Extracting skills from movies

Du Sheng dodged the question:
"It can't be called stealing. Exodus is a biblical story, anyone can make a film about it. Warner Bros. just acted faster."

He changed the subject and said:
"There are too many people and too much chatter today, so it's difficult to discuss the details."

Could you please pass on a message to Andrew for me? I'm a fan of his films and hope we can collaborate on a movie someday.

Chad had dealt with Du Sheng a few times and knew he wasn't one for empty formalities, so he nodded and said:
"Okay, I will definitely convey your message verbatim."

Du Sheng added another sentence:
"Also, please ask Andrew if he has any free time after filming Shrek 4."

I have a notebook here that I think would suit him well.

“I’ll tell him all at once.”

Chad agreed and turned to leave.

Just then, the VIP room door was pushed open with a "bang."

Nicholson and Leonardo strolled in, clearly late.

Du Sheng quickly went to meet him, joking with a smile:

"You just got here? Where have you been gallivanting off to?"

Any later, and I'm afraid I won't even catch the end credits.

Nicholson plopped down on the sofa and complained:

"It's Leo's fault! He got a phone call halfway through the journey and had to stop, wasting half the day."

He drives like a snail, slower than his 19-second shot clock, how can he not be late?

"Shut up!"

Leonardo rolled his eyes, pulled Du Sheng toward the door, and walked mysteriously:

Do you know who made the call just now?
"Agents from the Rakshasa Kingdom!"

Du Sheng immediately feigned a shocked expression and shouted:
"Holy crap! Leo, are you a traitor to the US military?"
I am an honorary citizen of Los Angeles!
"You want me to shut up? You're done unless you give me half your bonus!"

Nicholson's eyes lit up, and he immediately leaned closer:
"I have to report this, I'm short of money for drinks!"

Leonardo rolled his eyes:

"Are you two bastards so forgetful because you're important people?"

I mentioned before that I wanted to organize a party for the big and second Mao models!

Upon hearing this, Du Sheng's expression turned serious, and he turned to the old man, saying:
"Forget it, let's keep the prize money for party expenses."

He then asked Leonardo with an expectant look:
"The party's booked? Is this just empty talk?"

Leonardo raised his chin, a smug look on his face:
"Of course it's settled!"
Aren't you going to Paris later for the European premiere of "Inception"?
I'll book for that time; all the models who come are tall and beautiful, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!

Nicholson had long forgotten about the "whistleblower reward" and slapped Leonardo in dissatisfaction.
"Well, you! You kept such an important thing from me?"
Okay, I won't do anything at this party, I'll just be responsible for bringing the penis!

Du Sheng immediately chimed in, shrugging:

"You organized the party, so I'll pay for it."

Upon hearing this, Leonardo immediately put his arm around Du Sheng's shoulder and patted him on the shoulder repeatedly.

"That's more like it! I'll make you do the work of two!"

Du Sheng asked curiously:

"By the way, who did you invite this time?"
"Won't it all be those same old faces from the Western entertainment industry?"

Don't have too high expectations.

Leonardo gave a heads-up:
"Most of the models and minor actors on Da Mao and Er Mao's side are second-tier models, and there are only a few supermodels, all of whom you know."

Top-tier celebrities are hard to invite. This is my first time doing this, and I haven't built up my network yet.

Du Sheng knew what was going on.

Most of the supermodels on Da Mao's side have walked for Victoria's Secret; he'd seen them quite a few times before at fashion events.
Some of them have a pretty good relationship, so it wouldn't be awkward if they ran into each other.

As they were talking, Ma Yaowei poked his head out of the lounge door and called out:
"Gentlemen, it's time to go in, the place is almost full!"

Before long, the guests began to enter the venue.

Nolan and his wife Emma Haders, along with Du Sheng and other key members of the creative team, lined up to enter the Kodak Theatre.

First came the routine media Q&A and fan interaction.

Reporters surrounded Nolan asking "How many layers are there in the dream?", and fans chased after Du Sheng for autographs. The commotion lasted for more than half an hour before it finally subsided.

Then the main cast members sat in the first row, the big screen went dark, and "Inception" officially began.

Movies, after all, are like a dream.

Nolan, however, insisted on creating a "dream within a dream," layer upon layer.

Du Sheng plays Cobb, the leader of this "Dream Stealing Team".

They specialize in sneaking into other people's dreams to steal their ideas. If a client needs it, they can even "plant" fake memories inside and alter the person's mind.

The core of the story is actually not complicated, but Nolan's narrative is so ingenious that it makes the film quite mind-bending.

Fortunately, by sorting things out, we can figure out how things went.

Films that are too convoluted will cause viewers to turn around and leave, which is simply asking for trouble.

What's even more amazing is that this film also features a host of visual spectacles.

Space flips, cities collapse, seawater floods...

Why should we abide by the laws of physics in dreams?
They blew it up however they wanted, it was so exciting it made everyone's eyes pop out.

To put it bluntly, the only limitations of this film are money and imagination.

When the end credits finished and the lights came on, the entire audience erupted in applause and whistles.

If The Matrix is ​​the progenitor of "pretentious films," then Inception takes pretentiousness to the extreme.

Nolan led the cast and crew onto the stage for a curtain call, and the applause never stopped.

Du Sheng stood on the stage, looking at the dark mass of people below, and felt a warmth in his heart.

With so many people liking it, all the sleepless nights and exhaustion were totally worth it.

After the event, he, Leonardo, and Nicholson headed straight to a nearby private club to celebrate with a couple of drinks.

On the way, the conversation circled back to Leonardo DiCaprio's party with Russian women, mainly focusing on which well-known actresses were involved.

Du Sheng only remembered one: Olga Kurylenko, who played the Bond girl in this year's "Quantum of Solace".

Nicholson, with a cigar in his mouth, said slowly:
"Among the actresses who came to Hollywood, besides Natalia and Yelena, I only recognize Ksenia."

She used to stay here for a while, and I even chatted with her, but unfortunately she didn't become famous and went back.

Du Sheng joked:
"Looks like the Casanova didn't succeed, otherwise why would he have let her go so easily?"

Nicholson shrugged, looking completely at ease.
"Mainly because my aesthetic sense has changed. Back then, I liked big, dark, and rough things."

Leonardo smiled and shrugged:

"The people who came this time are all young and not very famous, but they are good-looking."

This is my first time organizing a game like this, so I'm not very familiar with the process yet. Next time, I'll definitely be able to hire someone even better.

Du Sheng recalled the spy film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" and a strange question popped into his head:
"Leo, do you think there might be a spy among the people you hired?"
"After all, they're from the Russian side. What if they have KGB connections?"

Leonardo burst out laughing:
"KGB spies are not so easy to find."

We're training someone who's extremely valuable, someone we can send to watch us drink?

Even if it really exists, I'm not afraid!
There's a line of security guards; they search you as soon as you enter. Even spies would be turned into 'beauty objects' and wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

Nicholson, on the contrary, got excited:

"I really want to meet the spy!"
I've seen countless movies about it, but I've never seen a real person do it, let alone handled one.

Du Sheng directly undermined him:

"You're not the governor or prime minister, why would they bother with all this trouble?"

“You’re a big shot, aren’t you!” Nicholson immediately retorted, gesturing exaggeratedly:
"You've taken down so many gangsters before, most of them were spies, and they definitely want to get close to you."

As he spoke, he grabbed his collar and gestured as if he were cutting his own throat, which made everyone laugh.

Du Sheng shrugged, too lazy to refute.

The three arrived at the club, found a private room, ordered whiskey and snacks, and chatted while drinking.
They talked about movies, then parties, and then Hollywood gossip, continuing until late into the night before finally breaking up.

As soon as Du Sheng entered the house, her phone vibrated with a "buzz".

It was a text message from Haders:
The results of the questionnaire survey at the premiere are in, and the audience response was good, with the ratings even higher than expected, so the box office should be secure.

The next morning, the official media reviews for "Inception" were released.

The film is receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews on major film review websites.

The Los Angeles Times film critic, Digley, gave it a perfect score:

"The anti-gravity feats, the visceral action scenes, the heart-wrenching emotional storylines in 'Inception,' coupled with Du Sheng's consistently solid acting skills..."

Every frame is so captivating that you can't look away, and you simply can't bear to fast-forward.

Not only the Los Angeles Times, but other media outlets also unanimously praised it.

"Is Inception a science fiction film?"

It's an addictive dream adventure; you'll want to watch it all over again right after you finish!

At the film fan forums, the atmosphere was even more lively.

Someone posted:

"Du Sheng must be the 'ever-changing entertainer'!"

Even though they are all blockbuster films, the roles he plays are all very different.

In "Infernal Affairs", he plays a ruthless henchman who draws blood with every punch.

In this film, *Inception*, she once again plays an elegant and wise dream mastermind, displaying both poise and intelligence perfectly. Who can deny her acting prowess?

As word-of-mouth spreads, the rating data is now available:

It has a 93% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 9.1 rating on IMDb, an 84 rating on Metacritic, and an A rating from CS audiences.

Anyone can see the significance of this string of numbers just by looking at it.

Inception is receiving rave reviews!
Of course, there are also haters.

A small group of people specifically targeted Du Sheng, leaving comments saying:
"Du Sheng's movies are all explosions, gunfights, and killings; they're a mess and have no artistry whatsoever!"

He's farther from being an 'artist' than the distance from China to Washington, D.C.!

But then again, besides money and beautiful women, who can please everyone?

It's perfectly normal for fans to have haters.

Moreover, Du Sheng was relatively fortunate; Nolan fared much worse.

Previously, "The Dark Knight" had been arguing with fans of "The Godfather" and "The Shawshank Redemption" on IMDb about being the "greatest film of all time," which had already garnered it a lot of haters.

The premiere of "Inception" had just ended, and a bunch of one-star reviews appeared on IMDb. One person wrote:
This movie is the worst of the worst!
I know I'll get attacked by Nolan's die-hard fans for saying this, but I have to say it—Inception is a piece of crap!

However, these negative reviews didn't last long before they were drowned out by a flood of positive reviews.

But for a blockbuster like "Inception," which cost 1.5 million to produce and another 6000 million to promote, even the best word-of-mouth is just an appetizer.

Whether it succeeds or not ultimately depends on the box office performance.

Just like how a movie only wins if it sells well, no matter how harsh the advertising is.

That evening, Inception had advance screenings in 1822 theaters across North America.

Since it was an original script and lacked the backing of an intellectual property, the midnight screenings only grossed $488 million.

Ma Yaowei frowned when he saw the data:
"This number isn't good; is it going to backfire?"

Du Sheng, however, remained calm:
"Have you forgotten Avatar? It only made a little over three million at midnight screenings back then."

Original films are inherently at a disadvantage. If it weren't for my and Nolan's fame, this film would be lucky to get 200 million at the midnight box office.

He asked again:
What about the other films released around the same time?
How were "Four Christmases," "Bedtime Stories," and "Revolutionary Road"?

Ma Yaowei flipped through the documents:

"Four Christmases" earned 610 million yuan on its opening day, but received terrible reviews.

It has a 25% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 47% audience score, and only a 5.3 on professional websites, barely passing.

"Bedtime Stories" fared even worse, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 25% and a rating of 4.4, even lower than the previous film.

The data for *Revolutionary Road* isn't available yet, but the reviews are decent: 67% on Rotten Tomatoes and 69 on Metacritic, which is average.

Du Sheng nodded:
"Once today is over, the quality will be fairly clear."

This weekend is a long holiday in the United States, and on Friday, "Inception" will be released in 3886 theaters across North America.

However, this time it wasn't done globally simultaneously.

The launch dates for China and Japan will be later, and markets such as the UK, Mexico, and Australia will not be available until next weekend.

Even with two major "box office engines" like Du Sheng and Nolan at the helm, the risks of original films still make many people hesitant.

After all, many big-name directors and top stars have fallen victim to these kinds of films in the past, so no one can guarantee anything.

As a result, Inception became an instant hit when it opened on Friday.

It raked in a whopping $2832 million in a single day, firmly holding the top spot at the box office.

While "Four Christmases" was a family-friendly film released around the same time, it only grossed 1357 million yuan, less than half of the box office of "Inception".

More importantly, the film's rave reviews mean it won't "start strong and then decline."

With the movie's popularity, the spinning top at the end has become a hot topic of discussion across the internet.

The internet is in an uproar: Did Cobb actually return to reality?

"They must have gone back!"

The female protagonist's father only appeared in reality; he never showed his face in the dream!

"They didn't go back! Look at those two kids, they didn't turn around once, they didn't even show their faces, they're clearly still dreaming!"

Others have uncovered details:
You're all wrong!

The protagonist wears a wedding ring throughout the dream, but it's nowhere to be seen in the actual scenes. What does this mean?

This statement immediately caused an uproar in the comments section:
"Wow! I really didn't notice the wedding ring! Time for a second viewing!"

"+1! I'll go verify that!"

And just like that, a large number of movie fans went to see the film two or three times, making special trips to the cinema to find details and distinguish between the real and the fake.

Inception's box office has surged again.

As the movie gains popularity, all sorts of imaginative discussions are emerging online.

Many interpretations are so complex that even Du Sheng and Nolan themselves would be scratching their heads:

Is this how it can be developed?

One netizen posted a message that took an unexpected turn:
"What dream theft, dream planting, it's all virtual reality!"

I suspect the whole movie is similar to The Matrix, which involves the concept of 3D!

Those people in my dreams might be from another dimension…

Believe it or not, once you start thinking about this, a number of people actually believe it.

"Holy crap! Now that you mention it, it really makes sense! Why didn't I think of that before!"

"It's terrifying to think about! I just watched it again, and the more I watch it, the more it seems to make sense!"

"I'll try it later, maybe I really can dream about my other self from another dimension!"

"..." (End of this chapter)