7 Movie Scenes That Could ONLY Be Done On The First Take

Chest waxing is something that few men want to do twice - just ask Steve Carell.

Carrell 40 Year Old Virgin
Universal Pictures

In order to keep everybody on schedule and within budget, the majority of movie productions are meticulously planned out in advance: everybody knows what scenes they're filming, where they're filming them, and when they're filming them.

Even so, it's expected that most scenes will require several takes to get right. This means that the filmmakers have a bit of wiggle room to play around with, working with their actors to find the best possible way of bringing each moment to life.

But every now and then, this freedom is a luxury that the cast and crew don't have.

Whether it's a highly complex stunt or a moment of intense emotion, there are some scenes that simply have to be nailed on the very first take, because it would be far too difficult - or even impossible - to do them for a second or third time.

Most productions will wisely avoid situations like this, because nobody wants the pressure of having to do something perfectly on their very first attempt. But sometimes, scenarios like this are unavoidable - and these movies can attest to that.

7. Peter And Ned's Handshake (Spider-Man: Homecoming)

Carrell 40 Year Old Virgin
Sony Pictures Releasing

Many small moments of movie magic don't actually come from the pages of the script - they come while the actors are physically filming their scenes.

This is true no matter the scale of the production, and even in a tightly-wound machine like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the filmmakers and the actors can still experiment with their scenes while shooting them, to a certain extent.

Case in point: one of the most charming moments in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming was thought up on-the-spot by Tom Holland and Jacob Batalon, who were told by director Jon Watts that they had a matter of minutes to come up with - and execute - a way to end one of their scenes together.

Deciding that an extended handshake would make for a cool little moment, Holland and Batalon went ahead with this idea and nailed it on the first take, which was good, because Watts was adamant about moving on to the next part of the shoot - meaning that Holland and Batalon had to get it right on the first go.

The handshake is quite complex too, so it's really impressive that the pair managed to perfect it so quickly. Holland even does it with his head facing down. Mad skills.

Contributor
Contributor

WhoCulture Channel Manager/Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture. Can confirm that bow ties are cool.