Chapter 204: Acting is Just a Facade
In the vast darkness of the studio, only a beam of light illuminates the set, casting a spotlight on a column lying across, with a girl hanging from it. The girl, sensuous and beautiful, bares her upper body, her skin smooth as the finest silk under the spotlight, resembling chocolate.
The track laid around her for shooting forms a large circle, and the latest Sony digital HD camera slowly slides along, focusing on her with close-up shots by Philip Lasher. The focus isn't just on her smooth back and sweet face but also on her breasts, elaborately tied with ropes, highlighting the shoot.
Jessica Alba's outfit leaves little to the imagination, covering only the essentials with tight leather shorts, accentuating every advantage of her devilish figure, seemingly carrying the most fatal of temptations.
A girl who could haunt the Yellow Bastard's memories, one who could stir his sadistic urges, is naturally a bombshell that combines beauty and sexiness, capable of stirring the desires of any normal man.
Different from the original comic, after a brief discussion with Frank Miller, Murphy set the tone for this scene.
Not just for the sake of the plot, but also to spike the viewers' interest, turning the transformed Yellow Bastard not only into a sadist but also a connoisseur of elaborate rope art.
Jessica Alba is not simply tied up next to the column. Makeup artist Jack Watson, after studying numerous Japanese films, masterfully applies the essence of Shibari, emphasizing her ample bust.
Frank Miller had some reservations, but as the shooting neared its end, with Murphy and Erica Stanberg in agreement, he couldn't make much of a stir.
As for Jessica Alba, like all young actors seeking a transformation, her threshold for nudity had significantly lowered after signing the contract.
Hanging like a decorative butterfly, Jessica Alba shows no expression, embodying her character Nancy, utterly powerless to resist.
The Yellow Bastard, fully made up, appears behind her, wielding a long whip, as the camera operated by an assistant director immediately focuses on him.
Murphy, sitting behind the director's monitor, remains silent, the scene unfolding smoothly so far.
Jessica Alba perfectly fulfills the role of a "vase," producing sweet smiles when needed and seducing any normal man into crime with her devilish figure...
No wonder Robert Rodriguez used Jessica Alba, continuing to feature her as a decorative vase in a series of B-movies. Her assets are indeed too good.
The Yellow Bastard snaps the whip, its tip flying out like lightning, tracing a beautiful arc in mid-air with a crisp sound.
The high-speed camera captures all these details, then transmits them to the director's monitor in front of Murphy.
Of course, the whip's length and the position of the actor playing the Yellow Bastard were meticulously calculated by Murphy to ensure it never actually touches Jessica Alba's smooth skin.
Murphy always prioritizes actor safety, as any injury to a key actor could halt the production.
The Yellow Bastard continuously whips, and Jessica Alba frowns with tears streaming down as if enduring tremendous pain.
Seeing the footage, Murphy shakes his head slightly. Jessica Alba really has no acting skills to speak of, her performance here is less than ideal, and her naturally sweet appearance, combined with mediocre acting, makes any character she plays turn into Jessica Alba...
But Murphy doesn't call cut. After shooting over a dozen scenes with Jessica Alba, he has enough understanding of the Latina actor's acting skills to know that even if he calls cut and reshoots a dozen or twenty times, the performance would remain the same.
Using Jessica Alba in this film isn't about showcasing acting skills. Murphy's intention is simple: to attract male viewers with her sweet face and explosive figure.
This scene, strongly requested to be changed, serves that purpose.
"Cut!" Murphy calls to stop the shooting, standing up from behind the monitor, loudly declaring, "That's a wrap!"
He turns to the Yellow Bastard's side, saying, "Larson, well done!"
Jack Watson approaches Jessica Alba to untie her, while an assistant brings over a blanket to cover her exposed body.
Jessica Alba wraps herself in the blanket, then turns to Murphy, who nods at her, praising, "Jessie, your performance was nearly perfect!"
He isn't the kind of director who scolds actors. Instead, he always encourages them. After all, it's Jessica Alba, and beyond showcasing allure, he couldn't have expected much more from her.
The "perfection" he mentioned mainly refers to her face and figure.
Jessica Alba smiles sweetly at Murphy and goes to remove her makeup.
"Change set!" Murphy loudly declares, "Move to set seven for shooting!"
Set seven is a bar, one of the few scenes realized through actual set construction by the crew, having previously shot scenes with James Franco and Seth Rogen. Next, they were to shoot Jessica Alba performing a striptease.
Different from previous movies, thanks to Murphy's persuasive skills in getting Jessica Alba to sign a contract with nudity clauses, the scene would be closer to the comic's setting. Nancy not only performs a seductive dance but also strips off her clothes.
After changing sets and quickly preparing the scene, following the contract's stipulations, Murphy announces a closed set. Besides him, only Philip Lasher, a camera assistant, lighting technician David Robbie, makeup artist Jack Watson, and assistant director Paul Anderson, among a few others, are involved in the shooting.
The audience watching Nancy's striptease in the final scene doesn't actually exist during shooting and will be added through post-production techniques.
"Philip!"
While waiting for the actor's makeup, Murphy calls over his director of photography, instructing, "Try not to focus too much on Jessica Alba's facial expressions."
"I understand," Philip Lasher knows Murphy's intention.
It's clear to anyone with eyes in the crew that beyond her sweet face and explosive figure, Jessica Alba has little to offer, with acting skills even below the passing line.
Fortunately, the character's setting and the film's unique visual style excellently mask her significant lack of acting talent.
So, apart from the just-completed scene, there aren't many close-up shots of Jessica Alba's face in the rest of the shooting. Murphy doesn't need such shots; Jessica Alba just needs to flaunt her allure, completing eighty percent of her job.
Unless he's foolish, he wouldn't naively expect Jessica Alba to have a rare burst of acting talent akin to a divine intervention.
The subsequent shooting follows this pattern, with Philip Lasher's camera focusing on Jessica Alba's explosive figure, coupled with her wearing typical S&M tight leather outfits and the revealing sexy parts as she discards her clothes. This part of the film is full of highlights, also employing high-speed shooting techniques.
Imagine, when the film is played at normal speed, how many men will nosebleed at this slow-motion scene?
In the end, while Murphy indeed bases the entire film on the comic's tone and style, he unknowingly integrates many personal concepts, such as the shallow exploration of sin and virtue in "Sin City," always centering the production around attracting viewers.
This is something Murphy never mentioned to Frank Miller. "Sin City" continues the comic's visual style, but its core concept changed right from the start.
Murphy has the confidence for this approach, backed by full support from both Miramax and Dark Horse Comics.
Both companies' executives are no fools. For Miramax, a $40 million investment brings significant risk and revenue pressure; compared to DC Comics and Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics is relatively weaker. With comic book adaptations becoming increasingly popular, selling adaptation rights at a good price requires the film to be as successful as possible.
Although these have never been formally discussed, an understanding among the parties was reached early on.
After shooting Jessica Alba's striptease scene, the crew's work enters the final stage, with most of the continuous scenes essentially complete, leaving only more fragmented shots.
Murphy leads the crew, constantly moving between Studio Two and Studio Three, gathering all main actors to shoot their few intersecting scenes, especially a fight scene between Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill, the two "fatties."
Months of fitness have significantly reduced their body fat, adding plenty of strong muscles, making them look more like hunks.
By early February, all indoor shots at the Disney studio are finished. Murphy moves between a special effects studio in Venice and outdoor locations in Orange County. The former's special effects production is at a critical stage, requiring the director to review each completed special effect shot. The latter's scenes, though not numerous, are crucial and cannot afford any negligence.
On a deserted road in Orange County, after completing a car crash scene, the shooting concludes. Murphy doesn't relax; he gives the crew a break and immediately heads to Venice to participate in the critical special effects production.
All shots need special effects processing, and even though special effects work began concurrently with shooting, a massive amount of work remains unfinished.
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