In an estate on Malibu Beach, the garden was freshly decorated with ribbons and balloons fluttering everywhere. Numerous guests were coming and going, offering gifts and blessings to a girl with golden-brown hair. The girl smiled sweetly, looking genuinely happy as if it were her real birthday.
However, the cameras surrounding the area revealed that this was merely a scene being filmed.
"Taken" officially began filming in mid-November in Malibu. The crew rented a villa owned by Nancy Josephson and began shooting the first scene after decorating it—a birthday party for Kim.
Although it was the first scene, with a few NGs earlier, most of Duke's team members had worked with him for over ten years. They were well-acquainted with his style, and any issues were quickly resolved with a few instructions.
Duke sat in the director's chair under a palm tree, watching the girl on the monitor. He nodded lightly and called out, "Cut!"
Then, he gave a thumbs up to the actress playing Kim, saying, "Amanda, that was excellent! Keep it up!"
When praise was due, Duke never hesitated to offer kind words. For young actors, encouragement was sometimes more effective than criticism.
"Thank you, Director," Amanda Seyfried, with her golden-brown hair, walked over specifically to thank him before going to touch up her makeup.
She had been handpicked by Duke as the film's female lead.
Initially, Duke paid little attention when a collaborator recommended her, but during the second round of auditions for several roles, he noticed Amanda Seyfried's performance and how well she looked on camera. Though her acting skills weren't exceptional, her appearance was very appealing. As a result, this eighteen-year-old actress became the lucky one.
Her performance did not disappoint. In the two shots taken during the start of filming, she performed relatively well. The issues that led to the NGs earlier were not primarily her fault.
"John, move Camera One to the garden entrance!" Duke stood up and called toward the crew, "David, use Camera Two for tracking shots and focus on capturing Ms. Ryan's facial expressions."
The crew quickly adjusted their positions, preparing for the next scene. Duke went over to the makeup team, checking the makeup effects on Meg Ryan and Liam Neeson. The makeup artists, who had worked with him for years, were familiar with the scene's requirements.
Satisfied, Duke returned to his director's seat. After receiving confirmation from various departments that they were ready, he announced the start of filming.
"Taken, Scene One, Take Three," the clapperboard was held in front of the main camera. "Action!"
The scene wasn't particularly challenging. Retired agent Bryan attends his daughter's birthday party and has an argument with his resentful ex-wife.
In fact, the entire film follows typical Hollywood tropes. For instance, behind every Hollywood hero, there's usually a troubled or broken family.
Such themes might be clichéd but are perpetually popular, as they resonate with mainstream audiences.
Liam Neeson was the first actor confirmed for the film. Over the past few months, he frequently discussed his role with Duke and grasped it with ease. However, Meg Ryan, who was accustomed to playing sweethearts, was slightly less convincing.
"Cut!"
When the camera focused on Meg Ryan's close-up, Duke immediately called for a halt. "Meg, your role is a resentful ex-wife. Drop the smile. This character is not a sweetheart!"
"Apologies, Duke," Meg Ryan softly rubbed her cheeks. "I'll adjust quickly."
The role wasn't too demanding. After the makeup artist did some touch-ups, filming resumed. Due to positioning issues, Duke called another halt, and the crew made minor adjustments. On the third attempt, he approved the shot.
This was a purely commercial action film, so Duke's demands for the actors' performances weren't stringent. This approach had always been his style. Since entering Hollywood, except for "Chicago," most actors in his films faced relatively low pressure in terms of acting demands.
Next came a horse-riding scene featuring Amanda Seyfried. This young actress opted not to use a stunt double. Over the past two weeks, she had been learning to ride specifically for this brief scene, which merely involved riding in a garden without galloping. The difficulty level wasn't particularly high.
The garden, which had taken two days to construct, was dismantled like garbage after only half a day of filming.
By mid-afternoon, Duke announced the end of the day's shoot. However, work for the day wasn't over yet.
Although there wasn't extensive pre-release promotion, Warner Bros.' publicity team, along with Duke's studio and Panny Kallis, were focused on the upcoming awards season. Nevertheless, given this was a new Duke project, media attention was inevitable. Warner Bros. had prepared a press conference.
Though it was intended to be a small event, over a hundred journalists turned up, underscoring Duke's media draw.
After more than a decade in the industry, Duke had reached the pinnacle of Hollywood and global directing with the success of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The number of directors at this level in Hollywood could be counted on one hand.
The rise of the internet as a medium also meant directors could no longer stay behind the scenes as they once did.
The press conference took place in the small plaza outside the villa. Everything was kept simple, and Duke answered the journalists' questions as succinctly as possible.
"Duke, is it true your new film is about a father-daughter story? And of the crime genre?"
"That's correct," Duke thought briefly and replied, "Last year, I went on a world tour. In Paris, I heard about a group of criminals who kept their true identities hidden and kidnapped young women. These women would then be taken to a luxurious villa on the outskirts of Paris, where they were auctioned off."
"Is the movie based on these events?" another journalist asked.
"Not directly," Duke kept it brief. "The story I heard served as inspiration. After hearing the details, I realized it could be adapted into an engaging crime story, incorporating the conventions of action films, with explosive scenes and close-combat fights."
The action scenes were undoubtedly a major highlight of the film. The day after the press conference, Duke began filming an action sequence.
The action scenes in "Taken" were choreographed by Duke's action director, Jimmy Carter. Starting with "The Matrix," Carter had been studying Yuen Woo-ping's style, blending Hong Kong kung fu cinema techniques with Hollywood's advanced technologies. He created a hybrid style combining brutal elements of Muay Thai and MMA, delivering sharp, efficient, and straightforward action sequences.
In Warner Bros.' studio, Duke stood in a set designed to resemble a rundown factory, giving last-minute instructions to Jimmy Carter and Liam Neeson.
"This is the opening action scene. The final edit won't be long, so you need to showcase the essence of your action choreography in the shortest possible time."
Jimmy Carter nodded firmly, promising, "We've rehearsed many times. Don't worry, Duke."
Duke handed the action scenes over to Jimmy Carter. If the results satisfied him, Carter would likely become the action director for the "Batman" trilogy.
In the previous trilogy, Bruce Wayne's fighting style was somewhat clunky, which fit the film's realistic tone, but Christopher Nolan wasn't particularly skilled at directing action scenes.
While Duke wouldn't turn Batman's combat into a light and agile style, it would remain grounded and realistic, albeit with some refinements.
Hollywood-style action sequences are always highly fragmented. Scenes are broken into countless pieces. Most of the time, Duke sat in the director's chair, watching the monitor and rarely intervening. After years of dedicated research, Jimmy Carter, though not yet a master, had developed his own distinctive style.
The current sequence depicted retired agent Bryan's last mission, which Duke planned as the film's opening.
Unlike typical action films, the original movie's opening had a very slow pace.
In both Hollywood and Hong Kong, action films generally start with an eye-catching scene. However, the original film, possibly due to its French director, began with a slow tempo. While this was unconventional, it wasn't an effective opening.
Over the years, action films have consistently adhered to the formula of starting with an exciting fight scene for good reason.
Although the father-daughter bond is the film's emotional core, the real hook for viewers lies in the action. Being an action film aimed at action fans, a strong opening fight is essential to keep the audience engaged and prevent early walkouts or negative word-of-mouth due to a slow start.
The original film's slow opening undoubtedly affected its reception and box office performance. Even as a commercial director, the thinking of a French commercial director is distinctly different.
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