Volume 1: A sound on Wall Street, Xinxiang City is busy copying books Chapter 251: Twelve People (Part 1)
This chapter's subtitle: The most stylish movie ever
"Twelve People, the world's first commercial sound film, was shot at the end of 1920. It took only one week to complete the entire shooting of this one-and-a-half-hour feature film. Part of the credit for completing the shooting of Twelve People so quickly and smoothly should be attributed to the film's photographer, Mr. Victor Fleming. Although he knew nothing about sound film shooting equipment, he was able to use these new technical equipment skillfully in just five days. Later, he also became a famous director."
"The director of this film is the famous Hollywood actress Lillian Gish. With this film, she became the second true female director in history...."
"Of course, in addition to being the world's first commercial sound film, the film "12" has another feature that has not been surpassed to this day, and that is its magnificent lineup of screenwriters. More than a hundred years after the birth of film, there has not been a film that has so many literary celebrities involved in its creation. This film is also the beginning of the film aesthetics genre of "intellectual film" or "writer film"..."
——Excerpt from A Brief History of World Cinema
"Ladies and gentlemen. Right here and right now, let's be screenwriters together!"
As soon as our Master Yuan said this, everyone present fell silent. They were all wondering what he meant by this and how this film screenwriter could still be "jointly"?
The movies in 1920 were not up to par, but as a novelty, they were still quite popular. The prototype of the high-end cinemas that Yuan Yanshu envisioned, "not the best, but the most expensive," had already appeared in major cities in the United States. These "cinema palaces" were aimed at customers above the middle class.
Even if Yuan Yanshu hadn't been tinkering with high-end movie theaters, this thing would have become very popular in the mid-to-late 1920s and became one of the symbols of the "Jazz Age". Moreover, the tastes of the American people were quite similar to those of the Seres a hundred years later. These movie theaters were all so gorgeous that when children went there for the first time, they would ask their parents, "Is this heaven?"
When Master Yuan saw everyone looking at each other in confusion, he knew that they had not yet caught up with his ideas, so he had to demonstrate it himself .
He pushed the female star onto a chair and said to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen. This is our defendant, Mrs. Dempsey."
Master Yuan turned to Miss Gish and whispered, "Lillian, you are now charged with murder. Do you understand?"
This female star, who was definitely not stupid, finally understood what her lover meant. Her whole temperament changed immediately, from a glamorous superstar to a pitiful and weak woman. An uneasy look appeared on her face, and her body posture seemed so weak. She looked at everyone present uneasily like a poor frightened little animal.
"Well, the trial is over. Now it's time for the jury to deliberate on the case."
Under Yuan Yanshu's command, everyone cleared a space in the center of the venue and the waiters placed 12 chairs.
He looked around at everyone, and suddenly raised his hand, pointed at one of them and said, "Juror No. 1...that's you!"
Mr. Theodore Dresser was also surprised. But before he and everyone else could react, Master Yuan walked up to him and asked very seriously, "Juror No. 1, what is your occupation?"
"I am..." After all, as one of the three great American writers in the 20th century, Mr. Dreiser's reaction was not slow. He had already understood what the Chinese meant and began to seriously consider this issue.
He stroked his chin and pondered for a moment before saying, "I am... well, I am the restaurant supervisor!"
"Besides the restaurant supervisor?" Yuan Yan saw the other party responding to "Lingzi" in this way and immediately began to persuade him.
Mr. Dresser began to build the personality of his character: "Well, I should have a wife and three children, but the family relationship is not very harmonious..."
Our Master Yuan interjected, "So you're having affairs with the waitresses like all the other hotel maitre ds!"
"Hahaha..." Everyone burst into laughter when they heard this.
“Hahaha…” The great writer also laughed, but he nodded and said, “Yes, I have an affair with the waitress just like all other hotel supervisors.”
Yuan Yan suddenly pointed at the pitiful Miss Gish and asked, "So do you think our defendant is guilty?"
"It's hard to say, but..." Mr. Dresser looked at the superstar with excellent acting skills and groaned again, "But when women get crazy, they can do anything..."
Our Master Yuan chimed in again: "Just like your wife's reaction when she found out about your affair?"
The great writer nodded and said, "Yes, just like my wife wanted to kill me when she found out about my affair."
Yuan Yan suddenly said to the crowd: "Now we have Juror No. 1, a restaurant supervisor who had an affair with a waitress."
"Hahaha……"
“Pah pah pah…”
At this point, even the dumbest people understood what the Chinese man meant. They laughed and applauded, watching him select the second juror with great anticipation.
"Juror No. 2...Mr. Brown, that's you."
"Me?!" The president of New York University Press was also intrigued by this episode so he stayed there for the time being. Unexpectedly, he was suddenly forced to take up arms by Yuan Yan.
"Yes, a man with a harmonious family, high moral standards but a little old-fashioned... well, a high school principal. Mr. Brown, what do you think?"
“This…”
In fact, our Master Yuan wanted to take this opportunity to build a relationship with this big guy, so he gave him a pretty good character. He didn't wait for Mr. Brown to refuse, and asked directly: "Juror No. 2, do you think our defendant is guilty?"
The president, who quickly got into the role, frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "She should be guilty. This woman not only cheated but also lied. She is indeed highly suspicious."
"VERY GOOD! Mr. Brown, please sit over here with Mr. Dresser."
Yuan Yan suddenly looked around at everyone and said, "Okay, we now have two jurors, a restaurant supervisor and a middle school principal."
"Is there anyone who would like to volunteer next?"
