From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The sun was just right.

Warm and pleasant, dry and bright, making one want to wander in it.

In the February morning of Memphis, there was a bit of chill, a bit of laziness, and a bit of comfort. Although it wasn't as warm as spring, you could still feel the winter's chill; but compared to the hot and dry sun of Los Angeles, it was much more gentle here, bright but not glaring, radiant but not intense, and the pace of strolling down the street couldn't help but quicken.

The night had just faded away, and the city slowly awakened. The body seemed a little stiff, not yet fully stretched out. Leaving the indoor shade, drilling into the sunlight, lighting a cigarette, and taking a moment to be lazy before entering the busy daily routine, and if there were a cup of coffee and a donut to go with it—

—everything would be perfect.

Finally, "Walk the Line" was ready to start filming, and today was the day the cameras would roll.

Waiting and waiting, postponing again and again, this day had finally arrived.

Early in the morning, the crew members arrived at the filming location one after another.

But between exchanging glances, they couldn't control the wry smiles on their faces. A sense of absurdity arose spontaneously, making people want to laugh.

"...According to the plan, weren't we supposed to film the first scene on Linden Avenue? How did we end up here?"

"Who knows? Everything was arranged perfectly, but the plan changed at the last minute."

"I heard it's because of Anson."

"Of course it's Anson, and it can only be Anson. Who else could it be? The entire crew revolves around him, so what's wrong with him this time?"

"Rumor has it that he believes the first scene should be filmed in the recording studio because his 'state is still in the recording studio' and he 'feels this is the right way to do it.'"

"And then we came here? Completely overturning half a month of preparation?"

"Hey, after all, that's Anson Wood. We should be grateful. A top superstar is serious about his roles. We should be happy that we can witness a legend."

Haha, hahaha.

A burst of laughter, but the sarcasm and mockery behind the laughter were all too obvious.

Indeed, "Walk the Line" finally started filming, a full week later than originally planned—

Not one day, not two days, but seven days, a whole week.

However, having finally started filming with great difficulty, troubles continued. Just yesterday, with an order, the crew's filming schedule was completely overturned.

The producer and director of "Walk the Line," both named James, hoped to restore the texture of that era as much as possible and insisted on filming on location. This idea was also recognized by Forest Films, which fully cooperated.

Therefore, they needed to film in different cities—

Memphis. Nashville. Dallas. Houston. Los Angeles. New York.

Etc. etc. etc.

In such a situation, in order to control costs, they couldn't film as they pleased, but rather disrupted the script and completed filming based on the city and filming location.

This posed a severe test for the crew and the actors.

Especially the actors.

Because this meant that the actors could not perform life according to the emotional trajectory of the real person. They had to fully understand the character's life trajectory and emotional state, and then show it anytime, anywhere as required.

For example, Memphis.

Here, Johnny Cash ended his military career and returned to the North American continent. He started a family here and had two children, but was trapped in a life of mediocrity, almost unable to pay the rent, yet still harboring a musical dream.

Here, Johnny Cash and Vivian's married life faced many challenges. Although there were happy moments, there were more bumps and bruises, until Johnny seized the opportunity and took the first step towards his musical dream.

This was a life full of frustrations and bumps, occupying a long time in Johnny Cash's life, but the movie needed to be condensed into five or ten minutes to show it, and the performance requirements for the actors can be imagined.

According to the original plan, the crew was preparing to start filming on Linden Avenue—

This was Johnny and Vivian's first home, where they spent many years.

Director Mangold selected a few relatively simple scenes from the many scenes as the start of filming, hoping to help Anson enter Johnny's world.

Everything had been arranged properly.

But no one had expected the plan to change twelve hours before filming.

Filming would not be on Linden Avenue, but would instead go to Union Avenue.

706 Union Avenue is now a museum, where fans from all over the world come to admire and visit; it was once the location of Sun Records.

Sun Records, founded by Sam Philips, was where Elvis Presley started, and so did Johnny Cash. This record company discovered many country and rock superstars and had an important position in the golden age of music.

A small group of people is still tourists. If the museum has to close due to the filming work of the crew, and tourists who came to visit specially are encountered with the closure, it is really disappointing.

The museum was not satisfied with the crew's casualness.

No one knows how Mangold persuaded the museum to accept the crew's nonsense, but apart from the museum, the crew members themselves felt absurd and could hardly believe that all this was really happening.

For the crew, everything needs to be planned and planned. What they dislike most is unexpected situations—

Like the situation in front of them, Anson had a whimsical idea, and the result was that these crew members stayed up all night to help clean up the mess, burning their lives to turn the actors' occasional inspirations into reality.

Anyway, those "artists" can just sit in their trailers and give orders, and as a result, these poor working people are exhausted.

To be honest, even if Anson had great charm, they still found it difficult to accept.

What's more, Anson had already made them wait for a long time under unexpected circumstances.

They arrived in Memphis early and were ready to go, and each of them was already in a state where they had to be released. Anson's one action made them all hold back, staying in place, like statues in a game of red light, green light.

Before the movie even started filming, the crew members were already full of anger.

Sure enough, big names are big names, different from others. Not to mention the actors' business ability, but their ability to toss the crew and the staff has already qualified—

One hundred percent big-name style. No matter what else, the momentum must first be there, and the entire battle is directly pulled up.

Heh heh.