Chapter 704: Gypsum Desert
Santa Fe, known as the farthest place where the American Dream extends, is the capital of New Mexico and the highest state capital in the United States.
In the early morning, the sun was still shining very gently. Three high-powered off-road vehicles drove by the square in the center of the old city. Duke looked out through the window. A large number of rock, blues and country singers gathered in the square. And hawkers selling tacos, and some pedestrians watching.
Here, it seems that anything is possible, and the world of music is moving forward crazily.
Looking back, Duke asked Tina Fey who was sitting next to her, Has there been any progress in finding a rock singer?
We've already contacted a few. Tina Fei glanced at the work log, A casting director from the crew is rushing over.
The most eye-catching thing in this film is undoubtedly the guitarist, and Duke will certainly not forget these plots.
The car left Santa Fe, headed towards the town of Abichu, and finally stopped in front of the famous Devil's Farm.
Before coming, Duke had seen a Georgia O'Koffey painting of the land.
In 1929, Georgia O'Koffey arrived at Devil's Farm near the town of Abicho, where, protected from sun and dust, she painted this seemingly insane landscape—the truncated mountains, the famous Perdanal, cliffs, tawny stone chimneys, straw, lavender, cracked earth, withered juniper.
After getting out of the car, standing on the cracked land due to drought, looking at the earth-yellow stone arrows pointing straight to the sky, the powerful and wild nature seemed to be drawn on the drawing board.
Led by a guide, Duke, Tina Fey, Hannah Serena and John Schwartzman walked towards the Perdanal Mountain ahead, and the scenery they saw along the way was extremely desolate. If not for the presence of some hardy plants. Really like the post-apocalyptic world of the Barrens.
Except for the weeds, the ones scattered on the hillside and the land are mainly low cold-resistant shrubs.
Tina Fey asked the guide, Anthony, can this vegetation be removed?
Vegetation affects shots that show the desolation of a post-apocalyptic world.
Anthony quickly shook his head, This is not allowed. All the vegetation here is protected.
Duke frowned slightly, and looked at his art director. Hannah Serena walked to a bush and took a closer look, then looked into the distance, and walked back.
The shrubs can be blocked out as a set, she says.
John Schwartzman added on the sidelines, The weeds are very uneven here.
He pointed to the cracked ground where not a single blade of grass grew in the distance. Said to Duke, The lens can be aimed at the appropriate shooting background, and the panoramic picture can be eliminated using post-production technology.
There are indeed more desolate places in Africa suitable for filming, but Duke does not want to go to that chaotic land, once the crew encounters an accident. The time and cost of money consumed will only increase.
Since the two assistants thought there was no problem, Duke decided to choose Devil’s Farm as one of the filming locations. Under the guidance of the guide, he went around again and went to one of the few Mexican-style restaurants here for lunch. back. A group of people rushed towards Baisha National Park.
White Sands National Park is one of the most famous natural wonders in the world. Here, huge undulating gypsum dunes cover approximately 300 square miles of desert territory. The sand dunes are constantly changing, from growing, reaching the peak, and then collapsing, the desert is constantly advancing. Sand covers everything in its path.
Duke is no stranger to this place. Although he hasn't gone deep into it, he has seen it from a distance when he came to the White Sands Missile Range for location shooting.
Because the sand contains gypsum and appears white as gypsum, it is also called a gypsum desert.
The road here is well repaired for tourists from all directions to visit and browse. After going deep into the hinterland of the desert, the road is directly pressed on the sand with a road roller, and there is a loud rubbing sound when the car passes by.
The car parked at the end of the road in the tourist area, where a large picnic area was pushed out, with awnings, tables and stools, barbecue grills, toilets, etc., for tourists to rest.
Duke and his team had no interest in sightseeing. After getting out of the car, under the guidance of the guide, they walked directly through the picnic area and walked up to the tallest sand dune nearby.
Climbing up to the sand dunes, Duke can see as far as the eye can see, the white waves are rolling, the world is vast, and he has to feel the greatness of natural forces. Such a pure and rich mineral deposit should be a huge treasure house, but there is no sign of mining. This country is in the whole world. The world crazily plunders resources, but adopts an attitude of absolute protection for itself...
Shaking his head, he dismissed these thoughts. After all, it didn't have much to do with him. Duke focused more on the desert itself.
This guide is from the New Mexico state government. Any state would welcome a project with an investment of up to 120 million US dollars, not to mention the film industry, which can also play a huge role in publicity.
Standing beside Duke, Anthony pointed to the undulating desert in front of him and said, The desert here meets the crew's requirements for the diversity of dunes.
Pointing to the different dunes, he introduced them to Duke four one by one, This kind of dune is a domed dune, shaped like an upside-down bowl, small in size and fast in movement, and can move 50 feet per year. Plants live on them; these are called transverse dunes, which are shaped like long ribbons and can reach a height of 60 feet. Since they are in areas rich in sand, the various transverse dunes are often connected in one piece and are also the main activity place for tourists in the park. , many people will joke about sandboarding here.”
Pointing to the other side, he continued, This one is a barchan dune, which is formed by strong winds, but because of the limited supply of sand, it is shaped like a person lying on the ground and splayed forward. Two arms, the sand on the sides moves fast, while the sand in the middle moves slowly, forming a crescent arc...
Duke nodded slightly, except for the color of the sand, everything else met the needs of the shoot.
The color is not a big problem, it can be adjusted easily in post-production.
Thinking of another aspect, he asked, It is said that there are rattlesnakes and some poisonous lizards in this desert?
There are indeed rattlesnakes. Anthony did not deny, There are also some lizards, but they are not very common.
Tina... Duke turned to his assistant and said, Remember to hire a professional snake exorcist.
Compared with that little expense, the safety of the cast and crew is more important. He doesn't want to hear the news that someone was bitten by a snake or lizard during filming.
After looking at several other places in the Gypsum Desert, Duke basically decided that Fury Road will be filmed in New Mexico. In the next few days, he went to several other places that could be used as filming locations under the guidance of a guide. Turned around, and then left Tina Fey to negotiate with the management of Devil's Ranch and White Sands National Park, and returned to Los Angeles with Hannah Serena and John Schwartzman.
All preparations are underway in an orderly manner. In addition to these daily affairs, Duke also needs to determine the remaining actors as soon as possible.
Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise have already signed an actor contract, and they are sure to play the lead actress Furiosa and the lead actor Tom. For the other main actors, Duke asked the crew to release news, intending to come through referrals or auditions. Sure.
He also has his own tendency, such as asking Charles Rowan to send out an audition invitation, intending to invite Anthony Hopkins to play the role of the villain's big boss, Undead Joe.
Since The Mask of Zorro, Anthony Hopkins has no works that can make waves in the market, and the salary itself is not high. Although he will play Odin in Marvel Pictures' new work Thor, but The movie won't officially start shooting until after Iron Man 2, enough time for Fury Road.
Anthony Hopkins is old, and he no longer has the ambitions of the past. How to earn enough money for retirement is his most urgent need.
As Duke thought, Anthony Hopkins did not refuse the crew's invitation to audition.
Of course, Anthony Hopkins was just one of the candidates, and the crew also sent the same audition invitation to Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, who have become the kings of bad movies in recent years.
Perhaps it is based on the same reason as Anthony Hopkins. These two former Oscar winners have not been picky about taking roles in recent years. As long as they can meet the demand for salary, they are willing to accept almost any kind of bad movies.
Another important role is the son of war Nux. The former Nicholas Hoult left a deep impression on Duke, but after Duke learned about Nicholas Hoult's recent situation, he resolutely Abandoning him, the current Nicholas Hoult is still rolling in an unknown youth drama, just a fledgling young man, and it is impossible to meet the requirements of the role.
In this regard, Duke has also drawn up an invitation list. The first actor to invite is James Franco. The actor who played the role of the Little Green Goblin is not bad at acting, and when needed, his performance is crazy enough.
However, he was only one of the candidates for the audition.
In addition, there are the five birth machines of Undead Joe. Is there any more suitable candidate than Victoria's Secret Angel?
Duke is the major shareholder of Victoria's Secret. He hung up a call to New York. The management of Victoria's Secret quickly agreed. The five angel models headed by Alessandra Ambrosio soon Will come to Los Angeles to participate in the audition of the crew.
The budget of the film crew is sufficient, and Duke's appeal is strong. It is not difficult to choose suitable actors. In this regard, Duke still handed it over to Anna Prinz, who was only in charge of the final review.
Those cool car makeovers require more energy from him than an actor. (to be continued ^)
PS: Ask for monthly and recommendation tickets!