Filming a Scene

"Daddy, where's Mommy? When can I see Mommy?"

"This weekend, Daddy will take you to see her. Okay?"

The little girl held her script and continued, "Okay. I miss Mommy."

After concluding the train scenes, Zack's team moved on to shoot outdoor scenes in New York, while Lyman took on the responsibility of Christian's family scenes.

Typically, such secondary scenes would be handled by the assistant director, but Zack decided to let Lyman take over. After all, he had some free time and was more than willing to help.

At this moment, they were in a Warner Bros. studio.

Dakota Fanning, the young girl, was rehearsing her lines with Christian before the shoot. Beside them, a well-dressed woman watched closely.

Her expression was even more nervous than Dakota's, who was about to perform. Her hands were tightly clenched, and she occasionally glanced at Christian across from her, wanting to know how well her daughter was doing.

This woman was Dakota's mother.

This pushy mom had always dreamed of turning her daughter into a big star. She was quite attractive herself, which explained why Dakota was so lovely. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.

After practicing their lines, Christian patted Dakota's head and gave her a thumbs-up. "Very good, you've got it all down."

Dakota was thrilled to receive praise.

Perhaps because they both had started their careers as child actors, Christian was very attentive to this young girl on set.

On the other hand, Dakota's mother was perpetually focused on her daughter's acting performance and whether it met the director's expectations. To be honest, her blatant attitude was quite off-putting. But considering Dakota's age and the fact that she wasn't approaching the job casually, it was difficult for anyone to say anything. After all, it was a family matter.

Furthermore, Dakota was very mature and, in some ways, overly so. She handled herself and interacted with others in a way that was far beyond her years. Anyone who saw her couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

Christian's family scenes were limited, requiring only two days to complete. Today was the final scene.

"Get ready, we're about to start."

After a short break, with props and setups in place, Lyman reminded everyone with a megaphone.

Dakota sat on the bed, holding a teddy bear. The room was filled with various toys, designed to look like a little girl's room. There were even too many toys, giving off a sense of loneliness.

Next, Christian returned home from work.

He called Dakota's name loudly but received no response.

It wasn't until he reached his daughter's room that he saw her sitting alone. The clock on the wall showed that it was already 8 PM, even though the scene was being filmed during the daytime.

Dakota looked up at Christian.

The expression on the little girl's face was tinged with loneliness, making people want to protect her immediately.

A daughter like her was probably something many people envied and wished for. However, the fate of this family was destined to be a tragedy. After the film was released, seeing Christian jumping off the train and Dakota sobbing uncontrollably, the audience's tear ducts might be opened as well. This was the allure of the dramatic conflict created by the movie.

Although Dakota had acted in many films, she often couldn't fully grasp the meaning of emotional expression.

For example, at this moment, she recited her lines about missing her mommy, but her expression remained in the previously portrayed sense of loneliness. She didn't even lift her head and had forgotten the instruction Lyman had given her to look at Uncle Christian while delivering her lines.

Her mother stood just off-camera, her expression full of frustration, as if she wanted to rush in and show her how to act properly. However, Lyman paid no attention to her and had already warned her that if she disrupted the shoot, she would be kicked off the set. Her constant criticisms of Dakota had a detrimental effect on the young girl's enthusiasm for acting. After all, she was only ten years old, how much could she understand?

What she needed was encouragement and guidance in mimicking expressions, not criticism, which was ineffective.

Naturally, this scene didn't pass.

Lyman called the young girl over and had Christian stand beside her. He smiled and said, "Try this: watch Uncle Christian deliver his lines later, say them softly, slowly, and you can even speak to the teddy bear while doing it."

The little girl didn't understand the meaning behind this arrangement, but she would do her best. She was very obedient.

The shoot continued.

When Christian asked if she wanted a break, Dakota looked up at him and whispered, "Today is my birthday, Mom called me and asked me to stay with her for a while. Daddy, I miss Mommy."

Christian looked regretful and thumped the door frame. He had forgotten his own daughter's birthday, being the absent-minded person that he was.

Seeing the earnest gaze of his daughter, he found it difficult to refuse her request. However, his work was indeed very busy. So, he negotiated, "Next month, I'll have some time. I'll take you, okay?"

Dakota didn't say anything, just fiddled with the teddy bear.

After a while, she spoke in an even softer voice, "I haven't seen Mommy in a long time. I miss her a lot."

Christian furrowed his brows, walked to the edge of the bed, and patted Dakota's head.

After a while, he agreed, "This weekend, okay? Give Daddy a little time."

"Will we go to Mommy's this weekend?"

"Yes, we'll go to Mommy's."

Finally, Dakota smiled and sweetly kissed Christian on the cheek.

The warmth of this moment was a perfect setup for the upcoming plot.

Lyman stood behind the director's monitor, watching the scenes cut by the camera, nodding in satisfaction.

"Okay, this scene is done."

Dakota was still full of vitality, but unfortunately, she had a very superficial mother. Lyman smiled at the little girl, then instructed the crew to tidy up and join Zack.

Zack was shooting outdoor scenes, which wouldn't take much time, but they had to wait until the early morning hours for their chance to film. After all, it was a real train station, not a set, and they couldn't interfere with its regular operations.

After discussions with the relevant government departments, they were only allowed to shoot for a short window each day, from 4 AM to 5:30 AM.

So, it took nearly four days to complete this segment.

Afterward, Zack took the crew to Canada to film outdoor scenes, depicting the scenes where the train was in motion, with zombie-occupied train stations along the way, and the group constantly escaping.

During this time, Lyman did not accompany them.

A few days ago, Paramount had called to discuss the scheduling of "Saw II". Speaking of which, James had been working on it for quite some time, and the sequel was finally completed.