Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 437 The Changes That Followed

After hanging up Jeff Robinoff's call, Cao Yang took a shower to calm himself down.

Regarding the 08 economic crisis, Cao Yang was working as an assistant director for the first time in a small film crew that year in his previous life. He was only responsible for the extras, so his position was not high and his understanding of the crisis was not deep.

What he remembers most vividly is that in October 2007 in his previous life, the Shanghai Composite Index surged to 6124 points. Then in November, when the Shanghai Composite Index underwent a "technical" correction, he couldn't resist the temptation and invested the 150,000 yuan he had painstakingly saved.

At the time, the prevailing market view was that this was just another pullback in a bull market, and that the market would reach new highs after the adjustment. The "10,000-point theory" was everywhere.

He really "threw" his 15 yuan into the water, but it sank to the bottom without even making a ripple.

Cao Yang remembers that from then on, the market kept falling, giving him no chance to "escape". After the financial crisis broke out in 2008, the Shanghai Composite Index "plunged" to 1664 points in October.

Shortly thereafter, the government announced a 4 trillion yuan investment plan, which included ten measures, most of which were related to infrastructure. A nationwide large-scale infrastructure construction project was launched.

This was also one of the measures taken by China at the time to deal with the global economic crisis.

As for the specific reasons for the economic crisis in the United States, Cao Yang was just a nobody back then, so why would he care about such things?

All he knew was that the fourth largest investment bank in the United States had gone bankrupt, triggering a global economic crisis.

This crisis is considered the most severe since the Great Depression of 1929, and the economies of almost all developed countries have been severely damaged.

In short, it is extremely serious.

However, even amidst this economic crisis and wave of unemployment, global box office revenue increased rather than decreased, especially in 08 and 09, with box office revenue growing in almost every country.

Cao Yang heard this from his colleagues later, and after checking the data, he confirmed that it was indeed the case.

In other words, this global economic crisis will not only not reduce movie box office revenue, but may even have a positive impact.

Cao Yang searched for information online.

It was discovered that signs of this economic crisis had actually been present since March.

In March, Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest investment bank in the United States, almost went bankrupt. It was only through an emergency acquisition by JPMorgan Chase, with the support of the Federal Reserve, that Bear Stearns was saved.

While this incident has triggered tensions in global financial markets, it has not yet fully spread to the real economy and other developed economies.

In July, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two major mortgage lenders backed by the U.S. government, fell into a state of huge losses and failed to save themselves.

Just two days ago, it was taken over by the US government.

Meanwhile, the Americans abandoned Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank.

It's not that the US doesn't want to manage it; it's just that the messes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have already given the US government a huge headache, and they simply can't afford to take care of Lehman Brothers, a massive investment bank with operations all over the world.

It's early September now, and Cao Yang, combining this with the words of Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinoff, knows that the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, which will quickly trigger a global economic crisis, is likely just around the corner.

After calming down, Cao Yang discovered something unexpected.

Originally, he wanted to take "Joker" to the 09 Berlin Film Festival first, and then release it on a large scale after the Oscars.

In other words, the original plan was for Joker to be released on a large scale in February next year.

However, Warner's crazy plan conflicted with this matter.

According to Warner Bros.' "mega" plan, they certainly cannot wait until the global economic crisis has been going on for a while before releasing "Joker".

Since "Joker" has become a "prophetic" movie, what's the point of releasing it after the global economic crisis has been going on for a while? That would defeat the purpose of a "prophetic" movie.

Therefore, the timing of a movie's release must be precise.

Too early won't do.

Because the audience has not yet "personally experienced" the impact of the economic crisis, they will not be able to identify with or empathize with it, meaning they have not yet felt a sense of involvement.

It's too late either.

Then it loses the meaning of a "prophetic" movie—I've seen and heard the terrible state of society with my own eyes and ears, why would I need your prophecy?

Of course, if a so-called "prophetic" movie is released before the economic crisis fully erupts, such as now, it will be a masterpiece once the economic crisis breaks out.

However, as mentioned in the first point, if the audience doesn't feel involved, even if they do, they might think it's a masterpiece, but the box office will definitely not be very high, which defeats the purpose of the hype.

Fortunately, the film negatives for "Joker" will be "burned," which provides the most reasonable explanation for the delayed release.

Therefore, the best time to release it is in November.

The economic crisis began to erupt in mid-to-late September, and it's estimated that it won't spread globally until October. By the time people truly feel the impact of the economic crisis, such as the wave of unemployment and the chaos it brings...

It needs to go through at least a month of "fermentation".

So November is the perfect time for Joker to be released.

Furthermore, November also has a special holiday that coincides with a certain aspect of the Joker's promotion—Jeff Robinoff said that the Joker's negative "burned," but God loves the world and left a glimmer of hope, which is that when Cao Yang returned to Beijing, he brought a backup for better post-production.

Therefore, Thanksgiving, a special holiday in November, is "destined" to be the most suitable date for the release of "Joker"!

Thanksgiving is the most important holiday in the United States and Canada, especially for Americans. For many Americans, the importance of Thanksgiving even surpasses that of Independence Day.

On this day, people put aside their busy lives and usually reunite with family and friends to share a hearty dinner and express their gratitude to each other.

It's great that this "prophetic" movie was released on this day; we should thank God for His mercy in allowing it to be released smoothly.

Of course, the key point is that Thanksgiving is a traditionally good time for Americans to watch family movies together. In the past, the whole family would get together to watch family-friendly movies, but this year, due to the impact of the economic crisis, watching family-friendly movies is a bit inappropriate.

So, wouldn't it be more appropriate to gather with family to watch a "prophecy" movie and share some empathy?
Well, that's not ironic at all, is it?

However, if it's released in November, it won't be able to participate in the Berlin Film Festival next February, which is what's giving Cao Yang a headache.

The three major European film festivals have a requirement that in order to enter the main competition, a film must have its first official premiere during the festival.

Simply put, it means your first time, well, the first premiere of the film you're competing for, must be reserved for them.

As a result, Joker will not meet the requirements for participating in the Berlin Film Festival next year.

However, Cao Yang will graduate with his doctorate next year, and the school and Lao Hou definitely want him to win the European Grand Slam of three gold medals as a student before graduating with his doctorate.

What's more, there's a chance that 1+1+1 is greater than 3 waiting for us.

So, if "Joker" can't go to Berlin, Cao Yang needs to make another film that has a chance to win an award.

He needs to consider which film he should make to have the best chance of winning an award.

On September 7, post-production of "Joker" was completed.

That evening, in Warner Bros.’ private screening room, Cao Yang, along with Warner Bros. CEO Barry Mayer, Warner Bros. President Jeff Robinoff, and Jim Carrey’s agent Jimmy Miller, watched the finished film of “Joker.”

"Hua Hua Hua..."

After the movie ended, Barry Mayer, Jeff Robinoff, and Jimmy Miller applauded enthusiastically, their faces beaming with excitement.

"My God, is this really Jim? I never imagined that Jim could give such a perfect performance, it's unbelievable!"

Jimmy Miller looked at Cao Yang as if he were looking at God.

His focus was definitely on Jim Carrey's performance.

Although Jimmy Miller watched several of Jim Carrey's performances live, the feeling of simply performing in front of the camera is completely different from the feeling of appearing in the final film.

In particular, he felt that Jim Carrey had brought the transformation of Arthur and the Joker to life by editing those discontinuous and incoherent shots together according to the storyline, adding music, and adjusting the background color...
If this doesn't deserve an Oscar for Best Actor, then the Academy must be rife with corruption, deliberately suppressing Jim Carrey. Afterwards, Jimmy Miller couldn't help but exclaim to Cao Yang, "Sir, you are the greatest film artist in the world! You can bring out the full potential of every actor; that's the greatest ability!"

Jimmy Miller certainly knew that Cao Yang was best at training actors, but hearing about it and seeing it in person were two different experiences.

This feeling is especially profound for Jim Carrey, who is a close stakeholder in his life.

Now that I've seen the finished film, I'm simply awestruck.

He was almost afraid to recognize Jim Carrey.

Watching Heath Ledger's Joker, you can sense his unease. Heath Ledger portrayed the Joker's "pure" evil very well; that's very Joker.

But after watching Jim Carrey's full version of Joker... what about Heath Ledger? Who was that?
Jim Carrey's Joker is the only one that is "alive," flesh and blood, and the most authentic.

Cao Yang smiled faintly.

He'd heard similar things countless times, but Jimmy Miller's use of the word "great" was quite original.

Barry Mayer and Jeff Robinov looked at each other, both seeing excitement and relief in each other's eyes.

Together with several Warner Bros. executives, they devised a crazy plan for "Joker," but this was contingent on the film's plot not deviating from the script and Jim Carrey delivering an outstanding performance.

Of course, based on their trust in Cao Yang's past "achievements", they felt that the final product of "Joker" should not be bad. Given the high probability of an economic crisis, and with that "crazy" marketing, the box office should not be low.

Now that I've actually seen the complete film, it's not just "not bad," it's absolutely perfect!
Even Jeff Robinoff, who first proposed that "crazy" plan, felt at this moment that the seemingly crazy plan was somewhat unsuitable for the connection between "Joker" and the economic crisis.

"This completely transcends the scope of comic book superhero movies. The appearance of 'Joker' has elevated superhero movies to a new level. It is the most profound film in terms of its analysis of human nature. I'm not just talking about superhero movies."

Barry Mayer gave Cao Yang a thumbs up and exclaimed in admiration.

"So that's why I insisted on working with director Cao Yang. The Dark Knight has already proven that my insistence was right, and Joker will make this collaboration the most classic case in Warner Bros. history."

Jeff Robinoff laughed and said.

He is the happiest person right now.

It was Cao Yang who insisted on collaborating with me in the first place.

Everything before our eyes proves how wise his decision was.

"Is there anything else you'd like to add to my plan?"

Jeff Robinoff asked with a smile.

His eyes were mainly fixed on Jim Carrey's agent, Jimmy Miller, who had objected to the "jumping off the building" plan a few days earlier.

To be honest, Jim Carrey's suicide was gambling with his career.

Jimmy Miller would never have agreed if it weren't for the assurances from Warner Bros. and Jeff Robinoff, and his trust in the film directed by Cao Yang.

"We will cooperate actively."

Jimmy Miller nodded and said.

"That's no problem!"

Jeff Robinoff clapped his hands and said.

"Barry, Jeff, when do you think would be a good time to release it?" Cao Yang asked.

The two Warner executives exchanged a glance, and Barry Mayer spoke up: "Cao, what do you think of Thanksgiving?"

"can."

Cao Yang nodded. He suddenly felt that Warner's senior management were more or less "ill" and somewhat crazy, which was also the general perception of Warner from the outside world.

However, it cannot be denied that they have a very accurate grasp of timing; otherwise, they would not deserve to be in that position.

"My dear director, I'll have to trouble you to return to China again. This time you may have to stay in China for a while longer."

Jeff Robinov said to Cao Yang with a smile.

Cao Yang nodded; he understood what Jeff Robinoff meant.

Warner Bros. is about to "burn" the negatives of "Joker," so he needs to go back to China to use the backups to "make" another copy.

"Okay, let's proceed according to plan."

Today is September 7th, and "Joker" will be released on Thanksgiving Day, which means it will be released on November 27th. In just over two months, is it possible to make a film that will be shown at the Berlin Film Festival?

A fire broke out at Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, in the post-production area on the north side of the site, which contained multiple mixing studios and audio/video editing rooms. Three entire post-production studios were destroyed in the fire.

"Yes, the mixing studio and video editing room were working on 'Joker'... It's all over, everything's all over. All the film reels of 'Joker' are in there. 'Joker,' which has been in preparation since the beginning of the year, is all gone..."

Jeff Robinoff looked very sad and regretful, saying to the camera, "Fortunately, because the incident happened at night, there were no injuries, but I still want to apologize to the entire crew and cast of 'Joker'..."

"Some say it's because the plot of 'Joker' is too close to reality, even like it has prophetic abilities, which is why a series of bad things happened. Mr. Robinoff, what do you think about this?"

The reporter suddenly brought up this point and asked Jeff Robinoff.

The camera was also focused on Jeff Robinoff.

Jeff Robinoff's eyes darted away, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic.

"I don't know what you're talking about; your words are completely unfounded."

"Sir, you know what I'm talking about."

Why did Heath Ledger die after playing the Joker? Why did Jim Carrey nearly jump off a building after playing the Joker? Why were the negatives of "Joker" burned? You know what I'm asking.

The reporter pressed him with a questioning tone.

"Sorry, no comment."

Jeff Robinoff simply walked away.

Meanwhile, a seemingly absurd message is spreading wildly online, but when considered in light of reality, it is chilling to think about.

The gist is that the plot of "Joker" "unintentionally" foreshadowed a major event that was about to happen, and God took away Heath Ledger, who was going to play the Joker, in order to prevent this from happening.

However, the movie didn't stop there; Jim Carrey was chosen to play the new Joker.

As a result, Jim Carrey was also cursed. Because he was so immersed in the role, he wanted to stop the creation of "Joker" by "jumping off a building".

But he was discovered and rescued in time.

How could God allow such a thing to happen? All the film reels of "Joker" were destroyed in the fire...

The current version doesn't mention that Cao Yang has a backup in the capital, because mentioning a backup now would seem too deliberate.

Without mentioning backups, Joker would be completely ruined.

Since the entire movie is gone and all that money was wasted, these seemingly absurd claims become more believable.

People are also more willing to believe.

Once everyone believes it, then we can talk about backups. As long as the backups appear "reasonable," there will be no problem. Especially if we use the excuse that God loves the world, who would doubt it in a place where faith is prevalent in the West?

(End of this chapter)