v2 Chapter 768： Lucasfilm

The pace of the entire filming was very fast, and the experts sent by NASA also played a big role. In addition to the preliminary preparations, the astronaut who had been in the crew also pointed out many positions in the filming that were inconsistent with reality. , His opinion is very pertinent, but Duke has not adopted much.

In fact, many of the details in the filming are unscientific, and they all need to give way to the cinematic mood that Duke, the director, wants to create.

For example, during shooting, astronauts will condense water mist on the mask when they breathe, but the real situation is that this is considered when designing the spacesuit. The use of special technology will make the mask spotless. Duke took two different shots. The effect of this, and then choose the unreal one when considering the choice.

Because this allows the astronauts’ breathing to be visualized, and it is obvious that the presence of the mask will produce a sense of claustrophobia. There is also a clear water mist in the subjective shots, making the isolation and loneliness in space more prominent .

How to tell the story well with movies, how to balance the authenticity and drama, and how to make technology serve the narrative are the issues that directors need to consider most.

Every director has his own style and philosophy, and Duke is certainly no exception. Let the movie add more attention to it, instead of making the audience boring when watching the movie, 5→, it is also the natural decision of the investment scale of this movie.

When the filming of Scarlett Johansson listening to the barking and baby crying radio, turning off all equipment and preparing to die, Sophia Coppola came to visit the class and discussed the scene with Duke.

"Seeing Scarlett sobbing silently there..."

Standing next to Duke, Sophia Coppola looked at Scarlett sitting in a lounge chair applying makeup and said, "I thought this was the best tragedy I have ever seen, but I think of your script. This feeling. They all disappeared. If Scarlett's character dies in the end, I think it will be even more shocking."

Hearing this, Duke couldn't help but rewarded Sophia with a white eyeball, "Honey, I think you forgot. This is a commercial film with a production cost of 200 million US dollars!"

Sophia Coppola shrugged with an indifferent expression.

Duke emphasized again, "The audience likes to see the joy of the success of the counterattack, not the useless work after a desperate struggle."

"Have you ever asked Scarlett's opinion on the character?" Sophia Coppola asked suddenly.

"Of course." Duke returned to his seat, ready to start busy. "She thinks it will end very well."

If so, according to Sophia Coppola, the heroine died after countless struggles, the film would definitely rush to the Mariana Trench, and it would definitely lose everything.

These two endings are nothing more than literary and commercial choices.

in fact. Scarlett and his thoughts are very similar. In an exclusive interview with the "Hollywood Reporter" a few days ago, the other party also asked her why she left the literary film and changed to a commercial route.

Scarlett’s answer is very interesting-it is inevitable. Watching movies is a kind of escapism. Life is hard enough. The audience does not come to the cinema to find hardship, since we are entertainment stars. They just want to be entertained. But directors like Duke can package the tragedy of human nature into a fascinating survival adventure, and you have completed this adventure in the senses. You will also get a certain kind of rebirth. When you walk out of the movie theater, you might immediately want to do something to experience the beauty of life. This is also a kind of hope that the movie conveys. It turns a heartbreaking story into a beautiful one. Language makes you want to work hard to live.

Before Duke had started work, Sophia Coppola walked over. Standing behind the director's chair, he asked, "The female characters in the films you have made in the past two years have become more prominent, tougher and stronger. Wouldn't you really become a feminist? "

Duke just shrugged. But there was no clear answer, "Who knows."

He turned his head, but found Sophia's eyes widened and looking at him curiously. He had no choice but to say, "Times are changing and movies are changing. I just think such female characters are alive."

Sophia knew Duke very well. Knowing that he hadn't finished speaking, he made a gesture of please continue.

After thinking about it for a while, Duke said to her again, "We have been in this circle for so long, and we have seen too many artificial dreams and all the stories that are developed in an orderly manner in a way recognized by the patriarchal society, but we know that the world is People are diversified, people are born different, and the way of survival is different, so now there are more and more movies showing different myths. That is the movie I like, and it is also a really interesting movie."

"Don't you think fantasy movies like Disney are boring? Boys meet girls, boys break up with girls, boys desperately reconcile with girls and live a happy life forever. It's very sweet, but I don't find it interesting. "

Hearing Duke’s words, Sophia Coppola nodded in approval, “It’s true. I don’t even think comedy can save these perfect fairy tales. It’s only interesting when there are strange noises and branches in life, just like your As depicted in the script of "Gravity", if the protagonist has a happy family and her relatives are eagerly looking forward to her return on the earth, it is far worse than she is a person who has lost a loved one and has no love. It’s more attractive to ignite and live."

"So," Duke turned his head and said, "This kind of character has resonance. Everyone can find themselves in a story, because every corner of the world has a different life, and they can do the same. Fun, funny, and happy ending, but such a happy ending is achieved through vivid twists and turns."

Outside of filming, one of the things that Duke paid the most attention to was the contact between his team and Lucasfilm.

Since August, the news that George Lucas will retire soon has been circulated in the whole circle. The future of Lucasfilm has become the focus of many people's attention.

Indeed, Lucasfilm can’t compare to the traditional six major companies, but his profitability is terrifying, and through Industrial Light and Magic, it can affect the future development of the entire Hollywood film industry, not to mention those that are not very competitive. Big companies, the traditional six major Hollywood companies all want to get Lucasfilm in their pockets.

Of course Duke wanted to, but the competitors he faced were extremely powerful.

Among the six major companies, Walt Disney’s desire to obtain Lucas Pictures is the most urgent, while Sony Columbia Pictures is dragged down by the parent company Sony Group and can basically be ignored.

Several other companies are acting on the basis of pricing and timing.

The shareholders who want to impress Lucasfilm, in the final analysis, still need to look at the quotation. In this multi-billion-dollar transaction, there is no more critical element than capital.

In terms of capital, Duke has an advantage. After a few months, through stock transfers and bank financing, he has a huge flow of funds in his hands, which is enough to fight against any company in terms of price.

On the other hand, the attitude of George Lucas, a key figure in Lucasfilm, is also Duke’s advantage. In the case of similar bids, George Lucas is definitely inclined to transfer his shares to Du Gram, this will give him the upper hand.

Moreover, Time Warner also supports Duke. Due to the shortage of liquidity caused by the rapid expansion of the group, Time Warner could not provide much real gold and platinum. It still symbolically joined Duke’s acquisition. Lucasfilm holds shares.

This is a good thing for the acquisition. The executives of Lucasfilm must understand that the company will be sold, but if they are sold, they will inevitably lean towards the six companies with a wider platform, and Time Warner is Dukla. The best tool to offset Walt Disney's advantages.

In ongoing negotiations, Duke’s team raised the offer to US$3.8 billion, which is already a premium, but if necessary, he will raise the offer to US$4 billion or more.

And Duke promised Lucasfilm executives that as long as the acquisition is completed, the new "Star Wars" series will be launched immediately, which means that Lucasfilm's performance in the next few years may rush A peak, and these executives can also get a lot of rewards.

For Duke, more than 4 billion US dollars to get Lucasfilm is simply a cash cow.

Lucasfilm's ability to attract gold will reach a crazy level after the launch of the new "Star Wars" series.

Duke remembers very clearly that the once new Star Wars has not been released yet, and its peripherals and peripheral licenses are selling crazy. ea-owns the franchise of the "Star Wars" game; Lego-produced the best-selling toy Empire Star Destroyer ; Sony Entertainment-its PS4 game console has the franchise of related dramas and bundles; Hasbro-purchase the franchise to manufacture "Star Wars" related models...

This is just a part of it. Lucasfilm has earned more than one billion dollars in revenue just by granting the copyright before the film was released!

This does not include revenue from DVDs and streaming media. At that time, Disney made a lot of money by selling original movie DVDs and streaming media-the first six films were very popular during the new film promotion period, which is the cost of re-distribution for Disney. Very low, so the money Disney earns is almost effortless.

The real winner of the original acquisition of Lucasfilm was Walt Disney, another world that Duke had experienced. In 2012, Walt Disney spent $4.05 billion from the creator of "Star Wars" George Lu. Cass acquired Lucasfilm. The deal was later recognized as a bargain. Walt Disney could recover the money only by product licensing and peripheral products.

Only now, facing competitors like Duke, Walt Disney has no advantage at all. (To be continued.)

ps: Ask for monthly and recommended tickets!