Chapter 86: The Body

The weekend arrived, marking another day of frantic writing. Today, Murphy decided to stay home, hidden away and tapping on his keyboard. He hoped for some encouragement from everyone.

This complex job put Murphy under immense pressure. Although the new crew was only expanded threefold, the tasks to be handled were far more complicated than those for "Hard Candy." It took a full three weeks for various preparations to be nearly completed, surpassing Murphy's expectations.

He vividly remembered reading online that the pre-production of this film had taken less than a week, with filming completed in under twenty days. While the accuracy of this information couldn't be confirmed, it highlighted the gap between a relatively mature company like Lionsgate Films and a shell company like Stanton Studios.

The crew was in the final preparation stage.

For Murphy, the final preparations meant everything was in place, and the first day of shooting was only a few days away.

Was there anything left undone? Of course. The most important task was for Murphy to recharge himself.

Having pressed the start button and made all the necessary preparations, it was time for Murphy to focus ahead, trying to forget all the stress and burdens, and not to be too exhausted to think.

He also needed to ensure that his crew members—the director of photography, art director, gaffer, and props master—got ample rest before filming began.

As the director and producer, most of Murphy's decisions at this moment were irrevocable, so he had to focus on how to use the resources at hand to complete the work.

From now on, both his physical and mental strength would be severely tested.

Unfortunately, the busy work schedule had triggered Murphy's headaches again, and they were worse than ever, almost as severe as when he first arrived in this world.

"Murphy, is your head hurting again?"

In the study of the studio, Carey Mulligan knocked and entered, seeing Murphy leaning back in his chair with a hot towel on his forehead. She quickly walked over, "Is it very painful? Let me take you to the doctor?"

"No need." Murphy pulled the towel off, intending to toss it onto the table, but Carey Mulligan caught it and placed it on the nearby rack. She turned to look at him, her golden eyebrows furrowing, "You really should go."

"I went to UCLA Medical Center yesterday." Murphy waved her off, feeling a splitting pain in his head again, and quickly rubbed his forehead.

Carey Mulligan immediately moved behind his chair, placing her small hands on his temples, and began to gently massage.

While massaging, she asked with concern, "Did you get the test results?"

Murphy withdrew his hand, "Everything is normal."

To avoid affecting his work, he had specifically gone for a check-up the day before, and the results were all normal.

For now, this was all he could do. Murphy knew the cause of his headaches, but it was impossible to explain it to a doctor.

"Carey..."

With the pain slightly relieved, Murphy gently shook his head, moving away from Carey Mulligan's hands, "I'll do it myself."

"It's okay, I'm not tired," Carey Mulligan's hands were back on Murphy's temples, her voice softening, "Helping you makes me the happiest."

The eyes hiding behind Murphy's back seemed especially bright.

Just as Murphy was about to say something, there was another knock at the door. He called for them to come in, and Seth Rogen pushed the door open.

Seeing Carey Mulligan's hands on Murphy's head, Seth Rogen looked a bit embarrassed, scratching the back of his head, "I... I..."

He stuttered for a moment and then simply said, "Sorry, you guys continue."

He was about to retreat and close the door, but Murphy stopped him, "Seth, do you need something?"

Carey Mulligan, lacking social experience but quite clever, immediately withdrew her hands and moved to Murphy's side, taking his cup and pouring a coffee from the machine.

Seth Rogen had no choice but to step into the study, saying, "Beck's dummy is almost done. He wants you to check it out."

Besides his own role, Seth Rogen was also assisting other departments. This hardworking guy knew opportunities were precious.

"Let's go," Murphy took a sip of coffee and stood up, "Let's have a look."

Seeing him ready to work again, Carey Mulligan reminded, "Murphy..."

Murphy nodded at her, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Downstairs, Murphy followed Seth Rogen out of the living room into the small yard in front of the house. Props master Beck Kleiber and his assistant were busy with a charred "corpse" on the ground.

Carey Mulligan followed them down. One glance at the "corpse" made her cover her mouth and hide behind Murphy.

"Hi, Beck." Murphy greeted the props master, his eyes on the "corpse."

The "corpse" was charred black, its surface uneven, with some parts still showing dark red, resembling a severely burnt body.

"I modified a polyester mannequin for this." Beck Kleiber explained to Murphy, "Given our conditions, this is the best we can do."

Murphy circled the body, finding it quite realistic, "Great job."

Most bodies in the scenes would be played by actors, but the person burned in the locked room game wasn't. This dummy would suffice.

Often, you get what you pay for, and the highly-paid Beck Kleiber had proven his worth by creating numerous murder traps according to Murphy's ideas in the rented warehouse over the past weeks.

"So gross." Carey Mulligan peeked out from behind Murphy, "It looks like James Franco got burnt."

Seth Rogen glanced at her, wisely pretending not to hear. A few days ago, after drinking, he had heard some scary stories about Carey Mulligan from James Franco. Given her closeness to the director, Seth had already marked her as someone not to mess with.

He also marveled at James Franco's patience. If it were him, he would've quit long ago.

But recalling the conflict from that night and their interactions these days, Seth Rogen realized that while eccentric, James Franco was relatively weak-willed, making him easier to deal with.

Murphy turned and gave Carey Mulligan a sharp look, making a flicking gesture. Carey Mulligan quickly shut her mouth, covered her head, and obediently moved aside.

Though no longer targeting James Franco as before, Carey Mulligan still found it hard to avoid disliking him.

Shaking his head lightly, Murphy felt a bit better and asked Seth Rogen, "Where's James? Didn't he come today?"

"He went to the set." Seth Rogen replied, "Aren't we rehearsing some murder scenes this afternoon? He went to watch."

That was part of Murphy's afternoon work plan. Checking the time, he said, "Let's head over too."

After some preparation, the cruel scenes and murder traps had been set up, but their actual effectiveness needed to be assessed through rehearsals with the actors in costume, to identify any deficiencies.

___________________

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT