Translator: Smile of the Sea Meilan Sky
In 1977, 22-year-old truck driver James Cameron went to watch "Star Wars" with a guy. The friend was intoxicated by the movie and couldn't extricate himself; Cameron left the cinema to vent his boxing. He is a college dropout who drives school meals in Orange County in Southern California all day long. But in his spare time, he draws small models and writes science fiction stories-stories that take place in distant galaxies. Now he faces a discouraging reality: the world he fantasized about in his daydreams has been brought to life by Lucas. "Star Wars" should be his work.
This really made him angry, so he bought some cheap photographic equipment himself, trying to restore Lucas's shooting process. He shot the dazzling bright light in the living room and let the camera roll along a track to practice push and pull photography, all of which made his wife furious. He toured the library of the University of Southern California for several days, reading all the books related to special effects. He became, in his own words, "completely obsessed."
He quickly realized that he needed some funding, so he persuaded a group of local dentists to invest $20,000 in the production of what he called the Cameron version of "Star Wars." Together with a friend, he wrote a script called "Alternation of Generations" and spent all of his money on shooting a 12-minute shot, highlighting a single-frame fight scene between an alien robot and a woman operating a large number of skeletons. (Those skeleton warriors are the models that Cameron carefully assembled.) The
original plan was to use this clip to win a studio and then make a full-length film. But after several months of peddling in Hollywood, Cameron returned empty-handed and had to put aside his ambition to challenge Lucas for the time being.
I had to work hard to do something worthwhile: working under Roger Coman, the king of B-rated movies. Cameron was hired to build miniature spaceships for the movie "Crafts of the Century". He used his own way to rise to the top and later became one of Coman's virtual visual effects experts. In 1981, he became a director and oversaw the production of a low-quality horror film, Piranha II: Breeding.
One night, after the "Piranha" editorial meeting, Cameron fell asleep with a high fever, dreaming that he saw a robot walking towards a frightened woman with its teeth and claws. The scene freezes here. In the following year, Cameron completed a script based on this dream scene, telling the story of a robot assassin who traveled through time and killed the mother of a future rebel leader in time.
This time, he no longer needs dentist investment. The story is quite convincing, and he was able to persuade a small film financing company to fund the film by him. When the film was released in 1984, "Terminator" established Arnold Schwarzenegger's superstar status in one fell swoop, and James Cameron, the former truck driver, turned into a top director.
Over the next ten years, Cameron directed a series of amazing works, including "Alien", "Abyss", "Terminator 2: Doomsday", and "True Lies." The global box office revenue of these films reached 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, which brought Cameron enough influence to rekindle his dream of creating interstellar epics. So in 1995, he wrote an 82-page script about a paralyzed soldier who went on a mission to a distant planet when the earth was reduced to a dim wasteland. The alien world called Pandora is made up of Na'vi, a violent humanoid with blue skin, a cat face, a reptile-like tail, and a height of 10 feet. The atmosphere of Pandora is toxic to the human body, so scientists have genetically engineered the Namei tribe to create a new species, Avatar, an organism that has human consciousness and can be fully controlled remotely. Cameron believes that the movie "Avatar" will be his once again aspirational work. This is also his first film after completing the small adventure of a ship crashing into an iceberg and the romantic production.
"Titanic", of course, later became the most rewarding movie of all time. It has won 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. Cameron can now shoot movies as he pleases. So what did he do?
Evaporated from others.
Cameron refused to release another Hollywood movie for 12 years since then. He recorded some underwater documentaries and did some productions, but to a large extent he stayed out of the public eye. During most of the period, he rarely mentioned "Avatar", and did not reveal his filming plans.
Blue revolution
But now, in the end, the king returns. On December 18th, "Avatar" landed in theaters. This time, Cameron, now 55, doesn't need to build the wreck of an ocean-going ship off the coast of Mexico like he did when he was filming "Titanic." So why does this leading Hollywood director take so long to make a movie? Part of the reason is that it is not easy to surpass Lucas, George Lucas. Cameron needs to invent a complete set of film production technology, promote global theater update equipment, and conceive all the details of the alien world. In addition, there is a lot to worry about. To truly understand why "Avatar" has taken so long to appear, we must look back at the production process of "Titanic".
"People may have forgotten, it was really difficult at that time." Cameron accepted my interview at his private theater in his home in Malibu, California. He looks much milder than he did at the 1998 Oscars-his hair has grown, he has white hair, and his face has a clean shave. However, his famous quick temper is still unobstructed. At the beginning of the interview, I asked him, what have you been doing for the past ten years? He solemnly said, "One or two sentences are not clear", and listen to me slowly.
"When filming the Titanic, we have been estimating how much we might lose," and now when looking back at its fantastic box office revenue, it is easy to forget that the Titanic was once predicted as box office poison. The cost of filming was doubled compared to the budgeted funds-100 million U.S. dollars. It is known as the most expensive film in history. The main patron, 20th Century Fox Films, also put pressure on Cameron to reduce costs.
Cameron promised to give up all director fees and profit sharing to show cost control. The release of the Titanic missed the July 4th schedule again, which seemed to be in trouble again. Cameron put a razor blade on the editing desk with a sticky note on it: the movie can only be used if it is successful. "All I know is that I made a US$200 million love blockbuster, and it ended with almost everyone's death. What am I doing?" he said privately to his friends. "I may have to start my career again."
Hollywood industry magazine Variety called it "the biggest gamble in film history" and questioned whether Flowserve could recover the cost. "Everyone thinks that the film will suffer a devastating failure," said Rae Sanchini, the former chairman of Cameron Productions.
However, the Titanic miraculously escaped the iceberg, with global box office revenue of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, and successfully ranked among the highest grossing movies. "We jumped from the bottom to the top all at once," Gini said. "Every one of us is a little overwhelmed by the sudden success. For Jim, it is even worse. He is exhausted physically and mentally.
However, Gini still looks forward to the great director's renewed efforts. Before filming the Titanic, Came Long is passionate about Avatar-after all, since 1977, shooting a huge outer space movie has been his dream. But now, he doesn't seem to be interested.
Part of his ambivalence It is derived from the results of discussions with Digital Domain. Digital company, a special effects company founded in 1993, and Cameron is one of the founders. He stated the creative idea of Avatar, indicating that the protagonist in the play is about 10 inches tall with blue skin The aliens have thin waists and strong limbs. They must be lifelike, but they cannot use special props. These aliens need to be designed with computers. But given the level of technology at the time, his team told him that this was unrealistic. This The project requires too much time, money, and excellent computer design capabilities.
"If we do this, we will definitely fail," one of the artists told him. "This can't be done. Such technology simply does not exist. "
Cameron is relieved. He doesn't like bargaining with actors and agents. "They're bullshit. "He wanted to rest. At this time, the sky fell into a pie, and it was so huge that it smashed Cameron. The senior executives of Flowserve knew that if they wanted to make more money, they had to make the King of Hollywood happy. So, His previous agreement to waive profit sharing was invalidated. After the Oscars, they wrote him a check for tens of millions of dollars (it is said that Cameron eventually received more than 75 million US dollars). With this money, he will not use it for the rest of his life. Work is enough to spend.
"It's the money," Cameron said, "I can play as much as I want. "
Let's see how Cameron plays the world. Micronesia: It is lurking near depth bombs left over from World War II. This is not a joke. The bombs are full of explosives. In the summer of 2000, he chartered an 80-foot ship. Take a group of working partners and dive into the sinking Japanese warship. Vincent Pace, an underwater photography expert, was involved in the shooting of the Titanic and the Abyss. Pace brought all the equipment and looked forward to shooting high-definition images, but he soon discovered that Cameron had new ideas.
When they looked through the underwater shots, Cameron suddenly asked Pace: Can we make a "Holy Grail Camera", a high-definition camera device that can play two-dimensional and three-dimensional images at the same time? Pace is not sure, after all, he is not an expert in this area, but he knows the cheap red and blue paper glasses for watching traditional 3-D movies. As we all know, they are very inconvenient to use, and if the projector is not calibrated properly, it will cause headaches. Cameron believes there must be a way to change it. He actually wanted to talk about his vision for the next generation of cameras: portable, digital, high-definition, 3-D imaging.
Inventing this camera is no easy task, but Cameron decided to start from scratch. He mentioned a mysterious screening plan that had been brewing in his mind for a long time, and the audience seemed to be on an alien planet. Cameron wanted to make a 3-D movie that would truly immerse the audience. Since there is no ideal 3-D camera, he must design a camera that meets the requirements. Therefore, he invited Pace to participate in the Pacific Ocean underwater adventure, taking the opportunity to find out whether the underwater camera can help the 3-D camera. Perhaps his goal seems a bit extreme, but Pace thought the idea was interesting and agreed to participate in the development of a new camera. "Jim's goal was clear on that underwater trip, which was very fun, but for me, it was really a bit of a puzzle." Pace said.
Two months later, Cameron bought a first-class flight ticket from Los Angeles to Tokyo for Perth, which was about $17,000. Soon they came to Sony's high-definition camera department and talked with the engineers face to face. Pace's trip was mainly to help Cameron convince Sony engineers to separate the lens and image sensor on the professional high-definition camera from the processor—then the lens and the bulky central processor were separated and connected with a cable. The traditional 3-D camera weighs about 450 pounds, while the improved camera weighs only 50 pounds and has dual-lens imaging. The photographer is also much more relaxed.
Sony agreed to build a new production line, but a prototype is needed. Pace started research and development. Three months later, Pace put the lens in the camera, and the cameraman could precisely control the 3-D image. He thought it would be enough to find a few actors to try. But Cameron obviously had a new idea. He asked Pace to install a set of filming equipment on the rented P-51 during World War II, while Pace was on standby at B-17. Once the aerial shooting started, the P-51 pilot picked up a 50-caliber machine gun and fired an air round at the Pace B-17, and Cameron immediately jumped behind the P-51 pilot. "This is my first experience of a Jim-style test," Pace said.
The camera experiment results are good, the three-dimensional imaging is accurate, even if it is played for a long time, there is no fear of headaches. Pace thought Cameron was about to shoot Avatar. However, the great director dived 2.3 miles under the sea with his new weapon to take a three-dimensional image of the wreck of the Titanic. This shows that Cameron does not want to start his "man's adventure."
The partner of this underwater adventure is the deep sea explorer Andrew Wight, a brave Australian. White has surveyed collapsed underwater caves, passed by great white sharks, and confronted saltwater crocodiles. He felt that it was a little troublesome to complete Cameron's task. When the hurricane pushed towards them along the east coast, White thought they should turn the bow in time to avoid the hurricane. But Cameron argued that this is an excellent opportunity to film "Hurricane Whirlpool", which is very thrilling. The Russian captain rejected Cameron's suggestion and hurriedly fled the scene. Cameron was disappointed.
"He is a tough guy," White said. "This is not a death plan, it's more interesting."
Gini, the former chairman of Cameron Studios, couldn't understand what he wanted to do. "I understand that he is a little tired of making movies, but I don't want him to go astray and go further and further."
Cinemas succumbed to the vision
Cameron is certainly not the kind of fool who messed things up. He wanted to make Avatar, a true digital three-dimensional film. Unfortunately, chain theaters are reluctant to adopt this technology. Because each theater is about to invest $100,000 in equipment upgrades, the best way to convince them is to let them see the box office revenue brought by high-definition three-dimensional movies.
So Cameron decided to let other big directors try his new guy first. The first film is a special agent boy directed by Robert Rodriguez. Although you have to wear old-fashioned red and blue glasses when you watch the film. But Cameron hopes to prove that there is market demand for three-dimensional movies, thereby stimulating theater owners to invest in the next generation of projection systems. In the summer of 2003, the Secret Agent’s global box office revenue reached 200 million U.S. dollars, but when it comes to investing in new equipment, theaters still hesitate.
Cameron decided to talk to the theater owner in person. In March 2005, at the film exhibition held at the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in Paris, he went all out to promote his new screening system. His words are very provocative. "The world has entered a new movie era." In case it doesn't work, he is alarmist. If they don't adjust the equipment in time now, they will regret it in the future. At the end of that year, only 79 theaters were able to play stereoscopic movies. However, in the five years from 2005 to 2009, more than 3,000 theaters capable of showing three-dimensional movies were added.
The
lack of three-dimensional cinema is not the only reason for Cameron's hesitation. Special effects companies are still working hard to create realistic animated images. The clues were already revealed in 2002, when Peter Jackson collaborated with New Zealand Weta Digital to design a staggering image with computer special effects-Gollum, a character in the Lord of the Rings who is an enemy of the Hobbit. Cameron believes that the CG era is here.
In the spring of 2005, he met with FUCHS executives and asked to invest millions of dollars to prove his dream. At first they had some concerns, not all of them were technical issues. For example: Tails-do all aliens need to drag a tail?
"Yes" Cameron said affirmatively. "They need to have tails."
He didn't say anything, and he didn't need to explain any more. The FUCHS executives also stopped questioning, and they agreed to start the shooting test. Cameron is Hollywood's blockbuster, and its power need not be said.
Cameron took five weeks to conduct the second test. Mainly aliens and Arda travel through the forest to exchange a set of shots. Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic Company completed computer special effects, and this was enough to persuade Flowserve to invest US$195 million in the film. Cameron returned to the position of director.
First, Cameron invited Lucas to join. Lucas registered $20,000 in Orange County and opened a special effects workstation at home. But this time, money is not a problem. Lucas has more than 30 years of experience in making Star Wars. The hero finally has a place to use it. In order to obtain a more realistic effect, Cameron hired experts and carried out a meticulous design.
First, he hired Paul Formmer, a language expert from the University of Southern California, to design a new language system for the Na'vi, a blue-skinned humanoid, a native of Pandora. Paul officially joined in August 2005. He asked Cameron, what kind of pronunciation effect does he hope aliens have? Clicky guttural or mixed tone? In order to narrow the selection, Paul turned on the microphone and recorded several unused sound samples for Cameron to choose from.
Cameron prefers "clear throat fricatives", which is a common voice in spoken language. The throat seems to be blocked by something, which is a bit vague. After determining the tone of the language, Paul began to construct a basic grammatical system. Cameron has his own opinions. For example, when discussing the grammatical rules of nouns, are the modifiers of compound words at the beginning or the end of the word? It took Paul several months to establish a separate grammar system. "He is a very thoughtful person." Paul said. "He never tells you where to start building a language system, but he will discuss grammar with you."
13 months later, the work officially began. Paul wrote a pamphlet entitled "Nami Languages" and he began to demonstrate how to pronounce for actors. He set up a training camp for the Nami language and taught them sentence by sentence. "Cameron wants the actors' performances to be passionate, but they are speaking a language that has never existed before." Paul said. If the actor's pronunciation is inaccurate, he has to stop and correct it verbatim. "Sometimes actors are also very annoyed when I go to correct their incorrect pronunciation, because after all they have never pronounced this way."
With the establishment of the language system, Cameron set out to name the animals and plants on the alien planet. Every plant and animal has the name of the Namei tribe, the Latin name and the common name. As if this were not realistic enough, Cameron hired Jodie Holt, the head of the Department of Plant Science at the University of California, to write detailed scientific descriptions of the dozens of plants he created. It took her about five weeks to explain how Pandora plant's luminous and magnetic properties are formed. When she finished this work, Cameron classified all the items into the animal and plant classification.
These behind-the-scenes work will never be shown on the screen, but Cameron enjoys this. He hired many experts, such as astrophysicists, music professors, and archaeologists. They calculated the atmospheric density of Pandora and created three types of alien music with equal structures. When one of the experts took out the encyclopedia of Star Wars, Cameron glanced at it, "We will do better."
Finally, the writer and editor team compiled a 350-page Pandora's Encyclopedia manual. It records all science and culture related to this alien planet. It fully embodies Cameron's virtual world. This winter, Alda fans will be able to read some chapters of this encyclopedia online.
Cameron moved the laser pointer, trying to show me something. The rich scenes were presented one by one with the laser pointer, and finally fixed on a group of Namei people. The pen stopped. He motioned to me to look at a gorgeous headdress, which was studded with hundreds of beads. They look very clear, no different from real. Each bead is specially designed by a digital artist, Cameron said, so they look like they were made by hand. "Every leaf, every grass is made in this way.
Looking back in 1997, Cameron was very worried about the Titanic, and the disaster seemed to be right in front of us. "We work hard, but worry about it, think about it. It was silly at that time," he said. Now the problem seems to be the other way around: expectations of us are getting higher and higher. "Work pressure is getting more and more," he said.
Although this time, Cameron is more like enjoying work. , At least he doesn’t need to put a razor blade on the editing desk to make his mind clear. “Avatar is an antidote to Jim,” Gini said. “He doesn’t have to worry about the weather, wardrobe, historical accuracy, or other issues anymore. Up. If the heroine has pimples, it will not be a terrible disaster. Avatar gives Jim the ability to control the overall situation. "
Thirty-two years have passed since Cameron was eager to shoot a huge outer space film that would contend with Star Wars. Cameron finally came true. Now he can't wait to hear what the audience and critics say. This is beyond his control.
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