Speaking of both ends, when Lei Weidong was happy because he had gained Shangguan Xiaobao and Shangguan Xiaowei, he didn't know that there was a great American director who was preparing to come to him in Hong Kong, and he was the future Hollywood director Steven. Spielberg.

On a passenger plane from the United States to Hong Kong, Spielberg flashed all kinds of information in his mind, although he had never seen Lei Weidong, but it can be seen from Lei Weidong's script that Lei Weidong is not a simple character.

And before setting off again, Spielberg used his connections to learn a lot of information about Lei Weidong, knowing that although Lei Weidong is very young, he is a very discerning figure, and more importantly, this person is still a billionaire, not short of money, and whether he can get the script from Lei Weidong Spielberg is not sure.

But with a glimmer of hope, Spielberg also flew to Hong Kong.

At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, when it comes to Hollywood directors, there are a few people who can't miss it no matter what. There's George here. Lucas and Steven. Spielberg both, both of whom are hailed as one of the four greatest directors of the twentieth century.

In the United States, Hollywood films have also experienced a series of blows and challenges from the late 40s to the mid-50s.

First, in May 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the long-delayed Paramount case under antitrust law, illegalizing the monopoly of large corporations and requiring production companies to abandon the business of distributing and operating movie theaters.

This cut off the main source of revenue for the big companies, forced the companies to drastically reduce film production and lay off employees, which led to the collapse of the MGM empire and the beginning of the rise of American independent film companies and producers in Hollywood.

In the U.S., the most critical part of the entire film market process is production and screening.

As for the distribution link, because the antitrust law caused the collapse of the MGM empire, the big Hollywood companies could not directly control the movie theaters, and began to implement the "theater system".

The "cinema system" allows the owner of the cinema chain to be both an intermediate distributor and an exhibitor, and can directly get the film from the distribution agent or even the film distributor, and arrange the screening immediately according to the importance of the film, and the intermediate distribution link of the film is streamlined to the greatest extent.

Unlike in the past, when a film was released, it had to be stripped of a large amount of distribution fees by the eight major Hollywood studios.

Of course, because the eight major film companies are strong, and there are many theaters that have signed contracts or indirectly controlled by them, if you want your film to achieve a better box office, it is best to cooperate with the eight major Hollywood companies.

Although doing so will be stripped of the skin of the eight major film companies. But you must know that the same film, the same schedule of Twentieth Century Fox may be released at the box office of 50 million, while a small distribution company or theater chain may only release 30 million box office.

After all, in the United States, it is capitalism, a society in which capital is king.

Of course, in the 70s, the rise of Hollywood movies was still due to George . Lucas and Steven. The rise of a large number of commercial directors such as Spielberg.

In Alternate Time and Space, 1977, George. Lucas filmed Star Wars, started the Star Wars series, and even formed a unique Star Wars culture in the United States.

And in 1975, Steven. Spielberg filmed "Jaws", and later "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" made him the most famous director of the time.

With the two of them as the core, the big commercial director soon developed technocratic films into a kind of mainstream commercial films.

In 1980, Martin. Scorse's Raging Bull found its foothold in the arts and the public, modernizing mainstream Hollywood cinema.

And with Martin. Scorsese, Francis. Coppola, Woody Allen, Cameron and a large number of excellent commercial directors appeared, and Hollywood films began to rise after the low ebb of cinema in the seventies.

Relying on the strong capital strength of the big American conglomerates, Hollywood's commercial films continue to conquer cities around the world, conquering one box office powerhouse after another, and defeating European films and Hong Kong films one after another.

By the end of the nineties, Hollywood films could be said to dominate the world film market.

But that's all for later, now Steven. Spielberg was not yet one of the four major Hollywood ace directors.

Because now Steven. Spielberg only filmed the blockbuster films "Jaws" and "Contact of the Third Kind", and now he is just an ordinary Hollywood director, at best, a somewhat famous director, not the person who can directly compete with the bosses of major Hollywood companies.

And Steven. The reason why Spielberg will make a plane to Hong Kong is that he needs to start a few days ago in George. Lucas said of a script where he saw it.

George. Lucas and Steven. It's no secret in Hollywood that Spielberg and the two are good friends, and they've been good friends since they were young.

If the relationship between the two people was not so close, the two would not have collaborated on so many films, let alone co-founded the famous film company DreamWorks.

However, unlike Spielberg, a prolific director, George . Lucas is not only a film director and a tech maniac, but also a screenwriter and producer.

With Hollywood's top special effects company, George During his lifetime, Lucas directed several limited works such as the autobiographical "American Painting" and the "Star Wars" series.

However, although the works are few, it does not hinder George. Lucas became one of Hollywood's most recognizable directors because of George . Lucas's life's work on Star Wars is still a fan favorite in the 21st century, and countless merchandise has spawned.

Costumes, props, cards, video games, etc., have had a profound impact on American culture, creating billions of dollars in wealth for Lucas.

And the most speechless thing is when Lucas decided to bring the long-brewing space epic idea to the screen, and used his three-inch tongue to flick millions of investments from Twentieth Century Fox to start filming "Star Wars".

WHEN LUCAS REALIZED THAT THERE WAS NO IDEAL FILM EFFECTS PRODUCTION COMPANY IN THE COUNTRY TO PRODUCE STAR WARS, HE DECIDED TO TAKE ON THE ROLE OF "MAGICIAN" HIMSELF, AND ILM (INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC) WAS BORN.

And after "Star Wars" was completed, trouble came again.

Originally, "Star Wars" was originally scheduled for Christmas 1976, but due to various post-production overages (overtime + overbudget), it could only be scheduled until May 1977.

And when 20th Century Fox began distribution work, fewer than 40 theaters were willing to show it, leading to the classic film nearly dying.

And the reason why this happened was because many people thought that Lucas's "Star Wars" was really rubbish, and even the "Star Wars" photographer at the time said that he was shooting something.

All kinds of bad predictions made 20th Century Fox also have no confidence in "Star Wars".

In order to make "Star Wars" go smoothly, Lucas made an astonishing move, which was to give up his director's remuneration of half a million dollars, and instead exchange it for the right to sell "Star Wars" merchandise and the ownership of the sequel.

For Lucas's decision, many people thought he was crazy. At that time, everyone looked down on Lucas, thinking that he had wasted half a million dollars and gotten something useless.

Since Lucas is so cooperative, 20th Century Fox is also open, and the theater is red and white: "If you don't cooperate, you will not be given the screening rights of the popular film "Midnight Love". ”

It turns out that "Midnight Love" is a god compared to "Star Wars"?

Because of the threat of 20th Century Fox, the theater chain could only agree to the release of "Star Wars", but in the first week, it only made $1,554,000 after only 40 shows! That's a net profit of $38,850...... Oh, I can't count it!

In short, "Star Wars" was an instant hit, and the next thing is to continue to expand the number of screenings.