Indeed, you don't need to be too clever a film critic to see it - two days after Jennifer joined the group, there is not much to discuss about this fact, and the conclusion is really obvious: Jennifer did suppress George's play, and this pressure is not a small pressure, but a big pressure, she directly compared George to the play......

The phenomenon of pressing the scene, as long as the crew is really filming under the relatively reliable director, rather than rushing to work according to the schedule, then it is actually unavoidable after all, actors with good acting skills and actors with poor acting skills in the same frame will inevitably have pressure scenes, and there are even parties with poor acting skills because they are too good-looking, so they unreasonably suppress the acting skills better, but the mediocre-looking side of the play, basically, as long as the audience pays more attention to the phenomenon of a certain role, it is the phenomenon of pressing the scene, and this degree of pressure drama, In addition to the actors themselves, the director and even the producer are actually indifferent - filming is a craft after all, although the game and backstage are also very important, but it is the personal quality of the actor that plays a decisive role, otherwise there will be no miracles in the entertainment industry again and again, and it will not become a playground for the lovers of major financiers? This kind of supporting role relies on its own charm to draw more benefits than the protagonist in a movie, which is not uncommon in the entertainment industry, and is sometimes used as a good story to prove how high the charisma of the actor himself is.

But, this refers to the general situation, in the crew of "Michael", director Tony . Gilroy has to deal with another tricky situation: Jennifer and George are both very good actors, but it is indisputable that Jennifer's acting skills are superior, not only completely overshadowing George's brilliance, but even 'ostracizing' George's performance, resulting in the serious consequence that the style of the whole play is completely incongruous - if this continues, then the crew will face an extremely terrible consequence, that is, maybe "Michael" will become a bad movie in the mouth of film critics. And this is not because of the lack of skills of the script or the director himself, but because of the wrong leading actor and entrusted the difficult role of Michael to Clooney...... "cut!" Tony took the trumpet and shouted, "good!" ”

Another pass, except for those because the director himself thinks the camera angle is not good, most of Karen's solo scenes are one pass, Jennifer's performance is indeed impeccable, directing her play is simply a painful enjoyment - of course, there is no need to say much about the enjoyment, the director is most afraid of meeting stupid actors, and Jennifer's preparation in advance is too good and too abundant, the distance is simply 108,000 miles away, and the pain is because, Tony doesn't need to worry that Jennifer is too stupid to meet his requirements, But on the other hand, he has to worry about his own setting and interpretation of Karen's role, which may not be as full as Jennifer's own understanding and shaping, in other words, the script is too thin to support Jennifer's play, which ultimately causes further imbalance in the structure. This phenomenon of challenging screenwriters and directors because the actors are too good will of course make every director feel the pain of happiness.

Ovating Jennifer's performance and announcing that today's work was over, Tony did not choose to join a party with a crew member, but went back to his room, turned on his computer, and browsed through the footage that had been filmed since that time - thanks to the rapid development of digital technology, "Michael" was a digital camera, and it was easier to review the footage than before, and there was no longer a need to go to a dedicated screening room to rummage through the film.

He first looked back at today's footage and marked a few scenes that he was satisfied with so that it would be easier to edit in the future - and then went back to a scene shot yesterday - which was also the first scene of Michael and Helen.

After a mouse click, the screen quickly jumps out, Michael and Helen are sitting face to face on opposite sides of the coffee table, looking at each other, the background noise is a little disturbing without editing, but the picture in the script has been restored quite perfectly. Tony clicked a pause to fix the frame on the side shot of the two of them looking at each other, and he rubbed his face heavily with his hands in some irritation, "Oh, *, it really messed up this time - why didn't she show it at all at the audition?" ”

Yes, just the picture of two people looking at each other can clearly see the difference between the two characters. George has always been a very typical expressionist, and when you watch his performance, you can clearly realize that this is George. Clooney is playing the role, his unique calm and elegant charm has always been there, but you can read his intention from his expression, this performance style has a strong personal color, which makes people feel less immersed in the role, but more appreciative, but this is not to say that George's acting skills are poor, because this appreciative viewing mentality is not unideal for the crew, and the audience can better understand the director's deep meaning for some details in this more rational viewing mood. This is a very appropriate style for art films, everyone keeps a certain distance, elegant, restrained, and compared with the kind of commercial films that sell is a heartbeat, this style does seem to be more elegant.

For example, in this scene, if you cover Karen and focus on Michael, then George's performance is actually remarkable, and the plot follows here, and the audience can probably understand the ins and outs, and they will guess Michael's current state of mind through Michael's tired, nervous and skeptical expression, as well as a little tiredness in the forced smile, and his opinion of Karen - George's acting skills are of course a little far from those masters, but his work is still very good, and Tony has always been very satisfied with him...... At least before Jennifer joined the group.

And Jennifer - Jennifer changed everything, Tony dropped the hand covering Karen, held his chin and looked at the whole picture, and Karen immediately took away most of his attention - even if he was the director and the script, even if the character was created by himself, he knew everything he gave Karen.

Jennifer's performance is actually not pompous, it is also very restrained and self-controlled, her micro-expressions and small movements are even less than Michael's, a face is as cold as ice, fully creating a strong, suppressive, and somewhat impatient momentum, she leans over, looking ready to take the initiative to say something, in this freeze she will not convey more information than Michael. But - Tony just can't take his eyes off it, there is no doubt that Jennifer is taking a complete experiential performance technique in this play, she has completely 'killed' herself and is reborn in the face of Karen, this kind of complete dedication to the role, no personal style, is very eye-catching for the audience, and can also help them invest in the plot and the character, invest more emotion and personal connection in the character, and make them curious about the character - if it is said that under the interpretation of the expressionist actor, The character itself is a tool for interpreting the story, and the actor himself is a vassal of the director, then the experiential actor can make the character a truly independent existence, the story is just a piece of their life, and the director uses this story to tell one of his views, but the fans themselves may see another truth - the experiential performance method is very helpful for enriching the story level, and even more can get the praise of 'good acting', but this does not mean that the experiential school is necessarily better than the performanceist school, It can't be said that expressionism and experientialism can't coexist, and in many cases, a less than good experiential actor is not as good as expressionism. Let's just say Karen, if she is played by an experiential actor, it may really be the same as the original intention of Tony's design, it is really downright boring and lifeless, and it is not as good as a performanceist actor to perform in style.

After all, there are thousands of faces, even if it is a setting, even if it is a face, on different people, the charm exuded is still completely different. A truly good experiential actor can not only 'kill' herself and become another person completely, but more importantly, she can become another 'very attractive' person, which is really crucial. And in the movie "Michael", the existing problem of the crew is that Jennifer's Karen is too - too good, not only does she have her own story, her own details and her own complete outlook on life, but under Jennifer's interpretation, this character is also very charming, not a glorious charm, but a charm that hangs by a thread, watching Jennifer's performance, even if it is just a static freeze frame, is like watching a glass of water in danger at the table, no matter how exquisite the plate on the other side is, The audience's attention will still be completely absorbed by the glass of water, and they are really concerned about when it will fall back and shatter to the ground - Jennifer's performance is very much this EDGY flavor.

For this actress's acting skills, Tony has not formed a definite answer, he doesn't know what to say about her, Jennifer is undoubtedly a genius, but she doesn't seem to have found her own way, she almost has a genius way of acting in every movie, but in the next one she will be abandoned without nostalgia, in the two parts of "Pirates of the Caribbean", her acting path is different, and honestly, Tony doesn't think that every one of her acting styles is very good, he himself thinks Jennifer is in "The Fifth Sally" As for whether she deserves an Oscar - who made last year's film industry too lonely, her imperfect performance is still the best of the nominees - Tony likes her performance in "The Devil Wears Prada", depressed, very sharp, and has a weird sharp charm, which is why he discussed with Warner in hopes of pulling Jennifer into the crew. (Warner, of course, is crazy about this idea, because Jennifer represents the box office, but for Tony, he won't pull her into the group just because of this), he was worried that Jennifer would change her style to play Karen, but in the audition, Jennifer still seemed to use a similar performance method, of course, at that time she did not suppress George's signs at all, and the two were evenly matched in the audition, and George even had a faint advantage......

If it weren't for the unlikelihood, Tony would have wondered if Jennifer had deliberately manipulated him, because after the official start of filming, Jennifer's performance was completely reborn, or the edge-dangerous EDGY style, but this charm has been exaggerated to the limit, and exaggeratedly, it can even form an aura visible to the naked eye. - This is not about those actresses who pretend to be noble and glamorous in commercial blockbusters, but about the charm exuded by the characters themselves, and Jennifer's charm is so powerful that George's performance is crowded out of place, completely detached from the script, not even a play, after watching Jennifer's Karen, once the picture switches to Michael's side, Tony can immediately feel Michael's far-fetched and powerless - in Karen's comparison, George's performance can almost be said to be embarrassing, It seems extremely pretentious, and the sorrow that has been plagued by the midlife crisis has turned into a real desperate bitterness - even George's most poised charm seems to be a pretentious joke under Karen's desperate collapse, and it is not funny at all...... The more real and emotionally engaged Karen is, the more awkward Michael becomes, and the more people realize the timidity and reluctance he exudes in his performance, and as a middle-aged man, Tony himself will feel this way when watching Michael's performance: Does George really understand the midlife crisis? Why can't he - he doesn't know, why can't he be a little more natural? God knows, he doesn't have children, the scene he gets along with children is too unreal......

And on the day before Jennifer joined the group, Tony also marked this material as his own satisfactory material, and felt that George's performance was remarkable-to put it mildly, it was all Karen's fault, before Karen, Michael's performance was good enough, but after Karen appeared, her truth completely raised the standard, her aura squeezed Michael out, she is like a black hole, and her presence in the movie is so strong that Michael, who should be the center of the galaxy, was torn to pieces, Sucked into the black hole horizon......

And this is of course a very ominous sign for the movie itself, Tony smiled wryly, and rubbed his face again - if this continues, the movie is over. But to make George a better experiential than Jennifer overnight? That's impossible. Let Jennifer act more restrained? But people didn't steal the show, besides, I never heard that the director asked the actors to play so well, and Jennifer is not a little actor who can be rounded and flattened at will, people have their own investments, Olympic awards, and the backstage is even harder, bully her in this crew? The joke wasn't funny at all.

Although he is a producer, director and screenwriter, at this moment, Tony does feel that uncomfortable sense of loss of control - this is his project, but he seems to be a little out of control, according to the current trend, what kind of disaster the film will eventually become, even he does not know, and if he wants to save it from now on, he really does not have the energy...... "It's time to ask the big names to come out." Tony, who was the screenwriter who wrote "The Spy," was still familiar with the intriguing office politics, and instead of continuing to take care of things he couldn't afford, he quickly decided, "They should be in charge of coordinating these things - Soderbergh, and Sidney, it's time to give them a call......

#

"Project out of control," Soderbergh hung up, rubbing his head with a bit ......of a headache - like Tony, he didn't jump to conclusions, but opened the movie footage sent by Tony, and looked at Jennifer and George with a deep groan. Contrast between Clooney: This is Tony's first time as a director, no matter how good a screenwriter he is, there will inevitably be moments of misjudgment, which is why this project has so many celebrities to serve as a producer for him, and even Soderbergh himself has stepped in to be the producer - this in itself is an insurance measure to ensure that Tony has someone to turn to when he encounters problems, and whether it causes pressure or not, or Soderbergh himself judges that it is safer. A lot of times, inexperienced directors tend to be startled, but the situation is often not that bad and can be remedied by post-production, soundtracks, and editing.

The first thing he clicked on was Michael. Clayton's scene playing cards in the casino, this is the first scene he appears in the script, Michael was in a very bad mood at that time, although his years of lawyer career made him moody, but the depressed atmosphere still couldn't stop showing from the corners of his eyebrows, especially when a rude gambling partner began to ask about his restaurant business, digging his sore feet, Michael was even more depressed, aggrieved, depressed, and had a very strong sense of failure. Soderbergh was very impressed by this scene, and he thought that this play was also quite difficult - Michael did not have many lines, which was meaningless, and George had to express Michael's temperament through expressions, movements, and tone, so that the character could stand up and plant a vague impression of Michael in the audience's mind, so that in the subsequent viewing of the movie, the audience could easily substitute for Michael, understand the plot effortlessly, and focus more on understanding the director's real shooting intentions.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you." Amid the buzzing background noise, a gambler said.

Michael let out a low 'hmm' and continued to look at the cards. Steven. Soderbergh pressed the pause, then stepped back to look.

"Tony's storyboards aren't particularly well done." He whispered to himself, "It's a common problem for novice directors, but it can be remedied here with post-editing." ”

After all, he is a great director, and he almost instinctively judges the merits of the film itself, from the director, actors to all the staff. And make all kinds of judgments in your heart: you can save, there is little hope, or you don't need to waste time at all.

After making a footnote for Tony that 'there are some minor faults, but it can be saved', Soderbergh pressed the play button again, and he watched George's performance with some pickiness: although the two have a very good relationship and can be said to be close friends, professionally, Soderbergh has some opinions on Clooney's performance, and he believes that although the Rohan series has Clooney as the first protagonist, in the case of Clooney and Brad. Pete, or the latter performs better, Clooney often has too few expressions when creating introverted roles, and people who can watch may think that his eyes are playful, but for most audiences, his performance is not popular enough, such as this paragraph, he can see Clooney's performance intentions, but he also knows that many viewers are confused about this dialogue, because Clooney has too few expressions, and he can't completely abandon his own elegant temperament, many people probably can't figure out what he thinks about the loss of the restaurant, Maybe he doesn't care at all? This perception that 'Clooney can't be down' is a barrier that he has been unable to get rid of. - Steven knew that George wanted to use this film to win the Olympics, but ......

"If this old problem has not been broken through, I am afraid it will be difficult." He said to himself, took a quick look at the performances that followed, turned off the video, and turned on Karen's first appearance. "Let me see if Tony is nervous."

The same rustle of background noise, Karen appeared in the shot, because it has not been edited in post, her voice is a little vague in the background noise, too soft, and the unretouched shot also makes the scene a little gray, not so gripping. ――It's a cloudy daytime scene with little indoor light, and when there is no post-production, it often gives the impression that the lens is cheap.

"U/North is ...... around the world ...... all over the world" Karen walked out of the bathroom in her underwear, this shot didn't make Soderbergh's brows jump even a little - without CG treatment, the connection between the prosthesis and the waist is clearly visible, and Karen's makeup is really not flattering, and the amazing special effects makeup artist makes her look almost 50 years old at a glance.

In the envisioned shot, there will be a set of contrast montages, but Tony sends a clip of Karen in the bathroom, and it stands to reason that the impact of this single shot will be diminished, but Soderbergh never pressed the pause button or fast-forward button, but frowned and watched Karen wander back and forth in the room, meaningless monologue, slowly and often retreating, preparing for the press conference that followed.

Compared with Michael's appearance, Karen's appearance is less informative, and this shot is also lengthy before it is cut, and the audience already has some understanding of Karen's identity and position before this, so her shot will inevitably make the audience feel that 'I have already processed this part of the information', but ......

Soderbergh's face became more and more solemn: as a director, he instinctively looked for the right editing point while watching, but this choice was delayed. This shot that should only take 5 to 10 seconds to be cut in pieces, because of Karen's personal charm, because of the story told in her movements and expressions, because of her thought-provoking details - Jennifer's expression is not much, and she is also very restrained, but her restraint is like a dormant beast, full of tension, compared to her, George's restraint seems loose and slippery, perfunctory and insincere, as if he only acted to get his share of the salary.

No clipping point found...... No, it's not so much that I don't want to cut the cut point...... Karen is the kind of character that even the director is reluctant to use......

"It's a real mess." Glancing at the phone on the table, Soderbergh smiled wryly and muttered, "It's a big hassle...... This is a problem that must be dealt with immediately......"

According to his grading method, George's backwardness in acting compared to Jennifer already belongs to the level of 'no need to waste time at all', this fact cannot be in a short period of time - it can even be said that if there is no miracle, maybe this fact cannot be changed in a lifetime, George is already in the second half of his life, and it seems that he does not look like a better type, Soderbergh knows in his heart: George is good at self-marketing, but not good at breaking through himself. And Jennifer. Jefferson? Her acting career has just begun, and she is still in her breakthrough period, and the comparison of the effects of Karen's role from audition to filming is a very good example.

Now that the facts are irreversible - Soderbergh thought about picking up his phone: the only way to do that was to get it sorted out before the budget was spent and the trouble didn't get bigger.

It was a decision that required all the producers to be assembled and communicated with Warners, and he didn't know what would happen in the end, and in Soderbergh's own opinion, he thought Jennifer and George were a mountain that could not be left alone - one of them had to leave.