Chapter 847: Chapter 253: The Kiss Scene Between Two Men
Montana is located in the northwest of the United States, bordering Idaho, adjacent to Alberta, Canada, and is famous for its minerals, oil processing, and vast prairies. Of course, the most famous is Yellowstone National Park. As the world’s first national park and the most popular and spectacular national park in the United States, countless families come here for vacation every summer.
Although “Brokeback Mountain” was not filmed in Yellowstone Park, it is not too far, mostly in the Rocky Mountains, so the base was set in a small town called Graz in northwestern Montana, not far from Canada.
Does this name sound familiar? That’s right, it’s exactly the same as the name of the second largest city in Austria. However, this Graz has nothing to do with Austria, and the town’s residents are not of Austrian descent. Adrian guessed that when naming the town, someone might have casually glanced at a newspaper and thought the word Graz sounded nice, so they used it.
This situation is very common in the United States. If someone is willing to search in detail, they can ensure that names of famous cities from various countries can be found on the U.S. map, including Paris, London, and Barcelona. This is also considered a practice in the history of American expansion. When establishing a town somewhere, if a suitable name couldn’t be thought of immediately, they’d simply use an existing one to avoid trouble.
Of course, this was mostly applied to small towns with populations of a few thousand. If no one deliberately looked for them, they would not be discovered. If it weren’t for the popularization of the internet and the need to film in Montana, Adrian probably wouldn’t have known. So, even if people from other countries noticed, they could only laugh it off as a joke.
“Ready? How’s the lighting?” After receiving confirmation from the prop master, Adrian hurriedly came over to the makeup artist and lighting crew.
“Looks good,” Adrian nodded after checking the numbers on the light meter, then patted River on the shoulder, who was acting as a test subject: “Let’s start, give it your all.”
Montana in mid-March is still somewhat cold, but it suits the season of “Brokeback Mountain,” and there’s not much rain during this time, making it ideal for filming. Once everyone was ready, with River Phoenix and Brad Pitt dressed in old-style cowboy clothes and in place, Adrian gestured for the clapperboard to start.
This was the first scene of “Brokeback Mountain,” where Ennis and Jack meet outside the ranch owner’s trailer, marking the beginning of the entire movie. Originally, Adrian wanted to shoot the herding scenes first, but the sheep owner they contacted suddenly backed out, and the crew couldn’t find another in time. Considering River and Pitt still needed to blend together, Adrian adjusted the plan to start with the script’s opening.
Admittedly, both River and Pitt spent a lot of time and effort preparing. When they stood there, they were indistinguishable from cowboys from decades ago. Moreover, Ennis’s reticence and Jack’s carefree attitude were well interpreted by the two through body language on camera. Especially River’s movement against the wall, lifting his collar to tuck in his neck, and Pitt’s slicked-back hair with thickened temples matched the film’s required atmosphere perfectly, showcasing the characters’ personalities well. Even more commendable, both were proactive about these touches. Thus, using more experienced actors made the director’s job relatively easier.
Of course, Adrian also did his homework beforehand. Although he mostly studied the materials collected by his assistants, having Ivanka as a competent secretary and referencing works from a previous life meant he was very precise. For example, everyone knows that when a man thinks a woman is attractive, he directly admires her with his gaze. But using such a gaze on another man is very rude. Doing so on the street might earn you a punch.
So how does a homosexual appreciate someone they fancy? By observing indirectly with a mirror. Therefore, initially, there was a shot where Jack observed Ennis through the car’s rearview mirror. Here, Adrian redesigned the scene slightly. Ennis noticed Jack’s gaze but just adjusted his collar without saying anything.
However, this wasn’t to imply Ennis had homosexual tendencies. Throughout the novel, Jack is evidently more proactive. He knows he is gay, has accepted it, and falls in love with Ennis. But Ennis isn’t necessarily gay; without Jack, he might have lived an uneventful life married to Alma. To use a clichéd and even cheesy phrase, Ennis loves Jack, not men.
Thus, Adrian added a small gesture here to show Ennis’s non-resistance to homosexuality, laying the groundwork for their complex relationship later.
Of course, whether audiences perceive it this way is up to them. No movie storyline is entirely flawless; logic holes can always be found if one looks for them. Like “Brokeback Mountain,” the storyline seems cohesive, and the emotional journey and life-or-death intertwining of the two men are well-presented. But if they struggled so much inland, why not go to San Francisco?
Coastal regions are always more liberal than inland ones, no matter the country. San Francisco has been a gay mecca since the seventies. If they couldn’t stay in Montana and Texas, they could have saved money and gone to San Francisco together, avoiding the tragedy that ensued.
Alright, that’s a joke. If they had really done that, there wouldn’t be a “Brokeback Mountain” novel or movie.
“Great job, guys. You all did excellently.” Adrian generously praised them. Such smooth beginnings are rare.
Unfortunately, this didn’t last long. After wrapping up the first scene, they encountered obstacles when starting the second. The scenes focusing on the ranch owner were mainly two: the encounter between Ennis and Jack and Jack attempting to reunite with Ennis a year later by working for the ranch owner. However, the ranch owner had already sensed their situation and hence dismissed Jack with sarcastic words.
Since this scene only involved Jack, it should have been easier than before. Yet, despite previously performing well, Pitt now couldn’t satisfy Adrian no matter how he acted.
“You need to pay attention, Brad. You can’t make your emotions too obvious. Jack definitely doesn’t want others, especially the ranch owner, to realize how much he cares for Ennis. But it also shouldn’t be too restrained, making it completely undetectable. Jack isn’t Ennis. Feeling conflicted? That’s right!” Adrian tirelessly directed Pitt, helping him better evoke his emotions.
Although the previous smooth shoot was excellent, it was essentially rare. Therefore, Adrian wasn’t disappointed by subsequent retakes. Taking it slowly allowed him to discover some issues.
So when they finally passed the shot after dozens of retakes, the crew spent the next three to four days roaming the town, shooting fragmented scenes like Ennis’s memories or some ordinary meetings with Jack. However, privately after that day, Adrian ordered River and Pitt to share the same room, under the guise of helping them further experience the sincere emotions of both characters.
“Is it really necessary?” River asked somewhat disgruntledly as he was roped into the room. It wasn’t that he felt uncomfortable, just that being forcibly moved to share a room with Pitt felt a bit odd.
“Very necessary,” Adrian was unabashed. “I know you both often exchange feelings and insights, and with good results, which I’ve observed. However, it’s clearly not enough. You need to continue fostering your bond until I deem it satisfactory.”
“And what if you never consider it satisfactory?” River retorted, even though he already knew the answer.
“Then it’s unfortunate; you’ll stay together until the filming ends, even if your girlfriends visit,” Adrian replied matter-of-factly, then seriously added, “Of course, don’t make it real.”
Pitt, who had been quietly listening, burst out laughing, while River rolled his eyes dramatically.
No matter what they thought, the decision was final, and so the two men embarked on their cohabitation life within the crew. As the news spread, it was inevitable that some on set would look at them with suggestive eyes. However, both maintained a good attitude; they weren’t bothered by these non-malicious glances and even started acting intimately in front of everyone, as if they were genuinely close, almost making the pretense real.
Adrian allowed them their antics. After these days of adjustment, once the weekend ended, observing that they seemed ready and since the sheep issue wasn’t fully resolved, he prepared to shoot the first climax.
“In short, you need to put yourself into the role of a wife who senses something is wrong with her husband but isn’t sure what it is, and then when she accidentally sees that scene, that extraordinary shock is what will be convincing. I know this might be a bit challenging for you, Kirsten, but I believe you can do it,” Adrian said to Kirsten after all the props and scenes were set up that morning.
“I can do it.” Kirsten, with her hair cut short and looking refreshed, nodded firmly.
This was the little fairy’s first collaboration with him in so many years, so Adrian didn’t use the nickname Qiqi, addressing her by her full name instead to show respect. Of course, in reality, when working with his woman, Adrian hardly ever used nicknames on set, even though everyone knew about their relationship, which could be considered a professional attitude.
The filming of the post-marriage lives of the two men was originally scheduled to start at the end of March, but since the sheep issue hadn’t been fully resolved and Kirsten’s schedule had been set aside for some time, Adrian had her come over from Los Angeles.
“Are you sure that foreman won’t fire you?” When told her husband was going fishing on Brokeback Mountain with his friend, Alma crossed her arms and walked out from indoors, her expression inexplicably complex.
“That foreman owes me, he even worked during a blizzard last Christmas,” Ennis said nonchalantly, “Besides, I’m only going for a day or two.”
After the two conversations following the start of shooting, Adrian had to call for a stop.
“I need you to hold back a bit more,” Adrian said to Kirsten after pausing for a moment, “You were still a bit too obvious. Regardless, Alma always hoped Ennis would have a change of heart; otherwise, she wouldn’t turn a blind eye to his and Jack’s meeting on Brokeback Mountain. So even if she previously saw them intimate, no matter how shocking it was, she maintained a facade of calmness. You can…”
He spoke, slightly furrowing his brows, then looked at River with a worried, depressed gaze: “Are you sure that foreman won’t fire you?”
The tone was gentle, with a hint of inexplicable anxiety, causing River to put on a surprised expression: “Are you alright, Director?”
Kirsten instantly giggled, dispersing the slight tension brought on when Adrian called for a stop, so he just gave River a glare without saying much more.
“Understand?” Adrian asked Kirsten, then gave River a pat: “Don’t put too much pressure on her, let’s go again.”
Admittedly, Kirsten’s acting was still quite good. Although “Spider-Man” had made her very popular, she had also acted in several literary films over the years. However, because she was acting opposite River Phoenix now? Basically, River had never participated in A-class large productions in Hollywood, and the roles he played were always very distinctive, which kept his reputation intact even after the drug-related hospitalization incident.
This good reputation wasn’t just talk, as Adrian truly felt. He knew River’s acting was good before but always watched him through a veil, finally witnessing it firsthand during their first collaboration in “Brokeback Mountain.” If nothing else, he’s always the first among all actors to get into character, and he controls the role excellently; if not for Adrian’s current rich experience, he wouldn’t necessarily have been able to keep him in check.
The pressure on Kirsten acting alongside him, you can imagine.
“It seems we should proceed gradually, first shooting some scenes of Alma and Ennis’s life, and then moving into deeper filming.” After countless repeats, rest, and more repeats, the scene was finally done by the afternoon, Adrian said.
“Of course, you actually did really well.” He immediately complimented the somewhat downcast Kirsten.
Starting with constant NGs can indeed easily undermine an actor’s confidence, but conversely, it also allows the actor to grasp the inner workings of the role quickly and integrate with other actors successfully. If one has a fragile heart that can’t withstand setbacks and denials, it’s better not to be an actor. Of course, praise, encouragement, and motivation are still indispensable.
“Speaking of which, I sometimes think, if Kirsten and River also acted together in ‘Interview with the Vampire,’ that would be interesting,” Adrian then teased them, “I can almost imagine how those who love to spoof might write reviews of this movie: Marloy visited Louis afterward, Louis fell in love with Marloy, but Marloy accepted and then rejected him. After meeting the amnesiac Claudia, he married her. After much hardship, Louis found Marloy, they resumed their affair, and Louis immersed himself completely in his relationship with Marloy, turning a blind eye to Claudia. Claudia, having regained her memory, experienced a double betrayal and ultimately divorced Marloy in anger.”
After this commentary was narrated, those who understood immediately burst into laughter, while those who didn’t understand laughed along after others explained it to them. River, Pitt shrugged, or scratched their heads amidst the laughter as if to say ‘it’s alright, no worries,’ and Kirsten also perked up a bit in the laughter.
“Since everyone is so happy, let’s go ahead and try filming another scene,” Adrian then said.
“But, Director, the time…” an assistant wanted to remind him.
“It’s alright, just a test shoot to let them get prepared and in the mood; just brighten the lights a bit, and it’s fine,” Adrian immediately said, “Scene 48, Take 33.”
Upon hearing the numbers he announced, everyone’s gaze turned a bit quirky, looking at the two male actors. River was unaffected, calmly starting to prepare, while Pitt couldn’t help but scratch his head once more. Because the scene involved Jack finally unable to endure the longing and coming over from Texas, and upon meeting, they couldn’t help but kiss in a corner.
Yes, a kissing scene between two men, this is the shot Adrian planned to test shoot, which is also why he initially aimed to film a highly charged conflict scene with Kirsten. The kiss between the two men is just before this shot.
Since the director gave the order, the team naturally had to operate, and soon everyone was ready. First, with a long shot, Ennis saw Jack arriving from the window inside, immediately rushing to the door, then the camera switched to Jack’s smile, and back again. From there, Ennis opened the door and leapt down the stairs, rushing to Jack with a smile, wrapping him tightly in his arms, then the two grappled and playfully shoved one another into a corner.
This scene took about 1 minute, primarily from Jack’s perspective, encompassing all of Ennis’s body language, fully showcasing his behavior completely different from his usual reserved and silent nature. If Adrian didn’t consider it too kitschy and inconsistent with the overall film style, he might have used a 360-degree rotating shot here.
The whole process went very well, River leapt down, hugging Pitt tightly, performing the sequence and beaming with genuine joy, all very spot on. But when the next shot came, it changed.
“Cut!” Adrian shouted from the sidelines, waving to stop the filming, “Were you two kissing just now?!” (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian () to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)