China Entertainment: Indulge in Vanity Fair

Chapter 228 He Fang's Basic Transformation of "X-Men"

"So...director, what do you want to change?" Jane asked.

After everyone sat in the conference room, the discussion began.

"Hmm, let's straighten out the logic first. In this drama, I saw some places where the logic is not smooth, such as..."

He Fang took the script and began to explain the parts he marked. In fact, there is not much about logic. The overall logic of "X-Men Days of Future Past" can still be justified.

"Actually, I think there are several biggest problems with this script. One is that it is not exciting enough. There is no fighting scene that leads to a climax step by step, including the final battle. It is not exciting."

"Secondly, there is too much nonsense in the whole article. I suggest reducing the amount of lines by half. This is a movie, not a talk show. It is full of rap-like things."

"Third, the emotions of the characters are not sincere enough. Can you tell me what the role of Uncle Wolf is in it? It is just a series of characters, and then it is passive, without his emotional expression."

"fourth……"

As He Fang listed the problems of the script one by one to tell the three screenwriters, the three screenwriters shook their heads again and again, feeling that what they had put so much effort into was all loopholes in He Fang.

"Three, I need an extremely exciting story. I need to let the audience see a great concept of time travel. At the same time, I also want to see the protagonist experience ups and downs in 120 minutes. He needs to use actions to break through There are layers of obstacles, and lines that don't run through the story, and I want to see more and more exciting and unique fighting scenes in front of these obstacles."

"Each fight needs to have something unique to watch, and then the final showdown needs to get all the audience's blood pumping."

Speaking of this, He Fang threw the script on the table, "Obviously, you still need to change a few sentences."

"Oh no, He, it's not a question of changing a few sentences, it feels like it's overthrowing and starting over." Simon Kinberg shook his head and said.

"No, Simon, it's actually just a few words. I just said a few words about revision."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The three of them were stunned, that is, He Fangshi only said a few words, but your few words involved everything from overall design to character changes to rhythm advancement and lines.

"Actually, I didn't want to challenge your screenwriting skills, nor did I intend to irritate you, but the fact is that I really need a good story. And the existing story is still a little bit far from the good story in my heart. Just a little bit. So, would you guys like to help polish it?"

"If you are a little patient and change now, if you can win a box office of more than 9 million US dollars worldwide in the future, isn't this also helping yourself?"

As he spoke, He Fang stood up and walked in front of the three screenwriters, then reached out and shook hands one by one, and continued talking.

"Please, Simon, thanks."

"Please, Jane, beautiful lady."

"Come on, Matthew, I know you have ideas."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The three screenwriters were dumbfounded, what does this mean?When did I promise He Fang to change like this?
No, shouldn't the three of them go to the top to complain and boycott where?

But what this guy said made sense and was very polite.

……

Obviously, He Fang's filming of Hollywood superhero stories does not seem to be warmly welcomed by the main creators. They are somewhat repelled by a Chinese superhero story for a Westerner.

From the perspective of cultural barriers, this is also normal.If we asked a Hollywood director to shoot "West Game", we would probably be rejected by us.

So He Fang communicated with the three screenwriters sincerely, carefully, respecting them and trying not to irritate them.

He didn't want to quarrel with the three of them, so what would happen to Fox's management?
Don't let the global bombing news "He Fang was kicked out of the crew due to conflict with [X-Men] main creator" be funny, they will really do such a thing.

Don't look at what Fox executives said to give He Fang creative space and power, let him save the "X-Men" series.But if the main creators under the banner resist collectively, the high-level words will not work.

This is not in East Asia, where leaders have the absolute right to speak, but in Europe and the United States, where there are multiple factors.

Even with the support of Fox's high-level executives, He Fang still has to pay attention to methods and methods. If he can't come to a Hollywood crew with the absolute authority of a domestic director, he will probably die soon.

There are at least two positions in the Hollywood crew that are no worse than directors, one is a screenwriter and the other is a producer.If there is a conflict between the two positions and the director, it is really hard to say who wins and who loses.

What's more, in the American drama crew, the screenwriter's status is extremely high, the actors don't listen to the screenwriter and write the characters to death, and the director has a conflict, and the director is directly expelled.

Why are screenwriters in American dramas so high in status?Because whether the drama can continue to be popular depends on whether the screenwriter writes well, and the fate of the whole drama is in the hands of the screenwriter.

He Fang understands the rules of Hollywood, so the communication with his three screenwriters is careful.

The same is true for the communication with producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After he finished communicating with the three screenwriters, he discussed with Lauren alone.

The 63-year-old woman has no airs in her communication with He Fang. She is an old Fox producer, and she has always been in charge of the "X-Men" series, although "X-Men" has not performed well. She also bears some pressure, but her authority is still there.

"Hey Ho, welcome to the X-Men team, I heard you want to offer your opinion on the actors? Can you tell me? Maybe I can help you."

"Of course, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are difficult to move, because Hugh's Wolverine is already deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and James' Professor X is also established in the hearts of the audience. Strong impression, Michael's Magneto has been doing well, hasn't it?"

He Fang smiled wryly and nodded after hearing Lauren's words, "I know, and Halle Berry, Storm Girl, can't move because she has played three X-Men films in a row. Take it easy, dear Lauren Ms. Lun, I'm not going to make a dramatic replacement of the cast, it's not in line with the continuity of the franchise."

He Fang explained that Lauren was relieved at this moment.

"That's good, we are looking forward to working with you, but also worried about your drastic changes. Although we all know that in order to make "X-Men" shine, we must change, but we are worried that if the changes are not changed, it will be irreversible. "

"Understood, Ms. Lauren, I can understand your feelings. Although I said that "X-Men" must be made into a movie with a box office of no less than 9 million US dollars, I am also worried that it will become self-defeating. A movie with a box office of 9000 million."

"Haha, that shouldn't be the case." Lauren laughed.

"No, it has to be done carefully. So, the change I need must be something that will catch the audience's eyes, such as changing the role of Mystique to Anne Heather. What do you think? She is beautiful and sexy , and his acting skills are very good." He Fang asked.

"Wow..." Lauren was a little surprised. He didn't expect He Fang to be a top-tier star when he came here. Indeed... only top-tier stars get attention, and it seems right to do so.

But... Will this top-notch affect the development of subsequent series?This is something Lauren needs to think about holistically.

She pondered for a while, "We thought about using Lawrence, Jennifer Lawrence. After all, she is not bad, and she is younger, which may be more beneficial to the development of this series." Lauren said.

"No, Lauren, the current situation of "X-Men" is not in the stage of slowly cultivating actors and audiences. "X-Men" has already cultivated three films, and now it needs to explode, and it needs to use one "X-Men" to let the audience know. The global audience will shine, and if it doesn't explode, the audience will lose patience and find a way to forget it."

"So, how can we make it popular? Popular first-line stars are necessary. In addition to having first-line stars accepted by Western audiences, we also need the participation of first-line stars in major Asian box office regions, so as to mobilize the Asian box office."

"You have to know that the box office in Asia is much higher than that in North America and Europe. The annual box office in North America is 100 billion U.S. dollars, and the annual box office in Europe is less than 65 billion euros, but Asia only takes East Asia and Southeast Asia together for a year. It was $160 billion at the box office."

He Fang shrugged, and Lauren nodded, "Then what do you mean, how to get Asian actors involved?"

"The Phantom Cat and the flashing actors may be replaced by East Asian actors, especially the Phantom Cat. We can set a plot where she wears an East Asian person while passing through a certain object, and it cannot be lifted for the time being."

Lauren nodded, "So is there any other suggestion?"

"That's the case for actors for the time being. If you can find an actor who can make female fans scream the most, that's fine too. You need someone with good looks."

He Fang spread his hands.

Lauren nodded, "I've written down the actor's suggestion, and I'll have the company hold a meeting to discuss it. So... what are the requirements for the production?"

"Of course there is..."

Although He Fang was very careful and careful when communicating with the creators of "X-Men" for the first time, his thoughts and expressions were not lacking at all.

That's what he wants to see the creators of "X-Men" do for him, and that's his expression.

So, that night, the president of Fox and the head of the production company got together to read the report on He Fang's communication with the creators.

"Fauci, how is it? Do you think He's request makes sense? Or can these changes of his really bring about improvement?" Group President Stacey asked Fauci.

Fauci twitched the corner of his mouth in embarrassment, "Although the communication between our creative team and him is still a little strange, everyone still thinks his suggestion is reasonable."

"Hmm, for example?"

"For example, his opinion on the revision of the script is indeed beneficial, which will increase the excitement of the story. However, we have different opinions on his suggestions for the actors." Fauci said.

"What disagreement?" Stacy asked.

"Anne is good, but she is too expensive, and her top-notch commercial performance has not been reflected. Besides, she has no latecomer advantage compared with Jennifer." Fauci said.

"No, I think what He said is right. Now is not the time to think about the future. What we have to think about now is how to revitalize this "X-Men" and become a top-tier movie with a box office of one billion dollars. So , I still need to use the top star, and we will talk about it later." Stacey waved his hand.

"Then what he said about the East Asian actress..."

"It's just two small supporting roles. Let's do what he says. Since we chose to trust him, don't hesitate. It's like electing a general. We voted him in, and we have to let him finish the job. Four years, isn't it?"

Stacey shrugged and took a puff on her cigar.

……

In the last two days of April, He Fang went to Fox for a more in-depth exchange of views on some issues. On the first day, he was just trying to find out. On the second day, he wanted to confirm whether the other party could accept his request. If he accepted it, he would change it. There will be more and more.

For example, insert some more thought-provoking content. Bad guys are not blindly bad. If they just wipe out all mutants and humans without thinking, so what if they got this world?
This is an important logical question raised by He Fang, which made the three screenwriters very embarrassed.

"So, maybe a mutinous mutant raised relevant doubts. Why did the mutants blacken them into a heinous image? If the Technologists are so ignorant, how can it be so difficult for the mutants to deal with them? Why did the mutants rebel? "

"Therefore, the villains we need have IQs, and the decent ones must have sufficient reasons to defeat the villains. For example, although the villains have moral reasons to eliminate mutants and humans, their approach is anti-human and lacks morality. Such a decent fight to be just.”

He Fang is changing bit by bit, he just wants to add thinking about values ​​in their movies, and let the audience have the ability to think independently.

Because now under the baptism of Western monotheism, many audiences have two-sided views on things. What is beneficial to them is right, and what is not good is wrong. They must be eliminated.Don't even think about why others want to rebel?Is it because you are not doing well enough, or is the other party demanding too much, and your desires are not satisfied?

For example, a girl got a strange disease, and neither the blessing nor the divine water from the priest could cure her disease, so she finally went to the witch, and the witch cured her, but she did not join the witch's camp .

But people at this time knew about this and decided to execute her. They would not listen to the girl's argument, because the girl had betrayed them and was infected with witchcraft, so the girl became their opposite.

Is this right or wrong in every way?

It's like another story, a group of western dock workers went to the church to donate, the priest thanked them and blessed them.

At this time, a prostitute also came to donate money, but the priest thought the prostitute's money was dirty and rejected the prostitute's donation.

But the dock workers told the priest that the money was not dirty, because they earned it hard on the dock.

So, should prostitutes be blessed by God?

He Fang just wants to add this kind of side that makes the audience think in the movie, just a little bit, a few lines will do.

The reason why the villain is a villain is because he has nowhere to go. Although the methods he uses are extremely immoral, is he wrong?

On the contrary, have you considered that you did something wrong?Is the United States and the West wrong?
The output of ideology, who wouldn't?
This kind of request is very reasonable, the logic is very smooth, and even the three screenwriters didn't think there was anything wrong.

Of course, this kind of small change is not limited to this one. Many places have added some small private goods for the reason of repairing logic errors.

(End of this chapter)