America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 790 Women always have a strong sense of career

On set, accompanied by music, Martin and Saoirse Ronan danced gracefully in front of the camera.

Thanks to a series of high-intensity and close-range practice sessions, including last night, the two worked together very well and completed a nearly one-minute long take in one take.

Director Damien entered the set and explained the key points of the next scene to Martin and Saoirse.

After talking for a while, they called over choreographer Mandy Moore, and the four of them discussed it together.

Filming resumed, and the dance scenes were relatively simpler than the actual dance performances.

A shot of about half a minute is considered a very long shot.

Most dance sequences only last for about ten seconds before stopping.

Martin and Saoirse prepared for this film for six months. Although they were far from being professional dancers, they had no problem handling the filming.

Even so, the dance scene took more than a day to film.

During the intermittent process, Mandy Moore also made minor adjustments to some of the dance scenes at Damien's request.

Director Damien clearly has a lot of ideas when it comes to musicals.

Martin had observed him carefully and consulted Louise, and both of them thought Damien was quite good.

Damien also discussed with Martin and Louise that after the actors had settled in and adjusted to the schedule, they should first film the more physically and mentally demanding song and dance sequences before they were exhausted from the long filming sessions.

Martin and Louise agreed with him.

The other actors who were to perform in the musicals also joined the crew one after another.

Having just finished lunch, Catherine Daddario, who had arrived at the film set, came to find Martin first, and the two sat down and talked in front of the ice cream shop diagonally opposite the studio.

Catherine noticed Martin wasn't wearing makeup and asked, "Don't you have any scenes this afternoon?"

Martin said, "None this afternoon or tomorrow morning."

Catherine pondered for a moment, then quietly took out the business card she had brought from the hotel and slipped it to Martin: "I stay here."

Martin glanced around and suddenly noticed that Catherine, who wasn't with Alexandra, was also very beautiful, but her appeal to him had plummeted.

He was busy tonight, and spoke nonsense with a straight face: "The musical is very demanding, so you need to maintain your energy and stamina. I've invested tens of millions of dollars in this film."

Hearing Martin's serious tone, Catherine, thinking about her future acting career, quickly assured him, "Don't worry, I was introduced to the crew by you, so I'll definitely give it my all and won't embarrass you."

"This is your first real role with substantial screen time, it's very important." Martin wasn't joking: "When you audition for other productions in the future, this will be a solid resume you can show for it."

Catherine listened; compared to most producers, directors, and top stars she'd seen in the industry, Martin was a much better person.

"Go get ready," Martin waved to her.

Catherine nodded and got up to walk toward the makeup trailers assigned to the main female supporting actresses.

As Martin watched Catherine's retreating figure, he suddenly realized why she didn't seem as attractive as she had been in Boston.

Without Alexandra Daddario as a foil, and without the gimmick of twin sisters, Catherine Daddario is just a pretty girl.

Thinking about all this, Martin frowned, glanced at Bruce sitting at another table, and muttered to himself, "It's all that old freak Bruce's fault. His influence over the years has gradually warped my thinking too."

Alexandra Daddario's image floated through Martin's mind, and he noticed that Catherine, who was walking away, had become even more charming.

He quickly shook his head, saying it would be more fun to wait for Alexandra to come over.

Martin saw Damien enter the studio across the street and knew he was preparing for the shoot, so he went over as well.

A four-seater electric scooter drove up and stopped on the side of the road.

Thomas's former assistant, now WMA's female agent Natasha, waved to Martin, and the woman with long, straight black hair in the passenger seat got out of the car first.

Clara, dressed in a fitted blazer that accentuated her near-perfect figure, strode over to Martin, waved with a smile, and then bowed deeply: "Martin, thank you for your kindness."

She wore a V-neck top under her fitted blazer, which immediately revealed her strong ambition.

Many female celebrities like to cover their chests when wearing low-cut clothing, as if they are afraid of being seen by people they shouldn't.

If that's the case, why not wear high-necked clothes? Because they're afraid the people who should see them won't be able to.

For example, people like Martin.

Clara bowed in thanks for a few seconds before straightening up.

Martin, exasperated by these constant tests, casually asked, "Are you adjusting well here?"

"That's great." Clara turned to look at Natasha and said specifically, "My manager takes great care of me and has been a huge help to me."

These words naturally reached Natasha's ears from behind.

Whether it was intentional or not, these words are pleasant to hear.

Clara showed some self-awareness: "After passing the audition, I have been participating in the film crew's rehearsals. After finishing the film crew's work, I go home and study the script. I haven't had a chance to explore Los Angeles properly."

Although her words weren't direct, they always conveyed her meaning: "I only took a brief look around Beverly Hills when Natasha took me for my medical checkup."

Martin was a little surprised; he could only say that it was no wonder he came from the Korean entertainment industry.

Natasha stepped forward and said, "Clara is working very hard; she enrolled in acting classes and accent lessons."

Martin said directly, "I'll take you to see Los Angeles sometime."

Clara bowed slightly and said, "Thank you for your help, Martin."

Martin waved his hand: "Go ahead and get busy."

Clara nodded and followed Natasha away.

On the way to the makeup trailer, Natasha whispered, "You're a smart person. Don't think that just because Martin is backing you, you can act recklessly on set. There are some people you can confront head-on, like the actresses you're playing supporting roles with, but there are others you'd better tolerate, like the lead actress, Saoirse Ronan."

Clara had done her research: "Saoirse Ronan was Martin's student."

"Still a lover," Natasha said. "The kind who can get into Martin's house."

Clara replied, "I understand."

…………

Meanwhile, Martin entered the studio and found Damien.

Since there were no scenes for the male lead in the afternoon, Martin simply took on the role of Damien's temporary assistant.

Damien was a little uncomfortable and specifically reminded him, "Martin, you promised that I would be in charge of everything during filming."

Martin smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. I won't interfere with your work. I just want to see how to manage the crew."

Damien understood and said, "Feel free to ask me anything during breaks in filming."

"I will." Martin said this, but he still spoke very little, observing more through his eyes.

Not long after, all four actresses who had appeared for filming this afternoon entered the film set.

Over the next day and a half, the crew will focus on filming the song and dance scenes between the female lead and her three female roommates.

The initial plan was to cast four actresses of different skin colors for these four roles.

But after Menez joined, the cast already had a leading Black actor, and the three supporting actresses were one white, one Latina, and one Asian.

Aside from the incongruity of living together, this combination is very Los Angeles-like.

White, Asian, and Latino people are everywhere.

Saoirse Ronan was the first to enter the set. She saw Martin on the director's side and waved to him when he turned around.

She responded to Martin's reply with a bright smile.

Then, three other actresses who were already in makeup came over.

The Latina and those with long, dark brown hair are alright, but the one with long, straight black hair has an unfairly good figure.

Saoirse thought of Martin's ex-girlfriend, Blake Lively, and guessed that the two were comparable in terms of physique.

Filming began quickly, and Saoirse focused all her energy on the performance. She knew exactly who her teacher was when she was twelve or thirteen.

After filming several scenes, she didn't have to do anything extra; the entire process of acting and performance on set revolved around her.

Saoirse is a very vocal actress who once tore Emma Watson apart, leaving her so deeply depressed that she dared not appear in public for a time.

But she won't lower herself to engage in a public feud with these people.

As long as they don't provoke her.

The next scene will move from indoors to outdoors, but it will still be filmed on set in the studio.

Damien called over the four actors and specifically emphasized, "Pay attention to your positioning." His gaze swept over the three supporting actors: "The three of you revolve around Saoirse; Saoirse is the center of this dance."

The other three actresses, even if they had their own thoughts, had to suppress them and cooperate.

After a long period of rehearsals, the four actresses cooperated well, and the filming of the dance scene went relatively smoothly.

Martin followed Damien, carefully observing how he directed every department of the crew. The director was the overall supervisor of the on-set shooting; he would state his requirements, and all other departments had to comply.

The lighting was adjusted to match the desired brightness, costumes were provided to suit the scene, props and sets were arranged on set, actors were responsible for expressing the scenes planned by the director, and the film crew filmed and recorded everything.

Unlike David Fincher and Christopher Nolan, Damien is not the kind of director who likes to do the directing himself. He has a good understanding of the work of each department, but he is not very good at hands-on work. He is more like a pure on-set supervisor.

Moreover, he has imagination and a talent for command and control, but lacks some experience.

Therefore, Louise assigned Damien an experienced assistant director.

This assistant director is like the string of a kite, always pulling the young director, whose thoughts are easily carried away, back to reality.

It's hard to say what will happen to Damien in the future, but he is very humble now and can listen to his deputy's opinions.

After an afternoon of filming a musical, the four actresses were so tired that they sat in the rest area and didn't want to get up. Martin went over and asked them a few questions, and Saoirse pulled him away from the studio.

Martin had just dropped her off in the makeup trailer and finished removing his makeup and changing his clothes when Harold, the crew's office assistant, hurried over from the studio.

Upon seeing Martin, he quickly jogged over and said, "The screenwriter Mia and the composer Sebastian are having a fight in the studio, and no one can stop them."

Martin called Old Brooks and they went to the studio that wasn't far away.

(End of this chapter)