"McKen, I need you to create some really passionate music for the soundtrack, something similar to Black rap or hardcore rock songs," Gilbert requested of composer McKen.
McKen suggested, "Gilbert, I think we could find a hip-hop rapper or a rock band to help write a few songs for the movie."
Gilbert's eyes lit up; he thought this was a feasible suggestion and asked, "So, which singer or band do you think would be more suitable?"
"How about Dr. Dre? AC/DC would work too," McKen recommended.
"Dr. Dre?" Gilbert wasn't very familiar with him, as he wasn't well-versed in early nineties hip-hop artists, only knowing Eminem and JAY-Z. He didn't recognize any others.
He had heard of AC/DC; apparently, they had a few explosive songs in Iron Man.
"You're in charge of communicating with them, McKen. Once the songs are done, you can give them to me. You can choose old songs or write new ones, but the content needs to be positive, and the lyrics shouldn't be too violent," Gilbert stated his requirements.
McKen agreed, "Don't worry, Gilbert, I've got this covered."
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With the soundtrack and incidental music handled by McKen, Gilbert then discussed with art director Serena Heife: "Serena, what do you think about designing a really cool entrance for the young male lead, Max?"
"What kind of entrance?"
"How about street dance or robot dance? I remember Ryan can dance, and he's quite good at it," Gilbert said.
Serena Heife acknowledged, "Okay, I'll find someone to design it."
"Hold on," Gilbert suddenly had another idea, "Considering Adam's characteristics, I think it could dance alongside Max for the entrance. Don't you think a robot imitating human movements to do a robot dance would be quite a spectacle?"
Serena's eyes brightened: "That's a great idea, Gilbert! I'll start designing a plan right away."
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After discussing these detailed tasks, Gilbert rushed to Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to check on the robot design effects and progress.
ILM, in collaboration with the film crew's prop masters, designed various types of robots for the movie and built twenty-six physical models at a one-to-one scale.
Currently, these physical models were undergoing technical debugging at ILM. Each model had hydraulic lifting equipment and remote-controlled hands.
Of course, it would be impossible for these robot models to move as flexibly as they do in the movie; ILM would certainly need to use other techniques.
In fact, in addition to the traditional method of filming empty shots, creating CGI effects with computers, and then adding them in post-production, ILM also utilized the latest optical motion capture technology.
Ever since motion capture technology first emerged, Hollywood recognized its contribution to the technological development of the film industry.
In 1991, James Cameron's film Terminator 2 was the first to use motion capture technology, marking its debut in a Hollywood movie.
ILM was very farsighted, building an optical motion capture studio in 1992 for film motion capture work.
While the technical capabilities were far from what they would be decades later, at the time, motion capture was one of the most cutting-edge film technologies.
Therefore, James Cameron is truly great. Regardless of cinematic art, he and George Lucas jointly propelled the development of Hollywood film industry technology. They are absolutely landmark figures who will be remembered in film history.
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To acquire motion capture data, ILM engineers precisely recorded the body movements and attack data of boxers during boxing matches.
This data was then converted into realistic images using ILM's self-developed Simul-Cam B program during motion capture.
For more realistic motion capture effects, ILM even invited two currently famous boxing champions to participate in the motion capture shoot.
Incidentally, Bruce Willis, as the male lead, is set to be a former professional boxer, so he naturally had to undergo some boxing training.
The current technical challenge for motion capture is to capture subtle facial expression changes. However, since the characters being motion-captured this time are robots with no facial expressions, the difficulty of motion capture was significantly reduced.
But to achieve the level of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, motion capture technology would likely need a few more years to develop; it's not possible now as the technology doesn't meet the requirements.
The crew spent $45 million just on motion capture and special effects production.
The highest-paid members of the crew were Gilbert and Bruce Willis.
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Fortunately, one-third of their salaries would be settled during the first box office split, which helped alleviate the crew's financial pressure.
Moreover, aside from the special effects and robot battles, the film doesn't have many grand scenes, so the $80 million production budget is more than enough.
Actually, when the movie Real Steel was released in its previous life, its box office performance wasn't great.
Media and audiences generally criticized the movie as being a bit cliché, simply a father-son heartwarming film disguised as a robot battle.
This isn't wrong; it's indeed a typical Spielberg-esque family-friendly movie. In its previous life, the film was produced by DreamWorks and executive produced by Spielberg.
However, that was in a previous life. In the early nineties, this "cliché" plot wasn't yet tiresome to audiences.
Combined with the gimmick of robot boxing matches, this was one of the reasons Gilbert decided to bring this film to life.
Real Steel possesses the qualities for a commercial blockbuster: thrilling scenes, touching father-son affection, and a family-friendly ending—all enough to impress audiences in this era.
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ILM's work was largely problem-free, so Gilbert went to check on the actors.
"Director Landrini, thank you for choosing Ryan. Our whole family is very grateful," a middle-aged woman said repeatedly, leading Ryan Gosling and expressing her thanks.
Gilbert steadied the continuously bowing woman, saying, "You're welcome. Ryan's audition performance was excellent, and I have high hopes for his future."
No matter what, this was Ryan Gosling's first film role, and it was a significant one right from the start.
This would undoubtedly be an excellent beginning for Ryan Gosling's future acting career.
For Gilbert, a name was merely the initial basis for trust. If the audition performance wasn't good, Gilbert wouldn't consider an actor's past fame.
Led by Bruce Willis, actors including Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron were present and began the script reading.
The film also has a few Korean and Japanese actors, though their roles are minor.
Gilbert didn't intend to avoid actors, but there weren't many actors making it big in Hollywood at the time.
Not many Hong Kong actors were developing their careers in Hollywood either, so he simply looked for other Asian actors.
However, he did design one character in the film who is , and he would need to find a actor for that.
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Listening to the actors read the script, Gilbert sat at the head of the table, thinking about other things.
Just the day before, Universal Pictures, in conjunction with CAA, announced their new project, Interview with the Vampire, and revealed the film's cast.
Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, two heartthrobs, were confirmed, along with a young actress named Kirsten Dunst.
That young actress, like Ryan Gosling, was one of the lucky ones chosen after countless selections.
He wondered if Ryan Gosling would emerge victorious, or if Kirsten Dunst would prove to be superior.