After more than two hours of preparation, the pyrotechnics team finally finished wiring, and the set dressing team repaired the house's exterior to make it look like an inhabited home.
Four cameras were positioned safely around the house's perimeter, and Gilbert checked each one to ensure the shooting angles were correct.
All preparations were complete. Gilbert woke up Scarlett Johansson, who had fallen asleep in the car, and handed her a pair of earplugs.
"Is the explosion going to start?" The little girl was groggy from sleep and still a bit sleepy.
"Of course," Gilbert helped Scarlett Johansson insert the earplugs. "Open your mouth wide in a moment, and don't be scared. We're perfectly safe."
Scarlett smiled sweetly: "Don't worry, I won't be nervous!"
Gilbert raised an eyebrow. It was hard to say once the explosion actually happened.
"Everyone, retreat two hundred feet back."
"Clear the area?"
"Clear the area."
"Director, area clear."
"OK, await my command. Countdown ten seconds: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, action, 3, 2, 1, detonate..."
At Gilbert's command, explosion special effects supervisor Tony Rydell pressed the wired switch. The instruction traveled via current to the detonator switches inside the house.
"Boom!" A massive roar, followed by a pillar of fire shooting up thirty meters into the sky, carrying the roof with it. The ground trembled.
The house instantly disintegrated under the immense power of the explosives, debris flying everywhere. The air was filled with heat waves generated by the high temperature, which crew members two hundred feet away could clearly feel.
"Oh my God, oh my God, what have I just seen?" Sofia Coppola kept crossing herself, praying.
Scarlett Johansson was completely stunned, as if she had witnessed a scene from hell.
Then, the little girl opened her mouth, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, and she buried her face in Sofia Coppola's arms, crying uncontrollably.
Sofia glared at Gilbert, this is all your doing.
Gilbert was innocent; Scarlett was the one who insisted on coming to watch.
And it was just like setting off fireworks during the New Year, only on a slightly larger scale.
The overwhelmingly shocking explosion scene likely caused significant trauma to the little girl, as it was days later before Gilbert saw Scarlett again.
According to Gilbert's vision, that explosion scene was also supposed to include an internal explosion shot.
However, when he proposed this idea, it was opposed by both producers. After all, a high-speed wireless camera wasn't cheap.
The crew couldn't afford to destroy a camera just for one shot.
Gilbert agreed, so after filming the external explosion, the internal explosion scene was shot using miniature models.
Compared to directly blowing up an entire house, filming with miniature models was safer but more time-consuming.
After all, to make it look realistic, it required considerable effort.
Fortunately, with the strong support of Industrial Light & Magic's special effects model team, the miniature model explosion shots were realistic enough to satisfy Gilbert.
Looking at the little girl beside him, Gilbert remembered that she was also a Hollywood goddess in his past life, so he asked, "Scarlett, are you interested in playing a role?"
Scarlett Johansson was hit by a surprise from out of nowhere. She pointed a tiny finger at herself, scarcely believing it: "Can I?"
"Of course you can," Gilbert turned to Sofia Coppola and added, "You can also have a cameo."
Sofia Coppola thought about it and then refused: "No thanks, I was the Golden Raspberry for Worst Supporting Actress."
It seemed Sofia Coppola was quite sensitive about that, otherwise she wouldn't still be holding a grudge.
No means no, Gilbert didn't push it and quickly arranged a scene for Scarlett Johansson to act in.
Thus, Scarlett Johansson appeared in her first movie, playing her first role: a little girl who almost got hit by a bus.
"Cut! Excellent," Gilbert applauded: "Scarlett, you've successfully wrapped up your role."
"That was really good," Naomi Watts patted Scarlett's head and praised, "Scarlett, you did great!"
Scarlett shook her head in dissatisfaction, swatting Naomi Watts' hand away.
This woman always found excuses to go to Gilbert's trailer around lunchtime, claiming to give him a massage, and Scarlett had been displeased about it for a while.
Naomi Watts didn't mind. Today wasn't just Scarlett's last day of filming, it was also hers. Naomi Watts walked up to Gilbert and thanked him: "Thank you, Gilbert. Without your help, I might have already gone back to Australia."
"You're welcome," Gilbert patted the petite woman's shoulder: "Your massage skills are very good."
"Are they?" Naomi Watts looked at Gilbert with her azure eyes: "Then you should come to my place often; I have even more massage techniques!"
"Alright, I'll definitely..." Gilbert agreed.
Naomi Watts often spent time with Gilbert under the guise of giving him massages. With such a delicate beauty by his side, Gilbert naturally couldn't sit still.
One afternoon, while the crew was having lunch, Gilbert and Naomi Watts "discussed" massage techniques in his trailer.
After that, Naomi Watts openly entered and exited Gilbert's resting trailer and left together in the same car after wrapping up for the day.
The crew saw it but didn't say much; they had seen such things countless times.
The last person to enter and exit the director's trailer like that was Cameron Diaz.
However, Cameron Diaz had been quite busy lately, shooting commercials, attending commercial events, and landing a significant role in a new movie.
With Gilbert's influence, Cameron Diaz's acting career seemed to be officially taking off.
Although the crew had no objections, Scarlett Johansson was not pleased.
She tugged at Gilbert's pant leg and said, "Gilbert, I can give you a massage too."
Gilbert paused, then burst out laughing, and the rest of the crew joined in.
Scarlett was puzzled: "What are you all laughing at? I often massage my mom."
Sofia pulled Scarlett aside and said, "Scarlett, 'massage' doesn't mean what you think it means."
"Then what does it mean?"
"That, that," Sofia stammered for a while, not knowing how to explain it to the little girl, so she just said, "Anyway, you'll understand when you grow up."
"Do I still have to wait until I grow up?" Scarlett Johansson looked disappointed: "But that's going to take so long!"
It certainly would take a long time, but Scarlett Johansson often came to the set with Sofia and had become quite familiar with Gilbert.
It seemed that the little girl would have many interactions with Gilbert in the future.
After Naomi Watts wrapped up, the crew continued filming.
Naomi Watts played a minor role. Although Gilbert added a lot of scenes for her, it was still not a main role; it wasn't important enough.
Christmas and New Year passed simply. The brief holiday gave the crew members, constantly surrounded by explosions, a much-needed rest.
Gilbert prepared a Christmas gift for Scarlett Johansson: a mermaid pillow he got from Robert Iger.
The little girl didn't seem to like it much, but she didn't spoil the mood and politely thanked Gilbert, accepting the gift.
Gilbert also met Scarlett's mother, a Broadway playwright.
After divorcing Scarlett's father, she moved to Los Angeles with Scarlett and her brother to live and look for work.
"Ms. Sloan, are you familiar with Chicago?" Gilbert asked during their casual conversation.
Melanie Sloan, as a Broadway playwright, was naturally familiar with the classic musical.
She smiled: "I've seen it several times in New York, so of course, I'm very familiar with it."
Gilbert nodded, making a mental note. Perhaps in the future, he could ask Melanie Sloan for help in acquiring the adaptation rights to Chicago.
Many Hollywood films are not original; they may have original novels, TV series, or plays.
Even as a reincarnated person, Gilbert couldn't bypass existing novels, series, or plays and "create" an original one himself.
Therefore, some copyrights needed to be acquired early, just like The Lord of the Rings, which needed to be snatched up in advance.
If he couldn't get it, then that project was simply not meant for Gilbert.
As one of Broadway's classic productions, Chicago was naturally one of Gilbert's targets.
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