The First Stunt Performance

Even Henry, who was face-down with his face buried in the leather seat, heard the director's dissatisfied shout.

He had to pull himself out of his prone position, jump out of the car, and see what the director was unhappy about.

He didn't even need to ask; the director said excitedly, "It can't just be a dive. You need to do a flip in the air, make it look like you didn't have time to jump and got blown up with the car, then roll into the back seat of the other vehicle."

This... Henry was speechless. But the knowing looks from the people around him made Henry understand even more why the previous stunt actor had left.

Relying on such flimsy safety measures, jumping out of a car during an explosion was already dangerous enough, and now they wanted to add a flipping motion!

If I weren't a Kryptonian, I'd kill this director first!

But as a bottom-tier actor with the least rights in Hollywood, Henry certainly couldn't give up this opportunity he'd fought for. Even if it meant doing it through tears.

He wasn't going to cry, but Henry first put on a pitiful expression. Then, encouraged and goaded by the director, he climbed back onto the car window and performed a forward flip in the air, landing in the back seat of the convertible.

This time, the director was overjoyed and shouted, "Yes, that's it! That's exactly it. Let's get ready to roll."

Qian Ning quickly interjected, "Wait, hold on, Director. Let's do a test run with the car moving, and add the safety gear. See if you want to check the shot from a camera position."

"Oh, oh, right. Let's do that, one more test run." The director, his wits returning, conceded.

For the moving test jump, the director got into the safety vehicle and stood in the pickup truck's bed. The safety wire was, of course, fastened to Henry and adjusted to the proper length.

Before they set off, two safety personnel tested the wire, confirming they could hoist Henry up in an emergency instead of letting him tumble onto the road.

Qian Ning himself drove the brown car, while the convertible driven by the female lead was handled by her stunt double.

For a stunt performance requiring stable vehicle speed and direction, no one was going to rely on that decorative female lead; it was safer to have her dedicated double take the wheel.

That female stunt double was a member of Qian Ning's action team, specializing in doubling for the female lead. Besides being able to perform all kinds of stunts, her driving skills were impeccable.

Unlike other teams that lacked a good female stunt actor, often resorting to having a smaller male stunt double dress in women's clothing to fill in for the female lead's stunt shots.

Henry's moving test jump went just like the static one. A forward flip, and he landed steadily in the back seat of the convertible.

But there was a small issue: the safety wire. Since it started out slack, it tended to whip around in the air.

To avoid getting tangled in the wire mid-air, Henry waited a bit after the car reached a steady speed. He jumped at the right moment, dodging the swinging wire, and flipped into the other car's back seat.

That "wait" made Qian Ning think Henry wasn't confident. Even though the director was thrilled with the whole sequence, declaring it was exactly what he wanted.

Before the actual take, the prop department members of the action team gathered around the brown car rigged with explosives for final checks, including the cruise control and steering mechanisms.

The director was busy confirming camera positions to ensure he'd capture all the shots he wanted.

As the head of the action team, Qian Ning quietly pulled Henry aside and said, "You hesitated a bit just now. Everything okay?"

Henry didn't see a problem and said confidently, "No problem."

In their line of work, lack of confidence was the biggest fear. Though Henry's expression didn't show any issues, Qian Ning still said, "If you're not sure, just use your own method to jump into the red car. Forget about the director's flip requirement.

"There's only one take. Whatever footage he gets is what he'll have to edit the movie with. Even with safety measures, I don't want this to be our only collaboration. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I know. Don't worry, Boss Qian Ning."

That's what he said, but Henry was pretty sure his cooperation with Qian Ning's team would only be this once.

Even if he wanted to do stunt work, he didn't want to stick with this third-rate team. If he weren't a Kryptonian, he wouldn't dare use their planned stunts.

Thinking about future collaborations like this, he'd rather just settle for being a background actor. Working under Qian Ning seemed like it had a high chance of exposing his superpowers.

Still, Qian Ning taking the time to say these things showed he knew how to look out for people.

After multiple rounds of checks, it was finally time for the real take. Henry was already sitting on the rear window sill of the unmanned brown car.

"1, 2, 3, Action!"

At the director's command, the most expensive shot of this B-movie officially began.

The unmanned brown car rapidly accelerated to the target speed, while the red convertible, controlled by the female stunt double, smoothly kept pace alongside it.

Facing the wind, Henry quickly adjusted his posture, switching to grip the roof with his hands behind his back, facing outward, and moving both feet onto the open window frame.

As they passed the first marked roadside tree, he leaped forward abruptly.

The moment his feet left the window frame, the car passed the second marked tree. The explosives technician at the control center triggered the wireless detonator.

Meanwhile, the ground catapult mechanism had already activated after the front wheels rolled over it. When the rear wheels hit the mechanism, the car's rear end was launched upward!

The explosives under the back seat and in the trunk, along with the flame rig, ignited via the remote switch, blasting out a fireball.

At that moment, Henry, mid-air, ducked his head, tensed his back and abdomen, and rolled forward. He was flung forward as if propelled by the car's explosion.

That blast made Henry realize that in movies, a grenade sending someone flying several meters was definitely an exaggerated portrayal.

Anyway, the big explosion behind him didn't significantly affect his posture in the air. He landed steadily in the back seat of the convertible, just like in the test jump.

The only difference was that some burning fuel oil had splashed onto his pant legs, forcing Henry to hurriedly pat it out.

After they cleared the brown car's explosion radius, the red car braked sharply. People rushed up with fire extinguishers, several working to put out the burning brown car, while one ran over to spray out the flames on Henry's feet.

With that, the shot was complete. The director screamed with joy.

The new book is signed. Requesting follow-up reads, collections, and recommendations. Thank you~~