The Best Director

Chapter 92 Juno Reboot

Flame Films announced on its official website the release plan for two films in the second half of the year. The first is "Memory Fragments", an independent film that won the best screenplay award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The schedule will be released on a small scale. (Reading the novel) This is expected. Since Flame Movie purchased "Memory Fragments" for a record-breaking 8 million, the media and film companies knew that it would definitely be released. The dizzy suspense film is regarded as a treasure.

For ordinary audience fans, there are some expectations, not because the director is Christopher Nolan, his popularity is close to none; but because it was so valued by Flame Movie and Wang Yang, and it was also taken to the film festival. The best screenplay, maybe it will be a very good movie. However, regarding the story information of "Memento", Flame Movie did not make any disclosures. On the newly launched "Memento" official website, there is only one jigsaw puzzle game that can be played online. The complete picture is a still photo of the movie, which also makes This movie adds a lot of mystery.

But what really caught the attention of the media, excited fans, and alerted major film companies was the second plan announced by Flame Films. Wang Yang will start producing the long-prepared "Juno". "Juno" will be released in this year's Christmas schedule, and the heroine "Juno" has not been announced by Flame Movie; but Wang Yang revealed some of the story content of "Juno": "It's a drama about a high school teenage pregnancy, and Juno is a 16-year-old high school student, and she gets pregnant, and that's where the story begins."

"Fantasy Young with high energy" Here's what the Los Angeles Times reported: "Third week of 'Happiness Knocks' has just begun, and the wonder boy is about to make his next movie A plan announced by "When Happiness Comes Knocking", "Juno". His production speed is certainly surprising, but maybe this is the magical Yang. After watching "When Happiness Knocks", whether he is hot-headed Topics are not needed for the time being.”

"It is worth noting that he announced the "Juno" plan in July last year. At that time, he auditioned thousands of girls for Juno's candidate. Finally, the official explanation was that "due to the issue of the heroine candidate, the shooting plan will be postponed." ; and now he has apparently found the girl, though we don't know who."

Compared with the curiosity about Juno's candidate, both the media and movie fans are more focused on Wang Yang's "content" at this time, a drama about a high school girl getting pregnant? Isn't it a romantic school love story? Isn't it a hilarious comedy like American Pie? It is actually about teenage pregnancy. Everyone knows that this is a taboo topic by default. What is he going to say?

The editor of the "Los Angeles Times" report commented: "This may seem surprising, but seriously, I have expected this. Fantastic Young's performance in "When Happiness Knocks" proves that he is superb. His directing ability regardless of his age also shows his pursuit of feature films. He is no longer a 'teen film' director,

From the fact that he gave up directing "High School Musical 2" and announced plans for "Juno" and "When Happiness Knocks on the Door", it can be seen that he has this idea. Difficulty', an ambitious young man. "

But can Wang Yang shoot well? Will "Juno" be a high-level movie? This time the media did not make predictions, but only expressed some expectations, and at the same time hinted that "this subject is difficult". Movie fans on the Internet can speak freely. They are very excited and looking forward to "Juno".

"Guess what kind of movie 'Juno' is going to be? Teenage pregnancy is a serious topic, so is it going to be a serious didactic movie? Tell us *to* use condoms? Or high school students shouldn't*? This popular post got quite a few replies: "I don't think so, he had a girlfriend in high school, maybe "Juno" is his high school story, but we don't see him having an illegitimate child, so this is pro-abortion Story.", "Dude, that's absolutely impossible, unless Fantastic Young is insane, and I'm categorically against abortion, and if Fantastic Young is in favor, I won't like him anymore"

This is where the teenage pregnancy story is difficult. Seeing "teenage pregnancy" makes people think of abortion. Is abortion okay? Is it legal? Once you express your opinion, half of the people are offended, so that's why it's so thankless and why there are no successful films of its kind.

In April of this year, 20th Century Fox launched a rare type of teenage pregnancy movie "Sweetheart". Performance-wise, it failed. However, it received good reviews, because it didn't talk too much about pregnancy, let alone the viewpoint of abortion. The focus of its story is that the heroine Novali is strong, kind, and knows how to find beauty. Pregnancy is just a Just the beginning.

Ten minutes after the opening, Novali gave birth to a child; after another ten minutes, the child Novali raised was over three years old, and Novali took her child to pursue her own love and happiness... This is The story of "Sweetheart Yiren". So will that be the case with Juno? If this is the case, why does "Juno" continue to be magical? While Wang Yang's fans are looking forward to it, they are also a little worried.

Wang Yang did not disclose more information about "Juno", but he will not keep it secret to the end. That kind of publicity is not suitable for campus dramas. The brief introduction of "Juno" will be gradually revealed in stages, so that fans Keep an eye on it. And now it is not lacking in attention. If it is announced that Natalie Portman will play Juno, the gossip tabloids will probably boil up. He has been busy enough recently and doesn't want to be disturbed by scandals, so he just waits for all the actors. After finding it, we will announce it together.

"Rachel, are you okay?" Wang Yang lay on the sofa, looked at a golden popcorn trophy on the coffee table, and asked on his mobile phone, "Is your cold better?" Rachel over there gently He hummed and said, "Thank you, I'm fine, I'll be fine soon."

Last night was the awarding time of the 9th MTV Movie Awards. MTV Movie Awards is an international film award held by MTV Global Music Network. Produced by votes of the general audience. So "High School Musical" was nominated for 5 awards including Best Picture, Actor Progress Award (Tom Welling), Actress Progress Award (Jessica Alba), Best Music, and Best Scene. It is the popularity of this year's MTV Movie Awards.

Wang Yang, Jessica, Tom Welling, Zachary and others were invited to participate in the recording of the awards ceremony, but Rachel who was also invited did not attend because she had a bad cold. The MTV Movie Awards finally came to an end amidst a lot of joy and hustle and bustle. The best picture was won by "The Matrix"; "High School Musical" only won the golden popcorn trophy for best music.

"That's good." Wang Yang smiled slightly, and hearing her voice was in good spirits, he asked, "By the way, Rachel, I'm going to Toronto to shoot "Juno". Can you introduce me to the rural town of M?" He closed his eyes and thought about it, while describing: "The kind of quiet, two-story wooden houses, full of trees, just like the scenery The feeling of painting..."

The reason why I chose to shoot in Toronto is not only because the weather and seasons there are just right for the needs of the film; more importantly, it is to save money. The cash in the account of the flame film company is almost zero, which is the company's financial status.

After the original soundtrack CD of "High School Musical" sold nearly 7 million sets and DVD sold nearly 12 million sets worldwide, after several discounts and price cuts, it can no longer be sold. The huge profit it brought, 100 million was used to acquire Blue Sky Work Studio, 30 million production cost, 20 million publicity cost of "High School Musical 2", 60 million total cost of "When Happiness Knocks on the Door", 8 million purchase of "Memory Fragments", and the salary and bonus of the company's employees. Planned to purchase the copyrights of some old movies to expand the film library, develop business in North America and overseas, increase the size of the company, etc. After these tasks, the result is that the money is spent.

Almost zero cash? This is definitely not a healthy financial situation. If any investment ends in failure, it will result in serious losses, or even go into debt. This is not Mark Slanter’s idea. He has persuaded Wang Yang many times to accept joint ventures from other companies, such as Lions Gate, which has been seeking cooperation, so as to reduce risks; but Wang Yang’s mouth is "", and there is no This is necessary.

However, it will take some time to receive the rent of "When Happiness Comes Knocking on the Door"; let alone "High School Musical 2", which will be released in August and does not know whether it will be successful, so the production cost of "Juno" is only 15 million In addition to the combined salary of 7.3 million for Natalie Portman and Michael Pitt, the remaining 7.7 million is to pay the salaries of film crew members such as Walley Pfister and other actors. It is difficult to save money, even if Wang Yang only paid himself one dollar; on the other hand, he has to pay for shooting expenses such as equipment, film, crew members, etc., and this aspect can save money.

It’s not that Canadian films are particularly cheap, but the wages of its field staff and extras are much lower. There are also preferential policies for filming, which can save a lot of taxes on films. Compared with filming in the United States, the entire cost can probably be reduced Save 15%-20%. Regarding the status quo of flame movies, the filming of "Juno" must be postponed until the theater company pays the film rent; or it can be filmed to save money. Filming in Canada would not affect the quality of the film, so he chose the latter.

"Oh, there is also a small but equally beautiful high school." Wang Yang rolled over excitedly and continued: "It doesn't need to be as dreamy as Dongfang High School, it's nothing The school bus, the students all ride their bicycles to school..."

"No...I don't know." Rachel suddenly interrupted him, saying, "I don't know, Jan, I can't understand your description, I'm a little dizzy, I have to go to sleep."

Wang Yang was startled, he didn't know if it was an illusion, he felt that Rachel suddenly became hostile to him again recently, but aren't they all right? Although it will not be like it was a long time ago, but occasionally because of certain things, they will have a conversation with ordinary friends, and now... Maybe it's just that she is sick and in a bad mood. At the MTV Movie Awards, she could have danced and sang on stage of. He nodded and said, "Okay, then take good care of your health. You know, the promotion of "High School Musical 2" is about to start, and we can't do without you." He laughed.

"Well, I will, bye." As soon as Rachel finished speaking, she hung up the call, and there was a beeping sound from the phone. Wang Yang said "bye" and put down the phone, suddenly remembered something, and suddenly frowned strangely and doubtfully: "Why is there no nasal sound?" Rachel's voice was very soft, but there was no nasal sound at all, he felt strange Because the last time Rachel had a small cold, she had a very strong nasal sound, which shows that her constitution is like this, but now she has a severe cold...

Hey, you're not Sherlock Holmes and you haven't really attended the class at USC School of Medicine. Wang Yang shook his head and smiled, reached out to pick up a thick book called "Pregnancy Handbook" on the coffee table, and continued his previous reading. Not only does Natalie Portman need to understand Juno and set up this role; he also needs to understand Juno's mind, what she will face throughout her pregnancy, and what specific changes will happen to her body. Only in this way can he better understand things like "teenage pregnancy" and Juno's mentality changes, so as to better control the story.

So since the establishment of the "Juno" project last year, he bought a lot of these books to read, "Psychology of Pregnancy", "Pregnancy Encyclopedia", "How to Be a Happy Pregnant Woman"... I have been reading it intermittently for the past year , he is now simply the "master of pregnancy knowledge". If Jessica suddenly becomes pregnant, he will not feel in a hurry anymore. He probably has learned it all his life, although it is only on paper.

In the reading plan, there are also some books on slang and jokes. The reason why Juno is cool and has a unique charm is reflected in her words and deeds. "Words" are very important. What she says must be interesting and novel, and can become a catchphrase. Popular in life and on the Internet. But many of the lines in the original version are no longer applicable. There are reasons for the change of the story, and more importantly, many words are incomprehensible, like "nest--g", what is g?

When he stumbled across a blog, he realized what g was, and understood that it meant "I can tell the blogger, it's true." One must tell the truth to God, and one of the purposes of g is to express one's own truth, so there is "nest--g". But it obviously can't be placed now, because there are not many people playing g at present.

Juno wants to lead the trend, but she also needs to be in the trend. She can't miss how young people talk now. Fortunately, he himself is called "young", so there is no danger of falling behind for the time being. So how does Juno lead the way? That's why he reads slang and joke books, from which he can get more inspiration and ideas, and think of some funny phrases and jokes. He would sometimes discuss with Natalie, such as asking her to analyze whether a joke is funny from a psychological point of view; Natalie's answer was "From a psychological point of view, it's not funny at all, it's just a way The human body has the trap of having a certain reaction; but from Natalie's point of view, it's hilarious."

With the passage of nearly a year, after the filming and production of "When Happiness Knocks on the Door" and thinking about "Juno", Wang Yang has a lot of new ideas, and the thickness of the script has continued to increase in the past year. The number is increasing, and the lines are also changing. He will shoot all the things he wants to shoot, and when editing later, he will make those materials into a 120-minute movie.

"The best place to conceive, first, a warm home..." Wang Yang looked at the "Pregnancy Handbook" in his hand, and when he started talking... his heart moved, and he flipped through it absent-mindedly for a while, then put down the book, picked up the phone and unplugged it. I got a number and said softly: "Hi, sweetheart, good evening, how about coming to my house? I miss you."

Jessica over there smiled happily, and said sweetly: "You are clingier than Danny, we just met this morning." She was about to say something when she suddenly understood what he really meant, and said, "Oh Not now, I don’t want to.” Wang Yang coughed and said, “Why don’t you want to? Don’t get me wrong, I just want to discuss pregnancy with you.” Jessica smiled and said, “It’s what made me pregnant. Things? Jan, not tonight."

Wang Yang couldn't help laughing, thinking that it would be enough to coax her over, and said with a smile: "Hey, why do you think about those -17 things? Let me tell you, this is a very serious matter." He thought about it Thinking about it, he said seriously: "I want to know last year, when we read the test sheet in the car, and I said 'positive', you thought you were pregnant, what did you think at that moment?" No After she answered, he said again: "I still have many, many questions, so please, come here."

"Just say it here." Jessica remained unwavering. Wang Yang rolled his eyes angrily, smiled again, and said in a vicious voice: "If you don't come, then I'll go to your house." Jessica's laughter came from the phone, and she said: "Well, I'll wait I'm following you."

"I'm coming to say goodbye now." Wang Yang pressed the end call button, and an impulse arose in his heart. He jumped off the sofa, put on his slippers, went outside the house, and ran towards Jessica's house at full speed. Under the moonlight, he ran across the tree-lined path, the small fountain... the distance of a few hundred meters seemed to be gone in a blink of an eye, when he saw the big brightly lit house, he smiled slightly and he slowed down Come to the lawn, walk to the side of the house, and look at a bright window on the second floor, which is Jessica's room. He put his hands around his mouth and called softly, "Hey, Juliet? It's me, Romeo Hey, Juliet..."

Suddenly, Danny's barking came from inside the room, and Jessica appeared by the window. She looked down, her face was surprised and funny, and she said, "Yan, you're really here!" Yang spread his hands and said, "You saw me." He looked around and said with a smile, "How should I climb up to your room? Juliet, is there any rope or something? Give me one. Hey, I really am now I envy that guy Spider-Man."

Jessica was leaning against the window, holding her chin with a smile, watching him helpless, and said with a smile, "Did you forget? You don't need ropes and spider silk, just fly in, Superman." Wang Yang propped his waist and smiled, He nodded and said, "You reminded me that I am Superman, but I need a phone booth and a pair of red underwear..."

"Don't move my gun to aim at you" At this time, a serious voice sounded from behind, it was Mark Alba's, and he shouted: "If you don't want to eat bullets, raise your hands up" It's terrible... Wang Yang Slowly raising his hands up, he said: "Relax, Mark, it's me, Jan." Jessica on the top also looked nervous, and hurriedly shouted: "He's Jan, oh my god, Dad, he's Jan"

"I know it's him." Mark Alba said calmly, and Wang Yang was startled: "What?" He turned around and saw that Mark's hands were empty. How could there be any guns? He covered his forehead and said with a smile, "Mark, are you really Mark?" Jessica leaned forward to look, and said helplessly, "Dad, how could you scare me to death with such a joke?"

Mark Alba let out a haha, he had wanted to beat this kid up a long time ago, and since he couldn't beat him up, it would be a lesson to scare him now. Mark walked up to Wang Yang, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a low voice, "Boy, don't you like joking? Red underwear?" He looked into Wang Yang's eyes and said, "Don't be on my territory Make trouble, or even if you are a superman, I will beat you." Wang Yang shrugged, grinning and said: "OK, your territory is up to you."

Falling down on the bed in Jessica's boudoir, Wang Yang breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Jessica who was wearing a tank top and shorts, and said, "I almost became Romeo, Jesse, I just found out today that your father still has this One side." Jessica crossed her arms and said with a smile: "Do you still want to discuss about pregnancy?" Wang Yang glanced at her slender and sexy thighs a few times, then rolled his eyes and said: "No, although I really want to discuss , but forget it, this is not my place."

Wang Yang suddenly thought, should they live together? Although the Catholic Church does not allow cohabitation, there are many things that the Catholic Church forbids, such as premarital sex. However, he has no money to buy a big house now, and he will soon go to Toronto to shoot "Juno", let's wait until we have money.

"Oh, that's because you abstained." Jessica walked to the bed with a smile, bent over and kissed his face. She sat down, picked up a movie magazine on the bedside table, and casually flipped through it. Wang Yang closed his eyes and murmured softly: "Alright, the audition will start again tomorrow, so have a good rest. Jessie, can I just sleep here?"

Jessica ignored his last words, patted his thigh, and said in a serious tone: "Yang, how about I play Juno's good sister Leah? Can I go to the audition?" Wang Yang opened his eyes and looked Looking at her, he shook his head and said: "The appearance is fine, but the temperament does not match. You and Leah are completely different types, and you are too stealthy." If she is alone as Leah, it may be okay; If Tali Portman gets together to play good sisters, there is no chemical reaction in terms of temperament.

"And you want to promote "High School Musical 2", don't you?" Wang Yang added another sentence, knowing what she was thinking, and comfortingly said: "Jessica, we will have the opportunity to continue making movies together." Jie A trace of disappointment flashed across Xika's face, and she smiled and said, "Well, it's okay, I know."

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PS: Wow, I recommend my good friend Geyu a great book "The Prosperous Officials and Businesses", ISBN: 1690864, ​​let's see how the old generation of Tianjiao opened up the road to the prosperous official business after the rebirth