My Hollywood System

Chapter 172:

Dream Vision had recruited a group of experienced freelancing crews to work on the two movies and one series in which the productions were ongoing simultaneously. Since he wanted to keep a separate crew for himself, Will thought it would be better this way.

The teams were brought together and divided based on each individual’s strength. Team A was covering the series [Friends] with Will, and Team B and C were focused solely on [Hitch] and [Catch Me If You Can].

It was all Dream Vision’s plan to expand more and more in the future.

“These people are trying their best, Jeffrey. We were lucky we got them.” Will said as he looked around the set. The entire crew was working very hard.

“Yeah, they are very supportive. Mainly because this would be one of the greatest chances they get to work with you. They are trying hard to impress you and not make a mistake.”

Jeffery commented, agreeing with Will.

Currently, Will’s crew was on vacation after the previous project they worked on together. He thought it would be better if they took some time off and then started joining back when Will began to work on the first Spiderman movie. But, Jeffery was present at the set to help Will with [Friends].

When Will asked him to get some time off like everyone else, Jeffery denied the option, respectfully saying he felt like he needed to be there during the set to help Will.

At the same time, he joked about how he felt like he had gone back in his career by working on a series. Will’s reply was simple; he stated that the series would do much better than his previous movies, which made Jeffery wonder if it was truly going to be the case.

The series was big but they would rarely become bigger than movies. Though, that was changing because of the streaming services that were popping up left and right.

‘It looks like everything is ready.’

He thought, looking at the actors, then at a corner where the live audience was present. Many of them were looking enthusiastic and some were constantly glancing at Will.

The first scene of [Friends] was going to be an easy scene in the first episode because filmmakers would generally select an easy shot so they could start the shooting successfully. With the new actors and actresses, he believed it would take some time for them to get used to the role.

Due to that, he chose the scene where Ross would enter the show for the first time. Although he could begin with some other scene, Will wanted to start shooting with that specific one.

“Okay, everyone! Was I clear with the scene? Ross, you should look mortified as you enter the apartment. Just imagine how you would feel if your wife dumped you for another girl but in a more comedic sense.”

Jennifer Aniston chuckled at that. She felt like it was a very funny plotline.

“And I want everyone to focus!” Will said while standing closer to the crew. They were full-on focused on looking at Will. “Do not mind the audience. Think like you are a theatre artist if that helps you. You see those black chairs up there for others?” Will pointed at the audience, who sat looking at what was happening. “Do not look at them. They would laugh if the scenes were funny and actively react to our shooting process, but I want to say, stay focused, alright?” Will said while everyone nodded.

The set was pretty much well-built. The view from the top of the bleachers looked like a colossal box cut in half and opened so that the inside was visible, and the entire coffee shop was built, so it looked in the cameras like the scene was shot inside an actual coffee shop.

Three huge cameras were set where Jeffrey was convinced the scene could be taken.

But overall, unlike in movies, which shoot scenes out of order, sitcoms were shot chronologically because of the live audience.

Will walked back, sat back on the director’s chair, and looked at the screen that was straightaway connected to the cameras that were ready to shoot.

“Camera set?”

“Action!”

“Hi,” Ross said in a sad tone. Emphasizing the accent with a bit of drag, just like Will had taught him before. Ross was wet since it was raining outside and was holding an umbrella in his hand.

The camera then moved to focus on Joey.

“This guy says hello, I wanna kill myself,” Everyone laughed hearing the words. Joey made a little gesture but looked neutral as if he wasn’t even joking but was deadly serious.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Monica held Ross’s hand over the couch and asked, giving an empathetic look at Ross.

“I just feel like-” Ross started to say but was cut off by Will.

He felt like the scene was not as good as the original one in his mind and could be done better.

“Cut! Can we take one more but Ross, I need you to look drained, one more!”

“Roll camera!”

“Action!”

They started again from where they left off.

“Are you okay, sweetie?”

A loud thud came from the set. “Cut!”

“One more time, from ‘Are you okay”

“Action!” Will gave the commands, and everyone started from where they left off.

“I just feel like someone reached down my throat, grabbed my small intestine, pulled it out of my mouth and tied it around my neck….”

“Cut!”

“Walk around the couch, and reach Chandler. You know, while you are explaining, try to look as realistic as possible. Imagine having a wife who went away because she was lesbian, and you loved her and all. I want to show it within you so people can make fun of you,” Will said, making everyone laugh while listening to his final words.

“One more!”

Will continued shooting, and everyone else continued to say their dialogues without messing up in the first few minutes.

“Carol moved her stuff out today,” Monica explained while looking at everyone.

“Ohh,” Joey exclaimed.

Monica then turned to look at Ross, who walked in to sit on the couch and stood up, saying, “Let me get you some– what” Monica forgot her lines, and everyone booed.

They started all over again. They had to take seven shots for Will to be satisfied with one. But with every explanation of Will, the actors grew nervous, and Will felt it through their actions.

After several shots of the same scene, Will thought that this would be the most challenging work as a director he had ever done. The rest of the shooting went by with him trying to get the newbie cast of [Friends] actually to look like what he had in his mind.

Since the start should be catchy and accurate, Will wanted perfect scenes, even if it was the very first day. From time to time, he had to explain the character personalities all over again, and after five hours of struggle, four out of six actors slowly picked up the personas into them, making Will’s job much more manageable.

***

The middle-aged man with a square-shaped jaw and slight wrinkles formed on his face sat right in front of Amanda.

“Mr Hanks, it is so good to meet you finally,” She said with a smile and took out the documents she had brought with her.

“Call me Tom, and you must be Amanda. I heard a lot about you. Dream Vision is quickly becoming a reliable studio.”

Dream Vision had contacted Tom Hanks for the role of the office from the FBI that was sent to catch Leo. It was one of the best parts of the movie and as Tom Hanks was present in this world, people didn’t need to look beyond anyone.

“So as you know, the role already….” Amanda started explaining things to him, yet she was still trying to be a bit formal. He was an A-list actor and was on top of the industry. He had already agreed to do the role, and Amanda was just here to complete the contract process.

The reason for her to personally come here was that she wanted to meet Tom and try to get a connection with him as he was one of the most influential people in Hollywood.

She explained to Tom what and what should be done before everything is settled for Tom to sign the role of FBI agent in [Catch Me If You Can].

Just like in his previous world, Tom looked and talked pretty much the same. The only difference was that in this world, his middle name was Williams instead of Jeffrey.

Besides Tom, his agent was present. And besides Amanda, Leo was present. Tom’s agent was mainly there to confirm the proceeding without any issue. But Leo was there just to meet Tom as he was a huge fan and get to know him a bit more as they would be shooting together.

The other person who was supposed to be here was Alan, who was working on the pre-production and couldn’t make the time, but he had already met with Tom before for the movie, so it was not a big issue.

The agent and Amanda discussed the signing process and Tom’s schedule, and finally, Tom was content knowing he could sign the contract. And on the side was the script with [Catch Me If You Can] written in black capital letters.

“I think it should be fine if I just….” Tom took the pen and signed. “Signed. There, done,” He said while Amanda smiled in reply.

“Thank you. I hope the cooperation with you and Dream Vision goes well.” Amanda commented, taking the document and putting it inside the file she brought it with.

Tom nodded, before suddenly thinking of something.

“I actually look forward to meeting Will Evans. His movies and scripts intrigued me a lot. The way he came to the top is no wonder with how good the movies were,” Tom shared his thoughts of Will.

“That’s nice to hear, but Will is currently in New York for the shootings of his new series. He actually was very excited to have you in the movie,” Amanda replied. After a break, she added, “Will told me once that he wanted to do a movie with you one day.”

Hearing the words, Tom smiled. “I would love to discuss some ideas,” He added.

…

//DreamNote//

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