Chapter 43

In general, the Hollywood film production process is basically divided into five stages: review and development, pre-preparation, lens shooting, post-production, and sales and distribution. After September, "Brave to Death Island" is still in the initial pre-preparation stage. .

In this stage, Rock Studio needs to do a lot of preparations for the actual shooting, hiring and hiring actors and work teams, setting up scenes, and choosing shooting locations, etc. Duke needs to be involved.

It is impossible for the director to completely escape the preliminary preparations. The kind of work produced by a director who has left all the preparation work to others and travels around the world is only a street, absolutely no exception.

Fortunately, Duke now has an assistant with a philosophy similar to his own. Some of the work can be handed over to the assistant director Zach Schneider and assistant director Sofia Coppola, and then sum up to him for the final review. Even so, The friction caused by different ideas and thinking is indispensable for the three people at work, but they are all well confined to the scope of work.

￥∑, reviewing Sofia's field schedule and schedule, looking through Zach Schneider's scene construction and sub-shot illustrations, are all things that Duke must do when he is busy. In addition, he has to work with the director of photography, John Schwartz Ziman assessed the shooting location, exchanged scene layouts with art director Hannah Serena, etc.

He will also participate in the audition work of several major actors. After confirming the three starring roles of Ed Harris, Nicholas Cage and Christopher Lee, Duke will work with the character director to communicate with them about the role requirements...

In short, with the help of "Life and Death", which broke through US$300 million and continues to soar at the global box office, Duke has won more support from Warner Bros., and also gained much more power than when it first directed, and also more. busy.

"Lieutenant Colonel..."

Standing on the top of a building near San Francisco Bay, Duke pointed to the Golden Gate Bridge surrounded by clouds in the distance, "Can our F-18 Hornet pass under the bridge?"

"Duke, I advise you to give up this idea."

Lieutenant Colonel Renhuo, the liaison officer assigned by the Pentagon to the crew, shook his head directly, "This is impossible!"

"It seems that I can only rely on special effects." Duke motioned to Sophia beside him to note this, and said to Zach Schneider and art director Hannah, "I want a denser scenery than now, Zach, that's what you said. The kind of feeling is similar to oil painting."

"Then you need to use artificial lighting." Zach Schneider was also remembering Duke's thoughts, while Hannah on the other side said, "When setting up the scene, I will pay attention to increasing the color."

"John..."

Snapped his fingers at the director of photography. Duke waited for John Schwarzman to come over and said, "It's now autumn. It's the most beautiful season of San Francisco Bay. From next week, let your The photography assistant comes here every week for shooting. I want a lot of beautiful sunrise and sunset views."

This is Duke's first official visit to San Francisco. Before entering the building, he has taken the deputy director, director of photography, art director, and military consultants and other key department heads to the streets of San Francisco for a few laps. The street to be destroyed in the movie also has a preliminary composition.

That Lieutenant Colonel Renho was not only the liaison officer assigned by the Pentagon to the crew, but also the head of several military advisers.

No accident. After Warner Bros. submitted an application and the Pentagon reviewed the script, the Department of Defense agreed to sponsor this major production commercial film, just like "Life and Death" to the Los Angeles police, and the military spirit and spirit promoted in "Breakthrough Island" Patriotism fits the Pentagon's appetite too much.

The Pentagon provided generous sponsorship for this film. Not only did it provide the crew with a variety of advanced equipment such as the f-18 Hornet and the M-16 modified assault rifle to participate in the filming, but also sent a SEAL team to directly play the special features in the film. Contingent.

Except for a small amount of labor costs, almost all of them are sponsored free of charge. It is evident that the various agencies of the US government attach great importance to publicity work.

In other words, "Brave to Death Island" is also a typical American theme movie.

Of course, for Duke, the type of film is not important, the important thing is whether this kind of film can bring him revenue.

After leaving the building, everyone came to the pier of San Francisco Bay and took a ferry to the famous Alcatraz Island.

Alcatraz Island, commonly known as'the.rock', is surrounded by cliffs and deep waters, and it is not easy to connect to other countries. Therefore, it was selected as a prison site by the federal government. There was a federal prison on Alcatraz Island, where many well-known serious prisoners were detained. It was abolished in 1963 , And the Golden Gate Bridge is now a famous tourist attraction in San Francisco Bay.

This is also the main location of the film story.

"Duke..."

Standing on the bow of the ship, Lieutenant Colonel Renhoe came over and brought up the old topic again, "Can you consider the Pentagon's opinion again?"

"Lieutenant Colonel, the Pentagon passed the review, indicating that you are still satisfied with the script overall."

This is not the first time that the other party has said it. Maybe the Pentagon has different opinions on the Hollywood Liaison Office. Some people want to make the images of General Hammer and fbi more positive, but Duke will not easily give in, "The country should treat it favorably. Individuals who have made sacrifices."

"The Pentagon has no objections to this topic." Lieutenant Colonel Renhuo said.

"That's good." Duke nodded and said, leaning on the railing of the bow. "Let's talk about the role."

"General Hammer took the risk for his subordinates to be ignored, and Mason, who was used to deal with him, was also a spy who made great sacrifices for the benefit of the country. All the protagonists and supporting actors are loyal to their duties, even as the dark side. The director of the FBI, Womack, who appeared, also put Mason in jail to keep state secrets."

"All the characters did not betray their country and duties in the end. Hammer turned the missile at the last moment; Mason, after being wronged for the country for decades, only chose to return peacefully; Lieutenant Colonel Anderson knew he would be shot. In the case of killing, he did not lay down his weapons and still tried his best to persuade his opponent to abide by the "Navy Oath."

"As for the two little trash fish that betrayed at the end, is that kind of little role important?"

Looking at Lieutenant Colonel Renhou seriously, Duke said solemnly, "In my vision, this is a movie without a real negative role."

Having said that, Duke also tried to eliminate the differences with the Pentagon. After all, the free sponsorship provided by the other party allows him to have more budget to invest in special effects shooting, and as a director who will not be far from the mainstream film circle, There are many places where he needs the Pentagon's sponsorship in the future.

The disagreement is not easy to eliminate. Lieutenant Colonel Renho was temporarily persuaded by Duke and agreed to continue to communicate with the Pentagon's superiors. After boarding Alcatraz, he did not mention related topics anymore. Instead, he focused on the architectural terrain of Alcatraz. Duke, a layman, explained in detail how to deploy troops reasonably and how to conduct special operations. These are very rigorous professional knowledge, which is why Duke invited military advisers.

Although it was an entertainment movie, he didn't want to make fundamental mistakes that laughed generously.

Today's Alcatraz Island has long been not the original prison, but has become a tourist attraction. After going around the ground and underground, Duke also discussed the possibility of on-site shooting with others.

"The problem on the ground is not big."

The director of photography, John Schwarzman, said, "The underground does not have the conditions for on-site shooting."

"Yeah." Duke nodded and said to the art director on the other side, "Hannah, I will leave it to you to copy and build the Alcatraz underground scene."

The female art director over there made a relieved gesture to him.

Finally, the group walked into the entertainment plaza on Alcatraz Island, which is a fairly wide and flat place. Standing here, you can clearly see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and most of the beauty of San Francisco Bay.

"Robin..."

Pausing, Duke walked to the habitually invisible production manager, "The main scene in the film is on Alcatraz Island. If we put the premiere here in the future, will it be a good publicity? ."

"It's really good for the promotion of the film." Robin Grande nodded in approval, looked around, and seemed to be considering the feasibility and cost of setting up a big screen. After a while, he said, "There is a certain degree of operation. Sex, I will communicate this with Warner Bros."

When the sun was westward, Duke ended the two-day field trip, shared several cars with the crew, and drove back to Los Angeles.

"Are you insomnia again?"

Seeing Duke resting on the back seat of the car, Sophia Coppola handed over a bottle of energy drink, "Is it too stressed?"

"No..." Duke shook his head, unscrewed the cap and took a few sips. "It's much less stressful than when filming "Speed ​​of Life", but I'm a bit tired recently and I don't sleep well."

"It's better to find a woman." Sophia's words were teased and took out his mobile phone, "Do you need me to call you?"

"What?" Duke was stunned.

"Naomi Watts..." Sophia pointed to her eyes, "I don't have a problem here. That woman is your makeshift bed. Companion?"

Duke waved his hand casually, too lazy to pay attention to her again.

"Do you know how Nicolas relieves the pressure?" Sophia leaned closer, lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "Find a dozen long-legged models and hold a carnival at home. There is a Hollywood company that provides this service."

"Did you participate?" Duke deliberately ran her on.

"No..." Sophia shrugged and said openly, "but I saw my brothers drive."

"Okay, Sophia. Don't say these jokes." Duke felt a little better. "Let's turn the topic back to work. Tomorrow, I will interview the pyrotechnician recommended by Uncle Lucas, as well as the female role. Hold an audition..."