Hollywood Rhapsody

Sarah does not think she is a talented actress, but luckily she can make up for it with hard work. She always thinks about the role with extra care. In all fairness, playing Katharine Hepburn this time is the biggest challenge she has ever performed. It is not because of heavy roles, psychological complexity or time span , but because Katharine Hepburn is too well known!

"This role is different from the "Cat and Mouse Game" I played before. Although "Cat and Mouse Game" is also adapted from real people, the character prototype Frank is not a public figure. The public's impression of him is mostly blank, so I can Create a new character with your own preferences and understanding, there is a lot of room for creativity.” Leonardo looked at Sarah standing in front of the big mirror in the gym, and then glanced at the thick stack of CDs piled up next to the projector, Can't help sighing, "And your Katharine Hepburn..."

"A world-renowned legendary actress..." Sarah still maintained her posture facing the mirror, and spread her hands helplessly at Leon in the mirror, "People are deeply impressed by her screen image, regardless of her voice. It’s still about facial expressions, every word and deed, every frown and smile have been finalized, and the living prototype is there, so my performance must first be similar in appearance before I can be qualified to talk about similarity in spirit. It is useless and will be immediately denied."

Therefore, she has watched almost all of Katharine Hepburn's movies, family videos and interviews. The first thing to do is to use her powerful imitation ability to copy Katharine Hepburn's movements, demeanor and even eyes. The process is boring and long, but it’s just a matter of time for Sarah. If one time fails, she will do it a second time, and if ten times fail, she will do it twenty times. She has the patience to make all the details authentic. "Katherine Hepburn ".

"I heard that you have imitated all Katharine Hepburn's movies these days?" Leonardo's tone was a little amazed. Looking at those video tapes and CDs, one can imagine how big a project it was. If Sarah really Imitating all of them is tantamount to re-acting the movie following Katharine Hepburn's acting career.Especially when looking at the mirror so meticulously, wouldn't it be necessary to sleep without rest?He asked Sarah to play to make her happy, he didn't want to tire his girl out!

"Ada told you? The evil informer... She always likes to exaggerate the facts." Sarah rolled her eyes angrily. Leonardo is really capable this time, and there is a little spy arranged by her side. Another one, from Ida to Noah, from Michael to James Cameron to Arthur, they were all bribed by him, so Ian and Allen were probably the only ones he couldn't bribe!If one day... he and Ian also become friends, this day is probably not far from the comet hitting the earth.

"Hey, I just want to care about your progress. The crew has been set up and shooting can start at any time. Your scenes don't run through all of them, so you can continue to prepare for a while. We can see the effect of a few scenes first. If you think there is no problem, we will start work. If you think it takes time, I will discuss with Martin Scorsese and arrange other scenes forward." Leonardo said seriously, with good reasons, and the placement of spies is also a good idea. Arranged confidently.

He tapped the script in his hand and asked Sarah which paragraph to read first.He has also learned to be good now, knowing that blindly talking about love and heartfelt words are just deaf ears to Sarah. Sarah is a doer. She may also like romantic romance in her bones, but most of the time she prefers to focus on work. Therefore, it is better to keep up with her rhythm than to talk sweetly, and it is best for Sarah to slowly develop feelings at work... Speaking of which... he learned this from Ian!

Sarah has already imitated Katharine Hepburn to an eighth degree. If she asks a make-up artist to deal with her appearance, she should be able to fill in another one and a half points. Only the last half point is mysterious and mysterious.Before practicing alone in front of the mirror, no one to accompany her in the play will eventually affect her emotional expression, and the effect is slightly worse.Now, Leonardo came to his door on his own initiative, and of course Sarah couldn't wish for it.This feels like returning to the youthful years when the two of them filmed "Sarah", except that there is one missing director Jason holding a camera and yelling at the side.

After the two scenes, Sarah felt pretty good about herself. She watched the camera's shooting results with Leonardo, and she even went through it quickly in her mind, comparing it with the effect of her own practice, and was pleasantly surprised by the half point □□It seems that he was caught out during the play, and it is indeed more conducive to emotional stimulation to interact with Leonardo.With such an effect, Sarah, who has always demanded high standards, curled her lips in satisfaction, and I believe Martin Scorsese will not be disappointed.

only……

Over the course of the pair's play, Sarah discovered some other problems too...

She smiled and listened to Leonardo praise herself, but instead of reciprocating, she reciprocated Leonardo's string of criticisms: "I think at this time, your eyes are okay, a little bit single, but the expression It's definitely over the top, think about how Daniel Day-Lewis handled it when he was the butcher, you could try to be a little more subdued."

Leonardo just frowned when he heard the words, but he didn't feel any dissatisfaction because of the criticism. His eyes even lit up a little. His willingness to find fault with him at least shows that Sarah cares about his performance very much, and she only thinks of him in her heart. So blunt.

As an actor, he has no less love for acting than Sarah. In order to improve his acting skills, he spared no time to take acting classes, and even planned to invite the acting master who taught Sarah to join the crew of "The Aviator" Full guidance.It's just that he won't tell Sarah these things. He wants to make progress quietly and give Sarah a surprise, and he hopes that he can catch up with Sarah's footsteps by being good enough.So now he listens very carefully, and is trying to adopt different interpretation methods. Would it be better if he was more restrained?

"If you want, we can try again later, and I really want to see your one-man show in the bathroom, that is, the part where you wash your hands." Sarah thought for a while and made a small request. This scene is an opportunity for Leonardo to show off his acting skills. She wants to see how Leonardo handles it. A one-man show with obsessive obsessive obsessive obsessive obsessive obsession.

"The next part of washing hands?" Leonardo raised one eyebrow, nodded happily, and even had a little bit of eagerness to try, "I've been practicing for a long time, and I wanted you to see it."

Sarah made a gesture of invitation, and quietly watched Leonardo take a deep breath to adjust his state. He not only acted out the first hand-washing scene with Katharine Hepburn, but also the more serious cleanliness scene later, He acted very seriously, from the angle and frequency of rubbing his fingers to the changes in his eyes and brows, it can be seen that he really put a lot of thought into preparing for these two scenes.

While observing, Sarah compared the movie versions she had seen in her previous life, and couldn't help being secretly surprised. Could it really be her butterfly effect?Why does she feel that the interpretation in front of her is more delicate and vivid than the final version in her previous life?Leonardo was probably influenced by her, and his control over the details of the performance was obviously much better than in his previous life. However, doing so did not avoid misunderstandings, and it was an old problem that appeared in his previous life.

"Have you discussed these scenes with Martin? Leon, I think you may have put too much energy into the portrayal of the expression. The emotion is indeed very strong, but just like the effect of the scene with me before, it is a bit overdone Already." Sara said and nodded her brows, and then slid her fingers from the brows up to her forehead, "Look, our face is only as big as a palm, if I frown hard, all the facial features will be wrinkled together, and the wrinkles on the forehead will disappear." Forming undulating waves..."

As Sarah spoke, she made a face full of bitterness and hatred, and then she stretched her brows and eyes again. She just pursed her lips and didn't even move her eyebrows, focusing on the changes in her eyes .Then, she frowned slightly, opened her mouth slightly and bit a small corner of her lower lip, and added more emotions to her eyes.In this way, the degree of force on the expression is added little by little, and the expression is gradually approaching the final bun face, as if the process of forming the bun face is slowed down, and every change is clearly visible.

When the whole process was finally completed, Sarah let out a sigh of relief, rubbed her little face vigorously, and then muttered while patting her face to relax her muscles: "Hurry up and take it back, I don't want to really become a full face." Pleated buns!"

Leonardo just kept watching quietly, and when Sarah returned to her normal relaxed expression, he came back from his thoughtful state and nodded slightly: "I see, your It means that too much expression will affect the expression of emotions.”

"That's almost what it means, young man, you have a very high understanding!" Sarah patted Leonardo's shoulder like an old man, and said old-fashionedly.When Leonardo twitched her mouth, she frowned and smiled again, pointing to the mirror in front of her and explained, "You know I have the habit of practicing in front of the mirror. I have tried many times to change my expression little by little like the one just now, crying, laughing, angry, hideous... I gradually increased the performance of different emotions, and then I found..."

Sarah didn't continue talking, but stretched out her hand again, and spread her five fingers to cover her face: "My face is only this big. When the facial features of a palm-sized face change too much, those rich lines will confuse the audience. The attention is distracted, which steals the scene of the eyes, and I prefer to put more scenes in the eyes, after all, the eyes are the windows of the soul, and the other facial features are too eye-catching, which will make the performance appear exaggerated, even pompous and empty a feeling of."

"Indeed, when you wrinkled your face into a ball just now, I didn't notice your eyes at all, because there were too many distracting factors." Leonardo coughed lightly and added in a low voice, "And, because the expression is too Excessive force has made your originally beautiful face look a bit hideous, and the beauty has been destroyed..."

"Hahahaha, no matter how beautiful you are, it won't look good if your facial features are crowded together." Sarah wrinkled her nose and made a face, then cast a sideways glance at Leonardo jokingly, "You should be responsible to the audience, Just like you don't like to see me turn my face into a clown, the audience doesn't want to see you wrinkle your handsome face into dough when you pay to walk into the theater. Think back to how disappointed you were when I ignored you a few months ago But it is very good-looking, full of emotions and very contagious, but you did not lose your original handsomeness at that time, could it be that your emotions at that time were only slightly frowning?"

"Of course not! Without you, my heart would be broken!" Leonardo hurriedly cried out, touching his heart with a "loyal" face.

"Then why did you just frown slightly at that time?" Sarah asked back with a smile.

"Because...because..." Leonardo opened his mouth, and after a while he muttered softly, "Because I know that I...cough cough, I can still earn a few sympathy points visually, Maybe it will arouse your intolerance..." Leonardo said, tilting his head and coughing twice, although he would be troubled by being called "a vase that depends on his face" because of his good looks, but he and Sarah When they are together, they are still people who know how to use their own advantages. Who would refuse beautiful things?He has even studied in the mirror, which side of the face is best for Sarah, which angle is more handsome, and how sad and beautiful the frown is... But these small thoughts are definitely not enough. Tell Sarah.

"So, treat the audience as your lover, let the characters you play be full of emotions while maintaining beauty, restrain your expressions a bit, put more drama in your eyes, and put it in the temperament of your whole person." Sha Razor spread his hands, and admitted frankly, "It's difficult, at least I can't do it myself, and I often fall into the misunderstanding of acting for the sake of acting because I pay too much attention to the details of expressions, but slowly try to find out, Acting skills will always get better and better, and the acting skills of seniors like Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep did not happen overnight."

"Of course." Leonardo nodded with a smile, staring intently at Sarah with joyful eyes, "Let's explore together, it will always get better and better!"

we……

Of course Sarah recognized the "we", but she didn't make any response, just curled the corner of her mouth.

But Leonardo's smile became more and more beautiful because of this smile - just playing together like this, he felt that it was the happiest thing in the world!After such a long time, I realized how much I missed this feeling.

------------

Leonardo's original plan was to stay in Cambridge for three to four days, confirm with Sarah her desired shooting schedule, and then return to the crew to start the official filming of the movie. After being pointed out by Sarah, he realized that the film has not yet reached the stage of shooting, at least his performance is not up to the desired level.

"What? You want to postpone the shooting date? My Majesty the King, this is a filming, not a play. The crew burns money every day after the crew is set up, so even a day or a minute can't be wasted." Rick thought His majesty must have lost his nerve. If you are not in charge of the family, you don’t know the kind of whimsical ideas that are expensive, so he had to persuade him earnestly, "This is your first time as a producer. The news has already spread. Everyone is staring at it. If the filming is good, of course everyone applauds and praises it. If the filming is not good, everyone will not laugh at it, but if you change the shooting time at will and let the crew idle with paid vacation, it is really a foolish joke with a lot of money. gone."

Leonardo put his hand on his forehead. He really couldn’t refute this. He became a producer at a young age. On the day the news came out, there were people waiting to see the joke. He honestly said that he had pursuits and dared to challenge The unkind ones say that he is tossing around, even the actor is still doing so-so, so he wants to be a producer restlessly, the young man is proud and complacent!But in fact, he put all his heart and soul into doing this, and he did it beautifully!

He hired a big name in the industry, and neither the screenwriter nor the director would play games with him. Even if he is inexperienced, it is impossible for him to make a big mistake. What's more, this is Sarah's first film after returning to Hollywood. He cares more than anyone else, and it is precisely because of this care that he wants to postpone the shooting date. After all, he is the leading actor in this film. If he is not satisfied with his performance, the film will be able to Good to see where to go!

"You can have a good talk with Martin Scorsese and the screenwriter, and tell your problems. I believe they will make reasonable shooting arrangements." Sarah heard about Leonardo's decision and felt that he was making a fuss. .If you are not confident enough in your performance, you can put the non-difficult ones in the front to shoot, and gradually find the feeling.

Martin Scorsese also had the same idea, and even jokingly teased Leonardo, whether he was obsessed with the character Howard Hughes, so he also had some perfectionist obsessive-compulsive disorder: "Even decades-old actors It may not be possible to perform freely. This is not a state that you can reach after staying in Cambridge for a week or two. You are still young, so you don’t have to demand so much from yourself. Take your time and practice to gain true knowledge! "

"When you were filming "Gangs of New York", you and Daniel Day Lewis felt very good. You actually have this potential, but you are not skilled enough to control it. Go to the crew, the actors still have to stand in front of the camera Only by doing this can you know what you can really look like.” Sarah pointed to the big mirror beside her, “This mirror can only be used as an aid, a tool for practice and rehearsal. Only when you really stand in front of the camera can you find the best good condition."

"I just found that I can be at my best when I stand in front of you." Leonardo glanced at the mirror, then looked at Sarah who drove him away with a smile, and said helplessly, "It's a pity that I can't invite you Be my personal assistant, let alone tie you to the crew to watch my filming."

"If it's not that the studio can't leave, I'd be happy to witness your transformation process." Sarah pursed her lips. For a moment, looking at Leonardo in front of her, she had an urge to accompany him to the set to brush Acting skills, just like the filming of "Sarah" back then, every night we played together, polished more than a dozen times, to ensure that we can show the highest level that we can achieve the next day... However, she finally swallowed the words go down...

They all have their own jobs, she has a special effects studio on hand, and other new projects can be taken over by other groups, but Gollum in "Lord of the Rings" is her heart, and "Harry Potter" is her heart. , she likes the feeling of participating in these two series and enjoying the process of creating magical worlds for them.And she doesn't have many roles in "The Aviator". As long as she has a thorough understanding of Katharine Hepburn's information in the early stage, at most one month of shooting time is enough.She is not the producer or director of "The Aviator", let alone Leonardo's girlfriend. She has no responsibility or obligation to follow the crew to watch the whole process. After all...

In the final analysis, she was still not emotional enough, and she didn't have the urge to stick to Leonardo's side and "study with him".When the word "accompanying reading" appeared in Sarah's mind, she really wanted to give herself 120 likes. In the past, she was indeed a bit of a "hopeful" rhythm, but now she is more focused on her career.

Leonardo is not a capricious kid either. Realizing that his idea of ​​delaying the filming was not feasible, he obediently packed his luggage.He stayed with Sarah for another day, and spent most of the day watching Sarah work in the special effects studio, watching Sarah who was concentrating on doing special effects, and then looked down at the breakup between Howard Hughes and Katharine Hepburn in the script. He felt that he should be able to act well during the filming of the scene, and it would be OK to imitate Sarah at work.

He tried his best to make "The Aviator" well, not only for Sarah, but also to prove himself. This thought was buried in his heart and he would not tell anyone, but he clearly remembered that he had a relationship with Sarah a few years ago. Lara’s first meal with Martin Scorsese, both he and Sarah suffered a lot that day, and that night he couldn’t fall asleep with his arms around Sarah, thinking back and forth It's all about their future, their status in the big circle of Hollywood.The right to speak?He once thought he had this thing after "Titanic", but later he realized that he just stepped into a small door, and there are still doors that are higher and harder to open in front of him.At that time, he kissed the sleeping Sarah and made a secret wish, but before he had any dazzling results, Sarah had already run ahead of him, and...they broke up...

Fortunately, he still has a chance to get Sarah back. He has never given up creating opportunities for himself. The time in "Cat and Mouse Game" was too stupid, but "The Aviator" may be different, so he wants to do everything the best , This point probably made Martin Scorsese right. He was infected with perfectionism by the character prototype Howard Hughes, but it was precisely because of this enthusiasm that he gave old Martin a surprise... His male The protagonist seems to be in the growth stage of acting. This time, even without Daniel Day Lewis or Sarah as an introduction, Leonardo's performance is gradually making great strides towards perfection.

"Occasionally, an actor will have the best state of his acting skills, but it is rare that after the outbreak, he can stabilize at a high level instead of falling back to the bottom. I have not seen Leon's performance in "Cat and Mouse Game" , but the current state is much better than I expected." When Sarah reported to the crew two months later, Martin Scorsese sighed with her with a smile, "When I was filming "Gangs of New York" Those who are knowledgeable can see that Leonardo was brought into the play by you and Daniel Day Lewis, and his potential was stimulated, so I was always worried whether he would fail in this unique work, and the filming started I watched his interpretation of several important scenes before, and I can’t say it’s not good, but I can’t say it’s good either…”

"You mean the two scenes where you wash your hands?" Sarah was aroused. The order of shooting was from easy to difficult according to Martin's understanding of the difficulty of shooting. She guessed that the part of washing hands would be in the back position. But the rest of the parts about cleanliness and obsessive-compulsive disorder seem to require acting skills, who knows how old Martin understands it!

"There is also the part about firing the old cleaner. Seriously, when he was sitting in the car spelling out words, I forgot to breathe while sitting in front of the monitor." Martin Scorsese mentioned that scene with excited eyes I have to shine, and I asked Sarah to go to see the filming material, and described while walking, "I asked him to act before the shooting, and he looked like a hysterical lunatic at the time, but last week we shot that scene When he was playing, he sat there quietly, not even frowning deeply... You know? He is used to expressing a series of emotions including anger, anxiety, impatience, etc. by frowning. Although the acting is not bad, but this If there are too many expressions, there will be no impact."

"And then? How did he act last week?" Sarah nodded, she was not the only one who discovered Leonardo's acting habit!But judging from Martin's expression, she knew that Leonardo must have played the spelling scene well.And after seeing the shooting material, Sarah was also amazed——

Leonardo, who was sitting in the car, frowned obviously agitated from the very beginning. He had to cover his mouth to stop talking to himself nervously. His face was flushed as if he was about to suffocate. He found the rhythm of his breathing, and his brows relaxed, but his eyes still had the previous nervousness, as if he was still suffering.Sarah watched with bated breath, until Leonardo in the camera shook his head with a smile, and she was greatly relieved.

"How was it? Did he play well? As a producer, he wasted a lot of energy on the formation of the crew and other chores, so I was really worried that he would screw up..." Martin Scorsese When Si saw Sarah's reaction, his thick eyebrows like Crayon Shin-chan trembled triumphantly. An actor shone brightly under his hands, which was also one of the director's achievements.

However, he immediately patted Sarah on the shoulder and sighed: "I understand that his changes are all because of you. There are some truths that no one else can point out. It is always necessary for that specific person to lead him into the door. Sarah, you Having an understanding beyond his age, Leon is a bit short on this point, but he has you, and it is definitely Leon's blessing to meet you... That boy Leon really puts you in his heart, this My old man can see that he is not a famous producer, and it is really good to pull up the crew in such a short time."

Sarah pursed her lips, surprised that the topic changed so quickly!

And Martin Scorsese just smiled and looked at the girl in front of him: "Hey~~ young people, I think it's good to encourage each other to make progress and grow together."

The author has something to say: Old Martin: I think it's good to encourage each other to make progress and grow together

Sarah [waving a small leather whip]: Indeed, I feel very good too

Leonardo [holding the "Martin Cup Best Producer Award" and showing a modest smile]: Thank you Mom and Dad, thank you Hollywood, thank you Martin, thank you JJ, and more importantly, thank you to the woman who gave me the motivation to move forward—Sarah, Without you, I wouldn't work so hard. I want to catch up with you, not only with your people, but also with your career.

As soon as the camera turned, Leonardo looked at the stupid author [anticipating face, starry eyes]: Let me see if your outline is complete?It's my turn for the statuette this time, right?