"Don't you think that after the setting is too complicated, the content is too large, and it is misleading to the audience? In Alfonso's script, everything is concise, presenting a clean and neat main line, further magnifying the audience's visual, auditory, and even tactile senses, and enhancing the whole viewing effect. When the content becomes more complex, the movie-going experience will inevitably suffer. ”

"That's a real problem. However, the setting is a foil and foil to the theme, and in the ideation stage, I need to think about the complexity, and it is more complex, to completely connect Ryan Stone with the theme core of the whole script, and form a resonance. That's the only way ......"

Only in this way, after the branches are peeled away, the reflection and reverberation left for the audience will be more far-reaching. What you mean is to add first, and keep stacking it up to really achieve 100% effect, then to subtract and bring all the branches together in the performance, and finally, to leave the addition to the audience, and leave the afterglow after the movie. Wow, God, you are indeed a madman. ”

"Thanks for the compliment. I used to think about a simpler premise, just showing a scene where Ryan was with his family, and then exploring the outline of the whole character, but after thinking about it, I realized that ......"

"Such a role is too thin!"

Before Lan Li's words could be spoken, Rooney had already blurted out, which made Lan Li laugh dumbly, and nodded in affirmation, "At the same time, it will weaken the core idea of the script." ”

"You see, I discussed with Alfonso that we want to strip Ryan of his gender attributes and return to the origin of life, from birth to growth, to breakthrough and pursuit, regardless of gender and age, just to present the purest state of life. Lan Li's further explanation made Rooney think carefully.

"There's no way to present this content if it's just a performance. Rooney frowned slightly, did not pretend to understand, but honestly raised doubts and further dissected, "Do you have any special ideas?"

"The idea in my mind right now is a pair of feet. Lan Li said his thoughts sincerely.

"First it's Ryan's brother's feet, which is the moment of birth that Ryan witnessed when he was a child, and then through a montage of footage, it evolves into his brother's child's feet, which appear on the computer screen, and the brother sends an email, and Ryan is in Houston, and there is no way to get to the scene in person. ”

Lan Li tried hard to tell the idea in his mind, but it was not an easy task, the position of the director and the actor were still different after all, but Rooney understood, and her eyes lit up slightly, "What do you mean is that through the two birth moments of life, Ryan's position changes and contrasts, one is involved, the other is out of the matter, and then interprets the change in Ryan's life trajectory." ”

Lan Li nodded, Rooney also nodded, and then, the eyes of the two people projected towards Alfonso at the same time,

Alfonso, who was sitting next to him, didn't hold back, and chuckled out loud.

The conversation between the two young people in front of them was really so interesting, one second they were arguing with reason, arguing red-faced, and the next second they reached a consensus, constantly supplementing and affirming each other's ideas, and the whole conversation process was smooth, without any stumbles, but it was natural, which really made the onlookers a little unable to keep up with the speed, so they began to wander outside.

A director, two actors, and the core cast of the entire crew, the three of them sat at the door of the studio, with a lot of scattered draft beers and countless empty beer cans stacked next to them, and then talked endlessly and enthusiastically, without worrying about how ...... environment they were in Guileless.

In fact, at the beginning, more than forty staff members gathered here to warmly welcome Lan Li and Rooney to the set, and the empty beer cans on the ground came from them, but gradually, they couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the three people's conversation, and began to turn away one after another, and finally, only the three people were left.

However, as a director, that's a different story.

The words of Lan Li and Rooney collided and blended with each other, truly forming a brainstorm, which also triggered countless thoughts in Alfonso's mind, and inspiration continued to emerge. This kind of cooperation could not be more perfect.

Now, in the spotlight, Alfonso knew they were asking for his opinion.

"Feet, that's a good idea, we can talk to Emmanuel about how we can show the connection between life and the universe through the lens, the newborn baby's feet, this is inspired by the 'tree of life', right? Alfonso's mind became much more three-dimensional, and a framework had been built between the conversations.

Then, as the words changed, Alfonso added.

"Still, the way montage is edited is too cumbersome, and the way of expression is too complicated. Perhaps, we can show through a computer email footage that the younger brother sends an email to Ryan, showing the feet of his newborn child, and then expresses regret that Ryan was unable to get to the scene. After Ryan closes the email screen, the computer desktop shows a picture of his brother's feet, which triggers Ryan's memories. ”

Lan Li and Rooney exchanged a look, and their eyes lit up, but then Lan Li realized that something was wrong, "Will such a picture not match the overall style of the movie?"

"Yes, I have such concerns, and I will discuss them with Emmanuel. Emmanuel Lubezki, photographer of "Son of Man" and "Tree of Life", also from Mexico, is in charge of "gravity" photography this time, "However, such images are originally stripped of the cosmic environment, and are more of a picture of life." When the time comes, we'll see what inspiration Emmanuel has. ”

"More thoughts in my mind now are one of the things Lan Li mentioned just now. Alfonso's gaze met Lan Li, "You just said that he mentioned Ryan on his brother's first date with his brother-in-law?"

"Yes, he always adores Ryan and is proud of his brother. So, he always said, my brother is an astronaut. He's a genius and his way of thinking is so different. Did you know that if someone talks to him about quantum mechanics, he can feel the sheer high/tide? Etcetera. ”

After Lan Li finished speaking, Rooney, who was sitting next to her, chuckled, "I think if someone talks to you about quantum mechanics, you can really feel the highs/tides." Alfonso laughed happily at this teasing, and Lan Li spread his hands to express his helplessness.

Closing his smile, Alfonso continued, "I like the little details like this, you know, it's an intertext with the picture of the foot. Regardless of Ryan's attitude, his brother's thoughts and attitudes towards him have never changed, and this has also become an opportunity for Ryan to regain his strength, just like you just said - awakening Ryan's innermost impulses, dreams, and motivations. ”

As he spoke, Alfonso became excited, without his usual shyness and restraint, and danced to express his opinion, "I think we can even add a lullaby." Just as Ryan began to survive again, he hummed the lullaby softly, and then talked to himself about his brother's anecdotes, in this way the entire core power was completed. ”

In Lan Li's conception, the story of Ryan Stone could have been made into a movie, but in the finished product of "gravity", there may only be a foot, about a few seconds, and then a lullaby by Ryan, and that's all.

This is precisely the part of the actor's work that cannot be seen. Some people marvel at how thick the actors' performances are, while others marvel at how flat and thin some characters are. Actually, that's the difference. The focus is on the script, on the weight of the role, but more on the understanding and interpretation of the actors.

"Humming a lullaby while surviving?" Lan Li's mind was full of question marks, as an actor, many times, he still couldn't see the director's panoramic picture, and his way of thinking was completely different.

Alfonso is reversed, he has a vivid sense of imagery, but he is confused about the performance and interpretation of the actors. He nodded as a matter of course, "Yes, between chaos and despair, it's like a moment on the edge of a cliff, a texture of crisis and tenderness......"

"No, I mean, Ryan Stone is not a lullaby-humming character. Lan Li turned his head, and then saw the cheerful smile on Rooney's face, "Ryan is a cold genius, remember? What is needed to survive is to be calm and sing lullabies, this is too sensational, not suitable, right?"

Alfonso was directly stunned, he didn't think about it.

"Perhaps, you can look at it from a different angle. In a moment of silence, Rooney joined the conversation, connecting Lan Li and Alfonso's thoughts from a different perspective.

At this moment, Ryan regained his original intention, as if he had returned to his childhood, and as you said, he began to survive again, just to get back to the beginning. Therefore, Gao Leng's iceberg has become his childhood appearance again, and he can hum a lullaby to his younger brother. Further, the lullaby is a chemical trigger that awakens the purest Ryan in the depths of his heart. ”

In the end, Rooney concluded, "The point is, how are you supposed to act, if the difference is too big, as you fear, the structure of the character will fall apart, but if the difference is not enough, the texture of the transformation will not be shown." So, that's the time to put the actors to the test. ”

Delicate and complex, simple and profound, soft and tough.

Rooney can even picture in his mind that the difficulty of performing that scene is comparable to ascending to the sky. To be honest, Rooney can't think of any actor other than Lan Li.

Thinking about it, Rooney began to get excited, and couldn't wait to get into work with Lan Li.