Still preparing

"Hey, René, guess who's here?" Thomas was busy with handling the photography effects when, in the blink of an eye, he saw a familiar figure leisurely entering the set.

René, who was writing and drawing on the side, stopped and followed Thomas' gaze, only to discover Lyman greeting the staff on set. He put aside the scene shooting plans and quickly walked over, "Are all the filming equipment in place?"

"What about the outdoor scenes? Have you arranged the suitable locations for shooting?"

Lyman was inquiring about the progress of the preparations when suddenly he felt a poking sensation at his waist. He turned his head and saw René with a mischievous smile on his face. "So, did you handle everything over there? It took you so long, I'm almost exhausted." With his demeanor, he resembled a complaining wife.

"There's nothing I can do. Things have been back and forth. As soon as I finished dealing with the actors' matters, I came over to help. Isn't that sincere enough?" Lyman explained.

René had been responsible for the pre-production work of the crew, with the team mainly composed of the crew from the filming of "3 Idiots", although the photography team was now led by Thomas. After two film shoots, Thomas's on-set experience had rapidly improved, and he had developed better understanding and synergy with Lyman. Promoting him was a natural choice.

Meanwhile, George had been busy communicating with props and negotiating tax benefits for shooting locations. Overall, the division of labor and collaboration in the preparations had been handled quite well.

"It's good that you're here. We still need your input on many things."

"You've been working hard." Lyman said sincerely. René, the kind of person who liked to complain a bit, didn't say much after seeing Lyman's arrival. He turned around and went back to dealing with his own tasks.

Standing in the Warner Bros. Studio, which they had rented in Los Angeles, Lyman began to handle his work. He reviewed Sandy's scene schedule; examined the costume team's sketches of character clothing and character design; communicated with the set design team about his desired set arrangements...

These were all matters that required his final approval to ensure that the filming process wouldn't constantly make mistakes or deviate from his vision. A director couldn't completely detach himself from pre-production work. Approaching the filmmaking process with a lack of responsibility would only lead to a failure, with no exceptions other than complete failure.

Fortunately, René had done well previously, and all the proposals from the various stages of the filming process were consolidated for his final review. However, even so, he was still incredibly busy.

"For the photography effects, let's make them more simple, with brighter colors."

In a cubicle at Warner Bros. Studio, Lyman sat in front of a monitor, watching sample shots taken by Thomas, pointing at the displayed effects and saying, "For the war scenes, we can have a more realistic touch."

"Okay, got it." Thomas nodded and carefully noted the desired visual effects.

"Here... here... here..."

The two of them continued to discuss, determining the visual style that the film would ultimately portray. The color tone of the shots needed to change appropriately as the story progressed. All of these had to be finalized.

This film was different from the dark tone of "Buried", the brightness and documentary style of "3 Idiots", and the distinct photography style of "Fury". It needed to carry a sense of simplicity. After all, the story took place in the distant past, during World War II, and a slightly nostalgic feel would be quite fitting.

In the opening battle, when a member of the tank squad died, the color palette should be dark and, when filming the overall condition of the battlefield, the shots should have a slightly yellowish tint, giving a sense of historical weight and a realistic atmosphere. When the new recruit Norman joined the squad, the colors could become brighter. By the end, when everyone died, the colors should become dull again.

It could be said that this kind of shot arrangement required great expertise and could better highlight the characters in the story.

Lyman and Thomas were meticulously planning the visual experience when suddenly, someone knocked on the office door and entered.

René and a middle-aged white man stood at the doorway.

"And who might this be?" Lyman quickly gave a signal to René. The arrival was quite forceful, so who could it be?

René quickly understood and introduced, "He is Jonathan Gavin, the representative of Allianz. He's here to verify the shooting expenses and budget." Knowing his identity, it was understandable why things proceeded the way they did.

As the guarantor, there was only one purpose for their visit, and that was to compress the shooting expenses as much as possible and ensure that the film's budget didn't exceed. "And those battle scenes, there are too many extras. The scale is so large that the risks are uncontrollable. If there are mistakes a few times, it will affect the budget for the rest of the shooting. Can't we reduce the screen time for some extras?" Jonathan continued expressing his concerns.

"Mr. Gavin, what we need is authenticity. So, it's impossible to use props for the tanks. Let me ask you this, can props move?" Lyman looked at him and retorted, "As for those front-line battle scenes, they are crucial to driving the plot. We can't reduce them."

"Then how will you control the risk? With such a large number of extras and the need for the pyrotechnics team to set up bomb points in advance, what will you do if something goes wrong during the filming?" Jonathan argued.

"The pyrotechnics team hired by the crew is the most professional in Hollywood. They have extensive experience, and there are proper procedures for handling explosive points. Even if someone steps on them, they won't explode. It will be safe."

"What about the number of extras? If you suddenly need hundreds of them, it's a large sum of money. If there are frequent mistakes in the filming, it will increase the number of retakes and drain the budget."

At this moment, Lyman truly wanted to kick this guy out of the office. He was so conservative and stingy. If he wanted to shoot with so many mistakes, why make a movie at all? He took a deep breath, suppressed his temper, and then asked, "So, what do you suggest? Can a few dozen people achieve coordinated tank maneuvers? *Fuah*, here's the director's baton, show me how it's done."

Jonathan Gavin completely ignored the sarcastic undertone in Lyman's words. He had seen and heard it all in this industry. He even staged a martial arts fight with a director once. These verbal attacks were nothing, with no impact at all. He calmly said, "How about cooperating with the military? If we provide food, we can get a large number of extras for free. This way, the risk of filming these scenes will be greatly reduced."

"Haven't you heard? Our production team has reached an agreement with the Pentagon. They are willing to help. We even got five slightly decommissioned real tanks, not to mention various firearms and battlefield transport equipment. We also have a real tank crew serving as driving consultants on set. Can you get more than that?"

It was common in Hollywood for the military to sponsor such activities. With the communication between CAA and Paramount Pictures, it was relatively easy for the Department of Defense to provide technical support to "Fury".

Movies like "The Rock", "Black Hawk Down", "Saving Private Ryan", "Enemy at the Gates"... Numerous war films had the presence of the US military. The government's willingness to do so was simple. By promoting the image of the US military through movies, they increased the sense of honor for recruits.

Recruitment was getting increasingly difficult these days. By providing a little support, they could promote the US military and patriotism. It was a profitable idea. However, this was only technical support. It would be difficult to get more than that. Otherwise, wouldn't it be more appropriate and in line with Lyman's vision to have real soldiers as extras?

Jonathan naturally knew the situation with his own Department of Defense, and he understood that it was already rare to have an active tank crew assisting with technical issues. But obviously, this director didn't understand more of the situation.

He shook his head and said, "Not active duty soldiers? Every year, there are so many veterans facing income issues. Not to mention those who are close to being phased out. By paying them a little, we can still hire them. It would be better than spending money on extras, right?"

Lyman's gaze towards Jonathan changed. Capitalists truly were capitalists, always trying to cut corners. In other words, it would be even more suitable and in line with Lyman's desire for authenticity to hire soldiers as extras.

Seeing that Jonathan still wanted to say something, Lyman quickly spoke first, "I understand, Jonathan. I'll solve this issue right away. If you have any objections, please talk to my production manager René first. If that doesn't work, you can talk to the producer George. Now, I need to start working, and you don't want to further delay and disrupt the shooting schedule, right?"

"Fine," Jonathan said, reminding, "There can't be any more changes. The filming budget is absolutely not allowed to exceed." René, who was nearby, had a bitter expression and followed Jonathan Gavin out.

During the time when Lyman wasn't present on set, he had to endure this person's torment every day. One moment, he would say that something wasn't feasible, that the risks were too high. Another moment, he would say that the set wasn't good, that it would exceed the budget. In short, he was giving René a headache. Finally, when Lyman arrived, he thought he could divert this troublemaker to him. But in the end, he had to handle it himself.

Life is truly bitter. This guy is really annoying.

Compared to the representative from EuropaCorp, who was brought in during the previous shoot, this guy was much more stubborn.

Is he getting a raise for being so responsible? Why does he create so many problems? Doesn't he get tired?

While René was ranting, Lyman took Jonathan's advice and started calling George to take charge of the matter. Not only in the US, but they could also look for support in France. They were more familiar with that side, and EuropaCorp could provide assistance there.