I am Hollywood

Chapter 327: Chapter 328: On Set Visit



[Chapter 328: On Set Visit]

This scene featured the character Willy Lopez, the antagonist who killed Sam. He had been so startled by Sam's ghost that he fled the Odeon Apartments and, unfortunately, got hit by a car on the street.

For such a minor role, Eric did not put much effort into finding the original actor. Instead, a casting director selected a man in his thirties, named Philip Reed, a Latin American actor.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The shot where Willy gets hit by a truck was quite dangerous. Thus, even though Philip Reed was just a small character, they still planned to use a stunt double. After all, in case Philip Reed got accidentally injured, the crew would be left scrambling to replace him.

"Stan, are you ready?" Eric asked as he stepped forward.

"Of course, I promise nothing will go wrong. Let's get started," Stan Winston signaled that he was ready. Eric then returned to the monitor, scanned the surroundings again, and after confirming everything looked good, he called for action.

...

A red sedan and another truck came toward each other. In the shot, Philip Reed's character Willy appeared terrified but forgot to evade. In another monitor shot, the two cars crashed together with a loud bang.

"Good, one take, effects team get ready. Hey, you two, go help Mr. Reed to the side to rest," Eric sighed in relief. No accidents -- great.

Philip Reed, standing beside the two wrecked cars, was visibly shaken, helped off by two crew members. Even though the stunt team assured everyone there wouldn't be any issues, and although the position of Philip Reed was safe, witnessing the two cars collide was still nerve- wracking. But there was no way to substitute for that main shot.

Once Philip Reed left, after some quick preparations, a stunt double who looked just like him came out. This stuntman stood between the two cars, suspended by wires, gearing up for the shot where Willy gets flung away.

This shot was indeed quite tricky. To avoid any accidents, as the stuntman flew into the air, he had to land face down, and he wore protective gear on his face.

Even though the stunt team from Stan Winston Studio was experienced, they still attempted this shot seven or eight times before getting it right. The stuntman had to endure several falls, as it wasn't easy to land accurately on his face.

After completing these two shots, the filming progressed more smoothly, including the scene where Willy's soul gets dragged away by Death. This really just involved a few background actors donned in blue bodysuits, screaming as they dragged the moaning Willy into a corner. Later, in post-production, those actors would be transformed into the desired grim reaper image through computer effects.

Although these scenes seemed straightforward, by the time the shooting wrapped up, it had unknowingly become past eleven at night. After wrapping up, Eric returned to the hotel where the crew was staying just past twelve-thirty.

...

"Eric, I've had the kitchen prepare a late-night snack," Joanna Pacula said as she got up from the couch, just stepping out of the shower.

Eric walked over and kissed her cheek, "Didn't I say if we wrapped late, you should just get some rest?"

Joanna took the towel from Eric's hand and carefully dried his wet hair. "It's alright; didn't you ask me to be your personal assistant? I have to do this job well."

Eric smirked as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "You're being so agreeable. Does that mean you'll do anything I ask?"

Joanna wriggled a little but didn't fight free from his hold. She softened quickly and didn't respond to Eric's question; instead, she tossed the towel aside. "After a long day, let's just eat the late-night snack and get to bed early; after all, we'll have plenty of time in the future."

"Then stay here tonight; I want to hold you while I sleep," Eric whispered as he sniffed her fragrant hair.

"Okay, okay, stop it! The snack will get cold. Let's eat!"

After some playful moments, Eric moved to the dining table, eating their late-night snack while occasionally chatting with Joanna, who leaned on the couch still watching him.

From that day on, Eric quite decisively brought Joanna to New York, and she didn't resist. With the time they had spent together, she started to develop a mild sense of dependence on him.

...

The scenes related to special effects in Ghost were filmed over two weeks before wrapping up. After a thorough review to make sure everything was in good order, Eric handed the rough cut over to Stan Winston and the others to take to Los Angeles for post-production. Since the special effects used in Ghost were relatively simple, with not many shots needing effects, a lot of these shots were completed using basic film overlay techniques.

Thus, even though Eric had high standards for some aspects, post-production wouldn't exceed a month, and they could have everything finished by late May. With Eric's fast filming pace, the movie wouldn't be far from wrapping up.

As the special effects portion wrapped up, it was now May, and gradually people started visiting the set. Eric was surprised that the first to show up was Donald Trump along with his daughter, Ivanka Trump.

It was midday, and due to shooting several outdoor scenes of Sam taking Annie to the bank, the crew had closed off a not-too-busy street in Manhattan.

"Eric, I'm really sorry I couldn't be of much help with that thing before," Donald Trump greeted Eric, his first words an apology, referring to the scandals at the begining of the year.

Eric smiled; he knew Donald couldn't help much with that situation. "No problem, Donald. By the way, how's everything going with you?"

Hearing this question, Donald smiled slightly. "It's okay, I barely made it through; thanks to your early warning, after some effort, the bank had to agree to continue lending me money. The resort is now fully built, and some parts are already in use -- at least I won't go bankrupt again."

After saying that, almost as if performing a magic trick, Donald pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Eric. "This is a membership card for my resort. Of course, it's the top tier -- come visit if you have time in Atlantic City."

Eric took the membership card with a smile, recalling that Atlantic City was in New Jersey, a place he had never been to. Recently, he had seen in the entertainment news that Michael Jackson had attended the opening of Trump's resort.

"I'll definitely check it out if I get the chance," Eric replied, glancing at a little girl nearby who was curiously wandering around holding a stuffed animal. "Ivanka, why didn't you say hi? You look a bit gloomy. Is someone bothering you?"

*****

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