America is in control

Chapter 315: Crew Trivia and Celebration Dinner

After resting for a while in the French-style mansion, Liu Jiang, who had been working hard for a long time, could not rest at all.

Being somewhat idle, he simply asked Martin to drive him to the studio of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Liu will prepare to make a surprise inspection on the filming of "Death is Coming".

Like "Searching for a Midnight Kiss," the crew of "Dead Man" rented a large sound stage and half a floor of an office building owned by Warner Bros.

In the studio, all the crew members were holding their breath and were filming the scene where the hero and heroine were preparing to board the plane.

"Alex, why don't we go squat together!"

The actor who played the male protagonist's best friend called Devon Sawa (the male protagonist) from behind.

"Go and do it yourself!"

Devon Savoie directly rejected the other party without even thinking about it.

"NO! If we are brothers, let's do it together! Listen to me, use your little brains. This flight to Paris will take seven hours."

"The toilet on the plane is not ventilated. If you are halfway through the flight, you can squat in the pit and wait for the toilet to come out."

"What if Kristen and Belle go in and one of them sees the masterpiece you left in the toilet? I'd be surprised if she doesn't feel sick to her stomach."

The hero's best friend winked at Devin Sawa, and his words were very convincing.

Devin Sava felt a little moved. He looked back at the two class beauties who were flipping through fashion magazines, and nodded slowly.

"Crack!"

After filming the sequence, director James Wong called a timeout.

Liu Jiang was observing silently from the side, and he found that the entire crew was managed in an orderly manner.

It seems that Jonathan, James Huang and Glenn Morgan are doing quite well!
"Boss, congratulations! You successfully won the WBC light heavyweight championship belt!"

Jonathan is very discerning. When he saw that the crew had suspended filming, he immediately came to Liu General's side and congratulated him.

"Thanks, Jonathan, you did a great job!"

General Liu nodded and praised the other party.

"Everyone, take a rest first! I have something to discuss with the producer."

James Huang also saw General Liu. He simply announced that the crew would take a ten-minute break and then came over with Glen Morgan.

"John, what did you think of the scene just now?"

Seeing that General Liu didn't show any expression on his face, James Huang felt a little uneasy, so he asked tentatively.

"Not bad! The performance of the male protagonist is excellent, and the actors who play the supporting roles are also well chosen. They have the feeling of being a lowly high school student."

Liu Jiang told the truth, the performance just now was indeed very good, and if we were brothers, we would do it together! Why does this line sound familiar?
"John, if the project funds are sufficient, I will be able to complete all the shooting plans no later than the end of June."

"But Industrial Light and Magic needs a lot of time. Should we move the release date of "Death is Coming" back?"

"I feel like it's too tight to release it during the Halloween period! How about changing it to December?"

Seeing that General Liu was quite satisfied, James Huang was slightly relieved. He changed the subject and made a suggestion to the other party.

"No! The most suitable schedule for "Death Is Coming" is Halloween. It would be too risky to move it to December!"

"James, if the footage can be solved through live shooting, don't postpone it to post-production."

"I will send people to Industrial Light and Magic to supervise and ask them to send more manpower and work overtime."

"If you are worried about running out of time, you can speed up the shooting process appropriately."

Regarding James Huang's suggestion, Liu Jiang refused after thinking for a while.

What a joke! Moving the release date of "The God of Death" to December isn't it like lighting a lantern in a manhole and courting death?

The North American release date of That Big Ship is December 12th!

General Liu is not stupid, how could he use "Death is Coming" to compete head-on with "Titanic".

"Yeah! I understand! I will speed up the filming progress appropriately without affecting the quality of the movie!"

"John, Industrial Light and Magic really needs to put a little pressure on them. They don't have enough manpower."

"By the way, there is also the heroine Milla Jovovich. She has taken too many leaves recently. Although "The Fifth Element" is being released,..."

James Huang did not expect that his suggestion would be rejected by General Liu. He was stunned and his face became a little ugly.

After a while, he reluctantly nodded and agreed with the other party.

But James Huang immediately raised another question, about the heroine Milla Jovovich.

In his eyes, Milla Jovovich was forced into the role by General Liu.

Nowadays, movie heroines frequently take leave, which will undoubtedly affect the filming progress of "Death Is Coming".

James Huang just wanted to see how Liu would deal with this problem. If the other party showed signs of diarrhea, he would naturally not be as interested as before. It was just a pity for such a good script!

"James, I will take care of the issues with Industrial Light & Magic and Milla Jovovich, and you can control the quality of the movie."

Liu Jiang knew that James Huang felt a little unhappy, but he had no choice but to explain the reason to him.

Maybe only after the big ship is released, the other party will be happy and realize how unique his vision is!
James Wong doesn't like Industrial Light and Magic, and Liu will know this.

When the other party worked on "The X-Files" before, he often cooperated with the digital field film special effects studio founded by James Cameron.

The two sides are very familiar with each other, and the fees in the digital field are not too high.

However, the core team in the digital field focused all their energy on "Titanic".

The remaining big cats and kittens are simply not good enough.

These days, there are so many special effects companies in Hollywood, and many large and medium-sized studios have independent special effects companies or special effects departments.

Even Steve Jobs’ Pixar studio is in the live-action special effects business.

Therefore, there are many special effects companies for the "Death Is Coming" crew and General Liu to choose from.

After repeated weighing, Liu Jiang finally chose Industrial Light and Magic, a famous film special effects production company founded by the great director George Lucas in 1975.

At a price of US$160 million, all the shooting stunts and post-production special effects of "Death is Coming" were outsourced to this industry-leading special effects company.

Industrial Light and Magic did not disappoint Liu Jiang. Everyone in the special effects team sent was of high standard, and the special effects clips they produced were extremely stunning.

Perhaps due to a natural incompatibility, James Wong and the special effects team sent by Industrial Light and Magic were a bit difficult to deal with.

This is really a headache! There is no good solution in a short period of time, so General Liu can only give Jonathan a few words.

Let the other party pay attention to the situation on both sides at all times, and make peace with each other from time to time, as long as you don't break your skin. Judging from the current situation, Jonathan has done a pretty good job, and the conflict between the two parties does not seem to have gone further.

As for the problem of heroine Milla Jovovich frequently taking time off, this is not difficult to solve.

It has been nearly three weeks since "The Fifth Element" was released in North America, and the box office results achieved are still a long way from the disclosed production costs. It is a foregone conclusion that North America will be a hit.

However, the film's global box office trend is good, so it should be no problem to recoup the production costs, and even make a small profit.

The intensive publicity cycle for "The Fifth Element" has passed, and no matter how much it is promoted, it will not create any waves.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows this. As long as you say hello to the publisher of "The Fifth Element", the other party should give you this face.

Seeing General Liu's resolute words, James Huang nodded and said nothing more.

"Glenn, there shouldn't be any big changes to the script of "Death Is Coming", right?"

After taking care of James Huang, General Liu turned to look at Glen Morgan.

"The script has almost been polished! At most, only some minor details will be modified according to specific circumstances during filming."

"As per your request, we changed the content at the end of the movie to lay down Easter eggs for the sequel."

"John, why do I feel that you have more confidence in the movie "Death Comes" than the two of us?"

After Glen Morgan introduced his recent work, he asked a question somewhat unexpectedly.

"I am very optimistic about the script of "Death Comes", and I am also very optimistic about the potential of you and James Huang."

"If a movie is a hit at the box office, it makes sense to make a sequel."

"You also know that the first movie of the new Caesars Entertainment, "Looking for the Midnight Kiss," was sold out because it was not ready for a sequel."

"In order to prevent similar situations from happening, all future movies of New Caesars Entertainment, as long as they have the potential to produce sequels, must have Easter eggs buried in advance."

General Liu gave a random excuse and dealt with Glen Morgan.

Hearing Liu Jiang say this, James Huang's face looked a little better.

"James, through this period of contact and the recent work results you have achieved, I think you have proven that you are a qualified director."

"Don't worry! From now on, I will not interfere with the normal filming of the crew, and I will try my best to maintain your authority in the crew."

"But one thing I must make clear in advance is that while this movie strives to exaggerate the thriller and horror atmosphere, the storyline must be simple and clear!"

General Liu looked around and listened in all directions. He noticed that James Huang's expression softened slightly, and he immediately handed over a sweet date.

This simple technique of controlling his subordinates was completely at his fingertips.

A slap in the face and a sweet date. It's a bit simple, but it's really useful.

At the end of the conversation, General Liu couldn't help but remind the other party.

To be honest, he was a little worried that James Wong would make the same mistakes that directors often make.

Suddenly ascending to the position of director, he has a strong say in the crew. As he gradually becomes more arrogant, he can no longer listen to the advice of others.

They began to include private goods in movies, turning a good commercial movie into something completely different!
In order to prevent this situation from happening, Liu will have to give James Huang a vaccination in advance.

If the other party doesn't listen and lets the situation develop in the worst direction, then General Liu will have no choice but to kill him and let James Huang wrap up and leave.

no way! It involves an investment of tens of millions of dollars, no one dares to joke!

"John, don't worry, this is definitely a simple story, and our ideas are the same!"

"Those plots in which the Grim Reaper hunts survivors, although the hunting methods seem complicated and coincidental, are all based on daily life, such as clotheslines, buses, and rags randomly placed on knife holders."

"Any omission in the details of life may be exploited by the god of death."

James Huang felt General Liu's respect, he nodded solemnly and explained a few words.

General Liu roughly remembers the plot of hunting down survivors in "Death is Coming" in his previous life, which is similar to what the other party just described.

As long as he doesn't engage in those mysterious and fake things, he can completely accept it.

"Trigger fatal murders in ordinary daily life! James, your idea is great! As long as the design is clever enough, it can completely scare the audience."

After taking over what the other party said, Liu Jiang took advantage of the opportunity to praise James Huang.

"People often see on TV news that people survived disasters such as tornadoes, floods, collapsed buildings, etc., or even escaped unscathed."

"But there are also people who mysteriously drown in shallow ditches with water levels up to their knees."

“The stark contrast between the resilience and fragility of life was the inspiration for Death Comes.”

James Huang organized the language and expressed his creative inspiration.

"Great! As long as you can capture such a sharp contrast, it will definitely add a lot to the movie!"

"By the way, "Death is Coming" is a horror and thriller movie after all, and we can't let go of those hard-core audiences who like plasma movies."

"James, it's best to keep some heavy-duty scenes in the scene where the God of Death hunts the survivors. In an R-rated movie, there must be scenes! Of course, it can't go over the line!"

Liu Jiang gave the other party a thumbs up again and made a suggestion.

There are a lot of hard-core audiences in the United States who like plasma movies, and this target group of moviegoers must not be let go.

Make money! Not shabby!
Liu Jiang feels that if "The God of Death" can be properly enhanced in terms of special effects and heavy-duty shots, the box office performance may be even better.

"I see!"

James Huang felt that General Liu's suggestion was very reliable. He didn't hesitate at all and agreed directly.

Several people discussed for a while until the break was over.

The crew restarted filming, and the next step was to shoot a scene where the hero and heroine were forced off the plane by airport staff, and they were pulling each other in the terminal.

"I'm not causing trouble! Let me go!" "Let's go! Asshole!"

After filming this clip, Liu Jiang was a little dissatisfied. He called the heroine Milla Jovovich over and talked about the scene with her.

"Mira, when you heard the loud noise caused by the explosion of the plane outside the window and the subsequent shock wave that shattered the glass, the expression on your face was almost meaningless."

"This is a progressive display of emotions in a very short period of time! You have to do this, first open your lips slightly to reveal your white little tiger teeth, and then your pupils shrink violently."

"In the end, you come back to your senses completely! You have to look back at the hero lying on the ground as if you were looking at a monster."

Liu Jiang danced and talked about the play, while Mira nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice, looking extremely serious.

While he was talking, Liu Jiang's cell phone suddenly rang in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was Louis Duval's phone number.

"John, I have arranged the celebration dinner."

(End of this chapter)