"Tony, how many people will be coming tomorrow?"

Outside the set, a white girl in the sit-in asked Tony, the white man in the lead.

Tony replied confidently, "At least 80." ”

The white girl's eyes lit up: "That adds up to nearly 120 people." ”

Tony continued confidently: "This is just the beginning, and there will be more to come. ”

The words made the protesters immediately excited.

"So that Batman can return to America."

"The summit will have to act."

"yes, yes."

Everyone gossiped and thought that great things could be expected.

At this time, several staff members came out of the set, which made everyone stop the discussion for the first time.

Soon, the staff made it clear what they wanted to do: let's talk.

Tony directly refused: "If you don't accept our demands, there's nothing to talk about." ”

The group of people behind him also agreed.

The staff was not surprised, he just continued: "The director said, let's have a conversation between Batman fans, you can talk about it if you are willing, and if you don't want to, you can only say that you don't love Batman that much." ”

As soon as these words came out, a group of people directly exploded the thunder.

"Who isn't a fan!"

"You don't love Batman."

"No one loves Batman more than I do!"

"Tony, talk, who's afraid of whom."

The die-hard fans were indignant, and Tony quickly agreed: "Okay, let's talk about it." ”

Soon, the group arrived at the onset warehouse, which was a small area that had been specially vacated.

After a while, Lu Ping'an appeared.

"I am the director Lu Ping'an you want to boycott."

Lu Ping'an went straight to the point: "You are fans of Batman, right?" ”

At this moment, Lu Ping'an's smile was kind, and his tone was a little majestic, and his aura was quite powerful in the eyes of these diehard fans.

Regarding aura, this is a little trick that Jiang Wen taught him.

To put it simply, it is to raise the volume, add a little bit of nobody, and at the same time look at the real eye.

There is also relevant content in the performance course, and Jiang Wen tailored some physical postures for Lu Ping'an, such as not always facing people completely when talking to people, you can be a little sideways.

In this way, there is also the aura that should be.

The effect is not bad, at least the more than 30 fans on the scene are relatively well-behaved.

Tony, the lead, was the first to reply: "That's right, we're all big fans, so we don't want the movie to be screwed up by you." ”

"How do you prove you're a fan?"

Lu Ping'an asked directly.

Tony was a little confused at the time, how to prove it?

Without waiting for an answer, Lu Ping'an asked again: "What year was Batman born, do you know?" ”

As soon as the question came up, Tony didn't speak, and a blonde girl next to him rushed to answer: "1938." ”

"Yes, it looks like you're a fan."

Lu Ping'an smiled and praised the girl, and then continued to stare at Tony and asked, "What is Bruce Wayne's birthday?" ”

Tony was stunned again, and thought for a while before answering, "February 19th!" ”

"That's right! So what about you, do you know Wayne's height and weight? ”

Lu Ping'an then named another black fan, but the man couldn't answer.

Lu Ping'an spread his hands and gave the answer: "188, 95kg, you see, I know Wayne better than you." ”

After speaking, he smiled and introduced: "Actually, I am also a fan of Batman."

Lu Ping'an then chatted with everyone about various things about Batman, and for fans, this kind of topic is naturally willing to talk, so the scene is really like a fan exchange meeting.

For Batman, since he is going to shoot a trilogy, Lu Ping'an has naturally done detailed homework, so in the face of this kind of scene, he is holding the handle.

So after chatting for a while, fans' sense of identification with Lu Ping'an actually increased a lot, and this is also Lu Ping'an's plan.

They are fans, not opponents, and the purpose of the protest is also out of the maintenance of the "paper people", belonging to the silly and cute people.

These people are annoying to look at, but if they are united, they may bring an unexpected boost to the project.

Of course, for helping or not, Lu Ping'an doesn't have that luxury.

He had only two purposes this time.

The first is to get these guys out of the way.

The second is that since these guys have already caused him some trouble, then try to let them create a wave of value elsewhere first, which can be regarded as compensation for Lu Ping'an.

After all, Lu Ping'an is not an artist.

Not much of a fan either.

Making movies is not about generating electricity for love.

He's a businessman!

A businessman should do what a businessman does.

So now, the first step in unity is to bring everyone closer together.

Now, everyone is a fan, Lu Ping'an asked everyone questions, and everyone also asked Lu Ping'an, and this identity is recognized.

It's like "two countries are separated by a strip of water."

That's what it means.

With an identity, the rest is easy.

Lu Ping'an asked directly: "Have you ever thought about how to shoot Batman to shoot well?" ”

A group of fans chirped and quickly discussed.

Some say that they want to be loyal to the original work, some say who they want to find to act, some say that they want to change the director of the pen, and so on.

It doesn't matter what you say, the important thing is that you don't agree on it.

So Lu Ping'an only waited for them to finish and asked: "Look, your own opinions are not unanimous, if the project is given to you, can you make a movie?" ”

Everyone was silent for a while, and someone stubbornly replied, "Of course you can!" ”

"Okay, even if it's filmed according to your ideas, how can you ensure that your Batman can succeed? If you don't succeed, it means that you still can't be resurrected, not only can't you be resurrected, but you will die more completely, how can you guarantee it? ”

Lu Ping'an then asked.

The crowd remained silent, but some people still stubbornly replied, "How can you guarantee it?" ”

Lu Ping'an smiled, full of confidence: "Because I am Lu Ping'an!" ”

Saying that, Lu Ping'an stood up and said: "Since I started to be a director, there have been more people who have questioned me, before the filming of "Chainsaw 1" started, I couldn't get a single investment, no one believed that this film could make money, let alone cut more than 100 million box office, "Happy Death Day" is the same, no one believes that I can make a good American comedy, and the previous "Source Code" You may have heard of it, no one believes that a Chinese science fiction film can be a global success, but it is a success! There is also "Latent", which will be released in a few days, with a production cost of 800,000 US dollars, I said that its global box office will still exceed 100 million US dollars, and no one believes it, and now the newspapers outside say that I am dizzy and too confident, and I will go home and go back to China in a few days. ”

Lu Ping'an's eyes swept across everyone present: "But I said, I am Lu Ping'an, my movies never disappoint, if you don't believe me, I can make a bet with you, start with "Latent", I said that the global box office of "Latent" will definitely exceed the cost by more than 20 times, and I will achieve great success again, do you dare to witness it?" ”

After everyone heard this, they looked at Lu Ping'an with different eyes.

There are shocks, there are doubts, and some think that Lu Ping'an is afraid that he is a madman, how can any department achieve such great success?

At the same time, some people think that such a confident Lu Ping'an seems to be super charming!

"What if you can't do it?"

After a few moments of silence, Tony, the leader, asked.

"Then I'll give up filming Batman."

"That's what you said!"

"Of course, the cameras recorded it, and I did what I said."

Lu Ping'an smiled and continued, "But I don't think this will happen. ”

"So sure?"

"Yes, because I'm on the road."

Lu Ping'an spread his hands, his eyes full of confidence.

A group of fans looked at each other, and sometimes it was not easy to be reasonable for such a confident person.

But now that the two sides have made a bet, let's see the outcome.

Then the conversation between the two sides ended, and Lu Ping'an made an appointment with everyone for three weeks to visit the set again.

Because at that time, "Latent" was about to be released for three weeks around the world, and the results could basically be finalized.

If you can't do what Lu Ping'an said, Lu Ping'an will give up directing, and if he does, these fans will participate in the documentary filming behind the scenes of Batman and become one of the protagonists of the documentary.

When fans heard this, they hoped that Lu Ping'an's new movie could achieve that result, otherwise it would seem like a loss to miss the documentary shooting.

After the fans left, Jimmy Fallon appeared, and he first blew to Lu Ping'an: "Lu, the way you spoke just now was too imposing, cool!" ”

After saying that, Jimmy Fallon was worried again: "But if you play like this, the stakes are too big, what if the results are not satisfactory?" ”

Lu Ping'an smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "So I have your help." ”

Jimmy Fallon smiled, "Don't worry. ”

In fact, he still doesn't care too much about Lu Ping'an's wins and losses, he just needs ratings!

Now, during the recording of the show, the director of Batman made a sky-high gamble, do you still have to worry about the ratings?

"The day after tomorrow, don't miss the TV!"

Jimmy Fallon smiled, took the recorded video and left, he was going to step up the production.

And Lu Ping'an returned to the crew and continued to work.

As for the matter of "Latent", he is not worried at all.

The global box office of the original "Latent" is 155 million, even if inflation is removed, there will be at least 100 million now in 04.

What's more, at present, "Latent" is about to be released, and the publicity that should have been done has already been done, and the scale of publicity and distribution will be an order of magnitude higher than that of the original version.

And this movie shouted the slogan "Create a miracle again" through Jimmy Fallon's talk show as early as last year.

In addition, Lu Ping'an has "Chainsaw 1" and "Death Day" as the foundation, and the attention of this film is already high, reaching 60 million, which is basically not a problem.

Of course, there are still a lot of doubts.

Some of it is really questioned, and some of it is propaganda that the summit spends money on.

"Can LU's third ultra-low-budget horror film create another box office miracle?" It has become one of the hot topics in the North American film industry in March.

The publicity effect is very good, but it can be better.

Because there is an Oscar in March.

At the same time, there are Angelina Jolie's suspense film "Mobile Murder", Jim Carrey's high-scoring film "Warm and Light", Disney's big-budget film, "Aragon" starring "Desert Cavalry", Heath Ledger and "The Lord of the Rings" actor "Elf Prince" starring "Kelly Party".

Among these films, there are good works and big productions, although none of them are extremely high at the box office, and they will not be much of a threat to "Latent" in terms of data.

But publicizing this battlefield is sometimes unreasonable.

Everyone else is making a big announcement, and you definitely can't be left behind.

Therefore, this "sky-high gamble" is used to ensure that "Latent" stands out in the publicity war, and even grabs a wave of popularity with the Oscars.

As for the effect, we will see in a few days.

Three days later, the day before the release of "Latent", Jimmy Fallon was still on the air of the latest episode of "The Late Show with David", which was hosted by the substitute class.

The show revisited the previously mentioned "Latent" gamble.

And the gamble of "Latent" is already eye-catching.

It is a low-probability event to create brilliance at a small cost, and if Lu Ping'an succeeds three times in a row, he can really be said to be a master in horror movies.

And this time, instead of reining in, Lu Ping'an doubled his chips.

Lu Ping'an actually wants to use the results of "Latent" to bet on "Batman"!

The production cost of "Latent" is 800,000, the total cost is 3 million, and the global box office does not reach 60 million US dollars, Lu Ping'an will give up directing "Batman"! And pay $16 million for the peak!

Boy!

Gambling!

This time, not only Lu Ping'an's horror movie fans are talking, but countless Batman fans are also talking!

Most horror movie fans are more excited, they feel that Lu Ping'an has such confidence, and "Latent" will definitely not be bad.

Batman fans are also mostly happy, most of them don't agree with the film company tossing Batman, not to mention that this time it's a Chinese horror film director.

However, this Chinese director seems to be very rigid, so confident, it seems that he should be very sure of the Batman movie.

In any case, if "Latent" really creates another miracle, it will prove that Lu Ping'an is powerful, and Batman is relieved to hand it over to him, isn't it.

Therefore, many people think that they should go to the cinema and then witness the gamble.

Lu Ping'an's gamble also had a great impact on the rest of the old American fans.

In the final analysis, Lao Mei's culture, especially in entertainment, is really more "crazy" in terms of road safety.

And Lu Ping'an is not a brainless maniac.

In the overall promotion process of "Latent", he has done all the foreshadowing.

In the eyes of fans, it is first that someone thinks he is not good, and he will prove himself with actions.

This is important.

So Lu Pingan emphasized this point in the show: "Many people think that I am Chinese, so I have a preconceived feeling that my Hollywood work is not good, what I want to tell them is that you are wrong, because I am Lu Pingan, my movies, never disappoint!" ”

With this tone of "resistance", plus the first two blockbuster movies paved the way.

People won't think you're a stupid boy who doesn't know the height of the sky.

It's good now, everyone thinks you're fighting for your reputation.

You are full of self-confidence, strong confidence, and make a look of victory, although there will still be some people who think you are a bit stupid and talk too hard, but most people will think that you have a strong desire to compete and are a man.

The basic atmosphere of the society is more like this, so the publicity effect of the movie will naturally be good, and it is also quite good for Lu Ping'an's personal fame.

As a result, the popularity of "Latent" exploded, and Lu Ping'an's fame rose again.

Of course, this is in the United States, and in the eyes of some mainland people and media, Lu Ping'an is stupid, too dead, too crazy, people will be crazy, and they don't know how to converge on other people's turf.

There are bearish and some optimistic.

As soon as Lu Ping'an made such a play in Laomei, many people in the mainland wanted to come and see "Latent" with their own eyes, which shows that this wave of publicity has exceeded expectations, and in this way, the box office is not a problem.

Under such power, on the afternoon of the next day, "Latent" opened in 2,256 theaters in North America.

Regarding the results of the movie, Lu Ping'an doesn't have much energy to care.

The most important thing for him right now is Batman.

A week later, Lu Ping'an determined the style of the action scene, that is, he still used the original "clumsy" design.

And Kou Zhanwen, who came from afar, Lu Ping'an did not treat him badly.

Action direction is not only to guide specific actions, but also to guide the scheduling of action scenes.

In this regard, Kou Zhanwen is very experienced, so staying can be regarded as strengthening the crew.

Another week later, "Batman" officially started filming, and there was no booting ceremony, so it started quietly.

As soon as the movie entered the filming period, Lu Ping'an was like a different person, which also made Wu Jing and other people who were relatively strangers to him a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, acquaintances will tell them about the habits of the road guide.

At the same time, Lu Ping'an's prestige in Lao Mei is also unprecedented.

"Latent" was released for two weeks, and the box office in the first week was 28.6 million!

The box office in the second week has also reached 26 million.

The North American box office totaled 54.6 million, plus the weekly box office of 31 million in the rest of the region.

The total box office of "Latent" has come to 85.6 million.

Bet and win!

And three consecutive ultra-low-budget movies exploded at the box office, bringing Lu Ping'an's prestige to a new height.

There are already media in North America who call him the "King of Thrillers".

Such prestige, coupled with the current Lu Ping'an's calm expression as if the tens of millions of box office had nothing to do with him, also made everyone more convinced that Lu Ping'an directed "Batman".

So when Morgan Freeman asked Lu Ping An "what heights the trilogy would reach".

Everyone in the crew pricked up their ears.

Lu Ping'an replied calmly: "The ceiling of superhero movies." ”

After speaking, without waiting for everyone's reaction, Lu Ping'an gave an order: "Okay, all units pay attention and prepare"

The crowd immediately took action.

And his words kept echoing in his mind.

Everyone feels that movies really seem to be the ceiling.

(End of chapter)