After Christmas and New Year's, it was officially 1993. The Speed crew concluded their short holiday break and resumed filming. All indoor scenes were completed, and the remaining shots were moved to Highways 105 and 110.
Next up were the high-speed chase scenes, which required stunt performers. Keanu Reeves was clearly no Tom Cruise; while their looks were comparable, asking Keanu Reeves to personally perform high-speed driving stunts was too much to ask of him. Besides, in this film, the driving character was Annie, played by Sandra Bullock. However, most of the interior shots for the chase scenes were already done, so the outdoor high-speed driving shots wouldn't need the lead actors; stunt performers would take over. Still, the actors would occasionally need to be on set for poses and close-up shots.
Following Gilbert's vision, high-speed cameras were mounted on the cars to capture the tires screeching on the pavement. Similar shots would become commonplace in Hollywood decades later, but in 1993, such shots were a novel idea that immediately astounded cinematographer Dul Randolph.
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Charles Roven naturally still opposed mounting expensive high-speed cameras on cars for filming, but Gilbert managed to "persuade" Charles Roven with the help of strippers. The next day, Charles Roven arrived on set, holding his lower back, and said to Gilbert, "Hey, Gilbert, we can't keep doing this. We've already damaged three cameras this month."
Gilbert said with a knowing smile, "Charles, how's your back doing?"
"Of course, I'm tough," Charles Roven straightened his back, and there was a creaking sound. He quickly clutched his back, groaning, "Ouch, I can't. My back feels broken." His back wasn't actually broken; he had just strained it by straightening up too quickly.
Cain Waxman laughed, "Charles, looks like yesterday's strippers were potent enough to break your back."
"They were," Charles Roven said, looking reminiscent. "Why don't you give it a try too?"
"No thanks," Cain Waxman quickly shook his head. "I'm too old for that kind of thrill."
Taking a break from work to crack a joke also helped lighten the mood.
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Today's filming involved another major scene: the bus jumping over a bridge. Actually, following Charles Roven's suggestion, using a model for this shot would have been more reliable. But Gilbert believed that if it could be filmed practically, they wouldn't resort to fakery. He directly placed two cameras inside the bus and on the side of the tires, three cameras on the broken bridge, and a drone for low-altitude filming. Multiple angles and positions for shooting would give the audience a grand spectacle.
Before filming began, Gilbert had the crew members meticulously check everything to ensure safety and that the camera positions wouldn't reveal any flaws. "Check everything thoroughly, make sure to inspect carefully. I don't want any issues," Gilbert commanded the crew, shouting loudly.
As the crew members busied themselves, Gilbert boarded the bus and spoke to the stunt driver: "Be extremely careful while driving. The bus needs to exceed sixty miles per hour to fly over; you cannot slow down, understand?" The stunt driver gave an OK sign, indicating understanding.
Even with the most thorough preparation and inspection, there's no guarantee that problems won't arise. But preparation and inspection are essential to reduce the chance of issues to almost zero. This time, the shoot went off without a hitch. At Gilbert's command, the stunt driver steered the bus along the predetermined route, soaring over the jump ramp on the broken bridge, landing smoothly on the opposite side, and speeding away. The cameras faithfully recorded the scene: the cameras beneath the jump ramp, the side cameras, the front and back cameras, including the drone, all faithfully captured this astonishing shot.
This time, Sofia didn't exclaim "Oh my god!" After witnessing a house being blown into the sky, she was no longer surprised by any of Gilbert's stunts. During a break in filming, she said to Gilbert, "Actually, you don't understand film art at all."
Gilbert paused, then asked, "Why do you say that?"
Sofia replied, "Your films are either full of horror elements or just explosions and non-stop car chases. There's no deep exploration of the characters' inner worlds."
Gilbert chuckled wryly, then explained, "Sofia, what you're talking about, exploring characters' inner worlds, that's for independent films. I make commercial films. I film what the audience wants to see."
Sofia was speechless. She finally understood the difference in their philosophies regarding filmmaking. However, this didn't deter her from continuing to work with Gilbert. After all, the salary was substantial, and her expenses were not small, so she needed this job. If she had the chance, Sofia still hoped to direct films independently, like Kathryn Bigelow, and become a respected female director.
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The filming of Speed was nearing its end. Under the arrangements of Warner Bros. and Disney, news about Speed finally appeared in the media. However, even with Gilbert at the helm and Keanu Reeves gaining some traction after Bram Stoker's Dracula, the attention garnered was still insufficient. Movie fans were more interested in larger productions, especially Jurassic Park, which had just released its first trailer.
Gilbert had already communicated with Disney and Warner about Speed being released during the summer blockbusters. It would be a shame not to release such a major commercial work during the summer. To avoid clashing with Jurassic Park, Gilbert gathered information in advance and was relieved to find that Spielberg's film was set for June 11th. According to Speed's production schedule, the film could easily be released in early May, giving it over a month's buffer from Jurassic Park, which was relatively safe.
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Additionally, during the film's production, Gilbert discussed promotional strategies with Charles Roven. "I think the film's trailer could be aired during the Super Bowl halftime commercial," Gilbert proposed.
Charles Roven and Cain Waxman exchanged glances, clearly stunned by Gilbert's idea. Seeing their bewildered expressions, Gilbert further explained, "What is the essence of a movie? It's a product, right?" Seeing them nod, Gilbert continued, "Since it's a product that requires audiences to buy tickets, what's wrong with advertising it during the Super Bowl? Ads for watches, computers, cars, even condoms can be aired; there's no reason why movie ads can't."
"Gilbert, you..." Charles Roven was so shocked he couldn't speak for a moment, then finally said, "You're a genius!"
"Thanks, everyone says so," Gilbert wasn't particularly pleased by the praise but asked, "What do you two think? What do you say?"
Charles Roven and Cain Waxman exchanged glances, and Charles Roven said, "We need to communicate with the company and discuss whether it's feasible."
"Alright then, let me know the results soon," Gilbert said. The idea was his, but the final execution depended on the film company's distribution and marketing department. Super Bowl ad slots were not cheap and were quite sought after; if they decided to run an ad, they needed to act fast. If he remembered correctly, the 1993 Super Bowl halftime show would feature pop superstar Michael Jackson. It was this pop superstar's appearance on the Super Bowl stage that propelled the Super Bowl halftime show onto the world stage. On the other side of the Pacific, it was even jokingly referred to as the "North American Spring Festival Gala." And in terms of excitement, the mere ten-plus minutes of the Super Bowl halftime show were far more interesting than the increasingly boring Spring Festival Galas decades later. The Super Bowl clearly couldn't have predicted how incredibly popular its future halftime show commercials would become. While the current ad rates weren't cheap, they were far from exorbitant. In Gilbert's view, placing an ad there was highly worthwhile. By then, the viewership for this year's Super Bowl halftime show would be at its peak, making the ad slot an incredible value for money.