Chapter 575: Showing facts without making evaluation
"Forrest, Forrest..."
Early the next morning, the crew continued filming the scene of rescuing people on the battlefield in Vietnam. Every time Forrest Gump ran back to the battlefield to find his good friend Babu, he was called by another comrade asking for help. He ran like this several times
, reciting a comrade every time.
After several attempts, Forrest Gump found Lieutenant Dan. Lieutenant Dan was calling for fire support from the rear and wanted to use aerial bombs to blow up the whole place. He had been seriously injured, his legs were blown off, and he only wanted to die for his country like his ancestors.
But A-Gump's intelligence could not understand such a complicated matter, so he still ignored his strong protests and wanted to carry him to a safe river.
Except for a few scenes of Tom Hanks running with his comrades on his back, what was shot today was mainly his conversations with many comrades by the river. From the eyes of a person with a low IQ, it can be seen how the Vietnam War affected ordinary Americans.
The impact of people.
Most of those who were drafted and sent to the front line of fire to actually fight were civilians, and there were also people with low IQs like Forrest Gump. The American Army has always been responsible for the logistics at the back, and there are far more people than in the army.
Frontline combatants.
During World War II, people across the United States still had a simple feeling of upholding justice and opposing fascism. They wanted to fight for an ending for their hometown and relatives that would not be occupied by the Nazis like Europe.
But when it came to the Vietnam War, this natural sense of justice was gone. Vietnam was far away, and it had no ability to hit America. The most soldiers there were AK-47s and rocket launchers. In front of the U.S. military equipped with modern weapons, they were almost helpless.
The slaughtered lamb is average.
The reason why Jane Fonda spoke for the Vietnamese and opposed the US military was because too many Vietnamese were killed. In many battles, the exchange rate was more than one to one hundred. The people could not stand their children going to fight in Vietnam.
Dead unarmed Vietnamese.
In the confrontation between the two, the worst thing is the soldiers who were sent to the battlefield. On the one hand, they themselves were tortured internally, and on the other hand, there were still casualties on the battlefield. Those Vietnam War veterans who returned to their hometowns were, on the one hand, treated by the people
Not happy, on the other hand, they are also tortured by conscience, and some of them are even more miserable if they are disabled.
And this kind of social division continues to this day. The Stars and Stripes legislation passed two years ago (the Stars and Stripes can be burned) highlights America's current extreme opposition to this, and the evaluation of the Vietnam War has become polarized.
Even when it comes to Hollywood, it's polarizing. The most left-wing one is Oliver Stone, who shot several Vietnam War movies and criticized everything in this war as a personal participant.
On the other hand, because of the aftermath of the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, the right wing dare not make movies like John Wayne's "Green Berets" in which all of them spoke favorably for the US military. But Stallone's "First Blood", in
After Rambo went berserk, I could not hide my feeling that this war should continue and I should go to Vietnam to kill the enemy. The subsequent sequels even featured special battles with the ultimate enemy of the Cold War...
…
Ronald's "Forrest Gump" focuses on the theme of real history seen from Forrest Gump's eyes. Therefore, he can neither oppose the war nor support it. Anyway, Forrest Gump's IQ is limited.
Nader's idea is not to make any evaluation, but to only present the facts at the time for you to see. As for your reaction after reading it, and which side you criticize, it can be said.
Therefore, when Ronald was filming the quarrel between Forrest Gump and Lieutenant Dan, as well as the scene of farewell with Babu, he paid great attention to designing this kind of neutral image scheduling. The tones and colors of the Vietnam War episode focused on one person who did not participate in the scene.
without any modifications.
There are neither colors that warm people's hearts, nor colors that turn Vietnam into an inner hell. It just truly presents the inner memories of a generation of veterans on the screen.
What Ronald shot this scene was the farewell scene between Forrest Gump and Barb. Although there was a wire hanging Barb to save effort, it was just part of the weight. Mykelti Williamson was also a big strong man, so Tom
After Hanks put him down, he still had to take a breath to recover.
"Hi, Babu..."
"Hi, Forrest..."
The close-up shot looked for the touching expression on the two people's faces. In this scene, Babu really knew that he was not going to die soon. On the way, he kept comforting Forrest Gump that it was okay, and he was also holding on to a palm leaf.
Covering the huge wound on the abdomen.
But A-Gump really didn't understand this. He thought he had rescued Babu safely. Behind him, Lieutenant Dan and several other extras were still pulling smoke bombs and giving instructions to the aircraft that had been called.
Don't explode in the direction you are in.
Purple smoke rose, and there was a haze behind Forrest Gump and Barb. It seemed that at this moment, the two of them had left Vietnam and returned to their hometown of Alabama, and were about to discuss how to start a business together.
"Forrest, why do these things happen to us?"
Barb has reached his deathbed. He just wants to talk to his best friend about his regrets. How could a boy from Alabama come to Vietnam and lose his life in this land that is said to be the best place in the world?
Where's the shrimp?
"Babu, you were shot..." A-Gump still looked like he didn't have enough IQ.
In this shot, Mykelti Williamson was facing the camera, and his head began to shake involuntarily, an obvious symptom of excessive blood loss.
Babu already knew that he didn't have much time left in his life. He said what he hoped most in his heart, "I want to go home!"
At this time, no matter how stupid Forrest Gump is, he still sees that his good friend Babu is leaving him, and Tom Hanks looks sad...
The camera slowly panned away from the face of Babu, who was about to die, and slowly moved to the face of Forrest Gump next to him.
In the viewfinder, there were only Forrest Gump's sad face, his breathing that was close to exhaustion, and Babu's blood-soaked hand that was still tightly clenched around Forrest Gump's shoulder. Due to long-term blood loss, one of Forrest Gump's shoulders was
, has been soaked with Babu’s blood...
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The camera continues to move forward, and the close-up of Tom Hanks changes to a close-up, and then becomes a large close-up, Babu's hand,
Finally tightened it.
The roar of a helicopter came over, and in the blurred background, the fire support called for by Lieutenant Dan finally arrived.
Ronald forgot to call stop for a moment. Everyone waited for a few seconds and confirmed that Tom Hanks and Mykelti Williamson had completed their performances. I don’t know why the director didn’t call stop yet. They all looked at
Got him.
"Kid, it's over..." Art director Polly Platt, still an old partner, noticed Ronald's abnormality, grabbed his hand, and whispered in his ear.
"Cut!"
"Oh, I thought you wanted me to continue holding McKelty, man, you are really heavy..." Tom Hanks joked, and everyone laughed and passed.
Only Ronald himself knew that the scene just now was almost the same as what his father and uncle experienced on the Vietnam battlefield...
A few days later, after filming the Vietnam battlefield scene on the golf course, a party was held to send off the actor Mykelti Williamson, the actor of Barb. His scene ended here.
"Thank you everyone, cheers to McKelty!" Ronald said some words of thanks, and everyone started to have a happy party. Many of the scenes in the past few days were in mud pits, watering, and marching among palm trees.
It took a lot of hard work from the actors to the staff to complete it.
This time, Ronald specially invited many people's relatives to come and reunite, so that everyone could relax and prepare for the upcoming scenes.
"Am I going to be able to shoot all over the country soon?"
Tom Hanks, his wife Rita Wilson, and several children were chatting with Ronald. After Forrest Gump left him again because Jenny and his mother died, he suddenly had the idea to start running. In the footage of running across the country
, there will be landmark buildings in various places, as well as various realistic light changes. Such shots are difficult to synthesize using computer special effects without making people feel strange.
Even if it is forced to be done, the various complicated processes are very time-consuming. Therefore, the crew is still preparing to go to various places for actual shooting. The shooting plan includes the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the Pacific Ocean in the west, as well as the magnificent mountains in the middle, and the characteristic roads of each state.
etc.
However, the entire movie had to leave enough budget and time for post-production special effects, allowing Hanks to fly to these locations to shoot one or two shots, which was actually at the end of the shooting schedule.
"We don't have much time to shoot. You still have a lot of scenes to shoot in Los Angeles. It would be best to have a stand-in who looks very similar to you and go running for you everywhere, so that we can find
A second crew to complete it."
"Hey, I remember in the script, Forrest Gump now grows a beard?"
"Yes, the beard will gradually grow longer..."
"Then you can try my brother Jim. He looks quite similar to me. With the beard attached, it's almost impossible to tell them apart."
Ronald got Jim Hanks's audition photo, and sure enough, the two brothers looked very similar, especially their longer foreheads and meaty noses. Only the mouth and teeth below the nose were similar to his brother's Tom.
An obvious distinction.
However, as long as the makeup artist uses various beards to disguise it, the dissimilar parts can be covered up.
Ronald asked Julia Taylor to help him check, and then set up an independent second film crew, equipped with photography, makeup and other important personnel, and flew to various locations across the country with Jim Hanks.
The whole team took a weekend off in Alabama and prepared to go to the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument in Washington DC to film the scene where Forrest Gump and Jenny reunited after the war.
Ronald left earlier than them and went to Crofton, Maryland on the weekend. The Renaissance Carnival held here every August to October has been getting better and better.
Alan Lewis is Julia Taylor's apprentice. He has been squatting here for more than a week, recruiting more than 200 extras, and preparing to go to Washington, DC, to film a movie.
"One of the themes this year is the hippie era. Many of the people who come to the carnival have a background in acting, from high school or college drama clubs, or losers from Broadway and Hollywood. What's even better is that many of them are
I brought my own hippie clothes, which fit the look of the time.”
In a temporary office rented here, Ronald saw many photos of the selected people, and many people were still waiting outside to be selected.
"Very good, we will go to Washington tomorrow. I have applied for two days of shooting time and two days of rehearsal time. Let these extras get used to the atmosphere of the anti-war rally first."
…
"Director, you are here. The week before, I went to the Washington Monument as a tourist to check on the situation. I was even asked by the SWAT team for questioning."
The person talking to Ronald was the person in charge of the special effects for this scene, Ken Ralston. The young man looked energetic and very dedicated. He had been here to survey the scene. He was almost found by the local police and the Presidential Guard Secret Service.
Trouble, but fortunately I took out the crew's ID and was not arrested.
"Tell me about your plan..."
Ronald walked to the other side of the large pool opposite the obelisk. Forrest Gump would express his views on the Vietnam War here.
"This is what I think. Here we will set up a rally podium, and the main camera will follow Forrest Gump, come up from below, and then pan over to directly face the thousands of people in the audience. This is a kind of experience for the audience.
A spectacle that is impossible to see normally.
Then, when we were filming with Mr. Hanks for the first time, we only filled the area off the stage with more than two hundred extras. Let them echo Forrest Gump, hold up signs of protest, and interact with Forrest Gump.
Shout some slogans and so on.
After the main scene was finished shooting, during the remaining day, I transported these people to other places around the pool and filled them in piece by piece. When the shooting was completed on the second day, we had the areas around the pool filled with people.
All the shots we needed, back in Los Angeles, we could overlay them all together.”
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Yes, do you need any positioning for the shot of Forrest Gump's speech?" Ronald looked at it and understood what to shoot.
However, he doesn't know much about the details of special effects production, so he has to listen to the experts here.
"The most important thing is the main shot. The audience in the audience must strictly follow our plan. The standing area and the range of movements should not affect other areas. This requires some practice."
"In this way, I will give you a day to rehearse. When Tom Hanks comes over, he will rehearse the sequence of shooting before and after the speech with your extras. When the practice reaches a level that you think you can do it, we will shoot this sequence...
…”
"Am I responsible?" Ken Ralston was a little surprised.
"Yes, it's you. The most professional person here for this special effects shot is you. Everyone, including Tom, and I will obey your command. You must let everyone know when and what to do. I only apply
The two days of shooting can’t be wasted at all.”
"Ah, oh, okay, I will make sure to do it completely, director. I will definitely be able to ensure that there will be no problems during the official filming..." Ken Ralston was very happy to have such a director who trusted him so much.
he.
"You contact Alan Lewis, a member of our casting team, and discuss how many people, how many men, how many women, what costumes, and what slogans you want, directly with him. As long as I see a character that fits the hippie protests of that year
The result of the rally.”
After explaining what was going on here, Ronald ran outside the White House. He even managed to get half a day to shoot some shots here.
It happened that little Doug and Donna also came here to play. Their honeymoon was very comfortable. They were two rich people and not as busy as Ronald. They really wanted to go wherever they wanted. I heard Aunt Karen say
After learning that this movie might be very good, the two of them came to DC to check out Cousin Ronald's latest masterpiece.
"Just so, Doug, you're not afraid of public speakers..."
Ronald was overjoyed when he saw his cousin and her husband. It just so happened that there was one missing TV reporter covering the speech of Commander-in-Chief Johnson.
Originally, the script was to directly film President Johnson's speech, but because that speech was not in line with the common values of the people in today's society, Ronald temporarily modified the script and changed it to a reporter doing live reporting outside the White House, leading to
Forrest Gump receives the Medal of Honor.
"Action!"
A portable camera started operating, and the little Doug in the lens was wearing a windbreaker and tie, much like a TV location reporter back then.
He is also a person in the political circle and is very skilled in public speaking.
"The ceremony has officially begun. The Commander-in-Chief first made a very sincere speech, talking about the necessity of expanding the war in Vietnam. Commander-in-Chief Johnson will also award the Medal of Honor to four soldiers who returned from Vietnam..."
"Cut!"
Ronald saw the image of little Doug in the portable news video recorder, which indeed looked very much like the reporter back then.
"Okay, I don't see that you still have the talent for acting."
"It's almost the same. Speaking to the camera seems to be more difficult than speaking to a large group of financial sponsors." Little Doug proudly showed off in front of his wife, making Donna burst into laughter.
"You guys have some fun first. I have something to do here, so I'll ask my assistants to accompany you." Ronald turned around and went back to his own business.
"Director, are Forrest Gump's military uniforms, these medals and honors correct?"
The costume team came over to ask Ronald for instructions.
"Let me see, the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Infantryman's shoulder strap, the Combat Infantryman Badge..."
Ronald was also familiar with this. He counted them one by one and asked, "What is this?" He did not recognize the service experience of the last two military representatives.
"This is the rifle expert badge, and commendation for outstanding units." Donna recognized it and reminded her.
"Ah, yes..." Ronald hugged Donna. These were all medals that his uncle had received when he was serving in the army. When Donna was young, she had recognized them one by one.
"This is my cousin, an expert in the US military's decorations and insignias..." Ronald introduced to the costume designer in a different way.
"Oh, no wonder. Do you think this recognition of an outstanding unit is right?" The costume designer thought that Donna was really an expert on Hollywood history.
"Most of them are correct, but for this outstanding unit commendation, since your protagonist is from the Army, you cannot use the Marine Corps' Naval Unit Commendation, but should use the Army's Outstanding Unit Medal..."
In this way, Forrest Gump's military uniform was prepared, waiting for the next big drama to take place.