Chapter 46 The Sole Response
The first scene is physically demanding, as the lead female character faces punishment from the royal family for her mistakes, and the focus of the combat scenes is again on Jessica. It took quite a few bloopers from the lead actress before they could move on to the next shot.
Without Jessica in the following scene, she had the chance to rest while changing makeup.
Zoey noticed Jessica had been under the scorching sun, suspended by wires, rushed over with a thermos."Are you doing okay, Jessica?"
"I'm fine," Jessica said with a smile, taking the thermos, "What's in it?"
"It's a cooling herbal tea Mackenzie asked me to bring for you to drink after the scene."
Jessica, visibly exhausted, thanked him while drinking the herbal tea and went back into the makeup room.
She had two more scenes to shoot in the afternoon, but the workload was much lighter. She only needed to stand in the background next to the lead actress in her white dress before the character became a bad guy.
The day they were passed without incident. The shoot was on a tight schedule and needed to move swiftly, which meant there wasn't much time for interaction among the actors off-set.
Deborah Whitney, who played the lead female role, was a rising star consistently trending for her popularity. She had appeared on various variety shows and skyrocketed to fame last year with a hit show. Signing with a reputable management company, she had secured the role of the leading lady in "Charles II" with ease, thanks to her connections and backing.
For three consecutive days, Jessica had been in the spotlight, acting out intense scenes of the character punished by the royalty.
The production team gave her considerable attention without cutting any of her scenes. However, everyone knew that the actors were still getting to know each other. Being so early in production, it was challenging to expect anyone to dive deep into their roles immediately. Shooting such critical scenes at the beginning was a true test of their acting skills and made it even more challenging than usual.
But Jessica accomplished it all. By the third day, she was so exhausted from the harness work that Zoey almost carried her back to her trailer.
"Jessica, you have the rest of the afternoon off until your evening scene; why don't you take a nap in the trailer?" Zoey said with concern, glancing at the call sheet. "You've been doing wire work for three days straight, and that's tough on anyone."
Too exhausted to speak, Jessica settled into her seat in the small trailer and closed her eyes, but sleep eluded her.
Suddenly, an RV pulled up alongside them, parking right next to Jessica's modest trailer.
Although Jessica didn't see it with her eyes closed, Zoey did and quickly got back into the trailer, quietly complaining, "So annoying. With all the spots around here, she has to park that huge RV right next to us. It's like she's screaming for attention, making sure everyone knows she's the lead."
Hearing Zoey, Jessica opened her eyes and glanced outside. Sure enough, Deborah's oversized RV had "coincidentally" taken a spot right beside hers.
Ever since the director and the stunt instructor had praised Jessica's acting and fighting skills, Deborah, outwardly amiable and known for her warm interactions with fellow cast members, had started parking her RV unusually close to Jessica since the day before. Even if ample space was available farther away, she insisted on squeezing in next to Jessica's trailer, making a silently clamorous statement of her leading status.
The visual contrast between the luxury RV and the modest trailer didn't need any elucidation; it was a silent implication to the entire crew about who the star was.
After giving the scene a mere glance, Jessica closed her eyes again, choosing to ignore Deborah. After only three days on the job, Jessica wasn't looking to stand out or create strife..
With a heavy shooting schedule, Jessica couldn't bother with the frivolous games. Ignoring them was the best response she had to offer.
