Chapter 360: The Purpose of Shooting the Lord of the Rings

Are you a reporter, miss?

In the speeding taxi, the driver asked the blond lady sitting in the back, It's still an entertainment reporter from the United States, isn't it?

When did you become so famous? Or do you mean reporters written on your face?

Sarah took off her sunglasses and asked curiously, How did you guess?

The taxi driver shrugged, turned onto a secluded road, and then said, I hear your accent should be from North America. At this stage, there are only two kinds of North Americans who go to Blenheim.

He raised two fingers in the rearview mirror, One is a member of the Lord of the Rings crew, and the other is an entertainment reporter. The crew members are all picked up by special personnel. Since you are taking a taxi, you must be an entertainment reporter.

You're very observant. Sarah couldn't help laughing. You should consider changing careers.

It's not that I'm observant, it's that I've met too many entertainment reporters in the past two weeks.

Taxi drivers anywhere are basically good at gossiping. From yesterday to now, you're the fifth reporter I've sent to Blenheim.

Oh? Sarah became interested. So many people got there?

I don't know much about Hollywood, but I also know that Duke Rosenberg is one of the best directors in the world today.

The driver completely treated it as a small talk, The total investment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy has reached 350 million US dollars, and the reputation of the original book can attract you people, is it strange?

Not surprising. Sarah nodded, thought about it, and asked, You come to Blenheim often?

Of course! said the driver proudly, I'm from Blenheim, which has the best natural scenery in the world. Blenheim is the best tourist destination. Think about it, Duke? The fact that Rosenberg was able to put Shire's exterior in Blenheim says a lot.

He looked at Sarah through the rearview mirror again, and said mysteriously, Tell you a secret, Duke Rosenberg said it himself. If the Lord of the Rings trilogy is a big hit, Blenheim The town will be famous all over the world.

Do you think the film will be a success? Sarah asked.

It will definitely succeed. The driver said confidently, This is a work directed by Duke Rosenberg.

Everyone seems to have a lot of confidence in him.

With a murmur in her heart, Sarah thought of the purpose of her trip and asked, Do you have the latest news about the crew?

Seeing the taxi driver driving seriously, he didn't hear her words at all. Sarah had to say again, If you have news of interest to me...

She frowned in the rearview mirror.

The driver understood and negotiated the price with Sarah in a few words. Before the car reached the destination, he quickly said a few valuable news.

It is said to be for filming. The crew spliced ​​250,000 fake leaves for a tree; every evening, the director always takes his two female assistants for a walk on Crown Street. Hearing that the new assistant just arrived, it seems that What is the daughter of a billionaire...

Take out the notebook. Recording what the driver said one by one, Sarah was also looking forward to this trip. It's hard for other reporters to meet Duke Rosenberg, but she made an appointment with Duke's studio before she came, and she must have scooped up some scoops.

As an entertainment reporter with a keen sense of smell, Sarah has noticed in recent years that Hollywood is quietly changing. Especially on the Internet where the feedback is very sensitive, the director is like a superstar, and gradually he has his own fans, some even like a fanatical groupie.

James Cameron and Duke Rosenberg are undoubtedly the best among them. The latter has also opened a personal website. No one can tell how much role that website played in the big sale of The Matrix. , but one thing has been confirmed by everyone in the industry - Blair Witch, which was a big hit this summer, is actually borrowed from the viral Internet marketing of The Matrix.

This horror film with a production cost of only $100,000 and a marketing cost of $25 million can sell well and is recognized as the biggest winner of learning the marketing of The Matrix.

Even, Sarah believes that without the Internet marketing revelation of The Matrix, there would be no Blair Witch success.

It's just a pity for those two directors...

She sighed softly. As a reporter who ran entertainment, Sarah knew very well that the benefits the two directors could get from it were extremely limited, and the profit sharing was poor, which was understandable. Lionsgate, why should Lionsgate spend tens of millions of dollars on promotion and marketing for such a film?

Hollywood's major corporations are not in the philanthropy business!

Perhaps the two directors are now famous, but Sarah is not optimistic about their future at all. This super bad film, which is completely piled up with marketing methods and a large amount of marketing expenses, has already consumed the director's future credibility. Their new film Naturally, the audience will be equated with the quality of Blair Witch.

While the two directors have been touted by the gossip media as the rise of the Duke Rosenberg-style, Sarah is certain that as long as no miracles happen, there won't be much for them in the future.

How many of the excellent directors became famous by relying on this kind of trickery? How many directors who rely on this method to become famous have a future to speak of?

After getting out of the taxi and walking towards the studio, Sarah was still thinking about this issue. Duke's famous films, the quality of which is a real guarantee, even if you look back now, they are still classics in action films. Her Los Angeles Times Since the beginning of December, I have been taking stock of various types of films in the 1990s. Judging from the votes that have been collected, Speed ​​of Life and Death and Brave Island have both been selected into the top five of the top ten action films. And The Matrix leads the list of the top ten science fiction films with an absolute advantage.

Even in the literary drama category, which he is least good at, Chicago also squeezed into the top ten!

Such a director who is rich in classics can be compared with directors who rely on overdraft credibility?

With a disdainful snort, Sarah walked to the crew's station and quickly contacted the press officer. She had a recommendation from the Duke's studio, and without much effort, was in the envious eyes of nearly a hundred colleagues. Walking into the filming location of The Lord of the Rings.

Entering the set, Sarah complied with the tacit agreement between the crew and the reporter, and did not shoot anything, but just looked at it with her eyes, recorded with a pen and a notebook, and wrote down everything she thought was valuable. After going back, it becomes entertainment news that can attract the public.

Walking to the periphery of the shooting venue, Sarah was asked to stop. The filming was in front of her. She had to find a slightly higher place and try her best to look for the target she wanted to interview.

Soon, she saw the director with short dark brown hair. He was standing behind the camera, seemingly shooting some idyllic scenes, and behind him was a tall, blond girl who was supposed to be his assistant.

Glancing across the girl's face, Sarah faintly felt a little familiar. Suddenly I remembered, this is the rumored daughter of Donald Trump, right?

She couldn't help sighing secretly, if only the origin of the assistant is concerned, I am afraid that no one in Hollywood can compare to Duke. The former assistant is Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Coppola, and the current assistant is Ivanka Trump, daughter of billionaire...

The director never seemed to lack appeal to women.

Duke...

Just finished a shoot. Duke heard Ivanka's voice from behind, The reporter from the Los Angeles Times is here.

Well. Duke nodded and said to the photographer next to him, Dave. You keep shooting.

He turned around, walked over to Ivanka Trump, and asked, Where? Remember to communicate with the press officer and keep the interview as brief as possible.

I've spoken to Livigny.

After finishing speaking, Ivanka followed Duke and walked towards the periphery of the filming location.

Sarah, who came to interview, is an old acquaintance of Duke. The Los Angeles Times can send her, the current deputy editor of the entertainment edition, to show her sincerity and attention.

The interview was arranged by the press officer to be held by the bridge of the Liquor River. The two sides sat on the stumps of props full of nature and started this brief routine publicity activity.

After the super show, the crew has maintained a proper publicity enthusiasm. In addition to constantly throwing out some news and pictures, the main cast and crew will also be interviewed by the media in a planned way, and continue to spread the popularity of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. .

Duke himself is no exception, especially his personal website, which updates the latest pictures about the film every once in a while, attracting the attention of a large number of fans.

Of course, as a director with a busy schedule, Duke only pays attention to the website occasionally. Like all directors and stars in the future, his personal website is handed over to a special team to take care of.

He never loses sight of the importance of publicity to a film's success.

So, in this short interview, Duke also pulled himself together and answered various film-related questions from Sarah.

Taking out the pen and notebook, Sarah asked the first question of the day, Duke, why did you choose to put The Lord of the Rings on the big screen, which is recognized by Hollywood as the most difficult work to adapt.

I'm a big fan of The Lord of the Rings novels, and I like this series very much. Duke gave the answer without thinking, Tolkien created a magical magical world with words, and he brought readers all over the world. It was brought into it, and it resonated strongly, and even had a huge impact on the entire society, which gave rise to the genre of fantasy novels.”

After a short pause, Duke continued, The Lord of the Rings changed the entire entertainment industry, and we look back and find countless novels, videos, role-playing games, video games, comics, or movies that originated from it. , inspired by Tolkien, a booming market like never before was born.

I have always believed that the Lord of the Rings trilogy itself is a work suitable for the big screen, but to faithfully capture the essence of the original book, this trilogy must be the largest production in film history, I think The time has come—influenced by rapid advances in visual effects, I finally have the opportunity to faithfully present Tolkien's magnificent and fantastical world.

Sarah asked again, Is this the purpose of your Lord of the Rings trilogy? (To be continued ^)

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