Production Blog

ARCHIVES FOR November 2007

The End is in Sight

November 22, 2007 2:12 AM

As you can see from the new video from Todd Grossman, the production of “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” is enshrouded in nights but just around the corner lies the light of day and the airport. We have two more long nights on the Shanghai streets and four days in ‘IMHOTEP’S,” Jonathan’s Egyptian-Deco nightclub on The Bund. (You haven’t lived till you see John Hannah in a bright blue brocade tux!) Yes, it is that time when the long process is behind me and a new half of the production lies ahead—the post: editing, 700 visual effects shots, sound design, music, mixing and setting the final look in the digital intermediate. This second half of the process will be as pressured as the first half since I must turn over the finished movie in early July so that thousands of prints can get struck in time to ship to our worldwide openings.

I won’t be late, believe me. On July 30th the baby will be out for everyone to enjoy—and to judge.

Marc Shmuger the Chairman of Universal has been in Shanghai visiting with some of the worldwide distribution team David Kosse and Duncan Clark to make plans for the release. Their vision is so large and supportive that I can breathe easier. The difference between a movie well- advertised and well-released and the converse is gigantic. Same movie and one will soar; the other, crash and burn. Like it or not, we live in an era of marketing.

I have mixed emotions about finishing. This has been a fresh and exciting ride. I got stretched, I pushed the limits of everyone, I got to do amazing things every hour of the past five months, and the amount of energy it has taken is everything right down to the fumes. We have done 2500 shots between Vic and I. Maybe the average movie has 800. But that’s what a movie like this takes to give you, the viewer, the ride.

I need some surf time! I need some wife time! I need to re-charge and ready my head to shape all this material and to let the greatest possible version of my film emerge.

I am totally appreciative of all your enthusiasm, your questions and comments. All of us working on the film enjoy hearing from you on my blog (which is now being translated into Chinese for Chinese sites). Your passion for “The Mummy” and films in general is totally exciting to me as it is something we share. I will continue to post all through the editing, right on to the release for, after all, in a very symbiotic way, we are in this together.

Bye bye, for now.

Rob

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As you can see from the new video from Todd Grossman, the production of “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” is enshrouded in nights but just around the corner lies the light of day and the airport. We have two more long nights on the Shanghai streets and four days in ‘IMHOTEP’S,” Jonathan’s Egyptian-Deco nightclub on The Bund. (You haven’t lived till you see John Hannah in a bright blue brocade tux!) Yes, it is that time when the long process is behind me and a new half of the production lies ahead—the post: editing, 700 visual effects shots, sound design, music, mixing and setting the final look in the digital intermediate. This second half of the process will be as pressured as the first half since I must turn over the finished movie in early July so that thousands of prints can get struck in time to ship to our worldwide openings.

I won’t be late, believe me. On July 30th the baby will be out for everyone to enjoy—and to judge.

Marc Shmuger the Chairman of Universal has been in Shanghai visiting with some of the worldwide distribution team David Kosse and Duncan Clark to make plans for the release. Their vision is so large and supportive that I can breathe easier. The difference between a movie well- advertised and well-released and the converse is gigantic. Same movie and one will soar; the other, crash and burn. Like it or not, we live in an era of marketing.

I have mixed emotions about finishing. This has been a fresh and exciting ride. I got stretched, I pushed the limits of everyone, I got to do amazing things every hour of the past five months, and the amount of energy it has taken is everything right down to the fumes. We have done 2500 shots between Vic and I. Maybe the average movie has 800. But that’s what a movie like this takes to give you, the viewer, the ride.

I need some surf time! I need some wife time! I need to re-charge and ready my head to shape all this material and to let the greatest possible version of my film emerge.

I am totally appreciative of all your enthusiasm, your questions and comments. All of us working on the film enjoy hearing from you on my blog (which is now being translated into Chinese for Chinese sites). Your passion for “The Mummy” and films in general is totally exciting to me as it is something we share. I will continue to post all through the editing, right on to the release for, after all, in a very symbiotic way, we are in this together.

Bye bye, for now.

Rob

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SHANGHAI, CHINA

November 10, 2007 1:15 AM

It seems that at the end of a production, time compresses. It gets dense. There is some kind of warp that happens where a day feels like a week and a week passes in a moment. I was shocked to read our “Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” family comments and realize that there has been a considerable gap between posts. I regret that, family, but I invoke the above sense of time as my defense.

A great deal has happened on the movie: we have successfully moved to Shanghai, we have finished Jet Li’s time with us in the movie and today, I finish sweet, sweet Michelle Yeoh. I have two weeks of a crazy chase and a few days of the O’Connell Family drama in Jonathan’s Egyptian-themed nightclub in Shanghai named appropriately “IMHOTEP’S,” complete with scantily clad dancers, live orchestra and deco motifs.

Jet was great to the last shot, his suffering under the curse of Zi Yuan (Michelle), which involved considerable discomfort for him in real life, but he took it like the pro he is and turned it into something unforgettable.

We shot all the scenes in the Emperor’s Throne Room with a team of Chinese culture advisors constantly helping me with Qin dynasty language, ceremonies, and behavior. Every film is a journey in which you learn new things about life at every level. This film has been packed with new knowledge, that “art” and “intellect” people would stand at the Emperor’s left, “military” at his right; that musicians were not allowed swords, that no one was ever allowed to turn his back to the Emperor, on and on. But the film gods dwell in the details. Even if it’s a world with which you’re not familiar, it feels true. Generalize them at your own peril.

Another great thing that has happened is my re-union with my 20-year old son Kyle who coincidentally is here in Shanghai at Fudan University. He’s taking his junior year abroad away from Sarah Lawrence College to learn Mandarin (a very smart choice for the future, I believe considering the cultural/business/and political renaissance that’s taking place here in China). After three months apart, it was just wonderful to see him, to meet his Chinese friends, to hear him speak Mandarin. He looks dubbed!

Also, my wife Barbara and I learned that we are expecting two boys and a girl so life couldn’t be finer. She posted a comment a while ago to thank all of you for your good wishes.

Last night our Action Unit, directed by Vic Armstrong, blew up a trolley on a main street in the Shanghai Bund section as part of our massive chase sequence. In this scene, Rick, Evy and Jonathan have hijacked a fireworks truck (it’s Chinese New year, 1946) and are chasing the Emperor Mummy and Anthony Wong through the streets. They take out the mother of all rockets and aim it right at the fleeing chariot. Jonathan lights the fuse with his Dunhill and it rips down the boulevard. The Mummy deflects the rocket straight into the trolley. Vic and I had set eight cameras and the damn trolley blew ten feet straight up off the ground with a fireworks display that could be seen from outer space! Special On-set Effects Supervisor Bruce Steinheimer designed the event with an extensive team of American and Chinese fireworks experts. The concussion was so intense it broke every window on main street and the rockets' red glare set the third story of the set on fire. It was glorious!

Well, I hope this post makes up in length for the gap between updates. Right now I have to get back to the task of filming Russell Wong in a love scene with Michelle Yeoh. Two more beautiful people were never created.

Bye-bye for now….

Rob

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