For those who have watched the movie The Black Dahlia, please ask about the plot of the movie.

Hollywood’s tradition is that dark themes are difficult to bring to the big screen. The difference between "The Black Dahlia" and the traditional murder case, which perfectly weaves true crimes and urban legends together, is that the case affects everyone around it. . Therefore, the film not only explores who the murderer is, but also describes the impact of the case on the Los Angeles Police Department and the women around the detective. Director Brian Palma is well aware of the nature of film noir and is very good at this genre. Palma admitted that he not only intends to tell the story of Dahlia, but also wants to explore the world of the fictional characters in the book, who are all affected by this murder. impact of the case. Palma always likes plots with twists and turns, so he especially appreciates that "everyone lies in the novel. Sometimes you think someone is revealing his heart, but it is completely different from what he said before. Every character has a compromise." ...In the end, I can’t help myself.”

All adapted scripts will delete certain plots of the original work. When revealing the crime scene of Dahlia, Palma shifted the audience’s attention to another scene where the abandoned body was found. (Scene of the gunfight), this approach is completely opposite to the way it is laid out in the novel. Palma thinks it's ironic that big cases hide behind small cases. Although both the director and screenwriter believed it was necessary to translate the original text and complex subplots to the screen, they also knew that the film's image world required skills that the novelist did not have. For example, the original work points out that the reason why Elizabeth's murderer carved a terrifying smile on her face was inspired by the character Gwen Bolan in Victor Hugo's "The Man Who Laughs." Guan Bolan was disfigured because the king retaliated against his father for treason. This character was also the inspiration for the Joker in Batman. Brian pointed out that in the original work, the murderer was so impressed by the "Laughing Man" that he committed the same atrocity on Dahlia's face, so he asked the staff, "How should it be represented? Is there a related movie? Of course there is." Palma solved the problem by having Leland, Dwight and Kay in the film watch "The Man Who Laughs," released in 1928 by German director Paul Lennie. (It just so happens that this old film was also produced by Universal, and was one of the company's earliest sound films.)

Elizabeth Short finally appeared on the big screen nearly 60 years after her murder. During her lifetime, she dreamed of becoming an actress who touched people's hearts. Now she is indeed imprinted in people's hearts, and the process is so horrifying. Elizabeth passed away at a very young age, but her story will continue to spread. How could such a beautiful poster girl end up like this? Who is the murderer and why? The "Black Dahlia" has been around for decades and will remain a mystery forever.

★The first of the Los Angeles Tetralogy

The film is based on a true crime and adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name. The victim, Elizabeth Short, was born on July 29, 1924. During World War II, many actresses dreamed of becoming famous in Hollywood, and Short was no exception. She went to Los Angeles alone at the age of 19. But Elizabeth's road to realizing her dream was not smooth. She often appeared in celebrity social venues, trying to exchange her body for money or performance opportunities. It is said that Elizabeth also met a male friend at the Biltmore Hotel on Grand Avenue on January 9, 1947. That was the last time she appeared in public. Elizabeth had black hair, liked black clothes, and often wore beautiful flowers on her hair. In addition, the blonde actress Veronica Lake starred in "The Blue Dahlia" (The Blue Dahlia, also translated as: Blood Splattered Xuan). Palace) had just been released, so The Black Dahlia became her nickname both during and after her death.

The shocking murder of a young actress shocked Hollywood and the United States in 1947. Los Angeles, the center of the entertainment industry, was full of gangsters, sleazy film company executives, corrupt police officers, etc. Everyone wanted to take advantage of young people. The woman's advantage... and everyone wants to get a piece of the story of her tragic death. Months after the incident, Elizabeth's story was used as the headline in both major newspapers and tabloids, from "Who Killed Elizabeth Short?" With titles ranging from "Black Bags, Black Shoes: The Sexy Dahlia Leads the Way," Elizabeth became a Hollywood legend after her death. Everyone involved in the investigation dives headfirst into either trying to ruin Dahlia's reputation or trying to save it. After Elizabeth was killed, various messages, accusations, and confessions were circulated, but the murderer was never caught, and this became an unsolved case of the Los Angeles Major Crime Unit.

Forty years after Elizabeth was murdered, crime novelist James Eloy wrote the book "The Black Dahlia". This crime mystery novel immediately became a best-seller after it came out. Later, James successively released "The Big Nowhere", "L.A. Confidential" (L.A. Confidential) and "White Jazz" are three style works, thus completing the creation of the so-called "L.A. Quadrilogy".

Embodying the spirit of film noir

The actors in "The Black Dahlia" must be able to embody the spirit of modern film noir. They must be able to interpret the thrillers of the 1940s and 1950s, as well as He will not become a clown imitating the characters of the past. Director Brian Palma believes that "excellent actors can create a completely stunning atmosphere." After solving the financial problem, the biggest challenge the director and producer faced was to select acting talents. Otherwise, the new generation of superb Hollywood will not be able to successfully interpret the essence of James Eloy's original work, let alone express the true soul of film noir. In the end, five young leading actors were carefully selected and came into place. Among them, Josh Hartnett plays After Detective Dwight plunged into the murder case, his world was completely out of his control. "Although the world is so corrupt, Dwight is quite decent. Just like the noir movies played by Henry Bogart, Dwight also has a certain character in the film." Its moral authority. "Harnett faced not only the dialogue that was in line with the style of the year, but also had to practice boxing for 4 hours a day for 7 months to match the protagonist's former lightweight boxer identity; the other person in the intricate love triangle. The protagonist is Aaron Eckhart, who became famous with "Diary of a Bad Guy". Palma considers him to be "a young Kirk Douglas". He is completely different from the disciplined Dwight. Allen can express Leland's crazy characteristics. , playing the role of a hot-blooded police detective.

After choosing the role of Xiongjiujiu, Palma had to find three actresses. These three characters are charming, but they are definitely not ignorant girls waiting for rescue. They are all very mysterious. , people can never see through it. Kay Lake is an injured woman taken in by Leland and the object of Dwight's crush. Palma believed that he must find an actress with worldly eyes. She must look like someone who has stepped out of the past, reminiscent of the past. He had known Scarlett, who had just played "The Horse Whisperer" many years ago. Johnson, Scarlett's performance impressed him so much that he decided to work with her in the future; Canadian actor Mia Kirshner (Jenny in the lesbian drama "The L Word") auditioned very early to try to ensure that her words and deeds were consistent. Madeleine of 1. Parma admired her superb acting skills, so she and the screenwriter added the role of Dahlia and invited Mia to star as a small actress; as for the role of the misguided and seductive Madeleine, the director believed that this person should not only have the charm of a femme fatale, but also have the charm of a femme fatale. And she also had to look like Mia Kirshner. The original book clearly pointed out that Dahlia was killed purely because she looked like another person. After two-time Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank starred in "Million Dollar Baby", she signed on to play this amoral woman. She believed that the role was very complex and the actor must be able to interpret "a woman who is always ready to bring a man in". "The poor rich girl in the house", Palma believes, "Hillary is a typical Spider Woman. She can play a very fragile woman who can immediately show her evil side."

Reshape the past. Los Angeles

James Eloy described the dark side of Los Angeles as "sin, sexual desire, and super sick." In order to portray Los Angeles in 1947 in the film, the film crew went to Sofia, Bulgaria for filming. "The audience can also watch "To Beverly Hills, but that's far away in Sofia." In June 2005, the film crew returned to Los Angeles to capture local scenes, and finally went to the City Hall on Spring Street; in order to match the clothing style of that year. , the costume designer specially shipped clothes from London to Bulgaria, especially the "radiant" costumes of the three heroines. Hilary Swank, who once served as a Calvin Klein underwear model, admired the costumes in the film and felt that she immediately "dazzled" when she put on the costume, just like Judy Garland or Rita Hayward. Si". Even Palma said that the three heroines were all dressed beautifully and tried their best to be sexy. "They were so beautifully dressed (photographed) that it was hard to resist seeing them." The costume designer also said Silk flowers, a black satin dress, and torn stockings were prepared for "Dahlia."

Scarlett Johansson discovered that Kay Lake also has many beautiful clothes. Regarding her short-sleeved sweater, pearls, and antique hairpins, Scarlett laughed and said, "How can you not feel sexy when you dress like this?" The actor's clothes It’s a wide tie, a double-breasted suit, and a fedora. Although the two male protagonists are low-paid police detectives, Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett wore the ultimate fashion of the year.

In addition, the director also paid great attention to the atmosphere of the soundtrack, so he invited composer and jazz trumpeter Mark Ishaan. The tragic sound of the trumpet greatly echoed the blues style of the film. In addition, of course, long-legged showgirls were indispensable in nightclubs in the 1940s. Dancer Mia Fry, who Palma worked with in "Femme Fatale", specially invited French, Bulgarian and British dancers this time , to recreate the nightclub style of that year. (TOM movie)