By September, the North American box office of "Star Wars Episode 1: The Ghost Man Menace" had reached $530 million, and the growth had been very flat, but fortunately, the overseas box office was still gaining momentum, and now it has accumulated more than $400 million.

The final North American box office and global box office of "Star Wars Episode 1: The Ghost Man Menace" is impossible to surpass the box office myth of "Titanic", but it is just around the corner to become the second film to break the $1 billion mark at the box office after "Titanic".

And "Wedding Aoke" produced by Down Pictures has been released worldwide one after another, and has been in theaters in North America for three weeks, with box office of $26.4 million, $23.8 million, and $22.6 million respectively, for a total of $72.8 million.

This is a romantic comedy, and it is impossible to explode at the box office like a commercial film, relying on a long-term box office that is as fine as water. Although it has not won the weekly chart for three consecutive weeks, the strong box office trend has already witnessed another success for Down Pictures.

In particular, the wonderful performance of the heroine Reese Witherspoon has gained a large number of fans, and I heard that she has received three film contracts in her hands, all of which are the silly and sweet comedy heroine type.

Naturally, Don will not limit her acting path, after all, the salary of the heroine is far from comparable to the salary of a secretary position.

"Don, there's something wrong with the stunt group. Donne's royal assistant director, Andy Thompson, walked over worriedly.

At this time, the crew of "Spider-Man" was in an abandoned factory in Downey, California, preparing to shoot a thrilling explosion scene.

This scene should actually take place in Times Square, New York, but the crew will never shoot the explosion scene in Times Square, let alone the scene of the collapse of the building.

Regarding this set of shots, Tang En discussed with the special effects team whether he could cut the characters to the building that was about to collapse through green screen shooting in the early stage and special effects processing in the later stage.

The answer from the effects team is yes, but it takes a long time for the effects to be processed. "Spider-Man" is scheduled for May next year, and if there is too much post-processing of special effects shots, I am afraid that the time will not be staggered.

After thinking about it a few times, Tang En decided to shoot live-action.

Of course, it wasn't a live-action shoot in Times Square, but through the close cooperation of art directors, VFX artists, stunt supervisors, printmakers, and other staff, part of Times Square was recreated in the abandoned factory, and then a building that could collapse was produced.

John Frazier, the special effects director of the crew, worked with Don En when he was filming "Titanic", and when he saw Don coming over, he hurriedly greeted him, "Don Den, this set of shots is definitely my biggest challenge since filming!"

The next set of shots is the scene of the heroine Mary Jane sitting on a crumbling balcony bombed by a bomb, and then her life hangs by a thread.

The balcony is very high from the ground, and even if there is protection below, in the event of an accident and the balcony does fall, Jessica Alba is likely to be injured.

"Can't the balcony be fixed?" Donn frowned, "If you can't do it, let Jessica hang Weiya." ”

John Fraser immediately shook his head, "I use computer-controlled hydraulics, even if the balcony is tilted to 90 degrees, it will never fall, and I am worried about another problem." ”

"Oh?"

"Miss Alba was too close to the point of the explosion, and the glass pieces brought up by the explosion were likely to burst into her, or even ...... Scratch her. ”

Don was silent for a moment, "Isn't there a solution?"

John Fraser shook his head, "The explosion is not small, and it can easily hurt people. I think...... You can find a short male stand-in to shoot this scene in her place. ”

"I couldn't use a stand-in, I needed to use a wide-angle lens to show Mary Jane's panic and fear during the explosion to increase the urgency and danger of the shot. ”

Don was a little helpless.

In the future, when making movies, especially commercial blockbusters, you must not rush the schedule. Such a shot, if it is a green screen shot, it is too simple. However, in addition to saving time in post-production, there are too many disadvantages of live shooting.

At this time, Jessica Alba quietly walked over and said softly: "Director, I can." ”

"Huh?"

Don glanced at her with some surprise.

After a few months of getting along, Jessica Alba didn't impress Don except for her sweet face and fiery figure.

Don even thought about it, and as soon as the movie ended, he would end this "partner" relationship. There are too many beautiful girls in Hollywood, and Jessica Alba is not outstanding and not worth wasting too much energy on him.

Whether it is EQ, IQ, or sex in bed, it is too far behind Nicole Kidman.

Unexpectedly, in the face of this kind of explosion scene that girls can't avoid, Jessica Alba bravely stood up.

Don gave her a deep look, "This could hurt you." ”

Jessica shook her head firmly, "Filming, even if it's a little injured, it doesn't matter, I can turn my face when it explodes, as long as there are no scratches on my face, it won't affect the progress of filming." ”

John Fraser glanced at Don and hesitated, "Actually, it doesn't have to be injured, it's just a possibility." If Miss Alba can hold on, I'm sure this set of shots will be fine. ”

"Okay, then do it!"

With a wave of his hand, Don made a decision.

……

In order to increase the watchability and visual effects of the film, Donn greatly increased the number of action scenes and Spider-Man's "flying" between buildings. Most of the movie's budget is spent on this.

"Camera No. 7, to the right, to the ...... Move another ten meters!" Don stood on the street on the first floor of the abandoned factory with a megaphone in his hand, looking at the second floor and several cameras elevated, directing and adjusting the direction.

The explosion scene must be passed in one go, otherwise it will cause a lot of trouble to the crew, and Don must coordinate the work of the change team to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

Fortunately, in this set of shots, in addition to the violent explosion and the collapse of the building, only "Mary Jane" played by Jessica Alba appeared in the shot, showing a frightened, frightened, and frightened expression.

The close-ups of the expressions of the rest of the other onlookers need to be filmed on site in Times Square in New York, and then edited by special effects in the later stage, which is perfectly connected.

In order to shoot this set of shots, Tang En set up 12 cameras, 4 in the air, 4 on the second floor, and 4 on the first floor, locking this explosion scene from all angles in all directions.

Because once the explosion occurs, the model building that the crew spent a lot of money on will collapse, and there is no possibility of a second reshoot.

"Well, good, good location!" Don looked away from the viewfinder and picked up the walkie-talkie on his waist again, "John, I'm Don, is everything ready?"

Stunt Director John Fraser held the master switch for the explosion and his voice was a little hoarse, "Ready, ready to explode!"

"Remember, when the shooting is done, put Jessica down as soon as she gets in and check her condition. ”

"Understood. ”

Don took a deep breath and pressed the red button on the walkie-talkie, "I'm Don, everyone pay attention, the explosion starts immediately, countdown, 5...... 4…… 3…… 2…… 1…… Let's go!"

"Boom!"

A violent explosion rang out in this closed abandoned factory, and the loud sound seemed to overturn the entire factory.

The huge fireball and energy impact caused by the explosion created a wonderful fiery red picture.