A Scam of a Play

Henry's situation wasn't anything difficult for the people present.

As the saying goes, where there's a policy, there's a loophole. Many Hollywood regulations could be bypassed if someone was determined enough.

So Qian Ning chimed in: "I can sign a temporary agent contract with Henry, then sign a performance contract with the production team, get insurance, and make sure all the paperwork is compliant. How about that?"

The producer naturally had no objections. All he needed to do was ensure the production budget was used properly and that everything in the filming process had no legal issues.

The reason Qian Ning was only willing to sign a temporary contract was that he still wanted to see if this young man was worth cultivating.

Henry, as the most powerless bottom-rung player in Hollywood, naturally had no objections to how these big shots operated.

At worst, he'd get screwed over on this one production. If he took a loss, he'd just treat it as tuition fees to build up his track record.

The paperwork was quickly completed, and Henry was led to the filming location. Qian Ning began explaining the action plan he'd developed with the Prop Department of the Action Team.

Qian Ning said: "See that brown car? You're trapped in the back seat of that vehicle driven by the bad guys—it's also the car scheduled for the explosion. The Female Lead will be driving a red convertible alongside it.

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

"The first marked tree is your cue to jump—into the back seat of the convertible. The second marked tree is the signal for the explosives team to detonate.

"A ground mechanism will launch the car from the rear forward, triggering the explosion simultaneously. The car is supposed to roll in midair before landing. Since we have a custom flame rig, the blast fire will be especially large.

"The old-timer setting the explosives is a veteran in the industry and trustworthy. We've also done test explosions with a model, so the stunts can meet the director's requirements.

"As for the third pickup truck with a metal frame, besides having a camera mounted for tracking shots, it will also have a safety wire attached to your body.

"If anything goes wrong, two crew members will tighten the wire and hoist you up. That's your safety device. Do you understand my explanation?"

Well, now he understood why the previous actor had refused.

The only safety measure was a single wire, and to allow the Stunt Actor to jump from one car to another, the wire wouldn't be taut at the start.

Only in an emergency would the safety crew tighten the wire and hoist the Stunt Actor up.

What kind of injury could the timing error in between cause?

If the wire wasn't pulled in time and the person didn't make the jump, Henry would either be caught in the explosion, crushed by the airborne car, or dragged along the ground by the wire.

Not to mention whether the initially loose wire would hinder the Stunt Actor's movements. If he got tangled or tripped midair, that would be a joke.

Simply put, listening to this plan full of holes, if he weren't a Kryptonian, only someone with a screw loose would agree to this action design and safety setup.

"Can you do it?" the most nervous director asked. Then he added: "You need to know, we only have one chance to actually film this."

Compared to the worried director, the producer was less tense. For him, if this shot couldn't be pulled off, then just skip it. He wasn't about to increase the budget, and not filming it actually reduced some risks.

Henry's attitude was even simpler. The action plan actually had a chance of success—it was just very unsafe. Especially the safety measures in case of an accident, which felt completely unreliable.

For Henry, who had Kryptonian superpowers, he just needed to ensure his stunt succeeded, and he could hide his abilities under the guise of success, without exposing himself.

It was like dodging a bullet from a gun. Even a normal person could dodge a bullet sometimes—maybe by luck, or because the shooter didn't aim properly.

So Henry could avoid the bullet's trajectory in advance without using super speed, pretending to be like a normal person.

But if Henry chose to tank the bullet with his body, that was clearly something a normal person couldn't do. No matter how well he played dumb, exposure would be inevitable.

As for suggesting improvements to the safety equipment to make the whole action plan more reliable—that thought flashed through Henry's mind and then disappeared.

Simple reason: first, Henry didn't have enough say. Second, from the producer's perspective, he wasn't likely to provide more funds to improve the Safety measures.

This ambitious young man had an attitude of "if you dare ask for more money, I'll just cut this shot." No one wanted to provoke him.

So Henry made a show of checking the explosive car and the convertible's back seat, then looked over the safety device on the third vehicle.

After a moment, Henry said: "How about we do a few test jumps first, and if there's no problem, then we go for the real take?"

Qian Ning immediately said: "Alright, let's do the first test jump." During stunt testing, he, as the head of the Action Team, gave the orders, while the director watched the effect or offered suggestions.

Despite budget constraints, three identical brown cars were prepared for this scene.

One was rigged with explosives and flame mechanisms for the actual shoot. This car had explosives, so it wasn't moved lightly.

One was used for filming interior shots of the protagonist fighting the bad guys. Several doors were removed from this car to mount camera tripods.

The last car served as a backup and was also used for filming normal driving shots.

This car was driven alongside the convertible. Qian Ning said: "The distance between the two cars should be about like this, within one meter. We can't get closer because the actual shoot will involve explosions and rolls. If the cars are too close, the other vehicle could be affected."

"So where does my shot start from?" Henry asked.

The director stepped in to explain: "The protagonist fights the bad guys, then climbs out the window—that's shot with an interior close-up. So when it's your turn, you're sitting on the window frame, upper body outside the car. Adjust your position, then jump!"

Henry understood and immediately went for a test run.

For the first test jump, both cars were stationary. Henry adjusted his sitting position on the window frame, waited for the director's confirmation, then continued with the next move.

He gripped the roof, bent his legs to step onto the window frame, then turned and pushed off hard, launching himself steadily into the back seat of the convertible. The process was uneventful.

"No good!" the director shouted.

New book signed, requesting follow-up reads, collections, recommendations, thank you~~