The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 646: Obsessed with trivial matters

"Martin Scorsese: Superhero movies are garbage, Marvel and DC are cultural garbage."

"Ridley Scott: I have always admired Lee very much. I don't understand why he would make a DC comic book movie."

“Woody Allen: Superhero Movies Are Not Eligible for Awards.”

"The competition for the Oscars will be very fierce the year after next because Lee will be in - Spielberg."

"Joaquin Phoenix is ​​losing weight under the guidance of a nutritionist."

"Lee has arrived in Los Angeles and is preparing for Joker, which will start shooting in September."

"New York will hold a Chinese Culture Week, and Yao, Jackie, and Li will all participate."

……

Entering August, Los Angeles is even hotter. This is the peak season for film production. Film and television talents from all over the world gather here. They are in a hurry, with great enthusiasm, eager to show off their talents in Hollywood.

In front of an ordinary small flat building in Hollywood, there was a long queue of people, men, women, old and young, black, white, and yellow. They were all Hollywood extras.

Not to mention that there is no nightlife here. When the sun goes down, just close the door obediently. You must take a car when going out. If you don't take a car, you might be robbed.

Here you are not only free to hold guns, but you also have to be careful of stray bullets, and you also have to be careful of all kinds of political correctness.

Soon after, the assistant came back, and Li Shengyao asked him to continue.

"Yes. Last night, someone threw rotten vegetable leaves at our door. Before that, someone spray-painted the wall. As for throwing rotten eggs, that is something that happens all the time."

"Will these people do anything else?"

From time to time, someone would throw a few eggs and hit the small flat building opposite, or the extras.

People who are used to freedom in the country and almost no taboos are really not used to it.

White, black, Asian, Mexican…

Nowadays, Hollywood pays attention to political correctness. Both actors and staff must be matched appropriately.

"This is a Jewish conspiracy, they want to turn us into a cultural depression."

Thinking of this, he softened his tone slightly and said, "Is there anything else?"

"Boss, the "Joker" crew is very popular right now. There are not only a group of reporters, but also a group of people who want to cause trouble. They may be self-media, or they may be trying to take advantage of others.

It’s Warner’s money anyway, so you don’t have to worry about money. "

He had just arrived in the beautiful country two days ago, and now he was here to express condolences to the busy employees, but he did not expect to see such a situation.

The assistant next to him immediately replied.

The assistant opened his mouth to explain to these people, but quickly closed his mouth. He felt that he should first listen to Li Shengyao's opinion before deciding what to say.

Calling a man who is 1.6 meters tall and weighs 160 pounds "fat" may lead to accusations of discrimination.

These people are extreme clown fans.

Li Shengyao left after thinking that he couldn't stand the rules and regulations of Hollywood before.

"You can only call the police, boss. Our crew is very popular in Hollywood now. There is a group of reporters who are watching us. Any action we take will be reported by them. A few days ago, there were reporters who criticized us and published an article saying that our crew has too few Mexican staff. .”

Various banners are very eye-catching.

Earning US dollars in a beautiful country will naturally lead to higher wages than before, but the working environment will definitely be more comfortable than at home.

"I have never hated Warner so much and you will definitely regret it."

"The Joker is the greatest movie character and cannot be tarnished by you."

Li Shengyao nodded, "How should we deal with it?"

The assistant looked at Li Shengyao's face and reminded him softly.

"How do Chinese people understand the secrets of DC comics? This is a terrible decision."

"Joker" is about to start filming, so it will naturally require extra actors.

The assistant did the right thing. Although their production base in Hollywood was damaged by extreme clown fans, they could not take drastic countermeasures and could only call the police.

Li Shengyao continued: "Then you can make statistics, send these people back to China, and then supplement them from China or Hollywood.

Li Shengyao was standing under the umbrella on the roof of Xiao Ping Building. He did not need to be personally responsible for recruiting extras.

The assistant was startled. Li Shengyao was so quick and quick that he had already avoided it. He took two steps back and said, "Find someone to call the police. The surveillance below should be able to find the perpetrator."

These people are very cunning. When we came here last month, one of our brothers almost got caught and was blocked in the room. Fortunately, he was in good health and jumped out of the window.

The protesting clown fans noticed the sun umbrella on the roof, picked up a stone and threw it up.

Opposite the extras, there were seventy or eighty people holding banners and shouting loudly against the production of clown movies.

Li Shengyao nodded, "I understand. Are there many people who want to return to China?"

When Li Shengyao heard this, he did not blame the assistant for being nosy, but nodded seriously, "This matter must be made clear to the domestic compatriots on the crew. Don't be fooled."

"We have reported it several times, and everyone is very serious, but..."

"Boss, there are some factory workers who can't stand the working environment here and want to return to China."

"Not a lot, but a few."

You'd better be careful when you're out there. "

"Yes, I understand."

Li Shengyao then looked at the clown fan opposite, and three minutes later, he left the small flat building.

Similar to the information Emmerich told, extreme clown fans go there to protest every day, rain or shine. These people have some dangerous behaviors, but overall they are within controllable limits.

Under such circumstances, there is no danger at present.

However, as "Joker" officially starts filming, it is hard to say whether these clown fans will escalate their aggression.

After the official launch next month, they still have to strengthen security.

As before, a security company needs to be hired to take care of the safety of the set.

Of course, Lee Sheng Yew spent money on these things in the past, but this time Warner spent money.

Li Shengyao thought about it and decided that in order to prevent accidents, he would call his assistant and ask him to buy accident insurance for all the crew members.

When the assistant heard this, he couldn't help but said: "Boss, if this happens, more people will return to China."

"It doesn't matter, safety is the most important thing."

On the way Li Shengyao and others drove away.

Suddenly there was a burst of gunfire, and the driver hurriedly pulled over and shouted: "Get down, get down."

This driver is a Chinese immigrant working in Hollywood. He was originally a doctor in China, but came to the beautiful country and became a driver.

He speaks English and Chinese very well, and he is a talented person.

This was not the first time that Lee Sheng Yew encountered a shooting incident. In fact, he had encountered it in his previous life, so he was very calm.

The gunfire lasted for dozens of seconds and then stopped. About five minutes later, police officers roared past with loud sirens, and the road returned to calm.

The cars that had just pulled over returned to the main road, and then rumbled forward. Li Shengyao sat up again and tidied his clothes.

Several other people in the same car were very frightened. They then reported to the group that they were safe. No one had an accident, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Shengyao frowned slightly when he saw this.

"Joker" will be filmed in New York. In terms of security situation, New York is more chaotic than Los Angeles. There are more immigrants in New York, immigrants from all over the world, everywhere.

As he expected, after the actors for "Joker" were confirmed, the biggest problem was safety.

He needs to discuss it carefully with Emmerich and must ask Warner to hire the best security company.

……

It was a hot day, and there was crackling noise in the air from time to time.

The outdoor temperature in New York is a full thirty-eight degrees.

In the past, there were many people coming and going on this very busy street, but today there are no people around.

There was a burning smell in the air, and I didn't know if there were any dead mice or dead birds that had been roasted.

A long red carpet was laid out in front of a building in the East District.

Several hostesses in cheongsam were sweating under the bright sun.

Inside the building, Li Shengyao, Dayao, and Cheng Long were standing in a row to take pictures. This was a Chinese cultural festival held in New York. It was organized by the higher authorities. I don’t know whose idea it was. Anyway, Chinese celebrities from the beautiful country came to participate. .

Li Shengyao opened his eyes, which were bloodshot.

He was really tired during this time, just like when he returned to China before, he traveled around Southeast Asia and visited seven countries in a row.

This time he was in the beautiful country and flew to several cities in succession.

Promotional activities related to Chinese culture, as well as preparations for "Joker".

In addition, he still has some domestic work to deal with.

This made Li Shengyao really tired from running around.

He now admires NBA teams that play away games continuously. They are really awesome. They are always flying around and can run on the court for two hours.

China’s cultural promotion overseas is actually very mediocre.

The main reason is that there is too little modern pop culture. It is difficult to attract young people by relying on culture with relatively high porches.

For example, Korean comics and Japanese comics don't have much to watch, but they tend to attract foreigners.

Peking opera, calligraphy, and ceramics promoted by the Chinese Culture Festival each time have very few overseas audiences, and the venues are mainly Chinese.

Li Shengyao is bored and looking for trouble.

"Dayao, you used to play basketball and fly around constantly. Aren't you tired?"

After hearing this, Dayao immediately laughed and said: "I'm tired. I don't want to play at all. I have no choice but to play. If I don't play, I'll be fined."

The NBA is probably the most sincere business league in the world.

Players' status must be checked before the game. If there is no physical problem, they must play. If they don't play, they will be fined.

Cheng Long said from the side: "Director Li, when I was young, I drank all night with my brothers, and the next day I was still filming, very lively."

Brother Cheng Long didn't say that in martial arts novels, he was a martial arts wizard full of talents.

He should have a strong physical strength and a very good spirit.

In the NBA, he is someone like Kobe Jordan.

Li Shengyao had always thought that he was in good health. Now, standing with Cheng Long and Dayao, he felt his eyes were dry and sleepy. He suddenly felt that his physical talent was average.

Cheng Long then asked at this time: "Director Li, will you return to China for the Golden Rooster Award and Huabiao Award in October?"

"I won't go back. This time I will shoot "Joker" and try to finish it in one go. During the filming period, I will not return to China or participate in overseas film festivals."

He hopes to complete the filming of "Joker" as soon as possible.

This time "Joker" starts filming, he will not leave the crew.

In fact, the Huabiao Awards, the Golden Rooster Awards, the Venice Film Festival, and the Toronto Film Festival all invited Lee Sheng-yew to participate. The Golden Rooster Awards even hinted that they would award him awards, but he declined them all.

This time I really didn’t have time.

He is still worried about extreme clown fans causing trouble, and hopes to finish filming as soon as possible to avoid any accidents.

When Cheng Long heard this, there was envy in his eyes. He actually didn't want to run around, but he had time at that time and couldn't refuse.

He then thought about the recent low opinion of Lee Sheng-yew in Hollywood. Many people were opposed to the production of "Joker". It is said that more than 30,000 people have opposed the filming of "Joker" in real name.

I felt a little more sympathetic.

In the past, he always felt that Lee Sung-yew was very powerful, but now it seems that it is still difficult for foreigners to make a career in Hollywood.

With Lee Sung-yew's honorary awards so outstanding, his intention to direct "Joker" still aroused the suspicion of many movie fans.

He couldn't help but think that he had been in Hollywood before, and if it hadn't been for the help of Lee Sung-yew's "Rescue" series, he probably wouldn't have been able to handle it.

"Director Li, I think you can make a pilot trailer first, roughly telling the theme story of the Joker movie, which should allow more people to understand your creative intentions.

Maybe it will make those extreme clown fans jealous, after all, what you are filming is not a story in a DC comic.

Your film is an original story. "

Hearing this, Li Shengyao thought about it and felt that Cheng Long's proposal was a good one. He nodded, "Brother, your idea is good. I'll go back and give it a try."

"Director Li, I heard that your Fenghua Online is now the most popular video website in Southeast Asia. My new movie is about to be released. You have to help me promote it."

Cheng Long then expressed his thoughts.

"this is necessary."

After Fenghua Online was officially launched in Southeast Asia, relying on the large number of idol dramas shot by Lee Sheng Yew in the past, it quickly defeated many video websites and became the website with the most registered users in Southeast Asia.

Lee Sheng-yew then copied the plan of domestic video websites, which was to sell members at low prices and adopt a model where the first three episodes are free to watch, and then you have to pay to watch.

Under his guidance, Fenghua filmed a large number of sweet idol dramas. These dramas had low ratings, but were very popular in Southeast Asia.

Cheng Long received Li Shengyao's promise and nodded happily.

The three of them started chatting and picked up the previous topic. Cheng Long talked about his previous stay in Hong Kong Island, saying that he had been filming for several days in a row and only slept two or three hours a day, but he was still very active.

Dayao said that he would be very good playing back-to-back games in the NBA.

Li Shengyao listened quietly. He felt less sleepy after listening to the two of them bragging.

After the opening ceremony of the cultural festival, Lee Sheng-yew waved goodbye to Cheng Long Dayao, and then hurried to the airport. He was going to Los Angeles, this time to meet Joaquin Phoenix and see how the leading actor was preparing. .

After boarding the plane, he felt sleepy. Then he thought about the extreme clown fans and couldn't help but feel a little negative.

I’m so tired and there are too many messy things.

(End of this chapter)