I’m in Hollywood

Although model special effects are still the mainstream technology used in special effects films, I am sure that in ten years or twenty years, CG special effects will definitely replace model special effects and become the mainstream of special effects films, about ten years ago. , Industrial Light and Magic has produced full CG scenes in the movie, and in Jim's Abyss last year, even full CG characters have appeared, these are the most intuitive manifestations of this development trend, Clark said. In the restaurant, Eric was chatting with Stan Winston and James Cameron across from him.

Although the two of them were both special effects artists, Eric certainly couldn't be a master in terms of professional special effects techniques. However, Eric's identity as a traveler makes him clearer about the development trend of special effects in movies than the two opposites. Therefore, after finding the right topic, he can easily gain the initiative to talk.

Eric, I don't agree with you. Although CG special effects can achieve more diverse scenes, it is still too expensive. In comparison, model special effects are much cheaper. You must know Jim's Terminator, that movie cost only $6.5 million, and maybe $6.5 million wouldn’t even be enough for the special effects if it used CG,” countered Stan Winston.

Of course, I just said that CG special effects are the most important development trend of film special effects, but model special effects will always play its due role, speaking... Eric suddenly turned to James Cameron nonchalantly: Jim, have you thought about making a sequel to Terminator? I remember you saying in an interview that you had a lot of regrets in the first Terminator that didn't materialize.

Hearing this question, James Cameron and Stan Winston glanced at each other in unison. They had chatted for more than half an hour, and their lunch was almost finished. Originally, James Cameron didn't know how to bring up this topic, but Eric took the initiative to ask it.

Eric, in fact, I have already written the script for the second part, but I am still looking for investors. James Cameron pretended to be reserved, although he was called a tyrant on the set, but James Cameron said Mellon is not usually a hot temper. When the film attracts investment, there is no shortage of small tricks to play. Otherwise, in the past life, it is impossible to overspend again and again and get investment again and again.

Eric of course also understands James Cameron's careful thinking, and he is also clear about James Cameron's current situation. Although Cameron has not evolved into the card god of later generations, but as a transmigration By. Eric must pay special attention to this name, and he maintains the good habit of reading newspapers and magazines every day, and he knows a lot of Hollywood trends, so occasionally there is news about James Cameron in the newspapers, and Eric will subconsciously Take a second look and keep it in mind.

James Cameron's The Abyss cost a whopping $70 million last year, just twice as much as last year's global hit Batman by Warner Bros., though it ended up garnering rave reviews and Oscar nominations. But the box office was very miserable. North America only got more than 50 million box office, while the overseas box office was only 30 million US dollars.

The box office was not good, and the corresponding peripherals would certainly not be too brilliant, so the film brought Fox a loss of more than 30 million US dollars.

This is Eric's memory, James Cameron's only film that made investors lose money.

And after being slapped so badly, of course it's impossible for Fox to invest in Cameron's new film, let alone the larger Terminator 2 that seems to have invested in it, although the first box office of this film was good. But that's not enough for Fox to risk paying for it again, and it's even less likely that the other six studios with which Cameron hasn't done much work will do so easily.

In my memory, Terminator 2 was filmed by an independent film company named Karoka, which raised $100 million and finally won more than 500 million at the global box office, which is destined to be a big hit. Although the investment is higher, Eric definitely doesn't plan to let it go, and he doesn't even plan to let Cameron go.

After thinking about it, Eric continued to ask: Jim, if you can, can you briefly talk about the plot of Terminator 2?

When James Cameron saw that Eric was interested in this movie, he suddenly had a glimmer of hope in his heart: Of course, but please keep it secret and don't reveal it.

That's for sure, Eric nodded, and then said to Jennifer Connelly, who was diligently making a vase next to him, Jenny...

The girl smiled knowingly, revealing two small tiger teeth: Don't worry, I won't either.

So, the story is probably like this... James Cameron briefly said the first draft of the outline he created, and Jennifer Connelly, who heard James Cameron's idea of ​​the liquid metal robot, narrowed his eyes slightly. , a look of incredible surprise.

Eric already has a complete movie in his memory, and James Cameron has no talent in telling stories with words, so he didn't show any strange look, just listened to Cameron's narration. , and occasionally find some differences between Cameron's synopsis and the finished film. For example, in Cameron's synopsis, Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, was not put in a mental hospital.

Of course, these are just some trivial details, and during the whole process of telling, Cameron and Stan Winston have been silently paying attention to Eric's expression and found that Eric's expression has not changed much, Cameron's heart Immediately it felt a little bad. If a story doesn't interest investors, the chances of getting an investment must be slim.

Jim, according to your idea, the cost of this movie is definitely not low. Have you made a preliminary budget? Eric asked when Cameron finished speaking.

I've done it, although the idea of ​​the liquid metal robot may be a bit more expensive, but I only need seven... no, sixty million, I only need sixty million dollars to make this movie, liquid metal Robots don’t have to use computer CG, and some scenes can still use relatively cheap models, which I discussed with Stan,” Cameron said. Finally, he unknowingly took the initiative to sell to Eric, The modesty that he pretended to be was also forgotten. After all, among the contacts he knew, Eric was the most likely to get the money. Firefly has begun to return funds for several films released around Christmas last year, and together with video tapes and other peripherals, it can bring at least $400 million to Firefly.

Stan Winston quickly echoed: Yes, Eric, we can replace some scenes with mercury or models. The investment of 60 million US dollars is enough.

60 million, you can only see a ghost when you can shoot it!

Eric murmured inwardly, and his face became solemn: 60 million, which is almost ten times the investment of the previous film. Firefly has never operated a movie with such a large investment.

Eric, trust me, this movie will not disappoint you...

Cameron wanted to continue to say something, but was interrupted by Eric. Since James Cameron has not found an investor yet, it is still necessary to hang up the appetite of the card god. It is too easy to get the investment card. Mellon's splurge is even more unscrupulous. Eric even thought of letting Jeffrey serve as the producer of Terminator 2, but he gave up soon. Jeffrey's thrift and Cameron's splurge are exactly the same. To the extreme, it would be strange to put them together and not fight.

Sorry, Jim, I need to think about it carefully, $60 million investment is not a small amount. Let's talk about today's business, Stan, I think you must have guessed something, I am planning to start a film special effects company, and would like to invite You and your team have joined, and in the future this studio will be responsible for the special effects of most of Firefly's films.

Stan Winston was not angry because Cameron was rejected. Eric's cautious response to Terminator 2 was almost doomed. It would be abnormal if he agreed immediately: Eric, why? What about me, I mean, there are a lot of good special effects teams in Hollywood?

Eric remembered what Stan Winston once said in his previous life, and replied with a smile: Because what they do is only special effects, and you are performing with special effects.

Stan Winston was a little moved. This sentence just touched the most sensitive nerve in Stan Winston's heart. Once upon a time, Stan Winston's ideal was to be a movie actor, but the ideal and reality are always too different Big, after graduating from college, Stan Winston opened his own Winston studio after doing a three-year makeup apprenticeship at Disney, only to find out later that he didn't seem to have completely abandoned his ideals as an actor. He is performing with himself, but he is performing with special effects. Therefore, over the years, Stan Winston has maintained his original passion for film special effects, and is often described as crazy.

This consistent enthusiasm for special effects in movies is the most important factor in Stan Winston's success. To be honest, without Stan Winston, James Cameron would not have been able to use the mere 650. $10,000 to film the classic Terminator.

You know, because of the serious lack of funds, the Terminator robot in the first movie is just a simple metal model without any mechanical kinetic energy device. Therefore, the special effects shots of the robot movement in the movie are almost frame by frame. The movie is shot with animation methods, 24 frames per second, 1440 frames per minute, and several minutes of footage. It can be imagined how complicated the workload is. If you don’t have enough faith and enthusiasm in your heart, No one can hold on. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point () to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read it.)