Hollywood: Lights, Ink, Entertainment!

….

After the small promotional interview, the team of [Harry Potter] got back to filming according to the schedule.

As stated, most of the filming was completed - all that was left was one final sequence which will also be the most interesting setting in a fantasy world of magic. 

The sequence is about a board game of Chess - but a game to death.

….

[Red Studio]

….

CRACKK - BOOM!

A deafening blast split the enclosed studio as the debris of rocks erupted.

It was sight rare to see - where a twelve feet of stone-like plaster and metal framing shattered outward as the chunks slammed into protective barricades.

Immediately, the smoke hissed into the lighting rig above, sending a brief shockwave across the massive Wizard's Chess board.

And a few off-screen, safely away, the crew members wearing the protective ear gears let out a stunned "Holy hell!"

Nevertheless, the cameras continued to roll filming the explosion in five directions.

….

The most stunned people were obviously the children trio - Daniel, Rupert, and Lily.

Daniel and Rupert were clearly amazed and excited to see things of that size break for real even though they are far off the end, while Lily let out a startled yelp.

….

"Cut! Reset the rig for the bishop."

Regal and moved on to chat with the pyrotechnics crew stationed along the chessboard's perimeter making sure the next cue was ready.

He also verified the safety checks were solid.

As crew members scurried around the set with clipboards and rig remotes, Regal took a last glance at the smoking crater where the rook had stood.

Plaster dust floated like ash.

A giant gear lay spinning on its edge before slowing into stillness.

Behind him, a quieter presence stood just outside the yellow caution tape.

Jeremy Silman - an internationally acclaimed chessmaster, newly flown in and personally invited.

Regal turned and offered a small nod. "Thanks for making it down."

"You said I wouldn't regret it." Silman replied. His eyes took in the biggest chess board he had ever witnessed. "And you weren't wrong."

Regal smirked. "Was worried you would be appalled at what we did to the pieces of your favourite game."

Silman shook his head slowly. "I can live with a rook getting blown to bits if it means we finally get a film that doesn't treat chess like a party trick."

To this Regal remained. "Hey I did say no promises? So don't keep your hopes up as even I wouldn't know what makes it to the final cut."

Silman understood the warning…. Or more like their deal.

That was the end of their conversation.

Regal didn't linger, just motioned lightly toward the set and continued on with the crew.

Silman stayed where he was - watching everything come together.

….

As the crew began resetting for the next shot, Silman found himself reflecting on his first meeting with Regal.

It was a few months ago, back in LA - just a young director and a folding board.

The meeting was arranged by his manager, and predictably - Silman had expected a half-baked pitch, another director looking for a quick chess flavor with no regard for the game.

However his assumptions were shattered in their first meeting itself as Regal brought up an unusual request: create a chess position that would justify a young kid sacrificing himself for his friends.

Right, contrary to his opinion - what he got to hear from Regal is - about tempo, strategies, patterns, errors, about decision weight, about sacrifices that mattered.

Hearing that, yes, Silman was more than delighted - still he hesitated to be on board immediately - and what came was more meetings, calls, reading sessions and finally their inevitable collaboration.

Since Regal is in England, Silman had to spend hours on international calls between England and back home, working through the strategy, and intent of each move.

Silman was adamant in getting everything right about chess - it was his only condition for accepting the job.

Also as an admirer of the game, Silman had a bone to pick with Hollywood's depictions of chess till then -

Throughout his life, he has watched movies and TV shows make a joke of real chess positions and real chess lingo. Also he felt like filmmakers would not flesh out games, only showing suave, 'expert' checkmates.

However, that was not how chess operated in a real game - to win, you would often need to sacrifice pieces.

He wanted to make sure that was translated properly.

Now here he was, months later, standing in the middle of a fully built chessboard the size of a tennis court, with crew members climbing up scaffolding just to reposition a knight's arm.

The bishop was being adjusted by a rigging crew and radio signals buzzed from the sidelines, controlled motors from AD.

He watched as Rupert - playing as Ron - rehearsed his position, a few feet from where the Queen's piece would soon strike.

Honestly, despite sounding miserable - he is jealous of the kid - who got to be part of the most brilliantly crafted onscreen chess game ever.

Silman knew the move sequence by heart - it was his.

When Regal explained the stakes he wanted to create for the situation - Silman was faced with the problem at hand: What position would he create that would justify Ron sacrificing himself?

According to the script - Ron's character really needs to steal the show, displaying his willingness to sacrifice, and Regal doesn't want it to be spur of the moment decision.

He really wanted Ron's character against all odds with no other choice.

And Silman didn't disappoint Regal.

…and in actuality, this was the second chess game he had worked on in the same film.

The first one was short and brief - where for the first time - the Wizard Chess was introduced.

It was Ron playing against Harry in the hall, while Hermione was calling the game 'barbarian' since the pieces were not captured but destroyed.

Anyways, Silmon did not get to help much in that scene, since it was a really short one but an excellent foreshadowing for what's about to come.

Because just after a few more scenes, the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione went off, looking for the Philosopher's stone.

Facing many obstacles, they find themselves on the massive chess board, playing against self moving pieces.

They could not cross to the next room until they defeated the self moving pieces.

That's when the fun starts.

It was only possible after spending many hours - day after day for a few weeks - reviewing almost each and every recorded chess game, while constantly being in contact with Regal for script pacing Silman finally decided on the following dynamic situation: 

He designed the whole game which consists of eight steps - every one serving a point.

It helped that Regal had written about bewildered 11-year-olds trying to beat magical moving chess pieces.

Each move displays the struggles and thought process of each character. Also, as stated, the sacrifice wouldn't just be the plot, but inevitable.

To amp up the movie magic, Regal also placed restraints on Silman's endgame: the first move had to be an exciting capture, and Harry and Hermione could not be sacrificed while standing in as chess pieces.

For obvious reasons - it would end the series.

Silman had spent weeks trying to reverse-engineer a board position that would make Ron's sacrifice not just plausible, but necessary, true to the book, and more importantly, true to the spirit of chess.

But even after all that work - those long calls across time zones, the constant refinements - there was still something that stuck in his throat.

Regal had been clear from the start.

"I don't know if this will even make the final cut." He had said during their very first meeting.

Silman hadn't understood it at the time.

Why go to such lengths? Why spend days choreographing moves, redesigning a set the size of a tennis court, if it might all get trimmed down in the edit room for runtime?

It made no sense - until it did.

Because after a while, Silman realized the truth: Regal wasn't doing it for the screen time, he was doing it because it deserved to be done right.

That's just how the guy was built.

For a moment, Silman had seriously considered pulling out of the project.

He had seen too many versions of chess in Hollywood - sloppy, theatrical nonsense meant to look smart, not be smart, he wasn't going to be part of another parody of the game he had spent his life teaching and writing about.

But he didn't walk away.

Because even if he had, Regal would have found someone else and if not that person, then another, the scene was going to be shot either way and the difference was whether or not it would be done with any real understanding.

And when Regal talked about intention, about storytelling through strategy, about sacrifice meaning something on a board as much as it does in the plot - Silman could feel it.

He meant it.

It wasn't just lip service.

There was a kind of restless, relentless curiosity in Regal, he didn't want to fake it.

So Silman stayed.

He stayed, not because he was sure the scene would survive the edit, but because he wanted to see just how far this young director would go to get it right.

And now, here he was - on set, rook dust still in the air, watching a life-sized chess game unfold piece by piece, each move saying something more than just check or mate.

Funny how things turn out.

…..

From across the soundstage, Lily brushed stone dust off her robes, flicking a chunk of plaster off her shoulder.

She looked over at Regal. "Do we get to blow up a pawn next, or was that a one-time thing?"

Regal looked up, blinking once as if trying to figure out whether she was serious. "You flinched like someone set off fireworks under your chair."

She rolled her eyes. "I did not flinch, that was… reacting responsibly."

Regal tilted his head. "Oh right, responsible screaming I have heard of that."

Daniel laughed from behind the Queen's position. "She nearly pulled my arm off."

"Did not!" Lily shot back, then added under her breath. "Maybe just a little."

She swung around. "...and that too only because Rupert jumped and yelled first."

"I did not yell." Rupert insisted, his voice already breaking into a laugh. "I said 'whoa' very assertively."

Daniel, still holding part of his costume that had puffed open from the air pressure, chimed in dryly. "I saw your soul leave your body."

Lily rolled her eyes but smiled. "Whatever, can we still blow up a pawn?"

"No…" Regal said, walking away. "But if you flinch again, I am casting someone else as Hermione."

"Go ahead." she called after him. "But good luck finding another kid who actually likes Ancient Runes."

That got a real laugh from Rupert.

Regal just smiled to himself.

She was sharp.

They all were.

…and they were kind of nervous, it seems - but they were loosening up.

Laughing and bonding in real-time.

And after today's shot, they would never forget this scene.

Standing on the set now, watching the young actors embody the courage and sacrifice he had built into his chess sequence, Silman felt a deep satisfaction.

He noticed Lily adjusting her posture without being told.

Daniel tugged his sleeve nervously, like he knew his next shot mattered.

Rupert's shoulders squared, eyes on the Queen's spot.

To him this wasn't just entertainment - it was chess elevated to its rightful place as a metaphor for the very struggles these characters would face throughout their journey.

….

Similarly to the strategy of the game, the board was also designed from the ground up, each tile the size of a mini dining table.

The pieces, all radio-controlled from the sidelines, loomed overhead like medieval sentinels, modeled after actual 12th-century Scandinavian carvings.

The movement was slow and constant, controlled by a remote control with wheels underneath them clearly hidden from the camera.

Regal checked his watch and turned back to the cast. "Positions for the next setup."

The next scene is about filming Ron's realization - the moment he understands what needs to happen.

As the crew bustled around them, adjusting lights and repositioning cameras, the three young actors fell naturally back into their roles.

The film was about to reach its end, and naturally by now they had managed to get underneath the skin of their characters in their own methods and practices.

Within minutes, the bishop was in place.

A new cue was called.

Everyone went silent again.

Soon after, another piece was about to fall.

.

….

[To be continued…]

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