The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 546 Movies that make money

Los Angeles is warmer than Yanjing at the end of February. It is enough for tourists to wear underwear and a jacket when walking outdoors.

Li Shengyao actually likes the weather in Los Angeles.

In the early morning of this day, facing the faint sunshine, he jogged around the Four Seasons Hotel.

After attending the exchange meeting, he rushed to the beautiful country with his assistant.

The Oscars invited Lee Sing-yao to be the presenter, and the award presented was the best short film.

It was rejected by Lee Sheng Yew.

He went to the beautiful country this time to help promote "The Hangover 2" and to meet the production team of "The Hangover 2".

"The Hangover Part 1" became a hit and earned Lee Sung-Yao more than $1 million.

In the following years, it earned $500 million a year by selling streaming rights, television broadcast rights, and video rental and sales.

Such a business that guarantees a steady profit is naturally desirable.

Warner has long wanted to restart "The Hangover 2" with Feng Hua, but Lee Sheng-yew had been delaying it until last year. He arranged a film crew and then contacted Todd Phillips, the director of the previous "Hangover" trilogy. As director, he officially produced "The Hangover 2".

Now that the film has been produced, people from Warner Bros. approached Lee to discuss a global release date, and he chose March [-]st.

Now "The Hangover 2" is about to be released, and "The Hangover 3" will be produced soon.

As a big boss, Lee Sheung Yew is very reasonable and wants to meet his hard-working employees.

So after Li Shengyao had settled his domestic affairs and had some free time during this period, he came to Los Angeles.

Two hours later, Lee Sheng-yao had breakfast and came to the Los Angeles branch of Warner Pictures, where he saw his old friends Toby Emmerich and Todd Phillips.

Toby is still the same. White people seem to age quickly. A 20-year-old looks like a 30-year-old, and a 30-year-old looks like a 40-year-old.

But when they are 40, 50, or 60 years old, they will look like they are 50 years old.

Toby is in this stage, it seems, he always has been.

The only difference is probably that I am more confident and calm.

He has already become the vice president of Warner Pictures. At his age, it is only a matter of time before he becomes the top brother of Warner Pictures.

This well-known Hollywood producer is now high-spirited, walking with wind, and when he speaks, his voice is full of power and his tone is firm.

Todd Phillips is very young, he is only 42 years old.

He doesn't have much hair anymore, he is tall and has a pointed head, but his face looks very gentle, and he has the temperament of a science and engineering man.

In Lee Sheng-yew's previous life, Todd had already become a film director, but before "The Hangover", the films he shot had always been relatively ordinary.

The work that the audience is more familiar with should be "Borat".

Later, after he filmed "The Hangover", he kept cheating all the time and made more and more outstanding movies. In 2019, he completed "Joker", which won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival.

Lee Sheng-yew had never met Todd before and had only chatted on the phone. This was the first time the two met.

"Li, it's great to see you again. You are still so young. You Orientals are really jealous. You don't seem to age."

Toby was very enthusiastic and stepped forward to hug Li Shengyao.

Todd Phillips saw this in his eyes and raised Li Shengyao's level to a higher level in his heart.

He knew very well that after Toby became the vice president of Warner Pictures, there were not many people in Hollywood who could embrace him and communicate with him on an equal footing.

And Lee Sheng Yew seems to be more noble. It is not Lee Sheng Yew who is holding Toby up, but Toby is flattering Lee Sheng Yew.

Todd felt envious, but also wanted to prove himself.

"Lee, it's a pleasure to meet you and get your recognition. It's an honor for me to direct "The Hangover 2". I hope you won't be disappointed when you watch the movie later."

Warner has already held movie viewing parties at various levels, and the feedback received has been very good.

Many people think it is no worse than "The Hangover 1".

Todd is still very confident about the quality of the movie.

Li Shengyao nodded, "Todd, I believe in your ability. I am very relieved that you will direct "The Hangover 2"."

Soon after, Lee Sheng-yew entered the movie room to watch "The Hangover 2".

There is no doubt about Todd's ability. Generally speaking, the movie produced the charm that Lee Sheng-yew wanted.

After he finished watching the movie, he said to Todd with satisfaction: "The movie is wonderful, and the effect is better than I expected. Todd, you are amazing."

Todd Phillips was very happy to be praised by Lee Sheng Yew. He immediately said: "After reading the script you wrote, I immediately started to conceive of the shooting plan, including the positioning of the actors, the placement of the camera, and the angles of the shots. I took them all seriously. After thinking about it, I..."

Todd then talked about his hard work and dedication in filming "The Hangover 2".

Li Shengyao stood quietly beside him. He could hear that Todd actually wanted to prove himself and prove that "The Hangover 2" was no worse than "The Hangover 1". He did not feel offended or angry.

In fact, the higher the quality of "The Hangover 2", the better, so it can harvest higher box office and Lee Sheng Yew can make more money.

Todd only received a director's salary of US$100 million, not even a box office reward.

Li Shengyao has always been very generous and tolerant towards such migrant workers.

After Todd finished talking about his efforts, Lee Sheng-yew clapped his hands and applauded, and then said: "Todd, you are great, your ability is beyond doubt, I have always believed in you, and you will definitely become one of the best directors in Hollywood in the future. "

Todd Phillips nodded excitedly when he heard this, "I think so too."

Li Shengyao thought for a while and then said: "Todd, I have only written three scripts related to "The Hangover". If you are interested, you can write the script for "The Hangover 456" and we can share the profits with you."

Todd not only directed, he also wrote the script.

In Lee Sung-yew's previous life, "The Hangover 23" was a script written by Todd himself.

If Todd can write the script of "The Hangover 456", Lee Sheng-yew will definitely invest in it. Anyway, as a modern comedy, the cost is not high, and relying on the reputation of the previous work, the subsequent sequels will definitely make money.

Hearing this, Todd became even more excited and blushed a lot.

"Li, I accept this challenge and I will definitely work hard."

Li Shengyao smiled and said, "Don't put pressure on yourself, take your time, we have time."

Todd Phillips was immersed in joy and excitement, and repeatedly stated that he would continue to work hard.

Toby Emmerich stood aside and watched with a smile as Li Shengyao communicated with Todd. He could feel that Li Shengyao's role just now was the boss, while Todd was the employee.

He was surprised that Li Shengyao could be so calm, but considering Li Shengyao's industry in the mainland, he felt that this was a matter of course.

"Lee, why did you turn down the Oscar presenter?"

The organizers of the Oscars invited Lee Sheng Yew to present an award, but Lee Sheng Yew refused. Naturally, such a thing could not be hidden from the vice president of Warner Pictures.

Li Shengyao smiled and said, "It's just a small prize, it's not interesting."

This time the Oscar organizers invited Lee Sheng Yew to present the best short film, but Lee Sheng Yew declined.

Such small prizes are meaningless, have low traffic, and have no publicity effect at all.

If it's the best actor or actress, or the best director, or the best movie, then Lee Sheng Yew will agree without hesitation.

Todd couldn't help being stunned when he heard Li Shengyao's words.

Lee Sheng Yew was younger than him, but he was already an Oscar-recognized director. He wanted to ask him to be an award presenter, but Lee Sheng Yew actually refused.

Todd looked at Li Shengyao's indifferent expression and fell silent for a moment.

It turns out that the two of them are not players of the same level at all.

Just now, Lee Sheng Yew encouraged him and offered him profit sharing, but he didn't feel the same way. Only then did he realize that Lee Sheng Yew no longer needed an Oscar award guest to prove his status. He was even more awesome than Toby Emmerich.

Thinking of Li Shengyao's Palme d'Or, Todd sighed secretly.

People can't be compared to people.

Toby Emmerich didn't have as many ideas as Todd. He just felt that Lee Sheng-yew was more approachable and that the two parties could continue to cooperate in depth.

……

2012年2月26号晚上7点，李声耀与《宿醉2》剧组一起参加了奥斯卡颁奖典礼。

Several of the male protagonists of "The Hangover" are already well-known, especially "Little Fatty" Zach Garfilianakis, who has been recognized by many movie fans. He is also popular in the industry, and many passers-by know him.

When Zach walked down the red carpet, the cheers were loud.

This little fat guy has the same effect as Shen Teng in the beautiful country. As long as he appears in the movie, the audience will laugh.

Lee Sing-yew is not an actor. He has disappeared from the beautiful country in recent years. Not many fans know him. When he walks on the red carpet, he hardly attracts cheers.

Director Li didn't care.He smiled and entered the venue with Zach and the others, then sat down and quietly watched the Oscars ceremony.

In the 2012 Oscars, there was no particularly outstanding movie, and there was no mention of that movie winning several awards.

If Lee Sung-Yao remembers correctly, "The Artist" won the best film, Jean Dujardin won the best actor, and Aunt May won the best actress.

The most dazzling person is Aunt Mei. After all, she won the Best Actress again. Her achievements are enough to be recorded in the history of world cinema.

Lee Sing-yew originally thought that he would watch the Oscars silently and be a gentle spectator, but he never expected that someone would still remember him at the Oscars.

Tonight's host is Billy Crystal. This 65-year-old man has white hair, great eloquence, and amazing physical fitness. This is his ninth time hosting the Oscars.

He always has something to say that makes the audience laugh.

When the award presenter presented the best short film, Billy returned to the stage. He put his hand in front of his forehead, pretending to be looking from a distance, looking left and right.

"You know, the organizer originally invited Li to be the award guest, but he refused.

I heard that Li came to the scene. Li, where are you?

Can you tell me, I am 65 years old and I am still here, why are you unwilling to come up? "

Everyone laughed.

The camera quickly focused on Li Shengyao.

The Oscars were broadcast live around the world, and the organizers were able to collect tens of millions of dollars in copyright fees based on this one-time show. Lee Sheng Yew is well-known in Asia, so the organizers naturally want to cause trouble.

Li Shengyao noticed that everyone was looking at him, but he didn't panic. He just rolled his eyes at Billy.

A staff member handed over the microphone, and Li Shengyao took it.

"Li, why are you unwilling to come here to award the award?"

Li Shengyao laughed and said: "This is a very sad thing. I thought I could give an award to the best actor or best actress, but it wasn't. This made me very disappointed, so I refused."

"Oh, really? This is the organizer's problem. You are so good that you should be given an important award."

Billy paused and then said: "Then why don't you sign up to compete for the Oscars?"

"1937" was naturally eligible to participate in the Oscar selection, but Lee Sheng Yew did not apply. He felt that he could not win the award, so he did not bother to sign up.

When the time came, the mainland media hyped it up, but in the end it failed to win an award. Instead, it gave people the illusion that the three major European films were not as good as the Oscars.

Lee Sheng Yew laughed and said: "I have already won the Palme d'Or. I think it is enough. I hope to give other filmmakers something to think about."

This is very pretentious.

However, people from the beautiful country have always been flamboyant, and such arrogance suited their taste, and there was a burst of warm applause at the scene.

Billy laughed and said, "Li, when will you sign up for the Oscars?"

"It could be two years from now, or it could be five years from now, I'm not sure, if in any year I make a lower-quality movie, I'm going to compete at the Oscars."

Everyone still laughed.

Billy reached out and pointed at Li Shengyao, "You have offended many people. I hope you can succeed."

"If I offended a lot of people and still won an Oscar, wouldn't it prove the magnanimity of the beautiful country? I think the Oscar organizers can consider this."

After Li Shengyao finished speaking, he handed over the microphone.

Billy then changed the topic and the awards show continued.

After a long time, the awards ceremony ended, and as Lee Sung-yao remembered, the winner had not changed.

After the party, there was also a celebration party, which Lee Sheng-yew and the crew of "The Hangover 2" attended.

He originally wanted to sit aside and eat quietly, but many people came over and wanted to take photos with Lee Sheng Yew.

After 10 minutes, it became quieter around him.

"Lee, nice to meet you."

A middle-aged man about 50 years old, wearing a suit and glasses, who looked a bit polite and scum, walked over.

"My name is Andrew Stanton."

Lee Sheng-yew stretched out his hand and shook hands with Andrew, "I know you, "Wall-E" and "Finding Nemo" are both very exciting."

Andrew has been a director of animated films before, and in recent years has started directing live-action films.

He has a movie to be released in March this year. This movie is Disney's S-class production-"Alien Battlefield".

According to discussions between Lee Sung-Yew and Toby Emmerich, "The Hangover 2" will be released on March [-].

"Alien Battlefield" is released on March [-]th. The two movies are released close to each other, so there will definitely be a fight by then.

Toby had previously suggested to Lee Sing-yew that it would not be good to put it in early March. There are too many good movies in early March, so it would be better to put it in April.

However, Lee Sheng Yew refused. He looked at the list of movies released in early March.

Lee Sing-yew felt that all the movies released in early March were of little use, including "Alien Battlefield".

Andrew nodded happily, "Li, I like "1937" very much. This movie inspired me a lot. I watched this movie and learned a lot of techniques for shooting live movies."

Li Shengyao nodded, "You don't need to pay me royalties. I learned from other directors."

Andrew laughed and said, "You are very funny. No wonder you can write such an excellent comedy as "The Hangover"."

He paused and then said: "The Hangover 2 will be released on March [-]st, and Alien Battlefield will be released on March [-]th.

"Alien Battlefield" is my first real-life movie, and it is still a big production. I will work very hard to become the best movie in March. "

After Andrew said these words, his face flushed, and he looked a little nervous.

Li Shengyao smiled and said, "Man, I wish you success."

Hearing this, Andrew nodded awkwardly, then turned and left.

Li Shengyao smiled and did not take this matter to heart.

He knows very well what kind of movie "The Hangover 2" is. The global box office is US$2 million, while "Alien Battlefield" is only more than US$[-] million. The box office of the two movies is not of the same magnitude.

Andrew wants to prove his strength, but Lee Sheng Yew doesn't.

……

A few days later, "The Hangover 2" was released in Europe and the United States, as well as peninsulas, island countries, Hong Kong Island, Wanwan and other places.

With the good reputation of "The Hangover Part 1", the movie was a hit when it was released. The release date was Thursday, but it still took in a box office of US$800 million on the first day in the beautiful country.

On March [-]nd, "Being Flynn", "Beautiful Friends", "The Story of Old Lacey", "Witch Hunter" and "Jeff Lives at Home" will be released.

Among them, "Being Flynn" has De Niro and Julianne Moore, "Beautiful Friends" has Uma Thurman, "The Story of Lacey" has Zac Efron, and "Witch Hunter" has Jerry M. Reina.

These movies all have actors that appeal to moviegoers, and they all have something to watch.

However, none of these movies sparked a movie-going craze and became a stepping stone for "The Hangover 2", which took in $2 million at the box office in its first week.

One week later, movies such as "Alien Battlefield", "The Green Field", "The Crow", "The Cabin of Silence", "Think Like a Man" and so on were released.

In fact, these movies are equally interesting, but "Alien Battlefield", which has attracted the most attention, only has a box office of about [-] million in the beautiful country.

Another week passed, and March NO.16 came, and a batch of movies were released, but the results were not good. At this time, the top two box office hits were still "The Hangover 2" and "Alien Battlefield."

When "The Hunger Games" was released on March 23, "The Hangover 2" was pulled.

"The Hangover 2" not only set off a movie-watching craze in beautiful countries, but also in Europe.

Young people in Europe prefer movies that promote indulgence and hedonism, so "The Hangover 2" made crazy box office gains on the European continent.

Warner was very excited. Toby called Lee Sheng-yew and said, "Lee, our movie is very successful and should fetch US$[-] million in mainland Europe."

Lee Sheng-yew was also happy, "Very good, we can continue to produce the "The Hangover" series of movies."

"Yes, I will hold a celebration party when the time comes."

Toby Emmerich paused and then said: "However, the spirit promoted by "The Hangover 2" seems to be opposed by some conservative movies. We have received news that some newspapers in France and Italy criticized you. "

Li Shengyao frowned slightly when he heard this, but his tone was calm, "It's okay, just some insignificant little people."

"How about we arrange for friendly media to help you speak to you?"

"Okay, I owe you a favor."

Lee Sheng-yew is about to take "Parasite" to the Cannes Film Festival, and he doesn't want "The Hangover 2" to affect his reputation.

(End of this chapter)