Near ten o'clock, James Mangold and his party rushed from the hotel where they lived to the Egyptian Theater in Park City.
I was really shocked when I saw the dense crowd outside the theater.
The originally not spacious road outside the Egyptian Theater was almost completely blocked at this time. Some vehicles could only stall and stop in place. Among the densely packed crowds of people, the most eye-catching thing was probably the many people holding their hands high to buy tickets. brand.
Seeing Mangold and others approaching, as if they were going straight into the Egyptian Theater, a young man wearing a black jacket immediately came over, accompanied by his girlfriend: "Hey, man, do you have tickets for "This Man is from the Earth" , how about selling it to us, two of them, I’ll pay $1,500.”
Hearing the young man's offer, James Mangold, who was not actually living a well-off life, couldn't help but feel a little moved. However, he quickly suppressed his thoughts and refused. He grabbed his girlfriend next to him and walked around the other person and continued forward: "Sorry, buddy. , our tickets are not sold.”
The young man seemed to notice Mangold's intention and did not give up. He immediately said: "2,000 US dollars, man, this is the highest price. My girlfriend and I can only stay in Park City for one weekend, so we hope to see Victoria today." With these $2,000, you can wait to watch Stroll's new film on other weekdays, right?"
James Mangold did not stop, but still shook his head and said: "I'm sorry, buddy, but I really can't sell it."
Seeing Mangold's resolute attitude, the young man turned to the other three people with Mangold. Still to no avail, he could only look for other targets.
After being accosted and harassed by other ticket seekers within a short distance of more than ten meters, James Mangold and his party finally entered the Egyptian Theater.
Different from several screenings in the past few days, security checks were set up in the Egyptian Theater today. Audiences who entered with tickets not only had to pass through the security gate, but were also scrutinized with the sharp eyes of security personnel who were obviously not ordinary bodyguards. Moreover, visitors with backpacks will be politely asked to leave their packages aside, and bags are not allowed inside at all.
Probably in order to appease the audience's possible resentment about undergoing the security check, today's audience can receive a free snack and drink.
James Mangold and others passed the security check and received free popcorn and Coke. Thinking about the $2,000 they had just given up, they still felt a little sick. However, from these security details, everyone can be sure that Simon Westeros will definitely attend today.
This is even more exciting than today's movies.
James Mangold is not a pure spectator, he is a director, and this time he comes with his own work.
Feature film debut.
Prior to this, the 31-year-old Mangold had been in the film industry for ten years. After graduating from the California Institute of the Arts, Mangold joined Disney and once participated in the screenwriting of the Disney animation "Olivia Adventures". He later left Disney and moved to New York, where he continued to look for opportunities while studying at Columbia University Film School.
In recent years, the film industry has become more and more prosperous. Daenerys Entertainment's continuous expansion has allowed many investors interested in the entertainment industry to see opportunities and enter the industry, allowing many filmmakers with little experience to show off their talents.
It was against this background that James Mangold was lucky enough to receive investment for his first feature film, "Unspeakable Love," and then made it all the way to the Sundance main competition.
It seems that time has begun to turn around.
James Mangold's movie won't premiere until next Wednesday, but a person in charge of Gaomen Pictures who has seen the finished film in advance is already in contact with them, trying to buy the distribution rights of "The Unspeakable Love" in advance. At the same time, he also directly hopes to sign a three-film contract with Mangold.
When the industry takes a fancy to a new filmmaker, they will only cautiously sign a two-film contract to test the waters.
High Gate Pictures tried to sign Mangold to three film contracts at once, and even the most sluggish person could have a premonition that something was unusual.
Not only that, Mangold also received an invitation to a party at Simon Westeros' mountaintop villa tonight.
Although the reply to Gaomen Pictures was that he needed to think about it again, James Mangold had already decided to agree. Maybe after the news came out, other film companies would offer higher prices to woo him, but he knew that no matter from what point of view, From all aspects, cooperating with Daenerys Entertainment, which has gained the most momentum in recent years, is his best choice.
Because Daenerys Entertainment not only provides benefits, but more importantly, career development prospects. The new directors discovered by Daenerys Entertainment in recent years can probably be described as having a meteoric rise.
Entering the screening hall, the Egyptian Theater with more than 500 seats was almost full.
There are no seat restrictions for tickets to the old-fashioned theater, but there are some empty seats in the front row, but those are obviously important guests today. Mangold and his party could only find the last few seats, which were not connected together. Only Mangold and his girlfriend Cathy Conrad sat together, and the other three friends could only go to other scattered places.
After sitting down, feeling the lively atmosphere of discussion in the theater, James Mangold was inevitably feeling a little expectant.
He can't hope to be on par with Simon Westeros, but at the very least, he hopes that one day his movie premieres will be as popular as they are.
When he was a little distracted, his girlfriend Cathy patted him and reminded him: "Look, Westeros."
When the atmosphere in the theater suddenly became quiet, James Mangold quickly looked up.
Simon Westeros and Robert Redford walked out of the backstage chatting and laughing side by side, followed by some other very familiar celebrities. The remaining empty seats in the front row were quickly occupied by these big names.
His girlfriend Cathy was still counting in his ear softly: "That's Nicolas Cage, he's so handsome. And Quentin, he's so ugly. Tracy Gauff doesn't seem that tall, and she's obviously outnumbered by Cindy." Crawford suppressed it. Hey, Jim, you see, they seem to be vying for favor in Westeros. The Coen brothers are also here. They suffered so much from last year's "Empire". I didn't expect to be able to compete with Dany right away. Cooperating with Liz Entertainment, the new film should return to the genre they are good at. Whit Stillman, his "Metropolis" is very interesting, last year's "Barcelona" was much worse. Nicole Kidman, wow Oh, I didn’t expect that she would come over. This woman was really great last year, with three blockbuster movies in a row. I heard that she recently joined Gus Van Sant’s new movie. She is very smart. She knows how to take the initiative to participate in literary films to maintain her reputation. She has her own style, but she couldn't sit next to her in Westeros. It seems she has fallen out of favor. Hey, Jim, look, is that Steven Soderbergh, the director of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" , won’t he also join Daenerys?”
James Mangold was actually looking at a series of big names in the front row. He heard his girlfriend asked about it, and then followed her guidance. He was not familiar with Soderbergh, so he could only make a rough judgment. , nodded: "Probably so."
Cathy Conrad fell back and suddenly lowered her voice: "There are so many big names working under Daenerys. Jim, do you think it is a good idea to join this company again?"
It’s not that James Mangold hasn’t considered this issue.
Daenerys Entertainment is now equivalent to almost half of Hollywood, and has frequently produced excellent films in recent years. However, correspondingly, due to the participation of a large number of top filmmakers, competition for internal resources will also be fierce.
However, after only being slightly relaxed, James Mangold decided to pay attention again and said to his girlfriend: "If Daenerys only signed a film contract with me, maybe I would still hesitate. Now it is three films at once. This shows that someone within Daenerys Entertainment is very optimistic about me, and it would be foolish to miss this opportunity."
Cathy Conrad heard what her boyfriend said, thought about it, nodded, and said: "Tell me, is Simon Westeros personally optimistic about you, otherwise he wouldn't have signed three movies at once? .”
Of course James Mangold had thought about this, but he didn't dare to expect too much: "We may have the answer tonight."
At night at Simon's Westeros hilltop villa party, if a young tycoon treats him differently, something may be certain. But even if it didn't, James Mangold wouldn't change his mind.
After Simon and his party sat down, the time soon came to ten o'clock in the morning.
Robert Redford personally took the microphone and walked onto the stage, glanced at the people in the screening hall, and said with a smile: "This is a very interesting movie. I just asked Simon why he came up with such an idea, and it's still A small film with a production cost of only 1.5 million US dollars is really insignificant to him now. He said that he hopes everyone can see a possibility, a possibility of unlimited creativity in movies, as long as everyone Use your own creativity and any other limitations from external factors are insignificant. So, let us enjoy this "This Man from Earth" together."
Amidst the applause of the crowd, Robert Redford walked off the stage, and the lights in the screening room dimmed.
Since the film project was established, Simon Westeros' new film has been the focus of many media. However, before this premiere, except for the various speculations caused by the film's title, no other information has been released. The media and fans Curiosity is therefore raised to the highest level.
On the big screen, after the opening credits of Gaomen Pictures, the picture lights up.
It starts with a set of beautiful empty mirrors. The cold atmosphere in the mountains in winter is accompanied by a light and ethereal soundtrack, which directly leads the audience into some inexplicable emotion.
Soon, the camera focused on a white man who was loading boxes into a pickup truck.
Everyone immediately recognized that this was the actor George Clooney.
This actor, who has been in Hollywood for many years, has also had good fortunes in the past year. He first rose to fame after starring in the hit "ER", and recently became the leading actor in Westeros' own screenplay. His popularity has greatly increased again, and he has already become famous. There are signs of entering the first-line coffee position.
After a while, other characters quickly appeared.
After a simple conversation, the audience quickly understood the ins and outs of the matter.
A university professor named John Oldman suddenly resigned and was about to leave. A group of colleagues came to see him off.
At the same time, foreshadowing and suspense soon emerged.
Everyone was surprised by John's sudden resignation.
There is an obvious spark between John and his female colleague Sandy, played by Elizabeth Perkins.
Another colleague, Edith, noticed a painting that John was planning to put in the car, thought it might be an authentic work by Van Gogh, and recommended him to have it authenticated.
John seemed to be very concerned about the movements of another colleague Will, and seemed a little disappointed when Will didn't show up. Hearing that Will would arrive later, he showed a relieved expression.
Everyone chatted and entered John's cabin together.
The topic continues.
Everyone was reluctant to leave John and asked for more information.
And once again led to a suspense.
John's appearance has never changed in the past ten years. This is a talent that many female colleagues around him are envious of going crazy.
During the follow-up discussion, another colleague, Art, and Linda, a beautiful female student played by Tracy Gough who has a teacher-student relationship with her teacher, also appeared one after another.
Faced with everyone's persistent pursuit, John finally opened up a certain topic very cautiously.
Is it possible for humans to live forever
The people sitting here are all university professors. When they heard this question, they began to analyze the possibility of this matter from their own professional perspectives with great interest.
Until John accidentally revealed that he almost had the opportunity to go on a voyage with Columbus.
The scene suddenly fell silent.
In the screening room of the Egyptian Theater, the plot has reached this point, and 20 minutes have passed unknowingly.
Simon has always believed that the highest standard for a good movie is to make the audience unable to feel the passage of time at all. Although the current movie does not have any CG special effects of car crashes and explosions, it is just a slowly unfolding plot and a tacit cooperation between a group of actors. ’s performance also accomplished this smoothly.
At 20 minutes, the first climax of the plot appeared, and the audience's attention in the screening hall was once again focused.
At the same time, I am also vaguely aware of the core theme of this film.
The story of an immortal.
There was a moment of silence on the big screen, and everyone's first reaction was that John was joking.
John also took advantage of the situation and asked everyone to discuss this topic in depth in a joking manner. As the topic continued, John's flawless argument for being an immortal became more and more solid, and everyone began to feel more and more shocked and suspicious at the same time.
Everyone began to know that John was an immortal who had lived approximately 14,000 years.
Knowing that John's body has a strong ability to recover, he has experienced all kinds of diseases without any problems, and he doesn't even have scars.
At the same time, I also learned the reason for John’s unusual erudition, which was the accumulation of endless time.
At 50 minutes, the plot reaches its second climax.
When everyone was shocked, John easily drew a large ancient bow and accurately shot the arrow on a tree trunk outside the hut.
The recurve bow that appeared in the original film was just a prop. My colleagues failed to pull it open, and John also failed to use it. Simon made changes to this detail, abandoning the original recurve bow and specially finding a strong bow from China that was probably three stones according to ancient standards.
To draw this bow requires 300 pounds of arm strength by Western standards.
At that time, no one on the crew could pull it off, including many of the substitutes who were hired. Therefore, this scene was actually completed by Simon himself as a stand-in during the last visit.
Because of his good exercise habits, Simon's physical fitness has not diminished due to these years of affluent life.
Although the strong bow that required 300 pounds of arm strength was a bit difficult for Simon, he accurately shot the arrow on the target tree trunk after only five attempts.
Because of Simon's special cameo, the main creators who participated in the filming of "The Man from Earth" privately felt again that this movie may be a 'personal biography' of Simon Westeros to some extent.