King of Hollywood

Chapter 151 Proud Americans, Embarrassed British

Adrian was right. The reason why the media became so calm was because they were waiting for "Howard's End" to be released. The trailer of the movie was broadcast on major TV stations when "Scent of a Woman" got 30 million North American box office. After the broadcast, both the American media and the British media seemed to turn a blind eye to it and did nothing about it. It is really interesting to compare the quarrels caused by the broadcast of the tango segment of "Scent of a Woman" without making any comments.

For these people’s thoughts, Adrian guessed a little bit. The trailer was edited very well. Although it is only 2 minutes long, the characters, environment and story line shown are very consistent with the original novel, so They feel very embarrassed.

The embarrassment for the American media is that the trailer and the original novel are so consistent. If the movie released is bad, it will undoubtedly be a slap in the face. There are countless movies with excellent trailers but terrible films.

And the embarrassment for the British media is, will the American boy really make a perfect Victorian movie? While the trailer is different from the feature film, who knows what the end result will be?

More importantly, because of the controversy caused by the attack on Adrian a few months ago, and the development of the tit-for-tat confrontation in "Scent of a Woman", the media and even critics of the two countries unanimously want to publish "Howard's End" Win or lose. Although this situation is caused by too many coincidences, it is undeniable that the cause of this is that Adrian wanted to put "Howard End" on the big screen.

Because of the above reasons, and the release date of the film has been set on December 10th, both sides have simply kept silent on it since Thanksgiving, and waited for the feature film to be released again.

It is the first time in Hollywood that the media of the two countries can have such a tacit understanding for a movie, right? Adrian inevitably thought so in his heart. However, he did not get carried away with his complacency, so he also remained calm, never mentioning "Howard's End" before the 10th, even vetoing the premiere. Based on the attention paid by the media of the two countries, the publicity is already in place, and this is not a box office-based commercial film, and the use of too many marketing methods is likely to be superfluous.

So, in an eerie calm, the time came to December 10, 1992.

"Howards End" was released in 600 theaters across the United States in a low-key way like "Scent of a Woman". Although 20th Century Fox, as the distributor, has thought of many ways, it is after all a niche film of literary drama, and the theater owners do not care about it. Probably so many movie theaters were zoned out in the first place.

However, what surprised countless people stretching their necks waiting to see a good movie is that even though the movie is only shown in 600 movie theaters, the weekend box office still has a total box office of 10 million in the first week. The blockbuster Christmas schedule grabbed the tenth position in the North American box office list

This data may not be enough for some blockbuster movies, but it is already quite amazing for niche literary movies. However, it is not that God wants people to go to the movies to watch this kind of situation. From the feelings of the fans after watching the movie, the martial arts, the holy king, the holy king, the king who kills the gods at night Zhou royal family will kill the gods and seal the throne in the night, seek the devil, proud of the world, the strongest abandoned young master Zhou royal family, martial arts, Qiankun will kill the gods and seal the throne at night, seek the magic, proud of the world, the strongest abandoned young man, the god-making general of the Zhou royal family, kill the gods in the night Sealing the Throne, Begging the Devil, Ao Shi, Nine Heavens, Strongest Abandoned Younger, Da Zhou Royal Family, can know the reason.

"I've always been fascinated by Adrian's movies, he's a genius, he can always tell a lot of interesting stories, but "Howards End" is so disappointing for me, it's bland, there are neither leaks nor ups and downs, the ending It was slightly better when it was released, but it is completely illogical, and I would not have watched it if I had known this." A movie fan said in an interview.

"What kind of surprises can the cooperation between Professor Hannibal and the wizard director bring us? It's an unremarkable story, and Professor Hannibal has completely lost his due demeanor, which is too disappointing." This is the feeling of a movie fan who left the scene midway Jiuchongtian's strongest abandoned young master Zhou's royal family will kill the gods at night to seek the throne of the gods The god-making general night kills the gods and seals the throne of the gods, seeks the devil, proud of the world, the ninth heaven, the strongest abandoned young man, the royal family of Zhou.

Of course, there are also people who applaud. A lecturer at Harvard University in Boston thinks that Adrian has done a good job: "He has completely grasped what the novel wants to express, and made this movie as exquisite as a work of art." , I think Foster in Paradise should be very happy to see Adrian's adaptation of "Howards End."

It's a pity that such people are a minority of the minority after all, and the vast majority of them expressed their disappointment with the movie. The reason boils down to one point: the plot is lukewarm, and there are basically no attractive ups and downs. Like the second movie fan, there are many people in every state who leave after watching two-thirds of the movie, so it is inevitable that some people will ridicule Adrian for overdrawing his reputation.

However, even so, at the weekend of the second week, the total box office of "Howards End" this week still took 10 million in two weeks, and the sum of the two weeks was 20 million US dollars. Basically, cost recovery is no longer a problem.

This is another stunned result, but it is not surprising if you think about it carefully. Firstly, because of the great start in the first week, the number of theaters has increased to 1,000; secondly, Adrian’s accumulated reputation from 90 years to now , and so many surprising auras—participated in all three major European film festivals in three years, not only all won but also won the Palme d’Or, and finally the youngest Oscar nomination for best director—let those movie fans Even if I heard how dull "Howards End" is, I still can't help but watch it curiously.

Of course, in addition to the above two points, there is another most important reason, the comments of the media and critics.

Contrary to most of the fans who complained, the American media basically praised and flattered this time. 10% to 20% of the critics criticized "Scent of a Woman" when it was released, but now, That percentage has shrunk to 1%, which means almost 99% of critics have a positive opinion of "Howards End". Of course, those tabloids that have always liked to sing a different tune or use sensationalism as their selling point are not among them.

"This is a very delicate work. Adrian firmly grasped the emotions that Forster wanted to express in the novel and transformed them into images and sounds perfectly. Yes, this movie The plot is very plain and boring, and there is no place that can fully mobilize the audience's emotions, but it is this plainness that is the true meaning of novels and movies. Only in this plainness can we see what the movie really wants to say Those, depressive, heavy, and full of barriers, no one thought that Adrian could really successfully put "Howards End" on the screen. Those who had ridiculed and questioned him could close their eyes at this time. mouth."

—Kevin James, The New York Times

"Frankly speaking, I never thought that such an exquisite and original Victorian film would come from an American director. From "Two Smoking Barrels" to now, Adrian can always make People are pleasantly surprised. Unlike Forster's other novels, love in "Howards End" is just an embellishment, and it is more about discussing life, society and class. Henry is neither a good person nor a bad person. Lite's pursuit is true, and so is his indifference to his ex-lover. He looks down on the poor and thinks that the poor are poor. Margarita is gentle and reserved, always trying her best to ease this awkward relationship .

The acting skills of the three main actors are quite good. Anthony's excellent performance made him completely incompatible with last year's Professor Hannibal; while Margaret played by Emma Thompson is a little more lively than the novel, but Without compromising her acting skills, she is the best actress in this movie. Kate Beckinsale also interprets the sensitive and enthusiastic Helen very deeply, but sometimes it seems a bit deliberate with too much force, not as skilled as Anthony and Emma.

In short, Adrian once again gave me a surprise, and I really can have such a surprise in the future. "

——Famous film critic Roger Ebert

In short, there was a lot of praise in the mainstream American media. Many people implicitly declared that this was a victory for American directors. Big thumbs up. It's really interesting to think about the conflicted feelings Americans have about the British.

So, how did the British media react to the release of "Howards End"? Although the UK and US release dates were aligned, all media and critics remained unanimously silent for three days after release. Because they really don't know what to say, just like when they criticized Adrian for directing "Howard's End", the American media talked about it from left to right. But at that time, the American media could talk about other things more or less, but the British media at this moment didn't know how to speak at all.

Praise? That would be like slapping yourself in the face in disguise. Many people still remember those reports half a year ago; criticizing? No kidding, although every movie will not be perfect, there is still a way to criticize, but don't forget how many countries are staring at the British now.

A critic in France who had paid attention to the criticism at the beginning went to London to watch "Howards End", returned to Paris and praised the film in a column, and even declared that if the film also participated in Cannes in May If it is a film festival, then it will be one of the most powerful contenders for the Palme d'Or.

Such comments immediately aroused the curiosity of many French people. After all, Adrian won the Palme d'Or for "Pulp Fiction", and many critics and some "artistic" directors also went to London to watch this film. Movie.

Faced with this situation, if you want to criticize, you must be careful, otherwise being caught will only increase the jokes. I was slapped heavily by that American kid, so now I have to use so much force when I slap myself?

[Niuwen No Ad Novel Dedication]