the hangover officially began filming.
Inside the Caesars Palace hotel, it was bustling, with dozens of reporters completely surrounding the scene. They all held up cameras, their lenses uniformly aimed at the stage of the launch press conference, the sound of shutters rising and falling, and flashlights flickering non-stop.
Enrico and Kazir stood on stage, facing the cameras, calmly handling various questions and striving to give appropriate responses to every single one.
Fortunately, most of the questions posed by the reporters were innocuous. Occasionally, someone tried to steer the conversation towards Kazir's past romantic affairs, but Kazir merely smiled faintly and easily deflected with a single sentence: "I'm afraid I cannot answer questions unrelated to the hangover."
At this moment, a reporter loudly asked: "Director Gray, is it true that Ed Helms is really asking for a 5 million dollar salary?"
"That's right."
Kazir had no intention of hiding anything.
After all, this matter had already spread within the industry, and these reporters were all affiliated with Time Warner.
As a media giant, Warner Bros. under Time Warner held a crucial position in the film industry, and this courtesy naturally had to be extended. Kazir knew very well that some questions were deliberately thrown out by reporters to grab attention, such as topics like 'Kazir's new romance exposed' or 'napoleon dynamite stars and director at odds,' which would certainly be exaggerated and published by those paparazzi later.
However, as long as it could create buzz for the film and increase its exposure, Kazir couldn't be bothered to care about such things.
In fact, the crew had received a list of potential questions in advance, and Kazir had already made thorough preparations.
He calmly replied: "There are no conflicts between Ed and me; he has always been very responsible in his work. This is just a publicity tactic; everyone shouldn't take it too seriously."
Publicity is truly too important for a film's box office. Film companies spare no expense in advertising for this very purpose.
Take batman forever from last year, for example. The promotional expenses alone reached 100 million, plus another 100 million in production costs, yet the box office results were not satisfactory.
However, fortunately, the videotapes sold extremely well, as after all, which child nowadays doesn't want to be a Hero like Superman and batman?
With new mediums like VCRs and tapes, Hollywood's ability to rake in money was like a tiger with wings, with profits skyrocketing every year.
Warner Bros. even planned to make another batman film two years later. Upon hearing this news, Kazir couldn't help but mutter to himself: "That batman & Robin, it seems, was a bizarre film with nipples on the suit, and it's probably going to be a laughingstock again."
Indeed, many people complained that the suits in that movie were ridiculously ugly, and it's no wonder Warner Bros. didn't dare touch the batman series again for nearly a decade afterward.
Kazir thought to himself: "If Nolan hadn't taken over and rescued the batman IP, batman would probably have truly gathered dust in the film library."
The press conference finally ended, reporters gradually dispersed, and the crew officially began filming… "Scene 36, elevator scene. Lights, camera, action!"
Fremont Smith, holding the clapperboard, called out loudly with a focused expression.
The elevator was crowded with four "actors"—three adult men, plus a baby. As the camera started rolling, filming officially began.
"…I seriously can't remember anything I did last night."
Stu (played by Ed Helms) covered his mouth with a towel, looking bewildered, his eyes revealing deep confusion. He truly couldn't understand why he was missing a tooth.
"Obviously, you had too much fun!" Phil (played by Bradley Cooper) leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, replied nonchalantly, a hint of teasing smile on his face.
"Can't you just stop worrying so much?" Phil's tone rose slightly, with a hint of impatience.
"How can I not worry?" Stu grew anxious, his emotions suddenly flaring up, "My tooth is gone! There's also a tiger in the hotel Room! Oh right, there's also an extra baby in our Room! A living, breathing baby! Because of this! Damn it, because of this!"
His voice grew louder and louder, his hands waving in the air, appearing very anxious.
"Don't swear in front of the child."
Alan (played by Jack Black), holding the baby carrier in front of his chest, turned around and looked at Stu with a serious expression.
"You have the nerve to say that? I don't think you should even be near the child," Stu retorted, not backing down.
Just then, the elevator doors slowly opened.
"Cut! Take a ten-minute break, we'll reshoot this scene. Jane, take your people to touch up makeup." Kazir sat in front of the monitor, carefully watching the footage. Although the first take was acceptable, he felt there was Room for improvement and it could be shot better.
"How's the baby?" He walked over to Jack Black, asking with concern.
"Very cute… just seems to have peed on me."
Jack Black sat down with a wry smile. He was holding a real baby, as close-up shots couldn't use props and could only be filmed with a real child.
"I'm so sorry!" The baby's mother quickly stepped forward, took the child, her face full of apologies.
She was Enrico's friend. Hearing that the crew was looking for a baby actor, she specially brought her child to audition, not expecting such a situation to occur.
"There, there, don't cry, don't cry~"
The mother gently cooed at the child while softly patting his back. The baby giggled, and the atmosphere on set relaxed considerably.
Kazir walked over to Ed Helms, who was getting his makeup touched up, and said earnestly: "The first half of the lines should be a bit more listless, and the second half should have more of an outburst, to better convey Stu's anxious and helpless emotions."
"Understood, Director."
Ed knew that ever since he collaborated with Kazir on napoleon dynamite, Kazir's demands for line delivery and tone had been particularly strict, allowing no ambiguity whatsoever.
Kazir then nodded to Bradley Cooper, encouraging him: "Maintain your state, your performance just now was very good."
"Thank you, Director." Both Bradley and Jack were collaborating with Kazir for the first time, and they were unsure, unable to gauge whether this director's temperament was that of a tyrant, a good-natured person, or a secretly eccentric and crazy one.
As the protagonists, they didn't want to cause trouble, so they could only obediently follow the director's instructions.
Ten minutes later, filming resumed.
But just a few seconds after the camera started rolling, the baby suddenly cried out "Waaah!" The cry echoed in the elevator, making everyone a bit flustered.
"Cut…!"
Kazir sighed helplessly. In fact, he had anticipated such a situation.
After all, reasoning with a baby was impossible; it was up to the child's mother.
He planned to finish all the scenes involving the baby within three days, otherwise, if it dragged on like this, the filming schedule would be affected.
"…Ten-minute break."
This was the first NG, Kazir said in a low voice, without a trace of impatience on his face.