America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 77 Fierce Yet Joyful

As darkness fell, led by Kelly Grey, producer Dave, director Benjamin, lead actor Martin, and lead actress Katharine all arrived in front of the theater to welcome the important guests.

Everyone's face was beaming with smiles.

Thanks to Kelly Grey's connections, the production team was able to bring in several deans from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

The most important guests were, of course, the buyers from various film distribution companies.

Martin met with six film experts and professional buyers from Focus Features, Warner Bros., and Lionsgate.

In addition, representatives from overseas film companies, including those from India, South Korea, Mexico, and Brazil, were also present.

Those who go on publicly funded trips do a lot of work while they're away.

Soon, Martin spotted a familiar face, straightened his suit slightly, and strode over to greet him: "Good evening, Blanco, welcome."

Blanco shook hands with Martin and said, "I contacted Michel, and he spoke highly of you. I can't miss a movie starring an actor who receives such praise from Michel."

Martin led the group to the theater entrance, introduced Dave and Benjamin, and personally led them inside.

The theater, which can hold more than 800 people, was almost full, mostly with ordinary audience members and college students.

There are only about twenty real film buyers.

Martin arrived at the location of the film crew and sat down next to Benjamin.

As the film was about to start, he noticed that Benjamin's hands and legs were shaking.

Benjamin forced a smile: "Don't be surprised, it's my first time, it's normal to be nervous."

"Me too." Martin quickly took a deep breath, trying not to think about the success or failure of the film.

For him, a film is a victory as long as it gets released in theaters.

Jeffs from Lionsgate and Breitner, a buyer from Warner Bros., were seated next to each other. The two, who frequently represented their companies at various film festivals, were old acquaintances.

Jeffs asked, "Warner Bros. is interested in B-movies?"

Breitner replied softly, "B-movies have a loyal audience."

The screen lights up, the lights go out, and energetic music starts playing.

In the packed Wild Beast House club, a handsome and charismatic man walked onto the circular stage and began to dance to the music.

The beginning is normal, just a regular zombie dance, except for the addition of some striptease elements.

The DJ at the scene yelled, "Zombie machine gun dance, let bullets fly all over the dance hall!"

It felt like machine gun fire, and countless customers clutched their chests.

Then, dollars were thrown around and underwear flew everywhere.

It felt so real, like there really was such a nightclub.

The audience in the theater couldn't help but mutter to themselves, "That's outrageous!"

The audience was stunned: At this frequency and speed, could it fly into the sky?

B-movies are all about that kind of exaggerated effect.

Besides, they are all real shots.

Many people can tell that the male lead's dancing is not very good, and his level can only be described as average, but his superb zombie machine gun dance makes him incredibly charming.

In close-up shots, bursts of hormones overflow the screen.

Jeffs overheard someone behind him asking his companion, "Where's the House of the Beasts? Are there really male dancers like that? I want to experience it..."

The opening dance scene emphasizes the film's sexual appeal.

Of course, another major highlight and element of B-movies is also present – ​​blood and gore.

As all the customers were engrossed in the male lead's hot dance, the music changed, and the male lead, Matthew, suddenly transformed into a vampire. Together with the other male dancers and the big-headed boss, he launched a bloody massacre against the customers.

Brain matter splattered, limbs and hands were severed, and blood flowed like a river.

This is a sacrificial ritual. The House of Beasts is a stronghold of vampires who lure customers with their male beauty, drink their blood, and offer sacrifices to the evil gods of hell.

The opening scene wasn't particularly outstanding, but it was enough to keep you watching.

B-movies are notoriously bad, and Benjamin Button is no exception. A girl escapes a massacre and finds Maria and Anna, two sisters who are hunters with special talents.

Anna suggested forming a small team to hunt vampires again and to find companions, while Maria went ahead to scout the way and arrived at the club.

"Jenna Jameson?" Jeffs frowned. "Using her is definitely a gimmick, but if you really want to see her, there are plenty of other movies to watch."

Breitner had a similar idea; as soon as he saw Jenna Jameson and the male lead appear in the same scene, he guessed that a fierce battle was about to unfold.

But what he didn't expect was that the scene would be so special.

The male protagonist and Maria hit it off.

The latter wanted to use his special talent to drain the vampire dry.

The former wanted to use the blood of beautiful women to please a special evil god from hell.

Right there on the stage, a great battle broke out.

But neither Jeffs nor Breitner expected the location or manner of the battle.

The male protagonist, holding onto the iron chain hanging from the ceiling with one hand and carrying Maria horizontally with the other, performed a trapeze act.

Zombie machine guns flew through the air!

This scene features both beautiful women and muscular men, and the exaggerated performances create not only a bloody battle but also an inexplicable sense of humor.

Before the audience's eyes, two characters are engaged in a life-or-death struggle, but this peculiar method unexpectedly plunges them into a strange kind of joy.

Jeffs couldn't help but say, "It's got the comedic elements down to the bone."

Breitner actually chuckled: "You've got something."

As for the rough filming and production, that's not a problem; B-movies are always like that.

The dimly lit theater was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

This battle had no funny lines or silly actions, yet it was both fierce and hilarious.

This type of comedy is a specialty of the United States and has a very wide audience.

As expected, the arrogant Maria failed to absorb the male protagonist and was instead drained dry, resulting in her tragic end of being dismembered.

The plot remains incredibly clichéd: the protagonist Anna finds a few helpers and returns, discovers her sister has been murdered, and resolves to eliminate the vampires at the Beast House Club.

They devised a detailed plan and stormed the club during the day.

Then they fell into a trap and were captured alive by the big-headed boss and the male protagonist with his troupe of male dancers.

The villain, of course, won't kill the female lead immediately.

The male protagonist locks the female protagonist up alone. Overwhelmed by the male protagonist's strength, the female protagonist decides to use her talent to seduce the male protagonist into a direct confrontation.

The audience members who come here are mostly B-movie enthusiasts, and they are thoroughly enjoying the film.

The scene design and the male lead's special performance in the fight scenes were very entertaining.

The grand finale begins, revealing the battle philosophy once again through the female protagonist's inner thoughts.

In the previous incident, the female protagonist's sister failed and was murdered.

The female protagonist's talent surpasses that of her older sister, and she defeats the male protagonist head-on.

In the ensuing fight, the female protagonist beheaded the male protagonist.

The male protagonist dies in battle, and the female protagonist leads her team to massacre the Beast House Club, taking the male protagonist's head as a demon hunter medal.

At the end of the film, the female protagonist, who leads the demon-hunting team out of the city, discovers that she is pregnant, and the male protagonist's head has completely disappeared.

In the darkness, upon hearing applause, Blanco stood up and clapped as well.

Unlike ordinary French film companies, EuropaCorp, where he worked, was arguably the most commercially driven film company in France, and even in Europe. Its founder, Luc Besson, never made art films.

The style of the company's top boss influences the style of the entire company.

Blanco was also a film buyer with a commercial preference.

This film perfectly captures the elements of an American B-movie: splattered blood, a terrifying atmosphere, and explosive testosterone...

Even the American toilet humor that he used to find uninteresting is given a fresh twist in this film.

Without those awful lines, and even though the male lead gets killed by the female lead, it still managed to be quite entertaining.

The male lead, in particular, was outstanding in the first two of the three major scenes, absolutely brilliant.

The zombie machine gun dance and the aerial acrobatics were so much fun!

Those French directors who only know how to make obscure and incomprehensible films should really come and see how to make a truly great art film that is fun and interesting.

In the final scene, the male lead was slightly overshadowed by the female lead, but it was insignificant.

As the applause subsided, Blanc pondered how much it would cost to acquire the French or European distribution rights for the film.

He estimates that if the North American and European copyrights are separated, it could be done for under $200 million.

This film is definitely not the $600 million that is claimed; the production cost will not exceed $200 million.

As the movie credits rolled, the theater lights came on.

Dave called to the main cast and crew, "Come on, let's go on stage for the curtain call!"

Benjamin stood up, and whether it was from nervousness or numbness in his legs, he almost fell when he took his first step.

Martin reacted quickly and grabbed him.

Benjamin turned around and forced a smile: "Not bad, right?"

Martin said, "Director, we've done our best. Come on stage."

Benjamin walked forward.

Martin then asked, "Should we greet everyone from the crew who came?"

Benjamin replied softly, "Call them all up on stage."

Martin turned around and waved to Hart, Robert, and the others sitting behind him.

Kelly Gray spent money to invite many media reporters, who were all taking pictures. Hart and others appeared in the media and stood with the crew. Once the film is released in theaters, their market value will inevitably rise.

Hart and Carrington, along with their group of handsome men and Robert with his big head, took to the stage in front of the screen.

Led by Dave and Benjamin, the crew frequently greeted the audience.

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause once again.

The crew gathered together again for the media to take group photos.

It was full of ritual.

Robert's smile was brighter than any flower; a film had fulfilled his long-held dream as a background artist.

The final film has more than ten lines of dialogue, and I even managed to get a group photo with the main cast.

As long as the film is released in theaters, he will be a big fan in Atlanta's background artist circles.

As they stepped off the stage, Hart hurried a few steps behind Martin and whispered, "Dad Martin, if you say so, I'll book a flight to Thailand tonight."

Martin didn't want the transgender daughter and said, "Keep her; you still need her to make a living."

Hart chuckled, "I can double my price from now on!"

Carrington, who followed behind, scoffed, "Look at your narrow-mindedness, you always insist on tripling the price."

This is the third update today, 9000 words. From now on, unless there are special circumstances, updates will be scheduled around 8:30 AM. First-day subscriptions reached 2500, which is a decent result.

(End of this chapter)