[September 2, 2012] [Bill Murray's Mansion Set]
By the afternoon, most of Bill Murray's scenes inside the mansion had already been completed.
The cast had filmed the group's arrival, their surprise at finding him alive, and Bill's explanation that covering himself in zombie makeup allowed him to walk around without being attacked. Only one major scene remained on the schedule.
His death.
The crew finished preparing the blood rig beneath Bill's sweater while the camera team checked the theater entrance and the row where Columbus and Little Rock would be sitting. A fist-sized breakaway section had been built into the center of Bill's costume, allowing the wound to appear the moment the blood charge exploded.
Jack and Chloë sat beside each other in the theater seats while an old movie played across the screen. The prop shotgun rested on the empty seat beside Jack, positioned exactly where he would need it once Bill entered the room.
Bill waited outside in zombie makeup, his skin pale and blood-streaked while dark veins surrounded his eyes. Emma and Woody stood farther down the hallway, ready to enter after the gunshot.
Christopher settled behind the monitor as the assistant director raised her hand.
"Quiet on set, everyone."
The room became completely silent while the sound and camera teams confirmed they were ready.
The slate snapped in front of the lens.
"Bill Murray death scene, take one."
Christopher watched the monitors carefully before calling, "Action."
...
Columbus and Little Rock sat watching the movie while talking. For once, neither of them appeared worried about zombies, strangers, or the possibility of being attacked.
The theater door slowly opened behind them.
Bill entered with his shoulders hunched and his head tilted at an unnatural angle. He dragged one foot across the carpet while making a low, guttural sound from the back of his throat.
Neither Columbus nor Little Rock noticed him immediately.
Bill moved closer and raised both hands as he continued pretending to be a zombie.
Columbus finally heard the movement and turned toward him.
The instant he saw Bill's blood-covered face, he jumped from the seat and grabbed the shotgun beside him. He raised it on instinct and fired before Bill could reveal the joke.
The blood rig exploded beneath Bill's sweater.
A thick burst of stage blood erupted across his chest as the breakaway fabric opened, revealing a fist-sized wound. Bill stumbled backward from the simulated impact and collapsed against the nearby seats.
Little Rock shot to her feet as Tallahassee and Wichita rushed into the theater.
Tallahassee grabbed Bill beneath one arm while Wichita took the other. Together, they lifted him carefully and helped him sit in one of the theater chairs.
Bill slumped against the seat, breathing heavily as blood continued spreading across his sweater.
Everyone stared at the enormous wound in stunned silence.
Bill slowly turned his head toward Columbus and asked, "Is that how you say hello where you come from?"
Columbus lowered the shotgun as panic spread across his face. He touched his forehead and began pacing in front of the seats. "Oh my God, oh my God. I can't believe I shot Bill Murray."
Tallahassee looked toward Columbus and slowly shook his head with profound disappointment. He then turned back toward the wounded actor and crouched beside the chair.
"Mr. Murray," Tallahassee said, his voice filled with concern.
Bill looked at him through tired eyes and murmured, "Bill, I think now."
Tallahassee nodded solemnly and leaned closer to examine the wound. "Bill, I don't think we'll be able to stitch this."
He carefully touched the edge of the wound.
Bill made a weak sound and flinched a little. "Ahhh! That's still tender."
Tallahassee pulled his hand away and studied Bill's face. "You think you might pull through?"
Bill slowly turned toward Columbus and shook his head. "No, I don't think so."
Columbus looked completely horrified as he tightened his grip on the shotgun. "If it means anything now, I'm so sorry. It was just instinctive."
Bill managed a faint nod while taking another strained breath. "That's my fault. I was never a good practical joker."
Little Rock moved closer to the chair and looked down at him. "Do you have any regrets?"
Bill considered the question for several seconds before answering, "Garfield, maybe."
Tallahassee nodded sadly, as though he fully understood the weight of that regret.
Bill leaned his head back against the chair and released a long, fading breath.
"Ahhhhhhhhh."
Everyone watched him with growing sadness.
Tallahassee looked devastated, his expression tightening as though he were struggling not to cry.
Bill took another slow breath.
"Ahhhhhhhhh."
Tallahassee waited patiently for him to die.
Bill released another extended groan.
"Ahhhhhhhhh."
Tallahassee's grief gradually shifted into confusion. He looked toward Wichita, Little Rock, and Columbus, silently asking why Bill had not finished dying.
None of them had an answer.
Bill continued breathing dramatically while Tallahassee stared at him with increasing uncertainty.
After several more seconds, Bill finally closed his eyes. His head rolled slightly to the side, and the groaning stopped completely.
Tallahassee lowered his gaze, looking genuinely heartbroken.
Wichita suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned toward her with confused expressions.
Wichita covered her mouth and tried to regain control. "I'm sorry. It gets me every time."
Columbus slowly shook his head from side to side.
Wichita looked back toward Bill's body and added, "It's still sad, though."
Columbus considered that for a moment before giving her a small nod.
Christopher allowed the silence to remain for another second before calling, "Cut!"
The entire theater erupted into laughter.
Bill immediately opened his eyes while Woody bent forward, laughing so hard that he had to brace both hands against his knees. Emma covered her face, and Chloë dropped back into her seat while trying to catch her breath.
Jack lowered the shotgun and laughed with everyone else, still amazed that the scene had continued without anybody breaking character.
Bill looked toward Woody with an innocent expression. "What happened? I was dying."
Woody pointed at him while struggling to speak through his laughter. "You kept going. I thought you were never going to finish."
Emma wiped beneath one eye as she looked toward the monitors. "I don't know how we made it through that entire scene."
Christopher replayed the footage while Phil leaned closer beside him. The gunshot, the blood effect, Columbus's panic, Bill's dialogue, and Tallahassee's increasingly confused grief had all worked perfectly.
Almost every reaction and dialogue after Bill got shot had been improvised on the spot. The main scene was supposed to be in two parts, first the gunshot scene, then the dialogue part. But they ended up doing the entire thing in a single take with improv.
Woody had genuinely expected Bill to stop sooner. Emma's laugh had escaped naturally, and Jack's confused head shake had come entirely from the moment.
Phil watched the playback and shook his head with a wide smile. "That might be the best accidental timing we've had during the entire shoot."
Christopher let the scene play through to the final exchange before nodding with satisfaction. "We're keeping the whole take exactly as it is."
Bill looked down at the bloody wound in his sweater. "Good. I don't want to die like that again."
The cast broke into laughter once more while the rest of the crew started to set up for the send-off scene in the balcony area.
...[2 hours later]...
The crew reset outside the private theater and moved the cameras toward the mansion's open balcony.
A wrapped dummy had replaced Bill's body. Thick fabric covered it from head to toe, with the shape tied tightly enough to hold together while the cast carried it through the doorway.
Jack, Woody, Emma, and Chloë moved into position around the dummy while the camera team finished framing the balcony, the concrete guard, and the old garbage dumpster waiting below.
Christopher called, "Action."
...
Tallahassee, Wichita, Columbus, and Little Rock lifted the wrapped body together and carried it toward the balcony.
The dummy's head struck the side of the doorway as they tried to move through.
"Oww!"
"Yeah."
The impact threw off their grip for a moment, forcing them to adjust their hands and shoulders before continuing outside.
"Shit!"
"Okay."
They struggled across the balcony with the weight shifting awkwardly between them. Once they reached the open space, they dropped the body onto the floor and stepped back long enough to catch their breath.
A moment later, they bent down, lifted it again, and placed it carefully across the concrete guard.
The wrapped body rested against the edge while the four of them stepped away.
Tallahassee, Wichita, Little Rock, and Columbus drew their shotguns.
They raised them toward the sky and fired twice.
Columbus lowered his weapon and stopped to reload.
"Okay, one second. It's a double barrel, sorry."
He finished loading the shotgun and raised it again.
"Okay."
They then resumed firing, sending two more shots into the air.
Once the final shots faded, they lowered their weapons and put them away.
The group returned to the wrapped body and grabbed it together.
Columbus looked toward the others and counted them in.
"Okay, three, two, one."
They pushed.
The body rolled over the concrete edge and dropped from the balcony.
It fell straight into the old garbage dumpster below, landing inside with a heavy crash.
Columbus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer.
"Anyone want Purell?"
Little Rock held out her hands.
"Yeah."
The others nodded, and Columbus sprayed the sanitizer into each of their palms.
"Cut."
...
By late night, they shot the game night scene and the talks. Then the scene with Columbus and Wichita drinking and dancing intimately. And just before they were about to kiss, Tallahassee interrupted them.
At the end, they had completely wrapped up the mansion scenes. Now, all that's left is the climax scene and the big fight.
==
-AN: This is it for now. I'll take a small break to stock up. See you soon.
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