Vol 2 Chapter 225: Snatch the show (for subscription)

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Chicago Theater is honored to invite the first domestic performance... Chicago area murderer, Miss Sin..."
With the passionate introduction of black actors, bright lights lit up on the stage built in the studio. Directly opposite the lens of the main camera controlled by John Schwarzman, the stage rose slowly, with blond hair. Roxy and the black-haired Velma wore silver-white leather jackets and fought with their backs to the camera.
The song and dance due to the ending part of the film is being filmed. Due to lack of professionalism, Duke’s script is just a brief introduction. The song and dance design is all from Lily Fred. The song and dance designed by her are composed of the jazz song "nowadays". In addition to the re-arrangement and choreography, it basically follows the development routine of the musical "Chicago".
This is the film that focuses on nostalgia, and Duke has no objection to this, just looking at the two heroines on stage, frowning.
Now it’s the second time to shoot. Just like the first time, Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones are in very good condition and have a particularly strong desire to express themselves. Although the plot of this film is mostly from Roxy’s fantasy, Obviously the setting of dual protagonists, both of them seem to want to completely suppress their opponent and become the first protagonist. ~,
"You can be satisfied with the life you currently live, you can pursue the life you want, and you can even marry Harry..."
Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones have already turned around, facing the camera face-to-face, looking at the picture captured by the camera, although their makeup looks like the vulgar look of the 1920s and 1930s. The advantage lies in the abundant talent and capital, as long as the post-production is slightly modified. Definitely a big beauty who can attract attention.
Beautiful and women are also one of the selling points of the film. Duke has never thought of making a song and dance film full of literary style. This film is based on a nostalgic commercial film, and let alone now, it has actually been That film is also full of commercial flavors.
Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones on stage are still singing. Duke's brow furrowed deeper, and his hand lightly touched the monitor, hesitated for a moment, and finally did not stop.
The singing problem of the two heroines is obvious, Zeta Jones was suppressed by Naomi Watts.
The "nowadays" being sung is a typical Roxy song, naturally with the coquettish and lazy temperament of a blonde Persian cat. It is still very different from the wild and straightforward Velma. Zeta Jones worked very hard, but The singing on stage has been dominated by Naomi Watts.
Same as the first shot. The scene is a bit out of balance.
Duke still didn't mean to stop, he planned to finish this one.
This situation is basically the reverse of the movie in memory. In the previous "Chicago", Zeta Jones was born in a standard musical and the appearance conditions are better than those of Renee Zellweger, Roxy and Weir. When Ma appeared together, her performances seemed extremely strong, and Renee Zellweger was completely suppressed. The drama about the two heroines in the whole movie is completely out of balance.
Although Renee Zellweger defeated Zeta Jones at the Golden Globes, which was more likely to be shady, but she lost at the relatively fair Oscar.
Said unceremoniously. Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones are far from mature, and their acting skills are not as good as those of the previous two, but they are better than young and full of youthful vitality, and their outstanding appearance conditions are easier to attract people when singing and dancing.
Zeta Jones, who had given birth to children, and Zeta Jones, who had never had children, looked very different.
At the end of the "nowadays" singing, the two heroines took off their exaggerated leather clothes. The close-fitting bright silver skirt was exposed, and the hot dance "hot." kicked off, and the situation immediately changed.
No matter how hard it is, Naomi Watts will show a gap with an actor who has won the All-British Dance Championship. And Zeta Jones seemed to be trying to get back the limelight, and he didn't mean to constrain at all, bursting out all the enthusiasm.
These two sisters with similar costumes seem to be harmonious and complementary at first glance. The light and playful dances are also very attractive, but if you look carefully, you can find that Roxy was driven by Velma to dance this section. Dance, Zeta Jones's stage style is strong and wild.
"Cut!"
When the two heroines walked to the curtain and were about to change the Chicago typewriter, Duke called to stop, Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones walked out, no one looked at each other, and walked to the sides separately. Off the stage from different places.
"Still an old question!" Sophia Coppola came over, standing behind the chair with her arms folded, "What do you think, Duke?"
"If there is a problem, solve it."
Pointing his finger on the armrest of the chair, Duke raised his voice slightly, "Nami, Kate, come here."
The two heroines wore bright short skirts and walked behind the monitor. They were not stupid. You can tell from Duke's expression that the director was not satisfied with their performance.
Stern eyes swept over the two of them, and Duke replayed the shot while reminding them, "Look carefully and see where your problem is."
A few minutes of footage was quickly finished. Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones were silent. Duke turned his head and looked at them, "I don’t care how you coordinate, I just want to If the effect is not achieved, I will keep shooting."
Zeta Jones seemed to want to say something, but seeing Duke wave his hand, he cleverly remained silent, and just like Naomi Watts, left here silently.
"Re-shoot in fifteen minutes!"
After speaking, Duke took the coffee from Tina Fei and took a sip.
From the beginning of April to the present, it has been fifty days. The overall progress of the crew is slower than planned. Although there is a dedicated singing and dancing team, his relative lack of professionalism still brings considerable It was so difficult, and even once doubted whether it was a mistake to choose this film.
No director is omniscient and omnipotent. No matter how chaotic the big action scenes, Duke has the confidence to control the scheduling. Past movies have also given him this ability, but in the singing and dancing scenes, he can only rely on a professional team, even if he has some opinions. , But unlike the first three movies, after a brief run-in period, the crew can enter a high-speed and efficient operation.
All directors have their own style. There is no director who has no style or can be applied to any style. The difficulties encountered over the past month have made Duke more sober to realize that he is really not suitable for fullness. It is a literary and artistic film. Even if you throw him a purely literary project, it will eventually become a commercial movie full of elements that audiences love to see.
Fortunately, although "Chicago" has some literary flavor, it is a musical with a strong commercial flavor.
"What do you think?"
Seeing Duke thinking, Sophia Coppola stood behind and asked, "Is thinking how to make these actresses who love fame and fortune fight with each other?"
Duke shrugged, but said nothing.
"I give you a suggestion."
On the set, Sophia occasionally joked with Duke, "Take the two of them to the dressing room, tie them together, untie your belt and slap them hard!"
Looking back at Sophia, Duke turned his eyes to the stage.
Although he has never mentioned it, he and Naomi Watts have rarely contacted him for more than a year. Because of the promotion strategy of "Chicago", Duke does not want to have a relationship outside of work, like most of Hollywood Like men and women who were once close, when they no longer need each other, they just go their own way.
The reason why he remembered to inform Naomi Watts to participate in the audition for "Chicago" was nothing more than the favor from the fire scene.
The various departments of the crew quickly coordinated and filming started again.
"Cut!"
Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones ascended to the stage and just sang in front of the camera. Duke called out again, "Start over!"
The two actresses returned to the stage, the lighting props returned to their positions, and the filming began again.
This time the situation is a little better. Duke called to stop when it was two-thirds of the time. If the performance of the two is on the Broadway stage, there may be no problem, but the camera and the big screen can maximize the smallest flaws. There are also many differences in the viewing angles of movie and stage audiences.
In the next hour, Duke called three times to stop, and the continuous ng caused the atmosphere of the entire crew to be somewhat depressed and anxious.
Duke once again called Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones over, "You two have been rehearsing together for nearly half a year. I don’t know what’s the problem between you, and I don’t want to know, you guys go put on makeup now. Talk one-on-one, if you can’t solve it, I will try to minimize your facial close-ups in this scene.
A full hour later, Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones came out of the dressing room, and the crew started filming again. Although it still did not achieve the effect Duke wanted until the end of the work in the afternoon, it made significant progress. .
In the evening, Duke called Nancy and Vivienne over, together with Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones, as well as the singing and dancing director Lily Fred, performed the song and dance again. Some coordination, and then the next day spent a whole day, the shooting finally passed.
The shooting of "Chicago" has fallen behind more than expected.
The competition between actresses is particularly troublesome. This is something that everyone in Hollywood knows. Duke has always been firmly in control of the crew. Even if Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones have any knots, they dare not. Using excessive means, in the following week, the crew completed the rivalry between the two people, and instead began to shoot a few separate scenes for the main actors. (To be continued...)