Chapter 1,256 The selling point under the cloak of horror is warmth
The movie "The Sixth Sense" is also quite special for Li Yi.
First of all, this is a suspenseful film. Different from the previous "Warm and Inner Light" which was cloaked in suspense, it is actually an out-and-out romance film. "The Sixth Sense" is a suspenseful thriller.
piece.
The classification of movies may not be so clear, but it’s okay if you say it’s a feature film.
But there is a big difference in the director's shooting techniques.
The most essential thing about "The Sixth Sense", or the most brilliant thing, is the big twist at the end.
The most difficult part of this movie is how to create that kind of atmosphere. All kinds of foreshadowing need to be laid in the front, but it will not make people guess it all at once. Only in this way will the mystery be revealed at the end.
Huge contrast in people.
But at the same time, it doesn’t make people feel abrupt, but gives people a feeling of sudden enlightenment.
For this reason, this is a test of the director's skills. Although Li Yi has the original film as a reference, it also requires a lot of work.
Studying how to arrange the shots will make people confused, but they can still be watched. People are doubtful, but they can't guess. This is a degree that he must master.
The ultimate effect to be achieved is that at the final reversal, all the previous foreshadowing begins to become natural.
This is not easy!
Li Yi spent a long time to write this script. Of course, Li Yi also tried and sent this script to Zhao Guangming, but the result was no surprise. Zhao Guangming just read it once and said directly, this
A movie that clearly includes Piao might be released at the beginning of the new millennium, but at this stage, it is impossible to pass censorship.
Li Yi was not too surprised by this.
It was just a test for him. He planned to shoot this movie in Hollywood.
After preparing the script, Li Yi made an appointment with James Dean.
As the helmsman of Dean Pictures, James Dean himself has read countless films. After reading the script given to him by Li Yi, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Lee, this is really a surprise!" James Dean said exaggeratedly.
The core of this story reflects one of the mainstream values since the 1980s - family, affection and communication.
For a feature film like this, the biggest selling point, or in other words, the core that supports the audience to go to the theater to watch the movie, must be clear, because the feature film needs to achieve as much emotional resonance as possible for the audience.
Obviously "The Sixth Sense" is definitely not a purely commercial movie, but this movie also has some characteristics of a commercial movie.
Although "The Sixth Sense" was written as a thriller and suspense theme, in essence, it should be classified more into family ethics, which is definitely a good thing for this movie.
It’s not that thrillers are bad, but to be honest, the audience for thrillers is actually relatively limited.
The selling point of "The Sixth Sense" has never been horror or supernatural, but rather lies in family, family ties and the biggest social problem that has always existed, the problem of communication between different age groups.
The biggest difference from China is that Hollywood has cultivated the habit of parents taking their children to watch movies for many years.
For this type of movie, regardless of the supernatural elements, in fact, if this movie is produced by Dean Music, the rating will definitely not be too harsh. After all, the movie itself is not too sensitive.
picture.
If you are in China, don't look at current animated movies, family movies have pretty good box office, but in fact, family audiences have never been the real mainstream audience in China, and the real mainstream audience has always been the young class.
But it’s different here in North America. What’s the top-grossing movie? Family-friendly movies!
Not only at the box office, but also in terms of peripherals!
Of course, for James Dean, there is another very critical issue, that is, the investment in this type of film is not large. As long as there are no disasters, profits are completely predictable!
What's more, the director is a great director like Li Yi. Although Li Yi has always been involved in the Chinese film industry, it does not mean that his movies have no audience in North America.
In fact, the original "The Truman Show" is still unforgettable for many fans.
Li Yi's later films also had many amazing works. Although due to cultural reasons, many films failed to achieve high box office in Hollywood and North America, their reputations were almost unanimously good.
And this is just the beginning of a collaboration, isn't it?
"This is a very North American story, Lee. I have to say that you were born for Hollywood!" James Dean said with a smile.
Of course, Li Yi just listened to this.
No matter how good Hollywood is, for Li Yi, it's just like that. He is always Chinese, and his roots and career foundation have always been in China.
It's okay to come here once in a while, but if you really want him to take root here, you'd be sacrificing the foundation for the end.
The two soon started chatting about the movie. First of all, the crew didn't need to think too much. For Li Yi or Dean Pictures, this was a small matter, and this movie didn't involve it.
What special effects elements and so on, so the final key lies in the choice of actors.
Speaking of movies, the two protagonists of this movie cannot be avoided, the little boy Cole and the psychiatrist.
It is not difficult to find a suitable actor for the role of a psychiatrist in Hollywood, but the difficulty lies in the role of the little boy Cole.
Unlike other children's movies, Cole can be said to be a very special presence in this movie.
It is by no means an easy thing to bring such a unique boy's performance to life. After making movies for so many years, Li Yi also knows that animals and children are the two most uncontrollable entities in movie shooting. It is difficult for you to tell them
The content that needs to be expressed, especially by children, can directly destroy a movie when they perform poorly, and can save a movie when they perform well.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Even though Li Yi has worked with many child actors, in fact, in those movies, the roles of children are always relatively "normal"!
The things they need to express are often more life-like. Even the shots of strange spirits, injuries, etc. are all relatively ordinary.
But in "The Sixth Sense", Cole's character is difficult to control.
Another thing is that after all, Li Yi is not familiar with many actors in Hollywood, let alone child actors.
However, what Li Yi didn't expect was that James Dean actually laughed when he heard Li Yi's worries.
"Li, do you know Harris Kane?" James Dean suddenly asked a question that confused Li Yi.
"Who? Sorry, I don't know this person, who is he?" Of course Li Yi knew that James Dean would not ask such a question out of nowhere, but he was still a little confused and curious.
"Hollywood's new child star, of course, the reason why I mentioned him is because I think he may be the best actor for this little Cole boy." James Dean said with a smile.
"Oh? What's the reason?" Li Yi frowned slightly, feeling a little confused.
"Because of his upbringing!" James Dean said.
"Harris Kane was once an orphan. She had been living in an orphanage before being adopted by her current adoptive mother!" James Dean said.
"This doesn't seem to mean anything, does it?" Li Yi shook his head and asked doubtfully.
"Of course, this is certainly not enough for me to think that he is suitable for the role of Cole. You know, when a little boy like him becomes famous, countless people will take the initiative to dig out information about his past.
According to the information found by the media and the information he himself revealed in an interview afterwards, from the time he was sensible, everyone in the orphanage except the old director thought he was a freak and no one wanted to be with him.
As a friend, no one wants to play with him.
Because at that time, this child star, who was hailed by Hollywood as the most talented actor in the new century, had a somewhat withdrawn personality and a somewhat unconventional behavior. Of course, for a child who had lived in a cold and indifferent environment since childhood,
Especially seeing that all his peers are being adopted, but no one cares about him. To be honest, it is really not easy for such a child to become a famous child star in Hollywood."
"When he was interviewed, he also revealed that he had fantasized more than once about whether someone would help him get out of this predicament."
"Until he met his current adoptive mother, under the careful guidance, care and care of his adoptive mother, he completed a magnificent transformation and became the most famous child star today." James Dean said.
Li Yi finally understood why James Dean said that this young actor named Harris Kane would be very suitable for the role of Cole.
Because to a certain extent, his experience can be said to be very similar to the story of the movie.
The same person lives in a world that is not understood by others, the same person is considered a freak, and the same person is eager for someone to help him get out of trouble.
The only difference is that in the movie, it was the psychiatrist who helped Cole get out of the predicament, but in reality, it was his adoptive mother who helped Harris Kane get out of the predicament.
Of course, although judging from his experience, he is indeed quite suitable, but Li Yi definitely needs to meet him in person.
"Okay, this is really an interesting coincidence. Okay, James, put him on the first candidate list for the protagonist Cole!" Li Yi nodded.
"Of course, this is just my personal opinion. You are the director and you have the final say!" James Dean said with profound meaning.
This is also what Li Yi needs.
Because this is Hollywood, the environment is completely different from that in China.
Although they had collaborated earlier and Li Yi had obtained the greatest power, including the final editing rights, he still needed James Dean to express his stance.
Li Yi is actually quite domineering in this aspect, or in other words, he doesn't like people to dictate to his movies.
Therefore, some things must be made clear.
For James Dean, he did not need to think too much about this movie, and he gave Li Yi the greatest authority because he knew that this was the basis for cooperation between them.
In fact, there are too many Hollywood film companies that want to cooperate with famous directors like Li Yi.
Why?
Is it because there are no good directors in Hollywood?
of course not.
On the one hand, it is because Li Yi is famous enough that even though he has rarely been in Hollywood these years, everyone can see the rise of the Chinese-language film market.
And Li Yi is the biggest winner in the Chinese film market, and what surprises them even more is that Li Yi has never failed, which is terrible.
Another key aspect is that the biggest difference between Li Yi's films and those of today's big directors is that he never pursues big productions. Looking at his past works, most of them are small-budget.
They all use small things to make a big difference.
This is an exaggeration.
This is why James Dean wants to cooperate with Li Yi so much.
I want to recreate Li Yi's miracle of using small things to achieve great results in the Chinese film market.
Soon, the project of "The Sixth Sense" was greenlit at Dean Films under the personal leadership of James Dean.
The investment scale of this movie is not large. Of course, it cannot really be a low-cost movie. After all, although Li Yi is not as well-known as those top directors in Hollywood, Li Yi's salary has always been high.
Low.
However, these are all details.
Although this movie will be led by Dean Pictures, the company behind Li Yi will also invest in the film, with each party taking half of the share, and the final distribution will naturally be handed over to Dean Pictures.
As for the male lead, after final agreement, we chose Li Yi's old acquaintance, the Australian actor Rogers, who had collaborated with Li Yi on the filming of "Moving forward with a heavy load".
Rogers has developed well in Hollywood in recent years. Although he has not become a top actor, he has successfully established a foothold in Hollywood.
In fact, there were several candidates, but Li Yi finally chose Rogers.
On the one hand, this is because Rogers is indeed a good match in all aspects, and on the other hand, it is also because Rogers is an acquaintance of Li Yi. Although they have not interacted much in the past few years, they still have some contact occasionally.
Use it cooked rather than raw, which has always been Li Yi's preference.
At the same time, Rogers also cherishes this opportunity. Although he has established a firm foothold in Hollywood in recent years, it is difficult to obtain any good resources.
For this reason, after being selected, he began to prepare for this role. He was about to play a child psychologist, so he also needed to have some experience.
According to Li Yi, he at least needs to know and understand the work content and methods of child psychologists, etc.
Naturally, Rogers would not reject this. In fact, when it comes to professionalism, many big-name actors in Hollywood are hard to say in life, but many of them are still very dedicated when it comes to their movie roles.
