The King of Directors 2000

"Joker's global box office exceeded US$1.1 billion, making it the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history."

"Many film critics in Hollywood are optimistic about "Joker" and think it is the best movie in 2015."

"The Revenant is about to be released. DiCaprio will perform it with all his heart and will strive for the Oscars."

"Phoenix: If I win an award, seventy percent of it will be because of Lee."

"Emmerich: Warner Pictures will discuss cooperation with Lee on the next film, and we are sincere."

"Lee Sing-yew has returned to China and he has no plans to make movies for the time being."

"Will Lee Sung-yao be the first mainland director to win the Oscar for Best Picture?"

……

Discussions about the 2016 Oscars are in full swing in Los Angeles, and the same is true in mainland China. Many media are exaggerating the matter to build momentum for Lee Sheng-yew.

In the minds of many people, the Oscar is the highest film honor in the world. Directors from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and three places were once very obsessed with the Oscar and wanted to win the Oscar and become famous.

However, thousands of people competed for the single-plank bridge, and in the end, only the crooked Ang Lee won the super awards such as Best Film and Best Director.

Directors from Mainland and Hong Kong are unable to get involved in these two awards.

There is no doubt about Ang Lee's ability, and he spends most of his time in the beautiful country, and has long been accepted by Hollywood filmmakers.

Other Chinese-language directors did not have this opportunity. After many failures, everyone gave up on this idea.

A few years ago, Lao Mouzi and Brother Kaizi would specially adjust the premiere time of new movies in order to qualify for the Oscars.

Now they don't.

Brother Kaizi lost his temper and only wanted to prove himself in the mainland.

Lao Mouzi is slightly different. He knows that he can't win an Oscar, but he still wants to prove himself at the box office.

At the end of 2014, after many negotiations, China Film, Universal Pictures, Legendary Pictures, and LeTV Pictures collaborated and invited Lao Mouzi to direct a Sino-US co-production blockbuster.

Lao Mouzi agreed, and this movie was "The Great Wall" with an investment of US$1.5 billion. The movie not only invited Andy Lau, Zhang Hanyu, and a circle of young people, but also Hollywood superstar Matt Damon.

Everyone is full of expectations for this costume fantasy blockbuster, eager to win box office in China and the United States, the two largest film markets in the world.

……

That night, dark clouds hung in the night sky of Yanjing, blocking the moon.

The sky was dark, and beams of light from the ground shone upward, and the light was swallowed up by the clouds.

The cold wind blew, and the dead leaves on the branches were swaying, but finally they couldn't hold on and fell with the wind.

A car stopped in front of a compound, the door opened, and Zhang Mo hurriedly entered the house with three children.

"Dad, aunt, we are back."

The three children in front of Zhang Mo are the two boys and one girl born to Lao Mouzi from his second marriage.

Lao Mouzi was watching TV in the living room. Hearing Zhang Mo's words, he stood up with support on his waist. Seeing that his four children were so harmonious, he felt happy. He hugged his youngest daughter and asked, "Are you happy this afternoon?"

"I'm happy. Sister bought me a lollipop."

Lao Mouzi nodded, and then said to Zhang Mo: "Xiao Mo, help me find a movie after dinner."

"Ok."

Many foreign films have not been released in the mainland, but they can be watched on the Internet.

Zhang Mo doesn't work and spends most of his time in the beautiful country, so he naturally jumps over the wall and looks at the Internet.

Half an hour later, after dinner, Lao Mouzi, Zhang Mo, and his two sons came to Zhang Mo's study together.

Lao Mouzi's eldest son is thirteen years old, and his second son is eleven years old. They are already relatively sensible.

Both sons said they wanted to work in the film and television industry when they grow up.

Lao Mouzi deliberately cultivated the interest of two people in this area.

Zhang Mo has a 27-inch screen computer in her study. She sometimes uses it to play games and watch movies.

“Watch ‘Joker’.”

Lao Mouzi sat down and expressed his thoughts directly.

Zhang Mo was stunned when he heard this, then nodded as if nothing had happened, "Okay."

In recent years, Wu Jing, Huang Bo, and Xu Zheng have exploded, starring in high-grossing movies.

Relatively speaking, Lee Sheng-yew, who was once known as Asia's No. 1 commercial film director, shot films with limited box office.

Many people believe that he has lost his market sense.

However, "Joker" swept away all the controversy.

The global box office is US$1.16 billion, and it is still an R-rated movie. No Asian director has ever achieved such results.

Lao Mouzi once won the weekly box office championship in the beautiful country with "Hero", and can be said to be the first mainland director.

Later, his movies failed to do well at the domestic box office. "The Great Wall", which started production in April this year, brought together so many stars.

Lao Mouzi once again felt ambitious and wanted to prove himself in the North American market.

Seeing how popular "Joker" is, I naturally want to compare it.

"'Joker' is an R-rated movie, why should I watch it too?"

"It doesn't matter, just study movies well."

Zhang Mo said no more, then turned on the phone, climbed over the wall, opened Time Warner's film and television platform HBO, found "Joker", and clicked to watch it.

She has made several movies with Lee Sheng Yew, and she has always paid close attention to Lee Sheng Yew's new movies. She went to Beautiful Country some time ago and watched "Joker".

To be honest, Lao Mouzi wanted to compare it with "Joker", but she didn't think it was a very good idea.

At the beginning of the movie, Lao Mouzi and his son all watched the movie seriously. Lao Mouzi also told his two sons that he would take a test on them.

The two children looked like they were reading a composition, their eyes wide open and they were very serious.

Two hours later, "Joker" ended.

Lao Mouzi forgot about the assessment of his two sons and stared blankly at the computer screen, falling into deep contemplation. After a long time, he said to Zhang Mo: "You have watched "Joker" a long time ago. Why do you think this movie is so popular in the European and American markets?"

Zhang Mo had naturally studied this topic for a long time. She sorted out her thoughts and then said slowly: "There are three main reasons. The first point is that the casting of this movie is very good.

Needless to say, supporting roles like De Niro and Baez.

Phoenix's choice is great. The clown he plays is so charming. I personally think it is better than Heath Ledger. Heath Ledger's clown is only evil and evil, but Phoenix's clown allows me to see a living clown. , a very three-dimensional and real transformation of the low-level people.

I heard that in order to lose weight, Phoenix ate an apple a day and was so devoted that he collapsed many times during performances.

Director Li really knows actors well, and I think he chose the person who is most suitable to play Arthur. "

When Lao Mouzi heard this, he thought of the actors in "The Great Wall", Jing Tian, ​​Peng Yuyan, Lu Han, Lin Gengxin, Zheng Kai, Chen Xuedong, Wang Junkai...

I couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.

Needless to say, these so-called little talents, even Matt Damon and Phoenix are not on the same level of acting.

Zhang Mo continued: "The second point is that the shooting technique is very advanced. Director Li gradually revealed the absurd world through Arthur, including Arthur's life experience, his physical condition, his mother and Thomas Wayne. relationship, as well as the endings of the supporting characters in the movie, were all explained.

In addition, the use of colors in the movie is very good. Except for Arthur, everyone in the world is either bright green or bright red, and the clown costumes are also very bright.

Everyone else is dressed in dark colors.

Also, the soundtrack of the movie is very good. People in Los Angeles say that the soundtrack of "Joker" is top-notch and perfectly fits the plot of the movie.

It is said that the composer is an unknown Icelandic girl, in her twenties, very young.

I almost want to call Director Li and ask him how he found such a treasure girl. "

When Lao Mouzi heard this, he nodded.

Just like Zhang Mo said, "Joker" was indeed shot very well and can be said to be impeccable.

In the case of "The Great Wall"... it is a very ordinary commercial film process.

A crisis is discovered, and then there are twists and turns. In the end, the male protagonist explodes, sublimates humanity, and solves the crisis.

There are not many characters in "Joker", but each character is very real and three-dimensional, like the fat colleague Randall, who is sinister and selfish, and the dwarf colleague Gary, a very kind and timid person.

"The Great Wall"... Lu Han, Chen Xuedong, Lin Gengxin, Peng Yuyan and other colorful generals.

Or the female general Jingtian, or even the mercenary played by Matt Damon, they all seem to have average personalities, and you have no idea what their personalities are after watching the movie.

Lao Mouzi took a deep breath, and after comparing it, he realized what "The Great Wall" was.

Zhang Mo continued: "The third point is the subject matter. I think "Joker" is the same as "Parasite" in that the core is the solidification of class.

"Parasite" is relatively gentle, "Joker" is more direct and exposed.

The bottom class represented by Arthur has no room for advancement, no sense of existence, and no right to make independent choices.

They don’t even have the right to choose what TV to watch or what news to read.

I was bullied and there was nothing I could do about it.

The upper class does not care about them at all and will not uphold justice for them. In the eyes of the upper class, the people at the bottom are just consumables and people who have fun. They have no value except providing labor and laughter.

It can be said that in the world of "Joker", the common people at the bottom are transparent people. There are many of them, but there is no voice that belongs to them.

This situation is very similar to reality in Europe and the United States. Although there is political correctness, the people at the bottom do not seem to be ignored, but from a series of common things in life such as education, public security, medical care, and channels for speaking out, we can see that they are actually Similar to Arthur, he is destined to be consumables and a source of laughter.

This is the fundamental reason why "Joker" can cause such a sensation in Europe and the United States. The audience finds themselves in the movie.

Director Li is really amazing, and I really admire him now. He wrote "Parasite" and "Joker". He is definitely the most compassionate, responsible and charming proletarian warrior now.

I don’t know how many years have passed, but finally there is a director like him who speaks out for the people at the bottom.

Moreover, "Parasite" and "Joker" are very influential around the world. Sixty years ago, Director Li would have directly become a god. "

Hearing this, Lao Mouzi couldn't help but roll his eyes at Zhang Mo.

He ignored Zhang Mo's admiring words and thought of the theme of "Joker". It must be said that Li Shengyao captured the emotions of European and American audiences.

So what about "The Great Wall"? Can it arouse empathy from European and American audiences?

Monsters from the depths of the grassland, and saviors from Europe.

Lao Mouzi frowned slightly, then secretly shook his head.

He felt it was more difficult. Counting on the subject matter, it was better to count on Matt Damon's appeal.

It’s just that Matt Damon is not Tom Cruise, a superstar at the level of Leonardo DiCaprio, and his appeal is far inferior.

In such a comparison, "The Great Wall" is not as good as "Joker" in any way.

Lao Mouzi smiled bitterly and stood up. It's better to go to bed. It's almost eleven o'clock. Go to bed.

Zhang Mo followed up and said: "Dad, "Joker" is doing very well now, and it is definitely expected to win an Oscar next year. Now there is a saying in the beautiful country that Director Li did not win the award, and that is the Oscar's discrimination against Asians. .

To say that the judges did not vote for "Joker" is to give it to the publicist and take money from other films. "

Oscar?

Lao Mouzi felt like he couldn't breathe, the ceiling was about to collapse, and the whole world would be extremely dark.

It wasn't that he was jealous, he just felt unspeakably uncomfortable.

I have worked hard for so many years without success.

And now Li Shengyao, who is 30 years younger than him, is about to receive this honor.

Alas, sleep, sleep. When you get older, you have to go to bed early.

After Lao Mouzi and her two sons left, Zhang Mo didn't rest. She then browsed several external film and television review websites and participated in the discussion of many posts. These posts were all discussing the big winner of next year's Oscar sleeping contest.

Zhang Mo naturally supports "Joker" and she has a good relationship with Lee Sing Yew.

There is no doubt that Lee Seung-yew will be a super boss in the future and an influential director all over the world.

She wouldn't be wrong if she hugged Li Shengyao's thigh tightly.

"I hope Director Li can win an Oscar. It will definitely be a grand event in the film industry."

(End of this chapter)