Hollywood (我就是好莱坞) Part II

CHAPTER 247 - Come and go

"Eric. Good morning."

"Good morning," Eric said as he nodded to the lady."Breakfast?"

"Hmm." Nicole stepped forward and walked side by side with Eric towards the restaurant.

The two of them ordered breakfast and sat down at a table. Eric only asked, "By the way, when are you leaving?"

Nicole showed a faint hint of sadness: "You sent off Miss Murdoch with such reluctance, yet now you want to rush me away."

"Stop it," Eric gave the girl a gentle glare: "You know that's not what I meant."

Nicole could see that Eric wasn't in the best mood, and he stopped joking around. She said, "I haven't been back to Sydney in over half a year, so I'm taking the opportunity of this free time to go back home and spend some time with my family. As for when I'll be back, it depends on the publicity schedule of "Sleepless in Seattle"."

Eric suggested, "How about this? I'll tell them you'll be back after Thanksgiving?"

Nicole shook her head with a smile and said, "No need. Don't you remember? Australia doesn't have Thanksgiving, and since it's summer in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas is lively but always lacks that atmosphere, so it's not a big deal to miss it. I'll come back on time according to the schedule."

The two people chatted while eating. Nicole quickly finished the simple breakfast in front of her and wiped her mouth with a tissue. Looking around, she leaned over to Eric and said softly, "My ticket to leave tomorrow will be for a while. Can I come to your room tonight?"

Nicole's voice was not loud, but it was not small either. If someone paid attention to them, it was likely to be heard. Eric glanced at the bold girl and finally nodded gently: "Be careful; don't always get touched by chance."

Nicole giggled; she had almost figured out Eric's character. Although this man was strong, he was not a harsh person. So sometimes she even enjoyed seeing Eric's helpless look when he knew her tricks.

In the last few days of shooting for "Sleepless in Seattle", an assistant director had already started shooting some simple shots for "Home Alone 2" according to Eric's instructions, such as aerial shots of Kevin climbing the top of the Twin Towers or shots of a taxi passing over the Brooklyn Bridge.

Therefore, after the closure of "Sleepless in Seattle" yesterday, the crew had a day of rest, but Eric couldn't rest for a moment. Not only did he need to make countless calls to remotely control the post-production of "Sleepless in Seattle", but he also had to check the footage from the pre-production of "Home Alone 2" to determine which could be used and which needed to be re-shot.

The next day, Eric personally started shooting "Home Alone 2", and according to the order of easy first and then difficult, the first scene was placed in the Grand Plaza Hotel.

"Stu, wait a minute. You go straight from here; when you get to that place, stop and ask this gentleman for directions, and then go on. Remember, don't go too fast, got it?"

"Of course, Eric. Do you think I'm an idiot when you have to tell me something so simple again and again?" The little guy rolled his eyes. At that moment, the boy was wearing a heavy suit, a knitted cap on his head, and a small brown backpack on his back, standing beside Eric.

When Erik saw the little guy's words, he had a depressed look on his face, while on the other side, Donald Trump, who had specially come for a cameo, laughed out loud, looked at Stewart, and said, "What a funny little guy."

"Alright, anyway. Just remember, go to the entrance now, and we're ready to start." Eric said and walked towards the monitor while carrying the walkie-talkie, instructing the group scattered in the corridor to start burying their positions.

This long shot was not at all difficult for Stewart; with his pint-sized talent, just walking from the doorway through the hallway to the hall was no problem at all.

The hardest to come by are photographers and sound engineers.

Because it was a positive tracking shot lasting over half a minute, the cameraman, Nick, had to stoop and step back with the heavy camera while following the rhythm of the child. Therefore, although it was just a simple walking shot, it required at least five people to cooperate—the soundman, the cameraman, and several assistants. Along with the soundman and cameraman's movement, the lines connected to the microphone and camera had to be managed.

"Nigel, are you ready?" Eric walked up to the hotel lobby, where the director's monitor was set up, still holding the walkie-talkie to confirm one by one to everyone, and the walkie-talkie also occasionally sent out "ok" sounds.

Eric came near the monitor, and he saw a golden strand of hair faintly flashing behind the monitor. Eric quickly stepped forward and finally saw a little girl in a pink children's coat, lying behind the director's monitor and other equipment, curiously touching and looking around.

The little Lolita looks about ten years old, a bit taller than Stu, with a beautiful pink cartoon hair clip on her golden hair, beautiful bangs on her forehead, long eyelashes flashing twice from time to time, and a small pointed chin showing a hint of beauty.

When Eric looked at her, the little girl only glanced at him, still fiddling with what she was curious about, while the few staff members around her acted as if they didn't notice her.

What's going on? Has my position been unknowingly taken over by an alien from the planet Lolita?

"Hey, little one, who are you?" Eric stepped forward and blocked the little girl's hand that was reaching to press the button next to the monitor, while he couldn't help but reach out and pinch the chubby baby face of the little loli.

"Who are you again?" The little girl agilely dodged Eric's claws, looking at him warily.

Eric smiled and pointed to the seat behind the little girl, saying, "I'm the one who should be sitting there."

The little Lolita twisted her head, pouted her little mouth immediately, and disdainedly said, "Humph, why didn't you just say you were the director? Adults always like to beat around the bush."

"Okay, I'm Eric Williams. Can you tell me your name, little lady...Miss?" Eric said, reaching out to the little girl.

The little Lolita immediately stepped back with a disdainful face, not intending to shake hands with Eric at all. She raised her chin and said in a crisp, childish voice, "My name is Ivanka."

Eric raised an eyebrow: "Ivanka? Ivanka Trump?"

"Hmm." The little girl nodded.