Inside Milan's training facility, the whistle for tactical drills still blared, and Gary Payton sat on a folding chair on the sidelines.
Gary Payton slowly chewed his bubble gum, watching Wade and the young players sprinting across the court, his eyes revealing a bored and restless irritation.
Lin Qi walked up behind him and casually patted him on the back.
" Gary, pack your things," Lin Qi said succinctly. "And bring all four of your championship rings with you. We're going to Venice."
Gary Payton paused for a moment, then turned his head and looked at Lin Qi with a strange expression.
"Lin, do I look like the kind of person who would go on a long trip carrying four rings around like that?"
Lin Qi looked at him expressionlessly and asked, "So, did you bring it?"
Gary Payton's expression froze for half a second, then he coughed to cover it up and shifted his gaze to the arena ceiling. "I brought it... I put it in the safe in my hotel room. No, how did you know I brought it? And what's going on in Venice? Is some Italy rich lady's charity gala that needs me to attend?"
" David Fincher has rented a screening room in Venice." Lin Qi turned and walked out. "The 60th Venice Film Festival is about to open, and Fincher has brought over a rough cut of the first part of ' The Kingmaker.' Since you're injured and can't participate in the training for the time being, come with me to Venice to shoot a few more scenes and help Fincher check them out. Anyway, you've been idle for the past few months."
Upon hearing this, Gary Payton's eyes lit up. He ripped off the straps on his knees and stood up from his chair. "You should have said so earlier! Fincher really made the film? Let's go, let's go! I told that screenwriter a long time ago that the trash talk written in Hollywood is so weak, it's not the kind of language a normal black player would utter."
Two hours later, a black Alfa Romeo crossed the bridge and arrived in Venice.
Venice was in the midst of the pre-film festival excitement, with film critics and media from all over Europe gathering. But Lin Qi and Gary Payton didn't join the fun on Lido Island. Instead, a water taxi took them into a quiet waterway and stopped in front of an old building with Gothic arched windows.
The small screening room on the second floor was filled with the strong aroma of black coffee and tobacco.
David Fincher, wearing a wrinkled work shirt and with sunken eyes, was standing next to a film projector checking copies. When he saw Lin Qi and the slightly limping Gary Payton push open the door, Fincher rubbed his bloodshot eyes and made a curt gesture.
"Only a rough cut of the first part, Lin." Fincher pointed to the two leather sofas in the middle, his voice hoarse. "According to Sorkin's script structure, the first part is dedicated to the establishment of the dynasty, starting from when you took over the team in 1994 and ending with the championship win in the shortened season of 1999. As for the subsequent four-peat, breaking up the OK Duo, and the head-to-head battles against Jordan and Shark, those are all in the second part, and we haven't even started the detailed editing yet."
"As long as the first part is watchable, it's fine." Lin Qi sat down on the sofa.
The overhead lights in the projection room were then turned off, leaving only a beam of silver-gray light piercing through the dim dust and shining onto the screen.
Amid the soft whirring of the film reel's gears, a noisy, handheld video clip first appeared on the big screen. It was a dilapidated corridor of the Old Boston Garden in the summer of 1994, with peeling green paint and rusty pipes in the locker room.
Then, the image seamlessly transitions to the cool gray tones of 35mm film.
Keanu Reeves ' young Lin Qi makes his entrance. Dressed in a dark, tailored suit, his gaze is cold to the point of cruelty. In old Gaston's office, he negotiates relentlessly, finalizing a near-mad bet. Then comes draft night, when Brad Pete's old-school scout enters, clashing with Reeves in the management meeting room over a fierce clash of ideologies.
Gary Payton was initially sprawled on the sofa grabbing popcorn, but as he watched, he unconsciously sat up straight.
Sorkin's rapid-fire, drum-like dialogue, combined with Fincher's signature cool lighting, vividly portrays the cutthroat competition behind the scenes in professional sports.
The climax of the first part culminates in the NBA Finals of the shortened 1999 season. The screen recreates the grueling trials the Boston Celtics faced during their championship season, the sharp banter between the two men stemming from their differing opinions, and their subsequent collaboration in helping the team overcome one obstacle after another. When the final buzzer sounds, Brad Pete, with tears in his eyes, roars from the sidelines, embracing his players in celebration. Meanwhile, Keanu Reeves stands in the shadows of the stands, watching the brand-new championship banner slowly rise to the top of the dome. The film ends abruptly with an extremely restrained emotion.
The lights came back on.
Gary Payton sat on the sofa, silent for a long time. After a while, he wiped his face and muttered, "Damn, that's really good... You guys captured that feeling from back in the Boston locker room perfectly."
"However, Gary, this is only the first part." Lin Qi stood up and turned to Fincher. "Although the story of the first part ends in 1999, the publicity and groundwork for the second part must begin now. Gary will stay here for three days. Fincher, you and your team will shoot two more sets of first-person interview footage with him, so he can provide some specific opinions on the locker room conflict content in the second part from a first-person perspective."
"No problem, his voice is very distinctive." Fincher nodded.
"And there's one more crucial shot," Lin Qi said, looking at Gary Payton. " Gary, take out all four of your rings and put them all on your right hand."
Gary Payton paused for a moment. "Wear it now? Didn't the last movie only show him winning his first championship?"
"This is a post-credits scene for the next part." Lin Qi pulled back a dark gray, solid-color curtain and pointed to an old wooden chair in the center. "No need for a complicated set. A medium shot, a completely black background, and a hard light from the side will suffice."
Fincher immediately understood the intention and waved to his assistant to set up a 35mm film camera.
Gary Payton took a box out of his pocket and slipped the four heavy championship rings, each studded with countless diamonds, onto the four fingers of his right hand. He then sat down in front of the wooden chair. The metal and diamonds refracted a cold, hard luster under the sidelight.
"Do I need to say any specific lines?" Gary Payton asked, looking up.
"No need to act, just show your most scumbag side on the court." Lin Qi stood beside the camera, calmly watching Gary Payton. "Think about the 1996 NBA Finals loss to the Chicago Bulls in Seattle, and then think about how we completely crushed Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals in Boston."
Gary Payton took a deep breath, and his nonchalant demeanor instantly vanished.
The swagger of his Seattle SuperSonics days and the arrogance of the four-time Boston championship point guard were fully awakened in that instant. The expression on his face turned into the cold smirk that only appeared in the decisive moments of a game.
"Power on, three, two, one," Fincher whispered.
In front of the camera, Gary Payton didn't even look directly into the viewfinder.
He slowly raised his right hand, adorned with numerous championship rings. In the dim light, the diamonds on the rings shone dazzlingly.
Immediately afterwards, Gary Payton raised his right middle finger without warning.
He stared directly into the dark camera lens, a defiant smile playing on his lips, and uttered the line, word by word, in his hoarse, smoky voice.
"See that, Michael? This is what I got after beating you."
The projection room fell silent, with only the whirring of the film reel cutting through the gears.
Fincher sat behind the monitor, staring at the frozen close-up of the middle finger on the screen. After several seconds, he slowly took off his glasses and turned to look at Lin Qi.
"Lin, when the second movie comes out, this will definitely cause a sensation across America."
"That's exactly the reaction we wanted." Lin Qi straightened his collar, his expression calm. "This shot will be saved after the end credits of the second film. Now, Gary, you'll be working with Fincher on post-production for the next few months. Back when we were filming the documentary, didn't you say you wanted to keep an eye on things and prevent anyone from cutting anything?"