Steven Spielberg is having fun.
Youre here for stunt day!
Perpendicular to it, about a football field away, an old mail truck is trundling toward The Stacks.
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
They think theyve lost him and escaped.
The cars are empty, steered by remote control, for reasons that will become obvious.
This isnt something you want to put an actual human body through.
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
But there is a science and strategy at work, too.
The SUV must hit the mail truck at precisely the right spot.
Make that lenses, plural.
Warner Bros. Pictures
He has already edited this sequence in his head.
Thats what the crane, the cable, and the dump truck are all about.
But the mail truck is so heavy that this would send the crane itself flying through the air.
Newtons Third Law of Motion has a costarring role: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
I just dont have the set, you see.
Im only into single-story Stacks over here.
Afterward, those people flood the street to play a critical role in what happens next.
Its practical, as much as it is artistic.
It allows me to shoot the set.
Its a simple as that.
This guarantees all the shots match, from the stunt to the close-ups.
One thing is for sure: you cant count on the collision alone to rotate the truck that far.
Youd have to hit it with such force that both the SUVandthe truck would rip apart.
Are you shooting on a street?
The environment changes everything.
That gives them a lot more leeway to full control everything.
Even the ground beneath their feet.
We had to build a whole new floor, Spielberg says.
Thats a slippery service.
All that fake earth is on top of a big slide.
you could feel it when you walk on it.
The crew smoothed the pavement to polish it, then spread little black and brown rubber pieces over it.
We tested this and its the only way to get it around that far, Spielberg says.
So that was something we needed to address.
It hits the ground and throws the car in the air.
His hands somersault in the air as he smiles.
You have to take the engine out of it, though.
You need just a shell to make it really look really good.
Its a whole other kind of science.
That refers to the one-time-only nature of such devices.
You rig it, you use it, then you dont use it again, he says.
The reason for that almost goes without saying.
The vehicle and the rig are usually gnarled and twisted by the end.
They would leverage a small board against a little rock, then bury it in dirt and sand.
The actor would then fall to the ground like hed been hit with a mortar.
The camera drones buzz as they hover in place.
The camera operators climb into position.
The set is cleared.
The truck and SUV motors are rumbling, ready to begin racing on their collision course.
Cries of Rolling … ROLLING!
ring out from the crew.
Spielberg settles in behind his video monitors, eyes darting between the screens.
3 …
2 …
1 …
Action, he says, softly.
