Although Isabella was no longer a purely dedicated actress now, since acting was no longer her entire job.
Or rather, ever since back then, when she helped Barry Meyer kill off The Lord of the Rings and, together with Robert Iger, turned The Voice into a hit, her main line of work had already tilted heavily toward capital operations.
But that did not mean she had discarded the identity of "actress."
Because Hermione Granger was the foundation of her career.
So, before the HP series officially wrapped up, she would still act properly and seriously.
As for the future?
That could wait.
After all, she did not have a love for acting that bordered on life and death.
Still, since she currently needed to genuinely embrace acting, the necessary research and preparation would be done in advance. For example, right now: Andy, the female lead in The Devil Wears Prada, was a girl from rural America?
Then she had to master that coarse, unsophisticated accent that old, proper, Union Jack–waving Londoners looked down on.
And that—
"Wow, Issa, when did you learn to speak like that?"
The moment the new rural pronunciation came out, Maggie Smith was visibly startled.
"If I remember correctly, we've basically been together nonstop for the past year, right?"
"We were all filming Goblet of Fire?"
"So… did you secretly hire a language coach when I wasn't looking?"
"Because that accent doesn't sound newly learned."
"Oh, I didn't hire a teacher," Isabella replied. "Because I'm a genius."
The old lady's shock made Isabella smile smugly.
The sight made Maggie Smith instinctively frown, clearly unconvinced.
Catherine, sitting to the side, couldn't take it anymore and curled her lip.
"Ms. Smith, don't mind her."
"She's just spent too much time with Margot and picked up Australian English."
"Oh—no wonder—" the old lady suddenly understood.
"I was wondering why her pronunciation suddenly sounded so… rural. I mean, I was just thinking—honestly, her accent just now sounded ninety-nine percent more country than an American one."
"Hahahahaha—"
The old lady's comment sent the entire conference room into laughter.
Even though Chris Columbus and Bryce Howard were both American,
everyone was still slapping their thighs laughing—
because English accents came with a very real hierarchy of contempt.
If you had to describe it, it went like this:
The noble, elegant Queen's English looked down on the bold, rolling North American accent;
the bold, rolling North American accent looked down on the dirt-covered Australian one.
So if you wanted your accent to sound really country, just imitate an Aussie.
After all, modern Australian English leaned toward North American anyway.
Although Australia had been a British colony for many years and its English originally came from the British Isles, after the gold rush of the nineteenth century, its accent began to be heavily influenced by North America.
And after the Americans picked the fruit of World War II, Australia quite naturally became just another North American backwater.
Of course, imitation was never simple copying.
Australian English had some words they invented themselves, like dingo and kangaroo. These were hybrid Anglo-American terms. If you copied those too when speaking, then congratulations, you were a genuine country bumpkin.
"Okay, Isa, since you've mastered the country accent, let's do a scene," Maggie Smith said.
"Isa, the very first scene of the movie is yours, so—"
"Tell us what you think."
"Oh, no problem," Isabella replied with a smile.
"I think Andy at the beginning is a very confident person, because she's a top student from Brown University and has been outstanding her entire life."
"Even though she's just entering society, she still believes she can handle the workplace with ease."
"So in these first few scenes, she's very self-centered."
"Or rather, she feels like the world revolves around her."
"But once she enters Runway magazine, everything changes. The polished women around her make her feel like she's stepped into an unfamiliar world, and that's when her confidence starts to crack."
"Then, when Miranda appears, her pride is completely shattered."
"Because to a freshly employed Andy, Miranda is a lofty white swan."
"And she herself is an ugly duckling."
"So in the first—one, two, three, four, five—first five minutes, my mindset when playing Andy has to undergo a huge shift."
"At the beginning, the pride, I can play using my current state in life, because I think I'm already quite proud right now."
"And then afterward, the inferiority, or rather the cautiousness, I can look for the feeling I had five years ago."
"Ms. Maggie, do you think the nervousness I had when I first met you could work here?"
"Oh, absolutely," the old lady said, smiling and nodding.
"That's very well said, Issa."
Seeing Isabella smile as if she'd accepted the praise, the old lady snapped her fingers and shifted her gaze to Bryce.
"Darling, now it's your turn. The person who appears right after Andy is you."
"Okay, Ms. Smith," Bryce hurried to respond.
"Personally, I think Emily's emotional state when she enters is very twisted."
"She's both proud and repressed."
Maggie Smith's cue made Bryce continue quickly.
"At the start of the story, Emily has just been promoted, which makes her extremely excited. She wants to show off her success to everyone around her."
"But she doesn't dare go too far, because the company she works for is Runway, a place that creates miracles."
"Because she wants to release her emotions but can't openly preen in front of her colleagues, I think her performance should be a kind of restrained excitement."
"Then, when she sees Andy, all that pent-up frustration explodes instantly."
"Because she's a veteran, and Andy is a rookie. A veteran venting on a rookie is never considered too much."
"But at the same time, she also feels a sense of crisis."
"Because when she entered Runway, she started from the same position Andy is applying for. She also rose by taking down her seniors."
"So Andy's appearance reminds her of her own vicious side, and as a result—"
"She wants Andy gone."
"She wants to serve Miranda alone."
"In my view, this is one of the most common defensive psychologies in the workplace."
"What do you think?"
Bryce looked cautiously toward Maggie Smith.
Her father might be famous, but—
was Maggie Smith not famous?
She had won Oscars for both lead and supporting roles. Calling her the greatest British actress wouldn't be an exaggeration.
So even with her background, Bryce wouldn't dare be presumptuous in front of Maggie Smith.
And her cautiousness—
"Very good, Bryce. You understand it very well," Maggie Smith said, nodding approvingly.
"Now let me talk about my view of Miranda in the opening."
"I think in the opening scenes, Miranda is actually the easiest role to play."
"Because Miranda holds the highest position at Runway. You could even say she's the god of Runway."
"She controls everyone's fate, so she doesn't need to care about anyone's gaze."
"She only needs to ensure that the Runway machine runs at high speed under her command—"
Most of the time, script read-throughs were led by the director.
But—
everyone here was too familiar with one another.
Aside from the newly joined Bryce Howard, everyone else had worked together continuously for five years.
So when Maggie Smith was Isabella's acting teacher, and she wanted to control the rhythm, to help her student find the right feeling for Andy, how could Columbus possibly refuse?
Yes.
At this moment, Maggie Smith's decision to actively steer the discussion was to help Isabella quickly enter the right state.
Because she knew the girl wanted awards.
Because she knew that for all these years, the girl had been acting purely on instinct.
So back then, since she had chosen not to teach her techniques, not to make a child experience unnecessary pain too early, now she would take responsibility for the consequences of that choice herself.
There was no helping it. She had liked the girl from the very first moment she saw her.
So—
she absolutely did not want her student to be labeled an "undeserving winner."
Still, judging from the current situation—
the girl truly kept money-making and work very clearly separated.
Before filming officially began, the production meetings lasted a total of three days.
As the scattered issues were cleared one by one, on November 24, 2005, the crew officially—
went on vacation.
Yes.
The Devil Wears Prada crew had only officially started work on the 20th, and before the cameras even rolled, everyone was already on break.
The reason for this bizarre situation was simple: November 24, 2005, was Thanksgiving.
Americans had to give thanks to the Native Americans for generously offering up their scalps.
So—
vacation was mandatory.
One day off sounded short, but no one really cared. Since the main filming location of The Devil Wears Prada was New York, Isabella took the chance to wander around the city.
Then, on the 25th, the production officially started filming.
The very first shot on day one was the female lead Andy walking down the streets of New York.
Since her face wasn't even shown—
there was zero pressure.
After getting the lucky "one take" out of the way, the complicated shooting schedule came crashing down like snowflakes.
On the very first day alone, Isabella worked a full twelve hours, from morning to night.
No helping it. The Devil Wears Prada was a fashion film.
Exterior scenes were either on Fifth Avenue in downtown New York or along the Seine in Paris.
Time Warner really could coordinate with both local governments to allow on-location shooting.
But neither of those places could be shut down at will.
Not even if the big boss himself showed up.
So rushing the shoot was the only option.
To be honest, Isabella could understand and accept this arrangement, but as filming went on, she started sighing.
The reasons were simple.
First: her current net worth was in the tens of billions, with over two billion in liquid cash alone.
Even if she retired on the spot, she'd never have to worry about food or clothing again.
So—
working twelve hours a day?
That was exhausting.
Ahem. That was genuinely how she felt.
Different mindset now.
Second: New York winters were really cold.
And fashion clothing valued style over warmth, fearing looking tacky more than catching a cold.
Even real leather was only warm if there was enough of it. If the coverage wasn't there, it was pointless.
And Andy in The Devil Wears Prada couldn't wear fur anyway. That was Miranda's exclusive privilege.
So—
after a few scenes, Isabella felt like most of her life force had already drained away.
She was about to freeze to death.
"Cold cold cold cold cold."
Whenever Columbus shouted "Cut!" during exterior shoots, no matter whether "Good," "No good," or "One for safety" followed, Isabella would immediately rub her hands together and throw on her coat.
Her shivering like a leaf made everyone laugh, and even Maggie Smith, hands in her pockets, shook her head.
"Isa, you really don't act like a star at all," Maggie Smith said.
"Back in my day—"
"You know Marilyn Monroe, right? Once she got famous, she never wore casual clothes again."
"Oh, Ms. Maggie, we're different," Isabella replied, hugging the hot-water bottle her mom handed her.
"Marilyn was one of the brightest stars in the entertainment world, so of course she had to shine at all times. But me—"
Isabella stuck out her tongue, looking shamelessly cute. The sight made Maggie Smith smile with pursed lips.
Her words, however, made Columbus roll his eyes.
"Isa, I suddenly feel like you're cheating."
"?"
Isabella didn't understand what the director meant.
Columbus continued, "Because you can do whatever you want just by being good-looking. Do whatever you want."
"Other actresses don't dare wander around casually because they're afraid paparazzi will catch ugly photos of them."
"But you're different. Even if you're wrapped up like a bear, you still look great on camera."
"Hahaha—" Isabella laughed and accepted the compliment.
At the same time, she added, "Chris, what you said isn't wrong, but there are actually two reasons I can do whatever I want. You only got one of them. The other is—right now, no media outlet dares to randomly publish ugly photos of me."
"—" Columbus choked on his words.
He lifted the corner of his mouth and shook his head repeatedly.
He admitted—
she was right.
Yes.
Although Isabella was filming in downtown New York at the moment, around the crew there were only fans and passersby. As for the media? Not a single outlet. Not even paparazzi squatting for candid shots.
The reason was simple—had you ever seen a media tycoon get exposed by someone on a lower tier?
No, right?
There were only a handful of world-level megaphones. If you controlled even one of them, unless someone on the same level wanted to take you down, no one dared smear you. And if you controlled two, three, or four—
then at present, photos of Isabella were the least valuable things in the media world.
If you took pretty photos of her and published them, that was expected and wouldn't draw much traffic.
If you took ugly photos or dirt on her?
Keeping them might make money, even big money, but more likely you'd earn it without living long enough to spend it.
Deleting them might not make you money, but at least you'd stay alive.
Still, just because outside media didn't care didn't mean insiders wouldn't shoot.
Up to now, The Devil Wears Prada hadn't even been officially announced to the public.
So when Isabella appeared in New York and countless people saw her, Warner naturally went with the flow and kicked off publicity, releasing news that Isabella was filming a new project—
[Isabella Has a New Project? Filming Location: New York!]
The headline itself was nothing special, but just the phrase "Isabella has a new project" was enough to pull massive traffic.
And once Isabella fans read the article—
"Whoa—"
The accompanying photos lit everyone's eyes up.
In the picture, Isabella wore a long black Prada trench coat, the hem reaching her calves.
Since it wasn't belted, her inner outfit was fully visible:
a white shirt;
black wide-leg trousers;
small high heels;
and a Chanel handbag in her hand.
At first glance, effortlessly fashionable.
But if you looked more closely at her face—
the light makeup made everyone feel as if they were seeing a lotus fresh out of water.
Many people exclaimed:
"Oh! Isabella is so stylish!"
"She's basically a snapshot of the Upper East Side!"
"No, wait!!! This photo makes her look like a young lady from an old aristocratic London family!!!"
"Oh—she's really grown up."