The Charm of the Villain
Now that the copyright that Japan wants to obtain has already been obtained, Levi has nothing more to do. At the following Tokyo Film Festival, he showed his face as a special guest, meaning he completed his work.
Of course, although the film festival is not an important thing, he still has to do other things at the film festival. He didn't forget other things he had to do: first, he asked people to start contacting South Korea and planned to make some investments in South Korea in the film industry.
It was said to be an investment, but in fact, it was more about transferring his special effects company to South Korea, using the lower price in South Korea to reduce the cost of the movie.
The Koreans are very happy with his investment: their policies have been gradually adapted in the past few years, and they are trying to introduce capital and technology to develop their own film industry.
Although they are very clear that other countries look at them and invest in them because their market is small, competing with really big countries is impossible, and they can only be a link in the industrial chain.
However, being able to become a link is better than not having anything.
While doing this, on the other hand, he also made people contact Sammo Hung and also gave him some suggestions. If Sammo Hung really shoots good movies, then he will also help them distribute them abroad.
In addition to these, he also had some exchanges with filmmakers from China at the film festival. Because he had filmed The Lives of Others before, the impression of Levi in China was not very good. Levi also felt that he couldn't afford to be serious with those sick-minded guys, and it was no big deal to apologize - his company's big-budget movie was about to be released, and he couldn't afford to contradict them.
However, considering that the influence he caused in the past is still there, he will not go to China this time. He will first say hello to the people he met at the film festival and go there when he has the opportunity.
***
And in the end, Levi did not forget what he promised Sony before leaving. He brought a director from Japan, Takashi Shimizu, who has just been a director recently.
This director just finished his career as an assistant director in 1997, but last year, he has already received praise from many insiders and even won the production of Midnight Ring. The filmmaker Takashi Ichinose valued him very much.
Now that the short film he made has just been released, he is also expected to become a master of horror films in the future. Some TV stations have even contacted him to shoot TV movies. When Levi heard he was shooting the TV movie The Grudge, he was chosen immediately. And Levi thinks it is not bad to let Takashi Shimizu go to the United States earlier.
Asian horror films are good at creating atmosphere, but they are a little weak in the narrative, while American films have a fair and smooth narrative, which is an advantage, but the atmosphere of terror depends entirely on blood plasma, which is its weakness.
Shimizu Takashi himself can be said to be a master of creating atmosphere and shaping horror. However, in terms of narration, there are also the usual weaknesses of Japanese filmmakers, which seem slightly confusing. It is also good for him to let him go to the United States to study. Now that he has yet to make a movie, it wouldn't be bad if he learned more before doing it.
Moreover, Levi knew very well that the TV movie he was preparing now was the earliest Grudge. It would be a pity if the movie The Grudge was made into a TV version; Levi also hopes to make a film version available as soon as possible.
***
After finishing all this, Levi is ready to return to the United States. It has been almost half a year since his last film was completed, and he has had enough rest. It's time to go back to the United States and do some serious business.
And now, on the Canadian side, the X-Men filming has also ended, and editing has begun. Even if it takes longer to prepare for a movie with more special effects, it will definitely be released in the first half of next year. Now, Levi has to go back and see how the movie is doing.
Of course, he doesn't have to worry too much about it. There are people from the company watching over there anyway. Regardless of Nolan's level, the editing room in the company has always been managed by Clark, and he absolutely trusts Clark.
However, to Levi's surprise, after returning to the United States, Clark also found him immediately, and there was some unconcealable excitement in his expression.
"You should see our movie sometime; it's pretty good. I didn't think before that the idea of digging Magneto and Mystique would be so good: it didn't feel like it when it was filmed; now that it's edited, it feels very different."
Clarke's joy is not unreasonable: Superhero movies have always given people a shallow impression: because the protagonists in superhero movies are relatively tall and complete, superheroes are not allowed to have too many dark sides, and it is naturally difficult to make characters fuller. If the characters are not full enough, the movie will naturally not look good.
But this kind of movie can also find a breakthrough: the excavation of the villain can make up for this. Heroes don't need to have a dark side, but villains must. Their humanity is more complex, their images are fuller, and as movie characters, they are also more attractive.
In addition to superheroes in comics, super criminals are an attractive place. Comics realized this very early on. They have created many classic villains, such as Joker and Lex Luthor, whose characters are extremely popular. Like superheroes, these villains have their own fans and can even drive sales.
In contrast, Marvel has not done a particularly good job in this regard, and they have been somewhat dismissive and sloppy in their handling of their classic villains.
In fact, the Mandarin, Magneto, and Kingpin in their comics are also quite attractive villains. But they didn't dig it themselves, and sometimes, they could even let these people be cannon fodder.
Since they want to make a movie, they must pay attention to all available resources, and the villain is also a resource, so they must pay attention to it. Whether you pay attention to the villain also has a significant influence.
Naturally, the Joker in The Dark Knight is the most successful example of focusing on the villain. That role was quite successful.
The best example of ignoring the villain is Iron Man 3, which made the Mandarin a joke, made the audience extremely indignant and made Marvel release another short film announcing that it was a fake Mandarin...
These were mentioned by Levi and Nolan, but they didn't expect that Nolan would gain a fan so soon after the filming.
"It seems that you have your own views on superhero movies now... If you have your own ideas, it can be reflected in the editing." Levi is still very satisfied with Clark's changes, and he also hopes Clark can change even more.
"The editing of the movie is also very good. I hardly interfered. Director Nolan is a person who knows the art of editing very well, and his movies are edited very well."
"You didn't interfere much?" Levi said to this, somewhat surprised.
"Of course. Every director has his own views on his own movies. The editing of movies should reflect the director's will. I can cut your movies because I know your thoughts. If I try to edit other people's movies and they don't want to get involved, I may not be able to cut it well."
There is some truth to this statement, but after all, this is just a commercial film, and Levi was surprised to get Clark's evaluation, "I thought, You don't pay that much attention to commercial films."
"Some people can make literary and artistic films popular, and naturally, some people can make commercial films contain profound truths. Didn't you tell me these things? Director Nolan can get your attention, and I also paid attention to the quality of his film. He likes to add some thought to commercial films: although it is superficial, it is better than ordinary commercial films. Since he is willing to do this, I naturally have to respect him."
Clarke's statement made Levi stunned. Unexpectedly, Clark remembered what he said quite clearly. Moreover, the characteristics of Nolan's films are also very good. Although they are less thoughtful and not very advanced, they are indeed an improvement compared to ordinary commercial films.
"In that case, I can wait for the movie to come out?"
Levi also trusted Nolan's editing level and laughed when he heard Clark say that.
"You can't say that Alexander and the other side are promoting the movie. They hope that the promotion of this movie will be done enough so that the movie will have a better box office. You also know that the investment of this movie is 70 million plus the cost of publicity will be hundreds of millions. If there is no box office of 300 million, it will be a failure. If you want a high box office, publicity is indispensable. You came back at the right time and can help Alexander with the propaganda."
This aspect is also true - publicity is also an essential part of a movie, especially for a movie that wants to have a high box office; publicity is extremely important.
It's just that this job is not what Levi wants to do now.
"I originally said that if you have nothing to do here, the two of us can discuss the preparations for our new movie..."
Levi was halfway through, and Clark interrupted him, "Are you going to shoot a new movie? When? Do you have the script? Can I read it?"
"I was planning to discuss it with you. Of course, I will show it to you. But didn't you say we still have to prepare for publicity?"
"It's not that difficult to promote a movie." Clark immediately forgot what he had said just now, "Some jobs can be done by anyone, and some jobs can only be done by you and me, and now, I hope to do the work that only you and I can do!"
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
Cherif Doghri
Scott DePaepe
MMMCMXCIX, or 3,999
Britanna
Mandy G
Adam LV
You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.