Chapter 27: William's Acting
William shook his head.
"No need. They won't amount to anything."
He let out a faint, disdainful smile.
A bunch of people who couldn't even read market trends properly wanted to make money in this business?
Even in America's so-called golden age, if you picked the wrong direction, bankruptcy was still inevitable.
So William genuinely wasn't worried about José stealing his methods.
Even if they managed to copy everything on the surface, they still wouldn't understand the future trajectory of Valley films the way he did.
To put it simply—
not worth worrying about.
Seeing that the boss had spoken, Sergei nodded and quietly resumed his position nearby.
From beginning to end, however, he never let William leave his field of vision.
---
Not long after their conversation, filming officially began.
Compared to the Valley shoots William had done before, this crew was noticeably more professional.
Proper lighting rigs. Dedicated makeup artists standing by for touch-ups.
As both director and male lead, William was dressed in a tailored suit. The makeup artist had deliberately added subtle wrinkles to his face, making him appear slightly older.
The day's schedule wasn't heavy.
They were only shooting exterior scenes—fewer than thirty shots around the house.
By late morning, more than half of the planned footage was already in the can.
That level of efficiency was rare even by Hollywood standards.
Part of it was Nicole Kidman's professionalism—very few retakes, clean emotional continuity.
Another reason was that the supporting roles had minimal screen time, making many shots straightforward.
As for William himself—
After crossing over, his cognitive abilities had improved dramatically. Combined with the acting foundation he'd built in his previous life, his learning speed was nothing short of explosive.
And it wasn't just raw strength his body had gained—his fine motor control and micro-movements had improved as well.
That translated into near-perfect facial control.
As a result, during their scenes together, Nicole Kidman was genuinely stunned.
She knew the script inside and out. She knew that Ben—the character William played—was violent, obsessive, and deeply unhinged.
But when William actually embodied that stubbornness, that twisted possessiveness—
Her fear was almost instinctive.
"Cut!"
The assistant director, who was handling the camera for William, called it out.
The morning's shoot was officially complete.
William sat down on a folding chair and took a sip of water.
The set fell briefly into a rare, quiet calm.
The production crew began packing up equipment and props, preparing to grab lunch before continuing with exterior shoots at several other locations in the afternoon.
Suddenly, a chair scraped against the ground beside William.
Nicole Kidman plopped down next to him without ceremony.
"You never told me you were this good at acting."
She leaned in, clearly trying to get a closer look at him, as if examining what exactly he was made of.
William frowned slightly and nudged her away.
"Hey—careful. You'll mess up my makeup," she said, half complaining, half teasing.
"So what?" William shrugged. "You'll have to redo it this afternoon anyway. Don't tell me you've already developed a diva complex."
The term wasn't common yet in this era, but Nicole still got the gist.
She rolled her eyes.
"You still haven't answered me. How are you this good? How long have you been studying acting?" she pressed, steering the conversation back.
"I started learning a few days ago," William replied calmly. "Good talent. Can't help it."
It was the truth—but to Nicole, it sounded like he was dodging her.
She rolled her eyes again, then suddenly lowered her voice, her tone turning playful and suggestive. One hand slid over and rested lightly on his.
"Hey… how about we go somewhere private at lunch and exchange some acting techniques?"
William instantly understood what she meant.
When women noticed a man had something exceptional—real talent—it often sparked a particular kind of excitement.
That was exactly the state Nicole was in.
Feeling her soft fingers brushing against his hand, William would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted.
"Miss Kidman," he said calmly, "try to stay professional. We're still working this afternoon. I'll come over to your apartment tonight."
He rejected her lunch invitation—but replaced it with a new one.
Nicole smiled, tapping his forehead lightly with a slender finger.
"Then it's settled."
---
That afternoon, because the weather refused to cooperate, William had no choice but to rent a water truck to simulate rainfall.
It wasn't cheap—but still far cheaper than extending the villa rental by another day.
So he didn't wait for real rain.
The rain scene focused on Christine—played by Nicole—after she learns that she once had a child, and that the child had supposedly died.
Of course, this was another lie fabricated by Ben—by Mike.
In the early takes, William wasn't needed, so he sat behind the camera, watching the monitor.
As Nicole screamed and broke down in the artificial rain, her performance raw and devastating, William couldn't help but applaud.
After that sequence, they shot seven or eight more scenes.
That wrapped up the day.
The remaining exterior shots included the hospital—inside and out—the factory where Christine was discovered after her accident, as well as a parking garage, a tunnel, and a park.
None of those scenes required much screen time.
After all, Before I Go to Sleep was largely an interior-driven film.
The pace wasn't fast—but there was no rush.
Sundance was still far off.
Once the villa shoot concluded, the crew dispersed.
Soon, only William and Sergei remained—along with Nicole, who hadn't left yet.
Now that Nicole had completely fallen out with Shanahan, the agency offered no support for this production.
No assistants. No entourage.
At most, they'd handled contract formalities between her and William.
"After you, Miss Kidman," William said as he opened the back door of his slightly beat-up Chevrolet.
Nicole didn't hesitate and climbed in.
After closing the door, William entered from the other side and took the seat beside her.
Sergei sat in the driver's seat.
He glanced at the rearview mirror and asked in his thick Russian-accented English, "Boss, where to?"
"Sunset Boulevard," Nicole answered before William could speak. "I'll cook tonight."
Sergei didn't react, waiting instead for confirmation.
"Go where she says," William replied, then turned to Nicole.
"You're cooking?"