Chapter 41 Contact Information

Orange County, a middle-class community.

Arriving at the community theater, Paul stood at the entrance, glancing at his watch anxiously. "Where's Mario? He's taking forever."

Feeling restless, he couldn't stay still, pacing back and forth.

A few days ago, someone approached him through the community theater manager, inviting him to attend a movie screening event and offering some special performance work for three days, paying a handsome sum of $2000. Both he and Mario had been selected after a screening process.

Although it was just part-time work at this middle-class community theater, neither Paul nor Mario were locals. $2000 was a significant sum for them, equivalent to a month's income.

Finally, Mario, a chubby guy, arrived at the theater entrance.

"Why are you so late?" Paul complained. "We're supposed to sign the contract today, and being late isn't good."

Mario opened his cola can and took a big sip before replying, "We still have time."

Paul grabbed him by the arm and urged, "Hurry up, this is a $2000 deal! That should cover your sister's living expenses for the next quarter."

This extra income meant a lot to them.

The two of them entered the office of the community theater manager, where they saw the ordinary-looking middle-aged man again.

"Afternoon, Mr. Robert."

"Afternoon." Robert handed them a few documents. "These are the contracts, take a look first."

Paul and Mario took the documents and started reviewing them.

The community theater manager spoke up, "I can act as a mediator and witness for the contract. If you're not comfortable, we can visit a law firm later."

Paul quickly said, "No need for that."

Mario nodded vigorously in agreement.

With the terms already agreed upon and someone trustworthy vouching for them, they signed the contract without much hesitation. Even though there were confidentiality clauses, the $2000 compensation made it worthwhile to keep their mouths shut.

After signing the contract, the community theater manager left the office voluntarily.

Robert opened his briefcase and handed Paul and Mario duplicate copies of the ordinary contracts. "These are the projects you'll be performing. Familiarize yourselves with them first."

They immediately took the documents and started reading. After just a few sections, they felt relieved.

They had some concerns before, wondering what if they were asked to perform something inappropriate. But now, Paul finished reading first and immediately said with a smile, "Mr. Robert, rest assured, we've got this covered."

Robert reminded, "Remember to come to my place for rehearsal two days in advance."

"Didn't we already discuss this?" Paul confidently replied, "We will definitely abide by the contract."

An extra income of $2000 doesn't come by every year.

Mario finished reading too, shaking the fat on his face, and said, "This doesn't seem too difficult. I'll just drink more cola to add to the authenticity."

Paul quickly agreed, "Right! We'll just drink more cola."

Robert nodded with a smile. These two were seasoned actors at the community theater, quite clever.

After sorting out Paul and Mario, Robert left the community theater and headed to the next place. What Ruonan said made sense; it's always better to be prepared than passively wait.

In distribution, apart from the film itself, creating favorable conditions as much as possible is crucial.

Ruonan also kept in touch with distribution personnel from multiple companies and even attended a screening event hosted by Lionsgate.

Similar to most Hollywood screening events, this one mainly consisted of industry professionals and some fans, and the opinions of both were valued by the film companies.

After attending the standard screening event, Ruonan further refined his plan. Although Hollywood in this era had its share of tricks, it was still less chaotic compared to the future.

Time progresses, and so does Hollywood.

Before the crew returned to Warner Bros. Studios from San Fernando Valley, Ruonan went to the exterior shooting location once more. Another crew had already moved into the villa and was preparing for shooting, accompanied by a group of heavily made-up actresses.

These actresses were experts in romantic roles, but it was too early for Ruonan to recognize any familiar faces.

Actresses he admired like Marlena Morgan and Tonya Black would probably take a few more years to debut.

And that persistent Stomy Daniels who treated Twitter like a governing platform seemed to be absent from the valley.

With all these random thoughts in mind, Ruonan returned to Los Angeles with the crew. Afterward, he applied to several independent film festivals, including the Saint Denis Film Festival.

Just in case they couldn't find a distributor, there was always the option of film festival screenings.

After finalizing the filming method for background action scenes with James Huang, the filming speed of the crew accelerated further. By early June, they were already in the final stages of production.

It must be admitted that James Huang, with over a decade of experience in the film industry, was very skilled at shooting horror movies.

During filming, Ruonan didn't interfere much. However, when the crew was shooting the final scene, he made a special appearance.

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out as masked bandits fell to the ground. Accompanied by a black man, two armed Arabs ran in from the door, saving the protagonist's family.

The male lead trembled as he pulled off the masks of the bandits, revealing their white faces, seemingly friendly neighbors.

The camera scanned across these wicked-looking white faces before turning to the black man and the two Arab actors.

These three instantly exuded righteousness.

After all, contrast creates impact, and James Huang's cinematography was clear and straightforward, without any pretense.

"Cut!" James Huang called out, stopping the shoot and loudly announced, "This scene is good to go!"

Then he raised his voice, "I declare, the filming phase of 'Human Purge'... is complete!"

Standing not far behind James Huang, Ruonan simply watched as the crew burst into cheers. He didn't say anything.

Most of the crew members were thrilled, not only because the intense work was over but also because it meant that part of their payment would soon be settled.

In Hollywood, there are mainly two payment models: weekly payments and one-time payments split into two to three installments.

Ruonan opted for the latter.

At this moment, he didn't try to make his presence felt; his mind was already on the next step, the post-production phase.

Compared to filming, he would be deeply involved in post-production.

Post-production could turn ordinary or even mediocre shots taken during filming into something magical.

As filming wrapped up, while others were busy celebrating what could be the first theatrical movie in their lives, Mrs. Seffried had already pulled Amanda Seffried out of the crowd.

She took out a special tissue and carefully wiped the fake blood off her daughter's face, lowering her voice, "Amanda, didn't you forget what I told you? What's the point of wasting time with those people?"

Amanda scratched her head and replied, "I got it, Mom."

Mrs. Seffried handed her a handbag. "Go quickly!" She reminded again, "Don't forget to ask for his private contact information."

Since it was confirmed that they were moving towards the acting aspect, every producer was important.

Amanda nodded and headed towards a quiet corner, carrying the handbag.

When Ruonan was

 about to leave the set, he noticed Amanda Seffried approaching him, just like before, carrying a handbag.

"Amanda, more cake to share?" he asked with a smile.

Being a sweet girl who often brought treats, she easily left a good impression.

"Yeah, for you." Amanda handed it to Ruonan, saying deliberately, "This time it's different. Except for baking, I did everything else myself."

Ruonan opened the handbag and took out a cake. Its appearance was average, resembling a novice's work, but he nodded and said, "It's a special gift."

Amanda smiled with satisfaction. "I noticed you don't like sweets much, so I reduced the sugar this time."

"You could tell?" Ruonan knew this girl had a keen eye and complimented her indirectly, "Too bad the shooting is over. It's going to be hard to get such tasty little cakes in the future."

Amanda put out her hand. "Give me your contact information, and when I make another one, I'll give it to you."

Ruonan smiled again, took out a personal business card, and placed it in Amanda's small hand. She tucked it away, waved to him, and walked away.

With all shots completed, the crew transitioned to post-production the next day.