Global Movie Emperor

August 21st, Berlin, Germany, sunny, Hilton Hotel, the last stop of the "Afterlife" film production press conference.

"They're here, it's time to get to work."

The new female colleague didn't seem to like the smell of cigarettes. As an old smoker, he was quite conscious and fanned the smoke with his palms to avoid getting the girl's eyes. Although the old reporter liked to take a sip for nothing, as long as she If you continue to do this job, you will get used to it sooner or later, but he hopes that this habit will come later.

Good people are always more enlightened than bad people.

He threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray he carried with him and shook it twice, like a child listening carefully to how many candies there were in the sugar bowl. Finally, he pursed his lips and put the ashtray into the breast pocket of his vest.

Turn on the camera, refocus, adjust the light and dark colors, aim at the approaching motorcade, and grab the most suitable position one step ahead. Put your face close to the camera, close one eye tightly, wrinkles instantly swelled, and only the sound of the shutter continued to sound.

The motorcade came, all of them Maybachs. As the daughter of a Mercedes-Benz performance car design engineer, Kamiya lacked nothing but luxury cars.

Fans who occasionally heard the news had been waiting eagerly for it. When the motorcade stopped on the side of the road and all the creative staff got out of the car, cheers rang out. Of course, this cheer belonged only to Kamiya for the time being.

"What a scenery..."

The female colleague was young and had a good impression of Kamiya. She stood on tiptoes and stretched her neck to look in Kamiya's direction. Her eyes were a little blurry, like admiration or fantasy.

"There will be many opportunities to see such beautiful scenes in the future. Now it's time for you to do your job, Hannah, unless you want to go back and be scolded by the editor."

In her fantasy, she shouldn't be a spectator, so this sentence would be somewhat annoying, but she didn't refute it, and squeezed into the crowd with a long microphone, hoping to find a good seat again.

The photo didn't feel right. He put down the camera, checked the photo he had just taken, made it darker, readjusted the light, and ate a piece of chewing gum. He looked at the girl. She was only standing in the third row. In fact, she could have been there again. He squeezed in, but she chose to stay where he was. He didn't speak, he just made the sound of chewing gum and raised the camera again.

…

There were a total of seventeen press conferences, spread across nine European countries. Asia was not visited, and China could not be released. Japan and Han had relatively few films scheduled, so it was not worth the trip. Therefore, if Lu Ze wants to attend events in China again, he still needs to Waiting for a few years.

Due to relatively low publicity expenses, the schedule was more or less tight. The twenty-seven stations were completed in twenty days. Every day they were either facing reporters or staying in the sky. Now that they have reached the last station, even Kamiya In my hometown, no one has the physical strength to cheer up.

At a glance, a group of people were dejected, their heads were shaking, and their faces were full of depression. They really didn't look like important members of the crew attending a movie conference, but rather like family members of the deceased who came to attend the funeral.

A group of people did not enter one by one, but walked directly in. Even the red carpet, a major event of the press conference, was omitted. They simply took a few photos and wrote signatures on the curtain. Under the surprised eyes of reporters, this group of people It only took five minutes to finish the work that would take other crew members an hour.

When all the reporters and invited guests were seated, Lu Ze and his group stood outside the venue and waited quietly for the host to notify everyone to enter.

At this time, Lu Ze raised his head and looked at the screen on the stage. Although it was not the first time he saw the poster of "Afterlife", the throbbing would still rise in his heart wherever he looked.

Although this poster was made in a hurry, it surprised all the crew members. The entire poster is mainly black and white, with the upper part in black and the lower part in white. It is divided by characters and scenery, like It was like the sky and the earth were turned upside down.

The portraits and buildings are dark gray, which is conspicuous enough in black and white, but not too abrupt. The portraits are arranged larger in front and smaller in the back. The characters are arranged in a standard order of priority. Lu Ze and Kamiya stand at the front, facing straight. The faces of the audience outside the poster were neither sad nor happy, they just stared at everyone.

The outstanding point of this poster is that the inversion of black and white reveals a little bit of the movie content. At the same time, the artist chose an unnatural refraction angle in the use of light, which is a light angle that does not exist in nature, similar to a ghost movie. The lighting technique commonly used in movies, like lighting a person's face from bottom to top, gives the audience a sense of uneasiness and depression.

As expected, the guests started whispering to each other after seeing the poster for the first time. Lu Ze, who was standing outside the door, could hear some of the exchanges between the guests closest to the door.

"The poster looks a bit...depressing. I can't tell what it feels like. Sure enough, the content of the new movie is that depressing plot. Originally, I wanted to take my children to see it, but now...forget it."

"It's just as I expected. I'm used to Mickey Taylor's usual tone. The newspaper asked me to come this time, otherwise I wouldn't contribute to the box office of a movie that would depress me for days after watching it. .”

"Who says it isn't?"

Although Europe and the United States have always been the main box office sources of literary and artistic films, you have to believe that most audiences in Europe and the United States do not actually like this kind of film. People all over the world are surprisingly consistent in their attitudes towards not seeking abuse.

"Well, now I would like to invite the main creative staff of "The Past" to come on stage to answer your questions. Ladies and gentlemen, everyone applauds and encourages."

The host did not waste too much time. He pointed his palm towards the door, and then took the lead in applauding gently. Mickey, the frontman, adjusted his clothes, coughed twice, and strode onto the stage.

Not surprisingly, when in the UK, the media paid most attention to Mickey personally. When they came to Berlin, Kamiya's home stadium, reporters naturally wanted to dig up some information about Kamiya.

For a while, the focus of the questions was not on the movie itself, but on Kamiya's life. Are there any new paintings recently? Why did you return to the entertainment industry? What are your plans for the future?

After all, he is a local star, and Kamiya has now returned to the big screen for the first time after six or seven years away from the film industry. Mickey and others gave enough time for reporters to communicate with Kamiya, but the atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Lu Ze, who was playing in an away game, could only be thankful that there was a lot of mineral water on the table, otherwise there wouldn't be enough for him to drink.

After about ten minutes, under the guidance of the host, the reporter's questions got back on track and the discussion started around the movie itself. However... with Kamiya present, Lu Ze was still panicking.

"Of course, I chose to continue filming this time because the script written by Mickey moved me. To be honest, I started filming when I was five years old. Playing other people has occupied most of my time. Time is constantly passing away my interest in movies. love, until I was twenty-seven years old, I found that I could no longer love movies, I was boring, just like I had no feelings for sex, until Mickey came to me and after reading the script, my scalp was numb Till now, I can’t guarantee that this movie has rekindled my love for movies, but at that time, my consciousness kept telling me that I wanted to play her.”

"This is really a great team. It's really a pleasure to work with them. They are clean and neat, never sloppy. Mickey, Kesha, Lucas, Lu Ze, each of them has unique skills and a deep understanding of the film. The imagination is so wild, especially Lu Ze. After working with him, I realized that there is indeed room for improvement in my acting skills, and the room is ridiculously large."

This was not a lie, but the reporter friends took Kamiya's words as excessive praise for Lu Ze, and some of them didn't take it seriously. They just took a photo of Lu Ze smiling awkwardly.

At the end of the one-hour interview, Lu Ze had spoken less than twenty sentences, which was not too few, at least more than the two brothers from the Laomen family had said, but it was indeed a bit shabby for the role of the male protagonist.

In the last part of the press conference, Mickey spoke. He picked up the microphone and nodded gently to everyone in the audience, while vaguely lifting his pants.

"The original plan was to have the first version of the trailer go online at eight o'clock tonight, but after much deliberation, since it's here, I'll let everyone see it first. It will also make it easier for everyone to write a column quickly. It is good for everyone. Thank you all. The media’s support for the cast and crew of ‘The Last Life’.”

This news was an unexpected surprise for the reporters. Even if they only saw the trailer a few hours before others, these few hours were enough for them to write a manuscript first and get a little more bonus. In an instant, the audience applauded Much older, and much more sincere.

The lights were turned off, and only the wall lamps were on, so as not to panic the guests too much. The creative team came off the stage, took their seats in the first row, looked at the screen quietly, and the trailer began.

…

"Once upon a time, we believed that we could be exempt from this human suffering..."

The screen is dark, white words appear, a male voice with a bubble voice whispers softly, and then the sound of the engine gradually approaches, and the screen gradually lights up. The picture seems to be in the early morning, but also seems to be in the sunset. The light blue filter reveals a calmness and sadness. style, a dark blue old Ford drove along the coastline from the end of the road.

The piano is accompanied by the violin, without any excitement. The melody is like an endless spiral staircase, making the audience's thoughts spiral, but gradually rises, catches the ears, and depresses the ears.

"So how much do I have to pay back every month? Two thousand four hundred and nineteen pounds?"

Tobacco burns on the fingertips, and the fingertips welcome the sea breeze on the car window. The wind cannot move the fingers, but the tobacco is burning faster, turning into ashes, blown away by the wind, running along the arms, and then being overtaken by vehicles.

The phone was hung up and the phone was thrown on the passenger seat. It bounced twice on the soft sponge, then stopped struggling and lay there quietly.

The cigarette butt received a final passionate kiss from the stubble-covered lips, and was then thrown out of the window without hesitation. The camera no longer followed the vehicle, but moved downwards, focusing on the cigarette butt. It rolled twice on the asphalt road, with bright sparks. It gradually dimmed and was suddenly crushed by the following vehicles.

…

"We maintain the family with false emotions, and the family uses false emotions to warm us..."

The melody of the music began to become complicated, but it still hovered and rose. The screen dimmed, then lit up again. What illuminated the screen was a sharp knife, trembling on the baby's head...

Jump cut, the woman's face appears in the camera, expressionless, looking at the tip of the knife, it seems plain, but the palm holding the corner of the clothes is so hard that it changes color.

Breathing...heavy, trembling constantly, the fingers that clenched the handle of the knife began to become filled with blood, the screen flickered, dimmed, lit up, and dimmed again, like a light that could go out at any time.

A drop of water fell and hit the baby's face. He was still sleeping soundly, unaware of the danger. The camera looked down. On the baby's rosy skin, the water droplets rolled down and were absorbed by the pillow...

…

"We know very well that we are just ordinary people, our careers will not be successful, our families will not be harmonious, and our ideals... will never be realized."

His body was pushed hard against the bookshelf, knocking down a large number of books. He bent down, his hands were shaking, and he picked up the books in a panic and put them back where they should have been.

He bent down to pick up the books for the second time. Before he could get up, he met the second kick. He knelt on the ground, clutching his abdomen, still wanting to continue picking up the books. Finally, the arm supporting him from the ground shook violently, and he fell down. He curled up, not daring to roll. The books he just picked up fell to the ground again, spread out, and were blown by the wind that broke in from the window.

The pages of the book were rolling and making a sound. This was the New Testament: The Gospel of John. It was blown to a certain page. Jesus was nailed to the cross, and blood was flowing on the cross. No... this blood was his.

The camera looks down and stays on the book. The blood flows through Jesus, through the cross, and finally flows horizontally in the characters, as if adding a bright red mark to this sentence.

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not receive the light.”

…

"When the false emotions that maintain a family become true, it is destined to be the beginning of all pain..."

The music began to be passionate and continued to swirl. The violin drove the emotions. The audience gradually tightened their hands, and finally, emotions exploded here.

"Jason! Maybe I can help you! Jason! What happened to you at school? Jason!"

He knocked on the door, his face full of worry. He was beginning to age, just like other parents. Perhaps his constant questioning irritated Jason, so he opened the door angrily and confronted his father.

"So? I came out, so! So!"

"What so?"

"So what can you help me! Do I look like I need help! Does my face say save me! Or should I learn to be like you and start complaining about the bad life since I was born? What if I can't save it? Myself, who else can save me? But... I can't, I can't hold on any longer..."

He grabbed his father's collar, his face turned red, and he roared. As soon as he exerted force, tears secretly escaped from his eyes. Finally, he lost the strength, slowly knelt down, hid in his father's arms, and cried loudly.

Jump cut, she leaned against the door frame, looked at the father and son, exhaled, her cheeks puffed up with strength, and finally, looked out the window, wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingers, the camera looked down, tears flowing on her fingertips, slowly Slowly evaporates on the skin.

…

"We are born as one, and we die as one. Even though we are here, we are actually completely sealed in our own bodies."

Lying quietly on the cold iron bed, the old man folded his hands on his lower abdomen, with a little expectation on his face, turned his head, smiled and nodded to the people outside the glass window.

The white towel covered the face, the pillow slowly penetrated the old and wrinkled skin, the pink liquid slowly flowed in the hose, and gradually... entered the blood vessels.

Quiet……

Half a minute later, he began to react. He twisted his body, but was restrained on the iron bed. His hands and feet were restrained, and he could not sit up. He began to struggle, dragging his limbs with all his strength, and smashed the iron bed. He started to twitch, his hands and feet were twisted to the point of deformity, and the white towel collapsed into a pit. In fact, he could no longer breathe. He just opened his mouth, eager to suck in even a little bit of oxygen.

Finally, quiet...

The picture went dark again and no longer lit up, but the white writing changed again. The smoky male voice spoke for the last time, sighing like a sigh.

"I'm depreesed……"

After the last scene change, there was no more sound. Even the music had come to an end. At this moment, the entire venue was also eerily quiet.

""The Past" will be officially released on January 1, 2024..."

"..."

PS: I was embarrassed to recommend the book again, but a very good friend asked me for a recommendation a long time ago. I have been delayed because of a lot of things at home recently. I am really embarrassed. I believe that many book friends You may have read it, the new book "Outstanding Youth of the Ming Dynasty" by the old author Tianhuang Guizhou. If you have read it, I won't say anything. For those who have not read it, you can learn about it. It is a very interesting book. Let's talk about it in this chapter. See.

I'll work hard tonight, there is still one chapter left, I should finish it in the second half of the night.