Chapter 513 The Godfather 3 is good
"Farewell My Concubine" was not localized, which was equivalent to translating the original script once and using it directly. The screenwriter became the translator, and the job suddenly became easier.
It only took Lin Weimin a few days to put together the script and hand it over to Arthur Miller, and then the two of them communicated and revised the script tirelessly.
After working like this for a few days, Arthur Miller said that Woody Allen was back in New York to make a movie and asked Lin Weimin if he wanted to go and see it.
After working for several days in a row, it was time to take a break, and Lin Weimin readily agreed.
The next evening, Lin Weimin and his wife, accompanied by Arthur Miller, arrived at the shooting site at the Green Garden Lounge.
Among American directors, there may never be another director who loves New York as much as Woody Allen.
New York elements appear in almost every one of his films, and a large number of them were shot directly in New York.
When Lin Weimin and his team arrived at the filming site, Woody Allen was sitting in the director's chair looking at the monitor, with a bearded, black-haired middle-aged man sitting next to him.
Seeing Lin Weimin again after three years, Woody Allen gave him a warm hug and said, "Lin, I saw The Last Emperor. It was really good!"
"Thanks!"
Then, Woody Allen introduced the middle-aged bearded man next to him to Lin Weimin, "This is Francis Ford Coppola, the director of the movie "The Godfather". This time we will co-direct "New York Story", and each of us will be responsible for a short film."
The movie Woody Allen is currently shooting is "New York Story", a love-themed movie co-directed by him, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. The three of them directed a short film respectively, which together made up the movie "New York Story".
It sounds no different from those compilation love movies of later generations. The only thing worth mentioning about this movie is that the three directors are all well-known directors in the American film industry.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Weimin watched the filming process of the movie with great interest.
Woody Allen is in charge of a short film called "The Sorrows of Oedipus," which he wrote, directed and starred in.
In the movie, Woody Allen plays Sheldon, a 50-year-old lawyer who has an overly doting mother who controls him in every aspect of life, work and relationships.
Sheldon has a girlfriend, and his mother is very dissatisfied with his choice of girlfriend.
Once, the three of them went to see a magic show together. The mother, who was invited to the stage to assist in the performance, was made to disappear without a trace by the magician.
But the mother did not give up and appeared in heaven and continued to scold Sheldon and his girlfriend.
The whole story is full of absurdity, comedy and joy, and is full of Woody Allen's early style. It is easy for him to make a movie in this style.
The scenes shot today are of Sheldon, played by Woody Allen, dining with his mother at the Green Lounge. His mother complains about the bad table and also complains about the promiscuity of New Yorkers.
This group of people will not treat themselves badly. They can find fun wherever they go, and if they are not careful, they will touch some embarrassing liquids.
The jokes were so funny that even Lin Weimin, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help laughing.
I watched the filming of the movie with great interest for more than an hour until the film was wrapped.
Woody Allen took advantage of the fact that the Green Garden Lounge had closed for business to invite Lin Weimin and others to dinner. Accompanying him was the heroine of "The Sorrows of Oedipus", Mia Farrow.
As for the director and the actress, everyone knows what happened. The two have been living together for nine years, but they have not married.
Nearly three years have passed since the last meeting at Arthur Miller's house. When Lin Weimin came to the United States again, his popularity was very different from what it was a few years ago.
Woody Allen naturally mentioned "The Intouchables" which Spielberg was currently filming. He came from Broadway and has always written, directed, and occasionally acted in his own films. In his opinion, Spielberg's attempt was too childish.
"I really think that instead of making The Intouchables, Steven might as well make your movie Burning," said Woody Allen.
“Ivy, do you like Burning?”
"Of course. Who can not love such an excellent work? Didn't it win the National Book Critics Circle Award? If I didn't like writing myself, I really want to make a movie out of your novel." Woody Allen joked.
"Burning" is merciless in its criticism of the United States. Generally, the R-type readers cannot appreciate this kind of novel. Only relatively L-type readers are interested in this novel.
There is one thing Woody Allen didn't say: if this novel were made into a movie, it might not be well received by the film industry and ordinary audiences.
Compared to "Burning", works like "Farewell My Concubine" with mysterious oriental colors are safer.
When Woody Allen heard that Lin Weimin and Arthur Miller were going to bring Farewell My Concubine to the Broadway stage, he excitedly said, "You must invite me for the premiere."
"Of course!"
Let's get back to the movie "New York Story". Woody Allen is very good at shooting this type of movie, and another director Martin Scorsese is also good at it. Only Francis Ford Coppola is not very good at this type of movie.
Francis became famous for "Patton" in 1970, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
The Godfather was a groundbreaking film in 1972, and The Godfather Part II followed suit in 1974, creating a unique series of films in the history of American cinema. Through these two films, Francis became one of the best directors in the American film industry.
By 1979, perhaps the success of the two consecutive "Godfather" films made Francis a little inflated, and he independently produced the adventure drama "Apocalypse Now". Although the film won the Cannes Palme d'Or that year, it performed terrible at the box office. This film, which cost 36 million US dollars to make, ended up losing all the money.
The failure of "Apocalypse Now" seemed to have started the decline of Francis' film career.
Since then, he has directed many films including the romance film "Sweetheart", the drama film "Fighting Fish", the fantasy romance film "Peggy Sue Got Married", etc., but most of them received mediocre reviews, with neither artistic achievements nor box office performance.
After several years of wasted time, Coppola seems to be left with only the empty title of a great director.
Countless investors and film critics have sentenced him to death. Francis Ford Coppola, the great director who once shocked the world film industry, has run out of ideas!
Today, Francis came to Woody Allen's crew with the intention of learning from him.
Several people present had considerable attainments in drama creation, and after listening to the plot of his short film, they all frowned at the same time.
Francis' short film is called "Life Without Izzo". It is about the famous flute player Gadot and his wife who are separated. His 12-year-old daughter Zoe is sent to an aristocratic school and is good friends with a new Indian prince in the class. The gangsters robbed the hotel where Zoe's father stored jewelry and lost an envelope when they fled the scene, which was picked up by Zoe.
In the envelope was a pair of teardrop-shaped diamond earrings that his father had kept for the Indian princess. At a grand banquet, the Indian prince asked his concubine to wear the famous teardrop-shaped diamond earrings, but his father was worried about the safe being robbed. At this time, Zoe took out the earrings, and his father was overjoyed. With Zoe's help, Gadot and his wife reconciled.
Nothing good to say!
Lin Weimin didn't know what Arthur Miller and Woody Allen felt, but this was the only feeling he had after hearing this story.
Francis frowned. Seeing that no one was talking, he already understood everyone's comments.
He said with some annoyance: "I really shouldn't have taken this movie."
Woody Allen comforted him: "Frank, this is just a compilation movie, don't be so nervous, even if the word of mouth is not good, what does it matter?"
The consecutive failures of several films had a huge negative impact on Francis and seriously hit his self-confidence. Otherwise, he would not have come to Woody Allen to learn from him.
"Frank, to be honest, I think you are more suitable for movies with strong temperament and rich emotions. Everyone has their own strengths, and skit-style movies like "New York Story" are not suitable for your style." Lin Weimin said.
What he said was entirely from the perspective of a movie fan. Looking at the movies directed by Francis over the years, relatively light-hearted and bright movies such as "Sweetheart", "Fighting Fish" and "Peggy Sue Got Married" have all failed without exception.
On the contrary, movies with strong temperament and rich emotions such as "The Godfather" series and "Bram Stoker's Dracula" have achieved unprecedented success.
From the perspective of Lin Weimin, a viewer, Francis's making of the former type of film is completely a case of highlighting weaknesses and avoiding strengths, which is not worth the cost.
If Lin Weimin was just a writer, Francis might not even pay attention to him.
But Francis had just heard Arthur Miller's introduction that Lin Weimin's script had not only won an Oscar, but also the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival.
Lin Weimin may not have much say in the directing business, but Francis believes in his ability to appreciate films.
"Lin, do you really think so?" Francis asked unconfidently.
"Of course it's true, but this is just my feeling as a movie fan." Lin Weimin said with a smile.
Francis looked at him, and did not despise his words just because he said he was just a movie fan. Instead, he asked, "Can you tell me more specifically? According to your feeling, what kind of movie can I direct?"
Lin Weimin looked at Francis and asked, "Do you really want me to tell you?"
"Of course!" Francis said seriously.
"I think "The Godfather 3" is a good choice!" Lin Weimin blurted out.
Francis was stunned for a moment, looked at Lin Weimin, and then laughed, "Lin, you are really a joker. The story of "The Godfather" has ended."
Woody Allen and Arthur Miller also laughed, "Isn't this the selfishness of movie fans?"
Lin Weimin shrugged and said indifferently: "You can understand it this way."
Several people laughed happily. After Francis finished laughing, he said, "Okay, I have received the kindness of you as a die-hard fan, but I can't make "The Godfather" again. Its story has ended."
Lin Weimin smiled but said nothing.
You old man, remember what you said. I hope you can still be so confident when you are about to go bankrupt next year.
I'm in such a dilemma that I have to sort out the outline and materials. My eyes are almost going blind from searching for materials. I will only update twice today and tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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