Chapter 382 Suffering While Filming
Juliet dragged herself back to the crew, same old deal—nobody even gave her a second look.
She was used to it by now, thinking, 'One day, they'll be sorry!'
"Juliet," the director Adam barked at her, "Hurry up and change. Your scene's in half an hour. Look over the script and don't mess up your lines!"
"Okay," Juliet muttered, but inside she was boiling. 'What lines? My character just begs for mercy over and over. This movie's setup is so dumb!'
Last time, Juliet's scene had her jumping out of a car after being kidnapped. She landed in some deserted area with no cameras around, so she got nabbed again real quick.
This time, they weren't playing nice. They drugged her. When she woke up, she was in some rundown house. Juliet had to start acting from there.
Basically, her character was stuck in a loop of escaping, getting caught, escaping again, and getting caught again, with some beatings in between.
"Scene six, take one, action!"
Juliet immediately got into character, writhing on the ground in pain. Jumping out of the car had messed up her legs, but she had to try to get up and run. She kept shouting, "Help! Is anyone there? Help me!"
The car screeched to a halt. Someone got out and walked towards her fast.
Juliet's neat hair was now a mess. She limped forward, tears streaming down her face, constantly looking back.
The visual of her running and looking back gave a sense of endless despair. Just as she was about to look back one last time, a white cloth covered her face.
"Mmm! Mmm!" Juliet struggled but soon blacked out.
When she woke up, she was in a dilapidated hut with a broken roof, sunlight streaming through.
There was an iron chain around her neck, but her hands and feet were free. It felt like she was being treated like a dog.
Juliet felt a chill because the prop used to cover her face had real anesthesia on it. She felt weak, like being drunk, unable to muster any strength.
Before she could question Adam about it, the shaky door was kicked open with a bang. It hit the wall and bounced back.
A man in a tattered tank top walked in. He was dark-skinned, with sweat dripping from his forehead. "This new wife we bought looks pretty good."
Juliet had to focus on acting.
She looked at the man, trembling. "Who are you?"
"I'm your man! The last one wasn't as good-looking, but she was cheap, just about three hundred bucks. Since she ran away, whatever." He walked over as he spoke.
Juliet backed away until she was cornered. "What are you talking about? Please let me go! I'm just a college student. If my parents find out I'm missing, they'll be worried sick! I'll pay you back when I get home, just let me go."
The guy just ignored her, grabbed her leg, and dragged her across the floor.
"Let go of me! Let go!"
"Cut!" Adam yelled, stopping the scene. "Next scene, the escape."
Juliet sighed in relief, looking at her leg. The straw on the ground had scratched her up.
The dude acting with her immediately broke character and walked off.
After the prop around Juliet's neck was removed, she stormed over to Adam. "What was that? You said just to pretend to faint!"
Adam looked at her all calm. "Don't worry; it's harmless. Just some pure alcohol to cause brief dizziness, only two or three minutes. Drink some water, and you'll be fine."
"You should have told me first!"
"Juliet, what's with the attitude?"
Juliet bit her lip, knowing it wasn't smart to openly confront a famous director. She swallowed her anger.
Soon, the second scene kicked off.
The once glamorous college student, now sold as a wife, had a rough life. But she wasn't gonna sit around and tried every possible way to escape.
Finally, one afternoon, she managed to run away. But the village was huge, and she kept running without finding a way out. She got caught again and beaten.
Juliet took a lot of hits in this scene. To make it look real, Adam wanted half of the hits to be legit, with the actors going easy on each other.
Juliet said, "Can't we solve this with different camera angles? Why do we have to hit for real? And where's the stunt double?"
Adam ignored her and looked at James, who was watching Juliet's acting. "What do you think?"
James pondered, 'Juliet's character is tragic and pitiful, sure to make the audience cry. The whole movie is a realistic critique, exposing unseen darkness and human nature.'
He could already see the movie being famous and likely up for awards. If Juliet was lucky, she might even snag Best Supporting Actress.
After weighing the pros and cons, James said, "No need for camera tricks; it affects the viewing experience. The actors know their limits."
Some punches and slaps that looked hard would actually be controlled.
Juliet gritted her teeth. "James, you..."
James said, "Listen to Adam. Your rewards will be ten or a hundred times more than what you put in!"
Juliet hesitated but eventually gave in. When she left the set, she was covered in bruises and scratches from the rough field.
In the car, James said, "Don't think I'm being harsh. This is common in the entertainment industry. Look at those big stars. How many of them use stunt doubles? They all do their own stunts. Some injure their backs, some cut their eyes, some break their legs doing a jump scene. What is your suffering compared to that? If you want to be a memorable actor, stop being so pretentious!"
