Made in Hollywood

He is the most successful commercial director of all time in Hollywood, one of the most high-profile directors of the twentieth century, and each of his films is setting new personal box office records and setting new benchmarks for future films. He has only been in film for more than ten years, but his works have won a total box office of more than 7.5 billion US dollars. He is persistent, hardworking and tenacious. He is praised by the North American media as the representative of the American dream. He is Duke Rosenberg!

Standing in the background, Duke listened to the narration accompanied by the dance music in the front hall and waited patiently. The applause from time to time told him clearly that in addition to the host Yang Lan, there were many audience members in the studio.

Last week, the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival opened. At this film festival, the arrival of the famous Hollywood director Duke Rosenberg has become one of the biggest highlights of this event.

There was another round of applause, and seeing the director's gesture, Duke stepped onto the stage, waved to the audience first, smiled slightly, and sat opposite Yang Lan.

For Duke, who has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine several times, this is just a small battle.

He was wearing the usual dark casual suit, natural and easy-going, and his short and capable hair was full of energy. He seemed to be completely in the mature and charming age group of thirty.

Yang Lan shook hands with Duke and said, Is there any problem with communicating in Chinese?

As long as you don't speak local slang. Duke's Mandarin is even more fluent than many Shanghai people, and idioms.

Hearing his words, a voice of admiration came from the audience.

I have been in the United States for a long time, and in the eyes of many Western language geniuses, Chinese is a nightmare. Yang Lan was clearly controlling the rhythm of the interview, How long did it take you to reach this level?

About three years. Duke recalled. Probably for such a long time, I still have a little talent for this.

So, you are still a language genius? Yang Lan asked.

Duke shook his head, No, I only know English and Chinese, and I have also learned other languages. But I have not made any progress. For example, French, I only know a few basic vocabulary. Maybe it's fate, I learn Chinese. It feels so simple.

Then, just like doing publicity in France and other countries, Duke began to talk about how he was interested in Chinese culture.

Are you interested in Chinese culture, have you seen Chinese movies?

Hear this question. Duke replied softly, I've seen it, but not much, like Jack Chen's action comedy and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger.

Yang Lan asked again, What do you think is the biggest gap between Chinese films and Hollywood films?

Industrial base!

This answer obviously exceeded the expectations of everyone on the scene. There was even a sound of amazement in the audience.

Yang Lan asked curiously, Isn't it somewhere else?

Of course there are other things, but this involves multiple factors such as culture, politics and economy, and Duke doesn't want to go too far. I personally think it's the industrial base. It's also the technology.

Without waiting for the other party to ask again, he explained, Before the 1990s, Hollywood movies were far from prosperous as they are now. European movies still have the strength to compete with Hollywood, but these have all changed since the early 1990s. If If you look closely, technology is an important factor supporting Hollywood's most successful films in the world over the past decade.

Is the next step for Chinese films to pay attention to the development of technology?

Movies are the result of a combination of multiple factors, and technology is only one part of it. Duke thought for a while, Every director has his own style, such as myself, only with sufficiently advanced film technology can The image in my mind becomes reality, so some people think that I am a director of technical flow.

Having said that, Yang Lan suddenly realized that Duke had taken the initiative without knowing it. This is a taboo for talk shows, so she quickly changed the subject, In your movie, the excellent stunt skills , can always produce jaw-dropping and blood-curling visual effects, four of the ten highest-grossing films in box office history are from you, what do you think contributed to your success?

Dream, persistence, and hard work. Duke paused, then added, There is also an ever-growing theater chain. For example, ten years ago, a film can be opened in 3,000 theaters in North America, which is very impressive. , but it is not difficult to recruit 4,000 theater chains now, the development of theater chains and the increase in the number of screens are one of the most basic conditions for a film to increase the box office.

This is a very simple truth, Yang Lan and the people in the audience are all nodding.

Duke added, Although TV, the Internet and disc players are all developing rapidly today, the movie-watching experience in theaters will not be replaced for a long time in the future. Movies like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy are watched on the big screen and Watching it on the small screen is completely two different feelings.”

Yang Lan reacted very quickly, and immediately asked, Is this why you focus on making stunt movies?

Duke shrugged, but didn't deny it, It's one of the reasons. Now that there are more and more channels for audiences to see movies, why do you have to go to theaters? You have to show something that you can't see on the small screen.

Yang Lan obviously did her homework for the interview, and then asked, In your opinion, if the movie is a big hit, does the use of movie technology play a role in it?

In Independence Day, I used CG technology on a large scale for the first time. The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings trilogy also used a lot of high-tech. Duke did not shy away from the audience at all, and said directly, I don't think moviegoers care about how a movie is made, audiences just want an experience, they like movies that engage them and take them on a journey, both The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings trilogy It's that kind of movie.

Hearing what Duke said, everyone in the audience nodded unconsciously. Duke has done a lot of research, and few ordinary audiences care about how the movie is made. What they want is simple pleasure.

Seeing that Duke was unknowingly grabbing the dominance again, Yang Lan changed the subject again, This time, the response to Hurricane Rescue you brought has been very good. I have here a copy of the latest box office statistics, from last Thursday Since its release, the film has grossed 28.65 million yuan at the Chinese box office.

She looked at Duke and asked, How do you feel?

The audience loves my videos and I'm very happy.

The number looks inconspicuous. But now it's only 2004, and there are very few movies with box office exceeding 100 million yuan in one year. The data of 28.65 million RMB is already quite good.

This film was released in China and the United States at the same time. Yang Lan continued, Has the North American box office been counted?

Seeing Duke nodded slightly, she asked, Can you share it with us?

Of course. Duke recalled the data he got at noon. It's $51.25 million over a three-day North American weekend, he said.

The box office champion?

The box office champion.

Hurricane Rescue is not a big-budget commercial at all, earning $51.25 million in its opening weekend, whether it's Duke. Or Warner Bros., very satisfied.

Congratulations. Yang Lan said with a bright smile, Another film is going to be a big hit at the box office.

Thank you. Duke accepted it unceremoniously.

If Hurricane Rescue is going to sell like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it is absolutely impossible. But with the situation in the first weekend, it is not difficult to make a profit through the box office.

From entering Hollywood to now. You have made so many movies. Yang Lan turned the topic to the box office, and after entering the new century, the cost of filming has been rising steadily, and the market is under great pressure. Will you be in your own hands? Do you feel a little nervous before the movie is released?

I get nervous, I even lose sleep because of anxiety, Duke pointed to his forehead. There will be all kinds of thoughts, including the consequences of failure, and you won't be able to breathe a sigh of relief until you see the box office data.

Yang Lan's topic turned to pressure again, Your works have extremely high expectations all over the world, and China is no exception. What kind of pressure does this make you face?

Pressure is something that every director must bear, and pressure is often the driving force to move forward. Duke's fingers slowly tapped the armrest of the chair, You can have different views on attention, although there is a lot of pressure, but also A great opportunity, I have also made small budget films, the big challenge for small budget films is how to attract audiences to see your work, and the great thing about making such a big film is that you know it has a chance to meet a global audience , as a filmmaker this is the best opportunity.

The interview gradually came to an end, and after asking a few more questions, Yang Lan gave the audience the opportunity to ask questions.

A male audience member in his thirties stood up first and asked, Director Rosenberg, I became your fan in the 1990s.

Thank you, it's my pleasure.

After speaking, Duke gestured to him to continue, and the man said, You make a movie at a rate of almost one a year, how do you maintain such a strong creative energy?

After thinking about it for a few seconds, Duke said, I enjoy the process of making a film, especially when I work with a team and creative people to make a film, the sparks of ideas collide all over the house, which is very exciting. .

Take a movie like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, we have to create a new world, design a new creature, I love the process, if you do what you love, it's not work, if You're interested in what you do, you don't have to work a day, so my plan is to never work, making movies is my biggest interest.

The next female audience member asked questions related to interest, Why is filmmaking your greatest interest?

I think the greatest power of film is that it can give the audience experiences and experiences that they have never had before, whether it is reality or non-existence, fantasy, etc., film is an excellent way for the audience to see them from Something never imagined or seen.

After the half-hour interview, Duke's trip to China has come to an end. (To be continued ~^~)