Reborn in Hollywood

Jerry Bruckheimer personally came to see Li Rui to thank him for his timely response, otherwise a major disaster would have occurred.

Verbinski also came and said that from now on, all night scenes would be filmed in the studio instead of going out to sea.

Kayla later came to see Li Rui alone.

She stood at Li Rui's door, hesitated for a long time, and then spoke.

"Raphael, about yesterday... thank you."

Li Rui leaned against the door frame.

"You've already thanked me."

Kayla looked at him, her eyes different than before.

"I've heard you're a playboy."

Li Rui raised an eyebrow.

"and then?"

"Then--"

Kayla smiled. "You weren't like a playboy when you saved me yesterday."

Li Rui asked casually.

"What does that look like?"

Kayla thought for a moment.

"Be like a normal person."

The two exchanged a glance and both smiled.

From then on, Kayla's attitude towards Li Rui completely changed.

There's no longer that sense of distance; I truly treat him as a friend.

Sometimes after filming, the two would sit together on the beach, drink beer, chat, and joke around.

Depp saw this and grinned mischievously.

"Little blacksmith, did you get it?"

Li Rui glared at him.

"Just friends."

Depp grimaced.

"Friends? That kind of friend again? How many times has this happened now..."

Li Rui ignored him.

Depp is still complaining.

"If you really like her, go for it! I support you."

Li Rui looked at him and suddenly remembered those court videos from his previous life.

Johnny Depp later married Amber Heard—the woman who pooped five pounds of shit in bed.

He sighed.

"Depp, if you ever want to find a wife, just don't go for the kind of woman who...likes to poop in bed."

Depp paused for a moment.

He never expected that, just when he was already quite abstract, someone else would be even more abstract than him.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Li Rui explained in a very serious manner.

"She's the kind of woman who appears glamorous on the surface but is actually very malicious underneath."

Depp laughed heartily.

"Are you kidding me? How could I possibly fall in love with a woman like that?"

Li Rui gave a forced smile.

He didn't explain further; some things, no one would believe even if he said them.

In December, the crew entered the filming stage for the climax of the storyline.

Bruckheimer and Verbinski stayed behind the monitor every day, watching every frame.

Johnny Depp is still the same goofball, always acting silly on set and making everyone laugh until they can't stand up straight.

Once, during the filming of a difficult line, Depp had to do seven or eight takes. He kept getting it wrong, and everyone on set was trying not to laugh.

Finally, Depp lost his temper and yelled at the camera.

"Where's the screenwriter? I'm going to kill him!"

The whole place burst into laughter.

Li Rui laughed the loudest.

On another occasion, Li Rui and Kayla were filming a scene together when a fake parrot perched on Li Rui's shoulder and recited lines to Kayla.

Kayla was so amused by the parrot that she had to do three takes.

Li Rui later learned that the parrot would be presented using CGI in the later episodes.

As for the filming, the person standing opposite Kayla and reciting her lines was actually screenwriter Terry Rossio.

Li Rui almost burst out laughing when he heard Terry reciting his lines so seriously behind him.

The filming process was not without its challenges.

On December 27th, a fire broke out in the soundstage used by the film crew. Although no one was injured, the damage amounted to $350,000.

Bruckheimer was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

The insurance company paid out a portion of the compensation, but the production crew had to bear the rest themselves.

Li Rui was having dinner with Depp when he heard about this.

Depp remarked with emotion.

"Once this film is finished, it could probably be published as a book."

Li Rui nodded.

"It should be called 'The Blood and Tears History of Filming Pirates of the Caribbean'."

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

On the last day of December, Li Rui received a call from Alibaba.

"Raphael, I have something to tell you."

Li Rui leaned back in the recliner.

"What is it?"

"A low-budget film sent me a contract, and I can sign it directly without an audition."

Li Rui raised an eyebrow.

"What movie?"

Ali's voice sounded a bit like he was constipated.

"Underworld".

Li Rui was stunned for a moment.

He had never heard of this film before, and he thought that since he had been to the world of darkness, the other party would definitely contact him soon, but that didn't happen.

"How did they find me?"

Ali laughed as he spoke.

"The original male lead thought the script was terrible and, having accepted a role in a promising American TV series, he canceled his contract. Also, director Len Weisman and supporting actor Michael Sheen had a conflict, and both are currently receiving treatment in the hospital."

Li Rui looked helpless.

He knew all too well what this meant—the system's cosmic will was at work again.

"So who exactly sent me the contract?"

Ali suppressed a laugh and said, "It was the lead actress, Kate Beckinsale, who strongly suggested it to the production team."

Li Rui's heart skipped a beat.

Kate Beckinsale?

Could it be...?

He thought for a moment, then lowered his voice slightly, "Ali, I'll take some time to go back to Los Angeles in a few days. We'll talk about this when I get back."

Ali responded and hung up the phone.

Li Rui put away his phone and looked at the sea in the distance.

Underworld...

He didn't want to take on this kind of B-movie, even though he had already been to the world of darkness.

After all, the box office was mediocre, relying entirely on DVD sales to keep it afloat, and the male lead was just a pretty face, used entirely to highlight the female lead.

But Kate Beckinsale...

Why would she recommend herself to the production company when the two sides had never interacted before?

Thinking of the meaningful look in the Goddess of Night's eyes before he left the world of darkness, Li Rui couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Depp approached at some point.

"Whose call was that?"

Li Rui glanced at him.

"Work-related matters."

Depp chuckled.

"Has another woman been contacting you?"

Li Rui was so angry that he cursed at him.

"I think all you ever think about is women! You should just get a navel tattooed on your palm; I guarantee you'll feel something every time you touch it!"

Depp's eyes darted around, revealing a few gold teeth. "Hmm...it doesn't seem like a bad idea."

Li Rui shook his head helplessly, feeling that this guy was beyond saving.

-----------------

In order to dispel his doubts as soon as possible, Li Rui had no choice but to use the Force again on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean.

He chose the perfect time—four o'clock the next morning, before dawn, when only a few staff members on duty were dozing off on set.

Li Rui stood in front of his room window, closed his eyes, and his Force surged out like a tide.

His master-level control over the Force allows him to pinpoint the location of every single person with precision.

Director Gore Verbinski sleeps in another house 300 meters away.

Li Rui's Force gently stirred his subconscious, filling him with a strange sense of urgency when he woke up the next day, making him feel that the filming progress was too slow and had to be accelerated.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer's room was further away, and Li Rui's influence affected his perception of time, making him feel that the original shooting schedule was seriously behind schedule.

Director of photography, lighting technician, production assistant, prop master, makeup artist, actor... Li Rui went to them one by one, gently pushing them in their subconscious with his Force.

By the time all this was done, it was already dawn.

Li Rui opened his eyes and found himself covered in sweat.

Although his master-level control of the Force was precise, performing "micro-management" on hundreds of people in a row had taken a toll far beyond his expectations.

Li Rui leaned against the windowsill, took a few breaths, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes.

I was woken up by knocking on the door after sleeping for less than three hours.

"Raphael! Wake up, we have an early performance today!"

Li Rui opened his eyes, feeling that he had recovered most of his energy.

He took a quick shower and went out.

The film set is already bustling with activity.

Verbinski sat behind the monitor, his expression serious.

He saw Li Rui and waved.

"Raphael, we need to speed things up today. Let's move on to the later scenes."

Li Rui nodded.

"no problem."

The first scene is Will Turner's conversation with Captain Jack Sparrow in the blacksmith shop.

The original plan was to shoot for a whole morning, but it only took two hours.

Verbinski looked at the monitor, and even he could hardly believe it.

"That's a good take, get ready for the next one!"

The second match, the third match, the fourth match...

In one day, the scenes that were originally planned for three days were all filmed.

When filming wrapped up, the entire crew was exhausted.

But no one complained, because the progress was indeed astonishingly fast.

Depp slumped in his recliner, speaking weakly.

"What's going on today? Did the entire crew suddenly start smoking grass?"

Li Rui sat down next to him and took a sip of water.

"Isn't that good? The sooner we finish filming, the sooner we can have a vacation."

Depp glanced at him sideways.

"You seem very energetic; you don't look tired at all."

Li Rui smiled smugly.

"I was young, haven't you forgotten, Daddy Depp?"

Depp rolled his eyes.

He doesn't understand Chinese culture and doesn't experience the joy of being a father at all. Instead, he feels that Li Rui is mocking him for being old.

The second day, the third day, the fourth day...

The progress is going forward like a rocket.

Verbinski sat behind the monitor every day, his expression shifting from surprise to confusion, and then from confusion to numbness.

He spoke to Bruckheimer privately.

"Jerry, don't you think filming has been going too smoothly lately?"

Bruckheimer was looking through the financial statements without looking up.

"Isn't it better to go with the flow?"

Verbinski thought for a moment and nodded.

"Too."

Only Li Rui knew the price he paid.

Every night after work, he would spend two hours using his powers to "fine-tune" the condition of everyone on the crew, ensuring that they could maintain this high efficiency the next day.

During the daytime filming, he also had to fully immerse himself in the role in front of the camera.

After ten consecutive days, Li Rui lost several pounds and his condition became noticeably weak.

But the results were amazing—the scenes that were originally planned for a month were filmed in ten days.

On the evening of the tenth day, Li Rui knocked on Bruckheimer's office door.

"Jerry, I'd like to ask for three days off."

Bruckheimer paused for a moment.

"Take leave? Now?"

Li Rui nodded.

"I have some personal matters to take care of; three days should be enough."

Bruckheimer thought for a moment, then looked at the shooting schedule again.

Although Li Rui's scenes have been completed beyond the allotted time, the scenes of the other actors still need to be reshot.

He hesitated for a few seconds, but finally nodded.

"Okay! Is three days enough?"

"That's enough."

Bruckheimer stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Go ahead, everyone's exhausted these past few days, a three-day break is just what we need."