Inside EuropaCorp's headquarters building, in an editing room.
René, wearing headphones, was organizing and inserting ambient sounds, specifically the narrator's voiceover, into the film.
Thomas sat at the editing station next to him, reviewing the rough-cut footage of "Miscreant" to find suitable editing points.
On the floor, two burly men lay sprawled out.
Their eyes were lifeless, lacking focus.
Last night, the two of them had edited tirelessly, one could even say they were consumed by it.
Of course, their inspiration had struck, and they couldn't hold it back.
This time, James Wan was also fortunate to be pulled into their group by Lyman.
Being a director, having some relevant experience was quite beneficial.
And last night, it was these two who collaborated on the editing.
After resting for who knew how long, Lyman, who wasn't feeling sleepy, just sat cross-legged, observing the progress of René and Thomas after taking over.
"How much progress have you made?"
"264 minutes," Thomas turned around, looking still quite energetic. "There's still a bit over ten minutes of material left to edit."
It should be mentioned that after they wrapped up shooting, they each had three days off before reconvening to complete the post-production work on the film.
Considering the timeline, up until today, they had spent nearly a week in the editing room.
Of course, their work progress was commendable; they had now moved on to fine-tuning.
After all, the post-production work for "Miscreant" wasn't overly complicated. It didn't require excessive use of computer-generated visual effects, nor did it involve rendering backgrounds for the shots.
At this rate, Lyman was quite confident that they would complete the entire post-production of the film by early May.
It was only now that the benefits of shooting most scenes on-location were truly coming to light.
In the time to come, the team continued to immerse themselves fully in editing the film.
Three more days passed, and the fine-tuning was complete. Hans Zimmer's music team was also invited to Paris to join the production work.
Since their collaboration on the "Fury" project after the last time, the two sides had gotten acquainted with each other.
Lyman was quite appreciative of Zimmer's team's capabilities; that's why he approached them to compose the music for "Miscreant".
After another meticulous round of editing, the total runtime of the film was brought down to around 153 minutes.
When May 3rd rolled around, Luc Besson from EuropaCorp called, saying they could release the movie trailer to kickstart the promotion.
Lyman, as expected, spent a day specifically to edit a 90-second film trailer.
However, once the editing was done, it still needed a proper soundtrack to accompany it.
In this regard, Hans proposed a solution.
"There's a company that specializes in providing soundtracks for movie trailers. If we want to release it quickly, we should consider working with them."
Due to the need for a few suitable original compositions for the film, his team had been busy in that area recently, leaving them with little time to create a soundtrack for the trailer.
Afterward, Hans Zimmer briefly introduced a company named Intuition Music, specialized in producing soundtracks for movie trailers.
"Currently, they have an extensive library of music copyrights, with the majority being music segments that have strong universality. In our industry, we call them stock music, and they're very suitable for editing trailer footage."
The concept of stock music emerged in tandem with the development of media such as films, TV shows, broadcasts, and games. Intuition Music intentionally creates universally applicable melodies and licenses them to film production companies, as well as television stations, radio stations, and game production companies, in exchange for royalty fees.
So, if you ever hear a tune that feels familiar and it's used in both games and videos, don't be skeptical; that's most likely stock music.
It's quite common for the same piece of stock music to appear across different media. These companies earn money through multifaceted licensing agreements.
Intuition Music is particularly adept at creating music for movie trailers. Its traces can be found in trailers for movies like "Independence Day," "Mission: Impossible", and "Harry Potter".
This specialized assembly-line approach to mass producing musical motifs not only offers a wide selection but also comes with quality assurance. It strives to closely align with a film's theme, significantly enhancing the efficiency of trailer production.
As the commercial film industry flourished and new promotional methods emerged, this type of simple soundtrack for trailers gradually became a mainstream trend in Hollywood.
One could say it was a product that adapted to the times and market developments.
"Alright, I'll go ahead and make the arrangements."
A day later, the responsible personnel from Intuition Music arrived in Paris, bringing along several simple and suitable melodies.
After careful selection by Hans Zimmer, one of these melodies was chosen.
For this, EuropaCorp paid a licensing fee of $100,000.
Don't underestimate this sum; even after the film's release, the usage rights for these licensed compositions would remain with Intuition Music, and they could issue secondary licenses.
This cycle of using copyrighted material represented a quite stable and long-term source of income. Hence, these music licensing companies achieved high returns on very modest investments.
With the trailer issue swiftly resolved, as the summer vacation season approached, both EuropaCorp and Paramount Pictures made full use of their resources to rapidly promote the film on the market.
TV commercials and cinema screen inserts all effectively fulfilled their tasks.
Suddenly, discussions about "Miscreant" surged in popularity.
Especially noteworthy was the intense confrontation scene between the two leading actors showcased in the trailer, particularly the standoff between Tom Cruise and Nicolas Cage in the warehouse, which piqued the curiosity of fans.
"Alright, you deal with her." Nicolas calmly retrieved a gun and carefully loaded a bullet into the chamber, handing it to Tom.
Maintaining a forced calm, Tom took the gun, aimed it at the woman shopkeeper inside the cigar room of the warehouse, and pulled the trigger...
In this dialogue, both actors' expressions and movements were spot-on.
As fans put it, if Nicolas is known for this kind of role, when did Tom become a master of such intense acting? They were excited to watch the entire film.
After the trailer had time to simmer and spread, Paramount Pictures' PR team swiftly launched a campaign. They secured headlines on the front pages of major newspapers and praised Tom's extraordinary dedication during the filming of "Miscreant". They highlighted how he didn't use a stunt double for fight scenes, endured extreme temperatures during shooting, almost passed out in the process, and even mentioned how he obsessed over how to portray his character, to the extent of wearing out the script...
In any case, whatever catches people's attention, that's the way to go. As for whether it's true or not, who really cares?
Exaggeration might have been involved to a certain degree, but the impact was indeed astonishing.
For these years, Tom's dedication has been praised for quite some time now. He's certainly earned that recognition.
At least, when he was filming, his effort was genuinely commendable and not all fabricated.
These media reports, aside from garnering sympathy from fans and audiences, also stirred up the desire to watch the film in some individuals.
Data from a randomized survey conducted by the street research company hired by Paramount Pictures was a strong testament to this fact.
Inside Paramount Pictures' Hollywood headquarters, the senior management of the marketing department had gathered for a meeting to present the collected information.
"In this random survey, a total of 4,620 individuals were questioned, with a primary age group of 16 to 45. Over 83% of them have heard or seen news related to "Miscreant", with over 62% expressing interest. Furthermore, more than 20% of the respondents are determined to support the film by going to the cinema."
Terry stood in front of the projector, switching slides as he elaborated, "The majority of the remaining respondents said they would base their decision on whether to watch the film on its quality. Around 12% of the participants showed no interest, and some of them expressed dislike for Tom Cruise's involvement."
Dislike? What celebrity doesn't have haters? There's no need to pay that any mind.
After the presentation, a satisfied smile graced Sherry Lansing's face. "It seems we've been doing well in our efforts. In the next phase of promotion, we should focus on Nicholas and director Lyman. Similar to any up-and-coming director, he's building his directorial reputation. We mustn't overlook this advantage."
"Understood," responded the head of Paramount Pictures' publicity department.
"How's EuropaCorp planning to proceed? Have they mentioned anything?" Sherry Lansing continued.
"They're helping "Miscreant" secure a screening slot at this year's Cannes International Film Festival. First, they plan to generate buzz at the Cannes Film Festival, and then they'll prepare for dual premieres in both locations to maximize the promotional effect."
"Very well, that's settled then. We'll continue with the current level of publicity and concentrate our resources on intensive promotion during the Cannes Film Festival."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Meeting adjourned."
...
Inside EuropaCorp's editing room, James' mood was one of deep admiration. During the filming of "Miscreant", he had experienced continuous surprises. In order to achieve the desired visual effects envisioned by Lyman, he had received thorough guidance and instructions.
And now, as he watched the final product, an inexplicable sense of accomplishment washed over him.
"Truly remarkable," he said with a flushed face, his eyes gleaming as he watched "Miscreant" playing on the screen.
This film had proven to be a valuable learning experience for James.
Lyman, beside him, appeared quite relaxed. The strenuous efforts of the past few weeks were finally yielding results.
Within the room, René, Thomas, and the others were equally excited and thrilled.
"Phew, I need a good bath and a good night's sleep tonight." After the film ended, with no major flaws detected during the inspection, René couldn't help but express his feelings.
Throughout the three-week period of living and breathing post-production, he felt like he had shed a significant amount of weight.
No longer having to look at raw footage, he felt as if he had gained a new lease on life.
"Let's go, let's have a good meal." Lyman neatly stored away the film reel and was the first to lead the way out.
A contented group strolled through EuropaCorp's studio complex, and before long, they reached a restaurant.
After placing their orders, Lyman made a quick call to George, instructing him to make a few extra copies of the finished film.
He then dialed Luc Besson's number to inform him about the completion of post-production.
As he put down his phone, the food had already arrived.