Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512899
OUTLOOK FILMMAKING W hile post-COVID audiences are gradually returning to theaters, the strikes and labor disputes have showcased ongoing problems in Hollywood, and filmmakers still face the usual suspects in front of them when it comes to production and post: tight budgets and tight schedules. Here, four leading directors look at the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats they are facing as filmmakers, as well as the future of the industry and AI. ANTOINE FUQUA Training Day, The Magnificent Seven, The Equalizer franchise Antoine Fuqua got his start directing music videos for such stars as Prince and Stevie Wonder, and made his feature debut with The Replacement Killers (1998). Since then he's directed the Oscar-winning crime thriller Training Day, the global blockbuster franchise The Equalizer, Olympus Has Fallen, Brooklyn's Finest, King Arthur, Southpaw, and the blues doc- umentary Lightning in a Bottle, executive produced by Martin Scorsese. STRENGTHS: "I love post, probably more than any other part of filmmak- ing, because its biggest strength is that it's where you can make the film again, especially in the edit. Scenes that maybe you felt just didn't work on-set, you can find a way to rework and you discover things about the film you hadn't antici- pated. Obviously, the story's there, but you can find unexpected moments that have far more impact when you move stuˆ around in the edit. As a director, the first cut of a movie is always de- pressing, but then you get into (it) more with your editor, and it's like a roller- coaster ride. You think it's working and then you show some friends and they're like, 'Nah, it's not working.' So you go back and re-cut stuˆ, and it's such a fun, creative process." WEAKNESSES: "Directors don't often talk about test screenings much, but they're a big part of the post process, and to me they're a weakness, because you make your film and then you start doing all these test screenings and you get all these comments back, and everyone thinks they're a director. And you start changing stuˆ that you're really happy with. But I have to admit, they also have their strengths. I'm always surprised by test screenings. Things I'm obsessing over don't always interest an audience, and things I thought were fantastic get a laugh — but not always in the right way. I actually really hate test screenings with a passion. You're making a painting, but you're showing a sketch without all the colors, and you're being judged on it. But I do think they're important and you learn from them. Sometimes you can get lost in your cinematic vision, and test screenings remind you who you're making the film for: the audience." OPPORTUNITIES: "Visual eˆects, for me, have never been that interesting, as I always prefer to get something in-camera if at all possible. But with all the new tech- nology and AI, I'm a lot more interested in them and what we can do now. We'll be able to revamp and reuse old films, like they did with Harrison Ford in the last Indiana Jones film, where they were able to take his face from the early films and use that footage to de-age him for the first part of this one. So you get a young DIRECTORS S.W.O.T. FOUR TOP DIRECTORS LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF FILMMAKING, THE IMPLICATIONS OF A.I., AND THE EVOLVING POST PROCESS BY IAIN BLAIR The Equalizer star Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua joke on the set of their latest film.