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Chapter 224: Talent Advantage
🕑 Added 2025-01-04 17:35:21 +0000 UTC"I stood in the kitchen, slicing chicken to prepare dinner."
A tall black woman walked out of the iron gate, moving to the rhythm of the music. She skillfully approached the camera, which was rotating a full 360 degrees, and began stepping to the beat. "I was focused entirely on what I was doing, but my husband Weber walked in..."
The woman, Mia Valentine, though average in appearance, performed with remarkable charisma, showcasing her deep stage skills honed as a Broadway actor. She stepped gracefully and slowly moved to face Duke's direction.
"Cut!"
From this angle, Duke immediately noticed something was off. Valentine paused and asked, "Did I... make a mistake?"
"Mia, your performance was excellent."
In terms of acting and singing, this black woman easily outshone the two lead actresses, Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta-Jones. However, a film is more than just acting and singing. Even though she was the designated Velma in Broadway's new season of Chicago, her average appearance made her unsuitable as the movie's lead.
Duke walked over to Valentine and pointed at her corset. "Who handled this? Make sure it doesn't happen again."
There was nothing wrong with Valentine's costume, but the small microphone, meant to be concealed in her corset for recording, had been exposed.
While the sound team addressed the issue, Duke called Lily Fred over to discuss Valentine's singing and dancing. Although Valentine's scene was limited to this one, her exceptional performance posed a potential issue. Velma, one of the two female leads, would appear next. If she was overshadowed by a supporting character, it would undoubtedly affect the film negatively.
Filming was temporarily paused. Catherine Zeta-Jones, fully made up and waiting nearby, played with her deliberately shortened hair. Seemingly deep in thought, another actress from the scene approached her.
"Kate, you should do something about this," the woman said softly.
"Hm?" Zeta-Jones pretended not to understand. "Lola?"
"Don't act like you don't know."
The blonde woman named Lola said, "During rehearsals, she was already stealing your spotlight. Today, she's so full of energy—clearly trying to show you up. Don't forget, you're the lead!"
"Thanks, I know what to do."
Although Zeta-Jones's gaze toward the black woman was cold, she didn't plan to do anything drastic. Through her time on set, she had learned where the director's boundaries lay. While minor manipulations were acceptable, anything that disrupted filming was not.
As Zeta-Jones headed toward the director's chair, a fleeting smirk crossed Lola's lips. She, too, came from Broadway and had initially auditioned for the role of Velma.
"Tina, can I speak to Duke for a moment?"
Zeta-Jones was clever. Rather than directly approaching Duke, she went to Tina Fey first. "It's about my role."
Tina Fey nodded. After Duke finished his discussion with Lily Fred, she asked him a few questions and then waved Zeta-Jones over.
"What's the matter?"
Sitting behind the monitor, Duke looked at Zeta-Jones in costume. She was smart, as evidenced by her decision to cut her long hair before filming to ensure her face remained visible during the dance sequences.
Long hair was considered a second lifeline for actresses at the time, and few would dare sacrifice it.
Zeta-Jones had picked up on some of Duke's tendencies and got straight to the point. "I feel like Mia pushed herself too hard today, and it might affect my performance."
"I'm aware of that."
Duke had already noticed the issue. While Valentine's performance was exceptional, a supporting character was still just that—a supporting character.
He gestured to the side, and Zeta-Jones walked over to sit with Tina Fey, refraining from saying anything further. Her eyes, however, stayed fixed on the monitor.
"Anna," Duke called to the assistant director, "prepare to resume filming."
No changes? Zeta-Jones frowned but managed to hold her composure. Successful directors often had an obsessive streak…
However, as the cameras started rolling, she realized she had misunderstood. Duke had indeed made adjustments, and they had been decided even before she approached him.
The changes were subtle, but Zeta-Jones could see the difference in the captured footage. The camera no longer faced Valentine head-on but filmed her from a 45-degree angle, focusing on her side profile. No matter how stellar her performance, it looked average on camera.
Simple, wasn't it?
Zeta-Jones couldn't help but smile. A director only needed to tweak the camera angles slightly to undermine an actor's carefully crafted performance. Valentine likely wouldn't realize until the movie premiered that her scenes were reduced to side-profile shots.
As for the remaining shots, Zeta-Jones believed her face alone could easily outshine Valentine.
After finishing the sequence involving the two black actresses, Duke called for a break and reshot the scene, adjusting the camera angles again. This time, Valentine's performance was even better.
After reviewing the footage, Duke turned to Zeta-Jones. "Kate, get ready. We'll shoot your scene next."
Then, he directed his assistants, "John, move the main camera back to its original position. Zack, adjust the red lighting."
"Anna, notify the cast for the group dance."
Anna Prinz nodded and left. Duke gestured for Lily Fred to come over and said, "You're in charge of the dance sequences. My requirement remains the same: they must be explosive."
"I understand."
The crew quickly resumed operations. Twenty minutes later, Zeta-Jones stood behind the iron gate of the prison, while other actors, guided by Lily Fred, took their places.
"Scene 45, Take 11," Anna Prinz announced, holding the clapperboard in front of the camera. "Action!"
The male and female actors moved aside to highlight Zeta-Jones's character, Velma, who swayed her body as she emerged from the crowd.
"My sister Veronica and I performed as a duo, while my husband Charlie played both of us against each other…"
This was a straightforward monologue, and Duke approved it immediately. However, the subsequent group dance posed challenges.
Despite months of rehearsals ensuring perfect coordination, Zeta-Jones's performance felt lacking compared to Valentine's earlier scene. Duke felt Velma lacked a certain spark.
Temporarily halting the crew, Duke reviewed the footage again. "John… Kate, come over."
John Schwartzman and Zeta-Jones approached. Duke paused on a group dance scene featuring Velma flanked by Lola Young and Mia Valentine and said to Schwartzman, "Adjust the aperture to blur the two on her sides."
He then turned to Zeta-Jones. "You can do better!"
"I…" Zeta-Jones opened her mouth but said nothing. In the eyes of a director, an actor could always improve.
"You're being too restrained," Duke said with a frown. "I want your singing to be more explosive, your dancing more uninhibited and wild. Channel all the character's anger and dissatisfaction into your performance!"
He coldly warned her, "You let Mia Valentine steal your thunder. That's not the quality of a leading actress."
Zeta-Jones took several deep breaths. She knew arguing with the director would be futile. Only her performance could prove her worth.
"Give me ten minutes."
Duke nodded and returned to his chair. "Don't disappoint me, Kate."
Zeta-Jones was undoubtedly hardworking, a quality Duke appreciated. Months of rehearsals had honed her dancing and singing skills, but effort couldn't bridge the gap in innate talent. Her voice and movements lacked the explosive power that came naturally to Valentine, whose Broadway selection as Velma was no coincidence.
Ten minutes later, filming resumed, but Zeta-Jones still failed to meet Duke's expectations. Without Schwartzman's lens techniques to blur her sides, Valentine's presence might have stolen the spotlight in the final cut.
After five consecutive takes, Duke remained silent, but everyone knew the issue lay with the actress.
"You also have several dance sequences."
In the temporary rest area, Naomi Watts, dressed casually, observed the set. Her agent, Nancy, said, "Are you prepared, Naomi? You know Duke's temperament. He'll push you to the limit if you don't meet his standards."
Naomi Watts glanced at the familiar yet distant director. "I've spent two years preparing for this role. Everyone thinks Duke will fail, but I believe he'll succeed. And I will, too."
"As long as Chicago meets expectations," Nancy said, part encouragement, part goad, "you'll rise to the top tier as a leading actress."
"I'll give it everything I've got!"
Naomi Watts shot a cold glance at the still-struggling Zeta-Jones and headed to the dance studio to prepare for her duet in two days.
