There is only one cinema in Mangya.
Although Mangya is a large place, the surrounding area is very desolate, with hundreds of miles of uninhabited land, and the administrative level is not high.
The permanent population of the entire Mangya Committee is only a few thousand people, so it is impossible to have a movie theater. The reason why there is a movie theater is sponsored by the Deep Space Company.
The cinema is not big, with only one hall in total.
This only hall is not big, and there are very few seats. There are so few people that even the crew of "The Martian" can't sit down. Many people can only add extra seats or simply stand in the back to watch.
Although the conditions were average, Spielberg and the others did not dislike it. For them during this period, this was a rare pastime.
While the theater staff was adjusting the equipment, Spielberg asked a few more questions about the new movie, "I heard it's a police movie?"
Lu Xi replied, "It's a police and gangster film, but it's different from ordinary police and gangster films."
Spielberg didn't say anything. Matt Damon on the other side asked curiously, "What's the difference? Are the police movies in China different?"
Although Matt Damon is a few years older than Lu Xi and entered the industry earlier, the two of them have a good time together, so they usually talk more.
The two of them often talk about film topics together. Through Lu Xi, Matt Damon has a better understanding of the Chinese film industry.
Matt Damon found that the path of Chinese films is very different from that of Hollywood, whether it is literary films or commercial films. At first, he thought that this difference was due to the different economic levels between the two countries, but later he changed
I think the main reason is cultural differences.
The fundamental reason that made him change his view was the Deep Space Company.
As such a powerful company, Deep Space Company's economic strength is definitely greater than that of most American film and television companies, but when they produce movies, they are still different from other American companies.
Lu Xi smiled and said: "This movie alone is different. Oh, by the way, there are actually two versions of this movie. The one we are seeing now is the mainland version."
Spielberg nodded, not too surprised. He had more contact with Yu Dong and the others, and he knew more and more about China.
While the three of them were talking, the screen lit up and the entire hall gradually became silent.
Just a few minutes into the movie, Spielberg couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Lu Xi was right, this was indeed not an ordinary police movie.
Compared to Matt Damon, Spielberg has a better understanding of Chinese police and gangster films—or rather, police and gangster films in Hong Kong, China.
Generally, Hong Kong police and gangster movies start with a fierce gun battle, trying to stimulate the audience's adrenaline from the first scene.
When most viewers go to the cinema and choose to watch a police movie, they actually go there for the intense and exciting scenes.
Of course, this phenomenon does not only exist in Hong Kong police movies, but also in Hollywood police movies. Even if there is no gunfight at the beginning, there are still some scenes that attract the audience's attention, such as other violent scenes and sex.
But the "Infernal Affairs" he is watching now is completely different. Ten minutes have passed since the movie, and not a single intense scene has appeared.
But the amazing thing is that the story is not boring at all, and even feels fast-paced.
Spielberg understands that the reason for this feeling is because the movie has an excellent setting.
Whether the setting of a movie is excellent or not is the fundamental factor that determines whether the audience can watch it.
And "Infernal Affairs" throws out the setting in the first few minutes - not only the police will place undercover agents in the gang, but the gang members will also place undercover agents in the police force.
I thought that the settings were all over, and the undercover agents on both sides had been deployed. There had to be some movement, but what Spielberg didn't expect was that the movie didn't show that kind of intense scene for a long time.
As a police film, "Infernal Affairs" can be said to be very different.
How can a movie have the nerve to call itself a police movie if it doesn't include some fierce gun battles and several blown-up cars?
However, although there are no gunfights or blown-up cars, the story of the entire movie is very smooth. Spielberg especially likes the design of the scenes on the rooftop.
He regards the scene where the two male protagonists meet on the rooftop as the climax of the entire play. This scene can be said to be a microcosm of the entire film.
When Liu Jianming said to Chen Yongren, "Now I want to be a good person," Spielberg couldn't help but nod. This line is wonderful and a bit unexpected, but it is very consistent with the mental journey of Liu Jianming's character.
When the story reaches this point, it seems that it is about to end, but Spielberg always feels that something has been missed. The movie has laid a lot of groundwork for Liu Jianming, and it is too easy for Chen Yongren to catch him later.
But what Spielberg never expected was that another undercover gangster would show up and beat Chen Yongren to death.
Spielberg turned to look at Lu Xi next to him with a surprised look on his face, his eyes seeming to say: Is this really the mainland version?
Although Spielberg doesn’t know much about mainland China’s censorship system, he does know that one of them is “bad guys must be punished.” Why are the bad guys so strong in this movie?
However, in the end, the ending of the movie solved Spielberg's doubts. Liu Jianming was arrested as soon as he stepped out of the elevator, Chen Yongren's identity was also found out, and the injustice was cleared.
When the movie ended, there was a burst of applause in the theater.
Some of these applause are polite and some are heartfelt. Of course the movie is a good one, but it may not suit everyone's taste.
Especially for many American employees, there are many parts in this movie that are too subtle for them to understand. For example, the explanation of Infernal Affairs is quite obscure to them.
After the movie ended, Spielberg did not stand up immediately. He stared at the screen and wondered whether this movie could be brought back to the United States for a remake.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In fact, Spielberg doesn't like the obscure parts, but he likes the setting and structure of the whole story. If he wants to remake it, he will definitely do it.
The ending needs to be changed, and he is not very satisfied with the ending.
Of course, Spielberg doesn't necessarily want to shoot it himself. What he wants is to buy the remake rights and then find someone to shoot it.
He turned to Lu Xi and asked: "Lu, you said this movie will be released in Europe and the United States?"
"Well, it will be released in the United States soon, and then it will be released in other countries and regions one after another."
"Does your company have any expectations for the box office of this movie in Europe and the United States?"
Lu Xi smiled and shook her head, "This is a secret of our company, I don't know. Steven, what do you think, will this movie do well at the box office in the United States?"
"It's hard to say." Spielberg frowned, "If this ending is still the same, I'm afraid it will be difficult to have a good box office. Of course, even if the ending is changed, the box office will not be very good. If your company's publicity efforts are
If it's enough, it might be able to earn tens of millions of dollars at the box office."
"Tens of millions?" Lu Xi raised her eyebrows, a little surprised, "This is already very high."
It's really high.
Although the box office of Deep Space's movies often reaches over 100 million US dollars, for "Infernal Affairs", it is very impressive that its box office in the United States can exceed 10 million US dollars, let alone tens of millions.
In the United States, foreign language films are very difficult to get along with.
So far, the foreign language film with the highest box office is the Italian film "Life is Beautiful" released in the United States last year, with a US box office of 57 million US dollars.
Prior to this, the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the United States was "The Postman" with just over 20 million US dollars.
If "Infernal Affairs" can gross more than 10 million U.S. dollars at the U.S. box office, it will be ranked at the top of the U.S. foreign language film box office rankings.
Seeing Lu Xi's surprise, Spielberg smiled and said, "Don't be so surprised. You have to believe in the promotional capabilities of Deep Space Company and the power of the name YU. If it were a few years ago, I would have said that China is the most popular place for Americans to watch.
The movie is a martial arts film, and if you want American audiences to pay to watch a Chinese movie, it must be a martial arts film, but the situation is different now."
"It's different?" Lu Xi looked confused, not understanding what Spielberg meant by different.
"Well, it's different. Now American audiences know more about China. In addition to kung fu, there are many other things, such as science fiction... This is all the result of YU. I think American audiences can also understand it now.
Accept other movies besides martial arts movies."
Lu Xi nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Matt Damon next to him and said, "Should we go?"
The two of them turned around and looked. It turned out that there were not many people left in the theater. After the movie ended, most people left.
"Let's go too." Spielberg stood up, "The box office of "Infernal Affairs" in North America, let's just wait for it to be released in the United States."
The three of them started walking outside the cinema. Matt Damon suggested having another meal. He was a little hungry.
Lu Xi and Spielberg both shook their heads. They didn't have Matt Damon's appetite.
In fact, Matt Damon wasn't very good at eating before, but in order to play "The Martian", he gained a little weight and then gained some weight. Now he looks much bigger than before. In contrast, appetite
It's much better than before. After work every day, this guy is the most active in eating.
"Even if we wanted to eat, it would be difficult to find a place to eat. This is not New York or Los Angeles."
Lu Xi was right. No one was moving in either Mangya or Lenghu, let alone an open restaurant.
"Unfortunately, it is very easy to gain weight by eating at this time."
"If you really want to eat it, you can go to the base. I have hot pot seasoning there, and I can treat you to hot pot. As long as your stomach can handle it, that stuff is also very good at gaining weight."
"Hot pot?" Matt Damon shook his head, "No need."
Lu Xi knew that Matt Damon would refuse, and said with a smile, "Sooner or later you will accept hot pot, and then you will regret that you did not accept it earlier."
"Maybe." Matt Damon shrugged disapprovingly.
…
What Lu Xi and Matt Damon didn't know was that Spielberg called Yu Dong early the next morning.
"YU, have you eaten?" Spielberg has also learned the Chinese way of saying hello after visiting China so many times.
Yu Dongran on the other end of the phone said: "Steven, what do you need to see me for? I heard that you have been very busy recently, and I didn't expect that you still have time to come to me. Is there something wrong with the filming of "The Martian"?
"
"No, it's related to another movie."
"Another one?" Yu Dong thought for a while and asked, "Are you talking about "Shrek"?"
"No, what I want to talk about is "Infernal Affairs". Lu Xi took me to the cinema to watch it yesterday."
Yu Dong was a little surprised and said, "Then you called to have any comments or suggestions about the movie?"
Spielberg stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "I want to buy the rights to adapt this movie."
Yu Dong did not expect that Spielberg would be attracted to "Infernal Affairs" just the day after it was released.
Yu Dong is planning to sell the remake rights of "Infernal Affairs", or simply write the script himself and sell the script.
Or, they could raise investment from their own company and then ask Scorsese to film it. Anyway, the project will definitely not lose money.
"Steven, are you going to buy it and shoot it yourself?"
"I will definitely find the most suitable person to take the photo."
After hearing Spielberg say that he didn't shoot it himself, Yu Dong had no interest, "Actually, I already have a candidate for the remake of this movie."
Now it was Spielberg's turn to be surprised, "This movie has just been released, and you have already decided who will remake it?"
"Didn't you also come to me to buy the remake rights on the first day the movie was released?"
"Uh..." Spielberg was a little speechless for a moment. After thinking for a while, he asked again: "Can you tell me who you want to shoot?"
"There's nothing I can't say, and I want to give it to Scorsese."
"Martin... is a good choice. Have you told him about this?"
"Not yet, it's just an idea. Now that "Infernal Affairs" has just been released in China, there is no need to think too far ahead."
Spielberg pondered for a while and then said, "Perhaps, we can cooperate. I will invest some money, you will invest some money, and then invite Martin to direct, or I will be your producer."
Yu Dong smiled and said: "Does Scorsese want you to be his producer?"
"Don't worry, Martin will agree." Spielberg said confidently.
Spielberg and Scorsese are very good friends. Although they do not collaborate much, they spend a lot of time together in private. They are the kind of people who learn from each other, appreciate each other, compete with each other, and are both friends and competitors.
relation.
Since Spielberg was confident that he could convince Scorsese, Yu Dong nodded, "No problem. After filming "The Martian" is finished, come to Aurous Hill and let's have a good chat."
Chapter completed!