Chapter 367 High-spirited
The secretary of the British royal family presided over the investiture ceremony. He first introduced the contribution made by little Gilbert, and then invited little Gilbert to appear.
"Let us welcome, Gilbert Landrini..."
Amid the applause of celebrities, little Gilbert, dressed in a solemn suit, walked onto the stage with steps that he did not recognize.
"I am very happy that Director Gilbert Jr. has come to the UK and London again." The Mayor of London took over and presided over the award ceremony.
"Wherever there are people, there is the spread of great film art. Wherever there is a screen, there are films directed by Gilbert Jr. being shown.
Today, Britain and London welcome a knight who has made great contributions to film art and the promotion of British culture..."
"The Queen decided to grant Director Gilbert Jr. a knighthood, and London City Hall also passed a resolution to grant Director Gilbert Jr. the title of Honorary Citizen."
Having said this, the Mayor of London officially awarded the certificate symbolizing the honorary citizen of London to little Gilbert, and applause instantly broke out in the auditorium.
After receiving it, little Gilbert expressed his own words: "Thank you, thank you, I have always liked the city of London. It has a profound cultural heritage and historical accumulation.
I am deeply connected to London through the art of film, and I am delighted to be an honorary citizen of London. "
After the honorary citizens are awarded, there is a formal investiture ceremony.
First, a group of royal guards marched into the auditorium. The royal orchestra played the British national anthem "God Save the Queen", and everyone began to look solemn and solemn.
Accompanied by the British national anthem, Queen Elizabeth slowly walked into the auditorium with the support of Prince Charles and waved slowly.
Queen Elizabeth sat down on the queen's chair, and Prince Charles acted as the ceremonial officer: "Today, by order of the Queen, the British royal family officially awarded Gilbert Landrini the knighthood.
Gilbert Landrini, step forward to accept the Queen's decree. "
Little Gilbert followed the instructions and moved forward. A special etiquette officer had taught him how to do it before, so the problem was not that big.
Little Gilbert made a knightly salute to the Queen, and the Queen stood up tremblingly, holding a ceremonial sword, and tapped Little Gilbert's left and right shoulders lightly.
During this process, the reporters never stopped holding their cameras, and the sounds of taking pictures resounded throughout the auditorium.
Afterwards, Queen Elizabeth awarded the knighthood certificate and the medal representing the knighthood to little Gilbert, and also encouraged him with a few words, which were all stage words.
Then, Little Gilbert and Queen Elizabeth took a group photo together facing reporters. Even if the investiture ceremony was completed, Little Gilbert would officially become a knight of the British royal family.
In the past, knights of the British royal family had to swear allegiance to the Queen.
But nowadays, knighthood is more of an honorary nature, mainly awarded to those who have made great contributions to the British country and the royal family.
Maybe many people on Hong Kong Island are covetous of this, but little Gilbert doesn't care. It doesn't matter whether he has it or not.
After the investiture ceremony, Queen Elizabeth was tired and went down to rest.
There was a reception dinner afterwards, at which little Gilbert and Prince Charles had a cordial and friendly conversation.
Prince Charles pointed out that Britain and the United States are father and son and staunch allies, and Hollywood film culture is also very popular in the UK. The UK also has many outstanding filmmakers and actors.
Therefore, Prince Charles hopes that little Gilbert can promote more British filmmakers and actors and continue to contribute to British film culture.
Gilbert Jr. pointed out that the UK has always been his most important market for a long time. Almost every year when his own movie is released, he comes to the UK to promote it.
Little Gilbert felt the enthusiasm of British movie fans and also liked Big Ben, the London Eye, London Bridge and other famous London landmarks.
At the end of the dinner, little Gilbert, Prince Charles and British celebrities took a group photo together in the lobby of Buckingham Palace.
Sir Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Anne Hathaway and other "Lord of the Rings" cast members attended related events and dinners.
After the investiture ceremony, little Gilbert went to watch the FA Cup final with Prince Charles the next day.
For fear that little Gilbert would not understand, Prince Charles thoughtfully arranged for a commentator to introduce little Gilbert to the lineups of both sides, league results, football rules, etc.
Little Gilbert is a cloud fan, one who only knows a little about it.
But don't mention it, the atmosphere of watching football in front of the TV is really different from watching it in person. There are so many people at the scene and it makes people passionate.
Even if you don’t know much about football, you will still be attracted by the atmosphere of watching the football live and join in this football feast.
Little Gilbert was quite happy to see it. Although he didn't know much about the rules, he just needed to know that the ball went in.
The big screen at the scene also frequently showed little Gilbert. There were many football fans and movie fans at the scene.
During the halftime break, little Gilbert was interviewed on the spot and asked him what it was like to watch football live.
Little Gilbert replied: "It's very passionate and passionate. I hope the players on both sides will give us a wonderful game and look forward to the development of the next game."
After the interview, Prince Charles also asked Gilbert Jr.: "Are you interested in taking over a team?"
"You mean the Premier League team?" Little Gilbert asked.
"Yeah, how about Burnley?"
Little Gilbert shook his head. He really didn't know which team Burnley was. He had heard of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. At this time, Arsenal was playing in the FA Cup final.
If you have to buy a Premier League team for fun, it would be better to buy one of Arsenal or Manchester United.
Little Gilbert didn't know much about football and had only heard of famous teams. Even if a person doesn't care about football at all, he has still heard of famous football teams such as Arsenal and Manchester United.
I have heard the names of Avello and Yoxi a little bit, but they are probably still training in the youth training camp.
Little Gilbert was curious: "Your Highness, why do you want me to buy Burnley?"
Prince Charles was embarrassed and said: "I am a Burnley fan, but the team is not in a very good situation now, so I hope someone will save it."
It's not easy for Prince Charles to get involved, so it's best to find an outsider to do it.
However, little Gilbert did not have much interest in Burnley. He thought for a while and said: "I know Mr. Kroenke, a North American sports tycoon, and I introduced him to His Highness.
Mr. Kroenke has an outstanding vision and owns a team in each of the four major North American sports leagues, including the Denver Nuggets basketball team, Colorado Avalanche ice hockey team and St. Louis Rams football team.
In addition, he owns a lacrosse team and Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids.
I think he would be interested in the Premier League. "
It’s not easy to force this kind of thing, and Prince Charles didn’t insist on it. It would be nice for little Gilbert to introduce him to a tycoon who is more familiar with the sports industry.
The game ended up being a victory for Arsenal and they won the FA Cup.
Gilbert Jr. attended with Prince Charles, presented the FA Cup trophy to Arsenal and congratulated them on their FA Cup victory.
After visiting the FA Cup, little Gilbert did not stay in London for long and immediately left for China.
As for the sheep head that Prince Charles gave him, little Gilbert did not take it with him to China. Instead, he sent it back to the Melon Manor in Los Angeles and kept it first.
After all, Prince Charles had just given him the sheep's head, and he then gave it to China, which was a bit too eye-catching and arrogant.
Prince Charles may think that Gilbert is trying to lose face, which would be quite unpleasant.
Young people only need to be high-spirited and happy, and there is no need to consider the consequences, but little Gilbert has many things to consider.
After all, little Gilbert still has to hang out in the Western world. Being too arrogant and overtly biased is not a good thing for him.
It would be better to wait a few years, until everyone has forgotten about this incident, and then Little Gilbert will donate the sheep head to China, and it will be low-key and will not attract attention.
Of course, it is estimated that Prince Charles will have no time to pay attention to the sheep's head at that time.
At that time, Prince Charles would only think: Why am I still a prince? When will I ascend to the throne and become the King of England?
After all, is there any prince in the world who has lived for seventy years? The "Lord of the Rings" crew came to China this time to promote, in fact, in conjunction with China's tourism promotion plan for the "Lord of the Rings" filming locations.
After all, these tourist attractions also have shares in the "Lord of the Rings" studio. The more people who come to visit, the more profits they can generate.
Although unlike box office and peripheral products, profits are relatively quick, but these are long-term benefits and can continuously bring in income.
After the road show in Beijing, Gilbert Jr. held a press conference with the Cultural Tourism Bureau. Many Chinese reporters and reporters from Disney Warner participated in the press conference.
This press conference was centered around the topic of tourist attractions. A reporter asked: "Director Gilbert, if any fans of "Lord of the Rings" come to China to travel.
What do you think "Lord of the Rings" fans should not miss and experience? "
Little Gilbert said: "China has many beautiful scenic spots. If you want to experience the natural scenery in the film, I recommend going to Jiuzhaigou and Zhangjiajie.
But if you want to experience the original "Lord of the Rings" story, I recommend going to Bag End, located at the foot of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and Minas Tirith, located on a branch of the Lesser Khingan Range. "
Little Gilbert also specifically said: "I've been to see Bag End, and it's almost unchanged. It's exactly the same as in the movie. The props we used when filming are all there.
If visitors are attentive, they may find an abandoned manuscript where Bilbo Baggins wrote his travelogue, or the scene of Merry and Pippin's prank. "
The second question is to ask little Gilbert why he chose to come to China to shoot this purely Western-style film.
Why? The biggest reason is to save money, and there is also a little selfishness, but you can't say that.
Little Gilbert replied: "China has a strong historical heritage, which coincides with the temperament of "The Lord of the Rings".
When we inspected the location, we immediately noticed the vastness, majesty, and beautiful scenery here.
So we decided to shoot here, and it turned out to be the right decision. "
After finishing the promotion in Beijing, little Gilbert went to Shang Hai's road show to promote, but he did not stay in China longer.
After finishing Shang Hai's promotional trip, little Gilbert went to Tokyo with the crew, where he met the three women he had grown up with as well as the three women's best friends, all of whom are actresses known for their beauty in the Japanese entertainment industry.
After that, little Gilbert took these women back to Los Angeles and began preparing to travel around the world, put aside his work temporarily, and spend his vacation.
At this time, the beach next to Malibu Melon Manor has been transformed into a dock that can accommodate large yachts.
The original small yacht could not meet the requirements of traveling around the world, so little Gilbert changed to a larger yacht.
In fact, according to the construction progress of a yacht, it was expected that little Gilbert would have to wait for a while to get the yacht.
However, after New York real estate tycoon Donald knew that little Gilbert needed a big yacht, he transferred the one he had built and parked in the shipyard to little Gilbert.
During this round-the-world trip, except for Charlize Theron, who is busy with work, and Anne Hathaway, who also needs to participate in the follow-up promotion of "Lord of the Rings", everyone else is out.
Little Gilbert had been planning his trip around the world for a long time and was fully prepared.
While little Gilbert was busy traveling around the world, "The Return of the King" completed its fourth week in North American theaters.
This week, "The Return of the King" once again grossed 51.266 million box office in North American theaters, a drop of about 46% from the previous week, and the curve is quite healthy.
So far, the North American box office of "Return of the King" has reached US$475 million. It seems that it is no longer a problem for the North American box office to exceed US$600 million.
The overseas box office also declined this week. Although more than a dozen overseas markets have been added, the box office contribution from these markets is generally not high.
This week "The Return of the King" took in a box office of US$163 million. Including the North American box office, "The Return of the King" made a total of US$214 million at the box office this week, and the global box office also reached US$1.136 billion.
The global box office of "Return of the King" easily exceeded one billion US dollars, and it was as easy as taking a hot bath. This makes people wonder whether "The Return of the King" will surpass the box office of "Titanic".
Not to mention, according to this curve, "The Return of the King" is really possible.
Although this week's box office is compared with the previous box office, "The Return of the King" has already declined.
But for other Hollywood blockbusters, this box office figure is still an unattainable achievement for many movies. It is simply too high.
However, this week's North American and global box office champion is not "The Return of the King", because this week, the very influential "Star Wars" series of movies was released.
On May 24, "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" directed by George Lucas was released simultaneously in North America and more than 70 countries and markets around the world.
Perhaps due to their trust in "Star Wars" and emotional factors, movie fans walked into the theater with great enthusiasm and then left disappointed.
Many fans came out and said that this was the worst "Star Wars" movie they had ever seen. If it weren't for the "Star Wars" title, they would not have watched it at all. They were so disappointed.
In fact, the criticism wasn't that serious originally, but "Star Wars: Episode II" was preceded by "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which just set off a wave of global movie viewing.
Compared with "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", the quality of "Star Wars Episode II" appears to be very poor.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times criticized: "The film is merely a technical experiment and lacks the fun and energy of a feature film.
The title "Attack of the Clones" is simply a stereotype of the entire film, and Lucas's work has shown its age.
Compared with the smooth pace and emotional "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", it is lengthy and the narrative technique seems stiff. "
Although Gilbert Jr. and George Lucas had no grudges, they even had a good relationship in private. But this does not prevent the media from using Gilbert Jr.'s work to point out the badness of the "Star Wars Episode II" movie.
The New York Times commented: "This is a 2-hour and 12-minute action hero commercial, a model that marks the latest digital film production technology.
A chance for incredibly talented actors to deliver the worst lines of their lives and get paid a lot of money for it.
This is basically not a movie - if your definition of a movie is vivid characters, a dramatic plot, and the use of visual images to tell a story. "
Although "Star Wars Episode II" has been criticized for being incomplete, at least there are bright spots. As the "New York Times" said, this is the first Hollywood film to be fully shot with digital cameras.
However, due to functional issues, the images captured by digital cameras still require a lot of post-processing, making the images look somewhat distorted.
Fortunately, the story of "Star Wars" itself seems very operatic and dreamy, without much sense of violation.
No matter what, at least George Lucas tried new technology and provided a new possibility and direction for other directors in Hollywood.
Despite its poor reputation, "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" still achieved a box office of US$88.296 million in North America, successfully winning the North American weekly box office championship.
Overseas performance is also acceptable, with revenue of 138 million in more than 70 countries and markets around the world.
Although the overseas box office is not as good as "The Return of the King", combined with the North American box office, "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" still won the global box office championship this week.
But things won’t be so easy next. On the weekend after “Attack of the Clones”, the superhero movie “Spider-Man” produced and distributed by Sony Columbia Pictures will be released.
"Attack of the Clones" also had a poor reputation. After consuming the enthusiasm of fans, it was unable to attract a large number of passers-by, so the box office was destined to not be very good.
But this is "Star Wars" after all. Like "Lord of the Rings", the profit focus of "Star Wars" is peripherals. After all, who doesn't want to own a lightsaber.
Relying on the peripheral market, "Attack of the Clones" will not lose money and can even achieve large profits.
It was just that when little Gilbert was chatting with Spielberg, he heard an inside message that George Lucas was planning to retire.
He believes that he has fallen behind the times and cannot adapt to today's film market.
And Twentieth Century Fox is persuading George Lucas that "Star Wars" is a cash cow, and Twentieth Century Fox doesn't want to let this IP fall just like this.
Spielberg also said: "George asked me to ask you, are you interested in taking over the "Star Wars" series?"
Take over? Gilbert Jr. refused. He was not a "Star Wars" fan and was not very interested in taking over this IP.
It’s a big chapter of 5,000 words. If I’m not busy at night, I’ll write another chapter...
(End of this chapter)