It's reasonable for me to be a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning director and an all-around

Chapter 283 A Slap in the Face from Afar! How can the exchange between cultured people be called plagiarism? (Seeking monthly votes)

"Reprinted from The Hollywood Reporter: Yesterday, the fantasy/romance film 'Twilight,' directed and written by Lu Rui and with a budget of $3000 million, officially opened in North American theaters, opening in 3500 theaters on its first day, setting a record for the largest opening of a teen-themed film this year!"

"It is understood that the films competing with Twilight are the historical/biographical film Marie Antoinette produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment and the superhero film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer produced by 2th Century Fox."

"The latest action/suspense film from Ruishijie, 'The Witch,' has officially been announced, with new director Xue Xiaolu making an appearance..."

Turning our attention back to China, the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival successfully kicked off on June 16.

As the only A-class film festival award in China, it is no surprise that this place is already a gathering of big names.

Investors, directors, producers, actors, and others from various industries gathered together, either to network or to promote their films.

For example, Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kexin brought their new films to the event.

Before coming, they all had high hopes for this film festival, hoping to use this platform to make their works stand out and quickly seize market attention.

However, reality dealt them a heavy blow!
The exposure they received at the film festival fell far short of their expectations.

A brief appearance on the red carpet, a few words during interviews with the main cast, and a few questions during group interviews with the media may garner some news coverage, but they are unlikely to generate sustained buzz, let alone boost the film's early reputation.

Upon closer examination, the root cause lies in the fact that the domestic cinema market has reached an extreme level of involution!
In May, two Hollywood blockbusters, Spider-Man 3 and Shrek 3, were released one after another, directly triggering a box office frenzy.

The former, in particular, stood out with a box office of 1.4 million RMB, almost monopolizing the market share during the same period.

Entering June, Ghost Rider kicked things off with a bang, followed by Pirates of the Caribbean 3, which once again garnered a large audience.

Domestic film production companies are suffering greatly from the constant bombardment of imported Hollywood films.

Many companies have even begun submitting complaint letters to the Film Bureau, accusing imported films of having an excessively high proportion of screenings, leaving domestic films with a severely squeezed space for survival...

Faced with the strong impact of Hollywood blockbusters, domestic commercial films lack both intellectual property advantages and visual appeal, making it difficult to boost their momentum and forcing them to struggle to survive in the cracks.

If everyone is in such a bad situation, then so be it, since everyone is starting from the same point and there's no question of who's better than whom.

Unfortunately, Lü Rui's screenplay for "Twilight" was released in Hollywood, and it was even touted as a "challenge to blockbusters"!

Compared to the other two, his sophistication instantly skyrockets!

Rivals are common among those in the same industry, especially since Lü Rui had previously engaged in verbal battles with Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kexin, and others, and their relationship was already extremely hostile...

Guo Degang, who is currently very popular in the crosstalk circle, often mentions the phrase, "It's all because of the contrast with his peers that he looks so good."

As a result, the core meaning of this sentence was accurately quoted by the media and then used to attack Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kexin!

During the media Q&A session at the film festival, the questions were all quite pointed:
"Director Feng, what do you think of Director Lü's success in Hollywood?"

After the failure of "The Banquet" overseas, will you continue to try? Do you still have the courage to start over?

"Director Chen, you haven't responded to Director Lü's satire of 'The Warlords' yet. Can you talk about it now?"

"As a director who has worked in Hollywood, you have had to return to the Chinese-language market due to setbacks in your career, while director Lü Rui is making great strides abroad. What are your thoughts on this?"

"..."

Sometimes, victory doesn't even require you to do exceptionally well; simply doing better than your opponent is enough.

Sure enough, Lu Rui only wrote a script and released a movie, but it indirectly made his competitors so angry that their lungs were about to explode!

Outside the red carpet area, Chen Kaige looked at Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kexin, who were surrounded by reporters and whose faces were turning pale and then red, and subconsciously quickened his pace.

You absolutely must not go and join in the fun at this time, otherwise, the old grievances of "The Promise" will definitely be brought up again.

"I don't think his film will be a success!"

Feng Xiaogang didn't actually know much about the Twilight series; he just pieced together bits and pieces of information he'd seen online and started making mindless rebuttals.
"A movie adapted from a youth novel, it's obvious that it will revolve around love and romance. How many movies can this kind of subject matter sell at the box office?"
A $3000 million investment, equivalent to 2.3 million RMB, means he'd need to sell for at least $1 million to break even. I don't need to elaborate on how difficult that is…”

His intention was to regain face and not be outdone by Lü Rui.

But the reporters were incredibly excited, like they'd been injected with adrenaline, and they kept fanning the flames:

"Director Feng thinks that $1 million at the box office is impossible for 'Twilight', is that right?"

"If Director Lü really does it, what's your opinion?"

"..."

A group of people were trying to get Feng Xiaogang to continue speaking.

After all, what's so interesting about an awards ceremony?
The banter between the two directors, even from a distance, is exactly the kind of fun everyone wants to see!
Feng Xiaogang's face grew increasingly grim as he was pressed for answers, but he was caught in a dilemma and could only grit his teeth and continue to be stubborn.

However, Chen Kexin, who was standing to the side, frowned when she saw this scene, and silently retreated behind Feng Xiaogang, protecting him in front of her.

He only wanted to make money and had no interest in getting entangled with Lü Rui.

That kid is a mad dog!
He even managed to tarnish the credibility of the Hong Kong Film Awards; my own wealth is simply not enough to withstand such turmoil, so it's best to stay away.

If Lü Rui finds another weakness and exposes us, all the goodwill we've worked so hard to build will be ruined!
He was pondering how to slip away quietly when suddenly a gasp rang out from the crowd, exploding in everyone's ears like a thunderclap:

"Holy crap! Breaking news! Twilight's North American opening day box office is a smash! It opened in 3500 theaters and grossed $3679 million on its opening day! Analysts are even predicting that the film could reach $2 million at the North American box office!"

boom--

The scene immediately erupted in an uproar!
"What? A forecast of $2 million?"

"Nearly $4000 million on the first day? That's incredible!"

"Director Lü has clearly made a fortune again this time!"

Many reporters quickly pulled out their phones, either to answer calls or to check messages, unable to hide their amazement!
With a first-day box office of $3679 million, it's top-tier even by Hollywood summer standards, not to mention that this is a romance film adapted from a young adult novel!

However, at this moment, Feng Xiaogang froze on the spot, his face turning from ashen to deathly pale, and then flushed red.

He never expected that just a minute ago he was mocking Lü Rui, saying that "romance movies simply can't sell at the box office."

But the next minute, he was slapped hard in the face by the box office data!

With a budget of $3000 million and projected box office of $2 million in North America, this means the film will make a fortune in the North American market alone, not to mention the revenue from global distribution.

In contrast, his own film, "The Banquet," despite its huge budget, ultimately didn't even gross as much as the opening day box office of other films.

This comparison is absolutely heartbreaking!
What made him even more ashamed was that the gazes cast by the surrounding reporters were filled with undisguised mockery and ridicule, pricking him like needles.

He wanted to find an excuse to slip away, but when he turned around, he found that Chen Kexin, who had been behind him just moments before, had disappeared without a trace, obviously having taken advantage of the chaos to run away.

"Damn it! That bastard! He didn't even call me before running away!"

Feng Xiaogang cursed inwardly, but forced a smile as he faced the surrounding reporters, maintaining a composed facade.
"Box office performance is unpredictable; its future trajectory depends on word-of-mouth..."

However, before he could finish speaking, he was drowned out by an even more heated discussion.

He couldn't stay any longer, so he took advantage of a lull in the reporters' focus on the box office news, lowered his head, and quickly squeezed out of the crowd, fleeing the scene in a disheveled state...

...

At this time, Ruixing Film Industry.

It was already dark outside, but the conference room was still brightly lit.

Jason Blum and his PR team spent a full day and night out and finally returned with a wealth of data.

Although his face showed signs of fatigue, his eyes shone with excitement, and even his voice was filled with barely concealed joy and elation.
“Lv, the data is out. Fox’s Fantastic Four 2 has 400 more theaters than our Twilight, or 3900, because it has a predecessor and comic book foundation.

Sony's "Marie Antoinette" also opened with 3500 theaters, just like ours.

But in terms of box office performance, those two movies were no match for us at all!
"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" grossed $22.2 million on its opening day, while "Marie Antoinette" fared even worse, with only $1435 million...

“Hey?” Peter couldn’t help but interrupt, his eyes full of surprise. “2220 million plus 1435 million, that’s only 3655 million? That’s $24 less than our 3679 million?”

"That's right!"

Jason proudly raised his head, like a male peacock awaiting praise, his tone full of boastfulness.

"This is all thanks to our precise early-stage promotional strategy! High school students, college students, and young couples are our core target audience, and even many elementary school students are following the movie's popularity..."

The day after the movie premiere, Stephanie Meyer officially put the third book in the Twilight series, Eclipse, on the market.

This directly boosted sales of the first book, "Twilight," and the second book, "New Moon," resulting in all three novels topping the bestseller list!

A wave of pursuing youthful dreams and "Twilight fever" swept through elementary, high school, and university students.

All of this hype was channeled into "Twilight," resulting in a box office of $3679 million!

"Clap clap clap!"

Lu Rui was the first to stand up and applaud, and the meeting room was immediately filled with waves of applause that lasted for a long time.

A few minutes later, the applause stopped, but everyone's face was still flushed with excitement, clearly not yet recovered from the joy of the box office victory.

Lu Rui was the first to regain his composure, his gaze sweeping over everyone as he began a new round of work arrangements: "Jason, do you know what to do next?"

“Of course!” Jason immediately straightened his back. “I will contact the theaters right away to try to increase the number of theaters where it will be shown, and at the same time increase online and offline promotion efforts to push the ‘Twilight craze’ to more groups and expand the film’s audience.”

"very good."

Lü Rui nodded slightly and then looked at the two directors.

Guy Ritchie and Hardwick exchanged a glance, immediately stood up, and said in unison, "We will cooperate with all promotional and roadshow efforts to help the box office continue to soar!"

They know better than anyone that a film's box office performance directly determines their future industry resources.

Now that Twilight has made such a good start, everyone naturally wants to keep this momentum going, rather than stop it.

"Alright!" Lu Rui slammed his hand on the table. "Everyone, let's get started. I'll be waiting for your good news."

"Yes!"

The crowd immediately dispersed and went about their own business.

Lü Rui followed the others and left the company.

However, his destination was Beverly Hills.

The employees still have to keep fighting for their dreams, future, and money, but the evil capitalist boss is already tired and just wants to go back and catch up on some sleep.

The car drove smoothly through the Los Angeles night.

Lü Rui leaned back in his chair, holding his laptop, browsing Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb with great interest.

The ratings on the screen are clear at a glance:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer scored 7.8, Marie Antoinette scored 7.1, while Twilight scored only 6.3, firmly placing it at the bottom.

If we only look at the ratings, Twilight is undoubtedly the "loser" among the three films.

In the comments section, negative reviews are everywhere:
"It's incredibly boring. The plot is so childish that it's like a middle school student's love diary."

"The lead actor's acting was terrible; he relied almost entirely on wide-eyed stares to convey emotions. How can someone like that act in a movie?"

"A typical popcorn movie, I have absolutely no memory of it after watching it..."

One harsh review after another almost drowned out the film.

But Lü Rui remained remarkably calm, continuing to scroll down with his mouse.

Soon, voices of praise began to emerge:
"My God! The male and female leads are absolutely gorgeous! Edward's eyes are just so beautiful!"

"The visuals are exquisite; the light and shadow in the forest are like something out of a fairy tale."

"The soundtrack is fantastic! I want to add every song to my playlist."

"Everyone in the cast is good-looking. It's no exaggeration to say that just looking at their faces is worth the price of admission."

Looking around, positive and negative reviews are clashing fiercely, the comment section remains highly popular, and every new comment can quickly spark discussion.

Lu Rui closed his laptop, a faint smile playing on his lips.

In his view, the worst thing for a movie after its release is not bad reviews, but a lack of discussion.

If the audience is too lazy to complain or praise, they don't even deserve attention, so how can they attract box office revenue?
The controversy surrounding "Twilight" only proves its popularity.

Negative reviews piqued the curiosity of passersby, while positive reviews prompted fans to spontaneously recommend it...

This seemingly contradictory situation actually drew even more people into the cinema.

At this moment, Sony Columbia.

The meeting room of the "Marie Antoinette" project team was brightly lit, but it couldn't dispel the gloom on everyone's faces. Sofia Coppola stared wide-eyed at the opening day box office figure of "$1435 million" projected on the screen, utterly unable to believe that this was the box office result of the film she was directing!

This number is like a dull knife, repeatedly cutting away at her pride!

awful!
That's horrible!
It was absolutely appalling!

After all, the team had predicted that the opening day box office would be no less than $3000 million.

But reality slapped everyone in the face. The box office not only plummeted by half, but it didn't even reach half of the target!
Sofia was completely stunned, especially when her eyes swept over the $3679 million box office figure of "Twilight" next door.

How could that teen romance film that she scoffed at have such high box office numbers?

How exactly did they do it?
Could it be that they're inflating the box office figures?
But the next second, she put the thought out of her mind.

Boosting box office numbers in North American theaters? That's utterly a fantasy!

Once discovered by regulatory authorities, it will inevitably attract the intervention and investigation of the IRS. At that time, the fines alone could bankrupt Ruixing Film Studio!

Lü Rui would never take such a risk.

"Alright, let's take a look at the film review data." A deep voice broke the silence in the conference room.

The speaker was Francis Ford Coppola, the executive producer of "Marie Antoinette," the director of "The Godfather," and also Sofia Coppola's father.

He is now a senior executive at Sony Columbia's production division, and he personally oversaw the film "Marie Antoinette".

Everyone's attention quickly focused on the projection screen.

However, the barrage of negative reviews, like icy seawater, completely froze the atmosphere in the meeting room:
"The whole movie is like a long fashion show. Apart from the gorgeous skirts and jewelry, there is no core story. Marie Antoinette's tragedy is simplified into 'the luxurious daily life of a princess,' which is a waste of such a good historical subject."

"Sofia Coppola completely failed to capture the soul of the character! The female lead had a blank expression throughout, lacking both the elegance of a queen and the fear of facing revolution. She was like a modern model in ancient costume, completely detached from the plot."

"A $3000 million investment was spent on costumes and sets, but they couldn't spare any effort to polish the script? The dialogue is so empty it's embarrassing."

"Turning the Queen, a figure from the French Revolution, into a princess dream for American high school students? This kind of historically inaccurate adaptation is not only disrespectful to history but also an insult to the audience's intelligence!"

"Compared to 'Twilight' which was released around the same time, although the plot was simple, it at least captured the target audience. 'Marie Antoinette' tried to please both history film enthusiasts and young viewers, but ended up pleasing neither side and becoming a hybrid."

As the film reviews rolled on, Sofia's expression grew increasingly grim.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered what she had said to Lü Rui at the premiere.

"I will give you some space to survive..."

Looking back now, those words felt like slaps to her face, making her so ashamed that she wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground!

She wondered what she was thinking, how could she have said such a stupid thing?

If we meet again next time, won't I be laughed at to death?

“Sophia?” Frasis’s voice rang out again, tinged with a barely perceptible disappointment.

"Father!"

Sofia looked up abruptly, her eyes reddening, but she couldn't utter a single word.

"You were too careless this time."

"..."

Vlassis looked at his daughter, who was silent with her head down, and shook his head inwardly.

He knew better than anyone that Hollywood's box office prediction system never made a mistake.

Therefore, the box office performance of "Marie Antoinette" on its opening day already sealed its fate as a failure.

This movie is likely to lose money.

But Sofia is his daughter, how could he just stand by and watch her bear all the blame, even to the point of ruining her directing career?
Okay then, who will take responsibility for the failure?

"The most urgent task is to find someone to take responsibility."

Frazier silently recited the words to himself, his gaze slowly sweeping over the other producers in the conference room.

He now needs to find a scapegoat, someone with enough weight who won't affect the company's core interests.

Callum Green?
No, he's the producer of "Hamlet" and a company executive. Taking action against him would trigger a chain reaction.

Ross Katz?

No, that won't work either. He's the producer of "Lost in Translation" and has a very close relationship with the company's executives.

Fred Ruth?
No, that's not an option either. That's his old friend, the producer of "The Godfather Part III." They can't ruin their long-standing friendship.

Finally, Vlassis's gaze fell on the young Matt Tolmach at the back of the conference room, and he quickly made a decision.

This young man is still relatively inexperienced. Although he has participated in several film projects and achieved some success, he doesn't have a strong background...

Vlassis's eyes narrowed slightly, and he quickly made a decision.

"It's him!"

This would allow me to give the company and investors an explanation, avoid shaking the core team, and protect my daughter...

As for Matt's future, it's not even worth mentioning in the internal power struggles within Sony Columbia.

At the same time, at 20th Century Fox, the meeting room of the Fantastic Four 2 project team was also brightly lit.

Compared to Marie Antoinette and Twilight, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer has received fairly good online ratings.

The box office performance on the first day was also decent.

$2220 million, which is $380 million more than half of Twilight's $3679 million, is quite a remarkable achievement...

Pull your hips!

That's absolutely terrible!

Tim Story couldn't help but scratch his bald head, completely baffled.

He clearly thought it was a terrible movie after watching the finished Twilight film!
But why has garbage suddenly become so sought-after?
On the projection screen inside the room, reviews of "Fantastic Four 2" from multiple rating websites were being projected.

There are good and bad aspects to it.

"The special effects are a huge improvement over the first movie. The superhero entrance scenes are amazing, and the spaceships flying over the city are also fantastic. Every frame is worth the price of admission, and the experience is incredibly exhilarating!"

"I think the plot is too formulaic, the villain's motives are vague, and the main characters have no highlights other than the fight scenes. There are four heroes, but none of them have a clear character arc. I forgot about them after watching it."

"Jessica Alba's beauty is half the battle! Her scenes in the tight-fitting suit are really stunning, but her screen time is too compressed. Despite being a core member, she's treated like a tool."

"Is this movie a devil? As a superhero sequel, it has no breakthroughs at all. It neither deepens the world view nor brings any new surprises. It feels like it just changed the villain to follow the formula of the first movie. It makes people sleepy."

Tim Story grew increasingly anxious and couldn't help but turn to the analyst:
"Is there a mistake in the statistics? This is a $1.3 million superhero blockbuster, how could it be less than a popcorn romance movie? That doesn't make sense!"

“Tim,” producer Kevin Feige interjected at the opportune moment, “I feel I need to remind you that Twilight is also adapted from a best-selling book.”

Its teenage fanbase is no smaller than that of the Fantastic Four comic book fans, and may even be more active in terms of spending.

At this moment, Wendy Deng, who had come to join the fun, suddenly spoke up, her tone filled with curiosity:

"But if I remember correctly, even if a fan-oriented film has a strong opening day box office, the subsequent drop in box office revenue after the fans have finished consuming it will be quite dramatic, right?"

Kevin Feige nodded in agreement: "That's definitely the case. Many fan-oriented films face the problem of 'exploding in the first week and collapsing in the second week'."

“Why don’t we wait and see?” Wendy Deng suggested with a smile. “Maybe after the opening weekend, Twilight’s box office will plummet, and Fantastic Four 2 will catch up, creating a new turning point?”

Kevin Feige immediately had a rebuttal in mind.

In his view, as a sequel, Fantastic Four 2 also relies on a fan base, and the risk of a drop in box office revenue is no less than that of Twilight.

But after glancing at Wendy Deng's confident and composed expression, and considering her husband Murdoch's status in the media, he swallowed his words and ultimately only compromised, saying:

"Let's wait and see, and see what the box office figures are after the first weekend."

This wait lasted for three days.

On the morning of the 18th, several Hollywood entertainment media outlets reported on the box office results of films released this weekend.

"Twilight, a romantic/fantasy film produced by Rising Pictures and directed by Guy Ritchie and Hardwicke, adapted from Stephanie Meyer's bestselling novel, grossed $1.06 million in its opening weekend in North America."

"The superhero blockbuster 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,' produced by 2th Century Fox and directed by Tim Story, grossed $5362 million in its opening weekend."

"Marie Antoinette, a biographical film produced by Sony Columbia and directed by Sofia Coppola, grossed $2895 million in its opening weekend."

This result immediately stunned the media, Hollywood professionals, and the project teams of "Marie Antoinette" and "Fantastic Four 2".

The two films' combined opening weekend box office barely exceeded 8000 million, which is even less than the performance of "Twilight" alone?

Sofia Coppola clutched her disheveled hair, muttering to herself, "How could this happen... how could this happen?"

At that moment, she felt as if she could already hear Lü Rui's mocking words echoing in her ears.

Those grand pronouncements about "leaving room for survival" made at the premiere have now become slaps in the face, stinging painfully!

On the other hand, Wendi Deng no longer dared to make any wild predictions about box office trends.

At this moment, even across the Pacific Ocean, she deeply felt the sting of Feng Xiaogang's humiliation.

pain!
That hurts so damn much!
She was initially certain that "Twilight" would be a "box office hit in its opening week, but it collapsed in its second week," but in reality, while the box office soared, her own film faltered in the following week...

"This Chinese director is really talented!"

Wendy Deng rubbed her temples, realizing for the first time how ridiculous her judgment in the film and television industry was.

At the same time, she also set her sights on Lü Rui, secretly wondering if there was a chance to collaborate with this Hollywood gold medal producer.

"How about we ask Zhang Ziyi to help introduce him? She's also in the domestic film and television industry, so she should have some connections with this person..."

Let's turn our attention back to the Shanghai International Film Festival.

To avoid being relentlessly pursued by the media, Feng Xiaogang has decided to make a runaway.

Even for "Assembly," which he had high hopes for, he temporarily gave up promoting it.

If he stayed at the event, he would only be bombarded with questions from reporters about the box office figures for "Twilight," becoming a laughingstock in the entire industry.
However, coincidentally, when he discreetly drove away from the hotel garage, he unexpectedly bumped into Chen Kexin, who was also trying to sneak away.

The two men stared at each other from several cars away, their eyes filled with helplessness and embarrassment, looking exactly like two brothers in distress.

Without exchanging pleasantries or conversation, they simply gave each other a wry smile and hurriedly drove off in different directions.

At this moment, all they wanted was to escape this place filled with "Lu Rui's shadow" as soon as possible!

At the same time, in a cinema in Shanghai, a short adult man became somewhat agitated because he was almost mistaken for a child and recommended a half-price ticket.

But when the preview screenings of "Twilight" started playing on the screen, he instantly forgot his displeasure and excitedly praised it repeatedly:

"The camerawork! The lighting! The colors! And the storyline... it's all so high-quality! So amazing!"

His eyes were glued to the screen, as if afraid of missing a single shot.

After watching the film with great enjoyment, he was still somewhat unsatisfied and couldn't help but wonder, "Could I make such a wonderful movie?"

Once the thought popped into my head, I couldn't suppress it anymore.

He immediately pulled out his expensive laptop, which was custom-made from abroad and had his own logo printed on it. Then, his fingers flew across the keyboard as he wrote down the "inspiration" he had just captured from the clip.

If someone were to look closely at this moment, they would find that his so-called record is nothing more than copying and pasting the cinematic language, color scheme, and even the plot framework of "Twilight" into a document in a different guise.

Because he often does this, he is known as Guo, the "Master of Patchwork".

He would never admit it verbally, but his pen told a very truthful story.

"Writing books and making movies are essentially exchanges among cultural figures, so how can that be called plagiarism?"

As he typed, he mentally defended himself.

"This is called legitimate borrowing; it's creating by standing on the shoulders of giants!"

The screen light reflected on his face, revealing an expression of unwavering confidence, as if he were already the undisputed choice to become the next "box office dark horse" director...

(End of this chapter)