my movie years

Chapter 166 Restarting "Batman"

The protagonists of DC comics are often somewhat tall and powerful. Such heroes are too out of touch with the public and have no ordinary personality at all. The failure of Superman's restart is the best example.

In contrast, DC is more brilliant is the villain, such as the clown and double-faced people and so on.

Therefore, creating a down-to-earth Bruce Wayne and Batman is undoubtedly one of the magic weapons for the film's success.

After the project preparatory meeting, Zhang Hao and Charles Rowan went to New York, Chicago and other big cities to inspect the locations for filming.

Compared with New York, which is so searched and searched, the Chicago city government undoubtedly welcomes this very much, and gave the crew a great discount.

Many cities in North America are in a financial panic. Detroit, the former motor city, has gone bankrupt, and Chicago is not much better, with several rumors of bankruptcy.

The outflow of Hollywood crews is very serious. Compared with the high-cost California region, the preferential treatment of cities in other regions will undoubtedly help Hollywood crews save production funds.

After some investigation, Zhang Hao and Charles Rowan chose Chicago as the filming location with the best guarantee of the Chicago city government.

When a local rich man in Chicago heard that Warner Bros. had restarted Batman, he took the initiative to come to his door and asked what he could do to help the crew. He just needed to show his face.

This rich man named Manorankin Dunn is a fan of Batman, but he expressed doubts after seeing Zhang Hao.

"Can a Chinese director make a Batman movie well?" Manorankin Dunn expressed doubts.

Charles Rowan explained: "Actually, the whole Batman movie can be restarted. Zhang played a big role. He rewrote the script. I watched it and it was very exciting."

The implication is that Zhang Hao is outstanding, Warner Pictures chose him on his own initiative, so don't worry!

Manorankin Dunn glanced at Zhang Hao and said, "I hope this Chinese director doesn't screw up. We've waited too long for Batman."

Zhang Hao immediately smiled confidently: "Don't worry, Mr. Dunn, I will not disappoint the expectations of Batman fans, and make this movie well."

"I hope so, how can I help you?" Manorankin Dunn asked.

Zhang Hao and Charles Rowan looked at each other, and Charles Rowan said: "That's right, Mr. Dunn, we are still short of a British classic manor, which will be Bruce Wayne's mansion, so I hope you can help us .”

"This one, it's too simple. I have one in the outskirts of Chicago. It was built according to Bruce Wayne's manor in the comics. It can be lent to the crew for filming." Manorankin Dunn snapped his fingers, expressing this Things are easy.

Zhang Hao was speechless, so this is a Batman fanatic?Crazier than chicken powder, he has seen it.

After finishing the matter of the manor, Zhang Hao took Hannah Serena, the art director of "Beginning of War", the entire set-setting team, and John Jossman, the director of photography who was in charge of the Batman lens, to Iceland.

In Zhang Hao's script, there is a scene where Bruce Wayne goes to the Shadow Warriors League to learn fighting skills. This is a very important scene, and Zhang Hao plans to shoot it in real scenes.

But in the script, this scene takes place in the Himalayas, where the harsh weather conditions are daunting enough, Zhang Hao does not want to try.

Ever since, Iceland has become a qualified shooting location.

There are endless, undulating mountains and ice fields here. Except that the altitude is lower than the Himalayas and the climate is not so harsh, it perfectly fits the description in the script.

While Zhang Hao was inspecting the location in Iceland, Charles Rowan formally invited Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and others to audition.

Except for Christian Bale who was still hesitating, everyone else accepted the audition invitation, including Liam Neeson.

This situation is the same as that of domestic stars receiving projects. Except for top Hollywood stars, other stars are not qualified to choose projects and resources at all, but projects choose them.

Although I have doubts about a Chinese director in charge of Batman, but the film loses money, that is the responsibility of the director and Warner Pictures, and they use the money to work.

Making money is not a shame. After all, art cannot be eaten as a meal, and occasionally it still needs to be eaten.

This was beyond Zhang Hao's expectation. He thought that these actors would all reject them because of his relationship.But unexpectedly, most of them accepted the invitation.

In this way, half of Zhang Hao's mind was relieved.

Regarding Christian Bale's hesitation, Zhang Hao also understood that the cooperation with the National Teacher last time must have brought some not-so-good memories to Bale.So cooperating with another Chinese director put Bell into a tangle.

"Send him a full version of the script, and if there is no reply after a week, we will use Ben Affleck." This is how Zhang Hao replied to Charles Rowan.

In fact, Warner Pictures intends to invite both of them to audition, whoever is suitable will be selected.

But Zhang Hao discussed with Charles Rowan and decided to invite Christian Bale first.

Originally, the restart of the Batman project was full of difficulties. In addition, Zhang Hao, a Chinese director, had to compete with another well-known actor for the role. This may make the two invited actors feel disrespected.

After all, Christian Bale has worked with Chinese-language film directors, so he sent the invitation to him first, and if Bell refused, he went to Ben Affleck.

Who knows, one point that has an advantage has become an obstacle instead.

"Bell, what are you hesitating about? Are you worried about that Chinese director?" asked the manager.

Christian Bale replied truthfully: "Indeed, I am worried that this Chinese director will make a bad movie."

"However, Bell, this is a 5000 million big production project. You have never acted in a big production of this level. Don't tell me that you don't want to attack the 2000 million dollar salary club." The agent said.

"But the film failed, and I still can't get it." Christian Bale retorted.

"No, no, Bell, listen to me, Warner Bros. takes this project very seriously. I met Jeff Robinoff a few days ago. They have full confidence in this project.

This is a rare and good opportunity, and with a salary of 200 million US dollars, there is no hesitation. "The agent tried to persuade.

Perhaps the agent's persuasion worked, Christian Bale hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily and agreed.

The agent said happily: "I'll communicate with Warner Pictures right away to guarantee your treatment in the crew."

Without the birth of Christopher Nolan, the popularity of Christian Bale, who did not appear in his movies, is obviously not as high as in his previous life. Now he is at most a movie star at the end of the first line and the top of the second line.

Christian Bale is also taking a gamble. After all, the film industry itself is a gamble. It depends on whether you have the courage and courage.

Although it is said that he will participate in the audition, everyone knows that this is just a formality. As long as the audition performance is not too outrageous, it can be said that Christian Bale is the only candidate for Bruce Wayne.

Knowing that Christian Bale accepted the invitation, Zhang Hao was even more happy. This can be regarded as a copy of the original lineup of the film's previous life, although the actors are a little older than in 2005.

In addition, another main role is the female number one Rachel Dawes. The original Rachel Dawes was played by former Tom's sister-in-law Katie Holmes.

Her performance can't be said to be useless, and it can't be called wonderful anyway, it can be said to be very bad.

For this reason, Charles Rowan launched a large-scale audition to select a suitable heroine, and finally Amber Heard came into view and became the actor of Rachel Dawes.

Speaking of Amber Heard, Zhang Hao’s deepest impression on her is the divorce lawsuit with Johnny Depp and her performance in "Aquaman".

But this is a private matter, and Zhang Hao has nothing to do with it.

And this shows that Amber Heard is destined to participate in DC movies. Warner Pictures respects Zhang Hao's opinions on casting, but it is not Zhang Hao's turn to make a decision.

Moreover, according to the schedule, the divorce lawsuit between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp will not affect the "Batman series".

Because by that time, the grass on Rachel Dawes's grave was already three feet high.

If "Time to War" fails, it's none of Zhang Hao's business. The movie failed. He should go back to China in despair, and he has no time to deal with the divorce case.

Thanks to the well-developed Internet, Zhang Hao communicated with Charles Rowan at any time and controlled the casting information.

When the starring lineup was finalized, Zhang Hao was investigating on the vast ice sheet in Iceland.

Although the temperature in Iceland in June is not too low, but when walking on glaciers and high altitudes, thick down winter clothing is still a must.

The Vatna Glacier visited by Zhang Hao and his team is located near Horth in southeast Iceland, covering an area of ​​[-] square kilometers.

It is not only the largest glacier in Iceland, but also the largest glacier in Europe, second only to Antarctic glaciers and Greenland glaciers.

Walking on the vast ice field, you can hear the whistling wind in your ears, and you can see hot springs formed by geothermal heat from time to time. This place is like a virgin land far away from human society.

Nature carefully carves those uneven landforms with its unique craftsmanship, which easily brings people the enjoyment of beauty.

"John, pay attention to the scenery here, I want to add this place to the footage of the film." Zhang Hao said, pointing to the glacier in the distance.

"Use two methods of overhead shooting and parallel shooting, and then mix and cut them together?"

"That's right..."

"Okay, I'll take a few more photos and go back and study with the photography team."

"It's a good idea," Zhang Hao patted his director of photography, then turned to the local government staff and said, "Let's go to the mountain to have a look."

It looks like a plain here, but it is actually a bowl-shaped highland. There are many towering mountains around Vatna Glacier, some of which can exceed 1800 meters above sea level.

Although it looks very high, it is already very low compared to the Himalayas with an average altitude of more than 6000 meters.

Sitting on the off-road vehicle, Zhang Hao and his party drove towards the distant mountain peaks. The road was actually white, the sky was white, and the ground was also white, stretching endlessly, almost domineering white, forming Iceland's unique geography scenery.

The scene of the glacier is cold, cruel, and extremely primitive. Being in it makes people feel awe, as if entering a time tunnel, which coincides with the atmosphere at the beginning of the film.

The off-road vehicle stopped under a small mountain peak, and under the leadership of the guide sent by the local government, a group of people moved forward slowly along the rugged mountain road.

There is only one two-lane road in the Vatnajökull area. There are no suitable roads for Zhang Hao’s previously optimistic ice lake and ice field or the current mountain peak. If the crew wants to shoot here, they first need to build a temporary road.

If it is just a few simple scenes, only a few cameras are enough to complete it.

But the scenes here not only have a lot of action scenes, but also build a village that fits the Himalayas.If large-scale equipment cannot come in, relying solely on manpower, it is estimated that this time next year will not be able to complete the filming work.

The scenery here is relatively primitive. If it is not explained in advance, if it is photographed, it looks like the roof of the world.

And compared to the more complex and harsh conditions in the Himalayas, the environment of Vatna Glacier is already very good.

The crew has already communicated with the local government, and they agreed to help build a simple road to facilitate the crew to complete the filming. This is not a problem at all.

Every region in the world welcomes Hollywood crews to go to the local filming location. After all, everyone can see the benefits that the "Lord of the Rings" series has brought to New Zealand.

This is a cooperation where everyone gets what they need, and Zhang Hao feels at ease, since there is no need for the crew to spend money on road repairs anyway.

Some people may ask, since live-action shooting is so laborious, why not learn from Marvel next door and do it directly with computer special effects.

This is a good question, and Zhang Hao did it for three reasons.The first one is that although the current computer special effects are good, they cannot replace the texture brought by real scenes.

Second, the production department has calculated that live-action shooting is cheaper than special effects shooting, unless low-quality special effects are used, just like the low-quality special effects of the fourth stage of Marvel.

But this is an A-level commercial production with a production cost of 5000 million yuan. Wouldn't it be a joke to spread the word about the use of low-quality special effects?

The third, and most important reason, is to set up people.The director also needs a character design. Zhang Hao added a label of a real-life madman to himself through real-life shooting, so that fans will talk about it.

"Ms. Serena, how long will it take to build a village here?" Zhang Hao pointed to a place with strange rocks and asked art director Hannah Serena.

After Hannah Serena inspected it, she replied: "If the road is built, it can be built in half a month."

"Very good," Zhang Hao nodded in satisfaction, then pointed to the place halfway up the mountain and said, "Choose a suitable place there, build the martial arts gym of the Shadow Warrior Alliance, and just build a framework."

"No problem, I will actually start designing when I get back, and try to complete the scene construction in the middle of next month." Hannah Serena looked very confident.

Compared with a village from nothing to nothing, the martial arts gym of the Shadow Warrior Alliance only needs a framework, and the tricks in the martial arts hall can be completed in real scenes set up by the Fox production team in Los Angeles.

Moreover, the real scene built by Fox Studios can also be used to shoot the scene of the explosion, which is very convenient.

If he was filming an explosion scene on the Vatnajökull, the local government and environmental protection organizations probably wouldn't spare him.

In the following week, under the leadership of the guide, the crew of "Time to War" has been going around the Vatnajökull area, looking for better shooting locations.

Zhang Hao also kept exchanging ideas with Hannah Serena and John Jossman on set construction and on-site shooting respectively.

When leaving, the crew of "Time to War" signed a letter of intent with the local government, confirming that part of the outdoor scenes of "Time to War" will be placed in Iceland.

After returning to Los Angeles, Zhang Hao couldn't relax. There were many tasks that he needed to check, the first of which was the action scenes of the film and the design of the Batmobile.

Christopher Nolan is not good at action scenes, the original action scenes can only be said to be a pile of defense, but from China, which is rich in action stars, Zhang Hao naturally does not allow such things to happen.

So, he contacted Brother Cheng Long.

Cheng Long had heard that Zhang Hao had gone to Hollywood for a long time, congratulated him, and then introduced Zhang Hao to an excellent action guide.

"Hello Director Zhang, I was introduced by brother Cheng Long, my name is Qian Jiale." The visitor wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, and looked like a cultural person, but he had real skills.

"Hello, Mr. Qian, I believe you also know what the purpose of my invitation is to let you help me design the action style of this film." Zhang Hao said.

"Director Zhang, don't worry, I will live up to everyone's expectations. I also brought my Qian's class here. What should we do first?"

Zhang Hao beckoned, recruited Christian Bale and Liam Neeson, and said to Qian Jiale: "Our priority now is to train the two actors. We can use stand-ins for some action scenes, but they need to complete some action scenes by themselves."

"No problem, just watch it." Qian Jiale looked confident.

In fact, Hong Kong Island action directors were very popular in Hollywood before, such as the gorgeous action scenes in "The Matrix".But then North American audiences got tired of watching this set, and it gradually became unpopular.

Compared with the traditional Hong Kong action directors such as Yuan Heping and Fatty Hong, Qian Jiale's style is very modern, and his action design style is very sharp and concise, which is very in line with the overall style of the film "At War".

Warner Pictures has no objection to Qian Jiale acting as an action director. It should be that, compared to Zhang Hao, the proven Hong Kong Island action director is more worthy of Warner Pictures' trust.

Moreover, Qian Jiale's salary is much less than that of Hollywood action directors, this deal is very, very cost-effective.

After completing the action guidance, Zhang Hao began to care about the design of the Batmobile.

Lamborghini designed eight versions of the Batmobile based on Zhang Hao's sketches, but all of them were rejected by Zhang Hao.

"Wade, this film is in a realistic style, not a comic. The eighth version of the Batmobile is too light. What I want is a beast, not a sports car that is extremely ostentatious." Zhang Hao spoke while standing in front of his design sketch .

"We will come up with a new plan as soon as possible." Vader said hastily.

In fact, Lamborghini didn't pay much attention to Zhang Hao's design sketches at all from the very beginning. In their view, a director, especially a Chinese director, knows what kind of car.

But now it seems that if Zhang Hao's requirements cannot be met, Lamborghini will not be able to accept this project.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Hao added: "My ideal Batmobile is a hybrid of Lamborghini and Hummer. It combines the exquisiteness and agility of a sports car with the sturdiness of a chariot. Think about it."

According to the practice of prop vehicles, plastic shells are assembled outside the existing body.But Zhang Hao required that the Batmobile in the film must be the real thing from the wheels, chassis to body.

According to the requirements, Lamborghini will build eight cars for the crew, two of which will be used for drag racing scenes, and the other six will be used as models for shooting, and there will be blown up scenes.

Finally, at the end of June, Lamborghini submitted the final design draft, and after Zhang Hao reviewed it, the production officially started.

After the finished car was sent to the crew, all crew members watched, Zhang Hao said: "Lamborghini fully met my requirements, they created a monster, a beast."

The restart of the "Batman" series is a big event for Warner Pictures. Of course, Warner Pictures has prepared a grand project launch conference.

(End of this chapter)