novellhall Chapter 141 Environmentalists [3000 words]
Chapter 141 Environmentalists [3000 words]
Chapter 141 Environmentalists [3000 words]
In the afternoon, news came from the camp's medical vehicle.
Jennifer's leg injury was confirmed to be a severe sprain and soft tissue contusion, accompanied by swelling and bruising, but fortunately the bones were intact.
The doctor advised at least a week of rest and avoiding weight-bearing and strenuous activities.
This means Jennifer's filming schedule will be interrupted for at least several days, and many action scenes will have to be readjusted or postponed.
It's a stroke of luck that nothing serious happened to anyone.
The lead actor's injury will definitely affect the schedule.
In the evening, Chen Xun went to the mobile medical vehicle to visit Jennifer.
She lay on a makeshift hospital bed, her left leg immobilized and elevated, with an ice pack on it, looking somewhat listless.
However, when she saw Chen Xun come in, she still managed to force a smile.
"Hey, the hero has arrived."
She tried to sound relaxed, but her weakness was undeniable.
"How are you feeling?"
"It hurts. The anesthesia has worn off, and now it feels like countless ants are tearing at my legs."
Jennifer grinned, "The doctor said I can't move around too much for at least a week, which has delayed everyone's progress."
She was a little annoyed.
"Safety is the most important thing; the schedule can be adjusted."
Chen Xun comforted him, "You're pushing yourself too hard!"
Jennifer's face flushed slightly, her gaze drifting towards the forest shrouded in twilight outside the window: "I just wanted to do better. Your action scenes yesterday were so outstanding, I felt I couldn't lose!"
Her voice lowered, and then she looked at Chen Xun with a different look in her eyes.
Chen Xun could sense that Jennifer's attitude towards him had subtly changed after this incident.
After getting off the medical vehicle, Chen Xun returned to his dormitory.
Suddenly, I realized that this dilapidated dormitory is even worse than a medical vehicle.
At least there were no mosquitoes on the medical van.
He finally understood why celebrities in his past life always had their own motorhomes following them wherever they went.
It truly can guarantee your quality of life.
If we relied entirely on the production crew's arrangements, who knows what kind of miserable life we would have had!
An injury incident occurred on the film crew.
The directing team and producers held a meeting overnight to move the scenes that could be adjusted forward.
In the following days, the plot shifted to competition among other tributes, Peeta's early hiding in the arena, and brief interactions with other tributes.
Chen Xun's screen time suddenly increased.
Fortunately, he was in good shape, and his newly upgraded physical attributes made him more adept at handling scenes involving climbing, stealth, simulating fatigue and injury.
The emotional attributes also help him better portray Peeta's fear and his subtle worry about Katniss.
Shooting efficiency increased dramatically.
After filming his own scenes, Chen Xun would occasionally go to the medical vehicle to check on things.
Jennifer's leg swelling has subsided somewhat, but she still cannot get out of bed and can only move around the limited area of the camp in a wheelchair.
She was a little anxious, partly because of the pain, but more so because she felt she was slowing down the progress.
"It's so annoying. I'm watching you guys filming while I'm just sitting here like a useless person."
She complained to Chen Xun for the third time: "The director said it would take at least three or four more days to film the dialogue scenes where I'm sitting down, and the action scenes would be postponed even further—this will cause so much delay."
Just as Chen Xun was about to speak, he suddenly heard that the area outside the camp seemed a bit noisier than usual.
Faint shouts could be heard, but they were too far away to be heard clearly.
"What's going on outside?"
Jennifer heard it too and craned her neck to look through the small window of the prefab house, but her view was limited.
"I don't know, I'll go check."
Chen Xun stepped out of the medical vehicle.
Upon reaching the edge of the camp, he saw several film crew security personnel and production department heads gathered together, pointing and gesturing towards the outside of the woods, their expressions not very pleasant.
Further away, on a clearing at the edge of the forest, a group of twenty or thirty people had gathered at some point.
They didn't cross the cordon set up by the film crew, but they stood outside the line, making them quite conspicuous.
At first, Chen Xun thought they were either die-hard fans of the original work or Jennifer's fans who came to visit the set.
But upon closer inspection, something seemed amiss.
These people were dressed in ordinary outdoor clothing, and their ages ranged from young to middle-aged. They didn't show the excitement often seen on the faces of star-struck fans.
They weren't holding posters or autograph boards, but rather cardboard signs with the words "Protect the Piscaria Forest!" written on them in thick marker.
"No filming, no vandalism!"
"Our home is not your movie set!"
Several people were also holding a hand-painted flag with a green background and white trees, which was clearly the logo of a local environmental organization.
So he's an environmentalist!
This is nothing new in Hollywood; big productions often run into local environmental groups when filming in nature reserves or sensitive ecological areas.
At best, it will lead to negotiations; at worst, it will result in demonstrations, legal proceedings, or even disruption to filming.
In his previous life, Chen Xun had even seen online that people in other countries protested in the streets without wearing clothes!
There were even cases where, because one of the calves in their herd fell ill, all the cattle were killed, and then a manure-spraying truck was driven to spray manure at government offices!
A middle-aged man wearing glasses is holding a megaphone, trying to communicate with the leader of an environmental organization across the street.
Both sides seemed somewhat agitated, and fragments of their voices drifted on the wind: "We have obtained filming permission—all procedures are legal—"
"A permit doesn't mean you can do whatever you want! Look at the cables you've laid, the bushes you've cut down, and the marks left by heavy equipment! This is a primeval forest, not your Los Angeles backyard!"
"We have a restoration plan; ecological restoration will be carried out after filming concludes —"
"Restore? Easier said than done! How do you expect to restore the foreign objects you've brought, the noise, and the disturbance to wildlife?"
Communication was clearly not going smoothly.
More crew members were drawn over and began to discuss it.
Chen Xun heard a senior stagehand mutter under his breath, "Shit, just what I feared has come to pass. These environmental fanatics are the hardest to deal with; they're completely impervious to reason."
Another lighting assistant's voice: "I heard they've been watching us for days. There were fewer people before, but it looks like they've gathered more people today to put pressure on us."
97
Chen Xun knew perfectly well what was going on.
Take the producers' claim of restoring things to their original state with a grain of salt.
How could such a large film crew, with hundreds of people, various equipment and vehicles coming and going, and temporary facilities being set up, possibly have no impact on the original environment?
The so-called restoration is at most cleaning up obvious traces of human intervention, filling in some ruts, and replanting some local seedlings.
However, the deep-seated issues such as soil compaction, changes in microbial communities, and disruptions to wildlife migration routes cannot be restored in the short term.
This is just like the act of setting off fireworks in a protected area that he knew from his past life.
They keep talking about prioritizing environmental protection, but in the end, it's all a mess. Those who should be punished should be punished, and those who should be held accountable should be held accountable.
The Hunger Games is not a low-budget independent film; it has a huge investment, with a tightly linked shooting schedule, and the release dates and location rentals all cost money.
In addition, Lionsgate is not yet a big name in the industry, and this is the first time they have invested so much money in making a movie, so they are very cautious with their money.
Filming is halfway done, and most of the outdoor scenes are here. If we're forced to withdraw, the losses will be incalculable. We'll have to find a new location, build sets, and coordinate the schedules of all the actors and staff. It would be a disaster.
At this moment, director Gary and several key producers also arrived after hearing the news.
Director Gary frowned as he watched the increasingly agitated protesters outside the camera's view, and spoke in a low voice to the producer.
"We must not escalate the conflict any further!"
One producer said, "Although the media hasn't followed up on it on a large scale yet, it's possible that these people have already notified local radio stations or environmental websites. If it blows up, it won't be good for the film's reputation, especially for a youth-themed film like ours. It's troublesome to be labeled as damaging the environment."
"What should we do? They're demanding we stop filming immediately and leave the forest!"
Another producer shrugged: "That's impossible! We can't afford to delay our production!"
"Negotiations should be conducted, and we should find their representatives to negotiate with and see what compromise solutions are possible. We should strengthen our environmental protection efforts, commit to more specific restoration projects, and consider donating money to the local conservation fund."
Director Gary rubbed his temples, looking very tired.
The main problem is that he doesn't manage the money!
There are many people in the group who manage the money.
The lead actor is injured, and now there's an environmental protest.
I've been having such bad luck lately!
When someone's luck starts to run out, they can even get caught in the red-light district.
Over the next two days, although the protesters did not storm the filming location, they set up camp outside the cordon, taking turns to stand guard and holding signs, indicating a protracted battle.
They even set up a simple website and social media accounts to post photos they had taken of the film crew damaging the woodland.
The filming of the movie was inevitably affected.
Although filming was still possible in the core area, the atmosphere was tense. Staff members were constantly being stared at by the protesters as they entered and exited, which made people uneasy.
Some footage that was originally planned to be taken in more remote forest areas has also been temporarily shelved for safety reasons and to avoid conflict.
When Chen Xun was filming a scene where Peeta was looking for a water source, he could clearly hear the environmental slogans being played on a loop by protesters in the distance through loudspeakers, which was quite distracting.
The director yelled "Cut" several times, and in the end, they had to adjust the shooting time and wait until things calmed down a bit before filming again.
Jennifer, who was being pushed out in a wheelchair by her assistant for some fresh air, also witnessed this scene.
Her eyes widened: "Holy crap, this is even more exciting than the harvest festival lottery! Are they really here to protect the trees?"
"I'm afraid so!"
Chen Xun tossed her a bottle of water: "You think we're a bunch of moviemakers who came here to destroy their homes, you villains?"
"But we have the permits, and making the film will raise awareness about nature, right?"
Jennifer was a little confused: "The Hunger Games itself has dystopian themes and critiques of overconsumption."
"Ideas are one thing, but actual implementation is another."
Chen Xun sat down on the wooden stake next to her: "What they see is the disturbed forest in front of them, and the production team's promise to restore it may not be fulfilled in the end—"
"Just like the Capitol promised a better life to District 12, but it was always just an empty promise!"
He shrugged.
Jennifer seemed thoughtful.
The daytime negotiations ended in discord.
The protesters showed no signs of dispersing; instead, they reinforced their positions around the camp.
There were even more signs, and some people even brought camping chairs and thermos flasks, ready to fight a long battle.
The film crew's work has been suspended.
The staff walked with a temper, muttering complaints about the crazy people blocking their way.
Director Gary and the producers spent the entire afternoon in a meeting, and their faces were all grim.
The final news was that the other side's core members were unyielding and insisted on an immediate halt to the destructive filming; the so-called compromise was almost humiliating.
The production company plans to try contacting higher-level local officials and park management tomorrow to put pressure on them, while also increasing security at the campsite to prevent conflict.
"Everyone, perk up! Those on night duty, keep your eyes peeled!"
During dinner, the security supervisor loudly instructed, "Those holding signs seem relatively civilized, but there might be extremists mixed in among them. Anyone approaching the cordon without permission should be warned immediately, and if they don't listen, call the police!"
That's what they say, but in this deep mountain forest, it would take time for the police to arrive.