America 1987

Chapter 100 Foreshadowing

Maiwen later publicly stated that their experience was the prototype for the special relationship between an adult male and a girl in "Léon: The Professional".

From this perspective, the director undoubtedly intended to portray the relationship between Léon and Mathilda as love, but was simply constrained by censorship and dared not reveal it completely.

"Filmmaking itself is not entirely free."

"Isn't it free? But doesn't Hollywood have a film rating system?"

"Yes, but what does that prove?" David suddenly realized that he seemed to have overlooked this blind spot.

Nicole got a little tired of lying on her side, so she switched to lying on her back, but her gaze was still fixed on David's face. "Doesn't this show that Hollywood filmmaking is very free?"

That makes sense; I had overlooked that point.

After Nicole's reminder, David realized that Hollywood filmmaking is indeed quite free.

Next year, the MPAA will rename the original X-rated content to NC-17, clarifying the rating rules. As long as they don't cross the line, R-rated works can legally contain adult content such as profanity, violence, and sexual nudity.

As long as the director doesn't mind their film being rated NC-17 when it's released in North America—meaning viewers aged 17 and under are prohibited from watching it—they can practically film it however they want.

"You make a good point," David nodded in agreement. "From that perspective, making movies in Hollywood is indeed quite free. However, considering box office profitability, producers will try to regulate the director's creative scope as much as possible."

"Aren't art-house films more relaxed?" Nicole asked curiously. "If you don't consider the audience, wouldn't you be able to film them more recklessly?"

"Not entirely, at least not entirely in Hollywood."

Art films are made to win awards.

If a film is rated R, the award judges will not be biased. In the 90s, many R-rated films were successfully nominated for or even won Oscars.

For example, "Pulp Fiction" received seven Oscar nominations and won the Best Original Screenplay award. R-rated war films such as "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan" also won major awards, including Best Director. This shows that R-rated violence and profanity will not be an obstacle to the judges' votes.

However, films rated NC-17 were not well-received. It wasn't that film school judges were prejudiced against films of this rating, but rather that mainstream opinion was prejudiced against them.

Mainstream cinemas refused to screen the films, and media outlets restricted their distribution, significantly reducing the films' exposure and reach. Many films that received an NC-17 rating in the 90s struggled to even reach a basic audience, let alone build a reputation among the Oscar judges.

"Mainstream Hollywood awards don't fully consider the audience. Even niche art films need at least some exposure and market response."

"What will happen if we don't have it?"

Otherwise, the film academy's judges would most likely never see such a work.

Hollywood has nearly a hundred films competing for Best Picture every year. It's already considered very professional for the judges to watch most of these films before voting. Most of them just pick the most popular ones to watch and then vote.

Therefore, the Oscars have always been criticized for being too commercial and not as artistically valuable as the three major European awards.

However, this is quite friendly to ordinary viewers. When you're looking for something to watch, you can go and search for past Oscar-winning films. There's a high chance you'll find a gem, as it strikes a perfect balance between commercial appeal and artistic merit.

"Comparatively speaking, shooting European art films does allow for more unrestrained expression, as you said."

At this point, David glanced at the other person's expression and found that there was no change, which he found strange.

"What, why are you judging a European film and asking me, an Australian, for my opinion?"

Nicole scoffed, "Strictly speaking, I'm American too, so feel free to say whatever you want. You'd need to be careful if it were Naomi, though; she's technically British."

Well, unlike the Oscars, which have a voting group of up to 2000 people, the three major European film festivals have small juries of about nine people who conduct closed-door evaluations. So, if you really want to do public relations for the awards, the latter is actually much easier than the former.

Because of this extreme audience of nine people, films submitted to European film festivals have almost no scruples regarding content. As long as the political orientation of the subject matter is correct, everything else depends on whether it resonates with the mindset of these nine people.

Therefore, many of the films that have won major awards at Cannes are NC-17 rated films such as "Stranger by the Lake" and "Dogtooth," and some are even 19+ rated.

The former won the Best Director award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. The story takes place in a gay nudist camp and contains a large number of realistic and explicit sex scenes, with the camera maintaining a calm and detached perspective throughout.

The film portrays the protagonist's extreme emotions—knowing that his lover is a serial killer, yet still choosing to ignore the evil for love—which is more chilling than the gory scenes.

Just hearing this synopsis gives me goosebumps. While both films deal with homosexuality, the Oscar-winning "Brokeback Mountain" is a completely different genre.

Mu Zi'an's handling of the scale is extremely restrained and moving. There are no explicit scenes in the whole film, and the few intimate scenes are also subtle. The focus of all the expression is on the restrained love and affection over 20 years.

It moves the audience entirely through emotional tension rather than sensory stimulation, and manages to portray same-sex love with a universal romanticism that transcends gender.

The difference in quality is obvious.

However, it's unclear whether Mu Zi'an was too restrained while filming this movie, which led to him completely letting loose when filming the next one, "Lust, Caution."

No wonder that a few years later, the Eastern Continent started importing some Hollywood blockbusters instead of European art films. My next film, "L.A. Confidential," is a crime thriller, and I wonder if it will have a chance to be imported.

"What do you think, Naomi?"

David, who had just come out of the kitchen, looked at Naomi, who was sitting with Nicole and talking to her.

"What, your new script?"

"Of course, Nicole should have already told you the general story."

"Not bad," Naomi replied, trying to appear thoughtful. "I don't watch many movies of this genre, but I can feel the connection to your story..."

"The brilliance."

Seeing her best friend at a loss for words, Nicole quickly added, "There are many foreshadowing elements, but they are all resolved at the end of the movie. Isn't that brilliant?"

Of course, it is. After all, it's a script that won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in the original timeline, so its quality is definitely top-notch.

For a Hollywood movie to be a box office hit, it either needs an exceptional audiovisual experience or a phenomenal script.

In theory, there is no distinction between the two, but in reality, most people prefer the latter.

Watching James Cameron's "Avatar" on the big screen and watching it on streaming services would likely result in a viewing experience that is at least one level worse; while "L.A. Confidential" would not be affected by such a significant difference.

The latter gave David a feeling somewhat similar to the Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs." Both rely on multiple parallel character storylines to weave an intricately linked dark story, with various plot twists that are logically sound. There are no grand scenes or special effects; the audience is captivated entirely by the high density of exciting plot points.

"Do you also know what foreshadowing is?"

"Hey, you underestimate me!" Nicole said unhappily. "Chekhov's 'guns on the wall' theory? It's not some obscure knowledge."