[GodOfReader: I'm this translating again, yup. Translating and not proofreading. I'm using the raw on sangtacviet. SO PLS CAST YOUR POWER STONE TO ME!!!!!]
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Leonardo stayed with the District 9 film crew for three days before leaving with his girlfriend.Half a month later, Martin also left the South African slums with the production team.
Behind the camera, filming was still taking place in the studio.
However, Martin made a brief detour to New Zealand, bringing along a few special effects artists and several equipment crates from the Digital Domain.
After returning to Los Angeles—Martin first checked the prepared props.
He picked up a prop that looked like an alien lobster claw gun and laughed, "Not bad. From the outside, you'd never guess it's actually a spear."
Then he walked over to a steel-frame bed. On the bed lay a "lobster man" who had had his limbs removed. You could even see green muscle fibers twitching.
He pulled off a red-and-green stained white cloth, revealing what looked like disturbingly realistic alien internal organs.
During the live shoot in the African slums—The District 9 crew had completed all the preliminary set-building, props, and studio preparations.
Some special effects scenes—like alien spacecraft, mechas, full-body alien 3D models—had already begun production at Digital Domain a month prior. By now, most of the basic components were nearly finished.
Martin had brought those special effects artists from Digital Domain to help complete the on-site CG scenes and character work as needed.
Inside the studio:
Robert Downey Jr., in a disheveled look, was tied to a chair.
Around him bustled a group of people in white lab coats.
At this moment, his left hand no longer resembled a human's—it had turned into a mutated black three-pronged claw.
"What the hell do you want?" Robert, panting and exhausted, asked weakly.
One of the lab coat figures pushed over an alien weapon mounted on a metal rack, positioned it in front of Robert, and fixed his mutated left hand onto the trigger.
That's when Robert noticed, hanging right in front of him, a fat pig carcass suspended upside down from an iron frame.
"You want me to shoot?"
"Clear out, everyone clear out!" A guy in a navy-blue suit, clearly in charge, shouted.
"No, Wait, stop!"
"Step back, fire!"
The guy in the blue suit jabbed Robert Downey Jr. with a stun baton.
Robert convulsed, and his finger involuntarily pulled the trigger.
A burst of sparks, blood, and flying flesh followed.
"Do you know where my wife is?" he growled.
The man in the blue suit urged, "Quick, pull the trigger again."
Robert slightly turned his face and sneered, "I refuse."
"CUT! That was amazing!" Martin exclaimed from behind the monitor, genuinely impressed.
No wonder Robert looked so uncomfortable—the smell in the studio was unbearable. To achieve realism, Martin had used actual pig carcasses, planted with mini grenades. When the scene called for gunfire, the pig exploded, blood and guts spilling everywhere. The stench was truly moving in the worst way.
The actors playing lab techs were relatively fine—they were allowed to wear masks. So were the crew outside the camera frame. Martin even sprayed perfume over his own face to cope.
Only Robert Downey Jr. was out of luck—not only couldn't he wear a mask, he had to gasp for air to show the main character's fury. The horrendous stench nearly made him puke on the spot.
"Don't relax yet, we still have another take," Martin said, frowning.
Robert was genuinely feeling nauseous. Even with the perfume, the weird stench still drilled into his nostrils, and the mix made it even more unbearable.
At Martin's command, the crew immediately resumed filming.
"Pull the trigger, now!""No!"
Another shock.Robert trembled.Another pig carcass exploded.
This time, two soldiers in full tactical gear dragged in an alien.
Robert's expression turned to horror and shock.
The man in the blue suit commanded, "Hurry up, string that "lobster alien" up on the iron rack. In the middle! Quick, move!"
He ignored Robert and kept fiddling with the weapon.
"I won't shoot the alien! You hear me?" Robert screamed. He looked like he was about to vomit, which matched the mood perfectly.
What a delightful surprise!Martin smiled to himself.
Still, no one paid attention to Robert.
With a sound cue, the alien prop exploded, splattering thick blood all over Robert.
Ugh~!
"Fuck yes, perfect!" Martin jumped with excitement.
"Fuck yes? Was that the last take? Then let me go already! Fuck! Ugh~!"
"Okay, scene complete! Wrap it up!"
Everyone quickly packed up and left.
"Motherfucker—ugh! Martin, you bastard! Ugh! You are a total maniac! Fuck! Who the hell uses real pig carcasses?! Argh!"
"Robert, you alright? Feeling better now?"
Martin walked over looking "concerned," patting Robert on the back.
Robert calmed down a bit.
"Hmph, you bastard still has a bit of human decency… knows how to comfort a guy after almost killing him."
"Well, if you're feeling better, let's get back to shooting!"
"Fuck! I knew I shouldn't have trusted that son of a bitch!"
Robert grumbled, but despite his complaints, he remained professional.
At that moment, the exhaustion and weakness on his face weren't acting—they were real. And Martin? He couldn't be more pleased.