I became a son-in-law in the United States

Chapter 64 Musical Film

The next day, as usual, Luther convened a meeting with several managers.

This meeting had only one theme—what's next?

This film was a box office hit, grossing $234 million and breaking the entire box office record in the United States.

No one would believe that this feat was accomplished not by Hollywood or any major West Coast company, but by a small Boston production company.

The higher you climb, the colder it gets, but when all eyes are on you, the pressure comes with it, and the management of box office films can clearly feel it at this moment.

Neil Young lit a cigar, was in a good mood, and spoke first:

"If you ask me, we should definitely continue to promote and develop this genre, and continue to make films like 'Waden Lake.' Anyway, young people these days believe in love and like to watch these kinds of movies, so we can make a killing from them again."

This view was affirmed by Reynolds.

Because, in terms of both filming difficulty and production cost, shooting this type of romance film is the fastest way to get results. Filming "Waden" took about five weeks, and this time it could be even faster, perhaps only three weeks.

After all, the actors are readily available and everyone has experience. All that's needed is to slightly modify the script, changing the female student into a wealthy lady, and the audience will still buy it.

Furthermore, after the movie became a huge hit, Alice also became famous, and many viewers were willing to spend money on her.

No matter how you look at it, there's no reason for box office hits to stop doing this.

Make money, not shabby.

In the eyes of Americans, making money is the truth, the only faith, and money is God's only reward for believers.

Only by thinking this way can you be considered a qualified Puritan.

Upon hearing this, the others nodded in agreement.

"That's great!"

"Everything is readily available; we can just start filming!"

"How about another one?"

"Alice is fine, she can come anytime."

...............

Everyone was in a good mood and eagerly awaited Luther's approval. If he agreed in the morning, filming for the second part of "Waden" could begin that afternoon.

However, to everyone's surprise, Luther shook his head and refused decisively this time.

He gave several reasons in front of the crowd.

"First, Wadden Lake is indeed a great film, and audiences have proven to love this kind of subject matter. But the problem is, others will think the same way. Perhaps before you even say these things, the big studios will have already started filming. By the time we finish the second one, the market will be flooded with these kinds of movies. Are you sure you can still make money?"

"This..." Reynolds gave an awkward smile, admitting that he had lost his mind for a moment.

That's not surprising. He's been a junior manager for half his life, and occasionally a movie he makes will gross over $200 million and break box office records held by big companies. It's normal for him to have some path dependency.

Even at this point, he was still thinking of making another film that was similar to the first. He didn't expect it to surpass the first one, but just to get a similar box office result.

But will things really turn out as he wishes?

The answer is obviously no.

Regardless of whether the audience will experience aesthetic fatigue, the other film companies that follow suit will be in serious trouble.

So for Luther, what followed was not a pleasant surprise, but a trap.

Reynolds paused, then realized what he meant. "So, Mr. Luther, you mean we should give up on these kinds of romance films?"

"That's right, it also requires luck; we won't make a fortune in the same place twice."

"So, this time we have to change things up and shoot something different?"

Luther nodded: "That's right."

Then Neil Young asked curiously, "But Luther, what should we film that's different?"

This is a big problem, and even a veteran director like Neil Young couldn't give an answer right away.

The current American film market is filled with Westerns, romances, comedies, and all sorts of movies.

In this situation, it's easy to follow the trend, but it's extremely difficult to shoot something different.

This is a limitation of the times, and also a result of inertia.

In the end, isn't even "Waden" just a copycat work?

If it weren't for the hype of being "the first sound film in history," it probably wouldn't have achieved such amazing box office results.

Ultimately, most viewers come to see this movie just out of curiosity; as for the story itself, there's really nothing to say—it's all the same old clichés.

Jia tilted her head, rested her chin on her hand, and her clear eyes darted around as she began to think.

After thinking for a while, she lowered her arm and sighed softly.

"This is too difficult... Luther... This problem is beyond my comprehension."

Seeing this, Reynolds shook his head and quickly tried to save face.

"Mr. Luther, do you have any good suggestions?"

Neil Young nodded in agreement: "Although you are a young man, I have to admit that you have a very good eye."

The two men used to listen to Luther only because of Luther's status and their fear of old Joseph, just like when Luther first decided to make a sound film.

But this time was different. After experiencing "Waden", the two were completely convinced.

Without vision and talent, it would have been impossible to achieve such high box office numbers.

Neil Young is even certain that if Luther fully commits himself to the project, the box office movie might actually become a major company.

Everyone looked at him expectantly. Luther smiled, but instead of giving an answer, he continued to explain:

"Now you finally understand that audiences not only don't dislike sound films, but they actually look forward to them, right?"

The group nodded.

"They look forward to the characters' voices, to the natural sounds within them, and to being able to hear them as they see them."

The group nodded again.

"Very good. Now that we have reached an agreement, we just need to continue developing in these two areas."

However, the next moment, before Luther could finish speaking, Jia reacted and said in perfect unison:

"So, Luther, you mean we should continue to develop our voice, continue to amplify it, and make it an advantage?"

Luther nodded: "That's right. Those old, tired lines will quickly become tiresome. Audiences always crave something fresh and exciting. So, besides adding lines, we could perhaps add something else, like singing or dancing..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the group was slightly taken aback. They hadn't really thought of the direction Luther had mentioned.

Compared to ordinary dialogue, the stimulation from song and dance is more direct and intense, and it goes a step further than before because this time the music and visuals are directly integrated.

Reynolds' eyes lit up: "That's a great idea!!"

Jia also nodded: "There are many such stories, I will write the script."