章 211: Sci-Fi Movies
Hearing Levi's rebuttal, Alexander knew he had underestimated Levi's thoughts.
He initially thought that even if Levi refuted his words, he wanted to say that the current sci-fi movies pay too much attention to special effects and do not pay attention to the film's problems.
Since the development of special effects technology, most of the sci-fi films shot now have put a lot of effort into producing special effects, making the movies quite gorgeous. Still, the movies themselves are something they ignore.
For example, Blade Runner is the best example. The story concept of this movie itself is pretty excellent, and it is also loved by many sci-fi fans. But the lens language of this movie is so bad that it makes people complain. It's not the story that ruins the movie; it's how it's shot.
Another example is The Matrix. The shock caused by this movie is impressive, and the filming is also very good. However, the Wachowski brothers are far less serious about movies than they are about science and technology. They also put too much thought into making the movie characters look cooler when they filmed their movies.
Sci-fi movies often have to pursue the box office because of the large investment and production. Therefore, the gorgeousness and hugeness of the film are also inevitable, which ignores the profound content of the story or the carrier of the movie itself.
Many science fiction novels are not lacking in terms of ideological logic and storytelling, but they are all destroyed in order to shoot commercial films.
There are many similar examples, and there are not a few good novels that have been cut into broken movies. "Starship Troopers" is also an obvious example. Because special effects and big scenes can be sold for money, regardless of the core, various companies have done a lot of this.
Alexander thought so.
That's what Levi would accuse, too.
But listening to Levi's tone, he didn't seem to be talking about this aspect. What he accused was more of the practice of science fiction movies focusing on human nature.
Obviously, his focus from the very beginning was not the problem of special effects but the problem of shooting - as a top director, he didn't think he would commit too many special effects to cover up the essence of the film. He has complete confidence in his own means of making movies, and as a company owner, he also has plenty of money, and he doesn't care about the failure of making a movie and ruining the movie.
This was not what Levi had considered.
Excessive pursuit of special effects, scenes, and good looks, while ignoring the connotation; Levi will not do such things.
What he considers is how to make a better sci-fi movie on the premise that a film is made well.
This also made Alexander understand Levi's determination. He didn't even think about failure, just how to improve the movie. When Levi spoke now, he focused entirely on the movie's connotation, making Alexander understand this is definitely not a crazy idea.
It reminded him of something else, too: Levi had mentioned several times that he had ideas about sci-fi movies. He also presided over the filming of Heroes and X-Men and has already been experimenting in this regard. Moreover, it seems he has been paying attention to special effects and has never relaxed. Before he knew it, he had been laying the groundwork for a long time.
And what Levi accused also surprised him a little. He accused sci-fi movies of not paying too much attention to human nature. This made Alexander think of something: It seems that Spielberg is now filming the artificial intelligence that is said to be Kubrick's legacy.
If one were to think about it, Spielberg would definitely not shoot Kubrick's movie style. One director has one approach. It would be strange if Spielberg could make the movie in Kubrick's style. When he makes a movie, he will definitely incorporate the theme of love that he is used to into the movie...
Levi's words seem to be just complaints, but they seem aimed at this matter?
Could it be that Nick, this guy, is really bold enough to start complaining about Spielberg? Just a few years ago, this name was still the goal they were chasing, and now, Levi has already begun to complain about him?
However, in any case, if Levi really wanted to challenge Spielberg, of course, he had to help him.
"You said that sci-fi movies should not pay too much attention to human nature, so what should be the connotation of sci-fi movies?" With some puzzlement, Alexander asked, "Movies pursue human nature because it is a relatively eternal and comprehensive topic. There is nothing more universal than the commonality of human beings."
Movies like to film human nature because everyone has it. Levi shouldn't be ignorant of this truth — Although Alexander didn't know much about it, he heard from Clark and the others that before Levi made the movie, Clark had discussed this issue with him.
"I can't find anything better in other movies because other movies need to be based on reality. Science fiction movies don't have this problem." Levi immediately said, "As for the connotation that science fiction movies need, I think, haven't many science fiction novels in the past given us the answer?"
Alexander didn't say a word; he was not familiar with these, waiting for Levi's answer.
The scientific community is perhaps the most materialistic, admitting that science is a double-edged sword. It is very likely to cause adverse effects. Although they pursue more perfect technology, they never deny the negative impact.
There is nothing to argue: Many science fiction movies today are developed from this perspective. Because scientific and technological progress has caused harm, human beings suffer. There will be a lot of entanglements, all kinds of uneasiness, but the protagonist finally saves the world with his unique talents... Such works are not uncommon.
"And the last point is non-anthropocentric," Levi said the third point. "The first two points are still entangled in the benefits and harms to human beings, and this point is not human-centered, jumping out of the anthropocentric perspective and examining the whole of human beings from a higher level.
It can see the humanity of the entire human level. Other movies can only reflect the whole through one person, but science fiction movies can directly start from the whole, which is incomparable to other films.
With these three points, where is humanity needed? Dissecting people's emotions is unnecessary because science fiction is based on human beings."
What is science fiction? This question is actually difficult to answer. Some people always like to talk about what is soft science fiction. What is hard science fiction, and discuss whether the technology in science fiction stories is authentic and credible. But that's not the point of sci-fi.
What is the point of science fiction? Based on human beings and looking at science from the perspective of all human beings, two protagonists, one human, and the other science, discuss the relationship between the two; this is science fiction.
No matter how much attention is paid to details, it is reasonable. But if the story itself has nothing to do with science and nothing to do with humanity, and if it's about being entangled in the love of one or two people, that's not science fiction. Even if it's just a trivial or even a useless breakthrough in details, if it really thinks about the relationship between science and human beings, this is science fiction.
Standing high enough and seeing far enough is the greatness of science fiction. What is genuinely magnificent should not be the scene but the thought.
Being able to do these well is a qualified science fiction work. And if these things are done well, it must be an excellent film work - how can it not be a good film if you can raise your eyes to look at problems at the height of human beings?
"The things you said, it seems that only Kubrick can do it?" Alexander smiled wryly.
Levi nodded slightly. Indeed, Kubrick's Space Odyssey series is an actual science fiction movie. Compared with him, other science fiction movies are somewhat questionable.
"However, Nick... I have to say that today's sci-fi movies are not good enough. Apart from pursuing business, a big reason is that the movies themselves don't have good enough stories. Kubrick was born decades ago, and you should know how sluggish the science fiction market is now. Now, it's not the golden age of sci-fi."
The so-called golden age of sci-fi refers to when Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, and other giants were in power. During those days, it was the crazy space race between the United States and the Soviet Union from the late 1940s to the 1960s.
The human desire for space exploration reached its peak, and the United States and the Soviet Union paid more attention to technology than ever before. This ushered in a golden age.
During that time, countless classic works appeared. 2001: A Space Odyssey, which ranks first among science fiction movies, is a classic born during that time.
It is a pity that the golden age has passed — with the decline of the Soviet Union, Americans have no pressure, and they have lost their almost infinite yearning for science and the universe.
The role of NASA is decreasing day by day, and Americans' desire for the universe has waned.
It also sparked the decline of the novel of science fiction. Moreover, some award judges promoted this behavior in order to attract more attention to other movies.
In Levi's memory, Harry Potter will be awarded next year's Hugo Award.
This made some sci-fi writers yell angrily; which universe is Harry Potter in science fiction? Who will explain the scientific principle of Nimbus 2000?
These need to be considered. Even if Levi wants to shoot science fiction movies, is there any science fiction for him?
Just write the script yourself? That is too difficult.
"Don't worry, I'll find the script." Levi shook his head and didn't argue with him. Sure enough, he was already prepared.
"Actually, I've already thought about the script."
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
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The Main Man
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