Made in Hollywood

The pouring rain fell from the sky. Eight American soldiers were holding their weapons and carefully hiding behind a dilapidated house. The captain moved to the gate of the garden and looked out through the crack of the door, as if observing the enemy outside.

Just behind them, three photographers wearing special rain capes, holding portable cameras, chose the pre-set angle, and carefully captured the real reaction of each soldier.

On the periphery of the rain, Duke also wore a poncho, standing on the observation platform of the commanding heights built in advance, overlooking the situation of the entire battlefield.

The artificial rain kept hitting his face, but he couldn't feel the cold, instead there was a trace of warmth left. Although Ireland had passed the coldest season in late February, the temperature was still relatively low, and the crew naturally couldn't be real Shooting with cold water, artificial rain with the right temperature was created instead.

Rain can always bring a lot of trouble. If this scene is even rehearsed, it will be the seventh time in three days. Fortunately, according to Duke's observation, the actors are getting better and better, and they are still in good condition today. Nothing happened.

This may have something to do with the end of the filming. As long as the scene is over, the crew can leave the cold Ireland and go to France to feel the warm sunshine.

Another force rushed through the door, and the Captain Tom Hanks shouted, "Thunder!"

The opposite immediately responded, "Lightning!"

From Duke's point of view, Tom Hanks was assigning tasks, as skilled and composed as a true battle-tested officer, he and his men took cover, a charge forward, and soon a The U.S. military team has converged.

At the same time, German sounded from the opposite side...

John? Schwartzman followed up with the camera in person. According to Duke's orders, his lens always followed Tom Hanks firmly.

When Tom Hanks was shifted, John Schwartzman stepped back in time and hid in the reserved photography space next to him. His assistant Ben Watts temporarily became the main photographer. Through the camera in his hand, Catch the Capazzo played by DeMilford, the soldier who complained and picked up a few that were still edible from the rotten fruit on the ground...

The sound of gunshots, shouts, and howls suddenly sounded again. Even if he was wearing a poncho, John Schwartzman was already soaking wet. At this time, he was hiding in a place where the warm water could not get in, but he felt the cold. .

"Cut!"

Finally, at the commanding heights of the battlefield, there was a familiar shout of stop, "Come here first!"

The U.S. soldiers who were on the alert scattered in a hurry and walked towards the bathroom that had been prepared long ago. If you don't pay attention to the weather, symptoms such as a cold or fever will come over immediately.

Back in the tent where the director's monitor was located, Duke took the towel handed by Sophia, wiped his face casually, sat behind the monitor, and reviewed the footage just shot. The footage captured from all angles was scattered. , but in Duke's eyes, and the picture in his mind is mutually confirmed, the overall is still quite satisfactory.

This is the best set of shots taken in three days.

"Notify the crew," Duke turned to an assistant director, "Move to the fourteenth location as soon as possible!"

The No. 14 venue had already been built, and the crew was transferred over to start the final preparations, while giving some rest time to the actors who had just been hit by the rain.

After the actors changed their costumes and entered the set, Duke called together the American and German troops at the same time for the final explanation.

"This is an encounter!" Duke stood by the wall that was pushed down. "You face the enemy in unexpected circumstances. I want you to show your hysterical side and shout!"

Everyone was nodding, and Duke deliberately stopped John Spencer, who played Urban.

"John, not you!" he exhorted. "Remember, even in this situation, you still don't want to take up arms, and I'll give you a close-up! Remember to use German."

"I see."

This actor looks thin and young, but in fact, he is in his thirties. He has worked hard in Hollywood for many years. He is a typical actor with good acting skills but bad luck.

Of course, there are too many actors like this in Hollywood.

Ten minutes later, when the departments were ready, Duke asked the assistant director to start.

A team of American soldiers was walking in the ruins of the street. The officer who led the team saw that the surrounding area seemed to be safe. He sat on the ruins and was about to pour out the sand and stones in the shoes. On the back wall, the wall that had been baptized by the war could no longer support it and collapsed suddenly, attracting many people to look there.

At the same time, the people inside also looked out. The German army and the US army met at such a close distance. Both sides raised their weapons at the same time, and roared hoarsely for the other to put down their weapons.

Ben Watts immediately walked to a 60-degree angle to capture the shot of Urban holding his weapon and shouting in German from the side.

The gunshots sounded suddenly, and the German troops in the ruins fell to the ground one after another, and the blood spilled like rain...

After the American soldiers entered the ruins for inspection, Duke immediately called to stop. He could clearly hear the sound of relaxed exhalation coming from the left and right. Although the crew had to go to France to go to the Allied cemetery for live shooting, they could finally leave the gloomy Ireland. .

And there are only a few shots in France, after which, you can return to California to enjoy the bright sunshine and warm air again.

"Sophia,"

As the crew cleaned up, Duke called Sofia Coppola and asked, "Had Hudson Young and the other extras arrived?"

Hudson Young is the actor hired by the crew to play the aged James Ryan.

"They arrived in Caen, France the day before yesterday." Sophia flipped through the work log, "We have someone there to receive them."

"What about the cemetery?" Duke asked again.

"Already contacted!"

The two said a few words, and Tom Hanks came over after changing his clothes. "It's time to say goodbye, Duke."

Without waiting for Duke's reaction, he came over to hug Duke and said with a smile, "This is a pleasant cooperation, and I hope we will have the opportunity to continue working together."

"Yeah, I hope so too."

What Duke said was not polite. Actors with excellent acting skills often made the director feel a lot easier, especially the type of actor Tom Hanks. He shook hands with Hanks again, and then raised his thumbs. He said, "Come on, Tom! Win the Best Actor Oscar!"

"Lend your auspicious words!"

After Tom Hanks left, actors came to say goodbye to Duke one after another. These people knew very well that there was no harm in having a good relationship with a director like Duke.

"Are you interested in going back to L.A. to the party I'm calling?"

Leonardo DiCaprio, who came last, exchanged a few words, then suddenly lowered his voice and said to Duke, "Blonde! Long legs! Model!"

"Leo..." Duke smiled at him and patted him heavily on the shoulder, "Looks like we can find a common language on this."

In Sophia's rolled eyes, the two laughed at the same time, and their aesthetics in this regard still have something in common.

In the afternoon, most of the actors evacuated the set, and most of them returned to their respective cities by plane. The next day, Duke left an executive producer and several other assistants to deal with the aftermath of the crew, and he led the way. The brigade went directly to Caen in the Greater Normandy region of France.

The crew's destination is the Normandy American Cemetery on the heights of Omaha Beach, which covers an area of ​​about 70 hectares and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

Here is a well-tended green lawn, surrounded by pines, shrubs and roses. White marble crosses are arranged on each other on the lawn. It is holy and majestic. On the land, the overall architectural design of the cemetery is divided into two columns on the left and right, and the areas are separated by letters. There are two female statues on the west side of the cemetery.

In 1956, the cemetery was officially opened to the public, and the French government gave it to the United States as a permanent territory in 1979, thus turning the Normandy American Cemetery into a magical "China".

Each cross monument in the cemetery is engraved with the soldier's name, rank, unit number, hometown and date of death. According to the information collected by Duke, it is said that the prototype of the soldier who saved the 101st Airborne Division was buried here, but the cemetery management Fang did not deliberately mark the location of their tombstones, because all the victims were treated the same.

Because of the long-term coordination with the management, after Duke led the crew to arrive, the cemetery temporarily closed an area as a location for the shooting. Although there was only half a day, it was enough for Duke.

The shooting here is almost not difficult. After a few trial shootings as a run-in, most of the shots have been passed in a few times, and the shooting quickly came to the end.

Old James Ryan stood in front of Captain John Miller's grave, looking at his wife.

"Tell me I have not lived in vain in my life!"

"What?" the wife wondered.

"Tell me I'm a good man!"

The wife realized something, looked at the white cross, and said very seriously, "You are, James!"

She turned around and walked back, James Ryan raised his head, raised his chest, stood at attention, and then made a standard American military salute to the white cross!

The camera circled 180 degrees, and Duke took off the headset used to listen to the live footage and shouted, "It's over!"

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, but there was no excited shouting or celebratory applause. Everyone tacitly kept silent. This is the most basic etiquette in the cemetery.

Without too many stops, the crew packed up the equipment as quickly as possible and evacuated the U.S. military cemetery. Duke and others flew to Los Angeles that night and sealed the duplicate films in different bank vaults. temporarily on vacation.