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Helming Hollywood (Fanfic)

Levin, who had experienced ups and downs in the entertainment industry in his previous life came to Hollywood in 1996 from 2014. It's a slow-paced novel. Unofficial translation of the novel by heracross. Raw version can be found at https://www.uukanshu.com/b/24330/. You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.

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An Actor Who Goes Her Own Way

During this period of time, Levi's entire Enigma Company can be said to be very busy. 

The TV drama side is very busy with various TV show productions; the movie side has Resident Evil released, X-Men 2 is in production, and there is also Levi's own movie and the movie supporting director Zhang. 

It can be said that during this period, there were constant blockbusters, which kept his company busy.

In this busy time, Alexander is in charge of funding, Clark is in charge of actor recruitment, Bob is in charge of scripts, Levi is in charge of special effects, and Michael and Jack are also not idle. Jack went to the set of X-Men 2 to continue acting, while Michael was responsible for finding manpower and training the actors.

The film was a hassle to make, not only for the special effects people but also for the actors.

Some scenes in the movie could only be shot against a green screen background. For example, the virtual world of Trisolaris in this movie can only be unfolded in front of a green screen. Everyone knows that it is not easy for a person to express themselves in a special scene in a studio.

How do you get someone to act like they're dehydrated while walking in a studio? 

How to make a person look up at the camera light and be as frightened as if they saw the pattern of the world? 

How to make a person feel unbearable from the bottom of their heart when looking at a big green curtain? 

These aspects are the problems of film shooting now.

Technology can advance, but no matter how advanced it is, if there are not enough acting skills, it will not be enough to express those scenes.

To give a simple example, with current technology, a lens of a severed limb only needs to be put on a cover of a different color. You can remove the limbs from the lens when shooting. There is no difficulty in shooting like this. 

But how easy is it for actors to act like a disabled person? The imbalance caused by the physical defects of people with disabilities and the psychological inferiority and self-esteem are all aspects that need to be performed by normal people.

And not to mention some of the more complex scenarios. For example, there is a scene in Men in Black 3 that holds an alien head. The one who talks to it and even bowls with an alien head looks very exciting, but what is really in the hands of the actor is just a volleyball. How do you feel about this volleyball performance? This is acting.

And another example is the scenes in the movie "Life of Pi" which can be said to be great, but the actual place where it was filmed was a swimming pool. Those scenes had to be performed by the actors themselves. And at the filming scene, there were no tigers lying on the boat. It's just a rag doll; how to express the communication between humans and tigers with a rag doll? This is also acting.

Film technology can improve, but for actors, it also tests imagination.

Fortunately, it's not like no one has tried this kind of performance. In fact, as early as the 1970s, Hollywood had already begun to use this kind of training. 

It's quite funny to say, but it actually started in superhero movies - no matter which generation of Superman showed flying, in fact, they were all hung up by ropes, and then someone stood in front of them with a blower and started blowing... It seemed like this scene was very funny — however, the face of Superman needs a look of righteousness.

And in this movie, it's this kind of acting that needs to be shown. In order to let the actors better understand this kind of acting skills, Michael also specially found teachers from acting schools for special training in this area.

In his opinion, this kind of training is very effective and meaningful. Levi also expressed his support for this, but not everyone was happy in the crew. Adjani, for example, is dismissive of this.

"Adjani said that it is best not to disturb her. She hopes better to analyze the character's state, psychology, and thoughts. During this period, she hopes to be immersed in the character, so if anyone disturbs her, she can't guarantee she can remain polite."

Among the leading actors, the one with the most arrogant personality is Isabelle Adjani. After joining the crew, although she would occasionally analyze her own scenes with others or discuss how to act in her own scenes, more often than not, she would be immersed in her own scenes alone, analyzing her own role and not communicating with others.

The character she plays in the play is a somewhat self-destructive and even anti-human character. Because of the persecution, this person began to hate all human beings. She knows that aliens are not necessarily better, but she deceives herself and others and wants the aliens to invade. 

However, although she had this thought deep in her heart, on the surface, she was still a dignified old lady, and everyone who saw her was attracted by her grace. 

Such a person can be said to be a jealous and twisted person. It will naturally be very profound if such a person appears in a movie. However, Adjani now analyzes her character's state even outside the movie; she likes to imitate her mentality from time to time, which is more troublesome.

Who would like to have an old madwoman by their side? No matter how good her immersion is, people will just feel awkward.

And that's not even the most important thing. The most important thing is that this actor likes to make her own decisions too much when acting.

For other actors, they might ask the director to add a scene for them. If they think one of their lines is not good, they would discuss it with the director to make changes. 

However, she has the temperament not to do any of these things. When performing, she performs whatever she thinks is good. As for the performance not conforming to the script - that is a problem that the screenwriter needs to change the script.

Every script written must be filed with the Screenwriters Guild. When the director is filming, he must report to the Screenwriters Guild if he wants to make changes to the script. This is to protect the interests of the screenwriters; otherwise, if the director tampered with it at will, the screenwriters would have lost all their original intentions. 

In fact, if it was cut too much, they might not get their share of the dividends they deserve. Such damage to reputation and interests will cost the screenwriters, but it is not recognized.

If you are an ordinary actor, even if you have your own opinions, you will discuss them with the director and screenwriter. If the director and screenwriter can agree with them, then you can do what you want.

However, for Adjani, she didn't care about this at all. 

She analyzed the character herself, and after doing so if she thought an action should be added or needed to add a line, she would change it on her own. 

She would not do any consultation or discussion. 

What she thinks is right is right since she is the one performing; she will do whatever she likes.

It is undeniable that her performance state of being completely integrated into the play makes her performance look incredibly perfect, with the kind of psychological disorder and self-destructive tendency. 

She imitated the crazy personality very well while maintaining a dignified demeanor in front of others. In fact, even the places where she changed the script can make sense if you think about it carefully.

However, what is more troublesome is that her character is a permanent part of the crew. It also really made people on the same crew feel awkward.

With such a person who goes her own way, there will naturally be a lot of pressure when working together.

"I originally thought that Daniel Day-Lewis dumped her. It was Day-Lewis who was stupid and left such a stunning beauty to marry an older woman. But now, I feel that it may not be his problem..." After staying with the crew for a few days, Michael also started to complain about Adjani's style. 

Many directors accused Adjani of being crazy after working with her, but Michael did not say so. But he is also somewhat dissatisfied with her own way of doing things.

It stands to reason that she is 47 years old. She has been acting in movies for thirty years, so she should be very aware of all the rules of making movies. 

However, she didn't seem to care at all about these rules. This gave Michael a headache. If she hadn't been so stunningly beautiful, Michael would have even wondered how this woman got here.

"Actually, if we really talk about this aspect, Day-Lewis may not be that good. The two of them have the same character. They are both drama addicts and live in their own worlds. 

 They don't care about acting at all when they are not acting. When they become stars, they can do whatever they want. They can carry their children to the streets to buy groceries or open a shoe store to sell shoes. They just want to live happily. 

 When acting, they are completely integrated into the character, completely ignoring the feelings of the people around them. 

 Their personalities are actually very close, so they came together. However, it turns out that it is a bit difficult for two people with completely identical personalities to live together."

Levi also has a hard time commenting on this piece of lace. Day-Lewis abandoned his wife with just a telegram, which is indeed a bit of a scumbag behavior, but it is really unimaginable how two such crazy actors could live together. 

Unlike Adjani's self-willed life, Day-Lewis at least yearned for a normal life. Therefore, when he met the daughter of his favorite writer, he abandoned Adjani.

"I know there are some problems with her character, but I think if we can tolerate it, it's better to tolerate it. She just has a bad temper, and she doesn't make any weird requests. This is a debate about the play. If you can accept it, just accept it." Levi actually had some headaches about her character, but considering her talent and acting skills, Levi tolerated it.

Having your own opinions on performance is always a reflection of ability and seriousness. Levi has always supported actors in expressing their views and will not not tolerate Adjani just because she has a bad personality.

It is easy to suppress her opinions, but it is not easy for her to put on a good show without raising any opinions. With such beauty and acting skills, one can tolerate a little bit of personality.

"And, fortunately, isn't she the only one who likes such willful behavior in our movie? Since there is only one person, let's endure it if we can." Levi persuaded Michael to accept this fact.

And there is a certain reason why Levi said this. There is more than one actor in this movie. If Adjani's character is extremely willful, then Washington's character can be said to make Levi very satisfied.

Washington has proven with his acting skills and personality that he is worthy of being a movie star. He is indeed an incredibly talented actor.

*****

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