From the signing of the contract, to the special training in the Marine Corps camp, Nicholas Cage had been purposefully growing out his hair and beard, while simultaneously following a regular routine of bulking up and exercising.
Compared to when he first started, he had gained more than 10 pounds of muscle and his skin had become slightly darker, making him look more robust. These physical changes and efforts were naturally aimed at portraying the image and temperament of the character "Wardaddy" more accurately.
After being dressed up by the makeup artist, his face appeared darkened, and his clothing looked worn and messy. His hair was disheveled and greasy, his face was dark but spirited - this was Nicholas Cage's new appearance, looking quite impressive.
But just as they started shooting, they were called to a halt.
The sun was shining overhead, in the hottest afternoon hour between two and three o'clock. Nicholas Cage was wearing a thick tank combat suit, fully armed, and soon felt heat emanating from his entire body. The sweat on his forehead dripped like small raindrops. Of course, he wasn't the only one feeling hot; the brothers in the tank were no better off.
Sitting inside an iron-made furnace, one really has to experience it to be able to tell.
"Let's go through it again, this time pay attention," said Lyman, and Nicholas, after hearing the instructions, returned to his position behind the monitor. The soldier in charge of driving the tank Fury returned to the driver's seat and began maneuvering to return to the original position they entered.
"Reposition the set, we'll start again in ten minutes," Lyman shouted loudly through the loudspeaker as he returned to the monitor. Under the guidance of the crew members, who had just experienced the scene with the extras, they began to reposition themselves.
*Sigh*, there was no other choice, they made a mistake right at the beginning of shooting, Lyman thought with some frustration as he drank his water. It wasn't the actors' fault, nor the set design, props, extras, scheduling, or any other aspects that usually went wrong. Instead, it was the serving soldiers operating the tank who had a problem. They got nervous, didn't handle the direction well, and were too fast.
But there was no way around it, they had to continue.
After all, there were only a few soldiers who could drive a tank, and they were all soldiers who had come from tank units for support. Otherwise, they couldn't have Trini Garcia driving.
Trini Garcia was the character responsible for driving the tank in the movie. However, only when a close-up shot was needed did the real actor sit in the driver's seat to pose. For the rest, it was the soldiers acting as stand-ins. Similarly, when firing the cannon, there were specific individuals acting as substitutes.
After all, although it was a war movie, it was too much to ask a few actors to handle a Sherman tank. It would be too much of a burden. As long as they were familiar and the relevant actions didn't look fake, it would suffice.
Ten minutes later, the shooting began again quickly. Military vehicles roared into the camp, with a tank following behind. On the top of the tank, Nicholas Cage sat with half of his butt hanging outside, his gaze sweeping around, but his expression remained calm. Together with the bloodstained costume, an inexplicable sense of heaviness emanated from him.
Lyman closely watched the footage transmitted by the camera on the high orbit above the camp. When the camera captured Fury stopping in an open area, Nicholas jumped off smoothly, landed steadily, his face still expressionless, but his eyes became sharp...
"Cut," Lyman nodded in satisfaction and picked up the megaphone, shouting, "This one passed, change the scene, prepare for the next shot."
The scenes that were meticulously planned and took a lot of time and effort were often only for shooting a few minutes or even seconds of footage. After Lyman gave the order, the crew members began bustling around again.
Taking advantage of the ample sunlight, the crew members quickly tidied up the filming location and immediately rushed to the other side of the camp to prepare for the scene of the prisoners and the new recruit Norman reporting.
The set design team, prop team, as well as the cinematography and production crew, were doing the final touches with the help of people. The actors who had just finished shooting scenes hurriedly came out of the tank and went to the shaded tent to take a break.
Some were busy drinking water, some were busy blowing air and taking off their clothes. Several half-naked men sat in chairs, each finding their own way to cool down. And on the side, Heath Ledger, who was waiting, quickly entered the makeup trailer to transform his appearance and change into the costume. He didn't have any scenes just now; this scene was when he needed to appear.
The set was rapidly being arranged, Lyman exchanged a few words with Nicholas and others before busying himself with the crew, explaining the points to note for the next scene. The photography, lighting, and other departments began their busy work according to the pre-drawn storyboard.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner. When the makeup assistant came to inform that everything was ready, Lyman took the opportunity to give a few instructions to Heath Ledger in the makeup trailer.
"Norman is a communication soldier, and he hasn't been on the frontlines for long..." Lyman succinctly said, "He's a young man, but he's not cowardly."
"I understand," Heath, who had just finished his makeup, now wearing a "bush hat" on his head and carrying a camping bag on his back, looked quite foolish.
"Bring out the good state you had during the audition, try to get it done in one take."
"I will."
Just as he was about to say more, René ran over to remind him, "Lyman, we're almost ready for the shoot. We can proceed."
"Okay," Lyman turned to René and said, then turned back to Heath and said, "Get ready, we're about to start."
The three of them walked towards the prepared set, and Lyman began to carefully assess the scenery arrangement. After confirming everything was fine, he found Sandy, who was communicating with the extras playing the role of prisoners and several Allied soldiers.
"Hey, buddy, how's it going?"
"Don't worry, it's all good," Sandy reassured, patting his chest.
The next scene involved several Allied soldiers beating up a German prisoner, which happened to be witnessed by the commander and Norman, who needed to fill in the position. Sandy had just given instructions to the extras playing the attackers and the one being beaten, ensuring that they refrained from actually hitting each other. They needed to create the illusion of real fighting, while ensuring that the person being beaten didn't feel much pain.
It was a skill in itself and required good coordination between the two groups.
Of course, even with staged fights, some force was involved, and it was inevitable that there would be some superficial injuries. So, the extra who played the prisoner being beaten would receive double pay for the day, which was a way to compensate them indirectly.
Many war movies like to emphasize how well prisoners were treated, but Lyman was different. He wanted to add a touch of realism to the scene and increase the audience's sense of recognition.
After all, both sides had just fought a fierce battle, and the Allied comrades didn't know how many casualties they had suffered. How could they treat prisoners fairly?
If you were captured, it would be considered merciful if they didn't kill you. Treating prisoners kindly, who would do that to the enemy? Saints?
After giving instructions here, Lyman looked at Heath, who had already taken his position. His demeanor exuded a sense of immaturity, his gaze darting around, and his hand tightly gripping the strap of his backpack. He had no trace of composure. Lyman gave him a thumbs-up gesture to indicate that he did well, then turned back to the monitor and signaled to the script supervisor with his eyes.
"Action!" With a crisp sound of the clapperboard colliding, the shooting began.
A muddy truck parked steadily, and the door was pushed open from inside. A person dressed as a military officer was the first to get off, followed closely by Heath, who played the new recruit Norman. Thomas immediately adjusted the camera, capturing a close-up shot of Heath Ledger's face.
His costume was very clean, the helmet on his head seemed somewhat out of place, and a backpack as tall as a person hung diagonally on his shoulder. He wore gloves and looked around, emitting a contrasting vibe that didn't quite fit the surroundings. It was like a husky mixed in with a pack of wolves, creating a sense of surprise.
On the other side, the commander, who had already gotten off the truck, patted Heath's shoulder and said, "Come with me. I'll take you to meet your superior. You'll listen to him from now on."
"Oh, I see." Heath, whose posture was somewhat unstable, hurriedly responded, but his gaze continued to wander. The two of them started walking along the flat ground towards the depths of the camp, with soldiers occasionally stopping and greeting the commander.
When they approached the southeast corner of the camp, they coincidentally encountered three Allied soldiers escorting a recently captured German soldier towards the direction of the prisoner camp.
The three Allied soldiers were cursing and occasionally using their fists or rifle butts to beat the German prisoner walking unsteadily in front. The German prisoner was heavily struck by one of the soldiers, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. The three Allied soldiers didn't stop there and continued to kick him viciously, venting their anger, before dragging the German prisoner along like a dead dog.
The commander and Norman stood on the side and watched the whole scene clearly. However, the commander just smiled and showed no intention of intervening. Only after the figures of these people disappeared from sight did the commander seem to have finished watching a good show and invited Norman to meet his superior.
Along the way, Norman remained silent, not saying a word, just following calmly. Perhaps the scene he had just witnessed was the most authentic battlefield experience, causing this communication soldier who had never been in the frontlines to feel genuinely nervous. He didn't know, didn't know what awaited him ahead.
What would his fate be like?
He was just a student about to go to college, from a poor family, struggling, and only joined the military for a chance. With a little education, he managed to become a signalman and dealt with Morse code every day, avoiding frontline duty. However, as the German forces, sworn to fight to the death, became increasingly frantic in their own territory, the casualties among the soldiers on the frontlines became devastating.
Inevitably, to achieve strategic goals and replenish the troops with fresh blood, people like him were assigned to the frontlines.
What would the future hold? Norman didn't know; he had always been confused.