For Hollywood, in the last week of January 1987, what attracted the most attention was no longer the upcoming Golden Globe Awards ceremony, but a teenager and the first movie directed by the teenager.
"The third Sundance concluded successfully, and "Run Lola Run" came back with great success."
This was the title of an article published prominently on the front page of The Hollywood Reporter on January 27.
On January 26, at the closing ceremony of the Sundance Film Festival founded by Hollywood superstar Robert Redford, "Run Lola Run" won the "Jury Prize" and "Photography Award" as expected.
Ten days before this, due to its overwhelming popularity, the Sundance Film Festival organizing committee had to temporarily double the number of screenings of "Lola Run", but movie tickets for the screenings were still in short supply.
At the awards ceremony that day, it was obviously influenced by "Run Lola Run", and the Egyptian Cinema in Park City was also full of seats.
only.
In any case, Sundance is still just a fledgling film festival.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that during this period, it is not so much the Sundance Film Festival that has improved the reputation of "Lola Run", but rather that the media's coverage of "Lola Run" has in turn improved the reputation of the Sundance Film Festival. Attention.
Normally, after participating in this kind of film festival, which is not very influential, everyone will have a short period of excitement and scenery, and everything will soon return to calm.
However.
For Simon.
For "Run Lola Run".
Many things have just begun.
January 28th.
Wednesday.
An article in the "Los Angeles Times" completely lit up a name that has always appeared in the corners of many people's eyes these days, making it so dazzling.
"18 years old"
A concise and even suspenseful title.
The accompanying picture is a set photo from the filming of the casino scene in "Run Lola Run". The young man with his hands on the edge of the gambling table stared at the roulette wheel in front of him with a slight frown, obviously thinking about something. There were dozens of men and women standing, sitting, leaning against the wall, or taking some time to chat, but they all clearly paid some attention to the young man at the table.
A perfect capture, showing some wonderful and strong commanding power. Anyone who sees the photo can almost immediately determine who is the center of the photo world.
Peter Butler is also obviously a very good photographer.
And great copywriters.
"First of all, think back, what were you doing when you were 18?"
"Then, let's look at another person. He was 18 years old and started working in a public mental hospital in the small town of Watsonville, San Francisco. It was dilapidated, cold, and cold. This was the deepest feeling when the author visited on purpose. However, he was in a public mental hospital. There he completed another nirvana in his life. Why do I say again, because his life seems to be full of countless unknown nirvanas. The author has visited many people who were around him, and everyone said that he was a very good person. hard working person."
"However, today I only talk about his 18 years old."
"Four months before he turned 18, he recovered from some mental illness that fell from the sky, so he changed his last name to Westeros. Simon Westeros."
"I asked him what 'Westeros' meant? He said he couldn't tell, and he didn't want to make up a reason to deceive me. Then I asked him where you were from, but he told the truth, not even hiding his experience in a mental hospital. Obviously, 'Westeros' is more important, but we'll probably never know."
"On the fifth month of his 18th year, he came to Los Angeles with two scripts and successfully persuaded the vice president of WMA to sign him and became the only screenwriting client under his name."
"In the sixth month of his 18th year, he was working in a convenience store with a salary of US$3.50 per hour and US$140 per week. The owner of the convenience store said that he was a promising cashier but his salary was not enough to pay the rent. So he borrowed a Guitar, made hundreds of dollars in one afternoon in Venice Beach, hotel owner said he was a promising guitarist."
"On the seventh month when he was 18 years old, he successfully sold his first script for US$200,000, which is equivalent to ten years for most screenwriters."
"In the eighth month of his 18th year, he started filming his first film."
"So, he became the producer, director, screenwriter, photographer, editor, lighting, soundtrack... and finally, "Run Lola Run" is amazing. Amazing, this is the most appropriate word I can think of."
"The first time I met him was in the banquet hall of a hotel in Santa Monica. It was a casino scene. There are no casinos in Santa Monica. I asked Mr. Ron MacMillan, the producer of the film, , isn’t this a BUG? Ron was a little speechless. He gestured for a moment, and seemed to imitate someone’s tone, and told me: The director said that there must be a casino, so there was a casino.”
"This sentence, which was similar to a joke, left a deep impression on me. Now, I realize even more that it seems to be some kind of wonderful metaphor."
"Then, I stayed on his set for a whole afternoon and watched him control the entire crew in a way that was completely different from other film directors. He didn't yell or explain patiently. He even more Likes to take orders. It's like the whole movie is fixed in his head and he just has to copy it back onto film. As for everyone else, they're just props."
"Even himself."
"The lighting engineer couldn't stand his harshness, so he resigned after working for only three days, and he took up the role of lighting engineer himself. Before that, he was already a producer, screenwriter, and director. After that, he became the lighting engineer. He's a composer, an editor, and a colorist. When we were in Park City, I asked him: Aren't you tired from doing so much work? He said he wasn't tired, and he could save money."
"Of course, he really saved money when making movies. With a budget of US$650,000, he ended up spending only US$597,000. Obviously, in Hollywood, where cost control is always unsystematic, all film company bosses will definitely be very I look forward to this type of director.”
"However, I think this is more because he is too proud and feels that other people's work is not as good as his own, so he likes to do it himself."
"Although everyone I asked felt that he should be proud, including myself, at the same time, it was difficult for anyone to feel any arrogance from him. He always seemed to be a very ordinary and peaceful young man. Regarding this, some words from his girlfriend Jenny seem to explain a little bit: he is a guy who is so proud that he no longer bothers to be proud, like a god from another world who suddenly came to earth to conquer the world."
"We were in a small restaurant in Park City. We had just attended the premiere of "Run Lola Run". I was so shocked by his movie that I questioned countless times that this was really something that an 18-year-old boy could make. Movie?"
"The lunch was coming to an end, and I finally couldn't hold it in any longer, so I asked him: Simon, are you a god?"
"He said no, he was human. A man who liked women."