American fame and fortune

Arriving on the second floor of the studio, Blake Lively pushed open the door and entered the conference room.

There were more than ten people sitting at the long conference table, all heads of various departments of the crew.

Blake greeted Louise, who was sitting first on the left, and took the seat next to her.

The assistant director Steve Downton opposite smiled at her and nodded.

Blake smiled back.

Robert Eggers was sitting in the back, looking through copies of storyboards and shooting plans in his hands.

He looked at it very carefully and found that Martin had prepared very carefully, and the plan covered every aspect of the shooting, unlike a novice director.

But then I thought about it. During his ten years in Hollywood, Martin starred in two films every year. In addition to the leading actor, he also served as a producer. It is not surprising that he has such ability.

The crew coordination meeting is about to begin.

Martin entered the conference room and whispered a few words to Louise.

An assistant turned on the projector.

Martin clapped his hands: "Everyone, the meeting has begun."

Others raised their heads one after another and looked towards Martin.

Martin said directly: "The movie we are going to prepare to shoot in the next two months is almost a one-man show completed by only one actor, and the scene is very single. But in this thriller about escape from death, I asked the crew to shoot the most violent scenes." Reality.”

He looked at Louise: "Have all the funds been received?"

Louise nodded: "Everything has been paid."

Martin asked the person in charge of the props team: "How ready is the shark?"

Prop master Green said: "According to the shooting plan, it is impossible for us to make a fully simulated mechanical shark. The time is too tight. All the shots will be shot before the shark is finished."

He motioned to his assistant.

The assistant switched the projection screen, and a mechanical shark with only a triangle fin appeared on it.

Green added: "The part of the mechanical shark that is exposed to the water has been made into a simulated body."

Martin looked at the supervisor of the special effects department: "Hugh, with the current budget, is it possible to use digital technology to complete the shark in the water?"

"It's not a big problem to make a shark, there's enough money," Hugh Beatp said.

Martin thought of more: "When a shark swims close to the sea surface, there will be water ripples..."

Hugh Beatp said: "This aspect is relatively difficult and costs a lot of money. With the current CG generation technology, furry animals and water are the most difficult. To achieve realistic effects, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive."

The crew coordination meeting is supposed to solve problems, and Martin is only responsible for making requests: "Is there any other way to achieve this?"

The first assistant director, Steven Downton, is experienced and has shot similar scenes. He volunteered: "We can make an additional simple mechanical model and insert the shark swimming data into it, and use the mechanical model to swim underwater to realize the water surface." ripple."

He recalled: "Industrial Light and Magic has such data, and you can use it as long as you pay."

Martin immediately told Green and Hugh Beatp: "The crew will get the data as soon as possible, and you will work together to build an effective model."

The two men responded one after another.

Louise made a note to send her deputy to Industrial Light \u0026 Magic when the meeting was over.

Martin looked at Blake: "You will have to perform to the air most of the time. Almost every shot is filled with seawater. Be prepared."

"Don't worry, there is no problem on my side." Blake vowed: "I have been preparing for eight months."

Many people in the crew looked at Blake Lively and knew that she could get this role through more than just her appearance and messing around with Martin.

His professional quality is also very high.

Martin looked at the director of photography, Dan Rostershin: "The shooting involves a lot of underwater shots. How are your preparations going?"

Dan Rostersin said: "The mini cameras produced by Allais are specially used for underwater shooting. The crew currently rents four of them. I also built a 50-foot-long camera in the studio on Rosarito Island. The telescopic rotating rocker arm can be used in complex environments in the water.”

Thinking of Martin's request, he added: "All digital cameras."

Martin nodded with satisfaction. The crew's investment was limited and of course they would not use more expensive film cameras to shoot.

If nothing else, the cost of shooting and post-production alone is at least twice as high with film as with digital.

From a commercial perspective, film is like the black-and-white silent films of the past, and its demise is inevitable.

Martin asked again about lighting and artistic sets.

Sunlight is the main light source in movies, and the light will change in the early morning, evening, and night. So how to match the light of the real location and the studio shot requires very careful calculations.

Martin made his request and the gaffer took care of it.

After the crew coordination meeting ended, Martin convened a meeting with the director team. Including Robert Eggers and Steve Downton, there were a total of eight assistant directors on the crew.

The director team needs to check the shooting schedule.

When making a movie, you have to stick to a strict schedule, otherwise the budget will skyrocket out of control.

Steve Downton suggested: "The 35-day shooting schedule seems very generous, but I suggest adding another five days. The closed shooting scene is relatively easier to control, but shooting on the beach outside, the environment is not so easy to control. ”

He was in a key position and knew why Martin was using him, emphatically saying: "For thirty years, every movie shot on water in Hollywood ended up going over budget and over schedule."

Robert Eggers continued: "The sea can collapse people in various ways during the actual filming process. Wind, rain, or other natural factors, as long as they are too fierce, will make the filming of the film a Completely impossible."

Rosarito Island is surrounded by the sea. Although it is not the rainy season now, the weather on the beach is always changing. Martin only thought about it briefly and said: "Okay, leave five days to spare."

Five extra days means another increase in the budget.

The crew has a sufficient budget, and Martin doesn't mind spending more.

The meeting continued and many issues regarding the filming were discussed.

Towards the end of the meeting, the experienced Steve Downton once again reminded the colleagues present: "No matter how well prepared we are, we will still encounter many difficulties during shooting. Any shooting involving water will always be difficult." A lot of problems can arise, and water and film shooting are natural enemies.”

Martin listened to these words and said: "Everyone, be more fully prepared for the work you are responsible for. If you encounter problems during filming, it will be easier for us to solve them."

The director's meeting ended, and Martin went to the producer's office to find Louise and tell her about the budget increase.

Although through the agency and his own appeal, as well as the most important high salary, he found many experienced players to form this crew, but as a director, Martin cannot be the boss at all.

The director's job is destined to be deeply involved in the project from the early preparations.

Compared with an actor who only needs to master one role, the director's work is much more difficult.

Directors Nolan, David Fincher and Chad Staelsky have all said that Martin's directorial qualifications are mediocre.

Not even Chad, the least talented of them all, can compare.

After talking about work, Martin talked to Louise about other things: "If you don't actually engage in a profession, you really can't understand the difficulties in depth."

Frankly speaking, if he didn't have the financial ability to make this film, he would have faced great difficulties.

But if you have money, you can hire a large number of experienced subordinates. Martin only needs to give orders, and someone will naturally complete the specific work.

Louise pushed up her black-rimmed glasses and asked deliberately: "Do you regret doing this job?"

"I don't regret it, because if you don't try, you will never know where your limits are." Martin laughed: "I'm just not willing to lose to that bastard Leonardo."

Louise also laughed: "And then become the one who is always laughed at among the trio of bastards?"

Martin suddenly remembered what Old Boo had mentioned, and he came closer and said, "Dear, this project needs to be more careful. You don't want me to be the person troubled by the problem of the century, right?"

Louise pushed him away: "You should keep these strange words for Kelly."

Hearing her talk about Kelly, Martin thought of one thing: "Kelly's status in the Donkey Party has improved rapidly in the past few years. I will introduce them to them personally when I have time."

I remember that in the previous life, the village chief received the support of the Donkey Party.

Louise whispered: "You really need to communicate with her, these are not problems."

Martin said: "When this film is finished, I will call Kelly to come to Los Angeles and the three of us will have a good time together."

"That's fine." Louise likes the three of them to play together: "I haven't seen that loser Kelly for a while."

Martin glanced at his watch: "I'm going to see the mechanical shark."

"Let's go together." Louise followed Martin.

The two went to the warehouse area on the first floor, where the prop team built a simple large pool for experimenting with the created prop shark.

In addition to the completed dorsal fin version, they are custom-making a special shark with water ripples according to Martin's requirements.

The work of the crew was tedious, and Martin made a request. After each department was responsible for completing the work, he had to personally check whether it met his requirements.

Because Blake Lively is almost a one-man show and is currently rehearsing alone, Martin has to communicate with her about the role from time to time.

In addition, he also pays attention to the tides and weather conditions in Rosarito Island.

During the busy preparations for "Shark Tank", Disney Pictures also convened a publicity and distribution meeting to promote the pre-release promotion of "John Wick 3".

The film will be released during the Memorial Day period of the summer, and will enter an intensive promotion and marketing period one month in advance.

With the audience base built by the first two films, and the trailer of the third film being featured in the Super Bowl halftime commercial, the film has attracted the attention of many media and fans early on.

As a sequel to a blockbuster movie, "John Wick 3" does not need any special marketing. It is enough to implement Disney Pictures' promotional plan step by step.

Martin has participated in a TV program interview and an online interview. After that, he will not participate in other announcements for the time being. He will not fully join the promotional journey of "John Wick 3" until he completes the filming of "Shark Tank" in May. middle.

The end of the trilogy will bring it to a temporary end.

At the end of "John Wick 3", Chad added a new Easter egg about Mene's Winston.

The next installment in the series will be "New York's Continental" starring Mene.

In the studio of Disney Studio, Mene got off the cushion panting, sat down on the lounge chair, took the water from Martin, drank two sips at a steady pace, and felt better.

“Movement training is progressing very quickly,” Martin said.

Mene scratched his head and laughed: "Boss, I have been filming action movies with you in the past few years, and I have never stopped exercising."

Chad also came over at this time, deliberately joking: "Meine works very hard, and the skill with his hands is almost as good as his tongue."

"Really?" Martin was also laughing: "If you are half as good at shooting and fighting, this movie will be a huge hit at the box office."

Menai is self-aware: "I will be satisfied if the box office can be one-third of the box office of the films you have starred in."

Martin asked Chad: "When will filming start?"

Chad said: "It will be July at the earliest, when the popularity of the third part is fully fermented."

Martin nodded slightly: "I'll go cheer for you then."

The three chatted for a while before Martin left the studio and went to the "Shark Beach" studio.

After nearly three months of preparation in Los Angeles, the crew chartered a special plane in late March and took all the staff to Rosarito Island to prepare for the start of filming.

On Rosarito Island, the studio rented by the crew has been renovated.

The art director and set decoration team combined the real scenery of the bay area to transform a large pool covering hundreds of square meters into a bay-like seascape. Even the water in the pool is seawater transported from the bay.

According to Martin's requirements, the lighting team recorded the light in the Bay Area for many consecutive days, used data modeling to analyze its spectral changes, and then selected appropriate lamps to simulate the light changes in the Bay Area at different times in the studio.

The mechanical shark model was also shipped over. Combined with the data purchased from the industrial model, the props team and the special effects team also started experiments before filming started, striving to achieve the best results.

Martin spent every day in the studio, checking the final results of various preparations.

Two days before the start of filming, Blake Lively came to the pool to adapt to the filming process in advance.

Martin exchanged a few words with her, and Bruce suddenly came over.

"Are you okay?" Martin left the pool and came to the rest area to sit down.

Bruce sat aside and whispered: "There was a call from Alexandrovich. Now that the election has reached the stage of intense publicity and debate, he has encountered some troubles."

Martin asked: "Financially?"

"No." Bruce's voice was still very low: "In several of his works, many Russians were used. The oligarch Igor who supported him also had a pro-Russian stance. His competitors focused on attacking him in terms of stance. Said that once he is elected, he will surrender to the big hair in the east. "

Martin felt a toothache: "This is too nonsense."

Bruce said: "There will be a live and live TV debate soon. Alexandrovich believes that the opponent will definitely attack on the spot. Although he has made various preparations, he feels that the effect is average. I want to ask if we have a better way?" "

"Kneel down and surrender?" Martin thought carefully for a while: "You call him back."