Chapter 187: Chapter 187 To Touch a Tiger's Ass
The release of Wanted became a turning point in time for a new generation to worship a new generation of heroes, forgetting about social missions, the so-called morals and responsibilities, and remembering only one name: Wesley Gibson. Lin Mingyang used his acting skills to perfectly illustrate the magnificent transformation of a wimp to a special killer. Whether it's the plot of the protagonist undergoing training, and the final madness of killing for revenge, the audience has only one feeling, and that's cool.
With "handsome, cool, beautiful, strong" these four words to describe the annual action blockbuster "Wanted" is not too much, the film did not let the money into the cinema audience did not disappoint. The movie has quickly become a must-see movie for young people today, with the box office breaking the record for commercial action blockbusters again in its opening week. With soaring box office on one side, and unrelenting criticism from movie critics on the other, Wanted has become the most controversial movie since Lin Ming Yang's career.
...
"If I were to describe my feelings about this movie, it would be like a professional 'one-night stand', where after a soul-crushing experience of heavenly thunder and earthly fire, one doesn't even know who the other person is or perhaps what his or her name is. I make this analogy because I can't remember the names of several important characters in the movie, and there's also an inexplicable feeling of emptiness, the discomfort of regressing from orgasmic euphoria to normalcy."
"So you could say that this is a very irresponsible movie, it gets you high but leaves you with nothing but pure sensual pleasure. If you're a professional filmmaker, then this movie has no substance whatsoever, but if you're just a casual viewer, you'll have gotten your money's worth out of the movie ticket you paid for just by Felix and Angelina's bold, hard-working performances!" --The New York Times
...
Although the critics complained that the plot is so bad, but "Wanted" is definitely a model of action commercial films in recent years, if the audience did not read the plot introduction in advance, or listen to other revealing the content of the film, then his viewing process will definitely be very enjoyable, because the film fully "play" the audience's heart, the story really To do "ups and downs", not until the last moment, the audience can not see the end of the story, such a plot arrangement in an action movie is also considered quite "cool".
In any case, this action blockbuster is a huge commercial success, and the release of the movie has once again aroused public concern about the scandalous relationship between the male and female protagonists of the movie.
In the original script, Lin Mingyang and Julie's relationship was just a little bit ambiguous, but director Bekmambetov felt that this was not "strong enough" during the shooting, and with the consent of the two lead actors, he upgraded the original ambiguity to a "one-night stand".
Before the Hollywood media has been speculating, Lin Mingyang and Angelina in the film in the end what kind of chemistry, and rumor has it that the director in order to quell the scandal triggered public anger, insisted on reducing the two people's intimate scenes, the screening version of only 2 minutes, exposure of the camera can only be seen on the upper half of the body.
Since the film's release, Julie has made a lot of media appearances, but Lin Mingyang seems to have disappeared, and even at Universal Pictures' celebration party for Wanted, the guy didn't show up. This is not the first time that Lin Mingyang played "missing" in front of the media, the media is curious about where he went, and the only one who knows the answer is his agent Eckles.
"Kidnapped?" Eckers every day in his office will do the same thing, that is, on the phone to repeat to the media to explain, "he is indeed 'kidnapped', and the kidnappers are very big, they are from outer space ... Well, this is just a joke, of course. , this is of course just a joke, Felix is filming a movie in South Africa that has something to do with aliens ... Sci-fi? No, no, there are aliens, but I don't think it's a sci-fi movie, and I'm sorry I can't disclose the details."
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Three months ago, the shooting of "Wanted" took a week longer than planned, and Lin Mingyang once again "missed" the start of the school year. This time when he returned to Harvard, he felt that there was something wrong with the atmosphere of the campus. On the square in front of the school building, there were a lot of black students gathered, and they looked vigilant as they gathered together and seemed to be talking about some topics, while the white students avoided this group from a distance when they passed by.
When Lin Mingyang dragged his suitcase into the room, everyone else in the dormitory happened to be there, Green Nutt was on the couch eating pizza and reading a book, while Klin and Olson were in the middle of a heated battle in front of a game console.
Billy "Peacock Man" Olsen had always been well-informed in the school, and Lin Ming Yang had wanted to ask him about the doubts in his heart, but he was so "busy" that he didn't even have time to meet and greet Lin Ming Yang. He was holding his face red, and he wanted to press Klink head on in this new shooting game.
Shrugging helplessly, Lin Ming Yang had to tell Green Nutt about what he had seen on campus: "What happened to those black students?"
"You still don't know about this?" Grim-Nat put down the book in his hand with a surprised face, "They're protesting racial discrimination!"
"Racial discrimination?" Lin Mingyang didn't react for a moment, "What out-of-the-ordinary move did the school make in this regard?"
"If that's the case, that group of black students probably isn't as simple as protesting!" Green shrugged helplessly, "The Harvard school's attitude on the surface has always been in favor of racial equality, but the fact is that blacks make up 12% of the U.S. population, but the percentage of black students among Harvard's enrolled students is less than 4%, which is the most direct manifestation of racial discrimination."
Green's statement is a bit radical, but the fact is there, black people because the overall quality of life and the level of education is not as good as the white people, which directly leads to the number of black people who can enter the top institutions, and even in the average university, many black students are based on the "sports expertise" rather than the "brain smart". In the average university, many black students rely on their "athletic prowess" rather than their "mental acumen" to gain admission.
"Then this time?" Lin Mingyang asked suspiciously.
"Michigan sparked a massive riot not too long ago due to racial conflict, and this incident is simply a realistic replica of this year's Oscar-winning best picture, Crash. A black man, Trance Schein, was driving a motorcycle on the highway when he was chased by the police and died in a traffic accident. After the incident, many residents of Benton Harbor believed that it was the result of discrimination against black people by the local police. Later that night, friends of the deceased Schein stormed City Hall and accused the white police of racially discriminating in their excessive use of police force that led to Schein's death. In the ensuing riot, people threw rocks and bottles at the police and even burned houses and cars. The riot subsided only two days later, and the protests by the black students at the school were nothing more than a show of solidarity with their compatriots over there."
"I remember that Benton Harbor used to seem like a tourist destination, how could something like this happen..." shook Lin Mingyang's head with some sighs.
"With the prolonged economic depression, Benton Harbor is getting worse and worse. Most of the factories have closed down, and the official local unemployment rate is 17%, compared to the 25% reported by some media in the US, but residents there say that only 1/3 of the people have jobs." Billy Olsen and Kling, whose "e-sports" ended in a draw, joined the discussion.
From a professional point of view, Kling gave his opinion on the incident: "The main thing is that the high unemployment rate provides the basis for the riots, and if everyone has a good job, the enthusiasm for this kind of mass event will be reduced."
"What's funny is that after that riot, a stupid white member of the Michigan State Legislature actually proposed building a segregated area in Benton Harbor and moving all the unemployed blacks into it." Billy Olson flirted with a heavy dose of sarcasm, "The gang of black students at the school went on strike en masse in protest because of this very thing, and according to that Congressman's gentleman's theory, is Harvard going to set up a black college just for that..."
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The newspaper that was placed in front of Eckels, the most prominent position on the front page was a photo of black people clashing with white police officers in a standoff, and underneath it was a follow-up story about the race riots in Michigan. The expression on Eckels' face gradually became grave, for what he had feared most had finally happened.
Knowing that Lin Ming Yang had plans to make a new movie, Ecks had been happy before. Because Lin Mingyang himself as director of the several movies, although the shooting method in the eyes of Eckles some "nonsense", but every time out of the effect is not at all ambiguous. The key is Lin Mingyang brain idea is really different, don't look at this guy now with an Oscar movie star title has been the scenery is infinite, but Eckles is very clear that his ambition is not only here.
After directing two films in a row last year, Lin Ming Yang seemed to have temporarily lost interest in directing. But those two films were made successfully, with Three Idiots generating nearly $300 million in box office receipts at a low cost of $500,000, a result that left all jaws on the floor. And while Thumping Hearts was a modest box office hit, the critics were high on the movie and it sold well on DVD, and incidentally made a name for young singer Justin Bieber. Lionsgate had gotten a taste of the sweetness in these two films, and it was estimated that now all Lin Ming Yang had to do was say that he wanted to make a movie, and the other party would immediately come to his door with an investment in their arms.
After satirizing the American education system and exposing arms smuggling and diamond shady practices, Lin Ming Yang finally reached out to the more realistic and sensitive racial conflict, presumably influenced by the film Crash, he actually wanted to make a movie reflecting racial conflict as well. After guessing Lin Ming Yang's thoughts, Eckles' fiery heart instantly turned cold.
The movie Crash beat Brokeback Mountain as a dark horse and became the biggest winner of this year's Oscars. But the success of this movie does not mean that Hollywood is no longer shy about the topic of "racial conflict". Everyone is careful to avoid talking about this topic, even those famous directors who are known for their bold and unique style, in their movies also rarely see the content related to this topic.
This topic is like a tiger's ass, which is not easily touched by the general public, and even if there is a movie company willing to pay for it, the investment is pitifully low.
Ecks pushed back the newspaper that Lin Ming Yang had placed in front of him as it was, "I've been paying attention to this matter for a long time, but if you tell me that your new movie will be related to this, then I'll regretfully tell you that my attitude is one of non-support...even though I know it's useless, I still hope that you'll remain sufficiently caution."
"But I haven't said anything yet..." the expression on Lin Mingyang's face looked strange.
"You wouldn't show me this for no reason, don't tell me it has nothing to do with what we're talking about today." Ecks would really like his joke to become a reality, but with his knowledge of Lin Ming Yang, it was simply impossible, "You're holding up a news report on racial conflict, are you trying to tell me that you're preparing to make a sci-fi movie?"
"I can't believe you guessed it!" Lin Ming Yang's eyes widened in feigned surprise, "I was planning on wanting to make this movie that's actually about aliens!"
"Aliens?" Ecks looked at Lin Ming Yang with a face full of suspicion, he always felt that this matter revealed a strangeness from beginning to end, first this newspaper, then the aliens that were out of tune, "You're really planning to make a sci-fi movie?"
"I know that in familiar sci-fi movies, aliens are usually strong, they have advanced equipment, powerful weapons, magical supernormal capabilities, and greedy hearts - always thinking of destroying mankind and overrunning the earth." Lin Mingyang's words changed, "But is there such a possibility that the aliens are no longer powerful incarnations, they are ugly and dirty, poor and destitute, and visiting the Earth they are no longer flaunting aggressors, but pitiful refugees. Humans have isolated this group of space refugees in a special area. It was littered with garbage and stench, and the aliens huddled in hot, dirty tin huts, collecting garbage and receiving relief for a living, often suffering humiliation and teasing in exchange for a little food."
Echolls finally understands why Lin Mingyang showed him that newspaper; if you replace the aliens in his description with one of Earth's ethnic minorities or poorer groups, the quarantine zone he's referring to is truly a real-life slum, and the film's metaphors are plain to see.
The ideas of the "madman" were indeed incomprehensible, and Eckles looked at Lin Mingyang with a dumbfounded expression, and only after half a day did he stutter, "I want to ask... what kind of sci-fi movie is this?"
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