Chapter 807: The Most Unreliable Teen Idol Movie

"Is that your new boyfriend Loki carried off?" Standing on a platform built to resemble a ship's deck, Chris Evans jammed his hands into his pockets and stared at the green screen below as if it were a real ocean. "I hear you two are pretty close."

"Agent Barton?" Scarlett walked up from behind and stood beside him. "Love is for children. I owe him a debt."

She turned and headed back, adding, "We should get inside. It's going to get hard to breathe out here soon."

Chris Evans glanced around at the green screen below and followed her. "Is this a submarine?"

"Cut! Moving on!"

At Duke's call, the scene between Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans wrapped up.

The next day, the crew relocated back to Warner Studios in Burbank to begin shooting scenes for Thor. Compared to Black Widow and Captain America, who had heavier roles, Thor's screen time mostly consisted of group shots or combat sequences. The most frequent thing Chris Hemsworth had to do while playing Thor was stand in front of a green screen and strike poses.

Without a doubt, Thor's ultimate moves all relied on post-production CGI.

Even the shot of Thor unleashing his ultimate ability from atop the Empire State Building was filmed in front of a green screen. The set design team had built a one-to-one scale replica of the Empire State Building's spire right inside the soundstage.

Then again, standing six foot three and fully decked out in makeup and costume, Chris Hemsworth truly exuded the majestic aura of a god descending to earth when he stepped in front of the camera.

This kind of pose-heavy filming wasn't particularly difficult. In just over two days, Duke finished shooting all of Thor's solo scenes.

Right after filming wrapped up, Chris Hemsworth walked over to find Duke before even taking off his makeup.

"Do you have time this weekend, Director?"

Hearing the question, Duke thought about his schedule for the weekend and gently shook his head. "I've accepted a friend's invitation to attend a movie premiere."

However, looking at Chris Hemsworth's face reminded him of Charlize Theron, who had invited him to the premiere of Snow White and the Huntsman.

Sure enough, Chris Hemsworth said, "I was actually going to invite you to a premiere, too."

"Your new movie?" Duke turned off the director's monitor. "Snow White and the Huntsman?"

"Yeah." Chris Hemsworth nodded.

Duke gestured for the approaching Scarlett Johansson to wait a moment, then told Chris Hemsworth, "I've already accepted Charlize Theron's invitation."

Hearing this, Chris Hemsworth let out a somewhat sheepish smile and scratched his head. "How could I forget about Sally? See you this weekend, Director."

"Yeah, see you this weekend." Duke waved goodbye.

Snow White and the Huntsman had originally been slated for a Summer Season release next year. But after the film was completed in July, Universal Pictures lacked confidence in it. Afraid that the fierce competition of next year's Summer Season would drown the movie in a sea of commercial blockbusters, they deliberately moved it up to the relatively sluggish October release window.

Duke also couldn't quite figure out why someone with Charlize Theron's current status would agree to play this kind of villainous role.

In the past, despite her massive fame, Charlize Theron's actual standing in Hollywood hadn't been very high. The films she starred in simply hadn't demonstrated enough commercial box-office draw. Hollywood was ultimately a pragmatic place; even as an Oscar-winning Best Actress who maintained a certain prestige through her fashion, her position within the film industry had remained awkward.

She couldn't even be considered an A-list star back then, a fact clearly reflected by her salary and the roles she took on.

Things were different now. Charlize Theron was a bona fide Hollywood A-list superstar. While she might not define an era the way Julia Roberts did, she had become a member of the Twenty Million Club. There was absolutely no need for her to accept a role like this.

"Why take this role?"

Inside the VIP lounge at the premiere theater, Charlize Theron explained to Duke, "The reason is simple. Universal Pictures offered me a twenty-million-dollar paycheck."

Duke nodded in understanding. Charlize Theron was indeed a member of the Twenty Million Club, but she couldn't command such a high salary for every film. The industry was currently experiencing a downturn, and the box-office draw of star power was waning. There were very few productions in Hollywood that could afford to pay out twenty million dollars.

Charlize Theron looked at Duke, offering a gentle reminder. "I think you've overlooked the fact that I'm about to turn forty. How many forty-year-old women can still land the female lead in a commercial blockbuster? I have to start thinking about my future, too."

"Sally..." Duke let out a soft sigh. "If you ever need my help with anything, just ask."

Unlike Hollywood's A-list male actors, who only grew more sought-after with age, female stars couldn't escape the laws of nature. Not even Julia Roberts, the icon of an entire era, was an exception.

Looking at the reality of Hollywood, Charlize Theron was dazzling right now, but once she crossed forty, her situation would inevitably become precarious. Whether any studio would still be willing to offer her such a high salary was genuinely hard to say.

If a female star wanted to maintain a glamorous public image, she could never do without the financial backing to support it.

While Duke was talking with Charlize Theron, the film's lead actress, Kristen Stewart, walked into the VIP lounge. She glanced their way, making absolutely no effort to hide the sharpness in her gaze.

The corners of Charlize Theron's lips curled into a sneer. She turned to Duke. "Darling, you're overlooking one more thing. Who says Snow White is guaranteed to be the leading lady of this movie?"

Looking at Little K over there, and then back at Charlize Theron, Duke shook his head slightly. Perhaps with another decade of Hollywood experience under her belt, Kristen Stewart might be able to hold her own against Charlize Theron. But right now, whether in terms of image or acting chops, what did she possess that could even compare?

Even without seeing the film, Duke could imagine that Kristen Stewart's Snow White would inevitably look like a joke next to Charlize Theron's Queen.

Duke had also heard Nancy Josephson mention that Charlize Theron was the true top star of this production. She had laid out a series of demands for Universal Pictures, one of which involved using underhanded tactics to push out the original lead actress, Lily Collins. Although Lily Collins's image and reputation weren't great either, her replacement, Kristen Stewart, undoubtedly offered even less of an advantage.

The film's director, Rupert Sanders, was making his feature debut and had absolutely no leverage to push back against Charlize Theron. Her actions were simply a reflection of her status as an A-list Hollywood star.

Of course, Universal Pictures had their own reservations about Lily Collins. Rumors about her plastic surgery had been swirling, which didn't bode well for the film. Plus, industry insiders knew full well that her looks were indeed an artificial product.

Shortly after, Duke and Charlize walked into the screening room together to watch this repackaged, dark take on Snow White.

Only a little over halfway through the movie, Duke found his earlier suspicions confirmed. To say Kristen Stewart's scenes opposite Charlize Theron were horrific to watch would be an understatement.

He even began to suspect that the production crew must hold a grudge against Kristen Stewart. Why else would they be braindead enough to cast her as Snow White, while having Charlize play the queen who was supposedly jealous of her beauty?

Watching this bizarre cinematic disaster, Duke was left utterly speechless. It was the most unreliable teen idol movie he had ever seen.

Just how divine was the beauty of this loser Snow White? In a word, even Godzilla would lose his appetite looking at her! She was a complete and utter mess!

Having Snow White crawl through dog holes and soak in muddy water was somewhat justifiable—it was supposed to be an anti-fairy tale, after all. But during a rare, blooming-springtime shot, the camera zoomed in for a close-up, and her skin looked awful. Was the director trying to seduce Kristen Stewart? As if to say: if you don't cheat with me, I won't give you a soft-focus beauty filter!

It was especially bad when Snow White kicked the bucket from gluttony and lay on the slab. The director could have just given a standard shot and been done with it, but instead, he insisted on capturing an ultra-close-up of her darkened brow and flared nostrils. It was downright lethal to look at.

The fact that Chris Hemsworth could actually lean in and kiss her proved he was a true man—living up to the spirit of "my brother abuses me a thousand times, yet I treat him like my first love!"

From the producers to the director to the cast, they were all absolutely bizarre.

That producer truly deserved to be called a mad genius. Aside from the three leads, who knew where he had scrounged up such a top-tier collection of weirdos to populate this film.

Snow White was ugly even as a child! The queen's bowl-cut brother was hideous! The prince with his flat, concave pie-face was awful! Even the extras were a bunch of dirty, snaggle-toothed wrecks!

When he saw a group of older hags with braided Nuwa hairstyles claiming they had slashed their own faces because they feared the queen's jealousy, he just wanted to scream: 'Have some fucking shame! Do you really need to be that confident? You were perfectly safe! Really!'

In his wild imagination, he figured Charlize must have been throwing her head back and cackling internally every single day on set: 'A bunch of ugly, short, broke losers actually dare to compare their looks to mine! Just wait until the movie comes out and you all get roasted to death!'

Then there was the issue of presence. Both Charlize and Kristen had coronation scenes, but how could Kristen's aura ever suppress that of Charlize, a red-carpet queen and Oscar-winning Best Actress?

Who was the real protagonist? That was a genuine question.

This movie practically magnified every single one of Kristen Stewart's flaws to infinity.

Duke also guessed at another possibility. Given Charlize Theron's current status in Hollywood, bullying this production crew would be an absolute breeze. Without expending much effort, she could easily make Little K's life miserable on set. Teaming up with the producers to mess with Little K during filming wouldn't have been difficult at all.

After watching Snow White and the Huntsman, how many people would actually believe Charlize Theron was just there to serve as a foil for Little K, the supposed leading lady? It was completely the other way around.