Chapter 74: **Chapter 74: Beginning Filming**
"All departments ready, 'Honey,' scene six, take one, ACTION!"
At noon on April 10th, the crew began filming the street dance scenes.
Luca plays a character named Michael Ellis, a video director and the owner of a video production company that mainly produces music videos for singers.
This character's identity is similar to director Billy's.
Luca originally wanted to ask Billy if this villain character was based on him.
But, fearing a punch, he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.
In this movie, 'Michael' has a total of eighteen scenes.
The character's storyline is quite simple.
Michael discovers a girl who dances really well in a nightclub—she's the protagonist, 'Honey.'
He reaches out to her to film a music video and asks her to be the choreographer for it.
Honey is ambitious and has great dance talent. With Michael's help, she starts to make a name for herself in the music industry.
Later, Michael tries to take advantage of Honey, but she rejects him and even slaps him.
Enraged, Michael tries to blacklist her in the industry.
However, by then, Honey is already famous, and her dancing is recognized by many Black singers in the music world.
The Black artists insist that Honey choreograph their videos when working with Michael, or they won't cooperate.
Michael is forced to lower his pride and ask Honey for help, but she refuses.
Michael is humiliated, and the protagonist, Honey, with the support of the Black community and her Black boyfriend, lives happily ever after.
Overall, Michael is an unlikable and tragic character.
The filming began.
The crew first shot the dance scenes.
This particular scene shows Michael directing while Honey choreographs, during the period when they are working closely together.
Michael sits in front of the monitor, chewing gum constantly while watching the performance on screen.
In front of the camera, Jessica, playing Honey, is dressed provocatively and holds a megaphone, loudly shouting out the beats.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!"
Under her direction, several pairs of Black men and women dance Hip-Hop on a makeshift stage.
Michael watches for a while, frowns slightly, and signals to the person beside him.
"CUT!"
Honey made a cutting gesture across her neck, stopping the performance, and looked at him.
Michael gestured for her to come over and took a couple of steps toward her.
"How was it?"
Honey asked, a little nervously.
Michael scratched his head, "Hmm~ something's missing in the dance."
"What's missing?"
Honey asked, puzzled.
Michael tilted his head in thought, "I don't know, just something feels off."
As he spoke, his right hand grabbed at the air a couple of times, as if trying to catch something that kept slipping away.
"Mm-hmm, not bad!"
Behind another monitor, the real director, Billy, stroked his beard and smiled slightly.
He didn't have high expectations for Luca at first, since Luca was a newcomer and had gotten the role through connections—how much real talent could he have?
But after watching Luca's performance, Billy was pleasantly surprised.
Before shooting, Billy didn't give any direction; he just asked Luca to act based on his understanding of the script.
To his surprise, Luca's performance was very close to what Billy had envisioned. This kind of rapport was rare, giving Billy a feeling like he'd found a kindred spirit.
"CUT!"
Billy called the shot off with a megaphone.
"What do you think, Billy?"
Luca asked after stepping out of the scene.
Billy frowned at him. With such a good performance, how could he criticize him? But if he didn't criticize him, he wouldn't feel satisfied.
"Emm~ Luca, don't you think you're making too many little movements? One moment you're scratching your head, the next you're grabbing the air. Are your hands stealing the scene?"
"Hahaha~"
Many people on set started laughing.
Luca shrugged and walked over to the monitor.
"Billy, you're right. My hands are a bit unnecessary. I thought about crossing my arms or putting them in my pockets, but it didn't feel natural. I just feel like my hands are missing something."
"Missing something?"
Billy rewatched the scene.
Luca had two main actions.
One was sitting in front of the monitor, focusing on the performance, and gesturing in front of the screen.
The other was standing up to talk to Jessica about the dance.
Everything looked normal, like a dedicated MV director at work.
"I didn't notice anything wrong."
Billy looked over at his assistant, who also shook their head.
"Luca, do you have any suggestions?"
Billy used to be a music video director, so this was his first time directing a film. He wasn't too full of himself.
Luca thought about the original version of the movie, where the character always held a handheld game console. He didn't know why this version didn't have it, but he tried to subtly remind them.
"Billy, let's not talk about the performance yet. Let's discuss the character. This guy is supposed to be a privileged white guy."
"Luca, watch your language!"
Billy touched his white face, a little displeased.
"Okay, Billy, forget I said that. What I mean is that this guy shouldn't be taking his work so seriously."
"Shouldn't he?"
"Exactly!"
Luca pulled up a chair and sat down, speaking slowly, "Michael is young and already owns a production company. He's clearly from a well-off family, a white guy who doesn't have to work hard to get what he has. Someone like him would easily annoy the Black community. If he doesn't work hard and still has everything, it makes him even more unlikeable."
Billy stroked his beard, pondering, then looked over at the executive writer. "Alonzo, what do you think?"
The writer, Alonzo, a middle-aged man with dark skin, smiled lightly. "Not bad. Luca has a deep understanding of the character.
Right now, many in the Black community often complain about the unfair distribution of resources. Kids from white families don't have to work hard to get everything, while kids from Black families struggle but still get no opportunities.
Michael, being in his twenties and already controlling opportunities, naturally wouldn't be liked."
Billy nodded knowingly. "So, Luca, what's your idea?"
Luca smiled slightly, took out his phone, and started playing Tetris. He actually wanted to play *Star Wars*, but his reflexes had slowed, and it was frustrating to play.
"Hey, Luca, we're waiting for your suggestion."
Billy said, annoyed.
Luca ignored him, casually glancing at the monitor while playing his game and chewing gum, appearing indifferent.
"Luca~"
The assistant director frowned and reminded him.
"Hold on!"
Billy raised his hand and watched Luca's behavior closely, his frown slowly disappearing. "Haha, interesting!"
The Black screenwriter nodded as well, smiling. "Not bad, a white guy who has everything but doesn't appreciate it. While everyone is rehearsing hard, he's playing games. When something goes wrong, he doesn't know how to fix it and hands the problem over to the protagonist. This detail adds depth to the character. Very nice!"
Luca put away his phone, smiling modestly. "It was Director Billy who inspired me. He said Michael's purpose is to be overshadowed, so I figured making him more unlikeable would help."
"Haha~ not bad. Blake, go find a handheld game console!"
Billy shouted orders.
Luca shrugged. He should've brought Lima's game console.
"Billy, I'll go get ready."
"Go ahead, and rehearse with Jessica. Your performance lacked eye contact. Specifically, you two seem too unfamiliar with each other."
"Emmm~ okay, I'll work on that!"
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(End of the chapter)
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