Discussions among several people about the new movie are proceeding very quickly.
The names of Cuba Gooding Jr. and Jeff Bridges were quickly determined. These two people are also actors with whom Levi is quite satisfied. After all, compared to the original work, he also has some ideas of his own.
In the original work, the characters in the story were somewhat stereotyped, and the story was also superficial.
The issue of black characters being too dissolute has made people complain about racial discrimination. Not only is the creation of white characters a bit too superficial, but they are all just good old guys. This kind of image is something Levi doesn't like very much.
He hopes to describe the image of the two people better.
A rich white man, a successful person who once loved taking risks, encountered a disability.
The strong self-esteem and confidence of an adventurer, the sensitive and fragile mind of a disabled person, the hatred of the sympathetic eyes around him, and the vision and pride of successful people, none of these things are shown.
These are things Levi wants to correct, so he chose Jeff Bridges. In his mind, this character is like an old lion who doesn't want to wait for death. He should exude a very strong but also extremely desperate majesty. It would be great for Bridges to play such a character. Just right.
After deciding on the two male protagonists of the movie, Levi immediately put forward his opinions on the use of the female protagonist.
"Stop using small actors. It's just Driss' family. If possible, let's invite a star to play Philip's lover. Anyway, she only appears in one scene, and the filming can only be completed in a week at most. Please, it shouldn't cost much to bring in a star."
There was no objection to Levi's thoughts.
After all, the salaries of female stars are already low. If they only shoot the movie for a week, the salary will be even lower. If a movie invites a female star, it might be able to increase the box office. There is no problem with this either.
They also know that Levi has some other ideas: The Three-Body Problem 2 is being written by Liu. It is said that the second part will have more characters and a bigger plot, which will be filmed in the future.
It definitely needs the participation of more actors. And if you want to shoot the movie well, you will have to use some well-known actors.
Therefore, Levi also hopes to establish more personal relationships with other stars if possible.
It is certainly important to promote new actors. But movies can't just think about using newcomers always.
It was no secret that Levi was serious about that blockbuster, and they knew they needed to work with Levi.
These things were quickly finalized.
After glancing at the list and looking at the preparations, Levi nodded with satisfaction, "Now that these are finalized, Clark, you can be responsible for hiring people for the roles. I think there should be no problem, right?"
"Of course, there is no problem. These people are not particularly famous actors. There will definitely be no problem if I go and invite them. After all, we are not a small company now."
There was some pride in Clark's words. Indeed, compared to when Levi had to go and hire people in person when he was making movies, now Clark can contact stars to perform. This is indeed a considerable improvement.
For Clark's Confidence, Levi also smiled. "If that's the case, then it's all up to you... January is here, and so is the awards season. I think at this time, I need supporters of all kinds right now."
***
Levi's prediction was almost completely correct. In the following time, he participated in various award ceremonies, but at the award ceremony, he was almost always a runner-up.
Of course, if one says he missed out on all the awards, it is also somewhat incorrect. At least in this awards season, Levi still won some more side-by-side awards, though they have no influence.
For example, he won this year's Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. This award specifically awarded to science fiction films is something he has never won before, and it is considered a small breakthrough.
However, apart from such specialized awards, he has not received much. In this awards season, The Three-Body Problem basically did not receive any noteworthy nominations.
Regarding Best Picture, it is difficult for a commercial film to be nominated. Although Levi made some structural innovations when directing, and the film was well received in this regard, as a great director, occasional structural innovation is not enough to make people have enough recognition for him.
Although Levi's film was also nominated in some outposts, in terms of people's Oscar predictions, Three-Body Problem is not expected to be nominated, let alone win.
In terms of Best Director, although this movie has made some improvements on the technical level, there is no fundamental breakthrough at all.
Although there is innovation in the structure, there is not much new idea. Such slight progress is really too few for Levi, and it is almost impossible to win awards with this.
In Levi's memory, "Crash" won by structural innovation. However, Levi is now very famous, and this innovation no longer means much to him. People are looking forward to his more significant breakthroughs, not such changes.
Levi missed the two biggest awards, and other awards don't mean much.
In terms of other awards, although the novel The Three-Body Problem is still quite popular after the script was adapted, many considered it not-so-excellent because the ending was too hasty. The script was nominated this time, but Levi missed it.
If there is any important award that was nominated, Officer Renault, played by Washington, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
This role is basically the protagonist in the movie, but because he mainly plays a support role in this science fiction movie, he was also submitted as the Best Supporting Actor.
Among the supporting actors, he is considered one of the best. Unfortunately, he just won the Oscar for Best Actor not long ago. Although he can be nominated, he is unlikely to win.
Fortunately, although there is little possibility of major awards, The Three-Body Problem has won a lot of favor in the technical awards: Best Photography, Best Editing, Best Sound Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Props and Settings.
The Three-Body Problem was nominated for all other technical awards except Best Costume Design. There is really no significant breakthrough in the costumes; in other respects, it's pretty much the best it can be.
Those bizarre alien scenes, ancient scenes, and scenes of planet destruction are fully worthy of nominations for these awards.
These awards can be said to be the best gift for the film crew because they are a recognition of the crew's hard work.
It is difficult for a good film to be nominated during the awards season. However, it is much easier for a movie with sufficient investment and serious enough shooting to compete for technical awards.
The Three-Body Problem received these nominations. It is also inseparable from its investment and seriousness. A long enough production cycle and sufficiently serious and hard-working staff are the basis for the film's success.
What makes Levi feel helpless is that almost all of the nominations for The Three-Body Problem collided with The Lord of the Rings. Levi could not predict who would win and who would lose in this battle.
He is very confident in his movie, but Lord of the Rings cannot be taken for granted.
The Lord of the Rings is the most popular movie in this year's awards season. When compared with it, no other film can compete with it. Not to mention Levi's Three-Body Problem, other movies are equally powerless in front of it.
If it were normal, Levi may also consider using some public relations methods to compete. But this year, he knew that none of that would have any effect.
Public relations means little in the face of good movies. For example, the Weinstein brothers wanted to promote Cold Mountain this year. However, no matter how hard they tried, the quality gap in the movies was there, and no one would choose a worse movie just because of their strong public relations.
Any award is actually a process of accumulating a reputation. Only with enough reputation and credibility can the award itself have credibility. No one will ruin the credibility of an award just for a bit of profit.
No one would do anything like that.
Public relations for movies of similar quality can be useful, but for movies with too different standards, there is no way to gain recognition, no matter how hard you try.
The small tricks behind it are just small tricks, after all. These methods are useful when the levels are similar, but when the level gap is too large, they have no effect at all.
"Competing with movies like Lord of the Rings in various technical nominations, if things go wrong, our movie might really be wiped out."
Regarding this result, Alexander also lamented behind his back. But he himself also knew that this result was basically certain, and no matter how hard he tried, there was nothing he could do to change it.
"Maybe not. Our movie is also good, and I have a certain degree of confidence in the special effects. Besides, we have already received a box office of 800 million, so why care about those awards."
Levi didn't care much about this. Best Director and Best Picture were not nominated; he doesn't worry about anything else. As a director, he is most concerned about the two most important awards.
Levi regards this film as his first film in the true sense. He also knows very well that even if he can become famous and accumulate experience through other films, there are still some shortcomings when he tries to make a film.
It's reasonable not to get much favor, so don't be too upset. As long as you continue to work hard, it will be a matter of time before you get it.
"A prize is better than no prize." Alexander frowned at this.
The one who really couldn't let go was him. For him, he was used to seeing Levi win awards. This time, he was a little uncomfortable seeing Levi not receiving any important nominations.
For a person who is used to winning awards, it will naturally feel a little uncomfortable if he doesn't get even one.
After thinking carefully for a long time, Alexander didn't say anything, but he still had thoughts in his mind: Maybe Levi was right. With the development of Hollywood movies, it would be impossible not to take the lead in making some changes.
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
Marcelo Maia
Britanna
Mandy G
Scott DePaepe
Oluwatimileyin Olayemi
Herylle Ian Gloria
You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.