Chapter 155: Released
After attending the screening, Chen An left without staying any longer.

I also have to prepare for the premiere of my own movie.

Compared to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which has already been screened several times at some film festivals in the United States, Chen An's "Million Dollar Baby" is a lighter film.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which was ready for release, was shown in a total of 16 theaters in Hollywood and New York in the first week under Sony's arrangement.

In one week, he earned $106 million.

This is a very good result. Chen Kaige’s previous film "Farewell My Concubine" only grossed more than 5 million US dollars.

It was shown in a few theaters and took in just over 5 million US dollars in eleven weeks.

The story of Li An's movie was very popular among American audiences.

Subsequently, Chen An's movie was released this week, and he attended the premiere ceremony briefly with Charlize Theron.

It was rare for the two old men, Clint and Morgan, to come and show their support.

The remuneration given by Chen An was not enough for the two people who participated in the publicity, but the two old men still came to support.

Thanks to the huge hit of "District 12" a few months ago, the new movie is quite popular this time. Warner has arranged theaters for it, which is less than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

After all, they have already taken it to several film festivals and promoted it for nearly half a year.

Before the screening, reporters flocked to interview two big-name actors in the crew, Clint and Morgan.

"What made both you and Morgan, Clint, willing to accept Chen An's invitation to star in this movie?"

Mr. Morgan, who was wearing a white lining and a black suit jacket, was the first to answer: "I am an actor. I thought the script was good, so I accepted the role naturally."

"If the director hadn't written the script himself and was both the investor and the producer, I think I would definitely direct the film myself."

Clint stated the reason directly.

Why act?
It’s not that I can’t be a director, I can only participate as an actor.

After asking some more questions, the film officially began.

Chen An and several main creators sat in the audience and watched the film together. Even for several actors, this was the first time they dared to watch the finished film.

The story begins with a boxing match, but also ends with a boxing match.

The heroine Maggie is a woman living in poverty, but she also has a dream of boxing.

This also had a clichéd beginning, and she began to work hard for this dream.

I hope to be taught by coach Frankie and become an excellent boxer.

From the initial rejection to the subsequent acceptance, in the end he even treated the other party as his own daughter.

With his help and training, Maggie moved towards success step by step, but sometimes she was not so happy. The family that she once regarded as a good family did not bring her any care.

She won match after match until she finally stepped onto a million-dollar ring and started this life-changing match.

She was about to win the game, but was attacked by an insidious opponent during the break, which resulted in a broken spine and put a stop to the dream she had been fighting for.

Despite the sudden plot change, this strong girl was still able to communicate with her coach Frankie with a smile.

She also happily talked about her future life. After decades of life hardships, she still remains optimistic.

Until her family dealt her a fatal blow, she waited for several months for their arrival, and even went to Disneyland before their arrival. They were all happy, and wanted to get Maggie's property, without caring about Maggie's feelings. Knowing that she could no longer move, they even asked her to use her mouth, the only thing she could move, to sign.

But Maggie didn't care about all this. She only cared about whether her mother had watched her game. The answer she got made her heartbroken. Her mother didn't care at all.

I came here after being injured for so long, and I haven’t seen any of my own game footage for several months. I don’t even know why I was injured.

The family that she once loved gave Maggie the biggest blow. Life could not defeat her, but her family did.

She kicked them out of the room, but her mother continued to cry, feeling that she was being wronged.

But even so, other blows followed one after another, because the long-term inability to move was cut off yesterday.

Also taken away was her love for life. Although she had been frail and sickly since childhood, she tried her best to live and loved life.

But now she has lost it all and asks Frankie to understand her.

Frankie of course refused painfully, but Maggie answered with her own actions: If you love me, please kill me.
She bit off her own tongue and chose to commit suicide. Although she was rescued, she continued to bite the repaired wound after she woke up, and was eventually given a sedative by the doctor.

Her eyes were now disorderly and empty. The love that was once written in them had turned into emptiness.

In the end, Frankie made the final decision in tears, pulled out Maggie's trachea, and gave her an injection of medicine so that she passed away peacefully.

Then it disappeared into the darkness without a trace.

All of this was written in a letter by Frankie's only friend, Eddie, and handed to Frankie's daughter, who had rejected his letters countless times.

This is a vote of Frankie's love and guilt for her.

The end of the film drew applause from the audience. Hollywood is not averse to commercial films, but no matter in Hollywood or elsewhere, film critics’ favorites are undoubtedly art films!
The film has a slender tone. In the early stage, it is like an ordinary boxing inspirational story, and then it is replaced by realistic toxic chicken soup, and finally it shows the feelings between the two.

Putting aside the surface story, this is just an old man who has lost his family and has the opportunity to feel the love of his family again, and a woman who originally loved a seemingly beautiful family but saw through the vanity and finally left.

The two redeemed each other and relied on each other, but in the end, for the woman's will, the old man had to end this hard-won and extremely precious opportunity with his own hands, and lost it again.

It's just a story about love, but when this love is forced to leave, no one can bear it!
Amidst the applause, Chen An and the main creators went on stage together and accepted interviews from the media.

"Chen, this is another excellent film. I even think it's your best film. Are you using boxing to express the feelings between the two protagonists?"

Chen An picked up the microphone, nodded and said, "Yes, boxing plays an important role in the film, but the film is not about boxing, it is a story about love."

These have all been shown in the film, and boxing is just the introduction and lubricant.

"Chen, what you want to show is the mutual affection between the protagonists Frankie and Maggie?"

"Yes, in this world, family love is the most unconditional, the most abundant and prosperous, the most profound, and the most difficult to repay."

It's obvious that Maggie's mother has no affection for her; she is just fulfilling her duty to raise her.

And Frankie, Maggie's coach, is a true family member to her.

Chen An gave some simple answers to the questions that film critics or reporters wanted to analyze.

Afterwards, the reporters also interviewed the three actors. For example, Theron was asked, "Ms. Theron, as someone who has always relied on playing vase roles, why were you invited to participate in this movie?"

The question was particularly pointed, but Charlize Theron crossed her legs and said domineeringly: "Because I am suitable. If it weren't for those vase roles, I might not have the opportunity to try, because Chen would not even know me."

Chen An also nodded in agreement, that’s right.

(End of this chapter)