrong gun? Don't think you can get away with it by taking it randomly. Every gun has fingerprints on the handle. As long as you send the gun to the police fingerprint testing department for comparison, they can find out the truth in less than a day. So I hope someone is willing to step forward and take the initiative to admit their mistake."

Chris Bauer shouted at the extras.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on bald Johnson's forehead. There were indeed his fingerprints on the gun. If the crew sent the gun to the police station for testing, there was a high chance that he would be exposed.

What should I do? Should I admit it?
Just thinking back to the conversation I overheard in the bathroom, I heard that someone had been shot dead.

Admitting it at this point would have serious consequences, potentially exposing his identity as an assassin.

Bald Johnson, however, gritted his teeth and didn't step forward.

Seeing that no one stepped forward, Chris Bauer helplessly curled his lip and could only wave them out to prepare.

Wallace, who was standing in the corner, also left and went to find Link to report the situation.

Link asked if it was possible to find the owner of the gun through fingerprints, and Wallace said the chances were slim.

The props team touched the gun during the inspection. After being shot, blood was splattered on the gun. Later, Chris Bauer and others inspected the gun and found many fingerprints.

The gun had been cleaned before.

It's very difficult to find the owner of a pistol using fingerprints now, but they will try.

Link nodded and told Wallace and the others to keep an eye on the main actors to prevent them from causing any more trouble.

Meanwhile, in order to lure out the man and test whether the man who brought the gun to the set was targeting him, Link took the initiative to approach the group of extras during filming, giving them face-to-face guidance on acting, and even signing autographs and taking photos with them.

Unfortunately, the murderer did not come forward.

Bald Johnson, seeing Link so close at hand, gritted his teeth and kept reminding himself not to act impulsively, barely managing to suppress his murderous intent and not immediately jump out to punch Link to death.

Three scenes were filmed in the afternoon. After the battle scene at sea was completed, the extras playing pirates and Royal Navy personnel also finished their tasks.

Johnson received a weekly wage of $1800 upon leaving.

"Ah, is this the end?"

Johnson stared blankly at the envelope containing US dollars. His purpose in coming to the film set was to assassinate Link, so how come the filming was already over before he could even do it?

what a shame.

I had several chances to take down Link and complete the mission today, but unfortunately I didn't have a gun.

Johnson returned to the set and explained the situation to the assassin, Jon.

Upon hearing that the pistol had been exposed, Jon was filled with apprehension.

Although Jon was also disappointed by the failed assassination attempt, he didn't dwell on it. Link was a billionaire and a big shot with strict security measures around him, so it wouldn't be easy to successfully kill him.

In addition, this operation was not without its gains.

Through these events, they learned more about Link, and their chances of success in assassinating him next time would be higher.

"I heard Link went back to Los Angeles. Let's go to Los Angeles and find a chance to take him down."

Hitman Jon and bald-headed Johnson packed their bags and left the hotel.

On his way to Los Angeles, Jon received a call from his agent, Kate.

Kate told him on the phone that because they were too slow, their employer couldn't wait any longer and had arranged for two more teams of top assassins to kill Link. So if they wanted to make money, they had to speed things up and kill Link before anyone else.

The assassin, Jon, indicated that he understood.

(End of this chapter)