Three Hundred and Two - Shooting Yourself in the Foot

film-noir! Film Noir and Warner Bros.!

With the popularity of "Batman Begins", controversy has once again aroused in North America and even the world. Whether it is North American movie fans or movie fans around the world, people have begun to turn more attention to the director behind the film's fog, Wayne Green. Berg!

Just at 8 o'clock last night, CNN's evening program, which is broadcast live around the world, aired a special column. The host took us to review a special image. The images ranged from black and white to color. Different movie colors, but the same Strong light and shadow contrast.

From Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth in black and white light and shadow, to Nicolas Cage and Naomi Watts in colorful light and shadow, they are so unique and full of life in the night. Due to the strong contrast, these movies have a special name: film noir!

In 1946, two French film critics noticed that many American crime films, gangster films, and detective films released in France in the 1940s had a strong noir or dark theme mood. The film is named film noir.

Although film noir is still classified as a genre film, in the eyes of audiences, media, and film critics, it has always been regarded as a carnival for niche movie fans. But since Hollywood entered the 1990s, this situation has changed a lot.

This has to mention a young college student. In early October 1990, when no one was optimistic about it, Wayne Greenberg solicited an investment of US$1.2 million from his father and produced "Happy Death Day" without hesitation. 》.

Even though no distribution company was willing to distribute the film, Wayne Greenberg still took it to the Saint-Denis Film Festival to try his luck. However, after the enthusiastic response from the audience at the Saint-Denis Film Festival, the film's distribution was still far away. .

Faced with various difficulties, this young college student who had not yet graduated did not give up his efforts. His persistence finally impressed God. 20th Century Fox called him and decided to release this low-cost alternative horror film.

Once the film was released, it immediately became a hit with countless young people. It easily earned more than 100 million US dollars at the global box office. It was the debut of a novice director and completely launched Wayne Greenberg's directorial career. Life, at the same time, a dark rose bloomed in Hollywood.

Wayne Greenberg, who is extremely creative and energetic, has been out of control since then. Over the past few years, he has used his unique shooting style to gradually turn film noir from a niche genre into one of the choices of mass movie fans. , bringing it to a status comparable to mainstream films.

Subsequently, a large number of imitators appeared in Hollywood every year, successfully enriching this type of film.

It's like a fate. After Wayne Greenberg cooperated with Warner Bros., his second movie was produced "Joker", which will be famous in film history. This film is currently on the theater market, and has caused a dark whirlwind around the world in a short period of time.

It is not only a film that made Wayne Greenberg a god, but also a hammer that broke into many overseas markets. For the first time, "Joker" made movie fans around the world crazy about film noir. It also made movie fans around the world crazy for the first time. , saw the charm of the Hollywood film industry.

Therefore, after the 1994 Oscars ceremony, countless media and movie fans complained about this film. Everyone unanimously believed that even if only looking at the contribution to the promotion of Hollywood movies, the Oscars owed Wayne Greenberg a Little golden man.

Although the large-scale shots of the current "Batman Begins" can be controlled, at its core, it is still a Greenberg-style noir film. No one can deny this.

Perhaps this is God's arrangement. The earliest noir films came from Warner Bros.'s gangster films in the 1930s. When they first appeared, they were deeply influenced by the German Expressionism of the 1920s and the poetic realism that pervaded French films in the 1930s. influenced by doctrine.

The suspense film "The Maltese Falcon" invested by Warner Bros. Film Company in 1941 and shot by John Huston is recognized as the first masterpiece of film noir. It established a series of characteristics of film noir from narrative method to image style. , and at the same time created the first period of film noir.

A series of classics followed, such as "Sunset Boulevard", "Double Indemnity", "Under the Gas" and other films.

The sudden emergence of Wayne Greenberg, and the hand-in-hand with Warner Bros. under the arrangement of God, all phenomena indicate that another greater era of film noir will be opened by this young man..."

Looking at the entertainment section of the "Los Angeles Times" in his hand, which contained this large column report on the entire page, Wayne shook his head helplessly, took a deep puff of his cigarette, and threw the newspaper on the coffee table.

"How is it? I wrote well, right?" Sitting across from the sofa was Bella Grant, who had rushed over early in the morning. She and her agent Jimmy were in the same car and ran to the farm together.

"You don't know, Warner Bros. lifted a rock by itself, hit it on its own foot, and then went crazy with pain, and still endured it silently."

"What? What happened?"

Before Wayne could speak, Anna Greenberg came over carrying coffee, and Nina carrying waffles came over. After putting down what they were holding, they asked curiously.

"Thanks."

Bella Grant took the coffee with a smile and thanked her politely.

Her image is very popular with Wayne's parents. The key point is that her skin is very white. She has a delicate appearance, a slender waist, and an explosive figure. In addition, she wears the same professional skirt all year round and has her hair tied up. She has the smart and capable aura of a strong woman. .

The most important thing is that she is not a real insider. Although she is engaged in film-related media work, she does not have the chaotic private life of a female star. This instantly won Anna Greenberg's favor. In Wayne's mother's mind, although she did not want to interfere in her child's private life, she was sure from the first moment she saw the beauty editor-in-chief this morning that she was the most suitable candidate for her son's girlfriend.

After taking a look at Wayne and seeing that he had no objection, Bella Grant said, "A few days ago, a gossip tabloid took a photo from a strange angle and published the news that Wayne was about to break up with Warner Bros. The rumors immediately aroused reactions from many film companies."

"That's right." Jimmy suddenly added with a wry smile. Seeing everyone looking at him, he shrugged and said, "Suddenly, at least two dozen film companies sent me calls or invitations, but Stan and I had no idea what was going on! Until now, many unreliable invitations are still being sent to the studio."

"Those are probably just trying their luck, or just soldiers trying out things." Bella Grant took a sip of coffee, pointed at the newspaper that Wayne had just thrown down, and said:

"In the end, Warner Bros. discovered that the people hyping this news were actually tabloids owned by their parent company, Time Warner. They just wanted to increase the topic on a routine basis. No one should believe this kind of thing. This kind of gossip is reported almost every year Wayne will appear many times when his movie is released, but he just happens to withdraw from the promotion activities...

In addition, yesterday, the media took photos of Townsend Rothman visiting the farm, which touched the inner defense of Warner Brothers. This report and the program reported by CNN Global were urgently produced by Warner Bros. In this way, it was used to prove to the outside world that there was no problem between you. "

From Bella Grant's point of view, Warner Bros. is not overly nervous. Now that the old fox Townsend Rothman has taken action, he must be certain to seduce Wayne. It is impossible for them to do nothing now.

It would be inappropriate for Warner Bros. executives to call Wayne just because of tabloid news. That would make them even more distrustful of him and could easily lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

Although this way of expressing a position occupied some media channels and spent a small amount of money, it can clearly tell many people that there is no problem between Warner Bros. and Wayne and that everything is groundless.

"Wayne."

Jimmy rubbed the sides of his head and said with a headache: "I suggest you take some time today to call Jeff and talk about anything. Otherwise, I'm afraid the Warner Bros. CEO will come tomorrow. Manor! You need to let him know that you have no other ideas in your heart."

"Okay, I will!"

Wayne actually didn't care about these farces at all. He watched them completely for fun, but he just thought it was a bit ridiculous.

In his heart, those film company executives were all individuals and would not believe such fake news at first sight. Unexpectedly, someone actually sent an invitation to Jimmy to test his reaction.

Having said that, even if Wayne really parted ways with Warner Bros. and sold his shares in Warner Bros. to get out, he would not be able to choose those small and medium-sized film companies to cooperate.

Even if he is not filming the DC movie universe, there are many movies that suit him in his mind. Small and medium-sized companies cannot afford to accompany him in these movies, and they cannot give Wayne the media resources and sky-high remuneration he wants. This is the reality.

"Don't blame Warner Bros. for being nervous, the box office trend of "Batman Begins" is too strong, Wayne." Jimmy can understand Warner Bros.'s feeling of worrying about gains and losses. This is the first film in the DC universe, and it has a good performance. Stay calm now.

"Have you never cared about your own film? You didn't really leave all your work behind when you returned to the farm, right?!"

"Yes, basically it can be said that all I need to know is that the film has done well. I enjoy this peaceful state now, but I haven't completely left work behind."

Wayne waved his hand and picked up another newspaper they brought, which reported the latest box office trends of "Batman Begins."

During this period of time on the farm, he really didn't deliberately learn about this aspect. Apart from occasionally writing project plans every day, he spent the rest of the time watching TV with his mother and cleaning guns and hunting with his father. Basically, he was completely involved. Vacation status.

The golden retriever Fendi's condition is getting worse and worse. She sleeps next to him most of the day. Wayne knows that he doesn't have much time for his good friend.

He cherishes this rare peaceful life, and understands that there is not much time for him to truly relax. When the crew returns from the publicity tour, he will not be able to ignore everything like this.