"So what do you think?" I asked after narrating the entire character background of Black Widow.
"It's an… interesting character for sure," Scarlett conceded after a few moments. "Honestly, though, I would prefer that [Black Swan] movie over [Iron Man 2]."
I frowned slightly. "Why?"
She shrugged. "I just have a feeling. And no offence, but most of the female superheroes in comics are hyper-sexualized. I mean, just look at [Wonder Woman], the lady fights villains in a bra and a miniskirt. If I were offered that role, I would definitely have a problem with the clothes, but if I don't wear that dress, the hardcore fans would be disappointed that my portrayal wasn't true to the comics."
"But it's not just [Iron Man 2]," I said emphatically. "Once you wrap up these two movies, I plan to do a [Black Widow] origins movie as well, just like [Iron Man]. You could be the star of the first-ever female-led superhero movie."
"[Catwoman]? [Elektra]?"
"Okay, I amend my words, the first good female-led superhero movie. Believe me, no one in Hollywood wants to produce such a film because those two films that you mentioned bombed horribly. The real problem is not that they were female-led movies, the problem is that they are not actually films written by women. Male writers write from their POV, and they can never understand women and what makes their films click."
"That I fully agree with," Scarlett said. "Guys think that women can be powerful only if they are badass motherfuckers like men, or if they are hyper-sexualized."
I nodded in agreement. "That's why we'll be hiring actual female writers on the team to help write [Black Widow]. Not entirely female team, but a mix between men and women, because let's be honest, most women are not a fan of comics. We need someone who loves comics as much as possible to bring out a faithful adaptation."
Scarlett considered it. "True. It sounds perfect. A man to give the lore and a woman to do the character development. It's perfect."
"There's just one thing you'll have to keep in mind if you do this," I warned her. "As I have told you already, we are building a huge cinematic universe with these movies, but for them to be successful, the overall plot comes before character development. So at times, Natasha's character may feel like a plot device to move the story along. Because of that, you could give your career-best performance in the film, but no one would consider you a great actress."
She inclined her head. "But people love you as the Joker."
I shrugged. "It's different; it was a negative role. It is easier to play a villain convincingly than a hero."
She looked up at me. "If you were in my place, and you had both options, [Black Swan] and [Black Widow], which one would you have taken?"
"Both," I said without missing a beat. "[Black Widow] will be a major hit. If not the movie itself, definitely your character, and it would give you worldwide fame. I just know it. [Black Swan] would be loved by the critics and award bodies. Balancing critical acclaim with commercial success is perfect for any actor's career."
She silently mulled it over, so I added, "I only told it to you so you think carefully before taking either of those roles. Don't feel pressured to take them just because I'm saying so."
I could see that she'd need to think this over before making a decision, probably talk to her talent management team about it, so I dropped the topic for now.
"Wanna come with me and Loki on a jog?" I asked.
"Why not?" She grinned.
My cute little doggo could only bark happily, having realized what we were talking about, to which we could only laugh in unison.
(Break)
"Seriously, guys? This is the scene we do on the first day?" I asked no one in particular as I stood on the edge of a lake. Underwater scenes had been shot multiple times while making the Harry Potter movies, starting with [The Goblet of Fire], where we shot underwater for months, and then again in [The Half-Blood Prince], where I was dragged underwater by a group of zombie-like creatures.
And now here I was again, doing it again for this particular scene in [Deathly Hallows]. The bad part was that we were shooting this scene on location at night, so a lake perfect for our requirements had been found by the production team. The only problem was that it wasn't frozen like it was supposed to be for the scene, because it was July right now, so the production department had used thick frosted glass sheets to achieve that effect, dusted over with fake ice powder that they use while making movies. It looked damn near perfect, and VFX would cover up any flaws in post-production.
Alfonso Cuarón chuckled at the side, adding, "Girls around the world are dying to see you without your clothes again, especially after [The Dark Knight], which had zero fan-service of all your recent films. Consider this a service to them."
I scoffed at his reasoning, but didn't argue back. I blame Rowling for this. Why did she have to add such a scene in the books at all? And why out of all scenes that had been cut, this was the one that had been kept in?
Nonetheless, I walked back to my starting point for the scene and sat with my back to the lone tree there. I motioned Alfonso to begin the scene, and he did. The 3D cameras that Alfonso had borrowed from James Cameron started rolling immediately when he called out, "Action!"
I sat on the edge of a tree, my breath coming out cold and heavy as I looked away in the distance. My eyes widened slightly when I saw a mysterious light source in front of me. I got up with hesitation before walking closer to it, only to realize that it was a doe. The production team had placed a doe-shaped stuffed toy, fitted with glowing blue LED lights on it to give me a point of reference. I followed it to the edge of the lake, when it moved even further and stood on top of the lake.
"Lumos!" I whispered, lighting up the tip of my wand, only to realize that the doe had gone inside the lake. I slowly felt the surface of the lake to see if the ice was strong enough to bear my weight. When it seemed to be, I flicked my wand up and released the light ball on my wand in the air, where it grew even brighter but stayed next to my face. Of course, that one would be added in post-production, but this was a small change by Alfonso that I loved.
"If we are using 3D, we'll make damn sure that the people are wowed to see the intricacies of magic. I want it to be the best magic ever portrayed on film, and stay that way for decades to come, if not forever."
That's what he had said at the table read, and he seemed to be following his promise. It may seem trivial from my point of view to cast such casual magic, but when the same is done repeatedly throughout the film, it will be something memorable, especially when added to the 3D.
I slowly walked forward on the hard surface, which was achieved by a team of divers underwater, keeping the surface solid. I walked over to the middle of the lake, only to see a sword hidden at the bottom of the lake. It wasn't any sword, but the Sword of Gryffindor. Realizing that, I pointed my wand at it and chanted, "Accio sword!" But nothing happened.
Not wanting to give up just yet, I tried a different spell. "Diffindo!"
As soon as I did, there was a visible change in one portion of the glass surface, which had been pulled underwater, making it look as if my spell had broken the ice. I stepped back until I was back on a hard surface and started removing my clothes, starting with my thick woolly sweater, shirt, and trousers, until I was wearing just a pair of boxer briefs, round glasses, and a golden locket chain. That last one was supposed to be one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
The next part of the scene was the one I was dreading the most. I was already shivering a bit because of the chilly air, and now I had to dive in the water. Sure, it was July, but the temperature was still on the lower side. It went perfectly with the character because Harry was hesitant to jump into the water as well.
Finally, firming up the resolve, I got in. Apart from the multiple cameras, a few expert diving instructors were already inside, complete with oxygen tanks, to provide me with air every few seconds.
Ignoring their presence, I swam deeper towards the sword already placed in the lake. Just as I was about to grasp it, a string attached to the chain around my neck pulled tight, making the locket and the chain fly away from me, towards the surface of the lake, where conveniently, a glass sheet made sure I couldn't surface easily. I banged on it, hoping to come up somehow, but it didn't work. A rope had been tied around my waist, pulling my lower body in the opposite direction to give the effect that the Horcrux was actually hurting my neck in trying to get away from the sword.
Every minute or so, the diving team would swim over and give me a minute of oxygen before floating out of frame.
Harry's oxygen was running low, so I banged on the glass ferociously. The necklace was kept taut all this while as I struggled against it. Everything looked so dark inside… and then I was pulled outside by someone.
I gasped before panting heavily, taking in all the air that I could, as soon as I could, before my gaze landed on Jamie Bell. But since I was not wearing my glasses, I shouldn't have been able to see him, so I asked, "Hermione?"
"No, it's me," Jamie then raised his wand and pointed at me and cast an unknown spell silently. "Drying charm," he explained.
"Cut!" Alfonso announced cheerfully as a crew member rushed up to me with a large towel in his hands to dry me off. "That was perfect, Troy! I didn't expect you to finish this scene in one day."
"One night," I corrected, looking up at the sky, which was still dark at the moment. "Not even one night."
While shooting [Goblet of Fire], we shot around ten seconds worth of footage per day on average. So for us to shoot this minute-long sequence in a few hours was astounding.
"I just hope I don't get an ear infection this time around," I joked.
"That's why we chose a freshwater lake," Alfonso pointed out before changing the subject. "So are you ready for Harry and Hermione's kiss?"
I froze at that. Technically, I knew this would happen today, but I had hoped somehow that my underwater shoot would take up too much time and our kiss would be postponed for a few days, or maybe forever.
"Is Emma here?" I asked, looking around, hoping to locate her.
"She is in her trailer," Alfonso assured me. "Remember, this is a long one-take shot, and everything will happen in real time, so be prepared for that. You too, Jamie."
Alfonso and his love for long takes had become infamous in the industry, especially after he pulled off that amazing car scene in [Children of Men]. So I wasn't surprised that he wanted to shoot something like that here as well. That's why Ron has cast a drying spell on Harry so that this whole sequence could be pulled off in one take without creating a continuity error.
(Break)
Emma sighed for the umpteenth time. She felt terrible about acting the way she did with Troy. The worst part was that he was right. She was still hung up on him. He had clearly moved on, and it was high time she did too.
She had been trying to do that so hard that she had accepted the proposal of the first person who asked her out.
Gary was a cool guy, her classmate at Oxford, and very considerate of her profession. There was just one small problem: he was a big Troy fanboy who had requested her multiple times to arrange a meeting with him. She knew already that their relationship was doomed to fail sooner or later, yet she didn't break up with him. She herself didn't know why.
Even if she wanted to forget Troy, there was one problem: she had to make out with him for this upcoming scene.
"Emma, they are ready to shoot your scene," Chloe, her assistant, called out.
Emma closed her eyes, took a deep breath in before nodding and walking out of her trailer. Since they were shooting on location, all of their trailers had been parked very close to the set, so it didn't take her long to reach Troy and Jamie, who seemed to be deep in conversation.
The two stopped as soon as they saw her.
"Hey," Jamie greeted her awkwardly.
"Hi," she greeted back before looking over at Troy, who seemed pretty normal. He gave her a small smile before turning back to Jamie.
"So you were telling me about working with Matthew Perry?"
"Oh yes! He's so great, man! We didn't share any scenes, for obvious reasons, but since I shot my scenes first, he watched them all and then copied my mannerisms and dialect in his scenes. He even asked for a meeting with me and then told me to teach him how to be me. It was awesome."
"Sounds like you had fun making that movie," Emma pointed out.
"Definitely!" Jamie beamed excitedly. "It's such a shame you couldn't do it with me because of your studies."
Troy raised an eyebrow. "You offered her a role?"
"Yeah, I thought she could play my daughter," he deadpanned.
Troy and Emma burst out laughing in unison before their eyes met. For a few moments no one said anything, and Emma realized that all the lingering awkwardness was her fault. Troy had said repeatedly that he just wanted to be friends, and he was trying as well. And poor Jamie was stuck in between for no fault of his.
"You're ready?" Alfonso asked as he walked over to the trio. "Let's go over your marks and how you'll pull this scene off, okay?"
"I'm wearing a tear-away stripper shirt, so I hope you don't expect me to dance naked?" Troy joked.
Alfonso chuckled. "I wouldn't mind. At the very least that would increase our box office by a hundred million."
Then he got serious and started explaining the scene. It may seem simple to an outside viewer, but it was a highly technical scene because of Alfonso's no-cut rule. Usually, a scene like this would be performed on a green screen, but he had insisted on shooting it live and later adding CGI elements.
Everyone took their positions. Emma stood outside the frame, behind Troy, while Jamie stood to a side, but in the frame.
"You okay?" Troy turned to her and asked gently.
Emma nodded.
"Just forget everything and be your character," Troy said, hinting at her to be professional.
She knew that he was right. She was forgetting that she was an actress first and foremost.
"Action!"
As soon as he heard the command, Troy stepped forward and placed the Horcrux on a tall rock. "Okay, Ron, do it."
"I can't do it," Jamie said apologetically. "That thing affects me even more than it affects you and Hermione."
"All the more reason to do it then," Troy assured him.
"No, I can't," Jamie's voice wavered as he looked away from Troy, unable to meet his eyes.
But Troy didn't lose his confidence. "Then why are you here? Why did you come back?"
Jamie finally looked back and gave a subtle nod to Troy, who took a step back. "Now I'll have to speak to it for it to open. When it does, don't hesitate for even a second. I don't know what's in there, but it'll put up a fight. Like Tom Riddle's diary that tried to kill me."
The camera zoomed in on the locket for a bit before panning out, covering both Troy and Jamie, just as Troy started speaking in Parseltongue.
The steadicam operator shot the moment clearly when the Horcrux opened up. Jamie and Troy, both of whom had been fitted with wires, were pulled back forcefully as strong winds were blown in their faces.
This was the time for Emma to step up. Beside him, Troy stood up, just as a body double of the same size, clothes, and hairstyle took his place where he had fallen earlier.
"Ron! Kill it!" Troy shouted encouragingly, but Jamie's face only grew more and more terrified as wind blew in his face and large animatronic spiders surrounded him from all sides. The Horcrux voice would be added later on.
The cameraman had the most difficult job in this scene, because he had to record everything, and that's exactly what he did as Troy and Emma finally stepped forward on the raised platform.
"We were better without you!" Troy hissed at Jamie. "Happier without you."
Now it was Emma's turn. "Who would prefer you over him. You are nothing compared to Harry Potter." She kept the same level of venom in her voice as Troy.
"Your mother confessed she would have preferred me as her son," Troy continued, while Jamie's face turned from terror to anguish to rage.
"You are nothing," Emma added the final bolt before turning to Troy.
This was the moment she had been dreading and longing for at the same time. When the camera was focused on Ron, some crew members pulled away strings connected to their respective clothes. Troy was shirtless while Emma wore a skin-colored bra to hide her modesty, and then the two stepped forward in unison as their lips met.
Alfonso had made it clear beforehand that he wanted passion in the kiss, but the moment their lips met, Emma forgot all about that. For her, this was probably the last time Troy would ever kiss her, so she didn't hold back and kissed him with all her pent-up emotions.
Troy didn't seem to be holding back either as his arms wrapped around her back. Emma entangled her fingers in his hair as they continued making out. She lost track of time in that moment, forgetting when she was supposed to pull away from him.
"Aaargh!" Jamie cried out loud as he ran towards them, Gryffindor's sword raised high before stabbing the locket placed in front of him.
As soon as that happened, Troy ended the kiss gently and distanced himself from her. Neither of them said a single word, for the next few moments. They didn't have to. The silence never got awkward, because the shot was still going on, and all of Troy's attention was on Alfonso, who was still recording Jamie's reactions.
After a few moments, his voice rang out on set, "Cut! Print! Check the gate! That was great job everyone. Let's just confirm if we got what we needed."
Troy finally turned to Emma and gave her a small smile. "You were great."
"Thank you," Emma whispered.
In that moment, she realized one important thing: she didn't love Troy. At least not romantically. She was in love with the idea of him. That kiss gave her one thing that nothing else had over all these years: closure.
________________________
AN: Visit my personal website to read ahead, or check out my second Hollywood story set in the 80s.
Link: www(dot)fablefic(dot)com