Chapter 158: Game

Heavy rain poured from the sky. Eight American soldiers clutched their weapons, carefully taking cover behind a ruined house. The captain among them edged toward the courtyard gate, peering through a crack as if observing enemy activity outside.

Just behind them, three cameramen in custom rain ponchos held handheld cameras, capturing each soldier's authentic reactions from pre-selected angles.

Just outside the downpour, Duke stood in his own poncho on a purpose-built observation deck, overlooking the entire battlefield.

The artificial rain beating continuously against his face didn't feel cold; instead, a hint of warmth lingered on his skin. Although late February in Ireland was past the most frigid part of the year, the temperature remained quite low. Naturally, the crew couldn't use freezing water for the shoot, opting to create artificial rain at a comfortable temperature instead.

Rain always brought trouble. Including rehearsals, this was their seventh take of the scene in three days. Fortunately, Duke could see that the actors were hitting their stride, and no issues had cropped up today so far.

Perhaps it was because the shoot was nearing its end. As soon as this scene was finished, the crew could leave gloomy, cold Ireland and head to France to bask in the warm sunshine.

Another squad rushed past the gate. The captain, played by Tom Hanks, shouted, "Thunder!"

An immediate response rang out from the opposite side: "Flash!"

From Duke's angle, Tom Hanks was seamlessly assigning tasks, as composed as a true, battle-hardened officer. His unit split into two teams—one providing cover, the other pushing forward—and quickly linked up with another US squad.

Meanwhile, German rang out from the opposite side...

John Schwartzman followed with a handheld camera. Per Duke's instructions, his lens remained firmly locked onto Tom Hanks.

When Tom Hanks shifted positions, John Schwartzman retreated on cue, ducking into a reserved camera spot nearby. His assistant, Ben Watts, temporarily took over as the primary operator, capturing Demirfo as Caparzo. The soldier complained as he picked through the rotten fruit on the ground, trying to find a few edible pieces...

Gunfire, shouts, and agonizing wails erupted once again. Despite his poncho, John Schwartzman was already thoroughly soaked. Now, tucked away in a spot untouched by the warm artificial rain, he felt waves of biting cold.

"Cut!"

From the high ground of the battlefield, the familiar command to halt finally echoed out. "Let's stop here for now!"

The tense American soldiers instantly broke formation, scattering toward the prepared shower stalls. In weather like this, the slightest carelessness would immediately invite a cold or fever.

Returning to the monitor tent, Duke took a towel from Sofia, quickly wiped his face, and sat down to review the freshly shot footage. The clips, captured from various angles, were a bit fragmented, but to Duke's eyes, they perfectly matched the images in his head. Overall, he was quite satisfied.

This was the best sequence they had shot in three days.

"Notify the crew," Duke told an assistant director, turning his head. "Move to Set 14 as quickly as possible!"

Set 14 was already built. The crew shifted over and began their final preparations, giving the actors battered by the rain a little time to rest.

Once the actors changed costumes and entered the set, Duke gathered both the American and German troops for a final briefing.

"This is a sudden encounter!" Duke stood next to a wall designed to topple with a single push. "You're coming face-to-face with the enemy under completely unexpected circumstances. I want you to be hysterical. Scream with everything you've got!"

Everyone nodded. Duke specifically stopped John Spencer, who was playing Upham.

"John, that doesn't include you!" he instructed. "Remember, even in this situation, you still refuse to pick up a weapon. I'll be giving you a close-up! Remember to shout in German."

"I understand."

The actor looked scrawny and young, but in reality, he was already in his thirties. Having struggled in Hollywood for many years, he was a classic example of an actor with solid skills but terrible luck.

Of course, there were far too many actors like that in Hollywood.

Ten minutes later, all departments were ready, and Duke had the assistant director call for action.

A squad of American soldiers walked through the ruins of a street. The commanding officer, seeing the area seemed secure, sat on the rubble to empty the sand and gravel from his shoes. Unexpectedly, he bumped a wooden pillar askew. The pillar crashed into the wall behind him, and the battle-scarred wall could hold up no longer. It collapsed with a deafening crash, drawing many eyes toward the commotion.

Simultaneously, the people inside looked outward. The German and American troops found themselves face-to-face at point-blank range. Both sides raised their weapons at the same time, screaming hoarsely for the other to drop theirs.

Ben Watts immediately moved to a sixty-degree angle, capturing a side profile shot of Upham clutching his weapon and shouting in German.

Gunfire erupted abruptly. The German soldiers in the ruins fell one after another, blood spilling like rain...

Once the American soldiers entered the ruins and finished their sweep, Duke yelled cut. He could clearly hear the exhales of relief from both sides. Although the crew still had to travel to France to shoot on location at the Allied cemetery, they could finally leave the gloomy cold of Ireland.

Besides, there were only a handful of shots left in France. Once those were finished, they could return to California and enjoy the bright sunshine and warm air once again.

"Sofia," Duke called Sofia Coppola over as the crew packed up the set, asking, "Have Hudson Young and the other extras arrived?"

Hudson Young was the actor the crew had cast to play the elderly James Ryan.

"They arrived in Caen City, France, the day before yesterday." Sofia checked the production log. "We have dedicated staff receiving them over there."

"What about the cemetery?" Duke asked.

"It's already been sorted out!"

They had barely exchanged another word when Tom Hanks, having changed his clothes, walked over. "Time to say goodbye, Duke."

Before Duke could react, Hanks stepped forward, gave him a hug, and smiled. "It's been a great collaboration. I hope we have the chance to work together again."

"Yes, I really hope so too."

Duke wasn't just being polite. Extremely skilled actors often made a director's job much easier, especially someone of Tom Hanks's caliber. He shook Hanks's hand again, gave him a thumbs-up, and said, "Tom, keep it up! Go get that Oscar for Best Actor!"

"I hope you're right!"

After Tom Hanks left, the other actors came over one after another to bid Duke farewell. These people knew very well that building a good relationship with a director like Duke had zero downsides.

"Interested in coming to a party I'm throwing once we're back in Los Angeles?"

Leonardo DiCaprio, who came over last, exchanged a few pleasantries before suddenly lowering his voice to tell Duke, "Blondes! Long legs! Models!"

"Leo..." Duke smiled and patted him heavily on the shoulder. "Looks like we can find a common language in that department."

Ignoring Sofia's eye roll, the two burst out laughing. When it came to aesthetics in that area, they definitely shared common ground.

That afternoon, the majority of the actors left the set, with most catching flights back to their respective cities. By the next day, Duke left an executive producer and a few assistants behind to handle the wrap-up, while he led a large contingent straight to Caen City in the greater Normandy region of France.

The crew's destination was the Normandy US Military Cemetery, situated on the high ground above Omaha Beach. The cemetery spanned approximately seventy hectares and overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. Across the vast ocean lay the homeland of these "fallen soldiers"—America.

It was a meticulously manicured expanse of green lawn, surrounded by pines, shrubs, and roses. Pure white marble crosses lined the grass in intersecting rows, holy and majestic, stretching as far as the eye could see. On this land where nearly ten thousand souls rested in peace, the architectural layout of the cemetery was divided into left and right halves, with zones designated by letters. On the western edge of the cemetery stood two female statues; perched on their sword hilts were a bald eagle and a Gallic rooster, symbolizing America and France.

In 1956, this cemetery was officially opened to the public. In 1979, the French government granted it to the United States as permanent territory, turning the Normandy US Military Cemetery into a remarkable "country within a country."

Every cross monument in the cemetery was engraved with the soldier's name, rank, unit number, hometown, and date of death. According to the materials Duke had gathered, the real-life inspiration for the rescued soldier from the 101st Airborne Division was reportedly buried here. However, cemetery management didn't deliberately highlight the location of his tombstone, because everyone who sacrificed their life here received equal treatment.

Because they had coordinated with management well in advance, a section of the cemetery was temporarily sealed off for Duke and his crew upon their arrival to serve as an exterior location. Though they only had half a day, it was more than enough for Duke.

Shooting here posed almost no difficulty. After a few test takes to warm up, most of the shots were nailed in just a few tries, and filming quickly progressed to the very final sequence.

The elderly James Ryan stood before Captain John Miller's grave, looking at his wife.

"Tell me my life hasn't been a waste!"

"What?" his wife asked in confusion.

"Tell me I'm a good man!"

Realizing what he meant, his wife looked at the pure white cross and said with utter sincerity, "You are, James!"

She turned and walked back. James Ryan held his head high, thrust out his chest, stood at attention, and gave a crisp, standard American military salute to the pure white cross!

The camera panned around a full one hundred and eighty degrees. Duke pulled off the headset he used to monitor the live audio and shouted, "We got it!"

Everyone let out a long sigh of relief, but there were no excited shouts or celebratory applause. By unspoken agreement, everyone maintained their silence—it was the most basic etiquette while standing in a cemetery.

Without lingering, the crew packed up their equipment at top speed and vacated the American military cemetery. Duke and the others boarded a flight back to Los Angeles that very night. After sealing duplicate copies of the film in separate bank vaults, they temporarily entered vacation mode.