Chapter 143 Hollywood's Luminous Script?

After finalizing the shooting plan with the special effects company, Liu Zhou came to Lionsgate.

In order to facilitate work, Jaylen Brown allocated an office specifically for the "Source Code" project team.

When I arrived at the office, I saw Tatum was on the phone, one call after another.

When he saw Liu Zhou coming in, he was about to hang up the phone, but Liu Zhou gestured to him to be busy and then sat aside.

Liu Zhou didn't expect that behind his relaxed state was Tatum's busyness. He didn't want to interrupt him since his own business was not urgent anyway.

More than half an hour passed before Tatum finally had some free time.

He came directly in front of him, without any nonsense, and said directly:
"Mr. Liu, we have reached a preliminary agreement with Christian Bale for the male lead, but he just got a big production from Warner Bros., so we may need to coordinate the schedule."

“Batman directed by Christopher Nolan?”

"That's right, his agent didn't want him to take the role at first, but Bale liked the script and took it.

But he's going to shoot Batman in September, and if we choose him, we have to finish shooting by the end of July, which is a bit tight."

It is already mid-May, and given Hollywood's efficiency, it would be quite rushed to finish filming by the end of July.

"What about the other two?"

"Robert Downey Jr. is now in a drug rehabilitation center, and Hugh Jackman simply refused."

"Rejected? Hugh Jackman is just starting out in Hollywood right now, right?"

"Yes, although I don't know why, he just refused directly."

Just refuse if you want to. Liu Zhou doesn’t have to lick him.

"Then let's choose Christian Bale. I'm sure I can finish the movie before the end of July." Liu Zhou said gritting his teeth.

"No problem, I will go to him to sign the contract in the next two days."

"What about the heroine?"

"Anne Hathaway!
Jessica Alba is currently filming Sin City and has no schedule, and although Scarlett Johansson has schedule, her box office appeal is not as strong as Anne Hathaway's."

"Okay, then let's go with Anne Hathaway!"

Although Scarlett Johansson became famous with "Lost in Translation" at this time, she was still mainly involved in art films.

Anne Hathaway has become the representative of Hollywood sweetheart through the two "Princess Diaries" movies and has a large number of male fans.

However, although Anne Hathaway became famous because of this, she was also labeled, so that she has not received any film contracts in the past two years.

Later, in order to break her own stereotype, she took on an independent film the next year and challenged nude scenes for the first time.

"Have you found other members of the crew?" Liu Zhou asked.

"almost."

“Then can we start filming at the end of May?”

"can!"

"Ok, then you go ahead and do your work. I'll go get ready."

Within two days, Tatum had gathered all the crew members, and Liu Zhou began to coordinate with them and determine the shooting plan.

On May 16, the crew of "Source Code" officially signed actor contracts with Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway and Vera Mifaga.

Vera Mifaga is the actor who plays Goodwin. Historically, he was also the actor who played Goodwin in "Source Code", but Liu Zhou didn't know it at the time.

Christian Bale's salary was 5 million, Anne Hathaway's was 3 million, and Vera Mifaga's was cheaper at only 900,000.

Liu Zhou had already communicated with the special effects company before, and that simple special effects shot would cost two million.

This means that Liu Zhou only has less than 10 million US dollars in funds to use. Even if he doesn't have to rush Bale's schedule, Liu Zhou has to finish the movie as soon as possible.

Time slowly came to the end of May, and the crew of "Source Code" was officially assembled.

Liu Zhou finally met Anne Hathaway, who was only in her early twenties.

Although her flowering period is very short, when she blooms, her beauty is truly unmatched among all other flowers.

When Liu Zhou saw her, he couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

If he hadn't seen a lot of beautiful women in recent years, he might have really made a fool of himself.

Because time was tight, Liu Zhou didn't exchange pleasantries with them and started telling them about the play directly.

"Source Code" can be said to be a piece of small stories pieced together.

The protagonist travels through time and time again, but when eight minutes are up, he will be immediately blown to death.

The story of the film moves forward with the repeated deaths of the protagonist.

So the focus is still on Bale.

However, Christian Bale, who was still a literary youth at the time, started a debate with Liu Zhou when Liu Zhou was talking about the play.

"Director Liu, I think the colors of the first scene are too bright and don't match the background of the story."

Although Liu Zhou wanted them to be his tools and just do what he said, he could not restrict others' right to speak.

"Tell me what you think."

“The protagonist’s life was extremely frustrating when he first appeared. His real body was about to die, and his remaining consciousness was carrying out tasks in the virtual world, experiencing disappointment again and again. If the virtual world had not continued to operate normally in the end, this would have been a very sad story.

So the camera should be dark when the male protagonist appears, and then he slowly walks out of the shadows in the constant conflicts. "

"Christian, Source Code is a bright, fast-paced, thrilling film. It's not appropriate to bring the camera into a relatively dark picture at the beginning."

"I think our world is cruel. We live in a very cruel world. When we rush forward, we will encounter cruelty. Everyone is baptized in cruelty. Only after the baptism can we reach a new realm in life."

After hearing what Bell said, Liu Zhou's forehead was immediately filled with black lines.

I'm talking to you about movies, and you're talking to me about philosophy?
“Christian, we are here to tell the audience a good story, not to explain and instill our outlook on life in them.

They are educated every day, and now they are educating others by watching a movie. No one can stand it. "

"But the virtual world the hero lives in is cruel. It only lasts eight minutes, and it explodes when the time is up. Only at the end, contrary to the expectations of the experiment, does the virtual world continue to exist and become beautiful."

“Even if the virtual world explodes and everyone dies after eight minutes, will it have any effect on the hero?
Not at all! It's like a game, where you keep saving and resurrecting, and at the end of the mission, when the eight minutes are up, he's already dead, but he can still survive in the virtual world. Isn't that wonderful?"

Seeing Bell fall silent, Liu Zhou made the decision:
"There's no need to discuss this, just listen to me!"

After chatting with Bell, Liu Zhou turned to the two heroines.

Vera Mifaga was okay, she was an old actress who had been in the industry for many years, and she nodded to whatever Liu Zhou said.

Liu Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. This was the actor the director liked.

If Bale is too artistic, then Anne Hathaway is too white.

It’s not that her skin is white, uh, although her skin is also white, it’s that her understanding of movies is too white.

Just now, Liu Zhou noticed that when he was debating with Bell, she looked confused.

Now when Liu Zhou was explaining the play to her, she still looked confused, so he had to give up the idea of ​​communicating the script with her.

No wonder she is called the most beautiful vase in Hollywood!
"Annie, just memorize the script, and then when we shoot, you just do whatever I tell you to do."

"Good director."

After a day of preparation, "Source Code" officially started filming on the last day of May.

There was no ceremony to pray to the gods before the launch, nor was there a press conference. It just started quietly.

The scenes inside the carriage and indoor scenes were all shot in the studio. It would have been too troublesome to shoot on location on the train.

Liu Zhou directly asked props to make a carriage similar to the first-class seats on the mainland high-speed rail more than ten years later.

No matter what, "Source Code" is a science fiction film, and it is impossible to just use a green train to make up the number, which would be too fake.

It just so happened that Liu Zhou felt that the high-speed rail in the mainland in the future would have a bit of a sci-fi feel if it were put in the present.

For the first scene, Liu Zhou planned to shoot a simple shot, which was the scene where the male protagonist woke up for the first time.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Liu Zhou took the microphone and said loudly:

"Attention all teams, prepare for filming, all irrelevant personnel, leave."

The recording engineer, Gan'erye, skillfully held the recording pole and got it into position in an instant.

Liu Zhou:

"Power on!"

Photographer:
"record!"

The script supervisor hunched over and clapperboarded in front of the camera, while the focus puller focused on the clapperboard.

"First scene, one take at a time!"

After shouting, the script supervisor quickly crouched down and left the camera.

The people Tatum found are all very professional. After going through the entire process, every move of each person is extremely skillful.

"Action!"

After Liu Zhou announced the start of filming, he sat in front of the monitor and watched the actors' performances.

In the carriage, Bell rested peacefully against the window.

Suddenly he frowned, shook his head slightly, and slowly opened his eyes.

After seeing the situation outside the window clearly, Bell sat up straight abruptly and looked at the unfamiliar scene around him, his eyes full of confusion and vigilance.

"stop!"

When Bell saw Liu Zhou calling for a stop, he looked at him in confusion.

"Christian, there's nothing wrong with your performance." Liu Zhou turned to Anne Hathaway and said, "Anne, your eyes are too dull. The person in front of you is your lover. Your eyes should be filled with tenderness, depth, and a hazy feeling."

"I understand the director."

"Then can you perform it for me live?"

Liu Zhou immediately saw Anne Hathaway looking at him with wide eyes.

Liu Zhou couldn't help but slap his forehead. He now didn't know whether choosing her was a mistake.

"You can think of me as your beloved. Imagine how you feel when you look at your beloved."

"Is that right?"

"Don't open your eyes so wide, yes, there should be a hint of smile at the corners of your mouth..."

After teaching her for more than half an hour, Anne Hathaway barely met Liu Zhou's requirements.

But during the filming, Anne Hathaway flopped again.

Later, Liu Zhou and Belzi took over and taught for another half an hour before finally completing the shot.

Next is the conversation between the male and female protagonists. The female protagonist regards the male protagonist as her lover, but the male protagonist doesn't remember her at all.

Then comes Bell's close-up.

With a "hiss" sound, the cap of a carbonated drink was opened behind him, and Bell couldn't help but look back.

A girl passed by with freshly brewed milk tea. Maybe she added too much water or held the cup too tightly, so the milk tea sprayed out of the straw and dripped onto Bell's shoes.

Bell instinctively glanced down at his shoes.

"Ok, passed!"

Bale’s acting is really good, and he managed to capture this series of shots in just two takes.

If it weren't for Anne Hathaway, the opening scene could have been shot in just one morning instead of taking a whole day.

After finishing work, Liu Zhou modified the shooting plan in the room.

Liu Zhou really didn't expect Anne Hathaway's acting skills to be so bad, but since she was the one he chose, he had to finish the filming even with tears.

Just as Liu Zhou was working hard all night, the door rang.

(End of this chapter)