Chapter 395 395 Performance Intention

Hugo's first reaction when he saw the script of "The Shawshank Redemption" was: 1994 is coming, and the blood is boiling! The second reaction that followed was: Why does this script find itself?

There are two main characters in the story of "The Shawshank Redemption", one is black and the other is white. The actor Andy is played by Tim - Robbins (Timothy. Robbins), while the supporting actor Rhett is played by the old drama. Bone Morgan - Freeman (Morgan. Freeman) to carry the burden - of course, because of the importance of Red's character to the story, many people call it a dual-lead movie.

Tim can actually be regarded as a Tom Hanks type actor. He looks loyal and sincere, his acting skills are diligent and solid, and he has no scandals and negative news in his private life. His sibling relationship with Susan Sarandon is even more Hollywood. Legendary story. This type of actor is like Superman to the United States. Americans need such a righteous and upright actor to provoke the lead, but it is a pity that Tim met Tom Hanks, and Hanks became the whole America's most famous hero, "Tom", has been the face of Hollywood for 20 years, while Tim's acting career has been in a bit of a slump.

The role of Andy in "The Shawshank Redemption" also fits Tim's image very well. He is upright, gentle, forbearer, refined, and restrained, so Tim does fit very well in terms of image. Looking back at Hugo himself, since "Schindler's List" is still in post-production and has not been seen with the public, Hugo's current screen image is actually the same, and it has a natural fit with Andy.

Hugo's temperament is sunny and handsome, and it is no wonder that Frank Darabont took the initiative to appoint Hugo, hoping that he will play the role.

In fact, in the preparation process of "The Shawshank Redemption", although Columbia Pictures paid attention to this plan, it did not pay too much attention to it. Although the adaptation rate of Stephen King's works is very high, except for "The Shining", all There was no huge success, and The Shining owes its success to the great Stanley Kubrick, obviously, Frank Darabont is not Stanley.

So, Columbia Pictures only gave a budget of $25 million, on the premise that Morgan Freeman was the first choice for the role of Reed - and a large part of the budget was for Morgan's salary. Then, Frank is stretched in the choice of the male lead, which is also the fundamental reason why Tim can stand out in the end. At present, Tim can only be regarded as an actor transitioning from the second-tier to the first-tier in Hollywood. He starred in the "Super Player" last year for him. He has won a series of Best Actor nominations, proving his strength.

However, compared to Tim, Hugo's advantage is that he is younger and has the same excellent acting skills, but the box office is more appealing, but the remuneration has only just been raised, and it will not be too high, within budget control. . It makes perfect sense for Frank to take a fancy to Hugo first.

The thoughts in his mind reacted at once, and Hugo then began to think: Do you want to star in this script?

The best work in film history, of course, to star in! This was Hugo's first thought, just like the thought that popped into his mind when he heard "Schindler's List". It was a surging emotion, and practitioners in many industries came into the film because of this emotion. Later, the famous ghost director Quentin Tarantino (Quentin. Tarantino) was like this. He relied on himself. The mad love for movies, from a video rental store clerk to a world-famous top director, relies on this kind of cult of classic masterpieces.

But soon, Hugo calmed down. After experiencing "Schindler's List", after experiencing the previous twists and turns of "Sugar-Coated Trap" and "Desperados", Hugo knew very well that in the long history of film , There are countless excellent works, and he can't appear in every classic masterpiece. In Hollywood, actors still depend on fate in their performances. Just because "The Shawshank Redemption" is an excellent work, you can't lose your sense of proportion. It should still be measured from an objective point of view, otherwise, he will never be able to mature in this position as an actor.

First of all, Hugo knew that he was still not ready to appear in the work again. The exhaustion after "Schindler's List" was still not relieved, and his whole mind was still immersed in the role of Amon Goss. Otherwise, he wouldn't open it after so long after receiving the script, because in his heart he was still not ready to act in a new work. If he reluctantly acted in "The Shawshank Redemption", maybe he not only did not The way to be competent for this role will actually ruin this classic masterpiece.

Furthermore, actors choosing a work should not only focus on the script itself, the work itself, but also on the character, whether he is competent for the role, whether the role can bring new challenges, and the relationship between himself and the character. How much resonance is there, this is the core factor for actors to choose scripts.

So what about Andy's character?

In fact, in the story of "The Shawshank Redemption", what really made the classic is Andy's desire for freedom and his indelible hope, but in Andy's character itself, whether it's the depth of the character, or the director's legacy The role play space is very limited. Of course, it's not that the role of Andy doesn't test his acting skills. In fact, this role's test of acting skills is very difficult.

Andy's restraint, elegance, and integrity are out of place in the entire prison. From the moment he entered the prison, his psychological changes were very subtle, from a banker to a murderer, from heaven to hell. , the entire prison greeted him with a dark hell. During this process, Andy's heart has been suffering; then, Andy found an opportunity and began to gradually realize his self-worth in the prison, and play the last part of his dark life. A little light; but Andy's inner struggle and pain is the greatest torment when he learns that it was someone else who killed his wife and her lover.

Andy's psychological changes are very delicate. He didn't show it in a flamboyant way. Most of the time, it was just the subtle changes in his eyes, corners of his mouth, hand movements, and walking postures. This kind of entanglement and contradiction deeply buried in his heart made the actor feel in the dark. When trying to make the role of Andy three-dimensional, it was full of countless difficulties and challenges, and the performance space left by the director Frank for the actors was very limited, which increased the difficulty several times.

Relatively speaking, the role of Reid is just as delicate, but the changes in the character's heart are relatively less complicated, and Frank has more room for the actors to perform, so behind the control of ups and downs, Reed is also made This role makes it easier to see the actor's acting skills.

This is the case in history. Morgan played Red and won an Oscar nomination for Best Actor - Best Actor, not Best Supporting Actor, which was the pinnacle of drama; Tim played Andy, but No Oscar nominations.

In fact, Tim's performance is very good. He has a very accurate grasp of the changes in Andy's heart. At the same time, he also shows his delicate and restrained acting skills, which is the finishing touch for the movie. More importantly, in the relationship with Morgan In the opponent's play, Tim also did not lose, and this achieved "The Shawshank Redemption".

Therefore, Tim did not win an Oscar nomination, and it is also known as a big unsolved case of the Oscar. This unsolved case was not until 2004, ten years later, when Tim won the movie "Mystic. River". To compensate, he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in one go.

For Hugo, the role of Andy still has challenges. He is somewhat similar to the role of "Smell the Fragrance and Know a Woman", but the inner changes are more intense and complex, and the gap is even more distinct, and Andy is a male in the movie. The protagonist, the performance space is naturally wider. But compared to "The Great Wind of the Sea of ​​Righteousness" or "Schindler's List", Andy's role is still lacking in explosive power, and not long ago, Hugo starred in "Sleepless in Seattle". , although Andy is darker and more complicated, but the strength is still lacking.

However, Hugo believes that if you give the role of Andy more space, it may not be too much film length, maybe it is just the details of a few shots, but it only takes a minute or two, but it can make the role of Andy possible. Outlining it more vividly and concretely, the performance space left for the actors has increased, and it also makes Andy more three-dimensional, and the most important thing is to make the whole story smoother.

So, Hugo was a little emotional about the role of Andy, but not too positive. Hugo felt that he should sit down with director Frank and have a face-to-face conversation, and the two sides would exchange opinions before making a decision.

After thinking about it, Hugo also made a decision, which also made Hugo relieved. He has indeed grown a lot in one year. If it was half a year ago, before the Golden Globes event, Hugo would definitely I can't wait to take up this script, after all, this is an invitation that Frank sent to Hugo, and a classic work like "The Shawshank Redemption" is naturally not to be missed; but now, he can look at it more maturely and calmly. These opportunities also signify that he is making continuous progress on the road to becoming a professional actor.

Of course, if he can appear in the position of the leading actor in "The Shawshank Redemption", this is bound to be another huge improvement for Hugo, and Hugo also has vague expectations for this.

Therefore, Hugo immediately called Joseph and expressed his wishes.

"You mean you want to interview Frank," Joseph confirmed again.

"Yes, I think it's better to have a face-to-face communication." Hugo emphasized, "I will go to the East Coast next, and there are no problems with the big cities along the way. You can confirm with him and see whether Chicago or New York. , or other places, let's meet directly and discuss in detail."

"Okay, I'll confirm the time and place with them, wait for my news." Joseph didn't say much, and simply agreed.