As we all know, the global film market in 2020 has been impacted by the epidemic to an extremely dismal and bleak condition. This also makes people who love movies can't help thinking, who will be the first movie to return to the big screen? Who can take on the important task of revitalizing the cinema? Is it worthy of the title of this year's bailout masterpiece? Now this answer seems to be ready to come out, he is here, he is here, he is here with the new film that has just been released, an unprecedented science fiction spy movie, against an unprecedented summer file. Nolan, "Creed", there is no competition.
At the end of May, I watched "Creed" remotely for half an hour under strict precautions that are even more advanced than sci-fi movies, and then interviewed Director Nolan, who is still overseeing the post-production of "Creed" by telephone. Half an hour of free talk with him may be the best thing that happened in the home isolation for more than two months. Nolan was more energetic than I thought. He called in ten minutes earlier than the agreed time, saying that today's progress was good and he had finished work early. We talked about the current epidemic, the history of script creation, the genuine 747 that everyone is curious about, how to deal with the actors’ questions about the plot, the balance between genre and self-expression, and so on. He recalled that any clips in the years before and after the creation of the film were hand-picked, with a high mood and a pleasant tone, and it seemed that he had not been affected by the epidemic at all. This is a state only for creators who are fully immersed in their beloved cause, so it completely infected me. The director repeatedly said that "Creed" is not a time travel, but a reversal of time and space. In the most difficult summer of the film industry, we are extremely looking forward to and trusting Nolan, so that we can sweep away the sadness and turbidity and let the big screen shine again.
Q = "Universal Screen" Los Angeles reporter Meng Pan
A="Creed" director Christopher Nolan
"Make the most extreme spy film" Q: Come up and ask the most important thing first, has the release date of "Creed" been fixed, and will it change?
A: I think there is no problem. According to the current progress, we can complete all the post-production on time. As long as the theater can reopen, we will release it.
Q: At this special moment in 2020, a blockbuster like "Creed" will be released. What do you think this means for the entire film industry and global movie audiences?
A: We have been making movies with a large sense of volume. For this, we have mobilized all the resources and support that can be mobilized. Of course, we will certainly look forward to making it reach the widest audience level to the greatest extent. This journey is bound to be accompanied by a lot of expectations and pressure, but this is also part of my work. In a complex external environment, purely as a filmmaker and a story creator, what you can do is actually do your best to tell the story, make the film, and then use the best you can think of. Way to reach the audience.
Q: In the trailer, you can see many shots of the male protagonist John David Washington wearing a breathing mask, which seems to be related to the real life scenes of people at the moment. Many of your fans joked that wearing the same mask is the best way to watch the premiere of "Creed". What do you think?
A: Hahahaha, it seems to be really...hey, I can't do this question!
Q: From the perspective of script creation, when did you have the original idea of creating "Creed"? How did this idea evolve into a mature script?
A: For audiences who are familiar with all my works, they will definitely see many familiar combinations in this movie. For example, some special graphics, my fascination with time, complex structures, etc. These elements have been in my work for a long time. For example, in the trailer, the bullet was sucked out of the wall and bounced back into a gun. This idea has been in my mind for at least 20 years. In fact, it once appeared in the opening of "Shards of Memory", but it appeared in a metaphorical abstract form. Specifically, it took me six or seven years to find the current form and story of "Creed" to carry these ideas, but some of the scenes and images were there long before the script was created.
Q: So in the six or seven years when you formally started to create "Creed", what do you think is the most difficult problem?
A: The most difficult part for me may be how to balance the content I want to express and the elements of the genre. You know that this movie is a spy film genre. It is a genre film that all audiences are very familiar with. There are some relatively fixed expectations for this film. You also know what kind of spy film is successful. And what I want to do is to take advantage of these conventional expectations of the audience to take them on an unexpected journey and show them something they have never seen in a spy movie, and give them something they have never had before. Experience. This is what keeps me excited during my creation, and of course it is also full of challenges.
Q: You have always had a tradition of filming before, that is, to gather the creators to watch related reference films together before filming, but this time you did not do this when filming "Creed", and it is the first time you did not do it. why?
A: Well, I think this may also represent our ambition to make this movie, that is, it will be a movie you have never seen before. Part of the reason is that the spy film we challenged this time is already a genre that everyone is very familiar with. As for the staff in front of and behind the scenes, everyone grew up watching the 007 series. The spy film is carved into our bones and grows in our DNA haha. So I put more emphasis on arousing everyone's emotions and memories of spy films, rather than learning a few specific classic spy films.
Q: So do you have any sources of inspiration in the process of creating "Creed" that you can share?
A: When I was determined to make the most extreme spy film, I went back and looked for some western films, such as Sergio Leone. When he entered the field of western films, he raised the level of western films. Another level of reality. My guess is that, first of all, Leone is very fond of traditional westerns, so when filming "Once Upon a Time in the West", he also fully believed that his love and familiarity can give him a higher sensitivity, naturally. It’s right to know how to shoot. Of course this is just my guess, but I also have the same feeling that it is because of my love for spy films that I want to contribute a different version of me to it.
"The actor is my collaborator who tells the story." Q: Tell me about the casting. When did you decide to set John David Washington as the actor?
A: My previous habit was to try not to imagine a specific actor when creating a script, because this would be more restrictive. But I have been watching the TV series "The Golfers" starring John David Washington, and I think this actor is very attractive, but I didn't think about casting my own movie at all. When I was almost halfway through the script, I was lucky enough to take the unrepaired 70mm film version of "2001: A Space Odyssey" directed by Kubrick to the Cannes Film Festival. While in Cannes, director Spike Lee invited me to the premiere of his movie "Black Party". I just sat in front of Spike himself and watched the film, which felt a little scary haha. John David Washington's performance was very prominent and radiant, and I was formally tempted, thinking that the actor is none other than him. So I am very grateful to Director Spike for inviting me to watch his movie. I enjoyed the whole movie watching process. More importantly, he showed me John David Washington's ability to control the big screen. This is the beginning of the entire casting of "Creed". The next part is the most interesting part for filmmakers, staring at the large and small screens of the world with wide eyes every day to see where interesting actors have appeared again. Robert Pattinson, I watched his performance in a lot of independent films, and every time he worked hard to reinvent himself, this kind of actor I would want to join the group. Elizabeth Debicki was discovered by my producer from a film directed by Steve McQueen, and we also hit it off. Kenneth Branagh is a talented and experienced performer. It’s amazing. I worked with him on "Dunkirk". I really want to work with him again. This time he played a role that he had never tried. The roles he has played are passionate and precise.
Q: John David Washington once said in an interview that he has a lot of questions to ask you every day when shooting "Creed". Robert Pattinson also mentioned to reporters that he has not fully understood the story of "Creed". How do you deal with the actor's questions about the plot?
A: This, this (sorry laugh)... I think working with such great actors, they have done enough homework and carefully studied the dismantling plot from all angles. For me, this It is the process necessary to understand the script. And you know, I never write a script that can be fully understood. Both John and Robert will start from their own characters and ask some very meaningful questions, why did he do this, why things become like this, sometimes I have ready answers for them, sometimes we have to find answers together. Just like when I filmed "Fragments of Memory", Guy Pierce became an ultra-rigorous script logic master. My actors will become my collaborators in storytelling and make the final touches for the finished product of the story, whether it is from Characterization is still a logical point of view. As long as the story is strong enough, the actors’ questions about the plot will not disintegrate the story. Instead, they will be like sculptures. Let’s portray them together. What a movie narrative can look like.
Q: Did Robert Pattinson talk to you about his upcoming appearance in Batman? Did you give him any advice?
A: After we finished filming "Creed", we had a little chat, but there was no specific details. As for the specific content, that is the little secret between me and him.
"Unparalleled shooting experience" Q: How do you manage a large-scale production and team like "Creed"?
A: In my career as a director, as the movies are getting bigger and bigger, what I have always longed for is to still have some freedom and randomness when making independent films. For the excellent photographers and creators who work with me, I always ask them to maintain the flexibility to pack light and be open to changes in production conditions. The kind of creative environment I want to create is that even though we have huge production conditions, such as a Boeing 747 crashing into a building or something, I still hope that the actors can feel that their performance is leading the whole scene forward. Go, not just step by step to complete the tasks under the production conditions. Because what I want is characterization to determine the shooting style. This is a way to combine independent films and high-cost films at the same time. It is also my consistent requirement for my main creative team. They are the best people in the industry. After years of experimenting, I can now say that we can grasp this balance.
Q: Speaking of buying a real 747 and hitting a building, is it considered impulse consumption, or is it actually very cost-effective?
A: Hahaha is a little impulsive consumption. We originally planned to use a smaller aircraft combined with special effects, but during the scene survey we found a lot of decommissioned 747s, which were about to be dismantled and then scrapped. In fact, the appearance conditions are all good! So I thought, wow, or else we will come for real? We calculated the cost, and actually saved some special effects money. Because it is very complicated and expensive to use special effects to make the interior part of the aircraft, if it is very realistic and detailed, so although it is impulsive consumption, the money is also spent on the blade haha. And this is an unparalleled shooting experience for all the crew.
Q: How did you film this scene after you bought the plane? Are there any interesting details to share?
A: At that time, we had studied how the plane crashed and exploded for a long time, and we used many new technologies. We try to put the plane collision scene in the back row, first go to finish shooting the European part and then come back to shoot this one, so that we can leave more time for the special effects team to do various tests, because the special effects team did not shoot. There have been scenes like this. For example, the previous blasting scenes used to tow a truck at most, but now a 747 is to be towed, so many tricks were newly invented to deal with it. Everyone was very excited on the day of shooting, and we successfully completed all the lens angles we wanted.
Q: Except for the Dark Knight trilogy, it seems that your movies are used to use one word as the title. Is this a habit? What does "creed" really mean to you?
A: Haha, I didn't pay special attention to these. Of course, it would be great if I could find the most concise word to represent the most important part of a movie. The creed (TENET) is a palindrome at first, and it is the same for both forward and backward reading, which is actually the same as the structure of the film. When you watch the movie, you will know that it also represents a kind of belief, believing in your abilities, believing in your own destiny, this is also a very important theme of the movie, so from two aspects, I think the "creed" is the same Nice title.
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