It's reasonable for me, a stuntman, to live a crazy life, right?

Chapter 798 Role Selection! Questioning Big Data? ? ? Alcoholic Johnny Depp!
The next day after arriving in Los Angeles and adjusting to the jet lag, Fade Chen showed up at the Walton Pictures Studios on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

This is the main filming location for "Ready Player One", and after several months of construction, it has achieved considerable results.

The overall layout of the shooting scene is determined according to the plot requirements and scene design of the film.

For a science fiction adventure film like "Ready Player One", the shooting scene needs to be able to flexibly adapt to different scenes in the virtual world and the real world. Therefore, the crew took this into full consideration when building the set.

As soon as you enter the studio, what comes into view is a rather spectacular set of stacked buildings, which can be used to present the dilapidated scenes of the real world in the movie.

This set uses a large amount of steel as a supporting structure, and more than twenty RVs are stacked up in a random manner to form a "semi-finished product" as high as four or five stories.

These "semi-finished products" will provide sufficient real elements for shooting close-up shots and real-life interactions.

In order to expand the scope of the stacked building area and make it look more "crumbling", the crew will also use digital special effects technology in the future.

To date, the digital effects team has created hundreds of digital characters, CG cars, flying CG drones, and more.

In addition, there are props related to real life, such as ladders, barbecue grills and stairs.

These elements will be combined with real-life shooting to create a realistic world that is full of life but dilapidated.

In addition to the set construction at Walton Studios, the crew also went to Birmingham, booked various venues, and made full use of a variety of new and old buildings to replicate scenes in London, Eastern Europe, and the United States.

In the subsequent process, the crew will use advanced special effects studios, multi-track recording studios, motion capture devices and other equipment to ensure the quality and realism of the shooting effects.

In addition to real-life shooting, "Ready Player One" also made extensive use of virtual production technology.

Teams such as Industrial Light & Magic and Digital Domain will be responsible for the production of most of the special effects shots and virtual scenes in the film.

To date, ILM has produced approximately 900 shots in advance, including all scenes and animation clips in the VR world.

They will use cutting-edge VR headsets as tools to guide the construction of virtual environments, viewing complete digital sets and arranging shots in VR headsets.

Digital Domain will be responsible for visual effects preview, virtual production and the production of all special effects shots in the real world of the film, including explosions in the stacked building area and flying drones.

In the shooting scene that will be launched next, the actors will need to interact with these virtual elements.

To achieve this, the crew will use motion capture technology to record the actors' performances and combine them with virtual characters.

When performing later, the actors need to imagine that they are in a virtual world and interact with non-existent characters and objects, which is undoubtedly a huge challenge to their acting skills!

After carefully inspecting the progress of the filming site, Fade Chen turned to look at Natasha who was accompanying him and asked, "Are all the actors in place?"

"Well, I'm currently undergoing pre-shooting training."

While replying, Natasha handed over a stack of information.

The casting work was followed up by the production team of "Ready Player One", and Natasha, as the producer of the film, was naturally the first person in charge.

The cast list was decided by her, of course, with Chen Fei's instructions as well.

The leading actor is named Timothée Chalamet, an American actor born after 95. He made his official debut in 09 and starred in his personal film debut "Men, Women and Children" last year.

In terms of acting skills, he was the strongest among the young American male actors born after 95 who came to audition, so naturally he was successfully elected.

As for the leading female role, just pick any of the four most popular Hollywood actresses.

Chen Fei finally chose Emma Roberts because she was the youngest among the four young actresses and was the most compatible with Timothée Chalamet.

It has been confirmed that Leonardo DiCaprio will guest-star as the villain.

As for the "founder of Oasis", Chen Fei called Matthew McConaughey and asked him to make a cameo appearance.

The remaining supporting roles were played by African-American actress Zendaya Coleman, Chinese actors Huang Jinyu and Liu Jiayi.

Zendaya Coleman's appearance is mainly due to the recent Hollywood political correctness, which requires all film crews to have African-American actors.

Huang Jinyu and Liu Jiayi were personally chosen by Chen Fei.

The former is a newly signed artist of Feiyue Film and Television. He joined the company through the introduction of Wu Jing. He has a very special tough guy temperament and is very suitable for mainstream film and television dramas.

Although he was not a professional, his unique tough guy temperament and smart personality made Chen Fei very fond of him.

It just so happened that the crew of "Ready Player One" needed a character who was good at using cold weapons and had a tough temperament, so Chen Fei recommended him.

As for Liu Jiayi, he plays the role of "Xiu".

The character of "Xiu" is positioned in such a way that although he is relatively young, he possesses a maturity and courage that is not in line with his age.

Chen Fei selected for a long time among the male actors born after 00 in mainland China, and finally felt that Liu Jiayi was more suitable, so he simply recommended him.

As expected, both of them eventually passed the audition successfully and were successfully included in the cast of the main characters.

At this point, all the preliminary preparations for "Ready Player One" have been officially completed.

After reading the information, Fade Chen immediately ordered, "Pick a time and send out a notice. Three days later, the crew will officially start filming!"

"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away."

Natasha responded, took the handbag from her assistant, took out her cell phone, and began to arrange subsequent tasks and work.

Standing at the entrance of the studio and looking at the grand shooting scene in front of him, Chen Fei couldn't help but feel ambitious.

He has extremely high expectations for "Ready Player One" because it will be the fusion of all his hard work over the years. He believes that when the film comes out, it will surely drop the jaws of countless people!

Integrating so many animation, film and television copyrights into one movie is an unheard-of feat, even in Hollywood!
……

Over at Walton Pictures Studios, crew members from the "Ready Player One" crew were coming in and out in an orderly manner, dealing with issues big and small.

And in the Warner Studios, which is only separated by a main road, the studio for the "Ben-Hur" crew is located.

After months of preparation, the film was officially announced to start shooting on June 1st.

Today is the third day since the filming of the movie "Ben-Hur" officially began. After visiting the set of "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" to review the script, Megan Ellison decided to come here to take a look at the progress of the filming.

However, as soon as she stepped out of the car, she saw several "familiar faces" standing at the entrance of Walton Pictures Studios diagonally opposite.

"Oh, a bunch of losers."

Megan Ellison snorted coldly and did not choose to go forward to greet Chen Fei, but walked straight into the Warner Studios.

She has heard that Walton Pictures is preparing a new commercial film and will officially start shooting soon.

According to the Chinese director's filming progress, if nothing unexpected happens, the movie should be released next year.

When she thought of this, Megan Ellison couldn't help but smile.

Annapurna Pictures will have two blockbusters released next year. Under the siege of these two films, even Walton Pictures, a newcomer in Hollywood in recent years, may be difficult to stop!

However, when she hurried to the door of the studio of the movie "Ben-Hur", the smile on her face suddenly froze.

The door was open and she walked in without any hindrance.

The studio was brightly lit, and every corner was illuminated as bright as day.

However, under this bright light, there is a group of crew members doing nothing. They are sitting or standing, gathering in twos or threes, chatting in low voices, as if they are employees slacking off during work hours.

Seeing this scene, Megan Ellison's anger was instantly ignited!

She could not tolerate such a waste of resources and money, and she could not accept the lax attitude of the crew members!

However, she did not lose her temper immediately, because she knew in her heart that she had personally handed the crew over to Lord and she gave him complete trust and autonomy.

After taking a deep breath, she calmed down and walked deeper into the studio. Soon, she saw her capable assistant Lauder and Timur Bekmambetov, the director of Ben-Hur.

However, both of them had anger and helplessness on their faces.

Lauder was making a series of phone calls while Timur Bekmambetov was in a heated discussion with the director of photography.

Seeing this scene, Megan Ellison frowned slightly, "Did they encounter any difficulties during the filming?"

As she was thinking, suddenly, her eyes were attracted by a group of actors in the lounge.

They were sitting there quietly, as if waiting for something.

Megan Ellison subconsciously glanced around the set, but found an important person - the leading actor Johnny Depp was not on the set!

This made her face suddenly turn ugly.

Because before this, she had already confirmed with the crew that Depp would have scenes to watch all day, otherwise she would not have come all the way to visit the set.

But now the crew has stopped working and the male lead is not on the set. Isn’t this just a joke?
Megan Ellison was waiting anxiously in the crew. Time passed by, but there was no sign of starting work.

She looked at the idle staff around her and felt a surge of anger in her heart.

Every minute and every second of her investment was wasted here, and this waiting made her feel extremely annoyed!

Finally, when producer Lauder finished his call, Megan Ellison immediately came up to him and asked directly, "Loder, why hasn't the crew started working yet? It seems like the break time is too long, right?"

There was obvious dissatisfaction and doubt in her tone.

Lord looked at the female boss in front of him and felt a headache.

He didn't want his boss to see his incompetence, so he replied perfunctorily: "Boss, wait a moment, we will start shooting soon."

However, Megan Ellison is not so easy to fool.

She scanned the set with sharp eyes and asked, "Where's Johnny Depp? I checked the crew's shooting schedule for today. There are many scenes for the male lead today, but why haven't I seen him yet?"

Hearing Depp's name, Lauder couldn't help but feel a headache.

He felt exhausted facing this very difficult guy, but he had to rush to the front.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and then answered stiffly: "Depp is late, he hasn't arrived on the set yet."

Hearing this, Megan Ellison frowned!

For the entire crew, the leading actor's lateness is definitely not a small problem, because it means that if he does not show up on the scene, the crew will have to stop working indefinitely.

As a boss, Megan is particularly strict with time control.

She glanced at the exquisite watch on her wrist and saw that the hour hand had quietly pointed to twelve o'clock in the morning!

She was immediately so angry that she laughed, and said with strong dissatisfaction: "Lord, it's been six hours now, do you think this can still be considered a simple lateness?"

Lord naturally understood the meaning of Megan's words, but he knew even more clearly that what was needed at this moment was calmness, and as a producer, he absolutely could not show his incompetence in front of his boss.

He took a deep breath and responded, "Don't worry, Boss. There will naturally be many small problems when the film just starts. I will communicate with Depp and I will definitely be able to handle it perfectly..."

However, as they were talking, there was a sudden commotion at the door of the studio.

The next second, seven or eight people came rushing in, and walking in the middle of the crowd was Johnny Depp, the leading actor of "Ben-Hur".

He had sunken eye sockets, heavy dark circles, and a shaky step, as if he had brought the image of Captain Sparrow from the movie into reality, and he looked in very bad condition.

Seeing this scene, director Timur Bekmambetov could no longer suppress his anger.

He shouted sternly, "How many times have I told you not to let people who are not related to the crew enter the set? This will cause constant trouble on the set. Now, all the irrelevant people, get out immediately, immediately!"

His voice echoed in the studio with unquestionable authority.

However, Depp did not seem to be fully sober. He burped and said in a drunken and joking manner: "If you want to kick my assistant out, then I won't stay either."

After saying that, he waved his hand, signaling his friends to leave the set together.

Seeing this scene, Timur Bekmambetov's beard stood up with anger. If Megan Ellison hadn't given him a high enough salary as a director, he would have quit on the spot.

At this moment, Lord hurried over from behind.

He was well aware of the tense situation at the moment and understood the concerns of director Timur Bekmambetov.

So he trotted to Depp and whispered, "John, we can ask your assistants to go to the lounge, where there is a comfortable environment and coffee. It's too noisy here, and they will definitely not be happy to suffer."

His voice was calm and firm, with a hint of persuasion and comfort.

Depp seemed hesitant after hearing what Lauder said, but finally nodded and agreed to his proposal.

So, under the gaze of everyone, Depp's group of friends went to the lounge arm in arm, and the shooting scene regained order and calm because of this little episode.

The makeup team quickly ran up and started applying makeup to Depp.

Director Timur Bekmambetov adjusted the shooting plan while cursing Depp's unruly behavior.

When "Pirates of the Caribbean" was first released, although Depp had a very strange temper, he was still relatively obedient in the major crews.

But now, as his fame grows, he has completely transformed into one of the most difficult and unprofessional actors in Hollywood.

The filming of "Ben-Hur" had only started for three days, but he was either late or left early, causing complaints among the crew.

If nothing unexpected happens, there will definitely be more troubles waiting for the crew!

Megan Ellison on the sidelines just watched coldly without expressing much opinion.

She had long known that Depp had a strange temper, but Captain Sparrow was so popular that even Disney had to hold its nose and cooperate with him, let alone Annapurna Pictures.

Through Oracle's big data analysis, it can be concluded that once "Ben-Hur" starring Johnny Depp is released, it will at least earn $6 million in box office worldwide!
No one would resist huge profits, so Megan Ellison thought she might as well turn a blind eye.

However, she soon found that she could not close one of her eyes!

The main reason still comes from Depp!
After the makeup was completed, the first scene was the protagonist played by Depp enjoying himself as a Jew.

Depp performed the process of enjoyment very well, after all, this is the norm in his life.

But when the performance reached the point where he needed to recite his lines, he got stuck!
Timur Bekmambetov didn't take it seriously at first and asked him to readjust his state.

But after the script supervisor re-clapped the board, Depp still sat there, showing no intention of reciting his lines.

Seeing this scene, Timur Bekmambetov suddenly seemed to have thought of something. He jumped up from the director's chair with an angry look on his face and shouted, "Depp! You didn't even memorize your lines!"

Depp burped and shrugged, "You didn't tell me to memorize the lines. How about we stop here today? I'll go back and memorize the lines?"

Timur Bekmambetov slapped himself on the forehead and was almost fainted from anger.

The corners of Lord's mouth twitched, as if he had already seen that the crew was about to fall into dire straits!

Megan Ellison was also watching this scene, but what she saw were handfuls of dollars being thrown into the sea of ​​fire!

At this moment, she suddenly questioned Oracle's big database.

Is this drunkard Johnny Depp really a top Hollywood star who is crazily pursued by movie fans all over the world?
Can Ben-Hur succeed?
……

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(End of this chapter)