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Published at 3rd of November 2021 10:06:56 AM


Chapter 614: 614

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In the Hollywood film production industry, the script is the most basic and simplest link. It only requires a typewriter and a creator. It is almost a zero-cost creative link, which also attracts a large number of creations. By.

According to statistics, Hollywood can produce 50,000 scripts each year. This does not include the works of students, enthusiasts, and amateur screenwriters who are not registered. However, among these scripts, there are only less than 2,000 works per year. In the end, only less than 300 works could be put into filming when the project was approved. As for the final screenings in theaters, the proportion was less than 0.3%.

On the other hand, for film companies, they must screen the scripts and select the scripts that are suitable for shooting into movies and can make money. This is an extremely difficult process that can only be done manually, so every film company has Set up a film and television pre-development manager, their daily job is to select projects worth investing in from a large number of scripts, and they need to read dozens or even hundreds of scripts a day.

In addition to fierce competition, film companies will stay away from new screenwriters who are not represented. Because they have no official channels to confirm whether these scripts involve plagiarism or plagiarism. As a result, this also makes the channels for film and television pre-development managers to obtain fresh scripts become old and old, and it is difficult to break through innovation.

On the one hand, Hollywood studios have a headache because they can't find excellent scripts; on the other hand, talented screenwriters are distressed because their works are not appreciated.

The "screenwriting blacklist" was born under this background. In 2005, a film and television pre-development manager Franklin-Leonard (Franklin-Leonard) finally couldn't stand the low work efficiency anymore. They not only needed a lot of reading. , And repeated reading. Many scripts are circulated among major production companies. After coming and going, repeated reading of scripts is a high probability event. This not only consumes a lot of energy, but also has little effect. It is simply looking for a needle in a haystack. This Christmas, Franklin definitely took the initiative.

At that time, Franklin sent e-mails to 80 of his colleagues, hoping that they could list the best scripts that he had seen that year but had not invested in filming for the time being. In exchange, he would also provide these colleagues with the list submitted by others. Among these lists, Franklin made a "black list" based on everyone's recommendations. A few days later, this list spread all over Hollywood and became the most fashionable Christmas present in the industry.

After these years of development, the "blacklist" has gradually formed a system, with more and more people participating in the selection. This year's blacklist, the number of industry insiders who participated in the selection has reached 500 people, which is enough to represent the aesthetics of the entire Hollywood grade. These five hundred people will provide Franklin with the best scripts they have seen in the year before Christmas. Franklin will select 70 to 100 scripts based on the number of votes, and sort out the author’s contact information and affiliation. Brokerage companies and other materials form a so-called blacklist file.

This blacklist is very popular among people in the industry. First of all, it is selected by industry professionals, and the quality is guaranteed. Second, the entire list does not involve commercial interests, and it does not care about the reputation and status of the screenwriter. The only requirement for being on the list is to be recommended by at least six industry insiders.

So far, the excellent scripts found on the blacklist include "Queen", "Juno", "Inflatable Doll Love", "King's Speech", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Social Network", " "Little Sunshine Beauty", "In the Clouds", "Fighter"; and in the not-too-distant future, there will be "Escape from Tehran", "Fantasy Drifting of Juvenile School", "Burst Drummer", "Nebraska", "Fox Hunter", "American Sniper" and so on.

It is worth mentioning that Andy's "Rescued Jiang Ge" submitted to Lan Li last time is also a work on the blacklist.

From this we can see the value of the blacklisted works. Although the quality of the finished product is still to be discussed, it is undeniable that this has been adequately guaranteed in terms of the basic script, especially for the Oscar series who pay attention to scripts. This is especially true for art films.

A closer look at the blacklist shows that most of the scripts above are not large-scale movies, but scripts centered on the inner feelings of the characters. In other words, small cost, small investment, small production, and small format. The script occupies the majority.

The main reason is that the script of a commercial movie has a fixed routine, a three-stage structure, a combination of beginnings and turns, and a climax/tide paving, and even the brewing of a small climax/tide, all of which have templates.

The Marvel series of movies headed by "Avengers" is a typical representative. It is even rigorous to shake a baggage in three minutes, promote a plot in five minutes, and turn in fifteen minutes. This is all traceable. Their script is the most representative business template.

Take a closer look, the Marvel series of movies prefer to use unknown directors, new directors, and second-line directors. It is more common to change directors for each sequel, because they don’t need a director who is "full of creativity and stylization." He is a well-regulated, step-by-step director who completes the task, and completes the filming strictly in accordance with the framework of the script.

Therefore, it is difficult to find a script that meets the standards of commercial blockbusters on the blacklist of screenplay structure, character emotions, and ideological innovation. Most of the commercial scripts are tailor-made. Although "the rescued Jiang Ge" invested a full US$100 million, it cannot be called a commercial script. The reason Weinstein Pictures are willing to be so generous is entirely because of Quentin Tarantino's face.

In my impression, even in 2017, there are only a handful of commercial movie scripts on the blacklist.

Now, "Edge of Tomorrow" is not only shortlisted, but also ranked third on the list. It has been unanimously recognized by professionals in the industry and its quality is guaranteed; moreover, this is still a science fiction script that meets the standards of commercial blockbusters, and Andy is naturally I was overjoyed, such a script is not only unforgettable, it can even be said to be rare in a lifetime. For Lan Li, everything is perfect.

However, for top companies like Warner Bros., they don't really like such scripts. They have always firmly believed that the scripts of commercial films need templates, and the scripts on the blacklist that are wild and high-quality will cause them more worry. Everyone in the industry knows that for commercial films, a good script is important, but not necessary

Rhythm control, style positioning, climax/tide setting, visual effects, narrative techniques, etc. are the decisive links.

Don't talk about Warner Bros., even Andy himself, his words are full of uncertainty. Commercial films and art films are still different after all.

An excellent art film has half the success when it has an excellent art script; an excellent commercial film has an excellent commercial script, but it is only just getting started.

After the script is on the blacklist, it is only the first draft. Before the official shooting, the script will be revised and determined to be the final shooting version. After the script is finalized, the appearance, storyline, and even the characters and themes of the script will take place. huge change.

Take "The Fantasy Drifting of the Juvenile School" as an example. On the blacklist, the authors of this script are Jean-Pierre-Jeu and Guillaume-Laurant. Both are well-known French filmmakers, but when "The Fantasy Drifting of Juvenile School" was actually released, the screenwriter was David-Magee, who wrote the screenwriter for "Looking for Neverland".

This involves the authorship of Hollywood screenwriters. According to the official regulations of the screenwriters’ union, a screenwriter’s contribution to the final script needs to be more than 30% to be eligible to be signed. If it is less than 30%, there is no right to sign. Therefore, a screenwriter of a script generally does not More than three.

Under such circumstances, the script of the earliest version of Jean-Pierre and Guillaume was rewritten and revised on a large scale by David. It can even be considered that David re-created a script based on the original novel, which also made Jean-Pierre El and Guillaume did not appear in the list of final cast members.

At the very beginning, Twentieth Century Fox was going to hand over the "Fantasy Drifting of Juvenile Pie" to Jean-Pierre Gennet. At that time, he had already drawn the story version for the movie, but he proposed a cost of 80 million US dollars. Budget, UU reading www.uukanshu.com scared off Twentieth Century Fox.

Later, after re-adjustment, Twentieth Century Fox gave it to Li/Ann. Although Li/Ann’s proposed production cost was 120 million yuan, which was even higher, Li/Ann’s appeal was significantly higher than that of Jean-Ann. Pierre.

As mentioned before, Twentieth Century Fox is a company that blindly trusts big-name directors. In the end, the "Fantasy Drifting of the Juvenile School" was handed over to Li/An.

Just now Andy also mentioned that the script in hand is only the first draft. At present, Warner Bros. has not determined the producer or director. Naturally, the final version of the script cannot be determined. It is enough to use the current version. Is it necessary to rewrite the script according to the director's style; or is it to match the style of visual effects, leaving the story frame, and completely overthrowing the script?

The same script, Johnny Depp's version, Brad Pitt's version, and Tom Cruise's version, will show very different effects, even popcorn commercial movies are no exception, different The box office results brought by the version are also bound to be completely different.

Blacklisted scripts are famous, but there are too many uncertain factors after all. Even old fritters like Andy and Warner Bros. will inevitably hesitate.

This is the second time that Lan Li has come into contact with the blacklisted script "The Rescued Jiang Ge", and he couldn't help but become curious: What is the sacred part of this blacklisted commercial movie? Compared with the works of "Alien Battlefield", "Super Battleship", and "Dark Shadow", what are the advantages? Are these advantages enough to transform into an excellent work?

After opening the script, Lan Li read it earnestly. It never occurred to him that it was actually this script. Is it possible that the butterfly effect has begun to work? 2.




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