"Duke, this is Robin Grande."

In the Lucasfilm conference room, George Lucas introduces a middle-aged man to Duke, "Robin is the production manager hired by Lucasfilm for "Life and Death." ”

"Hello, Duke."

The other party was the first to stand up and stretch out his hand, "I've seen the video you edited, it's impressive." ”

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Robin."

Duke also stood up and shook his hand across the long conference table, "I believe this is a pleasant collaboration." ”

As Lucasfilm, which has a mature system and a perfect production system, from the beginning of notifying Duke to participate in the first meeting, it has officially started the preparatory work in just over a week, and even several important positions in the crew have suitable candidates, and the confidence of senior Hollywood companies has been fully revealed.

As the future spokesperson of producer George Lucas in the crew, Robin Grande undoubtedly has a great deal of power, and since Duke has not signed a formal directing contract with Lucasfilm, the next thing he focuses on is Duke's treatment and power.

"Your director's salary is $120,000."

He looked at Duke, saw that he didn't say, and continued, "We'll pay $50,000 upfront; After the film is completed, another $50,000 will be paid, and the last $20,000 will be paid after the film is released from North America. ”

Duke is clear that this is a Hollywood convention, "I have no opinion. ”

Subsequently, Robin Grande said a series of director's rights and obligations, combined with Duke's own requirements, he will participate in the preparation of the crew, the preparation of the film and many other matters, but like most new directors, he has the right to speak and build, but does not have the final decision.

There is also the power to select the main actors, and Duke also has the right to build yì, not the right to decide.

"I hope you will carefully consider my suggestions as an actor when the time comes." Within reason, Duke would certainly have fought for his own rightful power, "I asked to be involved in the post-editing of the film, and also to consider my ideas in the final cut. ”

Editing can completely decide the fate of a film, and Duke knows that he can't get the final editing rights, and just wants to make the film as much as possible to achieve the editing effect he wants.

These demands were beyond Robin Grande's purview, and he looked to George Lucas, who was sitting at the top.

"As long as your construction is reasonable." George Lucas had no intention of refusing.

Duke breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, for a new director, it is very rare to get such power, in Hollywood's production mode, let alone the final editing right, quite a few directors will be excluded from editing work.

"One more thing."

Towards the end of the meeting, Duke tentatively made a request, "Uncle George...... Well, George, add my $100,000 upfront remuneration to the cost of making the film......"

"And then you get a proportional share of the film's revenue?" George Lucas tilted his head to look at him.

Probably knowing that his demands were excessive, Duke made a few meaningless gestures and completely gave up these unreliable ideas.

But what he didn't expect was that in the afternoon, accompanied by his mother's lawyer, when he signed a formal director's contract with Lucasfilm, this clause was added to the additional terms of the film......

Of course, this is a small amount of money that can only be shared after deducting various expenses such as theaters and publishers.

After signing his name on the contract in duplicate, Duke suddenly had a strange feeling that he had gained more power, right?

But that's a good thing, isn't it?

As a producer, George Lucas is only responsible for the general direction, and the specific matters are basically handed over to the production team led by Robin Grande, who will represent the producer in the preparation, shooting, and production stages of the film, and deal with Duke and the entire crew in the future.

"The tentative budget for the film is $15 million, and the upfront funding of $10 million has already arrived."

When he came out with Duke, Robin Grande was still talking about the preparations, and he had apparently been instructed by George Lucas to teach Duke some of his experience through the language and work, "The remaining $5 million will be raised by Lucasfilm soon, and our studio will be set in West Hollywood, which is close to Santa Monica, the main location." ”

"Does the studio have a name?" Duke asked.

"Not yet." Robin Grande shrugged.

"How's the 'speed'?"

"Not bad......

The two men walked to the parking lot as they spoke, got into their respective cars, and went their separate ways.

Duke had long since quit his job as a temporary worker, and for the rest of his day, he would report to the Speed studio in West Hollywood on time.

The studio system can be said to be the practice of large Hollywood companies, whenever there is a relatively high investment in the project of the film, the production company will set up a corresponding studio, to coordinate the film's funds, preparation, personnel, shooting, advertising, sponsorship and peripheral work, some blockbuster film studios can often save for several years or even more than ten years.

The pre-production and post-production of a film are often more cumbersome than the shooting, especially the commercial production that is full of big scenes.

Lucasfilm has a strong heritage and strong appeal in the industry, and the 'speed' studio has only been established for more than ten days, and the cinematography, sets, lighting, makeup, costumes, art direction and other contracts have been signed one after another, most of which are some people who often work with Lucasfilm.

Many positions can also be digested internally by Lucasfilm, such as the soundtrack being handed over to Skywalker Sound Effects, and the special effects production being handled by Industrial Light & Magic.

The whole pre-production process is closely related to the director, what kind of lens language is needed, the possible influence of the actors on the film, the investigation of the studio and other departments to determine the lighting set, the clarification of post-editing ideas, and the exchange of dubbing and soundtrack with Skywalker sound effects, etc., these are all things that Duke must prepare in the early stage.

Renting prop venues, referencing Duke's construction of sets, contacting cheap car rental agencies, finding suitable roads and locations, etc., are all done by professionals, and Hollywood's assembly line system is both collaborative and highly specialized.

Over the next month, Duke completed most of the storyboard sketches, and the film was only halfway through the preparations, and according to Robin Grande, the film would never be shot until mid-September.

"There will be at least five major explosion scenes on film."

At the meeting of the crew, Duke said that he requested, "The two explosions in the opening scene of the film, and the scene of the bus colliding with the plane, we can use a scaled-down model to shoot on the set......"

He had to save money, which was not a matter of course, "buses exploded in the streets and houses exploded, and as much as possible they filmed on the spot. ”

"Duke ......"

One of Robin Grande's subordinates then said, "The approval for the street explosion has been approved." ”

"I'm looking for the right home." Another said, "We have people who are looking at the city hall and looking through detached houses in the greater Los Angeles area that are waiting to be demolished. ”

"Model system zuò is in progress......"

When Duke looked over, the head of the ILM team said, "It will definitely not affect your shooting plan." ”

The atmosphere of the meeting looks good, at least on the surface, Duke knows that he can't convince the public at all, and the crew is basically Hollywood veterans, these people are very shrewd, and in the case of Lucas supporting himself, even if he has any thoughts in his heart, he will not show it on the surface.

Duke doesn't care what these people think, except for the support of George Lucas, he doesn't have any capital, in this circle of seniority and full of power, he doesn't think that he can deter these mixed people by showing his ability at work, that's not realistic at all, and their inner doubts may be accompanied until the crew disbands.

In particular, it took them a few years or even more than ten years to get to the position where they are now, but he has risen to the top and become a director with an investment of tens of millions of dollars.

None of this is important to Duke, as long as he can maintain a superficial working relationship and not affect the filming of the film, he doesn't care, what he needs most now is a successful qualification!

A success can change many things in Hollywood, and he will not be like before, no one cares about sending it to the door, and he also has the capital to set up his own production team, and in the future filming, he will reduce the internal friction that each crew will inevitably have!

The issue of special effects was discussed, and the dominance of the discourse was gradually taken away by Robin Grande, who was the most powerful person in the office.

As the preliminary preparations for the film entered the final stage, the selection of suitable main actors was naturally put on the agenda.

The others soon left the office that temporarily served as a conference room, leaving only Duke, the two assistant directors, and a few producers, including Robin Grande.

"I chose Keanu Reeves for the lead actor."

After Robin's assistant changed the coffee for everyone again, Duke was the first to speak, "Although his acting skills are not excellent, it is enough to deal with such a tense face from beginning to end, and he has a certain reputation, and the salary is low enough." ”

"I've seen his films, and I've seen him personally."

This is the first assistant director called Koné, who has nearly a decade of experience in the industry, and at this time he disagreed, "Keanu Reeves is too thin!" Don't forget, this is an action movie and he doesn't have strong muscles! ”

Eyes flew over Koné's face, Duke was not in a hurry to refute, this was not the first time that the other party had objected to his opinion.

"Well, put Keanu Reeves in the audition and make an offer to his broker." Robin Grande took over the conversation, "In the next two weeks, our main job is to finalize the male and female leads, as well as a few main supporting characters. ”