Birth of an actor

After shooting the last three shots, "Shakespeare in Love" can be closed.

But these three shots are very difficult and not easy to shoot.

Because they have the same costumes, the same scenes, and the same action design, but they have to show three completely different emotions, and they have to show Shakespeare's anxiety, eagerness, passion, and even maturity after reading thousands of sails when he was creating art. Calmness is a test of the actor's ability to control emotions and grasp the details.

William put in a lot of effort to get these shots right.

In order to truly feel the thoughts and state of playwrights such as Shakespeare during the Renaissance period, he really went to Shakespeare's museum to copy the real work, and practiced for a long time with a real quill and a little Rough paper creation - Thanks to the major he studied and the continuous encouragement of the professor, William's thesis this semester was completed by hand.And, the quill pen is used, and the same cursive script as the circle circle favorite used by the British from the queen to the literati in the [-]th and [-]th centuries, of course.

When William really wrote by hand, he had to complete the data collection, sorting and research work that could drive people crazy in just two weeks, and after writing a [-]-page paper, he was unprecedented. I fully understand all the moods of the young Shakespeare in the script when he was writing the script—the maddening irritability of a few words when there is no inspiration, and the joy of writing like flying when the inspiration bursts.

Regarding William's imitation results, the prop master of the "Shakespeare in Love" crew commented: "It is very similar to Shakespeare's manuscripts. Although it can't be hidden from the eyes of historical professionals, it can be achieved after not too long of research. Such a successful imitation is already very remarkable, especially the signature of William Shakespeare, the way each letter is connected together and the writing habits are really close to the level of authenticity.”

Because the manuscript that William copied was better than the one prepared by the crew, the prop master simply used it directly.

Perhaps because of the heavy writing workload recently, William's right thumb, index finger and middle finger were quickly worn out with a thin layer of calluses, and there was no need for a make-up artist to deliberately camouflage, both hands are often hung with black Ink, the shot of Shakespeare's script is very realistic.

After the makeup artist checked that everything was OK, William sat at the desk, picked up a quill that was in good shape, dipped it in ink, and started writing on the slightly yellowed paper.

Director John Madden was very satisfied, and the lead actor could write Shakespeare's fonts himself, which saved a lot of trouble in post-production, and there were a lot of close-up shots, so there was no need to worry about going overboard.

"Is the photography, recording, and lighting all ready?"

"Sound RAN!" "Lighting RAN!" "Photography RAN!"

"July 1998, the 7rd scene of Shakespeare in Love, the first shooting, the second camera." The dresser finished shouting and closed the clipboard.

With a sound of "click", the assistant director raised the camera in his hand, and pressed the shutter at the moment when the clerk closed the slate. Next to the board is William Bradley who is writing earnestly. Modern film shooting props and classical actors and sets form a wonderful contrasting beauty.This is a photo specially taken by the assistant director to commemorate today's finale. He feels that this photo will definitely become a precious video material for the movie "Shakespeare in Love".

When the boarder ran out of the camera holding the slate, the director shouted: "ACTION!"

……

As the nib brushes across the paper, there is the tiny "squeak" of a quill pen rubbing against rough paper.

The three cameras shot from the left, right above and right in front of William's body, and from time to time they suddenly zoomed in close to the face. Under such a close distance, William was not disturbed at all, and he felt Shakespeare wholeheartedly. Emotion, trying to figure out every gesture, even every change of expression.

Now Shakespeare, who just came to London from his hometown, gained a firm foothold in the London theater circle by writing plays for the Rose Theater, and also has a little fame. Shakespeare has a play initially named "Romeo and the Pirate's Daughter Lorena" "has been conceived for a long time. He has great ambitions and wants to write it into a great work, but at this time he is struggling to find inspiration...

What kind of mood should Shakespeare be in at this time?Should be anxious and irritable.What about his demeanor?It should also be difficult to calm down, and there are constant small movements.

William's temperament is extremely impetuous now, his brows are slightly wrinkled, his eyes are slack, whether it is an irritable expression or the corners of his mouth, it is clearly written "unhappy".

Moreover, he looked completely restless, holding a quill in his ink-stained right hand and scratching randomly on the paper, sometimes writing a few meaningless words, sometimes signing his own name, and then all Cross them all out, roll up the paper, and throw it in any corner of the room, like an open wooden box, an open water glass, and the like.Due to neglect of use, the quill turned into a prop for scratching hair.

There are only a few shots of this scene in the script, as long as it can show Shakespeare's irritated and boring state when he couldn't write the script, but the director John Madden has not called "CUT" for a long time. William thinks that the other party probably It was because he was not satisfied with the current camera, so he adjusted his facial expressions and detailed movements to express his emotions more outwardly——

Although it is the correct sitting posture that is most conducive to writing, what is written from the tip of the pen is not a talented article, but the name of "William Shakespeare" one by one, and every detail of facial expression is filled with "I am very upset ", there is no spirit in the eyes, the quill has not stopped writing, but the eyes have never really fallen on the paper, but kept looking left and right, almost every eyelash is full of "boring and distracted" "A few large characters.

The camera moves from near to far, and the originally very standard sitting posture, when did it also bring a sense of fatigue?

"This one is over!" John Madden was finally satisfied this time. From the shot just now, he felt a very strong emotional appeal, which was exactly what he wanted.

Next to the camera, when the director yelled "CUT", William immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and stretched out his hands to knead the muscles of his face to relax. The close-up shots test people's self-control ability. It is natural and random, but there is not a single action that has not been practiced and modified after thousands of times of self-viewing in the mirror. Although it is not as exaggerated as "one minute on stage, ten years of work off stage", every actor who pursues has It is impossible to allow yourself to play any role as if you are playing yourself. Only through continuous study and practice to achieve complete control over every subtle muscle of your face, can you become another person anytime, anywhere.

……

"You know, Shakespeare's part was almost mine once."

As soon as Danny Bourne turned his head, he saw Ben Affleck standing on his right. The other party was looking at the focus of the lights in the audience, while muttering softly: "Black hair, long face, suitable age, and the same height Gwen was just hooking up, we even had a spark in our first audition, Miramax considered me for Shakespeare, then it was Will and I got the Ned Irene role .”

Danny Bourne looked at Ben Affleck's complicated facial expressions, cleared his throat suddenly, and read: "Out, out, brief candle. Life is but walking shadow. (Go out, go out, short candle, life is just walking shadows.)”

Ben Affleck looked at Danny Bourne in confusion: "What did you say?" It sounded familiar.

Danny Bourne couldn't help rolling his eyes: "If you don't even know the classic narration in "Macbeth", why are you not reconciled to not being Shakespeare? I just listened to Will read There are so many of them, they are almost familiar with these lines, "

Ben Affleck's expression instantly turned awkward.

Danny Bourne immediately apologized and said: "Sorry, Affleck, I just got a little out of words."

"No, you're right. I didn't get the role because of my lack of preparation." Ben Affleck was open-minded. He not only forgave Danny Bourne generously, but also reflected on himself: "William is better than I am suitable to play Shakespeare, he is familiar with Shakespeare's plays and sonnets as if they are his own language, and Weinstein is right to choose him, not to mention his acting skills are still so good. "

Ben Affleck's praise was genuine.

At the beginning of filming, he had some hostility towards William Bradley, but it was all because of Gwyneth Paltrow. When he learned that William was not his love rival, Ben A Affleck decided to treat the other party as his friend, and even had the idea of ​​"Will is younger than me, I have to take care of him like a big brother", but after getting along with him, Ben Affleck discovered that , who takes care of whom and who learns from whom is not certain.

For example, in the scenes that are being filmed now, Ben Affleck has also read the script and secretly pondered how to perform it, but even the best practice he has ever had is not as good as William Bradley's current performance It came out so well:

There are two story lines in "Shakespeare in Love", one is the love between Shakespeare and the rich merchant's daughter Viola, and the other is the process of Shakespeare creating the script of "Romeo and Juliet". The role played is definitely more important, because if Shakespeare hadn't been troubled by creation, he wouldn't have tried to find inspiration in love and met Viola. If it hadn't been for the sudden burst of creative passion, there would have been no "Romeo and Juliet" script Even when Viola married someone else in the end, Shakespeare regarded her as the muse of his life creation—from this point of view, the movie "Shakespeare in Love" is clearly about the young Shakespeare The love story, the hidden main line is the creative road of the writer Shakespeare.

But there are too few scenes in the script about Shakespeare's own creation-it is said that the original script was biased towards Shakespeare, but Miramax revised the script later, and now the most important role in the movie is actually Viola, Gwen Nice Paltrow has a lot of monologues - in this limited lens, it is necessary to not only show Shakespeare's enthusiasm for art (he is a playwright after all, and creation is his job), but also to let These few shots are dazzling, and it is not an easy task to play a role in connecting the past and the future in the movie.

However, Ben Affleck found that the reduction of monologue shots was not a problem for William Bradley. The other party seemed to be a natural actor, and every expression and every movement had a strong appeal. He also seems to be born with a halo, no matter how many or how few shots are taken, he can always make other people's eyes focus on him in the picture where he appears.

It is obviously the same scene, agreed costumes, similar action design, and easily confused shots, but William Brandley performed three completely different Shakespeares who were also controlled by art:

When his eyes are like eagles, he walks around restlessly, throws quills and papers everywhere, and sometimes even frowns at the corners of his mouth, the depression of wanting to create but not being able to create is overwhelming;

When he was flushed from ears to neck, and writing crazily with a quill pen in his hand, until the blue veins on the back of his hand were exposed, the excitement and passion of the inspiration explosion made the blood of the onlookers boil;

When he was sitting at the desk with a calm face and writing smoothly, with the corners of his mouth curled up, and writing beautiful cursive characters one after another on the paper, it made people faintly aware that this man seemed to have gone through vicissitudes of life to be able to do this. Taking it easy... perhaps this emotional appeal was God's gift to William Bradley?Simply terrible.

'If Gwen asks me who is more open and interprets the role better, she or Will, how should I answer? 'Ben Affleck, in love, also fell into new troubles.

……

"His eyes seemed to open up the entire Milky Way, his smile could open up the entire rose garden, his face was as handsome as Romeo's, and what flowed under his pale, almost transparent skin was not bright red blood, but graceful His slender, white-washed fingers waved the quill pen, just like Merlin waving his staff, words became alive because of him, love became great because of him, and drama ushered in a prosperous age because of him—"

"I didn't know you were a poet, ma'am," said Colin Firth, walking up to Judi Dench.

Colin Firth plays Shakespeare's rival, Sir Weatherweather, a money-hungry, mean, wretched upper-class aristocrat, while Judi Dench plays the last Tudor king, the famous "Virgin Lady". Queen Elizabeth I.

Both of them are facing the direction of the studio, and a few meters away is where the lights are focused. In the meticulously built sixteenth-century style room, William Bradley is still filming Shakespeare's fanatical scenes for the script. , From such a distance, you can feel the vigorous vitality of that scene, not to mention what kind of picture will be captured by the camera lens.

"I made this poem, but it wasn't for him in the first place." Judi Dench looked in William's direction, with a nostalgic smile on her face: "I'm over sixty years old, and I can't bear the threat long ago." A young man as energetic as Will, not to mention Will, even someone of your age—" She winked at Colin Firth mischievously: "I can't chew it anymore."

Colin Firth grinned quite face-savingly: "Those beautiful sentences that look like poetry and prose, are they your previous works?"

Judi Dench nodded and said: "When I was a little girl, I read Shakespeare's poems for the first time, and I was immediately overwhelmed by the beautiful words. "Romeo and Juliet" is the enlightenment of my classical drama. It is also my favorite Shakespeare work when I was young. Every young girl loves to daydream, and I am no exception. When I read Shakespeare's works, I can't help but imagine that a man so talented What should he look like? He must look like Romeo, and he must have a pair of passionate and wise eyes, and his hands must be beautiful, white, delicate and slender. So I racked my brains and wrote these wishful fantasies , can you imagine that Colin? I even painted a few pictures of Shakespeare in fantasy, until I was a little older and saw portraits of Shakespeare middle-aged in museums—”

Judi Dench made a broken expression: "All my innocent girlish hearts were completely shattered from that moment on."

Colin Firth was amused by this past and laughed for a while, and also revealed the past: "When I saw the portrait of Shakespeare for the first time, I also felt a little strange. The first time I read Shakespeare's works It's Hamlet, Shakespeare has always been the image of Hamlet in my imagination."

"And the reality is, not all talented writers have a good face, do they?" Judi Dench and Colin Firth smiled at each other and continued: "Those who were stupid when they were young In fact, I have long forgotten about the past, and it was not until now when I saw Will that I suddenly remembered everything."

"You have such high praise for him." Judi Dench's words both surprised Colin Firth and were expected.

"Don't you think so? Will's Shakespeare, as if it was generated according to the fantasy I once had." Judi Dench asked Colin Firth.