Chapter 339: 339 The me Movie is really impressive now!
The Snond Theater’s packed screening hall, amidst the somber and mncholic soundtrack, rolled out the credits. A burst of warm apuse arose, as the audience participating in the premiere gave their praise to the team behind “Mr. Hughes 2,” truly a ssic biopic!
The 2002 Christmas release “The Aviator: Secret Life,” with a budget of 65 million US dors, eventually grossed 160 million worldwide, recounting the legendary tycoon Howard Hughes’s colorful early life; this year’s “The Aviator: Power, Money, and Madness” saw its production costs rise to 100 million US dors, continuing the story into Howard Hughes’stter years when he withdrew from the public eye and descended into madness—locking himself in a dark room where sunlight never entered, cutting his hair and nails once a year, bing addicted to cocaine and other drugs, and developing his cleanliness obsession and OCD to a pathological extreme…
These were but minor details. “Mr. Hughes” clearly articted the twisted formation of Howard Hughes’s personality and his inner torment; “Mr. Hughes 2” indeed ushered in a storm. Christopher Nn and Jonathan Nn adapted Michael Zothning’s biography into something bleak and distinctive, offering aprehensive exploration of the rtionship among genius, power, money, and madness. The 126-minute film features Hughes’s crazy past, Jim Carrey’s exquisite performance, and the deep perspectives of the screenwriters and directors.
“Chris, that was fantastic.” Just like with the previous work, after the premiere of “Mr. Hughes 2” ended, the film’s main team, guest friends, and others gathered at a nearby hotel for a celebration dinner. The lively banquet hall was filled withughter and chatter, with people either mingling and talking or enjoying the feast and drinks at the tables.
Unlike the increasingly popr idol director couple, Christopher Nn and Emma Thomas’s attire remained unchanged. Nn was still dressed in a suit, shoes polished, hair neatly parted to the side, his smile almost identical to two, four years ago; Emma Thomas wore a deep blue, low-cut long dress, still as talkative and passionate,ughing as she watched Wang Yang yfully punch her husband: “Remember what I told you? If you have confidence, so do I.”
“Thank you,” Nn nodded. The talks at Park City’s Redstone Theater about “Memento” years ago, the visit to finalize “Mr. Hughes,” they might not have had much interaction due to busy schedules, but their friendship ran deep. If wordse from the heart, “ttery” is not hard at all. He smiled and said, “The past few years working with me Films has really been a pleasure.” Emma Thomas also touched her chest in jest,ughing in gratitude: “Yang, thank you so much for your support. Sometimes when we talk about this…”
She nced at Nn, then continued with a smile: “…we just don’t know how to express our gratitude, you know you’re too generous.”
The budget for “Mr. Hughes 2” was initially set at 85 million, but eventually fixed at 100 million, exceeding by 15 million. One of the distinguishing features of the Hollywood production system is its meticulous budgeting—it’s one of the reasons why the preparation time for a movie is often longer than the production time. Every expenditure goes through strict auditing and control. The producer’s motto is to save money rather than to splurge. The studio couldn’t care less about striving for perfection—otherwise, if every film went over budget, what would that look like? Keep in mind that 15 million is enough to produce another low-budget film, or 2-3 small independent films.
So the meaning of striving for perfection is to do the best within that 85 million. If there’s anything better, it means ultimately saving 5 million, reducing the cost to 80 million.
A producer who can’t control the budget is a failed producer, especially when Christopher Nn is not some privileged great director, nor is Emma Thomas some privileged great producer. However, when “Mr. Hughes 2” lost control and wanted to pursue another kind of perfectionism, me Films agreed without a word—perhaps all it took was Wang Yang’s phrase, “If it’s not enough, add more!” Of course, while being bold, me wouldn’t be blind; detailed ounts ensured that every penny was spent on the film’s production.<div>
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Considering the mediocremercial performance of “Mr. Hughes 1”, the treatment received by “Mr. Hughes 2” indicated that Christopher Nn’s days were indeed very pleasant.
“We get the money, we have an obligation to earn it back for the filmpany; but Firefly is not just any filmpany, I don’t know how to put it, it’s just too cool,” Emma Thomas said,ughing, while Nn, Wang Yang, and the others couldn’t help but smile. Emma looked at her husband with a smile, “Then we thought, what we can do and need to do most is to make a good movie, right? For the trust of Firefly Films and for ourselves, if in a few days we could get a Golden Globe nomination, we would be over the moon.”
Listening to such high praise for her husband, Jessica, who was holding his arm, couldn’t help but show a bright smile. She felt immensely happy and also a touch of admiration for Emma Thomas, who, while being a great mother and wife, also managed to take care of everything for her husband as a producer—simply amazing! Jessica couldn’t help but nce at Wang Yang, who wore a peaceful smile, “Believe me, it’s really no big deal, I should be thanking you for bringing these two “Mr. Hughes” films to Firefly Films.”
“Alright, no more thanks necessary,” Wang Yang said as he took a ss of red wine from a passing waiter’s tray, took a sip, and then asked with interest, “So, do you have any ns for new projects? We’re interested in shooting ‘The Green Ho’, but you probably wouldn’t want to direct, nor is it quite your style, aedy-action film.”
He had just asked the same question to Jim Carrey, who was also attending the dinner, about his thoughts on “The Green Ho.” Theedy king said that he and his management team needed to consider it further, as it was a very boldedic concept. Wang Yang knew that Jim Carrey was eagerly looking forward to mainstream awards recognizing his acting career, and if “Mr. Hughes 2” could offer an Oscar Best Actor nomination fulfilling his long-held dream, he might happily agree to star in Firefly Films’ “The Green Ho.”
“Comedy? That really isn’t my thing,” Nn said, shaking his head slightly without any real consideration, rejecting the idea. He didn’t think he had much of a funny bone. Emma Thomas smiled and took up the conversation, “He and Jonathan do have a new project in mind, about adapting Christopher Priest’s fantasy novel ‘The Prestige’…” She was about to introduce the novel when Wang Yang said he knew of ‘The Prestige’, which was not surprising as the 61-year-old British author Christopher Priest was a famous science fiction writer and one of his signature works, ‘The Prestige’, was the winner of the World Fantasy Award in 1996.
This saved Emma Thomas a lot of effort, and she said, “We’re in the process of looking for investment for this project, contacting Christopher Priest for adaptation rights and then making it into a film with a production cost of about 50 million US Dors.”
Christopher Priest’s ‘The Prestige’ was inspired in part by real figures Cheng Liansu and Zhu Liankui, from London in the early 19th century during the Victorian period, when Chinese illusions were very magical and exaggerated. To enhance his allure and exoticism, the American William Ellsworth Robinson grew a Qing Dynasty queue and wore Qing Dynasty attire, posing as a Chinese man. Europeans at the time were not very clear about what Chinese people looked like, Cheng Liansu never spoke, and even hired a “trantor” as part of the act, eventually bing a star magician of the time.
However, he could not fool the globally renowned Chinese magician Zhu Liankui. It was Zhu who made illusions wildly popr in America, Europe, and London, and led to the emergence of “Cheng Liansu.” After the two met in London and a media scandal about the “true and false Chinese men” ensued, Zhu Liankui challenged Cheng Liansu with a letter: “If Cheng Liansu can perform ten out of my twenty tricks, or if I cannot perform any one of his, then I shall give him a thousand British pounds.” But the apprehensive Cheng Liansu never epted the challenge.
Cheng Liansu’s signature act was the “bullet catch,” where audience members inspected and loaded a bullet into a gun, then fired at him, and he would catch the bullet and ce it on a te. Of course, the gun was tampered with; the gunpowder would detonate in a false barrel beneath the real gun barrel, and the bullet would not leave the gun, unless it did—and then it would be a fatal magic trick. In 1918, during one such performance, Cheng Liansu was shot with a bullet and cried out his first andst words in English: “Oh my God! Something’s happened, lower the curtain!!”
Possibly murder, possibly an ident, Cheng Liansu died just like that.
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“The Prestige” tells the story of Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, two extraordinarily talented young magicians who turn from fraternalpanions into mortal enemies, culminating in a tragic tale of murder. Wang Yang had watched this film in the future film archive in his mind, with a narrative structure full of the Nn brothers’ mysterious style. This structure sometimes affects the core exploration of human nature, but it also gives the film its unique charm.
“me Movies, ah!” Even more decisive than “Mr. Hughes,” Wang Yang’s hesitation-free attitude still left the Nn couple in shock for a moment, and yet it was somewhat expected. What n could possibly lead him to say “NO”? Wang Yang said with relish, “The story of ‘The Prestige’ is very interesting, and I really like magic; I can even perform a few tricks.” His joking made Emma Thomas chuckle a few times while Nn asked, “Really?” Wang Yang shrugged, “Aren’t I called Magic Yang?” Heughed, “That settles it! We’ll get in touch with Christopher Priest first to secure the adaptation rights.”
Of course, the Nn couple was delighted with this— it looked like they would continue to have a pleasant coboration with me Movies for another two years.
“Do you really know magic? I mean, the kind of magic that’s magic.” After chatting for a while, Wang Yang and his wife walked towards the long dining table, and seeing him nod and say YES, Jessica asked with augh, “Bullshit! Why have I never seen you do magic?” Wang Yang looked at her oddly and whispered, gesturingrge and small with his hands, “Aren’t I changing magic every day? I have something on me that is only this big, but with the help of my assistant, it can be that big; it can turn a in on your body into a mountain, and then outes a cute little kid! What a marvelous magic trick.”
The banquet hall was bustling with noise and peopleing and going. Jessica looked at him stunned, her cheeks flushed as if with blush or embarrassment, seemingly recalling a particr magic performance; she rolled her eyes in feigned ecstasy, “Idiot.”
“The Prestige” was still an unknown, but “Mr. Hughes 2” had almost reached a consensus. After itsprehensive release on December 10, the next day it scored 8.4 on IMDb, with Rotten Tomatoes’ freshness ratings at 92%/89%, and an audience approval of 80%. It continued the momentum from the preview screenings and garnered unanimous praise from the critics. me Movies, recentlymbasted for “Saw II,” quickly turned things around with a stunningeback. David Ansen of Newsweek praised it saying, “This is a great epic about the life of the American tycoon, Hughes.”…<div>
The weekend of December 10-12 quickly became history, with the box office rankings not to be determined until daylight on the 13th, but in the early hours, many people were woken up. The Golden Globe nominations were announced without a live television broadcast, with the organizers just having released theplete list of nominations to the media and the public.
Some were happy, some were sorrowful. As a barometer, the Golden Globe Awards would reveal the overall trends of the award season, with all the campaigning and des waiting for this moment to either bloom or wither.
In the television categories, popr series such as “Prison Break” and “The Big Bang Theory” did not receive nominations, which will surely make many fans curse, while fans of me Movies would be rejoicing. However, in the film categories, they didn’t find many reasons to be happy, even though the nominations belonged to me Movies and to his judgment. “Mr. Hughes 2” received nominations for Best Picture – Drama, Best Actor in a Drama (Jim Carrey), Best Director (Christopher Nn), and Best Screeny (Jonathan Nn). “Crash” also made a dark horse run with nominations for Best Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actor (Matt Dillon), Best Director (Paul Haggis), Best Screeny (Paul Haggis), and Best Original Song (“In the Deep”) making up five major awards.
What’s going on!? The many distributors who checked the list as soon as it was out all had to ask. me Movies swept away 9 nominations in one go! Out of the sixrgest awards for Best Picture – Drama, me Movies held two with “Mr. Hughes 2,” “Crash,” “Stealing Heart” (Columbia), “Finding Nevend” (Miramax Films), “Hotel Rwanda” (United Artists & Lionsgate), and “Million Dor Baby” (Warner Brothers). They also held two out of five nominations for Best Director and two out of five for Best Screeny.<div>
Undoubtedly a sweeping victory! It’s the first time without any magic from Yang, yet there are so many nominations! Could it be that me Films is starting a full-on assault in the awards field beyond box office revenue? Are they taking all the good things for themselves?
“Damn it!” Many who had attendedst year’s Toronto International Film Festival swore, was “Crash” actually a hidden gem? Were the judges really that fond of it? I knew it! I knew it! Could a film Yang had his eye on be bad? But knowing that was useless. No one thought “Crash” was a bad film at the time, yet who would dare topete with the mad “ck hole” for a buyout fee of 20 million US dors, all the way up from a normal distribution fee of 3 million? Who knows if Yang, who never ys by the rules, would go up to 30 million?
Despite having “Paranormal Activity 3”, Jon Filtimel still felt a bit of regret. If only he had raised the price to 20.5 million to beat Yang… The Weinstein brothers were so frustrated they repeatedly said “We’re breaking off from Disney!” They couldn’t stand the suffocation any longer! But then again, they didn’t dare to offer 20 million either… because no matter how you look at it, “Crash” just wasn’t worth that price. The results would be known next week.
“Oh! Wow… nine nominations.” In the dimly lit bedroom, Wang Yang, who had just taken a nap, was woken by his cellphone. After hearing the report from Mark nt, he nced at Jessica, who was lying in his arms with a persistent rosy flush of confusion, too enticing for words. Tonight had turned into a rather intense session of magic; she waspletely worn out. He asked again, “Are Natalie Portman and Jan Kaczmarek nominated?” Hearing that name, Jessica became much more alert, even more thrilling than the excitement of nine nominations. Shenguidly blinked her eyes, and hearing hisughter of delight, “That’s great,” she knew they both had been nominated.
Natalie Portman had earned her fourth Golden Globe nomination, for Best Supporting Actress (“Stealing Heart”), while Jan Kaczmarek had secured his third nomination for Best Original Score with “Finding Nevend”. It’s worth mentioning that Clint Eastwood, who personally took charge again following “Mystic River”, was nominated for Best Original Score with “Million Dor Baby”, and also for Best Director; Meryl Streep, unstoppably, with her effortless performance in “The Manchurian Candidate”, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, though it was unclear how many times she had done so before.
“The Chorus”, “Ambush from Ten Sides”, “The Motorcycle Diaries”, and other films were nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, while the highly controversial “The Passion of the Christ” was unsurprisingly eliminated.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
“OK, thanks for the hard work, goodbye!” Wang Yang pressed the end call button and dropped his phone, clenched his fist, and looked at her with a smile, “Do you know now?” But Jessica wasn’t as excited as in previous years; she was even a bit unhappy. How could “Prison Break” and “The Big Bang Theory” not be nominated? She nodded, “I heard it all.” Knowing what she was thinking, Wang Yang shook his head, smiling as he pinched her cheek, “Smile! Smile!” He dialed a number with his right hand; it was courteous to wake up the nominees at such a happy moment. Once connected, he heard Nn’s “Hello” andughed, “Hi, Chris! Congrattions!”…
“Hi, Jonathan, congrattions!” “Hi, Jim, congrattions!” “Hi, Paul, congrattions!”… Listening to his cheerfulughter, Jessica, whose cheeks he was pinching, couldn’t help but smile as well, looking forward with great anticipation to the day when “Firefly” would also have people congratting him. She sat up, pulled on a whitece sheer nightdress, and walked to pour him a ss of warm water to moisten his throat.
“Hi, Natalie, congrattions! A beautiful strike!” Hearing Wang Yang’s energeticughter, Natalie, rolling around in bed,ughed, “Yes, congrattions to me! You’ve had two nominations, and I’ve had four.” On the other end, Wang Yangughed, “Don’t be so arrogant, keep a low profile!” Natalie’s voice drew out, “OK— but it’s true.” Wang Yangughed, “Congrattions anyway! Goodbye, I’ll keep on congratting others.”
Wang Yang took the ss of water from Jessica, said “Thank you,” and immediately dialed another number: “Hi, Jan, congrattions!”…(