In London in November, the rain is falling continuously, the gloomy and gloomy sky seems to never see the sun, the bitterness and desolation of the severe winter are sweeping all over the place, the whole world is shaking, It is also a rare pleasure to make people just want to curl up by the fire, hold a cup of black tea, and do nothing, just spend a boring afternoon like this.
Ogus Lanthimos sat quietly in the corner of the cafe, where he held up a newspaper, covering his face, and then surreptitiously pulled the newspaper down a little, looking at it carefully. With people coming and going in the space, from time to time, like a frightened puppy, he pulled up the newspaper in a panic, hid himself behind the "The Times", and pretended that he was not there.
Out of the corner of the eye, I can catch a touch of red outside the window, passing through the ink-like rain and fog, and the red smoke-like mist is dazzling and splendid, and the world with the drizzle suddenly brightens up. Live and drift over, trying to clear the fog and explore the beauty behind it.
Ogus's attention was slightly distracted, as if distracted by the touch of red, he couldn't help but began to draw the outlines of those lines in his mind, and conceived the outlines and lines of an oil painting—
"Yeah."
The wooden door of the coffee house was pushed open, and Oggs' thoughts were interrupted. He quickly recovered his mind, pulled down the newspaper, and quietly looked at the customer who had just come in. Sure enough, he saw the red umbrella being closed. , the face behind the mysterious veil also emerged from the shadows.
It's Renly Hall!
The dark gray polka-dot shirt is paired with an inky black thick wool knitted sweater, and a smoky gray trench coat is worn. There is no intricate and layered dress. The combination is a little low-key and rigid, but it reveals a touch of elegance and bookishness in the handsome, quiet The unique temperament of the atmosphere is impressive.
Ogus quickly raised the newspaper and covered his face again, Renly's voice could be vaguely heard in his ears, "My friend and I have made an appointment to meet here, Lanthimos, has he arrived yet? ?"
"Sorry, not yet. You can sit down and wait for a while. If he arrives, I will direct him to find you." The waiter at the counter replied politely.
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Ogus caught the sign of Renly turning his head, he hurriedly pulled up the newspaper again, and tightly covered his face to avoid revealing his whereabouts. He seemed to feel Renly's scorching gaze scanning, as if the newspaper could be burned to the ground in the next second, which made Oggs even more nervous, and the hands that were holding the newspaper tightened so much that the backs of his hands The veins are clearly visible.
Ogus knew that he was not a qualified spy agent. At this time, the heart that quickly hit his chest and the blood that scorched his skin could reveal his whereabouts at any time. If he could, he didn't want to continue to hide, but he really didn't. Too many options, isn't it
Today, Oggs and Renly will meet again for final discussions on the "Lobster" show.
Strictly speaking, in fact, the main performance agreement has been discussed, and Renly will play with an ultra-low salary of $300,000 - even lower than Jason Clarke, and will not interfere with Oggs' directing work, now only need After completing the final signing, the crew can officially start shooting. But Ogus still has doubts.
It can be said to be prejudice, it can be said to be stubborn, or it can be said to be preconceived. All in all, Orgs always felt that Renly wasn't the first choice for the show.
People are always like this, just like their first impressions. Once they are determined, future changes will require a lot of work, even double the work. Either they know that they are unreasonable but still cannot simply change their ideas, or It is to fall into a rut and unable to extricate oneself, then be led by one's own obsessions and lose the ability of rational judgment, no matter what, the end is refusing to admit one's own mistakes.
From the very beginning, Oggs did not think that Renly was the ideal candidate, and he even thought that Renly was somewhat "overwhelming":
Why does Renly have to raise both hands and feet to welcome him if he wants to appear in his work? Why do you have to agree to a work that Renly nods in? Why did Renly agree to lower the salary for the role, so he had to happily agree to it
His wishes, his ideas, his ideas, his settings, does anyone care? He's the director of the movie, isn't he
Not that Oggs hates Renly - he admits that Renly is a very good actor, maybe even one of the best of our time; Oggs and Renly had previously met in London once, over the script and the character After the discussion, Renly did show his understanding of the character, and it triggered his inspiration, allowing him to have a clearer understanding and understanding of the setting and trend of the entire story.
This is a very rare thing; at the same time, Orgus is also very grateful to Renly. As movie lovers, they have a lot in common.
But the point is that Renly is not necessarily an actor who is suitable for all roles, nor is he an actor who can match all the styles of directors. This is an undeniable objective fact; there is another important point that Renly It's really uncomfortable to "break in" like this, pointing fingers at his projects, and telling him what to do—even if Renly is right.
Ogus really didn't like this situation. What's more, in Oggs' view, Renly was not his first choice, or even his top five choices.
Because of these reasons, and also because of those reasons, Ogus has always been a little bit resistant. Even if Renly cooperated with all the circumstances, he was even willing to perform at an ultra-low salary of $300,000, showing a rare sincerity. But Ogus still didn't nod his head immediately.
However, Ogus is not a tough and sharp personality, his personality is even a little shy and introverted, and he completes his thinking silently in a taciturn way—
Look, even though he has many dissatisfaction and protests against Renly, he has never been able to express his thoughts, and he is led by the nose like this; at the same time, even though he is in a very passive and embarrassed situation, he has even been forced When he reached the corner, he still did not give up his persistence.
Soft on the outside and tough on the inside, although it seems a bit strange to describe it like this, it is indeed the best adjective for Oggs.
Oggs insisted that before the formal signing of the cooperation, he needed to meet with Renly again to exchange opinions on the role and script.
Neither Andy Rogers nor "The Lobster" British producer Tessa-Ross were suspicious, they just assumed that the two "players" Oggs and Renly might have "A lot of boring and tedious professional" questions need to be communicated, nodding and agreeing without hesitation.
By the way, Tessa Ross is a regular partner of Sisyphus Pictures in the UK. The two sides have not signed a formal contract agreement, but only rely on friendship to achieve mutual benefits.
The producer is well known in the UK, with Peter Jackson, Kevin-Maald, Danny Ball, Ken-Loach, Mike Lee, Stie Famous directors such as Husband McQueen are very familiar with and have collaborated many times before and after; the list of works in recent years includes, "127 Hours", "Iron Lady", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Under the Skin", "Twelve Years a Slave" and so on and so on, Sisyphus Pictures is filming "Carol", you can also see her name.
In the work "Lobster", Oggs went to the UK to look for investment, went around to Tessa Ross, and then she matched up and contacted Sisyphus Films, and the project came to fruition.
Today's meeting was arranged by Tessa Ross herself, to find a private place for Renly and Oggs that would not be disturbed by outsiders; but even she did not know Oggs' abacus.
Because Oggs didn't tell anyone.
Orgus decided that he needed to test Renly, and only when Renly passed the test would he have an in-depth discussion with Renly before making a final decision.
Oggs knew the idea was bold and risky, but he executed it without any hesitation. Usually not speaking does not mean that there is no inner voice.
At this moment, Oggs was secretly observing Renly's every move:
Renly turned around and looked around the coffee shop, which made Ogus lift the newspaper up again. He didn't notice the movement before putting it down again. Then he could see that Renly was already seated on the sofa chair near the window. He hung his coat on the hanger, took out a book from his carry-on backpack, pulled out a bookmark, and started reading.
still
Renly just settles down without rushing, reading quietly, neither impatient nor anxious, nor ready for the next meeting, looking like... as if waiting for a friend, even if the friend is late Well, he doesn't care.
What should I do next
In fact, Ogus himself didn't have an idea. He just wanted to test Renly, but he didn't know how to test it, and he didn't know what results he expected. He just felt... He needed to create a predicament and see Whatever Renly does, maybe he'll change his mind.
So, Ogus chose to be late on purpose - he arrived at the coffee house an hour early, but he didn't show up, and patiently observed Renly beside him.
The result turned out to be that Renly was reading books, enjoying the afternoon in a hurry, but Oggs was caught in the anxiety of fidgeting, watching Renly all the time, and then all the time. Worrying about revealing his whereabouts is like an ant on a hot pan, unable to calm down at all.
Orgus couldn't tell whether it was a test for Renly or a test for himself.