"He is the most successful commercial director of all time in Hollywood, one of the most compelling directors of the twentieth century, and each of his films is setting new personal box office records and setting new benchmarks for future films. He has only been in the film for more than ten years, but the works he directed have won a total box office of more than 7.5 billion US dollars, he is persistent, hard-working and tenacious, and has been praised by the North American media as the representative of the American dream. Rosenberg! ”

Standing backstage, Duke listened to the narration accompanied by dance music in the front hall, waited patiently, and the applause that rang out from time to time clearly told him that in addition to the host Yang Lan in the studio, there were many audiences.

"Last week, the 8th Shanghai International Film Festival opened. At this film festival, the famous Hollywood director Duke? Rosenberg's arrival became one of the biggest highlights of the event. ”

There was another burst of applause, and seeing the director's signal, Duke walked onto the stage, waved his hand to the audience first, smiled slightly, and sat opposite Yang Lan.

For Duke, who has been on the cover of Time magazine several times, this is just a small battle.

He wears his usual dark casual suit, natural and easy-going, with capable short hair and vigorous, and the whole person seems to be completely stuck in the mature and charming age of thirty.

Yang Lan shook Duke and said, "We have no problem communicating in Chinese." ”

"As long as you don't speak local slang." Duke's Mandarin is even more fluent than many Shanghai people, "and idioms." ”

Hearing his words, there was a voice of admiration from the audience.

"I spent a long time in the United States, and in the eyes of many Western language geniuses, Chinese was a nightmare." Yang Lan was obviously controlling the rhythm of the interview, "How long did it take you to reach this level now?" ”

"About three years." Duke recalled. "It's probably been such a long time, and I'm still a little talented in this area."

"So, you're still a linguistic genius?" Yang Lan asked.

Duke shook his head, "No, I only know English and Chinese, and I have also studied other languages." But there has been no progress, for example, in French, I still only know a few basic words. Maybe it's because of fate, I feel very simple to learn Chinese. ”

Then, as in France and other countries, Duke began to talk about how interested he was in Chinese culture.

"Are you interested in Chinese culture and have you ever watched Chinese movies?"

Hearing this, Duke replied softly, "Yes." But not much, like Jack? Chen's action comedy and Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger." ”

Yang Lan asked again, "What do you think is the biggest gap between Chinese films and Hollywood movies?" ”

"Industrial base!"

This answer obviously exceeded the expectations of everyone at the scene, and there was even a sound of surprise in the audience.

Yang Lan asked with a little curiosity, "Not somewhere else?" ”

Of course, there are other things, but this involves multiple factors such as culture, politics and economy, and Duke doesn't want to go too far, he said. "Personally, I think it's the industrial base, or technology."

Don't wait for the other person to ask. "Before the '90s, Hollywood was nowhere near as prosperous as it is now, and European cinema still had the strength to compete with Hollywood, but that has all changed since the early '90s, if you look closely," he explains. For more than a decade, Hollywood's most successful films in the world have been supported by technology. ”

"Is the next step for Chinese films to pay attention to the development of technology?"

"Cinema is the result of a combination of factors, and technology is only one part of it." Duke thought for a moment, "Every director has his own style. For example, I myself have to be advanced enough to turn the picture in my mind into reality, so some people think that I am a director of technical streams. ”

Having said this, Yang Lan suddenly realized that the initiative was snatched away by Duke unconsciously, which is a big taboo for talk shows, she quickly changed the topic, "In your movies, excellent stunt technology can always create visual effects that make people stunned and enthusiastic, and four of the ten highest-grossing movies in the history of the movie box office are from you, what do you think contributed to your success?" ”

"Dream, persevere, and work hard." Duke paused, then added, "And the growing theater chain." For example, ten years ago, it was very remarkable that a film could be opened in 3,000 theaters in North America, but now it is not difficult to collect 4,000 theaters, and the development of theaters and the increase in the number of screens are one of the most basic conditions for a film's box office increase. ”

This is a very simple truth, Yang Lan and the people in the audience are nodding.

Duke added, "Although television, the Internet and disc players are all developing at a rapid pace, the cinema viewing experience will not be replaced for a long time to come, and films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy are completely different from watching on the big screen and watching on the small screen." ”

Yang Lan reacted very quickly and immediately asked, "Is this the reason why you focus on shooting stunt movies?" ”

Duke shrugged his shoulders and didn't deny it, "It's one of the reasons, now that the audience can see the film more and more, why do you have to go to the theater?" You have to show something that you can't see on the small screen. ”

Yang Lan obviously did her homework for the interview, and asked, "In your opinion, if the movie is a big hit, does the use of film technology play a role in it?" ”

"I used CG on a large scale for the first time on Independence Day, and The Matrix and the Lord of the Rings trilogy also used a lot of technology." Duke didn't shy away from the audience at all, and said directly, "I don't think moviegoers care how the movie is made, the audience just wants a certain experience, they like movies that attract them and can take them on a journey, like The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings trilogies." ”

Hearing Duke say this, everyone in the audience nodded unconsciously, Duke has done a lot of research, and few ordinary viewers care about how the movie is made, what they want is simple pleasure.

Seeing that Duke unknowingly grabbed the lead again, Yang Lan changed the topic again, "This time the response to the "Hurricane Rescue" you brought was very good. I have here a copy of the latest box office statistics, from last Thursday's release to now, the film's Chinese box office has reached a total of 28.65 million yuan. ”

She looked at Duke and asked, "How do you feel about it?" ”

"I'm very happy that the audience liked my film."

This number looks inconspicuous. But now it's only 2004, and there are very few movies that can exceed 100 million yuan at the box office in a year, and the data of 28.65 million RMB is already quite good.

"This film was released at the same time in China and the United States." Yang Lan continued, "Is the North American box office statistics out? ”

Seeing Duke nod slightly, she asked, "Can you share that with us?" ”

"Absolutely." Duke recalled the data he got at noon and said, "Three days over the weekend in North America. $51.25 million. ”

"Box office top?"

"Box office number one."

"Hurricane Rescue" is not a big-budget commercial film at all, and it can get $51.25 million in the first weekend, and both Duke and Warner Bros. are very satisfied.

"Congratulations." Yang Lan said with a bright smile, "There is another film that is going to be a big hit at the box office." ”

"Thank you." Duke unceremoniously accepted it.

If "Hurricane Rescue" wants to be a big hit like "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, it is absolutely impossible, but with the situation of the first weekend. It's not hard to make a profit at the box office.

"You've made so many movies from the time you got into Hollywood until now." Yang Lan turned the conversation to the box office. "After entering the new century, the cost of filming movies is rising, and the market pressure is very high, will you feel a little nervous before the release of your own movie?"

"You're nervous, and you're even going to lose sleep because of anxiety," Duke said, gesturing to his forehead. "There are all sorts of ideas that come out of here, including the consequences of failure, until you see the box office figures, and you can't breathe a sigh of relief."

Yang Lan's topic turned to pressure, "Your work has very high expectations around the world. China is no exception, so what kind of pressure does this put on you? ”

"Pressure is something every director has to bear, and pressure is often the driving force to move forward." Duke's fingers tapped slowly on the armrest of the chair, "You can have different opinions about attention, although there is a lot of pressure, but it is also a great opportunity, I have also made small-budget films, and the big challenge of small-budget films is how to attract audiences to your work, and the great thing about shooting this kind of blockbuster is that you know that it has the opportunity to meet a global audience, and as a filmmaker, this is the best opportunity." ”

The interview gradually came to an end, and after asking a few more questions, Yang Lan gave the audience a chance to ask questions.

A male viewer in his thirties, who was the first to stand up and ask, "Director Rosenberg, I became your fan in the nineties." ”

"Thank you, it's my pleasure."

With that, Duke gestured to him to continue, and the man added, "You make movies almost at a rate of one a year, how do you maintain such creative energy?" ”

After thinking about it for a few seconds, Duke said, "I enjoy the process of making a film, especially when I'm working with a team of creative people to make a film, and it's very exciting." ”

"Take a film like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, where we have to create a new world, design a whole new creature, and I love that process, if you do what you love, it doesn't count as work, and if you are interested in what you do, you don't have to work for a day, so my plan is never to work, making movies is my greatest interest."

Next up was a female viewer who asked a question related to interest, "Why is making movies your biggest interest?" ”

"I think the greatest power of cinema is that it can bring the audience experiences and experiences that they have never had, whether they exist in reality or do not exist, fantasy and so on, cinema is a great way for the audience to see things that they have never imagined or seen."

By the end of the half-hour interview, Duke's trip to China was drawing to a close. (To be continued......)