Yi Feiyang, who holds the copyright to "Blair Witch", has a simple thought. Since he can't cooperate with a company like Lionsgate and sell the copyright at once, he will find a way to let the film be released in theaters.
When the word-of-mouth and box office spread, that's when the big movie companies came to you and asked to buy the copyright.
But where to find theaters to show it?!
Yi Feiyang was troubled.
As the movie capital of the world, Hollywood, in addition to the relatively big movies, there are also some inferior, ninth-rate cinemas that can only play some low-cost movies. In the movie kingdom of Hollywood, these cinemas are called "
"Underground Cinema" or "Grunge Cinema", in technical terms, is called "Grasshopper House".
The meaning of "grasshopper house" is easy to understand. First of all, it can be called a house because it is not big, and the big ones are mansions and villas. Secondly, since they are grasshoppers, they all like to jump around, which means that these movie theaters
The distribution area is not fixed, the films released are not fixed, the audience watching the movie is not fixed, and the time for showing the film is not fixed...
There used to be many "Grasshopper Rooms" in Hollywood, just like the video halls in mainland China from the 1980s to the 1990s. They were mainly aimed at those idle people with little money, as well as teenagers who like to seek excitement. Here, you only need to spend five dollars.
Watch a play at the Grasshopper House for a day, no time limit. This was once a fertile ground for poor black people and teenagers. During holidays, the Grasshopper House would be full, and the smell of feet and sweat would fill your nose.
However, with the development of the Hollywood film industry, especially the expansion of theater chains by leading movie tycoons, Grasshopper House has gradually been merged, demolished, and renovated by major theater chains, and finally ceased to exist.
Of course, there are inevitably some fish that slipped through the net, these grasshopper houses that survived the mouth of the great white shark... Poor small movie theaters, most of which are hidden in deep black communities, or in relatively remote poor neighborhoods, for those movie tycoons
To put it bluntly, this is not the direction to develop and expand theater chains. Just let them survive and you can save some money.
But is it really that easy to live?
The remoteness of the place and the lack of audiences have led this small cinema to the road of self-destruction.
Yi Feiyang was led by Rabbit Bill to this remote place in the western suburbs of Los Angeles. If you have watched the future movie "Slumdog Millionaire", then you can understand the scene in front of Yi Feiyang.
What is the gap between rich and poor, what is heaven and what is hell?
In the United States, a country that everyone admires, who knew there would be so many poor people!
In the low and dilapidated houses and the noisy streets, a group of black children wearing tattered clothes are playing basketball. Not far away, a group of white people also wearing tattered clothes are still playing football; the black and white sides are clearly distinguishable.
On the roadside, a water pipe extending from a church was gurgling. A group of women were huddled together washing clothes. From time to time, a little kid with a runny nose ran out from beside him, using his dirty hands to pull out the trash can.
Waste dumped inside, plush toys with fallen fur, cars with missing wheels, and even, if you are lucky, you can pick up a lollipop that is still edible...
"Look, this is it. The five small movie theaters I mentioned are nearby. If possible, I will introduce you to the black dad. He is the owner of these five movie theaters... We have a good relationship.
Most of the movies I filmed before were screened here." Rabbit Bill said happily to Yi Feiyang.
"You mean those porn movies you made?"
"Of course, otherwise what kind of movies do you think can be shown here? Ordinary blockbusters will not be shown here at all, and most small-budget movies lose money. Only pornographic films have a market... Look at these people, so many children, don't they?
Don’t you understand? They have no tomorrow. What can they do with a full stomach? Like rich people playing golf or going to McDonald’s to pick up girls? Oh no, their only pleasure is to sit in an adult movie theater, watch a super cool movie, and then
Go home and find a wife and practice it!"
Yi Feiyang is speechless.
After walking for only five or six minutes, Rabbit Bill finally stopped in front of a decent-looking house.
"It's right here, wait a moment, I'll go say hello first."
Yi Feiyang took out a cigarette on the roadside, and before he took two puffs, Rabbit Bill waved to him at the door, "Come in, the black daddy is inside, and bring your gifts."
Only then did Yi Feiyang remember that he had bought two cigarettes. He originally wanted to keep them for himself and smoke them, but it looked like he was going to give them away.
The black dad is a black man, a very old black man. When Yi Feiyang saw him, he thought of those old black trees in Africa, vicissitudes of life, misery, skin and bones...
"Hey, hello buddy, Rabbit Bill has introduced you, and I also know the reason why you came to me. To be honest, my five theaters are terrible. I can only be happy to have movies showing... God
Yeah, it’s been a long time since there was a new movie released, of course, excluding that bastard Bill’s porn movies!” The black dad was very talkative, and after accepting Yi Feiyang’s gift, he took a cigarette and smoked it.
stand up.
Yi Feiyang didn't expect this black old man to be so easy to talk to, so he said: "Thank you, but I still want to see the cinema first to understand the situation there."
"Of course, this is necessary. Even if you don't tell me, I will take you to see it... To be honest, the environment there is not very good. I hope you will be satisfied." The black dad said, taking Yi
Step out flyingly.
Along the way, the black dad never stopped talking.
"Dear Yi, if you don't know, I used to be a filmmaker. How should I put it? I am an old projectionist and have worked in many film companies. I still remember the first film I screened, which was Malone
- "On the Waterfront" starring Brando. Yes, it was this film. It later won an Oscar, and Al Pacino also became the best actor with this film. If you don't know, I also and
He shook hands, and I wondered at that time, how could this guy who was not very handsome win the award? Could it be that as long as he is white, he can be favored by God?"
"Later I figured it out, if black people want to achieve success in the film career, they have to take two paths, either hide behind the scenes and work, make tea, record notes, or be a lighting technician; or become a projectionist like me, thousands of people
Don’t let people know you are black. Audiences don’t like black actors, let alone black people winning awards!”
"You're probably laughing at me. How can a guy like me be considered successful? Man, you're wrong. Do you know how these five cinemas came about? I bought them all with my salary as a projectionist.
!My idea at that time was very simple. Since I have helped those white bosses show movies for so long, why don’t I buy a movie theater and be the boss, show the movies I like, and interact with the audiences I like, without having to listen to those sons of bitches?
You don't have to look at their faces to act..."
"Yes, there are so many advantages to being a boss, but there are also many disadvantages. For example, when you see the movie theater full of people, you will be very happy; when you see the movie theater scattered, you will be very sad. Of course,
It’s a small thing to be sad, but it’s a big thing to hurt money.”
"As I said before, I opened these five cinemas with my hard-earned money. Every penny is precious. At the beginning, the business was very good and prosperous, and there were many people watching movies. Then
From time to time, some good small-production movies will be screened in my cinema. When I see so many audiences happily walking into my cinema and then walking out satisfied, I feel so happy in my heart.
. But with the expansion of big movie theaters and the gradual improvement of film quality, there are fewer and fewer small-budget films, and my place is not qualified to show blockbusters, so that the audience ran away. In the end, I can only
Showing fucking porn to make a living!”
…
The black dad was chattering all the way, but he didn't seem lonely.
Occasionally, one or two children would come over and tug on the black dad’s clothes to ask for sweets. The black dad seemed to like these kids very much. Whenever something like this happened, he would squat down and give the snotty kids some sweets.
They wiped their noses, then took out the prepared candies from their pockets, handed them over and said: "If you eat my candies, you must go to school well. It is best to leave this damn community when you grow up!"
It can be seen that the black dad seems to be very dissatisfied with this community.
"Dad, do you hate this place?" Yi Feiyang couldn't help but ask.
"That's wrong, I love it here very much," the black dad said.
"Oh, then I don't understand something."
"You mean just now?" The black father smiled helplessly, "I said that to those children because I love here so much. Look at this place, how many of those who grew up here can live a happy life?
? What grows out of garbage dumps is what grows out of prosperous cities. The results are self-evident."
"But things can change here!" Yi Feiyang reminded. "As long as you have determination and perseverance."
"Change? To put it nicely, even the government can't control so much. It thinks our community is a damn burden!"
Bill interjected next to him: "That makes sense. In my opinion, you guys are really just a burden here. You might as well just tear it apart!"
Yi Feiyang kicked him over, "I think you look like a burden! Do you want to unpack it too?"
Bill covered his buttocks and said aggrievedly like a little daughter-in-law: "That's not necessary, I can't put it back together if I take it apart!"
