"Trick-or-treating!"

On October 31, Halloween, children's cries for candy rang out everywhere. In Brentwood under the night sky, Duoduo and the neighborhood children were also begging for candy from house to house, and she was dressed as a goblin, which was very perfunctory, almost just carrying a burlap bag, after all, it was her brother who was contracted to dress her, not her sister.

This group of nearly ten children has been dressed as Harry Potter, superheroes, Pikachu, ...... The goblins are even more shabby.

The Brady couple who opened the door were both smiling, ready for a long time, and the two took out a small bag of candy to deliver, "To you, to you." ”

The children cheered, the flowers giggled crisply, the burlap bag in their hands was already half full of candy, and they were so happy to think that they could eat them all, there are not so many candies to eat, tooth decay is the most feared thing at home, and Halloween is the day of harvest.

After begging for candy, the children laughed and walked down the porch, across the lawn in the front yard, and towards Ye's house across the street.

"Hehehehehehe. Just as they were approaching the lawn of the Ye family, suddenly, a tall black figure emerged from the bushes in the front yard, as if it appeared out of thin air, he was dressed in a black shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a black leather coat, his fake hair and head hung down, his face was painted white, the corners of his mouth were painted with laughing lines, heavy black eye shadow, and long black marks were drawn vertically on both eyes.

The children were stunned, only to see that his face was full of terrible smirk, showing neat white teeth, and his calm voice was full of madness: "Hello, children. ”

"Ah!" a little witch girl screamed, and everyone retreated, and Duoduo said in a hurry: "You are my brother! Don't be afraid, everyone, he is my brother." ”

"Hahahaha!" The mysterious man in black suddenly laughed madly, his smile was so crazy, his laughter was so penetrating, and he slowly approached them, "Hahahahahahaha! Leave your candy and there will be nothing, otherwise, hahahaha!"

"Ahh

Duoduo was a little frightened, swallowing saliva, the demon seems to be disguised, is this brother?

"Oooh!" the mysterious man in black, who was raining candy, let out a strange cry, raised his hands, and showed that he was unharmed, and gradually forced the children back to the sidewalk in the front yard of Brady's house, and his smile became more distorted, and his laughter became more crazy: "Wow ho!! hahahahahaha!"

There was a little fat man who was so frightened that he almost fell to the ground: "Jesus ......" The mysterious man in black tilted his head and twisted his body, "Jesus Christ? Have you ever heard this passage: Jesus Christ walked into the hotel, and he gave the innkeeper three nails, and then asked, "Can you take me in for the night?"

"Ahh!!hh

Duoduo was also so shocked that she ran straight home, clutching the burlap bag tightly with both hands, she must not live without these candies!

The mysterious man in black stood there motionless, the crazy smile on his face disappeared, and with a gloomy look, he took out a zippo lighter and lit it on fire, threw it to the ground, and made a siloding sound, as if a gasoline burning crow pattern was lit on the ground, and then made a hoarse cry, as if a crow flew down to his shoulder.

He laughed heartily, "The Crow" is a classic, and the next one, "Hunter's Night"!

Ye Wei picked up the lighter, picked up some candy and prepared to eat it, when he turned around to leave, he was stunned, only to see a girl in an ordinary fashionable autumn coat standing across the street, she couldn't help but laugh, Lily.

"Hey ......"

"Is it fun to bully children?" said Lily, as if scolding, walked across the street towards him, her eyes full of smiles.

"Aha!" Ye Wei laughed maniacally again, stopped abruptly, and nodded: "Yes, it's fun." You're begging for candy here?"

"It's not. Lily patted the light brown crossbody bag on her side, there was the sound of candy in it, and said: "I took Duoduo out to play before, she went crazy when she saw candy, I told her not to eat so much, she asked me to give her more on Halloween, because the candy I got that day will not cause tooth decay." I agreed, so. ”

"She's going to have bad teeth this time, forget it, she's going to replace it anyway. Ye Wei shrugged his shoulders and didn't plan to care.

Lily suddenly said, "I thought you were out playing." ”

Ye Wei was stunned, what do you mean? Actually, this is the first time they have seen each other on Halloween, they haven't known each other in '03, they haven't been together in '04, he's in Toronto, and then now. He spread his hands, "I am, am I now? ”

The toffee in her hand gave her one, and she also opened one and ate it, and asked, "Why don't you drive?"

"Not very late, not very far, wanted to walk. Lily opened the candy wrapper and ate the candy, frowning, "But isn't that the Halloween troll circulating here are you?"

"Of course not, I was also scared when I was a child!" Ye Wei walked to his side and said angrily to her next to him: "And the damn OJ Simpson! That bitch raised it, it was really super terrifying in those years, that bitch raised it." "The 1994 Simpson murder was the site of Brentwood.

"Yes. Lily nodded, "That guy does, but don't swear, be careful to hear Duoduo." ”

Ye Wei said OK: "That bad guy." Lily smiled, "That's much better." By the way, your documentary is great, I almost cried yesterday watching it, my eyes were a little damp, and I was very moved. Ye Wei suddenly smiled: "Thank you, Bud said that he cried at the end, I don't believe it." ”

"It's possible. Lily rolled her eyes and smiled, "That's Bard." ”

"Lily!!" Duoduo, who carefully walked out of the house at this time, saw something, and immediately ran to her in ecstasy, "It's Lily, it's Lily! Be careful! watch out for him, he's a demon!" she rushed into Lily's arms, her eyes wary and timidly looking at the man in black.

"Haha, he's the only one, your brother. Hearing Lily's laughter, Duoduo was shocked: "What a brother!? But he's weird!"

"Hehehe. Ye Wei turned around and walked to the south, looking for the next group of children, while gently patting his thighs with his hands, he let out a strange voice like a singing: "Ding ding, Ding Ding, children, children......"

"What is he doing?" "What does that mean?"

"I don't know. Lily put her arms around her and watched Ye Wei walk away, "Sometimes, he is a hero, and sometimes, he is a big child." ”

"He's going to be scary!"

"It's okay, he doesn't really bully people. ”

"That'...... What if someone bullies him?"

"He'll fight back. Dorothy, see what this is?"

"The candy !! all mine?wow!!"

※※

"Weige, we know that we have wronged you like this, but we all have to focus on the overall situation in this matter. ”

On Wednesday, November 2, there are 3 days left until the LMS premiere and 9 days before the LMS release.

Ye Wei didn't go to school that morning, and went to the DreamWorks headquarters to attend a small meeting, about the LMS competition awards season, the most important thing is the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars.

Not many people in attendance, Terry Price, Gary Gozman, Herman Wright, the independent communications consultant hired to manage the LMS Awards, a shrewd middle-aged white man with a reputation in the mid-range of the industry, neither top nor bad.

At this time, a heavy atmosphere was enveloped in the small conference room, and the three middle-aged people at the conference table all had stern expressions, while Ye Wei frowned.

The 63rd Golden Globe Awards will be held on January 16 next year, and the nominees will be announced on December 13 this year, leaving only one month to do the prize event.

"Little Miss Sunshine" signed up for the musical/comedy category, and all the awards were registered, but the event had to be focused, especially since DreamWorks offered very little money, usually a movie costs 200,000-3 million, or more. But LMS only has a budget of 1.5 million, and this money is not used up in the Golden Globe nomination stage, but the total!

I really don't know whether it's better to copy a few more DVDs of the preview film, or hold a few more judges' viewing parties, or the crew's cocktail party.

This must be emphasized, and now the three of them are the main Best Screenplay Award on the Golden Globe, Bryslin's Best Supporting Actress Award, and Alan Arkin's Best Supporting Actor Award.

Hanks and Roberts applied for Best Actor and Actress, and they had their own influence, and they had limited funds to save money on it. Herman Wright thinks that even if the two are nominated, there is little hope of winning the award, because there is no particularly big breakthrough in the role, and they have 4/6 and 3/5 Golden Globes respectively, so the goal is to be nominated.

And Ye Wei signed up for the best director...... Abandon.

Because there is no hope of nomination, if I had won the award at the Tokyo International Film Festival a few days ago, the momentum would have been completely different, just because the Golden Globes are organized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) and have only 82 official members. This group of judges attaches great importance to the film's film festival and critics' achievements. The honor of the A-category film festival will be very convincing, and vice versa, Ye Wei didn't even get anything in TIFF, which created a signal that he couldn't do it, and it was not time to choose him.

The Golden Globes are the biggest bellwether for the Oscars, firstly because it is good at predicting the choice of the Oscars, and secondly, because its influence will also influence the minds of more than 5,000 Oscar jury members.

In other words, once you give up the Golden Globe Award for Best Director nomination impact, it is equivalent to giving up the Oscar nomination impact, and basically Ye Wei can't get any heavyweight Best Director nomination with LMS. The failure on TIFF caused a chain reaction of a series of failures.

"We know how hard you've put in, and you definitely deserve a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director. Herman Wright looked regretful, "But we are not judges, and to be honest, the best director award at the event is a waste of money, and it will lead the judges to hesitate, dragging down the nomination prospects for other awards." ”

Gary Gozman, who was sitting across from him, also advised: "It's a shame, Weige, if there was another choice, we wouldn't do it." ”

"The movies I made. Ye Wei, who was silent on the left, suddenly spoke, his eyes closed, "I personally dissected and adjusted the script, I drew 100% of the storyboard script by hand, I shot it out one by one on the set, and I participated in the whole post-production...... Yes, if you agree that it can be nominated for Best Picture, of course I deserve to be nominated for Best Director!"

He couldn't help but be a little excited, and he had been looking forward to working hard to get nominated for the Golden Globe Awards and Oscars, but now that the film has not been released, he said that there is no chance and no hope?

"What else can I say?" Ye Wei looked at the expressionless three people, and already understood that this meeting was actually to sue him. He said in a deep voice: "Who here doesn't want to take 10 million to do activities, who doesn't want to hit every damn award? We don't have enough money, I'm too young, I understand." But!"

His face was full of seriousness, "Is there really no way? I don't need 100%, even if it's only 1%, I'm going to seize this 1% and fight for myself! I need a chance." ”

The silence in the conference room became more and more depressing, and Terry Price's expression became even more strange, and he stopped talking: "Weige, there is one more thing, about Oscar......" He stopped talking and looked at Herman Wright, unwilling to say it himself.

"It's the Oscar for Best Picture. Herman said calmly.

The registration for this year's Oscars will close on December 1, and it will not affect sooner or later, and LMS has not yet submitted the registration list and is ready to submit.

"What?" Ye Wei's heart burst out, this is the purpose of the meeting?

Herman said: "Right now, you can only sign up for the best picture by three producers. The idea is that LMS is signed by Gary Gozman, Peter Heller, Mark Foligno. ”

That is, Ye Wei is not signed.

Ye Wei blinked, a little unresponsive for a while, and glanced back and forth at the three of them, "Excuse me? I'm the first producer." ”

The three bylines are the three that dominate the production activities, and Marc Foligno is the third producer!

The atmosphere was even more dreary, like the eve of a storm.

Herman added: "However, you are now 17 years old, and you will be 18 years old when your birthday is next February." You're the number one producer, but that's scary! We were okay at first, but after TIFF's failure, we reconsidered, and if you signed it...... "He paused," LMS wouldn't have gotten the nomination. ”

Suddenly, Ye Wei's face turned red, and he took a deep breath, not knowing what to think.

Price and Gonzman continued to be silent.

Although everyone knows that "Little Sunshine Beauty" is Ye Wei's production achievement, from planning to execution, from just a project with only a script that has been shelved, to now having the opportunity to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, it is all his credit, and it is he who created this qiē little by little.

He is the most qualified to sign it, and if he wins it, he is the most qualified to lift the trophy, but ......

"If there was any other choice, we wouldn't do it. Gozman sighed again.

Herman-Wright went on to say: "It's not just about us, it's about what our competitors are. If LMS is nominated for an Oscar and signs your name, it will be caught up by competitors for counter-propaganda, and all you have to do is print the phrase 'Choose 'Little Sunshine Beauty!' The Oscars are about to have an 18-year-old Best Director!18-year-old Best Producer!' and we're done. ”

Propaganda and counter-propaganda are part of the PR battle for awards, and many times they play a decisive role, and group psychology is a very strange thing.

"Weige, we know that you have been wronged like this......" Price said in a very small voice.

"Looks like you've all decided. Ye Weiha laughed, he didn't impact the best director and didn't sign the best picture, he was not a fool, he knew what kind of propaganda policy this was: Ye Wei was no longer the first producer of LMS, just a child who was led to work by a group of adults who were either highly respected or talented newcomers.

When it comes to LMS in the future, no one will say that it was produced by Ye Wei, it was produced by Gozman and them, and it was their movie.

"Haha. He laughed a few more times, "So you think I'll forget everything, is it the Oscar for Best Editing, and you're not going to sign me?"

"Yes......" Herman nodded, "just sign William Goldenberg and have a better chance of winning." ”

"Are you kidding me!The ending of William's cut is to push the cart home, and now the ending of going to eat ice cream is cut by me!" Ye Wei was furious, he couldn't help but smash the table, his face turned even redder, and his eyes were very sharp, "The editing was done by me and him together, and I cut more than him!, why can't I sign it!?"

"But, calm down!" Gozman shouted.

"How to calm down?" Ye Wei took a few deep breaths, still angry: "Every filmmaker, every creator, after hard work, will want to be recognized and praised! I'm sorry, I'm not James Joyce, I'm not Van Gogh, I don't like to wait until I've been dead for many years before someone says that guy is good!"

I don't like it, and neither do my family, my friends, do you think it's just my own business to sign or not? I told my sister a long time ago that your brother made a movie! And your idea is, no, it's none of my business. ”

Gonzman and Price didn't speak, they both shook their heads.

Herman said earnestly: "Why don't you think so, you signed it, and as a result, LMS didn't get nominations and awards, best picture, best editing, nothing." Will people be happy? What about you? Weige, ask yourself, do you want to be nominated for an Oscar without your signature, or do you want to have your signature but not nominated?"

"Your lobbying skills are really good, why don't you use it to persuade the judges not to discriminate against my age?" Ye Wei asked, his eyes flashing.

He felt very uncomfortable and complicated, MPAA is one thing, "his own people" is another...... In fact, I knew that I didn't have any of my own people, only actual interests.

"Is there really no way?" Ye Wei calmed himself down, his mind was racing, interests were originally the bond of this community, as long as they thought that it was possible and had greater interests, things would be different...... Something suddenly came to mind!

"I think we can wait for the release of the film before deciding, and see how the evaluation and reputation are, anyway, there is still a while before the registration deadline!"

The more he thought about this, the clearer Ye Wei's mind became, and he said to the three of them: "I have a question, if the reputation of LMS reviews is very, very good, and film critics are crazy about me, then do I have a chance to catch the last train to hit the Golden Globe Award for Best Director nomination? Those Oscars also let me sign it?"

Herman was silent for a moment before he said: "Actually, we have thought about this plan for a long time, there are some films that don't require a lot of funds, and the nominees have not been anyone before, just because of the crazy evaluation of word-of-mouth has become a big hit, this is some, but it really has to have a very high evaluation and a very big word-of-mouth effect." ”

"That's it!" Ye Wei slammed his fist on the table and said with a smile: "The matter hasn't been decided yet, is it?

"We're not sure. Gonzman was not a little optimistic, "Whether LMS can do that, we're not sure, could have swept TIFF ......"

"Are there any indicators?" Ye Wei asked, "How can you tell if it's okay?"

Herman replied: "The opinion of the film critics, those association awards are indicators, and the statistics of those rating sites are also indicators. ”

Ye Wei asked: "How much is the freshness of Rotten Tomatoes?" Herman thought: "At least 90% of mainstream film critics, but more than 95% can make up for the failure at the film festival; ”

"How much box office?" Ye Wei asked again, "100 million? is not enough?" How about 300 million? That's enough for us to be the number one road movie, how about it?"

"The box office is not just a matter of talking......" Price couldn't help but speak, 1. 300 million? Weige is fighting nonsense.

"At least I have a goal now!" Ye Wei's expression was terrifyingly serious, "What I can't stand the most is that there is no goal, no possibility, and no opportunity." Now I have it! I'm going to tell the world about that goal! Golden Globe Award for Best Director, have you signed me up? I'm confident that I'll be nominated. ”

He is a teenager and hot-blooded, but the three of them don't have this kind of thought, if he doesn't repeatedly create zào miracles, they will scoff at it.

Gozman shook his head and sighed, "I can only say, but, we don't know. ”

"Then let's see what happens. Ye Wei said in a deep voice, "When the film is released, everything will be determined." ”

Herman still said calmly: "Actually, if you have to sign, none of us can stop it, you go to the producers' union to make a fuss and talk to the media, you don't agree, no one dares." But are you sure? Your goal is almost zero possible self-deception, what choices to make, you think, you think about it. "Yes, I've cut more than him!, why can't I sign it!?"

"But, calm down!" Gozman shouted.

"How to calm down?" Ye Wei took a few deep breaths, still angry: "Every filmmaker, every creator, after hard work, will want to be recognized and praised! I'm sorry, I'm not James Joyce, I'm not Van Gogh, I don't like to wait until I've been dead for many years before someone says that guy is good!"

I don't like it, and neither do my family, my friends, do you think it's just my own business to sign or not? I told my sister a long time ago that your brother made a movie! And your idea is, no, it's none of my business. ”

Gonzman and Price didn't speak, they both shook their heads.

Herman said earnestly: "Why don't you think so, you signed it, and as a result, LMS didn't get nominations and awards, best picture, best editing, nothing." Will people be happy? What about you? Weige, ask yourself, do you want to be nominated for an Oscar without your signature, or do you want to have your signature but not nominated?"

"Your lobbying skills are really good, why don't you use it to persuade the judges not to discriminate against my age?" Ye Wei asked, his eyes flashing.

He felt very uncomfortable and complicated, MPAA is one thing, "his own people" is another...... In fact, I knew that I didn't have any of my own people, only actual interests.

"Is there really no way?" Ye Wei calmed himself down, his mind was racing, interests were originally the bond of this community, as long as they thought that it was possible and had greater interests, things would be different...... Something suddenly came to mind!

"I think we can wait for the release of the film before deciding, and see how the evaluation and reputation are, anyway, there is still a while before the registration deadline!"

The more he thought about this, the clearer Ye Wei's mind became, and he said to the three of them: "I have a question, if the reputation of LMS reviews is very, very good, and film critics are crazy about me, then do I have a chance to catch the last train to hit the Golden Globe Award for Best Director nomination? Those Oscars also let me sign it?"

Herman was silent for a moment before he said: "Actually, we have thought about this plan for a long time, there are some films that don't require a lot of funds, and the nominees have not been anyone before, just because of the crazy evaluation of word-of-mouth has become a big hit, this is some, but it really has to have a very high evaluation and a very big word-of-mouth effect." ”

"That's it!" Ye Wei slammed his fist on the table and said with a smile: "The matter hasn't been decided yet, is it?

"We're not sure. Gonzman was not a little optimistic, "Whether LMS can do that, we're not sure, could have swept TIFF ......"

"Are there any indicators?" Ye Wei asked, "How can you tell if it's okay?"

Herman replied: "The opinion of the film critics, those association awards are indicators, and the statistics of those rating sites are also indicators. ”

Ye Wei asked: "How much is the freshness of Rotten Tomatoes?" Herman thought: "At least 90% of mainstream film critics, but more than 95% can make up for the failure at the film festival; ”

"How much box office?" Ye Wei asked again, "100 million? is not enough?" How about 300 million? That's enough for us to be the number one road movie, how about it?"

"The box office is not just a matter of talking......" Price couldn't help but speak, 1. 300 million? Weige is fighting nonsense.

"At least I have a goal now!" Ye Wei's expression was terrifyingly serious, "What I can't stand the most is that there is no goal, no possibility, and no opportunity." Now I have it! I'm going to tell the world about that goal! Golden Globe Award for Best Director, have you signed me up? I'm confident that I'll be nominated. ”

He is a teenager and hot-blooded, but the three of them don't have this kind of thought, if he doesn't repeatedly create zào miracles, they will scoff at it.

Gozman shook his head and sighed, "I can only say, but, we don't know. ”

"Then let's see what happens. Ye Wei said in a deep voice, "When the film is released, everything will be determined." ”

Herman still said calmly: "Actually, if you have to sign, none of us can stop it, you go to the producers' union to make a fuss and talk to the media, you don't agree, no one dares." But are you sure? Your goal is almost zero possible self-deception, what choices to make, you think, you think about it. ”