Levi said that the role of the scientist in the movie is not one person but a group of people. His words certainly did not mean that he wanted to find several people to play this role.
His meaning is actually very simple: he hopes that this character will form a unique style, and this can set the tone for future movies about scientists.
In this movie, the scientist is actually just one person. What he needs to do in the movie is to play the game and experience the changes in the Trisolaran world in the game world to help the audience understand why the Trisolaran world has to be moved.
This character would be very easy to find if it were just that simple. There is no shortage of nerd actors in Hollywood; just find one, and you can use him - many Hollywood movies involve the image of scientists who are intelligent but incompatible with the world.
However, this is not the result Levi wanted: you need more than a simple nerd temperament to play this role well.
Hollywood has always had a big misunderstanding when it comes to portraying scientists: they always simply think that scientists are equated with nerds. In many film and television works, the scientists shown in Hollywood do not lack their intelligence and stereotyped duality.
However, these movies often ignore scientists' persistent pursuit of science and their courage to explore.
For example, in Iron Man 3, the movie arranged for the protagonist, Tony Stark, to become anxious after seeing alien technology in New York. If this was a film about a businessman, this is what it should be because businessmen are worried when facing technological competition.
However, if you are a scientist, then this is not what you should do: when scientists face technological competition, what they should do is create.
To reform and explore new technologies - as a scientist, you should have extreme confidence and unremitting pursuit of the scientific and technological fields you are familiar with, and this aspect is often rarely expressed in film and television works.
The same is true in The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon wanted to change his research direction when his work was not going well. This kind of thing was not what he should do.
As a scientist, as a genius, having enough self-confidence, believing that you can succeed, and constantly pursuing and working hard is what scientists should do.
Scientists are not artists. Artists will doubt their own artistic style, but scientists will not question science.
He has great enthusiasm and confidence in what he has learned and is optimistic but cautious about the development of science. This is the attitude of a scientist, and it is also the attitude of human beings facing the unknown of the universe that needs to be shown in the movie.
This aspect is what Levi must show because the entire story background of the Three-Body Problem is based on the physical experiments of aliens locking people on Earth.
If the scientists lack this persistence, it will be difficult for them to do so. Without this pursuit, the entire movie would be meaningless.
In this movie, if scientists change careers at will and shrink back in fear, then... Where do the physicists who commit suicide come from?
Moreover, there is another very important question. When Levi needs to show this aspect, he can't just highlight one person to show it. Because after this movie, if there is another one, then there will be more scientists, politicians, and soldiers involved in this movie. For other characters, it is possible to find a suitable portrayal style, but for scientists, it is more complicated.
This is where he has to pay attention.
Levi has previously launched a TV series about Ball Lightning, and in this TV series, he has begun to draw the screenwriters' attention to this issue. With the accumulation of this TV series and the reaction of science fiction fans, the current screenwriters have generally understood how to position this scientist's image. Now, they are writing scripts according to what Levi said, striving to achieve the most.
Faced with the casting of this role, Levi also had to be cautious and wait until the script was ready before considering the character.
"I hope that this character can truly look like a scientist rather than like those works that use science to make fun of or sell coolness. This may be more troublesome, but I hope it can be done." Levi told his plan.
Clark nodded and said, "If that's the case, then wait until the script is completely released before choosing actors. But what you said doesn't seem to be difficult, and the performance is still possible."
Levi nodded. This is not difficult in the first place; the key is how to express it.
"If these three main roles are determined, then the other roles will be easier to determine. For example, Evans, the Earth-Trisolaris Organization (ETO) leader, can just find a charming old man. As for the military people, if you need someone who looks like a tough guy, this won't be an issue. I think I can find them."
Clark didn't say much more about the remaining characters: In fact, this is a very tiring job because the story is three lines; one in the story in the game requires wearing ancient costumes, and one line, based in reality, requires wearing modern clothes, and the last one is memory line, requires wearing 1970s clothes. These three lines need actors with different styles and images who can perform well.
Different images, wearing different clothes, can be very different.
For example, although Scarlett Johansson is good-looking, she would look ugly if she wore the clothes of the British court. When Kate Beckinsale wears classic clothes, she can bring out her temperament.
These differences in details make the selection of young actors complicated. They have to try on clothes, pick up lines, and try out how to perform better in the scene. Compared with the free and easy performance of big stars, these selections are more troublesome.
However, this is just a meticulous job, after all, not a job that particularly requires creativity. These tasks may be time-consuming, but they are definitely not particularly difficult.
"I can rest assured that you can do this. Just like Bob's lines, these are all your imagination." After hearing this, Levi laughed, "With you here, I can also prepare something else."
"What else do you mean?" Clark asked.
"Some of the special effects in the movie. First of all, it's the boat-cutting scene. This scene must be shot on location in the Panama Canal, so I have to take care of related matters.
Moreover, people from the special effects department now tell me that they are also considering how to make this shot look more realistic, which also requires some experiments and attention.
In addition, what kind of gravity rules should be used on the planet of the Trisolaran civilization also needs to be considered..."
Levi talked about his task, and Clark nodded repeatedly.
Good special effects are often very labor-intensive. For Titanic, they actually built a ship. In Pirates of the Caribbean, in order to make a good movie, the skeletons were actually scanned to build the skeleton model - If you want to create the best special effects, you have to spend enough effort.
Now, for the scenes Levi wanted to shoot, he naturally had to really consider the possibility of three-body motion and boat-cutting scenes. From planning to model construction, from pre-shooting to computer animation synthesis, these aspects all require step by step and are not simple at all.
Not to mention anything else, just simulating the situation of a three-body star requires a lot of time from the special effects team. If there is any failure in these aspects, it is easy for people to make mistakes.
As a director, Levi also had to consider how to shoot these. How to shoot a weightless environment in a movie? How to express the virtual world? What does hyperthermic dehydration look like? How to best photograph the disintegration of a ship? Levi needs to consider these aspects bit by bit.
As the screenwriter, Bob has to write the script; as the casting director, Clark has to select the actors. And as the film's producer and director, Levi also has to have an overall plan for the film's special effects production project — How to shoot, where to shoot, how much to spend, and where to spend the money are all important.
Moreover, Levi had some other ideas.
"As for the cyborg part, I'm wondering if it can really be performed with real people - in the story, we go to Qin Shi Huang's empire, so it's very appropriate to use Chinese people. We are now in cooperation with China. We can try to work together in these aspects with this cooperation."
In the Lord of the Rings movies, Peter Jackson has begun to use new technology to imitate the different actions of multiple people.
However, in the Three-Body Problem, what is needed is a spectacular scene of unified collective movements. If such technology is used, it will be difficult to capture the flavor.
Therefore, Levi is also thinking about using real people to express these scenes - this scene is a typical large-scale group performance, and it is still possible to film it in China.
The investment in special effects, coupled with the large-scale scenes of live performances, made Clark a little fascinated. "How much money are you going to invest in the movie?"
"One hundred million or more." Levi thought for a while and answered.
Anyway, he is not worried about running out of money now. Even if other investment companies are unwilling to invest in him, his own funds are enough to make movies.
"You are really invested in this movie." Listening to Levi's introduction, Clark just smiled and answered.
When Levi said he wanted to make a movie, he naturally followed suit and worked hard together. Anyway, Levi's choice must be the right one, and he has developed a habit of it.
However, Levi had never done such a grand thing in the past. Seeing Levi now carrying out various plans with great enthusiasm, Clark was surprised that Levi was so serious about his preparations this time.
He made a massive investment in scripts, actors, and special effects. Considering that Levi had relied on TV series to explore the way in the past and had always supported the special effects company, Clark suddenly felt that this movie was definitely not as simple as the previous movies.
Obviously, Levi is preparing to go all out and shoot a movie that he is most satisfied with.
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
Marcelo Maia
Britanna
Mandy G
Scott DePaepe
Danny York
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