In the last life, "Gravity" achieved an incomparably outstanding box office around the world, and received unanimous affirmation and recognition from the audience, with $274 million in North American box office data and 723 million in global box office data, compared to the investment of $100 million, it really made a lot of money.

What's more, after winning the Best Director at the Oscars, Warner Bros. also made another lot of money in the video rental market, and fame and fortune are probably like this.

In comparison, "The Tree of Life" grossed only 13 million, while "Gravity" was so successful. The best thing about "gravity" is not the philosophical reflection, but the clever combination of philosophical reflection and plot advancement, in other words, the right balance between art and commerce.

It's like "Inception".

In the trade-off between art and commerce, "Inception" is slightly more commercial, and artistic reflection is a little weaker, so it is better at the box office and less than the awards; "Gravity" is slightly more artistic and slightly less commercial, so it is slightly inferior at the box office, but it is a big win in terms of awards.

That's the difference between Christopher Nolan and Alfonso Cuarón.

Countless viewers complained that the script of "gravity" was too weak and had too many blanks, but in Lan Li's view, this is precisely the success of the film.

Alfonso deliberately left a lot of blanks, without preaching or explaining, but relying on the actors' performances to fill in the blanks, and leaving the reflection and afterglow to the audience themselves;

Therefore, everything that Lan Li and Alfonso just discussed, so profound, so complex, will not be presented in the film, but will be left in a blank space and handed over to the actors to be responsible.

Audiences who are willing to discuss in depth can savor and think repeatedly, and audiences who are not willing to complicate things can simply enjoy the audio-visual enjoyment brought by the movie, which is enough.

Lan Li likes the commercial part of "Inception", which truly interprets the audio-visual entertainment into Christopher's own style, and similarly, Lan Li also likes the commercial part of "Gravity", and the breakthrough in technology has pushed the dream making technology of the film to the peak.

These characteristics, Lan Li hopes that the film can be preserved, just like "Edge of Tomorrow". Not all movies have to be artistic.

What does this mean?

This means that the more esoteric the discussion between Lan Li and Alfonso, the more difficult it is for the actors to perform.

All the connotation and thinking will all fall on the shoulders of the actors. Especially under Alfonso's insistence on minimalism, the camera space is relatively static, and the actor's performance power must be subtracted, more subtracted, and at the same time, the actor's performance content must be added, more addition.

It's a contradiction that puts almost harsh and perverted demands on the actors. But that's not all.

In the previous "gravity", Sandra's performance was incomparably wonderful, there is no doubt about it, but on the other hand, the identity of women creates some convenience, but also creates more constraints. Alfonso's thinking is more or less limited to "women", and he does not further open his eyes, get rid of the attributes of gender, and settle on life-

This is also the core of the discussion between Lan Li and Alfonso just now.

In other words, stripped of the strengths and weaknesses of gender, the film's themes are even larger, just like the philosophical core of the film "The Tree of Life", which truly traces the origins of the earth and humanity. The difficulty of the actor's performance has definitely improved by more than one notch.

These requirements can be called the ultimate challenge for any actor. What cannot be ignored is that this is a one-man show, a one-man show where all the details are magnified to the extreme, and any negligence and changes will be exposed, even those top veteran actors, it takes great courage to accept such a challenge.

What's more, "gravity" is so special, and that's not all the difficulty.

At the beginning of today's conversation, Alfonso's exuberant tirade revealed the biggest difficulty. It took them five years to solve the problem of weightless shooting, and then the actors had to be in a weightless environment to complete all the shoots.

Lan Li is not a technical otaku, although he can understand, but it does not mean that he can simulate. Now, Lan Li is not sure what is the difference between weightless shooting and a green screen environment, whether it is more difficult or simpler, what is the connection with motion capture technology, and whether it puts forward different requirements for the way and intensity of the performance.

But what is certain is that Paul Greengrass used a combination of live action and special effects to ensure that the actors were able to truly simulate the environment, while the fact that the "gravity" environment of outer space, no matter how simulated they were, was on Earth, cannot be reversed.

In the West End of London, Lan Li enjoyed it, and he never tired of it, even if he worked hard to the extreme, and even had frequent collapses, Lan Li still had no regrets, and in the next two and a half months, he would devote himself to it, and the challenge of "gravity" was completely different, this is not a stage play, but a unique performance structure and method of the film industry, breaking the traditional rules and deriving more possibilities.

Of course, all performances are rooted in basic skills, but the format and content of the challenge have changed. The challenge of "gravity", which has never been tried before, is also untouchable on the stage, and re-examines the basic skills of performance from another angle and on another level.

Lan Li couldn't even decide whether he should choose methodism or expressionism, or a combination of both.

First, the actor must find a balance between addition and subtraction, second, the performance must have a deeper connotation without affecting the overall rhythm of the film, third, the performance of the one-man show, and fourth, the position of the weightless environment.

All of this suggests that the "gravity" show is not only a hot potato, but also a thorny potato. In order to retain the commercial attributes of the film itself and make a difference in the box office market, the burden of actors will be further increased, which is far more difficult than a simple one-man show like "burying alive".

Any actor who retains his sanity should refuse.

Not only is the $100 million investment all on the actors, but the box office figures of commercial films are not determined by the actors, who can do their best to give top performances, but cannot control the direction of the box office.

Like "Gravity", a film that requires actors to dig deep in terms of performance, but has commercial demands, and the box office is still the most important first demand, Warner Bros. paid a cost of 100 million dollars, not to shoot a work of art, just like the "Inception" back then, the box office is their pursuit.

Then, once the box office fails, all the black pots are carried by the actors.

The problem is that this is not "Titanic" or "Avatar", nor is it "Inception" or "Lord of the Rings". The commercial attributes of these films are extremely obvious, and even if they win awards, their competitiveness in awards such as performances and scripts is still extremely weak, but "gravity" is not only the commercial attributes, but the core is a literary and artistic heart that explores philosophy.

It's no wonder Alfonso has repeatedly stressed that all the focus of the film will be on the actors.

Without the actors' performances, the whole film would be meaningless – perhaps even more empty than the self-muttering and reflection of the "tree of life", and on the other hand, after leaving all the thinking and afterglow to the actors, Alfonso could concentrate on the production of the whole film according to the rhythm and mode of commercial films.

It is estimated that everyone avoids such a difficult problem, but for Lan Li, at this time, the blood is boiling, passionate, and eager to try.

This is different from the challenge of stage plays, and it is also different from the challenges of "Edge of Tomorrow" or "Love is crazy", Lan Li needs to truly understand what it means to lift weights lightly, and what it means to understate but have a profound aftertaste.

After "Fighting Cancer" and "Detachment", after the Almeida Theater, Lan Li once again ushered in a new challenge in acting, and this is still a commercial film!

Sure enough, the life of an actor is so colorful, never be complacent easily, never stop at random, because the scenery after breaking through the challenge is always beautiful and thrilling.

Thinking back to his categorical last night, and comparing it with his current gearing up, Lan Li couldn't help but hold his forehead: he still had no way to refuse after all, rejecting a wonderful and intricate role, and refusing a challenge to break through himself and sprint to the limit.

Lan Li strongly suspects that just like the weird uncles who cheat on children, always deceive children with lollipops and chocolates, and for him, he doesn't need these things, just a good work, and he will be distracted. So, does this mean that he is still mentally mature?

"In that case, then Ryan's partner, we need to change the setting. Such a female character obviously has other positions and meanings in the mystery of life. Well...... Do you have any good suggestions?

My current thinking is that men and women are a complete community, inseparable from each other and indispensable, and that women have chosen self-sacrifice as a last resort, not for the sake of the perfection of men, but for the survival of the fittest in the natural environment. Wait, will there be any ambiguity? In an environment where the law of the jungle is the strongest, women are the first to be eliminated? Such a misunderstanding must not exist. ”

Alfonso was completely immersed in his story at this time, babbling and babbling, while raising his right hand, gesturing on the table, and raising his head to ask Lan Li's opinion, but then he was stunned, "Sorry, I forgot, you...... Well, I haven't agreed to join yet, sorry. ”