767 The first year of domestic science fiction blockbusters: 2003!
767 The first year of the domestic science fiction blockbuster: 2003!
On August 6th, Keanu Reeves also came to China. After Jiang Yan finished the road show of "When Men Fall in Love" and the guest appearance of Star Master in "Kung Fu", he and the crew of "The Matrix 2" went to Beijing University and Fuzhou University.
Attended two student meetings.
Jiang Yan participated in "The Matrix 2" in April 2001. At that time, his reputation was not as high as it is now, and the title "Son of the Wind" had not yet been worn on his head.
So when Jiang Yan joined "The Matrix 2" to replace the role of "Chang Wei" in the original version, the crew and directors didn't really have many ideas.
After all, they are all Chinese, so as long as they can fight.
As for the fact that Jiang Yan is somewhat famous, no one is too worried about it.
But who would have thought that a few months later Jiang Yan would become famous all over the world with "Wind Son".
So in the following days of "The Matrix 2", the directors, the Wachowski brothers, wanted to ask Jiang Yan to come over and reshoot some scenes more than once.
Jiang Yan also agreed. There was no reason not to agree. After all, this is The Matrix, a blockbuster blockbuster. I would definitely like to have a few more scenes. But I definitely can’t be careless about money. We can’t just do whatever you say.
Not to mention rewards, so after several back and forths, Jiang Yan finally got a small share of the film. Calculated based on the box office of the original time and space, Jiang Yan can earn a small amount of 20 to 30 million US dollars this time, which is not bad.
In addition, because Jiang Yan participated in two more reshoots in the later period, this also added another month to the final production time of "The Matrix 2", which originally took more than a year to shoot.
The filming started in March 2001 and ended in September 2002. It was a marathon-level production process.
Now, the movie has begun to be released around the world. As one of the actors, Jiang Yan naturally has to help stand up on stage in the Mainland according to the contract.
At the meeting, the college students were very enthusiastic about Jiang Yan and other main creators, and the guest appearance of Jiang Yan also attracted many questions on the spot.
But there’s nothing much to say about this. It’s just martial arts. Jiang Yan knows martial arts. This was revealed in "The Swordsman". So if we really want to talk about surprises, then only Jiang Yan, Keanu and others will cooperate.
It's a surprise.
After all, it is indeed rare for Chinese stars to collaborate with Hollywood big names.
But what many mainland students and media don’t know is that for Keanu and others, it would be a surprise to be able to collaborate with Jiang Yan!
At the scene, Keanu, Jiang Yan, Yuan Heping and the director brothers talked about interesting things about filming together, and the atmosphere was very pleasant.
Among them, the interaction and friendship between Jiang Yan and Keanu have also attracted the attention of countless domestic reporters and movie fans.
How should I put it? Perhaps out of an inferiority complex, some people in China have always had great doubts about Jiang Yan's influence abroad.
Everyone always thinks that Jiang Yan is just selling his stuff and boasting about it. His multiple Grammys and Billboard's multiple championships are all deceptive. In fact, they have no gold content at all.
This statement is naturally a joke to people with comprehensive knowledge, but these days, the majority of people with comprehensive knowledge are actually not the majority, so this kind of statement has always been marketable.
Information is underdeveloped these days. Not to mention foreign news, even domestic news can become unrecognizable after being circulated several times.
And many people actually believe it after hearing it!
Therefore, many people don’t understand the Grammy and Billboard regarding Jiang Yan’s honor. They rely solely on what the media tells them. There are so-called exaggerations and belittling during this period.
For example, some artists have achieved little success abroad, or some public relations awards such as Pheasant Awards, and everyone just brags about them, but in fact they have no gold content at all.
There are also superstars like Long Ge who have wide influence in Hollywood and even the world, but some people insist on saying that he is a braggart.
There are all kinds of far-fetched evidence, saying that Brother Long is not famous in Hollywood, that the box office of hundreds of millions of dollars is fake, that the Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award is a consolation prize, etc.
Some people still believe this kind of routine twenty years later, let alone now in 2003.
When these exaggerations and belittlements are transmitted layer by layer, many people's opinions become very divided.
Either they admire Jiang Yan very much, or they scold Jiang Yan in their sleep and dreams.
These two extreme people, especially the latter, are actually a minority, but after excluding these people, there are not a few remaining people who are not too radical but still have such ideas.
So up to now, many people really think that Jiang Yan was just blown away, just to go out for gold plating and then come back to make money.
But until this time Jiang Yan and Keanu Reeves met in China, and then the meeting between them was broadcast in the media and on camera. At this time, the domestic media and many "worried" people suddenly felt relieved, and
What follows is a huge sense of pride.
"The Matrix 2" is now a global hit, and Keanu Reeves has become a hot A-list star in Hollywood.
But such a top European and American superstar, when he saw Jiang Yan, his cold-storage handsome face suddenly changed. A sunny smile instantly appeared on his face. Regardless of the host's introduction, he opened his hand and shouted, "Joey, long time no see."
"He hugged me.
The same goes for Jiang Yan. He and Keanu had a handshake as a familiar friend on the stage, and then they started teasing and laughing with each other.
Then when the host asked about it later, everyone found out that the two had known each other for a long time and were friends. The key was that they were fans of Keanu or Jiang Yan!
Keanu even asked Jiang Yan to sign an autograph for him on the spot.
What a guy!
This makes a bunch of domestic guys very proud.
It turns out that Jiang Yan is so awesome abroad!
Not only that, the Wachowski brothers are also fans of Jiang Yan. They called "Feng Zhizi" so affectionate.
It was only at this time that many domestic movie fans realized that Jiang Yan was also nicknamed "The Son of the Wind" abroad.
So those who say that Jiang Yan is gold-plated abroad should stop. Have you ever seen a gold-plated singer who has such fans of big names and directors?
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! So Keanu Reeves’s trip to China has invisibly proved his international status to Jiang Yan, which makes fans and related parties who support him
The media was furious.
On the other hand, the global box office of "The Matrix 2" has exceeded US$500 million, even though Jiang Yan has repeatedly stated that he is only a guest star and not a starring role.
But he still couldn't help but some people blamed him for the box office, and he became one of the most box office actors in China.
Of course Jiang Yan doesn't recognize this approach.
Can you get the box office credit on yourself just by making a guest appearance?
He won't do such shameless things.
The more strength you exert, the more fame you have, this is the rule.
Otherwise, those people will definitely bring him out to make excuses in the future, which would be a bad start.
In addition, Jiang Yan couldn't stand the behavior of this group of media.
A Chinese actor just clung to the spotlight of a Hollywood blockbuster movie, and this was even more exciting than the previous topic of "two movies exceeding 100 million yuan". Jiang Yan really couldn't stand this evil spirit.
So licking!
Therefore, Jiang Yan has repeatedly stated that he is only a guest star and hopes that his contribution to "The Matrix 2" will not be exaggerated too much.
But the media didn't listen. This trend is not easy to suppress. If it continues like this, Jiang Yan may become an example of ridicule for those who come after him.
In addition, considering the current pressure faced by "Moon" and "Stars and Seas", Jiang Yan simply came up with something big.
You know, "Moon" was released just in time to coincide with "The Matrix 2".
Jiang Yan definitely has no hope that "Moon" can compete with "The Matrix 2" at the box office. After all, the two films are not on the same level.
So in the beginning, all Jiang Yan wanted was to pave the way for the domestic science fiction environment.
Start with small films first, so that everyone is mentally prepared, and then the time will gradually mature for a big movie.
But now the public opinion environment has become more wild, which can be seen from the heavy pressure from public opinion that Jiang Yan suffered when the box office of "When Men Fall in Love" failed to meet expectations in the first two weeks.
So since "Moon" was released on August 2, even though Xingchenhai has already said that this is just an experimental film, there are still many public opinions that are mindless to slander "Moon".
From the gap between "Moon" and "The Matrix 2", we can see the gap between the film industries of China and the United States. There is a gap of many, many years.
Others say that Stars and Seas claims to have the most powerful technology in the country, but in front of a mere Hollywood movie, it turns into a small sampan ramming into an aircraft carrier. After that, they would like to add: Chinese people need to stay humble. This is overtly and covertly aimed at Stars and Seas and Seas.
Jiang Yan.
Others say that the Chinese people's understanding of science fiction is centuries behind that of Americans. Look at "The Matrix 2" and then look at "Moon", there is simply no comparison...
Of course, there are still many promising films among them. After all, the investment in "Moon" was not large, but it is indeed a good film.
Therefore, many people in the industry are saying that strictly speaking, this film is not worse than Hollywood films. It has many advantages and can be called a benchmark for domestic science fiction films.
But when it comes to public opinion, sometimes the east wind prevails over the west wind.
"The Matrix 2" is currently gaining momentum, and everyone will prefer it over the domestically produced "Moon".
So even if "Moon" is indeed regarded as a masterpiece by men in the future, at least it will be difficult to prove it now.
In this regard, Jiang Yan knew the situation, but Jiang Yan would not listen to those who said that those who want to be clear should just clear themselves up and let nature take its course. Time will wash out the real answer.
When someone comes to cause trouble, all Jiang Yan has to do is beat him back hard!
No matter who started the public opinion, this is simply the excessive emotion of Chinese people towards domestic films when society has developed to a certain extent.
Anyway, Jiang Yan will never get used to it this time.
So Jiang Yan directly invited Keanu to watch his movie "Moon".
He has already thought of the name.
It is to learn from Hollywood’s advanced experience and enhance film exchanges between the two countries.
Keanu and the director of "The Matrix", whom you regard as a benchmark, have both said yes after watching it. Let's see what you think about it when the time comes.
And his idea was immediately supported by Han Sanpin.
"Moon" was an experimental film in the early promotion of Stars and Sea. It cost less than 10 million and tested various technologies in preparation for future blockbusters.
With this premise, Keanu and the others would be much less sensitive when they came over to take a look.
Han Sanpin also quite agrees with this. As for technical exchanges, these are the things the superiors like the most.
Keanu and others are friends of Jiang Yan, and Keanu and Jiang Yan are friends with colorful love lines. In addition, Jiang Yan also showed his identity as a shareholder to Warner, and the other party quickly approved the proposal.
Yes, because China's movie market may be huge in the future, but at least it's just the icing on the cake now. The box office performance of "The Matrix 2" in China is only expected to be a measly US$5 million, which is a mouth-watering level.
So even if we lose money now, we won't lose anything. So if we give it some convenience, we might gain a lot in the future, so why not?
So the general tone was set, and the media, as Jiang Yan expected, continued to report along the "licking" train of thought, changing from "opponent" to "learning". Of course, they would also follow it with the following sentence: hope
Stars and Sea will gain something from this time and bring more surprises to domestic science fiction...
Just like that, on August 8th, Jiang Yan, Keanu, the Wachowski brothers and many domestic filmmakers and film critics gathered at the flagship store of Star Cinema in Shanghai, including the one who clamored for Jiang Yan to film something else.
Senior media people from the film were also invited.
After a simple opening ceremony, "Moon" began to play.
The opening of the film uses a montage-style concise technique, relying on narration and camera switching to clearly introduce the background of the story in one and a half minutes: In the not-too-distant future, with the rapid advancement of technology, the pollution of the earth is becoming more and more serious.
, an energy company called Morningstar Industries came into being. The company is committed to the development of lunar energy. Astronaut Jiang Long is an employee sent to the moon by the company. He has lived on the moon far away from the earth for nearly 3 years.
It's time, and he is about to complete a three-year employment contract with Morning Star Industries, and the work he needs to do is to mine the original energy source in the lunar soil - helium-3 - on the surface of the moon.
Next, accompanied by weird dubbing, it starts with the image of the protagonist Jiang Long in motion. The rhythm is still simple and bright. The camera scans the environment of the lunar base, showing Jiang Long's work process: leaving the base, driving the lunar rover to mine the lunar rover.
The collected tank of helium-3 is taken back to the base and automatically launched back to Earth by the spacecraft.
In this series of scenes, most of the shots are completed with special effects.
Looking at the lunar surface, the lunar rover, the earth in space and all the details presented in the film, the people present, even the most picky film critic, could not say "shoddy" at this moment.
So many film critics who watched "Moon" for the first time thought, that is, Stars and Sea may be very different from Hollywood, but at least in this aspect of special effects, Stars and Sea is indeed the best in the country, and it is also the best in the country.
The company closest to Hollywood technology.
So the gap between Stars and Sea and Hollywood that the media is exaggerating these days does seem to be a bit excessive.
What's wrong with falling behind? Why don't we fall behind? The key is that you have to work hard to catch up. You see, Stars and Sea is very good now. The special effects made by Hollywood are only at this level. Not to mention the whole mainland, it can be found in all of Asia.
Not the second one? Isn’t this satisfactory?
And it is said that the entire film only cost less than 10 million?
If this is the case, then it is not a question of whether the technology can catch up, but whether it can be popularized. After all, if the technology is cheap and the quality is guaranteed, this can really benefit the entire industry.
However, everyone knows that this idea is not practical, and the later part of the film also confirms this, that is, not all of the film is special effects.
Film critics were slightly disappointed with this, but with the development of the plot, this disappointment has long been replaced by huge surprises.
Next, the film spent a relatively long time describing Jiang Long's daily life alone on the moon base and his psychological state.
The protagonist works alone, usually with only an intelligent robot for company. In the past three years, this work rhythm has made him have the habit of talking to himself. The protagonist misses his hometown, loves his wife and daughter deeply, and his wife is everywhere
In his free time, he enjoyed chatting with the flowers he raised, and sometimes made models of the streets in his hometown. Sometimes he would hallucinate and burn his hands, and he would often dream of his wife in his dreams.
This series of scenes always highlights the protagonist's longing for home and relatives and his desire to go home in two weeks.
At the same time, although he will be able to return to Earth in two weeks, the protagonist often suffers from headaches and becomes unable to do physical training. This also implies that he has become terminally ill after working in an environment with radioactive elements for many years.
Attentive viewers will surely notice that the film has set a tragic tone from the very beginning.
The subsequent plot development also confirms this point.
Jiang Long went to work as usual that day, but he encountered an accident and was trapped in the mining truck.
If he cannot save himself in such a situation, it basically means that he is going to die, because he is the only one on the entire moon and no one can come to save him.
As a result, the next shot after the vision dimmed was of the protagonist waking up in the base. At this time, the audience was confused, and the protagonist was also confused.
The audience noticed a strong flavor of suspense, and the protagonist also noticed this in the following time, and soon, when he successfully broke through the obstruction of the intelligent robot and returned to the scene of the accident, he found another self!
At this point, the concept of the entire film begins to become clear.
"This must be a clone!"
"Both of them are themselves. Oh my God, I might have gone crazy."
"If it were me, I would probably kill the other one first."
Suddenly, the theater began to whisper.
From the initial discussion about the special effects scenes to the current discussion about the plot direction, this proves that this film is not a bad movie.
Film critics thought the same way. They felt that if the plot didn't collapse, they would have to redress the injustice of this domestic science fiction film when it comes out.
On the other side, the filmmakers and entertainers in the theater were equally excited.
Because the next part of the film features two Jiang Yan acting, which is naturally a big attraction in the entertainment industry, so how will Jiang Yan behave?
Soon, the answer was revealed.
When Jiang Long woke up, he overheard a one-on-one conversation between the robot and the headquarters. When the intelligent robot Xiaoxing saw Jiang Long, he quickly cut off the conversation, deepening Jiang Long's suspicion of the truth.
The rescued Lao Jianglong met his "new" self. After a period of inevitable madness and self-doubt, the two gradually calmed down, and then the two had their first communication.
During the dispute, Lao Jianglong persuaded Xin Jianglong to believe the truth. They were clones, and they were already No. 5 and No. 6.
This was also confirmed by the intelligent robot Xiaoxing. They are indeed clones, and they activate a new one every three years and perform memory implantation. The lesions in Lao Jianglong's body are not caused by radioactive elements destroying the body, but by cloning.
The body itself is set to have a lifespan, and after learning the truth, the two fell into deep despair.
At this point, the science fiction core of the "Moon" film has been fully developed.
Strictly speaking, the concept of human cloning in "Moon" is actually just like that in the eyes of later generations, but it can't be said that this was in 2003 when information transmission was relatively limited. Although Hollywood has already had cloning-themed movies, such as 1997
"Clone", but that movie was not a hit, and the later blockbuster "Escape from Clone Island" which became very popular was not released at this time, it was not released until 2005.
Therefore, the theme of cloning was quite new at this time, which also made the shock displayed by "Moon" at this moment, in fact, no less than that of people who later knew about "The Wandering Earth".
The film critics at the scene, including the old media person who had previously been clamoring for Jiang Yan to do something serious, were all attracted by the film's imagination.
The most important thing is that this idea came from the Chinese people, so watching a movie with such a rhythm and pictures that are no less than those of Hollywood movies, the audience in the theater couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. This is a plus.
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For the actors, filmmakers and other entertainment industry audiences present, "Moon" has actually shocked them more than others so far.
The reason is naturally because of Jiang Yan’s extraordinary acting skills!
In one scene, one person plays two roles. Both characters are Jiang Long himself, but they have similar but different mentality and personality. The most important thing is that the two Jiang Long's performances are so natural.
Watching such a performance, the actors were both envious and admired, while the filmmakers were appreciative but also full of questions: How on earth was this filmed? There is no flaw in this technology, how awesome!
At the end of the film, Lao Jianglong and Xin Jianglong cooperated, and Lao Jianglong sacrificed himself to allow Xin Jianglong to successfully return to Earth, and the anti-human conspiracy about Morningstar Industries was also announced to the world.
At this point, the video ends.
Blah blah blah.
Not surprisingly, there was continuous applause in the theater.
Then there was a series of discussions.
"Jiang Yan's performance is great, but there are some parts that I still don't understand. How about we watch it again tomorrow?"
"Okay, I think so too."
"I didn't expect that ten million yuan could achieve this."
"The media has no limits. I think this movie is better than The Matrix."
"That's not to say, everyone has his own merits. I just think that Jiang Yan can actually be bolder. The science fiction movies produced at this cost are not enough to watch."
"Didn't Jiang Yan already say it? This film is for testing technology. If possible, it will be a big scene next time."
"Indeed, Jiang Yan's Stars and Seas are not short of money either."
"Yes, there is probably no shortage of technology now."
“I don’t know when the next science fiction blockbuster will be made.”
"This is easy to handle. If the host calls on me later, I will ask directly."
"I think it will work..."
While everyone was talking at the scene, Jiang Yan and two other guest actors, his wife (Yu Feihong), and his grown-up daughter (Liu Qianqian) came on stage.
The host then asked the audience.
"Is "Moon" good to watch?"
"nice!!"
"Jiang Yan is so handsome!"
“Yu Feihong is so beautiful!”
"Sissi is so beautiful..."
After a burst of cheers, the interview session began.
"Jiang Yan, "Moon" is your third starring movie, but the genre is very different from the previous two. Can you tell us any special reason?"
"There is no special reason. It's just that the company was very busy some time ago, and I myself was so busy that I wanted to transform into a monkey, pluck out a bunch of hair and blow it into hundreds of myself to help with the work. I had this idea as soon as I came up with it.
I came up with such an idea, and after I came up with the idea, I happened to encounter an epidemic again, so I just shot it directly."
Hahaha...
The audience laughed.
Everyone felt very kind to Jiang Yan's always humorous way of speaking. At the same time, the later buzzword "A busy dog becomes a dog" also became a buzzword in 2003 in advance under such circumstances.
""Moon" is almost a one-man show for you. We all know that it is very difficult for one person to play two roles. Do you feel any pressure during the performance?"
"There is no pressure, because with the support of new technology, I will ask the company to release some behind-the-scenes of the filming. You will know after watching it, I am actually playing opposite the little green men."
Jiang Yan will definitely not be careless about showing off his technology. It's a science fiction movie. If you don't promote it, what else is there to promote?
As for showing off his acting skills? He doesn't need to show off at this point anymore. It's already accepted that he still needs to show off. Han Sanpin said that this year, he is almost certain to be nominated for the best actor with "When a Man Loves", and now "Moon"
" came out, and his shortlisted films for Best Actor became two, so at this time it's okay to just talk about it without leaving any trace.
And even if he now says that there is no pressure in acting, will this really be taken seriously in the eyes of real experts?
Only a fool would believe what Jiang Yan said. If it really is that simple, if you find someone else to try it, I guess no one in the new generation can catch up with Jiang Yan.
For example, Hu Ge's classmate Yuan Hong in the audience asked: "Is it really that simple? Why do I feel that Jiang Yan is hiding his clumsiness?"
Hu Ge replied in a low voice: "Actually, the little green man has only been used a few times. Most of the time, Jiang Yan performed it alone without any physical objects."
As soon as he said this, the students around Hu Ge took a deep breath and exclaimed, "It's so awesome."
And Hu Ge's expression became even more arrogant, but the next second he thought about having to bleed out and treat the classmates to dinner in order to thank everyone for hiding his sin of entering the sea of stars, and Hu Ge's expression fell down again...
After some regular questions and questions from the audience, the host then asked questions to Keanu and others who had just been invited to the stage.
And the answer is no surprise at all.
Several foreigners who are friends of Jiang Yan all gave "Moon" high marks.
The Wachowski brothers said that if they had the chance, they would like to shoot Jiang Yan's book. The cold-faced handsome guy Keanu even asked Jiang Yan in front of everyone, not to forget his good friend, and let him do a Jiang Yan movie in the future.
The protagonist of Yan.
In Jiang Yan's view, business bragging only accounts for a small part, and it is more about the appreciation between friends and the recognition of their respective talents.
And for audiences and film critics, it's actually the same.
Because the quality of "Moon" is there. Before you watched it, you would think that these foreigners may have received money to praise you so much. But now after watching it, if these foreigners don't say good things, it is probably a lot.
People have to call them blind!
So now, the big names from Hollywood have said yes, and they have also shown an unexpectedly strong willingness to cooperate. Now, domestic media people estimate that the court will soon follow.
that's the truth.
In the days that followed, various topics such as "The Matrix director seeks cooperation", "Keanu Reeves' idol" and "Jiang Yan's overseas influence" became the hottest topics at the moment.
This is indeed the case in the general environment, especially for science fiction films. If foreigners say it is good, then it is really good.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! So under the encouragement of various media, more and more early adopters entered the theater.
And "Moon", which has received various praises such as "the first domestic science fiction blockbuster", "the first domestic science fiction film with Hollywood standards", "Jiang Yan plays two roles to perform the ultimate loneliness", has also begun to officially become popular at the box office.
By August 16, two weeks after "Moon" was released, the box office had already exceeded 46 million.
This number is obviously not enough to watch compared to other movies.
But for domestic science fiction, it is already a height that is difficult to surpass.
Even compared with "The Matrix 2" in the same period, "Moon" is only less than 8 million behind in box office, and this is the result of "The Matrix 2" being released five days in advance.
Accompanying its popularity at the box office are various high-scoring reviews of "Moon".
Douban rating, 8.8 points.
This score may drop a lot in the future, but at least now it has been proven that this is another masterpiece of Stars and Sea and a milestone for domestic science fiction.
For this reason, after "Moon" came out, future filmmakers also defined 2003 as the first year of domestic science fiction blockbusters.
In the words of current media people, Stars and Sea's "Moon" has opened the door for domestic science fiction. All movie fans are looking forward to Stars and Sea's next real science fiction blockbuster.
And the question that fans are most concerned about right now is "When will the next real science fiction blockbuster Stars and Seas be released?"
After interviewing Jiang Yan, various media outlets attached Jiang Yan's original words on their relevant pages:
"Mars is still farther than the moon, so don't worry, the spacecraft has started now and is expected to reach its destination as soon as next year."
This sentence with an overwhelming amount of information immediately excited all movie fans, science fiction fans, Jiang Yan fans and even the filmmakers...