The King of Directors 2000

In Paris in May, the sun sets gently and the spring breeze blows slowly.

Pigeons fly cooing along the Seine River.

There is a special smell in the air, the smell of urine with baguette.

Li Shengyao walked slowly on the sidewalk.

He was wearing a KINGSMAN custom-made suit, frowning slightly, with a trace of disgust in his eyes.

In front of him, a group of domestic tourists saw him and immediately rushed over.

"Director Li, why are you here alone?"

"Director Li, I watched "Dalian by the Sea" and it was really well shot."

"Director Li, can you give me an autograph? Can you take a photo with me?"

Li Shengyao smiled and nodded. He would not refuse travelers' requests as long as they were not excessive.

Next to him, there was actually an old man with white hair wearing ordinary clothes.

Passengers thought it was an ordinary paparazzi.

In fact, this old man is one of the best photographers in the world today. His name is Patrick Demarsheli. He is seventy-one years old this year.

Almost all high-end luxury brands and all world-class celebrities have asked him to take photos.

The old man is getting older, and he is too lazy to do ordinary work.

This time, I was invited by Cahiers du Cinema and Sight and Sound to take a series of photos for Lee Sheng-yew.

Lee Sung-yew won the Best Director at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

It created an unprecedented record of winning the Best Director Award at three major European film festivals with three films in one year.

The June issues of "Cahiers du Cinema" and "Sight & Sound" both confirmed that Lee Sheng-yew will be the cover character of the magazines.

To show their attention, the two magazines invited Patrick together.

When the British royal gentleman in luxury suits received the news, he immediately took advantage of the fact that his peers did not react and took the lead in inviting Lee Sheng Yew to become the brand's global spokesperson for three years with an endorsement fee of US$5 million per year.

KINGSMAN has always been relatively low-key in the past, until recently the new president wanted to vigorously expand the market.

This brand has invested heavily in the movie "Kingsman", and all the male actors in the movie, including Uncle Fei, will wear their suits.

Lee Sheung Yew endorsed Armani several years ago but did not renew his contract.

Now if someone gives him money, he will naturally not refuse.

Patrick is a world-class photographer whose style is to capture the truest aspects of celebrities.

Therefore, when looking at his works, the audience will notice Julia Roberts’ wrinkles, see Leonardo DiCaprio’s messy mustache, and see Angelina Jolie’s fierce eyes.

This time I came to take pictures of Li Shengyao.

Patrick said in the first sentence: "Lee, I hope you don't act like those idol stars. Everything is acted. I hope you can be yourself and show your truest side."

Li Shengyao knew the old man's style and made an OK gesture.

At this time, after signing autographs and taking photos with the passengers, he continued to walk forward, frowning or covering his nose from time to time.

No way, Paris is so delicious.

There were puddles of urine and chewed gum everywhere.

If Li Shengyao and Patrick weren't followed by several bodyguards, there is no doubt that Brother Hei would soon come forward to ask for tolls.

Patrick asked him to be himself, so naturally Li Shengyao would not pretend that he could not smell such a stench.

Patrick is a Parisian and he knows the taste of Paris.

He did not stop Li Shengyao. On the contrary, he was very satisfied with Li Shengyao's true attitude.

Both of them looked very natural, except for the editor of Cahiers du Cinéma who looked a little embarrassed.

The people at Sight and Sound were smiling.

Many places in London are equally delicious, but Londoners have to pay more attention to their reputation. The scenery on both sides of the Thames is not bad.

Unlike Paris, everything next to the Seine stinks.

Li Shengyao walked like this while watching the scenery of Paris.

Sometimes tourists come up to ask for autographs and photos, and whether they are domestic or foreign, he will happily agree.

After walking for almost two hours, Patrick seemed to have yet to take a suitable photo.

Li Shengyao couldn't help but ask: "Man, are you tired?"

Patrick raised the camera and said with a smile: "I won't feel tired if I hold the camera."

Li Shengyao gave a thumbs up and then continued walking.

The Seine is known as the river of life in Paris. This river is very close to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe.

Li Shengyao arrived near the Arc de Triomphe and saw the sign indicating that he could reach the Arc de Triomphe by walking a hundred meters inside.

He thought for a while and said to Patrick: "I want to go see the Arc de Triomphe."

"of course can."

With Patrick's permission, Li Shengyao walked slowly to the Arc de Triomphe. Soon after, he saw this Paris landmark built by Napoleon.

Li Shengyao is not a historian or an architect. When he looked at the Arc de Triomphe, he didn't see any difference.

The only thing it feels like is that it's bigger than on the movie screen.

He used to think that the Arc de Triomphe was four or five stories high, but when he came here, he discovered that the Arc de Triomphe was more than ten stories high and very wide. When he stood over it, he felt much smaller in an instant.

The Arc de Triomphe is no longer a road, it is surrounded by a square, and cars cannot drive through it.

At this time many tourists were taking photos.

You can hear a variety of languages. The vast majority of tourists are actually in a hurry. They need to quickly check in at various scenic spots in Paris within a limited time.

As a result, many travelers were discussing their next plans, and some even started arguing.

Li Shengyao stood there, raising his head and looking at the Arc de Triomphe quietly, thinking about his plan in his heart.

At the celebration banquet after the Cannes Film Festival award ceremony, representatives from the six major Hollywood companies came over and invited him to film a movie in Hollywood.

He has not yet determined his next plans.

He now has money, a business, fame, status, honor, a woman, and children. It can be said that everything is going well.

The only thing you need to worry about may be what movies you will make in the future, or should you just stop acting?

He has produced several very good films, two Palme d'Ors, and three Best Directors. Even if he retires now, movie fans will not question him.

After all, in this world, the creative period of most directors is actually more than ten years.

For example, after Lao Mouzi and Kai Zi Ge entered the new millennium, the quality of their films dropped off a cliff.

This is a normal phenomenon, and the desire for expression is limited.

After this creative period, subsequent works will either be scratching the surface or repeating previous routines, making it difficult to make breakthroughs.

He has already copied excellent films such as "Parasite", "1919" and "Manchester by the Sea".

The space left for him to operate is getting smaller and smaller.

He doesn't want to copy "Charlotte" or "The Wandering Earth" from mainland movies, and he doesn't want to interrupt the opportunities for mainland filmmakers. He could invest, but he was too lazy to make his own.

Not interesting.

So what other external films can you copy? Or make it yourself?

Make your own – that’s a joke.

Except for actors like Lao Dongmu who turned into directors, other directors became famous at a young age and showed their talents early.

Li Shengyao knows very well that his talent is mediocre. The movies he makes are at most on the same level as Chen Sicheng. It is meaningless to make such a movie.

If he wants to make a movie that can be passed down to the world, or an interesting movie, he can only copy...

He closed his eyes and thought about the development trend in the next few years, and a movie flashed in his mind.

Finally he thought of two movies and a TV series.

A movie reflects the miserable life of the people at the bottom of the American empire.

A movie corrupts American imperial women and accelerates the division between men and women.

Lee Sung Yew feels that both of these films are good. They may not win awards, but they can make the beautiful country more divided.

As for the TV series, it is the one with the highest statistics and the most popularity since Douyin became popular all over the world. This series helped Netflix earn more than 5 billion US dollars and helped Netflix dominate the world.

He wants to cut it off to avoid benefiting Netflix.

He plans to copy these three works again and then retire.

With the answer, Li Shengyao opened his eyes and was about to look for Patrick.

"Lee, great. I got the best photo of you. Let's go, our work is done."

Hearing this, Li Shengyao walked over and asked, "What kind of photo is it?"

"The way you close your eyes and think."

Patrick paused, "I think it's very good. You will definitely like it. You may be inspired by the photos."

"Thank you, I love it."

Along the way, he hardly thought too much. Just as he thought of something, Patrick caught it.

Li Shengyao complimented Patrick casually and wondered if he could let Patrick take photos of Chen Hao, Dongxuan and the others in the future, so that they might look more interesting.

The staff of "Cahiers du Cinema" and "Sight and Sound" saw this and immediately followed.

Now that the cover photo has been taken, the next step is the interview.

……

Lee Sing-yew was interviewed by Sight & Sound and Cahiers du Cinéma in Paris. This matter could not be hidden from people in the industry.

Many people knew the news early.

In the Warner Pictures headquarters office building in Los Angeles, Jeff Robinov sat on the side of the desk in the president's office, holding coffee in his hand and smiling at the news on the TV wall.

Opposite Robinoff, the famous Warner producer Toby Emmerich put his hands in front of him, as if listening to the Holy Word.

Robinov is a bald man, about the same age as Emmerich, both middle-aged men in their forties.

In fact, the two people played for Warner for about the same amount of time.

However, Robinov gained the trust of the board of directors and was elected CEO.

Emmerich's status is slightly lower. He has felt the bottleneck recently and knows that he wants to continue to climb up. In addition to running excellent works, he also needs to please the members of the board of directors.

As for Robinov, this guy's time at Warner Bros. is almost over.

Warner has not had an easy time in recent years. They are far less cool than they were in the first decade after the turn of the millennium.

In the past, Warner followed Disney closely and was like the second best in Hollywood. Now it is far behind, not only inferior to Disney, but even inferior to Paramount and Sony.

When something like this happens, the group naturally needs someone to stand up and take the blame.

Robinov's time at Warner Bros. is counting down.

However, Emmerich still maintained respect, and he hoped that he could accept Robinov's resources.

At this time, the news on the TV wall was reporting that Lee Sung-yew won the Best Director at Cannes.

The host and several commentators all lamented that Lee Sheng Yew set a record, winning the best director, three films, and three best actors at the three major European film festivals in one year.

Robinov raised his coffee, took a sip, and then said: "Li is very popular now. Many Asians are proud of him. Even if his movies have average box office in beautiful countries, they can still have high box office in Asia.

Toby, I heard you and Lee have a great relationship. "

"Yes, we have a deep friendship. Because of him, our films can enter the Chinese market more quickly, get more film schedules, and have better publicity."

Robinov nodded, then looked at Emmerich and said slowly: "Toby, are you sure you can persuade him to help Warner make a movie?"

"No, man, he is a very independent person. In fact, when he left Hollywood, the limelight was very good. He could have stayed in Hollywood and made more money, but he still left without hesitation."

Robinov felt a little disappointed when he heard this.

If there is no immediate performance, his departure from Warner will be inevitable.

"Toby, you can try it, maybe he will agree."

Robinov wanted to make a last ditch effort.

Emmerich thought for a while, then nodded, "Okay, I will contact him and tell him about it."

Robinov heard this and breathed a sigh of relief, "Man, I believe you can do it."

Soon after, Emmerich left Robinoff's office. He returned to his own office and asked his assistant to come up with Warner's next film production plan.

Warner Bros. is focusing heavily on science fiction movies this year.

In recent years, science fiction movies have been the most profitable genre of movies besides superhero movies.

Last year's "Pacific Rim" was a hit, and the year before that "Men in Black 3", as well as the previous "Los Angeles" and "District ", all performed well at the box office, and the disc market also performed well.

Warner's science fiction movies this year include "Edge of Tomorrow," "Jupiter Ascending," and "Interstellar." In addition, they also have "Godzilla," which also has some science fiction elements.

Among them, the male protagonist of "Edge of Tomorrow" is Tom Cruise.

"Interstellar" is Nolan's movie.

Both movies cost Warner a lot of money and investment.

There is actually a lot of pressure on these movies to make back the money, but there is no other way. If Warner wants to overtake in a corner, it has to be ingenious.

Superhero movies are the most popular right now, and they have the rights to several superhero movies, but the group feels they are not attractive enough to compete with Marvel.

He looked at it for a while and couldn't help but frown.

He doesn't think Lee Sheng Yew will take on any of the film projects currently being planned.

Lee Sing-yew likes projects with solid scripts.

As for the "Edge of Tomorrow" movies, to be honest, the stories are a bit false and they are all gimmick movies.

Should Li Shengyao be allowed to write the script himself?

If he writes his own script, will he still cooperate with Warner?

Emmerich thought for a while and planned to find a time to talk to Lee Shengyao carefully to see if Lee Shengyao had the conditions. If possible, he hoped that Lee Shengyao could come to Hollywood. As Lee Shengyao's collaborator, he believed that Lee Shengyao would return to Hollywood. He was in Warner Bros. The film industry can go one step further. (End of chapter)