For the film industry, the biggest advantage of Los Angeles is the weather, whether it is filming a movie or a variety of film-related activities.
Just like today.
This is January 25th.
on Monday.
The 56th American Film and Television Golden Globe Awards Ceremony has arrived as scheduled.
While many parts of the northern hemisphere are in the midst of a snow-covered winter, outside the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, under the warm Mediterranean climate, the stars on the red carpet at the awards ceremony, especially the actresses, can still wear whatever they want. The dress is in full bloom.
There were huge crowds of people around.
Although the importance is not as high as that of the Oscars, and the public attention is also much lower, after bringing together the film, television and music circles, the liveliness of the Golden Globe Awards ceremony is not much less than that of the Oscars, or because it is relatively free The dinner format is even more lively.
In her Hollywood debut, Cate Blanchett, who was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her outstanding performance in "Elizabeth", arrived at the busy hotel parking lot. After getting off the car, she was immediately surrounded by a group of her agents and publicists. Managers, assistants and makeup artists gathered around to re-check the makeup and the full set of expensive dresses and jewelry sponsored by Melisandre's two major brands, CK and Bulgari, before heading to the red carpet and almost rushing in time. Meet the cast of "Elizabeth" who arrived.
After working hard for this award ceremony for several days, I felt like a beautiful object. I thought I would become numb, but when everyone entered the red carpet on the corridor in front of the main building of the hotel, listening to the sounds from the viewing platforms on both sides, Cheering and shouting, looking at the faces around her that could only be seen on big and small screens, Kate still inevitably became excited. She was also nervous in her excitement, and her hands and feet were a little numb.
So once again, I followed the instructions of the people around me like a puppet on a string and carried out various procedures. First, I took pictures in the media area, posed for several minutes, and then accepted interviews from NBC, Fashion TV and other TV stations, and then merged into the crowd again.
it's not finished yet.
To say hello to some of the big guys who are here tonight, like Ella Deutschman, president of Gate Pictures, Bill Michanik, president of Disney, and Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp. Michael Jordan, the chairman of Westinghouse Electric... When Kate first heard the name, she thought she was hallucinating. Fortunately, the skilled public relations manager promptly reminded her of "same name, same name" in her ear, so she didn't make a fool of herself.
After patiently greeting them one by one, Cate Blanchett suddenly thought of another question, something very disappointing.
Simon Westeros didn't come.
I heard that the other party went to Park City, Utah again last Saturday to host what has become a customary mountaintop party. Maybe he is still there now, or maybe he is just not interested in attending this award ceremony. After all, the other party’s identity is far from the past. Just a Hollywood mogul.
The agent's reminder came to her ears, and Cate Blanchett quickly recovered her temporarily distracted thoughts and walked towards the chatting crew of "Saving Private Ryan", including George Luca, who rarely attended award ceremonies. Sri Lanka.
Cate Blanchett knows why Lucas is here.
The first part of "Star Wars: The Prequels", which has been in production for more than two years, has finally been confirmed to be released this summer under the expectation of countless fans. Even with the popularity of this series, countless people will enter the theater without publicity, but it should be There is still a lot of marketing process. Lucas attended the Golden Globe Awards ceremony just to gain exposure for "Star Wars Prequels".
Even though the starting point was high, after the team, including Kate herself, waited for a long time to confirm that a certain man seemed to have no other special interest in her, they also wanted to use the popularity brought by "Elizabeth" to expand their career as much as possible. I probably heard that Steven Spielberg and Daenerys Entertainment are not on good terms in the industry, but just saying hello is definitely nothing to a young actress like her.
It would be better if there are opportunities for cooperation.
After all, Simon Westeros is a bit far away, and after "Jurassic Park" and the recent "Saving Private Ryan", Steven Spielberg is still the first-line director that Hollywood stars are most willing to work with, and , it is rumored that Paramount is lobbying Spielberg to produce the fourth part of the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" series. At this time, if we meet and leave an impression, we may be able to cooperate in the future.
After Cate Blanchett said hello and left, the "Saving Private Ryan" people gradually dispersed to socialize with each other.
George Lucas walked up to Rupert Murdoch and chatted a few words about the release details of the first part of "Star Wars Episode I". Murdoch gestured to Spielberg: "George, tonight is history. Is Tiff sure?”
As an academic who has never been too close to Hollywood, George Lucas does not pay too much attention to various trends in the film and television circles, but if he wants to know, it is easy. When Murdoch asked, he shook his head slightly and lowered his voice. The voice said: "No surprise, it should be "Shakespeare in Love"."
The two people were obviously talking about the most critical award this time for the Best Picture in the Drama category.
Murdoch also shook his head slightly: "In this case, Daenerys should also be able to handle the Oscars in March."
George Lucas is silent.
However, Lucas actually doesn't agree with Murdoch's point of view. Daenerys' public relations offensive for this year's awards is too strong. Maybe the Golden Globes will be easier to operate, but the next Oscars will not be easy to operate, but Yes, an attitude that is too strong may arouse the rebellious psychology of those award judges.
At least, as one of the Olympic judges, Lucas only plans to vote for his old friend. After all, "Saving Private Ryan" is excellent and fully deserves to win the highest honor.
Murdoch probably saw through Lucas's mind, so he didn't say anything more, but changed the topic: "George, have you ever considered retirement?"
George Lucas was puzzled and frowned slightly.
The Star Wars prequel trilogy has just begun, and he is only 55 years old this year. No matter from any point of view, he is not old enough to retire.
Seeing that Lucas did not answer, Murdoch continued: "That's it, George, you know, the competition in Hollywood is a bit fierce now, I hope to buy Lucasfilm and consolidate the strength of Fox, and, okay , it doesn’t matter if I tell you in advance. I hope you won’t reveal it to the public. In fact, it was MGM that sent me a merger invitation. However, although Fox has the distribution rights of the "Star Wars" series, it is only the distribution rights. I hope that There are some more solid chips.”
George Lucas did not expect this to be the case. Faced with Murdoch's frankness, he hesitated a little and shook his head and said: "Sorry, Rupert, I have no idea of selling Lucasfilm right now."
"Don't be so absolute, why don't we make an appointment to talk again," Murdoch was not in a hurry, and continued: "And, George, frankly speaking, now is also the best opportunity for you. The current fierce competition in Hollywood , the result is foreseeable. Some of the current big studios will retreat to the second tier, and the status of second and third tier studios, such as Lucasfilm, is also likely to decline. For example, if my source is correct , Paramount is already discussing a complete merger with Steven's DreamWorks team. In fact, DreamWorks can no longer support it. In short, the market is still booming now, and it can be said that Lucasfilm is also in a If you miss a high value point, it will be difficult to predict the future.”
George Lucas patiently listened to Murdoch's words, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Rupert, I need to think about it."
Murdoch smiled and nodded: "I'm waiting for your news."
After saying that, he saw Zhang Guoshi and several others from China walking towards him not far away. Murdoch nodded to Lucas and took the initiative to greet them.
Zhang Guoshi appeared here because "Heroes" was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Jet Lee, Maggie Zhang and Li Youhu also came together, and Tony Liang was on the same crew. We were filming, so I didn’t come over to join in the fun this time.
Murdoch paid a visit to China in September last year. At that time, the official organization organized some leading figures in the media and entertainment industry to participate in the reception. Zhang Guoshi attended the relevant dinner and got to know him.
Since we met again and both parties were good people, of course we had to say hello.
After exchanging warm greetings, Murdoch also knew about the relationship between Li Youhu and Simon, so he deliberately chatted a few more words in a more friendly manner, and finally turned to Zhang Guoshi: "By the way, Zhang, after "Hero", you are currently Are you preparing a new project, maybe Fox can be lucky enough to cooperate?”
The last official dinner was just a brief exchange of mutual introductions, so Murdoch didn't know much about Zhang Guoshi's activities after "Hero".
When the other party asked, the translator next to him explained fluently. Zhang Guoshi smiled and nodded: "Actually, it was decided a long time ago, Mr. Murdoch. Speaking of it, it was still the suggestion given by Mr. Westeros."
Murdoch was a little regretful, but not surprised, and asked with great interest: "Oh, what is the theme this time?"
"It tells about the two dynasties of China, the Qin and Han dynasties..." Zhang Guoshi said this in Chinese and paused for a moment. Remembering that there was a translator next to him, he said directly: "... That is, a war-themed historical film about heroes competing for hegemony, there will be some martial arts elements, At the same time, it combines the power struggle in ancient China. In short, this time we plan to shoot the trilogy together, and the scale will be very grand."
Murdoch listened to Zhang Guoshi's accurate and real-time explanation by the translator beside him, and said with a smile: "I'm looking forward to it now."
Everyone chatted for a few more words and separated again. Zhang Guoshi and his party walked towards Li An and others who also attended the ceremony.
Ang Lee's "Ice Storm" performed poorly in the market last year, but he still received two nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress. This time he was accompanied by his old partner and nominated "Fargo" screenwriter James Schamus We came here to join in the fun, but the real business was to come to the West Coast to discuss the specific preparation details of his new film "Ride with the Devil" with the team of Gaomen Pictures.
Seeing Zhang Guoshi and others approaching, Ang Lee and Shams nodded to Robert Downey Jr. and his son who had just finished speaking, and then turned this way.
Under the operation of Daenerys Entertainment, the global box office of "Heroes" has exceeded 200 million U.S. dollars, which is not inferior to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". In addition, the two have different styles and even different markets. There is no competitive relationship like there is in China, not to mention that at this time, people are meeting fellow villagers in a foreign land, so they become more and more friendly. After a long chat, we also agreed to have a gathering with Chinese filmmakers in Los Angeles at noon tomorrow.
After chatting for a while, seeing someone obviously waiting to talk to Li An, Zhang Guoshi and others took the initiative to walk away.
Joining Ang Lee were two brothers, Ben and Mada, who had just returned from Park City in the morning. Matt Damon was invited for "Saving Private Ryan" and Ben also won an award for "Saving Private Ryan." A few small films that won marginal awards.
Naturally, the two of them came here to meet Ang Lee for no reason, or they wanted to compete for roles in "Ride with the Devil" that has been circulated recently.
However, after the chat, when the brothers left, facing Shams' inquiring gaze, Ang Lee shook his head directly: "They are all excellent, but they don't seem to be suitable for our film."
As Ang Lee's queen producer, Shams always has a bit more rationality outside of movies than the director. He suggested: "Why not arrange an audition to see the effect? You know, Matt and Ben join forces to call for action." Not much less powerful than Leon, they just happen to play our two 'Jacks', and can they be used as publicity stunts in the future?"
The two male protagonists who have more roles in "Ride with the Devil" are both named 'Jack', but one is 'Jake' and the other is 'Jack'.
Ang Lee hesitated slightly, but said: "The problem is, if Matt and Ben join, the budget plan we just determined will need to be adjusted again, and it will definitely reach more than 40 million. Simon... I mean, I think what Simon said That's right. I should focus more on the movie itself and use movies to develop actors, rather than chasing famous actors to complement our movies. You know, Jim, the attitude of most studio executives in Hollywood is the same. Simon is just the opposite. Simon considers this issue from our director's perspective, which is very rare."
James Shams could only reach out his hand slightly, but he couldn't help but said: "I think that things that are recognized by most people are basically correct."
"Maybe," Ang Lee nodded, then changed the subject with a smile: "So they were all defeated by Simon one by one, because they only wanted stability and lacked some adventurous spirit."
"OK, I hope our adventure can still be successful this time." Shams said, pointing in one direction: "That's the crew of "L.A. Confidential" over there, and Martin is there too. Let's go over and have a chat. Say. Look up, Palma's "L.A. Confidential" and Martin's "Gangs of New York" have gathered a large number of outstanding actors, such as Hugh Jackman, from "Contact" to "L.A. Confidential", Recently, he also signed the leading actor in "Chicago", three movies, three different themes, Simon obviously admires him very much."
He said and walked over together.
There was such a bustle of socializing, and as six o'clock approached, the guests who were lingering on the red carpet finally entered the banquet hall of the Hilton Hotel.