novellhall Chapter 371: Cut down all the villains and conspiracies!
Chapter 371: Cut down all the villains and conspiracies!
Chapter 370: Cut down all the villains and conspiracies!
The New Year holiday has just ended.
Inside Marvel Studios headquarters, the lights in the post-production department have been on for half a month straight.
Chen Xun had just flown back to Los Angeles from Kentucky and hadn't even had a chance to return to his villa in Beverly Hills when he received a call from Kevin Feige, whose tone was full of excitement: "Chen, the rough cut is out. Jon and the editing team are all here, just waiting for you and Christine to come over and give us your feedback."
After hanging up the phone, Chen Xun turned to look at Christine in the passenger seat.
"It seems Kevin really admires your editing skills!"
Christine raised an eyebrow, swiping her finger across the schedule Marvel had sent her on her phone, and chuckled, "This is the first time I've seen Marvel call in the lead actor to participate in the entire review process of the initial cut. Only you get this treatment."
Chen Xun didn't tell her that he had already participated in the post-production editing of several films.
Chen Xun gripped the steering wheel, smiled, and shrugged: "Mainly because I mentioned to Joe during filming that many scenes needed to be shot in multiple versions to allow for sufficient editing space, so naturally they had to call me in now that the initial cut is out."
That's true.
During the three-month filming period, he had already figured out the market trends for superhero movies around 2017 by relying on his monthly updated "Industry Trend Predictions".
Audiences have grown tired of the devastating villain battles and the same old hero-savior trope, and instead have an unprecedented expectation for the ordinary lives of superheroes after they take off their suits.
So during filming, he communicated with Jon Watts in advance and adjusted the focus of the shoot.
The film deliberately downplayed the villain Vulture's thriller and crime scenes, reduced the proportion of dark action scenes, and instead greatly enhanced Peter Parker's high school daily life, adding a lot of scenes of him and Ned fiddling with spider silk in the lab, joking around with classmates in the cafeteria, and secretly watching MJ in class.
It brings out the best of the characteristics of the high school student next door.
He also communicated with Downey in advance and cut a lot of scenes where Iron Man excessively interfered with Peter's growth.
The plot, where Tony was responsible for everything and cleaned up the mess, was changed to a guiding and enlightening approach, returning the initiative for growth to Peter himself.
At the time, some people in the crew didn't understand. They felt that instead of using top-tier villain actors and the popularity of Iron Man, they were focusing on the daily lives of high school students, which was like picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon.
But Chen Xun knew in his heart that the core charm of this version of Spider-Man that became a global hit was never the superhero battle, but the fact that this 16-year-old high school student who makes mistakes, has a crush on a girl, and is ridiculed by his classmates is your good neighbor Spider-Man.
The car drove into the underground parking garage of Marvel headquarters.
As soon as the two reached the post-production editing area on the top floor, Jon Watts greeted them, his face beaming with undisguised excitement: "Chen, Christine, you've finally arrived! The rough cut was just rendered, and we've all looked at it, but we feel like something's missing. We've been waiting for you to come and give us your feedback."
Kevin Feige, who was standing next to them, also walked over with a smile and shook hands with the two of them: "I told Jon a long time ago that we should listen to Chen Xun more when filming. His judgment of the market and the audience is more accurate than our entire publicity department combined."
Kevin Feige has always been a supporter of Chen Xun.
The group entered the top-notch Dolby Atmos editing studio, where the blackout curtains were drawn tightly, comfortable viewing sofas were placed in front of the huge screen, and the editing team was already waiting in the wings next to the professional editing equipment.
"Don't stand, sit down."
Kevin Feige gestured for everyone to sit down and then gestured to the editor: "Let's begin. Let's take a look at the complete rough cut."
The lights went out.
Marvel's opening animation lit up the screen, accompanied by the familiar sound effects of turning pages in a comic book.
The entire room fell silent instantly.
The two-hour and ten-minute rough cut was played without a single dull moment.
When the end credits music started and the lights came back on, everyone in the editing room breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a round of applause.
Christine turned to look at Chen Xun first, her eyes full of amazement: "It's much better than I imagined, especially the scene in the library. The edited version feels even better than when it was filmed."
Jon Watts chuckled and scratched his head, but still looked troubled: "The overall flow is smooth, but I always feel that there is still a problem with the pacing. The villain's scenes are a bit disconnected from the school storyline. With Tony's scenes added in, I feel like they are stealing Peter's growth storyline. Also, I'm still not sure if the audience will like so much school life."
Upon hearing this, the editor and several producers nodded in agreement, expressing their concerns: "We also feel that perhaps too few of the Vulture's suspenseful scenes were cut? After all, it's a superhero movie, and the villain's sense of oppression should be more pronounced."
"We originally wanted to add more scenes for Iron Man, after all, Downey's box office appeal is undeniable, and adding more scenes would definitely benefit the box office."
"The scenes depicting daily school life are almost 40% complete. Isn't that too drawn out? Won't the audience feel like we're making a high school drama instead of Spider-Man?"
The editing room fell silent, and everyone's eyes were on Chen Xun, waiting for him to speak.
Chen Xun didn't rush to refute anyone. He picked up the remote control on the table, pulled the progress bar back to the middle of the film, and pointed to the scene on the screen where a horror scene appeared: "The initial cut is very well done. The rhythm of the action scenes and the actors' performances are all fine. But the core reason why everyone feels awkward is not that there are too many campus scenes or that the villains are not oppressive enough. It's that our narrative focus is off."
Everyone seemed to be deep in thought.
"The movie is called Spider-Man: Homecoming. Who is the main character? It's Peter Parker, the 16-year-old high school student who just got his superpowers and has only been Spider-Man for a few months."
Chen Xun put down the remote control and glanced at everyone present: "The core of our film has never been a multi-layered villain battle, nor is it an internal conspiracy of Stark Industries, nor is it a spin-off of Iron Man. It is a story about a boy who went from just wanting to be a good neighbor to truly understanding that with great power comes great responsibility, and completing his growth and transformation."
"Anything that deviates from this core principle is superfluous!"
He pointed at the screen, and the first line directly targeted the most controversial villain subplot: "Cut out all the horror subplots, not a single frame!"
Upon hearing this, the editor was stunned for a moment, and quickly said, "But Director Chen, the action design for the terrifying mechanical arm scene is outstanding, and it's a classic villain from the comics. Adding it would not only enrich Spider-Man's scenes but also give comic book fans a surprise. Wouldn't it be a shame to cut it all?"
"It's not a pity."
Chen Xun shook his head, his tone unwavering: "Our core villain is Vulture. What's his appeal? It's not his world-destroying superpowers, but the mirror image he presents of Peter."
"One is an ordinary person from a poor background who was driven to desperation after Stark Industries stole his business; the other is a high school student who was chosen by Iron Man, possessed a top-of-the-line suit, but only wanted to be the hero next door. The conflict between the two is a clash of values and a contrast in their growth, which is the meaning of the villain's existence."
"Adding a thriller not only distracts from the Vulture's villainous arc but also disrupts Peter's growth rhythm. He should have gradually understood the meaning of heroism through his repeated encounters with the Vulture, but instead, a mechanical arm villain suddenly appears and causes a senseless fight. Just as the audience is getting into Peter's emotional journey of growth, they are instantly pulled out of the story."
He paused, then added, "What comic book fans want to see is not just a bunch of villains, but Spider-Man himself. Making the Vulture storyline solid is more effective than adding ten classic villains."
The group exchanged glances. Even the producer, who had insisted on keeping the horror scenes, lowered his head and pondered Chen Xun's words, finding them increasingly reasonable.
In the initial cut, the startling entrance did indeed feel abrupt and didn't fit the preceding or following plot at all.
Aside from a spectacular action scene, it did nothing to advance the main plot or the characters' growth; instead, it made the originally tight growth storyline fragmented.
"Cut off all of Stark Industries' political machinations."
Chen Xun's second sentence dropped another bombshell.
In the initial cut, the writers added a subplot involving Stark Industries executives colluding with the black market to sell alien weapons, even implicating government corruption. Vulture was merely a pawn in this conspiracy.
The original intention was to elevate the film's scope, but the result was that the story became bloated and unbearable.
"This line is completely superfluous."
Chen Xun's tone was very blunt: "Audiences go to the cinema to see how high school student Peter Parker grows into Spider-Man, not to see a commercial anti-corruption drama. This storyline not only steals Peter's protagonist halo, but also turns the Vulture, a villain with flesh and blood, into a tool in the conspiracy, completely destroying his character charm."
"More importantly, this storyline completely unbalanced Tony's role."
Chen Xun turned to Jon Watts: "Our initial plan was for Tony to be Peter's guide, not his nanny, and certainly not the protagonist of this film. Adding this conspiracy plot changes Tony's role from guiding to dominating. Audiences will feel that all the problems Peter solves ultimately rely on Iron Man to save the day. Where is Peter's growth then? Are we making Spider-Man, or Iron Man 4.5?"
These words struck a nerve with Jon Watts, hitting him where it hurt the most.
He felt something was off when he was filming it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Now, Chen Xun's words have hit the nail on the head.
Christine nodded in agreement, adding, "I think so too. Adding this plot line, Peter and MJ..."
Their scenes together became less prominent.
"The audience's attention was completely drawn to the conspiracy, and no one cared about a high school student's crush and embarrassment. But it is precisely these details that make Peter's character real and lovable."
With Christine's agreement, the editors, who had been somewhat hesitant, all nodded in agreement.
They edited through the footage every day and had long felt that this line was cumbersome and cumbersome.
However, due to the production company's requirements, I dared not suggest any changes.
Now that Chen Xun has made the direct decision to cut [something], they are naturally happy to see it happen.
Looking at everyone's reactions, Chen Xun continued to explain his complete editing plan: "My idea is very clear: the entire film will only retain Vulture as the core villain, and all action scenes will only retain four key moments that are strongly linked to Peter's growth: the Washington Monument climb, the ferry battle, the Staten Island warehouse standoff, and the final airplane battle."
"The rest of the crime scenes and subplots have been streamlined, retaining only the content that showcases the character arc of Baldy, making the contrast between him and Peter clearer."
"Tony's role will be streamlined by 20%, cutting all content related to the conspiracy and retaining only three core scenes: the opening scene guiding the hero's return from Civil War, the awakening after the ferry accident, and the ending scene recognizing his growth. The constant cover-ups will be changed to subtle hints, allowing Peter to make mistakes and solve problems on his own, giving Peter the initiative in his growth."
"There aren't too many campus routes, and they're not refined enough."
Chen Xun changed the subject, looking at the producers who were criticizing the drawn-out school storyline: "What we need to cut are those filler scenes unrelated to the characters' growth, such as the irrelevant ensemble scenes in the cafeteria and redundant shots of club activities. But Ned's friendship storyline..."
The scenes depicting Peter Parker's unrequited love for MJ and his embarrassing moments of secretly watching the news in class must be included and edited more tightly, because these are what distinguish Peter Parker from superheroes like Iron Man and Captain America.
"He's a high school student first, and Spider-Man second."
The reason this version of Spider-Man became a global sensation in its previous life was never because of grand superhero battles, but because of its unique sense of approachability.
The audience can see themselves in this 16-year-old boy who makes mistakes, has crushes, and is ridiculed by his classmates. This empathy is the core secret to the film's box office success.
After he finished speaking, no one in the editing room raised a single question.
Everyone was convinced by Chen Xun's line of thinking.
He didn't just randomly cut and delete; every cut precisely addressed the core issues of the film. Every suggestion for modification revolved around the single theme of "Peter Parker's growth," with clear logic and interconnected steps. He even anticipated the subsequent market feedback.
Jon Watts stared at the screen for a long time, then suddenly slapped his thigh and burst into laughter, giving Chen Xun a thumbs up: "Chen, I'm impressed! This isn't just giving feedback, it's like you've taken a scalpel and cut out all the lesions in the film! The reason it always felt awkward before was because you added too much unnecessary stuff, covering up the core growth trajectory!"
He laughed and joked, "You're not a Golden Globe-winning actor, you're more like a strict high school homeroom teacher, grading papers with a red pen, keeping only the best and letting the rest fail!"
The people in the editing room burst into laughter instantly, their previous anxiety and concerns vanishing.
Kevin Feige leaned back on the sofa, smiled, and nodded, giving the editing team the final approval: "Go with Chen Xun's suggestion! The entire film will revolve around Peter's growth storyline; cut all the unnecessary subplots, not a single one!"
The editing team immediately perked up and nodded in agreement.
They had wanted to cut their hair this way for a long time, and now that Chen Xun and Kevin Feige had given their approval, they were naturally full of enthusiasm!
With the main plot settled, everyone started discussing the post-credits scene.
Marvel's Easter egg culture has long been a hallmark of the MCU.
An Easter egg in a superhero movie must not only connect with the film's emotions and foreshadow future plot developments, but also fit into the overall structure of the MCU; it cannot be done carelessly.