[Chapter 133: Leonardo's Joy, Mad Explosions, and Thrilling Car Chases]
Still, Linton keenly noticed that Anne and Leo's relationship seemed a bit too close. Of course, it might look normal to others, but it was easy for him to sense something unusual with his powers.
At night, after the first round ended, during break time, Linton held Jennifer in his arms and voiced his doubts.
"Honey, what's going on between Anne and Leo?"
"They're like you and me. Ever since we moved into the cast hotel, Leo's been staying in Anne's room. His own room is just for show."
"Really? We're true love. Are they true love too?"
"Darling, we're true love, but don't you have too many true loves? Catherine's sitting right beside you, holding you."
"You're both my true loves, my darlings," Linton shamelessly said. "Enough about us. What about them?"
"Maybe. But I think it'll be hard for them to last."
"Why?"
"Because Leo, like you, is a player. On set, he's like a peacock showing off. Many young girls are attracted to him, always trying to get close. Anne's got his attention now, so he doesn't respond to others. But later, even though Anne's charming, I doubt she can completely hold Leo's heart. And Leo's not as strong or as charming as you to get along with Anne and other women at the same time. Of course, that's just my guess. Maybe they really are true love."
"Let's hope so," Linton chuckled inwardly. Leo was world-famous as a notorious playboy, always preferring blond, tall young beauties for decades. It was unlikely he truly loved Anne. More likely, it was a mutual game for the movie role. Plus, Anne was fairly attractive herself, which helped.
"Let's not worry about them. Are you rested? Let's continue our game."
The second round started.
---
As time went by, the crew quickly finished filming the action scenes. The main appeal of Speed was not only its exciting fight scenes but crazed explosions and thrilling car chases that made viewers' adrenaline spike and left them wanting more.
Every day on set, they could hear the booming explosions.
While filming explosions, Linton noticed Michael Bay's natural sensitivity to scheduling and camera angles. The resulting shots were dazzling and breathtaking.
No wonder he earned the nickname "Explosion Bay" later on -- a natural-born explosion genius. Linton worried that after the movie released, he might steal Michael's nickname, turning "Explosion Bay" into "Explosion Linton," which wouldn't be fun. He decided to arrange an even bigger explosion movie for Michael soon.
With a playful look, Linton stared at Michael, unsettling him enough that Michael approached and asked, "Director, did I do something wrong?"
"No, Michael, you did great. You'll lead the next explosion scenes."
"Thank you, Director! I'll make you proud," Michael said happily, patting his chest confidently.
...
That afternoon, the crew went to the outskirts of Los Angeles, where there was an old house about to be demolished. The modest house, roughly 100 square meters, had been renovated according to the script during preparations.
The house was far from neighboring buildings, so no matter how big the explosion, it wouldn't affect others.
With LAPD's help, all the demolition permits were in place. The pyrotechnics team set up explosives; Industrial Light & Magic's (ILM) effects crew arranged molds and dummies; the props team matched the set to the studio scenes. Michael directed the camera crews to set up their equipment.
After all was ready, Linton and Michael led thorough checks. The on-location shoot was a one-shot deal -- perfection was a must.
Only when everything was confirmed safe did the pyrotechnics team lay the detonation wires.
Hollywood movies clearly mandate wired detonation for explosions during filming. Many viewers are misled by the films, where characters casually press a remote control, and the target blows up spectacularly while they walk away coolly.
In reality, modern electronic tech is so widespread that wireless signals can interfere and cause accidental explosions. So wired detonations ensure 100% safety.
To achieve the earth-shattering blast needed to destroy the house, the production even obtained military-grade explosives from LAPD.
With preparations complete, Michael asked Linton's permission and took command onsite.
"Clear the area! Everyone retreat to at least 100 meters."
"Effects crew has cleared out."
"Camera crew has cleared out."
...
"Okay, listen to my count, countdown begins: 10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1, detonate!"
Boom! The deafening explosion erupted with a giant fireball shooting up. Under the military explosives' immense power, the house instantly disintegrated into fragments.
It was perfect; the cameras captured the blast flawlessly.
However, interior explosion shots were handled by ILM's special effects.
...
With LAPD's support, the crew also rented an unfinished highway segment in the suburbs for shooting car chase scenes.
They rented over a hundred cars for filming and purchased 10 near-junk cars for crashes and explosions.
During shooting, main actors mostly posed without showing faces; professional stunt drivers did the actual driving.
To capture the edge-of-your-seat chases, Linton suggested installing wireless high-speed cameras on the cars to film the spinning tires up close.
Though common in later years, this idea amazed the director's team at the time.
"All departments, prepare."
"Scene 61, take 3, action."
...
A bus roared down the highway's end without slowing, crashing into several moving cars, which then collided with others, creating chaos on the road.
Nearby ejectors fired just in time, launching several cars flipping through the air.
The footage showed disaster-level wreckage.
The medical rescue crew stationed on the sidelines quickly pulled stunt performers from the cars to check for injuries.
...
Afterward, the crew returned to the studio to shoot models for scenes like the house's interior explosion, the bus jumping a broken highway, and the bus-airplane collision and explosion.
Every model was obliterated in the blasts.
ILM's technology was reliable; their models looked incredibly realistic, and combined with post-production effects, the result was indistinguishable from real.
*****
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