Although the action crime film "Extraordinary Human Traffickers 2" did not have a good reputation, it won the North American box office week championship from September 2-8, and the two guns and flying cars once again shined on the screen. Seeing that a popcorn movie that was almost scorched actually had a good performance, a group of filmmakers who fell in the posture of a big bad movie just summer were naturally envious, and they already knew that popcorn was delicious!

Let Christopher Nolan shoot the popcorn-style "The Dark Knight" is likely to be inferior to Michael Bay's completely screwed up "Get Out of Clone Island", and let him shoot the "Nolan style" "The Dark Knight", Ang Lee's "The Hulk" and Darren Aronofsky's "Batman at War Time" is the end...... Ang Lee has an Oscar nomination for Best Director (73rd, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), and Nolan is also nominated for an Oscar for Best Director (77th, "Mr. Hughes 2"), but as we all know, commercial films are commercial films, and Michael Bay, a frequent guest for the worst director of the Golden Sour Plum Awards, can't even get a nomination for "MTV Award for Best Director" , because he doesn't need to prove his business ability anymore, "Transformers" will either turn over or break into the dark abyss.

However, the classification labels shown by "Memory Fragments" and "Mr. Hughes Dutpart" directly point to Nolan as a niche director, he has his fans, he has his fans, but this eccentric Englishman has not proved himself to be the kind of commercial director who can sweep the world, even his new film "Deadly Magic" released next year is not optimistic about where it can sell well, and he does not have qualifications! To put it bluntly, he is a person who deals with literature and art, how can he resurrect Batman?

Who can imagine Martin Scorsese and Alfred Hitchcock filming "Spider-Man"? God knows if it will work, it doesn't look like it works anyway.

"Jonathan, a lot of people say we can't do it...... We can do it. ”

On a bright weekend, the Nolan brothers still seized the time to discuss the work of the film.

A movie starts from the script, after Flame Films signed a contract with Warner Bros., and Alan F Horn and others had no choice but to accept the reality, Wang Yang quickly announced the structure of the new crew and screenwriter team, Aronofsky was kicked out, leaving David S. Goyer, and the Nolan brothers joined, and everyone will jointly build the main story framework, and then Jonathan Nolan will be responsible for writing the script, and finally Wang Yang, who is the gatekeeper, will polish it.

Several people have already had a detailed conversation about the script, and since the story will continue to be the first episode that did not sell out, no matter how dark it is, Wayne has survived the unbearable past, walked out of the painful memories that tormented him, and surpassed the person he wanted to be. They had to find something new to continue torturing him, both story-wise, so the main characters of the sequel added Inquisitor Harvey Dent and Batman's natural enemy, the Joker.

Batman Wayne is different from other sunshine-type superheroes, he is a dark hero who can do anything to achieve his goals, and at the same time, he is like a knight who fights criminals and maintains the law and order of Gotham City. However, as soon as Batman appears, his surroundings can make him almost messy and disorderly, making it difficult to distinguish right from wrong with a clear moral concept, he is an anarchist; when the righteous anarchist Harvey Dent becomes an evil anarchist two-face, how does Batman deal with it? This is the collision and choice of faith, good and evil, good and evil.

"I wanted to really reflect on something through a story, which is that from the point of view of realism, no one can be outside the law, not even as a 'vigilant policeman'. ”

In the bright and quiet study, the Nolan brothers sat around a small round table, and the two did not need to say much, they both knew that "The Dark Knight" must be a noir reality style film, and the problem was its commerciality.

Few people know that Christopher Nolan is also a fan of Michael Bay, he has never looked down on commercial films and popcorn films, from "Following" to "Memory Fragments", which can indeed be called a niche CULT film; Deadly Magic" and "The Dark Knight" may be able to taste that wonderful taste.

"Both Batman and Two-Face are subject to selection and testing, and they are ......created by the Joker," Jonathan Nolan said, nodding, tapping into the laptop on his desk and recording the script caprice. Across from him, the big Nolan in a white shirt pondered and said, "What will become of Batman if he loses his power? When the Joker first appears, what kind of shock should his appearance bring? We want to get the audience excited...... First of all, what personality should our clown be?"

The work of setting up the characters does not belong exclusively to the two brothers, and David S. Goyer, who is almost unrivaled in the original comics, is a key figure in this regard, but he is not in this "family meeting".

"Evil, crazy, destructive, intelligent, playful ......" Jonathan read these traits as he tapped them, and in the previous conversation, Wang Yang had made a visual description of the clown, which undoubtedly made everyone's thoughts clear as if they were clear from the clouds.

Thinking of Wang Yang's words, Da Nolan looked at the stack of "Batman" comics on the table and said: "Yang is right, we must recall some deeply buried memories, that is, the essence of the original comics accumulated and precipitated from history, this is people's most real thoughts about "Batman", and it is also the most exciting and resonant thing. The Joker is not just a criminal, his main motive is to want Gotham City to be like that, because of the deep-seated anarchist ......"

The two brothers knew that they had to read all the Batman comics and find the essence of the comics, but the tacit understanding of the whole team was that they would not be loyal to the comics, for the sake of their stories, the comic characters could be changed, even including the gender of the characters, and each comic was like a parts market, they picked the elements they needed and made the characters serve the story, which was the biggest difference from "Batman at War", their first place was not to explore the problem, not to recreate the comics, but to tell the story.

Making the audience feel excited and nervous is a major factor in blockbuster blockbuster sales, so the smart and evil clown must be shocking as soon as he appears, and enhance the audience's interest and patience in watching it, so that there is enough flexibility to develop the story.

Regardless of the script, Big Nolan needs to find a deeper sense of directivity, including watching some classic films that can be inspired and speculated and analyzed, such as "Firefly", "Blade Runner", and the 89 version of "Batman". The general theme of "The Dark Knight" is part of "Firefly", Batman VS Joker is a bit like Blue Glove VS Marauder Boss, and topics such as political concepts and good and evil are also discussed very sensitively, and he also has to think about the grandiose control of "Firefly" and the style and tone of "Blade Runner...... He's going to build up some energy and feeling slowly.

The clock on the wall is moving by second by minute, and the Nolan brothers' discussion has not stopped, no matter how the outside world questions and sings, and even ridicules and scolds, the two brothers have only one thought, that is, to seize the opportunity, do their job well, and definitely make "The Dark Knight" a blockbuster classic movie in film history, don't live up to the magic Yang, don't live up to yourself! Let the world see their abilities and know that Wang Yang's decision is not wrong at all!

Although Wang Yang can provide a lot of mature ideas, making a movie is a team work, one person does not understand enough and others need to understand, the most intuitive words can only create a hazy and ethereal atmosphere, everyone needs to grasp the state and then reach a consensus, it will still be a long process to run in with the script, especially as a director, Nolan, it takes a period of gradual change. However, Wang Yang and the Nolan family are not in a hurry, they have to complete another project "Deadly Magic" that has been prepared to the final stage.

Another new project of Flame Films, "Old Boy", is also full of doubts, and Wang Yang is not interested in participating in its production, and he really does not want to be exposed to some distorted and perverted ideas when his daughter is approaching the end of the year. Of course, Wang Yang will not be present in every FF project, and the newly appointed vice president of production, Lin Wei, will serve as the executive producer of "Old Boy", managing the script, casting, production and other affairs, focusing on the development of the project.

Because of a popular "Raging Speed" that ignores physics and mechanics, Lin Yibin was named "Popcorn Lin", and was regarded by media magazines as a commercial director of Michael Bay's type, and now he has a coveted directing opportunity, Lin Yibin is more excited than anyone else, he will not be frustrated by the doubts of the outside world, they will only give him greater motivation! The microphone is a little tempted to be thrown away, but of course it doesn't really do.

But when interviewed by the media, Lin Yibin couldn't hide his joy and self-confidence at all: "I don't know why everyone thinks that I am only a commercial director, but in fact this is not the case, I was born in independent films, my pursuit of independent films has never stopped, never, and the experience of shooting mainstream commercial films has made me improve my thinking about literary films." "Oldboy" is a very complicated story, and I'm grateful to Fantastic Young for giving it to me, so that I can make a revenge movie that I want. ”

Lin Yibin's words on the "Los Angeles Times" did not receive much support, except that "Hot Maji" did not have a decisive result, no social repercussions, and no awards; "Furious Speed" also showed that he is a director who can talk nonsense in order to stimulate adrenaline. As for what is the end of the road for "Oldboy", it will not be known until it is released in 2008.

"Fantastic Young intends to invite Jon Favreau to direct "Iron Man" - Yahoo Entertainment has not only had new news about "TDK" and "Old Boy" in the past two days, but the media has also revealed Wang Yang's plans for another production plan, and he is targeting Jon Favreau in the selection of the director of "Iron Man" scheduled to be released in the summer of 2007.

Jon Favreau (1966-10-19), a 39-year-old native of New York, went into the world after graduating from high school, trying everything from garage cleaner to Wall Street office clerk, and after a few years he finally found out that he wanted to be an actor the most, so he went to Chicago and then to Hollywood. However, after many years of acting career, except for some tricks and supporting roles, such as the biggest screen achievement in the fourth season of "Old Friends" as "Peter Baker" in 6 episodes, he has not made a name for himself, on the contrary, in terms of screenwriting, directing, and producing, he has tapped his own talent.

In 1996, Jon Favreau's screenwriting debut "The Full-Time Prodigal Son" achieved a box office of 4.555 million at a cost of 200,000, which made his friend and starring Vince Vaughn popular. In 2001, the new independent production company "Cardiff-Giant" invested 5 million in the crime comedy "MADE" in which he served as the director, writer and starring, but he did not expect the global box office to be 5.48 million, and the Cardiff giant has not yet produced a second film.

Because Artisan Films was the distributor of "MADE" back then, and Flame Films acquired Artisan again, this loss-making film is a member of the Flame Film and Television Library.

Despite this, Fei Ru, who is not poisonous, still got a directing opportunity with a production budget of 33 million, and the fantasy comedy "Christmas Elf" invested by 6 independent companies including the new line, after its release in November 2003, this film earned 173 million North American box office / 222 million global box office, which not only made Fei Ru a hot commercial film director, but also one of the few glories of the new line in recent years. Next, Jon Favreau directed the 66 million production cost of Columbia's sci-fi action film "Jumanji's Game 2", which will be released on November 11 this year.

Although Fei Ru's talent outside of comedy films has yet to be verified by time and the market, at least for now, this should be Wang Yang's most normal and correct decision recently, so that people who have the intention to find fault can't say anything, and no one knows what "Iron Man" will look like, because there is no script at present, and Fei Ru is a very good candidate, and "Iron Man" comic fans and fans naturally have a reason to look forward to it.

The new line is also very satisfied with Wang Yang's choice, Chairman Robert Shayer, CEO Michael Lynn praised "Favreau is our lucky charm!", two old people in their 60s can finally sleep peacefully, how afraid they are of Yang to find James Wing to direct! How can the comedy version be more popular than the horror version?

In fact, this is not the development that Wang Yang wants to see, not whether the two old men will have nightmares, but this matter, he originally planned to contact Fei Ru after the release of "Jumanjiji 2", because the movie was completely messed up in ticket sales...... 29.25 million North American box office, 64.32 million global box office! According to the future film and television information database, Wang Yang knows that although "Game of the Brave 2" has received fresh tomatoes from the film critics' circles, it has offended the audience, and the box office of 3223 theaters in the first weekend was only 13.42 million (an average of 4,166 for a single theater). After reaping this poor result that cost Colombia his underwear, it doesn't take much thought to make it clear, and Jon Favreau suddenly went from a hot potato to a hot potato.

One of the terms of the contract signed by the new line and Flame is that Wang Yang must at least be the producer and screenwriter of "Iron Man", and Flame also added a clause on Wang Yang's absolute right to speak in production, in other words, he finalized the director.

Originally, Wang Yang wanted to keep it a secret first, but seeing that Justin Lin was gone, Joss Whedon was not interested, and Magic Yang was suspected of breaking his brain's abnormal decision, Robert Shayer and Michael Lynn were anxious and kept asking in turns, and the two old men vowed not to give up if they couldn't get an answer, even if Wang Yang said that "there is no shortlist for the time being", he refused to believe it. Wang Yang, who was so annoyed that he almost collapsed, simply said his plan, and the two old men were satisfied, but they also felt that the publicity was not too much, and while "Game of the Brave 2" was entering the release stage, it was better to take Fei Ru a ride, so the new line released the news.

"I know!" When he learned the news, Wang Yang really felt a little headache, obviously on the grounds that it was not finalized, he ordered them not to talk nonsense, "Iron Man" is not so many dynamic rumors? He didn't want to say that he didn't want to lower the price of Jon Favreau, but when "Game of Brave 2" passed, he would inevitably suffer a blow of "eye error", he didn't care, the key is that the outside world will question Nolan and Lin Yibin more, which will cause unnecessary pressure on them.

Wang Yang could only shake his head for the two of them, blaming him for thinking that the two old men would keep it secret, and his attitude was actually quite casual, and he didn't know if Shaya and Lynn would say "Fei Ru is our lucky charm?" Fei Ru expressed his interest but needed time to think about it, and he would wait for the release of "Game of the Brave 2" and read the script of "Iron Man" before making a decision.

The good news this weekend is that the plaster cast that has been in place for more than a month can finally be removed, and Wang Yang took an X-ray in the hospital, showing that the broken bone in his right hand has healed, and it will be a matter of functional exercise and maintenance in the future.

"Ho, ho!" The sun was shining and warm in the early autumn Sunday morning, on the lawn of the back garden of a house in Palo Alto, Wang Yang punched a few times with his right hand a little harder, and couldn't help frowning, his hand bones were a little sore, but the biggest problem was the same strength, the punch was not as fast as before, and he always felt that something was wrong here or there, he had suffered a lot of injuries after many years of martial arts fighting, but the fracture was the first time, he knew that recovery required patience and time, what if he couldn't recover?

Thinking of this, he suddenly became irritable, and couldn't help but punch harder: "Damn!" and kicked the grass flying on the lawn again: "FUCK!"

"Yang ......" Jessica, who was standing next to her, called softly, her face full of worry and love, she understood his feelings. Danny, who was not far away, tilted his ear suspiciously, walked over and arched Wang Yang's calf with his mouth and nose, he bent over and stroked it with his right hand, looked up and smiled at her: "It's nothing." Jessica also smiled, comforting and encouraging: "Master, take your time, it will be fine." ”

Wang Yang nodded silently, looking up at the blue sky and white clouds in the sky, the dazzling sunlight made his eyes squint, and the gentleness of the Yiren calmed his heart, he said: "I shouldn't be like this, what right do I have to complain? Think of the people in the Katrina disaster area, and we are comfortably bathed in the sun." Jessica also looked at the sky: "Yes, we need to be grateful. Hey, is that good?" she smiled, "I won't beat you in the future, even if I do...... I'll give you a hand!"

"You reminded me. Wang Yang stood up with a smile, his right hand behind his back, his feet jumped and walked, and his left hand waved at her indiscriminately: "I'll let you beat you with one hand, it's okay! Jessica turned around and pointed her bulging belly towards his fist and asked, "Why?" Wang Yang stroked her belly and winked evilly: "I'll tell you why at night...... Or now!?" Jessica rolled her eyes as he pulled her way inside, and she reluctantly laughed and shouted, "NO! ”…… Time passed day by day, and after the weekend, the crew of "500 Days with Sammo" continued to work, and the pace of the 57th Emmy Awards in 2005 was gradually approaching.

(To be continued)