Chapter 45: This Can't Be Possible

October 10th, Thursday.

On the third day of filming "Run Lola Run," the crew remained stationed in an apartment at the northwest corner of the Montana district.

The setting of Lola's home leads the beginning of three segments of the story, making it particularly significant in the film. The crew had set aside a full three days to shoot this part, and today was the final day.

It was already past three in the afternoon.

Inside Lola's bedroom, the room, temporarily reduced to less than twenty square meters, was now cramped with seven or eight people, including the camera, lighting equipment, and reflectors. The small room was packed, with some staff having to stay outside.

However, the atmosphere inside the room was quite quiet.

This had been the general sentiment of the film crew since the first day of shooting.

From the first day of shooting, everyone noticed that Simon Westeros's directing style was very unconventional. He didn't shout like some directors, nor did he elaborate in detail to the crew about what exactly he wanted.

More often, Simon maintained a quiet demeanor, quietly scrutinizing the surroundings, quietly using the viewfinder to consider the shots about to be filmed, quietly observing every corner with a light meter… and then giving concise commands.

If it had just been this, everyone might have really enjoyed this relaxed filming experience.

Compared to the countless outbursts and criticisms endured in many other film crews, who wouldn't want a director who was quiet to the point of being slightly neurotic?

However, over three days, far from feeling relaxed, the pressure on the crew had only grown.

This young director was just too demanding.

On the first day, for the first shot, Simon spent over two hours just on the lighting.

As a typical backlighting scene, spending a bit more time on lighting was understandable.

But this wasn't a large-scale set piece from a high-budget film, just a simple close-up shot. Spending over two hours on lighting, no matter how you looked at it, seemed a bit excessive.

Moreover, due to Simon's age, some crew members even started to doubt whether this young man really understood film production. Some even thought that Simon was merely flexing his authority by making these repetitive adjustments.

After three days of accumulated doubts and dissatisfaction, when Simon again took nearly half an hour to adjust a shot of a phone dropping—lasting less than a second—lighting technician Josh Wickman finally burst out.

Josh Wickman, thirty-three years old this year, had been working as a lighting technician in Hollywood since he was sixteen. Although he had only ever managed to work in independent film due to average qualifications and a lack of opportunities, he was still a veteran in the industry.

To be fair, Josh could occasionally discern the subtlety of Simon's adjustments, but he found it hard to tolerate Simon's lengthy and repetitive deliberations.

It was too torturous.

At this moment, Josh threw down the light meter he was holding and raised his voice to the puzzled young director: "Simon, I think the set is already outstanding. You can't waste any more time."

With Josh's sudden outburst, everyone stopped their tasks and looked over.

Simon, after hearing Josh, picked up the shooting schedule next to him and said, "I'm not wasting time. The schedule here is for three days, and now only the last three shots are left. We can finish them before the end of the day."

Hearing Simon's response, everyone was taken aback.

After a brief mental calculation, the crew realized that although Simon appeared overly meticulous on many details, the shooting schedule hadn't fallen behind.

This young man seemed to always know precisely what effects he wanted. Therefore, hesitations in adjusting the shots or shooting extra takes for backup were rare. In most cases, everyone meticulously prepared for a shot, then filmed it, and as long as there were no accidents, they typically wrapped after three or four takes. This decisiveness indirectly sped up the film's production.

However, perhaps it was this uncompromising and brisk pace that unknowingly added significant pressure to the crew.

Hence, after hearing Simon's explanation, Josh felt inexplicably even angrier and said, "Anyway, you can't keep doing this. Or maybe, you don't know what you're doing at all, you rookie."

As the argument in the room escalated, Ron McMullen, Sandra Block, and a few others who had been waiting outside quickly came in.

Ron McMullen, seeing Josh becoming increasingly agitated, immediately intervened with a tone of reprimand: "Josh, what's going on here?"

"What's going on?" Feeling challenged by Ron's question, Josh shouted louder: "I've had enough," he said, as he roughly messed up a reflector that had already been set up, before turning his gaze back to Simon: "Kid, do you think you're Martin Scorsese? I'm telling you, I'm done."

After saying this,

 Josh kicked the reflector again and walked out.

Ron was momentarily stunned as the lighting technician suddenly quit and left.

This can't be happening!

However, just as Ron was about to chase after him, Simon held him back.

Simon's expression darkened as he glanced around and said: "Perhaps my requirements for shooting have been a bit too strict, but I don't plan to change this approach. So, if you can't adapt, you can leave now."

Everyone fell silent.

During these three days, Josh had indeed been pushed too hard, leading to his outburst. Others were dissatisfied too, but not to the extent of quitting. In Hollywood, behind-the-scenes workers, like actors, often face unemployment, and finding a job wasn't easy.

Simon waited for a moment before adding: "This is a one-time offer. You can leave now, and we'll part on good terms. However, from now on, if anyone else walks out suddenly, the production will hold them accountable."

After saying this, Simon surveyed the room until everyone nodded in agreement. He then bent down to pick up the reflector Josh had kicked, and said, "Alright, let's continue shooting."

The lighting technician was gone. Who would handle the lighting?

This question popped into everyone's minds.

In film production, other jobs might be temporarily covered by someone else, but the demands of a lighting technician required specific expertise. The assistant that had been working with Josh, though he stayed, was clearly not up to the task.

But Simon ignored everyone's concerns and instructed the young lighting assistant to reorganize the lighting equipment.

Ron watched helplessly, pulling Catherine aside as she attempted to step forward to help, and whispered a few words to her.

Hearing Ron, Catherine approached Simon and softly suggested, "Simon, maybe we should call it a day?"

"It's okay, Catherine, trust me," Simon reassured her with a comforting look and then pointed to a light nearby: "Could you turn that off for me, please?"

Seeing Simon's firm attitude, Catherine reluctantly nodded and began to help.

Ron, observing the renewed activity in the room, had no choice but to leave and hurriedly went next door to try and find another lighting technician for the crew.

Despite his efforts, being no big-shot producer, Ron's calls yielded no results.

After a moment of hesitation, Ron sighed and returned to the set to help out.

As they busied themselves, the end of the workday quickly approached.

Although some time was lost on the phone drop shot, the subsequent scenes went smoothly.

Unbeknownst to them, the final few scenes were completed without a lighting technician, and the young director seemed just as proficient in lighting as any professional.

Although the quality of the work was uncertain.

But considering Simon was also the cinematographer, well, it made some sense.

A cinematographer would definitely need to know something about lighting.

Yet, it remained unusual for a man in his twenties to serve as a cinematographer for a film.

Some couldn't help but wonder, if they had walked out like Josh, would the young director have taken over their jobs too?

This can't be possible!

With various surprises and doubts, everyone went home after work.

As a producer, Ron wasn't relieved. He too wondered if the last few scenes of the day were usable. In fact, Ron even worried if the footage from the past three days was usable at all.

Regardless, Simon was still too young.

And Ron had always wanted to hire a professional cinematographer, but Simon insisted on doing it himself.

That was Ron's biggest concern.

So, after wrapping up, Simon went to scout locations for the next day's shoot with Janet, while Ron stopped Catherine from joining them. Together, they rushed with today's film to Fox Studios.

Due to "The Butterfly Effect" being in production at the same time, Brian De Palma had given Simon a convenience— "Run Lola Run's" footage could be processed at Fox Studios' post-production center along with "The Butterfly Effect."

Of course, the processing fees were still due.

But even so, the professional processing available at Fox Studios was beyond what any independent lab could offer. The quality of the original film is paramount for a movie, and the more professional the processing environment, the more secure the quality of the film.

So, this was a significant favor.

"I had Fox's post-production center print a sample from the footage shot over the past two days. We'll see the results today," Ron explained to Catherine why he had brought her along, "Catherine, if the sample doesn't meet expectations, perhaps, you should take over directing. After all, this is a $650,000 investment."

Catherine shook her head slightly, "Ron, you should have more faith in Simon."

"I do, of course, I think highly of Simon, if he had a few more years of experience," Ron said, his expression a mix of awkwardness and sincerity, "But he's still too young, and you

've seen how things have been these past few days."

Catherine smiled but said nothing more.

As they reached the post-production center, Ron began registering the day's footage with the staff. David Geffen, Brian De Palma, and a few others, happened to walk in, laughing and chatting.

Seeing Ron and Catherine, they came over to greet them.

Ron had been introduced to Simon by David, and everyone was familiar with Catherine.

After chatting briefly and learning that Ron and Catherine were about to view the sample footage of Simon's recent shoots, David and Brian showed interest.

Brian De Palma said, "We're here to check our own footage as well. Let's watch it together. I'm very curious about Simon's film."

Ron and Catherine exchanged glances.

Simon, Simon, your footage better be normal.

Otherwise.

It could be a disaster.

Thinking this, David instructed the staff, and everyone headed to the screening room.

Inside, they ran into another group, including Robert Redford, a seasoned Hollywood actor and producer, who was also working on post-production for his latest film.

After greetings, Robert was about to leave when David mentioned Simon, sparking his interest, "David, is that the young man who broke someone's legs?"

David nodded, "Exactly. Simon also hopes his film can enter Sundance. Maybe you could come and see what this young man has managed to do."

"Sure," Robert nodded but added, "Though, I'm more curious about how he managed to break those legs. Did he learn some martial arts like Bruce Lee?"

David laughed, "You can ask him yourself later."

Knowing Robert was staying, Ron and Catherine silently prayed for Simon once more.

As they joked, the staff quickly brought in several sample reels.

Brian skipped "The Butterfly Effect" and directed the staff to start with the sample of "Run Lola Run" shot by Simon.