America 1987

Chapter 82 Airplane

Well, if you look at it that way, would you consider my film "Dances with Wolves" to be an art film?

"Art film? What's an art film? Does it mean an art movie, director?"

Naomi, who was sitting next to David on the plane, asked with some confusion.

Since Nicole was the recommender, the lead role in the movie was naturally given to Naomi. However, to demonstrate professionalism, an audition process was still conducted.

They are currently on a plane bound for South Dakota.

Naomi is a classic blonde with blue eyes, the kind of beauty who doesn't need to dye her hair—her light blonde short hair is fluffy and curly, with the ends lightly curled outwards, and her bangs are parted to the side and fall naturally. The overall hairstyle is full and airy, with a soft and shiny sheen.

Her hairstyle was much better than Nicole's when they first met, but in terms of appearance, she didn't have the same distinctive features as Nicole.

Her facial features are soft and smooth, with a small and delicate jawline and slightly protruding cheekbones that add a touch of three-dimensionality. She has a very approachable personality and gives the impression of a female student rather than a female celebrity.

Yes, he doesn't have a strong enough presence. In other words, he's easily overlooked in a crowd. No wonder he was just a background character in the original timeline for so many years.

"Director? Director?"

"Huh? Sorry, I misspoke. What I meant was art film. Go on."

David, who was busy sizing up the other person's appearance, quickly replied in a serious tone.

The concepts of "art films" and "commercial films" gradually took shape in the Eastern Continent after the 80s.

Prior to this, due to the planned economy system, domestic films were mainly classified by subject matter, without emphasizing the distinction between commercial and artistic films.

Later, with the marketization reform of domestic films and the restructuring of film studios, the production of entertainment and commercial films was encouraged. At the same time, the works of the fifth generation of directors (such as Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" and "Raise the Red Lantern") gained attention at international film festivals and were labeled as "art films." The opposition between the two film types was gradually established.

However, this is a genre classification unique to Chinese-language films; Hollywood does not use this concept.

In this era, Hollywood's common classification of films is "genre films" and "art films," or "mainstream films" and "independent films."

As mentioned earlier, the latter is mainly distinguished by whether it is produced by a major studio.

In the former case, the concept of "genre film" is a product of the Hollywood studio system in the 1920s and 30s. It is highly commercialized and mainly includes Westerns, gangster films, musicals, comedies, science fiction horror films, war films, family dramas, etc. It is characterized by formulaic plots, stereotypical characters, and illustrative visual images.

The concept of "art film" was originally used in Europe to define alternative films that differed from the classic narrative logic of Hollywood. Later, Americans, unwilling to be constantly labeled as nouveau riche and uncultured, adopted the concept as well.

"An art film?" Naomi asked hesitantly. "Do you consider this film an art film?"

"Yes, that's right. Our film, 'Dances with Wolves,' while superficially a Western, also incorporates a lot of historical reflection and humanistic concern when I was writing the script. For example..."

After figuring out the concept of Hollywood movie classifications in his mind, David, realizing he had asked a stupid question, quickly tried to save face by explaining.

It's a blatantly genre film, a Western, and I actually asked if it was an art film? No way, I'll have to slap myself when I go to the bathroom later. The question was so stupid.

"Director, could you please move aside for a moment? I'd like to step outside."

After a while, Naomi, who was sitting inside, couldn't help but interrupt.

David scratched his head as he watched her walk towards the end of the corridor. "That doesn't make sense. We're so in sync. I just thought about going to the bathroom, and she went to the bathroom right away."

Going to the toilet was secondary; Naomi mainly needed to find some alone space to think about certain things.

Nicole hadn't been very clear when she invited her over on the phone, so she assumed she was just the lead actress in a low-budget independent film.

When I arrived, I realized I was wrong. She was actually a heavyweight in the film – the female lead in a movie directed by and starring a rising Hollywood director.

She had known Nicole for five or six years. Although Nicole's family was much better off than hers, they were only in the upper-middle class and couldn't possibly have such a strong network and background.

So after a brief moment of thought, she understood the reason behind it.

However, I still find it hard to believe. It's not that I don't believe my best friend would do such a thing, but I can't believe that she would decide to cast me as the female lead just because of this.

In late 80s Hollywood, the production cost of a mainstream commercial film was generally over ten million.

What does ten million dollars mean in the United States in this era?

按1988年的来推算，美国人均年收入约在1.5万-1.7万美元左右，一个普通中产阶级家庭的年收入为3-4万美元，而一向被视为工作体面的资深律师或医生的年收入大概也就10-20万美元之间。

From this perspective, $1000 million is roughly equivalent to the lifetime income of more than 600 ordinary people, or the total income of one person working from the Song Dynasty to the present.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, a sane and clear-headed Hollywood filmmaker would not simply hand over the lead role in a movie to someone just because they have slept with them.

From a purely economic perspective, this is a business deal that could lose you a fortune.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, the normal operating procedure should be that when the audition reaches the last round and only a few candidates with similar abilities remain, the person who holds the power of casting decides the final winner based on the candidate's bedroom skills and obedience.

As for the other contestants who were eliminated without a fight, they generally don't fall out with each other because of one elimination. Shen Teng's line, "Don't let the friendship end after the friendly match," is to some extent his way of comforting himself.

If there are new projects later, those with a bit of conscience or who are sentimental will generally give priority to these familiar faces, as long as it doesn't affect the quality of the film.

However, all of this must be based on the premise that it does not affect the quality of the film itself.

Deals involving tens or hundreds of millions of dollars are no joke; any normal person can tell what's important and what's not.

This director named David is clearly clueless, Naomi is absolutely certain of this, because he didn't ask her any special questions during the audition.

Analyzing the situation further, and considering the seat arranged for her, she felt that this person seemed to be making this movie solely to pick up girls.

Actually, that's not true at all; he was really wronged this time.

The biggest selling point of the film "Dances with Wolves" is its values ​​of "white people reflecting on colonization and glorifying Native Americans".

This set of values ​​was very advanced and novel for its time, commonly known as "anti-clichés," and easily sparked social discussion in the United States, which in turn drew more audiences to the theaters out of curiosity and boosted box office revenue.