Producer [American Entertainment]

"Los Angeles Times" Entertainment Edition: The best director + the oldest Hollywood giant company + the weakest founder with the most investment vision = an unprecedented wonderful movie, "Two Smoking Barrels" is a sincere work, you don't know It's a big loss to see.

"Hollywood Reporter": the first spot in dark humor movies was born.I don't know what other film critics would think. I only know that after attending the screening, I saw that even my serious editor-in-chief laughed.This movie is so un-Hollywood, yet so damn exciting!It will always be remembered for its uniqueness.

"Chicago Sun-Times": Mr. Wheeler, a man with a cheating device!

"Entertainment Weekly": I can't give an objective evaluation of the movie "Two Smoking Barrels", because I fell asleep after watching it for less than 10 minutes.

"Denver Post": Is Wheeler out of talent?Or is MGM in decline?I think it's both.Microsoft is known as the founder who never made failed investments, and finally lost.

Since the beginning of the screening, the media's evaluation of the pipe has been mixed.Some critics praised Wheeler, who finally broke through himself and walked out of the extravagant and romantic style of "Roman Holiday" and "Ben-Hur"; but others were disappointed because the film did not. It's not another "Roman Holiday" they were looking forward to. They feel that this is just Wheeler's own high work in his later years, losing all his spirituality and advantages.

To put it simply, the polarization is serious, those who love it extremely love it, and those who hate it extremely hate it.Before the screening is released, let the audience wait until they are anxious, and their curiosity is hooked to infinity.

"This is the only way that cult movies will always go, you don't have to worry." Wheeler comforted William.

From the moment he appeared at the premiere ceremony, William looked unhappy. Although he tried his best to hide it, he still couldn't escape Wheeler's piercing eyes: "If you want me to say, you shouldn't have been discharged from the hospital so early, and you said I didn't pay attention to my body, How are you doing better? You got a gunshot wound, you only took it for a month, and you insisted on attending the premiere, are you crazy? Get angry with those negative comments, and be careful that the wound heals slowly."

During the month when William was "locked up", it was said that William was recuperating in a secret private hospital, and his condition was not disclosed to the public.The doctor who examined William that day was also transferred to an unknown place, and he never made a sound anyway.

It's not that William's friends didn't call William, but they couldn't get through, saying that there was a problem with the signal.

"I'm really fine." William said to Wheeler, "Even if there is, it's not because of the movie. Compared with those meaningless comments, I care more about the actual box office."

On January 1th, "Two Smoking Barrels" was released nationwide this weekend, and 10 theaters opened at the same time. From the time the clock struck midnight until the end of the weekend, the movie earned 1530 million at the box office. Successfully climbed to the top of the weekly box office championship of not many movies in the same period.

Samuel tried his best to contact all the theaters he could contact, and Wheeler chose the timing cleverly, avoiding the collision competition with the same type of cult movies when it was released.

In the end, this was the good result of "directly surpassing the total box office of Blood Red in North America" ​​in the first week.

Strictly speaking, the box office of 500 million is actually not particularly high. If it is placed in the summer or Christmas file, a few major giants can make a big production, and they can get a similar figure, or even higher.

But for MGM, this is already an achievement that is unimaginable. It has been many years and I have not seen it.

"I almost forgot what the first week's score of 500 million looks like." Samuel said to his secretary Greta in the office.

The silver-haired Greta also looked in a good mood, she said: "Looks like 500 million."

They laughed together because of this bad joke, which is not funny at all, which shows how beautiful their mood is.

The investment in the bong was only 150 million. Although the publicity that was used later was not included, it had already earned back several times the cost in the first week.How can you be unhappy?William said that being scolded by some newspapers will not make them less money, but because of conflicts, they can cause topics, and more topics attract more box office.

What really embarrassed William was other things, life and emotion.

But Wheeler obviously didn't believe it. He felt that William's words were not convincing at all, because his face was so pale that he couldn't bear to look directly at it.After all, he is still a young man, so he is very stubborn.Wheeler thought, Wasn't it the same when I was young?Facing the flood of bad reviews, I deliberately showed a face of indifference, thinking that I was cool, but in fact I felt so uncomfortable in my heart, a typical example of wanting to save face and suffer.

So, behind William's back, Wheeler called Wendy and MiG in private and had a small meeting with them.

There is only one central theme of the meeting - we must find a way to make William happy as soon as possible.

But how exactly?

Travel to relax?This is certainly impossible to do.Not to mention that William was "injured", but only to say that in order to find the crazy look of "the blond young man who saved Lennon", they couldn't let William go out alone.

eat delicious food?William didn't seem to like or particularly dislike anything.The only thing Wendy knows is In-N-Out, but she always feels that no adult will be happy just because they eat a cheap fast food. The age of having fun all day long is far away.

Talk to your family?Just Sabatino's paralyzed face?The experience of the big winner in life?Forget it, it's not enough to feel inferior.Asking Sabatino to come out of the mountain, maybe Williamia will be overwhelmed.

"Talking! That's right!" Wheeler clapped his hands. He felt that he had finally thought of an idea. "After all, William and I have an age gap. How could he have the nerve to talk to me about some things? You two are different." William couldn't help it. Talking to him doesn't mean that William won't talk to others, such as Wendy and MiG.

When Wendy and MiG came together, it seemed that this was the reason, so they started without stopping.

It was also the first time for Wendy and MiG to talk about it, and it was with their half-boss.They said that this matter must be prepared before persuasion!The so-called preparation means that whoever they say, what to say, and what expression to match, will be done together.

The location for the secret discussion was Wendy's house.MiG is still renting with others, which is not very convenient.

During the limited 45-minute secret discussion between Wendy and MiG, Wendy's father, Mr. White, respectively said "send water", "send snacks", "send the wrong water should actually send juice", "forgot to send fruit again" Because of this, I came in no less than ten times.It always made Wendy feel like she was back in her school days: "At that time, my dad was also like this. I took my science partner home with me to complete the group homework. In half an hour, I could see him eight times."

Wendy was half embarrassed, half angrily explaining to MiG that her father was always overprotective of her, for fear that others would take advantage of her.

MiG was even more embarrassed.There is something that he has been pressing in his heart all the time, and he doesn't know if he should confess it to Wendy, and how to confess it.In the end, he just said, "I've really always thought of you as a friend, best friend, but not, uh, kind of friend, you know."

"I understand." Wendy didn't think beyond friendship with MiG, and her current love object was work.

When Mr. White knocked on Wendy's door for the 11th time, Wendy finally got angry, opened the door and had a big fight with her father, the voice was so loud that she called her mother over.

The mother distracted her daughter and said, "Don't you just want to persuade your friends, in fact, it doesn't need to be so troublesome at all."

"How to say?" Wendy was indeed distracted every minute.

"Intervention, persuasion meeting. Have you heard of it? It's the kind of gathering a bunch of friends and family members, sitting at home and waiting for the other party to come home, to have a surprise, and then read the prepared cards and letters directly one by one. It doesn't need to be like acting. Yes, it is so troublesome to memorize lines and prepare facial expressions. It was introduced on TV, whether it is herd effect or something. Anyway, it will be very effective to persuade a group of close people together. This is very popular recently. I thought you would be better than I get it." Mrs. White has been a woman all her life, trying to stay ahead of the curve.

"I know this, but isn't that usually waiting for a friend at a friend's house? To give the friend a chance, so that he can better accept opinions. How can we go in when the BOSS is not at home?"

"Then come to our house. It's just right, our house is small, it won't appear that your boss has no friends, take care of his face."

"...My BOSS has quite a few friends!" Wendy protested weakly, "He is from the UK, he has been in the US for less than a year, and has been busy with work, so he seems to have no friends.

"You don't know his British friends, so they can't come, right? So it's all the same, all the same." Mrs. White waved her hand casually.

"Then how can we get the BOSS to come to our house?"

Mrs. White pointed to herself, and said to her daughter: "What do you think mothers are for? Tell your boss that you are no match for your mother's stalking. I must thank him for taking care of you and invite him to eat at home." Meal."

Wendy and MiG looked at each other, is this really possible?Why does it feel so unreliable.

But they had no better solution than Mrs. White, so they could only bite the bullet and called William's mobile phone, saying that they would invite William to her house for a light meal on this Saturday night.

"Uh, Boss, don't get me wrong, it was my mother's strong request, not to meet the parents.

"Ahhh, it's getting worse and worse. I mean, my dad and my mom knew that I was promoted again—became the second secretary. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity. I will definitely work hard ——In short, because of this, my parents forced me to treat you to a meal to express my gratitude, but since my family really doesn’t have much money, my mother suggested that my father cook and invite you to eat at home, which saves money I can flatter you again.

"Oh, god, what am I talking about, I don't mean it, I..."

William smiled: "I understand what you mean, calm down, Wendy, I think I also understand what your parents mean, it's just a very common family invitation among friends. Please say hello to my uncle and aunt first, and then tell them, I I am very glad to have dinner at your house this Saturday, is it okay at seven o'clock?"

"Seven o'clock is a good time, yes, nothing better, I like seven o'clock, I mean who doesn't."

Wendy had never tried to lie to William before, this was the first time, she was so nervous that her palms were sweating and she was talking nonsense.

At this moment, a thick male voice came from the other end of the phone: "Stop, sweetheart, you've committed an old problem again, don't waste your time talking, tell him, you can bring your girlfriend with you tomorrow."

Then, William felt that Wendy's microphone was covered, but he could still vaguely hear the voice of communication.

Wendy: "Our BOSS doesn't have a girlfriend! Dad, can you stop interrupting my conversation, you will embarrass me in front of the BOSS."

Mr. White was very aggrieved: "I'm just teaching you to speak, you see you are nervous."

Wendy: "I'm not a child anymore, you make me nervous."

Mr. White: "Okay, okay, I'm leaving."

Then there was the sound of the door closing, as if there were dogs barking.

Wendy returned to the line, still a little flustered, but her emotions and rationality were quite normal: "You can also bring Mr. Lesenbra with you tomorrow, it will be lively if there are many people. Sorry, it was my dad just now, he always I'm very worried about me, let you see a joke."

"It's okay, I like your dad very much. Although it's just a few seconds of communication like this, I can hear that he cares about you and is very warm." Because of this gag, William really felt better. Less, "He reminds me of my dad."

Edward's father is always very nervous about his son, especially when it comes to every major event in his son's life, the first time he enters school, the first time he makes friends, and the first time he invites friends to play at home. William does it every step of the way.Of course, William was able to give his father very little chance, because he didn't have many friends at that time.

"I don't care what others say about cultivating children's independence. That's pure nonsense. My son is still so young, how can people feel at ease? Not his son, of course he said it easily. If possible, I would like to take care of my son for the rest of his life , No, of course I can take care of him for the rest of my life! I have money and tenacious vitality. I will be a shining snake spirit in my son's life for the rest of my life! Uh, this word seems to be used wrong, forget it , is not important, no matter.

"I mean, Mary, think about how my father raised me in the past, and look at me now, am I still a prodigal? If so, why can't I take care of my son in the way I like? Anyway, in the end, everyone will become a spoiled rich second generation."

It's a pity that Edward's father, who insisted that he could take care of his son for the rest of his life, had to let go of his hand first.

"Actually, I envy you, Wendy, grasp what you have now, that is the most precious wealth." William whispered.

"I think so too." Wendy said with unconcealable pride in her tone, "Although our family's situation is not good, my parents are actually not my biological parents, but my adoptive parents, but they love me , I love them, and that's enough for me to feel like I'm a happy man."

In this way, they talked for a long time about the topic of parents, which helped William to relax completely.

Beta star people were born on the parent star of star β, they don’t need parents, they are born naturally, so in their lives, the concept of parents does not exist, the mother star is their common mother, William once felt that it didn’t matter if he had parents or not of.Until he met the Theros couple, they made William understand the significance of the word "parents" for the first time.William felt that even if he chatted for a lifetime, he would never get tired of it.

Wendy talked about her past anecdote: "I used to be quite rebellious, yes, don't laugh, who hasn't been a particularly jerk in their teenage years?"

"That's called Secondary School, a friend of mine told me so."

"Okay, sophomore. Even though I was a sophomore at the time, I was a very good sophomore. I always knew that when I grew up, I would definitely get into the Ivy League. But with my adoptive parents, they didn't Can't afford to pay for my private college. I don't want to bother them. Their willingness to raise me from their doorstep instead of sending me to a child service center is already the greatest gift to me. I can't do it anymore. increase their burden.

"I planned a lot at that time, scholarships, loans, part-time jobs and so on. In fact, since middle school, I have been saving money for college. Being a babysitter, delivering newspapers, delivering milk, doing homework for classmates Working in the library, and trying to enter various competitions and win scholarships.”

"The result?" William chose to be a good listener.

"As a result, before I went to college, my adoptive father went to the road and crashed a car, trying to cheat the insurance."

"What (what)?!" William never expected that an originally inspirational story would suddenly change into such a painting style.

"It didn't work. He is fine now, but I was really angry at the time. I was angry that he didn't love himself, and I was angry that he didn't want to believe me. I had already saved enough tuition for the first semester. I didn't pay for it for half a year. I had a word with him. I was going to college at the time, which was easy to do, as long as I refused his call.

"But you know, when I went home during the Christmas holidays and saw him cautiously trying to please me but didn't dare, I suddenly realized that it wasn't that he didn't believe that I couldn't do it, it was because he believed that I would definitely He will work so hard when he says what he says. He thinks my college life will be easier. Don’t be like middle school. I don’t even have a friend. He is doing everything he can—even if it’s wrong --nice to me."

Then, Wendy's father with the wrong style of painting once again disrupted this very warm story.

On the other end of the phone, there was another ethereal voice of a strange middle-aged woman: "Oh, honey, are you crying? Are you crying? Why are you crying?"

Mr. White: "Hush! Keep your voice down, Wendy doesn't know I'm eavesdropping."

Wendy: "I know now. Dad, I'm on the phone with my BOSS, do you understand what kind of existence BOSS is?!"

The dog barked: "Aww——"

Mrs. White: "Tiger (tiger), you are a dog, understand? Dogs bark, don't learn how wolves bark in documentaries."

William listened to the noises of the family over there, and couldn't bear to put down the phone. Wendy went to comfort her crying father, and Mrs. White was discussing with their dog named Tiger. Not the subject of wolves.

When Wendy came back, William suddenly wanted to learn from Wendy, because she obviously knew better than him how to deal with family conflicts: "Uh, how did your dad reconcile with you when you came home for Christmas? Apologies Did you? Or did something?"

"No apology, just asking me, do you want to go out to eat pizza together?" Wendy replied with a smile, "When I was young, I was closer to my dad, because he supported me no matter what I did, but my mother was more dignified. Every time I After being punished, my father would whisper to me, don’t cry, little princess, and my father will take you to eat that pizza on the street.”

After William hung up the phone, he was still thinking about it.I don't know if he said "I'll take you to In-N-Out" to Sabatino as an apology.

At this time, William finally remembered his good friend Mr. S.Probably because there is a layer of network separated, William can tell S many things that even Wendy can't tell.

As soon as he logged into Skype, which he hadn't used for several days, William was almost stuck on the screen by the long series of messages.

During these days when William was not online, S sent him countless messages in a row, some concerned, some greetings, and those who accompanied him to scold Sabatino (...).

William: 【I have actually figured it out. My anger some time ago seemed too ignorant.Don't say that my cousin is not good, be careful that I am in a hurry with you. 】S seconds back: 【Huh?kindness?kindness? 】

William: [My worry now is how to reconcile with my cousin.Someone told me that asking my cousin to go to dinner together is an apology and a sign of peace.But what if this apology is not popular in my cousin's house? ] S: [Let's take our time.what did you just say?You're not mad at your cousin? 】William:【It happened some time ago, but it didn't happen again after that. I just didn't dare to talk to him because I was afraid that he was still angry with me. ] At that moment, Sabatino finally understood what it felt like to be a dog.God are you playing with me?What is the internal injury I was struggling with a while ago?I'm actually living in a sitcom, right? !

William: [Hey! 】

William: [Hey! 】

William: [Hey!What about people? 】

William swiped the screen domineeringly.

Sabatino was in a hurry—almost dropped his phone—and called William.

William looked at his cousin's cell phone number, and didn't care about harassing his friends online, so he picked it up carefully: "Hello?"

The cousin on the other end of the phone said, "May I invite you to eat In-N-Out?"

At that moment, William felt that his whole inner world was setting off fireworks, colorful, over and over again.He understands right?Eating means apologizing, right?It's a strange convention in American families, but... I like it =V=