As night fell, the lights in front of the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel were brightly lit, and a long red carpet was laid directly onto the driveway, and a large number of media reporters gathered on both sides of the carpet, one by one, holding up the cameras in their hands and constantly pressing the shutter to capture everyone walking across the red carpet. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

It was a celebration party hosted by Twentieth Century Fox for "The Dark City," and Murphy's film was a huge success by any measure, especially in terms of commercial results, not to mention the box office figures that are still increasing in North America and overseas, and the huge revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars in merchandise and rights transfer alone.

"Mr. Murdoch, can you say a few words?"

In the temporary interview area at the entrance of the Hilton Hotel, several reporters stopped James Murdoch, who is the CEO of Twentieth Century Fox, "'The Dark City' has been a huge success, will Twentieth Century Fox continue to work with him?" ”

James Murdoch stood in front of reporters and talked eloquently, "Murphy is a great director, I think today's Hollywood, his talent in directing is absolutely superb, Twentieth Century Fox is Murphy's strongest partner, we are a strategic partnership, Twentieth Century Fox will create more brilliance with Murphy!" ”

After saying this, he nodded to the reporter and walked into the hotel.

Not long after James Murdoch entered the hotel, Murphy also walked on the red carpet with Gal Gadot, and soon came to the interview area in front of the hotel.

"Director Stanton, what do you think is the main reason why Dark City was a big hit?"

Murphy thought for a moment and replied, "Audiences are always looking for fresh thrills, and I think they're tired of Hollywood commercial films that are very homogeneous to a certain extent. ”

The trend in this regard is actually obvious, and the current Hollywood commercial films are no longer brainless special effects, which can be easily sold out, and that era is gone.

A reporter immediately asked, "Is it true that serious films represented by "Dark City" will become mainstream in the future?" ”

"Serious?" Murphy was stunned, then shook his head, "Dark City is not serious at all!" ”

The reporters never expected Murphy to say that.

Murphy was obviously deliberately creating hype for these guys, and without waiting for the reporter to ask, he said again, "I did use dark style and realism in 'Dark City', but these must adhere to one principle, they must be exciting, lively, and interesting big-screen entertainment!" ”

He shrugged his shoulders, "No matter how dark and realistic it is, "Dark City" is also a highly entertaining commercial masterpiece!" ”

Without waiting for the reporter to say more, Murphy walked into the hotel with Gal Gadot in his arms, and under the guidance of the staff, entered the banquet hall where the celebration party was held.

The crew of "Dark City" is basically here, most of the executives of Twentieth Century Fox are also here, and there are media reporters under Twentieth Century Fox who are responsible for taking pictures at the party site.

This kind of movie celebration party, especially if there are also media reporters taking pictures on the spot, is basically a fixed process, Murphy and James Murdoch cut the cake together, everyone toasted together, and then the media reporters were asked out.

Murphy also doesn't remember how many people came to congratulate him, he was the absolute star of tonight's party, and with the help of Gal Gadot, he managed to get out of the crowd, and just had a few words with James Franco and Margot Robbie, Jon Landau found him again.

Unlike those who came before him, as a gold medal producer in Hollywood, Jon Landau came to discuss with Murphy a few words about the possible changes in the future of big-budget commercial films.

Coincidentally, Jon Landau also thinks that Dark City will open up the market for serious genres.

"I think the future of Hollywood commercial films ......"

The chubby gold medal producer said to Murphy very seriously, "In the future, the style of commercial films can be more serious and realistic." ”

"Well, I think it's doable, too."

It's not about facing the media, Murphy won't mess around, "The audience is always looking for the freshest thrills, and this style is not found in most ordinary commercial popcorn films." ”

Jon Landau nodded his fat chin, "A simple stack of special effects, unless it is to the extent of James Cameron, will definitely lead to a dead end." ”

"But, Jon," Murphy admonished solemnly, "there is one thing that must be noted. ”

"Which point?" Jon Landau was clearly asking for advice.

He knew that Murphy was an expert in this area, and he was much worse than Murphy in this area.

"In this type of film, the theme can be heavy, but you must not get rid of those interesting things!"

Speaking of which, Murphy organized the language and said, "The dark style can be used appropriately, but it must not completely eliminate the 'interesting' content, and there are a lot of interesting scenes and lines in Dark City. ”

Jon Landau thinks back, and indeed, as Murphy said, "Dark City" is heavy in theme and shows a form that is not serious, but very interesting, and anyone who thinks the film is very serious has either never seen it or just hates the performances of James Franco and Margot Robbie.

After chatting a few more words, Jon Landau said goodbye and left, looking at his back, Murphy knew very well that with the box office explosion of "Dark City", there will inevitably be a large number of followers in Hollywood, but if these followers think that the film wins with darkness and heaviness, they will definitely vomit blood in pain in the future.

Murphy is well aware that Hollywood's follow-up phenomenon is very common, even more serious than Hong Kong movies in the past.

For example, once Hollywood saw the success of "Avatar" but only focused on its 3D effect, so it decided to release as many 3D works in theaters as possible, and several major companies saw the success of "Inception", but they didn't think like this - oh, it turns out that audiences like to watch high-quality original sci-fi movies - and it thought, let's remake films like "Cosmic Dragon" and "Total Recall......

In fact, this kind of follow-up has already begun, Murphy just heard Carla Firth mention that Sony Columbia Pictures, which got the copyright of "Zorro's Mask" from DreamWorks, just announced the official launch of the sequel this Monday after several years of difficult birth due to various problems, and claimed that the new version of "Zorro" will not be a grand theft film in the traditional sense, but closer to the style of "Dark City", and will show the characters with a new backstory, realistic style and emotion as the core.

But simple darkness and realism may not bring success to a film.

Not to mention "The Dark City", the former "The Dark Knight" can become a box office blockbuster not because they are serious, dark, and depressing, but because most of its content is high-quality, thoughtful, and ingenious entertainment, as well as gripping thrillers, real humor, and engaging characters.

The film does touch on dark themes and has characters who are burdened by their own insanity, but the overall is full of energy and humor.

Some people think that The Dark Knight is so successful because it is "gloomy, serious, and realistic", but this is an oversimplification.

is like the former "Sixth Sense" received nearly $300 million at the box office in North America, not because of the earth-shattering reversal ending; "Avatar" made $2.7 billion worldwide, and it's not because it's just a 3D movie.

There are many reasons for the success or failure of a movie, and it is dangerous to always blame it on one factor. In addition, it is important to note that popular movies, especially super-hit movies, are popular because they are all-round entertainment works with a certain quality.

In fact, from the comments on the Internet, you can also see that "Dark City" is first and foremost an interesting and exciting movie in the eyes of fans.

"The Dark Knight is a rare masterpiece......"

"The biggest surprise ...... this summer and so far this year"

"Undoubtedly the best film ...... of 2013"

"When was the last time you saw a blockbuster that was impeccable, at the same time thought-provoking, bold, intense, and always entertaining?"

The audience's word-of-mouth is often the most direct response of the market.

Margot Robbie and Gal Gadot walked over together at this time, and the former saw Murphy Rodos and reached out and shook it in front of his eyes, "Hey, what are you thinking?" ”

Murphy came back to his senses, "The problem with the movie. ”

"Workaholic!" Margot Robbie had just deliberately squeezed a sentence, and James Franco and Carla Firth also walked over, "Hi, Murphy. ”

Murphy was very familiar with both men, and knew at a glance that they had something to talk about, and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"One good news and one bad news." James Franco had a ruffian smile on his face, "Which one do you want to hear first?" ”

"Okay." Murphy looked at him and Carla Fez, "I love the good news. ”

James Franco didn't speak, but looked at Carla Firth, who said, "Twentieth Century Fox's PR has progressed across the Pacific, and "Dark City" may be released there. ”

Murphy frowned slightly, "The bad news is that they have other conditions?" ”

"Hmm." Carla Firth replied, "Although they didn't say it explicitly, they gave a cryptic hint that China Film wanted James to star in a heavyweight co-production over there. ”