Chapter 85: Preparatory work

At the same time as the audition, Ryan was not idle. He needed to constantly revise the script and the shots, and at the same time pay attention to various affairs in the crew.

A producer is different from a director. The former needs to deal with various characters, while the latter is relatively relaxed and only needs to pay attention to the preparation progress of the actors and crew.

In general, you don't need to ask questions personally, but you must be aware of the progress of the crew.

Ryan is not omnipotent, and naturally has various flaws. For example, in dealing with people, almost all of them are handed over to Helen or Sophia, and if they are not enough, they are handed over to the executive producer Ray Sancheni.

The reason why he wanted to serve as a producer at the beginning was to guarantee the rights in the crew, such as the right to choose actors, editing rights, etc., rather than really wanting to be a producer.

In addition, 20th Century Fox is in charge of the crew's finances and contracts, and they have a dedicated department.

The rest of the actors' rehearsals were handed over to an assistant director.

"The Evil Spirit" is different from "The Blair Witch" and "Chain Saw". It is neither a pseudo-documentary nor an American plasma horror film. It is more like a thriller, and the acting skills on the script require higher requirements .

For this reason, Ryan specially asked the crew to rent an apartment, so that several actors could rehearse in it on weekdays. As for the haunted house that has been bought, it is the best shooting location for the film.

You can't let a few actors go to rehearse in a haunted house!

After auditioning during the period, Ryan still felt that it would be more appropriate for Scarlett Johansson to play the younger daughter Em, and Natalie Portman to play Em's sister.

The reason is very simple. On the one hand, little Scarlett-Johnson is closer to the character image in the script. On the other hand, in terms of age, little Scarlett-Johnson is only less than ten years old, which just fits the age of the character.

Natalie-Portman, after all, is a bit older, even if she develops a little late, she still has the breath of a big girl.

What, Natalie Portman is a bit older!

In fact, she just played a twelve-year-old girl in "This Killer Is Not So Cold" last year.

Even after a year, it is still suitable to play the role in "The Evil Spirit".

With two little guys joining, the rehearsal atmosphere was very good, at least there were no actors playing big names; Robert De Niro took great care of the two little girls of Jewish descent, even more caring than Helen.

Don't think too much, it's just out of Jewish identity, nothing else, Robert De Niro is not a pedophile, otherwise Ryan would definitely kick him out of the crew without hesitation.

Meanwhile, the role of Em's mother, Julia-Louis-Dreyfus, a TV comedy actress, has also been confirmed.

In her previous life, she was not as simple as a TV comedy actress. She won 2 Emmy Awards and 1 Golden Globe Award in total.

Another point is that she knew Scarlett Johansson Jr. and they had filmed "The Prodigal Bodyguard" together.

In addition, Ryan is also busy with other aspects, such as finding a skilled sound engineer.

A good sound engineer has always been a rare occupation. Fortunately, 20th Century Fox came forward and quickly contacted a senior sound engineer.

At the same time, he also needs to choose shooting equipment, and when shooting different films, there will be more or less differences in shooting equipment, which must be selected by the director himself.

This time he did not choose RB cameras, but chose the German ARRI35MM cameras, and he rented three of them instead of one set.

Compared with RB brands such as Panasonic, Sony, and JVC, ARRI cameras are obviously more expensive. The advantage is that ARRI cameras have better effects.

Sometimes good shooting techniques require the use of good shooting equipment to ensure the quality of the film, and sometimes it is even more critical than choosing actors.

Of course, Ryan also has a little selfishness, he wants to familiarize himself with the performance of ARRI cameras in advance, so that he can continue to use them in the next film shooting.

Anyway, the whole film is invested by Twentieth Century Fox, so it is not in vain.

There is no director who does not understand the principle of saving money, and no director will really leave money to the crew.

However, in order to ensure that the shooting can be smoother, the director of photography, lighting engineer, prop artist, makeup artist and other members need to go through it in person to explain the type of film and the points that need attention.

Many members of the crew are from 20th Century Fox, Ryan needs to fully understand their level, if not, replace them immediately.

"Actually, you can find another assistant." In a studio owned by Twentieth Century Fox, Helen held a cup of coffee and placed it in front of Ryan, and at the same time she made a suggestion.

"An assistant who is familiar with Hollywood and the operation of the crew is not so easy to find." Ryan shook his head and did not immediately agree.

There are not many qualified assistants like Sofia Coppola in Hollywood, and he needs to keep many things secret, so it is impossible to find an assistant casually.

"I think Sophia will be happy when she hears it." Helen didn't continue talking, because some things are not suitable for the manager to say.

"By the way, a student organization at the University of Southern California wants you to give a speech next week. It seems to be a temporary public class."

University of Southern California!

Ryan frowned, "Reject it, I don't have time now."

"Remember to be more tactful."

The University of Southern California is his alma mater, and logically speaking, he should not refuse the invitation.

But right now it's just a student organization, not the University of Southern California. Second, he really doesn't have time right now.

"Okay." Helen didn't find it strange at all. Unless it was officially invited by the University of Southern California in an official capacity, otherwise, based on her understanding of Ryan, she would hardly attend such an occasion.

"However, I hope you can attend the school celebration in October."

She explained: "USC is not only your alma mater, but also has a large number of famous alumni, which will be very helpful for your future development."

On this point, Ryan agrees very much, "Remind me when the time comes."

"Also donate a sum of money to the USC film department for me."

Giving back to your alma mater is very common in the United States. Not only can you gain a good reputation, but you can also offset taxes through donations.

Thinking that April is about to come, Ryan has a headache. Even if there are professionals who avoid taxes legally, they still have to be taken away by the tax bureau for a large amount of income.

Donating to the film department of the University of Southern California is obviously a good choice right now.

"The Film Department of the University of Southern California will be very happy to see your generosity, and even openly invite you to teach." Helen showed a look of appreciation.

Donating to one's alma mater is obviously a good character, and it can offset taxes.

At the same time, it can also win the appreciation of many people, such as the famous alumni who graduated from the University of Southern California.

Seeing that the time has entered February, most of the crew's preparations have been completed, and they can start filming at any time.

Ryan finally felt a little more relaxed. In fact, if Sophia hadn't gone to Canada, he could have been more relaxed.

So he made a special call to Monica Bellucci at night, "When will I go to Las Vegas for filming!"

Some shots in "Leaving Las Vegas" had to go to Las Vegas for shooting.

"Probably, it will take about a week." Monica Bellucci just took a bath to relieve the fatigue of the day, "Why, do UU Reading www.uukanshu.com want to relax!"

Mike Figgis is not as talkative as Ryan. He yelled and yelled on the set for a long time, and his temper was terrible. Once the filming started, every shot had to be shot repeatedly, acting opposite each other over and over again.

Not as easy as imagined.

Ryan's heart fluttered, but it was a pity that the two were not face to face, but separated by several countries, "Let's not talk about this, remember to go back to Los Angeles before the Oscars ceremony starts."

"Twentieth Century Fox sent an invitation to the Oscars."

Speaking of this, Ryan's tone paused slightly, "I have already contacted the styling team for you, and ordered two sets of dresses, as well as suitable jewelry."

As early as more than ten days ago, he had already contacted and paid a deposit.

As for Monica Bellucci's body measurements, he couldn't be more clear.

The price of ordering two sets of dresses is very expensive, even if it does not reach millions of dollars, it is not a small sum.

Jewelry is relatively simple, you can buy the cheap ones directly, and rent the expensive ones directly.

In fact, a large part of the dresses and jewelry worn by Hollywood female stars are rented or borrowed from luxury merchants. Only a few first-line female stars will be provided by endorsement merchants for free.

Oscars!

Faced with such a temptation, Monica Bellucci obviously couldn't refuse, "Obviously, no one can refuse the charm of the Oscar red carpet."

"Then, we need to continue the topic just now." Ryan changed his voice, lowered his voice, and said, "Relax."

Not long after, Monica Bellucci's gasping voice came from the other end of the phone.