"Cut! Nat, put more emotion into it! You've just brought hope back to the planet Naboo. You're the queen—you've got to lead your people to fight back! Show them your faith—your conviction!"
The director, Dunn, jumped up from his chair, glaring at the exhausted actors in the performance area. He grabbed the mic and yelled, clearly not happy.
Thank goodness Natalie didn't have to wear that heavy queen costume for this scene, or she'd have collapsed ages ago.
"Let me give it another shot, director!"
Natalie shook her head to psych herself up, grabbed a water bottle from her assistant, and chugged it down like there was no such thing as "ladylike."
"Alright, let's move fast—take two! Ready… Action!"
As the crew got back into position, Dunn barked the order, and the actors in the performance area started their dramatic back-and-forth again. Queen Amidala was stressing hard over the Senate's issues.
Over in the actors' lounge nearby, Ben Affleck sat watching Natalie redo the scene after flubbing it a dozen times. He couldn't help but feel bad for her. Leaning over to Liam Neeson, he whispered, "Man, he's tough!"
Everyone on set knew Dunn Walker was chasing after Natalie Portman. But you'd never guess it from how he worked—no special treatment here. If anything, he was harder on her than anyone else!
Liam Neeson just shook his head. "That's because Dunn's got high hopes for her."
Ben blinked, nodding like he totally got it.
Natalie was young, gorgeous, talented, Jewish, and had Dunn Walker in her corner. She was basically set to stroll down Hollywood's golden path!
"Hey, did you hear? Because of Dunn, the bigwigs at Twentieth Century Fox are at each other's throats!" Ben whispered, gossip-mode activated.
Liam had caught wind of the rumors floating around the crew but just shrugged. "We're actors, man. Our job's to act and back the director, right?"
Ben grinned. "Oh, for sure! Actors gotta stick with the director."
It wasn't like they were best buds with Dunn or anything—pure business vibes. Dunn's vision meant cutting out the cheesy "humor," "cute antics," and "goofy gags" that pandered to kids. He also slashed a ton of pointless early scenes and pumped up the final battle with more time and epic explosions.
That meant more screen time for Liam Neeson and Ben Affleck as Jedi knights, plus some slick action scenes choreographed by a team from Hong Kong. Their performances were about to look *way* cooler—no doubt about it.
But here's the catch: that messed with the studio's bottom line, especially Twentieth Century Fox, the investors and distributors. Less "funny" stuff meant fewer kids watching, which meant less toy money. And piling on fights and explosions? That could bump the rating to PG-13 instead of PG, shrinking the audience even more.
When the Star Wars project kicked off, Bill Mechanic was swamped with *Titanic*, so prez Tom Rothman took the reins. But after *Titanic* wrapped, Bill pushed *My Big Fat Greek Wedding*—a movie everyone doubted—into a global hit, raking in over $1.2 billion. Talk about a comeback!
Bill seized the moment and wasn't about to let Tom Rothman keep flexing. When Tom started meddling in Dunn's shoot, Bill swooped in, sparked a huge showdown at Fox, and yanked Tom's control over the project with a total power move.
With Bill Mechanic backing him from the outside and George Lucas plus the cast supporting him on set, Dunn was in his element—filming went smooth as butter.
But that also meant Dunn and Tom Rothman were done for good. Dunn wasn't some rookie anymore; he didn't want to burn bridges with a big shot like Tom. Still, with Tom pushing him around, Dunn wasn't about to play nice either.
Back in the performance area, Natalie Portman was still giving it her all. Suddenly—bam!—every light in the studio went out!
"What's going on? Lights!" Dunn shot up, hearing the crew start to freak out. "Everyone, stay where you are—don't move!" he shouted.
Then the lighting guy yelled, "Director, power's out!"
"No way! We've got generators and backup!"
George Lucas roared, furious. A screw-up like this during filming? It was like a slap to his producer face.
"Chill, everyone! Listen to me—lighting team, fix it now!" Dunn cut off George, taking charge. Then he added, "Anyone got candles?"
George's face turned green—well, it would've if anyone could see in the dark. Candles? On a Star Wars set? Who's bringing candles in this day and age?
But he didn't argue—Dunn's authority as director mattered, and George figured the kid could learn from a hiccup like this.
Then, out of nowhere, the props team shouted, "Director, we've got candles!"
"Sweet, light 'em up!"
Dunn's voice calmed the chaos. The candlelight was dim, but it beat total darkness. Soon, a tiny flame flickered in the studio. Then another… and another… until dozens of little flames danced around, turning the pitch-black space into something like a starry night sky. Each flickering candle was like a twinkling star in the cosmos.
George Lucas's eyes widened. Something felt off, but the vibe in the studio got to him. This… this really was a Star Wars set.
The actors in the performance area followed Dunn's orders, standing still. Natalie was a little scared of the dark, but she bit her lip and toughed it out. As those flames lit up around her, it was like a bunch of glowing fireflies popped up—cute and dazzling.
Then those "fireflies" started moving, like they had a plan. They shifted positions, forming a big circle around her. After that, a dozen more broke off from the big circle, swirling closer into a smaller one.
And that smaller circle? It was a heart shape.
Today was a special day for Natalie, though she'd kept it hush-hush because of work. But this scene? Her sharp mind clicked it together fast.
This wasn't a random blackout. This wasn't some fluke. This was planned—thoughtful and perfect.
Her heart raced like a little deer bouncing around inside her chest. She never imagined someone would figure out her secret and pull off something this sweet.
At seventeen, the surprise and joy hit her so hard she felt like she could burst.
She glanced toward the director's area. Sure enough, a bright red candle lit up Dunn's handsome, smiling face as he walked toward her, step by step.
June 9, 1998. A day she'd never forget.
belamy20