Behind the scenes of The Ghost Calls

First bullet in 2008

January 4th is the first Friday in 2008. I don’t know if it is a chain reaction of exhaustion after the holiday. This unusually deserted weekend has only A film has landed in theaters, and that is the remake of the classic Japanese horror work "The Ghost Calls". From this point of view, it is the first film to make a profit at the box office in the economic market. Maybe someone wants to remind you that in addition to "The Ghost Calls" this week, there should be another "Juno". Unfortunately, this is not the case. "Juno" is an independent production and is just undergoing a transition from small-scale screening to large-scale public release.

Maybe you want to get some "joy" from the American version of "The Ring" released in 2002. "The Ring" is also adapted from the 2003 Japanese horror film "The Ring" series, the original work It tells a story that makes people feel chilled from the bottom of their hearts. It is about a group of young people. Shortly before they died, they all received phone recordings of their own death voices... This is a very typical horror story that also relies on two people. There are two important elements to grab the audience's attention: first, the creepy plot; second, strong marketing. This is how "The Ghost Calls" came into being, from the very well-edited trailers and promotional videos to Judging from the lukewarm post-holiday market, it is enough to attract movie fans into the cinema.

The first weekend out of the holiday season has long been proven to be the best time for horror movies to make a lot of money, such as "House of Skin", "The Ghost Signal", "Ten Thousand" "Crocodile" and "The Hitchhiker" both received box office revenue that was double or triple higher than expected because they were chosen during this time period. On this rare quiet day, I believe that young audiences have already watched the box office blockbusters. They feel a little exhausted from the bombardment and are looking for something fresh - "The Ghost Has Called" can just meet their needs in this regard.

In 2003, "The Ghost Call" directed by Japanese director Takashi Miike was released, which alleviated the crisis of faith among Japanese young people who are overly dependent on mobile phones. It used a sharp fact hidden under the ghost story to achieve vigilance. purpose. However, in the hands of American director Eric Vallett, the same story became more imaginative and unbridled. He decided to extract only the essence of the original Japanese work, rather than simply repeating a small-scale film. It's just a thriller. The mobile phone no longer symbolizes a danger signal here, but has become a medium that can separate several friends from life to death. Of course, Valit will definitely retain some of the truly frightening elements of the original work. The American version of "The Ghost Calls" has relatively reduced some of the sense of crisis caused by the use of mobile phones. On the contrary, it focuses on the old-fashioned American ghosts. More attention has been paid to the story, and basically the new version is an interesting spin-off of the original.

Edward Burns and Shani Sossamon play a pair of partners who are forced to be tied together in the film because they want to catch the evil ghost who specializes in using mobile phone waves to kill people. . Burns, who plays police detective Jack Andrews in the film, revealed that most of the film was shot on real locations, with only a small part being shot in a studio: "The crew disguised the set The work is done very well, so whether it is on location or in the studio, the atmosphere of the story is being rendered. The weirdest thing is that after you have spent two hours working on a scene, you only step out from there. It was a very fluid feeling to realize that I was just acting, not a real experience. But in comparison, the location part was much more interesting than the studio, such as the time we stayed in Atlanta. … It’s a rare experience to go to a new city and experience a new part of our country and the world. But when you watch the film, you might not know that it’s in Atlanta, because we originally set out for this. When the story was positioned, it was just that it took place in a city in the United States, it could be any city."

Although he is starring in a remake, Edward Burns has not seen it. The Japanese original film directed by Miike Takashi, he said: "Director Eric Vallett specifically asked us not to see the Japanese original film, at least not until this film is made. He did not tell us the real reason , but I can guess a little bit, he didn't want us to make unnecessary comparisons, or question the changes he made in the remake - I know my role is quite insignificant in the original. I did buy the original. DVD, but I left it in my hotel room in Atlanta, so I haven’t watched it yet.”

Edward Burns, a professional detective

Because. Edward Burns himself comes from a police family, so he did not need to do any preliminary preparation for such a role: "This is the fourth police role I have played, even though I have never done a real one. The police can be considered a veteran... In this type of film, Jack Andrews does not need to show so much experience when doing investigative work, because no police officer has ever experienced such a supernatural case and then pursued it. A ghost killer that only exists on mobile phone airwaves.

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However, as a police officer, Jack Andrews' acceptance of supernatural events in the film seems a bit too fast. Edward Burns also agreed with this: "Of course, in real life The middle-aged me is not so easily manipulated, and is even a bit cynical. But I want to make it clear that I think there is nothing wrong with my character in the film quickly believing that supernatural events are real, because he is in such an environment and has no way to doubt it. Any film about an investigation, whether it's about ghosts or not, is pretty old-school in that it basically means there's a trustworthy man here who believes he can help the troubled woman - and Jack Andrews He played such a role. ”

Although Edward Burns rarely watched horror movies as an adult, when he was a child, like other peers, he was crazy about it for a while. At that time, he was most Favorite movies are "Moonlight" and "Friday the 13th" and all similar horror works

For comedian Margaret Cho, the film is also. It was a big adjustment in her career, because for the first time, she could no longer make fun in front of the camera, but had to keep a straight face. Edward Burns said: "If you let a comedian do it. To act in a horror film, she really needs to put in a lot of effort, not just her, but also Shani Sossamon and I. To be honest, we felt more or less ridiculous about how we looked in the film. ”

When talking about this collaboration with Shani Sossamon, Edward Burns could not hide his praise: “We had a lot of fun with it, and you will find that she is a particularly easy-to-be-loved person. Funny person, easy to get along with... When she did some really scary scenes, we would try to make her laugh and take away the shadow in her heart - to make this part as real as possible, we all thought she might be real I was shocked, and the director, Eric Vallett, was very grateful that I did it. ”

Although acting is his main job, Edward Burns also has experience as a director. He gave a negative answer to the question of whether he would judge this film from a director’s perspective. Answer: "I wouldn't do it. The first time I learned this lesson was on the set of Saving Private Ryan. You wouldn't imagine that I mentioned it to Steven Spielberg on the set. Although he was very kind to what I did, I have to say that it was extremely unwise. That was an important learning experience for me, both as a filmmaker and as an actor. In fact, every time I finish a film, I feel that I have learned something, so the reason why I am here is with a learning attitude. I often think, 'Oh, how did he build this scene? ’ Then I carefully observed the scale of Eric Vallett’s choices, and kept thinking, ‘Why did he do this instead of that? '"

As for whether Edward Burns will actually direct a horror thriller in the future, he himself is not very sure: "I think it is opportunity and chance that will shape my future. The direction you are facing, such as your background of growing up, the education you have received, and what you may encounter in the future... Of course, if I feel that the time is ripe enough, I have the relative ability, and I encounter a good story, I will Taken. ”

·The police detective played by Edward Burns is ultimately destined to die.