Capítulo 13: Chapter 13: Acting Outburst
Charlotte Cooper was momentarily taken aback.
Only the director's shout "cut" brought her back to reality.
"Charlotte, pay attention to your expression." The director frowned.
She nodded in acknowledgment. With her back to the camera, Lara Milan whispered, "What, you can't take it? You're indeed just a beautiful face. You two don't even match at all."
The confrontation started the moment the second scene began.
"Your Highness, I was just taking advantage of the good weather to fly kites with my sisters. I didn't mean to break into your palace when the kite string broke and it fell onto the wall. Please forgive me."
Lara knelt on the ground, her pitiful expression along with her lines being completely different from her previous green tea girl image, causing Charlotte to lose her focus.
"Cut, cut, cut!"
The director repeated the word three times. Charlotte could feel his irritation from several meters away.
"Go rest for a moment, Charlotte, come here," called the director.
"Charlotte, you are playing a conceited and domineering princess at the moment, not a motionless piece of wood. You were sent to marry someone at a young age, and your husband died within three years. You spent another three years fighting everyone inside and outside the palace before being brought back to your home country."
"So, at this point, you should be feeling fragile, sensitive, and even messed up. You can't stand these innocent and radiant young girls in the palace."
The director was explaining the character's context to her as though he feared she did not understand.
Charlotte glanced back at Lara, who was giving her an antagonistic look, then turned to the director and smiled, "I'm clear now, director."
"Go get some rest, get into character. We will continue in five minutes."
Ella rushed forward to give Charlotte a drink of water when she saw the director finishing his instructions.
"Genna, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"Hey, for such a scene, the director has to explain everything to you personally. It's not much less than just performing it himself for you." Lara came over to mock.
"I indeed don't have the same acting skills as you, so I can seamlessly transition between playing a green tea girl and a white lotus."
Charlotte swept her gaze over her lightly as she spoke.
"Are you envious because my acting is better than yours? Or are you just upset about not being as young as me?"
"Envious of you?" Charlotte laughed coldly, "You really should look in the mirror more. Your beauty, your figure, your refinement, why should I be envious of any of them?"
Her tone was calm, but with it came a sense of nobility that others could not emulate.
The director was ready to begin on the other side.
Charlotte corrected her royal attire and then looked at the camera position. She whispered to Ella, "Tell Vanessa to prepare for some PR work."
Ella was taken aback as she watched her leave.
"Are you ready? We're about to start the second scene," shouted the director.
"About your husband and me, there's one thing you probably don't know." After a deliberate pause, she continued, "He's touched my thigh!"
Lara let out these words in a low voice, satisfied upon seeing a dark look pass over Charlotte's face.
The scene was shot, starting for the third time.
"I humbly beg for your forgiveness, Your Highness."
Lara knelt there, her body swaying weakly.
Just as she finished speaking, Charlotte swatted her with a hard slap.
"Forgiven? Who do you think you're speaking to!"
The set was quiet, the smack was so loud that many unconsciously touched their own cheeks.
There was no slap written in the script. As Lara's head was slapped to one side, she looked somewhat stunned. Staring at the self-righteous-looking Charlotte, she opened and closed her lips but could not utter a single word.
The director was also stunned by the sudden outburst of Charlotte's acting skills. Clenching his fist, he looked intently at the stage, waiting for Lara to continue her lines, but nothing came.
"Cut!"
The director stood with his hands on his hips and watched the two people at the center of the set with his megaphone in his hand.
"What's wrong with you Lara? Carry on!"
Director, she's adlibbing. There's absolutely no scene in the script mentioning a slap!" Lara complained grievously as she stood up and held her cheek.
Seeing his frown, the assistant director promptly handed up the script, "The director is correct, there's no such thing."
Without even reading it, the director took the script and hit the assistant's head with it. He pointed to the court and said, "The slap was spot on. It brings out the princess's supercilious, condescending attitude perfectly. Just continue with it. You don't even know how to improvise as an actor?"
"Hey, makeup artist, hurry up and touch up the makeup. Charlotte, stay in character, we'll continue slapping in a bit."
What do you mean, 'continue slapping'?
"Director!"
Lara ground her teeth, looking at the director who sat down nonchalantly, and then turned her vengeful gaze towards Charlotte.
"I really don't have very good acting skills. If I perform badly, how many slaps would I end up giving you?"
Charlotte looked at her own hand, "Don't worry, I can control my strength. I won't scratch your face, at most it'll be swollen for a few days."
"You!"
Charlotte laughed, "What now? The director tells me to do so."
Her eyes carried a trace of fox-like craftiness.
"All departments, please get ready. We are about to start. Actors, get in character!"
When Charlotte slapped Lara again, Lara tilted her body, landed on the ground perfectly, and managed to deliver her lines. All she wanted now was for the scene to end fast.
The two of them successfully completed the scenes they had planned to shoot that day.
After the wrap, the director couldn't stop complimenting Charlotte, "Who says you can't act? I think your acting skills are spot on. Just through that last scene, you demonstrated so much. You are one of the actresses with the most appropriate expressions I've seen in my many years of work. Are you still interested in filming a historical drama? How about coming for my next production?"
"Thank you for your kind words, director. I owe all my success to your good guidance—and having scenes with Miss Lara. She led me really well. Actually, my acting skills are not very good. Isn't that right, Miss Lara?"
Charlotte looked at Lara with a smile on her face.
Lara choked and couldn't say anything. After what they've all said, what more could she say?
"We are just outsiders. You yourself grasped the concept well, and I look forward to your performance in tomorrow afternoon's scene."
Only after parting with the director did Charlotte begin to remove her makeup and leave.
Lara's face was all red from the two slaps, and her assistant was applying an ice pack to her face.
Watching Charlotte leave, Lara glared at her fiercely. Only when she disappeared from view did Lara fiercely throw the ice pack on the ground.
"Lara, you should leave the ice on, otherwise it will swell up," the assistant advised.
"Let it swell, I wish it would." Lara looked at the red mark on her face, a glint of calculation shining in her eyes.
As soon as she got in the car, Charlotte received a call from Vanessa Foster.
"Genna, what did Ella mean by getting ready for PR?"
"I slapped Lara on set,"
"You..." On the other end of the line, Vanessa sighed deeply, instinctively thinking that someone had provoked Charlotte and she had lost her temper and hit them. "What happened?"
"She provoked me first. I've been enduring her for a long time. But it was part of the scene, and the director agreed to it. I didn't go overboard, just gave her two slaps," Charlotte explained clearly before Vanessa could start berating her.
Hearing it was linked to the filming, Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was afraid they would make a big deal out of this incident, so I asked you to be prepared in advance."
"From what you've said, it doesn't seem very serious."
After hanging up, Charlotte closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat.
She was still very bothered by the fact that Henry Russell had touched Lara's thigh. She needed to find a way to ask him about it when she went home.
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