Universal Studios, located just north of the city of Los Angeles, is world-famous, and there is an endless stream of tourists throughout the year. It can be said that there is almost no difference between the peak season and the low season. Not only because it's a Disney-like theme park, but because it's still one of Hollywood's most important studios.
At present, Hollywood's largest and most concentrated studio is located in Burbank, where large studios such as Disney and Warner Bros. have their own dedicated studio areas; in addition, Universal Studios.
Here, there are more than 40 studios, as well as a series of modern urban streets, western-style township communities, and open-air shooting venues with rugged rocks in the mountains, which can adapt to a variety of shooting requirements, including "desperate". Movies and TV shows such as Housewives, War of the Worlds, and Jaws were filmed here. Every day, the crew is busy working here. If you are lucky, meeting the top stars here is a matter of minutes.
Those fanatical and loyal movie lovers have come to Universal Pictures to go through the barriers of reality and enter the world of movies to explore. Especially when watching the scenes on the screen come to life in front of them, the confusion between the real and the unreal is enough to excite everyone.
"Good morning." Nathan Press greeted skillfully, then took the daily updated paper pass from the doorman, put it behind the windshield, and entered the confines of Universal Studios.
Nathan slowly slowed down, obeying the rules and regulations of Universal Studios. For the safety of tourists, all vehicles entering the studio must have a speed limit. The roar of the engine suddenly became quiet, replaced by the roar of the crowd. On the road next door, a tourist bus full of passengers passed slowly, and there was a sound of yelling from above.
"God! God! That's Simon-Baker!"
A single voice set off a chain reaction, and even a series of shouts began to lose control. The screams full of girls' hearts pierced the sky, making the morning sun become hot, and the surrounding was full of vitality.
Nathan couldn't help but follow everyone's voice and looked over. Although this was their eighth day in a row at Universal Studios, to be honest, Nathan had not had a chance to see the work of other crews, even the legends. The actors who can be seen everywhere in the movie are also not seen. Hearing the call now, it is inevitable to be a little curious.
It's a pity that he didn't see Simon because of the cover of several big trees. The American drama "Super Sense Detective" starring Simon was broadcast two years ago and successfully won the newcomer king of the year. After two seasons of the broadcast, the popularity has remained high, but I just don't know that the "Super Sense Detective" crew is resident. Shooting in the studio of Universal Studios, or just come over to shoot today.
Although he didn't see it, Nathan was excited. Now it seems that there are indeed other crews in Universal Studios filming here; more importantly, today Renly is about to officially start filming, and filming his first scene after entering the crew, this is Nathan's first scene. When he watched Renly perform, he was eager to try it.
Renly joined the cast of Fast and Furious 5 seven days ago. Nominally, Renly is the third protagonist, but it should be noted that the crew did not change the script to add weight to Renly, and just gave Renly the treatment of the third protagonist in the promotional position.
If it is Tom Cruise, even if it is the third protagonist, the screenwriter must revise the script to allow Tom to show up more. Even if Tom does not ask for it at all, the crew will hope to effectively use Tom's appeal to give full play to the third protagonist. effect. However, Renly is not Tom.
So, for the first week, Renly didn't have any shooting assignments.
Entering the crew ahead of schedule, the reason is very simple, Renly is the last confirmed role, far behind the overall progress of the other actors, he must start from scratch and catch up.
"The First Cause of All Realms"
First of all, Renly had to fix the makeup. From clothing to makeup to style, the overall look had to be determined, not to be the same as others, but to show Renly's own characteristics, even if it wasn't like "Alice in Wonderland". Works that occupy an important position, but the auxiliary role of modeling is also indispensable.
Second, Renly needs to quickly adapt to a variety of gear, firearms, sports cars, and most importantly, doubles. Previously, the "Fast and Furious 5" crew was forced to stop during the pre-shooting process, but the data of Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and other protagonists have been collected, and now it is Renly's turn.
And, of course, Renly's work as an actor. He needs to adapt to the shooting rhythm of action movies, and also needs to adapt to the shooting mode of large-scale commercial movies—
The previous "Buried Alive" and "Crazy in Love", as a whole, were filmed according to the chronological order of the story development clues. The director has a clear concept of the script's framework and direction, and the actors' performance rhythm is traceable. Yes; but not commercial films.
"Fast & Furious 5" is more like "The Pacific War".
The entire crew will be divided into two to three groups, or even more. Each assistant director will lead a group. Different groups will shoot in different ways. The workplace may be completely different, or it may be in the studio next door; some require actors to participate, Some don't; the same actor may be filming on the same set for a whole week, or it may need to switch three sets in a day to shoot different content.
However, there are many main actors in "War in the Pacific", and they are essentially filmed according to the story line or character line, while "Fast and Furious 5" is filmed according to the way the venue is used, which also makes the actors' performances more. Fragmented and difficult to connect.
It is precisely because of this shooting method that the performance of commercial films often enters two modes: either a vase-style performance without acting skills; or a cookie-cutter performance. Although it is true that commercial films have different requirements for acting skills, audiences enter the movie theater for excitement, not for the sake of acting, but this can easily turn actors into stereotyped products of the assembly line and become commodities through and through.
Jennifer Lawrence's moving and delicate performance in the "Hunger Games" series is enough to make people shine, which is worthy of recognition.
For Renly, the performance itself is not a problem. It is the essence of expressive acting to show the exact performance at the exact time. However, when performing on stage, the actors always have enough time for brewing. During the shooting of commercial films, the director does not give the actors time to brew their emotions. So, Renly needed to adapt to a very different shooting rhythm, to be on the scene, to participate, and it was a good learning process.
From "War in the Pacific" to "Buried Alive" to "Crazy in Love", Renly has always been studying the method and depth of acting. This time, he decided to let go of the burden and enjoy the fun of acting. To be more precise, enjoy The joy of movies - turning your fantasy into reality and experiencing an adventure you would never have been able to experience yourself.
In the first week, Renly had a very fulfilling time, and today, he will usher in his first shooting. For Nathan, it was an absolutely new experience.
"Universal Studios opened so early?" Renly came from the passenger seat in a languid, nasal voice.
This made Nathan quickly withdraw his gaze. It's only a quarter past eight, it's really too early, and Renly doesn't seem to have slept enough, so he has been sleeping on the way here. It seems that the noise of the tourists just woke him up.
"Yes, the opening time of the park here is different every day. Today is eight o'clock." In order to ensure the smooth progress of the work, Nathan did a lot of preparations, including information that seemed to have no effect—
For example, the opening and closing time of Universal Studios, in fact, is different every day. Sometimes it opens at eight o'clock, but sometimes it has to wait until ten o'clock. If it is a special trip, it is best to Check time in advance.
Ren Li pursed the corners of his mouth, expressing his understanding, but he couldn't help but yawn. Today, the start-up time announced by the crew is 8:30. The first scene is not Renly's, but in order to get into the state as soon as possible, Renly arrived at the scene on time according to everyone's working hours.
Rubbing his eyes, he gradually regained consciousness.
In fact, Renly never visited Universal Studios. He has now completed the shooting of three works, and his curiosity about the studio has calmed down, and the attraction of Universal Studios has naturally declined; however, hearing the excited shouts of the tourists, he still You can feel the same way.
Even as an actor, deep down, he is still a loyal movie fan, an avid movie lover.
The bustle of the tour bus drove in the other direction along the road, drifting away; Nathan turned the steering wheel and drove in the other direction, directly towards the studio.
The main scenes of "Fast and Furious 5" actually take place in Rio de Janeiro, because the movie starts with a prison robbery. Dominic and Brian both become wanted criminals and can only abscond to Rio de Janeiro. However, the crew intends that all outdoor scenes will be filmed on location, while those indoor scenes without landmark scenes will be filmed in Los Angeles.
In comparison, Los Angeles has more complete filming equipment and more professional staff, which not only makes the work go more smoothly, but also saves costs. More importantly, Rio de Janeiro's official forces and gang forces are intertwined, and the filming must be done well, otherwise it is very likely that there will be no return.
Until now, the film crew in Rio de Janeiro has not been approved for filming, which is the reason. Not even a major studio like Universal Pictures can avoid it.
The speed of the car gradually slowed down, and the studio was in front of him, but Nathan looked at the parking lot outside the studio with a surprised expression, and then looked at Renly in disbelief, with a puzzled look on his face:
Because the entire parking lot was empty, not a single car.