Chapter 1195 1195 Change the Ending

The reason why New Line Cinema wants to change the ending is to make the movie more commercialized and able to attract more audiences to the cinema.

This is actually a normal thing in the eyes of major production companies. In real life, mastering the economic lifeline means the right to speak. It is projected in the Hollywood industry. Producers and film production companies have the right to speak. This is why the producer is the highest representative of the crew, and the director also has the right to speak. There must be checks and balances by the producers.

Producers and film production companies are profit-oriented, saving costs and improving profits, this is their eternal theme. In order for the film to win the box office or win awards, they often do everything they can to make changes to the script and the finished film according to their own ideas, which also leads to fierce conflicts between amateur producers and skilled directors. The irreducible contradiction between the producer and the real expert director and so on.

The most famous "Once Upon a Time in America" ​​in film history was so ruined, the finished epic was abruptly castrated by the producer and became an unknown waste product. The Weinstein brothers are notorious because they are domineering and strong. In order to cater to the taste of the Academy and win the Oscar, they did not hesitate to force the director to edit the film in the post-production according to the taste of the Academy. The title of "Scissorhands Weinstein" is even more notorious. far away.

It is precisely because of the fierce conflict between the production company and the crew that Hollywood has a stipulation on editing rights in the contract during the preparation of the crew. The so-called editing right is actually the right to edit and edit the film in the later stage, but the so-called editing right of the production company is very particular.

One is the editing right, the director has all the rights to edit the film, and the finished product is basically produced according to the director's ideas; the other is the first editing right, the director can edit an ideal movie from his own shots, and then win the film. The producer's consent. If the producer does not agree and a second editing is required, then the initiative will no longer be in the hands of the director; there is also the right of suggestion. The director can only suggest and does not have the right to edit his own work. , all the responsibility of the producer.

It is precisely because of this difference that many movies will have versions similar to the "director's cut". It is estimated that during the editing process, the opinions of the production company and the director have diverged.

The reason why "Alien 3" was disliked by David Finch was because David only had the right to suggest at the beginning. It can be said that the finished product was so far from David's vision that David was reluctant to admit that it was his work; The reason why "Seven Deadly Sins" is willing to hand over to David for directing is also because New Line Films stipulates that David only uses the first editing rights, and they also have the right to modify.

Editing is already the last gate of filmmaking, while revising the script is interfering with the work during the shooting process. But the nature has not changed. In fact, the production company wants to change the work according to its own plan.

This is not the first time that such a thing has happened. During the production of "Schindler's List", Universal Pictures put pressure on Steven Spielberg several times to try to revise the script, but all of them were forced by Steven. Rejected; the production of "Life and Death" also encountered interference from 20th Century Fox, who have been asking for more grand scenes of explosions, but this is not a matter of principle, as budget allows, Jane-de-Bont Still meet the requirements of the producer.

In fact, Hugo himself also participated in it. He made comments on the changes in the crew of "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Pulp Fiction", which were finally accepted, which changed the work.

Hugo can understand the producer's behavior, whether it's for the box office or the awards, in short, everyone hopes to make the work better. But the problem is that all the ridiculous changes are not helping at all, they are ruining a work, such as "Once Upon a Time in America", which is absolutely unacceptable. This is a matter of principle.

If New Line Cinema changed the ending of "Seven Deadly Sins", it would undoubtedly be killing itself.

The reason why the script of "Seven Deadly Sins" is brilliant is that it is laid out from the very beginning and draws a perfect full stop at the end. The story ends with Anonymous killing arrogance, laziness, greed, gluttony, and sex, respectively. After five representatives of Desire, he incarnates himself into jealousy, and seduces Mills into rage. The Anonymous was jealous of Mills' happy family, so he killed Mills' wife, which completely drove Mills into a rage. So Mills shot and killed the Anonymous -- personally executed jealousy, and he himself became the embodiment of rage and destroyed his own life.

No one expected that the last two characters of the Seven Deadly Sins were Anonymous and Mills. Anonymous regarded himself as a chess piece and completed the blueprint by martyrdom, and at the same time cleverly put Mills into a dilemma. situation. But compared to Anonymous, who represents jealousy, and Mills, who represents fury, the really wonderful story is after Mills' arrest, which is the part that the movie doesn't tell:

What's next for Mills? Mills previously believed that Anonymous was just a passing meteor that would soon be forgotten, but Anonymous firmly believed that her work would be remembered for a long time after it was completed. Now, Anonymous's work is done - not the seven deadly sins, but Mills left in the world as a rage, Mills' faith completely destroyed, he lost his wife, he personally ruined his career, his conflict and The rage sent himself and the entire police to the pinnacle of public opinion condemnation. It is conceivable that Mills will face the anger of the entire society and reflect the tragedy of the entire society.

So, with Samosey's last line, "Hemingway once said that this world is beautiful and worth fighting for, I only believe the second half of the sentence", the whole story was immediately sublimated.

Keeping "Rage" Mills alive is the real work of Anonymous, which is far more profound and grand than letting Rage die.

But apparently New Line didn't understand the ending, they only saw the jealous Anonymous, so there were "several options", either the police did justice and eliminated the culprit; or Mills didn't become a rage , but handed the Anonymous to legal sanctions, so that people can retain hope for the society; or everyone died together, envy and anger were sacrificed, and the whole movie was sublimated into a tragedy of small people...

No matter which choice it is, it is actually a "heroic" ending, which clearly shows the plot of New Line Film Company.

Indeed, compared to a heavy and dark story like "The Seven Deadly Sins", justice triumphs over evil or both justice and evil perish together, and then warns the world, such works must be more in line with today's mainstream aesthetic standards. It seems natural to be more conducive to box office revenue.

But Hugo knew clearly that if the ending of the "Seven Deadly Sins" was changed, it would not only destroy the ending, but also destroy the whole story, overturn all the foreshadowings that Andrew had planted from the very beginning. In the story, the foreshadowing of Mills's mood gradually becoming violent is reduced to superficial mood swings, and the seven deadly sins deliberately planned by Anonymous become a joke.

The seven deadly sins were all gathered, the six deadly sins were punished, and the seventh deadly sin continued to witness the degeneration of the entire society in a living way, and suffered unparalleled torment. This is the meaning of the ending, and it is also the content that the ending gives the whole story further sublimation. Whether it is religious significance or social reality, it can take the work to a higher level.

Now, it is absolutely unacceptable that the obviously uninitiated film production company is going to destroy this ending with a big swipe!

Hugo listened to Joseph's explanation, and he didn't have time to ask in detail, and walked in the direction of David with great strides. Compared with his discussion of acting skills, this was the biggest crisis facing the entire crew.

At this time, a small group of people gathered around David, and Hugo could see Andrew, Brad and others from a distance, and when he got close, he saw Gianni Nunali surrounded by the center.

In fact, Hugo's impression of Gianni has always been good. Although he has appeared on the crew for a long time, he has always maintained respect for David - also kept a distance from the crew, so that the crew can shoot in a relatively comfortable and independent environment. . But today's situation made Hugo clearly know that personal friendship is one thing, and in the face of interests, there is still no room for negotiation in public affairs.

"Gianni, you can't do this!" Brad frowned and said angrily, the assistant standing next to him was pulling his elbow, as if trying to stop him, but Brad recklessly got rid of it The assistant, went on to say, "If you do, I'll strike! You're an insult to the entire script, an insult to the entire story."

You can feel the seriousness and dedication of Brad's expression. Obviously, he also has a clear understanding of the ending of "Seven Deadly Sins". It shouldn't come as a surprise that, in order to fight Hugo, Brad's study of the script is definitely not inferior to anyone on the crew. Except for the poor performance in the last few scenes, Brad's work has always been praised.

Brad's assistant saw Hugo approaching, and his expression was a little embarrassed. Now in the crew, David, Morgan, Hugo and others are bigger than Brad. Saying that Brad is the male lead, but his salary is not even half of Hugo's, it is really inappropriate for Brad to be in his early stage. Brad's assistant could already feel Martin Baum's anger, but he couldn't stop Brad.

Standing next to him, David's face seemed to be covered with frost at this time, and he didn't even bother to say a word, but with his hands folded in front of his chest and a defensive posture, he could clearly feel his current state of affairs. refuse to compromise.

Hugo strode over and asked anxiously, "Gianni, what the hell is going on? You have to give an explanation!"