I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1056: So Small]

Before eight-thirty, the cast and crew of Gravity arrived at Lake Powell, which was over 200 kilometers northwest of Phoenix, near the Colorado River.

There were only two scenes left for the day: one was the live shot of the capsule dropping from a great height and landing on the lake's surface, and the other was Judy's character, Ryan Stone, swimming from the lake towards the shore. The interior shots of the capsule and underwater scenes had already been completed at a studio in Los Angeles. Thus, Eric hoped to finish everything in one day so that everyone could enjoy some free time in the coming days.

On the spacious area by Lake Powell, everyone gathered around Eric to discuss the upcoming filming plan because Nicole had just uncovered a significant issue that needed to be addressed.

"The weather is great today, perfect for the landing scene. However, because the weather is so calm with no wind, the capsule might get covered by the parachute after it drops, which could interfere with the shots. Thus, we need to generate some wind to blow the parachute clear," Nicole explained.

After this, several of the crew members raised their eyebrows in concern. If this had been any other day, it would have been a minor issue -- just bringing in a blower would suffice. Even if they needed to inflate a parachute that spanned over a square kilometer, Hollywood could provide a powerful enough blower. When Eric filmed Twister, he even used Boeing airplane engines to create hurricane-like winds.

However, today's situation was different. Phoenix certainly didn't have the heavy-duty blowers the crew required, necessitating a transport from Los Angeles. Even if they used a helicopter for the delivery, it would likely arrive around noon. After installation and testing, they might not have enough time to finish filming the shots.

If they waited until tomorrow, with the crowd of media reporters gathering in Phoenix, there would probably be hundreds of people showing up to 'witness' the capsule's landing. That would be quite a spectacle.

While everyone was brainstorming solutions, a voice interruptingly said, "Mr. Williams, blowing the parachute clear is actually quite simple."

The group paused in their discussions, turning their attention to a tall man nearly two meters high standing at the edge of the crowd.

It was Mark Biermann, one of the helicopter pilots from the VH-60 flight team. A former U.S. Marine Corps member in his forties, Mark had over ten years of helicopter pilot experience. He had even participated in military assistance to Afghanistan during the 1980s. After retiring, he worked at a helicopter rental company in Los Angeles and started flying helicopters for Eric six years prior. Eventually, Eric hired him at a high salary to work exclusively for him, making Mark the lead pilot among the four flying for the estate.

After realizing everyone was looking at him, Mark smiled a bit sheepishly and pointed to the two VH-60 helicopters parked nearby. "The wind from the helicopter's rotor blades is much stronger than a blower."

Hearing this, everyone's gaze shifted to the helicopters. William Stewart glanced over and said, "Shouldn't the wind from the helicopter be blowing downward?"

Mark replied, "It can be angled sideways."

Eric twirled a pencil in his fingers thoughtfully, and without much hesitation, pointed toward the open lake area ahead. "Mark, I need the wind to blow from west to east. Can you give me a demonstration?"

Mark nodded but then tapped the shoulder of another younger pilot beside him. "Let Tim handle it; he's more experienced."

Eric glanced at Tim Torres, the pilot Mark just mentioned, and nodded in agreement without objection.

...

A few minutes later, the VH-60 helicopter took off from the shore, turned toward the center of Lake Powell, and hovered at about seven or eight meters above the water. It then tilted upward, and in an instant, the helicopter's massive body, over twenty meters long, climbed into the air like a gecko. Even though the helicopter was more than ten meters above the lake surface, the strong wind from its rotor blades created distinct ripples on the eastern side of the lake.

Seeing this, Eric made up his mind and felt reaffirmed that the high salaries he offered the pilots were worth it. However, the aerial performance was not yet complete. The helicopter began to climb a bit more before performing a slow yet agile flip, creating a graceful 180-degree arc maneuver in the air like a fish leaping above the water.

Witnessing this aerial stunt, everyone erupted in applause, and Eric clapped along too.

Tim Torres seemed to sense the crowd's enthusiasm and executed a few more difficult maneuvers before flying the helicopter back to the shore. As Eric watched the helicopter land, he jokingly told Mark, "You should tell Tim that if he flies like that while I'm on board, I'll fire him on the spot."

Amid laughter, Mark shook his head and said, "Of course not."

...

After discussing the specifics and resolving the parachute issue, the crew began the formal preparation for filming the capsule landing scene.

One VH-60, with the capsule and props crew onboard, slowly ascended into the air. Eric and Nicole formed two separate filming teams, each taking one of the two speedboats they had prepared to glide along the lake, waiting to capture the landing of the capsule.

Through the intercom, once the VH-60 reached the predetermined altitude and all departments were ready, Eric issued the command to start filming.

The capsule model was dropped from 1,500 meters above, and the props crew remotely controlled it to open the parachute accurately. On the ground, another props team was ready to activate the capsule door. As for the retro rockets near the ground, those were authentic; Eric had them custom-built from Russia to automatically ignite precisely one meter above the surface.

Like a giant, unusual mushroom, the parachute unfolded in the sky, and another VH-60, hovering close by, began preparing to blow the parachute clear once the capsule landed on the lake.

After a few seconds, the capsule and parachute rushed toward the lake at over ten meters per second, and then, remarkably close to the surface, the bottom of the capsule suddenly exploded open.

The scene surprised many; they had underestimated the explosive power of the retro rockets. In that instant, the lake erupted like it had been bombed, sending a towering wave five or six meters high shooting outwards.

Despite continuously adjusting their distance, the two boats couldn't position accurately within the limited time. One of the boats was only seven or eight meters away from the capsule's landing site when the wave generated by the retro rockets surged, resembling a monstrous tongue reaching out from beneath the water, sweeping towards the boat.

With a loud splash, several people on the speedboat were thrown over by the rushing waves.

This all happened within just two or three seconds.

...

Caroline, standing on the lake holding Eric's script, blinked rapidly as she registered the situation. That boat being hit by the waves was Eric's, and her heart raced. She instinctively rushed toward the lake's edge. Others, noticing her panicked run, also hurried towards the shoreline.

In her anxious state, Caroline wasn't paying attention to where she was stepping and accidentally stumbled over something, almost losing her balance. She felt Mayer grab her to steady her, but she wasn't stopping; she kept running forward.

"I'm alright over here, everyone else is fine too. Keep going, departments. Tim, blow the parachute clear, and remember to direct it towards the north. Props team, prepare to pop the capsule door. Nicole, you'll film the door opening; by the way, how's it going over there? Is my shot wasted?"

Moments later, Eric's voice came through the intercoms, prompting everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.

Caroline suddenly found herself standing knee-deep in the lake, feeling significantly relieved while watching Eric stand up again on the boat. She then let out a huge sigh of relief. At the same time, she felt a slight sting in her soaked right ankle. Caught up in her worries about Eric, she thought she had only twisted it a little, so she didn't pay it much mind.

"Carly, get up here! Your pants are soaked!"

Hearing Mayer yell at her from behind, Caroline realized she had unwittingly walked ahead of everyone, alone in the water. Her cheeks flushed as she shyly dodged the teasing gazes of the others. Clutching Eric's script closer to her chest, she hung her head and walked out of the water.

"You're something else. But we don't have spare shoes for you here," Mayer said while helping Caroline out of the muddy water. She noticed her unsteady steps and asked with concern, "Are you hurt?"

Despite the slight pain in her ankle as she walked, Caroline didn't want to worry everyone and shook her head. "I'm fine, just a little muddy."

"Oh, let's clean you up there," Mayer said, not suspecting anything was wrong, and helped Caroline toward the crew's temporary resting area.

...

The unexpected incident spoiled the camera angles Eric was trying to capture. Fortunately, Nicole's filming went off without a hitch. More than ten minutes later, everyone on the two speedboats was back on shore. The props crew then boarded the speedboat to retrieve the sunken capsule from the lake. While the crew didn't care about the little money they could recoup from the capsule as scrap, leaving the model in the lake could later lead to it being exposed by media reporters or create trouble with environmental organizations.

After Eric got ashore, he was drenched, but since the crew hadn't anticipated this, he could only shrug off his wet jacket, quickly wipe the water off, and check Nicole's footage. Confirming that their work had not been in vain, he joined the other crew members who were also soaked, standing by the small fire they'd set up for warmth.

As they teased each other amid the laughter, Eric noticed Caroline standing next to him with her wet pants and asked with concern, "Did you step in the water?"

"Yeah," Caroline nodded, feeling embarrassed and useless, not being able to contribute and needing Eric's concern instead.

"Well, just dry off by the fire. Since we weren't prepared for this, we'll just have to change clothes when we get back this afternoon."

"It's okay," she replied.

Noticing a strand of hair fall down across Caroline's face as she shook her head, Eric gently tucked it behind her ear. When he saw her shyly retract, he playfully wiped his hand across her small nose.

Caroline instinctively wanted to protest, as usual, but this time she held her tongue, cherishing the sweetness of the moment. Her gaze darted away, avoiding looking at the others around them.

...

After another hour of busy work, they successfully retrieved the capsule model, repacked it, and hung it beneath the helicopter for transportation back later. Checking their watches, they realized that they'd only completed one set of shots. It was now past eleven-thirty, so the crew decided not to continue filming, opting instead to eat the simple lunch they had brought along.

Including a few who had been staying by Lake Powell, there were only twenty-seven people in the entire crew. While Hollywood's unions enforced strict filming period provisions, everyone had a casual attitude about lunch, especially with the lavish wrap party that had been scheduled at the resort in Phoenix for later. If they could finish up today, everyone would be able to enjoy it.

"Eric, I just noticed something," Judy said eagerly after lunch, now dressed in a tank top and shorts as filming approached.

Eric, who had been jotting down modifications needed for the morning's shots on his director's script, looked up and asked, "What is it?"

Judy opened a stack of sketches Eric had given her and sequentially showed him a few storyboards. "The capsule drops from the sky, Ryan sinks to the lake bottom, rises to the surface, crawls onto the shore, and finally stands up. This seems to symbolize the evolutionary process of life: aquatic, amphibian, terrestrial, and eventually achieving humanity. However, initially, it seems you agreed with the viewpoint that Earth's life actually came from outer space, right?"

Eric was surprised at Judy's keen insight, chuckling, "You could interpret it that way."

"So, does that mean the initial shot of the space capsule with the baby in its mother's womb also represent the idea that life originated from outer space?"

"That's not exactly it," Eric shook his head. "I wanted to express a raw, instinctual state of being in moments of loneliness and helplessness. At that moment, who is the first person you think of?"

Judy recalled her mindset during that shot and instinctively replied, "Mom."

"Exactly." Eric nodded. "Although a person is influenced by their environment, in the moments of utmost loneliness and helplessness, one often longs to return to their mother's embrace."

Judy nodded seriously, suddenly remembering some rumors about Eric's potential mother complex, her expression turning odd.

Sensing Judy's peculiar gaze, Eric didn't fully understand what was on her mind. It was evidently something less than pleasant, so he quickly adopted a serious director's demeanor and said, "Alright, we're preparing to shoot, so go get ready."

Judy rolled her eyes at Eric, a smile creeping onto her face. "You're something else."

*****

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