From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

"Hey!"

A figure pushed open the door of the休息室 (xiū xī shì - rest room), suppressing their voice but completely unable to control their curiosity and excitement, as restless as a monkey. After using a shout to attract attention, they couldn't wait to ask:

"Did you guys see that handsome guy in the棚内 (péng nèi - studio)? Who is he?"

When men gather, they discuss women; when women gather, they also discuss men. Although the ways they express it are different, the boiling and churning of hormones is similar.

"He! He's the one!"

"The parachute!"

"Ah, the vase."

"Yes, that vase!"

"I arrived at the shooting location early today, and I heard Scott from the crew say that he came to visit the set and even studied the blocking later."

"They didn't even realize who he was and thought he was the son of some executive."

"But he's really charming."

"Yes, yes, yes, he has a 'Talented Mr. Ripley' vibe."

"Ah, I knew it! Why does he look so familiar? It's 'The Talented Mr. Ripley,' Jude Law, right?"

Boom!

A commotion.

The burst of energy instantly penetrated the thin door of the studio, disturbing those outside. Everyone quickly shut their mouths, looking at each other, but the excitement in their eyes and on their faces couldn't be concealed.

Or rather, gossip?

After a brief moment of silence, it surged again in a low and restless manner, as they excitedly began to tiptoe, unable to scream loudly.

"Wow, he's really good-looking."

"Exactly, exactly."

"This vase is indeed beautiful. It seems David got what he wanted."

George Clooney also started his career on the small screen, becoming popular for playing a sexy surgeon in "ER," and then making a cameo in "Friends," which opened up his acting career.

This weekend, a message comparable to an April Fool's joke spread, and the entire "Friends" crew knew about the emergency change of guest star. Everyone had their own guesses and opinions.

But now, seeing the real person, their views quietly changed—

So that's how it is.

Things that were originally incomprehensible and unacceptable seemed to become reasonable.

At least, that was the case for this small group of women, their eyes revealing knowing joy.

"George Clooney? Don't exaggerate. You guys are too easily impressed. Do you think anyone can become George Clooney? Being a vase isn't that easy."

"Ah... that's true. There are vases like Gwyneth Paltrow, but there are also vases like Brad Pitt."

"Looks like today's work will be a feast for the eyes."

"I wonder what this vase's personality is like. If he's too wooden or clumsy, it'll be a disappointment."

"Hey, really? I like honest, handsome vase guys."

"Like Ben Affleck?"

"What? Ben Affleck is honest? Do you have some misunderstanding about the word 'honest'?"

"I think she misunderstands Affleck."

"Haha, hahaha."

Chattering, unable to suppress their excitement—

In some ways, television crews are no different from ordinary office workers. Although the work content is different, they are also cogs who dutifully complete their work from nine to five, without the glamorous appearance one might imagine.

They also need a little fresh gossip to stimulate their nerves.

Especially on Mondays.

Like millions of other office workers, the crew also loathe and even hate Mondays, as another busy and stressful week begins.

Moreover, recently, due to the pressure of season finale ratings, the entire crew is tense, making Mondays even more unbearable.

To make matters worse, not only the "Friends" crew, but also the other television crews nearby who are filming intensively are in the same boat, so that during lunch breaks or cigarette breaks, the shadows of the studio base are always filled with complaints, and the working atmosphere is really not pleasant.

Perhaps the only thing that can slightly alleviate the pressure of Mondays is gossip.

So, one by one, they gathered around, even if they weren't interested, they used this excuse to slack off and delay the start of work.

The story of "Friends" is set in New York, mainly taking place in a cafe called "Central Perk"—not "Central Park." Naturally, viewers believe the show should be filmed in New York.

However, it is not.

From the first episode of the first season, "Friends" has been filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Los Angeles, on Stage 24.

All the scenes in the show are filmed entirely in the studio.

Everything happens in Los Angeles.

This is one of the charms of Hollywood: if they want, they can build any scene that human imagination can reach in a Los Angeles studio.

For example, a city.

Moreover, "Friends" has a special achievement.

Canned laughter can be heard in sitcoms of the eighties and nineties. The production team uses this method to create a relaxed atmosphere and use canned laughter to drive the audience's urge to laugh. Laughter can often drive laughter, even if the joke isn't that successful.

"Friends" is no exception.

But with the glory of the show, more and more viewers fell deeply in love with the show and substituted themselves into it, sincerely hoping to visit "Central Perk."

So David Crane came up with an idea to open up on-set viewing applications, allowing viewers to personally sit in the studio and watch the filming, creating real laughter.

Of course, the production team will still add canned laughter in post-production to ensure the program's effect, but it must be admitted that comedy is a performance that requires response. Real laughter on the scene can often stimulate the actors' performance state, and even occasionally spark and create unexpected scenes.

Although the number of viewers watching the filming on site is not large, only 150 people, it has still become a direct indicator of "Friends"' ability to test the quality of the series, and has now become a very important part of the series.

Later, this model was also borrowed by other sitcom crews and became popular in Hollywood, such as "The Big Bang Theory."

Because of this, the filming process of "Friends" is slightly different. The actors need to arrive at the set on time to rehearse the blocking and lines. After slightly familiarizing themselves with the entire filming process, the audience is allowed to enter the venue to prepare for filming.

Filming is not the same as live broadcasting after all. Errors, retakes, and repeated filming are still allowed, but in order to ensure the quality of the filming effect, the actors and crew members still need to take a live attitude.

Mistakes? Allowed.

But it is still necessary to minimize the number of mistakes as much as possible and ensure the chemical reaction of each performance, so that the audience can enjoy it, rather than filming a scene thirty times repeatedly, and the fun becomes a kind of torment. This is definitely not the effect that comedy hopes to create.

For Anson, this is a special test.

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