Although director Denis Villeneuve canceled his trip to China "due to health reasons" before the movie "Dune 2" was released in the mainland, he still made a special trip to Beijing on March 13, as he misses Chinese movie fans. Not only did he visit the Forbidden City, but he also received a "Niu Wow Niu Wow" banner after the screening event. On the 14th and 15th, he had two dialogues with Chinese directors Chen Sicheng and Guo Fan respectively.

Villeneuve check-in tour

Villeneuve wins the "Nick-Wow, Bull-Wow" banner

During the Spring Festival of 2019, "The Wandering Earth" was released, ushering in the "first year of domestic science fiction blockbusters". "Dune" directed by Villeneuve is undoubtedly the Hollywood science fiction masterpiece that attracts the most attention at the moment. Both directors will face the challenge of how to make the third film in the series. On March 15, Villeneuve had a conversation with Guo Fan on "Why do we need science fiction movies?"

Dialogue scene

Guo Fan said that he saw "Dune 2" two weeks ago and was deeply impressed by the "rummer" sand hammer, a small device that summons sandworms in the film. "Director Villeneuve gave a huge panorama and a very micro close-up in the film. I was very fascinated by such 'bipolar' shots. In the film, after a grand panorama is shown, the audience will often see The sparkle of sand grains, whether it is the tension of film or drama, is fully absorbed by this, and the audience can easily be brought into the world created by the director."

Regarding the praise from his Chinese counterparts, Villeneuve said with a smile that compared with the grand production scale of "The Wandering Earth 2", "Compared with my film, it is like an independent film. I have done both "The Wandering Earth" before. I have seen it, and it has very strong science fiction elements, many large-scale installations and future scenes. At the same time, I was also very moved by the characters' feelings for their family and country and their personal sacrifice."

Two directors exchange posters of their respective films

"Science fiction movies can help us look at problems from a different perspective."

Talking about the significance of making science fiction movies today, Guo Fan said, "Einstein once said something in his later years, to the effect that time in the past, present and future is an illusion. Is it an illusion? I don't know, at least we In science fiction films, you can create a fantasy world through imagination and works. Through this mirror, we can better judge and imagine a better future."

"We are actually all prisoners of the past - human beings always make the same mistakes, and history always repeats itself. So if we want to evolve, we need to use science fiction to find different doors and windows and open different exits of time." Villeneuve said.

In Villeneuve's view, it is a useful attempt for humans to place their imagination in the future space. "And this is even more necessary today. It shows hope and possibility. Why do I love science fiction? Because it allows us to touch on topics that are usually difficult to reach and go to places that seem far away. For example, some religions And political topics may offend a certain group of people in real discussions, but if placed in a future world, discussions in this area can be carried out very freely."

"I especially like to see things from a different perspective." Guo Fan took the "little white dot" photo shown by Zhou Zhezhi (played by Li Xuejian) in "The Wandering Earth 2" as an example. "This photo is from the Voyager 1 mission. When he was about to leave the solar system, Dr. Carl Sagan suggested turning the lens back and taking a picture of the Earth from 6.4 billion kilometers away. He realized at that time the significance of taking this picture in the popularization of astronomical science, and it could evoke more people’s interest in space exploration and makes us realize how small the Earth is in the universe.”

"With such a comparison and a different perspective to open our horizons, we may look at the world, this small earth, with awe and humility. In fact, whether it is between countries or between people, are we Should everyone release more kindness? Just like this 'little white dot' photo, science fiction movies can also help us look at current problems from different dimensions and perspectives," Guo Fan said.

Talking about how science fiction movies can attract the younger generation of audiences and bring them closer to audiences in the Internet era. Guo Fan said that he recently conducted a survey before preparing for "The Wandering Earth 3". “The number of people surveyed was 1,000, and the interviewees were mainly those born after 1995 and 2005. I found that today’s young audiences’ cultural consumption will place more emphasis on interactivity and instant feedback. This is the same logic as playing online games to fight monsters. But once It often takes half an hour to watch a movie, or even the whole movie before you feel the corresponding emotion. Therefore, we must consider setting up more emotional connections in the movie to give the audience more immediate feedback. We are still working on the specifics Give it a try and let’s see the effect in theaters.”

Villeneuve also said movie theaters are taking a hit right now. "Changes are happening, and we must pay attention to the changes in the way audiences consume. During the epidemic, we all know how painful it is to be alone, and it is a very precious moment to be able to go into the cinema and get together now. I recently heard that France is recovering in the film market Afterwards, most of the mainstream audiences returning to theaters are young people. They also want to watch long movies and need a longer viewing experience. This is what we filmmakers are happy to see, and more young people can return to theaters."

"Dune 2" stills

"Being true to the spirit of the original work, sometimes you have to be a 'traitor'"

The movies "Dune" and "The Wandering Earth" are both adapted from science fiction novels of the same name. How to stay true to the original creation and turn abstract text into a visual presentation on the big screen? Guo Fan believes that we should first find out the spiritual essence of the core of the original work. "The novel "Dune" has a total of six parts. It is undoubtedly a long novel with many characters. "The Wandering Earth" is a short story with relatively few characters. In the process of adapting the script, we did not use any of the characters. Instead, we used the world view of the novel to first construct the world view of the movie, and then created new characters on this basis. The original author Liu Cixin gave us great support for our approach. His text is very imaginative. We are here On top of that, discussions on topics such as artificial intelligence and the digital world were later added.”

"Dune 2" stills

"Adapting the original work requires going down to the details from the story itself. We have to capture content that is particularly suitable for the language and texture of the film, and then present it in a simple way so that the audience can be shocked when watching the movie. . In this process, film creators undoubtedly have to make some bold choices - in order to be faithful to the spiritual core of the original work, sometimes we have to be a 'traitor'. From the film level, we have to block some text from the novel The description may also break up a certain structure of the original story. I wonder if Director Guo Fan feels the same way?" Villeneuve asked the question.

Guo Fan agreed with this. "After all, movies and novels are different subjects. A movie can only last three hours at most. How can you present the story and style of the original work in such a short time? Especially when facing a large novel, this will It becomes very difficult. The more detailed the description is by the novelist, the more difficult it may be to start when adapting it for film and television. For readers of the novel, every part may be regarded as a treasure and they are reluctant to throw away. But when it comes to film adaptation, it becomes very difficult. Under limited conditions, we will definitely make a choice.”

Compared with the vast and deep plot of "Dune 2", Javier Bardem's Stilgar can be said to be a bright spot in the film. To Paul, the "Chosen One", Stilger was both his father and a loyal "fan." In this regard, Villeneuve explained, "In the first episode, Paul lost his father, and Stilgar initially acted as the leader. But he will also change later on, and slowly become a very obsessed worshiper of Paul. Or, this is actually a bit tragic. The tone of the whole movie is very dark, so I hope that Stilger can bring a sense of joy and add a layer of humor to the movie, like a light in the darkness. .”

Stilger

As a comparison, the relationship between teachers and friends is also shown in "The Wandering Earth 2". In Guo Fan's view, the relationship between Liu Peiqiang and Zhang Peng, Hao Xiaoxi and Zhou Zhezhi is similar to that of father and son, master and apprentice. "Actually, in my works, I will set up such character relationships tangibly or intangibly. As human beings, we all hope to have a role model by our side during our growth process, who can guide us when we are troubled and help us when we feel lost. It can give us courage. This emotional connection will always touch the audience, because in reality we all long for this sense of dependence and security."

From sandworms to "jelly", Villeneuve wants to make movies in China

The planetary thrusters and space elevators in "The Wandering Earth" and the spaceships and sandworms in "Dune", these "giant objects" undoubtedly add a sense of heaviness to the presentation of the movie. Guo Fan said that the earth thruster in the film was one of the iconic designs of the novel, "We designed more than a dozen plans at the time. When I used VR to set the scene, I was shocked myself. It was bigger than Mount Everest. Even higher. But the larger the device, the more realistic it is to increase, which requires a lot of design details. It can be said that we only completed 50% of the design in the first part of "The Wandering Earth". In the second part, we have probably advanced to 70%, and we hope to achieve 100% of the details in the third part.”

"The giant creation in "Dune" is the sandworm. Whether in the novel or the movie, it is the most symbolic and special existence. We spent a lot of energy and time designing it. First of all, we started from what is described in the novel. Inspired by the ecosystem, the specific design inspiration actually came from the desert itself. It was affected by the desert environment, and it was in this environment that it grew into such a huge body," Villeneuve recalled. , myself and the photographer often encounter difficulties during the shooting process, "How can we put it into the viewfinder? So we have to constantly move the camera to give the audience a feeling that it is really big."

"I just want to add that when making such a huge thing, not only do you have to reserve space before shooting, but the focal length design of the lens is also very difficult. It may become smaller after shooting with a tilt-shift lens and become invisible. That kind of majestic momentum. When designing the presentation of the earth thruster, we will even consider the parameter of atmospheric density. The sandworms in "Dune" have a striking sense of giantness, whether in real shots or special effects. And the sense of volume, this is worthy of our study and study." Guo Fan added.

"Dune 2" stills

In "Dune 2", the scene where the male protagonist Paul rides a sandworm through the vast sea is like riding a whale across the sea. Many Chinese netizens have jokingly called the sandworm "the Fremen's high-speed rail." As an interlude in this event, Villeneuve showed great interest in the specialty of China's Fujian Province, the "soil bamboo shoot jelly" provided by the host. When he was told that the raw materials of this snack came from sea sandworms on the beach, "It looks like something straight out of a Ridley Scott movie," he joked.

Guo Fan, whose famous work "My Deskmate" was filmed at Xiamen University, is naturally no stranger to "sand bamboo shoot jelly". At the scene, he swallowed one without hesitation, causing Villeneuve beside him to exclaim "Oh". He recalled with great interest that he came to China for the first time in the 1990s. “I went to Chengdu to shoot a relatively short documentary. The whole filming process gave me a preliminary feeling about Chinese culture. At that time, I thought that I would come again soon, but I didn’t expect that it would be 34 years before I came here again.” He also said that he hopes to shoot scenes and create scenes in China next time, “I can’t promise that I will definitely be in "Dune 3". There will be Chinese elements, but I hope I will make a movie in China if I have the opportunity."

Two directors share the Fujian specialty "Jeopard Bamboo Shoots"

After hearing this, Guo Fan immediately sent an invitation to Villeneuve, "In "The Wandering Earth 3", I especially hope that you can play a guest role."

"I am a very bad actor and may only be an extra, but I really want to see your set and your working status. The two "The Wandering Earth" are really shocking." Villeneuve said.

"Don't be afraid if you don't know how to act. We have other tricks. As long as you agree, I will design the character." It seems that Guo Fan can't wait.