"Thank you for accepting our interview, Mr. Kubrick." A reporter from "Rock" magazine practiced a lot and finally interviewed Stanley Kubrick who was traveling to Hollywood.
"Three years have passed since The Shining. I wonder what kind of new film Mr. Kubrick will bring us?"
"I have several scripts that I like that are being advanced. We'll see."
Britain was Kubrick's second home and the reason for his mixed British and American accent. Disgusted by Hollywood and the rising crime rate in America, he moved to Britain in 1961 and has lived there ever since.
When he returned to Hollywood this time, the outside world generally speculated that it was related to his preparation for the next movie. So the reporter asked him this question straight to the point, but Kubrick "cunningly" slipped past it.
"Which directors have had the greatest influence on you throughout your career?"
"Ah, there are many, but the ones I should be most grateful to are the directors of bad movies. The reason why I had the courage to work as a film director is because I watched all the bad movies in the 1940s and 1950s. I think, although I
I don’t know anything about directing, but I can shoot better than them no matter what.”
"Is there a specific director?"
"There are many directors who have a great influence on me, such as Chaplin, whose 'City Lights' is one of my favorite films. Others like Max Ophuls, David Lean, Elia
Kazan, Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini all inspired me a lot."
"Are there any directors closer to our era that you also admire?"
"Ha, I am good friends with Steven (Spielberg), and I like some of his movies very much. In addition, there is a young man named David Lynch who is also good recently. I like his 'Eraser' very much.
head'."
"What about Coppola?"
"Hmm...lucky guy, his 'Godfather' may be the best casting in the history of world cinema."
"Are there any younger directors that you like?"
"Huh? I don't know, but there was a movie called 'Night of the Comet' recently, which was very interesting. The director, Ronald Lee, is a cunning guy."
…
Ronald had no idea that Kubrick was really "praising" himself to the media.
He was happy to see that in the new weekend, the box office of "Night of the Comet" was still strong. Although the release of "Superman III" took away some theaters, the attendance rate of the remaining theaters was still quite high.
.
It seems that theaters that decide to continue showing "Night of the Comet" will be keeping the movie in theaters for a long time.
Even Tom Coleman, the president of Atlantic, was surprised. This situation has rarely happened in his career. The theaters that continue to show the movie are concentrated in large cities on the east and west coasts and in the central Great Lakes region.
The distribution staff in those cities reported to the headquarters after going to the scene that there were many young women who went to see it, and some students who obviously had good grades in school, and many of them wore glasses.
Ronald and Tom Coleman discuss why it appeals to both groups. Young women are easier to understand. The real protagonists of the film are two sisters, and the story revolves around two young women.
This is completely different from the historically male-centered narrative in Hollywood. Many people see their own reflections in Regina and Samantha.
In America in the 1980s, women did not need to be men's vassals. Women could achieve their own careers, and it did not prevent them from finding romantic love. This was simply an idol for young women.
But what attracted the nerds was something Ronald didn’t understand until his cousin Donna called him.
Donna called Ronald specifically to ask for an autographed photo of the heroine. This movie caused a craze in their high school. Many students who took natural subjects, such as physics, biology, geology, astronomy, etc., often talked about this movie.
A movie mixed with a lot of science elements.
As Ronald's cousin, Donna's social status in school is rising rapidly. She needs signed photos of the two heroines to consolidate her "social circle."
In American high schools and colleges, there are always some students who are good at science and are usually not popular in social circles. However, they are also quite cliquey and regard the boys on the football team and the girls on the cheerleading team as brainless people.
Although they also want to squeeze into the most popular social circle composed of these "brainless people", they often can only play bridge and chess and other intellectual games at home with their nerds to relieve their boredom.
And "Night of the Comet" suddenly made them become decent people in the school. Some students always asked them about things they didn't understand. They would talk non-stop about popular science to their classmates, and even the cheerleaders would listen carefully.
They talked about the relationship between comets and the solar system, and why the dinosaurs became extinct.
Although the real purpose of the cheerleaders is to get a cheerleading uniform and sneakers like Samantha in the movie, so that when they go to the movies and date with their beloved football team quarterback, they won't have nothing to say except kissing.
The absolute number of these nerds is quite large. They usually complain about the inaccurate scientific details in Hollywood movies. Finally, there is a sci-fi movie that can be said to be about the past. These people all watch it over and over again, giving "Comet"
"Night" contributed two, three, and four box office hits.
Ronald also went to Sherman Oaks Department Store again to test this theory. Indeed, the most popular ones were groups of young women and students who generally wore glasses.
Those young women are not only high school and college students, but many of them are obviously already working. It seems that the story of this kind of independent woman is very attractive to them.
"Your movie is still in the top ten at the box office. It's really amazing." Daryl Vidal, a karate coach, came to Ronald's apartment again. He saw Ronald looking through the Hollywood Reporter. The box office above
Ranking list.
This time it was Ronald who invited him to discuss the special move, "Yes, I estimate he will stay there for another two months."
Ronald was in a good mood, "I came to you this time to ask you whether among the several martial arts you have practiced, such as karate, Wing Chun, and Philippine short stick, there is a way to stand on one foot, jump on one foot, and jump on one foot.
A foot attack move?"
"Why use such an awkward action?" Vidal didn't understand. What's the benefit? Such an attack has neither strength nor speed. In short, it is easy to be defended.
"Not only does it have no advantages, but it also has a weakness. The reason is that before the final, the protagonist Danny was injured by the opponent's coach, who ordered other players to use a leg-sweeping foul trick. So now he only has one good leg to use.
to launch an attack.
In karate, if you have difficulty moving after a leg injury, it may not be easy to attack an opponent with intact mobility with your fists. So Danny must practice a unique move to attack with one leg."
"That's it." Vidal touched his chin, "Actually, there is a trick."
"Oh, what's the move?"
"You know I learned Wing Chun at the Chin Fan Martial Arts School founded by Bruce Lee. His Jeet Kune Do was not taught there. Several of Bruce Lee's apprentices monopolized the teaching of Jeet Kune Do.
However, my master once practiced martial arts with Bruce Lee, so he knows some Jeet Kune Do moves. I once asked him for advice, and he said that the biggest feature of Jeet Kune Do is that it is counter-intuitive."
Vidal first made a karate starting gesture, with his left hand and left foot in front, and his heavier right fist and right foot behind.
Then he took a step forward with his right foot and made a posture with his right hand and right foot in front.
"You see, Jeet Kune Do's starting gestures are contrary to all fighting arts. His strong hands and feet are in front."
"Bruce Lee is right-handed?" Ronald recalled the stance in his movie, and then he was shocked to realize that Jeet Kune Do was different.
"Yes, his right hand is a strong hand, but it is placed in front. This way, he can hit the opponent faster than the opponent with his strong side hands and feet."
"Not bad", Ronald said he understood.
"This goes back to a famous Bruce Lee trick my master told me." Vidal returned to Jeet Kune Do posture, and suddenly raised his left foot behind him, as if aiming to kick Ronald's leg.
come over.
Ronald instinctively moved his hand down to seal the letter, making a blocking gesture.
Vidal's left foot didn't kick out, it was a fake move!
He stood on one leg with his right foot and kicked Ronald high on the head.
Ronald's attention was focused on the opponent's left foot. He was caught off guard by this move and could only take two steps back to avoid it.
"This is the true meaning of Jeet Kune Do. It predicts your movements in advance, then uses fake movements to mislead you. Finally, based on your reaction, it uses the strong side in front to quickly intercept your movements. That's why it's called Jeet Kune Do."
"How did you practice this move?" Ronald was very surprised. Just now Vidal's left foot pretended to kick, but Ronald didn't even notice that his right foot made any preparatory movements. Suddenly it was an explosive kick.
own head.
"This requires practice. Didn't you say it requires one attack with one foot? I want to practice it for a while. It will be enough for filming." Vidal demonstrated it to Ronald again.
"If you want to mislead the opponent, you can actually use your fists to make a fake attack on the opponent. First, use a boxing stance, aim at the opponent's head, and then kick your left leg when his attention is on guarding his head.
A fake move. In this way, the opponent's defensive center is suddenly disrupted, and all his attention will be transferred to the lower plate.
And at this time, if you use this move to kick the head again, you can mobilize the opponent's attention and center of gravity back and forth, and you can completely defeat the opponent's defense. This kind of one-legged posture actually does not have the strength and speed to attack.
Only by misleading the opponent can the attack effect be achieved."
"Hmm." Ronald also assumed a Jeet Kune Do posture, but instead of bringing his right foot forward, he placed his feet side by side, then raised his hands and placed them in front of him close to his sides, as if he had two different feet.
The crane's wings are stretched out, and the five fingers of both hands are gathered together to form a beak shape, ready to attack the opponent's head at any time.
Then Ronald made a fake move of attacking with his left foot. With his center of gravity on his right foot, he could still make this fake move even if his left foot was injured.
Finally, he suddenly jumped with his right foot, then kicked Vidal on the opposite side, and then landed on one foot with his right foot.
There was not enough time and height to complete the kick, and Ronald almost fell.
Vidal supported him and said, "You still need to practice. There is a trade-off between speed and strength. But your move is very beautiful and will be effective in making movies. What is the name of this move?"
"White crane drying its wings?" Ronald thought to himself, could this be how this move is actually used in the tradition of Tai Chi?
"Call it Crane Kick? Look at my hands, they look like crane claws." Ronald raised his hands again, gathered his fingers and waved them twice.
"Hey...Uncle..." Ronald imitated Bruce Lee's movements and sounds.
"Hahaha, it's pretty good. When making a movie, you need good moves. This crane hand, plus the front leg kick, are very entertaining to watch."
"Well, in that case, we must add some reaction shots of our opponent Johnny being misled by his fake actions." Ronald took out a pen and paper and began to draw a sketch.