Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4617 - 3695: Movie Plan (11)

The train scene was just one act, but they still stumbled through it for more than half the day. Don't be fooled by Director Chris's usual smiling demeanor; his standards are actually quite high. He retook the scene dozens of times before finally achieving the effect he wanted. Even though the little wizards were in good health, they were utterly exhausted.

After lunch and a nap, Wanda returned. The entire afternoon was spent filming the Sorting scene. Since this part didn't require magic and there weren't that many little wizards as extras, they found some ordinary children to act as extras instead. With seven or eight hundred kids in one place, the scene almost became uncontrollable.

The little wizards were fine, though. Kamar-Taj might be simple, but it still had plenty of magical elements. They were quite used to seeing fantastic scenes.

But the ordinary kids were a different story. Some of them were locals who had never even left Massachusetts. Suddenly seeing such a big castle and a grand hall left them completely stunned, leading to frenzied running and screaming.

Massachusetts law states that children cannot be left alone in an adult workplace, so the parents had to come in too. However, they were also overwhelmed by the scene, one hand holding their child while the other started taking pictures, practically turning it into a large fair.

The main actors were somewhat speechless, but it seemed the producer was used to it. He simply gave them three hours to run wild, and once the excitement died down and most people were tired, they were finally able to sit obediently in their seats.

There were still quite a few people looking around curiously, whispering with those next to them, but this didn't disrupt the scene. After all, in real life, kids this age rarely sit still, and some small movements actually looked more realistic.

Then came the long filming process. When it came down to serious filming, Director Chris tolerated no one. Walking postures, the movements of raising a cup, every glance and expression, and even the pauses in lines were corrected repeatedly. If it wasn't done right, it simply wouldn't pass.

Shiller happened to have a lot of lines in this scene. After shooting the Sorting for the little wizards and Strange finished his speech, it was time to introduce the professors. The other professors didn't have lines and simply waited to be introduced. Shiller, however, had a line about reminding them to be safe, an important one for the plot's setup. He was indeed a bit uneasy about it.

Strange, clad in the Supreme Magician's uniform, walked over to the table and began introducing the illustrious history of Ilvermorny Magic School and the professors, finally reaching Shiller's name:

"This is our school doctor, Doctor Barton, named Eldridge Barton."

Strange turned around to look at Shiller, who stood up.

"You can just call me Dr. Eldridge. I've saved countless students' lives at this school, but I hope that number will not grow. Especially this year, before the new students arrived, a few lower-year students already returned home due to a strange blood illness. I certainly don't want you to..."

"Stop!" Director Chris shouted from the side. Shiller had no choice but to turn to look at him.

"Don't be so melancholy, Doctor Shiller. Yes, I know, as a doctor, you should show concern for students, but you can't show too much concern. You should act impatient, warning them not to add to your workload. Understand?"

Shiller opened his mouth but didn't truly understand. If they were just a bunch of high schoolers sitting below, it might make sense. But in the front row, the little wizards were at most ten years old, the youngest only seven or eight, with some sitting on chairs with their feet not even touching the ground. How was he supposed to threaten these kids?

Moreover, he was the school doctor. Wasn't a school doctor's duty to treat the children's illnesses? If they never got sick, wouldn't he be out of a job? Without a job, wouldn't he have no money to earn? freeweɓnovel.cѳm

To be honest, although Shiller's consultation fees were high, his medical ethics were quite decent. He truly works after being paid; never mind whether his methods are traditional or not, he'll definitely cure you, achieving miraculous recoveries beyond expectations.

Most of the doctors he knew were generally quite dedicated. Strange, though ill-tempered, genuinely performed surgeries. His trainees scheduled fifteen surgeries for him in a day, and he completed all of them. God had indeed not bestowed these hands on him in vain.

Besides, Shiller was generally quite patient. Otherwise, considering the scene of hundreds of kids running around before him, clamoring for autographs, anyone less patient would have been driven mad.

Shiller sighed and had to try again. But Chris still wasn't satisfied, insisting that he should be tougher to make the protagonist and the audience misunderstand him. Shiller swore he had done his best, but after three or four takes still weren't up to par, he was getting frustrated. He could tell Chris was trying to provoke him, but he honestly didn't have such a bad temper.

As night fell, the little wizards below were nodding off, and even Strange was on the verge of losing it. Shiller had been standing for over an hour and was really reaching his limit. With a gritted teeth stomp, he decided: use a different personality!

Of course, it wasn't that he was quitting the role; rather, he allowed a different personality trait to take over. "You want fierce? I'll find you the fiercest one!"

Filming resumed. Shiller first sat back in the chair, and after a brief moment of distraction, his eyes changed. When the camera captured his eyes, the grey that was more desolate yet more focused than usual gave the photographer pause, while the director's eyes lit up beside him.

"This is our school doctor, Doctor Barton, named...named..."

"Stop!!!" Director Chris stood up and yelled at the stuck Strange, "What are you doing!! You've recited it so many times and still haven't remembered the name?!"

Strange didn't respond, still staring blankly at Shiller, then slowly turned and said, "Sorry, let's do it again."

When he started again, he subconsciously took a step back, and once again Chris shouted stop. Chris forcefully slapped the table and said, "Where are you going?! You're almost out of the shot!! Isn't such a large space enough for you to stand?!"

Strange could only reluctantly step back to his original position. He noticed Shiller had been replaced, so he really didn't want to stand there now.

"This is our school doctor, Doctor Barton, whose name is... Elderidge Barton..."

Shiller didn't stand up, but remained seated, reached out to straighten the badge on his academic robe, and with the other hand, lightly tapped the rim of his glass with a fork. The crisp sound instantly quieted the audience.

"Hello, I am Doctor Barton. I'll be spending a few years with you. If you have any health issues, you can come find me... Oh, perhaps I forgot to tell you, this year, you already have three seniors who've bid farewell to Ilvermorny. If you also want to follow them, then continue disregarding your own safety."

Shiller did not exhibit the kind of impatience and irritability Chris wanted, in fact, his speech was even slower, appearing nonchalant, as if speaking offhandedly. But when he finished speaking, the audience became pin-drop silent.

"Cut!" Chris vigorously waved a fist, "Absolutely perfect! That's the feeling I want!... Steven and Wanda, why are you standing so far away? Get back in the shot, we still have more to shoot!"

Once the scene in the hall was complete, the little wizards headed to the nearby lake to film a boating scene. Yes, Strange didn't remove the boating segment, even though it wasn't originally in the script, Strange insisted it be added, so the director and screenwriter accommodated him.

The boating scene was chaotic, and by the time they finished shooting, it was late at night. The crew sent the actors back to the hotel, while the director's team began reviewing the footage overnight, selecting parts with issues so they could reshoot the following day.

As a famous director, Chris has a precise grasp of emotions. He watched the transformations on Shiller's face on the computer screen and confusedly said, "Why do I feel this isn't quite like him?"

"I feel it's a bit strange too," the assistant director sitting beside him said, "Actually, you can tell when you ask him to be more irritable, he was quite unwilling, took him forever to get into character. This is the drawback of non-professional actors; when you have them play a role unlike their personality, they can't use professional skills to control their reactions, causing many retakes. I thought we wouldn't finish this scene today."

Chris crossed his arms and said, "The latter part doesn't seem like acting, more like a complete switch of person... Personality disorder?"

"No way, he's a psychiatrist," the assistant director said, "Psychiatrists also need regular mental health checks. If there's an issue, they aren't allowed to practice, right?"

"That would only be discovered when they can't control themselves, but he clearly did this actively. Actively switching his personality according to the scene's need... I got inspired!" Chris suddenly raised his voice.

He grabbed the script from beside him, started scribbling on a blank section, then began phoning the already departed screenwriter. Both were completely absorbed in the artistic atmosphere, oblivious to the outside world.

Hence, the next morning, as soon as Shiller awoke, he received a new script, completely different from the previous version and even thicker.

Shiller sat by the bed speechless. He finally understood why actors and psychiatrists need to charge per schedule—he had just internalized the previous character setting and memorized most of the lines, and now this brand new version arrives the next day?!

Could the director's team internally sort out their opinions first, figure out who I'm supposed to be, then continue filming?

Opening the script, Shiller had an instant blackout. He grabbed his phone, found the director's number, and dialed, furiously yelling over, "That's not called personality disorder, that's called dissociative identity disorder!!!"

Then he suddenly realized, looking at the script, "So you mean the school doctor has dissociative identity disorder, with one good personality and one bad personality, hence the inconsistent behavior?!"

Chris was speaking at length on the other end. Shiller listened while reading the script and then spotted a crucial point—the school doctor's bad personality had, decades ago, made a pact with the king of hell, Mephisto, aiding Mephisto in invading Earth, titled as the most brutal black wizard, Saphire!

So it's not Snape now; are we turning to Voldemort?!