Chapter 329: The Little Girl with the Stuffed Bunny

[Chapter 329: The Little Girl with the Stuffed Bunny]

Ivanka Trump wrinkled her little nose and let out a soft huff before glaring at her father, Donald Trump. Donald awkwardly leaned toward Eric and said in a low voice, "She is mad at me. I promised to bring her to see you film, and only now she was willing to talk to me."

Eric raised an eyebrow slightly, "What happened?"

"I... just divorced Ivana," Donald admitted without any concealment. "So, you know how it is."

Eric remembered seeing Donald's wife at the premiere of Home Alone 2 the year before. They seemed fine back then, but that was their private business. He also knew the divorce rate was over 50%. Eric had grown accustomed to it; most of the people he knew had either gone through a divorce or had parents who had.

After wandering around for a bit, Ivanka suddenly came up to Eric and said, "Eric, Daddy and Mommy got divorced, so you're not a good person either."

Eric was taken aback. This logic was a bit much! Just because your dad dumped your mom doesn't mean it has anything to do with me. Eric shrugged helplessly, "Ivanka, I'm innocent! This seems unrelated to me, right?"

"Do you forget what you promised me?" Ivanka asked angrily. Eric thought for a moment and shook his head. "Why don't you give me a hint?"

"Hmph, bad guy," Ivanka said, tapping Eric with her Bugs Bunny stuffed toy. "You promised me I could be in your movie, and now you're filming but didn't let me know!"

"Oh, that," Eric realized. He had just said that offhandedly, thinking that Ivanka, being so young, would probably forget. It turned out the little girl remembered it better than he did. "But there's no role for a little girl in this movie, right?"

"Hmph. Bad guy, trying to argue! I won't talk to you again," Ivanka said, turning her face away in anger. Ignoring him was a serious threat! Eric thought for a moment and said, "How about this? When that lady walks by, you can pretend to be a little girl passing by her. It'd be even better if you held your bunny."

Ivanka wanted to stay mad a little longer but couldn't resist Eric's 'temptation.' She quickly turned back to him, "Really?"

"Of course," Eric nodded seriously. After all, it was just a background character; it didn't really matter. He couldn't say that out loud, though. "It seems you've told me you took an acting class. Let me see what you've practiced."

"You'll definitely be surprised, except I'm nothing like the director," the little girl mocked.

Eric felt a bit speechless. She hadn't forgotten that line either.

...

As the lunch break passed, the parts for Nicolas Cage and Whoopi Goldberg didn't require much discussion. Initially, there were only adults on the street, but now they had to rearrange things with the addition of a little girl.

"Ivanka, when that lady walks by, you can only join her then. Walk along this street over there. Remember, act like it's no big deal. You can't look at the camera, and you shouldn't be curious about that lady in the pink coat."

"Come on, I know, I know! You never stop talking," Ivanka waved her little hand.

Eric shrugged and returned to the director's seat. Initially, he had suggested that Donald Trump hold the little girl's hand as a passerby to help smooth things over between father and daughter. Donald was delighted, but the little girl absolutely refused. So, Eric had to pick a lady from the extras to take the little one, treating them as a mother-daughter duo.

"Places, everyone! Ready to roll," Eric shouted into the megaphone, and the actors began to position themselves. As the command rang out, the monitor showed the tracking shot of a dejected Odette walking forward after just donating a four-million-dollar check to the shelter.

...

"I'm proud of you, Odette," Sam's ghost said, following her.

"I don't care if you're proud of me! What does a nun need so much money for anyway?" Odette, played by Whoopi Goldberg, angrily complained to the air, "Stop bothering me, and don't talk to me anymore."

As Sam watched Odette walk away, he added, "You're amazing."

Upon hearing this, Odette suddenly turned around. She couldn't see Sam, so she looked around and spat in the air angrily before turning back to leave, her movements comically exaggerated. Eric almost wanted to applaud.

At the same time, on the other side of the street, the little girl holding the Bugs Bunny stuffed toy gently pulled the hand of a woman, nonchalantly crossing the street. The little actress remained in character, glancing at the seemingly talking-to-the-air Odette, then looked up as if saying something to her 'mother.' However, the extra seemed caught off guard that the little girl would suddenly speak to her, pausing briefly and hesitating in her steps.

...

"Ugh, Cut!" Eric shook his head in disappointment. If the extra could have cooperated, that shot would have been perfect! After all, with Odette ranting to the air and spitting, the passersby should have reacted in some way. The little girl curiously asking her mother what Odette was doing seemed very natural.

"Hold on a second," Eric said to everyone as he approached Ivanka and the extra. "What's your name, ma'am?"

"Director Williams, you can call me Elena," the extra replied, looking a bit anxious, realizing the previous issue was on her end. Though she felt some resentment toward the little girl's unexpected lines, she wouldn't dare say it out loud, especially given the girl's close relationship with the director.

"Okay, Ms. Elena, what did Ivanka say to you just now?"

"She asked me, 'Auntie, why is that lady acting like that?'" Elena reported honestly. Eric nodded, "That's right. If you had reacted properly, that shot would have been fantastic. Given that Whoopi Goldberg is speaking to air, it makes sense that passersby would look twice. So, her reaction was spot on. Oh, don't worry, I'm not criticizing you; I just hope you can cooperate a bit more for this shot and give a suitable response."

"What kind of reaction should I give?" Elena asked. Eric glanced at the approaching Whoopi Goldberg and smiled, "If you see a woman freaking out on the street and you have a child with you, your first instinct would be to hurry away."

"Hey, Eric, what makes me look crazy?"

"Everything about you does!" Eric laughed at Whoopi.

"Alright, let's do it this way," Eric said, reaching out to pinch the little girl's cheek. "Ivanka, you did great back there. Let's keep going."

"Ugh, don't pinch my face!" Ivanka, who was feeling a bit smug before, suddenly got mad and waved her little hands to stop Eric's 'claw' from reaching her. Eric shrugged with a smile and instructed everyone to reset. They resumed the same scene, with Nicolas Cage and Whoopi Goldberg's performances as flawless as before.

...

As Odette reached the center of the street and spat out her words, the 'mother-daughter' duo passed just in time. The little girl holding the Bugs Bunny stuffed toy glanced at Odette curiously, raising her little face to ask the middle-aged woman something. The woman quickly looked at Whoopi, but without explaining, she nervously grabbed the girl's hand and hurried away.

...

"Cut! Good, very perfect!" Eric clapped, and many people around, unaware of the specifics, joined in applause. In the break between setting up the next shot, the little girl proudly approached Eric and reached out her little hand.

"What is it?" Eric asked, puzzled, looking at her outstretched hand.

*****

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