atypical hollywood life

Although awards season is a busy season in Hollywood, there are awards for works, but no enthusiasm for works, it is like a pot of porridge, but there are still some people who neither have works nor want to gain popularity, such as the old Martin.

This one is holding back his strength and wants to come up with a work by himself, how can he have time to catch others' enthusiasm?

"Still hesitating?" Benjamin Melnik put down the documents in his hand and looked up at Martin Scorsese who was walking around the room.

Since this period of time, this little director has been struggling with the problem of film actors. Almost every time he sees him, Benjamin can see a little old man with a sad face holding a lot of materials, and today is no exception.

As time becomes more and more pressing, it is time to finalize the lineup of actors. They need to evaluate this in advance and formulate a publicity schedule. You must know that a film is not finished even if it is filmed, and it can still be done if the later publicity fails. Let a movie that can make money lose all its money, and a movie that doesn't make money completely wipes out a company!

In the film "Infernal Affairs", Warner also invested, and even became the largest investor in the film because of the reason that it directly increased the investment from 8000 million to 9000 million in the later stage. Of course, it will also send its own producer. Come to control the scene, Benjamin is such a character. After the work of "Batman Begins" came to an end in October, he flew back to New York directly to join the crew of "The Departed" to reconcile with his colleague Mathers Daye.Now seeing old Martin tossing and tossing so much, he is also very troubled, because every day the actor can't settle down, he can't start the machine every day, the more delays, and the more troubles in the later stage.

But he still can't say anything, Martin Scorsese is also a famous director anyway, where is his status, didn't see Warner just because he was afraid that he would not be able to make a good movie, did he directly invest an additional 1000 million yuan?Look at the original Wachowski Brothers, let them take an extra 3000 million, and finally split the copyright by one-third, so they had to spend more money to redeem it. , look at the current old Martin, he rushed to give money to others before he said anything, isn't it just this kind of status gap?

They even dragged him directly from the originally scheduled vacation to the crew, just to ensure that the old Martin didn't have to worry about anything, as long as he made a good movie.God knows Benjamin thinks this is not necessary at all, "The Departed" is not an action movie at all, it can only be called a police movie, and there is no need for a producer like him who is basically in charge of the 'Batman' series For this muddy water, Mathers alone is enough.

This is a Martin Scorsese movie, and laymen like them really don't need to worry about it!

However, since there was money to be made, Benjamin had no need to refuse the job, so in the end he changed his ticket to the Caribbean for vacation and returned to New York without saying a word.So now he can only look at old Martin with a troubled expression.

There is no way, like this kind of big investment, big production or big director's movie, generally speaking, there will be a few favorite people who have taken a fancy to in advance. A prototype in the heart will also have a rough outline impression of the actor.Just like in "The Godfather" at the beginning, Coppola wanted Marlon Brando to pretend to be sick in front of the big boss, just to keep his favorite actor in the crew. Benjamin believed that Martin Scorsese was the same, in the movie Before shooting started, he had a set of best lineups in his mind.

This is indeed the case. According to the original idea, the old Martin planned to use Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, a lineup that is shining in both acting skills and starlight.It's a pity that I don't know if it's because he hasn't been going well in the past few years, which has caused even the bad luck to spread to the movie. First, De Niro had to work on his own movie, but he had to change the role to Jack Nick Elson.

That’s not enough, and then he called DiCaprio, hoping that he could play the role of Bill, but it turned out that the other party was all focused on the little golden man, and he couldn’t concentrate on doing other things at all. At the end of the year, he devoted himself to the Oscars, and now he is a trapeze artist every day, eating, drinking, chatting and laughing with him!

Nevermind, this is Martin Scorsese, he's never worried that he can't find the right actor, so he called Mel Gibson again, this guy has a lot of trouble, but the acting is really good , can be good or evil, but the boss can be the elite, old Martin is going to be a middleman for his own movie.But it's a pity that he came a step late. The position of good guy has already been taken by Robert Downey Jr., and Gibson will finish his "customized version" of "The Hangover" by the end of the year!

So another actor passed him by.

At this moment, old Martin also panicked. He was afraid that if he was slow, he would not be able to get a single actor. He hurriedly called to invite Matt Damon, but the old man who was dazed from his busy schedule realized that the other party had been tied up in the house of his old friend De Niro. In the car, "Secret Agents" is being filmed nervously, even if the desire to cooperate with old Martin is about to fly in his heart, there is no way to really fly to cooperate with him.Then there is Nicholson, who is sure of everything. When he called, the other party had no interest in the movie. In the end, it was just a routine "I need to think about it" and then there was no more.

Just such a result, what do you make old Martin think?The best lineup is all flying!

So Benjamin watched old Martin sit silently in the audition room for a long time, feeling that his whole body was shrouded in clouds.

After experiencing a bunch of actors, such as Bill Murray, Donald Sutherland, Al Pacino... etc. After things that were either out of schedule or uninteresting, the pressure on this great director It's getting lower and lower, making everyone very worried whether he will be angry or not?After all, at such an advanced age, the physical function is really not as good as that of young people.

But he didn't know anything about this situation. Could he go to the crew next door to borrow a time converter to create some magical effects?So Benjamin could only follow a bunch of producers and casting directors to sift through the information and lists of those male actors, trying to pick out suitable candidates from them.

In fact, what he said, the old Martin's request was too high, and it was too unrealistic.To put it bluntly, this film is a director's work, not an actor's work. Why do you bother so many big stars?This group of people, one by one has personality and characteristics, so many actors with different styles come here, everyone has their own style, if the fusion is not good, the balance of the film will have problems, and there will be no place to cry cry!

According to his idea, the core characters should find two usually low-key acting schools, and the marginal characters should recruit young actors who are now in the limelight, so as to ensure that the movie has a unified style instead of a hodgepodge. The best ones are much stronger.After all, he is not the Martin Scorsese when he was young. Now he doesn't have so much energy to spend on adjusting the styles of the actors. Finding a string puppet that completely follows his ideas is more reliable than his current ideas. Spectrum!

But this is an old Martin's movie after all, and Benjamin, who has always focused on blockbuster commercial action movies, will not point fingers at will. He is a producer, not a director, and he will never intervene where he should not intervene, unless there is a major problem. Until he comes forward, now, let old Martin struggle on his own.

"What do you think of Tim Robbins?" Martin Scorsese stopped and asked Benjamin whether he was tired from walking or thought of something suddenly.

The pre-production of the film did not torture the old man with gray hair for long. The production companies have done a good job in the initial work. After he formed the crew, everything is running in an orderly manner. The only thing that makes old Martin bother is the actors. , even in his recent sleep he was directing his own movie, but the lineup of the movie in his dream... Forget it, don’t think about the lineup that can be changed several times a day, it’s too heartbreaking!As a result, he now began to doubt his own vision.

"Tim Robbins? The one who played "The Shawshank Redemption"?" Benjamin immediately matched the actor's name with the impression in his mind.

"Yes." Martin nodded.

"It's not bad. If you want, I'll have someone contact him right away." Benjamin expressed his opinion cautiously.

Robbins doesn't quite meet the old Martin's standards... Wait, no, this guy won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 04?A piece of information suddenly popped up in Benjamin's mind, which was thinking at high speed.Isn't this still an old idea?The big guy behind the scenes is looking for the best actor, but now he just replaced the best actor with the best supporting actor!

If you love the actor so much, why didn't you find Daniel Day Lewis?How well that guy plays the gangster, and he even worked with you!Benjamin almost wanted to roll his eyes. Old Martin is indeed old Martin. Even if the standard is lowered, it is only because of the actor’s popularity. "The True Story" said that he may not be the best actor's statuette, and his acting skills are indeed enough.

"Then contact him, David Moss by the way, I think he is very suitable for the role of Ellerby, the candidate, Willem Dafoe... If Robbins can't play, contact them, pick Sort." Martin said, frowning.

He doesn't want to procrastinate any longer, his desire to create is exploding, this kind of feeling that can't be met is rare, old Martin doesn't want to miss it at all!

"OK, I'll do it now. Do you have any other requests? Where are Bill and Colin?" Benjamin took out a piece of paper and wrote down the names in order on it, preparing to end this short conversation Just go get these things done.

Time has dragged on for too long, and he is even a little excited now.

"Bill and Colin..." Martin frowned, and looked at Benjamin seriously.

"Ben, I need your opinion," he said.

"Of course, I'm happy to help you at any time." Benjamin smiled.

Today's work progress is simply an incredible surprise.

"I know you have worked with Luke Hansen, so, do you think his acting skills are suitable for the role of Colin?" Old Martin pulled out Luke's information and clicked on it.

When I opened the folder, I could see a photo of him wearing a suit with an indifferent face inside, a full image of an elite scum!

"Luke?" Benjamin was stunned. He had no idea how old Martin would choose him to play the role of Colin. This is unlikely, after all, he faced actors who used to be at the level of DiCaprio and Matt Damon. Even if this guy performed well in commercial movies, he still has some distance from his predecessors. It took time to make up, but he recovered quickly.

"I can't say anything about acting skills. You know, I mainly focus on the 'Batman' series. Occasionally, a few films with other themes are also commercial productions, which are different from your standards. But this actor has an advantage, he is very obedient, He won’t complain after shooting a single shot dozens of times, and he works hard enough and has a solid foundation, which you can see from his past works.” Benjamin said after a pause.

He didn't exaggerate Luke's acting skills. He believed that the old Martin had seen his work when he was considering this candidate, and had a judgment on it, otherwise he would not have mentioned his name.

But what he said about Luke being obedient and working hard is true.Although Nolan is a good-tempered director, he sometimes tosses the actors over and over again because of unsatisfactory shooting effects.In this case, even Liam Neeson in the UK was a little impatient, but this young man who was implicated was still able to follow the director's request one by one with a calm face. This kind of mentality is enough People appreciate it.

What's more, although Benjamin doesn't have such sharp eyes, he can see the gap between Antonio Hopkins and Daniel Day Lewis, but is an actor a piece of wood, and can his performance on the big screen be liked by the audience? It can still be seen, at least in terms of box office, this young man still has potential to be tapped.

And...how should I put it?Luke himself has an elite temperament. Benjamin always feels that if this guy is not an actor, he should be sitting in a financial building in Manhattan facing a pile of business documents!Think about Colin's position as an elite police detective, it seems quite suitable?

So the old Martin suddenly figured out that if he can't find a satisfactory one, he should find the right one?

Looking at old Martin's indifferent face now, it is obvious that he has calmed down a lot without external interference, and he has focused on the plot, so that the selection of actors has begun to be close to the setting of the script, rather than adjusting according to the actors. ...

So who is he eyeing for the role of Bill?That was a fringe character who had been in gangs all year round... Benjamin's brain was spinning rapidly, thinking about which of the actors who were about Luke's age had the temperament that was more suitable for Bill.