Chapter 353 The last moments before the series finale
As the release of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" gets closer, more and more movie fans are traveling to China, where it was filmed.
The local department was very smart and held several "Lord of the Rings" garden parties, attracting a large number of movie fans.
In recent years, with the global popularity of the "Lord of the Rings" series, more and more tourists travel to China every year, but this increase is relative.
After joining the WTO, the local government further opened up its access policy and negotiated with several countries that would provide visa-free entry upon arrival, but it was still not very convenient.
Therefore, several relevant departments joined forces to study a 144-hour visa-free policy.
This means that a foreign tourist will have 144 hours of visa-free time from the time of entry, and can use this time to travel.
In my previous life, there was also a 144-hour visa-free policy, but the biggest difference between this one and that one is that you can go to other cities, but you have to report in advance.
The 144-hour visa-free policy in my previous life could only travel around the city where I landed, and then I had to go to other cities in other countries.
But you don’t need this one, you can go back after shopping.
Of course, doing so may bring about some hidden dangers.
However, in the face of huge economic benefits, this is not a problem, as long as supervision is done well.
Lao Tian has now moved from being a scissor to being a BOSS in a subordinate department. He has always been committed to promoting the development of the film industry.
Originally, he thought movies were just movies, but after seeing Hollywood movies, he discovered that movies actually have so many profit models.
For example, the "Lord of the Rings" series has created sales that make him jealous, and it has also brought huge benefits in tourism.
However, in China, one issue that needs to be considered when making peripheral products is piracy.
DVD sales in North America are very hot, but in China, the DVD sales of the "Lord of the Rings" series are basically contributed by piracy.
This is not difficult to understand, after all, genuine products are too expensive, and purchasing power varies across regions.
It took many years of market development in North America to get where it is today.
"We must provide good service and make foreign tourists feel at home, you know?" Lao Tian said to the local person in charge while inspecting tourist attractions in various places.
The local person in charge patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, we will definitely do a good job in service and logistics support."
"Very good," Lao Tian was quite satisfied.
He was walking in the Hobbit Town at the foot of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. It was one of the most popular tourist attractions, with quite a lot of foreign tourists coming and going.
Local people do not even need guidance from relevant departments and spontaneously put out some small commodities for business.
These exquisite little commodities are very popular. The price is very expensive for locals, but for foreigners, it is quite cheap.
Clothes, jewelry, shawls, etc., as well as some snacks and foods are quite popular.
Around this Hobbit town and connected to the ancient city, a local tourism system has been built.
In this era when the concept of tourism has not yet spread, this place is already quite advanced.
I don’t know what the future holds, but at least at this time, it is an indisputable fact that a large number of tourists come in every year, bringing huge income to the local area.
After inspecting this place, on the way back, someone suggested: "Old Tian, isn't the third part of "The Lord of the Rings" about to be released? How about we invite them to China to hold a premiere."
This was a good idea, and Lao Tian was very moved, but in the end he shook his head: "This is impossible, little Gilbert will not agree."
"Why?"
Lao Tian explained: "Currently, the biggest market for "Lord of the Rings" is still in Europe and the United States. Our market is not big enough, so people won't waste this effort."
Currently, the highest box office in the Chinese mainland market is "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" with a box office of 320 million yuan. The second place is also "The Fellowship of the Ring" from the "Lord of the Rings" series, with a box office of 289 million yuan.
It is difficult for many Chinese-language films to exceed 100 million these days. After "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the era of blockbusters has begun, and the box office may become higher and higher in the future.
Although the Chinese market is being taken seriously today, it is indeed not enough.
Therefore, little Gilbert will not consider holding the premiere in China. It may be possible in the future, but it is definitely not feasible now.
The New Year has passed, and the release date of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is getting closer.
At the Super Bowl in February, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" once again released a 30-second trailer, and for the first time, footage of the Battle of Minas Tirith and the Battle of the Black Gate was released.
Although it only lasted a few seconds, the grand and passionate scene was enough for movie fans to imagine for a long time.
At the same time, the Oscars also announced this year's nominations, and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" received six nominations.
But everyone knows that it is impossible for the Academy to award awards to the second part of the series. Next year will be the time for "The Lord of the Rings" to collect Oscars.
After jointly acquiring and holding a stake in Melon Studios, Warner Pictures and Disney have worked closer together, and this time it is no different.
Warner Pictures plans to release the film simultaneously with the North American market in several major markets including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, without having to wait a week or two as before.
As soon as this news came out, if nothing else, the local movie fans were very happy.
They had read in the newspaper how popular the film was in North America, which made them extremely envious. Moreover, I have to wait for a long time, and my heart feels like being crawled by ants, making it itchy. But now we can synchronize with North America and watch movies together, and we no longer have to envy North American movie fans.
As usual, Gilbert Jr. attended the Oscars with the creators of "The Lord of the Rings" and presented the Best Picture award with Ian McKellen.
This year's awards ceremony has a correct flavor. There are two black actors among the nominees for Best Actor.
That’s not to say black nominees are bad, but Denzel Washington and Will Smith didn’t perform as well as other actors who were not nominated.
In order to be right, the academy forced two people to be selected for nomination.
The final winner was Denzel Washington, which was surprising.
The previous favorites Russell Crowe and Sean Penn performed better than Denzel Washington, but in the end it was him who won the award.
If Denzel Washington's award is understandable, then Halle Berry's award is completely unacceptable.
Nicole Kidman was also nominated for an Oscar this time for "Moulin Rouge," but lost to Halle Berry.
This Australian actress has a bad temper. Later, at the celebration party, she complained to Tom Cruise and Little Gilbert: "Damn right, if she loses to Judi Dench or several others , I can accept them all.
But losing to her, I can't understand. "
Little Gilbert raised his glass, looked at Tom Cruise, and then smiled helplessly: "No way, Mary, the academy must consider the black movement and balance it."
"Fuck balance," Nicole Kidman whispered in a voice only three people could hear: "Fuck nigger!"
"Hey!" Little Gilbert reminded this temperamental woman: "This is a public place, be careful not to be overheard."
"I'm just saying this in front of you," Nicole Kidman held Tom Cruise's hand and said regretfully: "You didn't win the best director tonight either."
"Yes," Little Gilbert didn't really care. After all, it wasn't a black director who stole the Best Director award from him.
But even if a black director snatches the best director, Gilbert Jr. doesn't really care.
After all, as I said before, it is impossible for the Academy to approve the second film.
So it’s the other directors who should be angry.
"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" won awards for Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects, but nothing else.
But outside media have already predicted that the academy will definitely give approval to the third film. Because if the third film is not recognized, Oscar will no longer be trustworthy.
Therefore, little Gilbert has a very calm mind. He has already won the Oscar for Best Director, so there is nothing to be nervous about.
After the Oscars, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" was officially released in North America, and the film's box office in North America was finally set at US$586 million.
The overseas film market has basically ended. Screenings are still continuing in a few areas, but the box office revenue is basically negligible.
In the end, the film's global box office total was fixed at US$1.558 billion, temporarily ranking second in film history.
The reason why it is said to be temporary is because there will be films that will surpass "The Two Towers" at any time, such as "The Return of the King."
As the release day gets closer, little Gilbert also starts to get busy.
His social media platforms became active and he frequently appeared in the media.
Not only that, little Gilbert also planned an online live broadcast. Although it was broadcast live in the form of text and pictures, it also attracted the participation of millions of movie fans.
Online video live streaming is not yet feasible these days, but live broadcasting in the form of text and pictures is not technically difficult.
During the live broadcast, fans can ask questions to little Gilbert, who will then answer them.
However, these questions were screened by the staff responsible for the live broadcast, and it is impossible for little Gilbert to answer the questions of millions of fans.
During the live broadcast, Gilbert Jr. focused on sharing the difficulties of filming "The Lord of the Rings", from preparation to shooting to post-production and so on.
A fan asked: "Does Director Gilbert Little usually go online?"
"Of course I will. I pay close attention to the feedback from fans. It is my goal to make a movie that fans will like."
This answer made the fans very happy, which means that little Gilbert is always paying attention to them and is really spoiled.
Another fan asked: "You can see the shock of the Battle of Helm's Deep in the second part. Is there anything more shocking than this scene in the third part?"
"Of course there will be. The Battle of Minas Tirith and the Battle of the Black Gate surpassed the Battle of Helm's Deep in all aspects. I hope you will like it."
Little Gilbert's answer made fans look forward to the movie even more.
This live interaction lasted for more than two hours and was the first time a movie was promoted in this form of live interaction since the birth of the Internet.
The effect was pretty good. According to rough statistics, more than two million fans poured into the live broadcast room to interact with little Gilbert.
This novel way of publicity opened the eyes of other film companies.
This little Gilbert can come up with something new at any time.
(End of chapter)