Chapter 14: Must succeed

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The white-painted editing room was extremely quiet. Duke leaned forward, leaned his hands on the table, and watched attentively the two shots just edited together on the monitor.
"Mike..." he said to the editor next to him, "change lens 178 and try with lens 175."
"This..." The experienced but not well-known editor hesitated, and according to Duke's orders, replaced with the lens he needed.
When the screen replayed, Mike Dawson frowned and reminded, "This does not conform to the editing logic!"
On the monitor, the scene of Jack driving a sports car chasing a bus is played. In the previous scene, Jack has just stepped on the accelerator to accelerate, and then the picture is converted to the first angle of view of the car. Only a small part of the front of the car can be seen, as well as the lightning backward pavement.
The shot No. 178 just now was different. After Jack accelerated, it was a very traditional overtaking scene.
"Keep No. 175 lens for eight seconds... No, four seconds are enough. The remaining four seconds are switched between the close-up of Jack's face and the wheel!"
,
Hearing Duke’s completely illogical editing request, Mike finally couldn’t help but said,
Editing is like making a puzzle maze. Every screen switch should have its logic. Your request does not follow the rules. !"
"Then let us break this logic!"
Standing up straight, Duke gently waved his hand, "Mike, like this kind of action scene, the continuity of action energy can completely replace logic! Don't you think the car chasing picture presented from the first perspective is more substituting? The camera transitions between Jack’s serious face and the spinning wheels, which can highlight the urgency and danger of the incident, thereby giving the audience more psychological stimulation!"
"I just want to quickly edit and configure the lens." At this point, Duke's face has the same kind of enthusiasm, "to give the audience a feeling of being on the scene!"
"I admit that what you said makes sense."
According to Duke’s requirements to complete the work at hand, Mike drank half a cup of coffee in one sip, and said,
In this week, we finished the first cut of more than 20 minutes of footage. Even though I watch it every day, I still feel it. The urgency in it, if you don’t know the result a long time ago, you will definitely keep tugging, but..."
Seeing this forty-year-old editor seemed a little embarrassed, Duke made a non-mind gesture, "Just say it, Mike, we are working partners."
Mike organized his vocabulary a bit, "The more than thirty minutes have brought me another feeling that this is not a movie, but a super long movie or commercial!"
"Yes!"
Duke slapped his palm as if he had met a friend, "I want this effect!"
"Think about it, Mike..." he said fanatically, "The audience will be nervous to suffocate because of the fast pace when they see the film, and they won't be able to catch their breath until the end! What I want is Hollywood The fast-paced composition of short shots has never been seen in movies!"
"But this can easily cause the audience to exit due to fatigue."
The door of the editing room was pushed open and Robin Grande walked in.
"That's true!" Duke raised a finger, "So, we have to control the length of the film, and it is best to limit the film to about 95 minutes!"
Robin Grande also saw the first cut by Duke more than once. He nodded, "Is this the style you want?"
"Dazzling sports shots, sharp editing style, hot special effects scenes." Duke walked a few steps back and forth, and then said very seriously, "This is the effect I want!"
This can be said to be the safest way to make the film successful. In this era, even if Hollywood films have led the world, they are still slow, fast-paced, thrilling and dazzling enough, even if the story and logic are obviously flawed. It is still a guarantee of big sales.
Although such a film will inevitably be rejected by professional critics, what does it matter?
In the middle of the afternoon, Duke left the studio and drove back to his home in Santa Monica, ready to dress up and wait for his mother to return.
Christmas is coming soon. Every time this season is the busiest time for celebrities and celebrities, Duke will accompany his mother to a party tonight.
This is the Christmas thank you party convened by the Spielberg family. It was placed in the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. When Duke took his mother to the party, he looked at the large banquet hall, sparsely placed There are more than twenty oak round tables. During the period, there were many people familiar with the big screen. Even those relatively strange faces, Duke recalled the information he once collected, and he can vaguely remember that they were all high-level Hollywood companies.
Under the leadership of the waiter, Duke followed his mother, walked to the second empty table from the left in the third row, and sat on the pre-arranged seat.
Duke is not familiar with the Spielberg family, and all he knows are the siblings Steven Spielberg and Anne Spielberg, and neither of them knows him.
Under the introduction of his mother, Duke walked to the neighboring tables far apart to say hello, and waited quietly for the start of the banquet. This was a glamorous and serious dinner, without the messy things in Hollywood privately. If you are rude, you lose your mother's face.
"Hi, Leah."
Suddenly a middle-aged woman walked up from the front row. From her appearance, she was also of Jewish descent. Duke knew her. Some time ago, she had handed her the script. She was the famous Steven Si. Pierberg’s sister, Anne Spielberg, is also a well-known screenwriter and producer.
"Hello, Annie." Leah nodded to her.
Anne Spielberg seemed to be very enthusiastic, and she sat directly at this table. She suddenly turned her head and looked over here, "You... are Duke? Ah, I'm so sorry that I didn't recognize it last time. You come."
"It's ok."
Duke's words are very polite or even polite. He is not a fool. He can hear that Anne Spielberg's words are mixed with other meanings, which are by no means the tone of a warm host to entertain guests.
"Lea, your big hand is really amazing."
Anne Spielberg turned her head again, "I heard Amanda say that you invested 10 million dollars in Duke's film, oh...what a great mother."
Amanda is the eldest daughter of George Lucas, and Duke knows this, but what about ten million dollars?
He turned his head and looked at his mother. Mrs. Leah said calmly, "It's just a small matter."
"Really?" Annie Spielberg stood up, and even a child could see the mockery in her smile. "It looks like you are very confident to recoup your investment. Maybe you can. Maybe Duke's first film. Movies can create miracles. I wish your movies can sell for 100 million US dollars at the box office, ha ha..."
"You..." Duke was just about to say something, but was dragged by his mother. He had to watch Anne Spielberg walk away triumphantly, and then a faint voice rang in his ear, "Words are the weakest and most powerless. Counterattack."
"I see, mother." Duke asked seriously, "she said..."
"Yes," Mrs. Leah nodded slightly, "I invested ten million dollars in "Life and Death".
Hearing his mother’s confirmation, Duke instantly understood a lot of things, why George Lucas rejected him first and then supported him; why the producers agreed to convert his compensation into investment; why he could get it Some powers that other new directors dream of; why Robin secretly suppresses these senior industry insiders...
Because my mother is the biggest investor in the film, she also occupies a full two-thirds of the investment, so she naturally has a great voice.
Why should mother invest in the extremely risky film industry? There is only one answer, to create opportunities for herself, even if she does not actually have much confidence in herself!
"Mom..." Duke didn't know what to say.
"I had a deep conflict with Annie when we were young."
After saying this, I don’t know if it was for Duke, Leah Rosenberg looked over here, "You will make me proud?"
"Yes, mother." Duke said solemnly, "I will be your pride!"
After saying this, Duke returned to his body because of the pressure gradually relieved at the end of the filming. He has one more reason to succeed. If he fails, not only will his mother suffer huge financial losses, but she will also become For example, the laughing stock of people like Anne Spielberg.
He will not allow such a situation to happen, nor will he let it happen!
At the same time, Duke also learned how realistic Hollywood is. His mother bought a one-year bank loan by way of mortgage. Not only did she invest $10 million, she also signed a guaranteed share agreement with Lucasfilm. If it can’t be completed or released, she will have to pay Lucasfilm 2 million US dollars to ensure that the other party will not lose any money on this project. Once the film is released, Lucasfilm will enjoy the film’s North American box office. Ten percent divided.
In the guarantee and share, Lucasfilm has the right to choose the highest among them.
Yes, Hollywood seems so unfair, Lucasfilm did not invest a dollar in the film-the rest of the investment comes from various film funds-but can enjoy it.
But this is Hollywood, and Lucasfilm's connections and channels are also worth the money.
Because of Anne Spielberg’s relationship, it became an unpleasant night. Words really have no power. I wanted to embarrass Anne Spielberg. Every time I saw my mother, I couldn’t look up. The movie was a big hit. Success is the most powerful weapon.
The three-day Christmas holiday hurriedly passed. After the short break, Duke devoted all his energy to the post-production of "Life and Death". After the New Year, the first cut samples were announced and the samples were obtained. Preliminary recognition by George Lucas.
But this is only the first step in a long post-production. The subsequent fine-cutting, actor dubbing, and sound effects editing after determining the soundtrack also require a lot of time and energy. I want the film to be a boutique rather than rough garbage. Cutting corners and saving time and effort are simply impossible.
Duke plunged into the'Speed' studio and didn't care about other things at all. Even if the bank mailed the credit card bill, he was thrown behind him. From mid-December to mid-February, there were two The post-production of the film was initially completed only after a month's time.