Raising Dragons in Hollywood

The flickering small flames flickered in the dark cinema, very conspicuous.

The staff immediately squeezed over and reminded in a low voice: "Sorry, sir, smoking is not allowed here."

Sammy kept staring ahead, not noticing what his friends around him were doing at all.

Hearing this sentence, he couldn't help turning his head in surprise: "Smoking? No one smokes?"

The staff looked around in confusion, sniffed hard, but there was no smell of smoke, then rubbed their eyes, and looked around, and the strange flickering fire disappeared without a trace, could it be that they were just dazzled? ?

"I'm sorry, I probably misunderstood." He apologized to Sami with great entanglement in his heart, and then turned and left.

But when he walked out of the auditorium, a colleague saw that his face was not right, and came up with a sentence: "What's the matter, is the smoking audience not cooperative? Do you need help?"

"What? Did you see it too? There are really sparks, I didn't see it wrong? But there is no smell of smoke. It's weird, maybe it's a will-o'-the-wisp..." The staff muttered to themselves, and put I was startled, and pulled off my coat involuntarily, feeling that the movie theater was getting cold.

Didn't know there was a magical haunted news coming out of this movie theater soon.

Sammy was still guessing why the staff member saw it wrong just now: "Maybe it's an illusion caused by some kind of light?"

Mikey sat up straight.

He covered his face with his hands, and tried his best to swallow the little flames. At the same time, he did not forget to nod heavily, his face full of innocence.

At this time, the attention of the audience is not concentrated. Everyone thinks that the film will have a not-so-short but boring beginning, similar to thanking some sponsors, and then talking about some miscellaneous stuff, but this time it is a little different .

When the film starts, nothing appears on the screen.

Instead, with a black background, the first thing to sound is the sound.

When the engine started, there was a huge rumbling roar, as if a motorcycle was ready to go...

Then, the bass's heavy bass and drums formed a vigorous rhythmic torrent, and rushed out in a posture that was caught off guard!

Many viewers were taken aback, looking at the screen with puzzled and surprised eyes.

It wasn't until this time that the screen appeared on the big screen, but it was still not the protagonist lineup that everyone imagined, but the street that everyone in Hollywood knew and was very familiar with - Sunset Boulevard.

The screen freezes for three to four seconds.

It wasn't until some sort of magic switch was flipped that the guitars and vocals came along.

In an instant, static turns into dynamic.

The crowds on the street began to move around, teenagers rampaging on skateboards, beautiful girls with revealing and fashionable clothes, gangsters who got drunk and vomited on the street, colorful neon signs...

Lively and familiar lively street scenes are coming.

Amid the intense music, the camera changes slowly, from the sporadic pedestrians on the street, to the flashing signs of the bar, to the crowd dancing in the dance hall, and finally to the colorful poster on the wall, which says: Areyoureadygirls?

At this time, the sound of the music suddenly increased, and the scorching and uncontrollable rock energy hit the face.

In the dim light, the huge volume of the lead singer's loud roar instantly enveloped the entire theater through the theater's speakers, spinning around, violent and deafening.

Many audience members who are not used to rock and roll involuntarily raised their hands and covered their ears.

On the contrary, for audiences who love this style, it was a huge surprise. There was even a whistle in the theater.

Until now, there are still no positive figures of the protagonists on the screen.

The camera is constantly filming the music fans off the stage, filming scenes after scenes of them shaking their heads in the music, frantically shaking their heads, jumping around in place, screaming and waving their arms!

The audience who can come to the premiere almost knows that this is a movie about a rock band.

Therefore, from the moment the music started, they were looking forward to the appearance of the band, but they did not expect the director of this film to be well versed in the technique of whetting people's appetites. After almost 5 minutes of the performance, they still did not let the band appear.

But what I have to say is that this shooting method, paired with violent music that is almost like a storm, really succeeded in arousing the curiosity of the audience to the highest level.Everyone raised their heads in unison, staring at the screen closely, for fear that they would miss the band's first appearance if they were distracted.

The next moment, the screen began to brighten.

There were only a few guests left in the bar, the chairs were overturned on the ground, there were leftover beer and some leftover food boxes on the table, and an angry picture sounded: "We have a show, you fucking Not even a hundred dollars."

Finally, what appears to be the main character appears on the screen.

The camera shakes, and a tall man is grabbing a bald man by the collar and yelling, "I've finished my job, then it's your business, pay us, one hundred dollars!"

— but you are late.

— Only 5 minutes late.

——Being 5 minutes late is also late. Many guests left without waiting, and we have a reason not to pay.

— Then why not say it before we go on stage?Just a fucking hundred dollars, if you say no, we won't act at all!

——Don’t act like you’re at a disadvantage, you guys didn’t perform well, you didn’t bring much audience at all, and the ticket revenue is so little…

--Son of a bitch!

Not a second of hesitation!

The movie has just entered the topic, and the protagonist team showed their faces for less than 2 minutes.

Under the almost dumbfounded gaze of the audience...

A bar fight kicked off fiercely!

There was a crisp sound of 'bang'!

The tall man leaned sideways, only about five centimeters away from his head, the shattered beer bottle sprayed a splash of water in the air, a freeze-frame shot, and at the same time, the subtitles similar to the introduction of the characters in the comics appeared all over the place. In mid-air of water splash: [Leaderman of the band——Colin];

In less than a second, the screen flowed again.

The character played by Mick Lee raised the guitar high, and smashed it down at a person dressed as a security guard with a deadpan expression. At the same time, the same introductory subtitle as before appeared again: [Band guitarist - Jon] ;

Next up is Wolff, knocked to the ground, fighting back: [Band bass player - Kahn];

And, played by Joseph, the psycho who beats people with drumsticks and laughs while beating them: [Band drummer - Gaylin].

Then, the bald man who was beaten violently by the collar of the lead singer Ke Lin, the subtitle is: [Debt not repaid - bastard]; the men in security uniforms, the subtitle is: [A group of idiots]; the crowd watching lively and laughing, Caption: [Ain't nothing to be counted on - fuckin' fans].

All subtitles disappear at the same time!

The picture on the big screen moved again, but it showed an extremely chaotic scene.

Tables and chairs were smashed, ping-pong-pong, punched, nosebleeds spurted out, several grown men wrestled together and rolled around on the ground!

The passionate music that had just been lowered was played again violently. Along with the fight in the picture, the lead singer's hoarse and magnetic voice roared loudly: [I have a gun on me, and my gun is loaded!I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill your dog!Fucking fuck listen up, I said some people have to die right now—! ]

In such a messy scene.

The title of the film finally appeared.

The huge subtitle 'bang' sounded as if it hit the center of the screen:

——Say Hello to the World!

If not at the cinema.

The audience wanted to applaud.

The opening of the film is less than 5 minutes, and the protagonist shows up for less than [-] minutes...

The music and the picture are matched just right, and the whole scene is alive and ignited!

The Kerry brothers looked at each other subconsciously, both a little surprised.

Before that, the rough cut version they watched didn’t have a soundtrack or editing. Just looking at the beginning, it seemed to be an ordinary bar fight, but they didn’t expect that the final version was so exciting, especially after such a short cut. After listening to two songs, at the beginning it was positive and uplifting, and the blood was boiling; when it came to the cursing song, the lead singer cursed again and again.

"What's that song?" "Hello band ever sang something like that?"

The two brothers couldn't help discussing in a low voice: "Did they also send us the audition audio?" "I don't remember, it seems to have? But there are too many unknown musicians sending that stuff every day." , are generally of little value, and are thrown directly into the trash can.”

On the other hand, Mikey saw his own image on the screen for the first time.

The time with the teddy bear before, he actually didn't show his face very much, and the only time he showed his face was very short.

So, it's a bit of a novelty at this time.

The underage Charmander doesn't understand the rules of quietness in the cinema, and while watching it, he leans into the ears of humans and chats habitually: "Sami, your filming is really good, I've never seen such a good movie .”

Sammy was coaxed into delight. .

But what he didn't know was that this juvenile Charmander, who had been in the human kingdom for less than two years, hadn't seen any movies at all because of his daily life and being too lazy.

This one in front of him was probably the first movie he watched when he came to the human kingdom.

If you think so, "I have never seen such a good movie" is not a lie.

However, this is just the beginning.

In Sami's opinion, this part of the plot is not very exciting, just playing a little tricks, controlling the rhythm of the music, and making some exciting pictures as gimmicks, so as to attract the attention of the audience, but the essence has no meaning.

On the contrary, the next perhaps relatively boring plot can be called the focus of the whole movie.

The most important thing is that it will also be a test of the director's skills. Only a good enough director can make the plot that is boring to death interesting.

The brawl in the hotel ended up being anticlimactic.

Although several members of the Hello band had an impulsive fight, the scale was small, and soon left in despair when the bar owner threatened to call the police.

Then, the camera slowly opened again, and the time went back to ten years ago...

What appeared on the screen was a full-length mirror, and in the mirror emerged a young face that was somewhat familiar to the audience, but very strange. It was a silly and big figure that was much taller than its peers, but there was still a hint of childishness in its eyebrows and eyes. A face full of pimples, untrimmed hair that exploded, and clothes that obviously didn't fit.

What followed was a somewhat dull experience.

Although everyone has been taught a rule called 'Don't judge people by their appearance' in their childhood education.

But in real life, people subconsciously divide and judge their surroundings based on some stereotypes.

To put it simply, if you see a person who doesn't like to talk, you can conclude that he is shy; if you see a person wearing sportswear, you can conclude that he is active and sports; fetal.

People are so strange, not only like to sort garbage, but also like to divide and classify people in various ways.

Colin was so misclassified in his youth.

Because of the pimples all over his face, he embarrassedly wanted to use his hair to cover his face, and the behavior of bowing his head from time to time was considered gloomy and weird. When we are together, the whole body bends down close to the ground and hunches up, giving people a feeling of being unspirited. In addition, the family did not pay much attention, and the clothes did not fit very well. The whole person is like a big, stupid and stupid .

Once a person is labeled as 'old-fashioned, weird-tempered, stupid and stupid', it is difficult to turn over.

Colin on the screen is in such an environment. The teacher always thinks that he is too stupid to get poor grades, and the students also think that he is stupid and stupid, and they don't want to play with him.

In a way, he hasn't been bullied in any real sense either.

Just walking alone, alone.

But the audience in the theater can see his kindness and optimism from the perspective of God.

He would sing loudly in the bathroom, feed leftover lunches to stray cats and dogs, help students who were robbed get their money back, and occasionally help teachers who dislike him for being stupid move desks and chairs...

This series of plots passed very quickly, without detailed descriptions, it was just like a slowly unfolding scroll, following the development of the plot, and then passing quickly.

But some in the audience bit their lower lip and let out an involuntary sigh of sympathy.

No one likes to be misunderstood, no one likes to be treated differently, and no one likes to be classified at will.The audience may not be able to fully empathize with what happened to Colin at this moment in the film, but they have indeed encountered similar things more or less in their daily lives, which makes everyone feel a subtle sense of substitution and understanding from the heart.

The development of the plot here naturally ushered in a turning point.

Otherwise, think about it!

A big, stupid looking guy with pimples on his face, taciturn, poor grades, no interest, and a poor family. He was a poor student in the teacher's heart since he was a child, and the object of ridicule by his classmates.

If only life was like this.

Decades later, Ke Lin, who is really not very smart and has been living under the prejudiced eyes of others for a long time, may become an ordinary, taciturn person. , Maybe there will be a little inferior working people at the bottom.

However, there is a definite number in the dark.

He met Rock!

In the past years, as long as rock bands wanted to develop, the first thing they did was touring.

So, a not very well-known band came to Colin's hometown and started a performance here.

Colin would not have had the opportunity to take part in such entertainment.

But he was tall and strong. When he was working outside the classroom, he happened to bump into the band and hired some temporary workers, mainly to move equipment and equipment, set up the stage, and help the band members run errands to buy some food, drink and other chores.

The turning point of fate appeared.

The film doesn't cover everything about how Colin works to make money. It's just a turn of the camera, and it's the band's performance scene.

As a temporary worker, Colin's job at this time was to stand in front of the stage and prevent some fans who were too crazy from rushing to the stage.

He was very serious at the beginning, trying to open his arms and work hard to stop those fans...

But when the first note sounded!

He involuntarily turned his head to look at the stage, showing an extremely shocked expression.

In the turbulent crowd, the whole person was squeezed to and fro, but at that moment, his dazzling eyes were fixed on the stage.

It was obviously a sweltering weather, and there were so many people at the scene, but Ke Lin shivered shiveringly!

A mysterious force that seemed to originate from the wilderness and forests roared out in the form of a mighty lion, roaring and slammed into his chest, causing him to step back abruptly, with difficulty breathing and legs twitching. soft!

The crowd is going crazy for the band.

On the screen, these people yelled, yelled, stomped their feet...

The audience in the theater was also involuntarily infected.

Whether you like rock or not, at this moment, you can't help but yearn for the appeal of the scene that appears on the screen.

At this time, Sammy also gave a very classic medium close-up shot.

In a shot, medium close-ups tend to be slightly looser than true close-ups, but a little tighter than medium close-ups.It generally not only shows subtle changes in the character's facial expressions, but also captures part of the environment around the character, so that the audience can connect the two and generate a certain amount of imagination.

Therefore, at this moment in the film, the first thing the audience clearly saw was that Colin, played by Mai Qi, had a look of sluggishness on his face because he was too shocked.But the eyes (under the effect of lighting from different angles) are exceptionally bright, and they are full of almost straight-forward, fiery yearning and anticipation that is clear at a glance.

Meanwhile, it's not just facial expressions.

After Sammy asked the photographer to change to a wide-angle lens, they used a slight overhead shot to capture part of the fans around Colin into the whole frame.

So, this scene on the big screen becomes:

Colin is located in the center of the picture, looking forward frantically.

Not far behind him, it wasn't very clear, but a large number of fans did appear on the screen, with the same fanaticism vaguely on their faces.

This kind of shooting, on the one hand, is to show the fiery scene of the rock scene, expressing that the major changes in Colin's life began from then on;

But on the other hand... In fact, it is a metaphor for Colin's life path that will also stand on the stage in the future.

In the composition of the whole picture, there is no rock band on the stage from the beginning to the end, only Colin standing at the front, tall and big, as if leading the crowd, and the faces behind him who cannot be seen clearly, because of the distance. Countless fanatical fans who seem small.

If you don't know the plot, just watching this scene, it is easy to misunderstand, thinking that the object of fans' madness is not the unknown band, but Colin standing in front!

The audience clenched their fists involuntarily just seeing this scene.

They inexplicably feel that this shot looks particularly exciting and powerful, but they don't quite understand what they are excited about.

But many senior film critics have directly seen the intention of the director's shots.

It was a kind of silent hint, that Colin in the middle of the picture, and a large number of fans behind him, when the two elements are put together, the audience will involuntarily connect the two in their subconscious mind, and then generate related associations, as if a Kind of fated.

Although the protagonist has not yet succeeded.

But the audience seems to have glimpsed the future of the "protagonist's success" from this picture, and thus gained a different kind of pleasure.

The film critics kept thinking about it, took out their pens, and took advantage of the dim light to write down a lot in the sketchbook they carried with them. They planned to analyze the details of this shot when they watched it next time. Overall composition and implied meaning.

On the screen, the plot is still in progress.

From this time on, Colin was completely obsessed with rock and roll.

He started to run around with some rock bands, shuttled backstage of the band, helped people with chores, and stole teachers by the way. He learned a lot of good and bad things, and his studies quickly fell into disuse. Pull people together to form a band.

From this stage on, the film also thoroughly enters the topic.

Colin got to know guitarist Jon, bassist Kahn and drummer Gelin successively, and then, the four of them together formed the Hello band named Sand Sculpture Invincible.

When the guitarist Jon played by Mick Lee officially appeared...

Many fans in the theater whispered to each other: "Look, it's Mick!" "Mick is out."

Mick Lee did not disappoint.

Unlike Colin's pimple-faced, silly big man, he looks strong and successful as soon as he comes out, and his appearance in this movie is not bad, unlike Mikey who is disfigured , so, it became the relatively best-looking one among the four members of the band.

Hello's band career officially begins.

The film also naturally transitions from "a stupid and ugly kid who was discriminated against, one day he rose up to pursue his dream" to "the fringe of society, a group of idle foursome, struggling to survive in the music circle".

In the previous plot, there are also many funny details.

For example, Colin sang in the bathroom, but the neighbor knocked on the door and said, "Don't let your dog bark"; Tall, strong and intimidating, he frightened his classmates to their knees; and Colin was obsessed with rock and roll, lied and skipped school to form a band, went to school the next day, and found out that he was expelled...

These seemingly funny points filled Colin's rather unlucky life with laughter.

The audience also looked relaxed.

But what everyone didn't expect was that it was just a small smile before.

But when the four of them got together to fight for the cause together, the 'funny' episodes became more and more.

As a result, the audience in the theater began to burst into bursts of laughter.

What a shame!

It's so unfortunate!

Unfortunately, everyone in the movie theater was entertained.

I went out for a tour, took the wrong road, and finally got to the place, and the show ended two hours ago;

Finally got a chance to perform, but the front band played too crazy, the stage collapsed and the show was cancelled;

The lead singer played live diving to enliven the atmosphere of the scene, and the audience all gave way with a 'swish'.

He hit the ground directly, his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, but he still pretended that nothing happened, returned to the stage, and continued the performance just now;

After finally meeting two girls who claimed to be fans of the band backstage, I couldn't be happier.

The four men did not have the airs of a rock star at all. They talked enthusiastically around them, asking for autographs for autographs and group photos for group photos. As a result, after sending the two female fans away, they found that all of them had lost their wallets.In the end, I didn't even have the money to take the subway, so I had to walk all the way back.

In addition, being beaten by rotten eggs, rotten tomatoes, and beer bottles is even more common.

It can be said that this band is simply a coffee table full of cups.

The audience laughed uncontrollably, but the Hello Band continued to struggle in their careers, failing and failing again and again.

Lead singer Colin is quite optimistic.

He felt radiantly that as long as he works hard, he can get everything, and as long as the enthusiasm is still there, he can sing forever and ever!

Gradually, the overall typhoon of the band is getting better and better.

The pimples on Ke Lin's face were decreasing, and his standing posture became more upright with each performance, and it began to have a little meaning.

Some co-tour organizer even approached them and invited them to perform!

This seems to be a sign of redness.

But unfortunately...

Luck did not favor them.