Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 256: Deterrence

Renly's brows also furrowed as he looked at the empty parking lot before him, displaying a puzzled expression.

It was already 8:20 AM, and with ten minutes left until the start of the workday, the parking lot should have been packed full, with cars potentially having to park in the public lot behind. But not only was it not full, there wasn't a single car in sight. This was truly abnormal, almost unbelievable.

Nathan immediately panicked; this unexpected situation caught him completely off guard. He forced himself to calm down, but it was extremely difficult. He instinctively turned to Renly, noticing the confusion between his brows. Luckily, there was no anger.

"Double-check today's filming schedule," Renly, who had experienced large-scale productions like "The Pacific," had relatively more experience. After a brief moment of chaos, he calmed down, opened the car door, and walked towards the studio.

Prompted by Renly's reminder, Nathan snapped back to reality, quickly pulling out his phone to check the messages.

Standing at the studio's entrance, the massive iron gate always made one feel small. To allow tool trucks to pass smoothly, the studio doors were always tall and wide, with a small iron door in the lower right corner, allowing two people to pass side by side. Compared to the main gate, it felt like a passageway to the land of giants.

Usually, this small door would be open, allowing staff to come and go; once filming started, it would be closed. Anyone wanting to enter would have to knock, and the doorman inside would open a small slot, verify the visitor's identity, and then let them in.

Now, the small door was tightly shut. Renly knocked hard, but there was no response, not even a sound. Everything felt odd. Could they have come to the wrong place?

"Renly, I just checked the messages again. It is indeed 8:30, Studio 23," Nathan said, temporarily parking the car by the roadside to avoid blocking the way. He quickly walked over and raised his voice, "I called James Currier and Julie Irie, but neither answered. I left messages explaining the situation, but..."

Renly's composure helped calm Nathan down as well. After collecting his thoughts, Nathan began to handle things methodically. James and Julie were the two crew coordinators, responsible for different tasks. As Renly's assistant, Nathan mainly dealt with them for verification, which was the most direct and effective way.

However, neither of them answered their phones.

Normally, this wouldn't be surprising, as both of them were very busy, and missing calls was common. But today's special circumstances made it hard not to overthink.

Renly didn't rush to any conclusions, "Did James tell you the time personally before you left yesterday?"

"Yes." Nathan nodded repeatedly, worried about making mistakes. He even asked James to send a text message for confirmation, ensuring there were no errors. He didn't want to be fired again.

Renly reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, found Paul Walker's number, and dialed it. It was not yet 8:30. If there were no filming tasks, Paul might be exercising, but...

"Good morning, Renly." Paul answered the phone energetically, greeting cheerfully, "Calling me at this hour, I was just about to have breakfast. Would you like to join?"

Renly could hear the ease in Paul's voice. With less than ten minutes until the workday, Paul was still leisurely having breakfast? That didn't add up. However, Renly didn't hurry; instead, he responded with a smile, "Are you sure you're on LA time? Not New York time?"

Life in Los Angeles was always slower, with mealtimes seemingly later than in New York. However, Renly hadn't been in LA long, so it could be his misconception.

Paul laughed, "If I went surfing today, I wouldn't be having breakfast until 9:30."

"That doesn't sound like the lifestyle of the elite," Renly replied with a faint smile, successfully eliciting laughter from Paul, who agreed repeatedly.

Both Los Angeles and New York shared a common belief: those who could enjoy brunch were either elites or wealthy, as they could leisurely sleep in and meet friends for brunch around 10 or 10:30.

Thus, LA's brunch spots and cafes were always crowded, and aspiring actors often pretended to enjoy brunch, hoping to meet some famous director or producer.

After Paul's laughter subsided, Renly naturally asked, "When does today's filming start?"

"Twelve o'clock," Paul answered without hesitation, "Today's main scenes will extend into the night, possibly requiring outdoor shooting. So, we're meeting at noon, discussing during lunch, and officially starting filming around 2 PM. We expect to be busy until the evening."

Twelve o'clock. That was the answer.

No wonder the parking lot was empty! No wonder the studio was deserted! Clearly, someone wanted to teach Renly a lesson, deliberately giving him the wrong start time, making him arrive three and a half hours early to wait.

Three and a half hours was quite awkward. If he went back now, it would take 40 minutes to an hour for the round trip, and with the morning rush hour, it could take up to two hours. But if he stayed, three and a half hours of idle time would be painfully boring.

This was a clever trick, harmless yet effective. Even if Renly protested through his agent, a three and a half-hour wait was insignificant, and Andy couldn't pressure the crew. But swallowing this indignity was frustrating, being the target of a practical joke, and worse, having his pride mocked.

"What's the matter? Was there a mix-up?" Paul asked casually, "Did your assistant not get the notice yesterday?"

The crew's daily schedule varied, and after the filming itinerary was released, the assistant would visit the crew office to ensure their actor was prepared for the next day's work.

"No problem, just confirming with you," Renly replied with a smile, chatted a bit more with Paul, and then hung up.

Nathan, standing nearby, had also pieced things together. Yesterday, it wasn't Nathan who went to the crew office to get the schedule; it was James, one of the crew coordinators, who came to him, specifically informing him of the schedule. Nathan thought it was because of the crew's regard for Renly, granting him special treatment as the third lead, especially since it was his first scene. Now, it was evident that this was a trap, someone intending to give Renly a hard time.

"Renly, I'm sorry..." Nathan panicked again, feeling incredibly guilty. This was his mistake; if he had been more cautious and triple-checked, could today's mishap have been avoided? As an assistant, this was his responsibility, and he had no excuses.

Renly, instead of being angry, smiled and patted Nathan's shoulder, "You must know, if they want to fool you, there's no way you could've caught on."

From his experience on the "The Pacific" set, Renly knew that dealing with pesky troublemakers was tricky. If staff intended to make an actor suffer, it didn't require much power. Just tweaking a few small details could cause significant trouble for the actor.

An extreme example: if someone deliberately clogged Brad Pitt's toilet in his trailer and spread a rumor that he was constipated, Brad would be left defenseless. Such rumors caused no substantial harm, merely serving as idle gossip, but the impact on Brad's image was negative.

Today was similar.

Nathan was just a small assistant. He had confirmed the schedule through both verbal and text communications, using James and Julie for double verification. He had no reason to suspect foul play. The fact that neither James nor Julie answered the phone suggested they had conspired to let Renly suffer. In this scenario, Renly had no escape.

Renly's reassurance did little to ease Nathan's guilt. He understood the logic but couldn't shake the frustration. Why would anyone target Renly? Renly had never wronged anyone!

"Who could it be? Is it James?" Nathan was full of questions, unable to comprehend who was opposing Renly. Was today's incident a mere prank, or the beginning of a tough period?

A figure flashed through Renly's mind, and he nodded thoughtfully, saying with a slight smile, "Yes, who could it be?" This was something he was curious about.

He wasn't one to back down. He'd swallow today's bitter pill silently, but that didn't mean he wouldn't retaliate.

"What do we do now?" Nathan asked anxiously, pacing back and forth, eager for Renly's instructions.

Renly, however, had a different approach, "Wait, let's just wait here." Investigating, responding, and punishing the culprit were not his immediate concerns. Today's filming was more important. "Bring me the script," he said.

"Renly!" Nathan, caught off guard by Renly's calm response, called out in frustration.

Renly chuckled softly, shook his head, and repeated, "The script!"