The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 655 The Amazing Phoenix

As we enter November, the weather in New York is much colder, and there is still fog in the morning.

When talking in the morning or at night, steam comes out of the mouth.

At ten o'clock in the morning this day, the crew on the set of "Joker" were working.

Outside an ordinary low-rise building, the lighting engineer was leading three assistants to adjust the brightness and direction of the lights.

They needed to create a feeling of late winter sun.

The adjusted light was aimed at a window on the second floor of the low-rise building.

From time to time someone opened the window, stuck his head out and shouted.

There were also many people gathered in the room where the window was located.

Li Shengyao, Phoenix, Emmerich, composer Hildy, and several actors are all there.

Phoenix is ​​really cruel. He finally understands why Lee Sheng Yew likes Phoenix.

Phoenix had been wearing clothes before, so it was hard to tell how much weight he had lost.

Emmerich opened his mouth slightly, but said nothing for a long time.

Therefore, it can be said that Phoenix relied on dieting and exercise to achieve his current figure.

This made Emmerich very unhappy. If Li Shengyao hadn't persuaded him, he would have said harsh words to Phoenix.

After Li Shengyao led the actors into position, the lighting engineer adjusted the brightness and then began rehearsal.

"Oh my god, if this shot is released, it will surely conquer the movie fans."

Everyone has known for a long time that Phoenix wants to lose weight, and they also heard that he used to eat an apple a day, but after joining the crew, his diet became much more normal.

Starting today, we started filming the scene where the male protagonist Arthur takes off his shirt. Only then did everyone know that Phoenix had lost so much weight for this movie.

If such an actor can help "Joker" soar to the sky, if he can win awards, then he will be bound to "Joker", will he still be black?

"He works too hard, he is really a lunatic."

Emmerich smiled bitterly and shook his head. He couldn't help but sigh when he thought of Li Shengyao's words.

Such public opinion has significantly slowed down the originally rising publicity momentum of "Joker".

Moreover, the male protagonist Arthur is not lean and capable, but requires malnutrition and is pathologically thin.

Because he is too thin, the two shoulder blades on his back are also very obvious and protrude outwards. It looks a bit scary. He is too thin and unhealthy.

One is fat Randall. This man has a pistol that he intends to give to Arthur. He tells Arthur to take revenge and to fight back fiercely when in danger.

Phoenix didn't know what Emmerich was thinking. He was listening carefully to Lee Seung-yew's instructions, and Lee Sheng-yew led the actors to move.

In just five months, I lost at least 40 kilograms, which is an average of ten kilograms a month.

Two of his colleagues who got along well with him were talking to him next to him.

The chest and stomach are all ribs, with almost no trace of fat.

Although critics and fans admire them, in fact, the actors are still mostly resistant in their hearts, feeling that it is unnecessary and unsafe to work so hard.

Phoenix didn't react much. After returning to the set, he still went his own way and was independent from the set.

He is already considering that after the release of "Joker", he will use some means to tarnish Phoenix's reputation so that he will not be able to survive in Hollywood.

Now you can add a Phoenix.

At first glance, he looked like someone who had been malnourished for a long time. His arms had almost no muscles and looked thin and dry.

But I have to say that such behavior is respectable.

Emmerich crossed his arms, squinted his eyes with cold eyes, and glanced at Phoenix from time to time.

I never expected Phoenix to be so thin right now. How many pounds do I have to lose?
Although Phoenix was not a sportsman in the past and could not compare to Brad Pitt, Hollywood male stars basically went to exercise.

In the past, Phoenix should have weighed about 150 pounds, but now he looks like he weighs 100 pounds?
The man who is 1.74 meters tall weighs only 100 kilograms, and really has only bones left in his body.

When the time comes, Warner Pictures will not allow him to hack Phoenix, and maybe they will give him a push from behind to help Phoenix go further.

This scene is not difficult. After the male protagonist Arthur was bullied by a gangster, he returned to his workplace and took off his clothes, revealing his rib-like figure.

Phoenix's previous leave of absence caused a lot of dissatisfaction among the crew, but the fire was still not contained. This matter was spread. The crew of "Joker", which originally received a lot of praise for the pilot trailer, now Once again, it was pessimistic by some media.

If it were anyone else who had lost weight like this, he would have been hospitalized long ago.

Except for Li Shengyao, everyone else was shocked.

One is the dwarf Gary, a very kind and timid dwarf man. Gary comforts Arthur and tells him to look away and not to argue with those gangsters.

He puts everything on "Joker", and he will not allow anyone to do anything that harms the movie "Joker".

"I now know why he was recognized and supported by the director. He is indeed a powerful actor in Hollywood."

Both the set workers and the actors were whispering, they were all shocked by Phoenix's change.

Reporters and editors who did not take it too seriously to watch the excitement all said that Phoenix was unreliable and untrustworthy. He asked for leave at will, which forced the crew to adjust the shooting plan. The future of "Joker" cannot be counted on Phoenix, and the movie "Joker" is also not reliable. Worth the wait.

There are a lot of weird body types in Hollywood. They suddenly become fat and thin, and suddenly gain weight and lose weight in a very short period of time. Such behavior is very harmful to the body.

All the workers fell silent, and Phoenix was seen sitting on the bench in the workroom. Then he tiredly took off his long sleeves, revealing his upper body full of ribs.

Director Li's views on actors far exceed those of his producer.

After rehearsing for about an hour, the actors then started formal filming. Emmerich sat behind Lee Sheng-yao and looked at the screen on the director's monitor, feeling even deeper.

The Phoenix in the director's monitor is the humble Arthur. This character may become popular because of Phoenix, just like Heath Ledger once did.

Emmerich couldn't help but feel hot when he thought of this.

Heath Ledger won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor that year.

……

In the "Joker" movie, there are not many scenes where Arthur takes off his shirt at work, but there are more scenes where he is shirtless at home.

He watches TV with his mother, he fantasizes in his room, he plays with guns in his room, without even wearing a shirt. In these scenes, he showed off his emaciated and sickly body.

Next, Li Shengyao took Phoenix to film these scenes.

With little need for any more adjustments from the makeup artist, Phoenix took off his top and looked like Arthur.

Phoenix's ability convinced the rest of the crew a lot, and the crew's shooting efficiency also improved a lot.

Emmerich was even more excited. He suggested that Li Shengyao edit another set of scenes and use it as a second trailer.

After discussing with Phoenix, Lee Sheng-yew edited a set of shots with Arthur's shirtless body, showing the skinny and morbid actor with ribs in his body.

After the second teaser trailer was aired, it immediately attracted greater attention, and more people recognized the Joker starring Phoenix.

There are fewer extreme clown fans outside the crew, and only the "actors" invited by Warner remain.

As for the extreme clown fans knocking on the door in the middle of the night, there are simply no more.

And more paparazzi came to the crew to inquire about news.

On this morning, the security staff of the "Joker" crew invited the paparazzi a hundred meters away and applied for a road closure, saying that they were filming a very important scene.

When the paparazzi heard about the road closure, they thought it was a car chase scene, but it was not actually a car chase scene.

What we are going to shoot today is the scene where Arthur completely changes his mentality, kills his former colleague Randall, and then goes out and goes down the long ladder.

In this movie, the long staircase is a very important scene.

Arthur often climbed up the long ladder exhausted physically and mentally.

Sometimes I hurried down the long ladder just to rush to work so as not to have my greedy boss deduct wages.

This time going down the long staircase was the most special. He completed his transformation. He was no longer the poor Arthur with low self-esteem. He became a bad guy and a clown in Gotham.

He had just killed Randall, and then put on a red suit and clown makeup.

His mood is light, happy, proud, and expectant.

He discovered his "power". Even without a gun, he could still kill easily. He planned to go to the TV station and kill the talk show host who mocked him.

Therefore, in this scene, Arthur will dance and walk down the long ladder arrogantly and evilly.

Regarding this scene, Li Shengyao had already discussed with Phoenix how Arthur would dance, and they had choreographed it many times in the conference room.

At this time, there is no need for Li Shengyao to lead the way, Phoenix knows how to do it himself.

So Li Shengyao didn't say much, nodded to Phoenix, and let him do it on his own.

Others didn't know how Phoenix would perform this scene. They were very curious when they saw that Li Shengyao didn't take the lead and just asked Phoenix to do it.

Emmerich, Robert De Niro, and Zazie Beetz were all watching.

Under the not-so-warm sunshine of winter, Arthur ran out of the apartment and then walked into the long staircase. He first snapped his fingers twice, then turned sideways and jumped up arrogantly, dancing as he walked down.

Despite wearing a red suit, his range of motion is very large.

The kicks are high and the hands are flamboyant.

The onlookers were stunned. They looked at Phoenix blankly and realized that if this shot was preserved, it would definitely become one of the classics in film history.

Robert De Niro murmured to himself, "He will definitely compete for the Best Actor Oscar next year."

Emmerich heard this and looked at Phoenix in shock. Thinking about what Li Shengyao had said before, he understood what it meant.

Li Shengyao said he would not hack Phoenix.

Now it seems that it is not black.

If Phoenix performs so well, he might win an award. In this case, Phoenix will be bound to "Joker", and other executives of Warner Pictures will naturally not let him slander Phoenix.

Phoenix is ​​still dancing at this time, just like Arthur. At first glance, you can tell that he has not been systematically studied, but he is full of emotion. Watching him dance, you can feel the change in the hero's mentality.

Phoenix rehearsed for two hours on a long ladder, and then the shooting officially started. When he appeared in the camera, the effect was even better. After all, standing on the scene, the field of view was wide and not so shocking.

When the camera focuses on the male protagonist alone, it is easier for the audience to feel the emotions of the male protagonist.

Li Shengyao was very satisfied with Phoenix's performance and declared it passed after only four takes.

In the warm applause of everyone, the scene was concluded.

Emmerich stood nearby, clapping excitedly.

Someone was talking nearby, and he heard some opinions, saying that Phoenix might be able to win the Oscar for Best Actor with such a good performance.

Emmerich also recognized it very much when he heard this.

During this time, he has been watching the film. He feels that it is very enjoyable to watch Phoenix act. He feels that Phoenix really has hope to win the Oscar for Best Actor.

I have to say that Li Shengyao has really good taste.

I chose Phoenix against all odds.

Emmerich then thought about the soundtrack of this movie, turned around and saw the young Hildy who looked very gentle, and he couldn't help but frowned.

The actors and directors are all top-notch, and Lee Sheng-yew is personally responsible for the subsequent editing, so there should be no problems.

Judging from the production process, as far as the soundtrack is concerned, the composer is not very good at it.

Hildy has never scored a Hollywood blockbuster before. Does this young girl really have enough talent?
He is looking forward to "Joker" hitting the Oscars and the three major European film festivals.

Thinking of this, Emmerich immediately had the urge to find Li Shengyao and introduce him to several top Hollywood soundtrack masters.

But he stopped just after taking a few steps.

Phoenix is ​​the person Li Shengyao is looking for, and Hildy is also the person Li Shengyao is looking for.

It's obvious that Director Li has his own criteria for selecting people, and he doesn't need outsiders to guide him.

Emmerich thought for a moment, and after seeing Phoenix displaying Arthur perfectly, he still planned to believe Li Shengyao.

The person chosen by Director Li is not only perfect, but also a perfect fit, 100% suitable.

(End of this chapter)