director of the millennium

Whether in the industry or outside, everyone knows that Wu Yuan has a quirk.

That is, although he is a film director, he really doesn't like going on roadshows.

He has always been responsible for making movies but not promoting them. During the promotion period of a movie's release, apart from attending the premiere ceremony, he rarely participates in the movie's national roadshow activities.

He never even goes to variety shows that invite film crews to participate in the recording.

For example, "Happy Camp" has invited his crew many times, but each time it was the male and female protagonists who led the team, and Wu Yuan has never led the team himself.

In this respect, he is even more "embarrassed" than Zhang Yimou. At least Zhang Yimou still occasionally participates in the recording of variety shows and actively cooperates with the roadshows for movie releases.

Wu Yuan was different. The only time he appeared in a variety show, only his voice was heard, and it was when his girlfriend Liu Yifei spoke to him by phone when she went on the show.

It can be said that he always keeps the six words "behind-the-scenes staff" firmly in mind. Throughout the year, except for occasionally attending an award ceremony and accepting a few interviews after winning important awards, he will never appear in public again.

In the early years, his fans had almost no channels or ways to learn about his latest situation. Even if it was news about a new movie, they had to wait for the media to announce it.

However, things have gotten a little better in recent years. Both he and Liu Yifei have opened Weibo accounts. Wu Yuan's fans can occasionally see a few photos taken from Liu Yifei's girlfriend's perspective on Weibo, as well as some glimpses of news about Wu Yuan's current situation.

The main reason why Wu Yuan is like this is actually because he is lazy.
In his early years, he knew that the movies he made would definitely be successful and would do well at the box office, so he was too lazy to go on roadshows.

Later, it became a habit. After all, if there is one, there will be two. Not only him, but even his fans have gotten used to it and never expect to see Wu Yuan at roadshows.

But Wu Yuan never thought that sooner or later he would not be able to escape activities like roadshows.

On December 2019, 12, the weather was fine.

At this time, Wu Yuan was sitting in an SUV, heading to Boston along the US National Highway.

It is said that the United States is a country built on wheels.

Wu Yuan didn’t have much feeling about this before, but this time he felt it deeply.

There are no high-speed trains, no intercity transportation, and no short-distance public transportation. If you want to go to a neighboring city in the United States, the most normal thing to do is to drive yourself.

No wonder the “road movie” genre was born in this country!

In the past few days, Wu Yuan spent his time entirely in the car, rushing from one city to the next every day, relying solely on the car!

In three days, he had already traveled to four cities on the East Coast!
And this is just the beginning.

Next, he would head west to the central region, cross the central plains and the Mississippi River, and finally take a plane near the Rocky Mountains to Los Angeles on the west coast.

"Damn it, I've hardly ever done a roadshow in China, but I didn't expect to have to do one in America, and I have to travel by car!" Wu Yuan, who was sitting in the back seat, couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

The producer Jovan, who accompanied him throughout the whole process, had bloodshot eyes, but he was still very excited and said: "Daniel, this is what a director should do!"

"If you want to win an Oscar, you always have to pay something."

"At least you don't have to knock on the door of the producer's hotel at night, or sit on the red sofa, right?" "Are you still in the mood to joke?" Wu Yuan glanced at him, somewhat helpless.

"What's wrong? I'm in a good mood~" Jovan smiled, "Didn't the roadshow in the four cities we traveled all the way have great results? Bruce Lee was well received by local fans."

"The news about our movie is all over the Internet now, and many fans are looking forward to the release of Bruce Lee!"

Again, "Bruce Lee" is currently taking the route of a small-scale preview, first conducting a North American tour, then showing in more than 100 art theaters in North America, and finally a large-scale release.

So, although the Internet is now full of news about "Bruce Lee", hundreds of film critics and veteran fans who have watched the road show are discussing the movie on the Internet, which has attracted considerable attention, but most fans have only heard of the movie but have never seen it.

This can also be considered a kind of hunger marketing.

First, build up the reputation and fame of the film, then use this reputation and popularity to do public relations for the Oscars, and then after winning the award, use the "Oscar" name to release it on a large scale.

In this way, even though "Bruce Lee" may not be considered a classic, movie fans will not have any negative comments about the film when it is released on a large scale.

Even if some people think that the movie is indeed average and not as good as they imagined after watching it, they will only first doubt whether they did not understand the deep meaning of the movie, whether they missed some connotations and plots, or whether there is something they did not understand.

Instead of questioning whether the movie is really bad.

Because this movie is praised by film critics, “senior movie fans” also praise it, and the Oscars also recognized it with an award, so it cannot be a bad movie!

Then, in turn, the fame and reputation of this movie will make the Oscars a success, making the "gold content" of the Oscars even higher.

This is the core operating principle of the American Academy Awards.

It is undeniable that the Oscars have indeed awarded the Best Picture Award to many classic and excellent films, and these films deserve this award, but this does not mean that there will be an excellent movie that stands out from the crowd every year. Most of the time, you still have to pick the tallest among the short ones.

This year, "Bruce Lee" is the tall one picked by Disney to build momentum.

However, whether he can eventually become an Oscar-certified tall person remains to be seen.

"Jowan, how is Parasite doing?" Wu Yuan sighed and said, "To be honest, I would also accept it if it lost to Parasite."

"This movie is really well made. Any director who dares to criticize his own country and society and warn the world deserves respect."

In front of Yovan, a foreigner, Wu Yuan naturally couldn't say it too directly, saying that "Parasite" deliberately caters to Europeans and Americans and makes Asian movies that Europeans and Americans want to watch.

But he does take this opponent very seriously.

At present, "Parasite" has won a number of major awards including the Korean Film Critics Association Award, the Korean Blue Dragon Film Awards, the Cannes International Film Festival, the New York Film Critics Circle Award, the National Board of Review Award, the Atlanta Film Critics Society Award, and both the Best Director and Best Picture awards.

In comparison, "Bruce Lee" had no chance to compete for the above awards because it was released in December, and it indeed seemed inferior to others.

If we talk about worries, Wu Yuan has quite a few.

"Hahaha." At this time, Jovan said easily: "Daniel, believe in Disney." (End of this chapter)