Made in Hollywood

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A movie, especially a movie with a relatively high investment, is a large-scale battle that requires careful planning, and the most tiring roles in the entire preparatory process are undoubtedly the three positions—producer, director, and screenwriter.

The script has already been finalized, and it will not be changed at will unless there are special circumstances. In the past two months, Duke has also made sufficient planning for the director, but he still will not be easy before the film starts, and the director must be involved in many matters.

Although there is a special person in charge of leasing equipment and props, Duke also has to look at it. If it does not meet his needs, he must be replaced. Bringing the production, photography, and art direction to the scene is also the basic work of the director in the early preparations. one.

The photographer needs to figure out how the camera works and shoot in the real-life environment; where he, the director, feels that there is a gap between the site and the scene in his mind, he needs to communicate with the set designer and the art director to see how to make it closer to the desired scene feeling; After the venue, the producer will discuss the rental matters with the venue, discussing the time, cost, precautions and so on.

The personnel and venues have been determined. Duke corrected the script again according to the actual situation, and formulated the sub-shot drafts into different scripts according to the plan - how many scenes to shoot for each scene, which cameras to try, and the emotions of the actors to develop at this time. Or how much control...

In addition to the sub-shot script, Duke also wrote a schedule to coordinate the time according to the venue and the actors. The plots that took place in the same venue must be integrated and shot at the same time. He, the director, must have a clear idea. Low-level mistakes in hedging, and that's the laughing stock of amateurs.

In addition to these, Duke has to take several assistant directors to make a schedule. The first assistant director Keene will make vague remarks against him from time to time. The whole work is stumbling and stumbling. Duke has been under huge pressure. , a few times almost couldn't help but get angry.

Fortunately, Duke is very clear that he is shooting and making films, not to engage in personnel struggles. He is distracted by these little things, and in the end it must be himself who will lose more than the gains.

It took more effort than expected to get the set record, which made Duke think of another thing. He desperately needs an assistant who is smart and capable and understands the film business. If there is such an assistant, he can basically solve these complicated affairs. In order to get out of the middle, so as to focus more on film shooting.

It's a pity that he didn't even have the money to pay off his credit card for the time being, so where would he have the money to hire an assistant.

In a word, compared to the crews who have been in the previous life, the preparatory work for Hollywood movies is more complicated and meticulous, and it also takes more time, and it takes time for the actors to set makeup and study the characters. Robin Grande predicts that in September The start-up in the middle of the year naturally became a bubble. The preparation period for "Speed ​​of Life and Death" was delayed for two whole weeks. It was not until October that the preliminary preparations came to an end.

On October 3, 1991, Duke, who was suffering from insomnia due to heavy work and stress, was reborn from the ashes and regained his spirit, because "Speed ​​of Life" finally started in the studio of Universal Studios!

There was no press conference, no flashing lights, and no complicated ceremonies. The crew quietly started filming.

"Cut!"

Just a dozen seconds after the first test shot, Duke called to stop. He stood up from behind the director's camera, walked back and forth between the props and sets arranged as the elevator room on the ground floor of the building several times, and finally stood on the shooting site. middle.

Dennis Hooper, who played the villain, and another extra, stepped aside.

Some scenes are not problematic to the naked eye, but when they are filmed with a camera, the smallest problems will be magnified infinitely. Although they have been communicating continuously for more than two months, it is the first time Duke has cooperated with various departments of the crew, and it will definitely need to run in.

"It's a little darker, and I need the grey metal to be stronger."

After thinking for a few minutes in combination with the scene just shot, Duke found that there were problems with the scene and the camera position he had conceived, and tried to adjust, "The second camera position is moved 30 degrees to the left, you only need to capture the back of Dennis, the clothes …”

The costumer immediately raised his hand beside him.

Walking over to Dennis Hooper, Duke pointed to his somewhat worn work clothes and said, "Change to the grayer one."

Then Duke turned his head and said to the extra, who was playing the security guard, "Come with me."

Duke walked to the door of the elevator, turned to look at the extras who were following him, pointed to the place where he came, and said, "Your surprised expression was too heavy just now, you have to be careful, you have to walk along the outside of Dennis. ."

Seeing the other party's solemn nod, Duke observed the camera again, and then returned to the director's camera.

"Aside from being younger, you still look a lot like a director."

Hearing these words in a monotone nasal voice, Duke turned his head to look at Sofia Coppola, who was standing beside him holding the clock, but said nothing.

The adjustment was completed quickly, and at Duke's signal, an assistant director shouted "start"!

Throwing away all distractions, Duke concentrates and stares at the footage captured by the camera. The security guard in the picture quickly walks up to Dennis's side to check his maintenance order, and then the camera falls on his right hand hidden behind the maintenance order. superior……

"This is?"

Duke frowned immediately and shouted directly, "Stop!"

He strode over to Dennis Hooper and took the repair order, which was full of letters in a jumble of letters that maybe even God couldn't understand.

"Props!" Duke's voice was not loud, but it was very loud, "I want a fake repair order, not this!"

He gestured to the person in charge of the props team, and the other party hurried over. Without waiting for him to explain anything, Duke said directly, "You have ten minutes to solve it!"

Duke's words did not carry any emotional overtones, completely business attitude.

This team is not his team now, nor will it be his team in the future. There is only a working relationship between them. Whoever has a flaw in his work will be responsible for it.

Sitting in his seat, Duke rubbed his forehead. The first time he called to stop, it could be said that his inexperience caused the problem. This time, it was because the props team was careless...

"Need something to drink?"

The temporary assistant assigned to him by the crew suddenly said, "Coffee or black tea?"

"I don't need it for now." Duke shook his head and looked around curiously, "Sophia, why did you join the crew?"

"I need money, money that will allow me to live in Europe for a while."

Sofia Coppola didn't mean to hide, she said directly, "After the filming of "Alien 3", I called Uncle Lucas, so I came here, don't forget that I am for David Finch has worked as a temporary assistant, which is considered a bit of seniority."

"You're going to Europe?" Duke thought about it, but it was blank. He only knew some of the experiences of Sofia Coppola after 2000.

"Mom helped me get in touch with Karl Lagerfeld."

The young girl showed a longing expression, "Chanel will have several internship positions next year, and Karl Lagerfeld has promised to reserve one for me."

It can be seen from Sofia Coppola that Chanel's attraction to women, and perhaps her trip to Europe, is also related to the performance that was vilified by film critics in "The Godfather 3".

Duke certainly wouldn't bring up this topic, he wouldn't open up a woman's scars in front of her.

Filming resumed quickly. In less than ten minutes, the props team produced another repair order. No matter whether these people doubt Duke or not, professionalism is still there. Taking money to do things is the most basic thing in Hollywood. In principle, if they can't even do this, these people won't have the qualifications and status they have now.

However, the shooting still did not go well. From the venue set to the camera position, many times it was constantly adjusted. On the one hand, the crew needed to run in. On the other hand, Duke lacked enough experience. It took a full two and a half hours. Duke just finished filming the first shot since it started.

Although Duke has worked hard for a very long time in this life and has some experience in his previous life, he is not an omnipotent genius. He makes mistakes and mistakes, and he also needs to adjust the rhythm of himself and the entire crew.

These all take time.

Duke needs to get in touch with the various types of work on the crew, as well as with the actors. The long shooting time in the morning exhausted the older Dennis Hober, and he also made some small complaints through his assistant.

"Dennis Hooper's assistant asked me a few words."

During the intermission, Sofia Coppola conveyed to Duke in a timely manner, "He said that Mr. Hooper has been too busy with work recently and his health is not very good. I hope that the following shots used to break in the crew will be placed on other actors. "

"I made the mistake of inexperience again."

Muttering softly, Duke waved to the curious Sofia Coppola, indicating that he knew.

This is a very simple question, but it was ignored by Duke. He is a rookie director. With some famous actors to run the crew, the other party will definitely be dissatisfied.

Hollywood is full of actors with all kinds of quirks. If you are a super director, all the problems in the shooting are not a problem. If you are a director like him, you must be careful in many aspects. An old actor like Dennis Hooper is still It's not impossible for someone with a stinky temper and a bit of fame to be shy.

The cast and crew under the shroud of Vanity Fair will never be harmonious, unless the person who controls the set can overwhelm everyone on the cast and can't lift their heads.

Duke is very clear about what his goal is. In order to achieve this goal, he can not only fight hard with others, but also make necessary compromises, and even ignore some discordant voices. Does not have the ability and qualifications to fully control the crew.

Afterwards, Duke changed the shooting plan and moved more extras to the front. It took a whole week to start the production, and there were no more scenes of the main actors. After more than a week of collisions and contradictions, the crew's performance It just started running smoothly.