Hollywood Rhapsody

The phone was quickly picked up, and Michael's teasing laughter came out of the receiver: "Sarah? Let's celebrate, the flying girl finally came back alive?"

"..." Sarah maintained the posture of spreading out on the soft chair. Hearing this, a mouthful of old blood was choked in her throat, and she instantly regretted her decision to make this call.

Fortunately, Michael knows enough is enough, he changed his serious tone before Sarah hung up the phone: "I hope my good news can shock you, the list of judges for the Cannes Film Festival has been confirmed, and the chairman of the jury is a Canadian director. David Cronenberg, you know? The guy who made Desire-Named Express."

"Wow! It turned out to be him? This is indeed good news. I believe his attitude towards "Requiem for a Dream" will be a little more tolerant." Of course Sarah knew the name of David Cronenberg--

The films shot by this director have an absurd and bold aesthetic. There are many super-restricted-grade plots in the works. Violence and sex are the two elements that he does not shy away from, which also makes his works popular. Controversies, such as "Murder on Videotape" and "The Express Name Desire" have sparked crusades from conservative film critics, and were even boycotted by demonstrations by related organizations.But in the end, his films are recognized as masterpieces that cannot be missed. Those scenes of pornography, death, and violence bring not only sensory stimulation to viewers, but more importantly, the thoughts conveyed by the film itself are breathtaking Chilling reality.

Does this evaluation sound familiar?Sarah said similar things when she persuaded Christian Bale to take over the filming of "Requiem for a Dream".

"Now that you know "The Express Named Desire", you must also know that the leading actress of this film, Holly Hunter, is also on the jury, and I have already contacted her, hoping that she can contribute to "The Dream of Dreams" Requiem, and recommended it to David Cronenberg." Michael Ovitz told Sarah about his arrangement.

He even thought about the film's distribution plan and public relations strength: "I decided to hand over the overseas distribution of "Requiem for a Dream" to the old French distribution company Lesfilmsdulosange, which can greatly increase the attention of the film. The public relations power of Cannes is far inferior to that of French local companies. Moreover, it is said that those works invested or distributed by the French local government, film companies and TV stations sometimes only need the film festival selection assistant to read the title information, and then they can pass the first It can be seen that the Cannes Film Festival is also an artistic public relations game.”

"Oh, be careful, don't let others listen to you. The Cannes Organizing Committee may fight you desperately. Starlight Company will be included in their blacklist..." Sarah sat up from the soft chair, talking She smiled and reminded Michael to pay attention to his words, but both of them knew that this was not a secret at all. For all major awards including Oscars, Cannes Film Festival, and Venice Film Festival, the bigger the scale, the more difficult it is to maintain. The purity of art, the financial power of sponsors, the favorability of the jury, and the pressure of public opinion in social affairs all affect the attribution of those high-quality awards.

It's just that Michael Ovitz spent so much effort for this Cannes Film Festival, which really surprised Sarah. Before the two big projects of "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter", he has not yet Forget about the little shrimp in Requiem for a Dream! ?Any effort is to achieve the expected return, the more the investment, the higher the expected value, so what exactly is Michael planning?

"So...you have high expectations for "Requiem for a Dream"? Michael, don't tell me that you are aiming at the highest prize palm! Are you so confident in the movie?" Sarah said to "Dream" Requiem" is more confident than anyone else, not only because this movie was later recognized as a classic all over the world, but also because she is also a loyal fan of this movie subjectively. If she were to judge, the Palme d'Or, Golden Lion , Golden Bear, Golden Ball, and Little Golden Man can all give "Requiem for a Dream"!Of course, saying this is mixed with her strong subjective factors. In fact, the competition among the three major European film festivals is very fierce. It is impossible for a film to win all the awards.And if she remembers correctly, Michael didn't seem to be so enthusiastic about "Requiem for a Dream" at first, why did his attitude suddenly change so much?Could it be that she ate too much of her strong Amway?

"The Palme d'Or? The award is so random that it's really hard to predict, but since the movie is good enough, of course I want to aim for the most tempting piece of cake. Confidence is a bit of a thing, but the more important thing is to win the company Name, I am going to send the two films we have now to Cannes. "The Blair Witch" is just to join in the fun. Its shooting method may attract the attention of some novelty hunters, but most of Starlight's energy is still devoted to On "Requiem for a Dream", because of your media attention, this film has become a banned film in China before it was released, if it wins an international award in the name of a banned film..." Michael smacked his mouth , quite looking forward to it, "No matter what the guys from the classification committee think, anyway, Starlight Company and you will definitely be able to fight again. A new film company that insists on art, and a young actor who is absolutely dedicated to the film. Isn't it great?"

"It's really great." Sarah laughed happily. Michael can always maximize his interests, and he has an absolutely shrewd head.

"And... even if you don't think about it, for your personal development, I hope Requiem for a Dream will do well... Now I don't know how many people are waiting for the movie to be shown, they can't wait to see how you 'have Indecent'. So if "Requiem for a Dream" does not make some achievements, the impact on the company will be small, but it may cause resistance to your personal reputation and future development. Of course, we can ignore it, but □□ It is always inevitable that some conservative film critics and even the old fellows of the Oscar Academy may give you a mark for this, after all, you acted in the scene that was rated as 'indecent' by the rating committee..."

Michael paused when he said this, as if he was using this gap to attract Sarah's attention. After two seconds, he didn't hear Sarah's different opinions on this, so he calmed down and continued: "Cannes is not as important as the Oscars. More than 6000 people voted, but the ten-member jury is actually just a round table meeting. Whether a film wins an award has a lot to do with the personality and taste of the judges. So when I learned that the chairman of the jury is David Cronenberg I knew that our chance had come. If "Requiem for a Dream" could satisfy his appetite, at least we would have a chance to advance to the main competition. Ren Zhou or the director's biweekly try their luck, I believe "Requiem for a Dream" has this strength."

Sarah has her own selection principles when making movies, so she didn't say anything more about the word "indecent" that has been circulating for several months, but put more attention on the Cannes Film Festival, the main competition unit?International Film Critics Week?Directors' Fortnight?Michael is really thoughtful enough!

"Did you even think about the press release? I really don't know much about the operation of the Cannes Film Festival, but the director's fortnight is to ensure that the screening of films is not affected by politics, censorship and elitism. I still know this common sense. Yes, if we portray Darren as an angry youth who insists on art and refuses to bow to the American Film Classification Board...well, in fact he did...Maybe he will get more appreciation from Cannes for this." Sha La Ren smiled imitating the tone of the old-fashioned aristocrat, "Darren? This young director is a person who really understands art. He has not been wiped out by Hollywood in his pursuit of art. He is a good boy! And he is just a rookie. The second It is really rare that a movie can be made so well, how can such a person who really loves movies not be encouraged?"

"That's right, this is a publicity strategy - a good movie that was rejected by Hollywood in the United States, a young filmmaker who shouldn't be buried...Sarah, you and I thought of going together." Michael was obviously very happy about Sarah's His brain circuit matched his own, his tone was a lot more pleasant, and he couldn't help expressing his feelings, "This is why I like working with you, you can always quickly understand my intentions, and you are in perfect sync with my pace , dear Sarah, when I joined your starlight with the idea of ​​giving it a try, I never thought that I would get the most compatible partner in my life. Although you only have one, you can always surprise me, not only It's your bright mind, and..."

Michael was talking about the excitement, but suddenly stopped.

"What else? I'm going to record your words and think about it later. How can you stop, praise me, and continue to praise me?" Sarah deliberately used a cute tone, like someone asking for praise and candy little girl.

But Michael coughed dryly, and his eyes fell on the "Fortune" magazine by the table, without completing the half sentence he swallowed.Instead, I discussed with Sarah about the trip to Cannes: "Your filming is going well? When I spoke to Tom yesterday, he was full of praise for you, so can your film be completed before the opening of the Cannes Film Festival? Otherwise You still have to ask for leave from the crew, and the film festival is not short."

"But as the supporting actress of "Requiem for a Dream", I don't need to participate in the whole process of Cannes, right?" She poured herself a glass of warm water, with obvious surprise in her tone. Are you staying in France?If she left the scene for so long before the filming was over, Tom Cruise would have killed her.

"But as a film producer and the owner of Starlight Company, I think it is necessary for you to participate in the whole process of the film festival. There is not only the Palme d'Or in Cannes. As the owner of a film company, you have to see the world's largest film The trading market, look at what is called a paradise for film promotion. Although you are in Hollywood, you have to admit the influence of the Cannes Film Festival in films all over the world. Except for the Oscars, you probably seldom have the opportunity to see so many films from all over the world. The media." When Michael said this, his tone became a little more teasing, "So... take your Mr. DiCaprio with you, my dear, although I know you don't want to take advantage of his halo, but If you appear on the Cannes red carpet with Leon, then believe me, the whole world will remember your face the next day. I heard that even in Southeast Asia, in Japan, even in the red country, "Titanic "" also gained a lot of box office, and there are also a lot of Leon fans there."

"In fact, you only need to say one reason...Michael, you always seem to forget that Leon is also a partner of Starlight Company. If I need to follow you to Cannes to learn more, of course he can't escape." Sarah He reminded in a deliberately flat tone.

"I'm sorry, I always forget this. It's because most of his energy is on performances, and he rarely cares about company operations, and he's not as good at running companies as you are, not to mention..." Michael dragged on The tone was joking, "Aren't you two family members!"

"..." The corners of Sarah's mouth twitched, but it was undeniable that she was in a very good mood when she heard Michael say "family".

"Then you go and talk to Leon? I believe he will be happy to take you on a romantic trip to France." Michael finished the assignment and was already planning to end the call.

But Sarah suddenly stopped him: "Wait, I just remembered something, the overseas release of "Sarah"..."

"YES? Is there a problem? The overseas box office has performed very well in the past two weeks. Most of this is due to Leon, who is handsome all over the world. His box office appeal really surprises me, which is why I hope he can be with you. The reason why we attended the red carpet in Cannes together.” Michael couldn’t help laughing when he talked about the overseas box office of “Sarah”, but he didn’t understand why Sarah suddenly mentioned this, Fox’s overseas distribution department would report the box office every time Email them and there's no reason Sarah won't see it.

"I just want to ask about the box office performance of "Sarah" in Asia. Japan has already released it, but what about China? Didn't you just say that Leon has fans even in China? But I didn't see it in the box office report. Hua Guo, is the distribution blocked?" As a white-skinned and yellow-hearted egg person, even though she is no longer yellow-skinned, black-haired and black-eyed, she still has a strong desire to see the movies she starred in in the distant motherland. Release, however, so far, does not seem to be going very well.

The author has something to say: This update time, I am not used to it...

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