After catching the two, the set supervisor reported to producer Charles Roven.
"We caught two people taking unauthorized pictures, and here's the camera."
The set supervisor quickly explained that they were just two curious movie buffs who loved films and came to sneak some shots.
Charles Roven took the camera, looked at it, then handed it to Gilbert . He told the supervisor, "Just hand it over to the police; handle it by the book."
"Wait," Gilbert stopped the supervisor.
He looked at the camera in his hand—a Panasonic NV-S250EN.
While it seemed bulky and heavy by his standards, for that era, it was quite a good portable camcorder.
One had to admit, Japanese products were truly top-notch back then, unlike later, when only "bowing craftsmanship" remained.
This camcorder also had a playback function. Gilbert watched the recorded content, which was just the scene of the Humvee hitting the water truck—nothing special.
No major spoilers. Gilbert then asked the supervisor, "How old are they? Are they adults?"
The supervisor replied, "They're students from St. Mary's High School nearby, both underage."
Gilbert discussed it with Charles Roven, "I think maybe we should just let it go. Delete the content and don't make a big deal out of it."
"No, that won't do. The crew's shooting is confidential, and this is commercial espionage," Charles Roven disagreed.
"What idiotic employer would hire two foolish high schoolers as commercial spies just to film something like that?"
Gilbert joked, then explained his plan, "If we're friendly and let these two young guys off, we can use it for promotion later."
"You mean, hype this up?"
"Bingo!" Gilbert snapped his fingers, elaborating on his idea. "We could even arrange for these two to have cameos in the movie and invite them to the premiere."
Charles Roven was already used to Gilbert 's peculiar ideas. After hearing him out, he thought it sounded pretty good and nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, I'll go talk to these enthusiastic movie fans," Charles Roven personally went to speak with Sullivan and Bower.
"Give them back the camera, and be friendly," Gilbert handed the camera to Charles Roven with a smile.
Charles Roven rolled his eyes, "I'm always friendly..."
With that, he took the camera and went with the set supervisor to see the two high schoolers.
---
## A Tense Encounter
Sullivan and Bower sat in a room, restless and anxious about their fate.
"What do we do, Sullivan?" Bower seemed even more panicked. "What if the school finds out? Will I be expelled? My mom would be so sad if she knew about this."
"Shut up, Bower, I'm thinking!" Sullivan looked around the room, eyeing the vents, trying to figure out how to take down the guard at the door and escape from behind.
These were common movie tropes; he'd seen protagonists do this countless times.
If Gilbert knew Sullivan's thoughts, he'd probably laugh and tell the naive kid that movies are made-up.
In reality, while some people might be capable of such feats, they're far removed from ordinary life.
Before Sullivan could come up with a plan, two people entered the room.
The stout man leading the way glanced at the two, placed Sullivan's camcorder on the table, and seeing the two high schoolers' uneasy expressions, he chuckled softly.
"I'm producer Charles Roven. Could you two introduce yourselves?"
Although Charles Roven was smiling, to Sullivan and Bower, that smile was more terrifying than a scowl.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, and they huddled together, looking incredibly frightened.
Charles Roven looked perplexed. He had been smiling so kindly, yet these two high schoolers seemed even more scared.
He continued, "Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad guy. The production manager told me you're students from St. Mary's High School, right? Coincidentally, I also went to St. Mary's High School, just not the one in San Francisco."
Saying that only made things worse. The two thought Charles Roven was going to report them to the school, which made them even more terrified, unable to utter a word.
Charles Roven, seeing he couldn't communicate, had no choice but to leave.
Outside, he asked the set supervisor, "Do I look scary?"
The supervisor honestly replied, "To be frank, you're the second scariest person on set."
"Who's first then?"
"The director..."
Charles Roven was instantly speechless. Had he really become as terrifying as Gilbert ?
Unable to figure it out, Charles Roven had to go back to Gilbert and explain what happened during the conversation.
Gilbert burst out laughing when he heard the story. "It seems you're not very good at talking to young folks."
Charles Roven shrugged like Gilbert . "Didn't we communicate just fine? You weren't scared of me!"
"That's because I'm different," Gilbert turned and called Sophia over. "Sophia, you go talk to those two high schoolers."
Sophia knew what had happened and readily accepted the task.
---
## A Kind Offer
Sullivan and Bower didn't wait long. The stout producer was gone, replaced by a kind-faced elder sister.
She spoke gently to the two, "Director Gilbert has decided not to press charges against you and won't tell the crew."
Sullivan and Bower, who had been full of dread, froze, unable to believe their ears.
"Really?" Sullivan asked.
"Of course, it's true. Director Gilbert said it himself." Sophia handed them coffee and some food, wanting them to get something to eat.
Then Sophia added, "Not only that, Director Gilbert didn't even delete the content from your camera. He's allowing you to go back to school and show it to your classmates."
"Wow," Sullivan and Bower exchanged glances, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.
"Is this for real? The crew really isn't going to press charges?" Sullivan asked.
"Of course it's real," Sophia's smile almost made Sullivan and Bower swoon, thinking she was so beautiful.
Then Sophia changed the subject, "However, Director Gilbert does have a request. He's invited both of you to make a cameo appearance in the movie and attend the premiere next summer."
"This..." Was this even a request? For loyal movie fans, this was an incredible boon!
So Sullivan and Bower quickly nodded and agreed, "Don't worry, we'll absolutely cooperate!"
"Yeah, even if we have to play a dead body!"
Watching Sullivan and Bower, who had gone from panic to excitement, Sophia smiled, "Alright then, finish your food and get ready. We'll be shooting this afternoon. After filming, we'll arrange a car to take you home."
"Mhm," Sullivan and Bower wolfed down their burgers.
Sophia returned and reported to Gilbert , "It's all sorted out, Gilbert . By the way, are you really going to put two youngsters in the movie?"
Gilbert held out his hand, and Charles Roven pulled ten dollars from his wallet to give to Gilbert .
"You guys were betting behind my back?"
"Yep," Gilbert said, "Charles said you couldn't do it because he couldn't, but I thought you could. See, that's how much I trust you."
Sophia glared fiercely at Gilbert , then repeated her question.
"Of course, why not?" Gilbert explained, "Let them play themselves, high schoolers, in this afternoon's scene."
"Alright," Sophia shrugged. "You're the director, you decide."
---
## A Taste of Hollywood
Later that afternoon, as the set was being prepared, Gilbert met Sullivan and Bower.
It was their first time seeing Gilbert , and they were excitedly asking for his autograph and even had Charles Roven take pictures with them.
Charles Roven grumbled inwardly, Do I look scarier than Gilbert in these kids' eyes?
He couldn't figure it out, truly couldn't.
This particular scene was an explosion. John Mason's Humvee crashed into a streetcar, derailing it and causing a series of explosions down the street.
The scene was quite spectacular and really tested Gilbert 's directing skills.
Sullivan and Bower played high school students riding the streetcar, while the streetcar driver was played by Gilbert 's father, old Gilbert.
Sullivan and Bower had close-up shots in the streetcar; their jumping from the car wasn't filmed, but they were in the later streetcar explosion scene.
Filming quickly began. The camera gave Sullivan and Bower a close-up, then moved to old Gilbert's face.
"Welcome aboard my streetcar, everyone doing alright?"
With just that one shot, Sullivan and Bower completed their first Hollywood movie experience.
After that shot, Sullivan and Bower were still thrilled. "That looked so easy! Being an actor isn't hard at all!"
But then they watched the stunt performers on the streetcar leap off, rolling on the ground, and a stunt actress disguised as an old lady continuing to walk forward as the Humvee approached, and they were dumbfounded.
"Dude, being an actor doesn't seem so simple after all," Bower muttered like a daze.
However, reality showed the two young high schoolers that their thinking was still too simplistic.
The next explosive scene completely stunned Sullivan and Bower.
With precise planning by the crew, the prop streetcar, now off its tracks, followed its predetermined route, crashing into roadside vehicles, taking out a yellow car that looked like a Ferrari.
The explosives placed on set were detonated, sending towering flames into the sky.
The two young high schoolers were in this scene, and no acting was needed—just capturing their most genuine reactions made for a great shot.
"Bower, this is terrifying! Is this how they film explosions in movies?"
Bower was equally dumbfounded. "So cool! As expected of Director Gilbert! I can't wait to see this movie in theaters!"
After filming wrapped, Sophia came over and asked the two high schoolers, "How was acting?"
After their initial fright, Sullivan and Bower were ecstatic. "It was so cool, Sister Sophia! Do you guys film movies like this every day?"
"Uh," Sophia had initially thought the two kids would be terrified, but they were actually thrilled.
After calming down the two excited high schoolers, Sophia arranged a car to take them home.
Back home, Sullivan and Bower excitedly recounted their amazing experiences on set to their families and planned to share them with their classmates at school.
This extraordinary experience, serving as bragging rights, would keep them talking for a long time, enough to make them the talk of St. Mary's High School.