Hollywood Zenith

Chapter 157 It's A Wrap!

It was a strategic decision to shoot the outdoor scenes first. The crew traveled a lot for the first few months, from the dark forest and Cathedral to the public library and castle. They covered dozens of locations in a short period.

The last couple of months were mainly shot in the production studio. It gave the actors a stable environment which was essential as the cast primarily comprised children.

Today was the last day of filming, and everyone was enthusiastic about it. After today they needed to do post-production work which would be handled by Editors and another digital artist. On contract, the actors were obligated to attend if they had to reshoot some scenes, but that was rare.

Samuel, Emma, and Rupert were set to shoot the final scene, the chess scene from the movie where Ron 'sacrificed' himself so that Harry would proceed toward the end. Only their presence was required for the final scene, but Columbus called everyone for a short party.

A celebration for successfully completing the filming. He was excited as this was one of the biggest projects that he had undertaken in recent years. Besides, he was saving something special for this occasion.

For the scene, the production crew prepared practical chess pieces, there would be some CGI involved, but the one Rupert sat on was real. It came with exceptional details to give some realistic textures to the scene.

They had arranged a large hall, a custom board, and a separate FX crew for this scene. It might now look like it, but it was a costly scene.

They also did a thorough sweep to look for anything that could cause some accidents, and after that, the camera panned toward the hall entrance, waiting for the scene to start.

Samuel took some time in the dressing room; his character needed to show some injuries as he had just won a fight against a few thousand 'keys.'

" I can't believe we are at the last stretch. Months of filming together, I can still get over that silly hair look." Rupert was extra cheerful today as he pointed out Samuel's shaggy hairstyle.

" At least it's not so red that people mistook you for traffic lights. Who needs a signal when you could use your head." Samuel said with a smirk. He knew Rupert liked to joke around, but he was not so easy to mess with.

" Meanie! How could you say such a thing? I thought we were friends!" Rupert acted like he was hurt by his words.

" Stop it, both of you. Can't you see the director has been glaring at us? The board man has already left."

" Hahaha, did you hear that? she said board man, haha." Rupert started laughing, it was not even funny, but this guy had a weird sense of humor.

" S-stop it! Stop laughing." Emma was embarrassed by her mistake but didn't know what to call that person. She tried to shut him up, but Rupert evaded everything she threw at him.

" You always act like you know everything, but you don't even know such a simple thing. It's called a slap board because you have to slap it to operate it. Get it?" Rupert said with absolute surety.

" You sound even more absurd than me."

Samuel facepalmed, hearing their silly conversation. The crew watched as Emma and Rupert fought.

" Both of you are wrong! It's a clapperboard the person responsible for operating it is a clapper loader. Seriously, I can't believe you guys. We have been hearing it for months!"

With Samuel in the fray, it became a three-way battle. Someone had to intervene, or it could go on forever. Columbus sent Tom to do the job.

" Guys, guys. Settle down. The director has been calling you for a while. He is really pissed." Tom came rushing down to settle the argument.

Three of them came to a tactical understanding; they needed an adult to see who was writing. Emma knew that she was wrong but seeing Rupert's grin annoyed her.

On the other hand, Samuel gave a slight bow toward the crew; he couldn't believe that he got swept up in their idiotic conversation.

They took position and got ready for the scene; they had already rehearsed their lines before this.

Scene start:

Three of them enter a dark room with broken pieces all around it. They were still determining what it was, but the answer lay ahead.

Hermione: I don't like this. I don't like this at all.

Harry: Where are we? A graveyard?

Ron: This is no graveyard. [sighs] It's a chessboard.

He walks out onto the marble board toward the center. The room is illuminated by flames, and the board and GIANT players come into view. Harry and Hermione come up with him and looks around in wonder.

Harry: There's the door.

Harry spots the exit. They walk across the board towards the door. Suddenly, as they reach a line of pawns, the pawns bring up their swords. The three jump in fear and back up toward the center.

Hermione: Now, what do we do?

Ron: It's obvious, isn't it? We've got to play our way across the room. All right. Harry, you take the Bishop's square. Hermione, you'll be the Queen's side castle. As for me, I'll be a knight.

Harry and Hermione hesitate for a moment before they all take their places.

Hermione: What's happening now?

Ron: Well, white moves first, and then...we play.

Being the knight, Ron perched up on the horse figure. There were a few individual shots, and the crew member helped him stabilize his footing. It was made with safety in mind as the first priority.

A pawn on the other side moves forward. Ron studied the game and looked at his own pieces. Ron doesn't know how he will move his pieces, so to capture them, Rupert also acts confused.

He was already a good actor, but with months of practice, he was perfecting his craft. It was the same for the others, Emma messed up a lot in the beginning, but now, she embodied her character without much effort.

Hermione: Ron, you don't suppose this will be like...real wizard's chess, do you?

Ron: You there! D-5!

A black pawn moves forward, diagonal to the white pawn. The white pawn raises its sword and smashes the black one. The three jump.

Ron: Yes, Hermione, I think this is going to be exactly like wizard's chess!

After that, the game continues. Pieces smash each other, and boom! Boom! It was all left for editors; there were a few close expression and callback shots separately.

Ron: Castle to E-4!

Smash!

Ron: Pawn to C-3!

Smash! Boom! The Queen turns and smashes a piece! Harry, Ron, and Hermione wince.

It was time for the finale.