Boston, the affluent area of Weston in the western suburbs of the city.
It's Sunday morning.
A group of people who flew to Boston yesterday entered a manor in a wealthy area five minutes before nine o'clock. Lena Kane got off the car first and immediately saw an Eastern European woman wearing rimless glasses and a home suit. He was greeted by two waitresses who were obviously of Eastern European descent.
Even though it can be roughly judged that this woman is not young, Lena Kane is still a little embarrassed in front of the other person's perfect appearance and quiet and elegant temperament that has withstood the erosion of time, and even has some inexplicable inferiority and intimacy.
However, Lena Kane immediately discovered that this woman seemed a little embarrassed in front of them. She greeted in a soft voice with a slight British accent: "Everyone, please come with me."
There was no introduction to the other party, and it was inconvenient for Lina and others to take the initiative to say hello too much.
Lina, who is good at observing, soon discovered that the edge of the woman's slender neck wrapped in a turtleneck sweater had some faint red marks, and even the woman's face had a certain ruddy color that could easily lead to ambiguous associations. Thinking about it more deeply, roughly I understand why this woman is embarrassed.
Lina couldn't tell the specific age of the other party, but he was at least in his thirties, and her boss was only 29 years old this year.
Such an intellectual and gentle woman would inevitably feel embarrassed if she was seen as a lover by a man who was much younger than her.
I have to say that Lina did guess Maria’s mind.
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Except for not guessing the age correctly.
Moreover, this is actually not the manor where Maria and the children live, but the residence of Ulyanna. Compared with other women around Simon, as the mother of five children, coupled with her own personality, and even with a certain With the age difference between a small man, she has always been a shy and passive recipient in front of him.
Last night, she was half-cheated and half-coaxed. It was the first time that she and Ulyanna spent a ridiculous night with a young man. Even though these guests could not know what happened last night, Maria still felt uncomfortable facing outsiders at this time. Sorry.
Fortunately, it was not at her own residence, otherwise, Maria would have definitely refused to comply.
You know, not only are there three boys and two little ones, but also my daughter comes back from MIT to visit me because of the weekend.
However, a certain hateful little man probably thought of this and chose this side, which made Maria feel strangely grateful for this. She knew this wasn't normal, but at least he didn't embarrass himself in front of the children, so it was... not too bad.
With this in mind, Maria led the guests into the villa, walked through the hall, and came to an office on the westmost side of the first floor. She knocked on the door and opened the door after receiving a response.
In front of you is a very spacious office, and there are floor-to-ceiling glass windows on the south side, which makes it very bright.
The temperature in Boston is very low right now, but the room is as warm as spring.
Simon was sitting on the sofa in the reception area near the glass window, flipping through some information with his legs crossed, and listening to Girl A's report. He stood up when he saw everyone coming in.
There were two men and four women in total.
In addition to Lena Kane, there are also Hollywood gold medal producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Paul Greengrass, the unofficial director of "Blair Witch" and "Public Enemy", and Annika Settle, the screenwriter of "Blair Witch". And, for the last two, not only did the other person know Simon, but Simon also knew the other young girl in the past.
The first one is from Canada, Rachel McAdams, who was once one of the sweet girls in Hollywood and just turned 20 this year.
And the second one, look at the pair of little tiger teeth exposed when smiling, when Simon greeted the other party, he almost blurted out, "Hello, Sister Gen, how are you doing with Sledgehammer?", Simon once liked a TV series "Person of Interest" The heroine, 22-year-old Amy Acker.
These are two of the three heroines of "Blair Witch" recently selected by Rinna.
Of course it was the result of Simon intervening a little out of his own personal vulgarity.
Now that Genmei has appeared, Simon actually hopes that good things will come in pairs, and he can gather a 'Xiao Sledgehammer', so that the three heroines in the setting can also live together.
Unfortunately it was not found.
Because the casting standards for "Blair Witch" are still based on "The Ghost Story", it needs newcomers who have a basic acting background but have basically never appeared on the big or small screen. It is best to be students majoring in acting at various universities.
So Rachel McAdams and Amy Acker were singled out.
One of the two girls is a drama performance student at York University in Canada, and the other just graduated from the performance department of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas this year, and happened to go to Los Angeles to make a career. As for the former 'Shaw Sledgehammer' Sara Shahi, she is obviously not among them.
In fact, all three heroines in the plan have been selected.
The last one did not come today, mainly because Simon was not interested, and also because the other party did not sign under Lina's name. Through family connections, he already had another agency. Moreover, this girl is also an actress that Simon once knew, Katherine Moning, a famous Hollywood tomboy, once famous for her participation in "The L Word", and the "Queen of Water" Gwyneth Paltrow cousin.
Katherine Monning is 20 years old and a junior at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Although Simon was not interested in this girl who couldn't tell the difference between good and bad when her head was covered, her acting skills were excellent enough and her image just met the requirements of "Blair Witch", so she was naturally selected.
Speaking of which, because the film needed a tomboy, when he first saw Katherine Moning, Simon thought of Hilary Swank, the Oscar-winning actress with the least presence in Hollywood. This actress has better acting skills. Unfortunately, after checking, she found that she had already It has been many years since he debuted, and although he is still playing various supporting roles, he still does not meet the screening criteria that the film roles must be for newcomers.
After greeting everyone, Maria personally brought coffee and snacks. Everyone sat down on the sofa in the reception area of the office and started discussing business.
Of course it’s about The Blair Witch Project.
Today is Sunday, which is not a working day in theory, but Simon can only squeeze out some time today. Naturally, Lina and others have to cater to his schedule and fly to Boston from all over the United States.
No one has any complaints about this. No matter inside or outside Hollywood, there are countless people who are looking forward to meeting Simon Westeros. As long as there is a chance, let alone flying to Boston, even flying to Mars, as long as it is possible , not many people will refuse.
Just like Jerry Bruckheimer who came together this time.
Originally, the project "Blair Witch" had nothing to do with him, but Bruckheimer saw an opportunity and offered to be the executive producer of the film without asking for anything in return.
The proposal was sent to Simon, and Simon agreed after thinking about it for a while.
It's like everyone gets what they need.
Jerry Bruckheimer's career has obviously declined in recent years, and the idea for "Blair Witch", with Bruckheimer's status as a celebrity, can naturally be understood to be an idea provided by Simon himself, so it can be said that they made good friends in one fell swoop. Just like how Brian De Palma and others protected Simon's debut film "Run Lola Run".
In addition, since Paul Greengrass, the director of "Blair Witch", is also the director of "Public Enemy" that Simon prefers, Bruckheimer, as the producer of "Public Enemy", happens to be able to observe and even help this newcomer nearby. , maybe he can become his direct partner in the future.
The script for the new version of "Blair Witch" has been basically completed.
Except for the adventure structure setting of the original version to find witches, most of the other details are completely different from what they were before. This is mainly because the quality of the original version is really not up to par, and it is more of an accidental success due to viral marketing.
The story this time mainly tells the story of five college students, two men and three women, who went on an adventure based on the legend of a small town witch and went deep into the dense forest. From the initial hunting trip to discovering that things started to get weird, to the real witch appearing and causing the small team to be wiped out. s story.
That's right.
Compared to the past, there will be real witches in the new "Blair Witch".
In fact, speaking of it, the reason why the original fear of the heart was completely played and no witch appeared was mostly because the team's budget was too small and they couldn't afford to play it at all.
Simon initially considered continuing this pattern of psychological fear, but then overturned it on his own.
Because this mode has just been used in "Ghost Chronicles".
"The Ghost Story", which is still in theaters, basically follows the setting of the original version. There are no ghosts in the whole process. If the following "Blair Witch" is still like this, it will inevitably give people the feeling of repeating the same thing. Not seeing the ghost once is fine, but not seeing the witch twice is likely to make the audience feel like they have been tricked.
At least, if he puts it on his own behalf, it would be difficult for Simon to accept the so-called fear in his heart twice in a row.
There has to be some 'progress'.
In addition, the story structure will also use a flashback mode this time.
It begins with a TV station's search and rescue report on five missing college students, and then leads to several iRec digital cameras found by the search and rescue team in the dense forest, and then shows them to the public in the form of leaked secret files.
As for the ending, this time it will use a method similar to "The Ghost Story" that ends abruptly after the audience's emotions are lifted to a high level.
This is why the plot about the search and rescue report was not put at the end.
Different from psychological horror, just like many classic story structures in Hollywood that have been filmed over and over again and have not fallen out of date. Since the structure of "The Ghost Story" is effective, let's continue.
Of course, there are differences. The emotions in "The Ghost Story" keep rising and then end abruptly. "Blair Witch" has an abrupt ending after going through ups and downs. The five-person team is hunted down by witches one by one, just like an old-school youth horror movie. Then, the story ends abruptly when the last player Game Over.
Unlike old-school youth horror movies where there are always one or two survivors, this story will be a tragic annihilation.
"We recently visited several southern states, including Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and finally selected a small town called Canadia and the nearby forest area in southwest Alabama and Mississippi. Filming location.”
Inside the office.
Paul Greengrass posted several large photos recently taken in the south one by one on the large whiteboard against the wall on the west side, introducing Simon to the preparation status of the project: “This is a patchwork of wild pine and oak forest areas, and They are all the kind with very low and twisted branches, giving people a naturally twisted and weird feeling, which is very suitable for the atmosphere we need for this film. In addition, there are many abandoned and dilapidated buildings along a creek deep in the forest. The wooden house, Simon, you see, this is what was left by some early residents at the end of the last century. Coupled with the erosion of time, there is no trace of modern civilization at all. This, I plan to choose this place as the witch's lair."
Having said this, Paul Greengrass did not wait for Simon to ask questions and added: "I know that in the plot setting, the witch will appear but will not be found. Therefore, this is just a former lair. We will There are some witch elements in there, but witches don’t live here.”
Simon looked at some photos on the whiteboard that were obviously taken by Paul Greengrass at carefully selected angles, and nodded with satisfaction. Compared to the wild mountains and forests in the original "Blair Witch", which did not give people any witch-related atmosphere, just looking at these photos , which can bring the audience into a certain atmosphere almost immediately.
This is the difference between professionals and amateurs.
However, Simon immediately thought of a question: "How is the shooting effect of iRec?"
The photo was obviously taken with a professional camera. If it were used with an amateur home digital camera like iRec, the lens effect might be completely different.
Paul Greengrass was also prepared for this. He took out an iRec from his carry-on luggage and handed it to Girl A next to him. However, he continued to say to Simon: "The effect of iRec is also very good. However, Simon, I asked Over at Tinker Bayer, they have better high-resolution prototypes. I'm wondering, can we use those devices? The current consumer-grade iRec, frankly speaking, the results are really poor in comparison? "
Simon shook his head without hesitation: "No."
Paul Greengrass was a little disappointed.
Simon thought for a moment and then explained: "Paul, you know, we have signed a relevant promotion agreement with Tinker Bayer, a sponsorship contract with a very high value, so we must use iRec on the market. At most, battery life, etc. Make some modifications to the details, because this is an important gimmick in the future publicity process. If we promote the use of iRec on the market, it is actually a high-end sample in the laboratory, even if it is still the Tinco Bayer brand, if If the news leaks out, the consequences could be catastrophic."
Of course Paul Greengrass knew about the brand sponsorship, and he didn't have high expectations. When Simon said this, he gave up.
Simon continued: "Also, even if you don't mention the sponsorship, Paul, the quality of the so-called pseudo-documentary film itself should be like this. If you give the audience a picture quality that is no less than that of a film film, or even significantly exceeds it, Consumer-grade digital cameras have too much image quality, which will still make the audience lose the immersive documentary experience, and the results will be difficult to predict.”
As Simon spoke, he also recalled the historical pseudo-documentary film "The Dyatlov Incident" shot by Hollywood director Renny Harlin. The story was not told, but the picture quality was completely movie-level. The result, said It's a pseudo-documentary, but because the picture quality is so good, it's no less than a film film, and it actually makes people laugh.
Let's talk about the "Ghost Chronicles" series. After the opening in 2007, there were many subsequent sequels. Even though the picture quality inevitably continued to improve due to the times, it always gave people a pseudo-documentary-style handheld camera feeling. .
Some people may argue that the winner is always right, but it would be unwise to do the opposite if you don't want to imitate the things the winner has repeatedly proven to do right.