~： Six hundred and ninety-two - brutal war

When the annual summer vacation in North America starts from the end of June to July, it has actually entered the most competitive period of various companies.

Whether it is the six major Hollywood giants or small and medium-sized film companies, almost all of the top films that they have high hopes for are reserved for the most popular time for fans.

Especially since a few years ago, after the summer season was completely ruled by Warner Bros. and Wayne, there was basically no scene where the summer season started blockbuster movies.

On July 1st, "Peerless Catastrophe", which was first released by Disney's distribution label Pwell International, ended the reign of "Charlie's Angels" as soon as it was released. Bang Bei was still the summer bomb, and it was swept up in North America with its premiere. The box office achievement of nearly 40 million US dollars announced the beginning of the hottest competition in the schedule.

Immediately after that, Warner Bros. released its own traditional sequel, "Bombshell 4" the following weekend. This film, starring first-line star Mel Gibson, attracted huge attention at the beginning of its release, and even surpassed the extremely hot "Peerless Catastrophe" in the previous week in terms of the discussion between the media and fans.

The main reason for getting a good reputation from a large number of fans this time is not the performance of the Hollywood superstar, but the jet-li who only appeared for five minutes, only three scenes, and an English dialogue!

Although North American audiences have seen some of Kongfu's magic in "The Matrix", jet-li's performance in just a few minutes is no less than a myth in the eyes of North American audiences. Clean, neat, beautiful, and powerful action scenes constantly caused bursts of screams in the theater.

After many years, kongfu's action method has finally been recognized by mainstream audiences in North America again.

"The Hollywood Reporter" has a comment on jet-li, and it has even been circulated on the Internet for more than ten or twenty years: "Jet-li shocked four people in just five minutes, and even when he appeared in black. With a sense of mystery, the mainstream vision of the West has refreshed the image of the East."

That is, this unexpectedly explosive action scene made "Bombshell 4", even in the face of "Peerless Catastrophe", which exploded the previous week, still got a box office that exceeded Warner Bros. expectations.

Sometimes reality is even more fantastical than the movie. The final box office of "Bombshell 4" in this summer season is 100 million US dollars. The market research and analysis of the producer Warner Bros. shows that the fans who are attracted to the theater by jet-li, in a certain Not much less than Mel Gibson.

In Hollywood, which always attaches great importance to market research data, jet-li only used this small supporting role, and immediately entered the vision of mainstream production companies. Even before the 1998s, the Warner Bros. film and television production department has already created "Deadly Romeo" with the image of jet-li and the unique kongfu.

After only five minutes of supporting roles in a commercial film, he was immediately cast as the leading role in one of the six major Hollywood movies. No matter when it was put, it was a miracle.

The reason that prompted Warner Bros. to do this is very simple, that is, jet-li is rarely accepted by mainstream audiences in North America, whether it is an action scene or a personal image. Another point is that Mel Gibson was paid $25 million for the role of "Bombshell 4", but jet-li only took $500,000. Warner Bros. will not let him off unless he is stupid.

Perhaps the name "Booming Cannon" will make people feel very unfamiliar, but another name "Lethal Weapon" will definitely make Eastern audiences more familiar. This film was in the late 1990s and early 2000s. And video tapes have been wildly circulated in many families in the East.

In fact, sometimes the gap between Chinese and foreign translation names is so big that people can't understand it. Not only "Booming Cannon" is translated as "Lethal Weapon" in the East, like "This Killer Is Not Too Cold", which is more familiar to people, in North America is the literal translation of "Leon".

There is also that countless people's adolescence enlightenment film "The Beautiful Legend of Sicily", which is called "Marlene" in the West. Even more outrageous is "Flying House", because its name in the West is "God". "Inception" is called "The Beginning", "Maleficent" is called "Maleficent"...

Even the masterpiece in the hearts of countless people, Christopher Nolan's "Batman", the amazing thing is that there is no Batman in the North American name at all...

The war in the summer season is still going on, and it has even begun to heat up. The movie fans' carnivals caused by "Peerless Tribulation" and "Booming Cannons" lasted only one week each.

When the time came to July 15th, 20th Century Fox's "I'm Crazy for Mary" officially opened in major North American theaters. At the beginning of its release, it immediately took away most of the fans again. 's attention.

Also released in the same period is Sony Columbia's traditional IP "Black Man Zorro". After the release of these two highly anticipated films by fans, the cinema market has completely entered chaos.

A market environment like the hot July is happy for movie fans. After they enter the theater, no matter how they choose, there will be various types of blockbusters that are enjoyable, but for film companies, it is not so happy. Yes, because blockbusters were released one after another, completely diverting the audience.

It was in such a chaotic scene that on July 24th at 7:00 p.m., the film "Saving Private Ryan" directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by DreamWorks, and distributed by Warner Bros., was released in Beverly. The Kodak Theater had a huge premiere.

This film is not only highly anticipated by the Big Three of DreamWorks, but Warner Bros. is also very optimistic about its box office potential after conducting an internal preview, so the scale of this premiere is very grand.

Besides, Steven Spielberg's films are inherently incapable of lack of attention. Under the warm invitation of Warner Bros., not only hundreds of media reporters were invited to the scene, but celebrities and celebrities from all walks of life were frequently visited. On the red carpet, the Kodak Theater was star-studded for a while, no less than a small awards ceremony.

"Thank you for coming, Wayne."

In front of the Kodak Theater, Steven Spielberg and Wayne just finished an interview and gave a warm hug.

"Hey, man, don't tell me that someone will not give you face for this good man."

Wayne patted the old Jewish man's back lightly, let go of his hands and shook his head in mock surprise, and joked: "The great director Spielberg, "Saving Private Ryan" is the film I'm most looking forward to this year. You know, I'm curious now what you've made of an R-rated war movie."

While the two were chatting, he shook hands with David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg beside him, and nodded politely.

The appearance of the Big Three of DreamWorks has already explained their importance to "Saving Private Ryan", especially Jeffrey Katzenberg. In a short period of time, Wayne looked at it several times.

"Come on, Wayne."

Steven Spielberg waved his hand, pointed at him and said with a smile: "Before "Saving Private Ryan" was prepared, I invited you several times, and even now I feel that this kind of performance is cruel War, R-rated films about human nature, you are the most suitable director in the whole of Hollywood."

"No, Steven."

Whether it was commercial or sincere, Wayne shook his head politely and said seriously: "You are the best director to show humanistic care in movies. I still have a lot to learn."

His words caused hearty laughter from several men. Suddenly, there was a burst of cheers from fans on the red carpet, the sound was so loud that it completely overwhelmed the conversation of several people.

Wayne turned around and took a look. He was about to go in after a few words of greeting, but he stopped his steps involuntarily.

Not long after, the father of Star Wars came over in a rather formal dress, getting rid of the entanglement of media reporters. Still far away, the voice of George Lucas came first.

"Damn, if I knew you didn't have a female partner, we, the Grammy "Rookie of the Year" group, should walk the red carpet together."

"You know, Nami is still running the "Charlie's Angels" promotion outside." Wayne shrugged and took a step aside, the protagonist tonight is not him, but the one standing in front of the theater. DreamWorks Big Three.

After George Lucas had a chat with a few people, the two of them walked into the theater together. There were so many guests on the stage tonight that Steven Spielberg couldn't find time to accompany him in person. Both of them. The two randomly found a place in the lounge, chatting and waiting for the premiere to begin.

"George, is the new "Star Wars" almost finished?" Wayne asked casually, tilting his head and lighting a cigarette.

"It will take a while."

The Father of Star Wars shook his head. "We will have to wait until the end of the year at the earliest to complete all the work. By the way, the North American box office of "The Flash" exceeded 300 million so early, and the global box office is approaching 700 million US dollars, right?"

"It should be soon, now it's $100 million."

"The Flash" was released in North America on May 19, and landed in overseas theaters two weeks later. The release time has exceeded two months.

The film's North American box office has reached a terrifying US$100 million, and overseas box office is 100 million US dollars. This achievement is incomparable to "Batman: The Dark Knight", but it can be seen alone, and it is undoubtedly a super high box office in this era.

According to the release date, "The Flash" has basically been booked as the number one box office in North America in 1998.

On the North American annual box office rankings, it is difficult to shake the top spot of "The Flash". Although there is still less than half of this year, no one will believe that there is a film that can surpass this at the North American box office. score.

In fact, many professionals have higher expectations for the global box office of "The Flash", but from the perspective of the film's attributes, even if some numbers can be increased in the future, it is basically impossible to increase too much, let alone 800 million US dollars. It can't reach 750 million, and it depends on the duration of the follow-up screening.

"Hey, buddy, can you tell me, your plan for the next movie, won't it really be Superman?"

Observing the surrounding environment, George Lucas turned his head and asked in a low voice with a mysterious expression on his face. But before the words came out, he immediately shook his head slightly and muttered in a low voice. "No, it could also be "Wonder Woman"..."

To be the richest man in Hollywood, the father of Star Wars is not stupid at all. After the release of "Charlie's Angels", Warner Bros. paid attention to this film, and he had already guessed something from the music.

But in terms of market and popularity, Superman Clark Kent is the first choice, there is no doubt about that. After several years of preparation and accumulation, if Superman is made at this time, it will definitely be a big bomb that will detonate the global cinema market. No, perhaps it should be described as a nuclear bomb.

"No need to guess, George."

Breathing out a large cloud of green smoke, Wayne smiled mysteriously and said: "I can only remind you, don't take "Star Wars", learn from Universal Pictures and Sony Columbia, otherwise, we will definitely lose both sides and form a double-whammy. losing situation."

Hearing this hint that seemed like a joke, George Lucas looked into his eyes and nodded seriously.

Yes, "Star Wars" is the most popular movie series in North America, and he is not afraid of any head-on competition. However, if he knew that the choice of the release date would result in a lose-lose situation, the father of Star Wars would never be stupid enough to have money and not make money.

Everyone knows that the release time of the DC series in Wayne's hands will not exceed the end of May every year at the latest, which can be said to be the beginning of the summer season. If the new "Star Wars" is very much released in this schedule, it is undoubtedly the happiest only other movie companies who are watching the excitement.

"Ok, it's almost time."

While the two were chatting, Nina, who had been with her all the time, raised her wrist, pointed to her boss's watch, and signaled. Wayne turned his head to observe and found that the guests had already started to enter the screening room one after another. He greeted the father of Star Wars, and the two got up and walked downstairs together.

"Steven has said no less than twenty times that he wants you to direct this film. You are the most suitable director for this type of film."

Under the guidance of the staff, the two sat in the middle of the third row. George Lucas glanced at the creative team in the first row, turned his head and joked: "God may only know why one is rated R. Director, go play with some superheroes."

Hearing his friend's complaints, Wayne shrugged and didn't explain anything. He won't tell the other party that he has been on the attention of the DC movie series as early as the beginning of his fame, as early as the beginning of his cooperation with Warner Bros. by chance.

It's good to say that Batman, after all, Bruce Wayne's super power (rich), it is destined that even if special effects are needed, it will not exceed the limit of this era.

But starting from Wonder Woman, to Superman, and the subsequent DC series, relying heavily on CG production, this is one of the reasons why Wayne has been patiently paving the way. With the development of time, there are more and more Hollywood special effects blockbusters today, and the technology of CG special effects is relatively mature. The result of waiting is that the investment in special effects production is decreasing year by year.

If we say that in the early 1990s, Industrial Light and Magic needed to spend 30 million US dollars to produce special effects, by the end of the 1990s, the price was almost reduced by half. Only in this way can we maximize more shots for the big scene.

And don't forget, Wayne still holds more than 30% of the shares of Weta Special Effects. He believes that after the training of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, this special effects company will grow rapidly. As long as the past two years have passed, DC series films can use their own special effects company to further control the cost in this regard.

"here we go!"

"Huh..."

At 8:00 p.m., the lights in the entire theater went out one after another, and the logo of Warner Bros. and DreamWorks began to appear on the big screen. The North American premiere of "Saving Private Ryan" officially began.

At the beginning of the film, it gave the audience a strong shock. For 20 minutes, Steven Spielberg used the camera to almost restore the real World War II scene.

War, a topic that humans basically can't get around, at this time, in front of more than 1,000 viewers, there is a cruel picture that is so real that it is immersive. If there was one word to describe this opening scene, it would be purgatory on earth.

Some soldiers held their broken hands, some covered their stomachs that had come out of the factory, and some took off their helmets. Fortunately, when the helmets just saved their lives, they were caught flying from nowhere. The bullets that came were filled with one shot...

Steven Spielberg seems to be doing everything he can to remind viewers of the film that this is World War II, and this is the real battlefield.

It is not only a shock to the audience's vision, but also the shaking of the camera with the first perspective of Captain Miller, it is a shock to the soul.

The gunshots of World War II, the roar of tanks, and the background music of the roar, combined with the real footage from the first perspective, moved the hearts of all audiences in an instant.

In the silent movie-watching atmosphere of the screening hall, the exclamations of "God" and "God" continued. For the first time, countless audiences saw what the real battlefield looks like.

Although he had seen the movie several times in his previous life, Wayne turned his attention to the big screen at this time. When people mention Steven Spielberg, they always think of Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, et or Jaws and Happy Terminal.

But in his heart, he has always felt that "Saving Private Ryan" can be ranked among the top of all the works of this old man, just because he likes it personally.

The film is called "Saving Private Ryan", and in fact, when Private Ryan appeared in the movie, more than half of the film has passed. Just when the rescued protagonist showed up, George Lucas, who had been watching the film all the time, relaxed his upper body on the back of the chair.

"It doesn't matter who you save, what Steven wants to express is the meaning of saving people."

"That's right."

Hearing his friend's sigh, Wayne took his eyes away from the big screen, turned his head and whispered: "The last thing people need to worry about is Steven's sensitivity to the market. Look, George, this movie The discussion that the film will generate will never be lower than my "The Flash"."

It doesn't matter who is saved at all, it can be Ryan, of course, it can be Jack, Rose, or anyone. Importantly, the film's themes are strongly aligned with North American values ​​and are bound to generate a lot of discussion.

Especially as the film comes to the end, the members of the rescue team die one by one. Everyone knows that this kind of arrangement is the rough sensationalism that has prevailed in Hollywood for decades, but the reason why this sensational scene has prevailed for decades is because the audience has been eating this set.

"To be honest, if I were the CEO of Paramount, I would've wanted you to die."

When the movie ended, when the fans applauded wildly in sobbing, George Lucas raised his arm, stabbed Wayne beside him lightly, and joked: "Whether it was Steven Spielberg, Or the DreamWorks that the three of them came up with, all of which are the fat of Paramount Pictures, but now it has become Warner Bros. because of you..."

"Hey, George."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Wayne helplessly interrupted his teasing. "Warner Bros. is only the publisher of DreamWorks. As for whether DreamWorks will be sucked, it has nothing to do with me."

Father Star Wars glanced at him, shrugged and muttered in a low voice. "Ha, well, at least Warner Bros. exploits a little less..."

At the moment when the film was shown, many people expected that this World War II epic would be a success, which is why George Lucas ridiculed Wayne.

The premiere was over, and the audience lined up to leave the stage. After the guests who came to the platform sent their blessings, they were led by the staff to attend the regular reception after the premiere. In such an occasion where celebrities, film company executives, and producers gather, socializing is always the first theme.

When people dressed in formal attire and politely greeted each other in the banquet hall, Wayne felt a trance whenever such a scene appeared.

In fact, he never likes to socialize, and he never likes to deal with those fake smiling faces, but he knows very well that a lot of cooperation in this circle is done in every party and cocktail party. And there is no difference between myself and those who are constantly testing under the light.

Starting from entering the banquet hall, UU reads www. uukanshu.com George Lucas went to say hello to old friends, Wayne sat alone in the corner near the balcony, ready to say hello to Steven Spielberg in a while, and went back to rest early.

Although he is sitting in the corner near the balcony, he has been watching him with a lot of eyes. As one of the main actors in "Saving Private Ryan", Matt Damon's attention is not much, even if he has already Relying on "Good Will Hunter", it is famous. After all, there are Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg in the main creators of the crew.

"To be honest, man, I don't like him."

In the banquet hall not far from Wayne, Matt Damon held a glass of champagne and whispered to his friend: "Wayne Greenberg is a good guy on the surface, but he is too domineering in private."

Hearing his friend's words, Ben Affleck shook his head helplessly. He knew that his friend was still grumbling about Harvey Weinstein. Both of them knew that half of the new film "Shakespeare in Love" that Miramax was producing was "invested" by the Hollywood mogul.

Actually, from a neutral point of view, isn't Harvey Weinstein not domineering, but a good person? But when people look at things, they will inevitably stand in their own perspective.

I am afraid that in the eyes of most people, it is simply that Harvey Weinstein kicked the iron plate and had to bow his head. Maybe even most people would be happy to see that dead fat man suffer.

"Harvey himself said it was over, Matt."

Ben Affleck patted his friend's shoulder and pouted in Wayne's direction. "Come on, let's go over and say hello."

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