Bab 274: Chapter 274: Lisa
Motorola had already become a behemoth. Since Simon sold off his Motorola stocks, he hadn't paid attention to the company anymore.
However, Nokia, which was Motorola's peer in the 90s, is now just a small shrimp curled up in a corner of Northern Europe. A mobile communications company that rose and fell so rapidly, with a peak market value of over 200 billion dollars in the original timeline, was something Simon couldn't overlook. Moreover, Cersei Capital could just provide Simon with enough leverage to take over Nokia.
Thinking of Nokia, Simon wasn't too rushed.
In recent years, mobile communication was still in the era of analog signals. The digital signal era would gradually arrive in two or three years, and Nokia was about to rise with its digital phones and the GSM standard. Simon still had plenty of time, and this matter could be arranged during his trip to Europe in the latter half of the year.
However, thinking of Nokia, Simon also decided to reorganize his memories during his vacation after finishing "Batman" to look for more 'potential stocks' still in their dormant period.
Everyone arrived at the parking lot, and after Amy finished her call, the four of them rushed to a nearby restaurant for a meal.
Meanwhile, in every corner of North America.
As the weekend approached, office workers began to plan their leisure activities for the rest days.
A long-standing habit, watching a movie with family and friends over the weekend was a very common pastime. Moreover, it was now the summer blockbuster season. As for the large number of students, there was no need to specially arrange time; they could enter the cinema at any time.
The series of movies currently showing.
"Indiana Jones 3," a sequel awaited for several years, was naturally already watched;
"The Bodyguard," the original soundtrack was already purchased;
"Ghostbusters 2" and "Die Hard 3," supposedly rushed sequels by Columbia Pictures to boost stock prices during negotiations with Sony, had terrible reviews, skipped;
"Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," a Disney family movie, seemed not bad;
"The Sixth Sense," a new movie that started today, Simon Westeros's script, starring Robert De Niro. Although unclear about the specifics, as a horror movie, Westeros's horror scripts had always been exceptional, and moreover, De Niro, who rarely starred in horror films, was definitely a must-watch;
Daenerys Entertainment's box office performance from last year's movies was too eye-catching. "The Sixth Sense," with Simon and De Niro as the main creators, seemed somewhat lukewarm in its promotion. Still, to avoid being crushed by accident, other movie companies had all chosen to step aside.
Thus, "The Sixth Sense," like "Indiana Jones 3" and "The Bodyguard," became the only new movie released this week.
Simon, needless to say, and De Niro, after consecutively appearing in "Pulp Fiction" and "Dead Poets Society," had also reestablished his reputation. Therefore, many audiences chose "The Sixth Sense" as their first choice for weekend movie viewing.
In Manhattan.
Having become a licensed attorney and obtained a job at the renowned Seward Law Firm, Lisa Collins finished a day's work and had dinner with her boyfriend before finally entering the cinema around nine o'clock in the evening.
The movie they watched was naturally "The Sixth Sense."
Two years had passed since that trip to Park City with Jennifer, which had become the most special experience in Lisa Collins's mind.
At that time, Lisa Collins thought the young man was already astonishing enough, but that Sundance Film Festival was just the beginning of his impressive life.
Now, he was Hollywood's youngest annual box office champion director, having created or led a large number of blockbuster films, capable of playing an astounding "Flight of the Bumblebee," also becoming the youngest winner of the Cannes Palme d'Or, and miraculously amassing billions of dollars in wealth in a short time.
Just last week, his casual visit to his girlfriend nearly caused a stock market crash in the world's second-largest economy.
As he created one miracle after another, although they had only met once, Lisa Collins became one of Simon's most steadfast admirers. When her best friend ran off to become his assistant without hesitation, Lisa even had the same thought, but various ties made it impossible.
However, by always maintaining her interest in Simon through Jennifer, she also supported every piece of work he created at the first opportunity.
Lisa Collins even owned a copy of a piano solo videotape called "Blizzard." Jennifer let it slip during a phone chat, and Lisa, to get that tape copy, threatened to personally storm Los Angeles and snatch it, including the lover, until Jennifer reluctantly compromised and sent her a copy, resulting in even more admiration for him.
In a cinema on Broadway.
Thinking of these things, feeling her boyfriend Karl Lloyd attentively fixing the popcorn bucket in her arms from tilting, Lisa Collins smiled at him, returning to reality, but she was somewhat dissatisfied with her boyfriend working at Goldman Sachs.
Secretly deciding, if the guy next to her dared to hint at having her father introduce clients to him again, she would decisively kick him out.
Seeing you handsome and capable of sweet-talking, barely dealing with you was to comfort my lonely heart amidst the heavy workload.
Thinking of relying on her without even two months of acquaintance.
Ah, spit!
The lights in the cinema dimmed, and Lisa Collins also cast aside those messy thoughts.
After a few short commercials, the majestic phoenix rebirth animation of Daenerys Entertainment appeared on the big screen.
Just this opening, Lisa Collins noticed something unusual.
Daenerys Entertainment's movie labels were divided into three. Daenerys Films was the phoenix rebirth, focusing on mainstream commercial films; New World Films was the clear sky after thunder, targeting the thriller and horror movie market; Highgate Films was the artistic flowing film, responsible for the production and distribution of art films.
If "The Sixth Sense" was simply a 'horror movie' promoted by Daenerys Entertainment, it should have been released under the New World Films label.
But now, they used Daenerys Entertainment's 'Phoenix' main label.
The opening ended, and the plot directly began.
The scene shifted to a hall hosting a party, where an elderly man with graying hair was giving a speech on the stage, about to award Dr. Malcolm Crowe an honorary citizen certificate for his significant contributions to child psychology. This segment moved very quickly, and after a brief and lively exchange of toasts, Robert De Niro's Dr. Crowe and his wife returned home.
Aside from De Niro, Lisa Collins felt the actress playing Dr. Crowe's wife seemed familiar.
Hmm... right, "Once Upon a Time in America's" 'Eve,' 'Noodles'' lover.
This was their second time playing a couple.
However, this actress wasn't very famous, so Lisa didn't know her name.
On the big screen, after the Crowes returned home, still in high spirits, Anna was about to fetch a bottle of red wine from the cellar to celebrate when she unexpectedly discovered an intruder in their home.
Dr. Crowe, protecting his wife, cautiously communicated with the uninvited guest, gradually learning that the latter was a mentally ill patient he had once failed to help. After a desperate confession, the patient shot Dr. Crowe and then aimed the gun at his own temple.
A gunshot rang out again.
The camera shook, turning to Dr. Crowe lying on the ground after being shot, accompanied by Anna's terrified cries, as the camera slowly ascended.
This marked the end of the prologue.
In a series of aimless, cold-toned street scenes, accompanied by music, the main credits began to appear.
Simon made significant adjustments to the beginning of the new version, changing the original opening scene, which might have been due to budget constraints, of the Crowe couple awkwardly reciting lines to a certificate, to entering through a lively party, quickly passing through a coherent storyline, and also more clearly introducing the male protagonist's identity.
Using aimless wandering shots in the cold and empty streets of San Jose as a transition between the prologue and the main story was also a carefully designed metaphor, hinting at the ghostly state of the male protagonist wandering through the city.
Of course, these details required the audience to watch the entire film and then reflect on them to discover.
In the cinema, Lisa Collins, unaware of the plot's twists, had not grasped the metaphor of this transition but was already intrigued by the prologue, beginning to guess whether this was a non-linear narrative film and whether the suicidal patient in Dr. Crowe's home was the same boy who could communicate with spirits mentioned in the TV trailers.
However, when the plot officially unfolded, the timeline had already moved forward a year.
Dr. Crowe was seen sitting on a bench on the street, browsing through a patient's file, with the camera passing over the medical records in the doctor's hands, highlighting some key information.
"Cole Sear, 9 years old."
"Parents divorced."
"Introverted personality, extremely anxious, possibly suffering from emotional dysregulation disorder."
The scene switched.
On the other side of the street, the boy stepped out of his house, put on his glasses, and cautiously looked around, like a small animal that startles easily, ready to flee from predators at any moment.
Clearly, this was Cole Sear.
Dr. Crowe followed Cole to a church and started communicating with the wary boy. As Dr. Crowe's calm words flowed, Cole gradually relaxed and even initiated conversation with the doctor.
On their first meeting, Dr. Crowe discovered that the boy knew Latin, showed symptoms of delusion, and had unknown scars on his arms, possibly from abuse.
Subsequently, the plot branched into two directions, showing Dr. Crowe and his wife Anna's cold war, making the audience more curious about what exactly happened during this year.
Scenes of various eerie occurrences also frequently appeared in Cole's life.
As a seasoned movie fan with a very detailed and meticulous mind, Lisa Collins, less than half an hour into the film, vaguely sensed something. Until Cole uttered the line, "They don't know they're dead," Lisa Collins was completely certain of it.
Dr. Crowe had died a year ago!
Discovering this secret, Lisa Collins looked around; in the dim and fluctuating light and shadows of the cinema, most of the visible audience had a focused expression, not showing the same enlightenment Lisa herself had from uncovering a secret.
It was evident that most people had not yet realized the film's most important foreshadowing.
However, although "The Sixth Sense" did not have the dramatic fluctuations of some big production films, the continuously unfolding suspense, the interaction between the two main characters, and the frequent appearance of ghostly figures around the boy firmly captured the audience's attention, making one wonder what all this was about and how the story would progress, and whether the doctor could cure the boy's 'condition.'
Lisa Collins glanced at her boyfriend again. Karl noticed her looking at him, immediately diverted his gaze from the big screen, smiled at her, and said, "This is a very interesting movie."
"Yes."
Lisa nodded and turned her attention back to the big screen.
Even though she had already discovered the film's biggest secret, she did not feel bored at all and was equally curious about how the story would end.
On the big screen, everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.
With Dr. Crowe's continuous guidance, Cole gradually opened up, learning to communicate with the ghosts around him. When he successfully helped a little girl poisoned by her stepmother reveal the latter's evil deeds, Lisa in the audience felt an indescribable excitement.
Perhaps, this should be Cole's future.
In the film, after this event, Cole finally let go of his mental burden and took the opportunity of a car accident to confess to his mother that he could see ghosts.
Looking at the mother and son embracing and crying on the big screen, Lisa felt her eyes moisten but couldn't help smiling. In the cinema, many viewers also showed varying degrees of moved expressions.
But what about Dr. Crowe?
When most of the audience was still immersed in the perfect ending of Cole and his mother, even thinking the movie was about to end, the plot shifted back to Dr. Crowe.
Should this be a self-narrative conclusion?
People speculated.
Dr. Crowe had failed to save the young man who committed suicide last year, but now, he had finally completed a redemption, successfully helping another child emerge from the shadows.
Perhaps.
The couple should reconcile.
Indeed, Dr. Crowe returned home, the TV playing their wedding video, with his wife muttering his name in her dreams, clearly still in love with him. Now, he just needed to wake her up, embrace her sweetly, and explain his actions during this period to his wife, and the rift caused by last year's incident should be healed.
In the end.
Happy Ending!
A standard Hollywood ending.
However.
As Dr. Crowe affectionately echoed Anna's murmurs, moved to the point of leaning in to kiss his wife, she instinctively dodged in her dream. During the movement, the hand that was holding something opened, and a wedding ring fell from her hand, rolling towards Dr. Crowe with a soft sound.
The wife's wedding ring was clearly on her hand, and Dr. Crowe stared at the other ring rolling towards him, a ring that was supposed to be on his own hand, trembling as he lifted his left hand.
A surge of intense emotions flooded him.
Fear, anger, or something else?
Then.
He saw the cold breath coming out of his wife's mouth.
A series of overlapping voices flooded his mind, the boy's voice.
"We'll see each other again, right?"
"They don't know they're dead."
"I can see ghosts."
"When they're angry, it gets very cold around them."
"Maybe we can pretend we'll see each other tomorrow, just pretend."
"..."
"..."
It turned out, he was the one who didn't know he had already died, a ghost.
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