After spending a few more days in Hawaii, Richard returned to Los Angeles in early August.
The Chronicles of Riddick was about to begin filming, and Richard got busy. He spent every day at the production company, preparing with the crew—working on costumes, makeup, and special props.
For instance, the script frequently featured items like daggers, eye patches, and the glowing eyes of the protagonist. His eyes were modified to have night vision, looking like small light bulbs.
To showcase the magic of these eyes, the props team gave him a pair of specially made contact lenses, which were very uncomfortable. His eyes constantly teared up, and after wearing them for two hours, they were red and irritated.
The props team assured him that he would get used to them after wearing them for a few days. Richard wore them for three days before the discomfort started to ease, but it was still difficult. He could only barely endure it.
"Richard, the protagonist is a fugitive, so we need to trim your long hair a bit," the hairstylist said.
"Do I have to shave my head?" Richard asked, reluctantly touching his stylish long hair.
"A short military-style cut, like the Marines, would suit you better according to our design."
"Alright," Richard agreed, confident that he could pull off any hairstyle.
After his hair was trimmed, a few makeup artists were stunned and nearly cried with excitement, thinking he looked incredibly handsome, like he could eclipse the sun and moon with his looks.
Well, that was just Richard's imagination. The hairstylist merely said, "Richard, this hairstyle really suits you. It looks very cool and sharp."
"Thank you, your design is perfect for me," Richard replied, looking at himself in the mirror. The clean, crisp short hair, paired with his chiseled features, raised eyebrows, and deep-set eyes, made him look incredibly cool and rugged. He imagined that once he put on a camouflage outfit or a leather jacket, he would look even more impressive.
Thinking about the costume, he approached the costume designer. The staff from other departments had proactively approached him to discuss work over the past few days, but the costume team had been surprisingly unenthusiastic and hadn't come to him for fittings.
"Mr. Bradshaw, your costume is here," one of the costume staff said, pointing to a clothing rack.
"Only one outfit?" Richard asked, noticing only a black tank top, gray work pants, and a pair of black boots hanging on the rack.
"Yes, all the actors only have one outfit," the staff member replied.
Richard remembered that the spaceship crash left the group of refugees with no place to change clothes, and the story in the script took place within half a day, so there was no need for a costume change. This made things simpler.
He tried on the outfit and found it fit perfectly, tailored to his measurements. The black tank top highlighted his muscular arms and chest, making him look powerful.
Once he was ready, the crew's logistics team also finished their preparations.
On August 8th, during the winter in the Southern Hemisphere, the group flew to Australia.
This time, only a small team from the production crew traveled, as the main team had arrived in Coober Pedy, South Australia, half a month earlier.
Coober Pedy is an underground town and the only underground city in the world, located about 850 kilometers from Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.
This place was originally uninhabited until opal was discovered there by chance in 1915, attracting many prospectors to come and settle.
Since Coober Pedy is in a desert region with hot, dry weather, summer temperatures often exceed 40 degrees Celsius, and even in winter, temperatures stay above 20 degrees. It's one of the driest places on Earth.
Living on the surface would be like being roasted.
To escape the scorching temperatures, the buildings here were constructed underground or in caves, and over time, the town became an underground city.
The underground city has churches, hotels, sports fields, swimming pools, arcades, a zoo, and nightclubs.
Listening to the guides, Richard gazed out the car window at the red soil stretching before him. The barren surface, devoid of buildings, trees, or grass, looked like the surface of Mars in a sci-fi movie.
At the train station, the group grabbed their luggage and exited the station, then got into the production crew's vehicle and headed to the underground city's entrance.
"Hey, Richard, Mike, welcome to Australia!" Naomi waved and walked over. She had arrived in Australia a week earlier. Naomi was born in England and grew up in Sydney, Australia.
She had worked as a fashion editor and model and even took an acting class with Nicole Kidman, though Nicole had become a star early on while Naomi was still struggling.
"Naomi, when did you get here?" Richard asked.
"Yesterday. I spent a few days at home before coming here. Come on, the hotel is this way."
Naomi grabbed his luggage, ready to move forward, but when she tried to pull it, it didn't budge. She tried again, but it still didn't move.
"I'll take it. There are a few training gear items inside, so it's quite heavy," Richard said with a smile, taking the suitcase.
"Alright," Naomi replied, brushing her hair back with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Is the hotel here a cave too?" Richard asked.
"Yes, it's quite dry and hollow. I hardly slept last night."
"I can tell. Your eyes look a bit puffy."
"Really?" Naomi touched the area under her eyes, pressing lightly.Richard smiled gently. "Naomi, is there a boxing club in the underground city?"
"There's a gym with some punching bags, but probably no dedicated boxing club. The permanent population here is only four to five thousand," Naomi replied.
"That's fine. As long as there's a punching bag, I can work with that," Richard said, thinking that he could set up a training room with his equipment.
"Richard, there's a kangaroo boxing ring here. Want to check it out?" Naomi asked with a slight smile.
"Sure, let's go see it when we have some time. I've heard kangaroos are quite the boxing experts. I'd like to spar with one," Richard joked.
"The kangaroos wouldn't stand a chance against you," Naomi laughed.
After walking a few hundred meters, they arrived at a hotel entrance. It looked much like a surface hotel and was quite upscale. The suite was a five-room unit with a living room, bathroom, and two bedrooms.
The room was fully furnished with air conditioning, wardrobes, wall lamps, and a humidifier, and it was even carpeted. The conditions were much better than Richard had expected.
Since he'd be staying there for two months, Richard didn't want to be too casual about it. He took out a cloth and a vacuum cleaner and began cleaning thoroughly, from the living room to the bedroom and the bathroom, leaving nothing to chance.
"Richard, need any help?" Naomi asked, blinking.
"No need, I can handle it myself," Richard replied.
Mike grinned and said, "He's worried others won't clean properly, so he always does it himself."
Naomi looked at Richard, who was meticulously cleaning, and couldn't help but laugh. "It's hard to imagine a world boxing champion enjoying cleaning."
"Celebrity quirks!" Mike shrugged.
"Mike, I'm counting on you to handle the boxing training room," Richard called out.
"Got it, I'll take care of it right away," Mike said, then left the room.
"Richard, my room is right across the hall. If you need anything, feel free to drop by," Naomi said.
"Sure thing. I might need some tips on the scenes, Ms. Watts," Richard replied as he straightened up.
"No problem, boss!" Naomi smiled softly, walked out of the room, glanced back at him with a light smile, and then entered her own room.
Richard spent over an hour cleaning and organizing before he finally settled in.
Afterward, he headed to the film set, where he met some of the key production members: producer Ted Field, director David Twohy, executive writer Jim Wheat, cinematographer David Eggby, and art director Graham 'Grace' Walker, among others. The entire crew consisted of over 120 people.
The set was already prepared, featuring a massive starship prop. The director, along with several assistant directors and helpers, was busy planning the scenes, shots, and camera angles, and sketching out the detailed script.
Once Richard arrived, he joined the preparations and rehearsed scenes with the other main actors on set.
After a week of intense work, the crew finally began official filming.
—
(End of Chapter)