No matter what, Duke and Tom Cruise had cooperated in many aspects, and since the other party's attitude was fairly decent, Duke patiently said a few more words.
"Everything in the film must be in perfect order and logically coherent. First, we've identified one point the MacGuffin of the film—MacGuffin is a film term, referring to an object, person, or goal used to drive the plot forward must be a person."
Looking at Tom Cruise, Duke spoke slowly and steadily, "So the next question is—who is this person? In the story, there's a group of wives struggling to survive in a toxic wasteland, hoping to give birth to healthy offspring instead of becoming breeding machines for a dictator. Who would be their leader?"
If it weren't for the good relationship between the two over the years, Duke wouldn't have said this much. "Obviously, it can't be a man, because men would only fight over them and be completely clueless. So we must find a strong warrior who can protect them. Therefore, this character must be Furiosa. She then leads them to the Green Place, her childhood homeland, a matriarchal society, and they are remnants of that society. So the whole story becomes very natural, smooth, and well-structured."
Tom Cruise seemed to be listening seriously, occasionally nodding instead of loudly refuting Duke like he would have ten years ago.
Duke knew very well that even for directors like him or Cameron, to get a superstar to willingly accept a role, they had to throw in some sweeteners.
So he continued, "The film I envision unfolds amid non-stop vehicular chases. Everything the audience learns about the characters—their backgrounds, skills, personalities—the emotional experiences, the progress of their relationships, be it friends or foes, and even the critical decisions made by the two leads, all emerge during the action. All of it is conveyed through action."
"And your character is the key to driving the action scenes!" He emphasized this at the end.
As long as someone reminded him, Tom Cruise wouldn't make inexplicable stupid decisions. He thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Duke, I trust you. I'll be off now. If you have time, don't forget to visit your goddaughter in Beverly Hills."
Duke patted his arm, "I'll go see Suri in a few days."
In Duke's plan, Tom Cruise's character would absolutely not have fewer scenes than Charlize Theron's during filming in fact, he would have even more but filmmaking isn't just about shooting. There's a crucial technical process for the whole film—editing!
In post-production editing, Charlize Theron's Furiosa would be the key to tying together all the scenes.
Indeed, the feminist movement wasn't as fervent now as it would be in a few years, but the female traits reflected in Fury Road were not confrontational to men and wouldn't cause backlash from mainstream male audiences.
Most importantly, for this kind of film to have a soul, Charlize Theron's role was the key.
If Fury Road was a subversion of the sci-fi action film model triggered by Duke, then the character of Furiosa was a subversion of the traditional female role.
The "beauty with the hero" trope in films, even Duke couldn't say when it began. Audiences grew up with stories like the Western "prince rides a white horse to save the princess" or the Eastern "hero saves the beauty." The renowned beauties throughout history were often mere foils to male heroes.
In modern times, the feminist movement rose, and the position of female characters in film began to improve. However, in hero films, women still mostly played supporting roles. Take the classic 007 series, for example—each film had a Bond girl, dazzling and skilled, both Bond's flirtation partner and someone who cheered or assisted him in saving the world.
At some point, every hero or action film started pairing the hero with a beautiful female confidant. While the main story showcased the man's masculine strength, there was always a hot, glamorous woman for romance. Amid adrenaline-pumping action, this touch of romance acted like a soothing massage after a fierce battle—comforting and healing.
But when films and characters become too alike, aesthetic fatigue sets in. Indeed, such clichés, seen too often, make audiences feel bored or even annoyed.
This was a post-apocalyptic film. Due to nuclear explosions, environmental pollution occurred. The earth became vast deserts, and water resources ran dry. Under such conditions, warlords who controlled most resources emerged. And ruling these resources, naturally, were men. So, a hyper-masculine authoritarian regime was established, and beautiful, healthy women became men's property—
—Except for Furiosa.
A one-armed female general standing alone in a hyper-masculine world.
When Charlize Theron, with cropped hair, grease smeared on her forehead, and sharp eyes, strode into frame with those long legs, Duke could already imagine the audience's reaction.
In a society ruled by extreme male dominance, for a woman not to be reduced to a breeding tool or cast down among the lowest disabled, but to rise as a general second only to the top ruler—just think how strong her skills and willpower had to be!
Only a character like this could be the lynchpin of the entire film.
And this film's shooting process was also different from others. Duke would shoot in chronological order, following the timeline of events in the story.
After leaving the meeting room, Duke had not walked far when Jamie Johnson caught up from behind.
"Hey, Duke."
Seeing Duke stop, he quickened his pace and said, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
Since the other party was mainly responsible for Warner Bros.' distribution business, coming over now was definitely about something related to the film's release. Duke followed him back into the meeting room.
Jamie Johnson understood Duke's working style and got straight to the point. "The film's tentative release date is next June or July. I want to ask, can you finish the entire production by mid-May?"
"I can only say I'll try my best."
It was already September, and this film was quite complex. Duke didn't dare to promise that it would be finished by May. "Jamie, you know, during filming and post-production, there are always many uncertain factors."
"I think if possible..." Jamie Johnson said very seriously, "It would be best if this film could make it to next year's Cannes Film Festival."
"Cannes Film Festival?" Duke didn't quite understand. "To participate in the competition section?"
"Duke, this film has a relatively narrow audience," Jamie Johnson explained. "So we need to think of as many ways as possible in terms of promotion. The North American market shouldn't be a problem, but the overseas audience..."
Indeed, a film like this could never sweep the globe like Transformers.
Jamie Johnson continued, "The Cannes Film Festival is a great publicity opportunity. It's still in time to register for the competition section. Although the Palme d'Or doesn't have much market in North America, it still carries a certain level of global influence. If we can maneuver this film to win the Palme d'Or or some other heavyweight award, it will greatly boost the film's future box office and all the related peripherals."
It had to be said, this was indeed a very fitting strategy.
Although he didn't have much interest in European film festivals, Duke roughly understood that to participate in a film festival's competition section, one usually had to register six months in advance. With Warner's influence, pushing Fury Road into the competition section shouldn't be a problem either.
After thinking it over briefly, he nodded in agreement. After all, it would help the film's overseas market.
"Jamie, I'll try my best to finish the movie before May." Duke still didn't make any absolute promises. "Everything else is up to your team."
Just like with the Oscars, winning awards at one of the top three international film festivals also requires more than just film quality.
Just like Quentin Tarantino, as jury president of the Cannes Film Festival, who forcefully overruled other jury members' opinions and handed the Palme d'Or to Fahrenheit 9/11, there are countless elements that can influence the top three film festivals.
In this era of widespread economic crisis, although many Hollywood films and production companies, due to budget considerations or the risks of a film, have reduced their promotional trips to Europe, the Cannes Film Festival, as the top of Europe's three major film festivals, still attracts numerous Hollywood film crews every year.
For example, after Duke left the Warner building and returned to Duke Studio, he heard Tina Fey mention that Quentin Tarantino would also bring his new film Inglourious Basterds to compete in next year's Cannes Film Festival competition section.
For films invested in by the Weinstein brothers, competing for various awards has always been part of their standard playbook.
Moreover, it's said that French actress Isabelle Huppert will serve as jury president of this year's Cannes Film Festival.
In short, if you want to win awards in the film industry, whether in North America or Europe, maneuvering is indispensable. Not to mention PR sometimes media coverage is also key.
But Warner Brothers' professional staff had more experience in this area than Duke, and since Duke had virtually no connections in the European film industry, nor any relationships he could leverage, he simply asked Tina Fey to inform PR manager Panny Kallis about his plan to participate in next year's Cannes Film Festival, and then fully devoted himself to the preparations for Fury Road.
Just like all film crews, a director could never detach themselves from the pre-production phase every plan needed Duke's approval. After coordinating with the entire team and setting up a series of work plans, he went to New Mexico with Hannah Selena and John Schwartzman to scout the desert locations there.
.....
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