Chapter 580: Speculations of the Great Directors

"Hurry, they are coming."

"Take a picture quickly..."

"Haha, we have new news material for today..."

Four luxury cars arrived at the scene and a group of foreigners got out of the cars. Who else could it be but Spielberg and Nolan?

As the saying goes, it is better for outsiders to chant sutras, and this statement is really true.

The appearance of the big Hollywood director not only made the media reporters on the scene extremely excited, but also made several directors around Gu Wei a little excited.

For Gu Wei, Spielberg and Nolan are friends and partners. They are both internationally renowned directors with similar status. Gu Wei even has the advantage of being young.

But it is different for mainland directors. Nolan is better, after all, he became famous after the millennium. But Spielberg is different. His movie "ET the Extraterrestrial" pioneered the Hollywood science fiction family film genre. Later, "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan" won him two Oscars for Best Director, not to mention the "Jurassic Park" series of movies.

It is no exaggeration to say that Spielberg can be regarded as the idol of most directors in mainland China.

...

At the same time, Spielberg and Nolan got off the car, adjusted their suits, and walked shoulder to shoulder with the five or six people who were accompanying them towards Gu Wei and the others.

The two sides greeted each other, and Gu Wei pointed at Ning Hao and the others and introduced them. Spielberg and Nolan kept smiling and nodding.

Actually, these two people were just pretending. Just like Gu Wei couldn't remember most foreigners, they had the same feeling when looking at Ning Hao and the others, except for Gu Wei and a few specific people.

On the contrary, Ning Hao and Lu Yang were quite excited. They even chatted with each other in English.

"Director Gu, look over here!"

"Director Gu, can we stand together for a photo?"

Reporters nearby kept shouting.

Gu Wei said something to Nolan and Spielberg, and the three of them stood together separately at first, allowing the media reporters to take pictures for a while. Then Ning Hao and the others joined in, and there was another burst of flash lights at the scene.

Because it was a press conference, they naturally didn't start with an interview. After a group photo was taken, they walked into the venue.

In the outside world, the media were full of reports on the press conference for "The Wandering Earth".

As the film produced by Star Films this year with the largest investment and the most gimmicks, it can be said that the industry is paying close attention to it.

The crew of "The Crossing".

Huang Xiaoming, who had just finished filming, was sitting in the lounge with his mobile phone, browsing the news online without removing his makeup.

"Xiao Ming, Director Gu's place is so busy, didn't you ask for leave to go over there?"

Tong Dawei, who had just finished filming, came to the lounge, staring at his makeup, and asked jokingly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Ziyi, who was not far away, turned her head slightly and glanced over. She was also a little curious, but did not ask directly because of face.

As a supporting actor in "The Wandering Earth", Huang Xiaoming should have attended the film's press conference, but due to schedule issues, he really couldn't spare the time.

The shooting schedule of "The Crossing" itself was quite tight, with one-third of the crew doing night scenes. In addition, the leader also took on Huayi's film "The Fortune Is Best When a Woman Acts Like a Toad". Therefore, he could only miss this press conference with regret.

"I don't have time. The schedule is too tight. I told Director Gu about it two days ago." Huang Xiaoming said with a smile.

Speaking of Tong Dawei, Huang Xiaoming has a good relationship with him. When auditioning for "Partners", the leader recommended Tong Dawei to play Wang Yang. Unfortunately, Ning Hao already had Lei Jiayin as the candidate, and Tong Dawei ultimately failed to get the role.

"That's a pity. All the big Hollywood directors are here. If I had my connections, I would definitely go to join in the fun." Tong Dawei said with regret.

"What a pity! I'll introduce Director Gu to you when I have the chance."

"That's great. If I could work with Director Gu once, I would have no regrets." Tong Dawei said with emotion.

The conversation between the two made Zhang Ziyi's mouth twitch. After a while, she seemed to have made up her mind and stood up and walked to the two of them.

"Xiao Ming, Da Wei, do you have time tonight to have a midnight snack together?"

"Okay." Tong Dawei agreed immediately.

Huang Xiaoming did not refuse, but just looked at Zhang Ziyi's back thoughtfully.

...

The conference site.

Compared to ordinary movie premieres, there were not many celebrities and artists present today, but there were many people from the film and television industry who showed up, and most of them were filmmakers and CEOs of film and television companies with high status in the industry.

The arrival of Spielberg and Nolan brought the atmosphere in the venue to a climax.

After some greetings, the interview officially began.

Gu Wei, Han Sanping and others sat behind the interview seats, with microphones in front of them with the logos of various entertainment media.

"Ahem." Song Ge was arranged as the spokesperson, responsible for announcing the specific details of the press conference to the public.

After he coughed twice, the scene suddenly became quiet and countless media people looked at him.

In the audience, Spielberg, Nolan, Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Jiang Wen and others sat in the second row, while the front row was reserved for relevant leaders of China Film Group Corporation, the Film Bureau and other departments, as well as some CEOs of film and television companies.

Everyone sat together, chatting casually, and also talked about the movie release issues that the media were most concerned about.

Among them are Wang Zhonglei, Wang Zhongjun, Qin Hong, Li Ming and others.

"Good morning, dear friends from the press! Today I would like to invite you to..."

On the stage, Song Ge held the microphone and talked freely, saying some meaningless but necessary polite words.

Fortunately, Song Ge had a good idea of ​​what was going on and knew that there would be a film screening later, so he managed the time well and only spoke for five or six minutes to make the purpose of holding a press conference today clear.

“First of all, ‘The Wandering Earth’ was officially announced to be released on the National Day, and will be released simultaneously at home and abroad,” Song Ge said with a smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the reporters below lit up.

If we hadn't been informed of the relevant procedures in advance, the release time alone would have been enough to make everyone excited.

"The second global promotion song will be officially released at 4pm, also simultaneously at home and abroad."

"In addition, after the interview, the company specially arranged a small film screening, and after the screening there was a discussion session with the director..."

"Wow."

There was an extra segment, which made the reporters present completely unable to sit still, and the noise immediately started.

"Director Gu, may I ask..." "Mr. Song, may I ask..."

The scene was filled with questions one after another, it was very lively.

"Everyone, please be quiet. There will be a special question-and-answer session later." Seeing that the situation was getting a little out of control, Gu Wei had to speak up.

After Gu Wei's reminder, everyone forced themselves to calm down, but many reporters had already made plans in their minds.

For example, which question should be asked to attract traffic, and which question should be asked to get an exclusive topic...

On the stage, Song Ge continued to speak, but because the first few questions were too explosive, everyone was a little impatient at the moment. What's worse, some people thought that he talked too much and wanted to end the question-and-answer session quickly.

After about ten minutes, Song Ge finally finished speaking. He then glanced at Gu Wei, Han Sanping and others and said, "The following is the question-and-answer session. If you have any questions, please feel free to speak up."

In an instant, Song Ge on the stage felt that the atmosphere suddenly changed, and the temperature on the scene suddenly rose by two degrees.

"Hello, Director Gu. I am a reporter from Sina Entertainment. Do you have any rough predictions about the box office of The Wandering Earth after its release?

Are directors Spielberg and Nolan invited to the event today specifically for this press conference?" A middle-aged male reporter in his forties wearing glasses asked first.

For a moment, the other reporters looked at this person with something strange in their eyes.

Good fellow, it's OK that you asked the first question, or even the most important question about the box office, but you asked several questions at the same time. Are we just going to starve to death?

It has to be said that the reporters of Sina Entertainment have received a lot of care from Gu Wei over the years, and they are usually the first to learn and report any news.

But this time, the way he ate did indeed anger the public. Many reporters glared at him, and even Gu Wei frowned slightly.

"Well, because the press conference has relevant procedures, I can only answer you one question." Gu Wei said directly.

"Box office, Director Gu, I would like to ask you about your prediction for the box office of "The Wandering Earth." The middle-aged man with glasses naturally felt the pressure and hurriedly chose the most important one.

"Well, I can't give a specific number about the box office of this movie, but I expect it to exceed the box office of "2012" in the mainland, there is no doubt about that." Gu Wei said lightly, and at this moment he seemed to have it all figured out. Then he paused for a while and continued: "Of course, as for the overseas box office, I think it is unlikely to exceed "2012"."

"Haha." After saying this, it immediately caused a burst of laughter.

Han Sanping and others nearby were also trying hard to hold back their laughter. They thought that there was nothing wrong with what Gu Wei said. The mainland was still okay, and although everyone was confident about the overseas box office, it would be pure wishful thinking to compare the box office with "2012".

"Director Gu, can you tell us some specific numbers?" The Sina reporter was a little unwilling. He finally got the first chance to ask questions, but Gu Wei's answer was nothing explosive!

"Sorry, I have answered this question. Please continue with your question, next person." Gu Wei said directly. He was not stupid, so how could he give specific data? He should not do anything he was not sure of. Besides, it was just a press conference. If he said everything, where would there be any explosive points to announce at the premiere?
"You deserve it. You're too greedy." The other reporters at the scene felt relieved. Looking at the anxious look of the Sina Entertainment reporter, many of them felt secretly happy.

"Hello, Director Gu. I'm a reporter from Sohu Entertainment. May I ask if Director Spielberg and Director Nolan came to China specifically for the screening of this movie?"

With the previous experience as a lesson, the second reporter who asked the question learned his lesson and asked questions that went straight to the point.

"That's not the case. The two big directors came here because they have a cooperative project to discuss, and the film screening was a temporary decision." Gu Wei continued to answer after adjusting his sitting position.

"What new project is it? Can you reveal it a little bit?" Upon hearing that there was indeed a new project, the reporter from Souhu became anxious and asked impatiently.

The other reporters in the audience were in the same mood, wishing it was their turn right away.

"This needs to be kept secret for the time being. Next one." Gu Wei said with a smile.

The two brothers Wang Zhonglei and Wang Zhongjun looked at each other, and a feeling of powerlessness surged up over them.

"Brother, this Gu Wei is not bragging, is he? He has new projects with Warner and Universal at the same time, is it such a coincidence?" Wang Zhonglei whispered in disbelief.

"Who knows? But with two directors coming here together, you can't be sure if it's true. Alas!" said Wang Zhongjun.

Not far away, Ye Ning, who did not go on stage, was also scratching his head anxiously. He only knew that Nolan came here to discuss cooperation, but he didn't expect Spielberg to come too.

"Mr. Ye, could it be the previously rumored 'Jurassic Park' series?" Lu Zheng next to him whispered.

"Didn't the media say that he refused?" Ye Ning asked puzzledly.

"Hey, how can you believe what the media says? Maybe Director Gu has thought it through and decided to direct it again." As someone who often uses the media to hype up the film, Lu Zheng doesn't believe the news reported by the online media at all. In his opinion, most of these people are reporting nonsense. How many of them are true?
"Let's ask Director Gu when we have time. We can't be sure right now." Ye Ning said this, but in his heart he was already thinking about whether Wanda Pictures would have a chance to get involved.

The same situation kept happening in the conference hall. When Li Ming, Qin Hong and others heard what Gu Wei said, they also whispered to each other, either talking in low voices or communicating with eye contact.

"Director Zhang, I heard that you had a long meeting with Director Gu and Director Spielberg yesterday. What project was it exactly?" Jiang Wen turned his head and looked at Zhang Yimou next to him and asked curiously.

Brother Chen Kai, who was standing next to Jiang Wen, was too embarrassed to ask directly due to his face, but he also slightly turned his body and pricked up his ears.

"Haha, I can only say that there is indeed a new project. The details have to be kept confidential and it will definitely be announced later." Zhang Yimou replied with a smile.

Although he usually looks like a good guy, his personality has changed a little after interacting with Gu Wei for a long time.

"Hey, you two said one by one that you wanted to keep it a secret, which made me feel so uncomfortable." Jiang Wen has a rough personality and is carefree and doesn't pay attention to details. At this moment, he felt as anxious as if he was being scratched by a cat.

When Brother Chen Kai heard this, he was a little speechless, but he didn't think much about it. He just thought that Gu Wei was going to make another Hollywood blockbuster and didn't think about Zhang Yimou at all.

However, Feng Xiaogang on his left thought of the online reports yesterday. He couldn't help but step forward, glance at the smiling Zhang Yimou, and muttered to himself.

Jia Zhangke, Gu Changwei and others who were unaware of the situation had all kinds of guesses in their minds.

For a moment, even Gu Wei did not expect that his words that it needed to be kept confidential for the time being would lead to all kinds of speculations among many big directors.

...

Afterwards, Gu Wei continued to answer two questions and handed the microphone to Han Sanping and others next to him. Old Han also happily answered two questions and moved on to the next person.

The interview process and time arrangement of the press conference are followed. It is impossible to ask questions to one person continuously, otherwise the subsequent process will not be able to proceed.

Since it was not the premiere, there were other segments to follow and the interview time was not long. Hu Jun, Zhou Xun, Liu Ye, Han Dongjun, Yang Zi and other main creative staff did not have the opportunity to be interviewed. Everyone could only act as tools, responsible for clapping and cheering with a smile.

The half-hour interview went by quickly, and with the questions and answers of more than a dozen questions, we naturally moved on to the next stage.

At the same time, in the screening room of China Film Auditorium.

Everything was ready inside. Guo Fan led his people to debug the equipment, then came to Gu Wei and said that the film screening had officially begun.

Since it was not a premiere, the requirements for the screening of "The Wandering Earth" were extremely strict. Even the big directors had to leave their cell phones and other communication devices outside and were not allowed to bring them in.

Although there was no body search, Han Sanping still set up an electronic security device for safety reasons.

Fortunately, everyone was very conscious, or everyone cared more about their face, so no accidents happened.

In the screening room, as people took their seats one after another, Gu Wei handed 3D glasses to Spielberg and Nolan, had a brief conversation, made a gesture to Guo Fan, and everyone immediately turned their eyes to the big screen in front of them.

After a few minutes, the lights dimmed and the big screen slowly lit up.

After the dragon mark at the beginning passed, the main film began...

(End of this chapter)