Kathryn Bigelow stopped eating for the time being, leaning forward slightly with her originally erect waist, putting her hands on the table, her eyes showing curiosity, although she always called Eric a little one, but this was just a repulsive ridicule of the young man in front of her after she found out that Eric had beaten some of her own ideas. When it comes to movies, anyone has to admit that what Eric has done in less than three years has surpassed the achievements of most filmmakers in their lifetimes, so Eric talked about the "Shocking Point" she was filming, and Catherine became serious.

Eric said slowly, "What I see is loss and struggle, a strong despair after some people have difficulty breaking free from the rules. Because of desperation, the group of Botty people are unscrupulous, frantically burning themselves, and then going to ruin, because of despair, Angelo Pappas becomes unmotivated, like many numb people, occasionally reminiscing about the glory of the past, and then dying very sloppily in a certain operation, because of despair, Johnny Utah imprisons himself in the path of pursuing Botty, like a walking corpse, and finally he finds Boldie, and then goes to another confusion. ”

"Really...... It's amazing," said Kathryn Bigelow, her eyes widening slightly, and she said with a little emotion, "and I've asked Jim more than once how he felt about the script, and he just said, 'Oh dear, this story is great.'" ”

"So you see, even the people around you have difficulty understanding the script and the deep connotation, let alone the average audience. Their attention is often more focused on the adrenaline-pumping surfing and skydiving scenes, which they will feel after watching it. It's a cool story. As for the dissatisfaction with the stereotyped social system and the thirst for change that the film wants to convey, it is impossible for 90% of the audience to understand. ”

Kathryn Bigelow furrowed her brow in a thoughtful look before she asked after a moment, "Why is it ...... So?"

"It's simple. Because you don't have enough influence. ”

Catherine glared at Eric, "I know I'm not as good as you little guy, am I?"

"I'm serious, if you have enough influence, then people will naturally pay more attention to your work, will deconstruct and dissect your work on a deeper level, and then the idea you want to express can be understood. Take Jim's Terminator, for example. In the eyes of many fans and the media, this sensational work, under the appearance of science fiction, expresses an indictment of mankind's endless development of nuclear weapons and anxiety about nuclear war, a very sad theme, isn't it? This is not the case at all, and the inspiration for "The Terminator" is actually just a nightmare that Jim had in a small hotel in Rome because of a high fever. ”

Catherine nodded at first, and when it came to "The Terminator", the woman thought what Eric said was funny, and couldn't help but laugh: "I'll tell Jim what you said today." ”

Eric said that you must not have much chance, and the early stage of "Terminator 2" has been prepared. It will be on in early September. After Eric returned from New York, he also attended a meeting with the creators of "Terminator 2", judging from the appearance of Cameron and Linda Hamilton on the scene. The cliché story between the director and the sexy heroine has kicked off, and it is estimated that the day "Terminator 2" is filmed will be the time when Cameron and Catherine broke up.

Of course, Eric didn't mean to tell Catherine about this in advance, otherwise it would have been a provocation, even if it was on Cameron's side. It will also definitely cause disgust among women.

"I think Jim would agree with me," Eric replied with a smile. Turning back to the topic just now: "So if you don't want to be a high-level filmmaker, you need to expand your influence as much as possible." There are many ways to do this. Shoot controversial films, produce high-grossing films, or direct award-winning films, etc. But filming controversial films is very risky, and the slightest carelessness can backfire and cause public disgust. So I think the latter two approaches are more practical. ”

Kathryn Bigelow shook her head, and there was some envy in her mocking tone: "These methods are easier for you, you are a little monster." ”

Eric laughed: "Okay, I'll just praise me for you, actually, I just want to say that I have a script here that can bring you enough influence, if you finish making this movie, I think you will make any movie in the future, it will attract enough attention, I just don't know if you dare to go next." ”

"Dare...... No...... How dare you?" Catherine Bigelow asked rhetorically, staring at Eric and saying, "Little one, are you discriminating against me as a woman?"

"At least as far as I can remember, there hasn't been a female director who has ever made a similar subject," Eric said. ”

"Stop, let me guess," Catherine Bigelow asked, thinking with her chin propped up, "and women rarely touch it, hmm...... Like your screenplay "Instinct", erotica?

"Of course not, many female directors in Europe are much more open than Instinct. ”

"Westerns, then?"

"No, hey, by the way, I specifically watched the music video you shot for that "reach" Oh, I really like your western cowgirl look in it, it's cool, it's ......"

"Shut up, don't tease big sister," Catherine glared at Eric in disgust, but there was a faint smile on the corner of her mouth, and it was clear that she was not disgusted by Eric's words: "Let me think again." ”

Eric shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay, to give you a hint, what do you think has been the most important concern of Americans and the entire Western community in recent months?"

"Of course it's the Middle East, there's going to be a war, eh, you don't mean to let me make a war movie, right?"

Eric snapped his fingers, ignoring the curious glances around him, and said: "Bingo, and it's definitely not the kind of war movie that fights a little bit, but a World War II epic movie, with no limit on investment, you can spend as much as you want, and there is enough time." I was going to release it on June 6, 1994, which happened to be the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings. So, do you dare to take it?"

Kathryn Bigelow hesitated for a moment, if Eric was serious, then the investment in this film must be several times that of the current "Shocking Point". She's not like Cameron. Compared to Cameron's fanaticism, Catherine Bigelow is more obsessed with films, she likes to make movies, and she likes to use movies to convey her opinions. But she also understands that if she takes over this big production, she fails, for a female director. It could well mean a long period of silence, or even a permanent departure from Hollywood.

"Eric, let's talk about your script first?" Catherine couldn't resist the temptation, but she asked the question first. If Eric's script is not to her liking at all, then she can naturally turn the offer down.

Eric was able to see the changes in Catherine's expression, and he was still very confident that he would be able to get Catherine into the script, so he carefully analyzed Catherine Bigelow's previous works, as well as the Oscar-winning "Bomb Disposal Unit" and later "Hunt*".

Many of Kathryn Bigelow's works have a very strong personal style, whether it is the early "Ruthless" or the latest "The Hunt*" in Eric's memory. All with a kind of calm despair, although there is a difference of 20 years between the memory of "Hunt*" and the current "Shocking Point", the two protagonists of the two films, a man and a woman, finally end up on the same path. They all completed their tasks, one discarded the FBI badge, the other shed tears without the slightest joy, even in "Bomb Disposal Unit", which won the best director, William went around in circles and stepped on the battlefield again.

And Eric picked. It's a story of hope, despair and hope. They seem to be two extremes, but they are often as closely connected as brothers.

"It's a story about eight saving one. "After the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, three of the four Ryan brothers died on the battlefield at the same time, their mother received three death notices on the same day, and the youngest son of the family, James Ryan, was also buried behind enemy lines with the Airborne Force, and his fate was uncertain," Eric said. In order to leave a glimmer of hope for the grieving mother, the military top brass sent a team of eight led by Lieutenant Miller deep into the war zone to try to find James Ryan and take him off the battlefield......"

Eric's eloquence is not bad, and he has the full film in his head, so the whole story is told, and Catherine has always maintained a listening demeanor, and she didn't notice that there were a lot fewer people in the restaurant unconsciously. The assistant director, who was responsible for arranging the filming schedule, saw that the two were very engaged in talking, so he did not step forward to remind the two that it was almost time to shoot.

In Eric's opinion, "Saving Private Ryan" is not a completely American main theme film, at least it is very different from the main theme films he has seen.

The movie truly shows the cruelty and tragedy of the Normandy landings, portraying a group of ordinary soldiers with distinct personalities, for their mission, a group of eight people are full of doubts and disputes from beginning to end, and some of the characters may be asking why in their hearts until they die.

This kind of film with the torture of war and the portrayal of human nature obviously made Catherine Bigelow, who is still a literary and artistic young woman in her heart, very moved, and she also understood that as a woman, if she could produce such a war epic movie, the sensation would definitely be worldwide. As a female director who has been discriminated against in Hollywood, Catherine Bigelow has a strong desire to prove herself stronger than many people.

Facing the woman's tempting expression, Eric said like a salesman: "How about it, Catherine, do you want to take this script, although you have never made such a big movie, but this is not a problem, because it is planned to be released on the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings, and from now until June 6, 1994, you have nearly four years to concentrate on making this movie, four years, oh, enough time for you to prepare everything foolproof." ”

Catherine Bigelow didn't answer immediately, but asked, "According to what you said, the investment in this movie is estimated to be more than twice that of "Shocking Point", aren't you afraid that I will mess up this project?"

If you mess up, you will pay for it, Eric thought evilly in his heart, but said on his lips: "Of course I am not afraid, I believe in your ability, let alone me." ”

"If you were like a lot of people in Hollywood who always interfere with the production of films, I wouldn't have taken this film. ”

"As long as you approve of the script I wrote, then I won't interfere too much with the production of this film. I'm just saying that when the filmmaker encounters difficulties, he will help out at the right time. However, I believe that four years is enough time to solve all the problems. ”

"Then you'd better write the script and show me first," said Catherine Bigelow, noticing that there were few people in the restaurant, standing up and saying, "It's time to work." ”

"Then I'll do my best to write the script," Eric said, and the two walked side by side towards the outside of the restaurant.

In the days that followed, Eric was a frequent haunt of the crew of "Shocking Point", and the script for "Saving Private Ryan" was completed a week later, and Eric took the first draft of the script to Catherine.

After reading it, the woman was obviously more moved, and put forward a lot of suggestions for revision, for some innocuous small details, Eric was also happy to agree, but when it came to the core connotation of the script, Eric would not make too many concessions, but argued with Catherine.

So in addition to the filming of the movie, the crew members often saw the director and the producer muttering and discussing something, and occasionally fell into disputes, which made many people a little worried, afraid that this dispute would affect the filming of the movie, but their worries were obviously unnecessary, until the end of September, the filming progress of the film has come to an end, and Eric and Catherine have not had any sharp contradictions.

For a month, in addition to paying attention to the filming of "Shocking Point", Eric also paid attention to things in New York almost every day, and flew to New York two or three times during this period.

In October, after two months of deployment, the number of US troops arriving in the Persian Gulf has reached 500,000, and a war is almost inevitable, and international crude oil prices broke through the high of $40 in a few days in early October. However, with the gradual increase of the US military's military power in the Persian Gulf, as well as the various measures introduced by the United States and Saudi Arabia to stabilize the price of crude oil, the growth of crude oil prices has also fallen into stagflation after entering a high of $40.

As is customary, most people feel that the next spike in crude oil prices should be at the moment of war.

However, Eric knew that after the outbreak of the war, with the devastating offensive of the United * team, the price of crude oil not only did not rise, but fell. But this should already be next year, and now, it is time to take stock of the first round of harvest. (To be continued)