Withered leaves covered the ground, and the cold light shone down, making the quiet forest seem even more desolate, as if nothing existed. The girl squatted on the ground and stared blankly at the sky. After a long time, she turned around to look at her mother.
"Mom, look at me." She begged, her eyes flashing with a bright light. However, the mentally disturbed middle-aged woman sitting behind her just stared blankly in front of her, without the slightest reaction.
"Something happened, I don't know what to do." The girl lowered her head and continued to speak, but she quickly raised it again and continued to look at her mother. "Can you help me this time, mom?"
However, her mother still did not respond. The girl could not help but raise her voice a little. "Mom, look at me!"
This time, her mother finally lowered her head, but her eyes were still blank.
"Teardrop persuaded me to sell this forest, should I sell it?" The girl asked with a trembling voice, a tear finally slipping down her face.
Unfortunately, her mother continued to remain silent, and the response she had with great difficulty was just a conditioned reflex.
"I beg you, help me this time!" The great pressure made it hard for her to breathe, and sadness appeared on her young face uncontrollably. She lowered her head and shook it. "I don't know what to do …"
Tears poured out of her eyes again, and although they were silent, they completely wet the girl's face, leaving an obvious mark.
"Very good!" Adriaan, who was personally in charge of the camera, shouted at this time.
After a pause of about two or three seconds, the quiet set suddenly became lively. The lighting, sound recording, and the prop master holding the reflective board all relaxed. However, Natalie, who was squatting on the ground, did not respond. Her head was still lowered, and she did not get up for a long time. The actress sitting next to her, who played the mental patient's mother, comforted her by holding her hand.
After a few more seconds, Natalie seemed to recover. She raised her head, smiled at the actress, got up, and walked to the side, the wet mark on her face was still obvious.
"Very good." Adriaan walked over, handed the tissue to her, and then made a gesture to the assistant next to him.
Natalie didn't say anything. She wiped her eyes and covered her face with the warm towel that her assistant handed to her. She leaned back on the chair for a long time before letting out a long sigh of relief and recovering.
"You did very well, Natalie." Adriaan, who had been watching from the side, repeated, "I'm very happy that you've grasped the most important characteristic of Lily Dolly."
"Introverted," Natalie replied in a steady voice.
"Yes, reserved." Adriaan nodded approvingly.
Although Matilda was also introverted, she couldn't help but ignite herself after meeting Leon. As for Dolly, the girl who had to shoulder the burden of life, she was introverted from the beginning to the end. She was always firm and cold, and she never smiled or spoke much. Therefore, in order to accurately express her emotions, she had to put more effort into the subtle changes in her body language and expression. This way, the character would appear weak and tough at the same time.
This was also why Adriaan first filmed the scene where he took the mental patient's mother to the woods to confide in her so that others wouldn't see his pressure, instead of going to other people's homes one by one to inquire about his father's whereabouts. This way, Natalie could gradually better grasp the required temperament and emotions. Anyway, the scenes and props needed for this movie were relatively simple, so it was easy to switch between them.
"In short, this kind of introverted tenacity runs through the entire movie. Interpreting this emotion is the same as interpreting the entire character," said Adriaan after a brief discussion. "I can't give you more guidance, Natalie. The rest is entirely up to you. I heard that you seem to be planning to study psychology?"
This sudden change of topic stunned Natalie, but she immediately nodded. She was already numb to Adriaan's well-informed information.
"If you have time, you can communicate with someone who has done research in this area. Maybe you can do better." Adriaan smiled, then got up and prepared to leave.
Natalie couldn't help but open her mouth as if she wanted to ask something, but after hesitating for a while, she didn't say anything. However, all of this fell into Adriaan's eyes.
"Isn't this what you want, Nada?" He suddenly lowered his voice and changed the way he addressed her. "You don't want to reveal it in front of others, so of course, I have to distance myself from you, don't I?"
He smiled again and quickly walked away. Although her eyes were on him, Natalie always restrained herself and didn't show any unnecessary emotions on her face. She didn't even bite her lip, even though her heart was a little uncomfortable because of what he just said.
Since she had a request, he naturally had to satisfy her. Adriaan was very willing to satisfy all her reasonable requests, such as making her appear a little different from other women. This wasn't a difficult thing. It was a good idea to keep a distance from her in front of the crew members. Many people knew that he almost never concealed his relationship with women in front of the crew members. Although the crew was strict, occasionally some news would be leaked.
This might not be able to be concealed forever, but it wouldn't be a problem for a few years. If Natalie still couldn't forget his thoughts, she would take the initiative to cooperate. Not only that, but Adriaan also had other arrangements, such as —
"The name of Missouri comes from the language of the Sioux people, which means canoe. The Missouri River and the Mississippi River flow through the west and east respectively. I can completely picture it in my mind. Hundreds of years ago, the Indians rowed down the river in canoes to catch fish from the river to prepare food for the winter." Standing on the edge of a small primitive pond, Adriaan said to Jessica beside him.
"If you want, we can come here next summer and try to practice canoeing." He continued and reached out to stroke the girl's hair.
Jessica smiled, then opened her arms and took a deep breath. "It's so cold here, even the air is so cold."
Indeed, the coldest time in Missouri is January, about 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius). Even if the temperature rises a lot in March, the average temperature in Missouri is only about 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius), how high can it get? Of course, after two months, the temperature would rise to the level of summer, so Adriaan's choice to make "Winter's Bone" first was the right choice.
"Didn't it remind you of anything?" Adriaan raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I remember you lived in Mississippi before you were four years old."
"Biloxi is a port city, and it's located on the Gulf of Mexico, so the winter isn't that cold." Jessica shrugged.
"Okay," Adriaan laughed. "Let's not talk about this anymore. They're ready, I'm going to go."
He pointed to the other side of the pond, where the prop team had prepared a boat. They were ready to shoot the scene where the female protagonist was led by several middle-aged women to saw off the hands of her father's body that had sunk into the pond. Taking the sawed-off hands to the police station would prove that her father had been killed, so she could keep her house.
"When we're done, I'll accompany you to Kansas City for a stroll, okay?" He said, then leaned over. Although Jessica shrank her neck, she still kissed him.
The shooting process went smoothly. Natalie controlled her role very well. She almost blended into one with Dolly. John Hanks, the actor who played the father and brother of the female protagonist nicknamed "Teardrop," also praised her.
"It's hard to imagine that a girl who grew up in a big city like New York could perform the reserved wild temperament of a country girl," said the veteran actor from Minnesota.
Indeed, when they were shooting the scene where Natalie was beaten, her face was covered in blood, and she confronted a group of dangerous adults. Her calm and even cold indomitable look left a very deep impression on the audience. Matilda, who also had a nosebleed because of the beating, gave people the impression that she was stubborn and weak, but Dolly, who had a tooth knocked out, had a kind of tenacity and tenacity that was rooted in her bone marrow. For people like Hanks who grew up in the inland area, this kind of temperament was very sensitive. If they all praised Natalie like this, it could be imagined how outstanding she was.
As Hanks said, it was indeed a great thing for a girl who grew up in a big city to perform such a feeling. Adriaan didn't care too much about it. The reason why Natalie could do this, in addition to his series of arrangements that constantly sharpened her shooting progress, as well as her own hard work, was more complicated, which I won't talk about here.
"What a strong girl. I also want to play such a role," Jessica, who had read the script, said with some emotion and envy.
Although she was pregnant at such a young age, her original liveliness and desire to express herself had diminished a lot. However, the natural motherly aura that she exuded made her quite popular among the crew. Dakota liked her very much and chatted with her the most, aside from Adrian. Of course, it was also because Jessica's lower abdomen was not obvious, and because Adriaan didn't hide his affection for her at all.
He didn't hide his relationship with Jessica in front of the script members at all, and he often hugged Jessica in front of Natalie. Those who had worked with Adriaan knew that every time he made a movie, he would either have a relationship with the female lead or a woman who had a relationship with him would visit the set. So, this was the best way to draw a line between him and Natalie. After all, everyone knew that he was very strict in this aspect, but he was very casual in the crew. After getting used to it, how many people would think that he would be like this in the crew?
However, there was another reason. Although Natalie pretended to be indifferent, one could infer her psychological state from her small movements and tone of voice when they talked. Although she was very smart, and although she was still quite resistant to him, women were so strange in this aspect. Even if she understood this, she still couldn't resist some subconscious behavior, which was interesting.
Jessica didn't stay for too long. Adriaan spent three days taking her around Kansas City before returning to Los Angeles. In a month's time, her lower abdomen would be very obvious. At that time, it would be best for her to move out of Los Angeles County and gradually reduce the number of times she returned home. Therefore, it was reasonable for her to come out and relax now. Adrian had promised to invite her to the Missouri film set to have a look.
It was a pity that the second season of "Doomsday Black Angel" had finished filming. Otherwise, it would be good for her to live in Canada for a few months. If that didn't work, she could buy a house in Orange County.
As for what would happen in the future, Adriaan wasn't worried at all. Even if Mark Alba was a soldier and a Catholic, he could only accept the fact that it was a fait accompli, and he had many very flexible methods. However, Jessica's future development path would be troublesome. A character like Lily was almost impossible. In a sense, she was the same as Liv, most suitable as a flower vase.
Then again, if it really didn't work out, he would go the route of a romantic comedy. Although this kind of comedy began to decline after 2000, it was not that there were no good works. Adriaan thought so.
The filming was still going on. Because Natalie maintained her form, the progress was quite fast. Adriaan estimated that if they kept going like this, they could even finish all the scenes in five weeks. After all, the whole story was actually very simple. The key was the female lead's performance and how to shoot the details that fully displayed the theme. Coupled with Adriaan's rich "experience," it was very possible to shorten the cycle.
So, on the weekend of the second week of filming, Adriaan flew back to Los Angeles, bringing along Dakota, who had finished her scenes, and her mother.
※ ※ ※
"Okay, Mom, I have to go, or I'll be late." Sarah said to her mother as she packed her things.
"Aren't you having dinner at home, Sarah?" A middle-aged man poked his head out of the kitchen. "I specially made my signature dish."
"Sorry, Ronnie, there's a party I have to attend." Sarah smiled and shrugged.
"That's a pity." The middle-aged man named Ronnie sighed.
"Next time. I promise to have dinner at home next time." Sarah said and apologized to her mother again. "Sorry, Mom, I should have accompanied you."
"It's okay. You have your own work and life." Roslan said with a smile as she walked her daughter to the door.
"Ronnie is a good man. You will be happy with him, Mom." Sarah and her mother hugged.
In the past few years, Roslan had slept with a few men, but not for long. It was not until she met Ronnie Raymond that she settled down. He was a doctor and was very caring.
"Yes, I know." Speaking of her current boyfriend, Roslan smiled, but she quickly put it away. She hesitated, then stared at her daughter and asked, "What about you, Sarah?"
"Me?" Sarah shrugged as if it didn't matter. "I don't have to rush, Mom. My career is on the rise now …"
But Roslan interrupted her. "You are dating Adriaan, right?"
Sarah suddenly fell silent. She looked at her mother in a panic, not knowing what to say.
"I'm not a fool, Sarah. I knew it a long time ago. Besides, the rumors about Adriaan are no secret," Roslan said with a sigh. Roslan sighed and said, "I never said it out loud. I wanted to see your happy expression after your performance. I'm happy to see you become an outstanding actress. Sarah, you're my greatest pride, but I don't want you to … I know that man has helped me a lot, but …"
"No, Mom." This time, it was Sarah who interrupted her mother. "It's not like that. I love him, Mom. I love Eide."
She looked into her mother's eyes and said, "I know it might be weird to say this. In fact, sometimes I think it's weird, but … I just love him, Mom. Eide gave me … something I never had before. That kind of warmth and safety … I never had before … Sorry, Mom, but I really love him. "
Roslan didn't say anything. She stared at her daughter for a long time and sighed.
"I just want you to be happy, dear," she said. "Promise me not to hurt yourself, okay?"
"I promise, Mom. Don't worry." Sarah hugged her mother. "I love you."
The mother and daughter hugged for a while before separating. Then, Sarah got into her car and waved goodbye to her mother.
Sarah let out a long breath and felt relieved. Although she knew that her mother must have known, it was still a little awkward to say it out loud. Fortunately, although her mother didn't support it, she didn't oppose it either. This made her very happy and made her look forward to the party.
The party was hosted by Sarah, and the location was naturally at her home. She had invited many of her friends, including the members of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" crew. She had sent out an invitation to a certain someone early on and had received a positive response.
"Sorry, I'll have to excuse myself." After saying goodbye to her friends, Sarah walked away. The party was very lively, and she was very happy. However, the guy who promised to attend never showed up, which made her a little angry and a little worried. After all, this guy had never missed an appointment or was late. Just now, when she glanced outside, she seemed to have seen a familiar figure flash by. She hadn't seen him for a long time, so she couldn't help but look for him.
Then, she walked around the aisle, but Sarah didn't find anything. Seeing that there was no one around and listening to the happy voices outside, she couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. Could it be that she was mistaken?
Sarah then turned around and walked back. When she passed by a room, the door suddenly opened, and two hands reached out. One covered her mouth, and the other grabbed her waist, instantly dragging her in.
"Ha, Miss Buffy Ann Summers, you're in my hands now." After pressing her against the wall, the man sneered in a low voice.
Although the room was dark, Sarah's tensed body immediately relaxed. Then, she punched the man's ribs and complained in a low, muffled voice, "Eide!"
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