Chapter 64: An Encounter in New York
"With the birth of every film genius, there will be an innovation in Hollywood movies. While bringing us visual enjoyment, he also shows us his talent. 'The Shawshank Redemption' is different from other films and should trigger our deep imagination. We should also elevate 'The Shawshank Redemption' to the literary field because it focuses more on the connotation of the film." - The Hollywood Reporter
"When Frank Darabont's 'The Shawshank Redemption' meets Clint Eastwood's 'Unforgiven', it will be a battle of the titans, I have no way to say, but I know this is definitely going to be another big crash in Hollywood movies this year. No doubt, we are all looking forward to the collision of these two excellent films. Dear movie fans, let's wait and see!" - Variety
"Is he a movie genius? I don't think so. From 'Dumb' to 'Shawshank', two films in half a year, although both are excellent, but every year Hollywood produces too many excellent films, he is still a newcomer, and his shooting technique is still very immature, we should see these actual things, rather than blindly praising."――Entertainment Weekly
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With the success of "The Shawshank Redemption", major newspapers, entertainment magazines and radio stations once again began to focus on Da Tang, focusing on Song Tang. At this time, reports about Song Tang and the film can be described as overwhelming. However, Song Tang had no interest in paying attention to these reports because after attending the premiere of "The Shawshank Redemption", he wholeheartedly threw himself into the preparation work for the new film "Return to Reno". Although "Return to Reno" is not as grand as "Jurassic Park" or as complex as "The Shawshank Redemption", it still has its own complete structure.
But during this time, Song Tang still had some worries in his heart, that is, the same plot film "Unforgiven" released by Warner Bros. Pictures a few weeks ago. This film was released simultaneously in 2,071 theaters across the United States on August 7, with a first-weekend box office of over $15 million. Until August 23, when "The Shawshank Redemption" was released, this less-than-three-week period, "Unforgiven" had grossed $50 million at the US box office, ranking No. 1 in single-week box office for three consecutive weeks. Moreover, if Song Tang remembered correctly, this film won four Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actor at the 65th Academy Awards. If he had to say which film was the biggest obstacle to his winning an Oscar this year, Song Tang would unhesitatingly say it was Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven". Fortunately, however, when "The Shawshank Redemption" was released, "Unforgiven" had already been released in the US for nearly three weeks and no longer had the momentum of its initial release. Moreover, "The Shawshank Redemption" was indeed an excellent film.
As expected, after the first week's box office results for "The Shawshank Redemption" were released, things went more or less as predicted by Song Tang. Although the momentum of "Unforgiven"'s box office was still strong, "The Shawshank Redemption"'s box office had completely surpassed that of "Unforgiven". In its first week, "The Shawshank Redemption" earned $33.5 million at 3,000 theaters across North America, easily taking the top spot at the domestic box office. In its second week, "The Shawshank Redemption" continued to perform strongly, earning $32 million and maintaining its lead at the domestic box office. In its third week, it earned $27.5 million, and in its fourth week, it earned $17 million, with the number of theaters showing the film decreasing to 1,200. Over four weeks, "The Shawshank Redemption" had earned a total of $110 million at the domestic box office, making Song Tang proud of his work on the film.
On September 6, when the film "The Shawshank Redemption" was released in the United States for three weeks, Shawshank was simultaneously released in 21 countries overseas, including Canada, the UK, Germany, France and Switzerland. It also achieved a box office of $31 million in its first week. In the second, third and fourth weeks, "The Shawshank Redemption" continued to perform strongly at the box office. According to estimates by Song Tang, the global box office for "The Shawshank Redemption" may exceed $350 million. At this time, when Song Tang was preparing to shoot a new film, he finally felt relieved after receiving reports and information about "The Shawshank Redemption" from George.
However, at this time, Song Tang no longer had the energy to pay attention to the box office of "The Shawshank Redemption" because today, his new film "Return to Reno" started filming. Notably, the actors in "Return to Reno", John and Uma, played Ronnie and Daryl respectively, while Charlie, who was participating in the shoot for the first time, was responsible for playing Candy. However, the last male supporting actor gave Song Tang a headache, and he had no choice but to take on the role himself. Due to the significant changes Song Tang made to the script of "Return to Reno" earlier, filming became not only more difficult but also slower due to Charlie's and Song Tang's inexperience as actors. Additionally, in September, Song Tang would have to devote time to Silver River Investment matters. Although he and Susanna had put a lot of effort into preparing for this speculation, they found that things were much more complicated than expected when Soros attacked the pound. As a result, Song Tang had to suspend filming "Return to Reno" and focus on secretly following Soros's lead in attacking the pound with all his might. After all, the funds he used this time were not small, including all of Da Tang's idle funds, some of Song Corporation's funds, and Silver River Investment's accumulated funds over the years, totaling nearly $2 billion. If these funds encountered unexpected problems, not only would Da Tang go bankrupt, but Song Corporation would also be severely damaged. Therefore, for this action, Song Tang put all his family's assets on the line, and he did not allow any accidents to happen. Fortunately, things went as expected, with Soros's Quantum Fund selling pounds in large quantities in the European market, buying German marks, forcing the pound's interest rate to rise, and eventually leading to its exit from the European currency exchange system and free floating. Within a short month, the pound's exchange rate fell by 20%, but this time, due to Song Tang's behind-the-scenes manipulation, Britain suffered even greater losses. In just one month, the funds controlled by Song Tang almost doubled.
The inertia of history is always amazing, and nothing has changed with the arrival of Song Tang. After Song Tang saw that things were going on as usual, like the trend of historical development, he handed everything over to Susanna's hands, and Song Tang returned to the crew of "Love Returns to Reno", continuing to shoot the film. For Song Tang now, time always feels insufficient, and with his arrival, the film "Love Returns to Reno" started again after a three-day suspension. Although there were some twists and turns in between, the shooting of "Love Returns to Reno" was finally completed in early October.
"Cut!" With the final shot finished, the over-a-month-long filming of "Love Returns to Reno" was finally completed. What's left is post-production editing, for which Song Tang no longer needs to participate in person. After finishing the film shoot, Song Tang simply made a speech and had a farewell dinner with the crew members. The next day, he left the crew's work behind and boarded a flight to New York.
Back in New York, Song Tang originally wanted to see Jessica and Angelina again. After all, it had been a while since he last saw them, and after more than a month of abstinence, the thought of Jessica and Angelina's sexy bodies made him feel a little hot-blooded. However, when he called them, he found out that they had already gone to Florida for vacation. Song Tang couldn't help but feel a wave of disappointment. Fortunately, the next phone call alleviated his feelings of loss.
"Hey, baby, where are you? Jurassic Park is finished?" Song Tang saw the familiar number on the phone and heard the familiar voice coming from the other end of the line, which made him feel a thrill of excitement.
"Hmm, I really don't know how you became the big boss. 'Jurassic Park' has already been filming for over a week and you're just finding out now."
Monica's complaining tone made Song Tang smile awkwardly. To be honest, he had been too busy lately and hadn't had time to pay attention to anything else, so he was completely unaware that the filming of "Jurassic Park" had already been completed.
"Really, baby? Have you been thinking of me?" Song Tang chuckled and asked Monica on the other end of the phone.
"Hehe, little man, it's been so long since you last called me, how would I think of you? Moreover, my man is right in front of me now." Monica chuckled and said to Song Tang in a coquettish tone.
When Song Tang heard that Monica's man was right in front of him, he suddenly felt as if something was missing in his heart, sour and painful. Was this the taste of suffering? Did his own woman follow someone else like this? Was it because he didn't do enough for her? Or was it because he hadn't called her for so long? At this time, Song Tang kept asking himself, stunned on the spot, speechless for a long time.
After a long while, Song Tang finally came back to his senses and said to Monica on the other end of the phone with a dazed expression and a hoarse voice: "Is that so, Monica? Then I wish you happiness."
After hanging up the phone, Song Tang felt a little heavy in his heart. At this moment, Song Tang felt very lonely. Although he and Monica had not been together for long, he completely understood that he had already fallen in love with this charming woman. Despite their age difference, there was no doubt that Monica's charm, maturity, and sensuality deeply attracted Song Tang's nerves.
