Made in Hollywood

A straight suit, a tall figure, a tough face, a determined look, wise eyes...

This is Chai Jing’s first impression after seeing Duke. Although the other party was very cooperative in asking the cameraman to take promotional photos, she knew very well that this was definitely not a good interview subject, and wanted to dig out some exclusives from him. It should be very difficult.

Most importantly, she didn't have enough confidence in herself.

Indeed, she is one of the best reporters in the TV station, but the one she is about to face is one of the best directors in the world's film industry. If she has commercial achievements, he is the best one.

And from numerous reports, Chai Jing also knows that the other party not only speaks fluent Chinese, but is also the only Chinese expert among Hollywood star directors.

These will make her naturally feel good, but they will not help the interview much.

Sitting on one of the two opposing single sofas, Chai Jing retracted her gaze, thinking more about the interview that was about to begin. The station paid great attention to this interview and could get Duke Rosenberg. The interview with "Face to Face" is very important. All interview questions are carefully selected by her and the station.

The problems are mainly divided into three categories. One is the "Transformers" that the other party requested to focus on; the other is some more personal issues, and the third is Hollywood and Chinese movies.

After taking a few photos, Duke sorted out his suit a bit and walked over in stride. As in the past, he politely extended his hand and said, "Hello, Miss Chai."

"Hello, Director Rosenberg." Chai Jing quickly stood up and held it in his hand.

"Please sit down."

Duke gestured to the single sofa opposite, waited for the other person to sit down first, then sat down and said directly. "let us start."

This is not a live broadcast. After the program is recorded, it will be broadcast on the weekend, which happens to be the time when the popularity of "Transformers" begins to fade.

To agree to this interview, Duke also has this consideration.

Now that she can come here for an interview, Chai Jing has learned a little bit about Duke's work habits. I stopped talking, opened my notebook, took out a gel pen, and started asking questions.

Looking down at the notebook, after the director made a start gesture, Chai Jing asked the first question, "Mr. Rosenberg, as a film director, how do you choose between yourself, Hasbro and Transformers fans? What do these three parties think of "Transformers"?"

"I make my own movies. No one can point fingers at me."

This is also true. Even Warner Bros. will not interfere with Duke’s production now. “During the preparation period, I always thought that if the image of Transformers is made very realistic, the effect must be very different from similar movies before. Since then, I have completely become the most obsessed Transformers fan in the world. I am also committed to making this movie available to people who are not fans of Transformers."

Chai Jing interrupted at the right time, "Do you want a wider audience for the movie?"

Duke tilted his head. "Yes, I want to make the film more mature. I know that in the future there will be questions like this-why make a toy movie so complicated? Can kids understand?"

"The problem is that not only children will watch this movie, but some Transformers fans are over 40..."

Having said this, Duke waved his hand, "Forget it. I said I digress..."

"It's ok……"

Chai Jing smiled, but the pen in her hand quickly flicked behind Duke's name in the notebook-extremely confident, quick-thinking, and lively speaking, it is easy to make people feel intimacy.

With limited time, she hurriedly asked the next question, "I always hear the actors of "Transformers" praise you as a'very, very great director. Know what is acting'. We have rarely heard this kind of mention before. Fa. Did you do anything different this time?"

Duke shook his head, "No. Listen to me, those are rumors, and the news in the media is sometimes bizarre."

The spotlight was a bit dazzling. He frowned slightly and raised the volume. "I'm no different from other directors. When James Cameron was filming "Titanic", I went to the set to see it. Our directors’ methods are very similar. We almost never Leaving the set, I like to work with the actors in filmmaking, I like to give the actors the freedom to play, and I also enjoy the fun of improving and growing together with them."

"However, many filmmakers don't want to see actors like this." Duke shrugged slightly. "They always say, ‘It’s not like that in the script! What the **** is he doing? It’s going to be filming!’"

The lighting engineer slightly adjusted the spotlight, but it did not affect Chai Jing. She interjected, "Will you compromise? If you don't compromise, how would you deal with it?"

"No, but I don't yell at the producer like some directors do."

After thinking about it, Duke said, "My style is like this, and I will say to them,'Trust me, there may be surprises in doing this.' Because the film has a long-established overall tone, and occasionally it doesn't It would be too ridiculous. However, when it comes to action scenes, I am the devil coach, and I must not make a mistake at a glance, because the effect I want to create may be gone without a trace."

Chai Jing laughed, but did not forget her responsibilities, and asked, "Do you think the movie "Transformers" is very different from your previous work?"

"In North America interviews, people always say to me, ‘After filming "The Dark Knight," do you want to go back and make movies with plain subjects like before?"

Duke made a contemplative statement, and then said, "I have thought about this problem seriously. I feel that if the handling is cool and I have a good idea, I can direct a great action film and an excellent summer entertainment. Movies. I like to try things that no one has done before, and then work hard with my team for a few months to get the special effects that gradually turn into real people from the thin air. This is very challenging, just like the audience sees a bumblebee. You can immediately realize that there is a living soul hidden inside this machine."

"There is a saying in Hollywood that it is you and your films that promote the internationalization of the Hollywood film industry."

Unconsciously, Chai Jing turned the topic to Duke himself, "Do you agree with this statement?"

Duke only gave one sentence, "The film industry has never had a savior."

Chai Jing’s question is like a cascade of guns, "Then which one do you think is more important for the movie, the special effects action scene or the storyline?"

Although the other party's question became a bit sharper. But Duke is not difficult to deal with, "There is no comparison, both are important, and neither is indispensable."

"Do you know that some fans are dissatisfied with the special effects of "Transformers"?" Chai Jing's speech speed is getting faster, "There are many people on the Internet accusing you of messing around and making Optimus Prime grow lips."

"Yeah. This is indeed my idea." Duke replied unhurriedly, "We have done a lot of facial expression research. It is really difficult to see the feelings of the characters without the movement. We also tried to let The lip robot expresses emotion, but it just feels wrong."

Chai Jing suddenly changed the subject, "Have you ever thought about making a small production movie in the future, which mainly depends on actors to drive the plot?"

"No." Duke did not deny it. "I have no interest in that kind of film. My team and I never thought about flying to the south of France to film."

"As a producer and director. You have the final decision on the film, but this also has side effects." Chai Jing began to focus on some Hollywood industry situations, "How do you balance the relationship?"

"It's probably like hiding a stick behind your back to defend yourself, but you hope you never need it."

Nowadays, Hollywood is gradually fading the veil of mystery. Duke only talked about some common situations. “Many people get furious when they hear that the director has the final decision-making power and thinks it is an insult to themselves; some people think that this thing hurt everyone. It’s all exhausted. But I never plan to hand over the final decision. It’s ridiculous."

Chai Jing stared at Duke. Asked, "Can you give me some examples?"

"I was once suggested that'The first Transformers is best not to talk too much about robots'." Duke showed a disapproving look. "So you really need to say something. Look at the audience and the producers. What you think, and then you know what to do next, and this ultimately requires me to make a decision. However, I will also respect the film crew, for example, if I give me two more weeks, the Transformers movie will be better, but the film crew I won’t agree, no way. Time is never enough."

Duke said seriously, "A lot of people will ask what is a perfect movie? For a director, a perfect movie means you have to leave every shot you like at all costs. If you want to make these bigger, you must have The final decision."

Participating in this kind of interview, the topic will inevitably involve the Chinese market and Chinese movies. Duke also stated in advance that he did not want to discuss these things too much, but Duke understands that it is impossible not to talk about this aspect.

However, this aspect has been communicated in advance, and it is just a very broad matter.

Chai Jing raised a few questions in this regard, "China's position in the international market is becoming more and more important. Does this allow you to spend more time on the Chinese market?"

"It is true, because the Chinese market is growing, it is very important. Of course, the North American and European markets are also very important, and the Latin American market is also growing."

What Duke mentioned was the answers prepared by Warner’s public relations staff in advance. “But the changes in the Chinese market in the past few years have been amazing and very gratifying. A few years ago, China’s annual market revenue was about tens of millions of dollars, but this It has risen to hundreds of millions of dollars in two years. Market growth of this scale will make China one of the largest film markets in the world."

"What do you think of the current Chinese movies?" Chai Jing asked again.

"China is increasing film production and selling its films to global audiences." Of course, Duke is a complimentary attitude. "These are exciting times. Chinese films have a good market, not only because people are willing to go to the movies. , And because they are very good audiences, they have ideas, and their tastes are very diverse. So for filmmakers, this is a very good audience. The films produced can find audiences in China, which allows People are very excited." (To be continued...)