Chapter Thirty-Three: The Underground Cinema

  Yi Feiyang, who holds the copyright to "Blair Witch", thought it was simple. If he couldn't cooperate with companies like Lionsgate, he would sell the copyright all at once and find a way to get the movie shown in theaters. When word of mouth and box office spread, those big movie companies would come knocking on his door asking for copies to be screened.

  But where can I find a theater to show it?!

  Yi Feiyang was worried.

  Hollywood, as the world's film capital, has some low-end cinemas that can only show low-budget films. In this kingdom of movies, these cinemas are called "underground cinemas" or "trash cinemas", and in technical terms, they are called "flea pits".

  "The Grasshopper House" is easy to understand, first of all, the place is not big, it can be called a house, and the bigger one is a villa; secondly, since it's a grasshopper, they are all fond of jumping around, meaning that these cinemas are distributed in an uncertain area, the films shown are uncertain, the audience group is uncertain, and even the screening time is uncertain...

  Hollywood's "flea house" used to be a lot, like the video halls in mainland China in the 80s and 90s, mainly for those who didn't have much money and young people who liked to seek excitement. Here, you only need to spend two dollars to watch movies all day long without any time limit. This place used to be a paradise for poor blacks and young people, every holiday, the flea house would be packed, the whole room was filled with foot odor and sweat smell that filled your nostrils.

  But with the development of Hollywood's film industry, especially those big bosses and movie moguls' expansion of their theater chains, the small independent theaters like Grasshopper House were gradually acquired, demolished, renovated, and eventually ceased to exist.

  Of course, there are some fish that slip through the net - these cockroach cinemas that survive in the jaws of the great white shark... Poor little movie theaters, most hidden deep within black communities or in poorer neighborhoods, not a direction for expansion for those movie moguls, let them live on and save themselves some money.

  But is it really easy to stay alive?

  The remote location and lack of audience have led this small cinema to a path of self-destruction.

  Yi Feiyang arrived at this remote place on the west side of Los Angeles under the leadership of Rabbit Bill. If you have seen the movie "Slumdog Millionaire", then you can understand the scene in front of Yi Feiyang.

  What is the gap between rich and poor, what is heaven, what is hell?

  In America, a country envied by many, who would have thought there were so many poor people!

  Low and shabby houses, noisy streets, a group of black children wearing tattered clothes playing basketball, not far away, a group of white people wearing the same tattered clothes kicking football; black and white, distinct as night and day.

  By the roadside, a water pipe extending from a church gurgled along, a group of women crowded together washing clothes, beside them, from time to time a snotty-nosed kid ran out, with dirty little hands rummaging through the trash can's discarded contents, whatever fell out - a hairless plush toy, a small car missing wheels, and if lucky, even a piece of still-edible hard candy...

  "Look, it's right here. The five small movie theaters I was talking about are all around this area. If possible, I can introduce you to Black Dad, the owner of these five theaters... We're good friends, and most of the films I've shot in the past have been shown here." Bunny Bill said with a smile to Yi Feiyang.

  "Are you talking about those pornographic videos you took?"

  "Of course, what else do you think can be screened here? Big productions won't come to this place, low-cost films mostly lose money, only porn has a market... Look at these people, so many kids, don't they understand? They have no tomorrow, what can they do after eating their fill? Like rich people playing golf, going to McDonald's to pick up chicks? Oh no, their only pleasure is sitting in an adult movie theater, watching a super cool film, and then going home to practice with their wives!"

  Easy come easy go, speechless.

  After walking for only five or six minutes, Bunny Bill finally stopped in front of a house that still looked pretty good.

  "It's here, wait for a moment, I'll go and say hello first."

  Yi Feiyang pulled out a cigarette from the roadside and hadn't even taken two puffs when Rabbit Bill waved at him from the doorway, "Come on in, Black Dad is inside, and don't forget to bring your gift."

  Yi Feiyang suddenly remembered that he had bought two packs of cigarettes and originally wanted to keep them for himself, but now it seemed like he would have to give them away.

  The old black man was a black man, an extremely old black man. When Yi Feiyang saw him, he thought of those withered and ancient black trees in Africa, full of vicissitudes, bitter hardships, and skin and bones...

  "Hey, good buddy, Rabbit Bill has introduced you to me and I also know why you're here. Honestly, my five cinema lines are terrible, if there's a movie on, I'm just happy... God, it's been ages since we've had a new release, of course, excluding Bill's rabbit porn!" Old Black Dad was quite talkative, after receiving Easy Flying's gift, he lit up a cigarette and started puffing away.

  Yi Feiyang didn't expect this old man to be so easy-going, so he said: "Then thank you, but I still want to take a look at the movie theater and understand the situation there."

  "Of course, this is necessary. Even if you don't say it, I will take you to see... To be honest, the environment there isn't very good. I hope you can be satisfied." The old black man said as he took Yi Feiyang out the door.

  All the way, the old black man's mouth never stopped.

  "Dear Yi, don't pretend you didn't know, but actually I used to be a film person. How should I put it? I was an old projectionist and worked in many film companies. I still remember the first movie I projected, which starred Marlon Brando - "On the Waterfront". Yes, that's right, this movie later won an Oscar, and Al Pacino became a movie emperor because of this film. Don't pretend you didn't know, but I even shook hands with him back then, and at the time I was puzzled - how could this not-so-handsome guy win an award? Is it just because he's white that he can get God's favor?"

  Later I came to understand that if a black person wants to make it in the film industry, there are only two paths to take: either hide behind the scenes and work as a tea boy, stagehand or lighting technician; or become a projectionist like me, but whatever you do, don't let anyone know you're black. Audiences don't like black actors, and they especially don't like it when blacks win awards!

  "You might be laughing at me, thinking how could a guy like me be successful? Well, buddy, you're wrong. You know how I got these five movie theaters? I bought them with the salary I earned as a projectionist! At that time, my idea was simple: since I had been helping those white bosses screen movies for so long, why not buy my own theater and be my own boss, screening the movies I like, interacting with the audience I like, without having to listen to those sons of bitches yelling at me or watch their faces all the time..."

  "Yes, being a boss has many advantages, but also many disadvantages. For example, when you see the cinema packed with people, you will be very happy; when you see the cinema empty, you will be very sad. Of course, sadness is a small matter, the big deal is losing money."

  "I've said it before, these five cinemas were all opened with my own hard-earned money, every penny is precious. At first, business was great, very popular, many people came to watch movies. There would also be some good small productions shown in my cinema, and when I saw so many audiences walking into my cinema excitedly and then walking out satisfied, I was really thrilled. But with the expansion of those big cinemas and the gradual improvement of movie quality, there were fewer and fewer low-cost films, and this place wasn't qualified to show big movies, so the audience all ran away, in the end, I could only show damn pornographic films to make a living!"

  ……

  The old black man chattered all the way and didn't seem lonely at all.

  Occasionally, one or two little kids would run over, tugging on the old black man's collar asking for candy. The old black man seemed to really like these little kids, and every time something like this happened, he would squat down, wipe their noses for them, then dig into his pocket and pull out some prepared candies, handing them over saying: "After eating my candy, you must study hard, and when you grow up, you must leave this damned neighborhood!"

  It can be seen that the black father seems very dissatisfied with this community.

  "Old man, don't you hate it here?" Yi Feiyang couldn't help but ask.

  "Wrong, I love it here," said Black Dad.

  "Oh, then I'm a bit puzzled."

  "You're talking about just now?" The old black man smiled helplessly, "I love this place so much that I would say those things to the kids. Look around here, how many people who grew up here can live a happy life? Those who grow up in a trash heap and those who grow up in a prosperous city, the results are self-evident."

  "But things can change here!" Yì Fēi Yáng reminded them. "As long as you have determination and perseverance."

  "Change? Don't be ridiculous! Even the government can't manage that much. They think our community is a damned burden!"

  Bill chimed in beside him: "That makes sense, in my opinion, you're still a burden here, it's better to dismantle it!"

  Yi Feiyang kicked it over with one foot, "I think you're also a burden! Do you want to get rid of it too?"

  Bill covered his buttocks and said in a wronged tone: "No need, if this frame is disassembled, it can't be assembled!"