People in America: My Uncle Don Quixote

Chapter 348: Filming Begins, Shocking the Entire Set (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Li Wei followed an assistant from the costume department into the adjacent dressing room.

A separate room was set aside for Li Wei to change clothes, with a sign that read "Li Wei's Private Room".

After pushing open the door to the private room, the costumes hanging on the clothes rack were much simpler than he had imagined, but the quality looked quite good.

She wore an aged linen corset, over which was a jacket with several leather patches sewn on, trousers stained with solidified mud, and ankle boots.

They looked like an ordinary village militia.

However, once Li Wei put on the clothes, his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and muscular lines were subtly outlined by the linen fabric, making him incredibly handsome and clearly different from ordinary villagers.

"It actually looks pretty convincing," he muttered to himself.

Back in the dressing room, Eileen took out a tube of dark-colored cream and used a brush to outline a weary, travel-worn look on Li Wei's face.

"Today's scene depicts a village being destroyed, and the protagonist meeting the king inside the palace, right?" She checked as she drew, "I added smoke, ash, and wounds to make it look more realistic, and..."

"7

She tilted her head and looked at Li Wei, "I can make you less handsome."

"Not bad," Li Wei nodded, "better than I expected."

"Thank you for the Phantom of the Opera cosmetics," Eileen smiled. "Doesn't expensive cosmetics make a difference?"

After completing his makeup, Li Wei took out the [Mask of the Deceiver (Silver)] from his inventory, silently put it on, and pushed open the door to the dressing room.

The palace hall has been completed.

Upon seeing Levi arrive on set, director Guillermo del Toro walked over from behind the monitor, surrounded by the director of photography, lighting technician, and assistant director.

"Alright," Del Toro clapped his hands, looked around the room, and said, "How does it feel?"

"It seems like they have a lot of money," Li Wei looked around. "There are so many extras."

"Of course," Del Toro smiled. "Councilors, ministers of the palace, masters of ceremonies, guards—how about it? Your money wasn't wasted, was it?"

“I feel like I didn’t waste my money,” Levi said. “By the way, where’s Mr. Johnny Depp? Isn’t he supposed to play the old king who’s acting opposite me?”

"But you don't have many actual scenes with him, do you?" Del Toro shrugged. "He'll be coming in for the audition. His look is a bit unusual, and I want to maintain the impact you felt when you first saw him."

"Alright," Li Wei nodded, "Shall we go through it together?"

"Come on, let's go through it once."

The assistant directors started shouting through megaphones, calling out directions for positions, lighting, set design, and cinematography. The entire crew began operating like a machine.

[Filming begins!]

The palace was in complete chaos; the cacophony in the hall sounded like over ten thousand ducks quacking incessantly.

[A palace official enters, shouting, "Report! Border troops have arrived, saying they've discovered traces of a giant dragon!"]

Ignoring him, the councilors continued to stand on both sides, launching attacks on their political opponents, including but not limited to fiefdoms.

Taxes, slaves, soldiers, etc.

The Minister of Palace Affairs persisted, striving to keep his voice from being drowned out by the increasingly loud commotion: "A dragon! A dragon has appeared on the border!"

[Finally, they heard it clearly. Parliament erupted in chaos. One member's lips were moving, but no one could hear him.]

The emcee pounded his cane on the floor tiles, his face beaming with satisfaction, as if he had waited all day for this moment.

"Parliament—" the master of ceremonies began after the noise subsided, "Now, please listen to the Minister of the Palace Affairs!"

"A dragon!" the Minister of Palace Affairs exclaimed angrily. "I've said it three times: a dragon has been discovered on the border!"

The shouts suddenly doubled, and amidst the commotion, one could faintly hear cries of "Nonsense!" "Liar!" "Who saw it?!" Some shook their heads vehemently in protest, while others looked around.

"We've spotted the border militiaman, Lowe!" the Minister of the Palace shouted. "And he's the sole survivor of the village!"

He's waiting outside right now!

The speaker spoke up, "Let him in!" he said.

Young militiaman Lowe (Lee Vie) entered, his gaze sweeping across the hall, and slowly explained the situation to the council.

"what?"

Behind the monitor, Del Toro exclaimed, "Huh? Levi's acting..."

"What's wrong with your acting?" the assistant director asked. "Is it that bad?"

"How well did he act?!" The producer rolled his eyes. "If I didn't know he had never acted before, I would have thought he was a child star from an acting family."

"He's a real monster," Del Toro exclaimed, his smile widening. "I have a feeling this movie is going to be a hit."

"This matter is of great importance," the Speaker said, turning to the King after listening. "Why don't we let His Majesty the King make the judgment himself?"

He gestured to the guards, and the heavy iron gate was slowly pushed open.

Eight knights, clad in gleaming full armor and magnificent purple cloaks with a golden sun shining behind them, descended the steps in perfect unison and stood before the table. Four trumpeters followed closely behind, raising their horns and playing a short, earth-shattering melody.

[Love (Li Wei) is shocked]

[The emcee announced loudly: "Your Excellencies, I have the honor to announce to you the arrival of His Majesty King Gulav IV, the King of the East, West, North, and South, the Protector of the distant harbor, and the Supreme King of the Kingdom!"]

Everyone rose from their seats and knelt on one knee.

Six unseen knights carried the throne slowly through the gate. The king sat on a gilded chair, leaning back on luxurious cushions, swaying slightly from side to side.

He opened his eyes and looked around at everyone, like a drunkard just waking up, completely unaware of where he was.

Levi hadn't expected Del Toro to arrange Johnny Depp's look like this: Johnny Depp wore an extremely obese bodysuit, his face was also made up, and he looked like a mountain wrapped in red satin, his head seemingly sinking into his neck under the weight of the shiny, huge crown.

"Oh," His Majesty the King muttered, "Rise, my esteemed subjects." A murmur rippled through the hall as everyone rose and returned to their places. Lovi (Li Vie) stood up. The King frowned at him.

[Lovi heard the king ask, "What brings me here?"]

"There are rumors of dragons, Your Majesty," the Speaker interjected.

"Oh, right!" The king's eyes lit up, then he paused, "Where is the dragon?"

"The dragon destroyed my homeland! My homeland!" Lowe exclaimed impatiently. "Your Majesty, please send men to search for the dragon's whereabouts!"

"So, there are no dragons here?" the king muttered, as if suddenly deflated.

"I... the dragon—" Lowe started to say something, but the king mumbled something and then pressed, "Where's the dragon?"

]

[Lovi was at a loss, and the king left. The Speaker ordered Lovi to be imprisoned in the dungeon and beheaded the next day for deceiving the king.]

"Let me go! You bastard!" Love was dragged out of the palace.

"Okay! Cut!"

Del Toro stood up from behind the monitor and took off the headphones hanging around his neck.

He didn't say anything, but simply gave Li Wei a thumbs up.

"Is it over?" Li Wei dusted himself off and stood up. "Should we try to secure one more kill?"

【Heart of the Dragon (2): The journey to the palace from a thousand years ago has been completed】

[Free attribute points +0.1]

You've arrived at a palace from a thousand years ago, but unexpectedly, the king didn't bless you. Instead, he threw you into a dungeon. Now you need to figure out how to defeat the dragon yourself, but first, you'll need some teammates.

【Heart of the Dragon (3): Find 3 teammates】

[Task Reward: 0.1 attribute points for each item found]

"No need," Del Toro said, looking at the monitor with satisfaction. "This take is fine. The next scene is the dungeon, but the set isn't fully in place yet, so we'll schedule it for next week."

Li Wei nodded and removed the [Fraudster's Mask (Silver)].

"How was my performance?" he asked with a smile. "Not bad, I guess."

"It's more than just okay," the lighting team leader said, walking over with a cup of coffee. "You scared us half to death. I'm not kidding, I was really into it back then."

"Yes, Li Wei," a voice came, "you scared me too."

Johnny Depp walked over wearing a half-undone, baggy bodysuit with the zipper half-open, his upper body bunched up at his waist, revealing a soaking wet t-shirt underneath.

He held a cup of iced coffee in his hand, and although his face was covered in sweat, he seemed to be in great spirits. "It's been a long time since I've acted. This is really enjoyable."

He looked at Li Wei, clicking his tongue in amazement, "Who taught you acting?"

"I didn't learn from anyone," Li Wei smiled, "I figured it out myself."

Johnny Depp took a big gulp of iced coffee, crunching the ice cubes as he chewed. "You really are a natural-born actor, really."

He patted Li Wei on the shoulder and turned to walk towards his RV.

His bodyguards, makeup artist, assistant, and others followed him in a flurry.

When I came out of the side door of Studio 9, a small group of reporters were already squatting outside the parking lot.

"Li Wei! Mr. Li Wei! Can we talk for a bit?"

"Today is your first official photoshoot! How does it go?"

"What was it like acting alongside Johnny Depp? Has his acting improved since his divorce?"

Chen Haisheng and Don Quixote stopped the reporters, saying, "Sorry, we are not accepting interviews today."

Chen Haisheng quickened his pace and drove the car over.

The reporters were stopped by security guards outside the cordon and watched helplessly as Li Wei got into the car.

But the reporters didn't leave. They waited in the smoking area outside the studio, hoping to glean something from the crew members as they came out of the film set.

About an hour later, a lighting technician wearing a uniform T-shirt issued by the film crew and a jacket tucked under his arm walked out of the side door.

A female reporter wearing a baseball cap immediately approached. "This is Deadline's on-site reporter," she said, flashing her badge. "I'd like to know a little about Levi's filming progress in the studio today. Could you briefly say a few words? If you're not on camera, can you be an anonymous source?"

The lighting technician thought for a moment and looked around.

The female reporter, understanding the unspoken message, took out a US dollar bill rolled up into a small roll and handed it over.

"Well, how should I put it?" the lighting technician rubbed his hands together. "I've been doing this for 15 years and have seen a lot of A-list actors, but Li Wei's condition is really outrageous."

"He got director Del Toro to nail it in one take," he said. "It's the kind of performance where he just stands there and you feel like he's alive, even though I didn't see him." "Wait a minute," the female reporter interrupted him, "you didn't see him? How do you know?"

"I belong to Section B," the lighting technician said, stuffing the US dollars into his pocket. "The scenes in the palace hall were filmed in the main studio in Section A. We in Section B were testing the lighting positions for next week's dungeon, so I didn't see them."

"Then what you just said about '6'..."

"I heard it from someone else," the lighting technician said.

The female reporter took a deep breath.

He didn't hear anything but still took my money and chatted vividly for a full four minutes.

"Okay," she said, holding her breath, "thank you."

"Don't mention it, it's nothing," the lighting technician said as he walked toward the parking lot. After a couple of steps, he added, "Don't write my name, just write 'senior crew member'."

1

The female reporter gritted her teeth and stood still.

The hot California winds messed up her bangs, making her even angrier.

But I can't go back empty-handed; I still need to get reimbursed for the $50 she gave me.

That evening, she posted this interview on Deadline's entertainment section:

According to an unnamed crew member: Levi's first official filming appearance shocked Depp.

The comments section below remains polarized.

"Here we go again, Netflix's press release. I really don't believe a sports star's acting skills can impress Depp."

"Isn't the top floor shockingly rotten? Just like that of a certain athlete."

"Is he criticizing LeBron James again?"

"To be honest, I'm quite curious whether I'll pay to see it when it's released."

"Please, Li Wei, come back to play ball."

Li Wei has always disdained to comment on these remarks.

Now, he has more important things to do.

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