Actor in Hollywood

Haha, hahaha—

Heath laughed heartily, almost crowing. Anson's humor perfectly matched his style, and he couldn't stop his bright smile.

However.

After the laughter, Heath still didn't forget a key point.

"So, is this your character arc?"

Although they had just been discussing the film's theme, for actors, the theme is often presented through the protagonist. In other words, the character's growth arc carries the responsibility of showcasing the film's theme, and the actor's performance becomes a crucial part of the film's integrity.

Heath didn't forget this and brought the topic back to the actor's core work.

Anson was about to speak—

"Sorry."

A voice came from the bedroom doorway, interrupting Anson's response and drawing everyone's attention in the room.

It was Eric.

To be precise, it was McGee and Eric. The two directors entered the room one after the other, seemingly finally calming down and refocusing on the filming set.

Wait—

Perhaps, there was one exception: Heath.

Even though the two directors entered the room, Heath completely ignored them, staring intently at Anson, waiting for his answer.

That focused and burning gaze almost seemed to burn a hole in Anson's skin. If Anson didn't answer, he wouldn't care about any directors, he would chase Anson to the ends of the earth to wait for his response.

And he wasn't joking.

Anson was politely looking at Eric, waiting for the director to speak, but Heath's burning gaze startled him.

A shock.

An instinctive reflex, as if being stared at by a cheetah, he subconsciously looked over and saw the fanaticism in Heath's unmoving eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and he blinked involuntarily, taking a moment to realize what Heath's gaze meant.

He chuckled.

Despite the helplessness, it was also somewhat amusing. Anson pursed his lips, looked at Heath, and disarmed him with just one sentence.

"Let's discover it together."

He said.

Of course, Anson could answer Heath now and analyze his understanding of the character and the relationship between the character arc and the film's theme. But such words were often simple and pale, lacking visual impact.

Instead of doing that, it was better to be patient, follow Anson into the subsequent filming, observe, experience, feel, and discover. Heath could even enter Tommy's character world and interact with Anson in their scenes.

Obviously, this would be much more interesting.

Heath deeply agreed.

So, with just one sentence, Anson calmed Heath down. Heath stopped staring at Anson and finally turned to look at the two directors.

Then.

The corners of Heath's mouth twitched slightly, holding back laughter with a bit of difficulty.

Eric looked particularly comical, with both nostrils stuffed with tissues, causing him to breathe through his mouth like a goldfish. The tip of his nose and cheeks were slightly flushed, and his eyes still held traces of un dissipated shyness and panic, as if one could see the remnants of surging emotions.

A little pitiful, yet also a little funny.

"Cough!"

"Sorry for delaying the shoot because of me, it's entirely my fault. But fortunately, the commotion just now didn't affect our filming. Let's congratulate Anson and Rachel for their excellent work."

Undoubtedly, Eric was sincere, but his thick nasal voice resulted in a head voice, making his words slurred and unable to sound serious. He was using all his strength to barely control his laughter.

Not to mention Heath and Rachel, even McGee had turned his back to Eric, his shoulders shrugging forcefully, his hands clenched into fists. The tense muscles in his arms and fists were clearly visible, making it seem like he had been crying.

In fact, Anson was the same. As soon as he opened his mouth, the corners of his lips curled up slightly. He had to remind himself to focus on work to avoid breaking character.

"Director, for this scene, you didn't plan on doing it in one take, did you?"

Eric was taken aback, his face full of confusion, clearly not understanding Anson's meaning. He tried to speak but ended up gasping for air—

Like a bull.

That expression was truly hilarious.

Fortunately, McGee regained his focus here and quickly spoke up.

"No, no, no, of course not."

"A long take in one shot... that's too fancy."

Actually, what McGee wanted to say was that the technical and control difficulties were too high, and they couldn't handle it. Casually using a long take might expose their shortcomings. They weren't prepared to take risks and would rather shoot in a way they were familiar with. There was no need to humiliate themselves by exposing their weaknesses.

But with the words already on the tip of his tongue, McGee remembered that he was now a director and naturally had the authority and professional image of a director to maintain. He slammed on the brakes and controlled himself.

McGee turned around.

"We'll switch camera positions and shoot a few shots from different angles to complete the scene."

"What's wrong?"

Anson and Rachel exchanged glances, their attention drawn back.

But Anson wasn't going to dictate McGee and Eric's directorial work.

Indeed, the two directors lacked experience. They might be shooting a film in a television style, and they might miss the performance details of Anson and the others. If the directors couldn't capture the actors' performances, then even the most dedicated and invested acting would be in vain, unable to hit the mark.

However, Anson firmly remembered two things.

The first thing was that since he had chosen them as directors, he should trust them.

The second thing was that no one liked others lecturing them in their own field of expertise.

So, Anson was willing to give the two directors a chance first, and then gradually adjust and find the right approach during the collaboration process—

After all, Anson hadn't forgotten that he himself wasn't a professional director either. The shooting style he insisted on might be beneficial for the actors, but not necessarily for the film.

Collaboration still required mutual adaptation, not just imposing one's own ideas on others.

Therefore.

Anson didn't elaborate on his thoughts but instead guided them slightly.

"Rachel and I were just discussing which parts of this scene need close-ups and which parts need to accurately convey emotions in the frame, but we need to follow the director's instructions and see what the camera setup is for the next scene."

At the same time, he adopted a modest and inquisitive attitude, seeking the director's opinion.

At this moment, McGee visibly paused—

He only now remembered that in the first scene, there were indeed more things hidden in the eye contact and emotional flow between the two actors that they needed to capture and present with the camera.

Raising his head, McGee saw Anson and Rachel patiently waiting for an answer, and his thoughts naturally unfolded.

"I have some ideas, but why don't we try it together."

"The chemistry you two just displayed was excellent and very interesting. I like it. How about you and the camera try to interact freely, see what the camera can capture, and see what you can create together."

"How about it?"

This was the best-case scenario—

The actors trusted the directors, and the directors trusted the actors. Both sides sought chemistry through free expression. Undoubtedly, this was a win-win situation.