The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 557 Hong Kong Islanders feel the most

June 2012, 6 is Friday. In addition to "Parasite", the movies released on this day include "Unknown Person", "Better Days", "Don't Look in the Mirror at Midnight", "The Story of Love", " Redemption in the Dark.

Just by the names, you can tell that these movies are street movies.

Among the movies released in early June, only "Madagascar 3" and "The Hunger Games" can compete. However, they have been released for a week and are currently in a period of declining box office.

Therefore, when "Parasite" was released, it stood out from the crowd. The film ranking was quite high, with a full 40.00%.

Lee Sing-yew has always said that the box office of "Parasite" will not be too high, and he will be satisfied with [-] million.

After holding a movie viewing party, a group of theater managers also agreed with Lee Sheng-yew's statement.

The movie is indeed a good movie, but for such a drama, it has no big scenes and is not funny, so it is difficult to get high box office.

But other films are even more rubbish, so I might as well give them to "Parasite".

Therefore, "Parasite" received nearly half of the films scheduled on the first day.

As usual, the employees of Fenghua Film and Television Company are very concerned about the data of Lee Sheng-yew's new movie.

The same is true for the senior executives of Fenghua Cinemas, who specially placed billboards in the cinema.

Li Shengyao didn't take it seriously. He didn't even bother to publicize it. He asked Andy Lau and Leung Ka Hui to do the publicity work, while he returned to Yanjing to accompany a few women.

On the day "Parasite" was released, Li Shengyao was at Yan Danchen's home.

"Aren't you worried about the new movie's box office?"

After Yan Danchen gave birth, she became more feminine. The original small bun has now turned into a big orange. It is quite obvious when she wears close-fitting pajamas.

Li Shengyao wanted to drink orange juice again.

He smiled and said, "Without expectations, there will be no burden. As long as the domestic box office of "Parasite" is not 4000 to [-] million, I can accept it."

Yan Danchen blinked, "You don't care about the box office anymore? Didn't you say before that you wouldn't make purely artistic films?"

"For those who care about the box office, "Parasite" is not a literary film, but I predict that the box office in the mainland will not be too high, at most [-] million. I have no expectations."

"Oh, what if it's more than [-] million?"

"The excess will be given to you."

Yan Danchen was overjoyed and couldn't hold back his smile. He sat down next to Li Shengyao and said, "I don't want it. Get a passbook for your daughter and keep it for her."

"Row."

"Then which place do you think will have the highest box office?"

Li Shengyao thought for a while, then reached out and squeezed the orange, "Hong Kong Island, Wanwan, Beautiful Country, France, Germany, Da Mao, Dai Ying, Mexico, these places will be relatively high."

In Lee Sheng-yew's previous life, "Parasite" had a higher global box office than "Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger" and "Heroes" and broke many records. There was a lot of news, so he remembers it very clearly.

The box office of "Parasite" in North America was only US$500 million, which was not as good as "Hidden Dragon and Crouching Tiger" and "Hero", but it far surpassed these two Chinese blockbusters in Europe.

There were news reports at the time that "Parasite" had broken box office records for non-English-language films other than local films in France, Da Mao, Daiying and other places. This shows how popular this film is in Europe.

In addition to Europe, there are two places that are particularly worth talking about. These two places are Hong Kong Island and Wanwan.

"Parasite" received a box office of 3100 million in Hong Kong Island, second only to "Ip Man 4" and "Integrity", ranking No. 2019 on Hong Kong Island in 15.

"Parasite" received a box office of RMB 4 million in Wanwan, second only to "Ip Man 2019", ranking 19th in Wanwan in [-].

Although the ranking is not particularly high, except for "Ip Man IV" and "Integrity", the previous movies are all foreign films, either Hollywood movies or island animation movies. "Parasite" can be ranked this way, which has surpassed A large number of local films.

"Parasite" also set a record on Hong Kong Island as the highest box office for a non-English film in the first two days.

The film earned 850 million in the first two days on Hong Kong Island.

This result is second only to "Avatar 12", "Avengers 234", and "Spider-Man: Homeless".

Zhou Xingxing's "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu" both did not have 850 million in the first two days.

This shows how much Hong Kong audiences love this movie.

Later, "Parasite" won an Oscar and was screened again on Hong Kong Island. At this time, the source of the film was already available on the Internet. It still received 76 on the first day, ranking No. 4 in a single day, and its performance exceeded that of many local films. It's weaker than Hollywood blockbusters.

Now Lee Sheng-yew has set "Parasite" on Hong Kong Island and invited Andy Lau and Leung Ka-wai. He believes that the "Parasite" he produced will perform better on Hong Kong Island than in its previous life.

Yan Danchen heard this and asked in confusion: "Will Hong Kong Island and Wanwan like "Parasite"?"

"Yes, especially on Hong Kong Island, the audience will be deeply touched."

Yan Danchen thought it was impossible. She remembered that Chinese-language films were not very popular at the box office in Hong Kong. In recent years, there were often one or two Chinese-language films in the top ten, and the rest were all Hollywood blockbusters.

But she didn't say much. Anyway, she was waiting for the mainland box office to exceed [-] million, and then she would ask Lee Sheng Yew for money.

……

I don’t know since when, many celebrities in the industry started to check in Lee Sheng Yew’s movies.

Every time a movie directed by Director Li is released, someone posts their ticket stubs on Weibo, saying that they have gone to see it.

Li Shengyao naturally didn't know that those celebrities and artists had supported him. In fact, everyone knew this very well.

However, there are still many people who are willing to check in and show off their ticket stubs. Fans of these people do not feel ashamed, and they also feel that their idols are learning from Director Li, which is a positive behavior.

Under such circumstances, more celebrities and artists will check in.

This time "Parasite" was released, Li Zhiting bought the movie tickets and went to the theater with his assistant.

In addition to watching movies with him, his assistant also takes a few "photos of random passers-by" and then posts them online, writing a few comments like "The photos taken with ordinary mobile phones are so handsome, the real person must be even more amazing."

Is this behavior considered fraud?
Li Zhiting didn't know that all celebrities played like this, and he just followed them blindly.

It's like following the trend and checking in to watch Lee Sung-yew's movies. Everyone is doing it, so he follows suit.

As a poor boy, he learned to watch people's behavior since he was a child, and knew that if he wanted to be liked, he had to show his attitude and not be a maverick.

The persona he marketed on the Internet was that of a super rich second generation. His father opened a large cleaning company and his family had a luxurious villa on Hong Kong Island.

In fact, his father is an ordinary worker. The family does not have a so-called big villa and lives with his aunt and family in a public housing estate in Yuen Long.

Although he signed a contract with Liming's company, released records, acted in movies, and seemed to be very popular, in fact, there was no one in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, so he got some advantages.

Moreover, his "popularity" is not comparable to that of Nicholas Tse and the Twins. He just acted in a few movies that no one watched.

At this time, Li Zhiting was wearing a peaked cap, a magic mirror, and height-increasing shoes, and sat down with great momentum.

The assistant's name is Liu Ming, a 1.6-meter-tall dwarf. It's not easy to find a 1.6-meter-tall young boy in modern society.

But who knows, Li Zhiting is not tall, and his legs are too wide and have impressive proportions.

In order to set off his tallness, the agency searched several universities in Hong Kong Island before finding the short, ordinary-looking Liu Ming.

It is difficult for young people in Hong Kong to find a salary. If you can be Li Zhiting's assistant, you can also see many celebrities.

Liu Ming is very satisfied with his current job.

When he saw Li Zhiting sitting down, he took out his mobile phone and wanted to "secretly" take some photos.

"Don't shoot now, shoot later, the lighting is wrong now, don't let fans see the flaws."

In addition to looking like Wang Lihong, Li Zhiting's biggest advantage is that he is a serious university graduate and an awesome Imperial College graduate.

There is no doubt about his IQ. He is definitely not an academic who scored over 200 points in English or over [-] points in the college entrance examination.

Liu Ming thought it made sense, "Okay, Brother Zhi, I'll take pictures after the movie starts."

Li Zhiting nodded, he was still very satisfied with Liu Ming.

"There is no need for beauty treatments then, just take photos normally."

Liu Ming made an OK gesture.

At this moment, several young people sat next to Li Zhiting. Unfortunately, these people did not know Li Zhiting, so they sat down and talked about "Parasite".

The movie was shot on Hong Kong Island, which made a lot of news last year.

In addition, Lee Sheng-yew is the largest shareholder of TVB and the current leader of TVB. TVB has been promoting "Parasite" recently, and many people in Hong Kong know that this movie is going to be released.

The movie's publicity stunt was the two-hero drama between Andy Lau and Tony Leung, and "Parasite" won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

People in Hong Kong still appreciate movies that win the Palme d'Or.

"Farewell My Concubine" received a box office of 910 million in Hong Kong Island, which was the highest box office of a mainland film in Hong Kong Island in the last century. It was not until the release of "Hero" that this record was broken.

Several young people next to Li Zhiting were full of expectations and their voices were excited.

When Liu Ming heard this, he couldn't help but curl his lips.

He used to be very yearning for movies, but when he became Li Zhiting's assistant, he saw so many movie production scenes that his childhood filters were shattered on the floor.

It was completely different from the rigor, concentration, and science he imagined.

Several of the movies Li Zhiting acted in were completely Caotai troupes.

He followed Li Zhiting to the mainland for filming, which was even more casual. The director sat behind the monitor and snored, and the assistant director smelled of alcohol. "Click, pass, click, pass," many times it just happened.

He was once speechless, but later he discovered that most movies and TV series were like this, and they were all money-making works.

Lee Sung-yew is a great director, and "Parasite" won the Palme d'Or.

However, Liu Ming felt that this movie was not interesting. Watching a movie like this would be better than watching a Hollywood blockbuster, at least the special effects are awesome.

Li Zhiting saw Liu Ming's disdainful expression, smiled and said nothing more.

His thoughts are similar to Liu Ming's.

He actually doesn't like watching Chinese movies, he just likes to watch some mindless Hollywood movies.

Of course, with his cautious character, he would not show it. On the contrary, he looked at the big screen and looked very serious.

In fact, he had already emptied his mind and his mind had already drifted to the sky.

"here we go."

The young man next to me said something.

Li Zhiting regained consciousness for a moment, and a burst of heavy music played. He looked up and saw some scenes of basements, pigeon buildings, and public housing in Hong Kong Island.

He subconsciously felt a sense of disgust.

As a poor kid, he didn't want to recall living in public housing.

Now that he has become a star, he has rented a large flat in a luxury community. He has been separated from his original living environment.

The three words "Parasite" appeared on the big screen, and the movie officially began.

The first thing you see is a depressing basement. The male protagonist's family of four are sitting together to eat. The male protagonist is bragging and looks very majestic.Just then, someone peed outside the basement window.

The house smelled like urine.

The hero's family was embarrassed for a moment, and then continued to brag.

This is a group of insensitive people. No matter how powerful they brag, they dare not step forward to stop someone from peeing in front of their window.

why?
Naturally, I have no money, no confidence, and my waist is not straight.

When Li Zhiting saw this scene, he couldn't help but remember that when he was a child, the family was crowded into a public housing, the environment was chaotic, and people often yelled in the middle of the night.

They dare not stop drinking, comfort themselves, treat themselves, and then go back to sleep.

Damn, this movie is so annoying, why did you make a plot like this?

Li Zhiting glanced at Liu Ming secretly and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Liu Ming didn't notice his expression.

Liu Ming secretly glanced at Li Zhiting and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Li Zhiting didn't notice his clenched fists.

Their family lived in a pigeon cage in the East End, which was very chaotic.

He remembered that when he was a child, an alcoholic would defecate and urinate in the corridor, and his family would not dare to go out and stop him. They would wait until the alcoholic left and then yell and curse.

How similar.

The movie continued. There was no wifi installed at the hero's house, and his daughter and son were walking around with their mobile phones. Finally, they were in the bathroom, squatting next to the toilet and playing with their mobile phones.

This...isn't this my home?

Li Zhiting has moved out, but his aunt's family still lives in a public housing estate. He heard that the signal there is very poor, and his mobile phone often has no signal for no reason. Since there is no wifi installed at home, he uses the neighbor's.

Damn it, Lee Sheng-yew is sick, why do you want to make such a movie? Isn't this exposing people's scars?
Li Zhiting couldn't sit still.

He crossed his arms and tried to give himself as much energy as possible.

As the movie continued, my son’s classmates came and introduced his son to work as an English tutor in a wealthy family, and also gave him a lucky stone.

The son became an English tutor for a wealthy family, and then involved his daughter, father, and mother in turn.

But they are poor people, and they have a poor spirit, which can be smelled by the rich man's son.

Back in the basement, the male protagonist and his family planned to use different brands of laundry detergent to distinguish the smell on their bodies.

When Li Zhiting saw this, he couldn't help but think of a rainy day in college when he confessed to a girl. As a result, the girl said directly: "Your family is too poor and we are not suitable. I drink coffee every day and every week." Can you do it by eating western food and going to Disneyland every month?
You see, this is the minimum standard. If you can't do it, poor students shouldn't come out to express their feelings. "

We are so poor that we have the popularity of being poor. Wealthy people can tell at a glance that they are poor, and even if they want to pretend to be high-ranking, they will not look like it.

When Li Zhiting saw this, he fell silent.

The movie continues, the rich family goes on a trip, and the hero's family takes the opportunity to play in the villa. They feel like they have become rich.

When Li Zhiting saw this, his long face was very hot.

He became a star and rented a large flat, but he actually didn't have his own big house yet. His current situation was not necessarily better than that of the actor's family.

Suddenly it started to rain heavily. The rich family came back early, and the hero's family fled in panic.

By the time they returned to the basement, the rain had soaked the entire basement, and the toilet in the bathroom was spraying feces.

The daughter squatted on the toilet, crying sadly.

Li Zhiting watched the movie blankly, a long and almost forgotten memory flooding into his heart.

When he was very young, one day all the elders in the family went out.

He and his aunt's cousins ​​were the only ones at home. They watched TV all day and then went back to their room to sleep. I don't know when it rained heavily, and all the clothes hanging outside were soaked.

In Hong Kong's public housing estates, pigeonhouses do not have balconies. The poor do not have the money to buy a washing machine with a washer and dryer. They cannot install external anti-theft windows, so their clothes are hung directly outside.

In the past, several children would consciously collect clothes, but they forgot about it that day.

After the elders returned home, they yelled at their three children. My cousin cried at that time.

It's his grandma's fault. Li Shengyao must be seriously ill. Why would he make such a realistic movie?

Did he want me to cry?
If I cry, will you feel better?

Soon after, the movie ended and the audience was silent for a moment before applauding.

"No wonder "Parasite" was filmed on Hong Kong Island. Isn't this the life of my family?"

Li Zhiting felt uncomfortable when he heard the words of the young man next to him. He then looked at Liu Ming and saw Liu Ming wiping away tears.

Bad guy, it turns out your family is also in a pigeon cage.

"Go, go out."

The two people left the theater, and Li Zhiting smiled and said: "Watching this movie is very touching, is it very similar to the story of your childhood?"

Liu Ming nodded, "Don't you?"

"I...I don't, I don't feel anything."

Of course Li Zhiting would not say that he was touched as well, he still wanted to save face.

Liu Ming clapped his hands at this time, "Oh no, I was just thinking about watching a movie and forgot about you taking pictures."

Li Zhiting was stunned, and he also forgot.

Just now I said I didn't feel anything, but now I was slapped in the face.

He smiled bitterly and clapped his hands, "Okay, this is a good movie. Let's watch it again and show the ticket stubs twice."

His grandma's, he can't forget it this time.

……

Some celebrities go to check in, and some celebrities actually go to the movies with their families.

Chen Xiaochun is such a person. He watched "Parasite" with his wife Ying Cai'er.

Personally, he doesn't really like watching "Parasite". His aesthetics are still in the last century. He likes to watch gun fight movies or kung fu movies.

However, the movies in this schedule are too bad. Without kung fu movies or gun fight movies, he can only choose "Parasite".

Ying Cai'er made it clear that she wanted to watch "Parasite". Many of her friends had gone to see "Parasite", and she didn't want to have nothing to talk about with her friends.

So the couple went to see "Parasite" together.

In the dim movie theater, Ying Cai'er held a Coke in one hand and popcorn in the other, looking like she was enjoying herself very much.

Chen Xiaochun was bored and looked around.

Soon after, the movie officially started, with the hero's family living in the basement. Soon after, his son's classmates came to visit, and introduced his son to a tutoring job and gave him lucky stones.

The son was holding the lucky stone, looking forward to it very much, nervous and preparing carefully.

Soon after, the son became an English tutor in a wealthy family, and then introduced his daughter to become an art teacher.

When Chen Xiaochun saw this, he became more serious. When he saw the male protagonist's family working hard to climb up, he couldn't help but think of himself.

He is from Huizhou, Guangdong Province. When he was a child, his family was poor and did not have enough to eat. He was small.

He dropped out of school in the first grade of junior high school and went home with his father to find work in Hong Kong Island.

He was so small that the factory didn't want him.

He could only work as a handyman next to his father, handing bricks and lighting fires.

When he was 16 years old, he worked as a waiter in a restaurant. As a result, he was often bullied. Later, he couldn't stand it anymore and left without paying the salary.

He then worked as an apprentice in a barber shop for two years, and then passed the interview and entered the TVB dance class.

Until his official debut, he has been working hard to climb up, just like the family of the hero of "Parasite".

This touched him very much.

As the movie continues, the male protagonist and his wife follow them into the wealthy family. In order to achieve a class jump, they not only rack their brains to deceive, but also kill the original housekeeper.

They've gone completely crazy.

After a heavy downpour, the madman's son took a lucky stone with him and tried to kill the housekeeper's husband with it.

Ying Cai'er clicked her tongue a few times, showing disdain.

Chen Xiaochun felt compassion for the character. He was older. He had seen such examples and he knew very well that sometimes desperate people would do anything.

It's not that they are crazy, it's that they can't survive without being crazy.

The movie continues, and the male protagonist kills the rich man in the end. He is not only angry at the rich man, but also resentful at his own incompetence and the world.

He saw clearly that there was no way he could improve his class. No matter what he did, his family was still the most vulnerable at the bottom.

When Ying Cai'er saw this, she frowned and whispered: "The rich family is quite kind-hearted. The male protagonist is really crazy. A dog bites Lu Dongbin and doesn't recognize a good heart."

Chen Xiaochun glanced at Ying Cai'er and did not correct Ying Cai'er's statement.

Those who have not experienced real suffering, and have not spent everything to climb up in order to survive, cannot understand the resentment of the male protagonist.

His TVB dance class back then was a group of hard-working kids. Except for him and Xie Tianhua, who had a falling out, everyone else had changed careers.

These people may be washing dishes in the kitchen of a tea restaurant, moving goods in a large truck at the port, or working as shoe shiners in a strange overseas city.

If he hadn't had a little more luck back then, he wouldn't have been able to live the life he has now. He might have been a barber on Hong Kong Island.

I have to work in a barber shop for the rest of my life, but I can't afford a house on Hong Kong Island.

Housing prices on Hong Kong Island are so high that houses have become a symbol of class.

Without hope, you can do anything.

After a while, the two left the cinema. Ying Cai'er was in a good mood and wanted to go shopping, but Chen Xiaochun was not in such a mood.

"Go home, I'm so tired."

The two of them got into the car. Seeing that Chen Xiaochun was in poor condition, Ying Cai'er took the initiative to drive.

Chen Xiaochun sat in the passenger seat, took out his mobile phone, and looked through some photos. He saw some friends from his youth.

These people are still running for a living, and compared to him, they are much older.

"Husband, what's wrong?"

Chen Xiaochun came back to his senses and sighed, "After watching "Parasite", I feel that I am so lucky. If I had not been successful in TVB, I might have been a hairdresser all my life and lived in a pigeon cage. My children would be very smart. , there’s no way to get ahead, it’s too difficult to get ahead on Hong Kong Island.”

(End of this chapter)