The small studio was silent, and the shooting space in front of the camera lens was set up as a hospital room, and a blonde Margot Robbie lay on top of the hospital bed, and the scattered blonde hair obscured half of her exposed face, except for a frowning brow to show that she was not as relaxed as she seemed. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The door to the ward was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a tall nurse walked in, came to Margot Robbie's bedside, stared at her for a moment, and then pulled down the mask that covered her face, revealing the strange face of James Franco.

As if by sense, the sleeping Margot Robbie woke up and saw the magician at first sight, his angry eyes as sharp as knives.

“Cut！”

Hearing the shout to stop, Margot Robbie pulled her stray blonde hair back from her head, pulled herself out of her role, and turned her head to look at Murphy, who had clearly made a mistake just now.

"Maggie." Murphy beckoned to Margot Robbie, "Come here." ”

Margot Robbie quickly jumped out of the hospital bed, didn't put on her shoes, and walked barefoot to Murphy's director's chair.

"I'm sorry." She scratched her blonde hair and said, "I've NG so many times." ”

This is one of the few long shots in the film, and it is Jay Rachel's most crucial scene, and this kind of character-building scene Murphy will inevitably use long shots, and Margot Robbie, who had the advantage in front of Henry Cavill before, always seems weaker than James Franco, who is in good shape.

It seems that this has also affected Margot Robbie's state, the more she wants to behave well, the worse she behaves, especially the facial expressions, the images captured through the camera lens always give people a deliberate feeling.

"You're pushing too hard!"

Unlike the previous times when Margot Robbie was asked to adjust herself, Murphy saw that she had no effect and directly pointed out the problem, "Anger is a heartfelt emotion, either wide-eyed or angry. ”

Margot Robbie's glaring performance just now reminded Murphy of Leonardo DiCaprio, and the exaggerated expression does not mean that the acting skills are good.

"I ...... Have it? ”

Probably too many NGs, Margot Robbie wasn't quite sure, "Did I make this basic mistake?" ”

Murphy shook his head slightly, and instead of answering Margot Robbie's question, he said to the assistant next to him, "John, tell the crew to rest for twenty minutes." ”

"Maggie." Murphy then said to Margot Robbie, "This long shot is a key part of Jay Rachel's transformation, what you have to do is not to make an expression, but to grasp the psychology and background of Jay Rachel's character." ”

Seeing that Margot Robbie's thinking was a little unclear, Murphy decided to use this time to have a good chat with her, he couldn't tell or tell Margot Robbie how to act, but he could give her a detailed analysis of some of Jay Rachel's changes in this "Dark City", both bright and dark, which should help Margot Robbie.

"Jay Rachel's blackening from New York's 'Knight of Light' may seem heart-wrenching, but it's no accident."

This role is what Murphy thinks about the most, and naturally has a clear control, "She vows to eradicate crime in New York, but she turns a blind eye to the cooperation between her congressman father and Reina, and the 'fanatical pursuit of justice' she shows is only one side, and the other side of her has long existed and has always existed!" The magician's logic, 'who doesn't want justice when they are forced to do so' can be applied to her to the letter. ”

Listening to Murphy's words, Margot Robbie is also recalling the script and her own analysis of the character of Jay Rachel over the past period.

It can be said that Jay Rachel in the script looks honest and kind, but as Murphy said, there has always been another side to her, Jay Rachel is not chasing "light", but she finds that she can pursue influence by pursuing light.

Jay Rachel is well aware that it is a great benefit to gain the support of New York City citizens through her "fanatical pursuit of justice," as well as financial support from Chris Dane's side.

All this could have continued, however, the father who loved her died, and Jay Rachel's survival logic was suddenly turned upside down.

From this point of view, Jay Rachel and Chris Dane are not the same people at all, the two are just "similar and inseparable", that is, she looks very similar to Chris Dane, but there are fundamental differences in nature.

Inspired by Murphy's words, Margot Robbie immediately thought of the difference, Chris Dane has no interest in influence, he pursues justice and protecting New York, even at the cost of making people think that he has broken the killing ring, but he is willing to bear it all, and let the citizens of New York meet the light, this is not a hero who shows it, but a real hero.

"It's not the form that matters, it's the soul that matters!" Murphy then said, "That's what Magic and Chris Dane have in common!" ”

Margot Robbie nodded, "I see, it's the soul that matters!" ”

She smiled at Murphy and said, "There's still time, I'll go back to the dressing room and be quiet for a while." ”

Murphy waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, when the time is almost right, I'll have someone call you." ”

Picking up the water glass next to him, Murphy took a sip, and also used this time to sort out his thoughts, it is not only the characters that need souls, but also the movies!

There is no doubt that the soul of the film "Dark City" is not the male protagonist of Chris Dane, nor the heroine of Jay Rachel, nor Inspector Lynch, who was upgraded from deputy commissioner to police chief, but James Franco's magician!

There were bandits who robbed them of their gems, but they threw them everywhere, they weren't really interested in them, they did it just because they thought it was interesting. They won't be bought, they won't be intimidated, they won't be reasonable, they won't accept negotiations, some just want to watch the world burn.

The magician is such a person, cutting out everything, and the chaos he represents is the soul of Dark City.

Any good movie has a soul!

In Murphy's more than ten years of Hollywood directorial career, there is no shortage of people who have come to the door with self-nominations, but the most common problem in their scripts is the lack of an emotional core, that is, a "soul".

Murphy defines the "soul" as the emotion that the audience gains from the script and touches their hearts, when creating the script, the plot should not be used, but the ideological theme should be the core of the story, which is the universal emotional experience that can touch everyone, take the loss of a loved one as an example, in every city in the world, from the largest city to the smallest village, everyone will experience the sadness of losing a loved one, which is a universal emotion and a common experience of human beings.

As human beings, viewers have experienced the loss of a loved one in one form or another, as part of the collective consciousness, and this universal emotional experience transcends cultural barriers and touches most people.

Research shows that people consciously or unconsciously perceive things by watching movies, which is why TV series and movies have endured because they have the ability to touch audiences.

People want to have an emotional experience, whether it's joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness......

Great screenwriters and directors know that people often instinctively connect with emotions, which is the inner impact of the ideological theme of the story on the audience, so that the audience can empathize, it is the audience through watching movies or television, and it is the emotional impact of the story experience that brings them.

To find the center of your story, all you have to do is shape the main characters of the story. The story center is usually the growth of the main character, or lack thereof.

Growth, defined by Murphy himself as the inner change of the character over the course of the narrative, is the personal dilemma that the characters go through, in the process they struggle with the dilemma, either like Chris Dane and overcome the difficulties, or fall out like Jay Rachel.

These can manifest themselves in large quantities in different forms or mixtures, and can be emotional, intellectual, psychological, spiritual, inadequate, or inner wounds that need to be treated.

Think of the films that touched the audience the most, the films that endured, the films that people kept looking back on, basically about the central theme of human beings having the courage to overcome or be defeated by their own weaknesses, which is why those classic characters are so captivating.

The theme of the story, which they struggle through the journey of life and finally grow, is what attracts and impresses the audience.

Character growth can be a positive change like Chris Dane, and the ending is usually exciting; Or a Jay-Rachel-esque negative turn that usually ends sadly.

At the same time, the growth of the character can be a huge shift or a subtle one; For example, Schindler's transformation from a profiteer who made money from a mercenary war to a risk-taking attempt to save thousands of Jews is a huge change.

Jay Rachel falls into this category.

However, whether it is a big or small transition, Murphy adheres to the principle that the development of a character usually leads people to the heart of the script, and this well-known emotional glue is precisely what makes the audience stick to the story.

Twenty minutes were fleeting, and before Murphy could call, Margot Robbie returned to the set on her own, and after the makeup artist touched up her makeup a little, filming began again.

With Murphy's guidance, Margot Robbie's performance improved greatly, and although she made two NGs because of her mistakes, she became more and more confident, and finally passed the third shoot.

The crew's filming in the studio has also come to an end for the time being, and Murphy is preparing to go to New York to shoot on location.