Respect the filmmaking process for the actors

A scene from “Spider-Man.” Photo from Marvel Studios

When “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” gets released in cinemas worldwide, there is a big chance that more or less around 40 percent of the movie has already been spoiled by overzealous fans, privy eyes, and leakers on social media. That could happen because they’re filming in Glasgow. Scotland indicated that there are so many people who can’t stop staring, taking photos, videos of the filming of scenes, and leaking anything and everything they could get their hands on.

Then, while watching and after finishing “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”, they themselves will have a sudden onset of disappointment because they hurt their own movie experience having seen in advance what what was happening on those specific scenes they had seen being filmed and then they would blame the movie studio, actors and the movie itself because it did not reach their expectations? Well, what can you expect? When you saw the behind-the-scenes and filming being done when you were not supposed to, or could have chosen not to pay attention to it, and resisted the temptation altogether.

At this point, because of these individuals, who are many, we are now “learning” that the fourth Tom Holland-starring Spider-Man movie will have at least half a dozen other superheroes in it, and about eight or more supervillains. Honestly, it is a mess. Everyone wants to know everything in an instant, and the old saying “Patience is a virtue” clearly has been lost on them. These people behave and act like they are lost in space or something in that regard. Haha….

The biggest problem with these types of fans is that they do not know any boundaries, restraints, or hesitation, and pause in probably asking themselves first, “Should I post this?” Should I share this? And more importantly, should I spoil this brand new information I have seen with my own two eyes and recorded via my smartphone? None. Absolutely not.

There is no discretion at all, and that has been a lingering problem, especially for Marvel Studios, because almost everyone can’t keep their mouth shut and learn to not spoil anything for anyone. It is only about them, what they want, what they feel like doing at the moment, without thinking of the long-term repercussions of it. Sometimes I feel like people have an addiction of sorts to filming movies being made. Haha…. Don’t they have anything better to do in life? Haha…. Seriously, get a life! Let the filmmaking process happen naturally, so they can focus on their job and film the scenes to the best they can without distractions.

I mean, wherever you go online, there are people posting everything, and it seems like there is no escape from them. When there are people who simply want to enjoy the movie when it comes out without knowing too much, that would literally ruin the movie experience. Sometimes I do wonder why these things happen so often nowadays, then I am reminded of my own first-hand experience of witnessing these scenarios, but two entirely different situations are what I got to witness and observe myself throughout my life.

Here they are:

This happened in 2002, as we were vacationing in New York City, and while walking to a store, I can’t remember which one it was, but as we were walking we noticed that from a few meters away on the side of the street, Robin Williams was standing on the back of a cop car talking to an NYPD officer, he had his makeup on, his wig on and was in character based on his outfit. But that was a hundred percent sure Robin Williams, alright. We spotted him, it must have been during the in-between takes or during a break, when we saw the late Robin Williams just there chatting with an NYPD officer.

But when you look around them, you do not see a gazillion gawking people at him, nor do you see a horde of fans taking videos and pics of him. Sure, I noticed a few people looking out of curiosity, but for the most part, since he apparently did live in that city for many years, everybody was minding their own business.

So, everything checked out when I connected the dots regarding the year, location, and his overall appearance. It is because he had the same vest, clothes, wig, makeup, and glasses as were shown in the movie he was doing at that time. It turned out he was filming a psychological thriller called “One Hour Photo,” and that is a movie I still own on DVD. It was only later on that I made the realization, because I have been a Robin Williams fan ever since I got to watch “Hook” growing up. For me, when I reflect on my life, this was one of the most unexpected, coolest, and most unforgettable experiences because in that memory of even for a few minutes, I got to see the late Robin Williams in 2002 doing what he does best with his craft.

But the whole point is, no one bothered him or pestered him or became a distraction. They simply gave him the space to do his work.

**** On the other hand, for this one, this is almost the complete opposite of what I had witnessed during the filmmaking process for actors. I can’t remember if this was in 2004 or 2005, but it was definitely not in 2006, because that was the year Bamboo’s sophomore album was released, and that was an impactful year when it came to the local music scene. This unfortunate situation happened in one of the three biggest malls in the South area. I was with my then ex gf, just going up the escalator to the top floor of the mall to watch a movie, but going there, we saw this big crowd, I mean enormous, you would think something was happening.

Then, looking down, you could see a few cameramen, a couple of actors who were big back then and are still popular to this day, but what surprised me was the fact the lady whom we suspect was probably the director, but looking back now, and knowing what I know, I suspect she may have been maybe the manager of the female actress.

She was freaking out! Screaming at the crowd to step back because their presence was ruining the shot of the scene. You could hear her yelling from the upper floor where we were, as we were observing what the commotion was all about as we looked down. The interesting thing about it, there were no security or bouncers or any people doing crowd control, or what could have been better, to tell all the people to disperse or just go on with their business, so that the scene can be finally shot and the actors themselves can film what they have to do next or even call it a day because it happened late in the afternoon.

And, each time the lady would plead with the people to step back or to leave, you know what, the first row of gawkers would only step back a foot or two, then gradually get closer again when she would talk to the actors or her attention went somewhere else! Haha…. Literally, there were like 4 or 5 rows of people crowding this one area of the floor just to “watch” the scene that could never get done, because of where the actors were situated, and from our angle, there were people everywhere, and a good percentage of them already had their cellphones out. The Nokia ones. The film crew clearly could not get a good shot or angle where the massive amount of onlookers could not be seen, and they were noisy as well.

I found that to be a sad case because she really wanted to get the scene done, and what’s more, the actors themselves, but to no avail. The worst part about it, after around 5 minutes or so, just seeing and observing the travesty that was happening below us in the lower level, leaning by the barrier wall, we left, and by the time we had finished the movie and gone down the escalator, they were still there in that same area of the floor of the mall. Wow! It only means she did not give up on getting the scene shot, and the same goes for all the onlookers. That is sad.

I do not think I would be selfish to wish for this, but I truly hope that anytime there is a filming done in any mall, there would be security to do some crowd control or something, because that memory of mine left an impression on me that these things happen even in public places like malls.

So people “unintentionally” ruining filming and disrupting the shooting of scenes was already a growing problem back then and a bigger problem now given you have more advanced and high end cellphones which are now smartphones and throw in the iPhones which all have the best state of the art cameras and of course, social media and Wifi connection to go online in an instant and share, post and divulge everything without thinking or giving it much thought how this would affect the filming of the said movie.

**** This answers one of the questions as to why so many reshoots are done at the last minute. Why so? By the time they can move on to the next location for filming, many have already posted clips, snippets, and sometimes the entire duration of the filmed scene, or have shared on their channels online the entire scene shot from their own smartphones, and so on. It has just become a headache for filmmakers, actors, and the studio to deal with because of these unscrupulous individuals who can’t control themselves from spilling the beans and sharing everything and anything.

When I think about it, I really believe a person’s character can be judged on how they utilize all the modern technology they have at their own disposal because that knee-jerk reaction to record everything, post it in a heartbeat, share anything and spoil whatever they can simply to brag that they saw this or discovered this scene or a particular moment during filming has been a detriment to the movie industry as a whole, period. It has been a negative downward spiral because most people can’t control themselves, and it is like an itch for them that they can’t stop scratching. That analogy is deserved for them because they are annoying! Haha….

Well, anyway, the driving force behind latest entertainment article of mine is this: find that balance, find that restraint, and yes, despite how excited or happy or starstruck it is for you to finally see your favorite actors in person, keep in mind, they are people, too, and they all need their space, and please stop spoiling details, scenes and what were supposed to be surprises in upcoming movies for the love of God!

Lastly, can we stop ruining the movie experience for others and respect the filmmaking process for the actors?