The French director Jean-Luc Godard once angrily said to prove that Spielberg is a mediocre director"If you really want to know why he is mediocre, I will break down his movies shot by shot and explain it to you." Of course, in the eyes of most people in this world, Spielberg is definitely not a mediocre director.
However, Godard's words are not without reason, because if you break any movie down into individual shots, it actually looks quite mediocre.
In other words, no matter how brilliant a movie is, it is basically composed of many individual shots that look mediocre on their own.
This is a trial.
Nicolas Cage and Anne Hathaway sat confidently at the prosecutor's table. Even facing the most notorious gangster in Gotham, they were confident to bring him to justice.
Behind the director's monitor, Duke's gaze was completely fixed on Nicolas Cage. Compared to Anne Hathaway, who was just a flower vase, and the other actors who served as background, Cage was the focus of this scene.
Perhaps because of thorough preparation, Nicolas Cage's performance was outstanding.
"Since McConnie has been sent to the mental hospital, there must be someone to step up and take charge of the so-called family."
Walking to the witness stand, Nicolas Cage enhanced his performance with body language, "Is that person here in court today?"
The witness slowly nodded.
Nicolas Cage showed a confident smile, "Please identify him personally."
"You win, prosecutor." The witness suddenly revealed a strange smile. "That person is me."
Hearing this, the smile on Nicolas Cage's face instantly disappeared, replaced by a surprised expression. But his reaction was quick. He returned to his seat, took a statement, and declared righteously, "You swore to this statement, that person…"
He pointed to the character played by Eric Roberts, "Salvator Maloney is the new head of the McConnie gangster family."
"Maloney? He's just a puppet." The witness said naturally. "I am the real boss."
A burst of laughter erupted in the courtroom. Nicolas Cage walked to the judge and said to the Frenchman, "I request this witness be judged as maliciously testifying."
"Malicious testimony?"
Before the judge spoke, the witness interrupted, "Let me show you what malicious means!"
With that, he pulled out a black handgun. He aimed at Nicolas Cage and pulled the trigger.
Nicolas Cage was slightly startled, seemingly puzzled how a strict security courtroom could have someone bring a gun in. But the gun only made a clicking sound without firing.
He reacted very quickly, grabbing the gun with one hand and punching with the other, knocking the witness down and snatching the gun away.
Up to this point, Nicolas Cage's performance pleased Duke a lot. This former Oscar-winning actor seemed to be in very good shape today.
However, Duke frowned slightly when Cage disassembled the gun. There was a noticeable small mistake; the magazine had to be removed twice before it finally came out.
Still, Duke didn't call for a stop. Cage's current state was good, and even if this part needed retakes, it could help him get more familiar with the role.
Nicolas Cage realized his mistake and seeing Duke didn't stop him, continued his performance.
"Made of carbon fiber, .28 caliber…" He looked at the gun and walked to the main camera lens, saying, "Made in Russia!"
Then he looked at Maloney, "If you want to take out a public official, Mr. Maloney, I recommend American-made."
This scene ended there. Duke reviewed it again and then called over, "Nicolas, come here."
Nicolas Cage immediately walked over, "Sorry, Duke, I made a small mistake."
"No problem."
The filming had just started, so mistakes from actors were normal. Duke asked the assistant director to replay the previous take for Cage, then said, "Your punch wasn't fast enough, and the gun…"
Seeing Cage nod, Duke continued, "This isn't a single shot. It's important for Harvey Dent's transformation later. The quick, skillful punch shows he's not just a desk-bound prosecutor. The later smooth removal of the magazine, even the act of ejecting a bullet, is to lay the foundation for his later proficiency with firearms."
Why does Harvey Dent become Two-Face and so powerful? All this needs foreshadowing. This courtroom scene actually explains that this prosecutor is not only literate but also skilled in combat.
This shot definitely needs to be reshot. Nicolas Cage flubbed it again, but Duke called out "Cut" after the second take.
"Transition!" He turned and was about to give some instructions to the assistant director when he noticed Tina Fey behind him and asked, "When did you get here?"
Tina Fey handed over a cup of water first, then replied, "Nicolas Cage said the gun is Russian-made when i arrived."
Duke took the cup, took a sip, and said, "Send someone to check on Heath Ledger, see if he's finished with makeup."
The crew continued to change scenes. Duke temporarily handed things over to Anna Prinz, and himself chatted a bit with Tina Fey.
In recent years, Tina Fey spent less and less time by his side and gradually became independent. Many of Duke's affairs were handled by her, including those inconvenient or time-consuming tasks she took on for him.
For example, in July, she went across the Pacific to participate in the formal signing of Warner-Fox World.
Warner Brothers and News Corporation had already signed the official contract, with an investment amount involving as much as 30 billion US dollars. Project design would begin afterward, but construction wouldn't start until around 2009, and the park opening would take even longer.
However, Duke wasn't worried about the speed of capital recovery because from the moment the contract was signed, Warner Brothers, News Corporation, and even Tina Fey representing Duke became the top PR targets for countless banks across the Pacific, so getting loans was a piece of cake.
The joint project team formed by Warner Brothers and News Corporation also finalized the loan strategy: 99% of the construction funds for Warner-Fox World would be raised from banks through loans secured by future ticket revenues of the park.
While discussing matters across the Pacific, Duke and Tina Fey walked into a nearby set arranged as an interrogation room. Heath Ledger, finished with makeup, was leaning against the wall sitting on the floor, seemingly trying to get into character.
Tina Fey glanced at the young actor behind Duke. This Australian gave her a very strange feeling, just like the makeup on his face.
Then she looked to the other side where Christian Bale was already dressed in the Batman suit, pacing by the interrogation table, muttering something under his breath.
Though she never became an actor herself, having been by Duke's side for so many years, Tina Fey knew well that every actor had their own habits, often ways to adjust their state of mind.
Reaching his chair, Duke waved over an assistant director, and after confirming the preparation progress, told him to notify the crew to start shooting.
"Scene two, take one..." The slate was placed before the camera lens, "Rolling!"
The lights on set blazed to life. Batman appeared like a ghost behind Heath Ledger, pressing his head down 'hard' onto the table.
Heath Ledger held his forehead, looked at Batman as the camera turned to face him, and muttered what seemed like nonsense: "Never hit the head first, the victim will first feel dizzy, then won't feel the next punishment…"
Batman struck again, but Joker showed no reaction.
"Now you understand, right?" He looked at Batman.
"You're looking for me. Now I'm here…"
Watching the monitor, even without much focus, Duke could tell this was an unbalanced scene. Heath Ledger got into character extremely fast, obviously well prepared. Christian Bale's performance wasn't bad, but compared to Joker's role, it was lacking.
Luckily, he still had a mask, which to some extent covered up the character's shortcomings.
But the Joker makeup on Heath Ledger was just too eye-catching.
That rotting face covered in white powder had a strangely twitching mouth, blood-red lips seemingly torn further sideways, from which came a string of shocking words.
Duke had heard from crew members that after studying the role alone in the hotel, Heath Ledger even researched ventriloquism and trained specifically to achieve the effect where the mouth moved but the voice seemed not to come from it, creating a mismatch between lips and sound.
"I didn't want to kill you," Heath Ledger let out a creepy laugh, "What would I do without you? Go back to blackmailing the gangs? No way, I don't want that."
"It's you..." He seemed more serious, "You made me more complete…"
Joker was a chatterbox with his own philosophy. Joker wasn't someone who distanced himself from people but confronted them face-to-face among the crowd.
He thought he grasped some "truth" about human nature, which was that "at the last moment of life, people reveal their true nature," meaning cowardice and corruption.
When facing life-or-death moments, not only one's sense of justice and honor would be trampled and shattered, but also the laws and rules they once followed would vanish into thin air. When nothing is imminent, everyone hopes to be just and decent, but "when a little trouble happens, they run scared," "and when a breeze stirs, these polite people would start eating each other alive."
That was Joker, someone who disregarded all rules and sought to break every one of them.
.....
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