The Best Director

Chapter 222 Good News

As time enters June, this year's summer vacation is about to usher in a new round of fierce duels.

As early as May 2, "Men 2" starring Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and others, with a production cost of 110 million, was released in 3,741 theaters, officially kicking off the prelude to this summer with a weekly box office of 700 million , and now it has received 200 million box office in North America for 6 weeks; Disney's blue net movie "The Queen of Common People" was also released in the same week.

On May 9, the 10,000-cost comedy "Dad Rangers" was released on a large scale; "The Matrix 2: Reloaded" with a production cost of 150 million was screened.

In the next week from May 16th to 22nd, it won the championship next week with a box office of 121 million without any suspense, catching up with the highest opening week box office record of 131 million r-rated movies set by "The Ninth District" last year, and it is now in theaters In the fourth week, the box office in North America reached 250 million. Although the momentum is basically exhausted, whether it can approach and break the record for the highest box office of an R-rated film in North America, which was "The Ninth District", is still a topic of concern to media filmmakers.

In any case, "Reloaded" has made most film critics and sci-fi movie fans hooked. The shocking visual effects, the improvement of the level of thinking, the expressed oriental Zen, and the cool oriental kung fu... The u1 film with a distinctive style has won some of the top evaluations "the perfect combination of business and art!"

Of course, there is also another group of voices, who think that "Reloaded" is boring and fried rice, and it does not have the compact excitement of the first part, which is disappointing. On Rotten Tomatoes, its score is only average, with 74% of the audience's love and 74% of the public's freshness. The "New York Observation" film critic Andrew Sarris said: "I like this movie. And I recommend it in good conscience. But it never moved me, not even half as well as Steven Spielberg's "Artificial Intelligence."

And as the first person in history to win an Oscar for Best Director for a sci-fi film, and a figure who has been pushed to the forefront in the sci-fi film industry, Wang Yang and "District 9" will inevitably be criticized by some film critics and filmmakers. Let's compare it, although the specific types of the two are quite different.

After this "showdown", many filmmakers commented that "The Ninth District" although the special effects are real and the scene is hot, but the pattern is always too much; it also brought enough thinking and touching, but it is worth mentioning that "Hacker The oriental fighting and dialogue Zen in the "Empire" series is something that the Chinese-American director Fan Yang does not have. Bill Chalmers of 1mrer. said: "It's really ironic."

Most of the criticism of "The Matrix 2" is actually the reason for too high expectations. Richard Roper, the host of the movie review program "eber\u0026m;reer", described it as "almost unbearable expectations", and such expectations are also Existed in the second sci-fi film of Miracle Yang, especially when he said "the spaceship is going to travel the universe", but when can I see it? At least see a new project with a name?

The film and television audience all have a feeling that there is no end in sight,

Maybe it will be another ten years before he touches sci-fi films again at the age of 33, and he is still a young director; John Salvi of . "

On May 23, two more comedy films will be released, "The Secret Service" starring Michael Douglas and "The Fake God" starring Jim Carrey. Comedy status, but it is well received but not well received. On Rotten Tomatoes, only 49% of the public's film critics are fresh, and the audience likes it only 61%. The May issue of "Finding Nemo" was released, with 97.45 million a week, and the % freshness continued the usual astonishment of Pixar animation.

In the same week, there is also an action crime film "Stealing the Sky and Changing the Sun" with a cost of 10,000 yuan; "Degree and Passion 2" will be released on June 6. And this summer, comedies such as "Hollywood Reorganization Case" and "When Dumb Met Dumber" will debut on June 13; the 137 million-cost "Hulk" will hit the big screen on June 1. After the huge success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", how will Ang Lee's directorial hero films perform? This is also a topic that the media pays attention to.

The 120 million cost of "The Thunderbolt 2", 200 million "Terminator 3", "Legal Blonde 2", 140 million "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", Wan's "Raiders", 130 million "Jedi Men 2", "Special Agent 3", "The Pentium Age", "Tomb Raider 2", "American Pie 3", "SWAT Team", "Hot Mom and Hot Girl"... Are there any special effects? , the green net gambling film "-21-em" without a big scene, but no one dares to underestimate it.

"That's good!" On the busy reception set, Wang Yang couldn't help being happy when he heard the good news from Simon Willis, the line manager on the phone. The global r epidemic was gradually brought under control in May, and the world Wei already intends to lift Beijing's travel ban in Tianhou. If the ban is lifted in June and it becomes an epidemic-free area in another month, then there is no problem in going to China for publicity in August.

Looking at the crew walking around over there, Wang Yang asked with great interest: "What kind of schedule is arranged?" To enter the Chinese mainland market, Flame Films naturally needs to cooperate with China Film Group. "-21-em" The promotional activities are also arranged by the marketing department of China Film Group. Ximéng-Willis over there said: "There are film meetings, news and newspaper interviews, and attending film seminars at the Beijing Film Academy..."

"Ximéng, this kind of publicity is not close enough to the mass audience." Wang Yang frowned suddenly, he hoped that the mass audience could recognize him intuitively, but now, he shrugged and said: You know that the number of people attending the meeting is limited; And when I go to the school to talk, ordinary moviegoers just see a piece of news, is there no TV program? Is there something like Saturday Night Live, The Oprah Oprah Show or something? Can our crew do publicity for the last issue? "

Of course there are movie interviews and newspaper interviews, but the most mainstream TV programs are even more indispensable. When traveling last year, he recorded an episode of "A Date with Luyu". Later, he learned that although this talk show is very famous in China, the coverage rate of Phoenix Satellite TV is very low, and the ratings are naturally not very good. This time he I want to be on that kind of high-rated program on national satellite TV.

"Yang, I'm not too sure." Siméng-Willis said suspiciously, "Our publicity in mainland China has always been for China Film Group, so let's tell them this intention first?"

"I can be as funny as I want." Wang Yang replied with a smile, and ended the call after saying a few more words. Seeing Meryl Streep coming to the set over there, she sat down in the actor's chair by the side of the set, took out the script and began to read it, as seriously as ever. Wang Yang walked over to Jiang Ye, interrupted her contemplation, and said, "Meryl, there is something I haven't told you yet. The crew is going to Paris for a few days of filming."

With the end of the mild r epidemic in Paris, the cost of filming directly in Paris is not that high, and it can be completed in two or three days at the fastest, without post-production, which is also helpful for future publicity; and Wang Yang misses Jesse Ka loved Paris so much that she would be very happy if he made a movie in Paris, so he changed the original plan after discussing with several producers.

After explaining the official reasons to Meryl Streep, Wang Yang immediately added: "Meryl, if you don't want to go, it's okay! I'm going to continue filming your film in New York, Just find some Parisian-style streets. I want to ask what you think?"

Meryl Streep, who was wearing glasses, thought about it deeply, with a sorry expression on her face, she replied: "I stay in New York. Jan, if I have a choice, I like to be around home work, my family needs me."

"Okay." Wang Yang nodded with a smile. He didn't intend to force her. When she was invited to act in the first place, she promised not to go abroad. The change now is unilaterally done by the crew. Wang Yang said, "That's nothing, we will arrange everything." Meryl called me when she was about to leave, she smiled calmly and said, "Yang, I have a request, my eldest daughter Mami really wants to show her face in this movie, she is your fan."

"Oh, I know." Wang Yang responded, and Meryl Streep continued: "I know there are some roles in the remaining plays, but I wonder if Mamy will have a chance to play one of them?"

Looking at the busy crew not far away, Wang Yang couldn't figure out the arrangement for a while, and said with a smile, "I have to ask the casting department, it should be fine." , The press conference is the response waiter, saying some lines such as "Lady, your drink"; or has a name, such as a subordinate assistant next to a fashion figure, an interview reporter, etc.

The candidates for these roles are basically decided on a temporary basis. The auditions are completed a few days before the shooting of the scene, and they are notified on the day of the shooting and leave after the shooting. There is almost not even a page of the script. And for some large-scale productions, because the production cycle is too long, in addition to the real protagonist, they will also look for major supporting actors who need to be sent to the set while shooting. "The Devil Wears Prada" will naturally not find everyone at the beginning, so Meryl Streep will ask this question.

If there is any suitable role vacancy, then let Mami Gummer play one. After all, Meryl asked, and Wang Yang has no reason to refuse such an insignificant favor. Of course, Mami Gummer must You have to perform well, otherwise no matter who's daughter is good, you will lose face.

The time soon came to June 9, which was Natalie's birthday. Wang Yang and Jessica went to her Long Island home where the party was held with gifts. He had conveyed Natalie's invitation before, and she readily agreed. These days, the emotions may be getting weaker and weaker, and Jessica's ng times have become more frequent, but she is still more involved and agile than before, but she is not at her peak. But he followed her advice and had already taken those important shots.

"Wow!——" There were more than a dozen young people standing in the spacious living room, some of them were drinking with wine glasses and beer glasses, some were clapping their hands, shouting loudly, forming a circle. Natalie in the circle held a wide wooden block with both hands, and looked at Wang Yang, who was kicking and warming up a few steps ahead, with a bow and a smile. Full of nervous smiles.

There were not many people in the film and entertainment industry who attended the party. They were all Natalie's good friends and girlfriends from all walks of life. They all looked at the venue with surprise, expectation or smile, as the magical director showed off his kung fu...

"Don't kick me!" Natalie yelled with a smile, Wang Yang took a deep breath and said, "Hold on! Don't let me kick you!" Before he finished speaking, he took two steps and kicked , There was a loud "snap", Natalie shook her arms, and the wooden plank in her hand was broken into two sides! Everyone around immediately applauded and laughed: "Too strong!", "Kung Fu!" Wang Yang's face was a little silent, shaking his head and smiling: "Toys..."

After the Kung Fu show was over, there were bursts of laughter at the party, and Wang Yang was surrounded by several people chatting non-stop; Jessica gradually moved away from the sound and came to the balcony, and Natalie was chatting with a black girl over the railing. While the girl was chatting, the girl suddenly patted Natalie on the shoulder and walked back into the house. When she passed by, Jessica greeted her with an "ey".

"Happy birthday to you." Jessica came to Natalie, looked at the faintly shining stars in the night sky, and blessed her. Natalie turned her head to look at her, took a sip of the beer in her hand, and said with a smile, "Thank you." They haven't talked alone for a long time, and the last time... I don't remember.

Natalie turned around and looked at the other side of the room. Wang Yang was laughing and chatting with a group of people, and seemed to have mastered the scene again. She raised the corners of her mouth and said with a smile: "Your boyfriend is not bad."

"Of course." Jessica also turned around and put her hands on the railing, looking at Wang Yang over there, a touch of tenderness flashed through her eyes. Natalie laughed, and said without beginning or end: "Jessica, if you break up and I don't have a boyfriend yet, I'll chase him again! He's always been hard-hearted now, there's really nothing I can do about it. Jessica smiled immediately and said, "No, that won't happen." She had this confidence in their relationship before, and now she has even more confidence.

Natalie suddenly asked: "By the way, was he a little angry during the kung fu show just now?"

After receiving Jessica's nod, Natalie frowned suspiciously, and said, "No wonder he was a little cold... I thought he was enduring the pain. Why? Just to show how powerful he is!" Jessie Ka shrugged slightly, and said: "He doesn't like kicking wooden boards, he said his kung fu is used to kill people or make movies." She couldn't help smiling, and said: "It's nothing, he usually doesn't get angry for five minutes , he likes to see his friends happy."

"Well, I'll apologize another day. It's my birthday today." Natalie smiled nonchalantly, then turned to look at the night sky, and said with a smile, "Let's not talk about Yang, how does it feel to act opposite Meryl Streep? ? Do you have a feeling that you want to beat her up?"

Jessica raised her head and groaned, and said with certainty: "No..."