Made in Hollywood

Since the preparation of the project, the crew has held a large-scale publicity event basically every month. May is Star Wars Day, and in June, a large-scale press conference with all the main actors is held in Dublin at the end of the month.

Although this press conference was far away from the World Entertainment Center, there were still more than 500 media reporters present that day. Who said this was Star Wars.

Media reporters from different regions had different interview targets, and the media from China threw almost all questions to Daniel Wu.

Mr. Wu, a Chinese reporter asked loudly, The IP of Star Wars has existed for many years. When did you first come into contact with it?

Daniel Wu is a smart man. He knows why he became one of the leading actors of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He answered the questions of Chinese reporters in great detail.

I actually got to know the world of Star Wars through Episode I: The Phantom Menace. That movie came out in 1999, and a few years later I was suddenly drawn to Darth Maul's dolls, but I had no idea where he was from at the time, I just thought he had a cool look. Years later, I finally saw that The Phantom Menace, and then followed it up with the other prequels - sorry, don't blame me ignorance……

After sorting out the language a bit, Daniel Wu continued, After that, I watched the original Star Wars trilogy and read all the things in the Star Wars series. But at that time, I thought the original Star Wars trilogy The first three were just TV spin-offs of the prequel trilogy, and I had no idea at the time that those were the original movies. That’s what I love about space dramas—pure goodness triumphing over evil.”

By the same token, the British media focused on their English roses.

A reporter from The Times was the first to ask, Daisy, can you talk about the auditions that landed the part?

As an actress starting out, I usually do pretty well in my auditions. Competing for Star Wars is not like other movies. I was really nervous, I went to multiple auditions, and each time I was able to do well. It is an opportunity to show your talents that you didn’t show last time, and you can also experience feelings that you didn’t show last time.”

Although a newcomer, Daisy Ridley was generous, I thought I did badly in some rounds of auditions. I cried after the first audition. I walked back and cried bitterly. snot because I thought I totally screwed up. It was only after the last audition that I thought I did a good job and I left and walked straight home and ate a whole packet of cookies. I sat on the couch and said, 'I think I've done my best'.

And those media from Latin countries mainly interviewed Oscar Isaac.

A media reporter from Brazil asked. Can you talk about your experience working on Star Wars and working with Director Rosenberg?

This is literally a childhood dream come true! It's unbelievable, it's such a joy, and it's so exciting to be a part of Star Wars.

Just like his words, Oscar Isaac seemed quite excited, Director Rosenberg is fantastic. He is definitely the friendliest and most passionate director I have ever worked with. He is very smart and responds very well. Fast and optimistic, and it is this energy that drives everything about the project.”

However. Compared with the three new leading actors, more media still focus on Harrison Ford. Moreover, the crew paid more attention to his promotional packaging, and Han Solo he played has long since become a popular symbol.

Focusing on promoting Harrison Ford is also in line with the crew's interests.

Symbolize stars and make full use of their commercial value. It is an important means for Hollywood to obtain income and ensure profits. Therefore, how to better sell the symbol meaning of stars is closely related to the development of Hollywood.

Celebrity in a broad sense is an unreliable word, because almost everyone who appears on the screen can be labeled as a star. In Hollywood industry terms, the word referring to a star is actually star. Talent” (Talent). The use of words like talent is not used to indicate that a star has talent, but like the Chinese talent, it is a classification label of commercial value.

In the collective labor of film production, stars are part of the creative workforce. They use their bodies and voices to express characters on the screen, which plays a very special symbolic role in the production of films.

All movie stars are movie actors, but not all movie actors are stars. The biggest difference between actors and stars, or the most important factor that determines the star level, is the circulation value of name.

A movie can have hundreds of actors, but only a few names can be used as selling points-of course, these names are basically stars who are the protagonists. When defining a Hollywood star, the economy Value is always at the center, and star groups represent the upper echelon of blockbuster performers.

The hierarchical structure of Hollywood actors is very obvious in various occasions. For example, on movie posters, the star's name will appear near the movie title, which is quite eye-catching.

Highlighting certain actors in this way is the most obvious symbolic quality, representing that star is a name used to generate sales, and the communication value of this name makes star a recognizable symbol of value and currency in circulation.

When predicting profits, a star's box office appeal can not only be calculated and estimated, but also used for transaction circulation in the movie market.

Hollywood typically defines box-office appeal this way—the percentage of financing and box office that a movie can attract based on the name of an actor or director alone, regardless of other factors in the project.

The grading of Hollywood stars is based entirely on box office appeal, that is, commercial ability, not acting skills.

It can be said that in the past thirty years, the level of Hollywood stars has basically no direct relationship with acting skills or artistic contributions.

In the case of Duke's former Duke Studios and now Lucasfilm, this is often the case for Hollywood stars.

Super A-level superstars, they can guarantee pre-sales, as well as a sizable premiere box office.

A-list stars, they don't automatically spark a frenzy, but as long as the director and budget are right, and the type of movie is consistent with the star's past work, they are a sure bet for the studio.

High-quality second-tier stars are actors who claim to have similar influence as first-tier stars. In fact, their commercial value is not stable and will be affected by factors such as budget and co-stars.

Second-tier stars can sometimes attract the attention of distribution companies, but other elements of the movie are relatively more important, such as the degree of completion of the script and the level of the budget.

Third-tier stars, whose names alone have little impact on the market, yet with the right co-stars, directors and budget, they can occasionally boost box office in local markets.

At the same time, there are some relatively special groups of people in the star camp.

Actors who aren't A-list stars, but who become genre stars through repeat appearances in a certain genre of commercially successful films, typically have their main stage in the cult and comedy genres.

In addition, there are actors who appear in films that do not belong to the popular market, interrupting the usual continuity of film roles and genres.

They challenged roles that were completely different from the previous ones again and again, and they were called acting school.

However, after all, they are not the mainstream of Hollywood stars, just like Daniel Day Lewis and others, they do not have much box office appeal, and the mainstream Hollywood film circle is not too interested in these acting schools.

Stars, as a symbolic image, have special significance for the film industry. Even directors, producers, and investors at Duke’s level never ignore the appeal that superstars may bring.

The most prominent feature of a movie as a commodity is its uniqueness. There will be similar parts, but no two movies will be exactly the same.

But such a feature is an obstacle for consumers and producers.

Most movie deals come from consumers willing to spend money to see unknown content, and consumers' want to watch mentality depends precisely on those parts of the movie that are not fully understood.

Consumers can't be sure what they're going to pay for until people see a movie, and producers can't be sure what consumers will like.

Hollywood has a famous saying: Probably the most important fact in the entire movie industry is that no one knows anything. To deal with this symmetrical ignorance, there is only reliance on similarities or coherence between movies.

Genre films and series films are a way to deal with it, and the broader method is to use stars.

The reason stars are important in the film business is because they provide a means of maintaining the balance between uncertainty and certainty, difference and coherence, uniqueness and familiarity.

Therefore, the star must have a unique advantage, exist as a familiar entity, the participation of a certain star will remind people of his appearance in the movie, a series of familiar known meanings, this known can make Audiences better understand unknown parts of new releases, such as comedy movies starring Jim Carrey or Ben Stiller, or romance movies starring Julia Roberts.

Hollywood producers describe stars as a kind of monopoly of personality, referring to the star's prominent personality, which provides the film industry with a guarantee of product differentiation and product quality.

However, stars are not direct commodities, and it is impossible to buy a star in any theater. (to be continued ~^~)

PS: Ask for a monthly ticket and a recommendation ticket!