"He is the most successful commercial director in Hollywood history and one of the most eye-catching directors of the 20th century. Each of his films is setting new personal box office records and setting a new benchmark for future movies. ←, he has been filming for more than a dozen years, but his works have won a total box office of more than 7.5 billion US dollars. He persists, works hard and tenaciously, and is hailed by the North American media as the representative of the American Dream. He is Duke Rosenberg!"

Standing in the backstage, Duke listened to the narration accompanied by the dance music in the front hall, waiting patiently, with applause from time to time, telling him clearly that in addition to host Yang Lan, there were many audiences in the studio.

"Last week, the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival opened. At this film festival, the arrival of famous Hollywood director Duke Rosenberg became one of the biggest highlights of this event."

Another round of applause sounded. Seeing the director's gesture, Duke walked onto the stage, waved his hand to the audience first, smiled slightly, and sat opposite Yang Lan.

For Duke, who has been on the cover of Time magazine several times, this is just a small battle.

He wore his usual dark casual suit, natural and easy-going, and his capable short hair was full of energy, and he seemed to be completely at the mature, steady and charming age group of thirty years old.

Yang Lan shook hands with Duke and said, "We have no problem communicating in Chinese."

"As long as you don't speak local slang." Duke's Mandarin is even more fluent than many Shanghai people, "and also idioms."

Hearing his words, there was a voice of admiration in the audience.

"I have been in the United States for a long time. In the eyes of many Western language geniuses, Chinese is simply a nightmare." Yang Lan was obviously controlling the rhythm of the interview, "How long did you take to reach this level now?"

"It's about three years." Duke recalled. "It's probably for such a long time, I'm still a little talented in this area."

"So, are you still a genius in language?" Yang Lan asked.

Duke shook his head, "No, I only know English and Chinese, and I have learned other languages. But I have never made any progress. For example, French, I only know a few basic vocabulary. Maybe it's because I'm destined to learn Chinese. It feels very simple to learn Chinese."

Then, just like doing publicity in France and other countries, Duke began to say that he was interested in Chinese culture.

"You are interested in Chinese culture. Have you ever seen Chinese movies?"

Hearing this question, Duke replied softly, "I have seen it. But not much, such as Jack Chen's action comedy and Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger Hidden Tiger"."

Yang Lan asked again, "What do you think is the biggest gap between Chinese movies and Hollywood movies?"

“Industrial foundation!”

This answer was obviously beyond the expectations of the audience, and there was even a burst of surprise sound in the audience.

Yang Lan asked curiously, "Isn't it somewhere else?"

Of course there are other other factors, but this involves multiple factors such as culture, politics and economy. Duke doesn't want to go too far and said. "I personally think it is the basis of industry, or technology."

Without waiting for the other party to ask again, he explained, "Before the 1990s, Hollywood movies were far from as prosperous as they are now. European movies had the strength to compete with Hollywood, but these have all changed since the early 1990s. If you observe carefully, in the past decade, technology has been the most successful films in the world, and technology is an important factor in supporting them."

"Is the next step in Chinese films to pay attention to the development of technology?"

"Movies are the result of multiple factors combined together, and technology is just one link." Duke thought for a moment, "Every director has his own style. For example, I am the only way to make the pictures in my mind come true with enough advanced film technology, so some people think I am a director of technology."

Speaking of this, Yang Lan suddenly realized that the initiative was snatched away by Duke without knowing it. This is a taboo for interview programs. She quickly changed the topic, "In your movies, excellent stunt technology can always create a shocking and exciting visual effect. Four of the top ten movies in the history of movie box office are from you. What do you think has contributed to your success?"

"Dreams, persistence and hard work," Duke paused, and said, "There are still growing theaters. For example, ten years ago, it was amazing that a film could open 3,000 theaters in North America, but it is not difficult to collect 4,000 theaters now. The development of theaters and the increase in screens are one of the most basic conditions for a film to increase its box office."

This is a very simple truth, and Yang Lan and the people in the audience were nodding.

Duke also said, "Although TV, Internet and disc drives are developing rapidly now, the movie viewing experience of theaters will not be replaced for a long time in the future. Videos like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy can be viewed on the big screen and on the small screen, which are completely different."

Yang Lan responded very quickly and asked immediately, "Is this the reason why you are focusing on shooting special stunt movies?"

Duke shrugged and did not deny it, "It's one of the reasons. Now the channels for viewers to see videos are increasing. Why do you have to go to the theater? You have to show some things that you can't see on the small screen."

Yang Lan obviously did her homework for the interview and asked, "In your opinion, if the movie is sold well, will the use of film technology play a role in fueling the fire?"

"I used G technology on the first time on Independence Day. The Matrix and the Lord of the Rings trilogy also used a lot of high-tech." Duke did not shy away from the audience at all and said directly, "I don't think moviegoers will care about how the movie was made. The audience just wants a certain experience. They like to attract them and lead them to a journey. The Matrix and the Lord of the Rings trilogy are all such movies."

After hearing Duke say this, the people in the audience nodded unconsciously. Duke has done a lot of investigations, and few ordinary audiences are concerned about how the movie is made. What they want is simple pleasure.

Seeing Duke unknowingly grab the dominance, Yang Lan changed the topic again, "The "Hurricane Rescue" you brought this time has received a very good response. I have a latest box office statistics here. From the release last Thursday to the present, the cumulative Chinese box office of this film has reached 28.65 million yuan."

She looked at Duke and asked, "Do you think?"

“I’m so happy that the audience liked my video.”

This number is inconspicuous. But now it is only 2004, and there are very few movies with box offices exceeding 100 million in a year. The data of 28.65 million rmb is already quite good.

"This video was released at the same time between China and the United States." Yang Lan continued, "Has the North American box office statistics been released?"

Seeing Duke nodding slightly, she asked, "Can you share it with us?"

"Of course," Duke recalled the data he got at noon and said, "North America's three-day weekend was $51.25 million."

"Box Office Champion?"

"Box Office Champion."

"Hurricane Rescue" is not a big-scale commercial film at all. It received $51.25 million in the first weekend. Both Duke and Warner Bros. were very satisfied.

"Congratulations." Yang Lan said with a bright smile, "There is another video that will be sold at the box office."

"Thank you." Duke took it without hesitation.

If "Hurricane Rescue" wants to sell as well as the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, it is absolutely impossible, but with the situation on the first weekend, it is not difficult to make a profit through box office.

"From entering Hollywood to now, you have made so many movies." Yang Lan turned the topic to the box office. "After entering the new century, the cost of filming has been rising and the market is under great pressure. Will you feel a little nervous before your movie is released?"

"It will be nervous and even insomnia due to anxiety," Duke pointed to his forehead. "There will be various ideas, including the consequences of failure, and you will not breathe a sigh of relief until you see the box office data."

Yang Lan's topic turned to pressure again, "Your works have extremely high expectations around the world. China is no exception. What kind of pressure does this put you in?"

"Pressure is something that every director must bear, and pressure is often the driving force for progress." Duke's finger slowly tapped the armrest of the chair. "You can have different views on attention. Although there is a lot of pressure, it is also a good opportunity. I have also made small-cost movies. The huge challenge facing small-cost movies is how to attract audiences to see your work. The advantage of shooting such blockbusters is that you know that it has the opportunity to meet global audiences. As a filmmaker, this is the best opportunity."

The interview was approaching its end, and after asking a few more questions, Yang Lan gave the audience the opportunity to ask questions.

A male audience in his thirties was the first to stand up and ask, "Director Rosenberg, I became your fan in the 1990s."

"Thank you, this is my honor."

After saying that, Duke made a continued gesture to him, and the man said, "You make movies almost at the rate of one movie every year. How did you maintain such a strong creative energy?"

After thinking about it for a few seconds, Duke said, "I enjoyed the process of making movies, especially when I worked with teams and creative people to make movies, and the sparks of thinking collide in the house, which is very exciting."

"Take filming a movie like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, we want to create a new world and design a brand new creature. I love this process very much. If you do what you like, it is not a job. If you are interested in what you do, you don't have to work for a day, so my plan is to never work. Making movies is my biggest interest."

The next one is a female audience, and the question she asked was related to interest, "Why is your biggest interest in making movies?"

"I think the greatest power of movies is to bring experiences and experiences that the audience has never had before. Whether it is reality or non-existent, fantasy, etc., movies are an excellent way to let the audience see things they have never imagined or seen."
Chapter completed!