Chapter 187: 2003 is here

Chapter 187: Three Years Come
On the eve of the release of the
Memory Fragment
in the Halloween period in November, Wang Yang promised to invest in Christopher Nolan ’s new work plan in his living room, adapting the biographical novel Howard Hughes: Secret Life to Ten Thousands, and produced a story about this The biographical film "Mr. Hughes" for the first half of a tycoon.
At the time, Nolan was just a cutting-edge director who had received a lot of praise at the Sundance and other film festivals, but those directors are not a few. He never proved his "profitability", so the industry thought "Mr. Hughes" The plan is just a hype for Flame Movie to build momentum for "Memory Fragment." But it turns out that no, after five years of establishment, Flame Movies only engages in viral marketing, but it has never been hyped.
It is also under the excellent viral marketing that the "Memory Fragment" of 10,000 yuan purchase fee eventually sold 84.11 million box office worldwide, which became a big commercial miracle at that time.
Now when the media are taking stock of the "Ten Outstanding Films" at the Sundance Film Festival, Quentin Tarantino's famous "Falling Dog" is usually ranked first, and the second is the "sex, lies and "Videotape", followed by "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Killer's Elegy", "Crazy Clerk" ... and "Memory Fragment" and "The Illusion of Death", both suspense films quietly exist in the movie library of the flame film in.
The success of "Memory Fragment" brought Nolan's potential to life, but filmmakers all felt that he should continue to shoot thriller suspense-type movies, not any plot biographies. For example, Alcon Entertainment, Unit 8 and several small independent production companies co-invested in the remake of "White Nights", he was invited to direct him. Of course, he was busy with the production of "Mr. Hughes" and did not make a trip; the filmmaker eventually The microphone of the director of "White Night Pursuit" was also handed over to Jonathan Demi.
After completing the preliminary preparations for the script, crew, and scenes in half a year, "Mr. Hughes" was filmed for nearly five months, plus post-production of special effects, editing of the soundtrack, etc., and it was officially completed in May of 2 years. Get rid of all the flowers.
The propaganda work has been carried out all the time. The flame film has given it a propaganda budget of 10,000 yuan, plus miscellaneous expenses such as other copies, and the total cost is controlled at 100 million US dollars.
This also means that if we simply expect box office revenue, it will require 250 million global to recover the cost, but the movie box office goal of Flame Movies is not so high, as long as the global box office can reach 150-2 million, it is already very satisfied. Because there are other peripheral incomes, if this is a classic biographical film, it is not a problem to earn a sum of enough money from dVd, original sound CD, etc.
However, the flame movie has obtained the copyright of a classic movie with a cost of ten thousand. In the next ten years, it will provide a long-term stable and bit-by-bit income on the copyright fees of TV on demand and rental. This long-term business is a magic weapon for many companies to survive. Each year, these one-by-one copyright fees are enough to maintain the company ’s operating expenses, and it seems to guarantee that it will not be in debt and close down unless a large investment is lost to the underwear. Are gone.
In the propaganda plan formulated by the Ministry of Commerce, the focus of this film's propaganda is not on director Nolan, but on Kim Carrey starring Howard Hughes, and I don't know how Nolan persuaded him to promise to appear, but the media and Fans were surprised from the beginning. Howard Hughes was indeed a weirdo, but not the kind of guy who used his hands to pull his mouth out of a big hole. How is this going?
Of course, Kim Carey has always been seeking transformation. He has had enough success in comedy, and then naturally wants those golden trophies. The drama "Chumen's World" brought him a best actor in the Golden Globes, and the comedian Andy Kaufman's biographical film "Man on the Moon" made him the mTV movie award. There is one more Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in the Comedy / Music category, but he wants an Oscar.
Just on the list of nominations for the Golden Globes announced a week ago, "Mr. Hughes" did not receive a nomination, as if announcing the end of the impact of various awards, perhaps because of the "Ninth District" and "hangover" 6 The nomination has reached the "cap limit" of an independent film company, "Mr. Hughes" was only selectively ignored.
However, it cannot be said that "Mr. Hughes" is over. After all, the Golden Globe Award has no technical awards, and the number of judges is far from Oscar.
On Friday, December 27, with the arrival of the weekend, "Mr. Hughes" was officially released in 2675 theaters in North America. As the chairman and star of Flame Movies, Wang Yang and Jessica went to the screening of the movie to help Nolan, Kim-Kerry and others.
The screening hall of the Xuelan Theater was full of seats, and there was a light and heavy classical soundtrack. The audience quietly looked at the image of the big screen. The color style of the picture was very dark and had a style of the Great Depression. Kim Carey, who played Howard Hughes, wore a straight suit and walked from the black car to the Leidenhua company building.
Nolan and other film creators are sitting in the front row, while Wang Yang and Jessica are sitting in the back of the guest area, but the viewing angle is better. Suddenly Jessica turned her head and whispered with interest: "Yang, if you also ironed your clothes all day long, it would be more like Howard Hughes." Wang Yang turned his head and glanced at her, his eyes turned again. Back on the screen, he said: "I can't be a person like that, I won't fly a plane." Jessica smiled and continued to watch movies.
She was joking because some media said that Magic Young is a legend like Howard Hughes. Of course, Miracle Young was not born with a golden key and no big family legacy; but the young Miracle Director, the youngest billionaire, and the unique investment in emerging blogs after the bursting of the science and technology stock bubble all have Hughes. style of.
The gger website has been selected by Fortune Magazine as the "coolest website in 2 years." This name represents the prospect and value. It is a product that Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and other companies are rushing to acquire. In fact, the registered blogger of gger has already exceeded 10 million, and it is now growing at a high of up to 10,000. It has also achieved income with the background management software function, and is preparing for a comprehensive major upgrade, more free and powerful template editing function, blog Services such as photo albums and blog groups ... it is becoming a decisive website on the Internet.
"And I don't want to be a lunatic." Wang Yang turned to look at Jessica again.
Howard Hughes became a weird man in his middle and old age due to serious cleanliness and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He used milk bottles to urinate and tissue boxes to make shoes ... He got married and divorced three times, and had no children. He died on a plane when he was years old. His face was unrecognizable due to years of insomnia and torture. Even fingerprint identification was required to determine that the old man was Howard Hughes. God knows how he made himself like that?
"I'm going to have a bunch of children." Wang Yang stretched out his right hand and pressed his palm against the flat stomach under Jessica's black evening dress, and smiled: "Now book two, a little girl, a little boy." Jessica With a light chuckle, when he saw him stop paying attention and returned to the screen, she patted his right hand and muttered in her heart: "But you haven't done anything yet."
Looking at the big screen in front of her, she gradually lost her mind, and a beautiful silver ring appeared in front of her ...
Time passed in one minute and one second, and soon the 2 hours and 15 minutes of the movie were all played. In the sad music, the cast rolled up on the screen, and the audience at the Shenlan Theater suddenly swelled. In the palm of your hand, Wang Yang also clapped his hands vigorously and smiled at the crew creators who stood up to thank them. This is a very good movie, very contemporary, and it also distorts the formation of Howard Hughes ’character and the heart. The pain was expressed most vividly.
After the screening ceremony, the creators of the "Mr. Hughes" crew, guests and friends came to the hotel to hold a dinner. Everyone laughed and walked in the lively banquet hall, and the rich food and drinks on the table were taken at will.
Wang Yang and Jessica are chatting with the Nolan couple. He is holding a high-heeled glass and taking a sip of a sweet wine. He smiles and said, "Chris, you brought us a great work." Nolan's face was lightly smiling; Emma Thomas in a red dress was apologetic, and said with a smile: "But maybe the box office is not good."
"No, don't say this now." Wang Yang heard his head slightly and shook his head. This film is indeed too literary and artistic, and does not have the ordinary box office selling qualities, but he believes that there will not be too low, that is a A good movie that can be watched with interest.
In fact, he knew that no matter whether "Mr. Hughes" ultimately made money or lost money, as long as the Nolan couples were eager to continue the production of the second half, he would nod and agree. If, from a business perspective, he knows better than anyone where Nolan ’s potential and abilities go, Flame Film maintains the best relationship with this talented director, which is very conducive to future exhibitions, even if he loses some now Money is just a long-term investment.
From the perspective of the film, he feels that Nolan ’s film is like a trial, what is laying and accumulating. The fully mature lower part is likely to become a classic that sells well, and naturally there will be no losses; finally From the perspective of an ordinary audience, he wants to watch the lower part. All three reasons were reasons why he could not refuse. He smiled: "Chris, let's put it this way, you have confidence, and I have confidence."
"Well, I know." Nolan nodded, thank you very much, but who wants to be a box office poison director? Anyway, he didn't want to be able to make a big box office and tell what he wanted to talk about, which was his goal. Nolan frowned a little puzzled and asked, "I have been thinking recently, how to balance business and art? How can I do it?"
How did Wang Yang think about it? With the influence of propaganda, the movie itself ... He shrugged his shoulders and said seriously: "Be-L, I think so." Jessica glanced at him with a smile, Nolan thought about it, Wang Yang Continue to say: "The name of the movie is cool, the poster is cool, the story setting is cool, the picture composition is cool, the shooting technique is cool ... everything, when all of this is done, it must be a commercial film; but it is about The theme is the art that everyone says. "
He shook the glass and took another sip of wine, saying: "I mean, a theme can be made by a bunch of old men like Jack Nicholson in a lunatic asylum; it can also be a group of beautiful Taobao women's clothing Tmall Taobao The guy in the women's winter coat M of Taobao in the mall came out in a tense and exciting fight explosion. Of course, the former can concentrate on one thing to achieve the ultimate; the latter is not so deep, but it is more suitable for the public to watch, let them fascinate, think, feel Martial King Kun Sheng made the sacred king to kill the God Seal Throne in the night and begged for the most powerful Ao Nine Chongtian Royals will kill the Ao Chongtian the strongest abandoned the night Kill the God of the Indian Seal Throne for the Awesome World of Nine Chongtian Strongest Abandoning the Young Dazhou Royal Cultivator Will kill the God of the Indian God Throne for the Awesome World of the Nine Chongtian Strongest Abandon the Royal Family of the Young Da Zhou, go to Yahoo Google to search for what they want to know ... "
The profound theme is expressed in a commercial form and opens up the audience's thinking space. Nolan has thought about these two points, and tried the latter in "Memory Fragment." But the very simple sentence in front of him made him feel like he was electrocuted, his heart jumped, what kind of business form? In addition to the narrative methods and editing techniques, how to make the audience's brains move?
Nolan took a deep breath and murmured: "Be-L, Be-L ..." Story setting, picture composition, shooting technology ... Many vague ideas in the movie name poster suddenly became clear, and he couldn't help but be excited Haha smiled, his face "exaggerated expression", for a time there was no long-term gentleman style, he laughed: "Yes, to be cool to be special you are right." He haha ​​again, said: "Yes Yes, sorry for the loss of companionship. I'm going to think about it. "
His face was immersed in a thoughtful smile, and then he turned and walked to the bathroom. Why is it so simple now that he figured it out? He walked and thumped his palm, smiling to himself: "Be-netbsp; "Oh, he is really ..." Emma Thomas looked at her husband who was walking away, sorry to smile: "I'm out of company first, I'll go and see what happened to him. "Finally, she hurried to Nolan with her handbag.
Jessica's black eyes were full of inexplicable surprise. Looking at Wang Yang, she asked curiously and asked, "What does this mean? Is it just to be cool?" Wang Yang shook his hand and didn't think of Nolan 'S reaction will be so big, laughing: "I don't know, I said casually."
Sometimes it was just a person lingering outside a door for a long time, and then suddenly someone accidentally gave him a key, and he opened the door and went in. As for what is behind the door, only he himself will know.
"But you can understand it this way. Just be cool. In commercials, you can make the audience think you are cool. You win." Wang Yang said, walking to the long table filled with food, drinking half a glass of wine, belly Feeling a little hungry. Jessica followed him and smiled with her lips closed: "Yang, tell me I want to be a director too"
On the second day after the release, most film critics and fan fans gave "Mr. Hughes" a good rating. It got a score on the main page on ImdB, which is not considered a literary biographical film. High, but enough to be labeled as an excellent movie; the public critics of Rotten Tomatoes have a freshness of 85%, well-known freshness of 82%, and audience likes of 76%.
Its epochal details, the performances of actors such as Kim-Kerry, and the narrative style of "spicy but well-organized" have been praised; but as a literary film, Joe Thomson of the Washington Post said: It tells a story well, but it ’s just a story. Christopher Nolan seems to be fascinated by the mysterious Howard Hughes. He has been shaping characters and telling their past throughout the movie, but he has forgotten to tell everyone. Order something. "
Maybe the audience just likes to tell the story well, as well as the popular support of Howard Hughes and Kim Carrey. The box office score of "Mr. Hughes" is not as bad as that of Emma Thomas, when December 27-29 The last weekend of No. 2 came to an end. "Mr. Hughes" took the fourth place in 2,675 theaters. Zhou is expected to receive 10,000 box office, which has fully met the expectations of the flame movie.
After all, a movie usually shows in the week, and the North American box office of "Mr. Hughes" has a chance to receive 10,000-100 million; coupled with the overseas markets that have not yet been released, it is not out of reach to reach 150-2 million globally. digital.
The movie that occupies the top position at this weekend ’s box office rankings continues to be the second and also the hilarious "Hangover", which split up 34.49 million at the box office in North America; the "Freedom of the Law" officially released by Zhou, with 50,000 Won the third place. Since then, "Mr. Hughes", "Intimate Lover", "Manhattan Cinderella" ...
31 is the last day of two years. There are countdown events around the world to celebrate the arrival of the New Year, Times Square in New York, and Las Vegas Boulevard on the desert oasis.
At this time under the night, the high-rise buildings on both sides of the avenue were brightly lit, and the long and wide roads were full of voices. There were tourists coming to participate in the New Year's carnival. They all smiled happily, holding champagne and waiting for a while When the New Year's bell rings, people in the entire casino will drink toast at the same time and drink the wine that celebrates the arrival of the New Year.
Compared to last year, the number of tourists who chose to come to the casino to party this year has risen sharply, perhaps due to the influence of "Hangover". Among the dense crowd, there are laughter and shouts from time to time: "This time for Vegas", "Give 3 years" ...
Wang Yang and Jessica on the avenue also held champagne. At this time, they saw a group of young people with six or seven people in front of them. They all held champagne bottles high, and one of the golden white boys shouted with a smile. : "Let's drink this glass in one go and let us drunk for Vegas, for friends, for" hangover "... for a happy new year"
The two couldn't help smiling at each other, and when they saw that they were drinking from the bottle, Wang Yang and Jessica also raised a small bottle of champagne, and shouted together: "For" hangover ", for Happy New Year", The two took a big sip with their heads up. Under the colorful light, seeing that there was some wine on her lips, Wang Yang reached out and wiped her and smiled: "It really looks like a drunkard." Jessica also reached out to help him wipe the corners of his mouth, and smiled slightly with his brows: " You too"
", 9,8-" At this time, the sky above Las Vegas suddenly changed from audible to audible, and the countdown of the New Year sounded loudly. Big TV, shouting countdown loudly: "7,6,5-" Wang Yang and Jessica looked up at the sky arm in arm, waiting for the fireworks to appear, and also shouted with everyone around, "4, 3 , 2, 1 Happy New Year— "
Bang Bang-With the loud sound of fireworks flying into the sky, a variety of beautiful Taobao women's Tmall Taobao Mall Taobao Mall women's winter coat m flame, blue, red, yellow, green and other colorful silk threads suddenly appeared in the dark sky Intertwined, falling apart and falling like an umbrella; Bang Bang bang, a large red ball-shaped fire ball shines the whole sky like daylight; Bang Bang
"Wow wow wow—" The tourists on the avenue shouted frantically, and there were people laughing and clinking glasses to drink, and the laughter was mixed: "Man, finish it", "Hahaha, look at me" ... Wang Yang and Jessica also took a slurp again, looked at each other's burning eyes, and kissed each other in a hug. They walked for another year.
3 years, officially arrived
"Wow, I feel that drinking ss is very good now, and I can taste two kinds of wine at the same time." Wang Yang let go of her, and after a very beautiful "um" sound. Jessica rolled her eyes and smiled: "Stupid cocktails can make you taste ten kinds at the same time." Wang Yang oh patted his forehead ~ EbookFREE.me ~ Jessica said happily again: "Where do we go next?" How many things do you say you can do in one night? "
Looking around the crowd around, listening to these joyous and noisy laughs, Wang Yang laughed loudly: "Many, many, many-see what our crazy night can do, let's go to the casino first" Jessica The bottle in his hand waved forward and shouted: "Out"
Under the bright yellow lights, the hotel casino is more lively than the outside avenue. Various gambling and entertainment facilities and gambling tables are surrounded by yelling guests, and the chips are constantly swaying. The two who came to the casino were also among them. Blackjack? Texas Hold'em Poker? Stud? Big roulette? No, Wang Yang took Jessica to the slot machine that Jeff Ma said, "That's gambling." If you want to gamble, then be a full gambler.
"Jesus spit out the money for me, and give me out ..." Jessica, who was clenching her teeth, inserted another coin into the slot machine, pulled down the lever with both hands, and patted the body nervously. Wang Yang looked at her crazy look, and wanted to ask "Does actually allow his followers to gamble?"
But both of them slowly widened their eyes and held their breath. I saw that the reels of the slot machine turned for a while and then stopped one by one. A third grid was still rolling, da da da da ......