The Birth of the Best Director

Chapter 215 The Pursuit of Ultimate Visual Effects! Friedrich's *The Ice Sea*

……

"Breaking news! The celebration party for Pacific Rim has just ended, and Brother Yuan has already ended his vacation and started filming the sequel!"

"Explain in detail upstairs, where did you get this information?"

"That's a long story. A few days ago, I flew from Beijing to Kashgar on a business trip and met a young woman who was incredibly beautiful. I couldn't help but take a few more glances and suddenly realized that she was one of the 'Flying Apsaras of Dunhuang.' Then, following the young woman's gaze, I discovered many familiar faces."

Someone leaked the news online.

The sequel to Pacific Rim has finally started production!

In no time, the topic's popularity on the internet skyrocketed.

Pacific Rim ultimately grossed $12 billion, ranking fourth in film history. Not only Lu Zhiyuan benefited from the film, but also several of the female leads.

Let's leave Reba and Hanikezi aside for now.

Liu Shishi's popularity soared online thanks to the role of "Miss Raven," in addition to the popularity she had built up with "Scarlet Heart."

Unsurprisingly, in 2012, she was probably the most popular young actress on the internet.

As for Reba and Hanikezi, they have already reached another level, and they have only acted in movies, not TV series.

In terms of popularity alone, she may not be as popular as Liu Shishi.

Thanks to Lu Zhiyuan's guidance, Liu Shishi stood out from the crowd in the "Great Tang Poet Immortal" category of the 85th Flower category.

He's been inundated with endorsement offers.

She no longer likes being called "Little Liu Yifei" and is constantly cutting ties with that nickname.

Now, who on the internet dares to use this to mock her?
Get ready to receive a lawyer's letter.

Besides the female lead, Duan Yihong also became incredibly popular. Although he didn't take on many commercial endorsements, the price of his individual commercial endorsement contracts doubled.

This allowed him to make a fortune.

……

The crew of "1942".

This movie has been filmed in Changzi County for over a month.

Duan Yihong doesn't have many scenes.

In this movie, he basically had a minor role, playing the character Chen Bulei, who spent all his time following Principal Jiang.

The male lead in this film is Zhang Guoli.

Although Duan Yihong didn't have many scenes, he learned a trick from Lu Zhiyuan... Even if you don't have any scenes, you should still hang around in front of the director as much as possible.

In case the director suddenly has a bright idea and wants to add a scene.

Didn't I just snag this opportunity?

Before the release of the movie "Pacific Rim," he had no idea that he would be the opening character, piloting the Judgment, and performing so brilliantly.

During the green screen shoot, almost every actor tried to go inside the hydraulic cockpit and have a go.

This is an internal benefit.

Duan Yihong didn't think much of it when he was playing around; it was just that Guo Fan was taking a few shots of him.

What if Brother Yuan needs it?

After filming, Duan Yihong didn't think much of it.

Who knew, I actually needed it!
This made him an instant sensation.

Pacific Rim grossed $12 billion, starring Keanu Reeves and three outstanding female leads.

All things considered, Duan Yihong, despite not having many scenes, is actually the second male lead in the movie.

Aside from Keanu Reeves, his male role was the most outstanding.

After the first major battle, he was seriously injured and left the front-line combat troops. As a martial arts instructor, he also managed to get a few shots on camera.

In short, he became famous!

"Old Duan, let me interview you. You've worked with Director Lu on sci-fi action blockbusters, and now you're working with Director Feng on a historical epic. What are your thoughts?"

During a break in the film crew, the various bigwigs gathered together and chatted casually.

For the movie "1942", Huayi Brothers brought in all the stars they could.

They have almost formed an all-star lineup of current domestic players.

However, to put it bluntly... the combined salaries of all these people are still less than what Dilraba alone earned on Lu Zhiyuan's side!
The box office of "Pacific Rim" exceeded 12 billion US dollars, and the direct beneficiaries were the two main actors, Dilraba Dilmurat and Keanu Reeves.

They each received more than 2000 million US dollars in compensation!
It's like getting rich overnight!
The combined salaries of the two actors even exceeded the production cost of the film "1942".

"Well, I'm not really sure what to say."

Faced with the probing questions from the bigwigs, Duan Yihong smiled shyly.

How would a minor actor like him comment on such remarks?

Praising Lu Zhiyuan is tantamount to criticizing Feng Xiaogang.

Praising Feng Xiaogang would seem somewhat hypocritical.

After all, the production cost of Lu Zhiyuan's film was close to 10 billion RMB, which is 5 times that of this one.

The quality of the two films is on completely different levels.

Of course, "1942" also has the feel of a blockbuster, but the difference in production costs is something that the director's skill level cannot change.

Moreover, Feng Xiaogang always seems to lack something when filming this kind of subject matter.

If Chen Kaige were to direct, the footage might be even better.

If Zhang Yimou were to direct it, it might have even more dramatic tension and make people feel heartbroken and want to cry.

"Old Duan, don't hold back. We're all on the same side, just chat casually. We won't tell anyone."

"Among us, you're the only one who's directed a Hollywood blockbuster. Share your experience and let us broaden our horizons."

"That's good. Comparing domestic films with Hollywood blockbusters allows us to see the gap and improve accordingly."

Many of the people present had their agency contracts with Huayi Brothers, so to Duan Yihong, they were indeed his own people.

They're all from the same company.

Besides, given the production costs, it's normal that "1942" is somewhat inferior to "Pacific Rim".

Moreover, even Feng Xiaogang himself has to admit it.

He is indeed not as good as Lu Zhiyuan at making commercial films.

$12 billion, that box office is simply outrageous.

"I don't know how to describe it. I just feel that Director Feng shot these scenes mainly for the purpose of storytelling and connecting the stories."

"However, Director Lu basically has three layers of meaning when he shoots those shots. First, it's for the movie plot; second, it's to showcase his color and lighting skills as an art student... Of course, the most important thing is the third point: he must have some special meaning left in the picture."

"However, most viewers will not be able to see the third point."

"I only found out from other people after I joined the crew that almost every little plot point has some special inner meaning."

Duan Yihong really wants to tell everyone here that Hollywood's industrialized films are not really as seamless as a factory production machine.

It all depends on the director's personal interpretation.

If a director has absolute power, he can create boundless romantic works according to his own ideas.

Just like Lu Zhiyuan.

But if the studio has the final say, then the director is like a puppet on a string, completely unable to express their own creative desires.

Here, Duan Yihong subtly expressed his contempt for Wu Yusen.

Mission: Impossible 2 was entirely the studio's achievement, and had little to do with John Woo himself.

This can be clearly discerned simply by looking at whether the film contains any obvious personal touches from the director.

Lu Zhiyuan's films, with their attention to detail and visual style, are truly unique even on a global scale.

Especially the composition, color, and lighting characteristics of each shot are absolutely world-class.

No one else can copy it.

After all, there are very few people in the world who have such a strong sensitivity to color and light as Lu Zhiyuan.

Lu Zhiyuan talks about talent all the time... but his talent for color and light is absolutely legendary.

"Old Duan, I understand."

"Are you saying that Director Feng is pretentious and cultured?"

"They clearly wanted to make a historical epic, but the quality wasn't good enough. The films they made only had storylines, but the philosophical concepts weren't profound enough."

Someone suddenly laughed, deliberately teasing Duan Yihong.

"You can't say that."

Duan Yihong quickly shook his head: "Personally, I feel that our film '1942' is positioned as a historical epic, a true recreation of history. As long as it follows the original history, it will be impactful enough. There's no need for all those messy gimmicks."

"What Brother Yuan said about the quality of a film lies in the details."

"No matter how grand the story, it must be rooted in details and in the emotional changes of the characters."

"What kind of land nurtures what kind of people, and what kind of stories unfold—as long as these can be clearly explained, the film will have a sense of quality and realism."

"I think our film is quite detailed in this respect. The male protagonist goes from being a landlord to experiencing the entire famine and witnessing history, giving the audience a bloody analysis of that cruel war era."

"I believe that after its release, our film will definitely become a classic among historical epics."

"To leave a mark on film history."

After boasting for so long, Duan Yihong still had half a sentence left unsaid.

Movies are a commodity.

As a product, the first step is to determine who the potential customers are.

While "1942" is visually appealing, detailed, and has a grand historical backdrop, the story is also quite impactful.

However, this movie may not have a large audience... at best, it will be the next "The Flowers of War".

The film's box office performance is unlikely to be very good.

With an investment of 2 million, the box office may not necessarily break even.

Feng Xiaogang is not as good at making historical epics as Zhang Yimou, nor does he have the same appeal.

They will most likely suffer their own Waterloo.

However, Duan Yihong is not stupid. This is Feng Xiaogang's film crew. How could he possibly speak ill of Feng Xiaogang?

Of course, it's blowing like crazy.

"Old Duan, well said!"

At some point, Feng Xiaogang appeared behind Duan Yihong, patted him on the shoulder affectionately, revealed a small buck tooth, and smiled very happily.

"Director Feng, when did you arrive? Please have a seat."

Duan Yihong is a top-tier actor, and just now, when he saw the slight shift in the eyes of the others, he instantly knew that there was something wrong behind it all.

Therefore, he directly praised Feng Xiaogang.

And this praise hit Feng Xiaogang right where it hurts!

In return, Feng Xiaogang shouted into the distance, "Assistant director, make a note of this, add a few scenes for Chen Bulei."

"Thank you, Director Feng."

Adding scenes made Duan Yihong quite happy.

However, this time he's playing Chen Bulei, one of Chiang Kai-shek's lackeys. Even if they add more scenes and make him a main character, it won't make a difference.

In this respect, Director Feng is not as good as Brother Yuan.

When Yuan Ge takes portraits, he tries to portray them as heroic figures, whether villains or heroes, they all seem to carry a sense of destiny.

Even if the villain is the one who opposes the protagonist, the audience won't feel too much ill will towards him after seeing his image.

It can only be said that they are on different sides and serve different masters.

However, Feng Xiaogang's film...

Duan Yihong just wants to say that no character is inherently charismatic.

For an actor like Chen Bulei, a role like this would essentially add zero to his career.

The entire film is essentially Feng Xiaogang's work, rather than a collective celebration.

Compared to Lu Zhiyuan, Feng Xiaogang was a step behind.

Yuan Ge's movies not only break records and gain global acclaim, earning him countless US dollars, but also help everyone else soar to new heights.

This is a true top-tier commercial director.

"Director Feng, I need to take this call."

At this moment, Duan Yihong's assistant ran over and took his phone.

Duan Yihong frowned as soon as he saw the caller ID: "Honglei, what's up? I'm filming on set right now."

Sun Honglei said lazily, "Old Duan, I booked a ticket to Kashgar and I'm about to board the plane. I just wanted to let you know. Don't say we're competing maliciously. After all, you started this whole thing."

Sun Honglei is going to Kashgar now, of course, to bump into the famous director.

Last time, Duan Yihong went to Dunhuang first, made thorough preparations, and tricked Sun Honglei half to death.

This time, Sun Honglei is determined to avenge the loss of a cat.

Duan Yihong was taken aback for a moment, then asked in return, "Weren't you filming 'Drug War'? You finished filming so quickly?"

"I'll ask for leave. Is that not allowed?"

Of course, "Drug War" was not finished filming, but at this stage, it was basically Louis Koo's film, and Sun Honglei had a few days off.

Moreover, there is one thing that Sun Honglei will never tell Duan Yihong.

Lu Zhiyuan has a new project called "Peerless".

The protagonist is an art student who failed his college entrance exams and switched careers to drawing US dollars, eventually starting an international counterfeit money syndicate... I heard that Zhuang Wenqiang begged Lu Zhiyuan to star in this movie.

The female lead is Gao Yuanyuan.

In addition, Zhuang Wenqiang went to a small town in Naples, Italy, to observe how counterfeit money is made.

It's obvious at a glance that this crazy, reckless behavior was instigated by Lu Zhiyuan.

Without a doubt, this is another big-budget production.

Anything associated with Lu Zhiyuan can turn a small production into a big one... If it's just a production budget of tens of millions of RMB, a big director like Lu Zhiyuan probably wouldn't even bother to give it a second glance.

He'd only pay attention if it cost at least tens of millions of US dollars.

If even a renowned director is paying attention, how could Sun Honglei, an actor eager to improve, not be?
"I'm not saying anything more, I'm boarding the plane."

Sun Honglei deliberately left his words unfinished, waiting for the day when his name would appear on the cast list for the movie "Project Gutenberg".

It would probably make Duan Yihong extremely envious.

Since it's a counterfeit money ring, it must contain many criminals.

With my looks, and the dashing appearance of me in a trench coat, I'd be a perfect fit for playing a Chinese gang leader.

The audience can immediately tell from her own demeanor.

No narration is needed.

Sun Honglei doesn't mind playing villains, as long as the villains are charismatic enough.

If he can become a godfather of a Chinese gang like Al Pacino, then he's definitely going to be the villain.

When boarding the plane, Sun Honglei wore sunglasses, put his hands in his pockets, and struck an arrogant pose that made him seem like he had no friends.

At the same time, he muttered to himself, "Veni, vidi, vici!"

This is a famous quote from Julius Caesar.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

However, Sun Honglei felt that pronouncing it in Latin was more imposing and gave off a stronger Italian mafia vibe!

……

Kashgar.

Lu Zhiyuan's location scouting work was actually quite arduous.

Because the altitude here is relatively high.

Many people are visiting for the first time and quickly experience headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, and a very fast heartbeat.

In short, it was extremely uncomfortable.

Among those who are unaffected, only Xin Yukun, Su Lun, and Nazha are affected.

Xin Yukun and Su Lun had already come once.

The last time they came, neither of them had severe altitude sickness.

Naza may have the advantage of her bloodline; after returning to her ancestral homeland, she thrived like a fish in water, as happy as a little clumsy bird.

"Brother, don't push yourself. I don't want to call a helicopter to take you to the hospital."

Besides the three of them, Xin Yukun suddenly discovered that Lu Zhiyuan had also undergone a genetic mutation and was completely unaffected.

This brought back bad memories for him.

Last time, Lu Zhiyuan was the same way. He was in full working mode at the beginning, but after filming, he went back to his hotel in Kashgar and collapsed.

I was half-dead in bed for a week.

“I’ve told you all before, I’m not the same person I used to be.”

Through constant training, Lu Zhiyuan finally mastered Zhang Yimou's incredible stamina. From now on, he was a miniature mecha hunter.

No matter how harsh the environment, as long as humans can survive, they can also be largely immune to negative effects.

"Brother Kun, you're the head of logistics for the movie 'Interstellar,' so remember to get me ready."

"I reckon this movie won't be easy."

Lu Zhiyuan had to admit that the filming difficulty of "Interstellar" was probably the highest among all his films.

If he had filmed it according to Nolan's original work, it would have had a stronger hard science fiction feel.

However, its commercial appeal will be somewhat weaker. The box office will likely only slightly exceed $5 million, making it unlikely to break the $10 billion mark.

Moreover, for him, this is the final installment of the film series, and it must reach the pinnacle in both commercial and artistic aspects.

Simply copying Nolan is definitely not his choice.

The most important thing is...

He realized that he seemed to have gone astray.

Peter Jackson's "magical epic aesthetic system" is not suitable for this film; it's too difficult to integrate into it.

He spent a long time thinking about it, but eventually found that the two systems were incompatible.

In comparison, continuing to use Roland Emmerich's destructive aesthetics and maintaining the same style as Pacific Rim might be more appealing to audiences.

After all, the $12 billion box office of Pacific Rim speaks for itself.

Unfortunately, Spielberg's talent was not fully realized.

Otherwise, he could have simply taken the style of Jurassic Park and combined it with Jaeger.

The box office may be even higher.

"Hey, when is Spielberg going to give me a run for my money? Once I take him down, I'll be all set."

Lu Zhiyuan felt a surge of emotion.

The left hand is Peter Jackson, and the right hand is Roland Emmerich.

Both are top masters in their respective fields, and one can only combine the talents of one of them.

Ultimately, it was because his own talent wasn't strong enough to use the Star Absorbing Technique to drain the talents of the two of them.

Of course, it's also possible that the subject matter is unsuitable.

If Lu Zhiyuan were to film "Project Gutenberg" now, he feels he could easily adapt the film's visual style to resemble that of Peter Jackson.

Magnificent and romantic.

He knew the story of the art student who failed his college entrance exam and made counterfeit money.

For him, the story of Interstellar was too abstract and unrealistic.

Xin Yukun's scripts are also very detached from reality.

It's significantly inferior to Nolan's script.

Even though he hinted at many things, Xin Yukun's forte is writing suspense scripts, not science fiction film scripts.

This script is barely usable.

"If it's hard science fiction, mecha battles aren't suitable. How could anyone use mechas in a space setting?"

"Mechs are not bad as space infantry."

"However, wouldn't it be better to use drones? They are convenient, fast, and inexpensive, and they can also form a swarm."

Previously, Lu Zhiyuan had always felt that the movie "Interstellar" would be difficult to make.

The main problem is that the mecha theme is simply not compatible with interstellar travel.

Imagine sending something weighing 2000 tons into space.

Is this reasonable?

Although this wormhole is at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, they don't need to launch rockets.

"Forget it, we can't consider these scientific assumptions!"

"The more I think about it, the more complicated it gets... and the audience might not even accept it. It's a complete waste of effort!"

"We must speed up the pace, use exciting fights and visuals to attract the audience's attention, and sacrifice some scientific accuracy. That's the way commercial films should be made!"

"I absolutely cannot follow Nolan's example and come up with any science fiction concepts. After all, I'm just an art student, not a physics major."

"I'm good at visuals, but when it comes to scientific theorems, I don't understand them myself, and the audience is also confused. I have to explain them in the movie."

"Completely unnecessary."

Lu Zhiyuan gradually realized that he absolutely could not follow Nolan's example.

If you follow his advice, you'll most likely end up dead!
After Interstellar, Nolan made another high-concept film called Tenet. The scientific logic and details in it seem impressive at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they are quite illogical.

The battle scenes were also quite ordinary.

Even so, the film still grossed $5 million.

That's the appeal of a great director.

If a newcomer were to make this movie, it would most likely be criticized as a bad film, accused of being pretentious and unnecessarily mysterious.

However, let's think about it from a different perspective.

Nolan's reckless and haphazard approach still yielded $5 million at the box office... This is enough to prove that in the film market, a great director's appeal is greater than that of any star!

……

Having figured out where his strengths lay, Lu Zhiyuan suddenly felt a sense of vastness and his previous worries vanished!

This is for filming a movie.

This isn't scientific research!
As long as the visuals are exciting enough and the battles of the Jaeger are spectacular enough, viewers will overlook some scientific plausibility.

"Ultimately, it still comes down to the theme of mechs fighting monsters."

With this in mind, Lu Zhiyuan suddenly had an idea.

"Brother Kun, call a helicopter over. Let's fly up and take another look at a few scenes to get a feel for them."

Since it's about mech hunters fighting monsters, we naturally need to survey the battlefield first and then construct the battle scenes based on the characteristics of that battlefield.

This is what Lu Zhiyuan excels at.

"It's all ready. Let me make a call."

Before arriving in Kashgar, Xin Yukun had already contacted a local tourism company and booked a sightseeing helicopter in advance.

At this time of year, there aren't many tourists.

Helicopters can be deployed at any time.

……

Half an hour later.

Lu Zhiyuan, along with Xin Yukun, Su Lun, and Nazha, boarded the helicopter.

As for the others, since they've experienced altitude sickness, they should go back first.

Anyway, he's already told them most of what he needed to say. Now we won't let them suffer anymore.

When the actual work begins, they'll have to endure it even if they don't want to!

"Xiao Su, remember this mountain."

"I want to design an alien monster's mother nest here. After the Jaeger Hunters descended, they discovered this alien mother nest and believed that it was suitable for life to survive."

"Humanity was initially overjoyed, thinking they had found a new foothold. However, this alien mother nest actually possesses an incredibly powerful self-destruct capability."

"They discovered the emergence of the human expeditionary force, and after a great battle, they realized they were no match for them, so they directly initiated self-destruct mode."

"In an instant, inside the planet, in addition to the overwhelming waves, an irresistible freezing force was generated, instantly freezing the alien monsters and mechs that were fighting."

"Amidst the frozen giant waves, alien monsters and mechs were forever sealed away, forming amber silhouettes."

"How about it?"

"Does this scene evoke the feeling of Friedrich's 'The Ice Sea'? A sense of desolation and tragedy, filled with a despairing power?"

"This is what I mean by death, eternity."

"Although these two words are antonyms, sometimes, when they appear together, they can be absolutely stunning."

In the battles on Earth, Jaeger Hunters fight monsters amidst raging storms, earthquakes, and the destruction and decay of human urban civilization.

However, on another planet, Lu Zhiyuan is prepared to do the opposite.

Withering away in an instant.

Just now, the lively battle scene was instantly sealed away by the cold air, forming an amber silhouette under the icy sunlight.

This contrast is absolutely breathtaking for the audience.

What kind of epic feel?

He doesn't want it anymore.

That's exactly the kind of breathtaking visual we're looking for!

The extreme tranquility is used to depict the extremely harsh environment of outer space.

There were no cries for help, no sound of waves, and even the sound of the nuclear-powered turbine engine disappeared.

Everything was frozen inside the ice.

The silence of this moment, presented on a 3D IMAX screen, will definitely give the audience a sense of being there, as if they were actually there, feeling the oppressive weight of the massive object.

……

The other passengers on the plane listened for a long time without saying a word.

They all lowered their heads and used their phones to search for which painting Friedrich's "The Ice Sea" was.
A few seconds later, they found the painting.

Based on Lu Zhiyuan's description just now.

In an instant, everyone started nodding frantically: "Brother Yuan, we've got the feeling!"

As a painting, "The Ice Sea" has no narrative plot and no characters.

It creates an atmosphere.

That cold, silent, and despairing atmosphere.

If this scene were placed during humanity's first major battle to land on the constellation Perseus... it would be absolutely amazing!
The destructive aura of a cosmic wasteland, where everything withers, is overwhelming.

"Brother Yuan, I have a small question."

Su Lun raised his hand and asked in a low voice, "Didn't we discuss before that we were going to have a big battle on the black hole accretion disk?"

Su Lun was also very excited when Lu Zhiyuan described this before.

I think this is what a grand spectacle looks like.

It seems like no one has ever filmed this before.

At this moment, Lu Zhiyuan thought for a moment and said in denial: "The battle on the black hole accretion disk will be very exciting and shocking. However, considering that the lighting in this scene will be very dark in 3D, the scene will be very dark."

"Many details simply cannot be shown on a 3D screen."

"Even if we use special effects, even if we spend a lot of money, it probably won't look very good."

"Even if I designed an extremely exciting battle scene for this scenario, it would most likely be impossible to achieve with current technology."

"So, I finally decided to set the main battle scenes on the planet."

"This way, we can better control the lighting and colors. And it's also more user-friendly for the audience."

understood!

Everything is aimed at lowering the barrier to entry for moviegoers.

After understanding Lu Zhiyuan's subtext, Su Lun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Originally, she also wanted to find an opportunity to mention to Lu Zhiyuan the battle on the black hole accretion disk.

The main reason is that she also feels that if she uses such complicated technology, the audience might not appreciate it.

However, she also had to consider the feelings of the famous director.

Fortunately, director Lu Zhiyuan has always prioritized audiences and box office success.

When he's creating, he can be a bit crazy, but he's not that obsessive; he's a reasonable person.

This is much more reliable than Chen Kaige's.

"The frozen mechs are impressive. But that's not enough. After the battle, there needs to be a sense of accomplishment in cleaning up the battlefield."

"Let me think about it some more."

"Have it!"

"Since this is an abandoned, ruined planet."

"So, besides the self-destruct device, there are most likely some remnants of civilization on this planet."

"Shouldn't there be something special inside this ancient ruin?"

"For example, would you like to include a map of Earth's star coordinates?"

"Give the audience a slightly ambiguous hint that the ancestors of Earth's civilization actually came from the constellation Perseus, 3.2 million light-years away."

"Is the civilization on this giant wave planet actually from the same origin as Earth's civilization?"

Could the wormhole that appeared on the seabed of the Pacific Ocean be caused by a periodic tidal force in spacetime?

what!
This setting seems quite interesting; it gives the feeling of an open ending.

Even if this series is finished, if they want to reboot it in the future, they can start by drawing inspiration from the civilization relics on this planet.

Humans are so special that many scholars believe that humans are not actually Earth creatures, but may have come from other planets.

They were early interstellar settlers.

Lu Zhiyuan didn't explicitly say it in the movie, but only gave some visual hints... full of philosophical ambiguity.

No explanations, no answers, leaving it to the audience to discuss.

This approach can generate huge buzz for the movie.

This is one of the characteristics of Lu Zhiyuan's films.

After thinking it through, Su Lun was the first to nod: "Brother Yuan, I think it's great! This way, if we want to make a sequel, we can continue filming."

Naza quickly agreed, "Brother, I think it's great too! How about I become the saintess of this ancient civilization? How about you put my statue in the ruins? Let me enjoy the treatment of the leading lady."

Xin Yukun thought for a while, then said with a smile, "Brother, I have to say, your idea is great! I know it's not that you don't want to make a sequel, but that if you do, the salaries of the main actors will keep going up, making it easy for our movie to lose money."

The male and female leads of "Pacific Rim" each received a salary of $2000 million.

As the fourth installment in the Interstellar film series, the salaries of the two actors will only be higher, most likely reaching $30 million.

In addition, Hanikezi...

As Lu Zhiyuan's beloved apprentice, her salary naturally had to increase accordingly, at least 500 million US dollars.

This is what sequels are like.

As soon as a character gains even a little popularity, their salary has to be constantly increased.

After all, if the production company makes money, the actors should definitely make money too.

It's impossible for film studios to make huge profits while actors only earn a meager stipend.
This is not the rule in Hollywood.

This is why many Hollywood movies don't have sequels... Besides letting the market cool down and build up some popularity, it's also because they don't want to pay actors too high salaries.

In fact, the Lu Zhiyuan series was handled quite well; the combined salaries of the main actors did not exceed 1 million US dollars.

This allowed him to keep his production costs within $2 million.

This is why Zhao Shanshan prepared 1.5 million US dollars, but was still worried that Lu Zhiyuan wouldn't have enough to spend.

The situation is even more terrifying in the Marvel universe.

I heard that Robert Downey Jr., who plays Iron Man, can get a salary of $1 million.

No wonder, towards the end of the series, the director had to reluctantly kill him off. They simply couldn't afford to hire him anymore!

"Brother Yuan, besides the hint of this civilization ruins, on which planet did Reba's physical form appear?"

Su Lun was filled with anticipation for this plot.

Dilraba's physical appearance is the most explosive concept in the entire movie.

If it appears, it will definitely spark an explosive discussion among the audience.

Dilraba's physical body, which died in "Upgrade," has returned in "Interstellar"... Moreover, the opening of the wormhole and the invasion of the Apostle monsters seem to be related to Dilraba.

Instead of giving a clear answer, the show provides hints for the audience to guess.

Su Lun knew just by thinking about it that if she were a viewer, she would definitely enjoy the movie while simultaneously cursing the director.

I'm really itching to know what to do with this open ending.

"No answers will be given in the main feature."

"I plan to leave an Easter egg, giving the audience some ambiguous room for imagination."

Throughout the entire series, the Easter eggs are always the most exciting and unexpected.

As the final film in the series, Lu Zhiyuan wanted to maintain this good habit.

"Brother Yuan, could you tell us... what kind of status does Reba's character hold in this alien civilization?"

As Su Lun asked this question.

Everyone else perked up their ears.

Although the script was written by Xin Yukun, he thought about it for a long time and felt that no matter how he handled the physical character of Dilraba, it was not appropriate.

If it's written too clearly, it will overshadow the main point.

But if it's not clearly written, the audience will start cursing.

“I have assigned three identities to Dilraba’s body, but I haven’t decided which one to use in the end.”

"Let's shoot the footage first, and then make the final decision during the editing process."

This is what original films are all about.

Often, directors have no idea what kind of ending to give a character; they can only compare and confirm it again and again.

In the final editing stage, several versions were even produced.

After editing, we held an internal screening and invited many industry experts to discuss the project and ultimately decide on the version to be released in theaters.

This is the true purpose of the preview screening.

However, Lu Zhiyuan's test screenings always consisted of listening to others' elaborate praise, completely negating this purpose.

(End of this chapter)