American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 33 Oh dear, I know everything you're trying to hide!
In the afternoon of April 23, 2001.

Studio 13, Leavesden.

The main creative team of the HP series was doing the final filming before the holiday. It was a 'new Mudblood' storyline that Director Gorilla had tacitly approved, author Ron had agreed to, and director Ian had personally rolled up his sleeves to revise.

"I think you need this."

Hagrid, dressed in a leather jacket, handed a wooden bucket to Ron, whose cheeks were bulging.

Ron, who had been hunched over with his hands on his knees, immediately straightened up when he saw the barrel.

He eagerly hugged the wooden bucket, then opened his mouth—

"Ugh~~~"

A light brown slug mixed with mucus gushed out of his mouth.

This is actually a prop, a gummy bear, but it looks pretty convincing.

The disgusting fact made Harry, who was sitting to the side, instinctively frown, but he was still patting Ron's back with his right hand, hoping that he would feel more comfortable. Hermione glanced at Ron with concern, and then quickly shifted her gaze to Hagrid.

Hagrid, understanding the girl's meaning, shook his head slightly and said, "I think there's no other way but to wait for it to stop on its own."

"Besides, it's always better to spit it out than to swallow it, isn't it?"

"Oh, okay—"

Hermione looked disappointed.

Hagrid asked curiously, "Who did Ron want to curse again?"

"Malfoy".

It seems like answering questions will spare you from dealing with the slugs? But it's more like they want to figure out the reason behind things.

Harry turned to Hagrid immediately after hearing his question and replied, "He calls Hermione..."

Before he could finish speaking, the little guy stopped.

Harry glanced at Hermione, and even though she looked perfectly normal, he still didn't utter the word 'Mudblood'.

Because he was a kind child raised under the harsh treatment of the Dursleys, he didn't like to attack others, so he shook his head and said, "I don't know what Malfoy said, but he said something very vicious, and everyone was furious."

"It's extremely vicious!"

Harry's words seemed to have flipped a switch on Ron.

The little guy, panting and clutching the wooden bucket, suddenly became excited. Perhaps he had just vomited up worms? His voice was a little hoarse. But he still craned his neck and shouted, "Malfoy called her 'Mudblood'—"

"Oh, really?"

Hagrid was surprised.

Even more indignant.

He looked at Hermione with concern.

The little girl nodded naturally, "Yes."

But then she shook her head. "So what does this mean? All I can tell is that the sentence is rather rude..."

"That's extremely rude!!"

Before Hermione could finish speaking, Ron roared again.

Whether it was saliva or mucus, he sprayed an unknown liquid everywhere as soon as he opened his mouth.

This situation made Isabella suddenly realize that she seemed to understand why Ron's lines had been deleted.

Your mouth is always full of saliva, who can stand that?
Of course, this also made him look unusually excited—

"'Mudblood' is a derogatory term for someone born into a Muggle family, someone whose parents don't know magic! It's like saying your blood is dirty and inferior! No one with any manners would say that!"

Harry was stunned.

The young mind was deeply shocked.

He never imagined that Malfoy could be so vicious.

He looked at Ron, bewildered, then at Hagrid, as if trying to make sure he hadn't misheard.

His reaction also elicited a response from Hagrid—

“Oh, if that’s the case, I don’t think I’ll blame you for casting the spell on him, Ron.”

“There are always some wizards, like the Malfoys, who think they are superior to others because they are so-called pure-bloods, but that's all nonsense! How many true pure-bloods are there in the wizarding world these days? Which family doesn't have Muggles in its members? And even if there are pure-blood wizards, so what? What kind of magic can't we Hermione use? While they…”

"them……"

Hagrid was very emotional.

However, his indignant rebuttal was more of a way to comfort Hermione.

As a result, after he roared and shifted his gaze to Hermione...

He discovered that the little girl didn't seem to be greatly affected.

The little beaver sitting next to Ron listened quietly, as if the discussion had nothing to do with her.

All of this surprised the three of them.

Harry frowned slightly and tentatively asked, "Hermione?"

"ah?"

Hermione wasn't stunned, nor was she angry; she looked at him calmly.

“You…”

Harry drew out his voice, wanting to ask her what was going on, but he didn't dare to.

"I am all right."

Hermione laughed and gave the three concerned people a "I'm fine" look.

Then, she looked at Ron gratefully and said, "Thank you, thank you for your support."

"Then, I think what you just said seems to be a very interesting legend?"

"Because I never read about it in a book. So it was abandoned a long time ago?"

"A title can determine a person's social status? Oh... that must be a medieval practice, right?"

"What era are we living in? Being phased out is normal."

The three of them were stunned!
But in an instant, they broke into relaxed smiles.

At that moment, they felt that the little girl in front of them was exceptionally sunny and extremely confident.

If one had to describe it, his nonchalant demeanor was like the sun at Hogwarts, shining brightly.

While they were receiving a pleasant surprise—

"Cut! Good!"

Columbus also sounded the call to end his shift.

"Okay, everyone pack your things and go home."

He clapped his hands, indicating that everyone had done a good job.

Anyone who has seen the movie knows that this thing has a lot of camera cuts.

For example, when someone is speaking, give them a close-up shot. This helps the audience distinguish between the main subject and the secondary subject. If you want to show a wide landscape or include more people in the frame, use a wide-angle lens. And when two people are soloing, using a back view or over-the-shoulder shot can better showcase the beauty of their eye contact.

All of the above would normally be cut out intermittently by a single camera during filming.

But it's different in HP; there are five cameras on the HP set.

Any dialogue that involves standing still and doesn't require the screen to move.

If the actors can perform without making mistakes, then the cinematographers can film all the scenes in one take.

Then, just let the post-production team cut along with it.

Of course, close-up shots of the face won't do; those definitely need to be done separately.

Multi-camera shooting places extremely high demands on cinematography skills and directorial control, because too many cameras can easily expose mistakes. However, even though this type of shooting is difficult, it is still much simpler for a children's film crew than having a single camera constantly yelling "Cut".

Because children can't maintain one emotion for long.

You can make him laugh once, and he can laugh twice, but after three, four, or five times, his performance will definitely be different from his initial performance and what the director wanted, and they will no longer be connected.

It's so hard to cut.

So, rolling yourself up is more likely to lead to success in photography than rolling your child up.

This is also why HP's filming has been going exceptionally smoothly since last year.

No one knew better than Columbus how to photograph children...

"Danny, see you after the New Year?"

See you after the New Year, Isa!

"Happy New Year, Radish!"

"Oh, Isa, isn't your blessing a bit too perfunctory? Today isn't even Christmas Eve."

“What are you thinking? This isn’t a blessing; I’m just reminding you to be more careful when sending New Year’s greetings this year. Last year you misspelled my name, and I haven’t told the media about it yet, otherwise you’d be a bad student for life.”

"Hahahaha~" The people around burst into laughter.

"..." Rupert pursed his lips and got in the car.

"Oh, Director, Merry Christmas in advance too?"

"Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you too. I'll bring you something delicious when I come back after the New Year."

Columbus patted Isabella's head.

“Okay~~~”

Isabella accepted with a smile.

I said goodbye to everyone in the crew.

After changing out of her costume and removing her makeup, Isabella got into her mother's car.

With the Christmas holidays approaching, everyone will be going their separate ways. As usual, Danny and Carrot will be going on vacation this year, while Columbus's flight is at 9 pm tonight, and he will arrive in Los Angeles at 9 am tomorrow.

He also wants to go home for the Chinese New Year.

As for Isabella?

At this moment, she will be traveling to Scotland with her mother and sister.

They have no relatives there.

The reason for going there is that J.K. Rowling will be holding her wedding at her private residence on the 26th.

The summer rituals were ruined by the reporters.

But getting married without a wedding always feels like something's missing.

Therefore, in order to avoid any regrets and to avoid being disturbed again, Rowling chose to hold a small event this time.

She didn't send out many invitations. Isabella was able to attend purely because it was agreed beforehand that she would present the ring at the wedding. Since she had a heavy responsibility and was free at Christmas, Rowling went along with her wishes.

"Oh—it's so dark—"

Fasten your seatbelts, and Kuku is off!

Although it's only 5 pm now, the days in Britain in December are incredibly short. It's basically dark by 3 pm. And right now? If you let Deng Chao stand on the side of the road, Isabella would probably mistake him for a telephone pole.

Eh, that's not right?
Why is there actually a telephone pole by the roadside?
As soon as Vivian drove away from the film set's parking area, Isabella saw a white man waving at them from the exit, seemingly seeing them off.

Since Leavesden had never had such a configuration before, Isabella was somewhat puzzled.

"What's going on?"

She wondered if she was seeing things, turned around and took a few more glances, and sure enough, there really was someone there—

"Uh... Is Warner Bros. really that rich? Why do they have security in their internal parking lot?"

"Pfft... Hehehehe~~~"

Isabella's question made Catherine burst into laughter.

Vivian slowed down, glanced in the rearview mirror, and shook her head with a smile at the lonely figure in the distance.

“That’s someone from Warner.”

"?"

Isabella didn't understand and was full of questions. "I know he's with Warner."

"Isn't this Warner Bros.' film set?"

Catherine couldn't help but say, "Oh, Isa, Mom is right, he's from Warner in Los Angeles, from Warner headquarters..." Catherine translated from English to English.

I explained what my mother meant.

After Isabella learned that Nathan Bailey had come to discuss a collaboration...

She laughed and mistook it for a telephone pole.

They actually knew perfectly well what Warner had done.

Uh... that doesn't mean they discovered the trap in the contract from the beginning and then stupidly jumped in. Last year, when signing the contract, they didn't notice Warner's little scheme either; all the spying only started around Christmas last year.

Last Christmas, Isabella and her friends attended Sir Maggie Smith's birthday party. During their conversation, upon learning that Isabella had signed a variable-salary contract with Warner Bros., the elderly lady remarked that they might not receive their full paycheck.

Then, the old lady explained the two methods for calculating Hollywood's first-month box office revenue.

Then, Isabella and the others were completely dumbfounded.

To be honest, they were very angry after they realized they had been scammed.

At that time, Isabella was so angry she wanted to stab Warner in the back!
Then stab that bald lawyer twice!

With your skill level, you're even taking orders?

This is just a joke!
But the family quickly adjusted their mood.

Firstly, since the contract has already been signed and cannot be changed, it's better to warn yourself to be careful in the future than to be angry.

Losing a few hundred thousand now is better than losing millions in the future, right?

Secondly, Isabella remembered that Warner Bros. had a history of ripping people off and had even tampered with HP.

In her previous life, in order to avoid sharing profits with the trio, Warner Bros. made all the revenue from "Harry Potter" negative.

When a company with a market value of hundreds of billions can be so shameless, it's normal that you couldn't dodge their schemes. If you did dodge them, then you're truly amazing. This isn't self-praise; it's genuinely from the bottom of my heart.

Given this, after realizing she had been scammed, Isabella no longer expected to receive £120 million for the "Escape Room" project. And just when she was able to accept any amount of money, Warner Bros. decided to pay her in full.
"Oh--"

"It seems Director Chris was right—"

Isabella tilted her head, looked at her sister, and blinked.

"Hmm~"

Catherine, understanding her meaning, raised her eyebrows. "There's no need to rush the 'The Voice' project."

Although the family didn't understand why Warner Bros. would pay the full amount for "The Chamber of Secrets," they knew that Warner Bros. was definitely interested in "The Voice" right now, since Hermione Granger brought her a lot of attention.

Regarding the development of "The Voice"...

As Columbus has already said, there's no rush.

This is not only because Hermione Granger is Isabella's root, and making a good film of "The Chamber of Secrets" is the most important thing, but also because no matter how fast "The Voice" is developed, it can only start after "The Chamber of Secrets" is finished.

Then, a small detail came to mind.

With the completion of filming for "The Locked Room," Isabella's contract with Warner Bros. came to an end.

Will Isabella's biggest burden still be there by then?

Currently, she needs Warner's approval to accept roles outside of Warner, but since the contract has ended, why do I need your approval?
So, if we just wait a bit, wouldn't the "The Voice of China" project be done easily?

Yes!

Once Columbus's worldview was influenced by Isabella's appearance, they could easily bypass many of the pitfalls in Hollywood. They might not understand the rules of the game, but how could Spielberg's students not understand them?
He's a gamer, bro!

As for whether waiting until "The Secret Chamber" is finished before making "The Voice" will affect the subsequent filming of HP?
There's absolutely no need to worry about that.

Because Chris Columbus has decided not to renew his contract with HP.

He only signed a two-film contract with Warner Bros. He came to the company to take over his mentor's job. If the crew were all his own people, he would definitely have made seven films without hesitation, since Spielberg was the one who changed his destiny. But when most of the crew members were not his own people, his presence in the crew seemed somewhat superfluous.

This is his own feeling.

He said it himself during a casual conversation earlier.

This wasn't Isabella's idea.

Isabella wanted him to stay, but her voice carried little weight.

With no directors around, when will the third Harry Potter movie be filmed?
Only God knows.

Isabella also forgot when Azkaban was filmed.

I excitedly chatted with my mom and older sister for a while.

Upon learning that her mother had performed a skit about sugar figurines that afternoon, initially giving Warner Bros. hope and making them think she would readily renew her contract, and then abruptly changing the subject to say they preferred a work-life balance, which caused Warner Bros.'s expression to change drastically, Isabella burst out laughing.

She is really happy.

If I had to describe it, it's like someone who offended you before suddenly kneeling down in front of you with their backside sticking out, and then you kick them hard with your boot—oh~~~ that feeling is incredibly satisfying~~~
Amidst cheerful banter, the three arrived at Watford train station.

After dropping off the car in the station's parking lot, the family, escorted by Warner-provided security, slipped into the waiting room.

Scotland is almost 600 miles from Leavesden, and driving there would be exhausting. Flying is also difficult to coordinate with the schedule, so they chose to take the train. They boarded at 6 a.m. and should arrive before noon tomorrow if all goes well.

The reason why it took them eighteen hours to travel more than 500 miles was because they were traveling in a luxury train.

Stepping into the carriage, you'll feel like you've arrived on a super cruise ship on land. The carpet stretches from the door all the way to the top, and the viewing windows are so large they cover an entire wall. The presidential suite features a 1.8-meter double bed, a separate shower room, and an entertainment room. Each carriage also has a dedicated butler who provides 24-hour meals, hot tea, fruit, and laundry services.

Isabella was somewhat moved by the sight of Jin Can Decoration.

Just a year ago, she and her older sister traveled by hard seat. A year later, the hard seat became the Orient Express. This change could be considered a class leap. Of course, compared to the past, it was still a decline in the family's fortunes.

Sigh, Earth Online is still too difficult to play.

Even so, Isabella was still very excited and barely slept that night. It wasn't until dawn that she groggily wrapped herself tightly in her blanket, like a silkworm cocoon, waiting for the train to arrive…

"Wow~ Aunt Annie~ Why did you come in person?"

As soon as she exited the station, the little girl saw Rowling, wearing a coat and scarf, waving at her from next to a Volkswagen MPV.

"Oh, Isa! You skipped Christmas to attend my wedding, so of course I had to come and greet you. Besides, I should mention that I got out of the car as soon as I arrived. I've been standing in the wind for almost an hour already. How about that? Is that enough sincerity?"

"Of course~ Aunt Annie, what you said makes me want to cry, I'm so touched."

Isabella started to squeeze out tears.

"Really? Well, you're getting excited for nothing, because I lied to you. I came to the station to wait for you so I could beat you up as soon as possible. I gave you the script in the summer, right? And then you changed the script when filming started? So you didn't read it before, did you?"

Rowling's face immediately hardened.

"I saw it!" The little girl stopped crying; she wouldn't cry for someone who slandered her.

"Then why didn't you tell me to change it back then?" Rowling was very angry.

"Because it was a holiday, and overtime pay is required," the young woman said matter-of-factly. "Besides, script revisions are paid separately."

"Very well, now you're going to get beaten up twice."

Rowling's face instantly fell. "I like you so much, and then you tell me you want more money?"

After they finished speaking, the two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

The clash between looking up and looking down gives them a stubborn, headstrong air about them.

But after a few seconds of pause, the two of them laughed at the same time.

Rowling opened her arms and hugged Isabella, saying, "Welcome."

╭ (╯ ^ ╰) ╮

Isabella didn't say anything, and her haughty, apologetic expression made Rowling pinch her cheek.

Then she greeted Vivian and Catherine.

Under her guidance, the group boarded the car.

After driving for about a hundred miles, a quaint manor came into view.

The entire estate covers approximately 12 acres. The houses here were built in 1865 and certainly cannot compare to Downton Abbey, but the Gothic architecture built with rubble has a Georgian feel.

Furthermore, the manor is located right by the river.

Open the window and you can feel the beauty of nature.

Ugh, well, the air is thick with that damn stench of money!

After a short stay at the manor, everyone got busy on the 25th.

Even a small wedding needs to be decorated, right?
Since you're already here, you can't just sit there, can you?
When the 26th arrived, wow~ it was supposed to be a private wedding, but the officiants were all Anglican priests.

The head of the Irish parish held a wedding for Rowling and her lover. With the blessings of family, friends and God, her lover Neil Murray accepted the ring from Isabella and personally put it on Rowling's finger.

To be honest, Isabella, who was holding the tray, almost laughed at that moment.

HP is a magical world, right?
Rowling writes about wizards, right?

Then, the witch mother was blessed by God at her wedding?

6!

With the ceremony over, Isabella thought she could slip away. The young couple were newlyweds; what was she doing standing there like a third wheel? However, just as she was about to say goodbye to Rowling, Rowling's daughter suddenly showed up.

"Sister Isa, can you take me out to play?"

Jessica, who looked like a little pudding, tilted her head and looked at Isabella.

"Uh...going out to play?"

Isabella didn't understand what she meant.

Catherine nudged her younger sister, reminding her, "Private space."

"Oh~~~~~"

Isabella understood!

My mom remarried, and it will be awkward for the kids.

This is a problem that no family can avoid, so...

'well!'

'I'm such a kind person!'

Having figured out Jessica's needs, Isabella said goodbye to Rowling and mentioned that she wanted to do some sightseeing around Scotland. Then, she needed a tiny, tiny guide—well, just a tiny, tiny guide.

Rowling understood what she meant.

She glanced at her daughter, who was talking to Catherine, with a complicated expression, and finally, she granted Isabella's request.

And whispered something in her ear—

Thank you. I love you.

Since there were three more people in the group, and Rowling arranged two more bodyguards for them before they left, it was inevitable that they would spend their holiday in Scotland. Because there were many places to visit there, everyone had a pretty good time during the New Year's Eve celebrations from January to February.

For example, you can play golf in St Andrews, ski in Avemore, look out over Scotland in Ben Nevis, and then try to catch the Loch Ness Monster. Well, the place is actually mostly salmon.

If, as described on the science program "Approaching Science," there really is a lake monster...

Isabella won't go either!

While everyone was happily chasing rainbows on the canals of Augustusburg...

"Oh~ Sorry~ Are you Isabella?"

A question suddenly reached the girl's ears.

Look in the direction of the sound.

A middle-aged man wearing a cashmere coat, a buzz cut, and sunglasses was smiling at Isabella.

Upon noticing Isabella turn her head, he promptly removed his sunglasses.

Because Isabella had been recognized by passersby many times in the past few days, both the security personnel provided by Warner Bros. and the bodyguards arranged by Rowling stepped forward very familiarly and shielded Isabella behind them.

Just as they were carefully keeping the man away from Isabella, Isabella herself started laughing.

Looking at the middle-aged man, he said, "If I'm not mistaken... you are Robert Iger?"

"Oh, Isa, you know me?"

The man paused for a moment, then a satisfied smile spread across his face. He paid no attention to the girl's bodyguards, as he also had his own. These men simply stood alongside the girl's bodyguards, briefly blocking their path, and then…

Their boss then crossed the line and reached out to Isabella.

“Yeah~ Isa, as you said, I am Robert Iger.”

"Disney's COO".

"Nice to meet you."

(End of this chapter)