The first take, the cameraman fumbled the transition from Steadicam to handheld.
The second take, the rain machines malfunctioned, leaving a long, awkward pause after the thunderclap and lightning strike.
The third take, Lilah was hit with a heavy slash of rain in her face right as she was about to say her line, leaving her choking and spluttering helplessly.
The fourth take, Brian tripped over the camera tracks while backing up.
Takes five through ten were concerned with the heavy action section at the end of the scene, in which hordes of faceless henchmen appeared through the trees to take out the members of the team one by one, before grabbing Lilah and carrying her away. After several rounds of trial and error, it was determined that it was impossible to switch them all out for their stunt doubles without it being noticeable.
The news sent an unhappy ripple through the six of them. Lilah opened her mouth to object but caught Shane’s eye.It’s not worth it,he seemed to say. She closed her mouth, took a deep breath, and participated in re-blocking the scene sans doubles without complaint.
It was clear, though, that Shane would be bearing the brunt of the change. Even though the henchmen were all played by trained stunt performers—experts in doing this kind of thing safely and painlessly—it was impossible to fake the way they had to drag him across the rocky terrain as he struggled to free himself. From the way his face stayed contorted in the same expression even after they moved on, it was evident that his discomfort was real. Lilah forced herself to avert her eyes so she wouldn’t lose her own focus, the knot in the pit of her stomach growing larger the longer she watched.
She lost track of the number of takes they did after that. She’d never shot a scene with this many moving parts that had the potential to go wrong, and time after time, one part or another proceeded to do just that. As hard as she tried to stay present as Kate, she eventually went numb, her brain switching intopure survival mode as her body was drenched in icy fake rain and manhandled by the stuntmen over and over and over.
Around her, she could see Margaux’s teeth chattering, Rafael limping slightly, Brian’s shoulders sagging with exhaustion, finger marks blooming on Natalie’s arms that had to be covered by the makeup department every time they cut. Even though PAs hurried to wrap them in down coats between takes, it didn’t do much to mitigate the fact that they’d been shivering in the same soaking clothes for hours. Lilah had never felt this kind of cold before: clammy and damp and endless, seeping deep into her bones like she’d never be warm again.
As for Shane, it was obvious that each take was exponentially more painful than the last. He was doing a good job keeping it together when the camera was on him, but she could tell how much he was suffering: the subtle winces when he moved, the effort that seemed to be behind every ragged breath he took. During one take, a stuntman’s boot slipped on the wet grass, kicking Shane hard in the ribs, making him cry out. Lilah’s lips parted, her breath escaping in a rush, almost as if she’d felt the impact herself.
Impotent rage surged through her at the whole thing: at Jonah’s arrogance, at how unnecessary it was to make them go through this, at how Shane was too much of a self-sacrificing people pleaser to ever complain.
“Action,” Jonah called again, and Lilah took a deep breath.
She felt it immediately: there was something different about this take. Everything that had been hazy and sloppy snapped into perfect, crystalline focus. Her lines came effortlessly, she hit her marks without trying, every emotion coming to her as if it were the first time. Even the rain didn’t feel quite as cold. She could tell the rest of them felt it, too, tapping into a kind of flow state, the six of them practically psychically linked.
Finally, finally, finally, they made it all the way to the end of the scene. It felt like everyone on the entire set was holding their breath until the second Jonah called “Cut!”
The rain machines shut off and the crew cheered. Rafael let out a whoop, picking Natalie up and spinning her around as Margaux collapsed against Brian, bursting into relieved tears. Shane and Lilah exchanged exhausted, affectionate glances. All the adrenaline drained out of her immediately, leaving her too tired to do anything but stand there and grin at him like an idiot.
The celebratory mood immediately fizzled as Jonah’s voice cut through the chatter. “Let’s reset to go again.”
Lilah whirled on him before she could stop herself. “What?”
Jonah met her gaze, his face expressionless. “I said we’re going again.”
“Why?” Lilah spat, stalking toward him. “We got it.”
He rose to his feet once she reached his chair, but it didn’t do much to intimidate her, since she was still taller than him.
“It wasn’t good enough, that’s why,” he said. “Just because you allfinallygot through it once doesn’t mean we’re done.”
Lilah pushed a soggy lock of hair out of her face. “This clearly isn’t working. Can’t you find a way to sneak a cut in there? Changesomethingabout what we’re doing to make it run a little smoother?”
“I think you’re forgetting your role on this set,” Jonah said, eyes narrowing, voice lowering in an impression of a threat. “I’m the director. You’re the actors. You do what I tell you to do, and you do it until I say you did it right.”
Lilah’s cheeks grew hot. She fought not to raise her voice. “We’ve been doingexactlywhat you told us to do. Part ofyourjob is to make adjustments so we can get it done and get out of here.”
“Of course. I should’ve known,” Jonah said, rolling his eyes.“This kind of show is just, like, some soulless paycheck machine, right? You don’t care about the work, all you care about is getting home in time for dinner. You all might as well be CGI or, I dunno, fuckin’robotsor something. Maybe then you’d be able to get it right more than one fucking time.”
The entire set had come to a standstill around them. There was a rustle of footsteps behind her, Shane slowly appearing in her peripheral vision. She thought maybe he was going to tell her to cool down, that she shouldn’t escalate things any further. But instead, he paused next to her.
Not to talk her down. To back her up.
His wordless support was like a battery, her anger flaring with renewed force. “Well, unfortunately for you, we’re not robots. None of us are.” She gestured at the crew around her, all of whom were looking the worse for wear. “We can’t take unlimited abuse and just keep going. But weareprofessionals. If we’ve been doing this all fucking day and just got through it for the first time now, maybe we’re not the problem. Maybe it’s your concept that’s the problem.”
Jonah’s nostrils flared. He held Lilah’s gaze for a long moment. “Let’s take five,” he shouted, turning his head to address the crew. “Then reset to go again. Same as before.”
Lilah set her jaw and turned away, her stomach clenching. She felt Shane’s eyes on her, but she looked straight ahead, afraid she might burst into tears if she looked directly at him.
