In Paris in May, the sun is gently falling and the spring breeze is blowing slowly.

Pigeons cooing on the banks of the Seine.

There was a peculiar smell in the air, the smell of urine with baguettes.

Lee walked slowly on the sidewalk.

He was wearing a KINGSMAN custom suit, frowning slightly, and a hint of disgust flashed in his eyes.

In front of him, a group of travelers from the country saw him and immediately rushed over.

"Director Li, why are you here alone?"

"Director Li, I watched "Dalian by the Sea", and the shooting was really good."

"Director Li, can you sign for me? Is it possible to take a group photo? ”

Li Shengyao smiled and nodded, as long as the passengers' requests were not excessive, they would not refuse.

Beside him, there was actually a white-haired old man dressed in ordinary clothes.

Travelers thought it was just an ordinary paparazzi.

In fact this old man is one of the best photographers in the world today, and he is named Patrick. Dema Sheri is seventy-one years old this year.

Almost all luxury brands, all world-class celebrities, have asked him to take pictures.

The old man is old, and he is too lazy to work in general.

This time, he was invited out by "Film Manual" and "Sight and Hearing" together, just to take a set of photos for Lee Shengyao.

Lee Shengyao won the Best Director at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

has set an unprecedented record of winning the Best Director Award at three major European film festivals in one year.

The June issues of "Film Handbook" and "Sight and Sound" both confirmed that Lee Shengyao was the cover character of the magazine.

As a sign of importance, the two magazines brought in Patrick.

When the British royal gentleman in a luxury suit got the news, he immediately took advantage of the lack of reaction from his peers and took the lead in inviting Lee Shengyao to become the global spokesperson of the brand with an endorsement fee of 5 million US dollars a year, and signed for three years.

KINGSMAN HAS KEPT A LOW PROFILE IN THE PAST, UNTIL RECENTLY THE NEW PRESIDENT WANTED TO EXPAND THE MARKET AGGRESSIVELY.

The brand has invested heavily in the movie "Ace Agent", and by that time all the actors in the movie, including Uncle Fei, will wear their suits.

Lee Shengyao endorsed Armani several years ago and did not renew his contract.

Now that someone is sending him money, he naturally will not refuse.

Patrick is a world-class photographer whose style is to capture the most authentic side of celebrities.

Therefore, looking at his works, the audience will find Julia Roberts's wrinkles, will see the messy mustache of small plums, and will see Angelina Jolie's fierce eyes.

This time, I came to take pictures of Li Shengyao.

Patrick said in the first sentence: "Lee, I hope you don't act like those idol stars, everything is acting, I want you to be yourself and show your truest side."

Li Shengyao knew the old man's style, and made an OK gesture.

At this point, he signed autographs and took photos of the passengers, and then walked on, frowning from time to time or covering his nose.

It can't be helped, Paris is so delicious.

There were patches of urine everywhere, chewed gum everywhere.

If it weren't for Li Shengyao and Patrick followed by a few bodyguards, there would be no doubt that Brother Hei would soon come forward to ask for tolls.

Patrick asked him to be himself, and Lee Shengyao naturally wouldn't pretend not to smell such a stench.

Patrick is a Parisian, and he knows the taste of Paris.

did not stop Li Shengyao, on the contrary, he was very satisfied that Li Shengyao really showed such a posture.

Both of them were very natural, except that the editor of the "Film Handbook" at the back looked a little embarrassed.

The people on the "Sight and Hearing" side laughed.

Many places in London have the same taste, but Londoners are more or less face-saving, and the scenery on both sides of the Thames is not bad.

Unlike Paris, the Seine stinks.

Lee Shengyao walked like this, watching the scenery of Paris at the same time.

Sometimes passengers come forward to sign and take a group photo, whether it is domestic or foreign, he will happily agree.

After walking for almost two hours, Patrick didn't seem to have taken a proper photo.

Li Shengyao couldn't help but ask, "Man, are you tired?"

Patrick raised his camera and smiled, "I hold the camera and I won't feel tired."

Lee gave a thumbs up and continued.

The Seine is known as the river of life in Paris, and this river is very close to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe.

Li Shengyao came to the vicinity of the Arc de Triomphe and saw that the sign showed that if you walked a hundred meters inside, you could reach the Arc de Triomphe.

He thought for a moment and said to Patrick, "I want to go to the Arc de Triomphe."

"Absolutely."

With Patrick's permission, Lee walked slowly to the Arc de Triomphe, and soon after, he saw the Parisian landmark built by Napoleon.

Lee Shengyao is not a historian or an architect, and when he looks at the Arc de Triomphe, he doesn't see anything different.

The only feeling is that it's bigger than in a movie screen.

He used to think that the Arc de Triomphe was four or five stories high, but when he came here, he found that the Arc de Triomphe was more than a dozen stories high, and it was very wide.

The Arc de Triomphe is no longer a road, it is surrounded by a square where cars cannot drive over.

At this time, many travelers are taking pictures.

Able to hear a variety of languages, the vast majority of tourists, in fact, are in a hurry, they need to quickly check in the various scenic spots of Paris in a limited time.

As a result, many travelers were discussing their next plans, and some even quarreled.

Li Shengyao stood there, holding his head up and quietly looking at the Arc de Triomphe, thinking about his plan in his heart.

At the celebration banquet after the awards ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, representatives of the six major Hollywood companies came over and invited him to make movies in Hollywood.

He didn't decide what to do next.

He now has money, a business, fame, status, honor, a woman, and children, and it can be said that everything is going well.

The only thing to worry about may be what movies will be made in the future, or will it just stop filming?

He has already made several very good films, two Palme d'Or, three best directors, and even if he retires now, fans will not question him.

After all, in this world, the vast majority of directors' creative period is actually more than ten years.

is like Lao Mouzi, after Brother Kaizi entered the millennium, the quality of movies fell off a cliff.

This is a very normal phenomenon, and the desire to express itself is limited.

After this period of creation, the subsequent works are either paddling or repeating the previous routines, and it is difficult to make a breakthrough.

He has copied such excellent films as "Parasite", "1919", "Manchester by the Sea".

There is less and less room left for him to operate.

He doesn't want to copy the mainland movies of "Charlotte's Troubles" or "The Wandering Earth", and he doesn't want to interrupt the opportunities of mainland filmmakers.

He can invest, but he is too lazy to make his own.

It's not interesting.

So what other foreign films can be copied? Or do you want to make your own?

Make it yourself - that's a joke.

Except for actors like Lao Dongmu, who turned directs, the other directors all became famous at a young age and showed their talents early.

Li Shengyao knows very well that his talent is very mediocre, and the movies he makes are at most at the same level as Chen Sicheng, and there is nothing interesting about making such a movie.

If he wants to make a movie that can be passed down to the world, or an interesting movie, he can only copy it......

He closed his eyes and thought about the trends in the next few years, and movie after movie crossed his mind.

Finally he thought of two movies, a TV series.

A film that reflects the miserable lives of the people at the bottom of the American imperialists.

A film corrupts American imperialist women and accelerates the division between men and women.

Lee Shengyao thinks that these two movies are good, and they may not win awards, but they can make the beautiful country more divided.

As for the TV series, it is the drama with the highest data and the most popular after Douyin became popular all over the world, this drama helped Netflix earn more than 5 billion US dollars and helped Netflix dominate the rivers and lakes.

He wants to cut it off, so as not to cheapen Netflix.

He plans to copy these three more works and then seal them down.

With the answer, Li Shengyao opened his eyes and was about to look for Patrick.

"Lee, great, I got the best picture of you, let's go, our job is done."

When Li Shengyao heard this, he walked over, "What kind of photo is it?" ”

"The way you close your eyes and think."

Patrick paused, "I think it's very good, you're going to like it, and when you see the photos, maybe you'll be inspired." ”

"Thank you, I love it."

Along the way, he didn't think too much about it, and just thought about something, he caught it for Patrick.

Li Shengyao casually praised Patrick, thinking about whether he could let Patrick take pictures of Chen Hao and Dong Xuan in the future, so that they might look more feeling.

Seeing this, the staff of "Movie Manual" and "Sight and Sound" immediately followed.

Now that the cover has been taken, the next step is the interview.

……

Lee Shengyao was interviewed by "Sight and Sound" and "Cinema Manual" in Paris, and this matter cannot be hidden from people in the industry.

Many people knew the news early.

In the office building of Warner Pictures headquarters in Los Angeles, the president's office Jeff. Robinov sat on the side of his desk, coffee in hand, smiling at the news on the TV wall.

Opposite Robinoff, Warner's famous producer Toby. Emmerich put his hands in front of him as if he were listening to the Word.

Robinoff was a bald man, about the same age as Emmerich, a middle-aged man in his forties.

In fact, the two men have been with Warner for about the same time.

However, Robinov won the trust of the board of directors and was elected executive president.

Emmerich is a little bit less in the picture, and he's been feeling the bottleneck lately, knowing that he wants to move up the ladder and not only run a good work, but also to please the members of the board.

As for Robinoff, the guy's days at Warner are almost over.

Warners haven't had a good time in recent years, and they're nowhere near as dashing as the first decade after the turn of the millennium.

Before Warner chased Disney, it meant that it was the second in Hollywood, but now it is far behind, not only inferior to Disney, but even inferior to Paramount and Sony.

When something like this happens, the group naturally needs someone to stand up and take the blame.

The countdown to Robinoff's time at Warner has begun.

However, Emmerich remained respectful, hoping that he would receive Robinov's resources.

At this time, the news on the video wall was reporting that Lee Shengyao won the best director at Cannes.

The host and several commentators all lamented that Lee Shengyao had set a record, winning the best director, three films, and three best actors at the three major European film festivals in one year.

Robinov raised his coffee, took a sip, and then said: "Lee is very popular now, many Asians are proud of him, and his movies can have a high box office in Asia even if they are average at the box office in beautiful countries."

Toby, I heard that you and Lee have a good relationship. ”

"Yes, we have a deep friendship, because of him, our film can enter the Chinese market more quickly, get more films, and promote better."

Robinov nodded, then looked at Emmerich and said slowly, "Toby, are you sure to persuade him to help Warner make a movie?"

"No, man, he's a very assertive person, and when he actually left Hollywood, he was in the limelight, and he could have stayed in Hollywood to make more money, but he didn't hesitate to leave."

When Robinov heard this, he was a little disappointed.

Without immediate results, his departure from Warner will be inevitable.

"Toby, you can give it a try, maybe he'll agree."

Robinov wanted to make a final struggle.

Emmerich thought for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, I'll contact him and talk to him about it." ”

Robinov breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, "Man, I'm sure you can." ”

Soon after, Emmerich left Robinoff's office, and he returned to his office to ask his assistant to come up with Warner's plans for the next film.

Warner is betting heavily on sci-fi movies this year.

In recent years, science fiction movies have been regarded as the most profitable genre movies outside of superhero movies.

Last year's "Pacific Rim" was a big hit, the year before last's "Men in Black 3", and the previous "Battle for Los Angeles" and "District 9", all of which did well at the box office, and the disc market also performed well.

Warner's sci-fi movies this year include "Edge of Tomorrow", "Jupiter Ascending", "Interstellar", and they also have "Godzilla", which also has some sci-fi elements.

Among them, the male protagonist of "Edge of Tomorrow" is Brother Tom.

Interstellar is a Nolan movie.

Both films were made by Warners with a lot of money and a huge investment.

There is actually a lot of pressure on these movies to return to their costs, but there is no way, Warner wants to overtake in corners, so it has to be ingenious.

Now superhero movies are the hottest, and they have several superhero movie copyrights in their hands, but the group feels that it is not attractive enough to fight against Marvel.

He looked at it for a while, and then he couldn't help frowning.

The film project currently planned, he thinks Li Shengyao will not accept it.

Lee likes projects with solid scripts.

And the "Edge of Tomorrow", to be honest, the story is a bit empty, and they are all gimmick movies.

Do you want Lee Shengyao to write the script himself?

Will he still work with Warner for the book he wrote?

Emmerich thought about it and planned to find a time to talk to Lee Shengyao carefully to see if Lee Shengyao had any conditions, if he could, he hoped that Lee Shengyao could come to Hollywood, as Lee Shengyao's collaborator, he believed that Lee Shengyao would return to Hollywood, and he would be able to go further at Warner Pictures. (End of chapter)