Made in Hollywood

At this exhibition, the crew also released the second commercial after the Super Bowl. Different from the first commercial, Transformers had more opportunities to show their faces.

A yellow Camaro flies by on the highway, and the Optimus Prime behind it rumbles forward, driving a huge minesweeper, the Decepticon, to the side.

Optimus Prime and the attack collided, and the effect was like a spark hitting the earth. The two spun down the viaduct, and Optimus Prime's car-sized fist slammed into the attack's chin. Suddenly, the attack's face turned into a A dizzying mass of swirling fragments.

So far in the preview, the audience at the scene only felt that the crew was really inhuman!

Hundreds of spectators gathered in front of the "Transformers" exhibition area and asked the crew to continue broadcasting. Some reporters, who were afraid that the world would not be in chaos, also hid in the crowd and fanned the flames. If the organizer did not send a large number of security personnel, it is difficult to say that the exhibition area will be. Won't be torn down by eager moviegoers.

"Why does a 30-second commercial create this effect?"

In a cafe on the second floor of the exhibition, where you can see the "Transformers" exhibition area, Irene Lauder was sitting at the coffee table, her blue eyes watching through the glass curtain wall, watching what was happening below.

"Hard-working crew and special effects crew, and incredibly powerful computer equipment."

Putting down the coffee mug in his hand, Duke didn't look down at all and said, "You know what, dear, in a scene where multiple Transformers appear, it takes 38 hours to make just one frame."

Irene retracted her gaze and smiled, "So, you have made a very believable deformation effect."

"But..." Her tone suddenly changed, "I heard that many Transformers fans are very dissatisfied with Optimus Prime's growing lips?"

Duke shrugged slightly, sitting opposite his friend. Not a reporter, and he doesn't need to say those stupid things, he said directly, "I am the director, I make my own decisions, even if others say the house should be painted white. But I think it is suitable for green, so what? Sample?"

Speaking of which, he himself laughed.

"It's true, oh, I haven't congratulated you yet." Erin Lauder changed the subject and raised a coffee cup to Duke, "Congratulations after so many years. Nominated for the Oscar for best director again."

Although he didn't care too much, Duke said, "Thank you."

The two took a sip of hot coffee, and Erin Lauder asked curiously, "Can this year's Oscars be held on time?"

Duke shook his head. "Who knows."

It was February 2008, and the writers' strike in Hollywood had been going on for more than a month. The previous Golden Globe Awards ceremony had been canceled, if negotiations between the producer union and the editors' association broke down again. The Oscars in March are in danger of being shut down.

"I read in the newspapers that the negotiations have been going on for a long time. Why hasn't an agreement been reached?"

Tilt her head slightly, Irene looked at Duke and asked, "I remember that at the end of last year, the Producers League and the Directors Guild only negotiated a new agreement for less than a week."

"No one wants to divide their interests, and..." Duke said another fact. "A screenwriter is not an actor and a director."

In fact, not only the Writers Guild, but also the Directors Guild and the two Actors Guilds whose agreements expired, but the Producers Union quickly agreed to the conditions put forward by these guilds, and the two sides have signed a new agreement.

The Writers Guild requires similar conditions to other unions, but the Producers Union will not give in easily.

This also reflects the screenwriter's status in Hollywood from the side.

Among the basic elements that make up this industrial assembly line, screenwriters and screenplays are undoubtedly in a relatively low position. Although the general strike in 1988 improved their situation, it did not bring about fundamental changes.

In Hollywood, the most popular scripts are never original, but adapted from other popular works, the kind where a screenwriter comes up with an original script, from actors to directors, from producers to agencies and movies Companies, all eyes bright and eager to use, only exist in fantasy.

Especially for commercial movies, the role of the script is often greatly weakened. For example, the best work of the former Bang Bei "Brave the Dead Island". Ray Bruckheimer and Michael Bay have changed their faces beyond recognition, and even have a huge difference from the version written by the screenwriter...

The biggest disagreement between the Writers Guild and the Producers Union is the share of profits from the Internet.

In this regard, the Producers Union and the Directors Guild reached an agreement as early as the end of last year.

"This agreement can be described in two words - groundbreaking and substantial progress," Duke said to Erin Lauder, "The agreement gives the director and the filming crew the opportunity to make no concessions on the part of the director. A big piece of the profit pie."

The Producers Union and the Directors Guild only talked for six days, in stark contrast to the Writers Guild.

The directors’ association has gained three main benefits. It confirms that the director’s association has the right to approve dramas and programs that are screened and promoted online; for online paid download programs, the director and the production team can get twice as much revenue from it; for advertising sponsorship The streaming media programs and other TV and movie programs shown on the Internet have agreed on the percentage of profits for the director and the producer.

Duke had long anticipated that the screenwriters' strike was likely to end in a scene that no one wanted to see, and he had prepared for it in advance. The script for "Transformers" was prepared as early as the first half of last year, and there was no need for it later. The screenwriter was involved, and he even took into account that the actors might be involved in the strike. When the screenwriter's strike just took shape, he ended the filming and moved to post-production.

As he prepares to leave, Duke added, "Even if the world stops, my work must go on."

Although the Academy Awards Ceremony is likely to be suspended, after the Oscar nominees luncheon, the attention of various important nominations has not diminished. Among them, Heath Ledger's Best Supporting Actor nomination has received particular attention from the media and the public, and even More than the four most important awards.

The death of an actor is undoubtedly the best public relations. From the traditional media to the Internet public, the voices calling for the Academy to award Heath Ledger the award continue to emerge, gradually forming a huge trend.

If it was on someone else, this situation might trigger the rebellious psychology of the main members of the academy, but on a dead person, these are no longer a problem.

Hollywood, like the whole society, is extremely tolerant towards the deceased, and Hollywood also needs to use such an image to promote the bright side of the industry.

With the upsurge brought by nine Oscar nominations, the screening scale of "The Dark Knight" in theaters has expanded again, from less than 100 to nearly 800, and many fans have been affected and chose to watch in theaters.

However, this can only bring a short-lived enthusiasm in the theater, and it will not bring about the radical radicalization of the box office, and Duke and Warner Bros. will not let "The Dark Knight" continue to stay in theaters to consume all the enthusiasm of the fans. A week after the Oscar nominee luncheon, the film was officially pulled from North America.

After nearly ten months of screening, "The Dark Knight" earned a total of 591.21 million US dollars from North America, and finally did not surpass "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "Titanic", ranking third in the North American box office. bit.

At the same time, the film has basically ended its screening tour in overseas markets. It has appeared in theaters in more than 150 countries and regions, and won a total of 619.87 million US dollars at the overseas box office.

So far, "The Dark Knight" has bid farewell to the global theater chain, with a total global box office of 1.211 billion US dollars.

During Duke's career, the film was his second-highest-grossing film behind "The Two Towers" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."

In the global box office chart, "The Dark Knight" ranks fourth after "Titanic", "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers".

The film's subject type and somewhat heavy theme caused the film's relatively weak overseas box office, which directly affected the film's final total box office.

However, the status of "The Dark Knight" in North America is quite prominent. After IMDB released comments and ratings, the film still ranked first on the TOP250 list with a score of 9.4.

The film has just been released from North America, and Warner Bros. took advantage of this heat to launch a DVD set.

The disc contains a large collection of exclusive tidbits and abridged clips from the theatrical release, as well as many behind-the-scenes secrets. In addition, there is a very precious tidbit, which allows fans to appreciate Batman and the Joker from a 360-degree angle, and also uses an enlarged lens to show the details of the two characters, while not forgetting the vast original work. For comic fans, the character image of comic characters is presented in a short film.

Just two days after the disc was released, the Blu-ray version set a record for Blu-ray Disc sales and became the best-selling film in Blu-ray history.

In its first week on the market, The Dark Knight's DVD sold more than $132.5 million in North America alone, with global sales estimated at $250 million.

Today, when DVD sales are relatively weak, this is already a very impressive achievement.

DVD sales officially topped $200 million in North America and nearly $350 million worldwide by the time of the Oscars in March.

Even if you don't count other peripherals, just DVD can bring huge profits.

According to the sharing agreement Duke signed with Warner Bros., he has the right to take 8% of DVD sales.

However, these can be put aside for a while, Duke will be attending the Oscars again after a lapse of several years. (To be continued ~^~)

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