Hollywood Immortal Chapter 138 139: Step Up 2 Film Crew Accident, The Hidden Sa

[Chapter 139: Step Up 2 Film Crew Accident, The Hidden Saboteur]

The editing of Speed was going smoothly. The rough cut was already done, and they were now working on the fine cut. Industrial Light & Magic's special effects work was also progressing in parallel. They expected to finish in about half a month. The partially completed shots looked great, fully eting Linton's standards.

Linton had been enjoying his days lately -- busy with post-production during the day and happily playing gas with Winnie at night, feeling very content.

But apparently, soone did not want him to be too comfortable. On March 17th, he received a call from Frank. There was an accident on the Step Up 2 set.

...

"Just yesterday, a cara crane used for aerial shots suddenly broke, injuring a crew mber. Normally, accidents happen during filming; that's why productions carry insurance."

"Was the injury serious? What did the doctors say?"

"Not too serious. He broke his arm, had surgery that went well, and the insurance claim has already been processed."

"That's good. Make sure you carefully review the safety procedures moving forward. Also, do so morale work for the crew to keep their spirits up. Finish filming as soon as possible and get back to Los Angeles early."

"Boss, sothing new ca up and it's fishy. Less than half an hour after the accident, soone leaked the story to the dia. Paparazzi sward the set. Then, that evening, the dia reported that our crew was neglecting cast and crew safety with serious hazards. What's worse, this morning, a representative from the Hollywood Actors Guild actually flew out here demanding that we stop shooting for investigation and corrections."

"What? Hollywood Actors Guild? They've got too much ti on their hands if they're coming out here to cause trouble and demand a halt?" Linton thought it was utterly ridiculous.

"Exactly. That's why I said it's suspicious."

"You think this was all set up by our competitors?"

"Yes, I suspect this whole thing was orchestrated by them."

"Is the broken crane arm still there?"

"Yes."

"Tell David to secure it and not let anyone take it. Also, no one on the crew leaves the hotel. I'm heading straight to the airport. Let's see who dares to pull this stunt."

...

After hanging up, Linton asked ena to book the fastest business jet, taking Mira, Ellie, ena, Danny, and three new bodyguards direct to Baltimore.

Before leaving, he inford Levitt of the Step Up 2 crew accident and the suspicions of the line producer -- especially the unusual actions of the Hollywood Actors Guild. He asked Universal to put pressure on the Guild to prevent further interference.

Linton also checked in with Robert, handing over editing duties to assistant directors Michael Bay and Ryan. He called Winnie to tell her he might be on a business trip to Baltimore for a few days and wouldn't be able to spend evenings with her. Winnie reminded him to stay safe and ntioned she would be visiting the Montana ranch the next day. Linton felt even more satisfied with how thoughtful and wise she was.

---

Due to the ti difference, when Linton and his group arrived at the Baltimore set, it was already 5:30 p.m. Since the production was halted by the Actors Guild for investigation, everyone was downcast. Even Jennifer unusually kept her distance from Linton.

They found a conference room to et with Frank, Anne, the line producer, cinematographer, David, and others to assess the situation. The rest of the crew was hotel-bound, disheartened due to the suspension.

The shoot was almost wrapped, at this ti, to face such a setback was truly depressing, especially for those scheduled for subsequent projects.

David shared a new finding: he suspected the crane arm was tampered with. So cut sections were extrely smooth, inconsistent with natural wear or stress breaks. It looked like soone had deliberately sabotaged it. However, obeying Linton's order, David only secured the scene and hadn't revealed this to anyone.

Linton inspected the accident site and concurred with David's assessnt. A part of the crane arm was sawed through with a steel saw, weakening it to the point it couldn't bear the cara's weight during filming and eventually broke.

...

Taking the broken arm, they held a full crew eting in a large conference room, setting up a cara there. Once everyone gathered, Linton unleashed his Mind Shock ability. Instantly, everyone shuddered as if plunged into an ice cellar.

After half a minute, he withdrew the shock and activated Soul Induction: "Who tampered with this crane arm, please stand up."

David and Frank rolled their eyes, thinking, "Who'd be foolish enough to confess?"

Unexpectedly, soone did stand up. Oakland Rico, a cara assistant, nervously admitted, "It was ."

"How did you do it?"

"Last night, when everyone was gone, I quietly cut a large notch in the unseen part of the arm with a steel saw blade."

"Where's the saw?"

"Under my bed in my room, I haven't thrown it away yet."

Linton signaled David, who imdiately sent people to retrieve the saw from Oakland's room.

"Why did you do this?"

"Soone paid $200,000."

'Damn, another $200,000 bribe. Soone really wanted to take down,' Linton thought. "Who was it?"

"Eric Matt -- it's a public relations guy from Swift PR."

"Why did he ask you to do this?"

"He didn't explain, and I didn't ask. I don't know anything else."

"Did anyone else in the crew help you?"

"No, just ."

David returned with gloves holding the steel saw.

"Is this the saw?"

"Yes, that's it."

Linton withdrew his powers and told Frank to call the police and notify the Hollywood Actors Guild. Then he addressed the entire crew: "Everyone saw this. This wasn't an accident or due to poor safety. Soone deliberately sabotaged our production. Rest assured, we'll be back filming soon. The police will investigate thoroughly. eting adjourned -- get so rest and recharge; we shoot again tomorrow."

anwhile, Oakland, now clear-headed, broke down and collapsed. David dragged him to a corner of the eting room, where several bodyguards guarded him, waiting for the police.

...

After dismissing the eting, Linton instructed Danny to tell Sandy at ho to imdiately find Eric Matt by any ans necessary, uncover the mastermind, and then simply toss him into the sea as fish food.

Linton was furious this ti, issuing orders with lethal resolve. These troublemakers clearly thought they could push him around.

Regardless of the crew's chatter about the sabotage, the police and people from Hollywood Actors Guild soon arrived. Upon seeing the video footage and the saw, they acknowledged the evidence was conclusive.

The police took Oakland, the saw, and video backups, promising a swift judicial process.

The Actors Guild, after seeing the footage, sheepishly announced the crew could resu filming imdiately.

...

Before leaving, Linton used Soul Induction on the Guild mber, smiling and asked, "Who sent you?"

The mber montarily lost composure and admitted, "Vice President Haas Carsonberg."

"Did you investigate the actual situation on the set?"

"No."

"You didn't investigate but directly ordered a halt and issued correction notices?"

"It was Vice President Haas Carsonberg's order. He told us to stop the production and issue corrections regardless of the actual situation."

"And now you admit the crew doesn't need to stop or make corrections?"

"No, they don't."

"So you deliberately stirred trouble to sabotage the Step Up 2 crew, right?"

"Yes, we received orders from Vice President Haas Carsonberg to try to halt Step Up 2 production."

*****

spatreon/Sayonara816.