Chapter 251： God stands behind him

"What defeated New Line Films?" Zhang Dongcheng was at a loss, although he knew that Patricia was talking about getting the copyright of Lord of the Rings, but defeated New Line Films? Where does this start?

Patricia smiled slightly, handed several newspapers to Zhang Dongcheng, and said, "It's written in great detail!"

"New vs. Old, Unstoppable Smith? Chang!" - Los Angeles Film Journal

As Zhang Dongcheng's die-hard loyalist, the report of the Los Angeles Film News can't be positive.

"The recent turbulent Lord of the Rings copyright disputes came to an end yesterday. It is reported that Mr. Tolkien's estate management foundation admitted to abandoning the contract with New Line Films, and took back the film copyright of Lord of the Rings, and It was handed over to Director Smith Zhang.

We don't know the specific content of the contract, but in this copyright battle, we can see that in the film industry, Smith Zhang's wings have become more and more full.

Dongcheng Pictures, founded by Smith Zhang, was established on December 25, 1996, just over a year ago, and it is a company absolutely controlled by Smith Zhang.

Compared with Dongcheng Films, which was still a baby, New Line Films, which was established in 1967, has giants like Warner Films behind it. Undoubtedly a strong adult.

But now this strong adult has failed in front of the baby! And it was a crushing defeat. Thinking about the press conference that New Line Films produced when Smith Zhang announced that he was going to buy the copyright of Lord of the Rings, we can only say that sometimes, God is really on the side of Smith Zhang. behind! "

In this article, Zhang Dongcheng's praise is very subtle, but it also makes people feel his unabashed support.

Putting down the Los Angeles Film Newspaper, Zhang Dongcheng looked at other reports.

"Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novels. Smith Zhang, the new commercial director. We have reason to believe that the combination of the two will bring us a different A treat for the senses!" - Entertainment Daily

"The best thing Mr. Tolkien's estate did was get the Lord of the Rings rights back from New Line Films and handed over to Smith." -Entertainment Weekly

"Smith Zhang's approach is undoubtedly a means of malicious competition. This kind of vulgar nouveau riche behavior can only prove his inferior character." Such unscrupulous media that ridiculed Zhang Dongcheng in the entire United States is only "Los Angeles Media News" "It's just a newspaper.

"Smith Zhang is indeed an excellent director, but he is a Chinese after all, not a native European. We have reason to worry whether, as a Chinese director, he can really perfect the Western-style fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings. Presented? This is clearly a hopeless answer!" - Los Angeles Journal

After flipping through the dozens of newspapers, Zhang Dongcheng smiled. Although there were some reports that were not optimistic about him, most of them expressed his expectation that Zhang Dongcheng would buy the copyright of Lord of the Rings.

"How do you feel?" Patricia looked at Zhang Dongcheng expectantly and asked.

"How does it feel?" Zhang Dongcheng was a little stunned, not knowing what Patricia was talking about.

"Don't you feel anything when you see so many newspapers talking about you?" Patricia asked curiously.

Zhang Dongcheng laughed dumbfounded. Shaking his head, he said, "Just get used to it."

After continuing to shoot the scenes of the secret battle for a few days, Zhang Dongcheng had to leave. Because the 70th Academy Awards are about to open. The venue is still at the Temple Theater in Los Angeles.

On the morning of March 23, the crew of The Matrix 2, who had just left for Australia to film for a few days, returned to Los Angeles again.

At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Dongcheng finally drove to the Los Angeles Temple Theater with his female companion Patricia.

This year's Oscars is definitely the most anticipated Academy Awards ceremony, because a record is about to be born this time.

The film with the most awards will add a new member in this session. The shipwreck film directed by James Cameron, "Titanic" won eleven awards. There are only two that can be compared.

One is "Ben-Hur" in 1959; Of course, even if this movie is shot now, it still belongs to Zhang Dongcheng.

When Zhang Dongcheng came to the Temple Theater. You can see it at a glance. In front of the luxurious, resplendent and resplendent Shrine Theater stands four huge models of the Oscars, and hundreds of feet of red carpet is laid on the Avenue of Stars in front of the gate. You can also see the presence of tents.

These crazy movie fans, in order to see the splendor of the movie stars when they entered the venue, many movie fans camped out for two nights in order to occupy a good position on the bleachers in front of the theater.

When Patricia took Zhang Dongcheng's arm and walked onto the red carpet, she fully felt the charm of Oscar. Numerous cheers and camera flashes fully made her feel the joy of becoming famous.

Compared with the 69 Oscars, this one is undoubtedly even more amazing.

Whether it is the Academy Awards Ceremony, which is beginning to be commercialized, or the crowds of movie fans. All give people a shocking feeling.

As a Hollywood director who is in the limelight, Zhang Dongcheng naturally has no shortage of admirers. But the director is a behind-the-scenes worker after all, except for some special hobbies, he rarely appears in the film. This is why it seems that directors are not as popular as actors.

Walking behind Zhang Dongcheng was Nicolas Cage. Although he didn't get any nominations, he was still invited by the Oscars as the most famous superstar in Hollywood and the "King of Bad Movies".

After all, this time is a rare opportunity to show his face, and even the production crew of Reaper has stopped working.

Wait until you actually come to the interior of the Temple Grand Theater to feel what it means to be star-studded. It is reported that Oscar invited 5,500 VIPs this time, which also made the theater full of seats.

Looking around, in the movies produced by Hollywood, among countless well-known actors who have been shocked by the situation, they are wearing luxurious dresses and talking loudly.

The organizer of the Oscars arranged for the Matrix crew to be relatively close to the rostrum. After all, The Matrix got five nominations. Although the chance of winning the prize is low, Zhang Dongcheng and the others can't be arranged in the corner, right?

After finding his seat, Zhang Dongcheng was about to take the crew members there. Some reporters who were invited by the organizer to come to the theater surrounded them.

"Director Smith, how did you take away the film copyright of Lord of the Rings from New Line Film Company?" A man with eyes and a microphone in his hand came to Zhang Dongcheng. Looking at him expectantly, he asked.

In the past few days, the film copyright of The Lord of the Rings has been transferred from New Line Films to Dongcheng Films, which can be described as a hot topic.

After all, New Line Film Company just held a press conference not long ago, but within a few days, even the copyright of the movie was owned by others. This kind of dramatic turning point is what the news media like to see most.

"Take it away?" Zhang Dongcheng frowned slightly. He was wearing a small suit with a stand collar, or a new Chinese tunic suit would be more appropriate. The whole person looks much more energetic.

At the Oscars, men are often the happiest, because they don't need to think about their dresses, just wear a suit. This is not the case for women. Not only do they have to consider whether the clothes are suitable for them, but what is even more unacceptable is the incident of bumping into shirts. And this kind of thing is often unavoidable. Many times, actresses will find a special costume designer to order for this kind of ceremony.

For example, Patricia next to Zhang Dongcheng, she is wearing a big red peony-patterned cheongsam, and the cheongsam that fits around her waist makes her look even more graceful. It looks even more perfect when matched with Zhang Dongcheng's stand-up collar suit.

Shaking his head, Zhang Dongcheng looked at the reporter in front of him who didn't know which newspaper, and said, "I didn't take the film copyright of Lord of the Rings from New Line Films! It was Mr. Tolkien's estate management fund." After deliberation, you will decide to cooperate with me before handing it over to me! I think you may have misunderstood something!"

Snatching Lord of the Rings from New Line Films is offensive enough. If the media were to make a fuss now, among other things, New Line Films would definitely stand on the opposite side of Dongcheng Films and spare no effort to suppress it. Even the real boss of New Line Films, Warner Films, is about to take action.

After all, the rise of Dongcheng Pictures was too fast. It was so fast that people were caught off guard, and the eight major film companies felt scared!

The rapid rise of Dongcheng Films, especially the plan of the short-term film investment fund, absolutely interfered with the interests of the eight major film companies. Now Zhang Dongcheng has to hide his strength and bide his time because Dongcheng Pictures is not strong enough.

"Mr. Smith, the Matrix has received a total of five nominations. How many do you think you can get?" Another reporter came over and asked.

"It depends on the college. Of course I hope to get all of them!" Zhang Dongcheng replied with a laugh.

The reporter's eyes lit up, and he said immediately: "So, Director Smith, do you think you are better than Director James Cameron?"

This idiotic question made Zhang Dongcheng want to spit on him, what kind of **** question is this? Since the release of Titanic, who dares to say that he is stronger than Cameron in the field of commercial directors?

"No!" Zhang Dongcheng shook his head immediately. "I mean, I really want to get a statuette. But this can only depend on who the academy likes more!"

While perfunctory these reporters with ulterior motives, Zhang Dongcheng led Patricia towards the venue.

There are many people invited to this year's Oscars, so these reporters will not chase after Zhang Dongcheng.

After getting rid of the entanglement of those reporters, Zhang Dongcheng, Patricia and others also found the location of the Matrix crew.

After finding the location, Zhang Dongcheng explained that the members of the crew can move freely. The period before the official start of the Oscar Awards Ceremony is the most important time period for all actors, so that everyone can get to know more colleagues. Even if he didn't say anything, everyone wouldn't sit obediently in their seats like elementary school students and wait for the award ceremony to open.

"Smith, do you find those reporters annoying?" Patricia asked Zhang Dongcheng teasingly.

"No!" Zhang Dongcheng shook his head and said, "On the contrary, I think those guys are simply idiots."

"Ha ha!" Patricia laughed.

"Patricia, don't you plan to hang around here?" Zhang Dongcheng asked Patricia next to him after watching everyone else leave.

"I don't have a good reputation now, so instead of trying to curry favor with others, I might as well follow you!" Patricia replied wisely.

Although her appearance in the previous two movies was amazing, especially the mummy, it is still fresh in the memory of countless fans. But that's a supporting role after all.

She herself is not very good at acting, instead of finding other people to strike up a conversation with, it would be more rewarding to follow Zhang Dongcheng's side.

"Alright then!" Zhang Dongcheng wasn't surprised by Patricia's choice.

After turning his eyes around, he quickly spotted James Cameron. Beside this guy, there are four or five young and beautiful girls wearing beautiful clothes talking about something.

"What? Do you envy Director Cameron?" Patricia asked with a half-smile.

"Of course not!" Zhang Dongcheng shook his head without hesitation. With Patricia by his side, it is said that he is really tempted by those women, and that cannot be admitted!

"Director Smith, long time no see!" A greeting came suddenly, making Zhang Dongcheng look up.

In front of her was a girl in a pink low-cut evening dress, her mid-length brown hair was loose and fell on her shoulders. He also wears a watch on his right wrist.

"Oh! So it's Rachel. It's been a long time. I heard that you shot several movies last year, right?" Zhang Dongcheng responded enthusiastically.

The girl who suddenly came to say hello was Rachel Weisz. The heroine in The Mummy 1. After collaborating with Zhang Dongcheng once, there was no news. Although Zhang Dongcheng had invited her at the Oscars last year, she said that she would think about it, but since that time, the two parties have never seen each other again. face.

"Oh! God!" Patricia exclaimed when she heard Zhang Dongcheng say that Rachel had made several movies in a year. Since The Mummy, Patricia has only participated in the filming of The Matrix once, and she only showed one face in it.

It wasn't until the current dark battle that she officially received the role. Naturally, she was very surprised by Rachel's way of working.

Speaking of which, Patricia and Rachel were considered best friends when shooting the mummy. Although they haven't seen each other for such a long time, the relationship between the two has not changed.

Staring at Rachel, Patricia said: "Rachel, you can't do this. It will exhaust your body!"

Participated in the shooting of several films a year, on average, basically one movie every three to five months.

Rachel shook her head, looked at Patricia, and said, "Long time no see, Patricia, thank you for your concern. How are you doing recently? I heard that you participated in the new movie directed by Smith. Yes Is it? And you are still the heroine, congratulations!"

Being able to participate in a film shot by Zhang Dongcheng is definitely something that countless actors in the American film industry dream of.

As Rachel who once worked with Zhang Dongcheng, she is naturally very aware of this. Otherwise, she wouldn't show envious eyes to Patricia.

"Thank you." Patricia nodded with a smile, and said, "Actually, this movie does not require high acting skills."

Rachel is definitely a very hard-working actor. She loves movies, which can be seen from the first time Zhang Dongcheng met her.

After communicating with Rachel, Zhang Dongcheng hesitated for a while, and invited her again. "Rachel, if you haven't joined other companies, I think you can consider Dongcheng Films. I believe the current Dongcheng Films can definitely give you confidence, right?"

Rachel shook her head with a smile, and said: "Director Smith is too polite. I will seriously consider it. But I just accepted the invitation from Universal Pictures last month, and they are going to shoot The Mummy 2!"

"Oh? Really?" Zhang Dongcheng raised his eyebrows slightly, but he hadn't heard the news yet.

Universal Pictures made such a decision mainly because after Zhang Dongcheng's The Mummy 1, Nuoda's Universal Pictures didn't have any movies to sell. The victory of the Titanic also made Karl and others determined to continue sending a big-budget movie.

And the mummy that made a group incident at the beginning is obviously the best choice.

"They invited me to be the heroine!" Rachel told Zhang Dongcheng, not to show off. And even The Mummy 2 is just a cold meal before Zhang Dongcheng is fried. "Not only me, but also Brandon Fisher. It's almost the original team of Mummy. But the role of Jonathan was replaced by a British actor named John Nathan."

Andy is currently in the crew of the secret war, so it is naturally impossible to shoot The Mummy 2, but it is precisely because of this that Universal Pictures found John Nathan, the original actor, to play Jonathan. Should it be said that this is the inertia of history?

Zhang Dongcheng shook his head, dismissed his boring thoughts, and said solemnly to Rachel: "Rachel, I think you should play this role well. Believe me, the mummy will never let you down!"

Rachel nodded, and said: "I know. Thank you for your reminder, Director Smith, then I won't bother you." After a pause, before leaving, Rachel said: "Director Smith, you invited me Will think about it carefully!"

After keeping such a sentence, Rachel immediately left Zhang Dongcheng and the two.

Rachel had just left when Zhang Dongcheng heard a voice he hadn't heard for a long time. "Wow, Smith, my friend. Long time no see!"

Turning his head, Zhang Dongcheng stood up from his chair and said, "Mr. Carl, it's been a long time. Compared with two years ago, you haven't changed at all."

The person in front of him is Carl, the boss of Universal Pictures. I really didn't expect that someone of his status would come to participate in the Oscars.

"Really? Thank you so much, Smith!" Carl narrowed his eyes and smiled. Looking up and down Zhang Dongcheng said: "Smith, I wonder if you have any other arrangements after the secret war is over?"

Carl's question made Zhang Dongcheng subconsciously think of what Rachel told him just now. Universal Pictures is shooting The Mummy 2. Is it possible that Karl wants to continue to invite himself to be a director?

"not yet."

"Wow! That's really a coincidence!" Carl said immediately: "Universal Pictures decided to shoot "The Mummy 2". I wonder if you are interested in continuing to direct?"

Sure enough! Zhang Dongcheng shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Carl, you know. I don't like to repeat myself. It's like after the success of The Matrix, I'd rather shoot a police movie that no one sees than shoot a second one." All the same. I love a challenge! Having already gotten a successful mummy once, can't give me that urge!"

"Okay!" Carl himself didn't expect Zhang Dongcheng to agree. Zhang Dongcheng's identity is not what it used to be, and he is also the boss of a company. By all accounts, there was no reason to be shooting for Universal Pictures.

Now is not the time when he first arrived in Hollywood and desperately wanted to make a name for himself.

"So, what do you think about the script?" Carl asked Zhang Dongcheng after he sat down.

"Mr. Carl, in fact, I met Rachel just now. Since you plan to shoot the sequel of The Mummy, why don't you just shoot the story after the first one? You know, there are many ancient tombs in the world that have something to do with mythology. Yes!" Zhang Dongcheng reminded.

"Smith, are you interested in participating in the production of the script of The Mummy 2?" Carl stared at Zhang Dongcheng with burning eyes and asked.

Regarding Zhang Dongcheng’s keenness in movie scripts, after The Matrix, no one can deny it.

"I'm sorry, because there are too many things around me now, I may not be able to get away. I'm really sorry!" Zhang Dongcheng shook his head and refused again.

Carl was not angry. He picked up a cigar and handed it to Zhang Dongcheng, saying, "Smith, we are friends, right?"

Being the boss of such a big company as Universal Pictures, it is impossible for Carl to ask such unreasonable questions. Zhang Dongcheng's thoughts changed rapidly, and he quickly vaguely guessed what Carl was thinking.

"Of course. Mr. Carl!" Zhang Dongcheng took Carl's cigar.

"Smith, since you admit that I am a friend, then I want to remind you." Carl looked solemn, lowered his voice, and said, "In Hollywood, sometimes the rules cannot be broken. Otherwise, there will be a lot of criticism. Goodbye, My little friend!"

As soon as the words fell, Carl left without even giving Zhang Dongcheng a chance to ask.