The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 395 "The Hangover" Can Be a Big Sell

"That's the way Chinese people film comedies. They're scratching your armpits, but they're not funny at all."

"With the results of "Rush Hour 3", I am very worried about the box office of "The Hangover."

"My prediction is that "The Hangover" will gross up to $700 million at the box office."

"We should vote with our feet and tell them not to produce garbage."

"It's a terrible thing that they don't understand our language arts."

"The Film Association judged it to be R-rated, and "The Hangover" is over."

"Can I watch comedies made by Chinese people? Of course not. Every time I fly, I see comedies from Hong Kong Island. I think this is the most embarrassing movie in the world."

……

The bad reputation of "Rush Hour 3" not only affects Cheng Long, but also affects Lee Sung Yew and "The Hangover".

More people and the media are not optimistic about "The Hangover", and more people think that Chinese people don't understand the aesthetics of beautiful Chinese people.

Even the few Hollywood companies that followed the investment were ridiculed.

At nine o'clock in the morning on this day, the Disney branch building.

Li Shengyao arranged for someone to screen in the auditorium, while he himself went outside the hall and found a long chair to sit quietly.

Today is a viewing session inside Disney.

Since Disney is the company that released "The Hangover", the high-level executives will decide the scale and number of premieres of "The Hangover" through this viewing meeting.

There was a sound of pattering footsteps, not only Disney executives, but also a hundred randomly selected lucky spectators.

These 100 people will rate this movie later.

Some people knew Li Shengyao, some didn't, and no one stopped to chat with Lee Shengyao.

Disney's high-level executives walked directly by him.

Li Shengyao closed his eyes and sat quietly.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps, and Warren Iger hurried over, and he stopped in front of Li Shengyao.

Some nervously asked: "Li, are you confident?"

Warren was dressed formally in a suit, but his hair was messy and he was panting. He looked at Li Shengyao now, his eyes full of expectation.

He naturally saw the recent reviews of "The Hangover", and he was worried that "The Hangover" would be belittled like "Rush Hour 3".

"Rush Hour 3" relies on the remaining prestige of the previous two films, even if it has a bad reputation, it still won a global box office of [-] million US dollars.

And if "The Hangover" Rotten Tomatoes is only 20.00% fresh, I'm afraid it won't even make $500 million.

Then he will really be a Hollywood joke.

He hoped that someone could give him some encouragement, but other Disney executives were waiting to see his jokes. Where there would be encouragement for him, he could only turn his attention to Director Li, eager to gain energy from Li Shengyao.

Li Shengyao smiled, "It should be fine, Warren, you have to have confidence in yourself, and you have to trust your judgment."

Warren shook his head with a wry smile when he heard this, "Li, the comments outside are not optimistic about us now."

"It's because of their bad eyesight."

Director Li didn't cite evidence, but just responded perfunctorily. Warren was disappointed, nodded, and left quickly, "I'll go in first."

Then he hurried into the screening hall, went directly to the first row, and sat down in a seat in the middle.

To the left and right of Warren are, of course, Disney Studios executives.

"Warren, let's see the movie you picked, it must be interesting."

Someone gloated and said something.

Warren rolled his eyes, but made no rebuttal.

He is afraid that if he speaks harshly now, he will be slapped in the face later.

Not long after, the movie was officially screened. "The Hangover" used a reverse order method, and it was the first to point out that the groom was missing, and the other three male protagonists were going to find him.

Then the film tells the experience of the four leading men from the beginning.

The groom is getting married, so he heads to Las Vegas with his two buddies and his fat house brother-in-law for the ultimate bachelor party.

As a result, after a crazy night, the groom who was about to get married disappeared.

The movie is not only a comedy, but also has a little reasoning suspense.

After the foreshadowing at the beginning, the funny behind it is taken for granted, and the jokes are dense.

The screening hall soon burst into bursts of laughter.

The high-level executives on Disney's side are all upper-class people with an annual salary of one million dollars, and they are relatively serious.

Ordinary audiences who are randomly selected don't have so many rules and regulations, and laugh at the funny places, and the laughter continues.

Gradually, many Disney executives were also infected, and couldn't help but smile.

Warren originally sat upright, staring at the movie with a serious face, but after 10 minutes, he sat back in his chair, watched the movie, and laughed.

His hanging heart finally let go.

"The Hangover" is not a movie that scratches your armpit like "Rush Hour 3". This is clearly a pure and beautiful Chinese comedy movie that cannot be more pure.

There are a lot of beautiful Chinese slang in it, and there are many shit jokes that are popular among young people.

The instant carpe gratification promoted by the movie is an idea that is regarded as an oracle by beautiful Chinese people.

If he hadn't known for a long time that the film script was written by Director Li himself, Warren would definitely think that it was written by a real beautiful Chinese.

So much flavor.

Warren felt envious looks from other executives, and he knew he had made the right choice this time.

Director Lee did not disappoint him, the movie is funny and interesting.

After more than an hour, the movie ended and the general audience scored on the scene.

Ninety viewers gave it an A, they thought it was very funny, and [-]% of them thought it was the funniest comedy movie of the year.

Only ten viewers gave it C, they thought it was not funny, and it was a bit noisy.

This data is absolutely very good. If it is scored by Rotten Tomatoes, it is 90.00% fresh, and it can be among the best among all movies this year.

Disney executives then met for a meeting to discuss the size of the film's release.

"My suggestion is to open a gallery of three thousand paintings."

"I think it can reach 3 halls. "Rush Hour 700" has more than [-] halls. We can't lose too much."

"It's a pity that it's not a Disney movie, otherwise, I would approve of any scale."

"Warren, why didn't you ask for a copyright share? This is a good movie."

Hearing this, Warren immediately retorted: "At the beginning, you didn't think much about it. I'm going to release it, not only in the beautiful country, but also in Europe and South America, as well as the disc production and distribution of this movie. If the movie becomes a big hit, I will Made tens of millions of dollars for the company."

Others heard that, it is not good to talk about Warren.

In the end, they felt that the quality of the movie was high, and they could start drawing [-] scenes.

"When will it be released?"

"September 28."

"I remember that "Resident Evil 21" will be released on September 3, is that okay?"

"Not only "Resident Evil 3", but also "Wilderness", "Assassination of Sharpshooter", "Jane Austen Book Club", these four films are all released on the 21st, and "Lucky Cook", "University "New Life", these two films will be released on September 28."

Needless to say, "Resident Evil 3", the classic game adaptation movie, the first two have excellent reputation.

Sean Penn is the leading actor in "Wilderness", and Brad Pitt is in "Assassin's Gunslinger".

As for the other three movies, there is nothing to say, and it is obvious at a glance that they are not good enough.

Another executive said: "There will be new films in early October, "The Game Plan", "Dynasty Change", and "Love Feast".

Among them, "The Game Plan" is a comedy by Disney.

Warren thought about it carefully, then curled his lips and said: "Except for "Resident Evil 3", the other movies are made up. I think the date of September 28 is not bad."

The high-level executives discussed for a while, and finally agreed with Warren's statement. September 28 seems to be the off-season for movie viewing, but there are few blockbuster movies at this time, so maybe they can stand out and reap the box office.

"Then let's make a decision like this. It will premiere on September 28 and open to [-] halls."

Not long after, the high-level meeting ended, and a group of high-level executives left the meeting room. When they saw Li Shengyao, they all stopped.

"Lee, 'The Hangover' is awesome, we should have worked more closely together."

"Li, we will release it on the scale of a Hollywood blockbuster, and we will definitely not disappoint you."

"Disney has always been very optimistic about you, and we are trustworthy partners."

"Let's go one step further."

After the other senior executives left, Warren breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled his tie, sat down next to Li Shengyao, and couldn't help laughing.

"Li, you performed very well. You are really a genius. Now I know why Toby and the others are so optimistic about you. You are indeed amazing. You are so young and so powerful. Hollywood has never seen it before."

Li Shengyao quietly listened to Warren's flattery, but did not answer.

"Li, look forward to our closer cooperation next time."

"Let's talk later."

……

At the beginning of September, "Canadian Idol" ended, and Carly became the third runner-up. The news that she sang the theme song for "The Hangover" came out, which more or less brought a little bit of traffic to "The Hangover".

At the same time, the first season of "Gossip Girl" aired, with one episode a week, but with the super good looks of several leading actors and actresses, as well as the tough life of upper-class girls presented in the TV series, this show is like a virus The same, quickly swept the United States.

It's not just bottom-level audiences who like to watch it.

Even many star idols have become fans of "Gossip Girl".

And the person who benefited the most from this show's popularity is Blake Lively, with his proud figure and hearty smile.

Lively quickly became an All-Beauty actress.

Although Durant did not say that he would drink footwashing water, many stars praised Lively.

Hollywood and many magazine media believe that Lively will be a star of tomorrow.

The news of Lively's guest appearance in "The Hangover" also came out, which brought a lot of traffic to "The Hangover".

Li Shengyao didn't have much resources. Disney was generous this time. After the operation, he arranged for Li Shengyao, four leading actors, and Lively to participate in Jay Leno's Tonight Show.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is the most-watched interview show in Pretty Country, and the most-watched show at the same time.

Lee Sung Yew and the four male protagonists are all in suits and leather shoes, while Lively is wearing a tight long skirt, which undoubtedly shows her perfect figure.

Compared to the last time we met, Jay Leno seems to be a little older, with whiter hair and fatter face.

The speaking speed is still fast.

"Li, last time you followed jaekie to my show, but this time someone else followed you to my show, are you proud?"

Li Shengyao shook his head, "It's okay, I think this is a normal thing, this is just the beginning."

Jay Leno nodded and smiled, "You are still the same as before, you are always very confident."

Many Chinese celebrities have come to his show, like Cheng Long, Li Lianjie, and Dayao. He does not discriminate against Chinese, but he will not let guests easily pass his interview.

"Li, are you nervous about the results of "Rush Hour 3"?"

"not nervous."

"why?"

"Because I am this character, I will not be nervous."

Everyone chuckled, they could tell that Jay Leno wanted to "make things difficult" for Director Li.

"So how much box office do you think "The Hangover" can make?"

"In the beautiful country, there should be [-] million dollars."

Everyone's eyes widened when they heard this, including Lively and Zach.

"Look, your partner doesn't believe it."

"Guys, be confident, we are a [-] million movie."

Li Shengyao followed Jay Leno's words and immediately urged the others.

Lively and others immediately expressed their trust in Director Li, and this movie can earn [-] million.

Such a change in attitude before and after made the audience couldn't help laughing.

"Li, why are you so confident? "Taken" doesn't even cost [-] million dollars in the beautiful country?"

Li Shengyao thought for a while, "I feel it, my feeling has always been accurate."

"really?"

Li Shengyao nodded, "Yes, even before the NBA championship came out this year, I knew the Spurs would win."

Jay Leno spread his hands, "Dude, don't prove what happened."

"Then I predict that the NBA champion next year will be the Celtics."

The Celtics will gather the Big Three in July this year. In Lee Seung Yew's previous life, they won the championship in the first year of forming a team.

Jay Leno was surprised when he heard the words: "What about the Lakers?"

"The Lakers will be the champions of the Western Conference, but they will be defeated by the Celtics."

The audience laughed again when they heard this.

At this time, Kobe was in full swing in the beautiful country. Although the Celtics formed the Big Three, the Lakers also recruited.

During the offseason, the fans and the media were more optimistic about the Lakers, after all, the "Lakers championship".

Jay Leno was sure that Lee Sheng Yew was lying, "Lee, even though I think you are messing around, but you are so confident, I still plan to support you. "The Hangover" premieres, and I will watch it."

Then Jay Leno turned to the others.

Not long after, the interview ended, and the crew of "The Hangover" left the live broadcast room. When they were about to separate, Lively tossed his long hair, "Li, do you really think that "The Hangover" can exceed [-] million US dollars in Beautiful Country? "

Li Shengyao nodded, "I'm not optimistic, I think it will definitely work."

She smiled heartily and said in a low voice, "If you succeed, I will give you a reward."

After the words fell, she twisted her waist and left.

Sorry, I've had bad luck lately.

I finished the update yesterday afternoon. I thought I was in very good condition, and I could code [-] words at night.

So I went out to eat and checked to see if my mother's pension had arrived, but I lost my mother's social security card.

I searched back and forth for two hours and couldn't find it.

I will really update another [-] words at seven o'clock tonight.

(End of this chapter)