Bab 181: A New Challenge
"This is our new script." Levi took out the script and explained the story little by little.
After listening to Levi's narration, Clark sat there without saying a word for a while. Levi was also slightly surprised by how he frowned.
"You don't like the story?"
"No, how come? Don't forget, I'm an NYU graduate too, and I've studied enough Scorsese movies to love gangster movies, especially like this novel gangster films — but I always thought that the focus of descriptions of gangster films should be that people do not succumb to fate, and fight and roar against fate. This is the first time I have seen such a confused theme shot in a gangster film."
"You have watched too many Scorsese movies," Levi said with a smile before handing the script to Clark, "I brought the script back from Asia. I have already told you the outline, and I will show you the sub-shots on the script."
Clark waved his hand and took the script but stopped Levi from explaining. He sat there quietly, flipping through the script in front of him, and was speechless for a while, then said, "You told me you found the script in Asia. I thought you met a certain oriental literary film director at a film festival. Then, under his influence, you came up with the idea of making a new film.
But, what you wanted to shoot turned out to be such a movie... It was really beyond my expectation. To be honest, I didn't expect that you were preparing such a movie, let alone think about it.
There is not even a complete and mature script, and you have already started to discuss with me what to do. Do you really like this movie script to such an extent? It's amazing."
Levi shrugged and didn't answer: what he liked was not the script but the movie.
"The story of the police and gangsters entering each other's undercover... Nick, this story is very different from your previous movies." Clark closed the script, "I can understand the general story, so let me talk about my opinion."
Levi stretched out his hand, motioning for him to speak.
"You said you liked this movie very much and watched the storyboard. I can probably understand it too - the story is very delicate and excellent. First of all, let me talk about my thoughts: I agree with you that this movie is great. I can even see your thoughts and ambitions to pay homage to The Godfather here. However, Nick, if you want to shoot this movie, let me ask a few questions first." Clark's face was a little dignified, "I probably thought about the reason you came to discuss with me first instead of looking for Bob to change the script."
"Oh? You thought about it?"
"Yes. For this movie, the biggest difficulty is not the script. It's the movie. What you are afraid of is not that the script can't be changed, but that the movie can't be shot." Clark took the script, looked at the sub-shots, and said, "First of all, this is not an art film. This movie is closer to commercial movies. Commercial movies need a stronger rhythm. You can do a good job with slow-paced movies, but such movies need a faster rhythm, and in some places, you have to think about how to shoot these places. If you shoot this movie, it must be multi-line, and it is more difficult to shoot a multi-line film. How to ensure a clear and smooth narrative structure is also a big problem..."
"You're right." Levi nodded, agreeing with Clark's first statement.
Most of the films Levi has shot before are single-threaded, and even if there are intersecting parts, most are slow-paced. But now, to shoot a two-threaded commercial film, a lot of parallel and cross-montage combinations are required.
How to ensure a clear narrative of the film while making the picture natural and smooth enough when using these technologies is a problem.
"Then, the second question, this movie is no longer a movie with a single protagonist. According to what you said and what I have seen, this movie has at least two protagonists: both undercover agents have a critical role. At the same time, the bosses of the two of them also have a crucial role, and it can even be said that they are not weaker than the protagonists. Then you have to consider a problem: these four people need to express themselves.
At the same time, you can't be overwhelmed by the people you play with, so how these four people allocate their roles and how to draw them reasonably is a big problem. Nick, your three films are all single protagonists.
In The Truman Show and Emily, almost all other characters can be represented. Although The Lives of Others is not the same, the role of one side completely overwhelms the other, and it is not a double line in the true sense.
And In a play, the roles of the police and the gangsters are almost equal, and two different characters are shown at the same time. Can you do it? This is also a big question."
Compared with the previous point, this point is more important. Three of Levi's films were filmed, but all had a single protagonist. It's true that his movies are able to showcase the actors' skills, but to a large extent, it is because the actors have enough roles.
And if this movie is shot, it can be said that it is no longer a one-man show for one person but a big stage for four people. The most taboo scene of the two heroes is that one person is completely overwhelmed by another person in the performance, but there are many such scenes of being completely overwhelmed.
In The Rock and Face/Off, Nicolas Cage was overwhelmed; in 'Interview with the Vampire,' Brad Pitt was completely overwhelmed by Tom Cruise.
There are four people in this movie; there is a confrontation between the gang boss and the police boss in the police station, there is a tentative exchange between the gang boss and the gang undercover, and there is a rooftop dialogue between the police boss and the gang undercover, there is a conversation between the police boss and the police undercover, and there was a dialogue between two undercover agents on the rooftop. These four people almost had a direct confrontation between them. It is essential to show all the charms of the four people so that no one would be overwhelmed by others.
"Moreover, there is the issue of acting. Although these few people are not absolute protagonists, the pressure of acting is very heavy. In this play, the bosses of both sides must show a certain amount of domineering and personal charm. An undercover agent is basically performing a play within a play throughout the whole process, and as a wit, they need more eyes and lines, and these actors are hard to find."
The problem of actors, of course, needs to be noticed as one of the key issues. The number and quality of actors in this film are too high, and Clark can't think of suitable candidates.
"That's not wrong." Levi nodded again, "Is there any more?"
"I'm not worried about the other parts. For example, the scene of eating in the police station is to use the gangster's enthusiasm for food; the smoke from smoking with the boss of the police station is to express a secular pursuit and a pursuit of ideals, right?
There is also a meeting on the rooftop. The strong contrast between the blue sky and the dilapidated rooftop environment shows the two people's state of mind. With these details, I believe you can do a good job. The main problem is the three I mentioned earlier.
Nick, I can see that when you shoot this movie, you probably want to transform and shoot. There are some movies that are more popular, but you have to be careful; the difficulty of this movie is too great."
Making a movie is not everything with a good script; the director's level is also a very important aspect. Just looking at the script of this movie, Clark has already discovered too many differences from Levi's previous scripts. Requirements for editing, shooting, control, and control of actors, requirements for actors' acting skills, requirements for rhythm control...
Enigma now has good enough hardware equipment to handle all movies, but does Levi have the software to make this movie?
"Nick, as far as this movie is concerned, I think it is a very good movie. However, as far as you are concerned, I don't know if I should advise you to make this movie. This movie is very difficult to make. As a movie fan, I Want to see this movie, but as your friend, I don't know if I should advise you to make it. Have you really thought about it and want to make it?"
"Clark, it's not you asking me now, but I should be asking you: You think it's impossible for me to shoot well, so will you help me?" After hearing Clark's words, Levi didn't immediately explain, nor did he retort; instead, he asked Clark the question with a smile.
Levi's question made Clark raise his eyebrows, and his expression changed. Levi's smile said it all: it's not that Levi hasn't thought about these things, he may have thought about them earlier than himself, but he has enough confidence in this movie.
This movie is a gangster movie-in terms of the chosen subject matter; Levi's ambition has been aimed at the top of the movie pyramid from the very beginning. This is a challenge, but Levi has never been afraid of this kind of challenge.
"Since you think you can shoot well, I will naturally accompany you to the end. Moreover, I am very happy, Nick; after what you have achieved, you are not satisfied with the existing achievements and pursue more things. This is what a decent director should do — Nick, I have to say, you have not forgotten your pursuit; you are still the best director!"
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
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