From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

“First team, ready.”

“Second team, ready.”

… …

Noisy, busy, organized chaos, feet barely touching the ground.

This is just another ordinary day on set.

“Spider-Man” officially started filming in March at the beginning of spring, because Sam Raimi wanted the story to be set in winter, presenting New York's characteristic cold and indifference. If it was postponed any further, spring would come, and summer wouldn't be far behind. If the crew continued to insist on shooting on location, they would encounter a series of difficulties.

Having previously had the filming experience of “The Princess Diaries,” where the crew needed to build a virtual small country scene in the studio, the filming work had to be divided into location and studio shooting.

And this time, “Spider-Man” would go even further, because the movie required a large number of computer special effects and needed to “destroy” a large number of New York City buildings, it was necessary to enter the studio to start green screen shooting.

At the same time, Sam still hoped to shoot on location, as the studio could not ultimately present the texture of reality. This was also the reason why he went to Berlin, Paris, and London, etc., to explore. Although the story of “Spider-Man” completely takes place in New York, the New York City Hall may not be willing to approve all filming applications, so they had to go to other cities to find scenes.

It is precisely because of this that the filming of “Spider-Man” has become a challenge—

Especially for Anson, this newcomer.

Movies are not filmed according to the timeline, nor are they filmed according to the storyline, but rather with the filming location as the center.

Now that the crew is in New York, they must film all the scenes arranged in New York, regardless of time sequence, until the location is finished, and then move on to the next filming location.

Disrupting the timeline also means disrupting the storyline and emotional arc.

When the audience watches a movie, they follow the plot and character development, and feel the emotional pulse; but when filming, the actors cannot do this. Perhaps one second they are happy and blissful, and the next second they are experiencing life and death.

Therefore, this places strict demands on the actors:

He must be clear about the character's background, completely immerse himself in the character's world. Only in this way, when extracting any fragment at any time, the emotions and states presented by the actor will not be disjointed. Like a jigsaw puzzle, after the movie's post-editing is finished, it can still fit together seamlessly.

Large film crews are always like this.

Of course, things can be simpler. After all, this is “Spider-Man” and not “Sophie's Choice.” Actors only need to express the correct emotions at the appropriate moments—

Sadness? Joy? Happiness? Bitterness? Regret?

And so on.

As long as the emotion is correct, the state presented by the picture will not be abrupt. Even if it cannot be 100% consistent, it will not be noticed by the audience.

However, Anson doesn't think so.

Character arcs and emotional threads, these seemingly simple but complex expressions, are precisely the key to distinguishing between good and bad commercial films. An excellent commercial film may not need to think about the depth of human nature, but it needs to maintain a smooth viewing experience, and these invisible threads play such a role.

Look at “Titanic,” look at “Avatar,” look at “The Avengers.” There is a reason why these movies can explode at the box office.

In his previous life, “Spider-Man” achieved great success, an undeniable glory. Even many years later, it is still considered a milestone in superhero movies, and Anson himself likes it very much.

But, is “Spider-Man” perfect?

No.

At least in Anson's opinion, it is not. The most important reason lies in the performances of the three actors.

Whether it's Tobey Maguire, James Franco, or Kirsten Dunst, the performances of the three actors are too idolized.

Taking Tobey as the leader, he gives Peter Parker the qualities of shyness and naivety, but in several emotional turning points and psychological changes, he remains on the surface.

In fact, this has always been his acting habit. It can be seen from later works such as “The Great Gatsby” and “Seabiscuit” that the characteristics between different roles are exactly the same, and the presentation of emotions always stays on the surface, without layers or power. His acting career is more about repeating the same role—

Perhaps there are some differences, but very limited.

The result is that the character arc is complete, but it comes more from the script. It is not missing, but it is not full enough.

In the end, “Spider-Man” has become an idol-style movie. Although the script gives Peter Parker a complete and three-dimensional growth space, Tobey Maguire's version of Spider-Man has never been able to bring the impact like Christian Bale's version of Batman.

Of course, there is a doubt here:

Not only Tobey, but James and Kirsten also have the same problem.

This made Anson have to guess, either this is Sam Raimi's original intention, consciously maintaining the lightness of the story and avoiding too heavy emotions; or this is the meaning of Sony Columbia, they hope to maintain the entertainment effect of the movie, box office first, there is no need to delve into it.

So, they produced an “idol movie.”

To a large extent—about 90%, Anson agrees with this view. The box office success of “Spider-Man” is due to this strategy. It is really unnecessary to be miserable; but there is a thin piece of window paper between excellent and classic. If it can be pierced, the movie can usher in a transformation.

Anson thought, if he could give Peter Parker a level of psychological change in some emotional outbursts and plot twists without affecting the movie's editing and weight, could this story template with the qualifications to become a classic truly release its due charm?

Therefore, before the movie started, Anson had been studying the script, studying the characters, studying the character relationships, and studying the psychological states, not only for the role, but also so that when he entered the shooting stage, he could accurately capture the state presented by any scene and try to enrich the performance.

There is no doubt that this is a difficult problem.

Moreover, this is Anson's first attempt, and it is also his first time playing the male lead, which is completely different from the situation in “Friends” and “The Princess Diaries.”

Whether it is a mule or a horse, you only know when you take it out for a walk.

In the blink of an eye, the “Spider-Man” crew has been filming in New York for half a month. From the initial chaos to the current gradual improvement, the crew has finally found its rhythm.

Then, today the crew is about to shoot a key scene—

In Anson's view, it can be said to be the core of the entire movie, and also the key to making the entire movie unique.

The classic line “With great power comes great responsibility” comes from here.

At the same time, the crew chose to shoot on location in New York in order to truly capture the light of New York. The geographical location is located at the entrance of the Metropolitan Museum of Art—

Another landmark building in New York.

Therefore, there is this scene of the crew's feet barely touching the ground but organized chaos, where busyness and noise, chaos and excitement, collide in the air.