Chapter 546: "Resident Evil" Released
It's another summer vacation. The freshman year courses have ended perfectly, and Lu Yiming and his group of friends have returned to Baiyun City.
Not long after he returned, Lu Yiming received a call.
The call was from Paul Anderson, saying that "Resident Evil" will soon be released in Europe and the United States, and is scheduled to be released on July 15th.
The Hong Kong version will not be available until August.
Mainland to be determined.
Paul Anderson wanted to invite Lu Yiming to the United States to attend the "world premiere".
Lu Yiming readily agreed.
At this critical juncture, America really needs a blockbuster to restore confidence.
Lu Yiming called Shi Qingxue.
"Hey, since we have nothing to do during the summer vacation, why don't we go to America?"
Shi Qingxue was shopping with Cao Jingwen when she suddenly heard Lu Yiming say he was going to America. Shi Qingxue was immediately surprised: "Why did you suddenly think of going to America? What are you going there for?"
Lu Yiming said: "Resident Evil is released, let's go watch the movie."
Shi Qingxue said, "Oh, sure. Cao Jingwen said she's always wanted to go abroad, can you take her with you?"
Lu Yiming said, "No problem. I originally wanted everyone to go, so let's see who wants to go together. Uncles and aunts, are you going? Bring my parents over to have some fun too. Wangzai has been talking about wanting to go abroad for a while. By the way, if you want to go, remember to remind them to get visas."
"Okay, I'll go back and ask."
After the call, Shi Qingxue said to Cao Jingwen, "Haven't you always wanted to visit America? Lu Yiming called me just now and said that we should go to America together."
Cao Jingwen was very happy to hear that she could go to America. Although her family was a dual-income family, her living conditions were slightly better than those of her peers, but she was still far from being able to go abroad, let alone America across the ocean.
"Okay, why did you suddenly think of going to America?"
Shi Qingxue said: "Lu Yiming said he wanted to go to the movies."
Cao Jingwen was suddenly speechless.
Flying all the way abroad just to watch a movie?
Are rich people so willful?
At dinner that night, Lu Yiming said to Ning Xuehua and Lu Ding, "Dad, Mom, the movie I invested in will be released in North America on July 15th. I plan to take this opportunity to go over and have some fun."
Ning Xuehua asked curiously, "You invested in a movie? What kind of movie is it?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "It's considered a horror movie."
Ning Xuehua complained: "Why invest in a horror movie? Can't you make a drama about family life?"
After all, at this age, they even watch ads for stomach-strengthening and digestion-promoting tablets and detoxifying beauty capsules, and variety shows are all about mediating after marriages have cheated. They have a mysterious obsession with family matters.
Lu Yiming said helplessly: "You can make money by making horror movies. Young people nowadays are looking for excitement."
Ning Xuehua looked disgusted and said, "Hey, why would anyone like horror movies? Isn't it better to watch something peaceful and calm?"
Lu Yiming thought to himself, those programs you watch are either about men and women cheating on each other or being a mistress, how can they be peaceful and harmonious?
Ning Xuehua asked: "When will your film be released in the country?"
Lu Yiming said: "It was submitted for review a long time ago, but it failed to pass the review because it contained too many bloody and violent scenes, so there is basically no hope for it to be released in China."
Ning Xuehua said unhappily: "Why can it be shown abroad but not in China?"
Lu Yiming curled his lips and said, "How should I know? You keep shouting about cultural confidence, but the result is... hehe."
Ning Xuehua said worriedly, "Didn't they say that Xia Country has a huge market? If your movie can't be shown in Xia Country , won't you lose money?"
Lu Yiming said: "It doesn't matter. There are many investors in America and the growth is particularly good. It is impossible to lose money. As for China, piracy is rampant. Even if it is released, the box office will not make much money. It is basically impossible to count on it. However, "Resident Evil" has been scheduled for August in Hong Kong, so it can still make some money."
There were many people who wanted to go to America, and of course Lu Yiming's Gulfstream was unable to accommodate them all. So Lu Yiming generously chartered a medium-sized passenger plane, and everyone went to America together.
At Bill Gates' strong request, the plane landed in Seattle.
Bill Gates invites everyone to visit his mansion.
Although Lu Yiming's Lu Family Garden is already very large, compared with Bill Gates's boldness of integrating the entire mountain into his manor, the Lu Family Garden is still a little lacking.
After playing in Seattle for a few days, everyone came to Los Angeles and stayed in a hotel in Hollywood.
After putting away their luggage, everyone had their meal in the hotel's high-rise view restaurant. Through the glass curtain wall, they could see the word "Hollywood" gleaming in the distance halfway up the mountain.
Along the way, Li Quanwang and Cao Jingwen, who had never seen the world, seemed very excited. Now deep in Hollywood, the two felt that their eyes were not enough, and they could not see all the new things.
“This is Hollywood.”
“Are all those blockbuster movies shot here?”
“Is this a holy place for filmmakers from all over the world?”
"I saw many sculptures and portraits of Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee should be the most famous Hollywood star in our country."
The two people were chattering away, seemingly having endless things to communicate.
The next day, everyone went out together, shopping in Hollywood and had fun for the whole day.
On the third day, everyone who was tired from playing rested in the hotel.
The time came to July 15th.
The movie premiere started at ten o'clock in the morning, but at around seven in the morning, everyone in the hotel started to get busy.
In the room, Ning Xuehua took out her most beautiful dress and various accessories that she had kept in the bottom of her closet, then sat in front of the mirror and began to dress herself up.
For her, this was a movie invested by her son, and she came to attend the premiere, so of course she couldn't embarrass her son.
At nine o'clock, the crew sent to take everyone to the Xiaguo Grand Theater located in the middle of the Avenue of Stars.
At the theater entrance, everyone got out of the car and looked up at the theater entrance with surprised expressions.
Shi Qingxue said: "This shape is so strange. The doorway looks like the entrance to a northern courtyard house, a narrow rectangle. The key is the tall herringbone lintel. Why does it look so Southeast Asian? Is this what a Thai roof looks like? The two big orange pillars on both sides are so weird."
Lu Yiming shrugged slightly and said sarcastically, "You can't draw a tiger but end up drawing a dog. That's how it is. Culture is something that, if you know the results but not the reasons, you will create weird things."
The theater opened in 1927 and was built by Mr. Grauman, a prominent figure in the American film industry at the time, and was known as "an architectural style with a strong oriental charm." This shows that they themselves knew that this thing was a hodgepodge, and there were dozens of Eastern countries, so it was normal to "integrate" them.
After entering the theater, many people recognized Lu Yiming and came over to greet him. After learning that Lu Yiming was the investor of the film, the reporters who were originally surrounding the main creators and leading actors immediately surrounded Lu Yiming.
A blonde female reporter approached Lu Yiming and asked, "Mr. Lu, why did you invest in such a movie?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Because I like it very much, so I invested in it."
A reporter asked: "Some people say that this movie has a niche theme and is adapted from a game, so it is definitely mostly for self-entertainment and the box office won't be very high. What do you think?"
Lu Yiming said confidently: "When it comes to box office, my only goal has always been to win the championship."
After the interview, Lu Yiming took everyone to see a movie.
Although there are "zombies" everywhere in the whole movie, the word "zombie" is never mentioned from beginning to end.
In order to better perform the essence, at Lu Yiming's request, the entire crew, from the director to the actors, played the game "Resident Evil".
These can also be considered as some Easter eggs in the movie.
To be honest, it's a good thing that this movie was shot abroad, so all the special effects are very realistic - at least the blood is really red.
If it were put in China, this thing would have to be made green. After all, China has its own national conditions.
Although he had seen it once before, Lu Yiming still felt shocked when he watched it again. He was shocked by the strength of the American film industry.
The gap between these things can no longer be filled by arguments of economic strength or technological level. This is purely a gap in mentality. It will not be too late to discuss it when the blood turns red.
For girls, this kind of movie is still too scary. While watching the movie, Shi Qingxue was often frightened and couldn't stop snuggling into Lu Yiming's arms.
Lu Yiming thought that this was probably one of the reasons why horror movies were so popular.
Throughout the entire viewing process, screams were heard one after another, and the viewing experience was maximized.
The movie ended, the lights came on, and many people exclaimed that it was a great experience.
Lu Yiming muttered: "Ah, the uncut version is still more enjoyable."
There was a lot of discussion around.
“I didn’t expect that the game would be so good after being made into a movie.”
"I have a feeling that this movie will create a whole new category."
"The fusion of science fiction and horror has such a good effect."
"The Licker that appears at the end of the movie is definitely on par with the Alien."
"really."
Bill Gates said to Lu Yiming: "Congratulations."
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Where does your happiness come from?"
Bill Gates said: "This movie is very good. I think it is not inferior to Alien."
Lu Yiming could also tell from the audience's reactions that the film had received a good response.
The key is that this movie is really awesome. After being adapted from the game, it sold well at the box office, which fed back to the game, making the game popular as well. A sequel was released, and it was adapted into a movie again, forming a perfect closed loop and exploding in commercial value.
After the movie was released, as expected, it was a huge success, winning the box office championship in the first week and opening the eyes of the American film industry.
Suqiao Pictures, the largest investment company, also became famous thanks to this movie.
At the celebration banquet, Su Zhenge drank two liang of liquor in one gulp, put his arm around Lu Yiming's shoulders with a dazed look in his eyes, and said, "If it weren't for you, brother Lu, who pointed out such a bright path for us two brothers, Suqiao Pictures would not have been established, and we wouldn't be in this situation now. Come, let me toast you a glass."
Lu Yiming clinked glasses with him and said with a smile, "This is just the beginning. It's just a first-week box office champion. There's still a long way to go in the future. The movie box office revenue share is nothing. In the future, we can also sell peripherals and cultural creations, such as DVDs, models, figurines, posters, etc."
"Ah, yes, that's what I said, Brother Lu, you have a way. You don't know, the way the buddies I hang out with look at me these past two days is different. We adore me! You know, I'm a rising star!"
Because Su Zhenge was not doing his job properly, he was not taken seriously in the Su family. People in the circle also knew that he was a playboy without any real power, so his friends who only cared about drinking and eating did not pay much attention to him. Now, thanks to "Resident Evil", Su Zhenge has made a comeback, his influence in the circle has greatly increased, and his status in the Su family is also increasing day by day. Therefore, he is so happy today.
Shi Qingxue, who was accompanying him, rolled her eyes and said, "Uncle, what are you talking about? I call you uncle, but you can still call Lu Yiming brother?"
Su Zhenge burped, waved his hand, and said nonchalantly, "It's okay, we can talk about our own things."
Shi Qingxue: “…”
Lu Yiming winked at Qiao Ke, who quickly and sensibly pulled Su Zhenge off Lu Yiming's body.
In the following days, the box office of "Resident Evil" continued to rise, leaving the rest far behind.
Even when Bill Gates called to chat with Lu Yiming, he couldn't help but praise him, saying, "I didn't expect that you are not only good at business, but also know about movies."
Lu Yiming said modestly: "I know nothing about the art of film, but as a young person, I know what kind of stories young people today like the most."
Bill Gates praised this very much and said: "You are indeed the best young people I have ever met. Even when I was young, I couldn't do such cool things as you."
In his opinion, "Resident Evil" is a very cool movie, full of violence and blood, but also with capital and technology, and inhuman monsters. Basically, all the elements that American young people like are mixed together like a hodgepodge. But this hodgepodge is cleverly integrated through its own logic.
In Bill Gates' eyes, Lu Yiming is simply a perfect young man. The only shortcoming is that he is not an American, which is really a pity.
"I'm telling you, Lu, you really don't plan to immigrate to America? America will never turn away outstanding talents like you."
Lu Yiming laughed and said firmly: "I have already said this, the future belongs to Xiaguo. Even if it is just for the sake of interests, it is impossible to abandon the motherland and choose America."
Bill Gates said depressedly: "Can't you just look favorably upon America?"
In his eyes, today's America is stepping on Europe and punching white bears. The whole world is crawling and trembling at its feet. It is at its peak and invincible.
In comparison, Xiaguo was too backward and primitive. Lu Yiming said that Xiaguo's future could compete with America, but he didn't believe it at all.
Lu Yiming said leisurely: "Bill, haven't you noticed? The power of America is being controlled by financial capital. You are moving factories and so-called 'backward' industries. How did America become strong in the past? Was it because America was rich? Wrong, it was because America was the world's factory in the past."
Bill Gates' face changed slightly. He suddenly had a bad feeling.
However, Lu Yiming did not dare to think what Bill Gates thought, and continued: "And now, Xiaguo is about to join the WTO and take over the title of 'World Factory' from the United States. Do you know what this means?"
Bill Gates subconsciously asked: "What does it mean?"
Lu Yiming did not directly answer Bill Gates's words, but smiled and said: "I have studied history. Human civilization is really interesting. The only lesson we have learned from history is that we never learn lessons. America has risen to prominence and then declined, following the old path of Britain. The empire on which the sun never sets will eventually set, let alone you?"
Many people think that the term "world factory" is not a good one, and that Xia Guo is just working for others and that the money he earns is hard-earned money.
I can only say that this idea is too naive. Only industrial strength is the real national strength of a country.
The rest of the so-called soft power must be supported by the hard power of industrial strength, otherwise it will be castles in the air.
As for money, it's just waste paper. Can't we print as much as we want?
Only when your productivity is strong enough and the money you print has physical backing, will your currency have purchasing power.
Of course, there is a more important point, that is, industry creates a large number of jobs, and the various engineers and technical workers among them are the backbone of the middle class.
If any country wants to be strong, it must have the largest number of middle-class people and the highest proportion of middle-class people, because it is easier for the country to obtain taxes from the middle-class people. At the same time, these wealthy people are more willing to defend their own interests and thus become defenders of the country.
Unfortunately, America is following the same old path as Britain. The country's financial capitalization and industrial hollowing out will inevitably lead to the disappearance of a large number of middle-class people.
After 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis that swept the world wiped out a large number of American middle-class people, and those former technical engineers fell into the abyss of bankruptcy.
Bill Gates is a smart man, after all, he can become the world's richest man. And in America, a country where money is everything, this status can bring him anything.
He didn't know why Lu Yiming told him this. He said to Lu Yiming: "Why are you telling me this? Don't forget that I am an American. Besides, aren't you afraid that I will go to Capitol Hill to remind those politicians?"
Lu Yiming laughed loudly: "Come on, this is the trend of the times. What can one person change? Can you stop those profit-seeking wolves on Wall Street? Moreover, the ones whose interests are harmed are the old money of America, the conservatives who grew up during the period of great industrial development in America. Will you risk your life to help your opponent out of the quagmire, or take the opportunity to step on him and let a new tycoon like you step onto the political stage and seize power?"
Bill Gates' face changed drastically and he asked, "What do you want to say?"
