Global Film Emperor

Chapter 496 The Most Suitable Script for a Mock-Documentary

As a form of realistic expression, mockumentary films have rarely produced any phenomenal works over the years because this style of film requires layers of buildup to lead into the main storyline, giving the audience the feeling of watching "Animal World." Of course, "Animal World" is undoubtedly a good film, but if you think back... has your dad ever fallen asleep while watching "Animal World" on the sofa?
This is a major problem with the documentary format. It can be a bit sleep-inducing. When making mockumentaries, especially mockumentary films, it is inevitable that there will be a lot of conversations. This is not what moviegoers who go to the cinema seeking sensory stimulation are looking for. If you want to sleep, you might as well go for a health check-up. Why bother going to the cinema to find sleepiness?
Thrilling mockuments certainly exist, but most of them appear on the 8 PM science and education channel, such as "Mysteries of Unknown Animals" or "Man vs. Wild." But is the thrill from the documentary format? No, it's from the subject matter. It has nothing to do with the documentary itself. The subject matter is there, and even if you turn it into a PowerPoint presentation, it will still be thrilling.

However, it is difficult to achieve sensory stimulation in documentaries about interpersonal relationships, unless it is the kind of subject matter that would definitely be swept away in a crackdown on pornography.

But do mockumentary films have no merits? Of course not. On the contrary, their merits are particularly obvious: unparalleled realism.

This is somewhat similar to long-take films. Although long-take films are either taken in one continuous shot or use particularly subtle editing techniques to make the storyline run very smoothly and increase the audience's sense of immersion, which is different from documentary-style multi-edit films, the purpose of both is the same: to show more subtle emotional changes than the three-part structure and the flashback structure, or to increase the emotional fluctuations.

The essence of the documentary style is to objectively view the real world through conversations and shots filmed purely for the sake of filming. It lacks the subjective immersion of other film styles, giving you your own choices rather than having your thoughts instilled by the director and being forced to empathize with the emotions of the main characters.

With documentaries, you can stand anywhere you want, or even treat it as a story completely unrelated to you. That's the reason for showing the truth, because all of this is actually related to you, yet seems unrelated.

Lu Ze liked this style much more than the usual three-part film, but the idea of ​​getting involved in this style of film made him hesitate. Before facing the realistic filming techniques, he first had to face a very real issue.

That is, mockumentaries are not popular.

Making a movie is a very practical matter. Regardless of the word-of-mouth, it's within the investors' acceptable range, but regardless of the box office results... sorry, the investors can't do that.

You can make a terrible movie, so terrible that it feels like your butt is infested with maggots, and sitting in the theater feels like being in prison. You can go back and curse the movie. No problem, it's okay, as long as you pay.

But if you go in and watch it, feel incredibly uncomfortable, can't take it anymore halfway through, feel like you're going to die if you watch any longer, and then try to get other viewers who don't like the movie to get a refund? Impossible!
To put it bluntly, not only movies, but all art must be built on an economic foundation, which is what is meant by "antiques in prosperous times, gold in chaotic times".

Why do many people reject performance art, believing it's not art? It's because performance art doesn't generate any economic value during or after its execution.

Conversely, why is performance art considered art by many? Because after performance artists categorize and summarize their actions, they naturally publish a book about their conclusions, which involves reflections on human nature and thus generates value—that is art.

It's a very simple principle: art transcends the economic base, and the upper class transcends art. Only what they consider art will be recognized as art, because all new art needs to be wrapped in a glittering, distorted cloak, a cloak that ordinary people cannot afford.

Mickey's dilemma lies here: investors applaud and welcome a three-part structured film; they won't be particularly difficult to make a film with a flashback structure, given the precedent set by "Afterlife," and will likely only see a reduction in investment; and what about a documentary format? Of course, they won't be outraged, but they'll probably just surround Mickey and beg him to change his mind. But if he insists on making it? As for the money... most likely they won't be willing to part with it.

Lu Ze threw his pen on the table, feeling a bit of a headache. As an actor, he certainly didn't have to worry about this, but as a company shareholder, he was bound to suffer from headaches. Of course, he didn't dare rub his head right now, since he didn't have many hairs left.

"what are you thinking?"

"I've never made a mockumentary before... but I'm quite interested."

Mickey's answer did not surprise Lu Ze at all. A man who could spend his entire fortune to buy a One-77 just because of someone he liked, what wouldn't he dare to do if he was in the mood?

"so what?"

"I've decided between the flashback and the mockumentary format. I'm really tired of making three-part films. I'm too lazy to keep playing with that style where anyone who knows film can make a good film." He said this with a touch of arrogance, as if he could easily handle this kind of film style he'd never made before. Lu Ze chuckled on the other end of the phone and didn't say anything. Mickey always spoke with absolute certainty, extremely confident, as if there was nothing in the film industry that could stump him, and all his achievements came from talent.

This is the impression he leaves on the public, but only those close to him know that he has worked hard behind the scenes to make up for the boasts he made. Perhaps he regrets his boasts afterward, cursing himself and even slapping himself. Then, he relies on his genuine talent and hard work to achieve success in front of others. This is how he grows without leaving any way out, which is commendable but also inevitably subject to ridicule.

"Then send me the script. I need to take a look before I make a decision."

"Alright, remember to keep it confidential, at the highest level."

In fact, no one knows what the highest-level code name is in "Universal Brothers". Mickey always calls the scripts he writes "top secret", but he probably doesn't even know how high the level is.

Lu Ze agreed, and the matter came to an end. Of course, Mickey repeatedly popped up videos hoping to show off his lobster hands in front of Lu Ze, but he didn't succeed. However, Lu Ze also received other news about the newly established "Universal Brothers" agency.

All the artists were sent out to film crews in various countries. Among them, the one that Lu Ze paid the most attention to was Charlie. With his extraordinary appearance, he was naturally not going to be overlooked. In a very short time, he became the object of competition among various film crews. As a result, many agencies were secretly resentful that "Universal Brothers" always managed to pick up treasures. First it was Lu Ze, then the Russian brothers, and now there is Charlie, who can still carve out a path with his good looks even if he cannot exchange his acting talent.

The 300,000 euro fee, which came from Charlie's debut performance, was incredibly high for a newcomer. However, it was said that the director of the other production team felt that he had made a huge profit, and privately revealed that it would have been worth another 300,000 euros. This made Mickey, the notorious money-grubber, complain for a long time that he had never seen money before and should have asked for even more.

Perhaps calling Mickey "Mama-san" would be more accurate... a madam.

That's all for what happened in the UK. There were no further incidents, and everything was proceeding smoothly according to plan. Without further conversation with Mickey, I received a new email shortly after hanging up. I immediately disconnected from the internet, stopped eating, called Wang Zixuan, and then took my laptop back to my bedroom.

He connected the printer, and the white sheets of paper were gradually stained with ink, leaving behind strings of text. After about ten minutes, the printer stopped. He picked up the script, which was not too thick, but not thin either. On the first white sheet of paper, there was only one line of bold text... "Nothing to Hear".

Lu Ze had read the original version, and even now, thinking back on it still sends chills down his spine. The setting wasn't as brilliant as "Rebirth," nor was the story as desperate. But strangely, as you read it, you felt uncomfortable, a bone-chilling coldness, and a sense of powerlessness and numbness as if you'd been frozen. He wondered if the revised script with the changed characters was more impactful than the original version.

He drew the curtains, turned off the main light, poured a glass of warm water, sat down at his desk, turned on the desk lamp, took a sip of water, and then turned to the first page of the script. Sure enough, there was a big change; the first page even had a preface.

“I have met many troubled children. Their paranoia and isolation mostly stem from domestic violence, school violence, adult molestation, and witnessing a series of tragedies. I can understand the unreleased but extremely destructive anger in these children’s hearts. All the suffering has created demons who are only teenagers or even a few years old. They are like a bronze mirror, reflecting all the misery around them. This made me believe that these children from suffering could not be kind again, until I met a man born in “Puglitz County (fictional)”. His kindness is still fresh in my memory. But sadly, this kindness comes from incompleteness, not from a complete soul.

"I was sent to Puglitz County to interview this man in 2011, when he was twenty-one years old..."

Seeing this, Lu Ze stopped. He finally understood why Mickey wanted to make a mockumentary-style film. This subject matter and the way it was described, which started with an interview, were perfect for being filmed in the "mockumentary" style.

"Why wait to film this as a documentary?"

After sending the message to Mickey, he put down his phone and continued scrolling down.

"..."

(End of this chapter)