"Hello! Said, I'm QB!... We encountered some problems during filming, can you come to the set tomorrow?... Yes! We need some professional advice!... You are one of the signed screenwriters

Ah! Don’t you want your screenwriter’s movie to be released?…OK, I’ll give you the address…”

The next day, when Syed arrived at the set of the converted warehouse by the Hudson River, he found Quinn Bai smoking by the river. With him were a young man and a middle-aged man with long blond hair.

"Hiss... poof..."

"As you can see, our director has just been fired by the producer. The set is now in a mess. I have asked the actors to go back to rest. Now that you are here, let's find a solution together."

On the 13th, "Bonnie and Frank" started shooting on time. At first, the actors were relatively well-organized. According to the plan, the crew filmed the scenes inside the bank in a temporary indoor studio.

The whole scene was created by Shark Head and his boys, who supervised the construction team and spent a whole week rushing through it.

Thanks to William's excellent coordination skills, everything needed to start filming was in place, and director Steve Poche held up the lead to announce the start.

However, things started to go astray from then on.

Steve Boche is a TV director, but he has developed a habit that only major international film directors have - constantly reshooting and selecting better materials.

Of course, he is not unreasonable. Every time he reshoots, Director Boche can always put forward suggestions for improvement.

At first everyone thought it was the director who was striving for perfection, but later even Chris's younger brothers, who were the least sensitive as extras, discovered the problem. Director Boche had so many ideas that even a reel of 35mm film could not capture them.

Carrying the little bit he swayed freely.

After ten hours a day, when it was time to take a break, William took inventory and discovered that only one-third of the work was completed, and the film consumption was twice as much as expected.

So Bai Quinn asked Said to come over and help them figure out a solution together.

They planned to use the simplest and most direct way first, with Bai Quinn and Chris coming forward to communicate with the director as producers rather than as the leading actor and Robber 2, asking him to speed up the filming progress.

However, the negotiation broke down in just five minutes. Director Boche cursed the film businessmen for disrespecting art, then put down the guide tube and left! Quit!

So, when Said arrived, William was contacting the new director of the rescue, the two producers and Randy, who was playing the villain Robber No. 1, were smoking together by the river and waiting for news.

After figuring out the situation, Said said: "Director? I know one. Although he is also a novice director, he has rich experience and has done almost all the work on the set, and his level is pretty good. Recently he is making his own film.

It’s my first theatrical movie. I’m short of money, so I think I’d be happy to come over and make some quick money.”

Bai Quinn nodded in agreement, "If possible, please ask him to come to the set in the afternoon and let's talk..."

Chris added: "But we will also meet with the director that William contacted for comparison. He won't have any objections, right?"

"Okay, I'll call and ask."

…

Fast forward to three o'clock in the afternoon, and the director recommended by Said finally arrived.

"Hello, I am Wes Anderson. Said said that I am a disciple of Martin Scorsese. In fact, I just worked on his set. Well, I worked in several positions..."

Wes Anderson is a shy, tall young man, probably about the same age as Chris, in his twenties, with shoulder-length blond hair, who likes to smile with his lips pursed.

Last year Wes Anderson made a self-produced black and white short film "Bottle Rocket", starring, screenwriter, and other friends of his. Then he took the short film to the Sundance Film Festival and was viewed by Gracie Films, a medium-sized production company.

He bought out the copyright, invested in him to reshoot the film, and promised that it would be released theatrically.

In order to share risks and incentivize Wes Anderson and his team, Gracie Films only accounted for 60% of the investment in the new movie, with the rest raised by Anderson's team.

Wes Anderson spent all his savings to complete the filming of the film, but the post-production was stuck and there was not enough money.

Over there, Gracie Films has contacted Sony Columbia. As long as it can pass the screening, Sony Columbia will be the distributor of the film.

Therefore, Wes Anderson ran back to his base in New York to raise funds. However, when he needed money more urgently, he could not find investors.

When Wes Anderson was running out of options, Said, who had worked with Martin Scorsese before, called.

The budget given to the director of "Bonnie and Frank" is US$40,000, which does not include final editing, so as long as the shooting goes well, Wes Anderson can get US$40,000 in about ten days, which just fills half of the budget.

of the gap.

At this time, Wes Anderson was sitting on the prop bench, reading the script. From time to time, he got up and went to the monitor to check the shooting materials left by Director Boche, with a rather solemn expression.

Here is the set of the bank hall. On another row of benches, Quinn and Chris are also waiting anxiously. For the next conversation, they will decide whether to take the risk of hiring this young director.

The so-called director that William contacted will actually not be available until a week later, which will increase the cost of the entire project by about $100,000, which will drain the liquidity of Widmark Imaging.

Therefore, as long as Wes Anderson's level is not particularly bad, they will take the risk of using him.

Wes Anderson stood up again and started walking around the set.

80% of the scenes in this film take place in six rooms of the bank, and half of the scenes are completed in the business hall. It cost US$120,000 to build the set in this 1,200-square-meter warehouse.

Fortunately, thanks to Uncle Tony's intervention, the warehouse does not require rent, saving the two brothers a fortune.

As Wes Anderson walked, he took shorthand in his little notebook, walked around in a circle, returned to the bench, and said to Quinn and Chris: "Forgive me for speaking directly, although the overall style of this film is not the same as mine.

It’s not consistent, but I can still present the film according to your expectations, and the progress may even be faster than expected. My film "Bottle Rocket" was completed in only ten days.

I think it will be difficult for you to find someone else to take over the position of director for a while.

Now let’s talk about my requirements. If they are all passed, we will cooperate!”

Chris spread his hands, "Please speak..."

Wes Anderson said: "First of all, I need to add a high-speed camera to use when shooting action scenes.

In "Bonnie and Frank", I saw your ambition, abandoning the Hollywood kind of fake action scenes that rely on camera switching, actors posing, and constructing. Nor did you use the dramatic action scenes of Hong Kong Island.

, but prefers a realistic style.

I would like to point out an omission of yours here. Although simple action scenes are realistic, direct, and even violent, they can easily make the audience feel unsatisfied because the battle is resolved too quickly.

This will turn the action scene into shooting, pulling the trigger, and killing someone, which is straightforward but boring.

In "Red Dead Redemption", Sergio Leone relied on narrative techniques to solve the problem of shooting someone too fast.

Before the two sides draw their guns, describe the confrontation scene in a large space, and then draw their guns, Pia! Pia!

Due to the foreshadowing of the confrontation, the audience will not feel that the battle is too hasty and the ending is too abrupt.
Chapter completed!