Made in Hollywood

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Chicago Theater is honored to invite the first time to perform in China... the Chicago area murderer, Miss Sin..."

With the passionate introduction of the black actors, the stage set up in the studio was lit up with bright lights. Directly opposite the main camera lens controlled by John Schwartzman, the stage slowly rose, and the blond hair Roxy and the dark-haired Velma, in silver-white leather jackets, fought with their backs to the camera.

The duo song and dance at the end of the film is being filmed. Due to the lack of professional quality, Duke's script is just a brief introduction here. The song and dance designs are all from Lily Fred. The song and dance she designed are composed of the jazz song "Nowadays". It is composed of the hot dance "Hot.", except for the re-arrangement and choreography, it basically follows the development routine of the musical "Chicago".

This is a nostalgic film, and Duke has no objection to it. He just looked at the two heroines on the stage and frowned.

This is the second time to shoot. Just like the first time, Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones are in very good condition and have a strong desire to perform. Although the plot of this film is mostly from Lockhey's fantasy, Obviously it's a dual protagonist setup, and both of them seem to want to completely suppress their opponents and become the first protagonist.

"You can be satisfied with the life you're living, pursue the life you want, and even marry Harry..."

Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta-Jones have turned around, facing the camera, and looking at the footage captured by the camera, their make-up, despite the gaudy look of the twenties and thirties, has The advantage is that the talent and capital are abundant, as long as it is slightly modified in post-production. Definitely an eye-catching beauty.

Beautiful and sexy women are also one of the selling points of the film. Duke never thought of making a musical film full of literary style. This film is based on a nostalgic commercial film. That is also full of commercial flavor of the musical.

Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones were still singing on stage. Duke's frown deepened, his hand lightly tapped the monitor, hesitating for a moment, and finally did not call to stop.

The singing problem of the two heroines is obvious, Zeta Jones was overwhelmed by Naomi Watts.

The "Nowadays" being sung is a typical Roxy song, naturally with the coquettish and lazy temperament of a blond Persian cat, and the difference from the wild and straightforward Velma is still obvious. Zeta Jones is working hard, but the vocals on stage have been dominated by Naomi Watts.

Like the first shoot, the scene was a little off balance.

Duke still didn't mean to stop, he planned to finish this one.

This situation is basically the reverse of the movie in memory, the former "Chicago". Zeta Jones was born in a standard musical, and her appearance condition is better than Renee Zellweger, who is not good-looking. On occasions where Lockhey and Velma appeared together, her performance was extremely strong. Renee Zellweger is completely suppressed, and the whole movie is completely out of balance with the two heroines.

Although Renee Zellweger did Zeta Jones at the more shady Golden Globes. But it was a complete defeat at the relatively fair Oscars.

It is rude to say that Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones are far from mature, and their acting skills are not as good as those of the former two, but they are better than young and full of youthful vitality. Outstanding physical condition is more attractive when singing and dancing.

Zeta Jones, who has had children, and Zeta Jones, who have not had children, are very different in appearance.

After the singing of "Nowadays", the two heroines took off their exaggerated leather jackets, revealing their close-fitting bright silver short skirts, and the hot dance "Hot." kicked off, and the situation changed immediately.

No matter how hard Naomi Watts works, compared with an actor who has won the All England Dance Championship, there will be a gap, and Zeta Jones seems to be trying to grab the limelight without any restraint. enthusiasm.

At first glance, these two sisters with similar costumes seem to be harmonious and complementary, and the light and playful dance is also very attractive, but as long as you distinguish carefully, you can find that Roxy is being led by Velma to dance this part. Dance, Zeta Jones' stage style is strong and wild.

"Cut!"

When the two heroines walked behind the curtain to change Chicago typewriters, Duke called to stop, Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones came out, no one looked at the other, and walked to both sides, Off stage from different places.

"It's the same old question!" Sofia Coppola came over and stood behind the chair with her arms crossed. "What do you think, Duke?"

"If there is a problem, solve it."

Pointing at the armrest of the chair, Duke raised his voice slightly, "Nami, Kate, come here."

The two heroines were wearing bright short skirts and walked behind the monitor. They were not stupid. From Duke's exposed expressions, it could be seen that the director was not satisfied with their performance just now.

Stern eyes swept across the two, Duke replayed the footage while reminding them, "Look carefully to see where your problems lie."

The few minutes of the scene were quickly played out, Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones were silent, Duke turned back and looked at them, "I don't care how you coordinate, I just want to. If the effect is not achieved, I will keep shooting.”

Zeta Jones seemed to want to say something, but when he saw Duke wave his hand, he wisely kept silent, and left here silently, just like Naomi Watts.

"Reshoot in fifteen minutes!"

After saying that, Duke picked up the coffee that Tina Fey had brought, and took a slow sip.

It has been 50 days since filming started in early April. The overall progress of the crew is slower than planned. Although there is a dedicated singing and dancing guidance team, his relative lack of professionalism has brought considerable benefits to the filming. So many difficulties, I even once doubted whether it was a mistake to choose this film.

No director is omnipotent and omnipotent, and Duke has the confidence to control the schedule no matter how chaotic the action scenes are. His past movies also gave him this ability, but in the singing and dancing scenes, he can only rely on a professional team, even if he puts forward some opinions , but unlike the first three films, after a brief run-in period, the crew can enter a high-speed and efficient operation.

All directors have their own style. There is no director without style or that can be applied to any style. The difficulties encountered in the past month have also made Duke realize himself more clearly. He is really not suitable for the full. It is a film of literary fan. Even if you throw him a purely literary project, it will eventually become a commercial film full of elements that the audience loves.

Fortunately, although "Chicago" has some literary flavor, it is a musical with a strong commercial flavor.

"What do you think?"

Seeing Duke thinking, Sofia Coppola stood behind and asked, "Thinking about how to make these actresses who like to fight for fame and fortune cooperate with each other?"

Duke shrugged, but said nothing.

"I have a suggestion for you."

On the set, Sophia would occasionally joke with Duke, "Take the two of them to the dressing room, tie them together, untie your belt and slap them hard!"

Glancing back at Sophia, Duke's eyes turned to the stage.

Although he never mentioned it, he and Naomi Watts have had little contact for more than a year. Because of the publicity strategy of "Chicago", Duke also does not want to have a relationship other than work, like most of Hollywood. Like men and women who were once intimate, when they no longer needed each other, they went their separate ways.

The reason why he still remembers notifying Naomi Watts to audition for "Chicago" is simply to return the favor from the fire scene.

The various departments of the crew were quickly coordinated and filming began again.

"Cut!"

Naomi Watts and Kathryn Zeta-Jones ascended the stage, and just before the camera began to sing, Duke stopped again, "Start again!"

The two actresses went back down the stage, the lighting props were back in place, and filming began again.

This time things were a little better. Duke didn't stop until two-thirds of the way through the song. If the two of them performed on Broadway, there might be no problem, but the camera and the big screen can maximize the smallest flaws. There are also many differences in the viewing angle of movie and stage audiences.

In the next hour, Duke called three more times to stop, and the continuous NG caused the atmosphere of the entire crew to be a little depressed and anxious.

Duke called Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones over again, "You two have been rehearsing together for nearly half a year, I don't know what's the problem between you, and I don't want to know, you are going to do makeup now. Let’s talk one-on-one, and if it can’t be resolved, I will try to reduce your facial close-ups as much as possible in this scene.”

A full hour later, Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones came out of the dressing room, and the crew started filming again. Although it still didn't achieve the effect Duke wanted until the end of the afternoon, there was a noticeable improvement. .

In the evening, Duke called over Nancy and Vivienne, plus Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones, as well as song and dance director Lily Fred, to recreate the song and dance. Some coordination, and then it took a whole day the next day, and the shoot finally came through.

"Chicago" was more behind than expected.

The competition between actresses is particularly troublesome. This is a well-known thing in Hollywood. Duke has always been in control of the crew, even if Naomi Watts and Catherine Zeta Jones have any heart, dare not Using excessive means, in the following week, the crew completed the rivalry between the two people, and began to shoot some individual scenes of several main actors. (To be continued ~^~)