Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 293: Never late to settle Scores

The filming came to a standstill.

Justin announced that the crew would resume work and re-shoot the previous scene. But after that, the filming hit a deadlock because Vin just wasn't in the right state.

During the fight, Vin appeared hesitant, lacking his previous aggressive and domineering aura. His punches and kicks seemed restricted, as if invisible ropes were binding his hands and feet. This drained all the spark and chemistry from the fight.

Surprisingly, Renly wasn't injured, but Vin's right leg was. In Renly's flurry of strikes, the final blow landed on Vin's right leg, causing a muscle bruise—not too serious, but enough to affect his movement and strength. This had a real impact on shooting the action scenes.

Worse still, Vin had lost his wild energy and swagger, and the final part of the fight lacked its original intensity, resulting in a lackluster scene. It even seemed like Vin was being completely overpowered—if Dominic was losing to Hobbs the whole time, how could the movie continue?

Influenced by Vin, Renly's fighting also lost its sharpness, and the whole scene's chemistry became unsatisfactory.

The shooting stumbled forward awkwardly, with Justin forced to break the fight into seven or eight different angles or segments, shooting bit by bit.

Sometimes, they shot for less than ten seconds before something felt off, and they had to stop and restart. Other times, they shot for three seconds, and it felt right, but then a position change ruined the flow, forcing another restart to adjust and continue from that point.

If not for everyone remembering the smooth, fluid scene they had just shot—and the footage still on film—it would have felt like a dream.

The only silver lining was that Justin no longer had to worry about Renly and Vin hurting each other or causing serious injury with overly aggressive moves.

Though the smoothness of the shoot was lost, at least the crew could painstakingly work through the scene to achieve Justin's vision. He knew he'd be cutting the footage heavily in post-production anyway, sometimes with shots lasting less than a second.

At this point, Justin wasn't sure if he should be relieved or frustrated. They had nailed the perfect medium and wide shots, but the close-ups and detailed shots had to be painstakingly filmed bit by bit.

The first take took less than three minutes to shoot, but refining those three minutes took two whole days.

"Cut!" Justin shouted. Seeing the cameraman give an "OK" signal, he finally relaxed and announced loudly, "That's a wrap! This scene is finished. Let's prep for the next one!"

Hearing this, the whole crew sighed in relief.

The grueling ordeal was finally over. It was hard to tell which was worse—the previous anxiety or the slow, broken process that followed. It was a bittersweet shoot, but at least it was over, which was a good thing.

Crew members moved onto the set to rearrange props for the next scene, while Renly headed towards the rest area and spotted Nathan and Andy Rogers standing nearby.

Renly was slightly surprised but smiled, greeting Andy. "What brings you here? L.A. winters are a lot more comfortable, aren't they?"

Lately, Andy had been busy in Los Angeles with the awards season ramping up, managing academy campaigns day in and day out. Plus, Renly wasn't his only client—last he heard, Harrison Ford was choosing a new project.

Besides, Renly was busy shooting, fully immersed in the work. He didn't need his agent on set; an assistant was enough.

Andy smiled. "I expected you to react like this, but I still find it unbelievable. My client had an accident, and his safety was threatened. If I didn't come here myself, who would work with me in the future?"

"I thought you'd already handled it." Renly wasn't blind. The crew's changes over the past two days were obvious.

The props department had undergone a major overhaul, replacing seven staff members in one go—quite a number considering the department had only around thirty people. James Correl had also left under the pretense of a job transfer, but Renly suspected he had been fired. Additionally, the doctor and nurse were checking on him three times a day to ensure no infection, and a masseuse was on hand to help him relax after shooting.

These changes were likely due to Andy's behind-the-scenes efforts. Without his intervention, a rookie actor like Renly would never receive such treatment. Of course, there was also the chance Renly was overthinking, and it was all just routine.

Andy smiled and shook his head. "Your response makes me feel no sense of accomplishment."

In fact, Nathan had called Andy immediately after the incident to explain what had happened. Andy didn't rush to Rio de Janeiro because he was pressuring Universal Pictures. This accident had crossed a line, and there had to be consequences.

Handling things on set was just addressing the surface issue. To get to the root, he had to deal with Universal. They didn't want this situation reaching the Screen Actors Guild, which would be a real mess. Even without legal troubles, the moral backlash alone would be bad enough. Faced with Andy's "reasonable" demands, Universal agreed without hesitation and promised to punish the culprits. All they wanted was to keep things quiet.

But Andy didn't compromise easily. He wasn't just making noise—he needed to confirm Renly's condition in person.

If Renly was fine, Andy planned to use the incident to secure more benefits for him. But if Renly's condition worsened, he wouldn't hold back, and reporting to the union would be unavoidable, just the first step.

As an agent, Andy had to stand firmly on the actor's side. Otherwise, not only would the actor feel betrayed, but the industry would take adVintage, and the union wouldn't tolerate it. Future clients would be hard to come by.

Looking at the calm and composed Renly, Andy felt a weight lift from his chest, allowing him to joke around again.

Renly replied, "Do you care about that kind of accomplishment?"

Andy's eyes twinkled with humor. This was the Renly he knew best. He nodded slightly, acknowledging the teasing. "How are you feeling now? Did the doctor check you today? Are they sure there's no concussion?" Andy double-checked, noticing Renly still looked a bit rough.

Catching Andy's look, Renly chuckled. "It's all makeup."

In reality, his injuries were healing, and the past two days of shooting hadn't been affected. The doctor's three daily checkups were almost embarrassing at this point. However, for continuity in the scenes, the makeup team had to add fake blood to mimic the injury. His current disheveled look was all thanks to makeup.

"Don't worry, I value my life more than you do," Renly reassured, though Nathan's sarcastic chuckle suggested otherwise—who had been throwing himself into the shoot these past two days?

Renly glanced at Nathan innocently, as if he had no idea what Nathan's "complaint" was about.

Andy glanced at Nathan too. When he initially chose Nathan as Renly's assistant, it was meant to be temporary, just to get through this period. Finding a capable assistant wasn't easy, and Renly needed someone by his side. But to Andy's surprise, Nathan had done a good job.

Andy's smile widened. "I'm just reminding you—actors make their living with their faces, so you've got to be extra careful."

"I seriously doubt that," Renly shook his head with a smile and replied earnestly, "If that were the case, I'd probably be begging on the streets by now."

His playful tone lightened the mood, causing Andy, Nathan, and even nearby crew members to chuckle. This gave Andy a bit more peace of mind—after the props team incident, the last thing he wanted was more internal crew conflict.

"Alright, I'll check in with you later. I've got some matters to handle first." Now that Andy had confirmed Renly was fine, he excused himself and waddled off toward Vin's location.

Though Renly was fine, Andy's anger hadn't subsided yet. In fact, it hadn't even fully erupted.

Universal was one thing, but the person responsible was another. With the studio, it was a matter of negotiation. But with the culprit, it was personal. Andy wasn't one to forgive and forget easily.

Now, it was time to settle the score.

(A/N: I am back baby! My chikun guniya is cured :), except for joint pains. Apparently the joint pains go on for 3-6 months so there's still a lot of pain in my toes, knees and fingers. Weird places for joint pains.)

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