讀後心得

Sean Baker often uses non-professional actors, as seen with the leads Brie Larson and Brooklyn Prince in "The Florida Project." Although the prospects after "The Florida Project" seemed optimistic, he encountered difficulties in fundraising, attempting to raise $15 million for "The Elephant" but was unable to secure funding. Ultimately, he failed to raise $2.5 million for "The Florida Project" as well. Facing these challenges, he sought help from Hollywood brothers Mark and Jay Duplass, receiving funding to shoot the ultra-low-budget "Tangerine," filmed on an iPhone. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated at the Sundance Film Festival. This film also helped him secure funding for "Red Rocket," successfully reflecting the lives of social outsiders.

Sean Baker often chooses non-professional actors, with the two main characters in The Florida Project, Bria Vinaite and Brooklynn Prince, being one such example. After Starlet, Baker's prospects seemed to improve, but he unexpectedly fell back into fundraising difficulties. He planned to make Enola with a budget of $15 million but couldn't find funding, and he also tried to shoot The Florida Project on a budget of $2.5 million but still faced obstacles. At that time, he was in his forties, borrowing living expenses from his parents for three consecutive months, feeling a great humiliation as life hit another low. During this challenging period, Baker thought of collaborating for the first time with the directing brothers, who loved Broadway Prince, and reached out to them. They agreed to support him in making an ultra-low-budget film titled The Night Is Young, which tells the story of a recently released streetwalker who discovers her boyfriend's infidelity and teams up with her girlfriends to find the mistress, but unexpectedly gets caught up in more lies and losses. Due to tight budgets, Baker shot the entire film on an iPhone and continued to use non-professional actors. After its release, the film received positive reviews and was selected for the Sundance Film Festival, and he also found a distributor. When he came to Taiwan for promotion in 2015, Baker revealed that to save costs, he completed all post-production work independently, ultimately losing 7 kilograms due to excessive fatigue.

With increased recognition, Baker finally successfully raised over $2 million to make Wonderland. He collaborated with Chris Bergoch to co-write the story of a mother and daughter, Hailey and Moonee, living in a budget motel called "The Magic Castle" near the Disney World in Orlando, Florida, reflecting the lives of society's marginalized. Willem Dafoe, who played the motel manager, received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this film. Baker stated that he initially thought that the more funding he had, the smoother the filmmaking would be, but this shooting experience made him realize that regardless of the budget, challenges would always arise. At the time, the crew worked hard to control expenses, and the filming process went only an hour over schedule. He hoped to involve more children in the performance, using 35mm film throughout the shoot, which took place during Florida's peak summer, posing significant challenges for the team. The mother and daughter characters were played by Bria Vinaite and Brooklynn Prince, both of whom were non-professional actors. The former was discovered by Baker through social media as an influencer, while the latter stood out among 200 child stars after months of auditions in Florida, with her innocent performance becoming the film's biggest highlight.