Hollywood Secret Garden

Chapter 650

At the end of March 2004, Angela came to China again, but this time the destination was not Beijing but Shanghai, and the team was not as hurried and low-key as before.It was only because the incident happened suddenly that the Chinese reporters got the news after she left the airport, so the distress of being besieged at the airport was saved.

"Actually, even if they come, I won't say anything. You know, I came to Shanghai without a good rest." After staying in the suite of the Hilton Hotel, Angela, who was slumped on the sofa, said this to Alizee Said.

"Understood, I will tell them not to disturb you." Alizee remained expressionless.

Angela then washed up a little, and lay on the bed with all her clothes on.She was really exhausted this month. The preparation of "Rabe's Diary" had to be involved in every link. For example, Huayi was required to build the set completely according to her draft, and the main part had to be delivered by the end of the month.Of course, as long as the problem can be solved by money, it is not a problem, and with the financial supervision sent by Pixar in the past, there is no need to worry too much about any problems.

In addition, there are costumes - she required that the costumes of Chinese actors must meet the requirements of the Republic of China period, and there should be no ostentatious things, so she finally packed them up and handed them over to Huayi.And the soundtrack - this should have been considered later, but over the years she has conceived more than once, wanting to combine the timbre of the erhu with the violin, so she is composing music during the rest.

In fact, the various drafts of the set have been accumulated over the years, otherwise, how could she come up with it so quickly.

Then I kept in touch with several main actors, discussed the script and characters with them, asked and answered questions, or repeatedly drew the draft of the storyboard, etc.It can be said that if she didn't know much about lighting, props and modeling, she would definitely have these in her hands.To put it simply, everything has to be done according to her idea.Fortunately, the employees are basically used to cooperation, and for them, they are just a little busier than before, and they are still within the tolerance range.

Although it is very tiring, it is at least a little good. Angela has no time to think about other things, and Alizee has intentionally or unintentionally reduced the information that would have been included in the itinerary every day, so her head is completely covered by "Rabe's Diary". "Occupied.Even when Keira called, she would be hung up if she couldn't say a few words. Although Keira was a little dissatisfied, after learning about the situation from Anne and Alizee, she didn't complain anymore.

The next day, after a long sleep, Angela was still not in good spirits, jet lag is not so easy to reverse, and she was still with Steve Buscemi two days before she arrived in Shanghai And Heinz Matthias discussing the relationship between Rabe and Wilson, so it's normal to have such a performance.

"There are six copies in total." Ellie Jian, who was slightly more energetic than Angela, was sorting out various invitations for her at this time.

"Push it all up, I'm not here to attend a reception." Angela said with a frown.

"All? Are you sure?" Alizee brought these invitations in front of her, and after a quick glance, Angela's frown deepened. After thinking about it, she said again: "Leave the Shanghai Municipal Government Yes, push the rest away."

"Are you rejecting what Huayi prepared for you?" Alizee asked.

"A few more days? I won't reply for now." Angela replied after thinking for a while, "Also, tell them that I won't attend the press conference in the afternoon, and just let McKinley, Steve, and Heinz go. .”

Alizee seemed to want to say something, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out, she just nodded to show she understood.Looking at her leaving figure, Angela shrugged, she knew what Lily wanted to say, but she didn't think she did anything wrong.

As early as a week or even half a month ago, China's entertainment news began to vaguely report something like "According to people familiar with the matter, Huayi will spend huge sums of money to put "Rabe's Diaries" on the big screen."Especially on the Internet, some people said that Huayi plans to invest almost 7000 million yuan to make this diary that witnessed the massacre into a movie. There is no explanation at all.

However, Wang Zhongjun, the CEO of Huayi, has kept silent about this. In the eyes of many people, keeping silent is tantamount to not denying it. Therefore, people, especially netizens, suddenly became agitated and applauded Huayi's behavior loudly.Although some experts expressed concern in the media that doing so might affect Sino-Japanese relations, they were quickly overwhelmed.

After Alice Zhang's book and the later documentary were introduced to China in various ways, "Rabe's Diary" was highly praised by many people, especially netizens, so they all expressed their gratitude to Huayi's actions. support.

As the media repeatedly questioned, Wang Zhongjun said that he would indeed invest 7000 million yuan in the production of "Rabe's Diary", but it would be a cooperation with foreign film companies.In addition, he neither said that the total investment was 4000 million US dollars, nor did he say who the partner was, let alone who led it. In short, except for the investment amount, everything else was ambiguous.Even so, the media is still raving about it, and the gossip on the Internet is exaggerated one by one. It has to be said that Wang Zhongjun is still good at creating public opinion. to this extent.

Angela didn't care about the other party's small tricks, anyway, it was clearly stated in the original contract, even if they were allowed to invest, the ownership of the film was still in her hands.It's just that she is not interested in cooperating with Huayi in this kind of publicity, just like she made a compromise to allow funds from China, but as long as those people dare to point fingers, she will immediately stop leaving, and she also told Wang Zhongjun implicitly .So, you do your little tricks, but leave me alone.

As for the media who might say that she is playing big names, it is fine to play big names, anyway, this is my movie.Angela said so in her heart, and then sighed softly.Also just my movies.

After resting for a while, and making a few phone calls with the Pacific Ocean, Angela made some adjustments and set off to attend the reception held by the city government after dark.There is nothing to say, most of the people attending the reception are high-ranking officials of the government, as well as some well-known and wealthy people, oh, and the American consul and his wife.Although Angela's communication skills have been well honed, she doesn't like to attend receptions after all, and besides, this is the first time she has dealt with senior officials of the Chinese government.So she did her duty slightly, and then went back to the hotel to rest. She wanted to recover as soon as possible so that the filming could start officially.

To her surprise, the next day's newspaper did not mention any news about "playing big names" at all, and all the entertainment front pages were occupied by the news that "Angela Mason went to China to film "Rabe's Diary"".All the details, such as the total investment amount and the entire preparation work, as well as Huayi's positioning have been written out.

The repercussions after the disclosure were huge, and many people couldn't accept such a gap at the first time. In their opinion, it would be better for such a theme to be produced by a domestic film company.Unexpectedly, the 7000 million capital was only a quarter of the other party's investment, and all the leading power was held in the other party's hands. Huayi, who vowed to spend a huge sum of money to put "Rabe's Diary" on the screen, only It's just helping others, how can this be accepted?

However, it didn't take long for most people to change, because the production company is Pixar, which has won the Oscar for the best film for 6 consecutive years, and the director and producer is the legendary woman in Hollywood, Angela Mason.

Angela's popularity in China is also quite high. Just because she can speak Chinese fluently and has written and sung Chinese songs, it is enough for her to gain the favor of Chinese people more easily than others.What's more, she has played a hand in so many classic movies, and she started writing scripts at the age of 11, and became a director at the age of 16. She has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Director for 98 consecutive years since 6. Background; moreover, the two countries are still separated by the Pacific Ocean, and under the effect of the beauty of the distance, they naturally received extraordinary popularity. Even the Chinese forum was established early in 01.

Although some people wonder whether she can grasp the subject matter, but considering that she made a movie like "The Pianist" at the age of 19, in terms of strength, she is fully capable of making "Rabe's Diary" into an excellent film. Movie.

Besides, influenced by American movies, Chinese people have an unusual obsession with Oscars, so people quickly accepted this fact and became very excited, hoping to see her make "Rabe's Diary" and then win the Oscar for best film— —Pixar won the best film for 6 consecutive years, but it was all from her.

At the same time, McKinley's speech at the press conference that afternoon also added a lot of points to her: "A few years ago, Miss Angela was very surprised when she read "Rabe's Diary", although she had a deep understanding of China. She knew, and knew how much China suffered in the war decades ago, but it was the first time she knew that such a terrible disaster had happened. She collected some materials for this, but found that it was almost a period of time. Forgotten history, many things are shelved, no one will touch except researchers, so there is the idea of ​​​​putting "Rabe's Diary" on the screen."

This passage was naturally approved by Angela, and after it was published by major Chinese media, it immediately sparked heated discussions.Most people are full of praise. After all, for many Chinese, as long as someone treats them well, then they should treat that person well.Even if there were a few words of doubt, disdain, and ridicule, they were immediately drowned out.So no one cares whether Angela attends the press conference. Didn’t the organizer say that it’s because the jet lag hasn’t adjusted and she doesn’t feel well? It’s normal, isn’t it?

The attitude of the domestic media in the United States is different. Angela has done a good job of keeping secrets before. Although many reporters have inferred from various clues that she may be preparing a new movie, it was not until she arrived in China that Pixar revealed that News and really understand.

"Obviously, she once again set her sights on the subject of war. Six consecutive defeats made Angela turn her attention to the subject closest to the best director." A newspaper reported.

"Angela is obviously disgusted by the Oscars, and this time she went to that distant country to make a movie. Hollywood must be careful, their injustice is causing us to lose something." There are also such reports.

"Miss Angel once again picked up movie themes related to World War II and massacres, but this time it was not in Europe but in the older country across the Pacific Ocean. Although there is no need to doubt her ability, there is "The Pianist" first, and That country is relatively unknown to us, so whether it can reach the height of "The Pianist" is still unknown." There are also such reports.

Overall, most people were surprised that Angela was doing a war movie again, but also thought it was no big deal.Although that country seems to have a lot of problems, many people have learned about China because of this, and the sales of the English version of "Rabe's Diaries" have also increased a little because of this.

Some radicals also said, "How can an American national idol openly support a hostile country?" The reason is that he accepted funds from a Chinese film company that "has an official background"!In addition, some people watched reports related to China through certain TV stations, and they also complained about why she went to such a place, so some people hoped to join forces and ask Angela to give up this "inexplicable" movie plan.

Of course, the voices of these people are very small, and the view of the mainstream society is that she is free to make whatever movie she wants, and more people like to discuss what kind of movie Miss Angel will make this time.Angela had entrusted Sparrow when she left the United States. This time, she must use resources to guide public opinion. It must attract people's attention and controversy as before, but it must not rise to certain levels too unrestrainedly. .

Well, regardless of what the media in the two countries were saying, and regardless of what the people of the two countries thought, "Rabe's Diary" was launched on March 2004, 3, in a set built outside Shanghai.

December Notes (12)

The Japanese had already entered the city. I thought the situation might get better, but unfortunately, it became even more chaotic. I don't know what the Japanese were thinking. They seemed to have no scruples about letting soldiers shoot and rob.In addition, although the number of refugees that the safe zone can accept is close to the upper limit, there are still many Chinese running here. It is said that Japanese soldiers shot and killed people at will in the city.Although the committee wants to continue to accept them, this is a heavy burden for the safe zone but...

Putting down the pen, Rabe sighed, took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, resting the back of his hand on his forehead, looking exhausted.At this time, there was a knock on the door, and his assistant and secretary Han Xianglin walked in after getting permission.

"What's the matter, Han?" Rabe put on his glasses and asked vigorously.

"We are in urgent need of medicines. Dr. Wilson suggested that the safety committee ask you to come forward to negotiate with the Japanese embassy." Han Xianglin walked up to him and said in a low voice. There was a wry smile on his thin face, and his brows were frowned, always worried about something.

"Doctor Wilson?" Rabe himself couldn't help showing a wry smile, "Okay, I'll go to the committee now, you..."

He thought for a while: "You should stay in the safe zone, Han, you are a good assistant, I don't want anything to happen to you."

Han Xianglin was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "Okay, Mr. John."

"Cut!" Angela yelled behind the camera, and gave a thumbs up despite her tense face, "Good job, Jiang Wen and... Heinz, this shot is over."

Following her words, the two people on the set finally breathed a sigh of relief, and after Angela announced the break, they each sat in their seats and took the assistant's cup to drink water.Angela, who was also slightly relieved, originally wanted to go over and say a few witty words to them, but when she thought about her image these days, she immediately dismissed the idea with a wry smile in her heart.

In addition to repeated shooting or repeated shooting, even a simple cutscene has to be shot 7 or 8 times from different angles before it counts, and after turning on the machine, the face has been sullen and there is no smile at all, as if everyone in the room owes her Like hundreds of millions.Even actors like Jiang Wen and Heinz who worked with her for the first time thought she was a bit strange, let alone those employees who were very understanding.

Angela herself knows that this is not good, and she also wants to adjust herself to the previous state as much as possible, but she has planned this movie for too long, and other conditions are basically in place, the only worry is It's the quality of the movie, so she had to spend 12 points to make it.

Fortunately, the actors are very dedicated. For example, Heinz specially visited Rabe's home, and even imitated Rabe's accent, posture and demeanor under the guidance of his family.On the other hand, Jiang Wen honestly lost his weight to 90 catties in a month. His originally strong body was so thin that he seemed to fall down when he was blown, and his round Chinese-character face sank and became thinner. When we met again, Angela I almost didn't recognize it - when I was on the set, I also completely obeyed the command, did what I had to do, and never raised any objections.This surprised many Chinese staff who knew Jiang Wen better. How could this guy behave like a little rabbit? !

So, the key now is in my hands.Angela sat in her seat, closed her eyes and rubbed the sides of her head wearily.Only success is not allowed to fail.

"Are you worried about something?" Alizee, who was organizing the records for her, asked in a low voice.

"No, it's nothing, don't worry." Angela raised her head and smiled at Alizee. Although the expressionless look on the other side never changed, she could still hear the care and worry in it.

In the past few years, when was it not only success but no failure?It's just that this time it's a little more stressful than before.Angela clenched her fists.

I have prepared for so many years, everything is in place, how can I fail!