It took more than 3,000 theaters to achieve a box office of $10.35 million in the first weekend, and I have to say that this is a very poor start for Shao Shuaijun's film to be released in North America. If it weren't for the very good word-of-mouth, almost so good that it exploded, this would be another failure after "The Night Watchman".

Originally, "Heartbeat" was a movie that attracted a lot of attention, after all, it was supported by Shao Shuaijun's golden signboard. The media, which had originally praised it, immediately reversed course.

"Whether it is popular or not, "Heartbeat" is embarrassing, and I am afraid that the theater chain will be greatly reduced in the second week." -- Hollywood Film Reporter.

"The magic of the little fresh movie is no longer there, and Shao Shuaijun encountered a second Waterloo." -- The Chicago Post.

"The box office of the movie "Heartbeat" is no longer exciting, and Shamo's miracle is over." -- Film Movie website.

From the United States to the world, the news of the box office failure of "Heartbeat" is like a storm. Shao Shuaijun, who has attracted the most attention in recent years and is known as the king of the next generation of the world, finally ushered in another setback in his life. Naturally, the jealous clapped their hands in celebration, while those who idolized him hid their faces with their hands.

Anyway, some of the media are busy.

Lee so-so called as soon as possible, and the movie was what she asked to shoot at first.

"Husband, I'm sorry to hurt you at the box office."

Shao Shuaijun said indifferently: "I didn't think about making money from the beginning, wife, you can rest assured, you don't have to blame yourself." Don't look at what the media is advocating all day long, box office failures, losing money, or something. In fact, the cost of the film is low, and the publicity cost is also low. Just the box office and follow-up income on the US side can save the capital. Maybe the overseas box office is also not good, but DVD sales should be able to make a fortune. ”

"But it still caused you to have some bad comments on your back." Li Xiuxiu is still a little stubborn.

"It doesn't matter, I'll be able to get rid of it after an interview, it's not up to the media to decide. Don't you think my movie is very good, and the audience said yes after watching it. Shao Shuaijun said with a smile.

"There is nothing bad about my husband's movies. I like it very much. ”

"Haha, uh-huh. I'll tell the media tomorrow. This is what I filmed for my wife to see, what is it to make money or not, the important thing is that my wife is happy to watch. ”

"Husband, you're so good to me."

"That's it."

comforted Li Xiuxiu, and also promoted the movie again. Shao Shuaijun accepted Hollywood's two largest newspapers, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. And an interview with the top video of the house.

In a café in Hollywood. Shao Shuaijun sat opposite several reporters.

"The box office of "Heartbeat" is not very ideal, what does Director Shao think about this problem?" The reporter of "Variety" is a beautiful woman, and she made a good start.

Shao Shuaijun said with a smile: "From the beginning, I didn't have great expectations for the box office of "Heartbeat". For me, whether it is "500 Days with Shamo" or this one, I don't fancy too much commercial potential. I hope to use these two movies to leave the audience with some good memories about love and growth. Everyone has finished reading and said yes, then my purpose has been achieved. ”

The reporter of "Hollywood Reporter" followed: "Director Shao, if you say that your directorial career is divided by "Night Watchman", before "Night Watchman", you had an absolute magic aura in the Chinese film market, and the movies you made were all blockbuster movies, and after "Night Watchman", the movies you made have a global magic aura. Now that "Heartbeat" has put an end to such an aura, do you feel discouraged? ”

"This box office magic aura is too exaggerated. I've always considered myself a commercial director, but I'm not a box office director, I think no matter how great the box office is, you must first have a story worth savoring, and an emotion worth savoring. ”

Shao Shuaijun leaned back in his chair casually, looking very free: "Before filming "Heartbeat", I had a lot of commercial film plans, but I pushed them off or postponed them. Because I just wanted to shoot such a pure love story, in fact, I never felt that the movies I made had to make money, and "The Night Watchman" didn't make money, and the reputation was not good. "Heartbeat" was 10.35 million in the first weekend, plus the 3.2 million box office that was screened one after another, as well as the subsequent box office, copyright transactions, DVD sales, etc., will not lose money. There is another good reputation, this is a success, and I certainly will not be discouraged. ”

"As a commercial director, why don't you pursue the box office and instead tend to tell stories?"

Shao Shuaijun laughed: "I used to be in China, and the domestic media called me a director who can tell stories, for our habits, the best way to call a director is not to say that this is a director who can make money, or that this is a director who makes literary films, but that this director can tell stories." When the story is told well, it is the highest level. Whether it's a commercial director or a literary film director, they are all pursuing a storytelling, and so am I. ”

"Don't pursue the box office anymore?"

"I've never been a director who wants to be at the box office."

"How so?"

"If I'm going to go after the box office, it's actually very simple. You know I wanted a lot of ideas, and I bought the rights to Twilight four years ago, and I knew then that Twilight was going to be a big hit, but in the end I didn't shoot it. The Hangover was also my idea a year ago, and again, I didn't direct it. I've always felt that as a director, I'm not easy-going, humble, in other words, I'm a very stubborn person, and I have a lot of bad tempers, or inexplicable ideas. ”

Shao Shuaijun waved his hand and strengthened his tone: "I'm the kind of director who chooses what to shoot according to his own preferences, and if I like it, I will shoot." I don't really like it, and I don't want to shoot even the best movie. Like a lot of people keep asking me, why don't you ever make a sequel? When I was in China, whether it was "Crazy Stone" or "Source Code" or "Painted Skin", many people wanted me to make a sequel. ”

"Then why not shoot?"

"Because I think that when you make a movie, you make the first one because you have a lot of ideas to tell, and you will be very passionate and full of struggle. When you shoot a sequel again, what you want to say is finished in the first part, you no longer say whatever you want to say, you have to contact the first part to cater to such a plot, thus sacrificing many aspects. That's why I rarely shoot sequels, I hope to start a start, scribble what I want to say, and leave the rest to others to improve. Or just come up with a big plan, like Nolan's Batman or Lucas's Star Wars, which can tell a story in the form of several movies, rather than rushing to continue writing it for the box office. Shao Shuaijun bragged vigorously.

"Do you think there is a reason for this, you have achieved fame, have a huge career, and have enough capital to do what you want to do, so that you can be more refined in shooting, and you can put aside commercial factors to do what you want to do?"

"There's a reason for that. In the past, I was afraid of losing money when I made movies, and I was afraid that I would lose and be worth nothing. But now that you've had some commercial success, and you can squander that resource at will, it's really, really hard to keep the same attitude, and before you know it, you want to try something other than money. ”

"Does it mean that you will no longer take the commercial director route in the future?"

Shao Shuaijun shook his head: "How to say it, it used to be to position yourself." Now I don't need to position, I can shoot as much as I want. ”

"We know that Director Shao's filming is very fast, in less than five years, nine movies have been released. After "Heartbeat", are there any new plans, and is it convenient to reveal what direction it is? It's no longer a pure love theme, is it? ”

"You must not know how many plans I have this year, and now I have several scripts in the collection of Summit Entertainment, all of which I want to shoot. But I don't know which one to choose. I had earlier hoped to make The Hunger Games, and it would be fair to say that it was another commercial production that was not inferior to Twilight. The storyboards of the script are almost ready, but sometimes a good movie doesn't have to be made by yourself, if you shoot everything by yourself, my plan can at least be scheduled until 2020, haha. So, I'm also choosing, what to shoot next. ”

"Can you tell me about it, is it a big production?"

"I'm not sure about this, haha, but I think if nothing else, my next few works will be commercial. As for the subject matter, it straddles comedy, fantasy and science fiction. Shao Shuaijun said funny.

He is now hesitant to plan three films, "Teddy Bear", "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "The Hunger Games", which he remembers to have grossed about the same. And the box office and reputation of the three movies are not bad, as long as they are filmed, they can achieve huge fame and benefits. He wants to shoot them all, but he just doesn't know which one to shoot first.

In fact, in terms of long-term planning, "The Hunger Games" should be postponed, as a pillar series to succeed "Twilight", and continue to develop films with a teen theme. It's just that Shao Shuaijun of "The Hunger Games" has been very well prepared, but he is afraid that if he delays for too long, the previous inspiration will run away.

And "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is a science fiction movie, and if it is filmed now, it will be able to revitalize the entire "Planet of the Apes" series, and then continue to dig out new works.

It doesn't matter when "Teddy Bear" was made, but the advantage is that the film is simple and there are no challenges other than a teddy bear that requires special effects. If you try it, you can finish shooting in a month, and then post-production will be carried out without delay.

Which one should be chosen for filming, Shao Shuaijun has not decided for the time being.

didn't dwell on this aspect more, and chatted about the plot and behind-the-scenes of "Heartbeat" again, and the interview ended here.

On the other hand, after the box office failure in the first week, the theater chain for the next week has been determined to be cut to 2,458 theaters.

The dream of a high box office is no longer a show.

But it can move the audience, Shao Shuaijun feels that it is worth it.

At least I can say: "I have passed the period of making movies for money......" (to be continued......