Birth of an actor

Two years ago, "Blood Together" was released, offering fans all over the world a fantasy love blockbuster featuring a good-looking all-star cast and the forbidden love between vampires and humans, and it also made Bar Harbor, Maine The town has become one of the most famous tourist attractions in the United States.

Now that the filming of the second part of the series is starting, the small town has welcomed a large number of tourists and media. When the film crew is filming outdoors, tourists often watch the film crew. The worst thing is of course the media. Know where to get a helicopter for candid filming.

It's all because "Blood Together: The Kingdom of Eternal Life" is too much-anticipated. Although it has been two years since the first film was released, the various records created by "Blood Together" are still unforgettable—— The opening record of the first film in film history with a premiere box office of US$7513 million was not broken until after the release of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". In the seventh), together with the "Star Wars Prequel" released in the same year, it was rated by the media as the two most phenomenal films at the end of the century.

The film novel of the same name, written by the screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg and adapted from the screenplay, was on the New York Times bestseller list as soon as it was published, and its annual sales exceeded 3000 million copies, triggering global The fanatical pursuit of women, CW, HBO, SNI and other public TV stations that focus on young audiences, or cable TV stations that love heavy-duty themes, have even approached Willot to see if they can buy "Blood Together" Television adaptation rights.

The strong attention represents the huge market behind the brand effect. In the eyes of Hollywood, these can be directly realized - the production cost of "Blood Together: The Kingdom of Eternal Life" is three times that of the first part, reaching Nearly 9000 million U.S. dollars, the rise in the actors' remuneration is a small part, and the pursuit of excellence in movie props, costumes, and special effects is a big part. However, although the production cost has doubled, Willot has no financial pressure at all. Because the film has already fully recovered the cost when it first started preparing for shooting.

Sponsored by automobile companies such as Porsche and Ford, and placed in the advertisements of Tory Burch, CK, Victoria's Secret and other American first-line designer brands, even a Dior suit, a pair of oliverpeoples sunglasses, a Bell & Ross watch, the movie only With sponsorship, the cost is fully recovered during production.

Similar to "Blood Together: The Kingdom of Eternal Life", there is also "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", which is also a sequel movie, which is also popular all over the world, and it is also targeted by major manufacturers before filming: Before "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was released, Coca-Cola bought out the exclusive global joint marketing rights of "The Chamber of Secrets" at a price of US$1.6 million, breaking the current price record for joint marketing of Hollywood movies.In addition, Lego, Hasbro, and Mattel, the three largest toy manufacturers in the world, also obtained the rights to use the "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "The Chamber of Secrets" movies at prices ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars. The contract for toys made of characters, magic wands, magical animals, etc., among which the "Sorcerer's Stone" series of toys have been on the market for only a few months, and the sales have exceeded [-] million US dollars. The brand value of Harry Potter has shocked the whole world , which is one of the reasons why Willot quickly put the sequel movie on the shooting schedule.

With sufficient financial support, the preparations for "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" were smoother than last time, and there was no difficulty in inviting actors, and even many British stars recommended themselves.The most interesting thing is that Colin Firth and Hugh Grant have just finished working together on "BJ's Diary", and they are about to reunite in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", while William finished filming "Pictures". Immediately after finishing Soaking in Blood: The Kingdom of Eternal Life, they must rush to London without stopping.

Because actors' remuneration, production costs and publicity expenses have been rising year after year, it has actually become increasingly difficult for Hollywood studios to earn money from the movie box office. Most of the movies shot every year are not profitable. Relying on profit from advertising placement, DVD distribution and peripheral products, film brands like "Blood Together" and "Harry Potter" not only created unimaginably good results at the box office, but also peripheral profits are more like miracles However, it is a gratifying thing for a major studio to develop one in a few years, but Willot can have two at the same time.

All in all, the whole of Hollywood is envious and jealous of Willot. The eyes of the studios are almost red, and there are endless follow-ups and imitations. There are indeed a few movies with good box office, but none of them can Reach the success of "Blood Together".

In the past two years, some media and professional film critics have continued to study "Blood Together", trying to sum up the law of success from it. They concluded that "Blood Together" is a Mary Su movie.

"Mary Sue", a term coined by Paula Smith and born in the fan circle of "Star Trek" in the 70s, well explains the essence of countless Hollywood love movies.

Yes, "Blood Together" is also a Mary Su movie in essence, but it is different from the cliché Mary Su like prince and princess, and prince falling in love with Cinderella. The standard of traditional Mary Su movies such as dreamlike love, but also has a good artistic taste, and heavy seasonings like fantasy thrillers-the hero is a glamorous vampire, and from time to time there are shots of blood splattering- — an alternative Mary Sue movie.

It’s not that Hollywood has made similar movies before, such as Disney’s live-action movie, or 1992’s “400 Years of Vampire,” but the former is too fairy tale and boring, and the latter is too scary and dark, so Hollywood probably I never thought that the Mary Sue movie, which changed the soup without changing the medicine, would be so successful—until "Blood Together" came out, and the vampire god Victor Miller became the love of thousands of women all over the world. The girl of my dreams has fascinated all women from the age of eight to 48.

The most basic requirement for the second film "The Kingdom of Eternal Life" in the "Blood Together" series to continue to create brilliance is to maintain the same standard and style as the first film.The director is the most critical link in this process.

……

"Channing, don't look at Nat the way you look at a steak. We're filming love at first sight, not hunting animals. You're also playing a werewolf, not a vampire. Werewolves don't eat people."

"Where's the make-up artist? Put some oil on his upper body, I want his muscles to look shiny in the camera - wait, Rock, your muscles are like a majestic hill , I promise they look stunning and stunning, so put that bottle of oil down."

"Will, your expression was very good just now, keep it up in the next round."

"Nate, you don't have to look at Channing, but turn your head to look for Will in worry. After all, he is your boyfriend and he is surrounded by a group of werewolves."

"Photography, let the helicopter fly a little higher, I want a big lens overlooking the whole scene."

"Okay guys, that's all for now, get busy! We'll continue in 10 minutes."

Rob Reiner held up the trumpet in an orderly manner to issue orders, and the staff of the crew of "Blood Together: The Kingdom of Eternal Life" took action under his instructions.

After the makeup artist touched up William's makeup, he picked up a bottle of sunscreen and walked towards Channing Tatum. There were still 10 minutes before the next shooting, and William was about to go to the RV to take a rest when he was caught again. Rob Reiner stopped and discussed the script.

In addition to the adjustment of the cast, the second part of the movie "Blood Together" series "The Kingdom of Eternal Life" basically maintained the same production team as the first film, and the director changed from Christopher Nolan to Rob Reiner. It didn't make the team adapt badly. On the contrary, the filming progress was unbelievably smooth. In just one and a half months, two-thirds of the script had been filmed, and the progress was astonishing enough.

——Although it still focuses on romance, as a sequel to a very commercially successful movie, "Blood Together: Kingdom of Eternal Life" must be more sophisticated than the first one. The effort and waiting for a beautiful shot is no less than the energy and time spent in making any other serious movie.

Christopher Nolan once endowed "Blood Together" with a very personal lens language and unique images, making this movie with an uncomplicated plot so rich in details and amazing in composition in the eyes of movie fans. His success lies in Previously, if the director of the second film wanted not to fall into the curse of "nine out of ten Hollywood sequels", he had to not only have amazing shooting skills, but also give the film something special. Erlot found Rob Reiner.

Rather, it was Rob Reiner who found them.

……

When the filming plan of "Blood Together: The Kingdom of Eternal Life" was prepared, who to choose as the director became a big issue for Willot to consider.

It is no longer possible for Christopher Nolan to direct the second film. His interest in filming is not in this kind of fan film. The second is because he has no schedule at all.

After filming "Blood Together", Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan Nolan soon got a lot of investment from Willot, and started filming the movie "Symbol of Death" adapted from the latter's short story "Symbol of Death". Memento, although the box office of this film is not high, the global box office is less than 7000 million US dollars, but it has won great praise at the Saint Denis International Film Festival and the Independent Film Festival, many of them left because of "Blood Together" I was not disappointed when I went to the cinema to watch "Memory Fragments". I praised it as a cool movie, and the movie was nominated for Best Screenplay at the Golden Globe Awards and Oscars.

Now, the two Nolan brothers are busy filming "White Night Chase", this film is adapted from the Norwegian film of the same name four years ago. It was also invested and produced by Willot, and several large investments have been made in Willot. "Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", "Spiderman" - all under the background of commercial production, the banner of independent films will be carried by the Nolan brothers.

As for Christopher Nolan's successor, William initially considered choosing one of David Frankel and Joe White. One of them filmed HBO's popular "Sex and the City" and directed another. "Band of Brothers", which can't invest in a movie for a single episode, is a junior recommended by Nolan, a rising star among British academic directors. Although there is no famous masterpiece, Joe White is very good at capturing the beauty of the camera.

However, these two cutting-edge directors were given up immediately after Rob Reiner appeared-Rob Reiner was once a member of the unknown actor army in Hollywood in the 80s and [-]s, but he tried to take over the director by chance. After the film was released, he quickly blossomed his talent as a director. His first film "Long Live the Rock" astounded the entire Hollywood, and his subsequent works have reaped both commercial and word-of-mouth. Commercially successful and critically acclaimed director.

At the same time, there are still many types of films that Rob Reiner can control, including crime thriller films such as "Ten Days of Dangerous Love" and "Great Sea of ​​Justice", as well as "Princess Bride" and "Romania in the White House" Romantic comedies full of humor and irony, as well as "When Harry Met Sally", which explores life and marriage, friendship and love, especially "The Princess Bride" and "When Harry Met Sally", are all available in The classic movies that left a deep impression on movie fans, the DVD sales of the two movies are still at the top of the list of their respective genres.

However, Rob Reiner's later work, the film "Mississippi Murder" that reflected crime and racial discrimination released in [-], did not receive a good response. For this reason, Rob Reiner had three or four years to continue I couldn't get a decent movie contract, so I temporarily changed to filming a documentary to support my family.

After learning from his friends that Willot was looking for a director for the second part of "Blood Together", Rob Reiner began to act actively. He wanted to get this movie and then return to the mainstream Hollywood circle.

Although there are no obvious personal characteristics, Rob Reiner is indeed a more mature director than David Frankel and Joe White in terms of experience and works. He shoots various types of commercial films Willot's rich experience and skillful use of various commercial film techniques are what Willot urgently needs.

Judging from the performance of the film more than a month after the start of filming, Rob Reiner did not disappoint anyone. He really knows how to make a film in order to attract more attention and make fans like it.

In particular, Rob Reiner, who has made classic love movies like "When Harry Met Sally", is better at portraying the delicate relationship between men and women than Christopher Nolan, who is good at creating big scenes and epic atmospheres. emotion.

Like now, Channing Tatum's shoulders, chest, and abdominal muscles glisten with some sunscreen on his skin, and they'll look better in a special filter shot than they do in Vogue. It is more attractive in appearance, and when his eyes stare at Natalie Portman intently and slightly brightly after detailed guidance, even if the man Portman likes is not this type, he will block it. She couldn't help but start to blush slightly, and I believe that those young girls would also be unable to restrain their cheeks from burning hot in the cinema.

Speaking of Channing Tatum, this is also a lucky boy-when "Blood" is the new important role of the werewolf Rudy in the second film, when Hollywood is widely looking for suitable young actors , There were hundreds of people who came to audition, some of them had starred in several movies, had a good reputation of Hollywood rising stars, or graphic models who were so fit that they could directly play superheroes without modification, but In the end, it was this little-known young model with a southern accent who had just worked hard in Hollywood, who had the last laugh.

"Blood Together: Kingdom of Eternal Life" is in Hollywood, no, the whole world is already attracting attention, there is no need for William to use his personal relationship to invite any big star friend to play a guest role to increase the popularity of the movie, so the newly added characters in the movie, It is entirely up to the casting director to choose. It is best not to find a star who has been famous for a long time. It is best to choose a newcomer actor, which will help in fitting the role and reducing costs.

William was busy with the filming of "A Beautiful Mind" a while ago, so he handed over the preparation of the film to the producer and director, until the producer finalized the final list and showed it to him. He saw that Channing Tatum This somewhat familiar name, I looked through the files again, and I was sure that the other party was going to be exposed by the gossip tabloids when he became popular a few years later. The black history of being a stripper boy, not only did not hide it, but boldly admitted it, using The candid attitude has won the favor of the public, not only successfully resolved the reputation crisis, but even filmed a movie "Magic Mike" about the life of a stripper based on his own experience, the first-line actor in Hollywood that sparked a frenzy of movie watching among women across the United States .

And the reason why the casting director will take a fancy to Channing Tatum, who is currently only taking photos for fashion magazines, and the only masterpiece is a newcomer model who is a backup dancer in Ricky Martin's music video, not because of any insider or backstage , Channing Tatum really has no roots in Hollywood now, but because he seems to be tailor-made for the role of werewolf Rudy——

The mixed blood of France, Ireland and Indian makes Channing Tatum's complexion not as pale as other whites of European origin, but has a natural light brown skin. At the same time, he also has light brown eyes and a square facial contour. High cheekbones and slightly thick lips are the standard handsome looks favored by Hollywood. Some angles even look like Brad Pitt. The southern accent may sound a bit weird and rustic, but it is perfect for the role. Especially the strong muscles trained by the modeling profession.

Because of "Blood Together", Channing Tatum was born and appeared on the big screen a few years earlier, and the crew of "Blood Together" also has an actor who fits the role so well, I don't know Is this a wonderful coincidence?

In the eyes of many media, Channing Tatum was still an unknown young model who was not noticed by Hollywood a few months ago. A movie with such a high degree of attention is probably less lucky than Hayden Christensen, who was just selected by George Lucas and will play Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars Episode 2".

Of course, William did not forget to tell Amon Goffman that this young man has great potential. Channing Tatum’s modeling contract has been signed with a modeling agency in Miami. If he wants to become an actor and develop in Hollywood, he must be If you want to change your agent, it’s better to have the benefits in your own hands than in someone else’s. Jewish agents are always quick to act. Now, Channing Tatum has been signed by the IAA, but not by Aya. Meng is directly responsible.

Speaking of which, Channing Tatum's accent sounded kind to William. After all, he had just finished playing John Nash. Sometimes when two shots were taken, Tatum could even mislead William's accent. The cold and handsome vampire, who is not like a mortal, opened his mouth with a southern accent like a cold patient. The strong contrast is especially "laughing fruit". The whole crew burst into laughter after being stunned, and finally had to reshoot the scene again.

Afterwards, Channing Tatum squatted outside the dressing room to guard William, and stammered an apology, to the effect that his southern accent was too strong, and I'm sorry for accidentally infecting William.

William didn't expect Channing Tatum, a young man with rich experience and a hot body, to be so nervous and humble. Is this probably the unique quality of young people in small towns?

"It's nothing, my friend." Of course William would put his arms around the other's shoulders and say with a no-nonsense southern accent: "Come and talk to me about your hometown. Are you from Alabama? I imitated it." How about it?"

……

This scene is kind of time-traveled, really.

In a New York cafe with a pleasant room temperature, a dark khaki vest, gray-black skinny jeans, and a light gray striped shirt with the top button unbuttoned, William, whose cuffs are casually rolled up to his elbows, looks like a Manhattan boy. Beside him, sat a Tobey Maguire wearing a red and blue Spider-Man suit, who looked like he had just stepped out of a comic book. Opposite him was Lai, who had mid-length hair and a goatee, and was wearing a costume from the last century. Leonardo DiCaprio.

The clothes of the three people seem to be people spanning three centuries, and their encounter is also a coincidence.

William has returned to New York these days due to some industrial formalities. After finishing his work in the morning, he was on his way to the Metropolitan Museum to kill time. He found that the crew of "Spider-Man" was filming near the Brooklyn Bridge. I thought I hadn't seen him for a while. When I arrived at Toby, I went to visit the set. I didn’t expect to see Toby and Leonardo there at once. It turned out that Martin Scorsese’s "Gangs of New York" also had scenes shot on the Brooklyn Bridge. Toby Bi and Leonardo had met and laughed together long ago.

It was a pleasant surprise to see William, Leonardo and Toby because it's really hard for the three of us to get together when it's not awards season, everyone has busy schedules and travels all over the world, So this coincidental encounter is really exciting, probably because of being so happy, Leonardo and Toby didn't realize that they didn't change their costumes until they sat down in the cafe...

Well, this also explains why New Yorkers are always in a hurry when crossing the street, and they only care about themselves and seldom look at others, but just now they were almost 100% looking back at the three of them.

Fortunately, the camera phone has not yet come out, William thought, otherwise, tomorrow the entertainment section of the national newspaper will have very "exciting" pictures.

When the three of them walked into the cafe, the clerk was startled and stayed there for a long time, until someone recognized William and Toby's Spider-Man suits and remembered the movie they saw in the newspaper "Spider-Man" is currently filming in New York, and the attitude suddenly became enthusiastic.

As for Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s a bit difficult to recognize. Who made him not only a little fat recently, but also with a goatee and very unkempt clothes. At least the clerk didn’t recognize him before ordering. He came, until he heard that the Brooklyn accent he used when ordering food was authentic but also a bit weird, and he couldn't help but take a second look, before he gasped like a fan girl.

Both William and Toby ordered black coffee and Reuben sandwiches, and Leonardo lingered on the Elvis sandwich for a while.

"Calories, Leo." William pulled the menu out of Leonardo's hand: "Think about Elvis Presley's weight."

The Elvis sandwich is made with a lot of peanut butter, bacon, honey and butter. The reason why it is called this is because Elvis himself is so in love with it that he often flies to his favorite restaurant in order to eat a delicious sandwich. After entering middle age, Elvis Presley's weight soared to more than 250 pounds. Many media and fans suspected that this extremely high-calorie sandwich contributed to Elvis Presley's weight, so it was named Elvis Presley Sandwich.

Leonardo DiCaprio chose the same food as the two with some hesitation. After hesitating for a few seconds, he changed the sandwich to a vegetarian one.

Leonardo is now a lot fatter than when he filmed "Titanic" and "How to Get Away with Murder", and he has grown a beard again. His appearance is two points less handsome and three points more mature. Female movie fans may feel a little bit It's a pity, but he himself prefers it, no, or rather, Leonardo wishes he could become a little more vicissitudes, so that he can get rid of the burden of idol superstar as soon as possible.

However, Toby has been working hard in the gym for several months because he wants to play a superhero, and he has developed six-pack abs. William's muscles are more like paintings, and they haven't disappeared for many years. And he... abs, one piece.

Being behind always inspires fighting spirit, especially when all the friends around you are better than you in some way.

Leonardo was somewhat frustrated, but there were people around who couldn't eat more than him. When the meal was served, Tobey Maguire only took two bites and began to sigh.

"I look a little stupid in this outfit, don't I? Outside the set, people look at me like I'm some kind of funny actor." There is strong self-doubt and unconfidence in his tone: "I know Spider-Man is very Cool, but that's in the comics, in the movies... I don't know, no one has ever filmed this before, no one can use it as a reference. Sometimes I do the motions of the director against the green screen, and I'm not sure what the hell I am Play anything, even if it's like George Clooney in Batman & Robin, but never Matt Salinger in Captain America..."

"I watched the "Captain America" ​​in 90, oops, I don't know how Salinger convinced himself to finish filming that pile of shit, maybe he was miserably cheated by his agent." Leonor Do DiCaprio said: "Or maybe someone kept pointing a gun to his head and forced him to finish the show."

Leonardo's ridicule was a bit too cruel, but William also rented the "Captain America", if he were to make an evaluation, maybe Leonardo would be more excessive.

But now the point is not how trashy individual superhero movies were in the past, but how to make it clear to Toby that he is definitely not one of those people, because after Leonardo's words, his expression looks more worried up.

"Your thinking is too pessimistic, Toby." William said: "I think you will become Christopher Reeve in "Superman" or Michael Keaton in "Batman." There are not many actors in the Superman, and these two film series have also gone silent after their glory, but Reeve and Keaton are always the best actors of Superman and Batman in the hearts of movie fans. "Why, don't you believe my prediction?"

Tobey Maguire shook his head subconsciously, perhaps not confident, but he had blind trust in William.

William's film selection taste and investment vision are well-known throughout Hollywood. Not to mention not one bad film in the works he has starred in, and most of the actors who have worked with him can achieve further development in their careers.

Not to mention, after the release of "Blood Together", the main creators all seemed to have had good luck: Christopher Nolan became famous in Hollywood, and soon got investment to make the movie he wanted to make; Tali Portman has become No.1 among Hollywood actresses in the [-]s because of her two masterpieces "Blood Together" and "Star Wars Prequel"; Leonardo DiCapri O starred in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York", and his acting skills and efforts were greatly praised by Scorsese; Christopher Evans participated in "Band of Brothers" produced by Steven Spielberg, although It has not completely transformed, but it is also getting rid of the impression of comedians left by "American Pie" to the public. The image is much more serious than the tough guy before; Go to "The Mummy Returns" to play the biggest villain; Paul Walker starred in "Fast and Furious"; Reese Witherspoon got the female lead in "Legally Blonde".

As for Toby himself, he became Spider-Man Peter Parker, and he got the role very easily with William's full support.

Moreover, thinking about what William has said and done, has he ever been unreliable?

"Fox's "X-Men" is not bad, isn't it? The investment in "Spider-Man" is much higher than that of "X-Men", and the script is nothing to fault. Marvel sent a small team of cartoonists to watch it "William patted Toby's hand on the table: "I assure you, we will not do worse than Fox."

Toby looked up and smiled at him, "Thanks, Will, I feel better—hey my clothes!" Splattered food crumbs: "Leo! What the hell are you doing!" Seeing that there were no suspicious stains on the Spider-Man suit made of special fabrics, he let out a long breath.

Just now, Leonardo, who was sitting opposite him and William, was gnawing on a sandwich with disgust, suddenly seemed to have been frightened, and all the food was sprayed out by him before he could swallow it. During the violent cough, he probably accidentally choked the trachea.

William handed over the handkerchief considerately: "Leo, even if Toby and I have a good relationship and neglect you, don't complain about a disagreement."

Leonardo took the handkerchief and wiped the corners of his mouth. He didn't speak, but raised his chin to signal the two to look back.

William and Toby were sitting with their backs facing the floor-to-ceiling windows of the cafe. With Leonardo's movement, the two immediately realized that something was wrong behind them.

Did the reporter come after him?Or are there crowds of fans gathering?

The two quickly put on a standard smiling face, even the corners of their mouths were very similar, and they showed exactly the same public relations attitude, and turned around together.

Just one glance, and the smile couldn't hold back anymore.Because, on the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, there is a wrinkled old face that has been squeezed and deformed.

The old man was bent over, his head was almost at the same height as his back, his hands were behind his back, his two piercing eyes were staring at the cafe through brown sunglasses, his skin was red and wrinkled, and there was a loose ring around his chin His skin was drooping... William finally understood why Leonardo reacted that way just now. It was really difficult when a strange old man suddenly appeared through the window and stared at you in a strange posture while sitting in the cafe. Not to be frightened.

Seeing William's expression, Leonardo sneered.snort.

The more William looked at it, the more he felt that this face looked familiar.

Until Toby suddenly stood up from his seat again: "Mr. Lee!"

Stan Lee outside the window also stuck his right hand to the glass, and smiled at the three of them.