The top of fame and fortune [Comprehensive British and American]

Dressing room of Teatro Massimo, Palermo, Sicily

"Rika, just as I expected, this dress can't be more suitable for you." Sofia Coppola, who is very talented in fashion, has a film camera hanging around her neck.

She was assisting Erica with the dresser, putting on an ancient gold gown sparkling with fine pearls.

Sophia was full of interest, and raised the camera to Erica who had already painted exquisite makeup, "To commemorate your first scene, I plan to be your exclusive photographer for a while."

"It's really my honor, my Miss Coppola." Erika had to maintain a straight and fixed standing posture, so that the dresser could arrange the details of the dress thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, the stylist was busy brushing her long brown hair to make it look smoother and shiny.

As for the makeup artist who just created the perfect makeup for Erica, she is applying a layer of shimmering high-gloss fine powder on her exposed collarbone.

All in all, I tried my best to make her look eye-catching, and it would be best to shine like her own luster in the camera.

And the reason why the styling team spared no effort is not without reason——

In the "Godfather 3" movie, 'Mary Corleone' will wear this gorgeous costume and was shot to death in a bloody shootout.

It may sound strange, but this is Erica's first filming scene, but it is the ending of her role as 'Mary Corleone' in the film's narrative story.

But this is a common thing in Hollywood.

In order to save resources and costs, only a very small number of films will be shot in narrative order according to the development of the plot.And this rare arrangement is undoubtedly very friendly to the actors' performances, and it can be more beneficial for them to control their emotions and create dramatic effects.

But like a Hollywood movie with a huge investment, in order to control the budget, the "money-burning" scenes are usually shot first, such as big scenes and key plots.Prevent serious overruns from filming to later stages.

"The Godfather 3" is a typical example. In the development of the plot, the narrative should start in New York, and in the second half of the plot, the related plots happened in Italy.

But compared to shooting in the United States, framing in Europe will of course result in more cost expenditures, so the crew chose to shoot related scenes in Italy first.

And in the shooting in different cities in Italy, it is naturally impossible to follow the narrative development sequence in the second half of the movie.

For example, at this moment, after the crew of "The Godfather 3" arrived in Sicily, the first thing to start is the most critical highlight of the whole movie, which can almost be regarded as the end - in the grand and magnificent third largest opera house in Europe, Massi In Mo Theater, a bloody massacre is about to start.

Sophia couldn't help feeling worried for Erica, "This is just the first act of you and the two male actors, but it's such a critical link, which simply increases the difficulty of your performance by an unknown number of times."

"So I need to work on making myself better," Erica confessed to Sofia.

At the same time, she put on a pair of beautiful flat shoes. Even though she was originally tall, she was about the same height as Pacino, who played the role of Godfather Michael Corleone. If she wore three-inch high heels, it would make the picture a little out of balance.

Without the imposing blessing of high heels, Erica made her body think of 'up', which made her back straighter, looking elegant and noble, full of momentum.

"Click——" Sophia's camera shutter sounded, and Erica was blinking confidently at her, "I don't allow myself to disappoint my photographer, I have to let her exceed expectations."

The retro dress made her look full of the charm of Hollywood's golden age, but there was a bit of androgynous heroism in her expression, so Sophia had to press the shutter again, "Click——"

******

"Clack—" In the banquet hall of the Massimo Theater, the clerk forcefully closed the black wooden slate.With the short sound of a hard object hitting, Erika's first shooting finally started.

As the camera rolls, the young girl in an ancient gold glittering gown is surrounded by a number of older men in black suits in the center.As the godfather's most beloved daughter, Mary Corleone was always sought after and flattered by countless people.

Erica was in the dimly lit ancient banquet hall, and in the dark background, it seemed to be the only bright color.

She smiled briskly and chatted with the men beside her, her whole body seemed to be given a soft light, the beauty even seemed a little unreal.But at the same time, she looks calm and introverted enough, full of the elegant temperament of the "Godfather" series of movies.

But the point of this scene is Mary's helpless breakup with her cousin Vincent.

Due to the numerous bloody threats facing the family, Vincent officially inherited the mafia affairs from the godfather Mike Corleone and became the new godfather.

During the handover of the old and new godfathers, the two deep-rooted men finally reached a consensus that in order to protect Mary's safety, Vincent must leave her.

Even never meet her in the future, because 'the enemy will always hurt your most beloved person', if Mary marries Vincent, she will face countless terrible dangers in her life.

Andy Garcia, the actor who plays Vincent Corleone, has a typical Italian handsome appearance, and is very similar to the actor who played the first generation godfather Vito Corleone in his youth in the previous work.And when he played Vincent, he interpreted the shrewd and ambitious city man, and was close enough to the second-generation godfather Mike Corleone.

Erica likes this coincidence very much, because it is beneficial to her character construction. She is not going to just follow the script and say the basic dialogue in the script. She tries to make Mary Corleone's character logic more perfect——

For example, a considerable part of her falling in love with her cousin Vincent so easily is due to the projection of the Electra complex, and it is easier to develop a good impression of men with similar characteristics to her father.

Mary Corleone was brought up by her mother since she was a child, and she lacked fatherly love in her growth experience. At the same time, she respected her father very much, which undoubtedly made her "Electra complex" more profound.

Therefore, her crush on Vincent came so quickly.

Francis Coppola was in charge of the guide tube. In the camera, when Vincent Corleone appeared, the young girl surrounded by several men in black suddenly became brighter.

That kind of change was almost impossible to ignore. She looked at her cousin Vincent so intently, filled with love, infatuation, admiration and trust.Then, she slightly raised the hem of her skirt, and walked away from the crowd gracefully but briskly.

Throughout the whole process, she tried her best to restrain the smile on her face, like a young man fascinated by love for the first time, which made the onlookers smile knowingly.

And Vincent Corleone obviously couldn't smile at this, he approached the girl, and the two were alone at the side of the banquet, but he could only call her, "cousin."

With wet eyes, Vincent continued, "You can't participate in what I'm going to do. Don't hate your father, it's my idea. After tonight, we won't meet again."

With his voice, all the joyful smile on Erica's face disappeared completely, as if she was suddenly forced to wake up in a dream, in a state of confusion.

Her face was pale, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly, but she did not cry. Although her eyes were flushed, she was still trying to restrain herself, but her expression made everyone feel sad.

She seemed to be trying her best to hold back the choking in her throat, trying to change Wen Sen's decision, but she could only say, "I love you forever."

"Love others." Vincent Corleone's eyes were full of tears, but he resolutely dropped the words, walked sideways with Mary, and walked away.

Coppola moved the camera and aimed at Pacino, played by Michael Corleone, on the other side of the banquet hall.

He was watching the sad girl for a long time, and Mike always insisted that Vincent should not fall in love with Mary, and now, he finally got his wish.

After picking up Pacino's stellar performance, director Coppola turns the camera on Erica again—she's looking into her father's eye, as the script calls for.

Next, she only needs to show a sad expression mixed with a little anger, and the scene will be considered excellent.

Coppola moved closer to the camera, focused on Erica's face in close-up, and then began to judge alone in his heart——

This heartbroken expression is very precise, real and delicate, full of emotion.

The micro-expression is restrained and concise, and it shows a trace of resentment towards her father who always opposes her love with Vincent.

There is no doubt that Erica has performed well enough that Coppola is ready to shout 'good' to end the scene.

But before he made a sound, in the close-up shot, Erica's expression changed slightly again.

In those green eyes full of hot tears, resentment is being replaced by forgiveness, she is still so sad, that kind of loss and melancholy seems to be engraved into her soul, but when she looks at her father, she chooses again forgive.

She brought love and reverence back, even though her father's decision made her so sad, she still trusted him and loved him as instinctively.

Full of understanding and love for her father, she finally shed hot tears. In the close-up shot, the hot tears are reflecting the light.

Erica's performance has gone off script.

In the script, before Mary Corleone was killed by mistake, she was asking her father why she was forced to separate from Vincent.She was still bewildered and slightly resentful of her father's behavior.

In the "Godfather" series, which fully emphasizes masculinity, female characters are not only always marginalized, but are often set as ignorant and ignorant.

And the Mary Corleone portrayed by Erica, she surpassed the character reflected in the screenwriter's text, but made her behavior so realistic, exquisite in detail, and full of imagery.

She injected nuanced, bright and dazzling emotions into 'Mary Corleone', making herself the only warm color in this heavy tragedy.

So Francis Coppola had to yell at her, "Good!"

Erica's first act ended. In the theater ballroom where hundreds of crew members gathered, director Coppola praised her, "Brilliant talent, far exceeding expectations."