It's hard to give a real review of Watchmen, and comic book fans love the movie very much, because Zack Schneider almost restored the comics on the big screen, but for passers-by, even if Zack Snyder compromised with Warner Bros. and added two introductory paragraphs, the film is still not friendly enough to passers-by audiences.

But one thing is certain, this is Zack Snyder's best film since he moved to Hollywood.

Even Matthew, who hasn't read the comics, thinks this film is unique.

It's a pity that in the history of Hollywood, there are too many examples of good movies failing to fail, and there are countless examples.

Any film, with an investment of more than 10 million US dollars, whether it is the producer or the theater side, it is impossible not to look at the box office figures.

Only the box office round seems to be playing hooliganism, but for Hollywood movies that have reached a certain scale of investment, not talking about the box office is the real hooligan.

Everyone knows that commercialization is the key to making movies mainstream entertainment around the world.

"Watchmen" has an excellent fan reputation and good media reviews, but once again proves that word of mouth cannot be completely equated with the box office.

If the film's $55 million North American box office in the opening weekend was acceptable, the drop of 70 percent that weekend and nearly 60 percent in the third weekend disappointed Warner Bros. and DC Comics executives.

Three weekends after its release, the North American box office of "Watchmen", a big-budget and big-budget production, was still within $100 million......

Perhaps only by waiting until the disc is released will Warner Bros. be able to recoup its investment in the project.

From the perspective of an investor and the owner of a film production company, Matthew briefly analyzed the situation of "Watchmen" and came to some conclusions of his own.

A movie that can make a lot of money is not necessarily a good movie, but it must be a movie that can be accepted by the public, any film, with a production budget of more than 100 million US dollars, can basically be classified as a big production, such a movie must be a popular movie, or a film aimed at a group of people with a very large market scale, otherwise it is difficult to recover the investment by relying solely on fans, let alone making a profit.

He invests in movies to make money, why spend all this time and energy if he doesn't make money?

Many people may think that art is a higher pursuit and enjoyment, but Matthew feels that the enjoyment brought by money and beauty is more advanced.

Besides, which artist with world-renowned reputation has not been commercially packaged?

No matter how elegant an artist is, he also needs vulgar material comforts.

This also made Matthew more determined, investing in films, inevitably taking the road of adapting to the popularity of the market, even the two youth series "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games", which are aimed at teenagers, the mainstream audience group of the commercial film market.

"Twilight 2: New Moon" is in the final pre-release promotion, and "The Hunger Games" is about to enter the official preparation stage.

At the end of October, Matthew signed a publishing agreement with Warner Bros. on behalf of Studio 13, and the Hunger Games series will be promoted globally by Warner Bros.

On the one hand, Warner Bros. was chosen because Warner Bros. offered a low percentage of 7% of the issuance commission, and on the other hand, it was also due to business strategy considerations.

He's been working with Disney, and he's working well with Warner Bros.

And Disney is already the publisher of the two series "Twilight" and "Fast and Furious".

In addition, Disney Studios took the initiative to find Helen Herman, intending to reboot the sequel to "National Treasure", which had been snubbed for many years.

Back then, because of Matthew's super high salary, Disney Studios temporarily shelved the sequel to this series out of risk considerations, and now Matthew has shown more and more terrifying box office appeal, and Disney naturally remembers this series again.

Matthew did not refuse, but asked Helen Herman to talk to Disney Pictures, and with his current status, it is no longer possible to solve the problem with the salary of a few years ago.

A little further away from the first installment, Disney Studios still has a lot of work to do if they want to reboot the series.

Entering November, Matthew received a call from Sofia Coppola and rushed to Disney studios, although "Twilight 2: New Moon" has not yet been released, but the third "Twilight: Lunar Eclipse" has begun early planning.

"What's going on?"

At the door of the studio where the "Twilight" crew was located, Matthew met with producer Sean Daniel and asked, "Sean, Sophia is in trouble?"

Sean Daniel shook his head, "No. He led the way, "You might as well talk to her yourself." ”

The two entered the studio and soon came to an office door, and before Sean Daniel could knock on the door, the door was pulled open from inside.

As the door opened, Sofia Coppola stepped out.

"Hi Matthew. She said in a lightly nasal tone, "It's been a long time, let's talk alone." ”

Matthew nodded slightly, "Yes." ”

Sofia Coppola was the first to walk towards the studio setting, followed by Matthew.

Matthew asked as he walked, "Why did you suddenly resign as a director?" ”

The reason why he rushed over was because Sofia Coppola called him and said that he was not ready to be the director of "Twilight: Lunar Eclipse" anymore.

"Not suddenly. Sofia Coppola's words are still nasal, "Actually, after the filming and production of "New Moon", I had such an idea. ”

She smiled and said, "I've been busy for a series for two years in a row, and I'm very tired, physically tired, and mentally even more tired." ”

Matthew nodded and didn't say anything, the director had a lot more work on the crew than the actors.

"I want to rest, I can't wait, really. Sofia Coppola continued, "As soon as I started planning for Eclipse, I knew I couldn't hold on, and if I continued, I would probably get tired. ”

"It's not that exaggerated. Matthew answered.

Sofia Coppola nodded, "Really, with the relationship between the two of us, I don't have to lie to you, I plan to take a break for half a year, and this half year is completely out of work." ”

"And, there's another thing you may have overlooked. She reminded in particular, "The style of "Lunar Eclipse" is no longer suitable for me to continue as a director. ”

Matthew frowned and thought, now that he is stuck between two films, if he changes the director, it is undoubtedly the best time period.

Sofia Coppola's departure was a bit abrupt, but not too embarrassing for him as an investor.

"Lunar Eclipse will be a key part of the entire series, with both the emotional impact of a love triangle and the emotional impact of the showdown, as well as the emotional display of the various characters around it, as well as the greatly increased action scenes such as the protagonist's vicious battle with the Victorian Legion. Sighing softly, Sofia Coppola said, "I have a very poor control of the action scenes, and I am very bad at it. ”

Matthew nodded, the action scenes shot by Sofia Coppola are a bit miserable, the first two action scenes are very few, and they can make do, and the third part, even if Sofia Coppola does not leave, she needs to find another director to shoot the action scenes.

Sofia Coppola hasn't finished speaking, "'Eclipse' is not only an action scene, but the style is more dark, which is also not what I am good at. ”

She smiled at Matthew again, "Even though your $10 million directorial salary is tempting, I'm not the right person. ”

Hearing this, Matthew couldn't help but rub the corners of his forehead, "I originally thought that "Lunar Eclipse" would be able to catch up with next year's Thanksgiving schedule, but now that the director is changed, the schedule is also a problem." ”

Sofia Coppola said, "I'll recommend you a candidate." ”

"Oh?" said Matthew, intriguing, "Tell me about it." ”

"He's paid very little, which gives you more money to invest in the production. Sofia Coppola had a great time working with Matthew on this series, which can be described as fame and fortune, and as the director and producer of the series, she didn't want to see the latecomers mess up the glory she had built, so she solemnly recommended, "Do you know David Slader?"

Matthew frowned and thought, "Where have you heard this name, it's familiar." ”

Sofia Coppola no longer sells off, and said directly, "You may have heard of David Slade's works, the last two films are "Hard Candy" and "Thirty Polar Nights". ”

In the latter film industry, Matthew has only heard of it and never seen it, but he has watched the previous film more than once, nodded and said, "It turned out to be him." ”

The film about the revenge of the tough Lori on the strange uncle must have left a deep impression on anyone who has seen it, and the strange uncle Patrick Wilson was also chosen by James Wynne as the leading actor in "Latent".

Sofia Coppola recommends, "David Slade is a very good director, my father has dealt with him and has a very high opinion of him, I have been in contact with him, I think he fits the style of Eclipse and can also handle the emotional entanglement and the action scenes of the vampire army battle. ”

Matthew didn't reply immediately, but was recalling the movie "Hard Candy" he had watched.

"Eclipse of the Moon" also fits the traits that David Slade has shown in two well-known works. Sofia Coppola is seriously recommending to Matthew, "As long as he handles the emotional scenes in the film, I believe that "Lunar Eclipse" is likely to give us new feelings. ”

Matthew thought for a moment before he said, "Okay, I'll put Sean in contact with David Slade." ”

Whether it will be used or not, it depends on the results of the negotiations between Sean Daniel and David Slade, and it is also Sofia Coppola's idea to recommend David Slade, and it is difficult to say whether the other party accepts this director position or not.

Just like finding a job, it's a two-way street.

The departure of Sofia Coppola, the change of directors in the series, also brought some uncertainty to "Twilight: Lunar Eclipse".