Chapter 101 Arrival in Poland

  After staying in London for a few days, Ryan had originally planned to accompany Natalie on a tour, but with the large number of reporters gathering at the entrance of the villa every day, going out would mean being harassed by them.

  The two stayed in the villa, studying their roles for Schindler's List. Natalie played one of the surviving girls and Ryan played a Jewish janitor who was shot by Amon Goeth.

  They exchanged many views on each other's roles, Ryan's views on that period of history mostly came from his past life, Natalie was different, she didn't have only a part Jewish blood like Ryan, she was a pure Jew, having enough understanding of the most painful period in her nation's history.

  As for the grudges between Western nations, Ryan didn't fully understand them, but some of his physical characteristics had already determined how certain people viewed him. Anti-Semitic organizations were not uncommon in North America, and he needed his own allies.

  The influence of the All-American Jewish Association should not be underestimated. Since he decided to intervene in "Schindler's List", he actually made a choice, and he could only make this choice.

  His best friend was a Jew, and in the background, his Katie Dean remained a pure-blooded Jew. In fact, he had been entangled in a Jewish relationship network since the day he published his first story.

  As soon as Ryan stepped out of the airport, he spotted the crew's vehicle coming to pick him up. Compared to the bustling and vibrant London, Poland was still reeling from its recent upheaval, looking poor and desolate, both inside and outside the airport, everything seemed worn and shabby.

  Also the weather, late February London has already spring, but here is still in the cold winter, the gloomy sky, occasionally still falling scattered snowflakes.

  Ryan was afraid of the cold, extremely afraid of the cold. As soon as he got off the plane, he put on a thick down jacket and wore a cotton hat. Even his hands were covered with a pair of black leather gloves. According to Natalie's teasing words, he looked like a polar bear.

  There were only a few people in the group, just Natalie and her mother, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.

  The weather wasn't as exaggerated as Ryan made it out to be, at most it was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but he had spent most of his life living in warm Los Angeles and really wasn't adapted to the cold. In contrast, Natalie only added a thick coat over her t-shirt.

  "Hello Ryan, welcome to Krakow."

  As they walked towards the car, a familiar figure emerged to greet them - Marek Broszkiewicz, one of Steven Spielberg's assistants.

  Both sides simply introduced themselves and boarded a large tour bus, leaving the airport.

  "Ryan, go to the hotel first, or go to the scene?" Marek asked.

  "Let's go take a look at the filming location first," Ryan said after consulting with Natalia, "it's so cold today, won't it affect the shooting?"

  "It's much better now." Marek said, turning around from the front seat. "Last month, the highest temperature in Krakow was only around zero degrees Fahrenheit, and even some of the scenery we had prepared was frozen and cracked."

  "Ryan, isn't it cold?" Looking at Ryan's shriveled appearance, Natalie simply took off his woolen hat, "There is air conditioning in the car, be careful or you'll catch a cold when you go out."

  The car didn't enter Krakow, but instead drove around in a circle towards the film set built outside the city. Ryan occasionally chatted with Marek and learned about many things related to the crew.

  Steven Spielberg arrived in Poland with his entire team after the New Year, braving harsh conditions to start pre-production work, thanks to having spent nearly a decade planning this film, much of which had already been done ahead of time.

  For example, contacting Jewish survivors from Schindler's List and their descendants and inviting them to participate in the filming.

  Not only that, the crew also recruited a large number of descendants of Polish Jews as extras. The props department had to post advertisements to collect clothing for nearly 20,000 temporary actors, fortunately, due to Poland's economic backwardness, many people were eager to sell their old clothes from the 1930s and 1940s.

  After hearing Ryan's initial advice, Spielberg not only had Steven Zaillian rework the script but also abandoned plans to shoot in German and Polish.

  Despite the intense preparation, Spielberg decided to start shooting on March 1st, he had to reserve enough time for himself, otherwise it would be a huge trouble if the outdoor shooting couldn't be finished before July.

  Fortunately, many unfinished scenes can be shot and built simultaneously.

  The car arrived at the destination very quickly, and through the window, Ryan could already see a small town standing on the distant wilderness plain, perhaps it would be more suitable to say that it was a construction site.

  "Wait, Ryan!"

  Just as he was about to get off, Natalie spoke up, taking the woolen hat that Ryan had forgotten and carefully putting it on his head, also tucking his ears into it.

  Mrs. Sherry watched all this, sighed silently, and the two children had been together since they met in New York, most of the time they were together, even if they would burst into disputes from time to time, but whoever could see the deep friendship between them, and their age was getting older...

  "Thanks, Nate!"

  You repay peaches with plums, Rui En and Natalie helped sort out the scarf.

  Dozens of large trailers are parked in front, a large number of canvas and wooden temporary houses have been built on a considerable scale, many temporary actors wearing old clothes and German military uniforms are practicing some basic exercises under the leadership of several deputy directors.

  If it weren't for the staff and equipment such as track cameras interspersed among them, it would give people a feeling of crossing back to the World War II era.

  Strictly speaking, Natalie was the first time to come to such a large-scale film scene, and she couldn't help but be curious, with big eyes wide open, scanning around, and from time to time asking some questions.

  Ryan is completely clueless about props, filming and editing apart from acting and script, he was left speechless by Natalie's few questions.

  "You're really an idiot." Natalie gave him a disdainful look at last.

  "Alright, Nate." Ryan waved his hand in frustration. "I'm just an actor, not a director, what's the point of knowing all this stuff?"

  Under Marek's lead, a few people soon found Spielberg, who was discussing something with the prop master and merely nodded slightly upon seeing him.

  Ryan and a few others simply waited on one side, watching the crowd of actors running around under the command of the assistant director, about to start shooting soon, not asking them to have high professional skills, at least they can become qualified living props.

  "Hey, Ryan." Spielberg walked over, with an unmistakable air of exhaustion, his stubble as unruly as ever.

  "Hello, Stephen." Ryan said by way of introduction. "This is Natalie Herschel, born in Jerusalem, a good friend of mine and an excellent actress."

  "Hello, Miss Huxley."

  Perhaps because they are both Jewish, Spielberg was very friendly and simply asked her a few questions about her role.

  Natalie had done her homework and answered flawlessly, with Spielberg nodding continuously.

  "Ryan, you must have read the script." he asked again.

  "Yes." Ryan nodded his head, naturally understanding what the other person meant. "Steven, this is your work, and all the opinions I can think of have already been said at Universal Studios.

  "Alright Ryan, if you have any ideas, speak up, okay? No need to be modest, we all know how great you are."

  "I will."

  After a few more words with him, Spielberg became busy again and had his assistant take Ryan and company around to get familiarized, then they could head back to the hotel.

  Walked around the scene in a hurry, although the formal shooting has not started yet, the atmosphere of the entire scene is somewhat depressing, after all, this subject matter is too heavy, plus the long journey, the weather is cold, and soon went to the hotel where the crew was staying.

  This is one of the best hotels in Krakow, but due to local economic constraints, the conditions are a bit simple. Others have gone back to their rooms to adjust to the time difference, while Natalie slept all the way on the plane and now she's full of energy, chatting with Ryan.

  "So you've given quite a few opinions on the script, and even Mr. Spielberg has adopted them?" Natalie was somewhat curious, wondering how this guy managed to get involved everywhere.

  "Yes. I made a few minor suggestions... uh, like that little girl who prompted Schindler's transformation."

  Natalie looked at him sideways, not speaking for a long time. This time it was Ryan's turn to be curious, "What are you doing?"

  "It doesn't matter."

  "Why are you staring at me with such a weird look?"

  "It's said that staring at someone like this can see through their disguise, I want to see what's hidden in your soul, and yet you're able to make comments on such a serious and heavy topic." Natalie became more and more curious about her good friend, "You know, Ryan, if I weren't Jewish, if my grandmother hadn't passed on information for the Allies during World War II, I wouldn't have taken the initiative to learn about this history."

  Rui En pouted, clearly a lovely little loli, but insisted on putting on airs of a young adult, as if afraid others wouldn't know how smart and precocious she was.

  "Come on, Ryan!" Natalie stood up from the couch and looked down at him condescendingly.

  "Because I have good grades in history."

  "He launched into a mouthful of gibberish, 'Don't you know that, Nate? The great and wonderful Ryan Jenkins knows all, can do all.'"

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