new kung fu king

Chapter 350 Interviewed by the American "Time" Magazine

With the approach of April 1974, Wang Xiaohu's first career harvest year since his rebirth also came one after another, because after two and a half years of continuous hard work, he has achieved enviable and enviable achievements in both Hong Kong and Hollywood. In Hong Kong, he is now a well-known well-known director and owner of a film company, and his status in the film circle is high, on an equal footing with Run Run Shaw and Zou Wenhuai.

In Hollywood, last year he made four films with a cumulative North American box office of over [-] million, making him the director with the highest annual output and the highest attendance rate in Hollywood. A small film company from the East, although small in scale, made even the old Hollywood companies jealous. At the box office, they were jealous but also admired.

Although he was invited by the American academy's Oscar jury, Wang Xiaohu knew very well that only "Rocky" and "Home Alone" could be nominated for Oscars, and only "Rocky" could win the award. If "Enter the Dragon" and "The Warrior's Journey" can be nominated, they will be nominated for the best foreign language film. For this reason, Wang Xiaohu did not give any hope, because in memory, Xiaolong's film has never won an Oscar in the academy The slightest award, or even a nomination.

Winterdur excitedly called on the phone for a long time, but did not hear the slightest reply from Wang Xiaohu, and immediately screamed depressed: "Boss, are you still on the phone?"

Wang Xiaohu's eardrums ached a little from Winterdur's sharpness. He shifted the microphone to his left ear and said apologetically, "Yes, old Wen, I'm still on the phone. Where did you just say that?"

"Okay, I'll repeat it again." Winterdur was a little speechless about this, and he whispered a few words, his voice was already very loud: "Boss, you must rush to Los Angeles at the end of the month, Lucas and Spielberg Every day I come to the company for a walk, I am afraid they will steal the Xiangying disc gold cup displayed in the president's office!"

"The Flying Eagle Disc Trophy?" Wang Xiaohu was startled, only then remembered that he was absent from the annual Directors Guild of America awards not long ago, and George Lucas, as a friend and partner, helped him to represent the director's highest award. The "Best Director" Xiangying Yuanpan trophy was brought back to the company.For this reason, Lucas still complained on the phone: "Tiger, you are simply tyrannical. You must know that many of our directors are eager to attend such a grand ceremony, but you are absent for no reason!"

"If you like, you can take it away." Wang Xiaohu replied at that time, unexpectedly these two guys actually went to the company to play the idea of ​​disc gold cup.

Since his rebirth, Wang Xiaohu has not had the slightest interest in major awards. In fact, he has always wanted to shoot movies that earn box office. Movies that are popular or not popular are not in line with his original intention. Therefore, in his eyes, no matter the directors' union The trophy is still an Oscar statuette, which is just a symbol of reputation and status. Winning an award does not mean that you can earn a box office.

Isn't Spielberg the most obvious example?He made a lot of sci-fi blockbusters and earned a lot of dollars, but his journey to win awards in Hollywood was extremely bumpy. Every year he was full of confidence to hit the best director award, but every time he was nominated and won other awards. Awards, so making a fortune silently is the kingly way, and Wang Xiaohu lacked interest in these awards from the very beginning.

This is somewhat pretentious, but it is the voice of Wang Xiaohu. For him, he has many things to do that he is more interested in than winning the Oscar statuette, such as fulfilling Brother Xiaolong's last wish, making Hong Kong movies, especially Chinese kung fu movies Opening up a vast market in Hollywood is definitely a long way to go. In the time and space before Wang Xiaohu's rebirth, many Chinese directors worked hard for this, but gained little. It shows that it is very difficult for Americans to accept China with 5000 years of cultural heritage. Things, this requires a strong and prosperous country as a solid backing.

But even so, Wang Xiaohu had to pretend to take it very seriously, and taking the award was to increase his popularity. Only when his reputation in Hollywood reached a certain level, could he let Americans accept his style of film.

Within 24 hours after receiving the call, Wang Xiaohu had no choice but to suspend the plan of filming "A Hu" in Thailand, and ordered three outfits with his wife Zhao Yazhi, and rushed to Los Angeles on March 3 to participate in the world's largest movie event - the 29th Oscar Awards Ceremony.

The official name of the "Oscar Awards:" is the "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards", which was established in 1927 and is held once a year in Los Angeles, USA.It has enjoyed a high reputation for more than half a century.It not only reflects the development process and achievements of American film art, but also has a non-negligible influence on the film art of many countries in the world.

This "American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences" is not engaged in teaching and research, but a guild organization of the film industry. It has more than thousands of members, representing various types of work in the American film industry, including those from the United Kingdom and Australia. Part of the film industry in other English-speaking countries.in a certain sense.It is precisely because it is selected by these thousands of members that this award has more credibility.That's why the influence of the Oscars has been put to the test.

The selection of the Oscars is a two-tiered system of primary selection plus multiple selections. All films officially released in the United States between January [-] and December [-] of that year can participate in the selection.Film companies generally schedule films with a higher probability of winning awards to be released at the end of the year.The word-of-mouth effect of Guowei's film is very important, so that people will still remember the film when they vote in the next year; even a certain film will be screened in Hollywood theaters before New Year's Day, and then it will be released in February and March of the next year. It was only released in full.

These thousands of members have to select five films from hundreds of films, and they must be arranged in order.Because when counting the option votes, the proportion of votes ranked first and second is different.In addition, voters can only vote for their own industry, that is, actors vote for actors, directors vote for directors, and artists vote for artists. Only the best film is required for everyone to vote.From these ballots, a sensitive formula is used to calculate the top five in each category. This is the nomination list, which is usually announced in mid-February.The secondary selection process is different from the primary selection, each person selects one of the five names of each category.

When Wang Xiaohu arrived in Los Angeles, his partners George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were already waiting for you at the airport. As soon as they met, Spielberg rushed over and punched Wang Xiaohu: "Hi! , I heard that you are going to hand over the Xiangying Disc Gold Award to someone else, is there such a thing?"

Wang Xiaohu had already been prepared for this. He punched Spielberg back and said, "Man, if you like that trophy, you'd better prepare a large amount of cash. I won't give it away for free."

"Go to hell!" Spielberg said with a wry smile, "Even if I buy that thing back, I won't have a sense of accomplishment. I want to win this honor with my own hands."

Lucas also nodded and said: "Yes, if we buy it back with money, not only will we be ridiculed by the world, but you will also become a sensational celebrity in Hollywood, because you are laughing at the directors' union and even denying yourself s work."

"It's easy, isn't it?" Wang Xiaohu shrugged with a smile. If you think about it carefully, it's really easy. "Foreshadowing, winning prizes is just something he does by the way.

Wang Xiaohu's words made the two future big directors in Hollywood almost vomit blood. They rolled their eyes in depression. If they didn't know Wang Xiaohu's skills, they might go up and beat them up. Ah, this is simply a provocation. It's so irritating!
"Boss, I heard that in China, you should give out red envelopes for such a happy event." Winterdur wriggled his fat body and squeezed in, wiping the sweat from his forehead, with eyes full of anticipation Staring at Wang Xiaohu.

"Old Wen, I expected that you, a miser, would say this." Wang Xiaohu said happily, "But this will only happen after the awards come out."

"Boss, I will publicize your generosity to everyone." Winterdur made an exaggerated expression, and then he said: "But before that, I have something important to talk to you about."

"Is there anything we can't talk about when we go back to the company? You know I'm still jet-lagged, and I still have some stamina for the damn airsickness." Even though Wang Xiaohu talked so full of words, he still admired Lao Wen's work concept in his heart, and he was so conscientious Conscientious employees are really hard to find.

"Let me tell the story." Lucas interjected, "Time Magazine is coming to interview you, and I think you might be on the cover of the next issue."

The American "Time" weekly is the most influential weekly news magazine in the United States. It has the reputation of the world's "historical library". Since its publication in March 1923, the purpose of the newspaper is to enable "busy people" to fully understand world events and open up many columns. , such as economics, education, law, criticism, art, people, etc., is the first popular journal in the United States to report current events in a narrative style, breaking the monopoly of newspapers and broadcasting on news, with coverage all over the world.

"Are you sure?" Wang Xiaohu touched his nose subconsciously, such a thing was beyond his expectation.

"Of course!" Lucas showed unprecedented excitement. He stretched out his finger and said, ""Rocky" has now won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Eight nominations for Best Editing, Best Music, and Best Supporting Actor have fully demonstrated that you are the most popular and dark horse in this year’s Oscars, and you are also a Chinese. Naturally, Time Magazine will come to interview you !"

"George, as you said just now, the eight awards are just nominations. If I'm only nominated but don't win a statuette, I may not be the biggest favorite, but the biggest tragedy!" Wang Xiaohu was very calm, "Luo "Odd" was originally released in 1977. It won three Oscars in the 49th Oscar. This is the 46th Oscar, which is three years ahead of schedule. Three years ahead of schedule means that there are many changes in it. What is the result? I don't know, after all, Hollywood has never been really fair.

Relatively speaking, Wang Xiaohu is now more or less interested in the interview with "Time" magazine, because Bruce Lee appeared in "Time" magazine two years ago, but that was after his death. Relatively speaking, the interview with "Black Belt" two years ago is more interesting. Let Bruce Lee become famous in the circle.

"Old Wen, what time is the interview?" Wang Xiaohu asked wearily while sitting on the boss chair of the branch office.

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay, no one bothers me until tomorrow afternoon, I need a good night's sleep."

The next afternoon's press conference interview was not limited to "Time" magazine, but also the "New York Times", "Los Angeles Daily", "Washington Post" and Los Angeles Television Station, five of which have high influence in the United States. Powerful media joint interviews.

In the face of so many media, Wang Xiaohu showed a very serious look, which made the popular Winterdur and Lucas roll their eyes. Half an hour before the interview, this kid even complained: "I am very Don't like dealing with the media, who knows what embarrassing things they'll ask."

But now, Wang Xiaohu is sitting there seriously, greeting the media reporters with a faint smile on his face.

"Tiger, first of all congratulations to you and yourself for receiving multiple nominations for the 46th Oscar." Saar, a reporter from "Time" magazine, first expressed his congratulations.Wang Xiaohu replied with a smile: "Thank you for your congratulations, but I want to say that this is thanks to the Oscar judges for their kindness. If they don't show their kindness, I, a foreigner, might not have such a rare opportunity."

What Wang Xiaohu said was half-truth and half-false. What is mercy is very simple. Wang Xiaohu is Chinese. In the eyes of Americans, he is a non-American. Anyone who is not American has not been treated fairly in Hollywood.Combined with the "racial discrimination" incident a year ago, it made those who heard it sigh.

"Tiger, how many awards do you think you can win?" Ben Fox, the editor-in-chief of the "Los Angeles Daily", asked anxiously.Don't ask about the specific item, but how many awards you have won. I don't know if this is teasing or praising Wang Xiaohu.

This topic is of concern to everyone, Wang Xiaohu smiled and practiced Tai Chi: "I'm just a new director, and I'm still Chinese. As for what to get and how much to get, that should be something that the judges worry about. My My job is to make a film that impresses everyone, and if you can find resonance in the film, that is the greatest contribution I have made to the Hollywood cause, and it is also the best recognition for me, isn’t it?”

"So what do you think of the other best-nominated films?" Spring Night in the Golden House also has Wang Xiaohu's "Rocky", and "The Exorcist", which should have appeared in history, was squeezed out by Wang Xiaohu.

"How should I put it? It's a good film that can be nominated. I don't want to use such a boring question to intentionally overestimate myself. In this film, I appreciate my old friend George's "American Graffiti" even more." Wang Xiaohu smiled and recommended George Lucas next to him. This kind of action made Lucas scream, so the camera immediately shifted to Lucas. A reporter asked: "George, I heard that you and Tiger We are collaborating on a film, can you talk about the subject matter of the film?"

"Uh, sorry, I have no comment!" Lucas spread his hands and said, "Today is the interview with Tiger. You should concentrate on dealing with him instead of being distracted by such trivial matters. You must know the time of your interview today." There are 25 minutes left, it's urgent!"

After being reminded by Lucas, the group of reporters remembered the topic, and Sal, the reporter of "Time" magazine, asked: "Mr. Tiger, before starting the official interview, I need to talk about my own situation. I went to China 3 years ago and made a very detailed report on China at that time. Through that report, I can clearly feel the progress of China, but the film development there is extremely backward. May I ask Mr. Tiger, As a Chinese, why don't you go back to your home country? Instead start your film career in Hollywood or Hong Kong?"

This question is a bit sharp, very sharp. To put it simply, this is a one-sided exaggeration of the prosperity of the country and the wealth of the people in the United States, pointing directly at the backward development of mainland China. To put it seriously, it means that Wang Xiaohu is a person who worships foreigners and does not have what the Chinese people should be in his bones. If some integrity is spread to mainland China, I am afraid that he will already be labeled Luo Gan by this time and accept the criticism of the people of the whole country!
Wang Xiaohu narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then replied with a smile: "I am a Chinese, I love my motherland, and I also love film business. The reason why I started my career in Hong Kong or Hollywood is because of these two things. This place has always maintained a prosperous scene, and it is currently the best platform to realize my film dream. If one day, the domestic situation improves, I will also devote myself to the revitalization of the Chinese film industry. I believe that day will not be too long gone."

After Wang Xiaohu said this sentence, he thought of "Shaolin Temple" and Jet Li.At the same time, there was a touch of sadness in my heart.Westerners believe that Chinese martial arts have magical power and mysterious temperament.Chinese kung fu movies have influenced the creation of many Hollywood directors, such as Quentin Tarantino, who loves Hong Kong martial arts movies. He used two "Kill Bill" to exaggerate his understanding of Chinese martial arts, deified Chinese martial arts masters, and led the West People's reverie of the far east again.For such a movie, Hollywood will produce several masterpieces every few years.

China's long history and magnificent culture are the rich mines of movies, but what makes Chinese filmmakers ashamed is that many stories that are well-known to Chinese households are not well discovered and utilized by themselves, and Hollywood has turned them into movies that are popular all over the world. In 60, the film "The Last Emperor" adapted from Pu Yi's "My First Half Life" won nine awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the No.[-] Oscars, becoming the most influential Chinese theme in Hollywood The movie also opened the prelude to the Chinese story's success in Hollywood.

But what I am really interested in are only kung fu movies.
(End of this chapter)