America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 142. Guest Director Role: Gradually Changing Her Image in Theron's Mind

On the set of "Monster", Eric handed the script to Patty Jenkins.

"Filming for 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' is almost finished. There are only 5 scenes left, and I expect to wrap up filming tomorrow."

Patty looked at it carefully; it was the familiar style, a storyboard detailed to the extreme.

"So, are you asking me to end this?"

"Judging from your progress, this time I'm giving you more authority; you can do whatever you want."

"What?"

Eric took the script back from Patty and then ripped it off violently, tearing out more than a dozen pages in an instant.

He then picked out a page with text and handed it to the other person: "Look, the storyboard is gone. You can use your creativity; I won't restrict you."

"OMG! This is incredibly generous!" Patty Jenkins exclaimed, his mouth agape in surprise.

"Hehe. Art films and commercial films are different. 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' requires creativity. Perhaps you can bring a different feeling to it."

"Okay, I'll accept this temporary job."

Eric felt relatively relieved watching Patty leave excitedly.

She might not be suited for commercial blockbusters, but she's absolutely capable of producing satisfying works when it comes to art films, especially those with a female perspective.

Just like Wonder Woman 1984, this film was entirely written and directed by Patty Jenkins, who had absolute control on set.

The result is that a superhero blockbuster was turned into an art film, and the exciting action scenes that the audience wanted to see were missing.

While the dramatic scenes that audiences don't enjoy may be delicate and moving to some female viewers, they are undoubtedly a drawback for superhero movies because they are too drawn out.

What percentage of the audience actually enjoys superhero movies? What people really want to see is Gal Gadot wielding a sword and fighting enemies! Just like in the first Wonder Woman movie.

The success of the first film wasn't entirely due to Patty Jenkins; this time, Warner Bros. is truly in a position to thank.

Once you've seen the movie, you'll find that the appearance of the main villain, Ares, is inexplicable. There wasn't enough build-up beforehand, and he just seems to pop up out of nowhere.

The reason is that the movie originally did not set Ares as the villain, nor did it have the final battle. Warner Bros. felt it was not good enough and that it was too un-superheroic, so they decisively intervened and changed the script.

Everyone knows how terrible the second part was after the power was delegated!

After watching Patty leave, Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci walked over. The latter is best known for her role as Wednesday in The Addams, with a baby face that never seems to grow up.

She's 23 this year, but looks like she's 12 or 13. Ten years from now, she'll still look like she's 12 or 13.

"Eric, why did the director leave?" Theron asked curiously.

Eric shrugged: "Right now, I'm the director of 'Monster,' and Patty has been reassigned to other jobs."

"Huh?" Both women looked puzzled at the same time.

"Don't be surprised, it's just a cameo appearance, only this afternoon."

The two women breathed a sigh of relief. That's more like it. Their partnership with Patty had been going smoothly. Suddenly changing directors was always a bit unsettling.

Eric's reputation is particularly polarized, resembling Schrödinger's; before his first film was released, nobody knew his true level of skill.

Seeing the two women's worries, Eric smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, I'm good at filming female subjects, especially lesbian subjects."

"Let me see which scene we should shoot first."

On Wednesday, he held up the script in his hand: "Scene 25, Theobald and Erin's first night together."

"Okay, give me ten minutes to sort out the plot."

Eric quickly flipped through the script. As a classic film that won many awards around the world back then, he had naturally watched it several times. He was quite familiar with both the film and the real events, and had even watched the documentary.

As an adaptation, "Monster" does seem to deliberately create dramatic conflict and tension.

For example, Charlize Theron's character, the prostitute assassin Irene, is very ugly in the movie, but this image is designed based on the real Irene's appearance after many years in prison.

In reality, during the years she committed crimes, including the early stages of her imprisonment, Erin had certain requirements for her appearance. She wasn't exactly beautiful, but she was at least presentable and certainly not a bearded woman.

Otherwise, what do you think she has to offer to attract customers? Besides, she was once married to a wealthy boss, so she's certainly good-looking.

Theobi, on the other hand, is a completely different character. The real Theobi is named Tiria Moore, and is not the naive young girl in the movie, but a woman a few years younger than Erin.

Her personality is also different from the completely selfish character in the movie; she lived with Eileen for five years.

For the first three years, Eileen did not commit any crimes and even changed her bad habits such as stealing and violence, which shows that the two of them lived a relatively happy life.

In reality, these two women were probably truly in love, unlike in the movie where Theobaldi was simply using Erin.

Eric skimmed through the script and talked with Theron and Wednesday, and was certain that Patty was still going down the path of radical modification.

Eric decided to add a touch of helplessness and warmth to the case, not to whitewash it.

After all, serial killings are a very obvious form of revenge against society and are a perverted act that cannot be justified by any reason, but at least it makes it more realistic.

Humans are complex, and that should be reflected in our thinking.

After thinking for a moment, Eric picked up a pen and paper and began to revise the lines. As the pen tip slid quickly across the paper, Theron turned around and walked to the side, looking at the words she didn't understand.

Sensing the shadow, Eric glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, then continued writing.

"Sorry, if you're not comfortable with that, I can move further away," Theron said softly.

"It's okay, you'll need these lines soon anyway."

"You changed it for me?"

"You both have it, but you have the majority. I want to add some tension to this scene and make Eileen and Naobi's characters more well-rounded."

Upon hearing this, Wednesday walked to the other side of him and looked down.

After revising for almost an hour, constantly deleting and rewriting, Eric finally produced a result that he was relatively satisfied with.

Theron and Wednesday stood there for an hour, watching him write and draw.

The staff members nearby watched the three of them cautiously. As the boss, Eric frowned and remained silent, so no one dared to approach him.

There were supposed to be people on set who were responsible for moving the actors' chairs, but they stood there, too afraid to come over, so Theron and Wednesday had to stand there the whole time.

However, both of them are very professional actresses. They were so engrossed in watching Eric change his lines on the spot that they didn't seem tired at all.

"OK, I think that's about right," Eric said slowly.

Then he looked at the two of them and said, "Sorry, the handwriting might not be clear and it's a bit messy. You can ask me if you don't understand anything."

Theron and Wednesday exchanged a glance; the former shook her head slightly, while the latter, with even fewer lines, also shook her head to indicate that she didn't need it.

"Can you understand it?"

Theron nodded slightly: "I'm standing right here. It seems like it was the right choice. In fact, I've almost memorized my lines."

"I'm fine with it too, I've already memorized my lines, and you look so cool when you're serious, Director!" Wednesday retorted.

"Really?"

"certainly!"

Hahahaha

Working with outstanding actors is so comfortable; it even saves the time of having someone make copies.

Eric stood up and shouted, "Everyone to your positions! Scene 25 of 'Monster,' action!"

The plot of this scene is that Theoby takes Irene home and lets her enjoy a long-awaited hot bath and a warm bed, after she used to live in a dirty warehouse.

Two marginalized individuals came together, finding solace in each other, experiencing affection from one another, and incidentally, even sleeping together.

Eric added a scene after the two had sex.

At this moment, the two were completely immersed in each other's company, and Eileen, who had tasted the flavor of love, also opened her heart.

She recounted her past, and Eric directly incorporated Erin's real-life experiences to flesh out the character.

Actually, Patty's filming also briefly mentioned part of Eileen's past at the beginning, but the script didn't go into much detail about it and the portrayal was too simplistic, so Eric filled in the gaps for her.

In the video, the two embrace in the afterglow of their enjoyment.

On Wednesday, he lay on his side on Theron, only half of his face was visible, and he didn't need to make any expression.

Charlize Theron, on the other hand, is in a male position. She has to hug and pat the other person gently like a man, while at the same time showing the demeanor of a woman after a climax.

Seeing Theron with her eyes closed and breathing softly, Eric immediately called "cut."

"Theron, make your expressions even bigger. You need to understand, Eileen is a prostitute, and the nature of her work has made her numb to sex."

"But now she feels she has found true love, a passionate love that should be reflected in her body language and facial expressions as well."

"Okay, director, I understand!"

Theron gave an OK sign.

"Monster, Scene 25, Action!"

This time, Theron's expression was much more exaggerated, and she even added "God!" herself.

Her eyes were glazed over, like a smoker who had been holding back for a long time; the enjoyment and fascination of taking a puff of nicotine was spot on.

However, a moment later, her expression changed again. She rubbed her eyes and then roughly grabbed a tissue and wiped her nose.

Seeing this, Wednesday looked up and asked, "Eileen, what's wrong?"

She blew her nose forcefully and shook her head slightly: "It's nothing."

"No, something must be wrong. What happened? Did I make you uncomfortable?"

Theron quickly denied it: "No, of course not Theobi, it's my own fault."

"Tell me, why?" Wednesday continued to press.

After a moment's hesitation, Theron said in an awkward and hesitant tone, "I was just thinking about some bad things, but it's all in the past now."

But in the close-up shot, Theobi stares straight at her with his big eyes wide open.

Wednesday's eyes were already large, and they contained a strong sense of curiosity, just like her somewhat childish personality.

"Speak up, I want to understand you, Eileen, just as you already understand me."

"Card!"

Eric yelled, interrupting the filming.

He pointed to Wednesday: "Rich, this line has two meanings. One is that you have already revealed your past to Eileen at the bar, and the other is that you have just achieved a great harmony in life."

"During the lovemaking process, Eileen was the dominant one. She controlled and explored you, so she already knows you very well."

"Then when you say this line, your tone should contain a hint of shyness and cuteness, which is more in line with your age and personality."

After hearing Eric's interpretation, Wednesday was somewhat surprised: "Director, did it really have this meaning? I had no idea."

Eric chuckled: "I've said it before, I'm very good at filming female-centric love stories."

"Yes, now we can see it."

Filming resumed, and at Theobi's request, Erin began to slowly recount her tragic past.

"Seobi, my life used to be terrible. My father was a bastard and a pervert. He liked young girls with guns on their heads."

"Later I heard that he went to prison, and probably couldn't bear the beatings there, so he committed suicide."

When talking about her father's suicide, Theron smiled, but you could see the resentment she felt towards him.

"Then one day my mother disappeared, and I never saw her again. I was adopted by my maternal grandparents."

Wednesday sighed softly: "Parents just love to abandon their children. Luckily, you still have your grandparents."

Theron replied with a sarcastic tone, "Fortunately? That's a brilliant use of the word."

"Hehe. You know what? From me..."

At this point, Theron suddenly became agitated, violently throwing off the covers and roaring and howling like a flood suddenly bursting its banks.

On Wednesday, he seemed startled, and with a frightened expression, he hurriedly moved away from her.

It wasn't until Theron stopped her tantrum that she looked at the other person with anger and tears in her eyes.

On Wednesday, he slowly crawled over and hugged Theron, at which point their roles reversed.

Theron continued weakly, "When I was fifteen, my grandmother died, and then I was kicked out of my home until you met me."

"What I regret is why that old bastard didn't commit suicide like his son-in-law; perhaps he would still be alive and well now."

"There's something else I almost forgot: I became addicted to drugs and started using my body to get them."

"Later I"

"No, stop talking! Stop talking about it, Eileen!"

On Wednesday, he interrupted Theron's story and hugged her even tighter, and the two of them snuggled together like that.

"Cut! Excellent! Your performance was flawless. This round is over!"

Upon hearing this, the two women breathed a sigh of relief and let go of each other. It was June, and even though there was air conditioning on set, it was still quite hot filming under the covers.

"I thought it would take a lot of takes, but it went so smoothly. Richie, well done. Charlize Theron, I told you you'd win an Oscar."

Charlize Theron laughed heartily, "Director, you've changed my mind. It seems what those newspapers said was all false."

"What?"

"If they were here, they would all apologize to you for saying you don't understand directing at all and are just a rich kid who acted impulsively."

Eric put on a very serious expression: "On this point, we are of the same mind."

"Really? But I was just joking, just saying something polite to flatter you."

"What? Hiss. Looks like we can save on the marketing and public relations costs for 'Monster'."

Eric scratched his non-existent beard and pretended to think as he spoke.

Charlize Theron immediately waved her hand: "No way, Director Patty will tear me to pieces. That was just a joke."

"Really? Me too."

Hahahaha

Thank you for the 333 coins from 心静如水智如我, thank you boss.

I hope all my readers will continue to support me.

(End of this chapter)