Movie Master

Lance carefully looked at every detail of Robert's expression, not letting go of every small change, trying to seize every opportunity to move closer and impress Robert. The initiative of the conversation seemed to be in Lance's hands all the time, and Robert didn't seem to resist, so the whole rhythm moved forward very quickly.

Lance keenly caught the flicker of anxiety between Robert's eyebrows, even if he concealed it well. Unlike facing Harvey before, at this moment Lance was a little eager, even a little too eager, and then immediately continued to speak, further driving the rhythm of the conversation, Standing in that besieged city, it seems like a closed world .”

This sentence made Robert lower his eyes, and he refused carefully. Pictures of different slums in various places flashed in his mind, and then his thoughts gradually diverged under the guidance of Lance.

Backward, chaotic, dark, crazy, cruel, and ignorant thoughts spread quickly and slowly among the people, and then passed on from one generation to the next. Everyone is trapped there, and no matter what, they can't break the prison , can only wait in this siege, repeating the dirty and rotten life day after day. For people, the most frightening thing is that there is no hope, maybe the slums in the United States and Africa It is true; but what is even more frightening for that slum called the City of God is that they do not even realize that they have lost hope.

Lance's calm words vibrated slightly in the air, but they contained endless thoughts surging, just like the seemingly calm sea at night, but no one could notice the thin layer of dark blue. The dark tide under the color is raging, and it only takes one wave to swallow life directly and disappear completely without a sound.

Ian picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, and glanced at Lance out of the corner of his eye. He had read the City of God proposal, but he never knew that this story was so moving, so attractive and convincing in Lance's words. Even though he didn't have much interest in movies, he couldn't help but want to go into the movie theater and watch it. Not to mention Robert?

Raising his eyes, he saw Robert's precipitation struggling in his thoughts.

The memory fragments in Robert's mind are tumbling. He once believed that the cruelest and most terrifying thing in the world is hopelessness, because hope is the source of all motivation, and just a touch of warmth is enough to change life. The Shawshank Redemption illustrates this point profoundly. But now, Robert was shocked by Lance's words. What was more frightening than no hope was numbness—not that he lost his pursuit of hope, but that he didn't realize that hope had disappeared from his life.

Robert looked at Lance again, and asked, So, this movie is about the city of God?

Lance nodded, and gave an affirmative answer, Yes! But hearing this answer, Robert's expression was a little surprised, obviously he did not expect such a result.

In Robert's view, Lance's words are so colorful that the ultimate goal is nothing more than to convince himself. Although he was indeed moved by Lance, this is not new to Robert. The Sundance Film Festival has gone through so far. After eighteen years, it is impossible for him, who has seen a lot, not to know this. So, Robert tried to regain control of the initiative, but also to learn more about Lance's work.

Generally speaking, when Hollywood shoots similar themes, it will eventually adopt the method of seeing the big from the small, focusing on one person or a few people, and then presenting the background of a region, an era, and a period of events through biographies. The Motorcycle Diary is exactly that.

Robert always believes that Lance has been telling the story of this area of ​​the City of God. This is just the background, and it is also the core that the whole story hopes to present. But works that can really realize this heavy core have super high requirements for directors, shots, editing, actors, scripts and other links.

Therefore, Robert's rhetorical question is to make things difficult for Lance, and it is also to express a point of view: You can say whatever you want, but in the end you still have to rely on the work to speak, and I am not so easy to buy it.

However, Lance's answer was completely different from what Robert had imagined. He dug a hole, but he didn't expect to jump into it.

Lance didn't seem to see Robert's surprise, and continued, This is a story about the city of God. This area and this city are the protagonists. All the characters in it are just supporting roles. I hope to be able to Through the relationship between the characters and the stories of the characters, the city is truly shown, so that people can see the changes brought about by the changes of the times, and what cannot be changed.”

Robert opened his mouth in surprise, shook his head in disbelief, hesitated again and again, and decided to tell the truth, because his brain had completely shut down at this moment, and he really couldn't find a more appropriate response, You know, this is an extremely bold A decision, even a decision that is indistinguishable from suicide, to make a movie about the city!

In the long history of film, there are many films about cities, but no matter which film it is, in the final analysis, it is a story between people, and talents are the real protagonists. For example, works that interpret the entanglement of human emotions, such as LA Confidential, Chinatown, San Francisco, Manhattan, Midnight in Paris and so on; for example, works that pin the worries and metaphors of the times on the future, Metropolis, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, and more.

There has never been a work so bold and extraordinary that the protagonist of the movie is locked as a city, at least not in Robert's memory.

The smile on the corner of Lance's mouth immediately bloomed, That's why I tried every means to contact you through Ian, hoping to have the honor to visit you, and even more hope that the Sundance Film Festival can become a stage for self-expression. Robert suddenly realized, but when you think about it, this is also a compliment from Lance-to the Sundance Film Festival, to Robert, To be honest, I tried to find a distribution company before, but they all thought I was crazy .Sundance is my last hope, maybe, my only hope.

Lance didn't hide it, and directly revealed his hole cards, because in front of Robert, these things don't need to be hidden, but can be used as a weapon-because the Sundance Film Festival is originally a variety of independent films. A paradise for movies, there is also a large number of experimental works.

Robert also laughed, and thinking about it carefully in his head, he felt more and more amazing, and his smile was completely released, I believe it is the same. Robert paused slightly, So, what can I do for you? ?”

If this work is really as Lance said, it is told with the city of God as the protagonist, then at least it is worth watching. Robert also deeply knows that the film festival and those film talents are actually complementary. He provides a stage for independent filmmakers to show themselves, and those outstanding film works will win more attention for Sundance.

Even the three major film festivals in Europe are no exception. Cannes, with more and more excellent works, is flourishing. Berlin, which is stagnant, gradually disappears in the cold winter. Venice, which is eager to find a balance between art and business Then at a loss. Excellent works need the stage of the film festival, and the film festival also needs to add color to the excellent works.

Lance showed a big smile, did not hide the light in his eyes at all, let Robert clearly feel the energy of happiness, I need a chance, I hope the jury of Sundance can review my work, look at me Whether you can join this year's Sundance. That's all!

That's all? Robert's eyes were also filled with a smile.

Lance nodded firmly, That's all! Lance would not be foolish enough to ask for more.

Robert shrugged, Well, I think this little favor is still within my ability. I will call to see what I can do. After speaking, Robert smiled and picked up the phone again. Menu, Now, I think, we should address the call of the body first.

The tight strings in Lance's chest were slightly loosened. He glanced sideways at Ian, and then saw Ian's eyes full of meaning looking at him with a half-smile, as if to say: This is my first time. This is the first time I see you flex your muscles. This look made Lance raise his eyebrows slightly, showing a counterattack look, This is just the beginning. This confident look made the smile in Ian's eyes uncontrollably twitch.

After the lunch ended smoothly, Robert really acted quickly, and gave Lance a call the next day, All the review judges are currently in Los Angeles. If you want, we have three hours at eight o'clock tonight.

Three hours is enough for Lance.

That night, Lance came to visit Robert with the unfinished City of God film. Due to time constraints, this is still an unfinished first-cut version, and there are still many details that Lance is not satisfied with and need to be re-adjusted; First cut version”, but visited the review judges as the final version.

After only one hundred and fifty minutes, Lance left Robert's mansion quietly and calmly.

One day later, the registration process for the 19th Sundance Film Festival officially ended, and the annual independent film carnival feast debuted. The organizing committee announced the list of 32 works, including 16 documentaries, Sixteen feature films.

The name of City of God is impressively listed.