Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 431 Good Actor

After filming wrapped on "Joker," there was exactly one month left before the release of "The Dark Knight."

Warner Music is starting to ramp up its efforts.

In fact, when The Dark Knight was first conceived, Cao Yang suggested that Warner Bros. could try online marketing.

Specifically, it involves creating a dedicated website to promote the film and allow movie fans and comic book enthusiasts to participate, thus enhancing their sense of involvement.

Warner thought it was a good idea, so he followed Cao Yang's suggestion and created a mysterious website.

Aside from the Batman logo, the only other thing on the website is a campaign poster for Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, with the caption "Paid by a good friend of Harvey's."

Batman fans will surely smile knowingly upon seeing this; isn't this friend none other than Batman, Bruce Wayne?
However, the website changed after Heath Ledger's "accidental" death.

Harvey's campaign poster had his face painted to look like a clown, and another photo was hidden at the bottom of the image.

To see the photos, you must first enter your email address below. Each verified email address will receive a set of coordinates.

You can erase the clown face at a specific coordinate point by entering the coordinates on the clown face website.

This can be considered a "game" in which movie fans actively participate.

Until yesterday, Batman fans suddenly discovered that all the activities on the website had been completely messed up by the Joker! In a hidden place, there were a few clues that led to a new, mysterious webpage.

Opening the webpage reveals an opportunity to attend the IMAX premiere—fans have been following the Joker and Harvey's campaign for almost a year and have nearly come to believe they are part of Gotham City, and now they finally have the chance to go to the movie theater.

There is actually another advantage to doing this.

Those movie fans who have persisted and are still interacting with the audience are definitely die-hard fans. How could the premiere not be well-received if people were selected from among these fans? How could the positive word-of-mouth spread significantly?
Warner Music has now really mastered the art of online marketing and promotion.

In fact, there is more than that.

Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinoff has already discussed the matter with Cao Yang. The website will remain online after the release of *The Dark Knight*, the Joker will continue his activities, and the mystery will persist…

In other words, the website will also leverage the positive reception of "The Dark Knight" after its release to promote "Joker".

This is a series of interconnected events.

In addition to the website collaboration, Jim Carrey will also collaborate with the late Heath Ledger.

As Jim Carrey's agent said, Heath Ledger died from getting too immersed in the role of "Joker," and Jim Carrey is undergoing closed therapy with a psychiatrist because he was also too immersed in the role.

Those viewers who were amazed by Heath Ledger's Joker, knowing Jim Carrey's current situation, will surely want to see how Jim Carrey's Joker fares.

People are curious.

Of course, this is all contingent on "The Dark Knight" not flopping.

If The Dark Knight flops, Joker will definitely be affected as well.

This is Warner Bros. and Jim Carrey's agents' current understanding of the film.

It cannot be said that their cognition is wrong; it is based on the most basic common sense and is a cognition made without knowing what will happen in the future.

No one could have imagined that the economic crisis a few months later would sweep the globe and cause 50 percent of the world's stock prices to evaporate.

Given this premise, regardless of what happens to "The Dark Knight," once the economic crisis spreads, "Joker" probably won't need much promotion after its release.

Because the content of this movie is so closely related to the global depression during the economic crisis, people can empathize with it, and its word-of-mouth may be incredibly good.

While Warner Bros. was developing a detailed publicity strategy and actively promoting "The Dark Knight," Cao Yang was not involved for the time being, as he was working on post-production for "Joker."

The reason why the movie "Joker" is highly praised is not only because of its plot and performances, but also because of its color palette and music.

Color, like light and shadow, is an important visual element in film art. The Joker's colors are mainly composed of red, green, blue, and yellow, and the film's color scheme also focuses on the use of these four colors.

The film conveys the cold despair of Gotham City through visuals, using color as a narrative tool. The symbolism of color also enhances the atmosphere and connotation of the film.

For example, when Arthur interacts with his mother, although the colors are warm, the two are always in shadow, highlighting that their relationship is not the loving mother-son relationship one might imagine.

For example, the color scheme of the scene where Arthur kills for the first time is also in this cold blue color. It is also the first time that Arthur shows the Joker side, which appears lifeless, cold and terrifying.

Combined with the contrasting music, Arthur's madness is even more apparent.

But then the camera shifts to a small glass window behind him, showing the warm yellow hues outside.

From this point on, the Joker's storyline no longer takes on a cold, bluish-green hue, but instead transforms into a warm, yellowish tone.

This is a counterintuitive approach—the "clown" gradually shifts to warmer colors.

It can be said that the unconventional and extensive use of color tones is what further elevates the sophistication of "Joker".

Comparatively speaking, the post-production of "Joker" was quite troublesome because it required a lot of color processing, and many inconspicuous little plots needed to use contrasting colors.

On the streets, shop signs, awnings, cars, people's clothing... all need to have their red, yellow, blue, and green tones adjusted to enhance the contrast and sense of contradiction.

These are also the responsibilities of a film post-production colorist.

In an era where digital cameras are now widely used, film colorists from the film era are gradually being referred to as colorists.

You don't really need to worry about this; it's just a different name.

But whatever they are called, they are all professionals who are extremely sensitive to color.

Cao Yang only provided the requirements; the specific standards for the final cut would require the colorist to continuously adjust a segment to achieve optimal results. Only when Cao Yang was satisfied could subsequent operations be carried out based on that standard.

As for the music, the overall tone is low and oppressive, with extensive use of low-pitched instruments such as the cello to create a gloomy atmosphere, while special treatment of rhythm and intervals to enhance the psychological changes of the characters.

However, its use of music can also defy common sense.

After Arthur kills his mother and completely transforms into the Joker, he begins his second and third dances in a warm yellow hue.

The background music also changes from the heavy cello at the beginning to light and cheerful jazz. The seemingly contradictory music will highlight the extreme irony, the hysterical venting, and the release of a morbid carnival.

Because the color scheme and background music changed so much, Cao Yang stayed with the post-production team the whole time.

It wasn't until a week before the release of "The Dark Knight" that Cao Yang appeared on a talk show with Nolan to promote the film.

In the United States, stand-up comedy is one of the main promotional channels for movies before their release.

During the program, Cao Yang mainly talked about his initial motivation for collaborating with Nolan, which was simply that he saw something different in Nolan's first "Batman" film, and that Nolan is a director with a lot of ideas...

Nolan said that when he learned he would be working with Cao Yang, he was immediately overwhelmed by pressure. Cao Yang is the director he admires most, a person with unique insight and great depth.

The collaboration was quite pleasant; the two shared many similar ideas, which he was proud of.

Most of the time, Cao Yang listened with a smile, only saying a few words when the host asked him a question. Nolan, on the other hand, was noticeably more talkative.

Cao Yang hadn't expected Nolan to be so engaging. Throughout the entire program, Nolan did almost all the talking, discussing collaborations, films, his understanding of Batman comics, Bale, Heath Ledger, and so on.

After the recording was finished, Cao Yang said with a smile, "Chris, I didn't expect you to be such an outgoing person."

"what……"

Nolan scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, then said, "No, no, I'm not usually like this. I know you rarely appear on shows, and I don't know why I acted like this when I got to share the stage with you this time."

He then thought for a moment and said, "Maybe they feel it's a rare opportunity, and want to take advantage of your presence on stage to promote the movie?"

Cao Yang knew Nolan was joking about the last sentence, so he smiled and asked, "What are your plans next? I mean, after The Dark Knight is released."

"Let's take a look at the word-of-mouth and box office first. If it's a success in both word-of-mouth and box office..."

Nolan then laughed and said, "Then let's take a year off and talk about it later."

"That's an interesting idea of ​​yours."

Cao Yang commented.

If others achieve both critical and commercial success, they'll definitely capitalize on the hype to choose their favorite scripts, but you're thinking about taking a break first.

"Not really, it's just that there are too few good scripts and good ideas. I can take a break and look for suitable scripts, or see if I can find new inspiration while relaxing."

Nolan explained, "Good inspiration can't be obtained during stressful work; it's only possible when you're relaxed."

Cao Yang nodded thoughtfully. No wonder almost all of Nolan's films can be considered masterpieces, and he has maintained a frequency of releasing one every two or three years since then. This is the reason.

The Dark Knight will be released on July 18th, and this time it will be released simultaneously in more than 50 countries, including China, not just in North America.

In my previous life, this movie was not released in the country.

The official reason given was that the film's content did not meet the domestic film censorship standards at the time, involving violent elements, the portrayal of villains, and issues with its value orientation.

Specifically, the film's main villain, the Joker, is portrayed as the embodiment of pure evil. His unmotivated and chaotic behavior, along with his promotion of the "theory of evil," is considered to be inconsistent with the film censorship requirements regarding "positive value guidance."

Don't rush to refute the official statement.

In the original movie, there was a scene where Batman personally went to Hong Kong to arrest Mr. Liu...

When discussing importing the film, Warner Bros. was unwilling to cut this short scene, arguing that it would disrupt the narrative flow.

As the producer and screenwriter, Cao Yang would definitely not include such a scene in the film.

Therefore, there were no problems with the domestic release.

On the evening of July 15, the premiere of "The Dark Knight" was held at the IMAX theater in Lincoln Square, New York.

Although Gotham City, where Batman lives, is not the actual New York City, the film connects to New York in another way: Heath Ledger, who played the Joker, the main villain in the film, passed away in New York this January.

Thus, the premiere took on a more solemn feel—the traditional red carpet was replaced with black, and all the movie stars attending the premiere wore uniform black attire to commemorate the late Heath Ledger.

Furthermore, since all the audience members attending the premiere were movie fans selected from the website, at someone's suggestion, almost all of them came dressed in black.

In addition to the cast and other invited celebrities, Heath Ledger's parents and sister also attended the premiere.

Warner Bros. had originally planned to invite Heath Ledger's ex-girlfriend, Michelle Williams. The two had broken up just a month before Ledger's death, and she had given birth to his daughter.

However, Michelle Williams had just taken Heath Ledger and his parents to court a little over a month ago in order to fight for his estate.

It would be a bit unreasonable to ask her to come again.

So Warner Bros. turned around and invited Naomi Watts.

This Australian actress is also one of Heath Ledger's ex-girlfriends, so it's quite reasonable for her to appear on the "black carpet" at the event.

At the premiere, when Heath Ledger's Joker appeared on the big screen, the theater was immediately filled with tears, cheers, and applause.

Cao Yang observed carefully and found that quite a few moviegoers were indeed wiping away tears. The movie hadn't even been released yet, and he wondered how these "Batman" fans had become "fans" of the Joker.

It's just that the atmosphere was right, and people are naturally sentimental, regardless of race.

Before the movie screening, almost everyone would mention Heath Ledger, expressing regret and remembrance.

After the movie screening, during the interview session, every guest, regardless of their identity, would first mention Heath Ledger before even discussing the film.

It seems like Heath Ledger is the main character today, and talking about him is the only politically correct thing to do.

Cao Yang actually knew that this was all Warner's doing.

He was one of the decision-makers, or rather, one of the people involved in formulating the publicity strategy, but he neither approved nor opposed it.

Facing reporters, Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinoff said with some regret:
"I am deeply proud of this film, but I am also a little sad because Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is so outstanding that the film feels like watching a magic show that turns lead into gold."

It's a great pity that Heath Lancelot has left us, left us forever. Hollywood has lost a wonderful actor.

When Christian Bale spoke again about Heath Ledger, his on-screen rival, he said with a sorrowful expression:

"It was a real pleasure to work with Heath. We played rivals in the film, but we actually had a very good relationship. I think his portrayal of the Joker was so vivid that it's bound to become one of the classic characters in film history!"

Michael Caine appeared lost in memories when facing reporters.

"He behaved normally on set. We often sat down together for coffee and chatted, but as soon as filming started, he turned into the clown. I think Heath's performance in the movie is the best I've ever seen!"
I even think that if he were still alive, trophies would definitely come his way.

……

Cao Yang observed these eloquent celebrities, who all seemed to be close friends with Heath Ledger.

However, according to Ning Hao, who spoke to Cao Yang, Heath Ledger was a bit withdrawn on set and seemed unable to connect with anyone.

He only seems more energetic when filming movies. After he finishes shooting his scenes, he goes back to the dressing room alone, and nobody knows what he does there.

Cao Yang couldn't help but think that these people could become stars, regardless of anything else, their acting skills must be excellent. Anyone who didn't know would definitely think that Heath Ledger was a very popular person on set.

"Undoubtedly, he was a genius. We had the opportunity to work together again, but sadly, he has left us forever."

Cao Yang said this during an interview.

Well, I guess I'm a pretty good actor too.

(End of this chapter)