Chapter 240 239. The Eye-to-Eye Contact Between Two Movie Queens

Paris, France.

This romantic city had not yet been occupied by black people, who were shouting "Get the French out of Paris" and holding marches.

The Bir-Hakeim Bridge, one of two viaducts in Paris, connects the 15th and 16th arrondissements.

According to the construction time, this year is the 99th birthday of this bridge. Of course, it has undergone many repairs, renovations and reinforcements in the meantime.

It is one of the tourist attractions in Paris. You can think of it as a boat passing under the bridge, or as a subway passing over it. Of course, the best way is to go through the middle.

"Last Tango in Paris" was filmed here, and today it is also the filming location for "Inception".

MGM negotiated a contract with the Paris city government three months in advance. Generally speaking, major countries and cities are very welcoming to well-known crews with large investments to come and shoot.

Once the movie is released, it will strongly drive and promote the local tourism industry, and also collect rental fees, which is a very profitable business.

For example, in Zhangjiajie, the filming location of "Avatar", many years have passed, but the sign is still hanging there.

"Inception" perfectly meets the standards of big production, big stars, and a large crew.

So when they arrived in Paris, the local government cooperated and gave the green light, and the police station sent five police cars to blockade and perform duty.

The makeup artists applied makeup to the actors, the stylists matched the styles, and Eric patrolled the entire venue.

As the assistant director, Neil Blomkamp was very excited and ran much more actively than Eric.

As long as he gets this one and performs well, he can direct it independently. He has already read the script of "Chronicles of the Lost Ark".

Although it doesn't look like there will be many big scenes, and it's a little different from the science fiction films he imagined, the story is exciting and the conflicts are well-developed, so he likes it very much.

After adjusting the position of the camera and giving a few instructions to the cameraman, Eric looked at Neil.

"You are too excited, young man. Control yourself a little. Too much is as bad as too little, you know?"

"Okay, Director. I'll go get some water."

"Well, you've been with me for three plays. People who stay with me always make the fastest progress. I think you've accumulated enough experience. Don't be nervous."

Neil touched his nose and said, "It's just the first time. I will adjust myself immediately."

At 9:30 in the morning, all preparations were ready. Although the weather in March had bid farewell to the cold winter, there was still a cool breeze.

But this is actually a good thing, because thickness can give stylists more room for matching. For example, the effect presented to Eric now is very good.

Bale is wearing a casual suit and leather shoes. Unlike Batman's straight and stiff look, he looks more relaxed in his daily life.

Charlize Theron wore a cream-colored tweed coat and her curly hair was draped over her shoulders. Her bangs switched between covering her eyes and revealing them as the wind blew, giving her a mysterious and dangerous feeling.

Neeko's style is somewhat different from Charlize Theron's. She also wears a coat, but it's red.

The two goddesses are almost the same height, both around 180cm, and the style can perfectly show off their outstanding figures.

On the contrary, Bale is 183cm tall, which actually doesn't seem to be that big of a difference. If he wants to become taller, he needs to use internal height enhancement and lens technology.

The plot to be filmed revolves around the three of them.

After Cobb took over Saito's mission, he decided to form a team. Due to the presence of Mel, he could not take on the task of dream builder and had to come to Paris for help.

An old acquaintance recommended him a powerful dream builder - Aliridni, played by Neeko.

But to be on the safe side, Cobb needs to test the opponent's strength first. He wants to know how powerful this so-called powerful dream builder is.

And Aliridan is no longer the ignorant schoolgirl played by Ellen Page in the original book. She is a top master who is no weaker than Cobb as soon as she appears on the stage. She has an arrogant personality and is naturally unwilling to accept Cobb.

So, with the help of an old acquaintance, the two began to compete. If Cobb could win, Aliridney would help him.

In this competition, Arthur, played by Heath Lloyd, is the dreamer, and the two of them enter Arthur's dream as dream builders to compete.

The scene that takes place at the Bir Hakeim Bridge is one of the scenes where the two compete.

The most exciting scene in the original version came from here. The folding city shocked countless audiences at that time.

Although Eric has been in the circle for several years, he has some experience.

But when I watched this scene in the cinema, I was just like the ordinary audience, with my heart pounding and amazed.

Later, "Doctor Strange" was released, and the battle between magicians in the movie also used the method of folding cities to show magnificent imagination. The source of inspiration was "Inception", and many people immediately felt familiar when watching it.

Eric plans to film this dream duel into a fighting style similar to that in "Doctor Strange" to upgrade it.

Dreams are free and unrestrained, and in theory, they are more unrestrained and freer than magicians.

What's more, the two of them were in Arthur's dream, and they were not carrying an important mission. So the duel between the two powerful dream builders should have been colorful and exciting, and it was destined to give this audience some shock in advance.

"Director, would this scene be better with special effects?" Neil asked, pointing at the storyboard.

"Yes, first shoot the scenes that can be filmed, and then go to the studio to add special effects later."

"What about this scene? The spinning fight between Arthur and the enemy? Was the special effect easier to achieve?"

Eric made one final adjustment to the lens to make sure it was correct.

"Neil, I know it would be easier to use special effects, but there is a reason why real shooting is more irresistible than special effects."

"What?"

"save money!"

"Uh I see!"

Eric patted him on the shoulder and said, "When you become a director or producer, you will consider these things. You can save tens of millions of dollars by making the actors more tired, or you can make the actors more relaxed but spend a lot more money. What will you choose?"

"I choose to save money." Neil said without hesitation.

Although he didn't know the exact cost of "Inception", he could foresee that it would be higher than "Transformers".

When filming "Transformers", MGM belonged to Eric himself, and he did not charge a penny throughout the process.

Now that the company is listed again, he must distinguish between public and private affairs. As he assumes the three most important responsibilities of producer, screenwriter, and director, his salary will definitely not be less than 20 million US dollars, and may also include a share of the box office.

The situation for the actors was even more exaggerated. Chris Evans, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds only received a few dollars' pay at that time, while the entire crew and all the actors combined only received $2 million.

What about Inception?

Both Theron and Nicole received $10 million for the film, which is standard for Oscar-winning actresses.

Although Christian Bale is not a best actor, his acting skills are obvious to all. He has been nominated for many international awards and his minimum salary is 5 million US dollars.

Heath Ledger, an Australian rising star who has risen rapidly in recent years, has a strong appeal among young people and has won awards at several film festivals. His salary is valued at $4 million.

Although the pay for actors such as Tom Hardy, Morris Chestnut, and Daniel Bruhl is not much, it still adds up to several million dollars.

Just based on the salary support, "Inception" will cost more than 30 million US dollars, which is dozens of times that of "Transformers".

This filming did not have the support of the military, no free soldiers were provided, and filming was done in several countries. The various manpower expenses combined would cost more than 10 million US dollars.

In addition, there are various expenses such as soundtrack, theme song, mixing, and editing.

After taking everything into account, we still have to add the huge expense of special effects. If Eric has to spend more than 100 million on special effects like in "Transformers", he can't afford it.

Because MGM has too many projects this year, even though it made a lot of money last year, it can't spend money lavishly and still has to be frugal.

What's more, the props department employs hundreds of people, including many experienced prop masters whose comprehensive abilities are the best in Hollywood, or to be more precise, the world. It would be a waste if they are not used.

"Inception, Scene 35, Scene 1, action!"

Following Eric's order, four cameras started running at high speed, capturing images from all angles.

On the front, Bell trotted to the bridge head with a vigilant and cautious look on his face, while he looked left and right and slowed down his pace.

As Bell moved forward, the cameraman stepped back with the camera, while Eric and Neil stood behind him and watched the recorded footage.

In a place where the camera couldn't reach, the sound engineer held up the equipment and hung the microphone above Bale's head to record his lines.

When he reached the first step, Bell's raised foot stopped in mid-air and then fell back to its original position.

The scrutinizing look on his face became more intense, as if his intuition told him that this should be Aliridni's hiding place, and he was about to find her.

Behind the camera, Eric nodded. A good actor would figure out the role himself and add various details to enrich the character's personality and make the character appear more real.

Eric's storyboard script is already very detailed, but it's impossible to take everything into account.

All I can say is that if you shoot according to his script, there won't be any mistakes and you can capture some of the spirit.

However, many of the famous scenes and lines that came to mind had to rely on on-the-spot performance. Bale had obviously done his homework and added more details for Cobb.

"You have excellent intuition and are an excellent dream builder. Why do you need to look for another dream builder?"

Outside the camera, Nicole's voice was heard, but only the voice was heard but the person was not seen, and she was actually standing next to Bell.

But when he heard the sound, Bell began to pretend to look for it and became more cautious.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

It seems funny to pretend to be blind when the person is right in front of you, but that's how movies are made.

When this scene finally comes to the big screen, it will become an effect similar to the sound transmission over thousands of miles in martial arts movies. Although I am not there, my traces are everywhere around me.

"Ariredne, you are here after all, I'm going to catch you." Bell said, looking around.

"No, I can leave anytime, but it's no fun to play the game this way. Cobb, you haven't answered the question yet. Why do we need two dream builders?"

"Cut! Passed!"

After Eric finished speaking, Nicole left her spot and walked onto the bridge corridor to stand, while a group of staff members re-positioned themselves.

"Inception, Scene 35, Scene 2, action!"

Bell turned around suddenly and saw Nicole standing not far away as if she appeared out of thin air.

He stepped onto the stairs with a serious look, and the distance between them gradually narrowed.

They looked at each other in silence.

A breeze blew over the river, and Nicole's hair moved in the wind.

Eric snapped his fingers, which was a signal to them and would be eliminated later.

At the sound of finger snaps, the two men waved their arms and made simultaneous movements, staring at each other sharply, as if they were casting a spell.

Then Neeko leaned sideways against the bridge pillar, while Bell took several steps back, as if he suddenly lost his balance and staggered.

"OMG! If I were asked to do this, I would dig myself into the ground out of embarrassment."

"It does look very funny, even funnier than before. If this part is released, people will definitely think that we are two psychopaths."

"Hehehe, I just don't know what it will be like after adding special effects?"

"What if it's cool? It feels like an anime."

"Mr. Watanabe, I didn't expect you to be so childish."

Watching the funny actions of Neeko and Bale, Charlize Theron, Heath Ledger, Ken Watanabe and others were laughing and whispering beside them.

"Cut! Do it again! Bell, your movements are a bit stiff, relax a little."

Bell nodded: "It's not very convenient to act in a suit, Director, let me take off my coat, it should be much better."

"Okay, let's try the effect."

As he said this, he walked to Nicole's side. He found that her movements were not beautiful enough in the previous shooting and could not present the picture in his mind.

The action director also came over quickly, and the three of them discussed for a while and redesigned some actions.

The stand-in also follows by the side to help with the task. If Neeko is unable to complete the task well, the stand-in will be used when necessary.

Sometimes using a stand-in does not mean that the actor is unprofessional. When the actor really cannot complete the task, in order to ensure the aesthetic effect and not waste too much shooting time, it is understandable to use a stand-in.

Of course, using a large number of stand-ins is definitely unprofessional, especially in literary dramas.

Can't you move your hands? Can't you even move your mouth? After more than ten minutes of reshoots, the two of them performed several funny action scenes before Eric shouted.

"Inception, Scene 36, Scene 1, action!"

The contest between the two ended in a tie.

The scene changes, and Neeko stands on a high ground, looking at Bell a few meters away.

"Cobb, I admit that you are very capable, but this makes me even more confused. Why do you need two dream builders?"

Bell blinked a few times, and after thinking for a few seconds for the sake of the mission, he seemed to decide to tell the other party. He took a deep breath and was about to speak.

Boom boom Suddenly, there was a roar of an engine.

Suddenly, a Hummer came and crashed into Bell at a very high speed.

In the shot, through the windshield you can see that it is Charlize Theron who is driving.

"Cut! Pass! Change players!"

Following Eric's order, Theron got out of the car and a professional stuntman took the driver's seat.

"Bale, let's use a stand-in," Neil Blomkamp advised.

Bell still insisted: "I can do it, don't worry, there will be no problem, and don't you have insurance?"

"Don't mention insurance. The more you mention insurance, the more likely something will go wrong!"

In this scene, Mel suddenly appears and kills Cobb. Even though a professional stuntman was needed, Eric planned to use a body double just in case.

But Bell was very insistent on going in person, and Eric couldn't persuade him, so he decided to give him a chance.

But it is only given once. If it fails, you must change people immediately.

"Inception, Scene 36, Scene 2, action!"

Boom boom The Hummer was rushing towards Bell quickly. Hearing the sound, he turned around and looked.

Clang! At this moment, the pressure on his body was immediately pulled, and Bell flew backwards, landing accurately at the predetermined landing point, which was covered with a thick foam board.

Seeing that nothing unexpected happened, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cut! Great!"

Eric walked over and pulled Bell up: "How is it? Do you feel uncomfortable?"

Bell smiled and said, "That's great."

Eric laughed and looked at everyone and said, "Did you see that? He's such an excellent actor. I'm sure he can win the Oscar."

Everyone also gave applause and thumbs up.

Afterward, Theron replaced the stuntman and got back into the car.

"Inception, Scene 36, Act 3, action!"

In the camera, Neeko and Charlize Theron looked at each other, and the eyes of the two women revealed inexplicable messages.

"It seems that this is why you need two dream builders!"

(End of this chapter)