Extracting skills from movies

"Yali, it's time to take action."

After Hades left, Amanda returned to the office and dialed the familiar number:
"Yali, it's time to start delivering our 'gifts'."

At the same time, at the Yali Public Relations Company on the other side of the Hollywood Hills, hundreds of employees were busy working.

The founder, Yali Bass, is Amanda's classmate and friend. She personally supervises the sending of emails:
“All emails for the first group must be sent out before midnight!
Design Department, make Du Sheng's photo brighter so that every judge can remember his eyes."

"remember!"

At this point, Yali added to the team:
“We want everyone who receives this email to feel like it’s the most special gift they’ve received this year.”

As the sun sank into the Pacific Ocean, a beautiful email was delivered to the mailboxes of Los Angeles film critics, union members, and Sentinel Awards judges.

The cover of the email was a close-up of Du Sheng gazing into the distance in The Departed, with the caption:
“What kind of sparks will be created when Director Martin meets Du Sheng?
See you in North American theaters on December 12th."

In the past few days, physical mails with gold-plated logos have been flying to the homes of judges like snowflakes.

Each letter came with a handwritten thank-you card from Du Sheng and a commemorative poster of "The Departed".

…………

Beverly Hills, Hilton Hotel.

Los Angeles Express reporter Soler sat on a leather sofa in the corner, flipping through the newspaper in his hands.

But every time he turned a page, his eyes would unconsciously drift towards the revolving door.

Hollywood's most exciting 'reality show' is being staged there.

"coming."

He suddenly lowered his voice and whispered to his colleague Ika.

The obese figure of Harvey Weinstein came into view, and the "King of Power" in Hollywood was leisurely wiping the sweat from his forehead.

At the same time, a middle-aged female producer walked elegantly towards the elevator in high heels, carrying a Chanel handbag.

She kept just the right distance from Harvey, as if they were old friends who met by chance.

Ika followed in, but she pretended not to see it and just stared at the floor buttons intently.

When the elevator stopped on the 12th floor, Harvey walked straight to a room.

Ika pretended to play with his phone and turned a corner quietly.

Not long after, I saw the female producer walking down the stairs on the 13th floor, so I wrote down '1208' on my memo.

This room number is likely to reveal Harvey's dirty secrets.

In room 1208, Harvey was lying on the king-size bed, watching a replay of the premiere of "The Departed" on his laptop.

The picture shows Du Sheng walking down the red carpet with an orangutan.

"This Chinese boy is indeed a genius at pulling off gimmicks!"

Harvey raised his eyebrows, suddenly remembering that the other party had just snatched away the McDonald's endorsement of his artist not long ago.

What made him even more speechless was that the other party directly rejected his offer of a "friendly guest appearance".

That was his carefully designed 'praise to death' plan.

"Ding Dong"

The doorbell rings.

Harvey got up and opened the door, and saw Matt Damon coming in with two bottles of red wine.

"Why didn't you go to London?"

He noticed the 'Toronto - Los Angeles' label on the other person's suitcase and stopped talking.

“The publicity team for The Departed…didn’t take me seriously.”

Matt shrugged:

"Anyway, the nomination for Best Supporting Actor is for Du Sheng, so why should I bother myself?"

Harvey sneered:

"This Chinese boy is really ambitious."

He glanced at the TV:

"But he thought he could win the award just by saying a few bad words?"

"Oscar has a lot of mouthpieces for you, right? I heard he's caused you a lot of trouble recently?"

Matt asked tentatively.

"It's only a loss of a few million."

Harvey waved his hand:
"He is very powerful now, and he has Sony's support. I can't do anything easily."

Matt Damon nodded and said nothing more.

…………

Meanwhile, at the London Hilton Hotel.

Du Sheng had just finished a marathon interview and was leaning against a marble column in the hotel lobby, a little tired.

He wanted to go back to his room to rest, but he saw his cell phone screen light up.

Director Martin sent a message:

"See you at the usual place at seven."

"I'm afraid someone is going to get drunk again tonight."

Du Sheng shook his head, hung his suit jacket back on his arm, and turned to look at the revolving door.

Leonardo was walking towards them, hugging two female reporters and laughing, while Nicholson was walking behind them, shaking his head with a cane, like a group of naughty old boys.

At seven o'clock sharp, the four of them met in the restaurant on the second floor.

Director Martin looked particularly energetic today, and his dark grey suit made his thin face look even sharper.

"No talk of work tonight."

He raised his wine glass:

"Only about... well, about my fifth divorce."

Du Sheng almost choked on his wine:

"Director, are you planning to retire?"

"No, I'm going to the Maldives to dive."

Director Martin's eyes flashed with cunning:

"Two years. You need to rest for at least two years."

He swirled the wine:

"You know what? Every divorce gives me one more good movie to make.

This time...it's time for someone else to bear the torment of marriage."

Leonardo suddenly stopped his fork:

"Are you really going to close your business? Then won't I have to find a new father?"

As everyone laughed, Director Martin looked at Du Sheng meaningfully:

"Don't worry, kid. I heard there are many Hollywood scripts waiting for you."

He suddenly lowered his voice:
"But Leo, you should be worried."

"I?"

Leonardo wiped the corner of his mouth:
"I've been following you in making gangster movies for years, maybe it would be better to change to a different genre now."

He winked slyly:
"Besides, don't Oscar judges like to see new people?"

Whether "The Departed" wins an award or not will not affect director Martin's decision.

He was determined to give himself a long vacation and have a good rest.

If everything goes well, it will take at least three years before he takes up the directing baton again.

Over the years, the five marriages were like five heavy economic mountains, weighing down Director Martin to the point of being unable to breathe.

This forced him to schedule one film after another to repay his debts. In a sense, marriage is like a double-edged sword, which not only brings a heavy burden to Director Martin, but also becomes the invisible source of motivation for his creation.

Du Sheng was calm about director Martin's decision to take a leave of absence, but Leonardo was inevitably affected to some extent.

After all, in the past few years, he and director Martin have been a golden pair, working together to create many popular masterpieces.

However, with Leonardo's current status and influence in the film industry, he has never lacked top resources.

It is no exaggeration to say that these projects will only fall into the hands of other people if he doesn't like them.

Several people drank like cows, and in the end it was 3 VS 1, and 3 of them were drunk.

As the film festival came to an end, the crew of "The Departed" hurriedly bid farewell to London.

Du Sheng and others returned to North America without stopping and started a vigorous promotional tour in major cities.

Wherever the four main creators of the crew went, they caused a stir and attracted extremely enthusiastic attention in the local area.

They appeared in busy streets and crowded cinemas, and wherever they went they were surrounded by enthusiastic fans.

During the promotional period, the crew went to director Martin's farm in Massachusetts to meet the gorilla again and take precious photos.

The "parody gift" video from the London premiere had already gone viral on the Internet, bringing huge popularity to the upcoming film.

.........

This afternoon, in front of the Bay Theater.

The crowd wearing Kung Fu Panda T-shirts formed a sea.

Du Sheng looked at the winding team and blinked at the camera:
"Everyone, I heard that the popcorn in the theater next door is free."

The theater manager was frantic backstage:
"Extra! All extras!

This isn't a movie premiere, it's clearly a rush to buy concert tickets!"

As night fell, Du Sheng leaned against the theater door and looked at the street where the crowds were dispersing.

Director Martin's farm, Leonardo's teasing, and Nicholson's title of "old naughty boy" all turned into stars at this moment, embellishing this night that belongs to filmmakers.

Leonardo suddenly sent a text message:

"Do you think old Martin can really quit making movies?"

Du Sheng looked back towards London, with a slight smile on his face:
"When he finishes his dive, we'll tell him his ape has learned to smoke."

…………

In front of the Marilyn Theater at Willis Square, Chicago.

There were already crowds of people there, and it was bustling with activity.

I saw a group of people wearing Kung Fu Panda T-shirts queuing in an orderly manner.

The team stretched out for hundreds of meters in a winding manner, creating a spectacular scene.

Tonight is the day that Du Sheng will hold a signing and ticketing event here. Fans are very enthusiastic and have come to support him.

"Du! Du!"

The continuous shouting scared the flock of pigeons in the square away.

They flapped their wings and flew over a building with a huge poster of "The Departed".

Du Sheng in the poster has sharp eyebrows and eyes as sharp as torches, as if they can penetrate the entire Chicago night sky.

Tom, the manager of Marilyn Cinema, wiped the sweat from his forehead and watched the ticket system continuously refresh the glaring red words "SOLD OUT".

The six originally planned screening halls had already been overwhelmed by the surging crowds, and even the popcorn counter was crowded with viewers holding banknotes.

He immediately tore down the sign of the staff lounge:
"Take down the Miami Vice exhibition in VIP Hall 7! Replace it with The Departed in Hall !"

This impromptu decision caused thunderous cheers to erupt in the waiting area.

A wave of red instantly flooded the newly opened entryway.

And 3 kilometers away in Los Angeles, Cui Yayi is leading the "Du disciples" to stage a red storm on the Avenue of Stars.

They all wore Du Sheng's cheering ribbons, their steps were as neat as dancers on the edge of a knife, and their shiny Martin boots crushed the twilight of Hollywood.

While organizing the fans' team, Cui Yayi whispered to the assistant beside her:

"Remember to remind the sound engineer to play the ending theme song of The Departed at the beginning of the show."

There is no other reason, because this song was sung by Du Sheng.

Cui Yayi held up the megaphone, the red highlights in her hair looking like dancing flames under the neon lights:
"Let people see our most perfect cheering wall!"

When the red army arrived at the cinema tower, the setting sun just cast a golden edge on the poster of "The Departed".

In the poster, Du Sheng is holding two guns, with exploding flames and flying glass behind him. This freeze-frame moment made the eyes of the fans in the front row red.

"Did you see it?"

Irene, with her twin ponytails, turned to her companions. The life-size sign of Du Sheng in her arms sparkled in the sun:

"Two years ago, his film 'SPL' could only be shown in small places, and many places could not schedule a screening in a day. Now it has become an oriental giant that can rival Hollywood!"

Suddenly, three dark shadows rose into the air from the queue. They were actually three fans who cosplayed as gangsters in the movie!
They held toy Thompson submachine guns and fired at the crowd, causing screams and laughter.

Cui Yayi stood on tiptoe and shouted:
"Du's disciples live forever!"

In response to her, hundreds of people shouted in unison and performed the starting posture of Bajiquan.

This is a unique salute gesture from Du Sheng's fans, which originated from his joking "jianghu etiquette" in one of his interviews.

The sponsors were also busy. A "The Departed" themed meal stall was set up next to the McDonald's food truck, and each red paper bag was printed with Du Sheng's profile silhouette.

The crew was so generous that they booked an entire block of electronic screens, which played the behind-the-scenes footage of Du Sheng and Martin Scorsese's interaction on the set in a loop.

When Du Sheng said 'I will make you proud', the whole Hollywood Boulevard was shaking.

The flash lights in the media area almost melted the theater's red carpet.

As soon as the CNN reporter handed the microphone to a Chinese girl, she was interrupted by the "Red Shirts" who suddenly rushed in.

"Du Sheng is the pride of Eastern filmmakers!"

A burly man covered in tattoos shouted to steal the spotlight, saying that the green dragon tattoo on his back was exactly the same as the tattoo Du Sheng had in "The Departed".

This crazy cheering made the security guards laugh and cry, and they could only let them perform classic scenes from the movie in front of the camera.

At this moment, all 3427 seats in the Marilyn Cinema have already been swallowed up by the red wave.

When the FBI warning image appeared on the screen, the entire theater suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

This is a movie-watching ceremony specially designed by Du Sheng.

The next second, as the undercover gangster he played spoke his first line, the thunderous applause almost blew the dome off.

Some old fans discovered that Du Sheng deliberately retained the classic knife-swinging move from "SPL" in the post-credits easter egg. This secret tribute made many fans who have been following the show since its infancy burst into tears.

At the same time, fans who like directors Leonardo and Martin will also go to the cinema and buy tickets to watch this movie.

They may not be fans of Du Sheng, but they are also attracted by this movie and look forward to witnessing a wonderful contest on the screen.

With 3000 advance screenings on Thursday, The Departed took in $512 million.

This is undoubtedly a rare achievement for a gangster film.

After all, it’s hard to make a big improvement on a weekday.

By Friday, the film had expanded to 3290 theaters and was released across North America.

There were only two films released during the same period.

The iron wall formed by 3290 screens squeezed out "Dreamgirls" and "Apocalypto" which were released at the same time, leaving them no room to breathe.

"This is not a movie, this is war!"

This is how Martin Scorsese defined this visual storm at the premiere.

As for the crew, the main creative team including Du Sheng is still on a promotional tour across the United States signing and selling tickets.

They traveled non-stop between major cities, participating in various talk shows, fan meetings and other activities to promote the film.

Various advertisements and publicity have flooded in to keep the film hot enough.

………(End of chapter)