Canadia, a small town in southwestern Alabama on the border with Mississippi.
Whether it’s the dire financial turmoil in Asia or the growing Thanksgiving atmosphere, it has nothing to do with the crew of “The Blair Witch Project.”
Everyone is focused on their own small projects.
The filming of the film started on November 3. In two weeks, the progress was much faster than planned. The witch expedition team came to the small town of Canadia for interviews and a relaxing period just after entering the dense forest.
This is the result of the crew striving for excellence from top to bottom.
In the opening interview, only four or five materials were planned to be used. In order to find the best materials, not only the actors invited by the crew, but also all the people behind the scenes and the townspeople in the small town of Canadia who actively participated in the filming were interviewed. In addition to recording and fixing the script, the crew also gave various spaces for free play, and in the end, a total of more than 60 pieces of material were collected.
Paul Greengrass spent three days learning an Alabama accent for his cameo.
Hard work pays off.
Among the more than sixty materials, there are indeed many eye-catching 'interviews'.
A local old lady with a kind face participated in the filming after being introduced by her young grandchildren. After simply preparing the materials given by the crew, the old lady narrated the story vividly with a natural affinity, which made everyone who listened to the live recording They almost believed it to be true, so much so that it took more than five minutes of filming before everyone realized what they were doing.
Later I learned that the old lady, who was nearly eighty years old, had been helping her children take care of her grandchildren twenty years ago. In order to pass the time, one of her favorite things to do was to tell the children all kinds of weird local legends. , most of them are spread by the old people themselves. 'Old Jenna who can tell stories' is famous in this large area.
Because the old man spoke so well, the crew paid a special fee to record nearly half an hour of extra material.
Paul Greengrass has been racking his brains recently for this material that he will definitely use, and almost suffers from difficulty in choosing.
After the prelude was completed, the next step was the crucial and painful second half of filming. So, on the afternoon of November 13th, Jerry Bruckheimer, who was officially the executive producer, came to visit the crew and brought a photo that was intended to be used to comfort the crew members. The gifts were immediately confiscated by Paul Greengrass.
The crew members, mainly the five key young people, will only need confusion, loneliness, anxiety, fear... and absolutely nothing comfortable.
Jerry Bruckheimer certainly doesn't object.
He didn't get any compensation for this project, it was considered voluntary labor, but if he could do it well, he would definitely gain a reputation as the nominal executive producer.
And experience.
Even if it is impossible for pseudo-documentary films to become mainstream, it is just a "Ghost Chronicles", which is destined to have people continue to try this subject. Bruckheimer also plans to produce some similar projects. If "Blair Witch" can be Success, the experience and fame gained from this can make many things he does next work better.
In order to stimulate the emotions of the five actors, although the crew had plenty of time, they still continued filming until it got dark before calling it a day.
Just yesterday, the first scene of entering the witch's curse formation was filmed, and it was the last day of filming. Starting from today, the five young people will each have a tent to rest alone. The crew will also stay in the forest with them throughout the whole process and will not go to the hotel in the town.
Jerry Bruckheimer and Tony Gilroy, a Hollywood screenwriter who came with him, patiently accompanied the crew throughout the afternoon of filming.
Although Jerry Bruckheimer is listed as the executive producer of "Blair Witch" and he did contribute a lot in the preparation process of the project, the focus of his work during this period is also Daenerys' leading role in listing MGM. And the blockbuster project "Public Enemy" is participated by Westinghouse's CBS Films.
Tony Gilroy was the screenwriter of the original "Bourne" series and was assigned by Simon to revise the subsequent script of "Public Enemy". This time, in addition to visiting the team together, I also discussed some things about this project with Paul Greengrass, the tentative director of "Public Enemy".
It was not until after dinner that the two were able to communicate with Paul Greengrass, Lena Kane, Annika Settle, Oliver Wood and others.
The crew used a large tent for meetings.
Everyone gathered around the simple desk, and after continuing some conversations, Paul Greengrass showed Jerry Bruckheimer a stack of storyboards and said: "As for the end, I have some new ideas recently, Jerry. Rui, the overall style of "Blair Witch" is biased toward realism. The final shot, of the naked witch floating in the air, is too weird and too fantasy. It will affect the overall style of the film and make it appear abrupt. I still think that the final shot is too weird and too fantasy. It’s nice to still be realistic and the witches just have to step on the ground and dance around the flames or pray.”
Jerry Bruckheimer took the drawing, flipped through the pages, and asked, "Have you discussed it with Simon?"
"Not yet," Paul Greengrass shook his head: "Simon is very interested in the original version, and recently someone sent him an oil painting of a flying witch as a reference, but..."
Paul Greengrass didn't continue, but Jerry Bruckheimer understood.
Hollywood is a patriarchal structure, and those with the right to speak decide everything. Paul Greengrass is just a newcomer who has just broken into Hollywood. How dare he change the big boss's mind
Jerry Bruckheimer quickly looked at Lena Kane. This girl had a different identity: "Lena, what do you mean?"
Lina said: "I still agree with Simon's suggestion, which should be bolder. Precisely because most of the film is very realistic, the weird and fantasy at the end can bring a stronger impact to the audience."
Jerry Bruckheimer understood immediately.
This is a disagreement.
After thinking for a while, Jerry Bruckheimer said: "In this case, why not try both ideas and let Simon decide in the end."
After saying that, Jerry Bruckheimer looked at the people around him, Lena Kane was noncommittal, and Paul Greengrass nodded slightly. Suddenly I understood that this was Paul Greengrass seeking support from him, and after further analysis, this little girl with two Wei family maids who were obviously Simon's women was unknowingly taking control of the crew. , so much so that Paul Greengrass had to ask himself for help.
After fully understanding it, Jerry Bruckheimer suddenly felt that it would be best not to offend the woman. After thinking for a moment, he gestured to the drawing in front of him and said: "Or, if we make a compromise, the witch falls to the ground and the flames float. This is weird enough. , and at the same time not so fantasy. In short, according to my experience over the years, as long as you have a good idea and the budget allows, any idea is worth trying."
Yes, it's changed to Hexini again.
Paul Greengrass smiled bitterly and turned to look at Lena. Lena tilted her head slightly as if thinking. However, Annika next to Lena listened to Brooke and quickly picked up a pen to draw on a piece of draft paper. After a moment, One page of shots has been completed, and I held it up to show everyone: "I suddenly felt that this is really good. The witch worships the will-o'-the-wisp. By the way, when the time comes, maybe I can try something like blue as the color of the flame."
Bruckheimer smiled and nodded: "Yes, you have to dare to try."
"Okay, that's it, let's give it a try," Lina saw that everyone was gradually looking at her, so she had to compromise. She also knew that her name was not justified after all, and she could not really take over all the power of the project. She relented and turned to And asked: "By the way, Jerry, have you found the replacement for Rachel that Simon mentioned last time?"
Bruckheimer said: "Linda Vargas has taken over this matter. You can call her tomorrow."
Linda Vargas
The men at the scene suddenly understood.
Lina curled her lips slightly without leaving any trace, what a carefree guy.
Simon was wronged this time.
This matter was originally left to Jerry Bruckheimer in Los Angeles. After all, everyone was filming here and it was impossible to separate. Then Bruckheimer took the initiative to try to figure out someone's thoughts, and then handed it over to Linda Vargas, Simon's official casting director. After all, when it comes to choosing actresses, men in Hollywood... well, those with normal sexual orientation The men were very interested.
Then they talked trivially about "Blair Witch" before the topic turned to "Public Enemy".
Lina continued to listen, and Annika also used Lina's relationship to listen.
Veteran Hollywood producers like Jerry Bruckheimer, who are slightly more motivated, can gain experience from various exchanges. This is something that the two girls, both considered rookies, urgently need.
We talked like this until eleven o'clock in the night, and everyone finally dispersed.
Jerry Bruckheimer, Paul Greengrass and others finally left the tent and saw two girls walking hand in hand to an RV in an affectionate manner. They looked at Greengrass with a man's characteristic gossip and asked: " Do Lena and Annika live together?”
Paul Greengrass nodded.
However, although Bruckheimer was quite interested, he did not say much.
After getting along with each other for a while, Paul Greengrass had to admit that he couldn't afford to mess with a certain girl. She had strong personal abilities and a stronger desire to control. Although he tried to be restrained due to his status as a group agent, but because Another identity, everyone has to obey her to some extent.
Just like that RV, it was also the only one owned by the crew. It was provided by a certain big shot just for his little lover, and it did not occupy the crew's budget.
In fact, Lena Kane doesn't do too many special things on the set. She eats and drinks the same as everyone else, doesn't get paid, and works hard every day on all kinds of things.
The only exception is this RV.
Smart people also understand that this is a tool for Lina to show her identity. Otherwise, it would not be easy to get the crew to be submissive to a 23-year-old girl.
This is also where Lina is smart.
After all, that RV was accompanied by two attendants of the Wei family, who among us would dare not to recognize it.
As for a certain girl's lace tendency, naturally she pretended not to notice it.
Speaking of which, Paul Greengrass thinks that this is probably a way to avoid suspicion. After all, it is better for a beautiful girl to stay in the wild with a group of men and women and take the initiative to find a woman than to live with a man.
It has to be said that Paul Greengrass is also a smart man.
Lina did think so.
[Reading Welfare] Follow the public account [Book Friends Base Camp] and get cash/coins for reading every day!
As for lace and the like, she was not interested, so she even kicked out Rachel McAdams who was secretly getting close to her. Besides, Annika invited this good friend to live with her. Lina only felt that she was at a disadvantage in various ways. Their personalities Apart from being like each other, Annika's biggest characteristic is that she is very good at driving, whether it's real driving or fake driving.
Even in the past two weeks, falsehoods have turned out to be true several times.
Um.
You need to add the word 'being'.
It happened again last night.
When she woke up in the morning, she found that Annika was still clinging to her. Lina unceremoniously tickled her dirty and slutty best friend until Annika almost burst out laughing before letting her go. .
After washing up and doing some morning exercises, when she returned to the RV, Annika was already reading the newspapers that were delivered from the city every day.
In Hollywood, you don't have to care about current affairs and politics, but if you want to do well, "Variety" and "The Hollywood Reporter" are compulsory. Lena wants to do better, so in addition to these two newspapers, she also makes people Additional coverage is provided for mainstream publications such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
Today is November 14th.
Friday.
Lena was most concerned about the North American box office data for the past box office week. Seeing that Annika was already flipping through a copy of "The Hollywood Reporter", while taking the breakfast from the waitress, she asked directly: "How much?"
Annika didn't sell it, and said: "The drop in the next week was 43%, which is a bit deep. The local 200 million yuan must be hopeless. Oh, "The Ghost Story" exceeded 200 million, with a box office of 6.28 million US dollars last week, and a total of 2 3.26 billion, 200 million, our "Blair Witch" only needs half as much as "The Ghost Story"."
"Are you too unambitious?"
"I do want to be ambitious, but I'm not Simon Westeros."
"The Blair Witch Project was Simon's idea."
"Yes, but I don't have the tacit understanding you and Simon have when we communicate at a negative distance. It's hard to say."
Lina had just sat down at the table, picked up the coffee and brought it to her mouth. She almost spit it out when she heard the words, turned her head slowly, and then glared at Annika opposite: "I'll let you taste what it means to be negative tonight." distance."
Annika was not afraid and even gave her a wink.
Lena retreated, snatched the "Hollywood Reporter" from her hand, and read it quickly.
Probably because the box office was so strong in its first week, "The Conjuring: Blood Moon", which caused widespread discussion, set a box office record for a horror film with more than 60 million US dollars at its opening. However, it fell 43% the next week, and its revenue increased directly from the first week. of US$63.97 million fell back to US$36.46 million. However, in just two weeks, this horror film successfully exceeded 100 million, reaching a total of 100.43 million US dollars.
According to the tiered sharing rules, under the high proportion of accounting in the first two weeks, the box office exceeded 100 million, and the total production and promotion budget of 75 million US dollars was basically recovered. The next step is to make profits.
Therefore, even if there is no hope of breaking 200 million, "The Conjuring 3" is still a great victory.
In sharp contrast to "The Conjuring 3", Sony invested US$100 million in the science fiction blockbuster "Starship Troopers". This blockbuster wanted to avoid the fierce competition in the Thanksgiving season and land on the beach, but was crushed by "The Conjuring 3". It didn't even win a single weekly box office title.
With 2,971 opening screens, the box office revenue of "Starship Troopers" was only a measly US$25.41 million in the first week of its large-scale opening.
Now it is not ten years ago, when the first week was more than 20 million, it can also exceed 100 million through the long-term. What's more, there will be many blockbusters to crush it next. With "Starship Troopers" starting like this, the final local box office may only be 40 million to 50 million U.S. dollars. Even if the global cumulative total can exceed 100 million, considering Sony's high costs, losses are a foregone conclusion.
Lina thought of CBS Pictures, which was backed by Westinghouse Electric, which was discussed last night.
Probably, Sony is getting closer and closer to withdrawing from Hollywood, right
In addition to the box office sales of three movies worth mentioning in the past week, today, November 14th, the Thanksgiving season officially opens.
Not counting some small films with openings of less than 500 yuan, there are three commercial films with more than 2,000 screens, namely "Alien 4", a new work in the "Alien" series from Fox Pictures, and Robert Zemeckis' science fiction film released by MGM. blockbuster "Contact" and "The Wedding Singer" from Daenerys Entertainment's New World Pictures.
Lena is a little worried that the box office will plummet again in the face of the three new films "The Conjuring 3". At the same time, she also feels that Daenerys Entertainment's schedule is actually very problematic.
That man should move the Christmas version of "Titanic" to the Thanksgiving version and swap it with "The Wedding Singer". After all, it's a $200 million investment. It's such a pity to leave it in the Christmas season, a week before "The Flash 2".
Are you really giving up on yourself