From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The next day, early morning.

The "Spider-Man" crew was already busy again, and fortunately, today's filming wasn't on the streets but at the famous Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, shooting indoors, away from the wind and sun.

Of course, this didn't mean the work was easy, as filming in a hospital was also full of difficulties. The crew needed to avoid affecting other patients as much as possible, so everyone was busy from early in the morning.

Including the actors.

Sam Raimi hesitated slightly—

The scene prepared for today was actually close to the third act of the movie, skipping a series of scenes that needed to be filmed in the studio, and directly cutting into the turning point of Peter Parker and Mary Jane's emotional escalation.

Sam wasn't worried about Anson, nor was he worried about Kristen, but he was concerned about the emotional spark between the two actors.

This scene wasn't the kind of explosive, love-at-first-sight scene in traditional romance movies, but a subtle and restrained yet surging change in the style of "When Harry Met Sally" or "In the Mood for Love," with delicate and rich emotions, placing very high demands on the chemistry between the actors.

Anson and Kristen hadn't spent enough time together.

Sam was thinking about how to shoot this scene. The conventional method was shot-reverse-shot, that is, shooting Kristen's lines from behind Anson's shoulder, and then shooting Anson's lines from behind Kristen's shoulder, back and forth.

But honestly, Sam didn't like shot-reverse-shot—

Too rigid, too stiff, too formulaic, too stupid.

Such a shooting method, used occasionally, can enrich the position of the camera; but using it for a long time is very lazy, without any of the director's own ideas, just like a worker rushing to cope with work.

Thinking back to Sam's debut film, "Evil Dead," he was clearly not a director who liked to shoot in a conventional way; but because of the particularity of "Spider-Man," being both a commercial blockbuster and the first time the two young actors were leading the way, the conventional shot-reverse-shot method might be more suitable.

The reason is that shot-reverse-shot doesn't require actors to cooperate in their performances. When shooting Anson, Kristen only needs to help with the scene with her back to the camera; and vice versa.

To a large extent, in shot-reverse-shot dialogue scenes, actors can complete the performance independently, and the audience's understanding of the emotions of the entire scene is often fragmented, conventional, and rigid.

Relatively easier for actors.

Originally, Sam had decided to use shot-reverse-shot, but deep down he was still a little reluctant.

Sam had another complex shooting idea, using a forty-five-degree oblique angle to capture the emotional flow between Peter Parker and Mary Jane, showing the moment of emotional connection between the two characters.

When Mary Jane speaks, the change in Peter Parker's eyes.

When Peter Parker speaks, the change in Mary Jane's expression.

Back and forth, eye contact, the two people have a connection, an exchange, a relationship, becoming the moment when Mary Jane truly falls for Peter Parker.

However, this shooting method places higher demands on the actors.

The real reason Sam couldn't let go was that he had higher expectations for Anson and Kristen, which was also an important scene that he had been rehearsing in his mind since the casting was finalized.

Now that it was imminent, Sam was worried that his greed might disrupt the rhythm of the movie, backfire, or be superfluous. Maybe he should be more conservative?

"Director?"

A voice came from the front. Sam looked up and saw Anson, already made up. After looking him up and down, his thoughts paused slightly in his mind, and the swaying doubts had already fallen to the side of adventure.

Anson saw Sam standing in front of the trailer, neither coming in nor leaving, and took the initiative to say hello. Then he saw Sam's eyes light up.

Those copper bell-like eyes were completely wide open, which was really a bit scary.

Sam looked at Anson, "For the next scene, let's try a different shooting method first. Don't feel pressured. I just want to see how it feels to shoot the entire scene completely in one go, capturing the emotional surge between Peter and Mary Jane."

"A complete thread?" Anson immediately understood.

Sam nodded slightly, "Yes, a complete thread. What do you think?"

"No problem. Before we start shooting, I'll discuss it with Kristen, exchange our states, and find a suitable position." Anson didn't know Sam's entanglement, but he understood the director's consideration.

In his previous life, he had seen a discussion about why the same emotional scene could be presented so differently by different directors. Ang Lee was a prime example. His shots were always able to show the lingering and gentle emotions between characters to the fullest?

Some people think it's the actors' performance. Of course, this is a very important reason; but in addition, the director's control of the camera is also one of them.

Ang Lee rarely uses shot-reverse-shot, because shot-reverse-shot constantly interrupts emotional communication; he often likes to use side shots, starting from the actor's eyes or other positions, to capture the character's own emotional changes, and then capture the emotional changes of the co-star in the character's eyes.

Dialogue needs to flow.

At the same time, whether the camera looks up from below, or looks from a backlight position, or maintains a distance of scrutiny, the position and space themselves already represent the emotional relationship, and then the position of each other in this scene is shown through the eyes and expressions of both sides in the same dialogue.

This is also the reason why Ang Lee particularly likes and admires Ingmar Bergman. The character relationships in Bergman's shots often have strong psychological hints, quietly cutting into the emotional state.

However, how to grasp the measure is another key point.

According to historical trajectory, the fundamental reason for Ang Lee's box office and critical failure in shooting "Hulk" in 2003 was that he failed to find a balance between commercial needs and self-expression.

From Sam's words, you can hear that the director also has his own considerations. If Anson remembers correctly, in his previous life, Sam should have used shot-reverse-shot; but now Sam has changed his mind and proposed more challenges, but he doesn't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

In any case, Anson was faintly looking forward to it.

Sam saw Anson agree so readily, and was a little more expectant. Then he and Anson stood on the spot and began to discuss the emotional thread of this scene. Kristen then joined in, and the three of them had a lively exchange for a while before Sam turned and left with satisfaction.

Anson and Kristen exchanged a look, and Kristen laughed, "Great, the things we discussed can now come in handy. Mary Jane's state is immediately clear."

Anson nodded in agreement.

Kristen, "Jake?"

Anson was puzzled, "What's wrong with Jake?"

Kristen nodded and waved her hand, and finally simply gestured behind Anson—

Turning his head, he could see Jake Gyllenhaal handing out donuts all the way, smiling, kind and friendly, like a goodwill ambassador for a global beauty pageant.