On the Set

What kind of role do you play?

Extraordinarily intelligent, arrogant, cynical, and romantic.

What kind of person does the director hope to be?

Be sunny, optimistic, and positive; stay away from drugs, and be a good person.

What else do you need to do in this drama?

Become the protagonist, overwhelm the supporting characters, and let your radiant charm completely cover up the brilliance of those supporting characters.

Before coming to the crew, Downey had imagined what he needed to express countless times. 

How to do all these things and leave a deep impression on the director at the beginning of the meeting is something he has been thinking about. 

Downey knew he was not a person with a very good reputation in Hollywood, and it would not do him any good to put on airs in front of the director. 

This is his only chance to show his cynicism and optimism with his own charm.

He had thought about what to do before meeting the director. He had watched Levi's movies and knew how Levi viewed vulnerable groups. 

He knew that in front of Levi, it was far better to openly admit his drug history than to hide it and refuse to say it. 

In front of this director, what he needs to do is not to show that he has reformed my past but to truly show that he has reformed and is optimistic and positive.

At the same time, he also needs to show his humor and informality appropriately. 

What about the playboy side? Don't say there are no women on the crew. Even if there are women, if you want to show your playboy side, you can't seduce women randomly on the crew. 

Therefore, one's own cynicism must rely on a sense of humor. Self-mockery and the grace of one's appearance have to be expressed.

Downey was well prepared for his appearance, although due to drugs, the 40-year-old already had a lot of wrinkles and looked older. But being born in Hollywood, he is used to seeing all kinds of stories, and he also knows very well that a man's charm lies not in his looks but in his demeanor. 

After having enough grace, all he needs is some sense of humor to complete his image.

And again, he just needs to prove that even among a group of actors, he will be the crowd's focus. Compared to others, this one is not too easy to prove, but luckily, in this place, the presence of two stars gave him this opportunity.

He directly shook off the two people, ignored them, introduced himself to the director, directly exposed his scandal with some self-deprecation, and told his past.

He believed this attitude was unequivocally the best.

And what he did was obviously very good. When Director Levi turned to look at him, he also saw appreciation.

"Mr. Downey, welcome aboard. However, while I can meet your financial demands, I fear you might be half disappointed in other aspects."

Levi rose from his seat, extending a greeting. Downey responded with a shrug and a smile, pulled a chair over, and sat down. He could tell that Levi admired him. In other words, he has already half achieved his role.

Levi's reaction reassured him.

"Now that you have money, you don't have to worry about other problems. I can handle women's affairs myself." He knows how to joke appropriately, "Okay, tell me, what do I need to do for money? Do you want to test my memory of the script? Believe me, I prepared very well. Pick any line from the script, and once you read it, I'll follow suit."

Downey spoke confidently. On the one hand, he still had to look like an arrogant genius. On the other hand, he knew this was also telling the director that he had prepared the script carefully.

Three weeks were enough for him to read the script he had on hand many times. He believed that he could recite any paragraph in the script.

And now, he wants to show this well.

"Are you so confident in your preparation? It looks like maybe we really need to add one more actor." After hearing his words, Levi didn't press further but turned his attention to Washington beside him.

However, after glancing at Downey, Washington changed the topic.

"Oh? Has Ms. Streep decided to star?"

Denzel Washington heard Levi say another person had agreed to join, and he immediately became interested.

These days, it has been rumored that Meryl Streep will also join in filming this movie. As one of Hollywood's leading actresses, her joining may not necessarily increase the box office, but it can definitely increase people's expectations for the movie.

"No, she is still talking to the crew. She has a lot of film appointments, and it is difficult to adjust the time. Our movie takes a long time to shoot, and it is difficult to adjust the time. She basically decided to start, but in terms of time, it has not been determined yet."

Fiennes, who was on the side, also spoke at this time. He explained Streep's situation, completely ignoring Downey.

In fact, they already knew this.

Meryl Streep is different from the other actors here. Although her movies are generally not particularly good at the box office, she always gets very good reviews when she acts, which makes many movies like to use her. 

If you want to participate in a blockbuster film, it always takes a lot of time. The Lord of the Rings faced this situation at the beginning, and the current Three-Body Problem also faces this situation. Streep doesn't have that much time to spend here, so she needs to adjust her time.

Now, they were deliberately teasing Downey.

"Guys, I'm still here!" Downey looked at them and spoke.

"Oh, Nick, are you talking about Downey? That's no problem. He'll undoubtedly work hard for the money. When it comes to both money and women, he's game for anything – script or otherwise."

Washington, who seemed to suddenly realize it, also spoke at this time.

Hearing his words, Downey listened to him cautiously. He knew that his identity was easily annoying, and the way he did things today was not particularly lovable. 

He was worried that after Washington opened his mouth, he would also say something that would get him in trouble. He is an old actor who was on the crew from the first film and has a very high status in Hollywood. 

If he doesn't want to cooperate with him, then he will obviously face a lot of trouble. Even the director must consider the opinions of important actors.

Fortunately, it was obvious that he was talking about messing around with women in the hotel when he was first arrested. However, he did not use drugs as an excuse, and he still saved face for himself. 

Although this incident can be considered a relatively embarrassing scandal, it is nothing compared to the truly embarrassing things he has done.

Downey turned his head and saw a teasing look on his face. Obviously, he didn't want to correct himself. On the contrary, when he said these words, it seemed more like he wanted to settle the relationship with himself so that he could get along better with the crew.

After he was sure, he spoke again, "At least I paid for it. For a star like me, it's not easy to find a woman and pay for it instead of seducing young actors."

"Normal people would regard paying money to find a woman as a shame. It's incredible that you can still be proud of it..."

The two people started bickering with each other while Ralph Fiennes, who was standing aside, watched their commotion with arms folded and a smile on his face.

He knew that these two people had many rivalry scenes in the play. When they joked, they actually showed their tacit understanding and acting skills in front of Levi, allowing Levi to have a better understanding of them.

Every actor has his own acting characteristics, and everyone's characteristics are different. Sometimes, a play needs to change a lot of lines because of changing actors. Their back-and-forth can actually be regarded as showing themselves in front of Levi.

Fiennes also spoke up and joined the group in time, "Mr. Levi, are you sure you want to have these people in your crew? I know a few good actors who can perform well; how about introducing them to you? It might not be a bad thing to replace them."

In the movie, the person played by Fiennes is somewhat shady. At this time, he is picky when he opens his mouth. He also plays such a role. 

These people are all looking for the feeling of their own role, which also made Levi laugh on the sidelines.

It seems that he should be able to shoot this movie very well.

Downey saw Levi's smile and felt even more relieved. If, before walking into the studio, he just thought this movie was his turnaround, then after walking in, he was very sure that he had to shoot this movie.

Everything about this drama is so appealing.

The camera is a 3D stand-type camera with brand-new track and rocker equipment. Ubiquitous lights are used to create various effects. The studio scene has been arranged into a cosmic environment, as well as those recently designed space suits and spaceship models; all these things surprised him.

Looking up, there are digital cameras everywhere on the roof. After a rough calculation, there are probably more than 100 cameras here. 

Downey knew that the function of these things was to transmit the captured data through the reflection of the near-infrared spectrum produced by LEDs on the scene and then use the spectral reflection and actor movement to conduct a combined analysis to obtain a three-dimensional model of the lens - these things, he had only heard of it, but now, he could actually see it.

Such a crew is much better than a small crew. Playing a role in such a production left him genuinely exhilarated!

*****

Thanks and kudos for my patreons 

Marcelo Maia

Britanna

Mandy G

Scott DePaepe

Oluwatimileyin Olayemi

Herylle Ian Gloria

You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.