A Deathtrap of a Scene

Henry's situation was no great difficulty for anyone present.

As the saying went, where there were policies from above, there were countermeasures below. Many of Hollywood's regulations could be circumvented as long as someone was determined enough to do so.

So Qian Ning took over. "I can sign a temporary agency contract with Henry, then sign a performance contract with the production team, purchase insurance, and make sure all the paperwork is legally compliant. How does that sound?"

The producer naturally had no objections. His job was merely to ensure that the production budget and everything during filming presented no legal issues.

Qian Ning was only willing to sign a temporary contract because he still needed to see whether this young man was worth cultivating.

As one of Hollywood's most powerless bottom-rung workers, Henry naturally had no objection to the actions of these big shots.

At worst, this movie would be the one getting screwed over. If he really came out on the losing end, he could just treat it as tuition paid to gain experience.

The paperwork was completed quickly, and Henry was taken to the filming location. Qian Ning began explaining the shooting plan he had devised with the stunt team's prop crew.

Qian Ning said, "See that brown car? You'll be trapped in the back seat of that vehicle driven by the bad guys. It's also the car scheduled for the explosion. When the time comes, the heroine will drive the red convertible alongside it.

"We've already installed a mechanism in the car that will keep it moving straight at sixty kilometers per hour. Before it passes the first tree marked in yellow, you need to climb out the window and prepare to jump.

"The first marked tree is your signal to jump into the convertible's back seat. The second marked tree is the signal for the explosives crew to detonate the charge.

"A mechanism in the ground will launch the car upward from the rear while it explodes. The car is expected to roll through the air before landing. Since it has a specially designed flame rig, the explosion's fireball will be especially large.

"The old guy who planted the explosives is an industry veteran and trustworthy. We've also conducted test explosions with models, so we can meet the director's requirements for the action.

"As for the third pickup with the metal frame, it will not only carry a camera for tracking shots, but also tow a safety cable attached to your body.

"If anything goes wrong, two crew members will tighten the cable and hoist you up. That's your safety system. Was my explanation clear?"

All right, now Henry understood why the previous guy had refused the role.

The only safety measure was a single cable, and in order to let the stunt performer jump from one car to another, it would not be taut at the beginning.

Only when an accident occurred would the safety crew tighten the cable and hoist the stunt performer up.

What kind of injury could that delay cause?

If the cable was not tightened in time and he failed to land in the other car, Henry would either be caught in the explosion, crushed by the launched vehicle, or dragged across the ground by the cable.

That was not even considering whether the initially slack cable would interfere with the stunt performer's movements. If it tangled around him or tripped him up in midair, that would be a real joke.

Simply put, after hearing this plan riddled with holes, if he were not a Kryptonian, he would have to have his brain squeezed flat to agree to this stunt design and safety setup.

"Can you do it?" The nervous director stepped forward to ask. Then he added, "You need to know, we only have one chance for the actual shoot."

Unlike the worried director, the producer was not nearly as tense. To him, if they could not shoot this scene, then they simply would not shoot it. He was not going to add to the budget, and skipping it would mean one less risk.

Henry's attitude was even simpler. This stunt plan did have a chance of succeeding; it was just extremely unsafe. Especially the safety measures after something went wrong—they did not seem reliable at all.

For Henry, who possessed Kryptonian superpowers, all he needed to do was ensure that his stunt succeeded. He could hide his abilities behind a successful take and avoid exposing himself.

It was like dealing with bullets. Even ordinary people had a chance of dodging a bullet—perhaps through good luck, or because the shooter had not aimed properly.

So as long as Henry avoided the bullet's trajectory in advance and did not use super speed, he could pretend to be an ordinary person.

But if Henry chose to take bullets head-on with his body, that was clearly something no normal person could do. No matter how well he played dumb, exposure of his powers would then be inevitable.

As for suggesting improvements to the safety equipment and making the entire stunt plan more reliable, the thought flashed through Henry's mind and then went nowhere.

The reason was simple. First, Henry did not have enough say in the matter. Second, from the producer's perspective, he might not be willing to provide more money to improve the safety measures.

This seemingly ambitious young man had an attitude that said, If you dare ask for more money, I'll dare cut this shot. No one dared provoke him.

So Henry put on a show of inspecting the car set to explode and the convertible's back seat, then looked over the safety setup on the third vehicle.

A moment later, Henry said, "How about we do a few test jumps first? If there are no problems, we'll do the real take."

Qian Ning immediately said, "All right, we'll conduct the first test jump." During stunt testing, he, as the head of the stunt team, gave the orders, while the director watched from the side to assess the result or offer opinions.

Although the budget was limited, three identical brown cars had been prepared for this scene in which the protagonist jumped between vehicles.

One was fitted with explosives and flame rigs for the actual shoot. Since it contained explosives, it was not moved around casually.

One was used to film the interior shots of the protagonist fighting the bad guys. Several of its doors had been removed to make room for camera mounts.

The final car was both a backup and used to film normal driving shots.

This was the car driven beside the convertible. Qian Ning said, "The distance between the two cars will be roughly like this, within one meter. They can't get any closer because there will be an explosion and a rollover during the actual shoot. If the cars are too close, the other vehicle could easily be affected."

"So where does my shot begin?" Henry asked.

This time, the director stepped forward to explain. "The protagonist fighting the bad guys and climbing out the window will be filmed in close-up from inside the car. So when it switches to you, you'll already be sitting in the window, with your upper body outside. Adjust your position, then jump!"

Having understood, Henry immediately stepped in and tried it once.

For the first test jump, both cars were stationary. Henry adjusted his position on the window frame and only continued with the next movement after receiving the director's approval.

He gripped the roof with his hands, bent his legs, and stepped onto the window frame. Then he turned, kicked off hard, and launched himself steadily into the convertible's back seat. The whole process went without a hitch.

"No!" the director shouted.