"Amazing Jan is back in science fiction. ”

"Amazing Young teamed up with Joss Whedon to announce the plan for the mysterious sci-fi new work "Firefly"!"

According to the news of the 61st World Science Fiction Convention, according to Rotten Tomatoes, Yahoo Entertainment and other media reports, it turned out that at yesterday's conference event, Wang Yang revealed his new plan "Firefly". In subsequent interviews with reporters, he and Joss Whedon both laughed and said that they couldn't reveal much information yet, because the film was still a prototype, but it would be a very surprising movie.

When it comes to the scale of production, Wonder Young said that there is no clear budget for the time being, but it will be what people call a "big production".

As expected, the official website of "Firefly" was quietly launched that night, and there was not much content, and the exquisite pages only had official news reports, photos of Wang Yang and Joss Wheddon and other photos, and concept drawings released at the sci-fi conference.

In addition to the "cliff spaceship" reported by the media, in another picture, I saw a wasteland burning with wildfires, and many soldiers wearing different styles of uniforms on both sides stood a few meters apart, standing majestically facing each other, the military uniforms on the right were clean and tidy, with the streamlined style of traditional interstellar sci-fi uniforms, while the one on the left was shabby and dirty, like a western cowboy. The officers at the front of both camps were negotiating something.

The official website of "Firefly" belongs to the Flame Entertainment Network, which has an integrated account, and as soon as the news of its launch spread, the message board kept adding new messages from fans: "It's so exciting!", "This is really good news!", "After reading the two concept pictures, is the story about the interstellar army? I hate war now." "I just heard the news from a friend, and we can look forward to it!" ...... User Hubbard F said quite calmly: "Joss Whedon is very talented as a screenwriter, his series are great, but the truth is that his directing and production skills are much worse, in "Vampire Slayer Buffy" and "Angel", he has not produced the best number of episodes, I don't think on the big screen, he can provide much help to Fantastic Young." Curtis H said: "Joss Wheedon is a newcomer to the screen, Wonder Young is not, the director is the real soul of the film." ”

Augustine TI, whose avatar is a cat, said: "Judging from the two concept images, the scenes of Firefly are very large, and there are many different scenes and characters, which is a new test for Jan. ”

Since there is no information about "Firefly" except for the name and concept art, and the online media have only briefly reported it, it seems that the success of the marriage proposal has not slowed him down, and "The Demon Wears Prada" has just ended, and he is about to start filming a new film.

However, Yahoo Entertainment pointed out that at the speed of Magic Young, this special effects blockbuster is very likely to be released in the summer of 2005, which means that it will collide with "Star Wars Prequel 3", a head-on collision of science fiction films of the same genre!

Of course, it is not ruled out that Wang Yang will shoot slowly this time, or avoid "Star Wars Prequel 3" from the schedule, and put it in the 2005 Christmas file, or even the 2006 summer vacation file. If that happens, Yahoo editor Allison said, "I'm going to be disappointed, it's not Magic Young's style." ”

"My fear now is that people are going to have high expectations for this movie, just like 'The Matrix 2' is unbearable. Gabriella's message, which I don't know if the name is really called or a fan of "Youth Musical", wrote: "There is no doubt that Wonder Young faces a huge challenge, and if he makes the slightest mistake, he will face a huge blame. ”

This is also a kind of differential treatment of skin color, the mainstream media will always be very patient and tolerant of white idols, and the slightest achievement will be praised to the sky, while other ethnic groups are relatively strict, and even try to stigmatize and denigrate. For example, Michael Jackson, and more recently, Indian-born director M. Knight Shyamalan.

In 1999, the 29-year-old Shyamalan was born with "The Sixth Sense", and for a time he also became a "genius director", a hot young star in Hollywood, and the media and the public did not hesitate to praise him.

However, the next 2000 "Immortal Tribulation" and 2002 "Tianzhao" all seemed to be decent, without too many surprises, although the audience's popularity was still on the qualified line, he had already suffered from many media accusations: "It's going to be like that", "Bad poet." "Talent is lost. ”…… If he is a little worse, the Golden Sour Plum Award will fall on him at any time.

From the age of 18 to the age of 18 when he started "7 consecutive wins" to now at the age of 23, he won the youngest Oscar for Best Director, Wang Yang's reputation in the film industry in Hollywood has been very detached, so detached that American culture uses him as one of the popular symbols and one of the proud representatives of the American dream...... Just like LeBron James, the new NBA champion this year, has not played a single NBA game, he has already been named "KING", and is expected to surpass Michael Jordan in the future.

People's expectations and appreciation for Miraculous Yang have accumulated until now, and they have long reached a critical point, and they will explode if they are a little insufficient.

"I want people to look at Firefly with a normal mindset! It could just be an ordinary and wonderful entertainment movie. Don't put too much pressure on Fantastic Young, I don't want to see The Matrix 2. After user Jill E left a message on the official website, he was immediately sprayed by the latecomer, and Frey-L said: "You treat Marvel Young in a normal way, maybe he will be very unhappy!" Courtney-C said: "Don't worry, Young won't let us down!" Jenny said, "I want to see him say 'I'm going to win the 2006 Oscar!'"

"I was in the event hall of the sci-fi convention and I was playing an unpublished ending of District 9, and it was really uncomfortable! So we at least don't have to worry that Firefly will be depressing and miserable. Kelly then said, "I don't think it's that simple, otherwise why would I be nominated for an Oscar......?" On August 30, the 2003 Hugo Awards ceremony was held, and the awards were presented one by one under the auspices of science fiction scientist Peter Robinson.

The award for Best Long-Form went to Robert J. Sawyer's "Hominids", the award for Best Short Film-Produced Video went to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Conversations with the Undead", Joss Whedon lost to his own, and the trophy for Best Long-Form Video went to "District 9" without much suspense.

Following the Golden Globe Award nomination, Oscar nomination, the 29th Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film and other honors, it has added another heavyweight award to its head, which can be said to have completed the Grand Slam and won all the praise that a science fiction film can get.

Sci-fi fans are also looking forward to "Firefly" for a while, why not? Rotten Tomatoes' vote "What do you think of Young's new work "Firefly"?" The survey shows that 75% of people have chosen the highest level of "exceeding the upper limit of expectations", 17% of people chose the second level "very much looking forward to", only 5% of non-fans who joined in the fun voted for the lowest level of "don't care", and the remaining 3% of fans are "ordinary mentality".

"Mark, it's definitely going to be a big production. ”

In the chairman's office of Flame Pictures on a sunny day in Santa Monica, the computer screen on his desk displays lines of scripted text. Wang Yang gently turned his chair, looked at Mark Slunt who was sitting opposite him in a suit, and thought about it: "I want the final production cost budget...... It should be between 150 million and 200 million! 50 million in advance. ”

Now there is only an approximation, and he doesn't know what the final number will be, because the shooting plan has not been decided now, and the script, crew, and cast are ...... Everything is very blank, and it's hard to say whether or not some new technology will be used when shooting.

Robert Zemeckis's "The Polar Express" began filming in March this year, the first IMAX-3D feature film, a live-action animated film produced using "motion performance capture" technology. However, there are still very few real 3D screens and IMAX big screens, there are only more than 70 in the world, and the IMAX-3D camera technology is not mature, Wang Yang does not think that now is the time to pursue 3D.

But in a couple of initial discussions he had with Valley First about Firefly, Varley suggested that some scenes, such as the film's first shots, were shot with a 65mm IMAX film camera, the highest quality image capture system available, and in this way many very large action scenes could be filmed, since traditional film was only 35mm. Moreover, the quality of IMAX film is high, and the resulting image quality will be particularly textured.

In post-processing, the footage from 65mm film was printed onto 70mm film, and the rest of the footage shot with a 35mm "anamorphic" widescreen camera was used to change the aspect ratio of the screen to land on the 70mm IMAX big screen in this form. On the contrary, in ordinary projection theaters, 65 mm is compressed into 35 mm, but the unimaginably large scene will also bring new visual shock.

However, the result of this is a sharp increase in production costs, with the shooting cost of 65mm IMAX film four times that of ordinary 35mm film, and at the same time, a large amount of additional expenses are added to the post-production and copying.

Nowadays, Sony and other companies are developing digital cameras, and once they come out, many producers will inevitably choose low-definition digital shooting in order to save costs. Now, except for Robert Zemeckis, no one is going to use IMAX film that specializes in documentaries to make movies. However, Wang Yang wanted to have better picture quality and show the ** scene more coolly, and IMAX film was also a promotional highlight to attract the audience, so he had agreed to Valley Pfister's suggestion.

"200 million, the company's finances can afford. Mark Slunt nodded when he heard this, after all, 200 million was not smashed into it all in one go, and there was a lot of room for turnover in funds, but he still frowned and asked: "We invest independently?"

The 28 million production cost of "MIT-21-TEAM" last time was fully invested by Flame, but in some overseas countries, it chose to cooperate with large companies, which can be regarded as sharing part of the benefits in order to obtain a good relationship in marketing and publicity.

"I just looked at the financial situation, and there is no need to attract investment for the time being. Wang Yang sat up straight, picked up the mouse and clicked, looked at the screen and smiled: "I believe that there is no problem for "Firefly" to recover its costs, and I am confident that it will make a lot of money." It's not going to be "The Wind Whisperer", is it? ”

"My boss, the risk is basically in your account, you look at it. Mark Slimt spread his hands without an opinion, now he has no need, no reason to persuade anything, this young boss has proven his incredible ability to attract money many times, as long as the money is handed over to him, he can double it! These 200 million, any big company dares to swallow it, even some small independent companies, will join forces to invest, let alone flame movies.

However, every investment always has risks, so you should be cautious. Mark sat down with his hands on his chest and said with a smile: "From my CEO's point of view, 200 million is a big investment, and it's not bad to bring in 3-4 independent production companies to invest together." ”

"It just so happens that I have money, maybe I sign up for a few Flame Movie 2, Flame Movie 3, Flame Movie 4? Wang Yang said with a smile and pressed the keyboard a few times, and Mark Slant shrugged: "Good idea." ”

Recently, the company has entered the fourth quarter, and with the end of the summer vacation, the funds have been replenished to a certain extent. The main projects, "Furious Speed" directed by Lin Yibin have finished filming in May, and are now nearing the completion of post-production, scheduled to be released in May 2004, "Dance Out of My Life" directed by Anne Fletcher in October, "Chainsaw" in November, and "The Devil Wears Prada" in December.

The company is about to start several new movies with large investments, and "Mr. Hughes 2" and "The Hangover 2" are about to be put on the agenda.

Christopher Nolan has just turned down Warner Bros. for the Batman director's mic. Some time ago, Warner Bros. decided to reshape the "Batman" series, and immediately set off a huge selection of directors, at the beginning there was only one candidate, Wang Yang, Warner Bros. spokesman Scott Lowe even claimed: "We are warmly inviting Fantastic Young to take charge of Batman, which is endlessly close to completion!"

This really made fans excited a lot, they have been looking forward to the magic of shooting superheroes for a long time! It's just that before the news is hot, Wang Yang's spokesman clarified the rumor, Warner Bros. did warmly invite Wang Yang to direct, but his work schedule was full, and he did not consider taking over "Batman".

It turned out to be just Warner Bros. hype! While fans were disappointed, Warner also continued to select directors for "Batman", with Ding Campbell, Darren Aronofsky, Christopher Nolan and others all on the shortlist, and Nolan was planning "Mr. Hughes 2".

Wang Yang did not express any opinion on this matter, he had seen the "Batman" series directed by Nolan in his mind, and "The Dark Knight" was a classic. If the directing rights of "Batman" had not fallen to Christopher Nolan, the screenwriter of "The Dark Knight" would certainly not have been Jonathan Nolan, but first of all, what would "Time to War" become?

Little did he know that if Ding Campbell directed it, it would be possible to make it a cool 007-style movie, and that Darren Aronofsky might make it even darker than the Nolan brothers.

It's not necessarily a good movie, it's not necessarily a bad movie, but it's certain that "Batman" will lose a classic series. This is a pity, but on the other hand, Christopher Nolan went to shoot "Mr. Hughes 2", but he also had the opportunity to create a classic.

Because from the "Mr. Hughes" film itself and from the chat and discussion with Nolan, Wang Yang knows that the first "Hughes: The Secret Life" is brewing and trying, just like "Time to Go to War"; So it makes sense, he hopes that Nolan will shoot "Batman", and he hopes that Nolan will shoot "Mr. Hughes 2".

In the end, Nolan did not ask the flame to postpone "Mr. Hughes 2" or give the microphone to someone else, he declined Warner Bros. 's invitation to participate in the "Batman" microphone competition, naturally because he had to complete the carefully prepared "Mr. Hughes 2" first.

So this sequel is on the production schedule, and if it can be completed as scheduled, it will be released in the 2004 Christmas file and hit the Oscars again.

"Young, to be honest, it's a shame to miss Batman, I'd love to try a big production like this, but I'd be even more sorry to mess up Mr. Hughes 2. On the phone, Nolan told Wang Yang, his soft voice full of determination. Wang Yang had an idea and told him, "Flame welcomes your big production plan, and if there are any superheroes who want to make a movie, we will try to get it back and hand it over to you." Nolan just said, "I know." ”

"Is there a script called "Brokeback Mountain" that is looking for investment?"

In the office, Wang Yang pointed to a document on the table. Mark Slunt picked up the document and looked at it, and said suspiciously: ""Brokeback Mountain"? I seem to have heard of ......it" He glanced at the document a few times, and immediately frowned: "Brokeback Mountain, it's that gay western cowboy theme!" Wang Yang nodded, and Mark was even more puzzled: "Yes, it's looking for investment, it's been a long time." What's wrong? Wait! Are you interested?"

On October 13, 1997, Pulitzer Prize-winning Anne Prox's short story "Brokeback Mountain" first appeared in The New Yorker, and soon after, it was adapted into a screenplay by renowned writers Larry McWenmurtree and Diana Osana, and has been almost constantly looking for investment to bring it to the big screen. But for such a low-budget film, no one is willing to invest in it at all.

It's like a hornet's nest, or a hot potato, investors are reluctant to touch it, first, because they are afraid of losing money, after all, the market for gay movies is very small, and what is more deadly is that many theaters will not release it at all, and the audience can't watch it if they want to; second, they are afraid of public opinion, this is a good script, but the more successful "Brokeback Mountain" is, the greater the social reaction will be, and conservatives, religious groups and other people will be more noisy.

But Flame Movie has never been afraid of these two things, rational and bold investment, digging up shiny unpopularity, are its investment philosophy, and it is also an action to put in place. That's why FM has been so successful in independent films, which is the envy of many film companies.

"Yes, I'm interested. Wang Yang smiled and nodded, this movie is very suitable for Ang Lee to direct, that kind of gentleness and delicacy can only be filmed so well, like a cup of warm boiling water. Since "Brokeback Mountain" is still seeking investment, Wang Yang does not want any butterfly effect, so that the director's microphone of "Brokeback Mountain" is given to others, which not only misses the classics, but also causes losses to the Chinese director community.

Unlike Nolan's "Mr. Hughes 2", which is likely to explode, Ang Lee is in a bad situation now, so he wants to be an investor in "Brokeback Mountain" to ensure that Ang Lee can take the microphone. Thinking of this, Wang Yang smiled: "I'm very interested, let James Shams contact me, I'll take over!" James Shams is now the producer who is working hard for "Brokeback Mountain" and keeps hitting nails.

"What? How can you be interested in gay movies?" Mark Slant couldn't help but look curious, looking puzzled, he spread his hands and smiled, "You're all getting married soon!"

Wang Yang pursed his lips and shook his head, and said seriously: "I'm not, but I respect other people's sexual differences, I think heterosexual, homosexual...... Love makes no difference. But seriously, I'm kind of can't stand being bisexual, I'm too greedy. He said and smiled.

Mark Slunt realized that his words were wrong, and shrugged his shoulders and said, "I have a lot of gay friends, I mean, you are going to get married and honeymoon again, and you are going to shoot "Firefly", do you have time?"

"I'm just investing, maybe I'll be a producer?" Wang Yang raised his eyebrows with interest, in addition to designating Ang Lee to direct, he also hoped that the cast would be the original cast in the future, Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway...... If you want to participate in these jobs, you have the right to audition and the right to speak in these invitations. He smiled: "I'm going to invite Ang Lee to direct this movie." ”

"Ang Lee? Wow. Mark Slant was stunned, even more surprised than he had just heard that he was going to take over "Brokeback Mountain", after the fiasco of "Hulk", Ang Lee is now the most annoying child, and no one will give him candy.

Certainly does not include the magic of Young, who is also Chinese, and...... Mark seriously thought about it, "Hulk" can only show that Ang Lee is not suitable for commercial blockbusters, "Pushing Hands", "Sense and Sensibility", and "The Ice Storm" all prove that the Chinese director is clever, delicate and profound in dealing with themes such as emotions and conceptual conflicts.

“OK。 Mark Slang nodded and said, "I'll tell James Shams." ”

(To be continued)