The Legendary Actor - Chapter 81

Leaning on the brick wall at the door, Renly’s body became more relaxed and casual; his right hand was still playing with the cigarette case, but he was silent.

Scarlett raised her eyebrows lightly, somewhat surprised by Renly’s posture which was unruly and uncaring, and he had a lot of freedom in his gestures.

This is only Scarlett and Renly’s first encounter, she did not know Renly’s character, but from the impression of appearance and just a brief encounter, Renly to her felt more like a sharp, restrained gentleman, juggling lightly between the elegance and wisdom that made him, often unknowingly to others, control the initiative.

But now Renly discarded that image became a fellow rogue like James Dean. This subtle contrast makes people a little unsettled.

“I know you have a good hand, but I also know you’re bluffing right now.” Scarlett’s pupils shrank slightly, as if the cat saw its prey.

The corners of Renly’s mouth pulled downward, seemingly because Scarlett’s words were amusing to him, so asked playfully, “Why do you say that?”

“You know, there’s this category of people who always think they’re special and unique, but …” Scarlett trailed off with a mischievous glint under her eyes, her rosy lips pursed into a line, then fiercely outlined “But the truth is, they’re just a nobody, a nobody that no one has ever heard of.”

“Ouch.” Renly cried out in response to the pain, but the smile on his face deepened instead, “So this should be a good thing, it seems you’ve determined that Ryan will definitely get the part?”

Renly’s response made Scarlett a little uncertain. White teeth gently bit the tip of the tongue, eyes wandering, “You don’t look like a loser who would surrender.” The reason why Renly chose to stay is obviously not just foolishly standing around, so what exactly is he seeking?

Renly’s smile remained the same, “Should I take that as a compliment?”

This sarcasm made Scarlet come to a decision instead. She just shrugged her shoulders, revealing a completely unconcerned look, “Who cares, you can take it as a compliment, it is your freedom. As for whether Ryan will succeed in his audition or not, that’s his business, not something I should worry about.”

Renly showed a surprised expression, “I thought you came all the way over here with Ryan today assured of landing the role, and all as a husband and wife, isn’t this a good Hollywood story?”

Scarlett’s left eye blinked gently, she made it look like as if she was gritting her teeth out of frustration, but then she looked up straight at him, her lips starting to form a smile, she stayed silent untill her smile fully blossomed, “Have you not heard of posing? In the blindspot, there is a hired paparazzi pressing the shutter.”

“Filming the two of us for a scandal?” Renly’s smile had a touch of riducule, just the right amount to not offend any party.

“Heh.” Scarlett’s smile blossomed fully, as she laughed out lightly, stepping away from the doorway. She turned her back in the direction of the lobby, faced Renly, and backed up her feet, “Sir, you overestimate yourself.” The subtext is that with Renly’s current fame and popularity, he is not qualified enough to have a scandal with her.

Renly spread his hands to show his innocence.

Scarlett noticed a small detail, Renly’s body left the brick wall and stood up straight again, which could be interpreted as just wanting to make it easier to talk, after all, Scarlett was stepping back and the distance between the two widened a little; but it could equally be interpreted as –

Scarlett looked back, just in time to see the line of sight cast by Rodrigo. At that moment, Ryan was talking endlessly, but Rodrigo just looked out of the window, and the direction of his sight was – … Scarlett looked back again, and yep – Renly Hall.

Scarlett seriously scanned Renly from toe to head, “This gentleman, although I do not know exactly what games you are playing, but I am quite sure that I have no interest in participating in it. I’m on the Reynolds team, if I remember correctly.”

His own calculations were detected, Renly deep inside was a little stumped, but on the surface he still mained the facade, “I thought you had enough trust in Ryan’s absolute strength.”

Scarlett laughed out loud without a care in the world, “That’s a really good joke.” Ryan can be said to be a good actor, but as for the “absolute strength” and such adjectives, he was far away. Scarlett’s bold and direct laughter, even Ryan was not able to avoid.

Scarlett turned around and once again walked into the lobby with graceful steps, her back disappearing behind the heavy glass doors. The courtyard quieted down again, leaving Renly alone.

Rodrigo’s attention seemed less focused, Ryan in front of him was still giving his opinion on the script, his focus was locked on the control of the pace of the story. For horror movies, and most popcorn movies similarly, the control of the climax and atmosphere are crucial, but in Rodrigo’s ears, these are just nonsense.

Pace or atmosphere, these are the director’s job, not the actors. Ryan’s understanding of the role apparently remains in the “first part”, focusing on how to keep the audience’s tension in hand, how to drive the audience’s emotions with invisible fear like Alfred Hitchcock … but about the role itself, about the understanding of the sublimation of the core, Ryan has no point of view.

This made Rodrigo a little disappointed.

There was just no need for comparison. After watching Renly’s performance, Ryan’s performance seemed shallow and too in the face. Indeed, Ryan can accurately express the panic, fear, despair and other emotions, which coincides with the setting in Rodrigo’s mind. There was no doubt that Ryan can do a good job; but Ryan’s performance lacked layers, it wouldn’t add to the depth and complexity of the story.

“Buried” has the potential to be outstanding, but now it was seen as an unimpressive work, no different from other horror films and thrillers.

Involuntarily, Rodrigo glanced up at the window, and then saw Renly and Scarlett talking. The whole courtyard separated them, so Rodrigo could not hear their conversation, but he could detect the minute differences in Renly – he looked more … uninhibited and rugged, his free demeanor seemed to be at ease, he was quite suave right there.

Rodrigo did not have time to delve into Renly’s true personality, and the image of Paul, not the Paul trapped in a coffin, but the Paul before he came to Iraq, involuntarily came to his mind once again.

The funny and handsome Paul always won the hearts of girls, and in high school he was a member of the school’s basketball team, the man of the hour on campus, always enjoying life to the fullest, always being extravagant with his youth, until he met Linda – who later became his wife.

The marriage was happy and beautiful at first. Then they had their first child; they had their own house in the suburbs, and so their life gradually stabilized; but the real estate bubble in 2008 set off a financial tsunami, all their savings in the bank disappeared, life suddenly fell into a difficult situation, so the quarrel began. They began to become distant, become strangers, life began to become unberable, become a struggle.

The choice to go to Iraq was a desperate choice forced by life, but also a choice to give the marriage some space.

Before the kidnapping encounter, Paul and Linda had a quarrel, the past few months since the accumulation of dissatisfaction and anger all burst out, the pressure of the mortgage, the bank’s urging, the hardship of distance, the children’s education … problem after problem, two people hated each other so much they could even go through the phone line to tear each other apart.

Rodrigo saw Paul’s life in Renly’s body, vivid and concrete, three-dimensional and image. Even though the story of “Buried” was confined to a coffin, the world beyond the coffin began to extend infinitely, and the whole story began to become full and profound.

Rodrigo’s inner excitement began to leap up little by little, almost uncontrollably, and he had the urge to immediately carry the camera, record Renly’s every move, and even instantly to put it into the shooting materials of the film. His creative enthusiasm was like a volcanic eruption, continued to eject the clouds and pebbles of inspiration, while every cell in his body began to scream.

“Rodrigo?” Ryan’s voice called Rodrigo back to his senses, “What do you think? If we can, you know…. we can rework the script, re-plan these scenes, and then we can get into shooting. I have enough slots for the next month to finish the production.” Ryan had a big smile on his face, fist pumping as he was ready to get to work.

Rodrigo looked seriously at Ryan in front of him. He hadn’t forgotten that Ryan was his first choice and that he had written the letter of invitation himself; he hadn’t forgotten that Ryan’s current fame was invaluable to “Buried” and would help in all aspects of distribution, promotion, and release; he hadn’t forgotten that Ryan had personally come from Los Angeles to New York and that his sincerity and commitment showed his enthusiasm.

And so his mind was made up.