Find a quiet spot, turn the page, and let’s see what this story has been hiding 🌙 ✦ In the greater Los Angeles area, on the outskirts of Orange County, the Happy Death Day crew was dressing the entrance to an underpass.
Evan held his director’s notebook, writing and sketching in it, while the only two actors in the scene rested in their chairs.
Poor Tree, the doomed lead, had already been brutally stabbed to death twice that morning.
Ross looked over and nodded, signaling that everything was ready.
Evan walked to the two actors and explained what he needed.
“Naomi, watch the fake-blood pack on your body.
Don’t let it slip or move.
I need it pierced cleanly and violently.” He pointed to the blood pack.
This was the largest change he had made to the movie.
Every time Tree died, he wanted it bigger and rougher.
Then he turned to the actor who had just put on the mask.
“Same as before.
Catch her.
Stab her brutally.
Aim for the prop.” After that, he went behind the camera and signaled for quiet.
“Scene two hundred twenty-seven,” came the slate call.
The clapper snapped.
Evan settled behind the camera.
“Action.” Luke held the boom while Evan carried the camera and ran a few stumbling steps with Tree.
In the end, she could not escape the fate waiting for her.
“Cut.
Good.
Everyone, move locations.” The crew packed quickly and walked away from the long underpass toward a quiet road nearby, one that barely saw traffic all day.
“Hey, Luke,” Evan said while putting on a police uniform.
“Haven’t you always wanted to try being director and camera operator at the same time?
Here’s your chance.
Make me look handsome.” This was the final scene.
Tree would run to Evan’s police officer for help.
Then the killer’s car would hit him, and Tree would die again.
Evan had asked for this himself.
He wanted to appear in his first movie, but not in a way that interfered with production.
So he took a tiny role.
A line or two, a flash of his face, and then he got hit by a car and died.
A few seconds.
When he was ready, he heard Luke call action.
Evan walked to Tree’s car and asked what had happened.
A car came speeding toward them.
Then they swapped in the prop setup.
After the impact shot, Evan lay in the distance covered in fake blood.
“Cut.
Good.” Evan stood and walked toward the monitor, more pleased with himself than he should have been.
“How was that?
One take.
Clearly I’m talented.” Luke gave him a strange look and gestured for him to watch the monitor himself.
After watching it, Evan had nothing to say.
His face appeared clearly for barely more than a second, and he was not even the center of the shot.
Fine.
He watched it again.
No problem.
When he saw everyone looking at him, he clapped loudly.
“Thank you, everyone, for your hard work on this film.
We have finished every shot.
Pack up and go enjoy your holiday.” Evan gave the entire crew a small bow.
It was not deep, but the meaning was clear.
He was genuinely grateful for their work.
Then everyone applauded him, even the two temporary assistants who were packing equipment.
When the applause faded, Evan continued.
“And don’t forget the bar beside the hotel tonight.
I’m buying.
Do not be polite.
Celebrate.” For once, Evan was generous.
The crew cheered and applauded again.
They were not applauding only because he was paying for drinks.
Most of it was approval of the work.
Everyone on the crew knew how difficult this had been.
A first-time director had assembled a patched-together crew and completed every shot without going over budget.
It had been much harder than outsiders could imagine, but this rookie director had overcome each problem through sheer discipline and work.
Production had taken exactly two months.
They had not used as much film as expected.
Evan shot very little unnecessary coverage.
The images already existed in his head, supported by detailed storyboards, camera plans, and a complete shooting schedule.
They had saved money on film, which meant postproduction should still have enough to work with.
He watched everyone finish the last tasks with relaxed smiles.
It was as if the pressure of the past two months had disappeared all at once.
Even Ross and Mia, who had fought constantly while being forced to cooperate, seemed to have set aside all their grievances.
Evan stared as they carried props together, both smiling and talking loudly.
He found it almost impossible to believe.
If he or Luke had not stepped in so many times, those two might have fought for real.
“Strange, isn’t it?” Luke walked up beside him and followed his gaze.
“Very.” Evan watched Ross and Mia working together.
“This is the first real crew I’ve ever run.
I understand that most problems come from vanity and pressure, but I still don’t get it sometimes.
Have you seen this before?
I swear, if someone gives them two drinks tonight, they might end up in bed.” He was in a good enough mood to joke.
If they had been this friendly earlier, he would not have had to crush so many fights.
Luke saw that Evan genuinely did not understand and pointed at Ross and Mia.
“It’s because most of the conflict came from work.
Competition, jealousy, position, credit, status.
Now the work is finished.
The reasons for the conflict vanish too.
After that, they become people who fought through two months on the same side.
No one remembers every ugly moment.
They remember the hard days they survived together.” Evan turned and stared at him.
Luke understood people better than he looked.
Maybe it came from working on so many crews and seeing too much dirt.
“Not always,” Evan said.
“Our lead actress and supporting actress are not becoming friends.” Luke looked at his underclassman helplessly, as if trying to reconcile the cold workaholic from set with the director now gossiping behind everyone’s back.
“Probably not,” Luke said.
“Actors sometimes carry rivalries beyond the wrap.
Credit, visibility, and future casting follow them from job to job.
Just don’t confuse competition with proof of sabotage.” Luke kept telling gossip lightly, but Evan still watched the crew finish the final work.
Now was not the moment to relax completely.
Luke was about to continue with more strange stories from his previous crews when Naomi finished changing in the car and walked toward them.
Luke shrugged and lowered his voice.
“Don’t underestimate anyone, Evan.
Especially not a woman willing to give everything for a microbudget feature.” Before Naomi reached them, he went to help the others with equipment.
“Hi.” Naomi slipped an arm around Evan.
With the work done, she no longer cared what anyone thought.
She had never cared much in the first place.
“What were you two talking about?
Am I interrupting?” She understood perfectly well why the crew treated her with more respect than they might give another young actress.
Because she was the lead?
Even she would not believe that.
It was because of Evan.
Everyone knew their relationship was not ordinary.
Evan did not care how people saw Naomi or their connection.
This was Hollywood, one of the messiest places in North America.
The only place messier than Hollywood was a film set inside Hollywood.
Actors full of adrenaline and hormones could get carried away in a scene and then rush into a trailer the moment the director called cut.
There were more stories like that than anyone could count.
“Nothing much.
Work.” Evan looked toward the vehicles.
“Nami, shooting is finished.
What are your plans?” When everyone began getting into cars, he took Naomi to his pickup and closed the door.
Naomi thought for a moment, then looked at him seriously.
“I’ll rest for two days, then find a short-term class.
I’ll train while looking for roles.
I’ve decided not to go back to Australia for now.
I want to wait for the next opportunity.
Right now, what I want most is this movie.
You know I probably won’t find another lead role in the short term.” Evan was not surprised.
This woman had a hard, resilient mind.
She had ambition, patience, and the nerve to gamble on her dream.
Luke was right.
Evan did not dare look down on a woman like that.
From the beginning, he had understood that even though he had not paid much attention to this blonde beauty in his previous life, any woman without a background or connections who could succeed in Hollywood had to be formidable.
Reducing her to either innocent or manipulative would miss the point.
“Then keep moving toward the goal you’ve chosen, Nami.
I believe that one day you will live in Beverly Hills, and your name will be carved into those streets.” Evan parked at the hotel and refused Naomi’s dinner invitation.
With Luke waiting for him, he confirmed the final exposed rolls were logged for the lab pickup and locked the latest workprint records in his room.
Only after the safe door closed did he finally relax.
✦ ✦ ✦ Ready for more?
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS TheBacklot Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter drew you further into the story.
Stick around, because there’s still a lot waiting just ahead.