Ch 37: Showmen, Men Who Live By Dressing Up Plain and Brutal Truths To Amaze, To Shock (The Prestige - Part II)

Thursday, 17th April, 2008

{3rd Person POV}

The next scene that Oliver was going to shoot was going to be the scene where Cutter shows the Judge the water tank Angier drowned in.

(Note: I changed it from the discussion Cutter has with Caldlow because that wouldn't be possible as they'd need to rent a mansion, which won't be easy.)

For this, they had rented a small warehouse in the industrial part of Los Angeles.

The crew was setting up the cameras and lighting, as well as putting all the magical apparatus in their places, including the Transported Man. Meanwhile, Oliver was overseeing them as they put the equipment down, and helping them wherever he could.

Soon, all the equipment was placed correctly, and Oliver walked to the Director's chair, sitting there and bringing the microphone close to his face.

"Everyone, quiet on set! 3, 2, 1… and action!" He says with his voice booming through the warehouse.

As soon as he says this, the door to the warehouse is opened by a policeman, followed by both the Judge and Cutter walking inside.

"It's all laid down at the end, your honour." The police officer says while pointing his finger to the centre of the warehouse.

Cutter walks towards the centre, where many magical apparatus lay, including a massive crate. Cutter looks at the crate in awe, and touches a part of it where it says "Colorado Springs".

"What's in there?" The Judge asks curiously.

Cutter opens the crate, revealing a machine made from metal and glass. "Angier's machine." He says.

"You built this, Mr. Cutter?" The Judge asks again.

Cutter shakes his head, denying the idea of him building a machine as great as this. "Oh no, this wasn't built by a magician… it was built by a wizard." His face then forms an off-look as he continues. "A man who can actually do the things a magician pretends to do."

Cutter then closes the crate as the Judge looks at other props.

"Your honour, what will happen to these things when the trial is over?" Cutter asks. These props were the only memory he had left of Robert Angier, someone he was employed for eight years, so the fate of these props was quite important to him.

The Judge stares at a glass tank, where one side of the glass is broken. "They've been sold to Lord Caldlow. An avid collector, and apparently very interested in the case of Robert Angier's murder." He explains.

"Don't let him take this." Cutters pleads to the Judge.

The Judge looks over at Cutter, and sees him caressing the crate. "Why not?" He asks.

"It's dangerous." Cutter replies.

The Judge snorts, and says, "I'm sure beneath its bells and whistles it's some simple and disappointing trick."

"The most disappointing of all- It has no trick, it's real."

The Judge smiles at Cutter indulgently, and then turns away.

"Cut!" Oliver shouted through the microphone. "That was good. Take a break and then we'll continue."

Oliver looked at the footage they had captured, and found it to be satisfactory. He then walked towards Kenneth, who had a bit of a sour look.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked, confused at Kenneth's foul mood.

"A break isn't necessary." Kenneth said.

Oliver sighed, and explained, "You might not think that, but it is still important for you to rest your body. We don't want anything happening to you now, do we?" He explained in a soft voice.

Kenneth's lips turned into a thin line as he closed his eyes, and then opened them again. "Alright, I guess." He said in a bitter voice.

To Kenneth, acting was his passion, something that he felt elevated his life from being boring to something fun. So to be held back to take something like 'rest' just turned his mood foul.

Of course, he knew that it was important for an old man with a frail and weak body like himself, but it still pained his heart.

Kenneth walked to a chair where he sat down and was handed some water, which he gladly took. After resting there for around twenty or so minutes, he jumped back onto his feet, feeling as ready as ever to act.

"Alright everyone! Be quiet!" Oliver commanded. "3, 2, 1… and action!"

On his cue, the actor playing the Judge immediately began speaking his dialogue. "So, this is the tank Robert Angier drowned in?"

Kenneth, now having immersed himself as Cutter, looked at the empty smashed-up glass tank and nodded. Cutter then looks at the top of the tank, where there is a padlock. He pushes down on a panel of the lid and says, "This lets the performer's hands reach the trick padlock."

As Cutter says this, a small section of the lid pops open.

"A standard magical apparatus for escapes?" The Judge says.

"With one important difference…" Cutter says as he grabs the padlock and rattles it. "This isn't a trick lock… it's been switched out for a real one." He reveals.

The Judge stares at the tank, appalled. "What a way to kill someone. Why in God's name go to such lengths?"

"These are magicians, your honour. Showmen, men who live by dressing up plain and brutal truths to amaze, to shock people." Cutter explained.

"Even without an audience?" The Judge asks, interested in how magicians live.

"There was an audience," Cutter says. "See, the water tank had a particular significance for the two men." He says,

"Cut!" Oliver shouts. "That was great!"

Oliver then jumps off of the Director's chair and speaks through the microphone, "That's it for today, everyone! Pack up your stuff and we'll leave!"

Just like that, the first day of filming had come to an end, with tp scenes already completed. Oliver hoped that they could maintain that pace and finish filming on time.

***

Wednesday, 23rd April, 2008

Of course, that hope didn't come to fruition as for the rest of the week, he was only able to do two scenes.

While Oliver wasn't that happy, it would be an exaggeration to say that he was in a foul mood. Maybe it was his inexperience in filming, or rather, his experience in having scenes being shot quickly that he wasn't as happy as he could be.

In fact, Kenneth and Michael had to explain to him that this much time was normal, and that he probably got lucky in getting great footage in two or three takes. After the explanation, Oliver just accepted that this indeed a normal pace for filming and his mood got better.

Currently, he was shooting the scene where Borden shows Sarah the catching bullet trick. For Oliver, this was one his favourite scenes in the whole film. So, he wanted it to be as perfect as it could be. And because of that, they had been shooting only this scene for two days now, with forty-two takes. Current take was forty-third, and this time, things went quite a bit better.

"Everybody quiet on set! 3, 2, 1… and action!"

As Oliver's words left his mouth, Emily (Sarah) immediately started speaking her line of dialogue.

"We can't afford to pay him-" Sarah argues.

"We'll start making money once we have our audience-" Borden counter-argued.

"And until then? What I earn is barely enough for the both of us."

Borden shrugs, "I'll give him half of my food."

Sarah looks meaningfully at Borden and says, "You're already going to be sharing it with someone else."

Borden looks at Sarah, a bit confused. Then he realises what she meant.

"You're…?"

"Having a baby." Sarah reveals.

Borden freezes, then smiles widely. He hugs Sarah tightly and says, "That's amazing! We should tell Fallon about this!"

Sarah, on the other hand, flinches as the gun in Borden's hands touches her.

"What's this?" Sarah asks, now smiling.

"This is the trick to wake up Ackerman at the end of my act." Borden explains.

"Your great trick? The 'masterpiece' that will rake us fortune?" Sarah asks.

"No, no. The world isn't ready for that one yet." Borden says with a smile. He then moves to the table and starts loading the gun with a shot, and then waddles it. "This is merely a run-of-the-mill daring and spectacular bullet catch." He says in a matter-of-factly way.

Borden drops the bullet into the barrel.

"I'm not letting you get shot." Sarah protests.

Borden rams the bullet and charge down the ramrod, and then hands the gun to Sarah.

"It's perfectly safe, so just shoot me here." Borden points the gun at his chest, but Sarah moves the gun away from his hands.

"Not there!" She complains and aims at the mirror behind Borden.

"No, no, not there! It should be here!" Borden protests.

"Cut!" Oliver shouts. "Emily, Take out the bullet and give it to Michael." He orders.

Emily does as told and takes out the bullet through the barrel and aims the gun at the mirror in the corner of the room.

'It's going pretty well so far.' Oliver thought with a smile on his face.

Oliver picks up the microphone again, and shouts, "Quiet on set! 3, 2, 1… action!"

Emily (Sarah) pulls the trigger on the gun, surprising Borden a bit.

*BANG*

Borden quickly moves his hands to catch the bullet, and does a fake groan, acting as if he had gotten hurt. Sarah flinches at his reaction, and gets concerned. Borden's face turns grave as he looks at Sarah and slowly opens his palm, revealing the bullet in his hand.

Sarah laughs in astonishment and places her hand to her chin. "Very true." Smiling, she asks, "Tell me how you do it."

"No, I can't do it." Borden rejects revealing his trick with a smile on his face.

Sarah's face turns serious, and she stares at Borden. "Well then you can't do it." She proclaims.

"Alfred-"

"I can't do it?" Borden asks.

"Alfred, I'm sorry but I can't raise a child on my own." She says.

Borden raises his finger, giving in to Sarah's demand. "Don't tell anybody what I told you."

"Okay." Sarah replies.

"The gunpowder," Borden begins as he pushes the gunpowder down the barrel. "Voil, and the bullet. Ramrod." Borden pushes the bullet down the barrel and takes the ramrod out.

Borden places the ramrod above Sarah's hand and drops the bullet on it, which surprises Sarah. "The bullet is not even in the gun when the charge is fired." Borden reveals.

"Once you know, it's very obvious." Sarah remarks with a laugh and drops the bullet on the table.

Borden looks a bit dejected, and says, "Well, I mean, it's still good. It's just dangerous. I mean, people still get killed doing it."

"What? How?" Sarah asks.

"See, some smart-arse puts a penny or a button, or God forbid, Sarah, somebody could put a bullet down there."

This revelation makes Sarah concerned for Borden again, and noticing that, Borden tries to prove that he will be safe.

Borden brings both of his hands, and says, "Don't worry, don't worry." He says the second one slower than the first, as Sarah looks at him again. "Because… I'm not gonna let anything happen. Everything's gonna be alright, because I. Love you. Very much."

Sarah stares at Borden for a bit, and smiles. "Say it again."

Borden looks confused, but follows Sarah's wish anyway. "I love you."

Sarah, still smiling, says, "Not today."

"What?" Borden asks, not understanding the meaning of her words.

"Y'know, some days it's true, and today you don't mean it. Maybe today, you're more in love with magic than me. I like being able to tell the difference. It makes the days it is true mean something." Sarah explains.

"Cut!" Michael and Emily looked at Oliver, who was grinning from ear-to-ear. Oliver made his way to the both of them and said, "That was absolutely perfect! You guys were great!"

"You're happy." Michael remarked with a smile.

Oliver turned to look at him. "Of course I am! The performance you showed was really great! And I'm also just happy we finally got over this scene!" He explained in an excited voice.

"Good for you, buddy. Just calm down a bit."

Emily watched as the two men talked away for nearly five minutes before deciding to pack up for the day. It had been quite an exhausting shoot for her, too.

And like that, the first week of filming ended.

~~~

A/N: I have to ask: Is there no word limit on the title? I seriously thought I wouldn't be able to write the whole quote down, and yet, I was.

Anyways, not much to say here, other than the fact that I have a 4-day holiday (Including today, aka Saturday) till Tuesday. So, I'm thinking on one chapter each on Monday and Tuesday.

Anyways, see ya later alligator!