Chapter 46: How to Show Tension

Smoke curled up from the burning cigarette, faintly obscuring Ed Harris's figure. In the mirror, his resolute face was filled with anger...

"Cut!"

Watching the monitor, Duke called cut, then turned to the side. "Dim the lights a bit more. I want to convey the gloom of a heavy heart. Yes! The lighting needs to give the shot an oppressive feel."

With that, Duke left the gaffer to adjust the lights and walked straight over to Ed Harris, who was surrounded by cameras.

"Ed..." He paused to consider his words. "Don't wear the anger on your face. General Hummel is furious right now, yes, but as a battle-tested soldier, he suppresses it. His decision was carefully deliberated, so his expression should be calm."

"Well..." Ed Harris frowned. "There should still be some kind of movement or something to reveal his mood."

"Your eyes. Use your eyes." Duke pointed at his own. "I'm giving you an extreme close-up. Use your sharpest gaze."

"Like this?" Ed Harris widened his eyes slightly, and his entire aura shifted. An expressionless face couldn't completely suppress the anger within, but instead of being written on his features, the fury radiated as an indescribable intensity.

"Hold that state." Duke gave him a thumbs-up and returned to the monitor.

Acting was never an issue for these seasoned veterans. Once Duke conveyed his intentions, they always made the right adjustments.

Compared to the two leads in Speed, who mostly just needed to look good, this film demanded far more from its three main stars.

"John, shoot with a shallow depth of field," Duke called out to the cinematographer. "Get a tight close-up on Ed's eyes."

He then switched on his megaphone, tapped it lightly, and announced in a serious tone, "Attention, all departments. No more mistakes, or I'm canceling lunch!"

"Scene one, take two, action!" he shouted himself.

The cigarette burned once more, its smoke blurring Ed Harris's figure, yet somehow making his heavy heart palpable...

Glued to the monitor, Duke focused entirely on the close-up of the eyes. The moment Ed Harris stood before the mirror, John Schwartzman captured his gaze. That sharp look perfectly highlighted General Hummel's aura and the oppressive atmosphere around him.

"Cut!" Duke nodded in satisfaction. "That's a print! Next setup!"

The elaborate sets painstakingly built on the soundstage were often only meant for a few minutes or even seconds of screen time. At Duke's command, the crew relocated to the other side of the studio for Christopher Lee's scenes.

This area had been dressed as a prison. Christopher Lee was already in makeup and wearing his wig; notified by an assistant, he immediately stepped onto the set.

After a brief rundown of the key points, the camera, lighting, and other departments busied themselves according to plan. Zack Snyder temporarily oversaw the preparations while Duke seized the moment to give Christopher Lee some quick direction.

"Even though Mason has been imprisoned for a long time..." Duke said concisely, "he's still a lion."

"I understand." The old man nodded.

"Bring out the feeling of your days as an agent."

Leaving him with that final thought, Duke walked onto the set to inspect the dressing. He pulled open the door to the "prison" holding Mason and immediately frowned when he saw the two books resting inside.

"Wood..." Before he could finish, the head of the props department hurried over.

"Director..."

Not giving him a chance to ask, Duke pointed at one of the books. "This is the copy of The Art of War you prepared?"

Duke picked up the book and tossed it straight at him. "Mason is a British agent—an Englishman locked up for thirty years. Do you really think he can read Chinese? I need an English edition!"

"Sorry..." Wood Ward said hastily. "I'll get this fixed right away."

Armed with the success of Speed, the backing of Warner Brothers, and his own status as an investor, Duke's authority on set was leaps and bounds beyond his last shoot. With the two production managers stepping back out of professional courtesy, he was the absolute highest authority on set. Even if anyone else had different ideas, they would never dare question him to his face the way Crone once had.

Unable to track down an English copy of The Art of War on such short notice, the props department simply mocked up a new cover, ensuring Duke's shooting schedule wasn't delayed.

Heavy footsteps rang out. Christopher Lee's drooping gray wig concealed most of his face, and the handcuffs and shackles on his body made his situation clear. Yet, the elderly agent hadn't been broken by his imprisonment; instead, he radiated an aura unique to those who had seen the battlefield and whose hands were steeped in blood.

His presence was sharp and cold, devoid of even a trace of British gentlemanly grace.

This was exactly the change Duke had made to the character to fit Christopher Lee's real-life experiences. John Mason was no longer a superficially suave gentleman; his aura and movements were far more ruthless.

In truth, the original concept for John Mason had been somewhat tailored to Sean Connery. But the flaw in that was obvious: a secret agent locked up for decades would either break down entirely or become increasingly unhinged. Remaining suave and debonair? That was James Bond, not John Mason!

He was no longer a James Bond-style British spy.

Christopher Lee walked steadily forward while John Schwartzman, operating the Steadicam, constantly captured shots from in front of him until Duke finally called cut.

Since filming began, Duke rarely operated the camera himself. He had handed almost all the actual shooting over to the camera crew led by John Schwartzman, choosing to focus on the broader picture.

Furthermore, the footage fed directly to the director's monitor in real-time, giving him everything he needed to make the right calls.

Although he was highly satisfied with the first take, this shot was meant to highlight John Mason's defining traits, so Duke filmed a few more takes to ensure he had plenty of options for post-production.

Next came another change of setup to film Nicolas Cage's scenes. He and Naomi Watts, who played his fiancée, were already fully prepared. Once the crew finished a few minor adjustments to the set, the cameras rolled.

On the whole, these shots weren't overly demanding. Although the three leads frequently flubbed takes—and Duke sometimes had to tweak the set or camera angles, or even make minor script adjustments when inspiration struck—the shoot progressed smoothly. The benefits of casting highly experienced actors like Ed Harris, Nicolas Cage, and Christopher Lee in an action film were on full display. Their acting chops vastly outshone those of traditional, wooden-faced action stars.

This was especially true of Nicolas Cage. He lacked none of the toughness expected of an action star, yet he possessed a level of acting skill that traditional action heroes like Stallone and Schwarzenegger couldn't hope to match. There was a good reason he became a benchmark for action films in the nineties.

At the same time, his flaws were just as obvious.

Cage was like a highly distinctive but wildly inconsistent soccer player whose form fluctuated on a whim. He had a habit of delivering brilliant performances in one movie, only to act abysmally in the next. Sometimes, his performance quality would swing drastically within the exact same film.

Because Duke had hit a snag with the scene's conceptualization, the gap between takes stretched longer than usual. As a result, Cage—who had been in great form while shooting with Naomi Watts just moments earlier—inexplicably lost his groove once filming resumed.

"Goodspeed is a nerd, not an artsy hipster."

After five consecutive blown takes, Duke stood before the helicopter mockup, his voice rising. "Nicolas, Goodspeed is about to deploy. The fate of San Francisco rests in his hands. He shouldn't be excited right now—he should be nervous!"

"Nervous. Do you understand?"

Duke was like an industrial-strength hairdryer, completely stripped of his usual calm demeanor. "Nicolas, do not tell me you don't know how to act nervous!"

"Give me five minutes," Cage said, fully aware that the problem lay with him.

Duke nodded and stepped back behind the monitor. But a mere five minutes later, right after the cameras started rolling again, he yelled cut!

"Nicolas, tell me, where did your performance go?"

Taking a deep breath, Duke choked down his surging temper; losing it wouldn't solve anything. He walked over to the helicopter mockup, paced back and forth a few times, and waved off Sofia when she hurried over with a water bottle. Finally, he said, "First off, this is my fault. I paused the shoot for too long, and it cost you your momentum..."

"Duke..." Cage looked a bit embarrassed. Thanks to Sofia, the two of them actually got along quite well.

"Try this, Nicolas." Duke stepped right up to him, ignoring the curious glances of the Navy SEALs. "Keep your eyes darting around. Keep your leg bouncing in the cabin. And..."

Duke turned toward Christopher Lee on the other side. "Chris, tell him a few fitting jokes. Nicolas, when you hear the jokes, force a smile. Got it?"

Eyes constantly darting around; a leg constantly bouncing in the cabin; a forced smile while interacting with Mason—even with Nicolas Cage struggling to find his form, these cues could indirectly reflect his nervous tension.

Whether Duke's method worked, or Cage simply found his rhythm again, the overall performance improved with each subsequent take. On the sixth reshoot, Duke finally called out a satisfied print.

"Thanks."

Seeing the coffee on his desk, Duke spoke out of pure habit without looking up. "Sofia, make a few minor tweaks to the afternoon schedule..."

"Miss Coppola went to get your lunch," a woman's voice replied, completely lacking Sofia's nasal tone.

Before Duke could even lift his head, a familiar scent wafted past him.