Traditional dance

The next day, at Studio 2 of EuropaCorp.

Thomas sat on a high stool behind the camera, manipulating the boom arm with both hands, his gaze fixed on the image within the lens.

A wide-angle shot, perfect for capturing large scenes.

Below, a group of individuals dressed in black suits stood silently, their heads slightly lowered.

They were paying tribute to the deceased leader of the "Golden Gate Group".

As the camera turned to the other side, a few more actors stood by, ready to enter the frame at any moment.

"Morgan, during this dialogue, you should appear amiable. The more you appear to yield before counterattacking, the better you can showcase the arrogance of gang members. The greater the conflict's tension, do you understand?"

"I understand, Lyman," the man with the dark face smiled slightly, revealing a set of white teeth. For some reason, black people's teeth always seemed to be a few shades whiter. Wasn't that to create a striking contrast? No wonder toothpaste advertisements often featured black individuals; the effect was truly remarkable. It caught the eye.

The filming continued.

James Wan stood beside Lyman.

Below the lens, a plain Ford slowly parked on the roadside. Suddenly, the camera angle shifted, transitioning to the interior of the car.

A camera was slowly lifted by a pair of hands. In a close-up shot, it hinted that something was about to happen.

The scene transitioned, first showing a black suit, black pants, and a bald head. Then, a man dressed appropriately, accompanied by two followers, appeared on camera.

He walked briskly to the Ford by the roadside, snatched the camera from the person trying to take a secret photo, and ruthlessly threw it on the ground.

Only then did the camera reveal the faces of those in the shot.

It was the police surveillance team led by Morgan and the gang members led by Jason.

The "Golden Gate Group" leader's funeral had naturally attracted the attention of the police, but they hadn't expected Jason Statham's explosive temper to disrupt the event.

"Fuck..." Jason spat out the lines he had already memorized. "Taking photos? Enjoying surveillance, huh? Now that your camera's gone, what are you gonna do?"

Well, Jason's performance this time was pretty good. It seemed he was in the right mood. With his words, expressions, and gestures all in sync, he delivered a tone of mockery and provocation towards the Los Angeles police force.

"You're hindering our work for no reason. Do you know that's against the law? Also, you damaged someone else's property; remember to compensate, you bastard." Morgan said these words with a smile.

The commotion outside wasn't subtle and had alerted the people attending the funeral inside.

Before long, figures like Nicolas Cage, Heath Ledger, and Tom Cruise, representing the gang's powerful members, all stepped out.

At this moment, the camera zoomed in for a close-up, sweeping across the faces of the main actors.

Tom remained silent, looking downward, avoiding eye contact with Morgan, trying to avoid him. Nicolas seemed in a bad mood, squeezing his forehead hard, clearly irritated by the recent unexpected death of the gang leader and the sudden attention from the Los Angeles police. Heath had a playful expression, seemingly eager to witness this confrontation.

Morgan's words didn't sit well with Jason. He was naturally fearless, and at this point, he wanted to open the car door and give these people a beating.

His attempt failed, as a young police officer inside the car also held onto the door, preventing him from opening it.

Both sides were in a standoff. Morgan sat in the back seat, then took the initiative to push open the rear car door.

After stepping out, he adjusted his collar that had wrinkled during the process, and then calmly faced Jason.

"Cut. Pass."

Lyman held a megaphone and gave the command, causing several actors on the set to immediately run back to the dressing room for touch-ups. Summer had this downside – they couldn't shoot for long before sweat soaked through their clothes or smudged their makeup.

They wiped off the sweat and changed into fresh, dry clothes. Filming continued.

"What? Do you want to assault law enforcement officers? Are you sure your boss behind you can protect you? Or perhaps you've had enough fun outside and want to spend some time in prison? Alright, I'm standing here. I'll indulge you. Come on, in front of all these people, hit me." Morgan smiled gleefully. "Are you afraid?"

Hmm, the retaliation was swift.

In this scene, he drew inspiration from the confrontation between Sonny and the FBI in "The Godfather". However, there it was during a wedding, while here it was during a funeral.

Of course, Jason wouldn't dare to physically attack the police, or more accurately, he wouldn't dare to do it openly.

In everything, the greatest fear was open confrontation.

He vented his frustration by stomping on the camera on the ground.

Just as he was about to leave, Morgan stopped him again. "Hey, ill-mannered kid, where's the money? Compensation."

Jason turned back a few steps, pulled out a Franklin from his suit's inner pocket, and tossed it on the ground. "Enough?"

"Of course."

Morgan wasn't the least bit affected by his actions. He continued to smile and picked up the money, then realized he had been given too much. "There's no need for this much."

Saying that, he threw some of the money back on the ground.

Jason didn't bother and left with his group.

"Huh, not even taking the money. What a fool."

Morgan finished his lines and didn't bother picking up the money on the ground. He returned to his car and left the scene.

This scene was quite complicated to shoot due to the large number of personnel. After each shot, there was usually a pause needed for adjustments, as various factors such as props, makeup touch-ups, and actor positioning required time to be readjusted.

It took the whole morning, but they finally managed to finish dealing with Morgan's scenes on set.

With the police's storyline complete, the remaining scenes were much easier to handle.

Thanks to the smooth shooting, everyone's spirits were high. Following George's suggestion, the crew booked a bar on the Champs-Élysées in Paris to host a small farewell party for Morgan's departure. This was also a chance to release the accumulated stress from the prolonged filming.

Lyman was in a good mood and specially instructed that filming would resume the next afternoon, giving everyone a bit more time.

Men, he understood the thoughts of those beasts in the crew.

As soon as they entered the bar, they inquired about the services available – quite straightforward indeed.

This group of people were well-off, given that their remuneration for the filming far exceeded that of an average middle-class family.

The bar manager was astute and quickly arranged for a large group of glamorous girls to come over.

They even prepared a performance, featuring the traditional French Can-Can dance on the round tables.

It was the kind of dance where everyone sat around tables, drinking and enjoying themselves, with girls dancing Can-Can dance from the fashion shows.

For those unfamiliar with the Can-Can dance, they could watch Nicole Kidman's performance in "Moulin Rouge". The dance that caused an instant surge of hormones is the Can-Can dance.

Gorgeous lighting and alluring dance moves were a perfect match.

Many members of the crew were in high spirits, and understandably so. A group of grown men who hadn't interacted with women for several months were feeling quite pent up. Moreover, Lyman's crew had its fair share of bachelors.

They drank, watched the dance, and when their excitement peaked, they would throw a stack of money onto the table or directly give it to the dancing girl.

The invited girls were also quite pleased. This was their line of work, and encountering generous patrons meant more earnings. What was there to be dissatisfied about?

In no time, both groups found temporary partners.

"Morgan, you performed splendidly."

At the bar counter of the club, Lyman raised his glass, clinking it with Morgan's, and then downed the beer inside.

"I hope we have the opportunity to cooperate in the future," Morgan said, lowering his stance.

Matching one's words with the person you're addressing was quite a common social survival skill.

"Of course, I hope so too."

After exchanging a few words, Lyman wandered around with his drink, watching the Can-Can dance for a while. He then headed to a quieter lounge area, took a seat, and slowly sipped his drink.

He wasn't as eager as the others. Even Tom seemed somewhat carefree.

Of course, he had always been like that, and so was Nicolas. These two were practically the nightclub princes, really good at having fun.

It was Heath who had worked with Nicolas in two films already, yet he hadn't been led astray. At the moment, he was following the group, watching the dance and drinking, but he didn't get handsy or rowdy. He was simply enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.

"Hey, all alone?"

A girl dressed in a rather "cool" manner approached, holding a champagne glass in her hand, as if she was about to toast Lyman.

Lyman had no objection. Their glasses clinked crisply, and they downed the remaining champagne in their glasses.

"Do you want to have some fun together?"

The girl was straightforward and not at all shy. Having just finished dancing, there was still sweat on her forehead.

"No, thank you." Lyman declined decisively.

The girl didn't hide her disappointment, offered a brief apology, and turned to find other prey.

Very well, not far away, Eva Green withdrew her gaze, ordered another glass of champagne from the bartender, and sipped it slowly.

It wasn't that he didn't want to play around, but his intentions exceeded his abilities.

It's fine to indulge occasionally, but where's the line?

On this matter, the opinions of lesbian comrades might be authoritative.

By the later hours, he increasingly felt like it wasn't himself who was having a good time, but her.

Silently requesting another glass of wine, he watched others having a blast.

Lyman let out a sigh.

No wonder the romantic paths of A-list stars like Tom and Nicolas were so rocky.

In the industry, whether male or female, there were few who didn't enjoy playing around. Maintaining relationships like that, there must be some trick to it.

Even if someone could endure, the male side probably couldn't.

Hmm, who said the female side doesn't like to play around? Angelina Jolie would like to have a word.

However, that was their business. There was no need for him to worry about it.

As long as these people's private lives didn't involve marriage, they were rarely caught and criticized by the media.

Hollywood's environment was like this, and even the public was quite open-minded about it.

But the prerequisite was to avoid stepping into the realm of marriage.

Lyman had this in mind. After all, he lived carefreely as a lone wolf, not needing anyone to force him into marriage. Quite enjoyable indeed.