"Tch, a bunch of little girls trying to mess with cameras? Do you even know what a video camera is? Do you know anything about filmmaking? About Hollywood?"
When Catherine and the others ran out, they saw Lily arguing with someone at the entrance.
However, it seemed the argument was already over, since the person was turning around to leave.
He was dressed like a hippie, with a careless air, practically screaming "juvenile delinquent" with his whole appearance.
Although hippies hadn't truly emerged yet, similar styles already existed at the time, and those who dressed like that were mostly rebellious teenagers.
"What's wrong, Lily?" Catherine asked as she ran over.
"That guy! That guy said our photography club is a complete joke, that we're just playing house… My God, how could he say something like that?!"
"Forget it, Lily. There's no need to bother with someone like that. He's got issues."
Mental problems exist everywhere, but some people always seem to have an exaggerated sense of self-importance, assuming everyone else suffers from the same condition.
There was no need to hold a grudge over something like this. After all, he was just a small-time bully. To put it bluntly, arguing with him was beneath them.
"Brain damage?" Lily laughed. The incident seemed to be over, but then she suddenly looked at Catherine with excitement.
"Kate, let's make a movie!"
"Huh?"
Why did that idea come out of nowhere?
Was she still upset about that delinquent?
Catherine thought about it carefully. She wasn't sure what kind of movie they could even make.
In her previous life, Catherine had studied directing, but only as a hobby—she hadn't taken it seriously. Just like when she studied electronic engineering: her integrated TV circuit was still nothing more than a half-finished circuit board.
Original ideas were definitely out.
But plagiarism… well, maybe that could work?
At home, Catherine kept thinking it over.
The Godfather?
A great series, but did they have the money? Could they afford top-tier actors?
The answer was no. They couldn't afford any stars.
It seemed only a B-movie would work.
But would Lily accept that? After all, Lily wanted to prove herself, and Catherine didn't want to let her down. B-movies were definitely low-budget, and making money was a whole different matter.
Wait…
Suddenly, an idea struck Catherine.
Maybe it really could work?
— The Blair Witch Project.
This horror film, made by a handful of college students, required almost nothing at the time. The most important thing was hype.
And not just hype—marketing it as a documentary. Naturally, this kind of film would be hard to promote once the internet became widespread, but now was different. This was an era when information spread slowly, and it was the perfect time to make The Blair Witch Project.
The documentary-style filming of The Blair Witch Project gives viewers an incredibly realistic experience, naturally immersing them in its world. Every action by the protagonists pulls the audience in. The entire film flows smoothly, with a gradual, progressive narrative that builds terror bit by bit. Even though there's almost no gore and the witch's true form is never revealed, the chilling atmosphere seeps into the viewer's bones. Its first-person perspective was a huge success and pioneered a style that later films would follow.
As a representative of B-movies, filming this kind of movie posed almost no challenge for Catherine Edson. She had prior experience, and with the right marketing, everything would fall into place.
And then what?
The locations were simple enough. If such remote and eerie places could be found in the '90s, it would be even easier in the '60s.
Ah—and the actors!
There would be three main roles, roughly two women and one man, depending on the needs.
Why a man?
Simple: there was no digital video equipment yet, and cameras were very heavy…
Even the smaller devices were still relatively bulky.
That said, making a documentary-style film wasn't that hard. After all, there were already plenty of film enthusiasts, and low-budget films shot with various portable devices were constantly emerging. This technique was fairly common.
The male lead wasn't being considered for now, but Catherine would play one of the two female leads.
"But who should play the other one?"
She suddenly thought of Ida. She seemed very interested in making movies.
Back at school, Catherine went straight to Ida's room.
"Want some water?" Ida poured her a glass and handed it to her.
"Thanks."
"Do you need something?"
Catherine didn't usually come by, which was why Ida asked.
"I've come up with a script. Maybe we can make a movie! Ida, we'll be the leads!"
A leading role in a movie!
Just thinking about it made Catherine excited.
After all, who doesn't want to be famous? In ancient China, countless people valued fame more than profit.
She wasn't worried about money—but she did want a bit of fame too, for… well.
"You? Making a movie?"
"Yes!"
Catherine explained her idea and the outline of the script.
Ida listened, clearly intrigued. She might not have known about the potential success of The Blair Witch Project, but she felt grateful to Catherine. She even suddenly felt that she might have gone too far before—especially with preparing something like that…
"What's wrong?" Catherine asked.
"Nothing." Ida looked at Catherine with eyes full of complicated emotions, but the deep hostility seemed to have faded considerably.
Girls really are unpredictable.
No one ever knows what they're truly thinking.
Suddenly, Ida smiled mischievously. "Actually, I have something even better than Mr. Horn. Want to try it?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Catherine jumped up as if she'd been shocked.
Realizing her reaction was too strong, she sat back down awkwardly.
"Sorry… I'm feeling a bit… unwell."
Catherine shook her head.
Even though it had been very pleasant, for some reason, every time she thought about it, she couldn't concentrate and felt irritable. Maybe it was because her male consciousness still dominated her body.
"Maybe you should see a therapist… Oh, right!" Ida thought for a moment.
"I know a therapist whose hypnotherapy is amazing. Maybe you could give it a try?"
Hypnotherapy?
Catherine had heard of it, but real hypnotherapy was very different from how it was portrayed in novels. Mind control was simply impossible. Hypnotherapy was just a very basic form of psychotherapy—not nearly as magical as people imagined.
In the United States, seeing a therapist wasn't shameful. If you had a problem, you went to one—though this mostly applied to the middle and upper classes.
But… maybe it was worth trying?
Catherine felt hopeful.