1773 open treasure
From 'The Big Short' to 'The Revenant' to 'Spotlight,' Picking Screenplay Projects Is Really Fun.
Although this is not the first time Renly has done this, the feeling is completely different, not because of the quantity, but because Renly can temporarily put aside his own considerations and just select projects with development potential. It is like his horizons are completely opened. A whole new world unfolds before our eyes.
Like opening a treasure.
If the selection of Oscar-related works is still more or less rigid and rigid, then it is more interesting to select independent works of art outside the academy..
For example, works whose temperament and style are very close to those of the academy, but are ignored by the academy for various reasons..
"Beasts of No Nation" presents the war in Africa in a semi-documentary way, "Captain Fantastic" tells the relationship between human beings and society like a utopia, and uses minimalist stories to present the "ghostly existence" of the relationship between human beings and time. "Journey's End", which is formed entirely through dialogue but explores the depth of life and art, and "Ms. Sloan", which uses humorous techniques to poke fun at Washington lobbyists' exchange of interests for the truth.”.
The characteristics of these works are very unique. Although they are more mainstream than academic, they have their own colors. They can be regarded as works worthy of chewing in the awards season series and can often bring unexpected surprises; but unfortunately, they are still rejected after all. If you ignore it, no one will care about it in the end..
For example, horror movies that are of excellent quality but are destined to miss out on the awards season can often achieve success in small ways by relying on their excellent reputation. This is also a popular investment target for small independent film companies, as a pioneer in opening up the market - low-cost comedy movies. The same is true.
“The common characteristics of horror movies such as "It's Behind You", "Lights Out", "Hold Your Breath", "The Babysitter", and "Safe Neighborhood" are: the investment cost is very light, but the market return rate is extremely gratifying, and the income ratio can be Reaching ten times or even twenty times, regardless of the uneven reputation, enthusiasts of horror movies are always an audience group that cannot be ignored.
“The same is true for comedy movies such as "So Cool", "Female Spy", "Trainwreck", "The Intern", and "Bad Moms". Although excellent comedy movies are becoming more and more rare now, the audience group has always been relatively stable. Universal The film industry and Paramount have been producing small-budget comedies in batches for a long time. There is no way to make a big hit without losing money. You can always gain something by making small efforts..
If it can be as explosive as "The Hangover", it will be a lot of money..
Among them, "The Return of the Clown" is an unexpected surprise.
This thrilling horror movie is undoubtedly one of the most popular and successful in recent years. An investment of 35 million US dollars has brought in a box office of 300 million in North America; and related topics have completely detonated social networks, and subsequent peripherals and related projects have all exploded, completely reversing the disadvantage of horror movies after the new century..
However, in the preparation stage, "The Return of the Clown" did not receive much special treatment. New Line Cinema just treated it as another ordinary movie adapted from Stephen King, from the cast to the director. From screenwriter selection to investment cost control, every aspect seems unremarkable..
Although Stephen King's original novels have contributed countless classics, such as "Carrie", "The Mist", "The Shining", "The Shawshank Redemption", etc., professionals generally believe that his novels can only be regarded as second-rate. The focus still lies on the screenwriter and director - almost every year, film companies adapt his works, but after the 1990s, the classic works have disappeared.
Therefore, the title "Adapted from Stephen King's novel" can no longer be regarded as a gimmick..
No one thought that "The Return of the Clown" would be such a hit. Of course, from a historical perspective, the success of this movie has a complicated historical background. If it were at another time, it might have failed miserably; but this is not a blueprint. The most important thing to consider now is that the project is in the hands of Sisyphus Pictures.
Since "Return of the Clown" can appear on Renly's desktop, this means that the adaptation copyright is not in the hands of New Line Cinema, but in the hands of the producer; at the same time, New Line Cinema obviously did not give enough rights to the film project. attention, disagreements arose during the negotiation process, which led the producers to start looking for other partners.
It is worth noting that the producer of "The Return of the Clown" is a Chinese named Dan-Lin. His name can also be found in "The Departed", "Sherlock Holmes", "The Lego Movie" ” and other works, it is obvious that the cooperative relationship with Warner Bros. is very close.
However, he is not a film producer - at least, he will not be involved in film production. He is a producer who is responsible for finding investment, that is, the producer who controls the budget, adjusts costs, and manages funds. .There is a reason why he sent the "Joker's Soul" to Renly..
On the title page of the "Return of the Clown" project, he wrote a paragraph in both Chinese and English.：
“This is a story about the horrific memories of childhood. Everyone has their own fears hidden in their childhood memories, which are difficult to talk about except for themselves; and those childhood friends also disappeared with the burial of their memories. This is not a Stephen King movie, it’s a movie for everyone.”
Obviously, Dan-Lin hopes to impress Renly, not because Renly plays the role - because the protagonists of the movie are a group of underage children, but because Renly can serve as executive producer.
I have to say that Dan Lin’s strategy was very successful..
Because these words reminded Renly of another Stephen King movie adaptation, "Stand By Me," which has always been one of Renly's favorite and most memorable movies..
Renly also marked "The Return of the Clown" with the pentagram symbol.
For another example, art films that have nothing to do with awards season and independent films that have nothing to do with box office, but they interpret the world from different perspectives and in different ways, are irreplaceable components in the field of artistic creation, but they will not Because it was too esoteric and artistic, it was highbrow and low-key, but it successfully gained a group of loyal audiences with its excellent reputation..
To be honest, this type of movie is the most charming and unique work, because without the constraints of two tights, creators can often collide with infinite artistic sparks, such as the Coen brothers, David Fincher, and David Lam Qi, Wes Anderson, etc., etc., they can all be regarded as creators in this field.
The first "Orange" to be shot entirely with a smartphone (iPhone-5s) and released in theaters, it focuses on a group of transgender/sex/body service workers in Los Angeles and reflects their real lives. Such themes are widely used in Awards season and theaters are doomed to not achieve anything, and even investment and production are afraid to avoid it; but at Sundance and the Independent Spirit Awards, they received applause from all professionals..
Presenting the living conditions of women in contemporary North America in an almost line-drawing manner, "A Certain Kind of Woman" consciously avoids all dramatic conflicts and records a living condition in the form of a flow of life, interweaving images and light. The power of it brought a strong visual impact.
"Patterson" and "America's Sweetheart" present different profiles of the current situation of grassroots life, with their own poetry, bursting out in a rough and original state, because they are too real and too sharp, academic I won’t like it, but I can’t put it down at the level of artistic creation. And the “Growing Edge” style of comedy and self-deprecation can also be regarded as another form of expression..
Works that present different aspects of love in a light and clever way, "Love and Friendship" and "Song of First Love", both movies are immersed in their own life patterns, which are far away from the mainstream narrative techniques and The plot has its own unique wisdom, bringing more thoughts. "Lobster" shows the dark side of society and love, and the cold narrative technique and picture style are impressive..
There is also the secret room suspense work "House of Guilty", which uses a small story to reflect the complexity of human nature. It uses layers of advancement and peeling off cocoons to open up the perspective. The thickness of expressions and the selection of lenses make a dark stage drama-like story It explains more possibilities, but it is destined to be difficult to win more attention in theaters..
“"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" is a film that defies categorization. It examines the meaning of death from a teenager's perspective. It is lighter and simpler than the cancer-facing romance film "The Fault in Our Stars." , but through the delicate description of the pure friendship between the hero and the heroine, a more powerful force burst out.
The most interesting thing is that "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" is also a cinephile movie - the male protagonist and his friends are avid movie lovers, and their greatest joy outside of high school life is making all kinds of movies. All kinds of "big bad movies", those classic movies adapted into bad movies.
A movie of this style is somewhat similar to works such as "Paterson" and "Love and Friendship". It is completely the director's stylized artistic interpretation. Whether it is during the awards season or in art theaters, it is really difficult to find a show. The opportunity may only be at the Sundance Film Festival and many film festivals in Europe, where it can cautiously occupy a place, but that's all..
These films cannot be categorized simply and crudely, nor can they be summarized in general, because they all have their own edges and styles..
For mainstream audiences, most movies may have never been heard of, let alone watched and appreciated; but for true movie lovers or film art creators, these movies are far more valuable. Far more than a work born under the constraints of two sets of tights.
Because they can truly open the door to the world through these works, appreciate the colorful and rich content, and then experience the change and diversity of the art world. They are the true essence of artistic creation..
like a treasure！
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