Chapter 641 People are stupid and have a lot of money!
Premiere ceremonies exist all over the world, and the scale of super blockbusters can be similar to that of some ordinary film festivals. It is completely a huge show.
Hollywood is particularly good at this aspect. For example, the previously released "Iron Man 3" can be compared with the red carpet of the Magic City Film Festival, a domestic A-class film festival.
From organizational processes to care for movie fans to streamline and lighting design, including how to serve photojournalists, video website and television reporters, there is still a big gap.
It is said that at the premiere of "Iron Man 3", many loyal fans arrived more than ten hours in advance.
Today, the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard also ushered in a grand premiere ceremony, where the overseas premiere of "Interstellar" was held.
Although the scale of the premiere was as large as that of "Iron Man 3" held at the Dolby Theater next door, which hosted the Oscars, it also attracted close audiences.
There are well-known newspapers in the United States, as well as hosts from major TV stations, and movie fans are already waiting outside.
Luxury cars passed by the door one after another, and well-known Hollywood movie stars stepped onto the red carpet, greeted by the screams of fans.
There were also many Chinese with yellow skin and black hair in the crowd, who were anxiously waiting for the arrival of the rightful owner.
"Why hasn't Tang An come yet? There are so many stars walking on the red carpet, turning this premiere into a stage show for these stars."
"Wait a minute, if there weren't so many celebrities, I don't know if these Americans would come."
"It's rare for a Chinese director to hold a premiere of such a large scale. Zhang Yimou never had such a grand event before."
"No, I went to the premieres of "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers", and they were far worse than this."
"Zhang Yimou is not as famous as Tang An in the United States. In recent years, Zhang Yimou's films have rarely been released on a large scale in the United States. Tang An's films have sold well at the box office and DVDs. Only "Terror Cruise" is still there.
It’s on the North American DVD rental list.”
In 10 years, not counting "Interstellar", Tang An has had six movies released in North America, and each of them has performed well. DVDs, TVs, and online broadcasts are also at the forefront of Chinese-language movies.
Tang An has also gained a certain reputation in North America. Although it is not that big, he can still hold such a large-scale premiere.
Stars walked down the red carpet one after another, including many A-list movie stars, and Fox did his best.
It was almost time, and Tang An was late.
Tang An smiled slightly and waved to both sides. He would walk slower when passing by local Chinese people. Listening to their somewhat incomprehensible Cantonese and Minnan dialects, he felt a little warm.
Walking through the red carpet, there were two areas for sponsors. God knows who would be willing to sponsor this premiere.
Special areas for photographers and special interview areas for TV reporters are divided into different categories.
Taking photos, interviews with media reporters, and interviews with TV reporters are all in different areas.
There were also some Hollywood stars who took a group photo together in twos and threes, both from the first and second tier.
The general process is similar. The senior executives of major Hollywood companies got to know each other, and some celebrities were polite.
The audience enters the venue and the movie officially begins.
It has been screened on a large scale in North America before, and the response was pretty good.
The premiere venue was full, and Tang An also sat down and quietly waited for the audience's reaction.
The long foreshadowing at the beginning did not make the audience impatient. The cultures may not be interoperable, but emotions are possessed by everyone.
However, real IMAX movies shot on IMAX film and paired with IMAX film screens are also a feast for the eyes of the audience. This is something they have never seen in Hollywood, the center of the global film industry, except for some documentaries.
Thousand-foot giant waves, as if the entire world is frozen on a frozen star, and the five-dimensional space satisfy the eyes of the audience.
In the final scene of traveling through a black hole, the spacecraft disintegrated in the black hole, with fragments scattering and causing fire to appear in the air, which caused the audience to exclaim in surprise.
There were a lot of people shouting about it in the cinema, and the most classic one was undoubtedly "The Room" which was released in North America ten years ago.
This movie has been called the worst movie in history. The love triangle soap plot that could have been told in ten minutes was stretched to the length of a movie.
In the first half hour of the film, the male and female protagonists do whatever they disagree with, and it must be accompanied by old cabaret songs to enhance the atmosphere.
The director of this movie didn't know anything. Others rented equipment for filming, so he simply bought all the equipment.
He also didn’t understand that before making a movie, he had to choose whether to shoot on film or digital, so he decided to shoot both film and digital.
So why the composition of "Room" that the audience sees is a bit off? It's not that the photographer didn't choose the composition well, but that two cameras of different specifications are placed in the same position in one scene.
If you look carefully, you can see that the picture of "Room" suddenly shakes from time to time. This is not intentional by the photographer, but because the set was so funny during the shooting. The photographer couldn't help but laugh while filming, and the director did not shout.
Stop, that's it.
What’s even more incredible is that, with the same budget, it is possible to find a rooftop with a good view to shoot the rooftop scenes, but the director chose to set up a green screen in the studio to shoot the rooftop scenes. It is said that all Hollywood blockbusters are shot this way.
In fact, the weirdest thing is not these, but the extremely embarrassing sex scene in the film.
Generally speaking, when filming a sex scene, the set must be cleared. For example, in the deleted scenes of the domestic version of "Lust, Caution," only the actors, director, and photographer were left on the set.
But the director of "Room" asked everyone to stay on set and asked the photographer to take close-ups of his daisy line. The reason he gave was that this was the biggest selling point of the film.
It is such a god-level bad movie, but it is very popular. When it was released, the entire audience in the theater laughed non-stop from the beginning to the end, and they laughed without any scruples. Everyone laughed, not even a little bit.
Don't hide it.
When it was shown that the male protagonist put a gun into his mouth, the entire audience shouted "shoot" in unison.
This movie is still being screened in North America, but the screenings are few and it is basically full every time.
Audiences who go to the movies will bring some props from the movie, such as spoons, apples, and footballs, and throw them onto the stage while watching the movie.
The movie watching scene was so lively, it was like a group of "crazy" people watching a movie.
Of course, the only film with such crazy scenes is "The Room", which has become a part of the movie fandom in North America.
When most movies are shown, the scene will be a little noisy when watching exciting scenes. On the one hand, this also arouses the audience's emotions and makes the audience involuntarily immerse themselves in the movie.
The effect of "Interstellar" is undoubtedly good. Family, love, and friendship can transcend cultural differences.
Zhang Yi, who has gray hair on his temples, Wang Chuan, who is taciturn and has become a bit irritable, old Murphy who is lying in the hospital bed, Yang Mi who is building a home for mankind alone on the new planet, even the white people and black people present are very understanding. That feeling.
"Pah, pah, pah, pah"
After the movie was screened, the audience was not stingy with their applause, which was accompanied by some cheers and discussions.
Not only Chinese, but also local Americans, Hollywood stars and executives from major companies in the front row.
Columbia Vice President Elizabeth, who had worked with Tang An before, was also in the front row. She didn't get the distribution rights originally, but was snatched away by Fox. After all, Tang An's two consecutive science fiction films brought thousands of dollars to the distribution company. million in net profit.
Later, when I found out that the movie was two and a half hours long, my original disappointment was instantly dispelled.
Two and a half hours, a 150-minute movie, which is a length that violates the standards of commercial movies.
Hollywood commercial movies have a strict duration and rhythm control, just like products on a factory assembly line, each process is fixed.
What to talk about in the first two minutes, what role it plays, what to explain in the first ten minutes, what about the middle thirty minutes, and what about the ending in the last thirty minutes, all are completely fixed formats.
A 150-minute movie is not just as simple as making each stage a little longer.
And there are natural disadvantages in terms of venue.
Although Elizabeth didn't think maliciously that if "Interstellar" failed this time, Fox wouldn't even be able to recoup the cost of publicity and distribution, but she didn't want the movie to be a big hit from the bottom of her heart.
After the movie screening ended, Tang An went on stage to communicate with the audience again.
It was just a little strange when interacting with the local Chinese. They spoke obscure Hokkien and Cantonese. Tang An could barely understand it, but he spoke Mandarin, making it like a chicken talking to a duck.
Next is another banquet.
Regarding the investment in "Deadpool", Zhang Yi took the time to talk to Burt before. Although he is the vice president in charge of distribution, he still knows the company's future projects very well.
Bert found Tang An, congratulated him first, and then asked with a smile, "Mr. Tang, do you want to invest in the movie "Deadpool"?"
Tang An nodded, "I have watched "The Wolverine" and am somewhat interested in this somewhat special superhero. I happened to hear that your company is planning to film it. If funds are needed, I am willing to invest part of it."
Bert agreed immediately and conveyed it to the company on his behalf, which went surprisingly smoothly.
Hollywood distributors like external investors the most. Firstly, they can take advantage of them, and secondly, they can reduce their own risks.
Compared with production profits, distribution income is the largest part.
If the major investor in a movie finds another investor and contributes a small portion himself, even if the movie fails, there will be no loss due to distribution income.
If you make money, you won't feel bad about the production profits, because there is so much room for maneuver. No matter what, the distributor will make more money than the producer.
As long as they find people to invest, many stranded projects can be started immediately. They don't care how risky they are, they just want to earn an issuance fee.
Elizabeth from Columbia, a director from Warner Bros., and a producer from Paramount all had the same idea in their minds.
Stupid people have too much money!
A third-rate superhero and a street actor who failed in two major productions in a row would dare to invest in such a project.
A producer who happened to have a project on hand asked tentatively, "Is Mr. Tang interested in investing in Hollywood?"
"Of course, Hollywood is the most developed film industry base in the world. I hope I won't leave empty-handed this time and can negotiate several projects."
"Mr. Tang, I happen to have a very good project. The script is absolutely creative and in line with the aesthetics of Eastern audiences. I plan to ask Nicolas Cage to star."
"No problem, we have time to talk in detail tomorrow."
"Mr. Tang, my science fiction blockbuster project still lacks an Asian actress."
They really treat Tang An as a philanthropic boy, praising projects that are short of funds, top-notch creativity, filming by top-tier directors, superstars joining the cast, and even Uncle Cage, who has become extinct in China, moved out.
Surrounded by a bunch of producers, I finally managed to escape and let Zhang Yi deal with them.
Soon, all the stars at the scene heard that Ryan, the leading actor of "Underworld Police", was also at the banquet. After investing in a big production, he urgently needed another project to turn himself around. However, these producers at the scene,
No one at the top of big companies paid attention to him.
An actor who fails twice in a row has no value anymore.
"Hey, Ryan, did you hear that? That Chinese director is going to invest in "Deadpool". Here's your chance to make a comeback."
A friend came over and told him the news.
However, Ryan, who had drunk too much, shook his head.
"He is just a director, where does he get the money to invest?"
"I heard that he seems to be quite rich. He invested in the filming of this movie himself."
Ryan said unconcernedly, "This is fifty million dollars, U.S. dollars! What idiot would invest fifty million dollars in a movie starring me now!"
The script for "Deadpool" was completed at the beginning of the year, and I originally planned to wait for "The Underworld" to be released and take advantage of the movie's popularity to announce the project.
As a result, the 130 million investment now only brought in more than 30 million in box office. When I went to Fox again, the project had been suspended and no investors could be found.
For an actor who has failed in two major productions in a row, no one will throw out $50 million for him.
Not everyone is Robert Downey Jr. and can return to the top after falling!
Ryan did not try to get close to his future father, and even though other celebrities heard that Tang An was planning to invest heavily in Hollywood movies, not many came forward.
After all, Tang An is a Chinese, and he is still so young, so he doesn't look very rich at first glance.
The senior executives of major companies probably know Tang An's net worth, but who among ordinary celebrities cares about how much assets a Chinese film director has? Tang An is not filming in Hollywood, so it is beyond his reach.
After the banquet, we went back to the hotel room.
It's not too early, so there's no need to read film reviews and reports. The response to the dozens of previous screenings has been okay. We'll see how the audience reacts after the large-scale release tomorrow.
"Go to bed quickly. After flying for more than ten hours, I didn't get jet-lagged and attended the premiere again."
After taking a shower, I went to sleep.
But Yang Mi was particularly energetic and pestered Tang An and asked, "Brother An, do you really want to invest in Hollywood movies?"
"If you find something suitable, you can invest in it and make it into a co-production. You can also distribute it in China yourself." Tang An said with his eyes closed.
Yang Mi held Tang An's arm and asked with a smile, "Can you arrange a heroine for me, a heroine in a Hollywood blockbuster?"
"Don't even think about it, other investors won't agree either."
"The supporting actress is also fine. I want to star with Leonardo, Tom Cruise, George Clooney, or maybe Uncle Depp or Robert Downey Jr."
Yang Mi instantly transformed into a Hollywood star's crush, and began to dream of acting with her idol.
"Go to sleep quickly. When you fall asleep, you will have everything. Not to mention co-starring, they can do it for you."
Tang An felt a little sleepy, so he covered Yang Mi with the quilt and reached out to turn off the light.
After playing around under the quilt for a while, I soon couldn't bear the fatigue and jet lag of the long-distance flight, so I calmed down and fell asleep.
I didn’t have any plans the next day, so I went to Fox TV to appear on a show, so they didn’t need to do much promotion.
North America is obviously not like China, where we perform road shows all over the country every day, so it is much more relaxed.
After a day's rest in the hotel and getting jet-lagged, early on Saturday morning, the first-day box office was released.
The sci-fi suspense blockbuster "Elysium" directed by the director of "District 9" relied on the director's reputation and the strong appeal of two major stars, Matt Damon and Jodie Fox, to take in $10.2 million at the box office on its first day, reaching the top spot. It topped the North American box office that day.
"Interstellar" ranked second with 8.3 million on its first day, beating out the R-rated comedy "Family" starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis and Emma Roberts, which won the 7.5 million first-day box office.
On the first day, it sold 8.3 million, with 2,700 theaters open, and with a film length of up to 150 minutes, the attendance rate and single-theater box office were both at the forefront of the same period!
There is no doubt that "Interstellar" was a success in North America!