14 Players

No, the behavior of director Różycki could not have had such bad intentions. It had to be a misunderstanding. Damian refused to believe that anyone would intentionally endanger the actor working for him.

Różycki probably did not think about the consequences that this glaring sun could do for Brylski. Maybe he didn't even really plan this whole wait extension (after all, who would have predicted that the actress would have the braid unhooked?), But the fact was that if the camera was not ready, if they were just about to test a new shot, there should be an understudy on the roof - a professional stuntman who can easily cope with all circumstances, not an amateur actor, whom the director points out to lack professionalism every five minutes.

This, however, could only be a one-off incident. What Radosz saw was disturbing, but did not yet constitute evidence of mobbing. The heat could disturb Różycki's clarity of thinking, after all, the director was not so young anymore and judging by his overweight, he might have had health problems. The director deserved to be scolded for what happened yesterday, but there was still not enough evidence to build a case against him.

If Janiszek had not informed Damian that it was not an isolated incident, while watching the recording, Radosz would probably not have noticed that something was wrong. But now, under the influence of her words, he could see what he wanted to see.

Maybe "wanted" is not exactly the right word. As a producer for the show and as a human being, Damian certainly didn't want to see the actor he chose for the lead role get mistreated on set. It would mean that Brylski was suffering because of him and the opportunity he wanted to give him turned out to be a little hell.

Radosz wanted to grit his teeth, but did not want to show that he was dissatisfied. If people start to suspect that he is sniffing against Różycki, they can report it to the director and he will start to remove traces behind him. After all, the loyalty of these people will almost certainly lie with Różycki.

Damian really hoped he wouldn't find anything else, but his intuition told him that if he kept sniffing, something else would come out.

“Did the insurer want to see these tapes?” Radosz asked the technician.

“Not yet.”

“The recordings are clear and you can give them whatever they want. Różycki saw these recordings?”

“Yes. Yesterday. They watched them with Mońka and...”

The technician suddenly paused as if he feared he had said too much. Funny because, in Damian's opinion, he clearly said too little.

“Mońka, Mońka ...” This name meant something to Radosz, but he could not assign it to any person. It certainly wasn't an actor.

“This is our special effects specialist. He was pinning Brylski,” the technician explained reluctantly.

“Oh yes, I remember!” Radosz remembered a well-built, but not overly muscular man in his thirties. The guy was built like an athlete or a professional swimmer, but he was clearly far from being a bodybuilder. “The video says he checked Brylski's harness twice.”

“Er, that's right.”

The technician clearly refused to cooperate. Either he heard a bit too much yesterday, or he was loyal to Różycki, or he simply didn't want to have anything to do with it.

“Ok, thanks” Damian stood up, not wanting to bother this man anymore. The technician certainly knew more, but at this point Radosz did not even know what to ask him. After all, he cannot simply ask the question: ‘Do you think Różycki is abusing Brylski?’

Damian, however, knew that he had to meet not only with professor Janusz Urbański but also with a specialist in special effects, Tobiasz Mońka.

Radosz got out of the car resembling a transmission car, in which the materials shot outside the studio were collected, and immediately felt a wave of unbearable heat hit him. It took only a moment for his entire body to be covered with sweat. The heat of June must have been historic.

Due to Brylski's accident, the shooting schedule needed to be slightly modified. The team did not move from this plan, they focused only on photos that could be shot without the participation of the main character. For example, it was possible to take a few additional shots of Jagusia's face played by Marzena Skierska, beloved Paweł, played by Brylski.

Marzena Skierska, who at that moment was on the set in her long, attached braid and quite heavy dress, was considered one of the most beautiful actresses in Poland. Regarding her acting talent, opinions were divided, but Damian, who had already experienced how foreign industry works, believed that even the worst actor would perform brilliantly under good management, and Różycki clearly wanted to work with Marzenka.

Whether the actress and the director had any private arrangements that Radosz did not know, or whether Różycki simply liked this young woman and saw her potential, Damian did not care. He cared about the effects. Actresses were usually secondary to the target audience Radosz was trying to target - teenage girls definitely preferred to look at handsome, young actors rather than their screen partners.

Marzena Skierska, however, had the potential to sell well, because she was really pretty and shapely, and in a period costume, she looked definitely charming. She also had a youthfulness about her that did not at all imply that she was already twenty-six. The actress could successfully play a girl of less than twenty years. Looking at what was happening on the set at the moment, Radosz also decided that Marzena was playing quite well, although she could take it a little bit of slack.

“Break!”

Damian suddenly heard a loud, female voice and realized that the actress he was watching had just called.

“Director, it's too hot!” she complained.

“Ten minute break!” Różycki announced and turned to the actress: “Marzenka, rest in the trailer.”

In response, the actress smiled so much that she suggested a more intimate relationship between herself and the director. Różycki replied similarly. It's okay, Radosz said, as long as the girl doesn't spoil his production.

People who worked in the sun began looking for shade. Almost everyone also replenished their fluids. Damian, who was hovering between them, did not notice that anyone exchanged any information about Brylski. Nobody spoke about yesterday's incident, nobody asked anyone about his health. It's as if yesterday's incident did not happen at all.

It was strange, said Damian. People were supposed to gossip in nature. If misfortune happened to someone they liked, they gossiped with pity. If the victim was someone they disliked, they were talked about with satisfaction. Such silence as there was now was way too bizarre.

Was it the director who forbade them to talk about it, so that someone would not hear too much?

Was that someone supposed to be him, Damian Radosz?

Yes, it was possible, because although the people on the set pretended that they did not see him or that he was part of the background, Radosz could not shake the feeling that he was constantly being watched.

It wouldn't be that strange at all, because his presence was the presence of capital. One of the things people fear most is losing money.

This project was almost entirely owned by Radosz, so at the moment he was the most serious player here. However, since he was completely new to this business and no one really knew anything about him except that he was spending a lot of money on this project, Damian was a great unknown here. After all, no one could have foreseen whether he would turn out to be some kind of bullshit who was ready to fake the whole project just because he had such a whim.

If you are unfamiliar with the players you are sitting with, you need to be careful.

The same goes for both sides. Establishing cooperation with Różycki and entrusting his competences, Radosz did not expect that one of the actors on the set would face such a serious accident, probably due to an abuse of power on the part of this director.

Did Damian actually sit down to the table with unsuitable players?