Chapter 63: The Eye-popping Box Office
"The Love of People and Ghosts" did not live up to Hepburn's wonderful performance, nor did it live up to Li Ping'an's hard work. The film sparked more viewers the next day because its reputation was so good.
Roger Ebert gave a thumbs up in the New York Times, and he commented: "The Love of People and Ghosts is Not Over" almost made me cry, and Mr. Li Ping'an, who came to Huaxia, really surprised me a lot. In terms of storyline, this movie is actually not complicated, and the cast is full of new faces except for Audrey Hepburn and Dancing King Lee. But the creativity of this film is so brilliant, it perfectly combines the elements of supernatural and love, creating a love myth that will last until death. In addition to the male and female leading actors Mr. Li Ping'an and Ms. Audrey Hepburn, the acting skills of all the other supporting roles are also very perfect, which shows that Director Li is also very good at ** actors. What impressed me the most in the whole film was the theme song called "Unrestrained Melody", I went back and checked it out, this is the theme song of a prison-themed movie twenty years ago. As we all know, Mr. Li is a master songwriter himself, but this time he did not do it himself, but chose the most suitable theme song based on the movie itself, which is particularly valuable. If the movie itself can only score seven, then with this song, the movie is a perfect score......
Washington Post commentator Gene Siskel commented more on special effects: There is no doubt that our World Dancing King has a unique preference for special effects, but it is understandable to consider his two best friends, Mr. George Lucas and Mr. Steven Spielberg, and his status as the owner of Industrial Light and Magic. The almost chaotic special effects shots in the movie are tantamount to a visual feast for audiences who like this. Until now, I still haven't figured out how ILM made a shot through the speeding subway body. I've heard that ILM is working on special effects for a new DreamWorks film, so let's wait and see.
The Los Angeles Times commented: A good film can cleanse people's souls, and a gripping story can be savored for a lifetime. "The Love of Ghosts" is a mythical story that audiences want to believe, and perhaps a hundred years later, it is still a classic.
The unanimous applause of the media immediately aroused the curiosity of countless people. People who didn't go to watch the film walked into the cinema one after another after seeing these beautiful words.
In the face of applause, the number of screens screened in North America soon increased to more than 3,000, and although the number of theaters released in "Ghost Love" increased, the attendance rate remained above 80%.
"The Ghost Is Not Over" grossed nearly $10 million in its first week, and $89 million a month after its release.
In the seventies and eighties, except for huge productions like "Star Wars", the cost of a film with a budget of more than 20 million was considered a big hit.
In 1977, the top three box office in North America can be said to have been occupied by DreamWorks and Disney, except for "Star Wars" in first place and "Contact of the Third Kind" in second place, "Ghost Love" currently occupies the third place.
The high income has once again attracted covetousness from all sides, and the Morgan consortium even sent letters to Li Ping'an to buy DreamWorks and Disney.
Fortunately, all the shares of these two companies are in the hands of Li Ping'an, and with Li Ping'an's strong military background, the predators on Wall Street did not mess around.
Originally, the Hunter family wanted to intervene, but Li Ping'an was resolute, and the Hunter family had put all their energy into the silver market, so there were no more branches.
"Ghost Love" stole the limelight, and DreamWorks and Disney dominated the past year, which naturally aroused the vigilance and dissatisfaction of other Hollywood studios.
Hollywood has Hollywood rules, so naturally it will not be as chaotic as the Xiangjiang Film Market in the eighties and nineties, and it will not hire people to smash each other's theaters like the original time and space Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, but secretly various means are inevitable.
Some white-supremacist rednecks were instigated by Warner and other companies to gather around movie theaters to protest Li Ping'an's Chinese identity. In the face of the constant siege and demonstration at the entrance of the theater, the first person who could not sit still was not DreamWorks and Disney, but the owners of North American theaters. When "Ghost Love" is hot at the box office, the protests of these idiots are simply robbing them of their money.
There was no need for Li Ping'an to come out, and the owners of these theaters quickly exerted their strength, calling the police to disperse and arrest the demonstrators in the name of obstructing normal business activities, and at the same time spending money to fight with the red-necked cacti in the media.
The most interesting thing is that the American Catholic Church is also involved. Catholic doctrine holds that the world is full of sin, and that in the future Christ will come down from heaven to judge the living and the dead on earth, and that the good will enter heaven and receive eternal life, and the wicked will be thrown into hell to suffer eternal sin. And it just so happens that the plot in "People and Ghosts" about good people entering heaven and bad people going to hell is very consistent with its teachings.
The head of the American Catholic Church even publicly praised in the "Al-Ahram newspaper": ""The Love of People and Ghosts" is undoubtedly a religious film, it has a completely correct religious view, the good go to heaven, the evil go to hell, this is God's revelation to us, in front of God, whether it is yellow, black, white, are God's people, I heard that Mr. Li has only joined the American nationality, has not yet joined the church, if possible, I am willing to baptize him personally." ”
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With the hit of "Ghost Love", Audrey Hepburn, who had been silent for many years, became hot again, and major Hollywood companies extended olive branches to her, inviting Hepburn to star in various cookie-cutter love stories, and some wealthy businessmen contacted Hepburn with ulterior motives.
They are destined to be disappointed, on the third day of the premiere of "People and Ghosts", Li Ping'an and Hepburn returned to Xiangjiang, if nothing else, Li Ping'an will not return to the United States before the Spring Festival.
"The Love of People and Ghosts" also sold a lot of money at the box office in Xiangjiang, Baodao, Dongying and South Korea.
These areas are more recognized by Li Ping'an, especially Dongying, who has the best economy, and young boys and girls are even more obsessed with Li Ping'an, and there are even several girl organizations in Edo that claim to protect Li Ping'an's life, and the slogan of these girls is against Li Ping'an's family, because they think that Li Ping'an is everyone's common lover. Moreover, there is a tendency for such organizations to spread to other countries and regions.
Knowing that he encountered the support of such extreme fans earlier than Uncle Long, Li Ping'an was a little crying and laughing, which also became a daily conversation point for his women to ridicule him.