Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 711

“Cut! Okay!”

The morning shoot was over.

‘Well, technically, the shoot that started in the morning ended in the afternoon, after lunchtime.’

They filmed the scenes of the extras running to escape the collapsed building, then looking for their families and friends outside the stadium, then hugging them with relief, then staring blankly at the flying object that crashed into the right side of the stadium building and destroyed a third of it.

Anyway.

They filmed all the scenes that they could at the stadium.

“Let’s move to the studio!”

At the shout of the assistant director Matthew, the people who were bustling around the set dispersed.

Most of the extras were done for the day, and only some of them, along with Seo-jun, Jack Smith, and Evan Block, were going to the studio.

“Jack Smith, I’m looking forward to your games this year.”

“Good luck with both filming and baseball!”

Jung Sung Hwan and Melissa Walton, who had finished their scenes, were also leaving.

“Thank you.”

Jack Smith smiled and said.

The two actors said goodbye to Seo-jun, Evan Block, and Jonathan, the director, and left. The two actors and the baseball player got into Seo-jun’s car.

“Jonathan isn’t coming with us?”

“He took another car. He said he had a meeting about the studio shoot.”

Seo-jun answered Jack’s question.

Jack Smith nodded and looked out the window. 

He saw the staff members who were cleaning up the filming equipment and props.

“Are they not coming with us? Don’t we need the staff at the studio too?”

“There are other staff members at the studio. The staff who are in charge of important things like cinematography, lighting, and art are moving with us now.”

“The staff over there are just taking care of the cleanup.”

Evan Block and Seo-jun explained to Jack with a smile.

I see.

Jack Smith nodded. It seemed like a measure to make the filming faster and smoother.

He leaned back on the seat and asked various questions with curiosity.

“So this is how they make movies.”

He skipped the escape scene in the middle (they would film it at the studio), and filmed the scene after the escape (?) first. He exclaimed with admiration.

“Yeah. They film it like this and then edit it together.”

Evan Block followed Seo-jun’s words.

“But Jonathan learned from Ryan, so he films almost in the same order as the movie. There are directors who film the back part first and then the front part. For revenge movies, they film the revenge scene first and then the scene where they vow revenge.”

“Hmm. That must be hard for immersion and emotional acting.”

Seo-jun and Evan Block burst into laughter at Jack’s serious expression.

“What can I say. You’re like a real rookie actor.”

“Right?”

Awesome.

Jack Smith!

Seo-jun was proud of him, but Evan Block opened his mouth.

“How hard did you teach him, Jun?”

“…”

…Um.

Seo-jun closed his mouth, and Evan Block laughed.

“It was really hard. He said he summarized it for me, but he taught me the basics of acting from scratch. I’m a baseball player! I’m only filming today and I won’t be in any movies after this!”

Jack told them about the hard practice process with Seo-jun, and Seo-jun said with a serious expression.

“Filming is filming, even if it’s only once.”

“You say that!”

“Hahaha.”

The car to the studio was lively.

When they arrived at the studio, Jack looked around the set with curious eyes, like a rookie actor filming for the first time.

“Wow! The stadium building is exactly the same!”

“They must have made it based on that.”

Seo-jun also spoke casually, but the Hollywood art team’s skills were amazing.

They brought the stadium building corridor that was collapsed by the collision with the flying object, as if they had copied it.

“This is how you move here.”

The assistant director Matthew showed the two veteran actors and the rookie actor (the current major leaguer) the movement and activated the set.

Vroom-

A small mechanical sound was heard.

Then the ceiling and the walls of the corridor, which had some broken pieces on the floor but enough space to move around, collapsed. The corridor was completely blocked.

“Wow!”

Jack Smith’s eyes sparkled.

“Then we go back like this.”

The assistant director Matthew activated the machine again, and the collapsed ceiling and walls made a small mechanical sound again, and returned to their original state as if by magic.

“Amazing!”

Unlike Jack, who was amazed by the Hollywood technology, Seo-jun scratched his cheek.

“Hmm. It reminds me of the survivors, you know?”

“Me too.”

The collapsed building and the escape.

They couldn’t help but think of [The Survivors].

And on top of that,

“Hello…”

“It’s Jack!!!”

The adults smiled at the sight of the shy boy and the girl who seemed to be a baseball fan, cheering at Jack.

“With the kids here, the audience will surely think of the survivors too.”

“We have to act hard so they don’t.”

The actor’s face was so determined.

Evan Block smiled.

“Are you fans… Jun. Evan.”

“Can you sign for me, Jack? Jun and Evan too!”

The child actors who were going to film with them from now on, Seo-jun, Jack, and Evan Block chatted with them to get closer.

“Of course I can!”

“Where do you want me to sign?”

“Here…”

“I should have brought a baseball!”

They were only extras who appeared in this scene, so they were cuter than Andrew Walker, who had a lot of lines and emotional acting in [The Survivors].

The actors (including a baseball player) were chatting with each other when they heard a voice.

“Actors! It’s time to get ready!”

It was time to shoot the scene.

***

The actors (one of them was a major leaguer) changed their costumes and finished their makeup. 

They appeared on the set.

Except for Evan Block, who was dressed as Shadowman, they were wearing baseball uniforms (Seo-jun and Jack) and casual clothes (the two child actors) that were dirtied by the dust and cement powder from the collapsed building.

“Don’t stand where the marks are on the floor. The walls are made of special materials, so they’re light and won’t hurt you.”

“Okay. We’ll do that.”

“Yes.”

Jonathan, the director, warned Seo-jun and Jack again about the device that made the ceiling and walls collapse, which they had seen earlier. He then left the set to start the shooting.

On the wide set.

The actors were standing.

“Ready,”

The surroundings became quiet.

“Action!”

Darkness engulfed them.

***

William, who had been moving with the director and the staff until a moment ago, ignored the director’s voice shouting ‘William Lee!!’ and headed to another place. 

He heard a faint cry.

‘It must be Shadowman.’

He loved the hero.

But he didn’t want to witness him like this.

Were his mom and dad safe?

He wanted to go outside and check right away, but a child’s cry stopped him.

A cry that was so small that ordinary people wouldn’t hear it.

William ran faster through the corridor of the collapsed building.

There was no second shock, but looking at the cracked ceiling and walls, and the dust that occasionally fell, he thought it could collapse at any time.

“Mommy… Daddy…”

A child’s voice that sounded like he was struggling to cry got closer. William turned the corner. 

There was a boy crying alone. He seemed to have lost his family while escaping.

“Hey, kid. Wait a minute!”

“Huuu…!”

The boy, who seemed to be relieved by the appearance of an adult, stretched out his arms to William.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. Don’t cry.”

William picked up the boy and hugged him. The boy felt the warmth and comfort and slowly stopped crying.

Swoosh-

Then, dust fell from the ceiling.

It was time to get out of there.

William, holding the boy, started running through the corridor again. 

He had to be careful not to fall while holding the boy, but he was fast. He had enough stamina.

Thud!

Then he heard someone running. It was a heavy sound. 

There must have been someone who hadn’t escaped yet. And William met the person who was running from the corner.

“Damn! Where is this?”

It was the pitcher of the opposing team.

He was holding a girl who was sobbing.

“You?!”

The pitcher of the opposing team, who was looking around, finally noticed William. The fourth batter who hit his ball over the fence. But now was not the time to think about that.

“Let’s get out of here first.”

The pitcher nodded at William’s words. 

They seemed to understand each other without explanation, as they were both holding children.

“I’m new to this stadium. Show me the way.”

“Okay.”

He had transferred from LA, so it made sense.

William took the lead and ran, and the pitcher followed him. 

They were fast, as they were athletes.

They reached a cross-shaped road. The upper road was the exit.

“Damn! It’s blocked!”

But the exit was blocked by rocks. The right and left roads were the same. It was a dead end.

“We have to go back!”

William, who had entered first, turned around. 

The pitcher who had followed him also turned his body and tried to get out of the corridor.

That’s when it happened.

Boom-

A loud noise, a vibration, and cement powder.

The two boys raised their arms and covered the children’s heads, crouching down. It seemed like the ceiling above their heads would collapse and crush them.

Fortunately or unfortunately.

The ceiling and walls collapsed between the pitcher and William. 

They left only small gaps that not even a child could pass through.

“Hey! Are you okay?”

“I’m okay! You go first!”

They heard the pitcher’s voice through the gap. William patted the boy’s back and shouted.

“What about you? If we clear these rocks…”

“You can’t do it alone! You have a kid too! Just go! Remember the place where we turned left? Go straight from there and turn left again. It’s a bit roundabout, but there should be an exit!”

They heard the children’s sobbing.

“Damn! Wait! I’ll get help!”

Thud!

They heard the sound of running.

***

“Does this remind you of [Survivors], or is it just me?”

“No, me too.”

Of course, a superhero movie couldn’t leave out a scene of a collapsed building or an escape, but [Survivors] had left a big impression on people ([Director’s Cut] did a lot of work.) and the actors were the same, so they couldn’t help but think of it.

“Will it be okay?”

If the image of the previous work (even though it was a few years ago) affected the current work, it would be a big problem for both the actors and the work.

The staff who were whispering glanced at the monitor. 

It was a camera that was filming Seo-jun Lee, who was trapped in a corridor blocked front and back.

Seo-jun Lee’s face appeared.

“I was worried for nothing.”

No, it was William Lee’s face.

A similar situation, the same face.

But the atmosphere, the feeling, and the eyes were completely different from ‘Lee Hyun-woo’.

Unlike ‘Lee Hyun-woo’, who was weak but determined for Ian, ‘William Lee’ was strong and reliable both inside and out. 

He was firm, resilient, and dependable.

He was truly a hero.

***

“Huuu… I’m scared…”

“It’s okay.”

In the darkness, where only a thin light came through the gap of the collapsed wall.

The boy, who was holding his uniform hem like a lifeline, was comforted by William with a smile.

“I’ll take you to your mom and dad.”

William’s voice was soft but firm. It was trustworthy. It seemed like he would really do it, and the boy calmed down.

“Sir…”

Thud-

William, who was about to continue, looked at the sound of a rock falling.

The right road, which had been blocked until a moment ago, was open. 

And there was a person standing there.

It was Shadowman.