Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 234 244 [Sword Rain Fan Quentin, North American Dong Zhuo Harvey]

When Time Magazine wanted to interview her, Li Yishu did not hesitate and asked the receptionist to call back and agreed.

But he is definitely not free these days, because the day after tomorrow is the opening day of the American Film and Television Golden Globe Awards, and he has to take Gong Li and Xu Lu to participate.

After the people from Time magazine learned about this, they also made an appointment with Lee Yi-su on January 1, the day after the opening of the Golden Globe Awards.

The next morning.

Li Yishu and Li An drove to the Columbia film set together. This time he came mainly to visit the set at the invitation of Wu Yusen.

Yesterday, after Wu Yusen learned from Li An that Li Yishu was coming to the United States, he also called to warmly invite her.

Li Yishu also wanted to see what Wu Yusen would make as his second movie after the box office failure of "The Last Target".

Should he shoot "Short Arrow" which was originally produced in 1996, or "Face/Off" which made Wu Yusen famous?
But it is probably not the case. Although these two movies are still full of violent aesthetics, they both have a very obvious Hollywood action movie style.

It is very difficult for Wu Yusen, who has just failed once and has not had time to integrate into the Hollywood market, to make two films that suit American and international tastes.

It is likely to be another "Ultimate Target", but this time Wu Yusen will definitely increase his role in the gunfight scenes. After all, he is best at gunfights and releasing pigeons.

When the two arrived at the crew, Wu Yusen was already waiting at the door of the crew. He extended his hand enthusiastically and said, "Director Li, welcome!"

Li Yishu shook hands with the other party and said, "Director Wu, long time no see."

The three of them exchanged greetings for a moment, and Wu Yusen warmly invited the two of them to walk into the crew and begin their tour.

Perhaps because he is used to working with Lankoufa, Wu Yusen raised funds and made his own movie this time, and the male lead he chose is no longer a tough guy like Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Instead, they chose John Travolta, an actor who has the same bad boy style as Travolta.

Seeing that he was the actor chosen, Li Yishu also had a strange look on his face. He knew that this John Travolta was the actor in the two movies "Drawn Arrow" and "Face/Off" that Wu Yusen filmed later.

John Travolta has already made his mark in the United States, but he was not yet famous enough. It was not until he collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on "Pulp Fiction", which earned $800 million at the global box office with a production fee of only $2.13 million, that he became a hit.

This movie not only made director Quentin shine, but also made Miramax Films, the company that invested in the movie, a holy place that many new directors yearn for.

Seeing this person immediately reminded Li Yishu of the winner of this year's Palme d'Or, who seemed to be Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction"!
When he thought about the fact that the winner of the Palme d'Or was Quentin, Li Yishu felt that his "Nobody" might be able to compete with Quentin.

"Pulp Fiction" is indeed great, and the film factor has expanded to the point where even Hong Kong has been influenced. In "From Beijing with Love" directed by Chou Hsing-chi, there are dancing scenes that imitate the film.

However, Lee Yi-su's "Nobody" combines the essence of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Crazy Rock", and he thinks it is very good in terms of film viewing.

The only headache is that the two films are somewhat similar in shooting techniques, but I don’t know how the Cannes Film Festival will choose.

It seems that I have to find a better public relations team. No matter whether it succeeds or not, I have to give it a try.

During the rest of the visit, Li Yishu also learned about the general plot of the movie from Wu Yusen. It was almost a replica of "A Better Tomorrow", but with a more American style.

Americans don't have the idiom of sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall. In the movie, the hero was just down and out for a while, and then he started killing people everywhere.

When she heard that it was the American version of "A Better Tomorrow", Li Yishu breathed a sigh of relief.

This movie is indeed very good, but the bad boy style is not popular in the United States now. They prefer tough guys, such as Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme... and Bruce Willis, who has worked with Li Yishu. They all have a tough guy style.

Wu Yusen said, "Director Li, I'll trouble you with the distribution."

"No problem, Director Wu. I'll talk to Columbia Pictures for you later."

Li Yishu smiled. If Wu Yusen came looking for her, wouldn't that be like throwing a meat bun at a dog, and there would be no return?
However, Wu Yusen's directing ability is really good now. When his movie fails and he can't even return to Hong Kong and Taiwan, maybe I can find a way to get him to sign a long-term contract and work for me.

Li Yishu remembers a lot of good low-cost movies, but she just couldn't find the right people to shoot them.

Ordinary new directors are not capable enough, and Li Yishu does not want to waste these good scripts. Wu Yusen's violent aesthetics can be perfectly brought into play in horror, violence, pornography, and gangster themes.

Time passes little by little.

1 month 22 day.

Located in front of the Hilton Hotel in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

At this time, a long red carpet was laid on the ground in front of the entrance of the hotel. On both sides, there were dense reporters and fans, who shouted and cheered excitedly to the stars walking on the red carpet.

This year's Golden Globe Awards are star-studded, and many of the nominated films are well-known films that the public is familiar with in the future, such as "Schindler's List" directed by Spielberg, "The Age of Innocence" directed by Martin Scorsese, and "Sleepless in Seattle" starring Tom Hanks...

There are also "The Philadelphia Story", "The Fugitive" and so on.

Lee Yi-shu has seen all the nominees this year, and many of them are movies he is familiar with, but these movies have little to do with him. There are only five movies in total competing with him for the Best Foreign Language Film Award this year.

Italy's "The Journey of Innocence", Germany's "Justiz", Poland's "Blue of the Blue, White and Red Trilogy", and China's "Farewell My Concubine" and "The Wedding Banquet".

When Li Yishu got out of the car with Gong Li, who was wearing a cheongsam, and Xu Lu, who was dressed as a noble lady, the reporters who recognized him at the scene instantly perked up and picked up their cameras to start taking pictures.

"Art Li, Art Li... this way, look this way!"

"Gong, Gong, look at me!"

"..."

After simply standing on the red carpet and taking photos for reporters for more than ten seconds, Gong Li and Xu Lu took Li Yishu's arm and strode into the Hilton Hotel.

As soon as Gong Li walked into the hotel, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This was her first time attending an awards ceremony in the United States, so she was definitely not nervous. She had attended the three major European film festivals and had never been nervous facing reporters from all over the world, let alone facing a group of American reporters at the Golden Globe Awards.

The reason why she felt relieved was because the aftereffects of watching "Final Destination" were too obvious. These past few nights, when Gong Li slept, her body curled up like a newborn baby, and she insisted that Lee Yi-su hold her tightly so that she could feel safe.

It is safe psychologically, but not physically. This position always reminds Lee Yi-su of the paper clip scene in Lust, Caution, so she has to have a fierce battle before going to bed these days. Lee Yi-su now has a sore waist. The position is good, but it is too difficult to control and it is easy to sprain the waist.

"You guys go ahead, I still have to go and meet the crew of The Sixth Sense."

This time, Lee Yi-su not only represents "Farewell My Concubine", but also "The Sixth Sense".

This film was also nominated for the Golden Globe Awards, but only received two nominations, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor.

I quietly walked around the red carpet at the hotel entrance to the end and met Bruce Willis, the young actor James, the producer Thomas and others.

Unfortunately, Monica Bellucci went to the UK to be in charge of the crew preparation for Li An's "Sense and Sensibility", and was unable to attend the Golden Globe Awards.

But it doesn’t matter whether she comes or not, after all, she was not nominated.

Just as Lee Yi-su walked the red carpet again with "The Sixth Sense" and came to the banquet hall under the guidance of the staff, a bald man suddenly came over and asked suspiciously, "Art Lee?"

Quentin!

Looking at the person who came, Li Yishu was very surprised. Why was he here?

Li Yishu smiled and stretched out his hand: "Hello."

Quentin Tarantino was pleasantly surprised: "Li, it's really you! Oh my god, I finally meet you! It's great, I love the movie "Sword Rain" you shot, especially the battle in the bamboo forest, and the extreme slow motion, every frame is so beautiful."

Hearing this, Li Yishu was a little surprised. She didn't expect that Quentin was actually her fan.

“Thank you.” Li Yishu smiled politely and asked knowingly, “Don’t you know who you are?”

"Oh, yes, I forgot to introduce myself."

Quentin Tarantino straightened his clothes, then stretched out his hand very seriously and said, "Quentin Tarantino, the director of Reservoir Dogs."

Li Yishu suddenly realized something and said, "Hello, Director Tarantino, I've seen your movie Reservoir Dogs and it was very good."

Quentin acted like a fan being praised by his idol, with a blush of excitement on his chubby face: "But I think your "Sword Rain" is better. Several shots in the movie can be recorded in film history. It is really epoch-making..."

"Look who's here!"

Suddenly a sharp voice appeared.

Li Yishu looked back and saw a tall and fat man walking towards her. His uneven eyes were very eye-catching.

Is it him? Li Yishu raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect to meet Harvey here.

That’s right, the person who came was the benefactor who helped Jennifer Lawrence defeat other competitors and successfully won the Oscar for Best Actress. He was also the famous Hollywood sex maniac Harvey Weinstein who silently sprayed skin care essence on Jennifer behind her back!

Harvey smiled and said, "Look, these are two young and talented directors. It's a pity that I didn't bring a camera, otherwise I would take a photo of the two of you and send it to the media. I've even thought of a title: The meeting of the two outstanding directors from the East and the West."

"I'm not qualified to be on par with Li."

Quentin quickly shook his head and said, "Harvey, you should know that Li Ke is my idol. I love the movie "Sword Rain" he shot so much."

"Haha, maybe this is a fan meeting? I'm also a fan of Lee's movies."

Harvey said this, looked at Li Yishu, and stretched out his hand with a smile: "Hello Li, I am Harvey Weinstein, the producer of Miramax Films. I really like your films "The Sixth Sense" and "Farewell My Concubine". I think you have changed my impression of Chinese directors. You are more talented than that Chen."

Chen? Brother Chen Kai?

Li Yishu didn't expect that Harvey had actually met Brother Chen Kai, but it was normal to think about it. Harvey had been in the field of independent films in his early years. He often traveled back and forth between major European film studios to find excellent movies, and adopted the method of buying low and selling high to make money from the difference.

It was through the film "Reservoir Dogs" directed by Quentin that he met Harvey at the Sundance Film Festival, and they successfully hooked up, which led to Harvey's company investing in "Pulp Fiction".

Brother Chen Kai has participated in many European film festivals and studied in the United States for several years. It is possible that he has met or even knows Harvey.

"Hello Weinstein, nice to meet you." Li Yishu shook hands with the other party politely, but in his heart he didn't want to deal with such a person at all. He didn't want to be implicated in Harvey's collapse in 20 years.

"Call me Harvey. I like it when people call me that."

Harvey's chubby face is covered with a beard, messy hair, and his lustful personality, coupled with his laughing smile, makes him look like a Western version of Dong Zhuo.

Quentin nodded repeatedly: "That's right, Lee, just call me Quentin."

Li Yishu smiled politely and said nothing.

Harvey seemed to sense that Li Yishu didn't want to be contacted, but he didn't want to miss this opportunity to contact Li Yishu, so he shamelessly asked, "Li, can you leave me your contact information?"

"Although we at Miramax Films have always been committed to working with independent directors, the company merged with Disney Studios last year and is now also making mainstream commercial films. If you have any ideas for new films in the future, you can talk to me. I'd be happy to invest in your films."

You may be happy, but I am not.

Li Yishu shook her head slightly and said, "Sorry, Harvey, I don't have my business card with me, but you can contact Golden Lion Pictures if you need anything."

"Golden Lion Pictures?" Harvey raised his eyebrows slightly. What kind of company is this? Why have I never heard of it?

"That's right. The film company I opened in Hollywood cannot compare to your Miramax Films, Harvey, which can cooperate with Disney."

When Harvey heard that it was Li Yishu who opened the company, he guessed that it might be a shell company, and immediately laughed and said, "As long as you are interested, we can definitely cooperate with Disney. I have a good relationship with Disney Pictures and their president. If there is another movie like "The Sixth Sense" next time, you can definitely consider us. The price we offer is definitely much higher than Columbia."

"There's a chance." Li Yishu looked at the other person with a smile.

Seeing that the other party was unwilling to give in, Harvey was not in a hurry. He smiled and took out his business card. He also said that he was very knowledgeable about Oscars. If Li Yishu's movie wanted to win the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the Oscars, perhaps she could come to him.

Li Yishu watched Harvey and Quentin leave reluctantly, and shook his head in his heart. Even if he could really win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, he would not look for Harvey.

(End of this chapter)