febrary 27.
A touch of grand games in which one could marvel. Just a day after arriving, everything was wrapped in the beauty of spring, which seemed to fade away in a fantastical manner.
-A man who constantly loses himself in his thoughts seems like a man unhappy with his life,- Anne replied, hoping the time she stayed would be kept to a minimum.
-I was only plotting new storylines,- Billy commented, looking at Anne, who was standing just a step away. It had been quite some time since Billy had been in San Jose without fully devoting himself to the company; aside from sending comics, he sent one every week, and two when he felt unusually inspired.
-What a paradise,- Anne replied, moving very close, her hands resting on Billy. Something had been happening for months now; she seemed perfectly tailored to people. She was falling in love in her own way.
-I brought you lunch… you've been exercising a lot and you look exhausted. I scheduled an appointment with my doctor and requested a house call; he'll arrive at seven tonight at your place, make sure you're there on time,- Anne replied, straightening Billy's tie as she held the two comics in her hands, each carrying an idea of how the next designs would unfold.
-Thank you, Anne,- Billy said, looking at the lunch now in his hands. It was there for him: delicious lamb with sliced potatoes, a wonderful salad, and fruit—everything he always had for lunch.
Lemon water.
-I'll see you tonight,- Anne whispered as she left with what seemed like fear, though not an absolute one—just her retreating into herself. Only a routine medical appointment.
Now it was time for him to continue with some scenes that required his work, such as participating in a droid sequence where machines were trapped together. Lucas was an expert at framing scenes and gathering different moments for a plot that was now becoming a television series. Focused on Padmé Amidala and Anakin during the war, they allowed time to compress a year-long relationship into a marvelous marriage.
It might be difficult for the people involved.
But each extra scene saved weeks and weeks of work, making a few minutes feel worthwhile, and everything left between people became a single development. A grimace. He only carried out an auxiliary role in what remained; now they were different moments of Anakin (Billy) performing small shorts in which the fights seemed to leap from air to air, driven by combative intensity.
-A fight I don't want to deal with,- Billy replied simply.
…
EXT. GEONOSIS, EXECUTION ARENA – DAY
MACE WINDU, OBI-WAN, ANAKIN, PADMÉ, and an exhausted group of about TWENTY JEDI stand in the center of the arena, surrounded by a circle of BATTLE DROIDS. The blood-soaked arena around them is littered with the bodies of DEAD GEONOSIANS, DESTROYED DROIDS, and JEDI.
At the base of a staircase, BOBA FETT finds his father's shattered helmet. He picks it up.
KI-ADI-MUNDI and the SURVIVORS of the assault group are herded into the arena by SUPER BATTLE DROIDS. From the surrounding stands, THOUSANDS OF BATTLE DROIDS aim their weapons menacingly.
In the archducal box, COUNT DOOKU raises his hand. The DROIDS lower their weapons. The COUNT calls out to the JEDI.
COUNT DOOKU: Master Windu!
Silence.
COUNT DOOKU
(continues)
You have fought bravely. You are worthy of recognition in the historical archives of the Jedi Order. Now it is finished.
(brief pause)
Surrender, and your lives will be spared.
MACE WINDU: We will not be hostages for you to bargain with, Dooku.
COUNT DOOKU: Then I am sorry, my old friend. You will have to be destroyed.
The droids raise their weapons. Anakin and Padmé grip each other's hands tightly. COUNT DOOKU raises his hand to give the order to fire. Padmé suddenly looks up and whispers to Anakin.
PADMÉ: Look!
Above them, six gunships descend rapidly through the open space in the arena ceiling. They land in a cluster around the handful of Jedi. Clone troopers pour out and begin firing on the droids. A hellish storm of laser fire erupts, ricocheting off the laser shields created by the gunships. YODA appears in the doorway of one of the gunships.
YODA: Go! Hurry! Hurry!
The surviving Jedi run toward the gunships and scramble aboard. MACE WINDU clings tightly as the gunship, firing all its weapons, lifts out of the arena and clears the upper rim.
-Cut.-
Nothing surprising. They completed one job after another, nothing difficult, and people carried it out. What remained was a small struggle between Billy and Anakin, who sighed in every possible way.
-Move those arms,- Ewan replied, knowing well the inconsistencies they dealt with in the world of art.
Billy smiled at him. There were still about twelve new takes left, in which they had to go through the motions, with the machinery arriving to record again and again.
…
Natalie was covered in set sand; her face looked slightly disheveled, and she insisted there was no chance to bathe. Curiously, the dressing rooms were restricted due to it being a mega-studio, and trailers were not allowed—only tents and minimal halls.
-Another take,- someone whispered to her as she turned.
She still had to do another one in Tunisia, a dance meant to remain open to the air. In the heat, at least here the sand was temperate, a bit cool, but not bothersome.
She had been glancing at Billy out of the corner of her eye for days; she couldn't take her eyes off him. There was a sense of dissonance in her gaze, wondering why everything pulled her toward him like a gravitational well. She found herself trapped watching the young man from any position, sitting far away, just a few steps from where he sat.
She spoke to everyone, only as an excuse for him to notice her. He was a wall. For the first time, she longed for intimate scenes, a kiss—just a kiss. But it burned in her heart.
…
For months now, much or little had been seen. But among all the rooms that were set up, the best was the room of space worlds: the planetarium, the hall of mirrors, where the screens formed a circle and narrated an unimaginable shot. Raimon performed two takes, one depicting a civilization near Naboo that stood on the brink of collapse.
-They were just farmers; clones stationed nearby,- he whispered.
The clones moved to one side and aimed their weapons; what little they held in their hands represented a civilization in need of help, as they were being attacked by droids. Their leader was merely a man who sold grain. The planet had two societies, each distinct from the other.
-We'll do this quickly,- Lucas's assistant commented, filming a four-minute take that swept across the entire village. They were in the new building, which had three large areas: the agricultural fields, a city, and the mines.
...