The Yin and Yang of Life

S M Chen
5 min readJan 7, 2024

We are early in 2024.

In case this interests you, the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac.

In 2000 a film was made called “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” It turned out to be a blockbuster, garnering 213.5M worldwide.

It also won 4 Oscars.

Movie poster

William Goldman, successful screenwriter (“Marathon Man,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “All the President’s Men,” “The Princess Bride”), once opined, in “Adventures in the Screen Trade,” nobody in the movie business knows anything.

A successful auteur, A-listed actors, an engaging screenplay — nothing guaranteed success, either critical and/or commercial.

Sequels to blockbusters sometimes flopped.

Just as it has been said the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the road to perdition is also paved with the bodies of those in the movie industry who meant well.

Maybe they simply didn’t know.

The public is fickle.

Who remembers Michael Cimino?

Before he directed “Heaven’s Gate” (which lost $40M) the auteur was quite bankable.

The concept of yin-yang originated in China.

--

--

No responses yet