"Warmth Within," has officially started filming.
However, by just the fourth day, the crew encountered their first hurdle.
The scene being shot today isn't complicated, but it's far from simple either. It's the third meeting between Clementine and Joel.
Early in the morning, Joel wakes up after having a series of strange, bizarre dreams. The details are blurry, but he remembers a voice in his head telling him to go to Montauk.
It's in the opposite direction of Manhattan, which doesn't fit his routine, orderly life.
But at the last moment, Joel grabs onto an impulsive thought and boards a train to Montauk, even though he has no idea what he's doing.
Then, he meets a girl there. He falls in love at first sight but is too shy and reserved to speak to her, eventually running away.
Unexpectedly, that's not the end.
They meet again on the return train, and after a roller-coaster-like conversation, Joel becomes nervous and retreats into his shell, awkwardly distancing himself from Clementine, a girl whose boldness and passion make him uneasy.
But as Joel leaves the train station and sees Clementine walking down a snow-covered street wrapped in her coat, he finally musters the courage to take a step, inviting her into his car and offering to drive her home.
Once they reach their destination, Clementine invites Joel up to her apartment for a visit.
Joel hesitates, unsure, but in the end, he agrees.
And that leads to the scene being shot today.
Two people who've just met, alone together on a quiet winter night. Clementine's forwardness and enthusiasm keep pushing Joel back.
Clearly, Joel isn't comfortable with Clementine's pace.
But here's the catch—Joel can't resist her.
In terms of the timeline, this is after both characters have had their memories erased and are meeting again. Even though they've completely forgotten each other, they're irresistibly drawn to one another, falling in love all over again.
It's a sense of déjà vu, an attraction they can't deny.
In the end, they fall in love again.
In other words, this scene is both the beginning and the end of the movie.
A circle.
So, the key question is:
How do you leave clues without giving too much away?
How do you create a more nuanced performance when the actors already know the truth, so it's not just about them naturally falling in love?
It's all about a subtle feeling—delicate and hard to describe, but very real. It's not something you can put into words; it's something you feel in your heart.
From Joel's perspective, he's trying to resist. Each small moment of attraction pushes him back because the feeling is unfamiliar but strong. Yet, he can't help falling bit by bit.
From Clementine's perspective, she's overly enthusiastic. She follows her heart and doesn't care what others think. When she feels something pure and intense, she tends to overreact.
The key is that both characters need to show just a hint of discomfort—at least from the audience's perspective. There's something strange about their behavior, something neither they nor the audience fully understands yet. It leaves a mystery, planting a seed for the audience to uncover as the story unfolds.
But.
Neither Anson nor Kate managed to capture that feeling.
The entire performance seemed stiff. It didn't convey that slightly awkward, over-the-top energy, and instead felt lacking and unpolished.
Simply put, something was off.
And so.
NG. NG again. And again.
Anson knew why: he wasn't in the right state of mind.
Call it his performance mode or his character mode. Ultimately, the issue was that Anson couldn't separate Kate from Clementine. When he was acting, he couldn't shake the image of "Kate Winslet," and as a result, he couldn't get into character.
There were many reasons for this, but most of it came down to Anson himself.
Watching Kate Winslet, his childhood idol, get close to him, sitting on his lap, was a first for Anson. Up until now, he'd always taken the lead in his performances, but now he found himself in a passive position, which left him flustered.
This wasn't his first time working with a legendary star from his past. But this situation was different.
In Catch Me If You Can, Tom Hanks was a man, and Frank and Carl's characters were on equal footing.
In The Princess Diaries, the scenes with Anne Hathaway were part of an innocent high school romance.
In Spider-Man, the famous upside-down kiss with Kirsten Dunst was less romantic and more of a disaster.
In The Butterfly Effect, Anson led the scenes with Rachel McAdams, who was still a rising star.
Now, however…
A combination of factors made this scene incredibly difficult.
From character to actor, from inside the scene to outside it, Anson felt trapped in a shrinking space where he didn't know how to react. His own issues were affecting Joel, and Joel's character's emotions were affecting Anson, leaving his performance out of sync.
The details and the feeling weren't right. And as a result, the chemistry wasn't there.
This was probably the first time Anson had struggled to fully immerse himself in a role. He felt unprofessional and inadequate, and after so many NGs, he knew he was half to blame.
Along with a sense of frustration and guilt, he regained a sense of humility.
Clearly, in the world of acting, he was still just a beginner.
But the solution wasn't hard to see.
He had to strip away the "Kate Winslet" aura and stop seeing her as his childhood idol. He needed to see her as an actor, a regular person, and a partner on equal footing. Once he focused on the character, not Kate, the problem would solve itself.
Of course, it was easier said than done.
After all, the brain isn't a computer where you can just input commands and expect immediate results.
So, what should he do?
Anson thought about stepping outside for some fresh air to clear his head. But when he caught a glimpse of a figure by the window, he stopped.
The problem wasn't just his—Kate was facing her own difficulties too.
Tonight, Kate seemed unfocused, at least not fully concentrated.
Anson didn't know why, but it wasn't because she was too excited to work with him. Something about this scene had stirred something inside her, maybe memories or emotions, leaving her performance a little distracted.
There was a sense of detachment.
Clearly, Kate was aware of this too, and she seemed frustrated and disappointed.
Maybe Anson and Kate should talk, help each other find the root of the problem, and solve it together?
Or, should he leave it to Kate, a seasoned actress with almost a decade of experience, to handle it herself while he, a newbie, avoids overstepping?
Anson hesitated.