The Lodge spirit is like a fire that ignites from Los Angeles and spreads at full speed throughout the United States. 【Reading.com】

Young people must watch this film, because Rocky's struggle history is the epitome of their reality, and many young people will say with emotion when they walk out of the theater and face reporters: "Rocky let me see myself, thank you Oriental director for letting me find my dreams and goals in life!" ”

"After watching the movie "Rocky", I had the idea of drinking raw eggs, God, I feel as brave as Rocky!"

People who fail in reality have to watch this film, and most people who don't want to watch "Rocky" will be greatly encouraged by one black guy who said: "My lecturer strongly recommended me to watch this film because he said that Rocky was a loser's upbringing. If you agree with this movie, you must first admit that you are also a loser. It takes courage, at least I have the courage to face this side of myself, and I believe that my tomorrow will be even better! Thank you Rocky, Maria, i-did!" Maria is the girlfriend of the black guy, and he is now desperate to say Rocky's classic dialogue out loud to her.

"I'm a bodybuilder and just hearing 'going to fly-now' in theaters gives me an adrenaline rush, and I'm going to buy this record home and I feel like it's going to be a lot more bench press for me."

All kinds of praise pushed "Rocky" to a peak, almost everyone discussed Rocky after dinner, discussed Rocky's plot and their respective understandings after watching, they will be fierce about every character in the film, such as the friendship between Rocky and Pori, some people think that Poki (Rocky's brother-in-law) is also a very interesting character, he works in a pork factory, but he has always wanted to change to a job like Rocky to help people collect debts, for which he begged Rocky several times, but Rocky did not agree to him, which made him very angry, He always complains that his sister is running away from life, but so is himself.

Another example is Rocky's coach Mitch, who is a "mercenary" guy on the surface, but he also has something commendable, at least from his strict requirements for Rocky's training. After Lodge was excavated. Old Mickey comes to Rocky's house to advertise himself to him and wants to be Rocky's agent. It's as if his contempt and sarcasm for Rocky never existed. He wanted to use Rocky to realize his own value. Rocky's years of disambition and resentment towards this "Bole" who didn't know him exploded.

Some people insist that Rocky's roaring lines are actually a secret implication of Stallone's own bitter cry that he wants to encounter all these years, and it is this cry that resonates with many people, making them walk into the theater over and over again, looking for more resonance and recognized details.

The list goes on and on, but now Lodge is the epitome of the American spirit, and his presence has warmed the hearts of crazy Americans in the '70s, known as the "Beat Generation."

If the box office of "The Godfather" exceeded $5.24 million in the first week that year, and it was a miracle that the box office of "Enter the Dragon" exceeded $6 million in the first week, then "Rocky" can be described as a myth, and the box office statistics of "Rocky" came out a week later, and what everyone didn't expect was that this film, which only had an investment cost of 500,000, exceeded 8.15 million under the premise of being released in only 300 theaters, and quickly climbed to the top of the North American box office that year.

After hearing the news, the top management of 20th Century Fox responded to George. Wilson smashed down a sentence: "Increase!" Increase! Increase! "This paranormal phenomenon has seriously irritated Fox top management, and they are very interested in George. Wilson lavished: "Well done George! You've given us a second spring at Focus, do a good job, and your position will continue to climb this year! ”

George. In the second week, the number of theaters released by "Rocky" instantly increased to 700, and the box office results of the second week almost made George faint: $42.53 million!

Oh my God, at this rate of development, I believe that this number will climb in the remaining two weeks, "No, I want to talk to the boss, I have to extend the release time!" In order to maximize the benefits of the distribution of "Rocky", George. Wilson made a secret decision. As a result, the number of theaters showing "Rocky" in the United States increased to 1,200, and when the first round of "Rocky" was over, the cumulative box office in North America reached $127 million, which was only 7 million less than the North American box office of "The Godfather" in 72 years, which was 134 million!

This box office figure stunned 20th Century Fox, which means that they got more than $60 million just by acting as an agent, and they only paid for theaters and a negligible amount of publicity.

[***], MGM, CBS and other distribution companies that have rejected Wang Xiaohu and Winterdur are dumbfounded, yes, they regret it now, if they had known that this film would have such an amazing box office result, how could they give up the fat to others?

"Who is to blame for this? It's our fault for Tiger. Wang's contempt or is there an existing institutional problem within the company? This is a question that all Hollywood distribution agencies have been reflecting on since the completion of "Rocky".

Especially Warner Bros., they didn't know until they were wrong to their grandmother's house, they should have thought of being called a brother by Bruce Lee, and the director who could create a classic film like "Enter the Dragon" is certainly not a simple character, but their inherent prejudice made them pass by this opportunity, regret is no longer enough to describe the mood of Warner President Ted Eisley, he can't find a piece of tofu to kill him now, he suddenly thought of the elderly Winterdur, maybe he can save something, at least to be able to talk to Tiger. The relationship between the kings eased.

Since the success of "Rocky", Sylvestre. Stallone became famous overnight, his originally wooden face began to improve, and he would not deliberately dodge in the face of strangers, he raised his head, like Rocky, like Adrian, he did not dodge, and he talked eloquently in front of the media: "Each of us is born lonely and cowardly, and once we encounter unsatisfactory results, we may have the idea of denying ourselves, so most people need to read Carnegie Mellon's books and listen to the lectures on success, the most unreliable thing in the world." ”

"And what do you think is the most reliable?" The reporter asked.

"I think motivation is a very simple thing, it is your understanding and transcendence of yourself, if you understand that you need help from others, then even if you are 'successful', what is the point? So from now on, we must fully understand and analyze ourselves, find our weaknesses, and then launch an offensive against our weaknesses, only then will you not become a loser in life! ”

"My boss Tiger. Wang used Lodge to encourage me more than once, he told me: life does not matter whether it is successful or not, for a short life, no matter how brilliant or how wasteful, there is no real difference, the key is that you experience all of life with your heart, not the experience of success or failure, the experience itself is beautiful. Stallone excitedly talked about the filming of "Rocky".

Soon media reporters reacted that it turned out that it was Wang Xiaohu, a young director from Hong Kong, China, who made "Rocky" and made Sylvester Stallone a spiritual idol overnight, so they came to interview Wang Xiaohu in hindsight.

"How long have you lived in the United States?"

"To be exact, it all adds up to two months." Wang Xiaohu shrugged his shoulders and said truthfully.

"God, it's amazing that two months can give you such a clear grasp of the current situation in the United States, and many viewers still think that the director or screenwriter is a real American." This is the main concern of all the journalists present.

"What do you think of the United States?"

"The United States is a country full of opportunities, and if you are willing to put in the effort, you will find a platform to show your talents." Wang Xiaohu first buttoned a big hat, although he didn't like to talk about such high-sounding words, but in order to make the box office performance of "Rocky" better, in order to achieve his ultimate goal of making money, he always had to say a few words of praise to this country that he called the future ATM.

When asked by a reporter from "Los Angeles Daily" why "Rocky" was successful, Wang Xiaohu said with a smile: "One of the special features of the film is that it does not use complex and fierce contradictions and conflicts to attract the audience's attention like other works of this type, but a simple structure, he didn't fight boxing for any big hatred, nor for anything to get ahead, he just wanted to win the game and regain hope and confidence in life. ”

A reporter from the Los Angeles Daily News asked a very gossipy question: "As far as we know, Sylvester . . . Stallone once starred in the ** film "Italian Stallion", and he was a frequent visitor to the blacklist in the Hollywood Screen Actors Guild, no one would choose him as the starring role, did you know his past when you picked him at that time? ”

"I don't think it's up to him to come from a person, just like Rocky, he's a street thug, but he's a good guy at heart. The most obvious thing is that when he went to collect the debt, he went against the will of the boss, did not break the fingers of the debtor, and did not even use the debtor's coat to settle the debt. He knew that his main livelihood was not a glamorous business, so he would rather offend his friends than introduce him to his debt collection business. ”

When Wang Xiaohu said this, he glanced at Stallone next to him, and found that his face had turned calm from the embarrassment just now, and looked at him with very grateful eyes, so he continued: "As we all know, when my brother Bruce and I came to Los Angeles to participate in the audition for the cast of "Enter the Dragon" last year, Sylvestre. I was touched by Stallone's unyielding struggles in Hollywood, and after in-depth understanding of his personal story, I immediately came up with the idea of this story, and then I made an outline of the script, which he perfected based on his own life experience, and this is what everyone sees as "Rocky"! ”

Wang Xiaohu's remarks were very sincere, and the kind of fair and just attitude he showed towards people at the moment coincided with the human rights doctrine and opposition to racial discrimination that the United States has always advocated, and won the solemn respect of all the reporters in the audience, who looked at the young oriental director with appreciative eyes and responded with warm applause.

"Boss, thank you, you made me feel cared for and valued like never before, and made me have dreams and goals in my life from now on!" Stallone shed tears excitedly, hugged Wang Xiaohu and cried bitterly, no one has ever been wronged by Stallone, but now Wang Xiaohu not only did it, but also made him turn over, from a third-rate ** actor who was spurned, despised and abandoned by the actors' union to a first-line actor, how can you let him not thank Wang Xiaohu for his kindness!

"Sylvester, in the future, you have to remember that no one can help you except yourself, and the results you can achieve today are the result of your personal efforts!" Wang Xiaohu patted the big man's shoulder and comforted.

Wang Xiaohu has his own reasons for saying this, after all, the script of "Rocky" is his plagiarism of Stallone's works, and while achieving his goal of making money, he can also include these macho men in Hollywood film history. Anyway, it's a matter of moving your mouth, so why not?

The more Wang Xiaohu said this, the more determined Stallone was determined to follow Wang Xiaohu, in short, this big man had already recognized this young oriental director at this time.

"May I ask the young director, when will your company's next film be filmed, and we can give you an interview when the time comes." The reporter of the "Los Angeles Daily" asked excitedly.

Wang Xiaohu dragged his chin, frowned slightly and said: "You all know, I've been busy for this film recently, maybe I need to take a break for a while, after all, I still have a lot of things to deal with in Hong Kong, but I won't make everyone wait for a long time, maybe my second movie will be released in the second half of the year." ”

"Will it be an inspirational film like Rocky?"

"Hehe, I haven't figured it out yet." Wang Xiaohu said with a smile.

"Will it be a Chinese kung fu movie?"

Wang Xiaohu pondered for a long time, remembered Bruce Lee's posthumous work "The Journey of a Warrior", nodded and said: "Maybe it will be a kung fu movie, and it will definitely surprise everyone at that time!" ”

Wang Xiaohu didn't want to continue answering any more questions, and the most urgent thing he wanted to do now was to find George Brown, the distribution manager of the 20th Century Fox searchlight. Wilson, ask when the dividends will be in hand, you must know that half of the 127 million has $63.5 million, and he wants to use this money to gain a foothold in Hollywood as soon as possible

(To be continued)