America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 855 Surrender

Upon arriving at the second floor of the studio, Blake Lively pushed open the door to the conference room.

More than a dozen people sat around the long conference table; they were all heads of various departments within the film crew.

Blake greeted Louise, who was sitting in the first seat on the left, and sat down next to her.

The assistant director across from her, Steve Downton, smiled and nodded at her.

Blake returned the smile.

Robert Eggers sat in the back, looking through copies of storyboards and shooting plans.

He watched very carefully and found that Martin's preparations were very meticulous, and the plan covered all aspects of the filming, unlike that of a novice director.

But on second thought, Martin has been in Hollywood for ten years, starring in two films every year. In addition to being the male lead, he also serves as a producer. It's not surprising that he has such abilities.

The production team coordination meeting is about to begin.

Martin entered the conference room and whispered a few words to Louise.

An assistant turned on the projector.

Martin clapped his hands: "Gentlemen, the meeting begins."

The others gradually raised their heads and looked in Martin's direction.

Martin stated directly, "The movie we're preparing to shoot over the next two months is almost entirely a one-man show with only one actor and very simple scenes, but in this survival thriller, I demand that the crew capture the most raw and realistic feel."

He looked at Louise: "Has all the funding been secured?"

Louise nodded: "It's all in the account."

Martin asked the props team leader, "How's the shark preparation going?"

Props maker Green said, "According to the filming schedule, it's impossible for us to make a fully lifelike mechanical shark. Time is too tight. We won't be able to finish making the shark before all the shots are filmed."

He gestured to his assistant.

The assistant switched the projection screen, which showed a mechanical shark equipped with only triangular fins.

Green added, "The part of the mechanical shark that is above the water has been made into a lifelike model."

Martin looked at the head of special effects: "Hugh, with the current budget, is it possible to complete the underwater shark scene using digital technology?"

Hugh Betap said, "Making sharks shouldn't be a problem; we have enough funding."

Martin thought of something more: "When a shark swims close to the surface, ripples appear on the water..."

Hugh Betap said, "This is quite difficult and expensive. Currently, the most difficult aspects of CG generation are furry animals and water. Achieving a realistic effect is time-consuming and labor-intensive."

The production coordination meeting was meant to solve problems; Martin's role was simply to make requests: "Aren't there other ways to achieve this?"

First assistant director Steven Downton, who has extensive experience shooting similar scenes, offered to "make a simple mechanical model, incorporate the data of the shark's swimming, and use the mechanical model to move underwater to create ripples on the water's surface."

He recalled, "Industrial Light & Magic has this data, and it can be used as long as you pay."

Martin immediately told Green and Hugh Betep, "The crew will get the data as soon as possible. You two work together to build an effective model."

The two responded one after the other.

Louise made a note of it and would send her deputy to Industrial Light & Magic after the meeting.

Martin looked at Blake: "You'll be performing against thin air for most of the time, and almost every shot will be filled with seawater. Be prepared."

"Don't worry, I have no problems at all," Blake said confidently. "I've been preparing for eight months."

Many people in the crew looked at Blake Lively, knowing that she could handle the role not just because of her pretty face and her fling with Martin.

Their professional ethics are also very high.

Martin looked at the director of photography, Dan Rostensin: "There are a lot of underwater shots involved in the filming. How's your preparation going?"

Dan Rostessing said, "The mini cameras made by Arri are specifically designed for underwater filming. The crew has currently rented four of them. I've also built a 50-foot telescopic jib in the studio on Rosarito Island, which can be used in complex underwater environments."

Remembering Martin's request, he added, "They're all digital cameras."

Martin nodded in satisfaction. With limited budget, the production team certainly wouldn't use more expensive film cameras for filming.

Putting aside everything else, the cost of shooting and post-production alone is at least twice that of digital.

From a commercial perspective, film, like the black-and-white silent films of the past, is destined to disappear.

Martin then asked about the lighting and art direction.

Sunlight is the main light source in movies, but the light changes at dawn, dusk and night. Therefore, it requires very careful calculation to match the lighting of the real location with that of the studio.

Martin made his request, and the lighting technicians took care of it.

After the production coordination meeting concluded, Martin called a meeting with the directing team, which included Robert Eggers and Steve Downton, bringing the total number of assistant directors to eight.

The directing team needs to check the shooting schedule.

Filming and producing a movie requires strict adherence to a schedule, otherwise the budget will quickly spiral out of control.

Steve Downton suggested: "A 35-day shooting schedule seems generous, but I recommend adding five more days. Closed shooting locations are relatively easier to control, but shooting on the beach is not so easy to control the environment."

He held a key position and knew why Martin had chosen him, emphasizing, "For the past thirty years, every Hollywood film shot on water has ended up going over budget and schedule."

Robert Eggers added, "The ocean can be devastating in all sorts of ways during actual filming. Wind, rain, or any other natural element that's too intense can make filming completely impossible."

Rosarito Island is surrounded by the sea. Although it is not the rainy season now, the weather by the sea is always unpredictable. Martin only considered it briefly before saying, "Okay, five days in reserve."

Five extra days means the budget will have to increase again.

With a sufficient budget, Martin didn't mind incurring this extra expense.

The meeting continued, and many issues related to filming were discussed.

As the meeting was drawing to a close, the experienced Steve Downton once again reminded his colleagues: "No matter how well we prepare, we will still encounter many difficulties during filming. Any filming involving water will always encounter many unexpected problems. Water and filmmaking are natural enemies."

Martin listened to these words and said, "Everyone, if you prepare your work more thoroughly, it will be easier for us to solve any problems that arise during filming."

The directors' meeting ended there, and Martin went to the producer's office to find Louise and tell her about the increased budget.

Although Martin managed to assemble a crew of experienced professionals through his agency, his own influence, and, most importantly, high salaries, he couldn't simply be a hands-off director.

The director's job dictates that they must be deeply involved in the project from the early stages of preparation.

The work of a director is much more difficult than that of an actor who only needs to grasp the essence of a single role.

Directors Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, and Chad Stahelski have all said that Martin Scorsese is mediocre as a director.

He is not even as good as Chad, who is the least talented among them.

After discussing work, Martin talked to Louise about other things: "You really can't understand the difficulties of a profession without actually working in it."

Frankly speaking, without financial resources, he would face enormous difficulties in making this film.

But with money, one can hire a large number of experienced subordinates. Martin only needs to give orders, and the specific work will naturally be done by others.

Louise pushed up her black-rimmed glasses and asked deliberately, "Regretting this job?"

"I wouldn't say I regret it, because you'll never know your limits if you don't try." Martin chuckled. "I'm just not willing to lose to that bastard Leonardo."

Louise laughed too: "And then become the one who gets laughed at forever by the trio of bastards?"

Martin suddenly remembered what Old Brooks had mentioned, and leaned closer, saying, "Honey, put more effort into this project. You don't want me to be the one troubled by the age-old problem, do you?"

Louise shoved him away: "Save those weird things for Kelly."

Hearing her mention Kelly, Martin thought of something: "Kelly's status within the Donald Party has risen rapidly in recent years. I'll introduce her to them sometime."

I remember that in my previous life, the village chief received strong support from the Donkey Party.

Louise said softly, "If you really communicate well with her, none of this will be a problem."

Martin said, "Once this movie is finished, I'll call Kelly and ask her to come to Los Angeles so the three of us can have a good get-together."

"That's fine." Louise liked playing with the three of them. "It's been a while since I've seen that slut Kelly."

Martin glanced at his watch: "I'm going to see the mechanical shark."

"Let's go together." Louise followed Martin.

The two went to the warehouse area on the first floor, where the props team had built a simple large pool to test the prop shark they had created.

In addition to the already completed dorsal fin version, they are custom-making a shark with a water ripple pattern according to Martin's requirements.

The crew's work was tedious, and Martin requested that after each department completed its work, he would personally inspect it to see if it met his requirements.

Because Blake Lively is almost performing a one-woman show and is currently rehearsing alone, Martin has to communicate with her from time to time about the role.

In addition, he also needs to pay attention to the tides and weather conditions on Rosarito Island.

While busy preparing for The Shallows, Disney Studios also convened a publicity and distribution meeting to advance the pre-release promotion of John Wick 3.

This film will enter an intensive promotional and marketing period a month before its release during the Memorial Day summer season.

With the audience base established by the first two films, and the trailer for the third film even appearing on Super Bowl halftime show, the film attracted the attention of many media outlets and movie fans early on.

As a sequel to a blockbuster film, "John Wick 3" doesn't need any special marketing; simply following Disney's established promotional plan is sufficient.

Martin participated in one television interview and one online interview. He will not participate in any other announcements for the time being. He will not fully join the promotional journey for "John Wick 3" until he finishes filming "The Shallows" in May.

The trilogy will come to a temporary end.

At the end of "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum", Chad added a post-credits scene featuring Menez's character, Winston.

The next installment in the series will be "The Continental Hotel in New York," starring Menez.

Inside the Disney studio's soundstage, Menez, panting, got off the cushions and plopped down on a lounge chair. He took the water Martin handed him, drank a couple of sips at a steady pace, and felt a little better.

Martin said, "The movement training is progressing very quickly."

Menez scratched his head and laughed: "Boss, I've been working out non-stop these past few years filming action movies with you."

Chad arrived at that moment and joked, "Menez is working very hard; his hand skills are almost as good as his words."

"Really?" Martin chuckled. "If your gunfights and hand-to-hand combat were half as good as your verbal skills, this movie would be a huge box office hit."

Menezes was self-aware: "I would be satisfied if the box office reached a third of what you starred in several of your films."

Martin asked Chad, "When do we start filming?"

Chad said, "It won't be until July at the earliest, until the hype surrounding the third installment has fully built up."

Martin nodded slightly: "I'll come and cheer you on."

After chatting for a while, Martin left the studio and went to the Shallows studio.

After nearly three months of preparation in Los Angeles, the crew chartered a private plane in late March and took everyone to Rosarito Island to prepare for filming.

On Rosarito Island, the film crew's rented soundstage has been renovated.

The art director and set design team combined the actual scenery of the bay area to transform a large pool covering hundreds of square meters into a seascape resembling the bay. Even the water in the pool was seawater transported from the other side of the bay.

As required by Martin, the lighting crew recorded the lighting in the bay area for several consecutive days, analyzed its spectral changes using data modeling, and then selected appropriate lighting equipment to simulate the changes in light in the bay area at different times of the day in the studio.

A mechanical shark model was also transported over. Combining the data purchased from the industrial mold supplier, the props and special effects teams conducted experiments before filming began, striving to achieve the best possible effect.

Martin spent every day in the studio, checking the final results of all the preparations.

Two days before filming began, Blake Lively went to the pool to get used to the filming process.

Martin exchanged a few words with her when Bruce suddenly came over.

"Something's wrong?" Martin left the poolside and sat down in the rest area.

Bruce sat to one side and said in a low voice, "It's a call from Alexandrovich. He's run into some trouble now that the election has entered the intense campaign and debate phase."

Martin asked, "What about funding?"

"No." Bruce's voice remained low. "He has used many Russians in several of his works, and the oligarch Igor who supports him is also pro-Russian. His rivals focus their attacks on his stance, saying that if elected, he would kneel down and surrender to Russia in the east."

Martin felt a sharp pain in his teeth: "This is utterly ridiculous."

Bruce said, "The debate is about to take place live and on television. Alexandrovich believes the opposing team will definitely launch an attack on the spot. Although he has made various preparations, he feels the effect is mediocre and wants to ask if we have a better approach?"

"Kneel down and surrender?" Martin considered for a moment. "You call him back."

(End of this chapter)