Hollywood Domination Chapter 142: Jennifer, the girl with a thousand faces

After more than a month of post-production, the exhibition version of "The Fifth Sally" must be much more detailed than the rough cut version. In the film, French, Chinese, Italian, and English subtitles are added for the convenience of judging. Of course, in addition to English, the rest of the subtitles also serve as a simplified translation for the convenience of the judges. Combine the original soundtrack to understand the plot. After all, although the seven members of the judging committee change every year, they are always dominated by filmmakers from non-English-speaking countries. A young female director like Claire Dennis may already be proficient in English, but this year's judges also include a Chinese writer, the famous writer Zhong Acheng who wrote "The King of Chess". Saying that it must be the icing on the cake is a flattering move, and it can also show the sincerity of the film crew.

Among the light music at the beginning of the title, Claire looked at the bright colors on the big-screen TV with great interest, and she muttered softly: "Well, Finch has changed a lot this time... let me See what story he plans to tell this time."

A common misunderstanding is that directors of art films have a higher status in the circle than directors of commercial films—in fact, on the contrary, directors of commercial films are the most powerful group of people in the circle. To give the simplest example: among Hong Kong directors Between Xu Anhua and Wang Jing, it is needless to say who has a higher style, but in fact, without Wang Jing's investment, many films directed by Xu Anhua would have no hope of starting shooting. This is like HighFashion and people-friendly brands in the fashion industry. HighFashion has a high style, but fast-moving brands like H&M make more money. Director Xu Anhua's works may have touched thousands of audiences, but as a leader among art film directors, her financial situation is far from rich, and she is already among the most accomplished group of art film directors. Therefore, there is no need to say more about the dilemma of literary film directors who are high-ranking and few, and whose economic conditions are average.

Directors are human beings too, and of course they have the desire to make money. Winning awards for art films while making money for commercial films is the deepest ambition of many directors. However, commercial films and art films are like two parallel lines. It’s not that the director doesn’t want to turn it around, it’s just that she doesn’t know how to turn it around. Just like Claire, her best subject is Africa, because it has something to do with her personal experience, race, colonization… When shooting these stories, she was inspired and calm, Although she is also interested in commercial films, that's a completely new game, Claire. Therefore, although the art film circle, especially the Venice Film Festival, is accustomed to rejecting commercial films and pursuing high-level artistry, she herself is not so disgusted with commercial films, but is very probing*: "The Fifth Sally" She has already seen the brief introduction and trailer, if she were to shoot this subject, it would definitely be handled in a psychedelic way. After all, this is multiple personalities. There will be too many, and she will not choose to integrate into "24 Billys". David Fincher is like this. Any film must be adapted to be dark and tense. Murder and violence seem to be his favorite. However, the opening tone of the new film is still very warm, which is considered a breakthrough for him. If he always adopts dark and cold tones, he will definitely not be liked by the judges...

With a smile that could not be said to be fond of or ridiculed, Claire absently browsed the scenery of the title. The most important thing is the camera: Finch's iconic camera, Finch's iconic camera, Finch's iconic...

"Merde, don't tell me this is really Christopher," she looked at the old and bloated Dave in the movie with regret, "Finch is such a waste of money, if I can get Christopher—"

Claire has never concealed her appreciation and fascination for male bodies. She had a movie "Forbidden Love in the Military" a few years ago. A large number of shots in this film depict the wonderful temptation of male bodies. For She must have been disgusted by Fincher's 'destroying' Christopher's behavior, and even fantasized about Christopher's role in "Forbidden Love in the Military", and then she refocused and began to appreciate Fincher's directorial skills.

"Oh, Christopher has improved a lot..." After all, he is a director, after watching it for a few minutes, Claire had a strong feeling for Christopher's improvement, "His last film was a war film, right? The performance can only be said to be mediocre, without too many highlights, but the charm is invincible. And now this Dave, if I didn't know it in advance, I'm sure 90% of people would not recognize it. Not only did he change his appearance, he even changed own temperament."

Before she knew it, she had adjusted her sitting posture, put her chin in a more serious posture, and carefully pondered Christopher's performance, "It's completely reborn... Did I miss some of his videos? It's hard to imagine that he would have such a big difference in performance between the two films - is Fincher his best partner?"

It is not unreasonable for her to say that some actors' charisma and acting skills can be maximized in the hands of a specific director, such as Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. The style is simply a match made in heaven and hit it off. Therefore, it is not impossible for Christopher, who performed mediocrely in other films, to shine in the hands of David Fincher. Of course, maybe Christopher had a deep accumulation of acting skills before, and in the cooperation with David Fincher, he finally broke through the bottleneck. In any case, Claire, who only admired his beauty before, now has a completely different mentality for him.

"This film is still very interesting, the theme is a bit shallow, if only "The Fifth Sally" may be better, women's self-discovery... Of course, this theme is too dull, and it will definitely not get a good one Fincher may not be good at the box office." She habitually speculated about the winning prospects of "The Fifth Sally", "It may not have any good results at the Oscars, Oscar doesn't seem to like that kind of film, but In any case, this shooting method is eye-catching and fresh, and Christopher’s performance is also very eye-catching. Hélas, these Yankees, among them, there are always acting talents emerging from them. Most importantly, Christopher He looks so handsome..."

In her thoughts, the movie has already played out to the scene where Dai Rui appeared on the stage. David's soothing and freehand shot attracted Claire's slightly proud chuckle: In her view as a master of slow motion, David's There is certainly a lot of room for improvement in the approach.

However, Jennifer Jefferson's performance made Claire unable to maintain her sense of superiority: "Is this really Jennifer Jefferson? When did Finch become so good at cultivating actors? Isn't that Reasonable, after "Fight Club", Pete and Norton's acting skills have not been reborn..."

For Jenny herself, her Dai Rui is the result of cheating, and she has the modest nature of an oriental person. It is impossible for her to be immersed in the sense of accomplishment of "I am amazing" when watching movies. What she sees are all shortcomings, but for Claire, just the first character Dai Rui who appeared on the stage is already radiant, making her unable to take her eyes off——Jennifer in "Pirates of the Caribbean", " The performances in "The Notebook" and "The Devil Wears Prada" are indeed eye-catching, but in Claire's opinion, the charm of the three screen characters is not as good as that of Dai Rui's spirit, almost the first In the blink of an eye, she was attracted by Dai Rui's beauty and purity that transcended appearance and gender, and she couldn't help standing up halfway, trying to find traces of the film's post-processing from another angle.

"Of course, soft light is added, but that's not the main reason. Her own temperament is the key point. It's a pity that this girl is in a commercial film!" Claire was completely excited, "If I can get her, I will Will put her in Africa, what a contrast between her purity and the wilderness of Africa..."

She shook her head, and continued to focus on the movie, "Is this the side that Fincher dug out for Jennifer? It's incredible, she has been in the industry for almost four years, right? How can she be so innocent? Generally speaking, this kind of temperament can only exist among girls who are not in the circle... Has Jennifer ever put on special effects makeup? No, this kind of temperament cannot be shown through makeup. How can she? ——Dai Rui definitely makes her one of the most special actresses of her generation.”

Although Christopher's transformation is almost reborn, he has suppressed his own charm and retained Dave's tension. Although this is rare, it is not at the same level as Dai Rui's acting difficulty. It is still possible to become unattractive. Obesity and disfigurement are all ways, but changing from one kind of charm to another is not something everyone can do. Claire doesn't care about the other judges. What do you think, as a director, she has been completely conquered by Jennifer: It is not that she has never worked with outstanding actresses. A very important job of a director is to use various means to tap the charm of the actors and make the performances of the actors To achieve the effect expected in the heart, it can be said that in the director's view, actors are just chess pieces manipulated by them, and every director may have the experience of wanting to strangle the chess pieces... Can be like Jennifer, every film Every film presents the most suitable actors for the film, which is completely rare. And her performance in "The Fifth Sally", just the role of Dai Rui, has already made Claire's eyes shine--Jennifer's plasticity is too strong, almost whatever the director wants, she can What kind of appearance can be presented, this kind of almost infinite possibility, which director doesn't like it?

Of course, as a psychological thriller, the plot of "Sally" is still very interesting, and Chris's performance is also very story-telling. The other part carefully observed Jennifer's performance. She was almost anxiously waiting for the appearance of the second personality. Who would the second personality be? It's a pity, she hasn't read the original book, but just read the introduction...

Although she had already had psychological expectations for the next few personalities, when the personalities of Nora, Belle, Sally, and Ginny appeared one by one, Claire was still swearing—even Roger E. Bert could have noticed Jenny's features, how could she miss it? The micro-expressions, body language, and gait that change with the personality switch form a completely different temperament. Although many experience masters can do this, it is no exaggeration to say that their performance is not as good as Jennifer So thorough, although the subsequent personalities are not as amazing as Dai Rui, but in the case of frequent appearances and switching personalities, she has never confused the name and personality characteristics of each personality. This is not only a manifestation of the director's skill, It is the result of the excellent performance of the actors. Claire knew very well that if Jennifer's performance could not reach this level, Fincher would definitely not adopt such a bold editing...

And when the plot progressed to Jennifer's cadenza, when the personality in the library was switched continuously, Claire even pressed the pause button directly, stood up excitedly and paced back and forth: such frequent switching, in the tone , make-up, and clothes remain unchanged, based on the facial expressions of the actors, five completely different and independent personalities are vividly displayed, allowing the audience to easily identify which personality is the dominant personality after the personality transformation body, something she had never thought any actor could do before tonight. ——The shots are continuous, and Fincher didn't make any edits. This is Jennifer's coherent performance in front of the camera, which is entirely a manifestation of her personal strength.

How did she do it? How could she do it? She—it's all crazy!

After rewinding and watching this passage more than ten times, Claire finally calmed down. She took a deep breath, slowly sat back in the chair, and pressed the play button again, "Oh God, I can't even bear to finish watching it now..."

To be honest, after that, Claire only had a taste of the plot, knowing where the plot is now, and she has no interest in Finch's intentions, techniques, and metaphors. She spent 80% of her energy on Jennifer, and the remaining 20% ​​was attracted by Christopher. Christopher's performance was indeed very good. During the whole treatment and court trial, his existence was like a pinnacle, stabilizing the audience and Sarah. Li's emotions, and his change of mentality and progress of performance are equally fascinating. When Jennifer's shock of rapid personality switching gradually subsided, Claire also began to face up to Christopher's outstanding performance. Although she is very good, she can't compete with Jennifer at all... This is a movie that belongs to Jennifer. Apart from the quick switching of personalities that day, Sally's performance is also really layered. , It’s too delicate, the part of personality fusion and conflict can be included in the history of film and become a classic, words can’t express my appreciation for her—if I can cooperate with her, if I can have her..."

On the TV screen, the movie has finished playing, and the subtitles scrolled across the black screen, but Claire didn't move at all. She was still sitting in her chair, wandering in her thoughts: what if If she cooperates with me, how will I use her? Yes, I'm definitely going to take her to Africa, maybe I should design her and a black youth to get caught up in urban riots...

After a long time, Claire suddenly came back to her senses, shook her head regretfully, and cut off her wandering thoughts—for her who has never left the French film industry, and Jennifer Jefferson The possibility of cooperation is very small, although she is very famous in France, she was even invited to be a judge of the Venice Film Festival, but she is just a nobody in Hollywood: Clare also knows very well that the three major international film festivals are actually for international filmmakers. For self-entertainment, Hollywood didn't buy it at all. Even if she took the initiative to invite Jennifer to cooperate with her, in all likelihood, this invitation would not be approved by Jennifer's agent at all. Without awards and box office, Hollywood stars would not cooperate with her...

Besides——Claire laughed at herself—she also knows very well what Jennifer in this film means to the directors. No director wants to get such a malleable actor, let alone her acting skills And so superb, after the release of "The Fifth Sally", Jennifer will probably become the hottest actress in the world, and there will be many directors who want to cooperate with her, and there must be someone who is bigger than Claire , it is impossible for her to win much attention.

"It would be great if I could make commercial films, then I can go to Hollywood..." I don't know how many times, this resentful thought crossed Claire's mind again, but she still shook her head and got rid of the bad idea. Rational thinking: Claire knows best whether he has the talent to make commercial films.

Living in the film industry, if you can't accept that there are many people in the world who are more talented than you, people's psychology is easy to lose balance. Claire quickly got rid of the slight loss and sadness. She watched and returned to standby The TV on the page, looked at the stack of discs waiting for her to read, hesitated for a moment, and pressed the play button. "Let's watch "The Fifth Sally" again, I didn't pay attention to the plot just now..."

#

Except for the judges who can get the discs in the first time, the participants of the Venice Film Festival have to wait patiently for the screenings arranged by the film festival before they can see the films presented. Reporters, film dealers, film lovers... are all waiting for several excellent works released during the film festival, and even compared with the 20 films in the competition section, the 19 films in the non-competition section are more anticipated, because almost all of them are It is an annual masterpiece-level film, and it was included in the Venice Film Festival to expand its influence. Most of the exhibitors are not exempt, and they are definitely looking forward to these big productions that are open to the public for the first time.

Among these various audiences, the film purchasing team from the China Film Group Film Import and Export Corporation is also one of the few Chinese faces at the Venice Film Festival. The relationship between the Chinese film circle and the Venice Film Festival has always been very close. Closely, this time China Film’s film purchasing team also came to Venice together with mainland actor Hu Jun (the actor of the competition unit “Song of Everlasting Sorrow”). The task of the team is to find some films suitable for introduction to the Chinese market at the Venice Film Festival, so as to buy out the copyright This is also one of the most important tasks of the import and export company. ——In the Chinese film market in 2005, imported films were divided into sub-account films and buy-off films. can take 25% of the box office), except for Hollywood blockbusters that are confident in the profitability of the film, ordinary foreign films will not have the intention of seeking a share of the account. In order to enrich the country of films released each year, China Film Association actively purchases films from other countries for buyout screenings. In addition to profit-making purposes, there are also cultural strategic considerations. Of course, the three major film festivals have become China Film's ideal places to buy films, so the film viewing team has a heavy task this time at the film festival. They have to watch all 40 films in the feature-length section.

"The Fifth Sally", Jennifer Jefferson." The team leader Han Yu read the information on the form, "Christopher Hanks, David Fincher—oh, a collection of famous artists , this Jennifer Jefferson has already registered two accounts in the mainland, right?"

"Christopher Hanks has also registered two parts of the account, and the box office is very good," several team members also gave back the box office data. Although China Film has a background, it is also an enterprise, and it is impossible not to pursue profits." It's David Fincher...he has worked with Brad Pitt."

"Oh?" Han Yu's face darkened, "Did he—"

“If there are no film works involving sensitive subjects, social activities will be unclear.” The team members responded truthfully, “But even if there are, the impact should not be great.”

"Where are the two leading actors?" Han Yu asked.

"It has nothing to do with these things."

Han Yu breathed a sigh of relief and made a mark on the film, "If there is no accident, give this film a buyout fee of 800,000 US dollars. It should be profitable. After all, these two The leading actors are all well-known——I will watch this film myself.”

Several team members snickered, "Of course, no one will fight with you, Xiao Han, the last time Jennifer's account sheet was not pushed by you, can there be such a good schedule? I know you must Just watch it, don’t pretend.”

"Go, go, go." Han Yu waved his hand angrily, "Let's go, I'm not English, okay? I have a strong understanding!"

…Amidst the laughter, the hidden Jennifer fan turned the form to the next page, "There is a Korean movie tomorrow, Xiao Wang, so it's your turn..."

At 3 o'clock in the morning on September 4th, in a corner of the water city of Venice, the gate of the cinema opened suddenly, and the audience who participated in the midnight screening of "The Fifth Sally" poured out, discussing the plot and the performance of the actors excitedly. Then one after another boarded the gondola waiting at the small pier not far away, and returned to the hotel and home. Han Yu was also one of them. His face was still a little pale, and his steps seemed rather vain. He was crowded to the pier by the crowd. Only then did he come to his senses, he patted his forehead, as if he had made up his mind, and hurriedly walked towards the cinema.

"This film...indeed, it has some **** plots." After returning to the reality from the world of acting, Han Yu has been considering whether to introduce this film, "but some parts that are not suitable for children can be cut. The movie, promoted as a thriller, must have box office. After all, the quality of this movie is indeed very good, and Jennifer's performance... is even more miraculous. Yes, she will definitely be nominated for an Oscar, or even win an award It's hard to say, if this is the case, there is reason to persuade the leadership to pass the approval... Sigh! It's a pity that this film did not enter the competition, otherwise Jennifer should be able to win a Venice actress?"

In the end, he returned to being a fan.

Now that he has made up his mind to introduce it, Han Yu no longer thinks about the movie, but starts to consider the quotation. He walked into the screening room, glanced at the crowded crowd, and couldn't help showing a slight sense of superiority Smiling: These European film studios started fighting for it right after the screening, fearing that they would not be able to buy it at a good price. For him, negotiating the price was not difficult at all. No matter what, there are only two film companies in China that have the right to import. Woolen cloth?

As soon as he thought of this, Han Yu was taken aback—he actually saw a familiar face from Shanghai Huaxia Film Company in the crowd, and now he became anxious, "Old Huang! Old Huang, you old fox, when will you It’s coming—you wait! We, China Film Group, have already taken a fancy to this film..."

The author has something to say: Note: The approval of films in the Chinese market mentioned here is generally true, as is the list of judges in Venice that year.

---------------------------------------

Long waiting, updated