From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The "Walk the Line" crew… stumbled and bumbled along a path filled with mishaps.

From the preparation stage, they encountered numerous difficulties. After many twists and turns, they finally managed to start filming. They originally thought they would finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, but they never expected that when they were truly ready to start the cameras rolling, a whole new wave of disasters would come one after another, leaving them no time to breathe.

Filming, pausing, pausing, filming.

Accidents and incidents came one after another, to the point where the crew members had given up resisting with a sense of hopelessness, and finally accepted all the storms with peace of mind—

When similar situations occurred too many times, there was no need to make a fuss about everything.

However!

The truly magical thing was that while the behind-the-scenes was full of twists, turns, and constant troubles, the on-screen progress was smooth sailing and rapid.

Ever since that night, when Anson "got too deep into the role and went mad," and there were even rumors that Anson's mental split was severe and he needed a doctor to take care of him every day, Anson resolutely returned to the crew and threw himself back into filming. After that, the filming progress of the crew went smoothly—

It's no wonder the rumors were so vivid because Anson seemed to have really opened up his meridians and grasped the essence of acting. His performance, which was both profound and nuanced, completely awakened the soul of Johnny Cash. Not to mention the other actors in the crew, even the producer James Keach was completely impressed.

Everyone in the crew knew that Keach was a friend of Johnny Cash, not only were they close, but he was also the sole authorized person for Johnny Cash's biography. Keach had always regarded himself as a Johnny Cash expert, constantly giving opinions on the script, performance, costume design, and other aspects of the crew's work.

In Keach's view, Johnny Cash was unique, and even more so, a historical figure who could not be replicated.

Although Keach did not point fingers at Anson in person, he never held back his opinions in front of Lucas, always speaking his mind directly.

But it was this very Keach who obediently shut his mouth and focused all his attention on admiring Anson's performance. He often stared blankly at Anson in the monitor, sitting there without saying a word for hours, seemingly immersed in his memories of himself and Johnny Cash.

No other language was needed.

The change in emotions could be felt simply from Keach.

No wonder the crew members increasingly believed that Anson might really be too immersed in the role and unable to extricate himself. Method acting had trapped him in the character. There were countless such cases, from Robert De Niro to Daniel Day-Lewis, they had all experienced situations where they couldn't get out of the role.

And now, it was Anson's turn—

During this period of filming, Johnny Cash was experiencing the darkest and most painful years of his life, constantly floating and sinking in endless chaos; while Anson completely entered Johnny Cash's world, losing his mind little by little in confusion and despair, in torment and suffering.

Incredibly, whether in front of the camera or behind the scenes, the crew members could see the changes in which the character of Johnny Cash was slowly entering Anson's body. After filming, the bright, sunny, and unrestrained lazy temperament on Anson's body seemed to be being swallowed and eroded by darkness, and in his staggering steps and hazy vision, one could see Johnny Cash's struggle.

Everything was seen in their eyes.

Unknowingly, the entire crew was also swept into the fifties and sixties, as if returning to that era.

It was under Anson's influence that the actors, crew members, extras, and temporary staff, from top to bottom, were firmly united, which made the filming of "Walk the Line" particularly smooth.

No matter what situations or accidents happened off-screen, as long as the camera started rolling, the crew could get into the zone and maintain high efficiency in completing the filming.

Originally, with one accident after another and constant situations, the crew whispered their concerns in private, indicating that the delay in the filming schedule seemed inevitable, and might even be a whole month behind schedule—

If it were investment-level films like "Spider-Man" or "Titanic," it was common for filming to be delayed by a month. Not to mention a month, delays of six months were not uncommon; but for an investment of the level of "Walk the Line," and a film aimed for awards season, a delay of a month would simply be a complete disaster, often foreshadowing the failure of the film:

The reason was very straightforward.

Because delays often meant that there were problems with the filming, either the director's "artistic creation" encountered a bottleneck, or the crew's collaboration completely failed to mesh. In Hollywood's mature and complete production industry system, it was already rare for small-budget, small-scale artistic works to be delayed by a month. The longer the delay, the more problems there would be.

The ending might be… a flop, an epic flop that would shake the heavens and earth.

Whether it was a genre film or an art film, delays were never a good thing—

There were only very, very few exceptions.

However, all the guesses were wrong.

The filming of "Walk the Line" was not only not delayed, but also finished a full ten days ahead of schedule, entering the final part of the film's filming.

Ten days!

Considering that the crew had already started filming half a month late, the fact that they were now able to complete filming ahead of schedule could be called a miracle.

Obviously, the answer was here.

Looking back at the complaints before the crew started filming, it felt like a lifetime ago.

From any perspective, "Walk the Line" was a very special and very important work in Anson's career:

Before entering the filming of this biographical film, there was constant doubt, and even under the combined effect of various reasons, it was pushed to a new peak.

But Anson was completely unaware, and a series of unexpected actions brought trouble to the crew, one after another, seemingly challenging Hollywood's nerves.

These situations made the filming process face many challenges; however, with the passage of time and the start of work, Anson used practical actions to overturn one prejudice after another, and even against the backdrop of the great success of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," he used practical actions to prove his ambition for acting work.

Action is always more powerful than language.

More direct and more shocking than any words, any publicity, any public relations.

Others didn't know, but undoubtedly, the "Walk the Line" crew, from top to bottom, could feel the change in their mentality. When they looked at Anson again, they saw a completely different image.

Later, the news spread like wildfire.

In a circle as small as Hollywood, news always spreads rapidly.

However, others didn't believe it—

"Walk the Line" was Forest Pictures' first work. Who didn't know that Forest Pictures was the Wood brothers' company? These rumors were obviously released by Lucas to reverse Anson's image. Fake, it couldn't be faker. Not only was it fake, but it was also hypocritical. Whoever believed it was a puppy.