Interview
Time flies, Oscar has passed for nearly two months, and in mid-May, the crew of The Departed is finally close to wrapping up.
This movie, which took about four months to shoot, is temporarily over at this time. If a film is one stage from preparation to launch, the second stage is the launch to finalization. This second stage is the most troublesome stage of filming. After passing this stage, more than half of the filming task is completed.
The filming is drawing to a close, making the filming tasks of the actors a lot easier for a while. However, this does not mean that the actors can rest now.
When the film's filming is completed, some actors also need to cooperate with the film for promotion. For example, on the day the filming was completed, Edward Norton sat in the RV prepared for him by the crew and accepted an exclusive interview with reporters.
"Hello, Edward. I can see that the filming process seems to make you very tired, so if we have something to say, let's make a long story short, okay?"
The reporter sitting opposite him was easier to talk to, he took the initiative to say hello, and his attitude satisfied Norton: Anyone wants others to respect themselves more. Although this is part of the movie promotion and one of the jobs actors must do, it will be more comfortable if others are more respectful when working.
"Just a few simple questions... First of all, Director Levi has just won an Oscar recently. Is there any gain from shooting a movie with an Oscar-level director?" The first question is about Director Levi.
Levi is really popular in Hollywood... Norton smiled and found it quite interesting.
It's the same as other publicity after the movie ends. The questions the reporter asked Norton were quite normal. This question is to cooperate with the promotion; they want to know some internal situations of the crew.
Whether for the media or the general public, filming by Hollywood crews is always a mystery — in fact, the behind-the-scenes work in any industry is mysterious enough. It's just that Hollywood workers are a group of stars, and the working conditions of the stars are more attractive.
When the movie was being promoted, some movie stills came out, some comments from the actors, or some details about the filming that the actors revealed privately. These things are all news that the audience is looking forward to.
Norton also knows that the media needs him to tell some anecdotes about the filming, and he has already spoken highly of the film — these words are convenient for publicity. And Norton is happy to say it because he does have a lot of it.
"I think the harvest is still quite large. Acting in this play, the biggest gain is that I got a growth process. Director Levi is a very special director. In this movie, the actors' ages are very different. He gave us a lot of autonomy. This makes all of us of different generations think about the same problem, this kind of thinking. As shown in the movie, I think this is the rarest."
Norton is telling the truth, but not all of them are true. Indeed, he has benefited a lot from filming this film: as an actor, he is not all filming for the name, but the in-depth thinking when acting. It is what he values more. In his heart, he knows that some things are more rare than his own thinking.
Acting in this movie has indeed significantly improved his acting skills. That is a really rare thing. For a long time, he has felt that it is difficult to play neurotic and depressed. It is difficult to play such people because they are different from ordinary people, and it is difficult for ordinary people to understand their emotions.
But in this movie, he learned more things. Levi told him that the most challenging thing about acting in a film is to make a person who is depressed but looks normal because there are more people like this in life, and people see them more frequently. People can tell at a glance whether they look similar or not.
"A second-rate actor with a first-rate interpretation of a mental patient will be remembered for a long time. But such a performance cannot be called great. The real greatness is a first-class actor who interprets ordinary people all year round, which is difficult."
What Levi said to Norton was like a warning but also an inspiration. He opened the door to another world and told Norton how to act in a play. This made Norton no longer think about acting for those particularly suitable. He started thinking about broadening the play. This help is very important.
Levi's greatest help is improving his acting skills - but this does not need to be said in front of the media. It is enough to keep his gratitude in mind.
"So, who do you think helped you the most during the filming of this movie?"
This question is about the crew, and Norton has already thought about it.
"If you want to say that the ones who helped me the most, it must be Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt. They inspired my acting skills and helped me perform this movie well. De Niro let me know how to act like different characters; his acting style is my yearning for the concept of thousands of faces. And Brad Pitt... he is really handsome."
[A/N: During the Shanghai Film Festival, someone interviewed Norton on his evaluation of Marlon Brando's acting skills. Norton's answer was: He is very handsome.]
Among these two people, Robert De Niro let him see another realm of acting; as an old actor and a representative of method acting, De Niro's acting method can be said to be the same as Norton's. Norton benefited a lot from being on the same set as him.
And Brad Pitt is a very good person. In the crew, he worked hard to please everyone, making Norton and him friends. It's just that Norton didn't have the problem of boasting randomly because of his good relationship with him, so he just said that he was handsome.
"After filming this film is finished, do you have any plans for the next step?" This is another question.
For a star who has finished filming a film, this is the question reporters like to ask most. Under normal circumstances, he would say that he is tired and has no plans, that he put all his heart into making this movie, and emphasizes that his agent has scripts, which means he is very popular.
This is to tell the audience: I have worked hard and am very confident that someone will ask me to film in the future.
Why is this? Because the movie is good, I'm so confident. Hurry up and buy tickets...
However, this time, Norton was not so perfunctory.
"We are indeed preparing — Director David Fincher has just contacted Director Levi recently to make a movie called "Fight Club" for Enigma Company. The novel was favored by directors Levi and Fincher, And they all thought it was suitable for me to play. This is my next plan."
Norton's next plan has already been set: working for Levi will obviously gain a lot; not only can he improve his acting skills, but he will also get a handsome reward.
And after the filming was over, he got an appointment for the next movie. For those who are willing to help him, Levi will always give generous returns.
That director was able to succeed not because of luck.
David Fincher is also a well-known director in Hollywood. He does not have his own company, and he never invests in making movies by himself. He only works for major companies. And what about the film he made with Enigma? This is also a topic worth looking forward to.
The reporter also quickly wrote down the news: at least this shows that Levi is very satisfied with Norton. Otherwise, why ask him to star in the next movie?
The director is full of confidence in the film, and the actors feel they have benefited a lot. And it seems that the filming process is fairly smooth, so this movie is certainly worth looking forward to.
"If I remember correctly, the movie's release date is August. Is that right?"
Norton nodded yes.
The filming of the film has been completed. Because there are not many special effects shots in the film's post-production. Therefore, about one month of editing time is basically enough. Even if Levi hopes to leave enough time for publicity and preparation for the movie, the movie will be released in August of this year.
This time can be said to have captured the end of the summer schedule. Although, generally speaking, big-budget movies are released from May to July, it is not surprising that it is a little later.
"Can it surpass Gladiator?"
The question this time made Norton laugh. "I won't answer this question. Our movies were not released at the same time. Is there any need for comparison?"
Now, Gladiator has already been released. The movie has already earned 34 million at the box office in the first weekend, and its popularity continued unabated in the days that followed. The top director and top acting skills have made this movie a great success, both in terms of box office and word of mouth; it is quite good.
And now, people are also staring closely at The Departed - what this movie hopes to achieve is undoubtedly a double harvest at the box office and word of mouth. Among this year's movies, there is already a movie that has achieved this, so people naturally want to compare it. Although the themes of these two films are different, they are both works of famous artists, after all.
But this kind of competition is a matter between the media. As an actor, what is the need to provoke such gossip? What good does it do him if he says something wrong and offends other directors and film companies?
"Then, can they be compared if the movies were released in the same period? As far as I know, in August of this year, Dimension Films' Scary Movie and Universal's Meet the Parents were released during this period. Do you think this movie's box office will definitely surpass those two?"
[A/N: Scary Movie was released in July, and Meet the Parents was released in October. There are some changes due to the butterfly.]
What kind of comparison is this? Comparing the box office with dramas and comedies? Why not compare word of mouth? Regarding this question, Norton frowned slightly. The media was really desperate to find a topic.
However, he did not choose to reprimand the media: box office fights can always attract the attention of many people. Even if he doesn't talk about this kind of thing, some people will publicize it. Rather than scolding the media, it is better to take this opportunity to promote the movie.
Come to think of it, Director Levi should also have this kind of confidence, right?
"Yes, I believe that this movie's box office will completely overwhelm those movies." Norton nodded, "This will be the most anticipated movie this summer!"
*****
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