Raising Dragons in Hollywood

A lot of people think that making movies is fun, but when they actually do it, they don't think so.

—By Sammy Griffin

According to Sammy and Rossi's original plan, the shooting cycle of this film should be set between ten and fifteen weeks.

But it was a good idea, but when they actually started filming, they have been filming for almost half a year, and they haven't finished filming yet.

During this period, in addition to the unstable performance of the actors and the need for a little communication and coordination, technical difficulties also began to seriously affect the progress.

For example, the biggest model of the snake king that will appear in the film.

Generally speaking, to make this kind of movie, you need to make at least two or three models. A rich crew may make more than ten identical models, so that they can be replaced in time when something goes wrong.

But at the beginning, in order to save money, they only made a relatively simple model, with a mechanical skeleton inside, a layer of artificial leather on the outside, fangs and red eyes made of plastic materials.

In fact, it is easy to pass through when viewed from a close distance, but it looks like a giant python when photographed from a distance.

However, what I never expected was...

This model broke on the first day of official use.

When filming Sheriff Leonard being wrapped around his body by it...

It snapped in two (showing how poorly it was made)!

The actor Herbert who played Sheriff Leonard stood there in a daze, unable to react.

Moreover, he was still holding half of the snake's huge body with both hands, but it seemed that he had changed from a poor little victim who was about to be bitten to death by a snake to Hercules, the Hercules who could crush poisonous snakes at birth. A live performance of tearing up the 'Monster Python' was performed for everyone.

The scene is quite hilarious!

However, after laughing...

The entire crew had to face the tragic situation of 'we make snake films, but we don't have big snakes anymore'.

Filming had to be temporarily stopped.

The prop group also had to recreate Orochi.

This may be the mistake that novice filmmakers can never avoid-insufficient preparation and no crisis management plan.

at the same time,

After the shooting was postponed due to technical problems, it brought more troubles.

Because from the very first day the cast and crew joined the cast, Sammy and Rosie hadn't given the promise of 'this movie will be released'.

They can't give it either.

After all, whether an independently produced film can be released in the end, and whether it can be successful after it is released, it really depends on luck.

However, when you first start filming, people who come to apply for a job usually don't think that far back.

Everyone came to apply for the job with enthusiasm, and when they were selected, they went to the ground excitedly.

If the shooting goes well, I may not be thinking about it after being so busy day by day.

Because people are lazy, they repeat fixed tasks every day, habitually day by day, day by day, and just go on like this;

But once the shooting goes wrong, those seemingly prosperous illusions will be broken, and a lonely and deserted prospect will be revealed immediately.

The actors and staff who stopped working started to think wildly and even slowly became irritable while they were doing nothing.

They couldn't help but start to question:

"Is there any point in my current job?"

"Am I wasting my youth again?"

"After spending so much time day by day, when will I realize my dream? Become a real actor?"

"Can this film really be made?"

Therefore, the actor who played a police officer in the film became the first person to withdraw.

He believes that this job currently has no prospects and no room for improvement. Moreover, the salary is low, the requirements are strict, and there are many things to do.

It is quite reasonable to think so.

There was nothing Sami could do to keep the other party, so he readily agreed.

Fortunately, it is not an important role.

He casually said to Hugh Humphrey, the screenwriter of the crew: "Let's kill XXX (the police officer) next week."

Screenwriter Hughes now particularly regrets signing contracts with Sammy and Rossi.

He feels the pain of being in a stolen car every day: "You guys have made a lot of money, you know?"

The screenwriter took out his pen to revise the script, and complained over and over again: "I paid me [-] fucking dollars in total, and so much after-sales service!"

However, this is just the beginning.

When the first person who takes the lead appears, the second and third persons will also appear.

More and more extras have come to resign.

Some are hot for 3 minutes, and now they think the distance is too far, so they don’t want to run back and forth like this anymore; Not even in movies (Sammy: what???); and directly said, 'I can't get along in Hollywood, I plan to go back to my hometown to herd sheep and pigs', that is to say, I can't even be an actor.

What can director Sammy say?

He waved his hand neatly, letting the accountant of the film crew watch over the matter, and approve everything as long as there are no money disputes.

The whole picture is...

Sammy said to the actors with a blank face: "Go! Go! Go! Go!"

On the other side, he tightly held screenwriter Hughes' hand: "Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill all!"

As a result, these actors quickly "did not have much time" in the film, and were killed by the director and screenwriter in every possible way.

In those bright red days... the tangy flavors of ketchup and artificial plasma lingered in the studio!

But what caused the crew to suffer the most fatal blow was the departure of Herbert, the actor who played Sheriff Leonard in the film.

It seemed that God couldn't bear to see that Sammy's career path was too smooth, and wanted to cause him some trouble.

This hardworking and honest actor actually ushered in a big opportunity.

A role he had failed to audition for a long time ago was given another chance when the actor he had chosen had a sudden car accident and quit.

It was a big-budget war movie about the rise of a general during a war.

If Herbert agrees, he will play an army soldier who "runs away after learning that his old father died, his wife was seriously ill, and his son went out to play and disappeared."

Although in the film, this character is not even a supporting role, but he can have a relatively bright scene.

This scene is mainly about the fact that even though the soldiers chose to defect, they bravely faced the enemy and fought after the arrival of the enemy.

However, when he was seriously injured and dying, he couldn't help but grabbed the general's hand and asked in confusion, "Why is there a war?"This sentence touched the general as the leading actor.

So, this character has two roles in the film:

One is to promote the ideological growth of the male protagonist; the other is to express the harm caused to the people by meaningless wars.

For a young [-]th-line actor like Herbert, this role is definitely a great opportunity that fell from the sky.

Compared with not knowing whether it will be filmed in the future, whether it will be released, or if it is released, there will be a monster movie with a snake as the protagonist and myself as a supporting role; such a movie that is obviously mainstream, is still produced by a major factory, and has been booked for the big screen in advance. Obviously the better choice.

Herbert really couldn't refuse this temptation.

But he was very ashamed of it.

Therefore, compared with other actors who came to resign and talk nonsense, this one is obviously more sincere.

When he approached Sammy to bring up the matter of 'resignation', he not only kindly returned all the salary he had received before, but also offered to pay the double liquidated damages indicated in the contract, just asking for a little grace A little while until he raises enough money.

Hey, you are the hero!

The hero is about to run away!

Rossi was almost driven crazy by this turn of events.

He was so angry that he wanted to beat people out on the spot.

But Sammy stopped him, and put the salary back into Herbert's hands: "This is the salary you deserve, and there is no need to return it."

Then, he paused and said: "As for the liquidated damages, you can pay it back slowly when you have money. It's not a big deal. Herbert, you are a good actor, and I wish you the best of luck. But before leaving Before that, you'll have to film us a few more scenes to bring Sheriff Leonard to a close."

Herbert kept saying 'it should be, it should be'.

Then, he left gratefully.

After he left, Rossi angrily kicked off the table, pushed his glasses, and cursed.

Then, he said angrily: "You are too kind to him, why are you so kind to wish him what he wants. Let me tell you, these bastards who don't have the slightest contract spirit don't deserve any good looks at all."

"unnecessary."

Sammy shook his hand indifferently: "It's not easy for Hollywood actors to be successful, we don't need to block their way."

But to be honest, the troubles caused by this matter are not small.

A lot of material that was filmed before can no longer be used due to subsequent changes in the plot, and everyone has to re-shoot.

Accidents happened one after another, and the novelty at the beginning of shooting disappeared, and the work gradually became boring and boring.

Everyone in the crew worked almost numbly, and they didn't think much of the film in their hearts.

They even thought: "After this film is finished, will there really be an audience? Maybe we are the only audience?"

In the case of such a bad overall situation...

Sammy was miraculously able to keep working.

He seems to have an innate magical talent, a natural firewall, or a fully automatic one, which can be triggered passively, actively shielding and isolating all bad, bad remarks and negative emotions, and only concentrate on immersing himself In the vacuum of the small world.

In fact, as early as many years ago, he was like this.

When people mockingly talk about "the youngest son of the Griffin family is probably not a fool with a problem in his mind, he actually wants to go up the mountain to kill a dragon with a bread knife"...

He was already waving the bread knife happily, and ran back and forth twice on the nearby hillside with concentration. His head was covered in sweat, and he even chopped off two branches. Then, he was carried home by his elder brother.

Now, he's in it again.

Apart from trying his best to make this interesting and funny snake movie, nothing can attract his attention.

What are you afraid of without a hero?

Isn't there a heroine?

Nali inexplicably ushered in an upgrade of the role;

Even Wolfe, who plays the villain, gets more screen time.

"Why should I be angry? Why should I be in a hurry? Why should I be worried? The crew hasn't disbanded yet."

Director Sami was very calm from beginning to end.

He also looked at the people around him very strangely, and asked with a puzzled expression: "You guys have so much time to think about messy things, do you think there is too little work? Or do you think snakes are not cute?"

At this time, behind him...

Dozens of snakes were crawling back and forth around him, the scene was extremely magical and frightening.

Later, the surviving actors of this crew joked in some variety shows: "Other directors may walk their dogs early in the morning, but our director definitely won't... because he usually wakes up early to walk snakes. "

However, the leakage of the house happened to rain overnight.

In addition to the major changes in the personnel and the plot, the crew's funds have gradually been unable to keep up.

Sammy asked Rossi directly for money.

As a producer, Rossi naturally had to find a way.

But when he checked with the crew's financial staff, he realized that he had made a huge mistake.

as a novice producer.

Although Rossi had a bright mind, he was seriously inexperienced, and the result was that he followed Sammy's temperament too much.

Although the two are friends, Sami is indeed a capable and talented director, and it is impossible to entrap him for no reason.

But the relationship between the producer and the director is one of mutual restraint.

For the sake of trusting his friends, he directly handed over the leadership to Sammy.

It doesn't sound wrong either.

But the problem is...

When the director thinks about things, he only thinks about 'how to make my film look better', not 'how to make it look good while saving money and not exceeding the budget'.

The result of Rosie letting go for a while is...

Money is like water.

All right!

No money.

Rossi suddenly felt overwhelmed.

But he still had to find a way to find the money.

So, the investor who took advantage of him met with Rossi again.

The investor who invested in a movie for the first time in his life never thought that he would encounter such a thing. In his original idea, this is to take some money as an investment, and the movie will make money when it is shot. Why do we need additional money?

He was holding a lot of bills, but couldn't understand them over and over again, so he could only ask: "I gave you a full 200 ​​million last time, where did you spend the money?"

Rossi began to give him detailed explanations and reports. When hiring employees, renting venues, making python models, and filming locations, it also involved clearing the scene and giving some compensation to the locals...

Investors listened blankly, as if every reason to spend money sounded reasonable.

But it can be summed up in one sentence: spent all, no money.

He took a deep breath: "Then why do you still need to shoot the location? Since there is no money, I can shoot it in the studio."

Rossi replied: "The exterior scene is more realistic."

"But realism costs a lot of money."

"But today's spending is for tomorrow's gain."

"Stop making trouble, can this thing still make money?" The investors laughed angrily.

At this moment, he had a feeling that he was being cheated. After investing a sum of money first, he said that it was not enough, and was asked to invest another sum.If you don't vote, the previous 200 million invested will be in vain; but if you continue to vote, you are just betting on the possibility of 'success', and you may lose all of it in the end.

At this moment!

Is it to stop the loss in time, or to increase the gamble?

This disappointing investor chose the former without courage, and said in a very bachelor way: "I have no money, and I won't give you any more money! If you can shoot, just shoot, if you can't, forget it."

Rossi went back dejected.

But his and Sammy's bad luck wasn't over yet.

A director of Disney's human resources department called them directly: "Did you forget something?"

"Ah, sorry."

When Sami received the call, he remembered that he was a person with a job, and immediately covered his head in embarrassment and said, "I have something to do recently, so I didn't go to the company..."

"Oh, can you come now?"

The supervisor of the human resources department is really well-mannered, and he can still ask such kindly questions in the face of the shitty employees who have been absent from work for almost three months.

But sometimes Sami was stupid, and said, "Wait a minute, let me see."

Then, he turned over his shooting schedule on the other end.

There must have been a page-turning sound on the phone, which was extremely ironic...

The human resources supervisor who just said a polite sentence was probably laughed angrily.

"I see you are busy too."

He continued to discuss politely: "Why don't you come over when you are free that day. Then, come to me directly to go through the resignation procedures?"

Sammy then stopped turning the pages and thought about it seriously.

Then, he said: "Good idea!"

That night, Rossi, who had the same fate as him, knocked on the door of his house.

After he entered the room, he lay on his back on the sofa with an extremely depressed expression: "We have no leading actor and no money! Now it's good, we don't even have a job...we have nothing, what should we do?"

Sammy advises: "Like Jesus."

Rossi didn't understand: "What?"

"Pretend to be dead for three days..."

Sammy clenched his fists and said with high spirits: "Then, revive!"