Hollywood Secret Garden

Chapter 645 In Nanjing

"Frankly speaking, the film is basically not bad, but the royal family is too much and piecemeal. It may be better with a different director, because Angela's identity makes these portrayals not completely convincing." The newspapers said so.

"I think this should be the best movie directed by Angela after "The Pianist". There are not many people who can bring real events to the big screen and be impartial." This British film website on the article.

To put it simply, different parties interpreted the movie from their own perspectives, and then held their own opinions and discussed it happily-who made this a political movie, but it also involved real characters.

As a result, the public's curiosity was greatly aroused, so when "The Queen" was released after the New Year, it was once as popular as those big productions in the UK, and even Blair took the time to take the whole family to Movie theaters join in.

"It's relatively objective. Although there are still some minor flaws, no one can deny that Ms. Angela has done a great job." Blair commented after watching the movie, although Mrs. Blair couldn't help muttering a few words "to the royal family." The description is too much", but I still admit that my husband's experience in the movie is still very faithful to the facts.

As for the royal family, they kept a low profile. If the reporter hadn't asked about it at a regular meeting, the royal family spokesman might not have mentioned it at all.Even so, it was only perfunctory with "this is a more objective and fair movie", but there was news that the Queen had watched the movie alone in Buckingham Palace. When asked, the spokesperson neither admitted nor denied it.

Even so, the film was consistently well-received by the British public.The main reason is that there are not many scenes related to Princess Diana, and they are all edited from documentaries.In addition, the movie itself did not favor any side, it just showed the known facts that had happened, so they easily accepted it.

"But there is one more thing. This is the first time Her Majesty the Queen has made concessions to the public on family affairs, and subconsciously everyone likes to reminisce." Angela half-jokingly said this to the old man when she was in her grandfather's manor.

Grandpa shook his head with a smile, and said seriously: "No matter what, everyone thinks this is a very good movie."

No matter how different viewpoints argue, there is one thing they all agree on, and that is the viewpoint in the earliest "Hollywood Report": the best interpretation of the word "compromise"!The Queen's change and Blair's change are all driven by the details.Although there are slight flaws in the narrative, the theme is clearly and impressively explained quietly, such as the Queen's grief for the hunted stag, or Blair's hesitation in choosing which side to support .

Angela smiled slightly, and accepted the old man's praise frankly.Unlike before, this time she accepted it with peace of mind.

Except that the frame and outline are similar to the movie in memory, the rest of the content has been restructured by her. After all, Angela has personally experienced the whole thing, and 70% of the content of this is her own work.

Regrettably, although the American media gave this film a high evaluation and mostly praised it, the North American box office in the first week was only more than 1500 million, not even one-tenth of "Transformers".If Angela hadn't directed it, that number might have dropped quite a bit.

"The numbers are completely within the acceptable range. After all, it's pretty good that such a movie can be released in 2000 theaters, unless the cost is not considered." When Angela returned to Los Angeles and talked with Ed, the other party said, "Don't worry, I believe that the European box office alone is enough to cover the cost, so you can make a lot of money-isn’t this the style of your work?"

"You can really talk, Ed, so be it." Angela pushed open the door of her study while speaking.

Throwing the phone in her hand on the bed, she took a few steps to the window and stretched her body in front of the window facing the bright winter sunshine in Los Angeles, then turned her head to look at a filing cabinet in the corner of the room.

The filming of "The Queen" did not teach her much technically, but only allowed her to ponder and consolidate what she had learned before when she restructured.However, the movie puts the final piece in the puzzle of her plans.The reason why she felt inappropriate when writing the script was because she substituted too many personal emotions but was unwilling to compromise and give up.

Angela went to the file cabinet and opened it. It was full of materials she had collected layer upon layer, and even many files were a little yellowed.In addition to the manuscript copy of the previous "Rabe's Diary", the manuscript copy of "Weitling's Diary" and the materials of the Nanjing International Safety Zone at that time, etc., there are more personal materials of Han Xianglin, and many people who served the safety zone There are even Chinese people who are not members of the international safety zone but set up refugee camps to protect Chinese refugees in the Jiangnan Cement Factory outside Nanjing, the Danish Bernhard Alp Sindberg and the German Karl Jing special information.

Every time I open this place, there is always a heavy feeling, and it seems that even my breathing is slightly difficult.

"It's finally about to start." Angela murmured looking at these materials. At this moment, she finally understood Spielberg's feelings, and finally understood why he was getting the adaptation of "Schindler's List" Quan Hou did not put it on the screen until ten years later, and the feeling of sincerity and fear is so heavy.

"If you want to count from 93, it's been almost ten years." Angela's fingers lightly slid across the document, and then she closed her eyes, "It's finally about to start, finish it, and... the two of us clear!"

In February, the winter sun shrouded this modern city. If it weren't for the obvious oriental-style monuments, if it weren't for the turbulent crowds that are rarely seen on the streets, there is not much difference between this city and other big cities in the world.

In the clean and bright restaurant, a slightly funny scene of a chicken talking to a duck is being staged.

"Its juice... its juice is abalone, this is it..." Some awkward pronunciation spit out from the mouth of a woman with long black hair who looked at the menu. She looked about 30 years old, with a round face and full of The five senses with oriental charm.It is obvious that Chinese women speak illegible Chinese, so it is no wonder that other guests will stare sideways.

"Is there anything you need?" The waitress asked in the same awkward English.

The woman who worked hard a few more times couldn't help but glared at her companion who was covering her mouth and giggling. She had long, smooth golden brown hair and bright and beautiful emerald green eyes. At a glance, she could tell she was a typical Western woman. There is an indescribable oriental woman's hazy feeling in the facial features.

"Okay, Angela, I give up, you should do it." The woman sighed, handed the menu to her companion with some reluctance, and said in fluent English.

"Are you really not going to try again, Alice?" Angela asked jokingly. Seeing the helpless and self-deprecating expression on the other side, she immediately put away her joking thoughts and hurriedly checked the menu before speaking in Chinese. The waiter said: "Chicken soup dumplings, boiled dried shredded rice, and beef pot stickers each, thank you."

At the end, she added with a smile: "If possible, please don't be so surprised?"

The waitress immediately closed her mouth and left quickly, but she still couldn't help but sneak a glance back after she walked inside. After all, an oriental woman who was obviously Chinese was very awkward in Chinese, and her companion, a western woman, was very awkward. But he is very fluent in Chinese, and he will attract all kinds of curious eyes wherever he goes.

Although the two people at the table are used to this look, the oriental woman named Alice still smiled bitterly and sighed: "It's really depressing. As a Chinese, my Chinese is not as good as yours. many."

"Okay, Alice, you said it yourself, it's because you stayed in China for a long time." Angela said comfortingly, "Learning a language requires an environment, and when you don't know it, it's not because you stay in China for a while. Can we communicate?"

"Frankly speaking, I'm not as fluent as you when I speak at my best." Alice shook her head, and then remembered something, "By the way, you said this is your second time in China? Then why can you still speak?" How about maintaining such fluent Chinese?"

"That's because..." Angela shrugged, "I often listen to Chinese songs and talk to my grandma in Chinese, and I often go to Chinatown. I told you that my Chinese was taught by my grandma."

Just at this time, the dishes were served, and Angela quickly changed the subject: "Okay, let's eat, our time is still very tight."

After lunch, the two rushed to the Holocaust Museum, which was the last stop of their trip to Nanjing.Of course, Angela still let the bodyguards who followed him stay outside.

"Hello, Director Xu, this is my friend Miss Angela Mason, who was also the sponsor of the documentary film last year." Alice and a gray-haired old man introduced Angela in English, "This time she I want to remake a movie about the massacre, so I came to Nanjing to check some first-hand information."

"Welcome to Nanjing, Miss Mason," the old man smiled and shook hands with Angela, "We are very grateful to enthusiastic people like you and Chunru, and we will provide any help we can."

"Thank you, Mr. Xu." Angela nodded and said in Chinese.

"You speak Chinese very well." Curator Xu was slightly surprised.

"I learned from my grandma. She has half Chinese blood." Angela paused here before continuing, "In fact, she stayed at Jinling Women's University in the 30s. But She was very young at the time, had only a vague memory of Nanjing, and had returned to the U.S. before the disaster."

"So that's it." The old man didn't ask any more questions, and gestured to the secretary next to him: "Xiao Chen, take the two ladies to the archives, and tell Director Yu of the management office about the relevant situation."

"Okay, Mr. Xu," the other party nodded, and then made a gesture of invitation to Angela and Alice, "Please follow me."

"You never told me that your grandma once stayed in Jinling University." When going to the archives, Alice whispered something in Angela's ear.

"As I said just now, she was very young at that time, her impression was vague, and she returned to the United States with her great-grandfather and great-grandmother as soon as the war broke out." Angela shrugged, and then added: "However, according to grandma's memories , my great-grandfather and my great-grandmother met at Jinling Women's University."

After thinking for a few minutes, Alice asked again: "This should also be one of the reasons why you made "Rabe's Diary"."

"Probably." Angela replied noncommittally, and after noticing Secretary Chen's expression, she secretly gestured to Alice, who immediately closed her mouth.

After arriving at the archives, under the leadership of Secretary Chen, the two quickly completed the formalities.

"You can check it at will this time. If you have any questions, you can ask Ms. Liu, but no later than 16:30, because we will be closed at that time." The young secretary explained with all her heart.

"Thank you, we understand." Angela nodded. Although Alice beside her had been here more than once, she still did not refuse the other party's kindness.

"Then, I'm leaving." Secretary Chen said but didn't leave immediately, he frowned slightly as if he wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a while, he finally gave up.

"He won't recognize you?" Alice was a little worried.

"No," Angela didn't take it seriously, "This is not like the United States. Although I am well-known, it is not so easy to be recognized. Besides, Easterners see Westerners and Westerners see Like Asians, unless you are very familiar with each other, it is difficult to recognize each other, not to mention that I don't wear makeup."

Speaking of which, she took off her coat and hung it on the chair, then patted Alice's arm: "Okay, don't worry about that, it doesn't matter even if you recognize it, let's focus on this Well, we only have about 3 hours, so hurry up."

Frankly speaking, Angela does not need to go to Nanjing to visit the Holocaust Museum in person to find materials. Some libraries in the United States have much more detailed materials than here, but most of them have been shelved and never been searched.It’s just that you can look at different records for comparison, and then come to experience the field tour and see if it is possible to shoot on the spot at that time.

So Angela asked Alice Zhang to go with her. After the book was published, the other party went to Nanjing and related places several times to search for evidence and information. If it hadn't been for the past two years because of illness and has been recuperating at home, the other party might still be in the Pacific Ocean. Running around on both sides of the strait.

With her, unnecessary waste is greatly reduced.Alice knows which counties and cities have local chronicles worth reading, and which areas have survivors at that time.And because she used to come here often to collect evidence and is very familiar with many people, it is very convenient to visit and inquire, just like when she came to the museum before.

"Today's efficiency is very high, and I have recorded everything that is necessary. Let me check again. If there is nothing missing, I will copy it after the opening of the library tomorrow, and then we can go back on the Internet."

Angela flipped through the small book in her hand that recorded the names of the materials she needed, her tone slightly excited.

Winter hadn't completely passed yet, and the sky was still getting dark early, so the city of Nanjing was already under the lights at this time, and she had to use the light of the street lamps to see clearly.

"Let's go back to the hotel and look again. The light here is not good." Alice said next to her. Her voice was much lower than before, and her face was a little more tired and dazed.

Angela, who was keenly aware of this, frowned immediately: "Are you all right, Alice?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Alice forced a smile.

Angela stared at her for a while, then said solemnly: "Listen, the reason why I invited you to accompany me is because three professors have issued certificates proving that your depression is almost as good. Travel gets you in trouble again."

"I'm fine, Angela, I'm really fine." Alice raised her hands and said seriously, "Speaking of which, I would also like to thank you. If you hadn't recommended Professor Balfe, maybe I would have already..."

She didn't continue talking, and Angela didn't continue, and after thinking about it, she suggested: "How about asking Bucket to change the plane ticket, so that we can take time to visit the Confucius Temple and Xuanwu Lake? We hurried all the way to Nanjing, I haven't seen any sights."

"Let's go back, after all, you still have things to do, don't you?" Alice shook her head, "Such as various visits and activities, and canvassing for her own movie."

When she said this, she suddenly sighed, looked at Angela hesitantly and said: "Frankly speaking, I hope you can get the best director this time."

"Oh?" Angela raised her eyebrows.

"Although you funded me to make a documentary of that book and let Pixar distribute it the year before last, the impact it produced is still too limited, and I still have to bear..." She smiled wryly and made several gestures.

Angela knew what she wanted to say. After the book was published, many people with ulterior motives attacked her from various aspects, either saying that she was not professionally trained or questioning the source of the information, etc. The depression was partly caused by this.

"Don't take it to heart, the more you do this, the happier they will be." Angela said comfortingly.

Alice smiled, and then continued: "I hope you can get the best director. Although you have enough influence, if you direct this movie with the Oscar for best director, I believe it will cause a lot of trouble. More people pay attention, and this humanitarian disaster can be better displayed in front of everyone - am I a little greedy?"

"No, not at all." Angela shook her head. "I can understand your feelings. It's the same as when I first read "Rabe's Diary" and directed "The Pianist."

Speaking of this, she smiled and patted the other party's shoulder: "Don't think so much, if the jury wants to give it to me, I will naturally give it to me. Alright, let's find a place to have dinner first - thinking of those snacks, I want to miss it again." I'm drooling—then go back to the hotel and take a good rest, tomorrow I still have to clean up my tail."