Millennium director

"So, will the filming start in December?"

"This is really bad news."

At home, Wu Yuan stood on the balcony, enjoying the cool evening breeze while answering a transatlantic phone call in English.

It is already mid-September, and "Riding the Wind" will be released in ten days, but at this critical moment, Wu Yuan received an urging from Hollywood.

"Doctor Strange" has everything ready, only the east wind is missing.

The preparatory work for this film has been basically completed, and the leading actor Benedict Cumberbatch has already signed the contract and is ready to join the crew at any time.

The professionalism of Hollywood movies is indeed much higher than that of China. At least the preparatory work for Marvel movies basically does not require the participation of the director, and the producer can handle it smoothly by himself. After all, they have shot many assembly-line superhero movies.

The preparations for "Doctor Strange" are also the same. The film began preparations as early as last year, gathering suitable crew members to conduct pre-scene scouting, setting, making props, and art departments. Wu Yuan does not need to worry about the costume department, etc.

After half a year of preparation, the producer has confirmed that the film will be shot in London, New York, Hong Kong, Kathmandu and other places.

The art department of the film is crucial to the visual presentation of the film. The 49 employees in the department started working at full speed, busy with painting, sculpture, hand-made models, 3D printing and other work. During the production of the film, a total of nearly 800 paintings, 3,000 concept design drawings and 40 sets of models were created.

The silhouette of Doctor Strange's cape is very important in Marvel comics, and designing and making this cape has become the biggest workload of the costume department. 20 staff members are involved in it. Because the cape has various functions in the filming, 18 pieces were finally made.

In the movie, the address of the Sanctuary of the Holy of Holies, 177A Brick Street, is actually a fictional address, so it took five artists about 10 months to determine the design and details of the Sanctuary of the Holy of Holies Hall.

These preparations took almost a year in total, and the producers were almost the only ones busy. Wu Yuan just paid attention to the renderings and videos in the preparation stage to make sure there were no problems.

Such a professional preparatory process is unthinkable in China.

If you want to prepare such a science fiction blockbuster in China, the director must be deeply involved and busy, and it will take two or three years to complete it.

For example, when Wu Yuan was preparing for "Ready Player One", he did it himself, from scouting locations to making props and setting scenery, and there was a huge amount of post-production work afterwards.

But on the Marvel side, the director does not need to worry about these. There are professional producers and preparation teams to provide one-stop services. The director only needs to wait until everything is ready, and then join the group to start shooting.

Including the post-production special effects production, Marvel has its own people to be responsible for it, and the director does not need to worry about it either.

The advantage of this is that the division of labor is very clear. Professionals do professional things. There is no need for the director to take charge of everything. The focus can be placed on shooting. Other links are handled by other professional and trusted people. In this way, the efficiency of filming will be very high.

It is a bit like assembly line production. Different people are responsible for different links and are proficient in each. This is the so-called film industrialization.

Take "Doctor Strange" as an example. The pre-production work of this movie took one year, and the shooting + post-production only took one year. It is expected to be released in November or December 2016.

Such a grand special effects blockbuster only takes 2 years to complete from preparation to release, which is undoubtedly very fast.

Even Wu Yuan, a veteran, needs at least 3 years to make a science fiction blockbuster in China. Guo Fan spent five years from pre-production to the final release of "The Wandering Earth".

Even the second part took more than three years with full supply of manpower and material resources.

This is the "industrial" advantage of Hollywood, which is the link that China is still lagging behind.

Of course, in such industrialized film shooting, the director is only one of the links. Unlike before, the director is the most important, inseparable and indispensable role in the crew, just like the emperor.

Such Spielberg-era directors are basically extinct in Hollywood today. The director is now just a big screw in the industrialized shooting, responsible only for shooting.

Of course, this refers to industrialized commercial blockbusters. There are still a lot of directors who are in charge of everything, such as art films and ordinary dramas.

Wu Yuan did not comment on this, but he was very glad that he did not need to worry too much about the project of "Doctor Strange" this time. If he was asked to do it himself like shooting "Ready Player One", he would really collapse.

Unlike now, he only needs to finalize the casting of several important supporting roles before he can join the group and start shooting.

Yes, there are only less than three months left before the crew starts filming, but he has not had time to decide on other actors. Only Benedict Cumberbatch, the original male lead, was informed by him early on and let Marvel negotiate.

As for the actors for other roles such as Ancient One, King, and Baron Mordo, Wu Yuan has not had time to cast them.

The main reason is that he is too busy with things in China and can't spare the time.

"Let's put it this way, Charles. You, as the producer, can cast Baron Mordo, Casillas, and other minor characters in the movie in the United States. Just submit a list to me for review."

"As for the two Asian characters, Ancient One and Wang, I will personally look for them in China, and then send you the list. You can send someone to sign the contract."

"Well, I believe in your vision very much."

Wu Yuan, holding the phone, said a little deliberately to cover up his attitude of being too busy.

Charles Nivos is the last one in the list of producers of "Doctor Strange", but he is the actual executive producer of this movie.

Those who know it know that in the list of producers of Marvel movies, Stan Lee, Kevin Feige, and Victoria Alonso, who are at the top, are just names.

One of the three is the founder of Marvel Comics, one is the president of Marvel Pictures, and one is the director who is specifically responsible for film production. They will not really do the work of executive producer in person.

Charles Nivos is the one who really does the work. Whether it is the original version or the current "Doctor Strange", he is the actual producer and is responsible for the selection of actors.

Wu Yuan is very confident to hand over most of the casting to him, and believes that he will also select a lineup similar to the original.

And the most important characters, Ancient One and Wang, these two characters with Chinese backgrounds, Wu Yuan really has to find suitable actors in China himself.

"Does it really mean that we have to find Teacher Hui Yinghong to play Ancient One?" Wu Yuan touched his chin and thought with some evil taste. (End of this chapter)