novellhall Chapter 389 Let's do it your way!
Chapter 389 Let's do it your way!
Chapter 388 Let's do it your way!
Todd Phillips stared at the monitor, his fingers tapping impatiently on the table. He shook his head at Jeff, the senior editor beside him: "No, still no!"
"We cut the subway scene three times. Either the violence was too overwhelming and drowned out Arthur's psychological changes, or the pacing was too slow and the emotions couldn't be brought up."
Jeff frowned as well: "Todd, this is the dilemma of R-rated films."
"If we want to get a restricted rating, we need enough visual impact. But if we show all the gory scenes, the character arc of Arthur will be diluted. The audience will only remember that he killed people, not why he killed them."
The two spent a whole week working on the material.
Three rough cuts were produced.
The desired effect could not be achieved.
Todd knew perfectly well that the soul of Joker was never violence and crime, but the character of Arthur Fleck.
The entire process of how he was crushed by society, and the tragic core hidden behind the madness.
And Chen Xun is the only one in all of Hollywood who truly understands this character.
He initially decided to invite Chen Xun to participate in the entire editing process not only because Chen Xun was the male lead and co-producer of the film, but also because during the four months of filming, Chen Xun's understanding of Arthur and his control over the character's emotions repeatedly overturned his perception.
Often, a single glance or subtle gesture improvised by Chen Xun carries more power than ten pages of dialogue written in a script.
He didn't want to wait until the rough cut was finalized before asking Chen Xun to make changes, as that would not only waste time but also diminish the character's most precious charm.
"Call Chen Xun and ask if he's free today. Ask him to come to the editing room."
Todd put down his storyboard and said to his assistant, "This film can't do without him."
At this time, Chen Xun had just finished promoting the premiere of "Spider-Man" and flew directly to the studio without even going home.
He was still wearing a simple black hoodie and jeans, and his face showed a bit of travel fatigue, but his eyes were still bright. He glanced at the footage on the editing table and knew where they were stuck.
"Todd, Jeff."
Chen Xun greeted him with a smile, pulled up a chair, and sat down in front of the monitor: "I heard from my assistant that you're stuck on the editing of the subway scene and the stand-up comedy routine?"
"It's not just stuck, it's like being trapped in a dead end."
Todd shook his head with a wry smile and showed Chen Xun the three edited versions of the clip: "Take a look for yourself. We edited three versions, but we feel like they're missing something. Either they're too much like a typical crime thriller, or they're too boring and don't grab the audience's attention."
Chen Xun remained silent, quietly watching the three versions of the clip. He first silently recited in his mind: "Activate the [Industry Trend Prediction] function. Target: The core needs, aesthetic trends, and social sentiment preferences of audiences in the North American and global film markets for R-rated restricted films in 2017."
This is a limited-time feature that the system can only offer once a month.
He had been saving it all month for the post-production of "Joker".
After all, this movie was released two years earlier than in the previous life, and the market environment, the audience's emotional threshold, and their acceptance of social issues were all slightly different from in the previous life.
He must accurately pinpoint the pain points of today's audience in order for this film to replicate or even surpass the legend of its predecessor.
[Industry trend prediction function is now activated, data loading ————]
In the 2017 global film market, superhero commercial films were released in droves. Audiences had become tired of the "feel-good" formula and had a greater demand for works with realistic concerns and human depth, especially among young people. Their attention to issues such as social class, the survival of the underprivileged, and spiritual dilemmas reached a five-year peak.
In the R-rated (restricted) film market, audiences have become less tolerant of explicit gore and violence, and more interested in films with "psychological impact."
The narrative technique of "visual impact" is highly acceptable; the use of negative space and suggestive violence is more likely to evoke empathy and discussion from the audience than explicit gore.
In the comic book adaptation film market, audiences are tired of the black-and-white hero-villain dichotomy and have extremely high expectations for complex, three-dimensional, and tragic villain characters. The priority of character arc is far higher than the thrill of the plot.
A series of conclusions flashed through Chen Xun's mind, and he instantly felt reassured.
The reason why "Joker" was able to achieve a global box office of $10.74 billion with a budget of $3500 million and become the highest-grossing R-rated film in film history was never because of its restricted violence gimmicks, but because it accurately hit social emotions and made the collapse of an ordinary person's spirit relatable to audiences all over the world.
At this point in time, there isn't a comic book adaptation film that "reverses superheroes" on the market.
Audiences are beginning to experience aesthetic fatigue with formulaic superhero action movies.
The appearance of "Joker" can fill this gap perfectly.
What are your thoughts after watching it?
Todd looked at Chen Xun in silence for a long time before finally asking, his eyes full of anticipation.
Chen Xun looked up at him and Jeff, leaned forward slightly, pointed to the screen on the monitor, and expressed his thoughts.
His very first words completely overturned their preconceived notions:
-
"Todd, Jeff, we can't edit this movie using the logic of traditional R-rated crime films."
"Chen, what do you mean by that?"
Jeff paused for a moment, then frowned: "This was originally an R-rated film. We have to be responsible for the restricted rating, and also for the audience who came for the R-rated film."
"Just because audiences come for R-rated films doesn't mean they only want to see explicit gore and violence."
Chen Xun shook his head, not completely denying his statement, but instead posed a few questions: "I ask you, what is the core message of this film?"
"How many people did Arthur kill?"
Or how insane were his crimes?
Seeing the two deep in thought, Chen Xun gave a direct answer: "Neither!"
"How did Arthur Fleck, a man who wanted to bring joy to the world, gradually become a clown because of society?"
He raised his hand and tapped on the editing table, explaining his editing ideas line by line, each one breaking the ironclad rules of traditional Hollywood R-rated film editing: "All explicit gore should be toned down. In the subway shooting scene, cut to a black screen immediately after the gunshot, leaving only the gunshot and the audience's screams. Don't film the bullets hitting flesh. In the talk show murder scene, only keep a close-up of Arthur's eyes before the shooting and a wide shot of the audience after the gunshot. Don't give any close-ups of the death scenes."
"Replace all the fast-paced conflict shots with close-ups of Arthur's micro-expressions."
"Adjust the narrative pace and use more subtle and ambiguous techniques to handle the scenes between Arthur and his mother Penny, as well as Sophie's fantasy storyline."
"For the staircase dance scene, don't use precise timing or flashy techniques, and don't use fast cuts. Just use a long take to fully capture the entire process of him walking down the stairs from the top."
Chen Xun finished speaking in one breath.
The editing room was completely silent.
Todd and Jeff exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.
Jeff is a veteran editor with 20 years of experience in Hollywood, having edited more than a dozen R-rated crime films that have become box office hits. He had never heard of such editing logic before.
He frowned and objected directly: "Chen, I can't agree with your idea. Toning down the gore, slowing down the narrative pace, and using too many close-ups of characters—this is not how an R-rated film is edited!"
"Audiences go to the cinema to watch R-rated movies for visual impact and thrills. Editing it like this will obscure the most essential element."
The audience drove them away!
"Furthermore, the numerous long takes and close-ups of micro-expressions will make the film's pace very slow, making the first half very dull, and the audience simply won't be able to sit still—"
Jeff paused, his tone becoming more urgent: "The audience for comic book movies is already used to fast-paced plot progression. Editing it like this will make them lose patience."
Todd remained silent, his brow furrowed.
He was just as shocked as Jeff.
Chen Xun's ideas completely overturned his experience in making R-rated films.
He directed the "Hangover" series and "Warriors," so he understands the market logic of R-rated films all too well.
High-octane thrills, fast pace, and maximum excitement are the keys to box office success!
In his view, Chen Xun's idea was too risky, and could even be said to have violated market rules.
What put him in an even more difficult position was that Chen Xun was someone he had personally invited to participate in the editing. Chen Xun was not only the male lead but also the film's co-producer, and his understanding of the character was unparalleled.
He couldn't directly refute Chen Xun's idea.
But I simply couldn't let go of my more than ten years of industry experience to accept this disruptive editing logic.
"Chen, I understand your understanding of the character Arthur, and I know you want to highlight the character's arc."
Todd finally spoke, his tone hesitant: "But you have to understand, this is a commercial film. We have to consider box office returns and audience acceptance. The editing style you're suggesting is too advanced. We don't know if the market will accept it."
Seeing the disapproval on their faces, Chen Xun didn't rush to refute them. Instead, he calmly asked, "Todd, when we made this movie, were we aiming to make a run-of-the-mill R-rated crime thriller, or did we want to create a film that people will remember for ten or twenty years?"
One sentence left Todd speechless.
"There's no shortage of R-rated superhero movies with lots of fighting and killing. Warner Bros. has the DC Universe, Marvel has the Avengers, and there are more than a dozen superhero movies released every year, with more exciting fights, more explosive special effects, and more thrilling plot twists than us."
Chen Xun's words hit the nail on the head: "What do we have to compare with them on? Special effects? The level of enjoyment? Our $3500 million budget is not even a fraction of theirs."
"Our only advantage is this character, this story."
Chen Xun pointed to Arthur's face on the monitor: "Audiences are tired of perfect heroes and villains who are black and white. They want to see a living person. They want to see a bit of themselves in this character."
"You said that audiences want to see visual impact, but visual impact is forgotten after watching. Only characters that they can empathize with will keep them talking about the story and recommending the movie to the people around them after they leave the theater."
He added, "I bet you all are already tired of blatant gore and violence. The black screen after a gunshot is more chilling than the sight of a bullet hitting flesh. A close-up of Arthur's desperate eyes is more memorable to them than ten fight scenes."
The editing room fell silent again.
Jeff opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that he couldn't find any words to refute Chen Xun's logic.
He had to admit that Chen Xun was right.
With a surge of superhero movies being released in the past two years, audience reviews and box office performance have indeed become increasingly weak.
People are no longer buying into the formulaic thrills.
Todd closed his eyes and pondered for a long time before finally opening them and looking at Chen Xun: "Okay! Jeff, bring up the project files and cut out a 15-minute clip according to his ideas. Let's let the facts speak for themselves and see which version is better."
Jeff still had some doubts, but he nodded nonetheless.
In just one hour, a 15-minute clip was edited.
From the moment Arthur walks into the talk show studio, to the moment he finishes his joke and pulls the trigger on Murray, to the moment he walks out of the studio and watches the Gotham riots outside the police car window, the entire story presents Arthur's ultimate transformation.
When the clip ended and the image froze on Arthur's face, a manic yet relieved smile, the editing room fell silent.
Todd stood there, his hair standing on end, and his scalp tingling.
He watched the footage of this scene countless times and even edited several versions himself.
But no other version has ever had such a strong psychological impact as Chen Xun's edit.
There were no explicit scenes of gore; after the gunshot, there was only a two-second black screen, accompanied by the piercing gunshot and the screams of the audience.
But the suffocating feeling of facing death head-on is more intense than any gory scene.
The 15-minute segment was neither too fast nor too slow, yet not a single second was wasted.
When Arthur's smile freezes on the screen at the end, that deep-seated madness lingers for a long time.
"Oh My God----"
Jeff was the first to recover, looking at Chen Xun with eyes full of admiration: "Chen, how did you do that? This is a hundred times better than the versions we edited!"
Todd finally snapped out of his shock, strode over to Chen Xun, patted him hard on the shoulder, and blushed with excitement: "Chen! You were right! We were all wrong before!"
"This is what Joker should be like! This is Arthur Fleck!"
At this moment, he felt only admiration, and even relief.
I'm glad I invited Chen Xun to participate in the editing.
Otherwise, they would have almost ruined this work that was destined to become a legend.
"Let's go with your plan!"
Todd made the decision without hesitation: "From today onwards, you're in charge of this editing room. Jeff and I will fully cooperate with you!"
Seeing the two of them completely convinced, Chen Xun smiled and nodded.
This version of "Joker" will only resonate more deeply with audiences than the previous version.
In the Brooklyn post-production studio, the entire editing room erupted in celebration the moment the rendering progress bar reached 100%.
A deafening cheer erupted immediately.
Todd Phillips rushed forward, hugged Chen Xun tightly, and patted him hard on the back: "Chen! We did it!"
The movie is a success!
Jeff, the editor, and the entire post-production team all gathered around.
Peng!Peng!Peng!
The corks of the champagne bottles in his hand popped off one after another, splashing foam all over the floor.
For a whole month, they followed Chen Xun's ideas, immersing themselves in the editing room, polishing the footage frame by frame and adjusting the background music second by second.
From 120 hours of footage, a final 122-minute film was condensed.
When the final cut of the film finished playing, the scene froze on Arthur's silhouette as he danced away in the sunlight down the corridor of Arkham Asylum.
Everyone knew that they had created a film destined to be written into film history.
Chen Xun accepted the champagne from Jeff, smiled, and clinked glasses with everyone. The moment his fingertips touched the cool glass, a familiar system notification sounded in his mind, and a golden light instantly filled his entire field of vision:
[Project Name: Joker (Post-production completed)]
[Current project completion rate: 100%]
[Overall Performance Rating: S+]
Director's satisfaction rating: S+
Team Collaboration: S+
[Global audience expectations: S+ (Breaking the record for global popularity of an independent R-rated film, with social media topic views exceeding 60 billion)]
Overall Rating: S+
[Final bonus for completed film distributed:]
[Historical Progress] Realm Progress +6%, Current Progress 73%
Looking at the panel, the S+ rating is maxed out in all categories, and the progress bar is stuck at 73%.
Chen Xun felt a great sense of accomplishment.
From taking on the role to four months of immersive filming, and then leading the entire post-production editing process.
He combined the classics of his past with the current market sentiment, refining them into a more powerful work.
Todd put down his champagne glass, looked at Chen Xun with an almost fanatical gaze: "Chen, let's submit the finished film to the Venice Film Festival right now. The Golden Lion will definitely be ours, and we'll sweep all the awards at next year's Oscars."
Chen Xun smiled and nodded: "I believe you!"
He knew it in his heart.
-
The legend of "Joker" has already been foreshadowed.
Meanwhile, another of his works is about to unleash a global box office storm.
On the evening of June 17th, North American time, a line stretching hundreds of meters formed three hours in advance for the midnight premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Countless fans dressed in red and blue Spider-Man suits, holding up signs supporting Chen Xun, crowded at the cinema entrance.
Even though the Los Angeles night was still chilly, it did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm.
At the cinema, all tickets for the midnight screenings had been sold out a week in advance.
On secondhand ticketing websites, a midnight movie ticket has been resold for as much as $500.
Tickets are still extremely difficult to obtain.
at the same time!
On the other side of the world, in Shanghai, at 6 a.m. on June 18, the morning screenings in cinemas across the country were already packed.
The theater at the Shanghai World Financial Center was packed with fans dressed in matching shirts that read "Your Neighbor Spider-Man" and holding Spider-Man banners. When the Marvel opening animation lit up and Peter Parker, played by Chen Xun, appeared on the big screen, the entire theater erupted in thunderous applause.
This day marks the global simultaneous release of "Spider-Man: Homecoming".
From North America to Europe, from China to Southeast Asia, 87 countries and regions around the world simultaneously launched this carnival that belongs to Spider-Man and Chen Xun.
In less than 24 hours after its release, the global box office figures skyrocketed, breaking records at an alarming rate.
The initial North American box office figures shattered the worldview of Hollywood professionals.
Spider-Man: Homecoming grossed over $1.8 million on its opening day in North America, setting a new record for the highest opening day gross for a solo MCU superhero film and topping the all-time record for the highest opening day gross for a non-series debut film, leaving the second-place film far behind.
This is just the opening day performance of a solo superhero movie, and it has even surpassed the opening day performance of many films in the Avengers series.
The industry's initial prediction of $1.2 million in opening day box office revenue seemed incredibly conservative in the face of the frenzied market.