[Chapter 960: Method Acting]
The day after the celebration party for Beverly Girls and Desperate Housewives, even though it was Sunday, Eric had already begun officially preparing for the filming of Iron Man.
The movie was set to start shooting with the scenes in the cave after Tony Stark had been kidnapped. The cave interiors were fully constructed at Firefly Studios, and even for the brief outdoor shots planned, filming was only to take place in the mountains of Eastern California. Aside from the scheduled scenes at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, it could be said that the entire film wouldn't leave California.
This setup maximized Eric's compatibility with his other work commitments. Although everyone hoped Eric could immerse himself completely in the film, they all understood that was unrealistic.
...
At Firefly Studios, the first official day of shooting Iron Man had finally arrived.
Inside the massive Stage 7, as it was a scene of Tony Stark trapped in a cave after being kidnapped, there weren't many people involved in the shoot. Director Joss Whedon discussed the upcoming first scene with the cinematographer, lighting technicians, and others before walking over to the two actors rehearsing.
The actor playing Dr. Yinsen, who was kidnapped alongside Tony Stark, was Ed Harris, a seasoned veteran in Hollywood. Two years prior, he had received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Apollo 13. Initially, some top brass at Firefly had encouraged Eric to take on the role of Tony Stark himself, but now that the moment had arrived, Joss Whedon felt immense pressure and even subtly regretted that decision. Compared to Eric, who had achieved a string of box office successes, he was merely an inexperienced director.
Joss even sensed that many crew members' attention was focused on Eric. Clearly, in this studio, one word from Eric held more weight than ten from him. This was evident that morning, as many from Firefly Group, aware of Eric's role as Tony Stark, showed up under the pretense of visiting the set to see the excitement. Everyone who came was significant in their own right, and Joss thought he couldn't offend even one of them, but Eric managed to send everyone away with a mere word.
"Joss, are we ready to shoot?" Upon seeing Joss approach, Eric got up from his folding chair and asked.
Eric was well aware of the pressure Joss felt but didn't try to alleviate it verbally; he simply made subtle gestures to show his respect for Joss's role as director. During the film's pre-production, Eric had accepted Joss's directorial vision, planning to focus on his role as the lead actor and avoid meddling in matters outside his purview unless Joss suddenly changed direction.
Eric's small gesture of getting up visibly allowed Joss to relax a bit as he nodded and said, "Yes, Eric, they're ready over there."
Eric handed a hardcover notebook to Caroline, saying, "Let's head over."
...
The plan was to film the scene where Dr. Yinsen performed surgery on Tony Stark first.
Caroline watched as Eric, Joss Whedon, and Ed Harris moved toward the filming area, holding onto the hardcover notebook that Eric had just given her and staying put instead of following.
Melanie carefully carried a coffee pot inside and, noticing the bustling crowd, quickly approached Caroline to set down the pot, glancing towards the group with curiosity, she asked, "Are they about to start?"
"Yeah," Caroline nodded but stayed standing for a moment before sitting back down, her eyes still fixed on Eric's figure not far away.
Melanie, sitting beside Caroline, noticed Eric had removed his jacket, laying bare chested on the operating table, and couldn't help but say, "Eric looks amazing; I wish I could touch his abs."
Caroline rolled her eyes at Melanie, but her own cheeks were soon flushed. Worried that Melanie might catch her expression, she quickly turned her head away.
Melanie didn't notice Caroline's change and continued to watch the busy crowd, saying, "I have to admit, Eric looks way more mature with his black hair."
In general, blonde women are often seen as the stereotypical dumb blonde, and similarly, blonde men are ridiculed, leading many naturally blonde men to dye their hair darker. In Hollywood, this was even more prevalent; male stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul Walker, and Chris Hemsworth were actually blonde but rarely kept their natural hair color.
Eric's hair was also golden, which made him appear youthful, yet he had never considered dyeing it. In earlier years, some media outlets would occasionally joke about his hair color, yet now that everyone was accustomed to Eric's personal image, the topic had died down.
To play Tony Stark, Eric finally changed his hair color. The standard facial hair style for Tony Stark was fake, and due to his obsessive cleanliness, Eric typically didn't sport any facial hair, just some light stubble at most.
Thus, after the makeup was done, Eric's appearance was markedly different from his usual look, making him almost unrecognizable. While most could still identify him at a glance, the stark contrast in his appearance meant he wouldn't disrupt the audience's immersion by being too recognizable in the role of Tony Stark.
Caroline noticed a prop master applying fake blood to Eric's chest and couldn't help but squeeze her notebook, thinking about how someone so meticulous and clean would surely find this discomforting.
A hand waved in front of her, and Caroline snapped back to the moment, "Mel, what's up?"
"I'm just starstruck here; didn't you hear what I said?"
Caroline blinked, responding, "Yeah, I heard, but Eric said he thinks blonde is nice too."
Melanie burst out laughing, wrapping an arm around Caroline and pinching her chin gently. "Silly girl, he likes women with blonde hair."
"Not really, they probably aren't all blonde," Caroline said.
After Caroline spoke, Melanie noticed the disappointment on her face and sighed. She grabbed the notebook Eric had just handed Caroline and said, "Let me see what Eric has written."
This notebook served as Eric's method acting tool. During these days, whenever he had free time, he jotted down details of Tony Stark's personality, behavior, and dialogue in the notebook, occasionally constructing a dialogue out of thin air in the first person or writing a diary entry.
As Eric's close personal assistants, Caroline and Melanie knew this notebook wasn't much of a secret, and Melanie eagerly read through the snippets Eric brainstormed.
...
Just as she opened the notebook, they heard Joss Whedon's commanding voice announcing the start of filming. Both girls instinctively stood up and leaned in closer to see.
A production assistant clapped the clapperboard and quickly stepped away from the camera.
The few square meters surrounding the operating table were crowded with five or six actors and crew members, making it difficult for the two women to catch sight of Eric, who could barely be seen struggling on the makeshift operating table through gaps in the crowd.
Melanie and Caroline had rehearsed lines with Eric and naturally read the entire script, and having been in Hollywood long enough, it wasn't their first time watching actors perform.
In this scene, Eric was supposed to cry out in pain, but Melanie heard no sound coming from him, leading her to think, Poor Boss probably isn't able to let loose in front of so many people after so many years away from acting.
Though she often joked about her boss, in truth, Melanie had a soft heart and genuinely worried that Eric would flop.
She expected to hear Joss Whedon shout "Cut" quickly, but instead, she was startled by Eric's agonizing and guttural cries that erupted, sounding like a captured wolf howling in desperation against its cage, trying to break free.
"Ah--!"
Caroline felt her heart tighten and instinctively took a step forward, nearly rushing into action, while Melanie, surprised as well, kept her head clear and grabbed Caroline's arm.
Inside, several temporary actors playing the terrorists noticed Eric's outburst and began to struggle violently, frozen in place for a moment. Ed Harris's experience kicked in, and he quickly shouted, "Hold him down!"
Only then did the temporary actors realize they needed to restrain Eric, who was squirming intensely.
...
Not far from the director's monitor, Joss Whedon's mood had fluctuated multiple times in under a minute.
Initially, Eric was performing silently on the operating table. While his body language was exceptional, the lack of sound made Joss think like Melanie, that Eric hadn't acted in years and was somewhat hamstrung. If that were true, it would be a major issue.
To be a great actor, the foundation is unleashing one's true nature. Even if the character is a dog, the actor must bark freely.
If Eric was restricted from even groaning in pain, it would mean he had closed off his actor's nature. Now that filming had begun, the crew had no time to allow Eric months to free himself. If it had been another actor, paired with a more accommodating director, they might have been forced into performing better through reprimanding or intimidating tactics.
But seriously, who in Hollywood would dare pull that with Eric Williams?
Soon, Eric exploded, resembling a wounded beast in a trap, and Joss Whedon's almost sinking spirits soared high as he fixated on the monitor, relief washing over his face.
Upon reflecting, it made sense; Tony Stark was unconscious on the operating table, his body involuntarily reacting to stimuli during the surgical pain and fear. Eric's understanding of these details was arguably more thorough than Joss's as the director.
Ultimately, Joss had to acknowledge his subtle prejudices; he assumed that since Eric had reached the pinnacle of directing, he would likely struggle with acting. Therefore, when the scene deviated slightly from his expectations, he feared there was a huge problem.
Realizing this, Joss felt somewhat ashamed, watching the temporary actors fumble in confusion while Eric unleashed his performance. He furiously cursed them in his mind -- a beautifully perfect shot ruined.
When Ed Harris shouted "Hold him down!" in English, Joss had to immediately call "Cut." Although Ed Harris reacted quickly, he overlooked that the actors around him were Afghan and could not communicate in English.
Hearing Joss call "Cut," everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as the scene had been entirely unexpected.
...
Joss approached Eric, who was sitting up, and asked, "Eric, how are you feeling?"
Eric noticed a prop master bringing over a towel to help wipe the fake blood off his chest and quickly took it, doing it himself. He didn't feel comfortable having a male prop master assist him in wiping off the blood.
As the crowd dispersed, Caroline and Melanie walked over, and Eric naturally handed the towel to Melanie, who took it and carefully helped Eric clean the blood that had dripped down his back.
Letting Melanie clean off the fake blood, Eric nodded and asked, "Not bad. How about you, how's it looking?"
Joss nodded, saying, "Very well, but you might want to tone it down a bit; everyone got a bit spooked."
Hearing Joss's bluntness, everyone laughed.
Eric grinned and replied, "Alright, I'll try. This is just the first shot; we can try again a few times."
As one of Hollywood's finest directors, Joss wasn't blind to where the earlier issues had popped up. However, Eric exhibited no intention of blaming the temp actors for the mistakes, which relieved Joss, as that was actually within the director's purview.
Gradually beginning to ease his worries, Joss patiently explained to several extras what to pay attention to next, also having a language expert teach Ed Harris a few phrases in Afghan, before shooting continued.
*****
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