Hollywood Rhapsody

Leonardo's elf image was maximized by Peter Jackson. This future world-renowned director is like an urchin who has picked up a treasure. He wants to show off everywhere, so Leonardo appeared in the Fellowship of the Ring At the round table meeting at the beginning of its establishment, he was sitting next to Gandalf and was caught by the camera several times. He was also there when the elf Alvin left Rivendell. It is a pity that the royal city has not been built yet, otherwise Peter Jackson would still want to Let Leonardo personally marry Sarah, and of course the elf he plays will send Alvin, ahem, this scene must be very dramatic if it is shot!

"New Zealand is really beautiful, and I don't even want to leave." During the break, Leonardo and Sarah sat side by side by the woods, looking at a white cloud in the blue sky, enjoying the rare peace. With magical power, it will comfort the people in it, breathe quietly the air mixed with the fragrance of grass and trees, and feel as if the body has been washed from the inside out, including the restless heart.

The Oscar nominations will be announced soon, but Sarah, who is a popular candidate for the nominations, is squatting in New Zealand to observe the moss: "New Zealand is indeed beautiful, and even these soft little things make people feel cute. No wonder the local government strongly urges the crew not to destroy the environment here , don’t even step on a piece of moss.”

"You saw Orlando Bloom standing on tiptoe in this moss practicing... er... agility, you're so emotional, right? The movements of that British actor do seem quite light." Leonard said. Duo pointed to Orlando Bloom, who finished the "moss jumping exercise" and climbed back to the plum blossom pile not far away, his eyes were a little eager to try.

"Do you want to try it? It is said that this is an ancient training method from Chinese Kung Fu. It can not only make your movements more agile, but also practice lightness kung fu. It is very magical... flying over the walls... light as a swallow..." Sarah thought hard How to describe Qinggong in English, the body is as light as a swallow?Can you easily climb over walls and climb trees?At this time, she will have a sense of pride in the extensive and profound culture of the motherland.

"No, no, are you reminding me to lose weight? Let me be as light as a swallow, wouldn't it be skinny?" Leonardo obviously expressed doubts about Sarah's description, and did not get the "light weight" The true meaning of "Ruyan", which reflects Sarah's browbeating.

Just at this time, Peter Jackson, who was holding the new work of the crew's sword casting group, came over and showed Sarah the sword she would use in the next scene: "Look, what a sword! But for filming needs, we But destroy it that has just been cast."

"The day when the broken sword was recast, when the knight (his power) returned..." Sarah took Bao Jian over, and posed a handsome pose, "There are so many skilled craftsmen in the crew. Got a peerless sword!"

Sarah originally wanted to flatter Peter Jackson, but she didn't expect the other party to curl her lips with a crying face: "Who told us that "The Lord of the Rings" is the largest low-budget movie ever? For To save money, we can only invite craftsmen to build these shooting tools and models by hand, so the life is not to mention how tight it is!"

"Haha, Peter, this film has an investment of hundreds of millions. What about the money? Where did it go?" Sarah suppressed a smile and exchanged glances with Leonardo quickly. She knew that Peter Jackson was crying for poverty, but she Happy to cooperate with each other.

"Look, as you said, these real scenes need to be built, and due to the geographical environment, the traffic here is very inconvenient. We can only use helicopters to transport construction materials. The crew is burning every minute and every second." Money, and clothes on you, hobbits and other protagonists clothes, big and small including the miniature version of doubles, Frodo has 6.4 sets of clothes, Aragorn has 32 sets of clothes, it's all money!" Peter ·Jackson seems to have a stomach full of bitterness. After finally catching Sarah, he must spit it out. Under Sarah's patient listening, he frowned a little more, and said more and more distressed, "This is not the most expensive, I heard that you studied computer at Harvard, and plan to make achievements in computer graphics and film special effects in the future? Then you should know how expensive it is to make film special effects. If we want to achieve industrial light and magic or digital fields Even if we do better than them, this is definitely not a small amount of money. We hire real special effects experts, and the price of each expert is not cheap."

"OK, OK! I can fully hear your ambition and resentment. Are you implying that we should invest more? Dear Mr. Peter Jackson, don't forget that I am an actor now." Sarah He patted Peter Jackson's fat belly funny.

And Peter Jackson wrinkled his nose at her, and turned his gaze to Leonardo: "Aren't you also a partner of Starlight Company? So I'm actually crying for you, my most respected Dika Mr. Prio, can you invest more in the crew? See how tight we are."

"This..." Leonardo coughed in embarrassment, and the first thing he did next was to look at Sarah, and then unexpectedly said something that made Peter Jackson dumbfounded, "Although I don't want to say that...cough Cough... But Peter, I have to tell you a helpless fact - Sarah is the one who has been in charge of our financial power, so I'm sorry I can't help you, if it's an additional investment, you still have to find the person in front of you This Ms. Stern, the company's accounts are all in her little head."

"Really?" This question did not come from Peter Jackson, but Harvey Weinstein who just happened to walk over. As the producer of this film, he would naturally be happy to hear and see if Starlight really invested more, but at this time Leonardo's words aroused his attention even more, Sarah is a girl who always surprises him.

"Of course, not only is the company's financial power, but also my own wallet is also controlled by Sarah. For example, I smoke occasionally, but now I have to quit, because Sarah, a stinky girl, doesn't give me money to buy cigarettes. "Leonardo deliberately imitated Peter Jackson's wrinkled bun face and cried poorly, but his appearance is too handsome, even if he is wrinkled together, he looks a hundred times better than Peter Jackson.

"Hahaha, then you are really pitiful!" Harvey Weinstein is the most active, he winked his eyes at Leonardo in front of Sarah, "It's okay, if you agree to take For my film, I will pay you a single payment."

"Harvey, I'm sorry, I've heard..." Sarah made a gesture of wiping sweat with a tense face.

Harvey shrugged at Sarah rather rascally, and then pulled Leonardo away from Sarah: "Isn't this resource allocation just right? I'm talking about the new movie project with Leon, and you can listen carefully Peter crying poor...Peter! Come on! For the movie, even if you really shed two tears, I promise I won't laugh at you!" Harvey patted Peter on the shoulder, and really pulled Leonardo away up.

Watching Leonardo and Harvey walk away, Sarah sighed amusedly, turned her eyes to Peter Jackson who stayed by her side, and made a gesture of invitation, inviting Mr. Director to join her in the beautiful Ruiyuan. Wendell strolled.

"Is this really going to consider giving me additional investment?" Peter raised his eyebrows and patted his round belly expectantly. He was actually just complaining to Sarah.

But Sarah wouldn't take it as a joke, especially on the premise that she had a personal plan, how could she miss this opportunity that Peter offered to send to her door?Sarah walked to the round table and chose a stone chair at random, and invited Peter to sit down too: "Peter, since you mentioned special effects, why don't we take this opportunity to have a good talk... about movie special effects and your Vita studio."

"What?" Peter Jackson squeezed his small eyes full of doubts, and he had a bad premonition in his heart. How could he feel that things would develop in another direction that he didn't expect at all?

Sarah looked at Peter Jackson and smiled very kindly: "You know that Starlight Company is following up two big projects, right? In addition to the "Lord of the Rings" in your hand, there is also the "Harry Potter" series led by Starlight Company. Both franchises definitely required great special effects skills, so Michael Ovitz and I came up with the idea of ​​setting up our own special effects department.”

"Wait a minute, what are you talking about? Does this have anything to do with my Weta Studio? Are you going to dig the wall of Weta Studio? Or..." Peter Jackson didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he was just making fun of it , I didn't expect that the little girl in front of me had such a big appetite that she actually set her sights on his company.

"That's right, you have already guessed it? I hope to invite you to join Starlight Company. We can give you the greatest freedom and room for development, as well as strong financial support. Starlight Company will soon start making many movies. As long as you like any movie, I will They will give priority to you to direct, of course, this is after you finish "Lord of the Rings", otherwise you probably don't have the time to think about new scripts." Sara sent out the invitation with a smile, and then quietly waited for Peter Jackson's reply, which was a very long time. For example, Harvey Weinstein wanted to acquire Prophecy.com, but she refused without hesitation. No one would be willing to sell their own "blood and flesh", even if the company still has them in the future. to manage, but it is like a child who changes his surname and calls someone else his father in the future. This decision is obviously very difficult.

"It's you who came to talk to me about such a big matter? What about Michael Ovitz? He thinks you can persuade me?" Peter Jackson was silent for a long time, but he said such a dissatisfied sentence, as if the 19-year-old Sarah It was a slight for La to talk to him about this.Are you kidding him?He really couldn't imagine that such a big decision was proposed to him by a 19-year-old girl!

"Oh, don't think so, because I'm better at movie special effects than that old guy Michael." The smile on Sarah's face has not changed, but her tone has changed subtly. Her voice is slightly lower and her tone is more formal. , "Michael and I talked a lot when I was filming "The Lord of the Rings". In fact, I didn't have much longing for the role of Alvin. On the contrary, it was the Gollum in your script that aroused my interest. I was thinking How will you shape this deformed character? Of course you will use special effects, but how to do it? This is what I want to know most, so I decided to participate in "The Lord of the Rings" and know your special effects production team personally. See what you do with the character of Gollum."

Sarah was somewhat guilty when she started this topic, because after all, she has the memory of her previous life and knows the story of the special effects production of this movie, so now she is showing off in front of a real master. For the sake of the company's development, she really hopes to be able to acquire the best special effects company under her command. An old special effects company like Industrial Light and Magic is beyond her imagination. Such a big name, let alone Starlight Company, is Warner, It is also difficult for a big studio like Disney to eat it. Industrial Light and Magic has become the monarch of Hollywood and even the world's special effects kingdom, but the current Weta Studio is still in the growth stage. There is only one work Peter Jackson's Small movies can do it.Before Peter Jackson and his Weta Studio became famous, the acquisition was equivalent to buying a potential stock that was sure to succeed at the lowest cost. For the reborn, she undoubtedly did not need to hesitate.

What is the greatest benefit of rebirth?Memory!She would be really stupid if she didn't use the memory of her previous life!Knowing that option A is better, but still forcing yourself to pretend to be blind and choose B, which is completely unknown?This is called Gaofengliang Festival?No!This is stupid!This is called irrational investment!As a company manager, all she has to consider is how to make Starlight Company and Prophecy Network stronger.What's more, she is buying real money, not robbery, so, although she has a little guilty conscience, Sarah doesn't feel too much psychological burden on her behavior at this time. With the knowledge plug-in and the financial support of Starlight Company, Weta Studio will develop even better than in the previous life!

And her words made Peter feel like he was being judged. It turns out that Weta is not good enough to be favored by Starlight?If the special effects of Weta are mediocre or the character shaping plan of Gulu is not satisfactory to Sarah, then Sarah may not think of Weta.This recognition aroused Peter Jackson's competitive spirit. He didn't think he would agree to the acquisition, but he also didn't want his Weta studio to be looked down upon.

"Gollum? You are more interested in this character than the heroine Alvin? This is really beyond my expectations. As for the production method of Gollum... I invited Andy Serkis from the UK to voice Gollum, and at the same time Gollum played the role of Sméagol, Gollum’s predecessor when he looked in the mirror in the water, and Gollum, who has turned into a monster, was generated through computer special effects animation. After all, it is difficult to find such a special actor, and it is impossible to achieve the desired deformity with makeup. effect, so it can only be used in the form of animation." Peter Jackson did not hide his shooting plan, as an important character throughout the "Lord of the Rings" movie, the shaping of Gollum is very important, and this purely computer-generated character image is also One of the hard points for him to finish the film, if this image fails, the whole film will be pulled down.But can these Sarah understand?To be honest, Peter Jackson didn't think the little girl in front of him really knew what special effects were.

"Animation generation?" Sarah smiled, and shook her head slightly because she didn't hear the word she expected. She didn't mind the slight contempt in Peter Jackson's eyes, but got up and walked to the round table, using her fingers Randomly knocking on the stone tabletop, he unexpectedly mentioned another great director, "I had previously talked with James Cameron about some ideas about special effects in movies, and I hope to use them to complete a new movie production... ... Tsk, look at your expression, yes, if you are well-informed, you should have heard of that giant production, Cameron's next big plan."

Seeing Peter Jackson's unbelievable expression, Sarah covered her mouth and laughed twice.James Cameron is indeed a living legend in Hollywood. Although "Titanic" has been released for more than two years, the shock he brought to people has not faded. Everyone is looking forward to his next work .

It is rumored that his next work will be more expensive, more amazing and more magnificent than "Titanic".The amount of money burned by this project has even scared giants such as Disney, Fox and Paramount. These big studios are eager for James to create another box office miracle of "Titanic", but they are worried that the hundreds of millions of investment will eventually hit the water. That's why James' new project is still silent two years after the release of "Titanic".

But now Sarah said that she was planning that scary big production with James Cameron?How can it be?

"What did I hear? Are you talking about the big production that is said to be more expensive than "Titanic"? Are you kidding? Didn't you say that the project has been shelved?" Peter Jackson couldn't help but swallowed. The news was so shocking that he couldn't believe it.

"Why should I make such a joke with you? Do I look bored? Or is it April Fool's Day? Peter, do you know why Starlight Company must try its best to participate in the "Lord of the Rings" project? The "Harry Potter" series led by a large number of risks..." Sarah raised two fingers, representing the two series of "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter", and she shook her finger to Peter Jackson Showing an ambitious smile, "Have you guessed the reason? Because we believe that these two series based on novels will bring us considerable income, and this money is to invest in Cameron's new work. "

"WOW, it's been a long process of saving money!" Peter Jackson smacked his mouth. Although Sarah's words sounded a little less credible, when he thought of James Cameron's burning money before Fox had to pull At the point where Paramount invested together, Starlight's behavior of saving money for Cameron by relying on two series does not seem to be incomprehensible.

"It's really long enough, but who told us to want Cameron? We are optimistic about "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter", but Cameron's new work is our biggest ambition. We want the new work to be "Titans" "Nick", and this is undoubtedly an opportunity that Starlight Company does not want to miss, there are risks, and even a big gamble, but it is also very exciting, isn't it?" Sarah revealed Starlight's story to Peter Jackson ambition, and even deliberately belittled "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter". , Participating in an epoch-making work sounds absolutely attractive enough.

"That's why I want to buy Weta Studios, because I like Weta Studios! Michael should have talked to you about the special effects project for "Harry Potter"? There are local companies in the UK, but we still hope Weta Studio can participate in it, accumulate experience through two large series of special effects, and help Weta Studio to grow rapidly. Why do you want to do this? Because Cameron has unprecedented special effects requirements for his new works, believe me, it It is definitely not something that the current Weta Studios can accomplish. Those requirements sound almost unimaginable and impossible tasks, even Industrial Light and Magic can’t do it! This also means..." Sarah paused at this point All of a sudden, her tone was a little exaggerated, coupled with the almost fanatical expression, it made it even more obvious how unimaginably crazy Cameron's new plan is.However, for a person who dares to challenge like Peter Jackson, he must be stimulated and seduced by things that are equally crazy or even more crazy!For Peter Jackson, who has not yet become a world-renowned director, what could be more attractive than participating in James Cameron's epoch-making masterpiece?

This is a bait full of temptation, and Peter Jackson has obviously been aroused, and is carefully approaching the hook that Sarah put down.Before Sarah continued to speak, Peter Jackson subconsciously said: "This means...means... What you need are completely innovative special effects, just like those innovations made by Industrial Light and Magic for "Star Wars" , in order to complete "Star Wars", Lucas had to create an unprecedented special effects company, and finally the special effects of Industrial Light and Magic conquered the world."

"That's right. At that time, no one thought that Qiaozhi Lucas' conception of "Star Wars" could be realized. Those strange alien creatures and brilliant light effects were beyond people's cognition at that time." Sarah Nodding in agreement, the corners of her mouth curled up, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally, finally bit the hook!Just like a person sitting by the river fishing carefully put down the bait, and now the fish is finally hooked, "It is because of the epoch-making "Star Wars" that there are industrial light and magic that have created more miracles, and I am inviting you to join a An even greater plan, it will change the way people watch movies in the future, and change the way people make movies, if you join Starlight, believe me, dear Peter, Weta Studios may even have a chance to surpass Industrial Light and Magic!"

Sarah is now like Hitler mobilizing before the war, stimulating Peter Jackson with the most inspiring speech, and she even prepared the last move after the fish bites the bait, and used the real delicious food as the last move before the fish struggled. Temptation, but in time to close the net——

"I know, as a 19-year-old girl, my words may not be convincing, so if you are interested, I can invite Cameron to come to New Zealand to visit your special effects studio and talk about his big plans... ...Oh, I saw the look in your eyes, you really have been doubting me before... Look, this is the disadvantage of being young. Although I don't want to admit it, age discrimination exists all the time in society, such as Oscar and now, if I'm a middle-aged man in his 40s, maybe you won't be so skeptical."

Sarah spread her hands helplessly, as if she was wronged, she sighed, as if she was angry and hoped to say something to prove herself——

"Would you take my word for it if I said what I thought about the characterization of Gollum? Don't animate entirely in computer, you know there's a risk of distorting the character, so why not go the other way? Use motion capture technology to achieve real movement and expression synchronization. A character is alive because of his expression and eyes. Only when he really has the same expression as a living person can he be considered to have real life. What do you think? Perfect The facial expression capture is exactly what Cameron and I are after, and after talking with him, you will understand why I attach so much importance to the character creation of Gollum."

"You..." Peter Jackson's chubby face was stunned for a moment, his mouth was slightly open, as if he couldn't imagine that the words just now came from the mouth of a 19-year-old girl, motion capture technology is not new , but when a 19-year-old girl mentioned it to him so naturally, it still gave him the illusion that he had opened up a new world, expression?That's really the part they're working on, and expressions are definitely crucial to creating a perfect grunt.

Sarah pursed her lips happily, and decided not to disturb Peter's thinking anymore. Instead, she turned around and followed the footsteps, and looked at Leonardo who had found him. He was alone, and the fat man Harvey was not with him.

"Don't you wait for Peter?" Leonardo grabbed Sarah who came up, kissed his girlfriend on the forehead, and looked at Peter Jackson who was still sitting on the stone chair and couldn't help wondering, "Honey, what do you say to poor Peter Jackson?" What did you do? Why do I feel that something is wrong with him?"

"Oh, leave him alone, he just underestimated a 19-year-old girl, so he is reflecting on himself now." Sarah covered her mouth and snickered, and dragged her boyfriend back while complaining in a low voice, "What did you talk to Harvey just now?" ? New movie? Does he have a good book?"

"It's a very special book, only one actor's one-man show, Harvey didn't lie to me, that book is really a test of acting skills, I'm discussing the schedule with Rick, I don't know if it's possible to spare some time after "Gangs of New York". "Leonardo paused here, thinking of the phone call between "Gangs of New York" and Martin Scorsese just now, he couldn't help but have the urge to touch his forehead, "Martin just called, he Said that there is no actor he is satisfied with playing the butcher, and he has a candidate who has died at home... He called and hoped that I would go out and persuade that person to participate in the role."

"The actor who has retired, who? It's just a movie. There are so many actors in Hollywood, can't you find a suitable one? This is too exaggerated!" Sarah raised her eyebrows, knowing Martin Scorsese naturally Who is she in the picture, but when she thinks that that person is likely to take away Leonardo's style in "Gangs of New York", she is a little hesitant. Would it be better for Leonardo to play the butcher with someone else? "

"Martin's plea, I can't refuse, and I'm also looking forward to working with Daniel Day Lewis, he is a famous play lunatic, maybe I can learn something from him, how to fully integrate into the role ? Turn yourself into another person? Just like you completely turned yourself into a boy in "Boys Don't Cry", maybe this kind of performance is the most direct way to hit people's hearts? So..." Leonardo rubbed Sarah's little hand, "You have one last flood scene to shoot, right? If you get it done tomorrow, we can go back to Los Angeles together in time for the Oscar nomination luncheon."

The last flood scene...At this time, neither Leonardo nor Sarah could have imagined that even after completing this scene, they would not be able to catch up with the Oscar nomination luncheon...

Except for the group scene in the third part of "Lord of the Rings" where Aragorn wears the crown of the human emperor, Sarah has basically completed all the scenes in this series of movies, and the upcoming filming is the chase scene at Brunan's Ferry. Wen led the dying Frodo to avoid the pursuit of the Ringwraiths, and summoned the flood to repel the Ringwraiths at a critical moment. This is Alvin's amazing shot, and Sarah practiced for a long time in front of the mirror. The movement of the lips when chanting the mantra has been carefully considered and adjusted.

The elf in the camera is chanting a spell, with a firm belief in his eyes, he looks at the ring spirit in front of him confidently and calmly, and Peter Jackson finds that he can't find any flaws. The beauty performed by Sarah, Even the lip movements during the mantra stand up to slow-motion playback.What is surprising is that during the incantation, water droplets fell from the clear sky.

"It's raining? My God, there's no rain in the weather forecast! Could it be that her spell has really manifested itself?" The staff members of the production crew looked up at each other as they felt the big drops of rain.

However, Peter did not call "CUT" because of the rain. In the camera, Sarah also suppressed the surprise in her heart and continued to perform. She chanted the spell more and more loudly, faster and faster, and even raised her head slightly. , A confident smile of victory flashed in his eyes.

Finally, after persisting for another minute, Peter Jackson yelled "cut!" in satisfaction

Of course, the crew members knew that the rain was not summoned by Sarah, but this coincidence still made them talk about it, and even the actor Elijah Wood who played Frodo Baggins exaggeratedly teased Sarah: "Don't tell me you It's really magical, if the flood really comes, our movie will have to stop!"

"Don't you know? I am an elf princess with boundless magic power!" Sarah laughed and responded, not knowing that the flood they talked about would really come.

"Floods hit during filming, and the cast and crew of "The Lord of the Rings" built sandbags with local residents to build a flood wall." When the Oscar nominations were about to be announced, this news suddenly appeared in Hollywood. Although it attracted some attention, everyone The focus is still on the more important Oscars, however... On the second day, a piece of news hit the headlines strongly, whether it was for the awards insiders who were still busy with public relations or ordinary movie fans and eat melons The crowd was in an uproar.

"Hollywood Reporter" sent a sad news from New Zealand - "Sarah Stern, known as the 'Oscar Little Angel', was accidentally swept away by the flood yesterday to save a child who fell into the water, and her whereabouts are still unknown. !"

This news is really bad news!While everyone was stunned by the bad news, the "Los Angeles Times" reported another almost unbelievable bad news about the Oscars-"Oscar's 4200 ballots suddenly disappeared in the post office, and the judges had to resend them. The academy said that the voting deadline will be postponed, and the nomination luncheon and awards ceremony will also be postponed!"