Chapter 522 Independent Director
When Gus Van Sant arrived at the middle school, it was just past noon, the sun was lazily shining down, but it did not seem hot at all, and the remaining spring had not had time to completely dissipate. of refreshing.
This is a good weather for filming a movie.
Gus decided to take a short walk to bask in the sun and collect his thoughts. He was thinking about the casting of the "Elephant" project. Slowing down could make the clues in his mind clear. stand up.
Actually, Gus has no special requirements——
You don’t need to be beautiful or ostentatious, just be ordinary, just like an ordinary middle school student; of course, the premise is that you are not afraid of being photographed, and you can still remain comfortable in front of the camera, ignoring the existence of the camera and insisting on yourself.
This is enough.
However, Gus also knows that this request often stumps most children. It is not an easy task to pretend not to realize that the camera is filming them. This is Gus's main consideration. The reason why the roles are still cast by professional actors.
He plans to shoot it in the form of a pseudo-documentary, with real daily life on campus as the core; but the essence is still a drama film, which requires the cooperation of actors and the invisibility of the camera——
Cannot be detected.
Thinking about it, my thoughts spread out.
From the selection of actors to the setting of the camera to the composition of the picture and the trajectory of the movement and so on.
Spatial position is a magical part of the movie lens. The cleaner and concise the movie, the more it tests the director's skills.
How to present the character's position in space, a small existence in a wide space, or a crowded and oppressive space in a narrow space; how to present the subjective feeling brought by the camera perspective, a condescending overlooking or a bottom-up looking up ; How to present the relationship between characters in the space, intimacy or alienation, confrontation or dependence.
And so on.
A perspective, a lens.
These are often already conveying the director's ideas, and the narrative is not only completed through lines and scripts.
Last time, when filming "Jerry", Gus used a shooting method; this time, he planned to use the experience of "Jerry" to try something different, which also meant that the position of the lens and scheduling are particularly important.
Gus hopes to use the lens to show the undercurrent hidden under the calmness, which is not only loneliness, but also a repressed emotion.
People often need to see blood, brains, and corpses to realize that something is happening; however, those invisible oppression, exclusion, attacks, and cold violence are always there The moment is being staged, and the absence of blood does not mean the absence of injuries. Even in daily life, there are undercurrents everywhere.
This was the cornerstone on which Gus conceived the entire film.
Because of this, the relaxed and natural state of the actors is even more important. The moment they realize the presence of the camera, the spatial relationship between the lens and the characters may collapse, causing the entire film to appear The image loses credibility.
In the movie "Elephant", the presence of actors is not important, because there is almost no difficulty in acting, just be yourself; but it is also very important, how to look on camera Showing your true and natural self in front of others is the ultimate challenge for every actor.
It was at this time that Gus noticed the figure on the playground -
A blond boy, sitting quietly on the swing, his body swaying gently in the breeze; With his head leaning against the rope, he couldn't see the features on his face, but he seemed to be able to see the golden sunlight swirling around him lightly.
A little lonely. A little broken. A little sad.
It’s not so much sadness or pain as it is...a kind of thinking.
Immersed in his own world, he allowed his thoughts to extend into the depth and latitude of the universe, exploring the mysteries of time and space, and exploring the meaning of life.
The movie scene suddenly appeared in Gus' mind.
Involuntarily, Gus stepped lightly, like a birdwatcher in the dense forest, carefully hiding his whereabouts and observing the habits of the birds. He knew that he should not get close, but his heart was beating uncontrollably. .
However.
Gus clumsily stepped on a stone, the sole of his foot slipped slightly, and the calm air was broken.
Oops!
Gus:...
He froze in place like a wooden man, staring blankly at the blond boy——
It's him. It's actually him?
Gus was stunned.
“Hey, director.”
The moment Gus was stunned, the blond boy was the first to say hello.
The person in front of him was Anson Wood.
This is a face that has swept the entire Hollywood in the past few years. If anyone doesn’t know him, the only explanation is that he lives in a closed paradise and completely cuts off all contact with social networks.
Otherwise, how could we not recognize him?
This is also Gus' biggest worry.
At this moment, Anson is so proud of the spring breeze that he has seen all the flowers in Chang'an in one day. The whole of Hollywood may not be able to fit into his eyes, but he ended up starring in such a small-budget experimental independent film. ——
Are you sure?
After HBO gave the proposal, Gus asked around in detail.
In the end, it was Diane Keaton, Gus’ old friend and the producer of “Elephant” who made the final decision.
"Gus, have you ever thought that when you were speculating and picking on him, he nodded and agreed to star? Doesn't this fact itself mean something?"
One sentence Wake up the dreamer.
After careful consideration, Gus decided to give Anson and himself a chance.
Before coming to Portland, Gus imagined countless disaster situations -
This is his character. He is pessimistic by nature. He often sees the negative side of things and always looks at the negative side of things. Prepare for death.
Gus’s thoughts on life and the world can often be seen in his movies, from “Jerry” to “Elephant”, which can be seen as Gus’s thoughts on death.
However, nothing happened as Gus imagined it.
There were no reporters, no fans, no crowds of people cheering in front and behind.
No agent, not even an assistant.
Anson was sitting alone on the swing, swaying gently like a duckweed. He was no different from other students, it was just an ordinary afternoon.
......That's it?
In a rare moment, Gus froze on the spot, his brain completely unable to keep up with his thoughts.
But the strange thing is that at this moment, Gus remembered something:
Anson should be very photogenic.
There is such a kind of actor who has a unique temperament. As long as they appear in the camera or on the big screen, the atmosphere of the whole scene will naturally change slightly, making people want to take a closer look. explore.
In Gus’s impression, Anson is handsome. For God’s sake, the overwhelming news is praising Anson’s handsomeness and chicness; but Gus has never seen Anson’s temperament——
Perhaps, neither "The Princess Diaries" nor "Spider-Man" captured this quality of Ansem?
Gus thought it must have been special to have Anson on camera.
There were so many thoughts, but the first words out of Gus's mouth were -
"Hair, crazy hair!"
Anson has short golden brown hair, usually It's close to brown, but it will reveal a light golden color under the sun; however, Anson's head is bright and dazzling bright gold in front of him.
What's going on?
There was so much information that Gus had some indigestion.
(End of this chapter)