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In general, the Hollywood film production process is basically divided into five stages: review and development, preliminary preparation, lens shooting, post-production and sales and distribution, and after entering September, "Brave Death Island" is still in the initial preparatory stage.

During this phase, Rock Studios had to do a lot of preparation for the actual shoot, hiring actors and crew, setting up, and selecting locations, all of which Duke was involved in.

It is impossible for a director to completely break away from the preliminary preparations, and the kind of works made by directors who hand over all the preparatory work to others and travel around the world by themselves have only one way to hit the streets, and there is absolutely no exception.

Fortunately, Duke now has assistants with similar ideas to himself, and some work can be given to assistant director Zack Schneider and assistant director Sophia Coppola, and then summarized to him for the final review.

Reviewing Sophia's schedule and schedule, flipping through Zack Schneider's set drawings and storyboards are all things Duke has to do in his spare time, as well as meeting DP John Schwarzman on locations and art director Hannah Serena.

He also had to audition for several major actors, and after deciding on Ed Harris, Nicolas Cage, and Christopher Lee, Duke had to work with the character director to get the job in check......

In short, with the help of "Life and Death" surpassing $300 million and continuing to soar at the global box office, Duke has gained more support from Warner Bros., and has been given much more power than when he first directed, and is also busier.

"Lieutenant Colonel ......"

Standing on top of a building near San Francisco Bay, Duke pointed to the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, surrounded by clouds, "Can our F-18 Hornet pass under the bridge?" ”

"Duke, I advise you to give up such thoughts."

Lieutenant Colonel Lunhuo, the Pentagon's liaison officer stationed on the crew, shook his head directly, "This can't be!" ”

"It seems that we can only rely on special effects." Duke motioned to Sophia, who was beside him, to note this, and then said to Zack Schneider and art director Hannah, "I want a more intense view than it is now, Zack, and that's what you call it's like an oil painting." ”

"That's going to be done with artificial lighting." Zack Schneider was also remembering Duke's thoughts, while Hannah on the other side said, "I pay attention to the intensity of color when setting up the scene. ”

"John ......"

Snapping his fingers at the DP, Duke waited for John Schwartzman to come over and said, "It's autumn, and it's the most beautiful season in San Francisco Bay, so starting next week, I'm going to have your camera assistant come here every week to shoot the scene, and I'm going to have a lot of sunrise and sunset." ”

This was Duke's first official visit to San Francisco, and before entering the building, he had already taken the heads of many key departments such as assistant directors, directors of photography, art directors, and military advisers to the streets of San Francisco a few times, and also had a preliminary composition of the streets to be destroyed in the future film.

The Lieutenant Colonel was both the Pentagon's liaison officer to the crew and the head of several military advisers.

Not surprisingly, after Warner Bros. submitted the application and the Pentagon reviewed the script, the Department of Defense agreed to sponsor this large-scale commercial film, just like "Life and Death" is to the Los Angeles police, and the military spirit and patriotism promoted in "Death Island" are simply too much in line with the Pentagon's appetite.

The Pentagon generously sponsored the film, not only providing the crew with a variety of advanced equipment such as the F-18 Hornet and the M-16 improved assault rifle to participate in the filming, but also sending a Navy SEAL to directly star in the film's task force.

Except for a small amount of labor costs, these are almost all free sponsorships, which shows the importance that various agencies of the US government attach to propaganda work.

In other words, "Brave Death Island" is also a typical American main theme movie.

Of course, for Duke, it doesn't matter what kind of film you have, what matters is whether this kind of film can bring him money.

Out of the building, the group went to the pier in San Francisco Bay and took a ferry to the famous Alcatraz Island.

Alcatraz Island is commonly known as 'The.rock', surrounded by cliffs and deep water, and it is not easy to connect with foreign traffic, so it was chosen by the federal government as a prison site, and once housed the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, which has held many well-known felons, was abolished in 1963, and is now a famous tourist attraction in San Francisco Bay along with the Golden Gate Bridge.

It is also the main place where the story of the film takes place.

"Duke ......"

Standing on the bow of the ship, Lieutenant Colonel Lenho came over and once again brought up the old topic, "Can you think about the Pentagon again?" ”

"Lieutenant Colonel, the Pentagon has reviewed it, which shows that I am generally satisfied with the script."

This is not the first time that the other side has said it, and there may be differences of opinion within the Pentagon on the Hollywood liaison office, and some people want to make the image of General Hammer and the FBI more positive, but Duke will not give in lightly, "The state should be kind to the individuals who have sacrificed for it." ”

"The Pentagon has no objections to this topic." Lieutenant Colonel Lunhuo said.

"That's good." Duke nodded, leaning on the railing on the bow of the boat and said, "Let's talk about the roles." ”

"General Hammer is in danger for his men to be ignored, and Mason, who is used against him, is also a spy who has made great sacrifices for the good of his country. All the main and supporting characters are loyal to their duties, and even FBI Director Vormack, who appears as the dark side, throws Mason in prison in order to keep state secrets. ”

"All the characters did not betray their country and duty in the end, and Hammer turned the missile around at the last moment; After decades of wronging his country, Mason only chose to return peacefully; Lieutenant Colonel Anderson, knowing that he would be shot, did not lay down his arms and continued to do his best to convince his opponent to keep the Naval Oath. ”

"As for the two little miscellaneous fish who betrayed in the end, does that small role matter?"

Looking at Lieutenant Colonel Lenho seriously, Du Keyan said, "In my vision, this is a movie with no real antagonists. ”

Having said all this, Duke also tried to eliminate the differences with the Pentagon, after all, the free sponsorship provided by the other party can allow him to have more budget to invest in special effects shooting, and as a director who will not stay away from the mainstream film industry, there are many places where he needs the Pentagon's sponsorship in the future.

The differences were not easy to eliminate, Lieutenant Colonel Lunhuo was temporarily persuaded by Duke to agree to continue to communicate with the Pentagon's superiors, and after landing on Alcatraz Island, he did not mention related topics again, but on the architectural topography of Alcatraz Island, and Duke, a layman, explained in detail how to reasonably deploy troops and how to carry out special operations, which are very rigorous professional knowledge, and the reason why Duke invited military advisers.

Although it is an entertainment movie, he doesn't want to make the basic mistake of being ridiculous and generous.

Today's Alcatraz Island is no longer the prison it used to be, but has become a tourist attraction, going around the ground and underground, and Duke has also discussed with others the possibility of shooting on the spot.

"It's not a big problem on the ground."

Director of photography John Schwartzman said, "There's no such thing as being able to shoot in the ground. ”

"Hmm." Duke nodded and said to the art director on the other side, "Hannah, it's up to you to replicate and build the Alcatraz underground scene." ”

The female art director over there made a reassuring gesture to him.

Finally, the group walked into Alcatraz's Entertainment Plaza, a spacious and flat place where you could clearly see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and most of San Francisco Bay.

"Robin ......"

Stopping, Duke walked over to the production manager, who was habitually invisible, "The main scene in the film is on Alcatraz, and if we put the premiere here in the future, it would be a good publicity boo." ”

"It's really good for the promotional film." Robin Grande nodded approvingly, looked around, seemed to be considering the feasibility and cost of setting up a big screen, and after a while, he said, "There is a certain operability, and I will communicate this matter with Warner Bros." ”

When the sun was setting in the west, Duke ended his two-day field trip, and traveled back to Los Angeles with the crew in several cars.

"Are you starting to lose sleep again?"

Seeing Duke resting on the back seat of the car, Sofia Coppola handed over a bottle of energy drink, "Is it too stressful?" ”

"......No," Duke shook his head, unscrewed the cap and took a few sips, "It's much less stressful than when I was filming "Life and Death", but I've been a little tired lately, and I haven't slept very well." ”

"It would be much better to find a woman." Sophia's words were a little teasing, and she took out her mobile phone, "Do you need me to help you call?" ”

"What?" Duke was stunned.

"Naomi Watts......" Sophia pointed to her eyes, "I don't have a problem here, that woman is your makeshift bed. Companion, right? ”

Duke waved his hand casually, too lazy to pay any more attention to her.

"Do you know how Nikolai removes stress?" Sophia leaned closer, lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "Find a dozen long-legged models and start a carnival party at home, there are companies in Hollywood that specialize in providing this kind of service." ”

"Have you ever attended?" Duke deliberately squeezed her.

"......No," Sophia shrugged her shoulders and said generously, "but I saw my brothers drive by." ”

"Alright, Sophia. Don't tell these jokes anymore. Duke felt a little better, "Let's turn the conversation back to work, tomorrow we will interview the pyrotechnician recommended by Uncle Lucas, and we will hold an audition ...... for the female character" (the novel "Hollywood Made in Zuò" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there will also be a 100% lucky draw for everyone!). Open WeChat now, click on the "+" sign in the upper right corner to "add friends", search for the official account "qdread" and follow, hurry up! )