This is the second antagonist, Willie Lopez, who kills Sam. He accidentally dies on the street after being scared by Sam’s ghost and fleeing the Odeon Mead apartment. Eric didn’t bother finding the original actor for this minor role and instead cast a Latin actor in his thirties named Phillip Reed, chosen by the casting director.
The scene where Willie is hit by a truck is also quite dangerous, so even though Phillip Reed is just a minor character, extra precautions were taken to ensure his safety. If he were to get injured, the production team would have had to find a replacement at the last minute.
“Stan, are you ready?” Eric approached and asked.
“Of course, I guarantee there won’t be any problems. Let’s get ready to shoot,” Stan Winston made a prepared gesture. Eric went back behind the monitor and surveyed the surroundings again, making sure everything was safe before calling for action.
A red car and a truck approached each other, and in the shot, Willie played by Phillip Reed looked terrified but forgot to dodge. In another monitor shot, the two vehicles collided with a bang.
“Good, one take. Special effects team, get ready. Hey, you two, go help Mr. Reed rest on the side,” Eric sighed in relief, pleased that nothing went wrong.
Meanwhile, Phillip Reed, who was standing next to the two colliding cars, was already scared and had to be helped down by two staff members. Although the special effects team had repeatedly assured everyone that there would be no problems and that Reed’s position was not dangerous at all, it was natural to feel frightened while watching the two cars collide. However, this frontal shot couldn’t be filmed with a stunt double.
After a simple preparation, a special effects performer, who was dressed exactly like Phillip Reed, walked out and stood in the gap between the two cars, suspended by wires, ready to film the shot of Willie being hit by the truck.
This shot was also quite difficult. To avoid revealing the trick, the performer had to land face down after flying through the air, hence the protective gear on his face.
Although experienced special effects personnel from Stan Winston’s studio were in charge of the stunt, it still took 78 attempts to get the shot right. The performer endured 78 consecutive falls, as accurately landing face-first isn’t an easy feat.
After completing these two shots, the rest of the shooting went smoothly, including the scene where Willie’s soul is dragged away by the Grim Reaper, which actually just involved a few extras dressed in blue bodysuits dragging screaming Willie to the corner, and in post-production these people would be processed with computer effects to create the desired Grim Reaper image.
Although these shots may sound simple, the shooting took until after midnight. After the crew finished for the day, Eric returned to the hotel where the crew was staying, and it was already past 12:30 a.m.
“Eric, I had the kitchen prepare some supper,” Joanna Pacuła, who had just finished taking a shower and was bored watching TV in the living room, stood up and said.
Eric kissed the actress on the cheek and said, “I told you, if we finish too late, you should rest first.”
The actress took the towel from Eric’s hand and carefully wiped his wet hair, saying, “It’s okay. Didn’t you ask me to be your personal assistant? Of course, I want to do this job well.”
Eric smirked and hugged the actress’s waist. “So obedient, are you willing to do anything I ask you to do?”
Joanna Pacuła struggled a bit but didn’t break free from the man’s embrace. She quickly softened, but didn’t answer Eric’s question. She just put the towel aside and complained, “It’s been a busy day. Let’s finish supper quickly, and anyway, we have plenty of time in the future.”
“Then you can stay here tonight. I want to hold you and sleep,” Eric sniffed the actress’s long hair and whispered.
“Okay, okay. Hey, stop touching me. The supper will get cold soon. Let’s eat,” Joanna Pacuła said.
After being intimate for a while, Eric walked to the dining table, ate supper, and chatted with the actress from time to time, who was sitting on the sofa looking at him.
After two weeks of filming the scenes related to the special effects of “Ghost,” and after careful review and confirmation, Eric handed the sample to Stan Winston and others to do post-production in Los Angeles.
Because the special effects used in “Ghost” were relatively simple, and there weren’t too many special effects shots, many shots could even be completed with the most basic film overlapping techniques.
Therefore, even if Eric had high requirements for some of the effects and the post-processing cost, it would not exceed one month, and at most it would be completed by the end of May. At that time, with Eric’s filming speed, the entire film would also be close to completion.
After the completion of the special effects part, the time entered May, and gradually people began to visit the set. To Eric’s surprise, the first visitors were the Trump father and daughter, Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump.
It was noon, and because they were shooting several outdoor scenes of Sam taking Audrey to the bank to withdraw money, the crew closed a not-too-busy street in Manhattan.
“Eric, I’m really sorry that I couldn’t help you with that matter earlier,” Donald Trump’s first words to Eric were an apology.
Eric smiled. Donald Trump couldn’t have helped with that matter: “It’s okay, Donald. By the way, how’s things on your end?”
Upon hearing this question, Donald Trump smiled: “It’s okay. We managed to get through it thanks to your reminder. After spending some energy, the bank had to agree to continue loaning me the money. Now, the resort has been fully built, and part of it has already started to be used. At least I won’t go bankrupt again.”
After Donald Trump finished speaking, he magically pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to Eric: “This is the membership card for my resort. Of course, this is the highest level. If you have time, you can go to Atlantic City and take a look.”
Eric smiled and took the membership card. He remembered that Atlantic City should be in New Jersey, and he had never been there before. Recently, he happened to see news about Michael Jackson attending the opening of the Trump resort on entertainment news.
“If I have time, I will go take a look,” Eric said, looking at the little girl who was circling around curiously with a stuffed toy in her arms. “Inny, why don’t you say hello to me when you see me? You seem unhappy. Did someone bully you?”