New Age Artists

Chapter 540: The Shallows premieres! Cameron breaks down!
8 month 5 day.

The Shallows premiered.

The premiere was originally planned to be held on Dong'ao Island, but the island's infrastructure was limited, so Shenzhen was eventually chosen.

Yang Mi walks the red carpet.

Naturally, she would not miss the premiere of her good brother and the opportunity to be exposed.

By the way, help my good sister keep an eye on Shen Santong.

I secretly complained in my heart that Shen Santong's creative mode is different from that of ordinary directors.

It’s only been a month, and after “Red Cliff (Part 2)” came “The Shallows”. I have so much energy.

Yang Mi looked at the image of Fan Bingbing on the super-large poster, with sunshine, beach and bikini.

Healthy, sunny and beautiful, it makes me envious.

Shen Santong's aesthetic is ahead of this era.

He is good at photographing beautiful people, and this drama is a one-man show, which is quite sour.

Whatever Fan Bingbing can do, her good brother can do too.

I look down on Shen Santong, this scumbag, who is too fickle.

"We are good friends. We have a very good relationship in private. Um, can I say that? Ha, we call each other brothers in private. In my eyes, Director Shen? He is a very responsible and manly man."

After walking the red carpet and being interviewed by a local host, Yang Mi said things against his conscience.

Compared to the usual simple premieres, this time the Running Man team is here to help.

Nominally, she came not for Shen Santong, but for the goddess Fan Bingbing of the Running Man team.

"Running Man" is extremely popular.

Shen Santong gave the program free of charge to Annan, Poxian, Siam, Bangzi, Benzi and other countries.

The copyright of the program was also given to SBS TV station, which cooperated with South Korea, at a very low price.

In addition to the support activities of the Running Man team, the premiere of "The Shallows" also has other arrangements.

The host said in an excited voice: "Today's premiere has a special guest. Welcome to Mr. James Cameron, the famous Hollywood director and creator of the world box office record, to start a special ceremony with Director Shen Santong."

Upon hearing this, the guests were shocked!
They all looked towards the entrance and saw a tall, thin, middle-aged white man.

Yang Mi was so surprised that he couldn't open his mouth.

My good brother is so strong!

This is Cameron. More than ten years later, "Titanic" earned hundreds of billions of dollars at the box office, breaking the global box office record in film history. This record is still held by him today.

He actually appeared at the premiere of Good Brothers.

Feng Xiaogang, who attended the premiere, was also shocked.

Cameron is hailed as one of the greatest directors in the world, and his status is sky-high.

"How did you hire this thief, Sun? How much did you spend?" Feng Xiaogang said unconvinced.

Wang Zhongjun narrowed his eyes and was shocked inside.

Cameron is the kind of director that investors both love and hate. They love him because he makes a lot of money, but they hate him because the investment in a movie is huge, and only Hollywood can accommodate such a person.

For such an awesome person to be a special guest at Shen San Tong's premiere is definitely an honor.

Wang Zhongjun could imagine that even some media outlets that had opinions about Shen Santong would give a lot of positive coverage.

It's Cameron after all!

This also shows that Shen Santong is getting stronger and stronger.

Wang Zhongjun felt that some things were difficult to handle, so he wanted to bring Shen Santong into a small circle.

Some people hope to do this. Shen Santong's films have a strong social influence. With his help, we can slowly promote some issues and promote changes in social trends.

In the "shark fin" incident, someone was accidentally injured. Shouldn't Shen Santong make an expression of his opinion?

The appearance of Cameron made Wang Zhongjun realize that Shen Santong's path seemed to be completely different from that of his circle.

There is no need to hang them at all.

Wang Zhongjun was thinking over and over again. Facing Xiao Gangpao's question, he said calmly, "It should be 3D technology. Cameron's new film Avatar focuses on 3D. Maybe Shen Santong has something that caught his eye."

Feng Xiaogang was indignant: "What can we have that others would like? Hollywood has everything."

Wang Zhongjun didn't say anything, but looked at the field.

Shen Santong smiled and shook hands with Cameron.

Smiling on the surface, but unhappy on the inside.

Is it necessary to have such a big reaction?

Just Cameron.

He is indeed awesome, but he needs to ride on his popularity in the country.

Shen Santong is the father of marketing 3D movies. It is true that Cameron made the movie first, but he brought it out first.

Just like in scientific research, whoever publishes a paper first is the original author.

In addition, Shen Santong was also helpless because many Chinese people underestimated themselves.

Subconsciously, I thought Hollywood had never taken Tokyo seriously, and it was only after "Avatar" was released and the box office exceeded 1 billion that they took it seriously.

This mentality not only underestimates oneself, but also underestimates the capitalist society.

The United States is indeed ruined in the future, and capitalist society does not love money, but it is not yet as ruined as it will be in the future.

This was especially true in the 80s and 90s.

Any American company that can enter the Dongda market will have its stock price limit up immediately.

The United States is a mature capitalist society with a market of 1.3 billion people and many stories to tell.

And the United States knows much more about the University of Tokyo than many people think.

As early as the 1960s and 1970s, a period that many people considered closed, there was also folk communication.

Until now, various institutions have been spending billions of dollars every year to study the society of the University of Tokyo and develop relationships at all levels.

It’s far more important than many people imagine.

Not to mention the United States, after the reform and opening up, many overseas Chinese who fled and came back couldn't believe it when they returned to China more than 30 years later.

It’s developing so well.

When they left, the countryside was in a state of decay and the only cities with electricity were central Shanghai and some places in the northeast.

After returning, electricity is available in first- and second-tier cities.

Various diseases in the countryside have disappeared. When a child is born in every household, some go hungry, but they are basically raised and very few die.

A healthy market with certain infrastructure and systematic industries. Before the reform and opening up, Tokyo was one of the top ten industrial countries. How could we not pay attention to it?

Dai Ying wanted to enter this market more than a hundred years ago, let alone now?

20th Century Fox wanted to organize a dialogue between Shen Santong and Cameron, but after communication, the deal fell through.

Shen Santong requested that if the dialogue was to be held at the University of Tokyo, it should also be held in the United States.

This is equality.

There was an additional condition, that 20th Century Fox would help distribute "The Shallows" in the United States.

The deal ultimately failed.

Shen Santong's movie was jointly blocked by several major Hollywood companies.

Since it is not equal, Shen Santong will naturally not have a conversation.

Just a simple ceremony.

It’s part of the premiere, not a separate event.

Shen Santong is not overestimating himself, but he is very clear about the Dongda market.

To some extent, Shen Santong represents more than just himself.

He was eager to take the initiative, thinking that it was an honor to communicate with Cameron, and that it was a shame for him to be a shame for himself. Losing face was the least of his worries, but making the Tokyo Film Market look cheap was the most important thing.

Shen Santong himself also thought, it’s just a movie event, is it necessary to be so sensitive?
After thinking about it, I found that it was necessary and must be done.

Because the United States is a dominant culture and has made cultural penetration its national policy, in this case, remaining neutral is actually biased towards the other side.

Must fight.

Only by fighting can we barely maintain a balance.

In today’s entertainment and cultural circles, neutrality is considered relatively good.

As a result of not fighting, the United States naturally enjoys the convenience of narrative.

Shen Santong has no way to remain neutral. For the future trillion-dollar market and his own interests, he also needs to fight.

In the context of strong American culture, neutrality itself means acknowledging the superiority of the American narrative.

Now it seems that he was right.

Judging from the reactions of those present, everyone subconsciously overestimates Cameron and automatically puts themselves in a low position.

The host counts down: "3, 2, 1."

The large screen on the exterior wall of Shenzhen Santong Cinema flagship store suddenly lit up.

Amid the exclamations of the audience and guests, the breathtaking scene of the erection of the Titanic was recreated.

Then, a shark appeared and it became like a scene from the movie The Shallows.

The shark hit them head-on, triggering another series of exclamations.

Seeing this, Cameron put away his nonchalance and praised repeatedly: "Amazing, amazing."

The host knew English and took over the translation work: "Director Cameron was expressing his amazement and surprise."

Cameron didn't want to come to the University of Tokyo because he didn't think this place had technology.

However, 20th Century Fox requested to build momentum for the super production "Avatar" in advance.

The Dongda market has produced movies with box office revenues exceeding 100 million US dollars, and is one of the top markets in the world.

It was only after I watched a copy of Red Cliff (Part 2) that I changed my mind.

When he saw the technology of naked-eye 3D, he found that Shen Santong had indeed gone a long way in its application.

He even spoke politely: "Beautiful shark, beautiful lady."

By the way, I also praised Fan Bingbing.

Shen Santong caught the change and felt that in Cameron's eyes, he had changed from a plant and an animal to a savage.

This is not a joke.

A phenomenal box office director must resonate with social consciousness.

The fact that "Wolf Warrior 2" can have such a high box office must be that Wu Jing's inner world is the mentality of a native Chinese, a very simple one.

The same is true for Guo Fan, the director of "Nomadland".

A director like Cameron must have an American mentality, and is relatively conservative.

Although Cameron promotes naturalism and environmentalism, we should also see the strong religious implications in it.

Cameron's spiritual world is reflected in his movies.

This is more directly shown in True Lies, which is very imperialistic, portraying non-Aryans as terrorists. In the movie Avatar, memories are directly modified, with the Na'vi, a white American, saving the natives of Pandora.

In the American discourse system, Shen Santong is considered an inhuman.

Cameron did not forget to promote the movie: "The female protagonists in my movies are all very tough, which is similar to the movie "The Shallows."

"Sarah Connor in The Terminator desperately tried to avoid the T-800 in order to survive. Sigourney Weaver in Alien 2 fought against the Alien Queen to save the world. The noble lady in Titanic also risked her life to save her lover in a sinking ship."

“It’s also reflected in my latest movie, Avatar.”

The host said: "As we all know, Director Cameron is not only a director, but also an engineer who is good at making movies. The 3D virtual imaging photography system used in the documentary "Ghosts of the Abyss" was developed together with his partner."

Cameron didn't expect that the host, who was far away at the University of Tokyo, knew his job so well, but he was used to it and didn't care much. His fans were all over the world.

He said casually: "Yes, you even know this."

The host said excitedly: "I am your fan."

"Mr. Cameron, Director Shen Santong is similar to you. He also has a similar identity as an engineer. The naked-eye 3D technology in front of us is the product of his research on movies."

“Is there any similar technology in your new play?”

Cameron said: "In order to shoot Avatar, I developed a virtual camera to make the 60% CG more compatible with the real-life performance."

“Observing the actors’ movements interacting with the virtual world in real time allows for instant adjustments and guidance for each scene.”

"Avatar also used innovative facial capture head-mounted equipment, with a camera rig worn on the head of each actor doing 'performance capture'."

"The core is a miniature high-definition camera that is only a few inches away from the actor's face. It can use a wide-angle lens to record the most subtle changes in the actor's facial expressions."

"In fact, the filming of Avatar 2 has already used naked-eye 3D technology."

Cameron fights for 3D ownership.

20th Century Fox told him that there was no need to do so because Shen Santong's fame would not spread internationally.

But Cameron himself needs it, and he's a picky person.

"I formed a partnership with the special effects company Digital Domain and planned to start production in the summer of '97 for a theatrical release in 1999."

"However, I felt that the technology at the time was not enough to express the stories and scenes I wanted to express. So I decided to focus on making documentaries and improving technology in the next few years."

"I personally flew to Tokyo and had face-to-face communication with engineers from Sony's high-definition camera department."

"Sony agreed to separate the lens and bulky central processing unit on professional-grade high-definition cameras and connect them with cables."

"The 3D camera has been reduced from the traditional 204 kg to 23 kg, and it uses dual-lens imaging."

“Photographers felt much more relaxed, and even better, Sony agreed to build a new production line for the new camera.”

The host exclaimed: "That's amazing, where's Director Shen?"

Shen Santong: "I formed a team when I needed it. The naked-eye 3D large screen is one of the results, and the cinema was built for this purpose."

"In order to facilitate the implementation of technology, mainly to connect with theaters, I built a new theater chain."

"The 3D cinemas that are springing up like mushrooms in China are also one of the results."

"My team designed a giant screen dual-purpose screen that can achieve giant screen standards in normal 2D quality while also approaching giant screen 3D visual effects."

"This technology may not be mature in Europe and the United States yet. It is also very useful for many old cinemas in Europe and the United States. I hope Director Cameron can recommend it to the cinema owners he knows."

Of course Shen Santong understood Cameron's underlying meaning. Wasn't he saying that he was the first to come up with 3D?

Shen Santong would not give in to this concept.

He Shen Kaiyuan needs this!
Shen Santong: "Next, I want to promote China's high-end standards, 4K resolution, which is the next direction of display technology development."

"The HDTV you see at home has a 207 million pixel picture, the traditional digital cinema has a 221 million pixel picture, and the 4K cinema has a 885 million pixel high-definition picture."

"Hollywood's Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) has begun to do this, including many major film studios such as Disney, 20th Century Fox, MGM, Sony Entertainment, Universal, and Warner Bros."

“We have introduced China’s high-end standards to promote the deep integration and innovation of film and technology. We have leveraged the full industry chain and platform resource advantages of Dongda Film to promote the advancement of high-tech film technology and improve the high-tech film industry chain.”

“It creatively integrates the seven high-tech technologies in the field of film projection: 4K, 3D, high brightness, high frame rate, high dynamic range, wide color gamut, and immersive sound.”

"Next, we will make every effort to build a complete high-tech format film industry chain and vigorously promote China's high-end technology and products at home and abroad."

“中国高端放映系统2D放映亮度最高可达36 fL，3D单眼放映亮度最高可达28fL，高出国内外普通影厅3-7倍。”

"We also hope that Director Cameron can help us recommend your film Avatar. We welcome it. We also hope that our film can go abroad and we can exchange ideas on films."

Cameron readily agreed: "Okay."

Polite words.

Shen Santong was boycotted by a Hollywood company. He didn't know the specific details, but the result was clear.

Cameron helplessly discovered that he could not gain any advantage in communicating with Shen Santong.

Shen Santong is different from other third world directors, and is treated normally.

He is also good at taking advantage of the difference in status. His identity is just a director, while Shen Santong is the head of a film company.

According to the information Fox gave him, Shen Santong's company is DreamWorks with a cinema chain, a super entertainment empire.

Shen Santong started out by planning to build his own cinema chain and then made the equipment according to his own standards.

These are things he, as a director, cannot do.

Fortunately, the host did not embarrass him: "Mr. Cameron, did you encounter challenges during the filming?"

Cameron said: "After the preparations began, Fox wavered. I rewrote the script of Avatar, merged several roles, and agreed to reduce my salary if the movie was not successful."

The host said: "Fox doesn't respect the work of artists."

Cameron was stunned. This had nothing to do with art: "They have their own considerations."

Shen Santong couldn't bear to watch it anymore and interrupted, "Fox may still remember the budget overrun and delayed release of the last movie Titanic."

Cameron said seriously: "But in the end, Fox still chose to invest."

The underlying meaning is that our market has its own advantages.

"My movie cost about $3 million to produce, and more than $ million including the publicity. It is the most expensive movie in history."

According to the design process, the communication ends here.

Finally, the host asked: "Do you have any message for Director Shen?"

Cameron was delighted when he heard this.

When he saw Shen Santong's surprised expression, he laughed even more.

The words used by the host are not blessings between peers, but are meant to be from seniors to juniors.

Cameron could feel that Shen Santong was a proud person. As a successful director, he was particularly sensitive to the collision of consciousness and culture.

Cameron was very happy: "Director Shen Santong is undoubtedly an excellent person, but I think he should work less, stop being a film-making machine, and enjoy life instead."

Watched a movie.

Cameron's smile didn't last long.

The story of The Shallows is very simple.

It tells the story of a medical student whose mother died. He dropped out of school and came to the place where his parents had fond memories. He encountered a shark, and finally defeated it and achieved self-salvation.

If the heroine on the screen was replaced by a white person, this play could be said to be a Hollywood movie.

No.

Cameron overturned his own idea.

This is a movie that Hollywood couldn't make.

The film is full of vitality, without any moral crisis or violent destruction, and is full of sunshine.

At the end, the camera gave a close-up of the heroine's thigh wound, but she did not go surfing.

This makes this play completely different from American values.

If it were an American ending, it would have shown the heroine was strong and not afraid of the sea.

But Shen Santong's treatment is not like that. It is more subtle and subtly higher-level, and it clearly reflects the Eastern philosophical concept.

The party after the premiere.

Cameron wanted to have some exchanges with Shen Santong, to exchange ideas.

It’s confirmed. We are both conservative people and we say whatever we want.

"Shen, I am very disappointed in you. Your movies have obvious Hollywood elements, but they are also anti-Hollywood."

Cameron waited for Fan Bingbing to get the wine, and said in a hoarse voice: "You don't have to use these methods, which will cause flaws in the movie. Come to my company, I can give you all the technology, more advanced technology."

"There is an obvious dissonance at the end of your film. A long paragraph of narration destroys the integrity of the film. There is also a fish hook. I noticed it. What are you trying to say?"

"You can tell the story of the United States without any struggle. You can fully unleash your talents and avoid confrontation."

“Movies are movies, and art is art.”

Shen Santong was unhappy. Cameron might think he was sincere, but Shen Santong thought it was ridiculous.

Even in a capitalist society, he has a lot of capital.

Stop Cameron from leaving.

"Does America still have a story, Cameron? Don't be so hypocritical, that kind of white hypocrisy."

Cameron stood still and looked at Shen Santong: "We never play hypocritical tricks, we are real."

Shen Santong sneered: "Come on, you can't even win a small country's security war, put away your arrogance. Do you still understand your society? After 911/, the enthusiasm of white people to join the army increased rapidly, and many college students chose to join the army."

"And now? You have once again put a moral burden on yourselves by waging an unjust war."

"You have fallen into the same trap again and encountered the same moral dilemma. McNamara's fool, have you forgotten?"

Shen Santong was referring to the fact that during the Vietnam War, many white "good family kids" were evading military service.

In order to solve the problem of manpower, the then Secretary of Defense McNamara implemented the so-called 100,000 Man Plan and began to recruit minor criminals.

Due to ethnic crime rates, many of them are black people, and there are also people with intellectual disabilities who go to the front line to serve as heavy soldiers.

After 911/, many "good family kids" in the United States once again enthusiastically joined the army, including many college students who had never considered joining the army before.

However, this phenomenon was interrupted by various prisoner abuse scandals that broke out in recent years.

The conversation became tense, and Cameron curled his lips: "We will come out again."

"Let me guess, let me guess." Shen Santong muttered to himself, looking at Cameron's stubborn and resolute expression: "Your Avatar is about the white savior again. Go to another planet, and the white people save the natives?"

Cameron's mouth twitched.

Shen Santong repeatedly asked, "Does the United States have any more stories, Mr. Cameron?"

"This year's Oscar for best actor went to Sean Penn for Milk, a gay film. And the Oscar for best actress went to Kate Winslet for The Reader, a gay film."

"What will happen to the United States if a black president takes office?"

"It will become a diverse, rainbow-like country. In order to win, the Donor Party will divide the country vertically along ethnic lines and then divide it vertically again, and your society will be scattered into strips."

“White people are no longer the subject, and blame themselves for their own identity. All your constructions, unifying language and skin color, not only failed, but also became a sin.”

"Like Hollywood, you know what it's like inside better than I do. Even You can't escape it."

"You and I both know that movies are stories of reality, and the first movie appeared only a hundred years ago."

"This is a very young form of expression. Today, the definition of film lies in the United States."

Shen Santong asked for the third time: "Does the United States still have stories? When reality cannot support the story, the definition of film will not be in the United States."

(End of this chapter)