Made in Hollywood

"Tina, you stay here."

Walking up to the second floor of the screening theater, Duke asked Tina Fey to stop outside a lounge, "Don't let anyone else in."

"I understand." Tina Fey nodded.

Although it has only been two months since she came to Hollywood, Tina Fei has discovered that her imagination of Hollywood was too simple in the past. The competition here is fierce, and the relationship between actors, directors, agents and major companies is complicated. The small circle that I have stayed in can be compared, these people are often still working together yesterday, tomorrow will turn against each other, and the day after tomorrow will become a battle line...

"Robin, Charles."

Entering the lounge, Duke greeted the two production managers, sat in a chair, and asked, "How is the situation?"

"I will have someone submit the specific materials to you tomorrow..."

Raising his hand, Duke interrupted Robin Grande, "Just say it."

If the film wants to succeed, it is also necessary to keep abreast of the situation of its competitors. "Braveheart" held a test screening a few days ago, and some media reporters who participated in the test screening have reported the situation to Warner and Fox.

"In terms of audience word of mouth, 357 ordinary audiences who participated in the test screening gave 83% A-level praise." Robin Grande did not mention anything like professional ratings at all, he was talking about real Factors that can affect the film market, "The major theater operators of the North American Cinema Alliance have sent film groups, and the overall evaluation is A."

"It's our strong enemy!" Charles Rowan looked serious, "From the theater to the audience, it will have some influence."

Competition is inevitable, and this is true at any time during the summer season. Duke asked again, "What about the content of the film?"

"It was William Wallace who led Scotland against the British for Scottish independence."

Hearing Charles Rowan's answer, Duke tapped the armrest of the chair a few times, "Now that it's confirmed, there's more we can do."

"I remember a lot of self-proclaimed orthodox Mayflower Descendants in North America, and they must be extremely dissatisfied with this kind of content," Duke said as he thought, "I remember Fox and News Corp. and Ten Downing Street have a close relationship? "

"Well..." Charles Rowan nodded, apparently guessing what Duke was thinking, "to ban or delay the release of "Braveheart" in the UK and even the entire Commonwealth, thereby diverting Paramount Pictures' focus in the North American market degree and create more opportunities for us?”

"I don't think English people would like to see this movie."

After this, the three of them laughed. The UK is one of Hollywood's major overseas markets, and Paramount Pictures could not give up.

"And Sean Connery."

Although the other party was seriously injured, Duke didn't mind dragging him out again. "The media can remind the audience that this guy has a series of scandals."

"Mel Gibson is not a good person either." Charles Rowan said without hesitation, "We can also do something with him."

As long as it is a means to fight against competitors without directly breaking the law, the three of them will not let it go. Competition will never be as simple as blowing a cannon.

Upstairs, Duke and others rushed to discuss ways to suppress competitors before the start of the test screening. Downstairs, reporter Mike Scott, who accepted the sponsorship of CAA and Paramount, had walked into the screening room, found a suitable seat, and sat down. Then wait for the movie to start.

A few days ago, Mike Scott received a sponsorship. The amount was quite generous. The work he did was neither dangerous nor too much. There was no reason to refuse, and he also knew that there must be more in this theater. Others got similar jobs.

His eyes swept around, Mike Scott didn't see Duke Rosenberg, but saw Tom Hanks and Leonardo Decca, who was recently fired by News Corp tabloids. Prio and Claudia Schiffer, and...

What happened to those old men sitting in the front row with medals on their chests?

Soon, Mike? Scott wanted to understand, this is a film about the Normandy landing in World War II, those people must be veterans who participated in World War II.

Pretty clever propaganda, isn't it? Mike Scott can only admit this in his heart.

Leaning on the back of the chair, David Brown, who is in his seventies, is still in good health. As a member of the Second Penn State Commando who participated in the Omaha landing battle, he thought about everything after receiving the invitation from the organizer. I didn't think about it, I just came down.

It was a cruel memory, it was a time of blood and fire, and it was a moment he would remember for the rest of his life.

When he came to Los Angeles at the invitation of Fox, he found that a large number of veterans had gathered here. The one sitting on the left was the veteran of the 101st Airborne Division...

Just in front of David Brown's left, Stephen Ambrose took out a pen and notebook, ready to record his impression of the film. Of course, he is not a film critic. With last year's experience, D-Day Studio will naturally not spend any money. Critics are invited to participate in the test screening.

Stephen Ambrose is a famous historian and writer, authoritative scholar of the Normandy D-Day campaign, has a certain influence in the United States, and is even more famous in academia.

It wasn't until the film started showing that Duke walked into the screening room with Robin Grande and Charles Rowan, found their seats, and sat down.

Duke looked around calmly, and when he came, he noticed that there were nearly 100 veterans hired by the studio. If the film can resonate with them as it once did, it is bound to become an excellent publicity boo. .

"Hi, Duke."

Someone from behind reached out and Duke shook it, "Hello, Josman, it's nice to see you."

"We take this film very seriously."

As a film viewing expert at Emperor Cinemas, Josman made no secret of his expectations for the film, "Imperial Entertainment likes your production style the most."

"Thank you!" Duke said politely.

It's not just Josman, when Duke glanced back, he also saw Lynch from AMG, Carter from American Artists Cinema and so on.

This can only be said to be one situation, the theaters in the United States regard him as a cash cow.

The film kicked off, and since there was no title added, a star-spangled flag appeared directly on the screen...

From the moment the cemetery appeared in the camera, David Brown's fists were clenched tightly. It was the American cemetery on Omaha Heights, where many of his old buddies were buried.

However, the next scene made his eyes widen. Although the war in the film was far less cruel and bloody than the Omaha Beach in those days, it was the closest war film he had ever seen. Watching this opening scene is enough to make people understand the cruelty of war.

In the picture are steel helmets, faces, steel helmets, faces, steel helmets... all of them seem to have just woken up from a nightmare and want to go on to the next nightmare. With the dim sky, a feeling of suffocation arises spontaneously. , a mass of maw spewed out of a soldier's mouth, and the soldier sitting beside him swallowed his saliva down his throat - and so on, extending to the entire landing craft.

David Brown seemed to be back in those days, and the memories buried deep in his mind kept reverberating in his heart.

The success of grabbing the beach was exchanged for the blood of countless soldiers. Similarly, the road to Berlin was paved with the blood of countless soldiers. In "Saving Private Ryan", the blood also became the most eye-catching protagonist on the battlefield. .

There are no characters who don't get bombed, and there are no unrealistic moribund characters. Death came so fast, it was almost breathless. The number of deaths gradually increased, one, two, three... Countless, and finally created a tragic scene on the screen.

How fragile life is, how cruel war is! This is David Brown's greatest feeling after participating in the war.

Different moods, different positions, and different angles of viewing the film. In Josman's eyes, he could not see the cruelty of war, the humanistic care in it, the fragility of life, and even less. Eight save one paradox.

What he wants to see and find is only one point, what are the selling points of the film!

"The real best-selling war movies are the ones that make the audience feel like they're being shot!"

In the past few years, countless cases have confirmed what Sam Fuller said, and the commercial performance of war movies that can do this will not be too bad. In Josman's view, Duke ? Rosenberg's "Saving Private Ryan" is a near-perfect interpretation of this sentence.

The opening battle scene can easily pull him into the atmosphere of the battlefield, and the urgent and deadly rhythm obviously infects everyone.

"A very good opening scene, not to mention other things, if I were the audience, just this war scene would feel worth the ticket price."

Joseman nodded. The opening scene of the film is quite selling, but the back...

The sensationalism in the back is quite well done. You can see Duke Rosenberg's progress in narrative techniques and emotional expression. The setting of the film is also attractive enough, although the scene where the team is constantly dying in battle will cause some The disgust of the audience can also attract a group of audiences.

However, the soldier named Urban will definitely not please the audience, and he is also particularly eye-catching.

Yes, this is a very real character with flesh and blood. His existence can improve the depth and thinking of the film, but this kind of character that the audience hates can easily be linked to the film, thereby causing the audience to resent the film.

Based on years of experience in film selection, Josman judged that without Urban's role, or with some adjustments, the film might have a better response among ordinary audiences.

However, even so, it is enough to be taken seriously by Emperor Cinemas, this is a rare masterpiece!

Unlike Josman, Mike Scott's biggest task is to document what he thinks is the film's flaws. The film's shaky footage is dazzling, and the bloody scenes are unbearable...