Although the scenes shot in the desert went smoothly, they encountered problems while filming at the police station.
"The handcuffs hurt too much. There's no way to make it look like someone is being strangled."
This was the feedback Ethan received from both the props team and the actors.
"That's true." Ethan tested it himself and found that applying force was difficult. The more pressure he exerted, the more the cuffs dug into his own wrists.
Moreover, they had to depict the character's struggle and the splattering of blood, making the scene even harder to execute.
So Ethan suggested, "How about fixing the handcuffs around the neck instead?"
In fact, the actor playing the police officer already had a prosthetic skin piece attached under his chin.
Inside, there was a concealed blood device designed to create the effect of blood spurting out.
"Let's try it." The props team nodded and began experimenting. Soon, they returned with a newly designed piece.
Now, the chain of the handcuffs was completely embedded in the leather, and an additional layer of fake skin was added inside the cuffs. When Javier Bardem put his hands in and pulled back, the fake skin would immediately turn red, simulating the reaction of human flesh being strangled.
"Perfect. We'll use this."
After Ethan reviewed the effect, he immediately started filming.
Javier Bardem lay behind the police officer, pulling the handcuffs as tightly as he could, gradually strangling him.
As the officer struggled, the chain dug into his skin, and blood gushed out in an arc.
"Cut!" Ethan was very satisfied with the result. The scene was a complete success.
While Javier Bardem rested between takes, Josh Brolin's performance also stood out.
Although his character didn't have the same overwhelming sense of menace, his challenge lay in portraying his identity.
In the story, he was a Texan, which meant all his mannerisms had to reflect Texas culture.
Finding the right actor in Hollywood wasn't easy, as most actors tended to appear too polished and refined.
But Josh Brolin fit the role perfectly. With his beard grown out, a cowboy hat on his head, and a dust-covered shirt whose original color was indistinguishable, he looked like he had walked straight out of Texas.
That raw, untamed aura—it was incredibly vivid.
As a result, his scenes progressed quickly.
In just one week, they had already completed one-fifth of the film.
If everything went smoothly, No Country for Old Men could wrap within two months.
But unexpected situations always arose during filming.
While shooting a horseback scene, veteran actor Tommy Lee Jones accidentally strained his back.
He was a well-known Hollywood actor. The Men in Black series wasn't just famous—it was a household name.
Before No Country for Old Men, he had won Best Actor at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
And with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor back in '93, his acting skills were beyond question.
However, as he aged, his body inevitably became less flexible.
At sixty years old, he already looked older than his peers.
Since he had to be hospitalized, Ethan had no choice but to rearrange the shooting schedule for the next day. But since the props and set teams needed time to prepare, they ended up with an unexpected day off.
Ethan planned to rest at the motel.
But early in the morning, he received an unexpected phone call.
"Ethan! I came to see you! Where are you?"
"Taylor, what are you talking about?" Ethan pushed open the window and looked out at the vast desert, utterly confused.
"I said my brother drove me to Texas!"
"WTF!" Ethan cursed. "Are you guys insane? This place isn't safe at all!"
"It's fine! You're here, aren't you? Anyway, where exactly are you? I have no idea."
"You should be telling me where you are. I'll send someone to pick you up."
Ethan was worried they might run into some troublemakers and get robbed, so he quickly dispatched Tom and the security team to bring Taylor and her brother Austin back safely.
"Ethan!"
When they met at the motel, Taylor immediately ran over, excited.
"You guys are really bold." Ethan sighed helplessly at Taylor Swift.
The wildly popular country singer was wearing a light green dress and wedge sandals with lace-up straps. She looked fresh and charming, completely out of place against the dry, yellow landscape.
"It's fine, Ethan. My brother has a gun, too." Taylor walked up to him with a cheeky smile and took his hand. "So, can you please not be mad at us?"
"Fine. But you have to leave tomorrow, understand?"
Ethan led them into the restaurant and, over a drink, learned about their situation.
It turned out Taylor was currently touring in Texas. Her brother Austin was driving for her, and with the music festival ending today but their next stop scheduled for the day after, they had a couple of free days.
"But who told you I was here?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow at her.
Taylor pouted. "I figured it out myself. Your movie is set in the desert, so obviously you'd be filming here."
"Come on, Taylor. That's not a very convincing excuse. Who was it?"
"…Fine." Seeing that Ethan wouldn't let it go, she finally admitted, "It was Carl."
"I see." Ethan nodded.
His expression remained calm, without his usual smile. Seeing this, Taylor suddenly felt a little nervous.
She quickly tried to explain, "Ethan, don't blame Carl. It's not his fault—I tricked him into telling me."
"Maybe. But if a little girl could get it out of him so easily, he's definitely been too careless."
Ethan smiled faintly.
Taylor instantly felt like Carl's fate had just taken a dramatic turn for the worse because of her.
After Taylor and Austin settled in, Taylor insisted on going shooting.
Unable to refuse, Ethan took her, Tom, two security personnel, and Austin out into the desert.
The place was completely barren, with nothing but endless yellow sand and dried-up vegetation.
Tom set up some empty bottles and cans on a rock in the distance, then opened the trunk.
Inside was an array of firearms neatly lined up.
"Wow, so many!" Taylor's eyes lit up as she took in the selection of rifles and handguns.
"For a lady, a handgun is the best fit. Like this Kahr P9."
One of the security team members pulled out a sleek, compact pistol with a silver-and-black finish.
Click. He chambered a round and raised the gun with one hand, aiming at the distant target.
Bang! The plastic bottle in the distance was pierced right through.
"Wow!" Taylor exclaimed in amazement, eagerly taking the pistol and playing with it fondly.
"Don't point the muzzle at people. Keep both hands naturally perpendicular to the ground," the security officer instructed. After a brief lesson, she stepped forward to try it herself.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Taylor fired three shots, but only one hit the rock.
"This is really not easy!" It was her first time handling a gun, and she found it extremely thrilling—something she could never do at home.
Although her father owned guns, he kept them well hidden.
Seeing this, Austin felt an itch in his hands as well. To differentiate himself from his sister, he deliberately picked up an AR-15.
"Cheap, accurate, and high bullet velocity," the security officer explained while guiding him through a few shots.
Ethan didn't participate. He just leaned against the side and lit a cigar. By the time he finished smoking, Taylor had calmed down from her excitement and ran up to him.
"Ethan, why don't you give it a try? I want to see you shoot." She looked up at him with bright eyes, obviously eager to see his marksmanship.
Ethan was intrigued.
"Alright, but just shooting is boring. How about a competition instead?"
He walked over to the car and spoke to the security officer, "Paul, want to join in?"
"Can I?" Paul, the one who had introduced the guns to Taylor and Austin, hesitated for a moment, glancing at his colleagues and Tom.
"It's fine. There's no one around here," Ethan reassured him before calling over the siblings. "You two can join too. We'll compete using the same type of gun to see who's the most accurate."
"Alright, let's give it a shot," Paul chuckled, wondering if he should go easy on his boss to avoid embarrassing him.
But on second thought, as a security officer, showing anything less than top-notch skills might make Ethan question his competence. So, it was better not to hold back.
After a brief discussion, they decided to accommodate Taylor by using the Kahr P9 as their competition gun.
They stood in front of the car, using branches on the ground as the shooting line.
"You go first," Austin was the first contestant. He gripped the pistol tightly and eyed the bottle ahead.
After ten seconds of focus, he raised the gun and fired one shot after another until the magazine was empty.
The Kahr P9 held a total of eight rounds. Austin hit the bottle three times.
"Damn…" He looked at the bullet holes close to the bottle and felt frustrated, then handed the gun to Taylor.
Taylor raised the pistol slowly, carefully aiming before firing.
Her pace was slow, pausing occasionally, but because of this, she managed to hit the bottle five times.
"Whoo-hoo! I'm amazing!" She immediately ran to Ethan, eager for his praise.
"Indeed, very impressive. Hitting this well on your first try is really great."
After Ethan's compliment, Taylor beamed with pride, making Austin even more regretful.
When Paul stepped up to shoot, Ethan suddenly increased the difficulty. He had Tom place bottles in different positions. Previously, they had only been shooting at a single target, but now Paul and Ethan had to hit multiple.
"Besides accuracy, we'll also be judging speed," Ethan added a new competition rule.
Paul grinned, "No problem!"
He figured Ethan was testing him, so he decided to put on a real show.
Relaxing his stance, he stood at the shooting line. The moment Taylor called, "Start!" his eyes sharpened, and his hand shot forward.
"Bang… Bang… Bang!"
Gunshots rang out in rapid succession with minimal pauses. Every bullet struck a bottle, sending them flying.
In just ten seconds, all eight rounds were fired.
Looking at the scene, the rocks were now empty—every bottle had been hit!
"That was amazing!" Taylor gave him a thumbs-up in admiration.
"No doubt about his professionalism," Austin was also envious of such marksmanship and planned to learn from Paul later.
"Not bad. I'm in good form today," Paul said humbly before glancing at Ethan. "After all, it's part of the job."
Ethan nodded, took the pistol from Paul, and replaced the magazine.
"Your turn, Ethan!" Taylor excitedly held the stopwatch, and when he was ready, she decisively pressed the button.
"Go!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Eight consecutive gunshots erupted with almost no delay between them.
Ethan's hands were exceptionally steady, as if made of iron.
He wasn't affected by the recoil at all, emptying the magazine in just eight seconds.
But what truly shocked everyone wasn't the speed—it was the fact that all the bottles were gone.
Ethan had hit every single target!
This was beyond Taylor's expectations. She let out an excited cheer and hugged Ethan, "Ethan, you won! You're incredible!"
Austin's eyes widened. He realized that learning from Ethan might be the better choice.
But the most stunned person was Paul.
His face was full of disbelief as he looked at Ethan, "Your aim is unreal, Ethan. Have you been professionally trained?"
Ethan shrugged, "I just had Tom teach me."
Tom, standing nearby, smirked.
Although he had given Ethan some shooting lessons, the results had little to do with him.
He had to admit, Ethan was a born sharpshooter.
His vision and speed were both top-tier.
If Tom had to go against Ethan in a pure shooting contest, Ethan would likely win.
After the competition, Paul privately approached Tom. When he learned that Ethan had only been training for six months, he was even more astonished.
That night, they set up a barbecue in the desert.
They bought various meats and vegetables from the supermarket, parked the two cars in a semi-circle, lit a small bonfire, and placed a grill over it, making the setup look quite proper.
Ethan sat by the car, with Taylor next to him.
They ate and chatted.
Well, mostly Taylor talked while Ethan listened.
"My new album already has two demo songs finished, but I think they can be improved. This time, the songs are more mature than my first album, and I'm sure the sales will surpass it."
"During my Florida tour, so many guys confessed to me, but I think they're too childish. I don't like them at all."
"The boys at school are the same. They may be physically strong, but they seem simple-minded."
"Good thing I dropped out. I prefer singing over studying."
"Ethan, you seem really busy lately. You have so many movies to shoot—don't you get tired?"
Ethan replied, "Not really. I love filmmaking, just like you love music."
"Yeah, and you know, besides music, I also like you."
....
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