hollywood melon man

Chapter 232: Religion and Philosophy in "The Matrix"

On the eve of the announcement of the Oscar nominations, the North American box office of "Titanic" has reached US$4 million, and the global box office has also reached US$6300 billion.

The film has officially become the number one box office hit in global film history, and this is not the end yet. The ship is still sailing in film markets around the world.

Such an influential film, even if it is not the type favored by conservatives in the academy, still cannot be ignored.

So at the Oscar nomination luncheon, "Titanic" received a total of fourteen nominations.

And looking at this trend, "Titanic" will eventually take home many awards. If the academy does not give recognition, public opinion will definitely explode.

The authority of the Oscars no longer exists, and this is not what the Academy wants to see.

Therefore, Miramax’s various public relations and Harvey Weinstein’s strong actions this year are all ineffective. Don't talk about strong public relations in front of big ships, it's useless.

Gilbert Jr.'s "The Sixth Sense" is not bad either, receiving six nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Editing.

But it is a pity that it has reached this point. It may have some hope for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, because "Titanic" was not nominated for these two awards.

DiCaprio raised his arms and cheered: "It seems that the momentum of the Green Bay Packers has declined. The Denver Broncos are going to win the Super Bowl championship trophy for the first time in team history."

If I had to buy a team, I would like to buy a basketball team or a soccer team. "

At this Super Bowl, Apple did not launch any new products, but showed off a concept called the Apple ecosystem.

While Gilbert Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio were chatting, a Super Bowl commercial started on TV.

But now it seems that Apple's development is very good and has great potential. "

In other words, this nomination means that Gilbert Jr. won the Oscar for Best Director in advance, and everything will fall into place.

So at this Super Bowl, he proposed the idea of ​​this ecosystem to users to stimulate Apple's stock price.

The idea of ​​​​this Apple ecosystem came from Gilbert Jr.

Nowadays, the influence of Super Bowl game day is increasing day by day, and many Hollywood celebrity guests choose to attend the Super Bowl game. Therefore, it has become a great pleasure for the TV broadcast to capture the celebrity guests from the sidelines.

The first thing to debut this year is not a Hollywood movie, but the latest products of major electronic product technology companies.

Little Gilbert wasn't interested in the Super Bowl, mainly because he couldn't understand what the people on the field were doing.

It was time to prepare for halftime, and DiCaprio said: "Oh my god, I really want to buy a team and lead the team to the Super Bowl.

However, with the spread of Hollywood globalization, this kind of commercial award has become the most influential film award, and its authority is the highest in the world.

Little Gilbert, why don't we form a partnership and buy a team? "

Generally, when you introduce a Hollywood director and hear that he has won the Oscar for Best Director, everyone will instinctively think that this director is very powerful.

Since Steve Jobs returned to Apple, Apple has gradually recovered from the turmoil and its performance has improved. In particular, the development of the MP3 business has brought huge cash flow to Apple.

Moreover, outstanding films are not only competing for awards that cannot be competed for in Dazhou, but the competition among other films is also quite fierce.

DiCaprio's eyes lit up: "The basketball team is good, we should buy the Chicago Bulls. They just completed a two-peat. I bet Jordan can win his second three-peat."

Bacher Lutz and his friend Evans watched this Super Bowl. After a boring first half of the game for them, the Super Bowl commercial show finally came.

Although the logic is fucked up, it is indeed the fact and there is no way around it.

In reality, the Oscars are a business award.

"Of course," Xiao Lizi clapped his hands excitedly: "I bought it for one hundred thousand dollars."

However, Leonardo DiCaprio is a fan of the Super Bowl, and he strongly invited Gilbert to watch the Super Bowl with him.

However, I didn’t see the trailer for “The Matrix” that I wanted to see. Instead, I saw Apple’s latest product.

When he first chatted with Jobs, Gilbert Jr. mentioned a general idea, but he himself had only a little knowledge of this aspect.

Although the Oscars are regional awards, their level of impartiality is far inferior to those of the three major European film festivals.

This is the second year in a row that Gilbert Jr. has been nominated for Best Director. The Oscar Academy judges may not understand the principle that only three things matter.

But who knows that this is the most influential award in the world? Even movie fans as far away as China are paying attention to this award, not to mention the traditional Hollywood movie audience.

It happened that more than half of the post-production work on "The Matrix" was done, and little Gilbert had never had much rest, so he agreed to the invitation and went to watch the game.

But in recognition of Gilbert Jr.'s contribution to promoting the globalization of Hollywood movies, when he is nominated for an Oscar again, as long as his public relations are in place, he will be able to win the Oscar.

Because of the special nature of the Super Bowl, it has attracted the attention of the United States and even the world, causing the cost of Super Bowl advertising to rise. The price of a thirty-second ad has reached four million U.S. dollars, which is quite astonishing.

Of course, Bacher Lutz knew that Gilbert Jr. was a shareholder of Apple. Looking at the concept of Apple’s ecosystem, Bacher Lutz said to Evans: “A few years ago, we laughed at Gilbert Jr.’s investment in Apple.

The first half was evenly matched and the game ended in a draw.

The Super Bowl was played between the American League champion Denver Broncos and the NFC champion Green Bay Packers at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

But Jobs was a true genius. Several years of ecosystem concept and construction gave him a basic plan for the Apple ecosystem.

"Leo, you didn't buy the Broncos to win, did you?" Little Gilbert asked.

"Titanic" is nominated for almost all other awards. If you want to steal the award from the big ship, Harvey can't do it, and little Gilbert, who mainly focuses on commercial films, can't do it.

"I think so too..." Little Gilbert agreed.

When placing bets before the game, DiCaprio bet $100,000. As for little Gilbert, he didn’t understand the game or recognize it, so he didn’t buy it.

After the Oscar nominations were announced, it happened to be the day of the 1998 Super Bowl.

Faced with Leonardo DiCaprio's proposal, Little Gilbert expressed his disapproval: "I'm sorry, Leo, you should know that I don't like rugby.

Evans commented: "I think the wisest thing for Apple is to bring back Steve Jobs. He is a shrewd leader and rich in talent."

Bacher Lutz nodded: "It's hard for me to disagree with your point of view."

With the electronic product advertising in the past, it was the turn of the Hollywood movie advertising segment that they were most looking forward to.

No politeness, no nonsense, it's the "The Matrix" that Bacher Lutz and Evans are most looking forward to.

The first thing that appeared was a woman wearing a black tights, with a cold face, a cool look, and extremely sexy.

With a squeeze of her legs, she knocked a man dressed as a policeman to the ground, looking neat and tidy.

Bacher Lutz could not help but whistle: "God, I am willing to be trapped between these legs for the rest of my life."

Butcher Lutz is not the only one who has this idea. Most of the male fans who watched the Super Bowl halftime commercial show like these legs.

Then the words "directed by Gilbert Jr." and "starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron" flashed across the screen.

After the subtitles flashed, Bach Lutz and Evans opened their mouths wide, and they saw Keanu Reeves dodging all the bullets through slow motion.

This shot lasted just over two seconds, but it excited Bachel Lutz and Evans.

Evans patted his belly and said, "Oh my god, this is what I want. This is so cool. I want to watch this movie."

"Man, that's a must." Bacher Lutz responded excitedly.

In the subsequent scene, a cool black man wearing sunglasses and leather jacket said: "What is real? If you can feel the truth, it's just that your brain is deceiving you.

In fact, what you feel is just a string of electronic signals, and your senses, like your people, are enslaved by the matrix..."

The Riddler-like lines, combined with the rapid camera cuts, almost confused Bachel Lutz and Evans. But for them, such lines are tasteful enough, pure enough, and similar to little Gilbert's style.

At the end of the trailer, the film's release date was listed. On May 1998, , the first weekend of the summer vacation, "The Matrix" hit.

Many fans who watched the Super Bowl were convinced that the most anticipated movie of this summer has appeared.

After that, Sony Columbia's "Armageddon" and "Godzilla" both released trailers at the Super Bowl. They looked like big scenes, but Bacher Lutz dismissed these two films.

"Michael Bay has been imitating Gilbert's previous style, but he has never succeeded. He may be able to make "Speed" and "The Island", but he will definitely not be able to make "The Sixth Sense" and "Saving Private Ryan."

Evans agreed: "'The Last Day' was actually released at the same time as 'The Matrix'. I think Michael Bay will regret it soon."

"I heard that he even made wild claims before that he would defeat little Gilbert in the summer?"

"Hmph, wishful thinking..."

Both men shook their heads, believing that there was no way Michael Bay could beat Little Gilbert, the summer lunatic.

Those big A-list directors would shy away from little Gilbert, so why should Michael Bay? Just because of his long face?

As for there being another "Godzilla", Bacher Lutz and Evans ignored it, a big monster from an island country, they were not very interested.

Although "The Last Day" looks very attractive, the quality of the trailer seems to indicate that this is a pretty good popcorn movie.

But the opponent it was released at the same time was Little Gilbert, which makes people doubt whether Michael Bay can really defeat Little Gilbert as he said.

To be honest, the appeal of "The End of the World" is not even as good as that of DreamWorks' "The World". After all, "The World" also stars the recently popular A-list actress Naomi Watts. .

However, the winner of these films cannot be determined based on the trailer alone. It also depends on the specific performance of the summer release.

After the Super Bowl, little Gilbert took a short break for two days and continued to work.

In order to create the atmosphere of the matrix world, when in the matrix world, the entire picture shows a strange light green picture.

But when it comes to the use of this color, I’m afraid it’s the green code dropped at the beginning of the title sequence.

This design comes from set designer Simon Whiteley. This string of code is actually Simon Whiteley's wife's sushi recipe that was flipped 180 degrees and then presented.

So when you watch the title sequence, the title sequence is actually teaching the audience how to make sushi.

Of course, if the film's creators didn't tell them, no one would be able to tell.

Although Gilbert Jr. has long said that the film "The Matrix" mainly relies on cool action scenes and amazing special effects to attract audiences, this does not mean that other elements are not important.

On the contrary, what makes "The Matrix" stand out from the classic science fiction movies is its religious metaphors and philosophical speculations, as well as the embodiment of cyberpunk culture.

It can be said that without these things, "The Matrix" is an excellent science fiction action movie, far from being a god.

But with these things added, the meaning immediately changes.

For example, the spaceship Nebuchadnezzar is derived from the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in the Bible: Book of Daniel.

He once conquered the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of Ancient Times, for his wife.

Nebuchadnezzar II had a strange dream and asked someone to interpret it, but he could not remember what he dreamed about. In the end, God restored the content of his dream.

And warned him that a strong country will not last.

The name of the spaceship corresponds to the belief of the Matrix Awakeners: The Matrix will not be strong for long, and humanity will one day be able to revive.

The survivors huddled together for warmth and established the Zion base underground. The name also comes from the Bible and generally refers to Jerusalem, because Mount Zion in the south of the Old City of Jerusalem is named after it.

In the Squid doctrine, Mount Zion is the dwelling place of God and the place where God made David king.

The squids have always hoped that God would lead them back to Zion and rebuild their homes.

Humans named their last base Zion, and they also looked forward to their savior descending from the sky and leading them to overthrow the rule of artificial intelligence.

This is only part of the religious metaphor of Christianity. In addition, the part where Scarlett shaves her head to play the role of a novice monk is based on a short story in the "Sixth Patriarch's Altar Sutra".

In addition, this scene is a bit like the Ming Dynasty Chinese philosopher Wang Yangming's theory of mind, which advocates subjective idealism that there is nothing outside the mind.

This scene can be understood as saying that everything in the external world is derived from the subjective spirit.

The protagonist and others quickly learn various skills through the software, which corresponds to the method of using visualization to acquire skills in "Visuddhimagga".

The various illusions in the matrix world correspond to the Buddhist principle that all appearances are false.

When Morpheus taught Neo on the set, he asked him to break the rules and see through the virtual, which corresponds to the principle that if you see things that are not real, you will see the Tathagata.

But this is a commercial film after all, and the film only briefly discusses these contents.

If we delve into it in depth, the result will definitely be the same as the last two parts of "The Matrix" in its previous life. Film critics are overjoyed, but the box office will definitely not be very high.

Movies that are too sophisticated have never worked in the summer season.

Movies that often sell well by showing off their high IQs will all find one thing in common, that is, there is an element that attracts the audience, and this element is definitely not brain-burning.

Brain-burning is just the icing on the cake, not the reason for the film's popularity.

Gilbert Jr. grasped various elements very well and mixed them into one movie without any imbalance. Coupled with kung fu elements and special effects, it makes this quite a special movie.

The film completed all production in early March and was eventually designated as an R-rated film.

In contrast, "The End of the World" is rated PG-13. The two films have not yet started fighting, but it seems that the winner will be determined based on the rating.

As we all know, the advantages of classification can largely offset the gap between two films.

Michael Bay is full of confidence and seems to have seen the moment when he defeated Gilbert Jr. in the summer and was touted by the media. Although he defeated Gilbert Jr. by virtue of his classification advantage, he was a bit defeated.

But it has always been Michael Bay's wish to defeat Little Gilbert, so it would be great to win.

Little Gilbert will not care about the disadvantages of classification. If an R-rated film is well made, it may not be worse at the box office than a PG-13-rated film.

"Armageddon" is a very popular apocalyptic movie recently, but to be honest, if it were "Transformers", little Gilbert would definitely avoid it.

But facing "The Unforgettable Catastrophe", little Gilbert felt that it was not necessary at all.

So the two films agreed to be released together on May 8th without being withdrawn or modified.

Following closely behind is "Godzilla".

But what disappoints Sony Columbia Pictures' island executives is that North America lacks interest in this big monster from the island country, and the discussion has never been as hot as "Armageddon" and "The Matrix."

Although the director of "Godzilla" is Roland Emmerich, the one who made "Independence Day".

But also because Roland Emmerich has filmed "Independence Day" and this time "Godzilla", the attention is not high.

"Independence Day" had a high box office, but after filming this film, the audience's feeling towards Roland Emmerich never got better.

Logically speaking, a director who has made a movie with a global box office of 900 million US dollars should have been sought after by film companies for this case. But Roland Emmerich is different, which is strange.

Maybe some people think that "Independence Day" has a high box office but a bad reputation, and they think that Roland Emmerich will not have a follow-up.

But Sony Columbia is different. It just lacks a director, and the island's parent company has always wanted to make "Godzilla", so Roland Emmerich invested in Sony Columbia Pictures.

However, facing the same company's "The Last Days" and Gilbert Jr.'s "The Matrix," the fate of this alien monster in North America has become unknown.

(End of this chapter)