Vol 2 Chapter 604: Retrofit

"Where have you been this month?"
In the Duke's studio, Duke looked at Heath Ledger who was sitting across the desk, "If it wasn't for your agent, Mara Buksham, who kept in touch with the crew, I thought you had disappeared out of thin air. "
"I... um, I..." Heath Rice subconsciously made a flat mouth swallowing action, "I locked myself in the hotel room and studied the role of the clown."
Hearing Heath Ledger's words, Duke couldn't help raising his eyebrows. He always admired people who worked hard.
Taking a closer look at the young Australian actor, Duke found that Heath Ledger had obviously changed from the last time they met.
He is more silent than before. It seems that he has not rested well recently, and his whole person looks a little haggard. As long as he pays a little attention, he can find thick dark circles under his eyes.
"What did you do?" Duke frowned slightly.
Heath Ledger’s hard work is good, but he doesn’t want to see that the film hasn’t started yet, and the actor he’s chosen will break his body.
"I...I read all the comics about clowns, then locked myself in the hotel room for a whole month, wrote a diary, tried different laughter, and finally got myself into the state of a mental patient..."
Heath Ledger smiled awkwardly, "Since last week, I can only sleep for two hours a night, thinking all night, and being exhausted."
Seeing Duke frown more tightly, he immediately said, "Don't worry, Duke. I'm very clear-headed, and I know where my limits are."
With a light sigh, Duke stood up and walked to the opposite side, patted Heath Ledger on the shoulder, "Give yourself a vacation and relax. If you have a girlfriend, it's best to go to the Caribbean or Hawaii for a vacation. , Wait for my notice."
Heath Ledger seemed to want to say something, but Duke raised his hand to stop him, "That's it, you don't have to rush into the crew."
It involves personal privacy. Duke couldn't say much, he had to use this method to adjust Heath Ledger's state.
From a commercial point of view, the death of Heath Ledger is only good for "The Dark Knight." Hollywood has proven countless times that a dead starring contributes more to the film than living.
But people are not business machines after all. Even if it is a hard-hearted person like Duke, seeing a person who works so hard may disappear, it is inevitable to feel a little bit of compassion.
But for a person who has long been addicted to drugs, the choice of future fate will only be in his own hands.
After Heath Ledger left. Duke also left the Duke's studio. He went to the Warner Studios and saw another actor. Christian Bell was in the studio's training hall, receiving training.
Although this is the second time Christian Bale has worn the "Batman" tights, he still has to carry out some special training for this character, because "Batman" has come to this episode of the story and has Many new features. Some abilities that are too strong have been weakened, and some abilities have also been proportionally improved.
Need special training. Not only are the newly added elements, some of the original skills must be reconsolidated. Jimmy Carter can be said to know Christian Bell very well, and the two have a tacit understanding of cooperation. In addition, what the crew used is still the previous one. Two stunt doubles of the Ministry. They are quite familiar with Bell, and even the way his arms sway when he walks, they imitate exactly...
It is precisely because of such close cooperation that everything goes smoothly.
After the training, Christian Bale took the initiative to find him.
"I've never been like this. I think it was so right to decide to play a superhero." He stood next to Duke, seemingly touched. "If "War Hour" makes me feel amazing, then "The Dark Knight" The script made me feel shocked."
Christian Bell looked at this side curiously, "Duke, how did you come up with such a setting?"
"It's just to restore the essence of comics." Duke said lightly, "most of them are the originality of comics."
Shook his head, Christian Bale obviously didn't believe Duke's words very much, and said, "I am afraid I am the first superhero to lose to the villain."
Batman won the battle with the Joker, but lost the battle of Gotham's soul.
Duke was about to leave the training hall and went to the next studio to take a look. Before leaving, he said, "I just met Heath Ledger, his state...Well, how do I say it is terrifying. You have to work hard. Show the best state, otherwise you will be suppressed by the script and character settings."
Christian Bale nodded solemnly, "I will."
Due to the inherent advantages set by the script, if Heath Ledger takes out 100% status, even if Christian Bale takes out 120% status, it may not necessarily balance the two roles.
This is not the difference in acting skills between two actors, but the difference in roles.
Walking into the studio divided into many small workshops, Duke first went to the office where the fireworks team was located, and Jos Williams was already waiting here.
During the shooting, there will be a lot of gun battles and explosions, because in order to conform to the style of the film, all explosions must be shot on the spot, and they cannot be as exaggerated as Duke's early style.
"I think explosives should be given up."
The two discussed the most important explosion scene in the film, the explosion that directly led to the birth of the double-faced man. Duke said to Jos Williams, "As the script says, try to use a few bullets and some gasoline. Create an explosion."
Jos Williams held his chest with one hand and his chin with the other. "If you use a model to shoot, there is a certain degree of uncertainty about the gasoline explosion."
"You must use a model for shooting." Duke said as concisely as possible. "Green screen shooting, added later in the explosion."
"Give me some time and let the props team make more models." Jos Williams frowned slowly, then let go, "I need to do more experiments, and it will definitely be resolved."
"Then I will wait for your good news."
Duke has always been confident in his firework team.
Similarly, he has always been assured of his photography team, but he still went to the outdoor studio. John Schwarzman is taking a few photography assistants. With the assistance of the technical engineers from imax, he is familiar with the equipment and Try some clips.
The two imax cameras are installed in the open-air studio, which are several times larger and heavier than the usual Hollywood cameras. The increase in weight and volume means that the operation will be more cumbersome and inconvenient.
Standing next to an imax camera, Duke tried to operate it. After standing up, he said to John Schwarzman, "I need to use the imax camera to shoot, all those shots with impact."
After spinning around the imax camera, Duke said again, "For example, a scene where Batman is chasing on a Batmobile."
"We used to tie the camera to the front of the car to shoot."
As soon as John Schwarzman's voice fell, Duke shot the imax camera and said, "John, is it possible to tie this big guy to a Batmobile or Batmobile to shoot?"
Staring at the camera for a while, John Schwarzman thought about it for a few seconds and said, "The Batmobiles and Batmobiles nowadays are not good. Special modifications are needed."
Duke immediately made a decision, "Then contact Lamborghini to make changes."
"Wait, John, Duke, wait."
The people at imax have been paying attention to the two of them. Duke and John Schwarzman’s voices are not low, and they all fall into the ears of Richard Gerfang, the head of the imax crew. Hurried over, "I think your proposal is too risky, it may damage the equipment."
Duke couldn't help frowning slightly, "Richard, if you want to show the advantages of imax technology, you must build a sufficiently good scene."
The other party seemed to want to say something. Duke didn't give him a chance at all and said directly, "If the equipment is damaged, the crew will compensate at the price."
Richard Gerefang opened his mouth, and finally closed it again.
The imax camera is very expensive, but not so expensive that a crew with an investment of $150 million can't afford it.
Although imax provides free equipment for shooting, Duke will not be polite to use it. imax has always adhered to the principle of renting and not selling. However, participation in Hollywood productions in recent years has basically been provided free of charge.
Subsequently, Duke and John Schwarzman left the open-air studio to find Lamborghini's representatives in the crew to discuss matters such as transforming the Batmobile.
Many similar problems can always be found in the preliminary preparations. This is a problem-solving stage. The more problems encountered at this stage, the less troubles there will be in later shooting.
From equipment to props, from actors to costumes, from shooting plans to sub-shot artwork, Duke will participate in and review every preparatory work, and know the progress of the entire preparatory work.
Warner Bros. also gave him maximum support, except for necessary financial problems, basically delegated power to Duke and Charles Rowan.
Time slowly entered September. Preparations for "The Dark Knight" continue. There is still a long way to go before filming begins. In addition to the busy preparatory work, Duke will also go to Marvel Studios from time to time. The planned two new films "Hulk" and "Captain America" ​​have also entered the preparatory stage.
Unlike Duke’s only preparations, the new project invested by David Ellison on Washington Square in New York has entered the end of the filming. This young rich man with ambitions and funds did not give up easily. After the failure of "Heroes of Air Combat", he raised huge funds to start a new project.
Standing in the middle of Washington Square, he looked at the black actor with a pair of sharp windy ears holding the dog in front of the camera, convinced that he would succeed this time. (To be continued...)
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