""Cotton", this is what we call the pretentious name of a script. Does it need that person to be a famous person? Like Einstein, Napoleon, Confucius, Cookie Monster But Cotton? Who is that? If we don¡¯t know each other, how can we be interested in it? Unless ttc is not a name, it means like, but this is not a romance movie script.
Guys, that name will kill a good script. Just think what the busy big shots are going to do when they read the name and throw it in the trash. Don't call it "Coton", "Exorcist Coton" is much better, "Exorcist Video" FITae)? I like this. "
In an office with only one person, Ye Wei looked at the cover of the script in his hand and expressed his feelings to the P camera.
The name of the script is like a person's appearance. At first glance, everyone judges people by their appearance, and "Coton" looks very mediocre, not ugly, but so mediocre that people have no impression, no feeling, no mystery, No expectations, no interest.
"He can be sure that if someone is willing to produce it and release it, no matter who it is, they will definitely change the name, and he will change it to "Exorcism Video".
¡°The synopsis is this: an exorcist who doesn¡¯t believe in demons, followed by a documentary team, went to a remote town to exorcise a girl, and something terrible happened.¡±
Ye Wei opened the script and said: "There is no special pseudo-documentary story, and there are strong imitations of "Blair Witch", so I ranked it so low. Speaking of pseudo-documentary, I really like this type, okay Shoot, haha, let¡¯s start watching.¡±
The P image began to become quiet, with only the sound of turning the script. Ye Wei read page after page seriously, with a more interested expression.
The protagonist Cotton is a priest and an exorcist. He has been preaching since he was a child, but he does not believe in the existence of God and demons. He preaches and exorcises demons just to make money and help others. His so-called exorcisms were all a scam, and he knew that the same was true for his colleagues. Because he saw a piece of news that a little boy was strangled to death during an exorcism ceremony, he decided to hire someone to make a documentary to prove that exorcisms were a hoax. Fake to prevent more people from being harmed.
This is the background of the story. Then he took a job and went to a small town called Evanwood to exorcise Maggie Weitzer, a girl who was suspected of being possessed. He took two people with him, including a female sound engineer and a male photographer. The camera crew goes.
When they arrived at the local area, Cotton learned the details of the case. Maggie's family, who lived on the farm, were devout Christians. Her mother died of cancer a few years ago, which devastated her father Switzer, although he was still loyal. Because of his faith, he did not agree with the local denomination. From then on, Switzer refused to let his children go to church school and switched to home education. Maggie and Maggie's brother Ramon, an angry young man who loved his sister.
Over the past few years, Maggie must have lived a very closed-off and depressed life, to the point where she developed mental problems and unconsciously harmed the livestock on the farm. Cotton deceived them that Maggie had been invaded by a powerful demon "AbaIam". He used deceptive tricks to perform an exorcism ritual for Maggie. Afterwards, he believed that he had cured Maggie's mental state, and Switzer believed that the exorcism was successful, and Ramon saw through the scam but did not expose it. With their thanks, Cotton and his friends left.
At the end of the first act, it seemed like that was it. Cotton was right. There are no gods or demons in the world, only mental and psychological problems.
Then, the first turning point came. That night, Maggie suddenly appeared in the motel room where Cotton and his party stayed on their way home, and she was delirious.
"Oh, here, here, here, the devil is coming"
Ye Wei smiled and said, he was quite happy to read it. The first scene of this script was not bad. It was a little slow to explain the background of the story, but it created the atmosphere, suspense and expectation. What did you expect? Of course it's the appearance of the devil, the confrontation between the liar exorcist and the devil.
Give me more surprises. Continue to flip the script and enter the second act.
Cotton and the others took Maggie to the hospital for medical treatment, but received a diagnosis that she was completely healthy. The next morning, Switzer came to the hospital and took Maggie home. Cotton and the others went to Manley, the former pastor of the Switzer family, to inquire about the situation. Manley said that he had not seen Maggie in two years. Cotton and the others arrived at the farm again, and something happened. Ramon was cut on the face by Maggie with a knife. Switzer took Ramon to the hospital and tied Maggie to her bed with chains.
Is she really possessed by a demon, or is she suffering from mental problems? The Cotton trio discovered a clue that turned out to be Maggie's pregnancy.
And the finger seems to be pointed directly at Switzer, because it has been revealed before that he has a bad temper, he is drunk, he is eccentric, and there are Manley's words and Ramon's note saying not to leave Switzer and Maggie alone. Together. The truth seems to be that Switzer raped his daughter, causing Maggie to become mentally ill.
"Let me guess" Ye Wei stopped reading, and after giving the outline to the P camera, guessed: "I guess Maggie was not raped, but there was a demon growing inside her. Come on, it's scary. , it must be more terrifying later.¡±
He saw some signs that something was not right, and the whole story unfolded?It went in a suspenseful direction, and also tried to make some humanistic discussions. In terms of commercial elements, it introduced rape exploitation and ethical exploitation, but it lacked fright, tension, and supernatural. Where was the expectation in the first act?
He wants to see the liar exorcist being taught a lesson by the facts. He wants to see Maggie being tortured by the devil. He wants to see the terror of the devil, just like the 30-degree turn of the little girl's head in "The Exorcist", rather than more suspense, because there is no The two core suspenses of the devil and whether Cotton can defeat the devil are enough. The suspense of Maggie's pregnancy is really not necessary. This is acceptable. Don't complicate it further. Keep reading¡
That night Maggie started to go crazy, killed a cat, and tried to kill Cotton, but was stopped at the last moment.
By this time Switzer returned, denying the accusation of incest and saying that Maggie was a virgin and had been tainted by the devil. He asked Cotton to do another exorcism, but Cotton believed that Maggie needed to see a doctor most. The angry Switzer drove Cotton and the three of them to leave immediately, otherwise they would treat them as if they had forced their way into the house, and he was going to use The shotgun kills Maggie, and death is the only way to escape.
Maggie started to go crazy again and ran around. The photographer suggested leaving because of fear, but Cotton still wanted to take care of it. He was about to shoot his daughter when he saw Switzer, so he had to agree to do another exorcism.
The second act ends, which is a bit long, and the confrontation is finally about to occur.
"Finally, write more climax scenes and let them explode"
In the barn of the farm, the second exorcism was carried out, and the second turning point came. The devil appeared. Maggie and Cotton had a direct dialogue, and finally there was the iconic horror show scene of the exorcism movie "Maggie." "Body twisted", but it was over in just a few back and forth. Cotton caught the demon and didn't know what "BIu6" was. He thought that someone raped Maggie. She was not a demon, but a girl with a mental breakdown. This made Maggie seem to have returned. Come to your senses.
"Please, are you serious?" Ye Wei patted the script with some dissatisfaction. Was it written by BIunR Shao people thinking about it all day long? Dealing with demons through dialogue? Where is the exorcism fight? Where is the devil's magic? Where is the scary thing? Keep reading¡
Maggie said that she actually had sex with a cafe waiter named Pro, so the truth about her pregnancy became known. She was very ashamed and the source of mental stress.
Cotton arranged for Manley to come over and take over the psychological counseling work for the Switzer family, and left with the camera crew.
Once again, the story seemed to be like this, but no, when Cotton and the others were curious and went to the cafe to find Pro, Pro said that Maggie was lying because he was gay and had only met Maggie at a party at Manley's house 6 months ago. Ji, had a brief conversation with her. But Manley said he hadn't seen Maggie in two years
Who is lying? Maggie? Pro? Manly? What was the nature of Manly's party? Whose child is it? What's going on?
"Suspense is still suspense, but what about horror?"
Entering the third act, the three Cottons returned to the farm again. It was already night. They found that there was no one in the house, and the walls were covered with devil's symbols. Then they discovered that there was a lot of noise near the house. It was Manley leading a group of people. A cult ceremony was held, Maggie lay in pain on the altar and gave birth to the devil's son, while Switzer was tied to one side and struggling.
Then, Manley threw the deformed devil's son into the fire, and the flames shot into the sky. This was a beneficial baptism for the devil.
When Cotton saw this, the power of faith in his heart awakened, and he rushed towards the fire holding the cross to complete his mission of exorcism. The photographer and sound recordist ran away quickly, but were killed by the cult members who caught up. This person was none other than Maggie's brother Ramon. Apparently he had already joined the cult. He had always been a bad guy, TUFND.
A standard "Blair Witch"-style team death ending. It also left multiple suspense, is there a demon?
If not, the freaks are the result of incest and premature birth, and the other demons are Manley's trick, like Cotton's exorcisms. Under the influence of the cult, the town became hysterical and full of lies. Anyone could be the one who raped Maggie. Her previous drawings that predicted the deaths of three people were inferences.
If there is, the demon was summoned by Manley's cult, and the party was to select the sacrifice. Maybe there was sex, maybe not. Maggie has actually been controlled by the devil in the barn. Her lies were to trick Cotton and the others into leaving, and her previous prophecies were foresights.
It¡¯s okay to have it, or it¡¯s okay to not have it. This script allows for multiple interpretations, as well as conflicts about gods and demons, religion, and beliefs
but.
"Who cares? Not even Maggie cares, damn it."
Ye Wei cursed angrily, put the script back on the table with a bang, and said to the P camera: "It could have been a good script, with a good beginning and a good second act." It developed in the first half, and then headed on the wrong track, going further and further away.
How to describe the second half of the second act, especially the third act? arrogant? stupid? Scientific way? What we want to look at is??The horror story of demons is not a specious suspense story. What we want to see is demons, not cults.
Yes, this scientific approach is an interesting take on the exorcism genre, and the hidden struggles maintain the authenticity of a mockumentary, and may even get some applause from the critics, don't be stupid, they say "Saw" is It's rubbish, but "Saw" has a box office miracle and a large number of fans. They say "Cotton" is good, but "Cotton" must be scolded. Why? Because those guys don¡¯t have to pay to watch movies, and some people pay them to go watch them. "
Ye Wei couldn't help but smile, tapped the "Cotton" script with his right index finger, and asked: "Who are you? "Memento"? "Mulholland Drive"? This kind of story method is suitable for writing a suspense novel, but It's not suitable for making movies. I guarantee it with my head. No audience will like this.
We want you to live up to your expectations from the first act, to be visually stimulated and emotionally tense, instead of constantly thinking about who raped Maggie, who lied, who was good and who was bad.
Rape, cult, fright, these are three different kinds of exploitation and you haven¡¯t done even one well, man, I tell you who you are, you are a horror story.
You say you are real enough? The audience doesn¡¯t want to see the real thing, the audience wants to be intimidated, and fake documentaries don¡¯t mean to be real, we just want a real feeling, and that¡¯s a big difference. If I want to be real, why don¡¯t I watch a real documentary, like "National Geographic: "The Holy See and the Vatican", I have seen it.
You said you have a lot of horror elements? There are quite a lot of elements, but none of them have exploded. Instead, it is a mess. Is there any mysterious ritual used in the second exorcism of Ricoton? Although he is a liar exorcist, don't forget that he is a descendant of an exorcist family. Doesn't he know something? Where is his exorcism book?
I thought that after the devil showed up for a while, he would start to take it seriously and use the exorcism methods recorded in family exorcism books to fight the devil, and in the process regain his faith and believe in God. Look at what you have done. You are obsessed with suspense, and you also talk about religion, humanities and society. And I tell you, I tell you. "
Stopping talking, Ye Wei looked at the P camera and said to the script: "Cotton, not only do you not scare the soul, nor do you shock the soul, the topic you want to discuss has been discussed as commonplace as seven days a week. You are just exploiting It's just some taboos in people's minds.
You say I don¡¯t understand you? Haha, do you want to say that if you want to believe in God, you must first believe in the devil. God may not necessarily exist, but the devil must exist. It is difficult to believe in God, but it is easy to believe in the devil, but God must be the one who saves you, and God must be the one who destroys you. It's the devil.
"These are truths, but they are not rare. It is neither commercial nor literary. This is not how literary art works in horror films. You have fooled the audience and we don't like you.
It¡¯s a pity, it¡¯s such a pity that you have about 6 that I want to take pictures of, what should I do with the remaining 40? "
Ye Wei said, about to throw "Coton" on the pile of abandoned scripts, but suddenly stopped his hand and grinned at the camera:
"Unless we change it. Congratulations, you were shortlisted. Now you are the only shortlisted candidate script."
Time passed while reviewing scripts one by one. The time went from dusk to around 7 pm, and the P camera was out of battery. After reading all two horror scripts, "Coton" was still the only one on the shortlist.
"We don't have many choices." Ye Wei murmured and scratched his hair, trying to say something else. Then he remembered that he was not recording and still said, "Maybe there are new challenges, so we need to revise the script."
The reason why he is willing to do this is that he likes the idea and the modification is acceptable, and more importantly, the script is very suitable.
First, it is a pseudo-documentary type, with fewer shots and less scheduling. It can be shot much faster than conventional movies. For example, the scenes at the beginning of the story where the characters sit and talk to the camera can be shot in less than an hour, and you can get several shots. minutes feature film.
Second, its scenes are quite concentrated. After modifying the new version, they can become more concentrated. In Switzer's farm, you can find a farm and shoot all the scenes in real time. You don't need to run around or build any scenes. You just need to do it well. Just set the scene. How much time will this save?
Third, its character setting is simple enough, and the new version can be even simpler. The three Cotton characters, Maggie, Ramon, and Switzer, are easy to find actors and not difficult to act. This filming should be like "Saw" Don¡¯t rehearse and go directly to TTC, otherwise it will be impossible to complete as scheduled.
4. Nina is very suitable to play the role of Maggie
This is his favorite place. Maggie is 6 years old, and Nina is almost 6 years old. Maggie¡¯s casting requirements are for a sweet and innocent girl, and Nina meets the requirements. The most suitable one is that she can complete the exorcism movie. The poor demon-possessed girl contorted her body into a chilling look.
??For example, turning your head back, bending your waist back, making a straight line, tearing off your own skin, etc. That is terrifying, and that is what the audience expects.
¡°If you choose an ordinary actress who has never practiced to play the role, how can she twist into a twist? Can only useSpecial effects are a waste of time. The more distortion shots there are, the more time-consuming they are. But Nina Nina doesn't need it. She can easily distort and distort herself like a demon.
Thinking of this, Ye Wei couldn't help but remember that Nina had scared him like this on Halloween night before. She leaned back, her head almost dropped to her lower back, her long hair fell to the ground, and she still pretended to smile weirdly. It looked really scary in shape. He was really afraid that she would break it, but luckily it didn't.
However, Maggie is not an easy role to play. If it was really shot and Nina was to play it, he was a little worried about whether she could handle it. After all, she had just started to learn some basic acting skills in school. She had probably performed in ballet and school before. stage drama.
Is the true performance enough? I really don't know now, let's see, but it's very important for Nina to be happy, and he wants her to be happy.
Ye Wei walked over and turned on the P machine. While there was still a little bit of power, he pressed the button and started recording. He smiled and said, "Yes, what we need to do now is to buy "Coton" and then record it to a certain extent. I will revise the new draft and make it into a movie. I will revise it myself. Do you remember what I said? Haha, I can write.
¡°First of all, I will change its name to, Exorcism Video¡±