Hollywood Director 1992

"Link, how does it feel to be treated as a murderer? Can you share it with everyone?" Billy Crystal, the host of the Turner Television program, asked with a cheerful smile.

Link shrugged, a helpless expression on his face, "Billy, this isn't something to joke about."

"Yes, the Simpson case is a tragedy and not suitable for jokes, but what happened to you is a comedy. Last month, after 'Seven' was released, its box office was repeatedly suppressed by several blockbusters. Seeing that the box office was about to lose money, suddenly this kind of case happened, and it even involved 'Seven'.

Under the promotion of the media, 'Seven' became known to everyone, and the box office rose against the trend, winning the box office championship for two consecutive weeks, suppressing more than a dozen commercial blockbusters during the summer season, and becoming the most popular movie during the summer season. Wow, the journey of 'Seven' to win the championship is very dramatic, like a thrilling inspirational movie."

*Clap clap clap!*

GOOGLE SEARCH TWKAN

The fans of "Seven" under the stage applauded enthusiastically.

Link waved his hand to express his gratitude and said to Billy Crystal, "It's because you explained it so well. Actually, it wasn't that thrilling. 'Seven' earned more than $68 million in the first three weeks of its release. The box office drop was less than 30%, and the word-of-mouth was also very positive. For an art film, this data is excellent. Even without the subsequent accident, the North American box office of this movie would be over $100 million, and may even exceed $200 million. As for the accident that happened not long ago, it only accelerated the process of box office recovery, rather than saving 'Seven' from being on the verge of loss."

"You mentioned that without the accident, 'Seven' could still break $200 million at the North American box office? It seems you have a lot of confidence in this movie," Billy Crystal said.

"Yes, after all, this is a pretty good movie, isn't it?"

"Yes, 'Seven' is indeed very good. Whether it's the design of the camera language, the set arrangement, or the combination of light and color, they are all very classic. What impressed me most about this movie is the ten minutes at the end, where the three main actors confront each other in the taxi, a competition of acting skills, and the final design of John Doe. The plot twists and turns constantly, and you can't be sure what will happen next until the last second.

It's so wonderful! This is definitely the best suspense movie I've ever seen, and it's also a very un-Hollywood Hollywood movie. Director Martin Scorsese said that this movie deserves a Palme d'Or, and I completely agree with that."

Billy Crystal did do his homework in advance. He explained the most exciting parts of "Seven" in concise language, while ensuring that he wouldn't spoil anything.

"See! You like 'Seven' so much, that's why I have confidence in the box office," Link said, spreading his hands.

"However, Link, after 'Seven' became a big hit, some media criticized the movie for praising and encouraging violence, making it easy for criminals to imitate and cause social unrest. The Simpson villa murder case may have been an imitation behavior caused by this movie. What do you think of this statement?"

"This question involves the definition of movies. From the audience's perspective, movies are divided into good movies and bad movies. A good movie means that after watching it, you feel that the movie is worth the price of a movie ticket, and a bad movie is the opposite; from the filmmaker's perspective, a good movie is a meaningful movie, and a bad movie is meaningless, with empty and boring content.

From the current Hollywood movies, most movies only have entertainment value, such as comedies, horror movies, cartoons, etc. During the viewing process, everyone laughs, their mood becomes pleasant, or they scream in fright, their emotions are vented, and their bodies relax. These are all the values of movies.

But if all movies only have entertainment significance, what will movies become in the end?

Movies will become worthless.

Because entertainment is not only provided by movies, other entertainment projects are also willing to provide it. Over time, movies will soon be replaced by other entertainment methods, such as the currently popular electronic games.

And the most unique meaning, or charm, of movies lies in the fact that they are not just simple entertainment, but can also have depth, educational significance, warning significance, cultural dissemination, value orientation, enlightenment of wisdom, triggering of thinking, etc., such as more and more environmental protection movies, humanistic movies that oppose racial discrimination, and science fiction movies that promote the charm of technology, etc.

These unique meanings make movies an irreplaceable form of entertainment.

If you analyze 'Seven' from this perspective, you will find that it is not praising violence, but exposing the ugliness and darkness that exist in society. These dark sides are like cancer in the social body. If they are not exposed and ignored, and their existence is defaulted, even early cancer will turn into a terminal illness, bringing great harm to American society and even all mankind.

And 'Seven' boldly exposes the stubborn diseases that exist in our society, allowing people to see where the problems lie, and then pay attention to them, and urge the government to actively manage them, so that these stubborn diseases will disappear.

From this perspective, this movie is more like a scalpel, cutting open stubborn diseases, warning society, and promoting the development of society in a good direction. It is a movie with positive significance, not the opposite."

*Clap clap clap!*

After he finished speaking, Billy Crystal and hundreds of audience members at the scene applauded and cheered. The applause continued for more than a minute without stopping, and Link had to stand up to thank them.

"This guy always says I'm long-winded, but he's actually more long-winded than me," Quentin complained while watching TV.

"Is that so? Link makes a lot of sense, everyone likes to listen," Robert Rodriguez said.

"Humph, that's because his movie is a big hit, so others will think he's right. If the movie loses money, everyone will just think he's long-winded," Quentin said, pursing his lips.

The last time he participated in Billy Crystal's film program, he said so much, but the audience didn't give him such warm applause, which made him very unhappy.

"Dad, was what Link said great?"

Sophia said, watching TV and smiling.

"So-so, just repeating old arguments, not much meaning."

Director Coppola said dismissively.

Sophia rolled her eyes at him, "Then what about 'Seven'? Is it a good movie?"

"Just okay, the script for this movie is good, if it were given to other directors, they could also make it well. Technically speaking, Link is a qualified director, but not a particularly outstanding one."

Director Coppola said.

Sophia said dissatisfiedly, "Whether Link makes commercial films or art films, he can make them very well, with both box office and critical acclaim. Regardless of low-budget or high-budget films, he can handle them skillfully. If a director like that isn't considered excellent, then what kind is? I think you're just jealous of him and that's why you won't admit he's excellent."

"Me, jealous of him? What a joke, can he make 'The Godfather' series? Can he win the Oscar for Best Director?"

Director Coppola immediately retorted.

"You're jealous that he's young. Link became an international big-name director at 22. When you were 22, you were still a stagehand in a film crew, right?"

"I..."

Director Francis Coppola opened his mouth, unable to refute.

That kid Link does have some ability. This year he's 22 years old. At an age when many directors are still in college or accumulating experience on film sets, he can make a high-level art film like 'Seven'.

Technically speaking, he's a top-tier Hollywood director.

But in terms of character, this guy is a scumbag. After getting money and fame, he goes around hooking up with pretty girls, making those silly girls dizzy. He's really a bad egg.

If he wants to admit that Link is a good director, he'll have to let go of his precious daughter first.

Director Coppola saw his precious daughter looking at Link on TV with adoring eyes, and he became even more dissatisfied. He picked up the remote control to change the channel. *Smack*~ Mrs. Coppola next to him slapped his arm and asked reproachfully, "What are you doing? Link is speaking quite well, why are you grabbing the remote?"

Sophia also looked at him in confusion.

Director Coppola pulled a long face and glared unhappily at Link on TV. This kid is really annoying.

"Link, recently, when looking at movie reviews of 'Seven', I remember one critic saying that the main characters in 'Seven' could all be considered good people, but in the end, none of them had a good ending. This was deliberately designed by the screenwriter to enhance dramatic conflict, but it lacks rationality.

After watching the movie, I also found that the four main characters are all good people, including the killer John Doe. He could also be called a Robin Hood-like figure, but in the end, none of them had a good ending. Do you think this arrangement is reasonable?"

Billy Crystal began to discuss the plot with him.

Link thought for a moment and said, "In real life, these people exist. But they are scattered in various corners of society, and it is difficult to bring them into conflict like in the movie. But in the movie, I brought them together and made them confront each other. That is the charm of drama. And the reason why they don't have a good ending is because they are all perfectionists, or rather, idealists."

"Oh? How do you mean?"

Billy Crystal followed up.

"For example, old detective William. He is a very capable and insightful person. If such a person were more flexible at work and willing to collude with the bad guys around him, he wouldn't still be an ordinary detective at his age; he might be a high-ranking officer in the police department.

Detective Mills is serious and responsible at work, very ambitious, brave, and hates evil. If he didn't pursue advancement, he might have stayed in his original small town instead of coming to New York to work hard. Or if he were a little timid, after John Doe pointed a gun at his head, he would have chosen to back down.

And there's Tracy. She is a gentle, considerate, loyal, strong, and understanding good wife. If she were a little selfish and opposed following her husband to New York and living in a cramped small apartment, she wouldn't have met with misfortune.

Finally, there's John Doe. If he were more numb like others and turned a blind eye to the ugly phenomena around him, he would have become an excellent journalist instead of a murderer.

They are all good people in a sense, but none of them had a good ending because they were too perfectionistic."

"So you think pursuing perfection is a bad thing?"

Billy Crystal asked.

"You can't evaluate it with good or bad. It's more appropriate to say it's a choice. For example, some of my colleagues, some directors pursue pure film art and like to shoot artistic films. In order to maintain this purity, they stay away from commercial films and disdain catering to the market. If these directors are lucky, they may become famous, but most of them will disappear quietly from the film industry after making one or two films.

And some directors actively cater to the market and the audience, making many movies that audiences like, thereby becoming famous directors, earning a lot of money, and living a relatively luxurious life, like me."

Hahaha!

The audience laughed.

Link continued, "Directors who choose pure film art can give up fame and fortune and stick to their principles, while directors who pursue fame and fortune will actively cater to the market, making movies that audiences like, and also gain fame and fortune. These two types of directors cannot be distinguished by good or bad, it's just a different choice.

The main characters in 'Seven' are the same. They always act according to their own principles in the movie, without compromise or following the crowd. Some people think they are good people, probably based on this."

Clap clap clap!

The audience applauded again.