director of the millennium

“So, it will start filming in December?”

"This is really bad news."

At home, Wu Yuan stood on the balcony, enjoying the cool evening breeze while answering a transatlantic phone call in English.

It is already mid-September, and "Riding the Wind" will be released in about ten days, but at this critical moment, Wu Yuan received an urging from Hollywood.

"Doctor Strange" has everything ready, except for the east wind.

The preliminary preparations for this film have been basically completed, and the leading actor Benedict Cumberbatch has already signed the contract and is ready to join the crew at any time.

The professionalism of Hollywood movies is indeed much higher than that of China. At least on Marvel's side, the early preparation work for movies basically does not require the participation of the director, and the producer can handle it smoothly on his own. After all, they have already shot many assembly-line-like superhero movies.

The same is true for the preparation of "Doctor Strange". The film began preparations as early as last year, gathering suitable crew members, conducting early scene scouting, setting, making props, and the art department. Wu Yuan did not need to worry about the costume department, etc.

After half a year of preparation, the producers have confirmed that the film will be shot in London, New York, Hong Kong, Kathmandu and other places.

The art department of the film is crucial to the visual presentation of the film. The 49 employees in the department started working at full speed, busy with painting, sculpture, hand-made models, 3D printing, etc. During the film production process, a total of nearly 800 paintings and 3000 pieces were created. Concept design drawings and 40 sets of models.

The silhouette of Doctor Strange's cloak is very important in Marvel comics, and designing and making this cloak has become the biggest workload for the costume department. All 20 staff members were involved, and because the cloak has various functions during the filming, 18 pieces were eventually made.

In the movie, the address of the Sanctuary of the Most Holy, 177A Bleecker Street, is actually a fictional address, so it took five artists about 10 months to finalize the design and details of the Sanctuary of the Most Holy Hall.

All these preparatory work took about a year in total, and was almost entirely done by the producer. Wu Yuan just paid attention to the renderings, videos and other products of the preparatory stage to make sure there were no problems.

Such a professional preparatory process is unimaginable in China.

If you want to prepare such a science fiction blockbuster in China, the director must be immersed in it, busy all the time, and it may take two to three years to complete it.

For example, when Wu Yuan was preparing for "Ready Player One", he did everything himself, from scouting locations to making props and setting the scenery, and there was also a huge amount of post-production work to do afterwards.

But at Marvel, the director doesn't need to worry about these things. There are professional producers and preparation teams to provide one-stop service. The director only needs to wait until everything is ready, and then join the crew to start filming.

Including the post-production special effects, Marvel has its own people to take charge, so the director doesn’t need to worry about it.

The advantage of doing this is that the division of labor is very clear, with professionals doing professional things. There is no need for the director to take charge of everything, and the focus can be placed on filming. Other links will be handled by other professional and trustworthy people, so the efficiency of filming will be very high.

It’s a bit like assembly line production, with different people responsible for different links and being proficient in their own areas. This is the so-called film industrialization.

Take "Doctor Strange" for example. The pre-production work for this movie took a year, and the shooting + post-production only took another year. It is expected to be released in November or December 2016.

Such a grand special effects blockbuster can be completed from preparation to release in just two years, which is undoubtedly very fast.

Even for Wu Yuan, a veteran, it takes at least three years to make a science fiction blockbuster in China. Guo Fan spent five years on The Wandering Earth from the early preparation to the final release. Even the second part took more than three years to make, even with full human and material resources.

This is Hollywood's "industrial" advantage, which is the area where China is still lagging behind.

Of course, in such industrialized film shooting, the director is just one link in the process. It is not like before when the director was the most important, inseparable and indispensable role in the crew, like an emperor.

Directors like those from Spielberg's era are basically extinct in Hollywood today. Directors are now just big screws in industrialized filming and are only responsible for filming.

Of course, this refers to industrialized commercial blockbusters. There are still a lot of directors who are in charge of everything from art films to ordinary feature films.

Wu Yuan did not comment on this, but he was glad that he did not need to worry too much about the "Doctor Strange" project this time. If he had to do it all by himself like he did with "Ready Player One", he would really collapse.

Unlike now, he only needs to finalize the casting of several important supporting roles before he can join the crew and start filming.

Yes, there are only less than three months left before the crew starts filming, but he has not had time to decide on other actors. There is only Benedict Cumberbatch, the original male lead, who he informed Marvel early on and asked Marvel to negotiate.

As for the actors for other roles such as Ancient One, King, Baron Mordo, etc., Wu Yuan has not had time to cast them yet.

The main reason is that he is too busy with things in his country and simply cannot spare the time.

"How about this, Charles? As the producer, you can cast Baron Mordo, Casillas, and other minor characters in the movie yourself in the United States, and then submit a list to me for my review."

"As for the two Asian characters, Ancient One and Wang, I will personally look for them in China and then send the list to you. You just need to send someone to sign the contract."

"Well, I trust your judgment very much."

Wu Yuan, who was holding a mobile phone, said something deliberately respectful, trying to hide his attitude of being too busy.

Charles Newworth is the last person listed on the list of producers of "Doctor Strange", but he is the actual executive producer of the film.

Those who know know that among the list of producers of Marvel movies, Stan Lee, Kevin Feige, and Victoria Alonso, who are at the top of the list, are just figureheads.

One of the three is the founder of Marvel Comics, one is the president of Marvel Pictures, and one is the director specifically in charge of film production. They will not actually perform the work of producer themselves.

Charles Newworth is the one who really does the work. Whether it is the original version or the current "Doctor Strange", he is the actual producer and is responsible for the selection of actors.

Wu Yuan was very confident in handing over the casting of most of the actors to him, and believed that he would also select a lineup similar to the original version.

As for the most important characters, Ancient One and Wang, who have Chinese backgrounds, Wu Yuan really had to find suitable actors in China himself.

"Could it be that they really want to ask Kara Hui to play Ancient One?" Wu Yuan thought with a bit of evil amusement, stroking his chin. (End of this chapter)