Chapter 956： Don't disappoint James

Weta Studio near Wellington, New Zealand.

After the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "King Kong", this company co-founded by Peter Jackson, his friends Richard Taylor and Jimmy Selkirk, has become the second only to Industrial Light and Magic in the Hollywood industry. Special effects studio.

, in particular, created the motion capture shooting of the classic character of Smeggo, which is well deserved to be the first in the world.

"Avatar" directed by James Cameron, most of the special effects production, basically completed in the Weta studio.

This film is the same as "Spartan Three Hundred Warriors", the actors do not need to take any location shots.

Ronan came to the crew again after nearly half a year, on the one hand to check the progress of the project, on the other hand, he also urged James Cameron to try his best to complete the film within the planned time.

"A period of time was wasted early."

In the studio, James Cameron did not personally enter the battle, but introduced some basic information to Ronan: "The crew has made technical adjustments in special effects and motion capture to better achieve the effects I require. "

Ronan slowly nodded, and while listening to James Cameron’s words, his eyes were watching the shooting.

is filming a motion capture scene of the heroine. Jessica Alba wears a special costume full of origin capture devices and makes various actions in front of the green screen.

Andy Serkins, who directed the filming, would stop filming from time to time and told Jessica Alba a few words.

Ronan asked, "What about the financial situation?"

James Cameron said directly: "I didn't dare to say before, now I dare to assure you that I can complete "Avatar" with quality and quantity within the time limit of the second budget."

The initial production budget of "Avatar" was US$200 million. After an additional investment, the total production budget reached US$230 million.

Among the current production costs of all movies in Hollywood, this ranks among the top few. The most expensive movie is Warner Bros. and DC Comics' Superman Returns.

Even after another decade, "Superman Returns" may still be the highest cost of Hollywood production.

Ronan got the guarantee from James Cameron, completely relieved, and said: "After I return to Los Angeles, I will notify the Embassy Pictures and choose the schedule for "Avatar"." He still pays more attention to James Cameron. The director asked, "There is no problem with the release in 2008, right."

James Cameron said with certainty: "In the first half of 2008, I promise to finish all productions of the film."

Although he is a famous bouncer, James Cameron is sure to say so, Ronan nodded slightly and said: "Well, the schedule is initially set for the holiday schedule of 2008, and it will be from the Thanksgiving season until Christmas. Between holidays."

"Titanic" was released during this time period. James Cameron had a special good impression of this time period and immediately said: "Ronan, you are the master."

Ronan has made a decision, as long as there are no major surprises, "Avatar" will be released during the 2008 holiday season.

It is possible to recover the investment earlier, and the financial pressure on Relativity Entertainment will be less.

Not to mention anything else, in a year's time, hundreds of millions of dollars in funds, if only the interest is calculated, it is an astronomical figure.

According to the normal plan, including production costs and publicity and distribution costs, the total investment of Relativity Entertainment in a single project of "Avatar" will definitely exceed 500 million US dollars.

Of course, this film will also bring extremely terrifying income returns to Relativity Entertainment.

is highly likely to become the single most profitable single film project in Relativity Entertainment.

The shooting came to an end, and James Cameron accompanied Ronan to take a look at the advanced equipment dedicated to shooting.

In order to shoot this "Avatar", James Cameron made many years of technical preparations. Only two documentaries were shot, all for the purpose of technology to realize the picture in his mind.

Without years of technical preparation, without joint technology development with Sony Electronics and IMAX, and without the days and nights on the ocean, there would be no shooting of this "Avatar".

To some extent, this is also the most unlikely film to be copied, because the technology and patents are in the hands of James Cameron.

In this studio, a group of the most advanced film shooting and production technologies in the world are gathered.

For example, the camera equipment worn by Jessica Alba automatically captures her facial expressions during the shooting.

This is a capture head-mounted device specially developed by Weta Studios at the request of James Cameron. When shooting, each actor who performs "performance capture" wears a camera device on his head.

The core of this headset is a miniature high-definition camera that is only a few inches away from the actor's face. It can record the most subtle expression changes on the actor's face with a wide-angle lens, and transmit 95% of the actor's facial movements to the computer. Virtual characters make the final CG characters generated by computers no different from real actors.

Jessica Alba came over to say hello to Ronan: "It's been a long time, Ronan."

"Hello, Jesse." Ronan nodded slightly to her and asked, "Is the shooting going well?"

Jessica Alba obviously wanted to get closer, and immediately replied, "A very special experience. I have made similar movies before, but it is so different from "Avatar". "

She smiled sweetly at Ronan: "What impressed me the most was a scene in which my character traveled through the jungle. James told me in advance the atmosphere of the whole scene, the visibility, the temperature, how high the trees, and the grass. How deep is it, how many roads I have to walk in total, how I walk, what kind of creatures I meet on the road, what kind of actions I need to do... All these need to be imagined by me, and then made in the studio. Actions."

Ronan looked at the green-screen studio, and similar performances will gradually become a skill that Hollywood actors must master.

even more exaggerated, some movies may no longer need actors.

He remembers very clearly that there was only one actor in Disney's "Fantasy Forest" from beginning to end, and the real beast version of "The Lion King" was made entirely of CG.

Jessica Alba’s smile was sweet like chocolate: “It’s so weird, and when I finally found out that the action I made could fit the virtual computer screen, even though I had already I have experienced this shooting experience many times, but what I have to say is that "Avatar" is the most incredible one I have ever done!"

Ronan smiled and nodded slightly: "Jesse, I have seen you take some pictures, and you performed very well."

It can be said that motion capture conceals some of the shortcomings of Jessica Alba as an actor, especially in acting.

"Thank you." Jessica Alba said, "Your recognition has rewarded my efforts."

Ronan looked at the rumors of the Latino actress and said, "Work hard, don't let James down."

If it weren't for James Cameron, he wouldn't be able to use Jessica Alba as the heroine of "Avatar".

Jessica Alba said: "I have been working hard. I took a break some time ago and returned to Los Angeles to participate in an audition for Marvel Entertainment."

Ronan realized that after having said so much, Jessica Alba estimated that the key point was the following few sentences.

Ordinary girls who enter Hollywood will either become human beings or become crazy like Lindsay Lohan.

"Oh?" Ronan asked deliberately, "Which film did you audition for?"

Jessica Alba said: "The heroine of Thor, Dr. Jane Foster."

Ronan replied casually: "Yes, your temperament is very suitable."

"Really?" Jessica Alba showed some surprise.

Ronan smiled: "Kevin Fitch is in charge of the audition. You have to ask him for details."

That’s how it is said, but Jessica Alba’s role as Jane Foster is better than Natalie Portman. That Jewish actress is really not suitable for being a vase actor, nor can he reach it. The simplest vase actor requirements.

In that "Thor" once, all the limelight of Jane Foster was robbed by female assistants.

In the words of a former netizen: Obviously the two big murderers are more suitable, but the hammer brother chooses three without products...

Maybe Hammer doesn't like women who are fiercer than him?

Whether or not Jessica Alba passes the audition, Ronan will never use Natalie Portman on the heroine of "Thor"If the actress has box office appeal, It can be considered, but her own box office appeal is completely negligible.

In fact, in the early days of Gwyneth Paltrow, to Natalie Portman, and then to the menstrual aunts in the later period, it is not difficult to find a uniquely interesting thing. Marvel’s female characters particularly like to use the aunt type. actress.

Even if the age is not an aunt, the appearance and figure must be at the aunt level.

chatted with Jessica Alba for a while, Ronan went to the next CG special effects studio under the leadership of James Cameron.

The CGI technology used in this movie is brand new, and all the equipment is built for this movie. James Cameron hopes that "Avatar" will become a revolution in CGI technology and become a choice for film production in the future. .

James Cameron’s fascination and fanaticism for computer special effects are well known.

Ronan knows exactly what the biggest selling point of this movie is, and he also gave James Cameron absolute support in the production and use of special effects.

Something like the abuse of CG and the accumulation of special effects criticized by the outside world is nothing in Ronan's eyes.

Perhaps in the eyes of some people, movies are always black and white silent films before they are called art.

In the afternoon, when Ronan was about to leave the Weta studio, he met the New Zealand fat man and the famous director Peter Jackson.

This is the largest shareholder of Weta Studios.