Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 252 Realistic Themes
Without dwelling too much on this issue, Zhang Chen came to his office, turned on his computer and logged into Zhang Chen Bar.

That's right, he had known about the existence of this bar for a long time.

As a time traveler, I certainly know the importance of fans.

At this stage, there is no Weibo, so Tieba and blogs are the largest gathering places for fans.

After browsing through it, I found that the moderator 'Qingcheng Wuji' moved his blog here as soon as possible last night, and also attached a link to the "Dialogue" video.

Zhang Chen used his own verified account, but he only browsed and never made any comments.

Just when he was about to take a look around and leave today, a post suddenly caught his attention.

The title is——【I hope this post can be seen by Zhang Chen】

Zhang Chen clicked on it out of curiosity, and found a not-so-long passage inside.

【

First of all, let me state my identity. I am a student at Northeast Normal University, majoring in film and television. I am a fan of Zhang Chen.

I watched "The Dialogue" and was deeply touched by the term "popcorn movie" in it.

What I studied was film. Since I entered school, I was taught that film is the seventh art besides architecture, sculpture, painting, music, poetry and dance, and that it should shoulder certain social responsibilities.

Movies are not only a form of mass entertainment, but should also shoulder the social significance of spreading positive energy.

The word "positive energy" was also mentioned by senior Zhang Chen when he gave a speech at Beijing Film Academy.

But I found that Zhang Chen never makes movies with realistic themes. His movies focus most on entertainment attributes. "The Darkness", "The Shallows" and "The Accidental Detective" are all good movies, but they are not about people and things happening around us. They are more about curiosity.

I am not saying this to say that Zhang Chen did something wrong, I just feel a little confused as to why his creative direction is different from what was taught in school.

Isn’t this how Beijing Film Academy teaches film?

My roommates and I often discuss some hot issues in society. I feel that many of them can be made into movies. If they are made well, they should be good works, but they are probably not going to be a big hit. So I am a little hesitant and don’t know if this is the right path to take…

】

After reading it, Zhang Chen was touched. This doubt of the forum friend is probably the common doubt of all filmmakers when they first enter the industry. Zhang Chen had the same doubt before.

……

In the afternoon, Qingcheng Wuji, who was working in the CBD, finished his work and started to slack off.

Finding that none of his colleagues nearby were paying attention to him, Qingcheng Wuji browsed the forum as usual and then returned to his own post bar.

He is the forum owner and always has to spend time managing the forum.

As for salary? Of course not, I do this purely for the love of my life.

I was just about to reply to the newcomer's question, but I found that a post was pushed to the top of the forum.

He hasn’t done anything similar recently, so this post can only have been pushed to the top due to real popularity.

Qingcheng Wuji took a look and saw the title was - I hope Zhang Chen can see this post.

Out of curiosity, he clicked on it. There was nothing surprising about the post. It was just a question from a student from Northeast Normal University about Zhang Chen. But what was surprising was that Zhang Chen himself actually responded.

Just on the 12th floor, the verified account of Zhang Chen replied under the post: I have received it and I am quite touched. Thank you for the reminder, I will explain it in detail in the blog later.

Just a few words attracted everyone's attention.

Here are a bunch of comments:

Am I dazzled? Zhang Chen actually replied personally~
Come quickly, capture a certified Zhang Chen alive~
Oh my god, could this be Zhang Chen's certified post? Zhang Chen actually showed up~
I don't believe it, it must be fake, Zhang Chen, if you have the guts, come out and say something~
……

Everyone expressed their shock in various ways.

Qingcheng Wuji is not much better.

He didn't expect that Zhang Chen, whom he casually created, would actually appear.

Does this count as Li Kui meeting Li Gui?

Then he was hit by a huge surprise and couldn't recover. Zhang Chen showed up and replied to the post personally. This was simply a huge surprise.

By the time he quit the post, the forum had gone crazy, with many posts expressing excitement:
[Does this count as a regular job? ]

【Finally not a Tubalu anymore! 】

[Moderator, why didn't you tell me earlier about this relationship? Can you arrange an offline meetup? ]

[As for the reply, I checked it several times, but there is no reply at all~]

Qingcheng Wuji finally reacted and quickly opened Zhang Chen's blog, only to find that there was no reply as he mentioned.

Is it too late? Or have you forgotten?
……

Inside Xingchen Entertainment, Zhang Chen’s office was filled with fairy mist.

In the smoke, a figure was typing on the keyboard with a cigarette in his mouth...

There was a knock on the door, then the door was pushed open, followed by the sound of Chen Xi coughing.

"What are you doing? You're making the house look like the fairyland of Penglai~"

"Thinking~"

"Thinking about what?"

"Life."

"Will you die if you don't show off?"

"Haha, yes~"

Chen Xi waved his arms and waited until the smoke had almost dissipated before moving closer.

"What are you writing? A script?"

"Well, a few realistic themes."

“Realism?”

Chen Xi was very surprised. "Don't you always look down on realistic themes?"

Zhang Chen was shocked: "Who said that? Who spread the rumor?" He really wanted to pull the rumor maker out and kill him.

"Isn't it?"

"of course not."

Zhang Chen was already over 40 before he traveled through time in his previous life. When it comes to watching movies, there are obvious differences in viewing habits before and after the age of 35.

Before he was 35, Zhang Chen liked the same things as all other young people. He liked to watch blockbuster movies with cool visuals, luxury cars, beautiful women, explosions and gun fights. In short, the kind that could stimulate the secretion of adrenaline.

After I turned 35, I gradually lost interest in this type of movie and instead became interested in realistic themes.

For example, "Dying to Survive", "Twenty-One", and "Keeping You Safe".

After watching it, you may find resonance or gain some insights into life.

I am no longer interested in visual feast films like Marvel.

It's weird, but that's how it is.

After reading the post last night, he was still quite touched, so he started writing quickly, listing out several realistic-themed books that were easy to write in his memory.

"'Fallen Leaves Return to Their Roots'?" Chen Xi came closer: "What kind of story is this?"

Zhang Chen put out his half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray, "A story about a migrant worker who died and his fellow workers carrying his body back home from thousands of miles away..."

"Ah?" Chen Xi opened his mouth in surprise.

Zhang Chen closed her mouth and said, "Don't be surprised. This is based on a news report in Southern Metropolis Daily at the beginning of this year."

Zhang Chen even took out the newspaper——

A companion named Zuo died in a foreign land. In order to have his body returned to his hometown, four fellow villagers including Li Shaowei from Hunan disguised the deceased as a drunkard and a patient, and planned to transport him from Fujian back to his hometown in Hunan. However, they were discovered and stopped by the police during the transportation to Guangzhou.

Afterwards, the body of the deceased Zuo was sent to the Guangzhou Funeral Home, and his family members also arrived one after another.

Southern Metropolis Daily and some other media also carried out a series of follow-up reports on the incident, involving Li Shaowei being blamed by the family of the deceased, the situation in Li and Zuo's hometowns, and Zuo's subsequent funeral arrangements, which attracted great attention at the time.

It was after seeing this news that director Zhang Yang wrote the script of "Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots" and invited Zhao Benshan to star in it.

The script was originally called "Falling Leaves", but later it was changed to "Falling Leaves Returning to Their Roots" following Zhao Benshan's suggestion.

Zhang Yang combined the four workers in the movie into one and added some plot to make it a road comedy.

The idea was actually good, but in the end the film’s box office wasn’t very good and it didn’t recoup its costs.

But this has nothing to do with the quality of the movie. It’s mainly due to insufficient publicity and a bad release date.

He chose the Lunar New Year period.

Maybe they think there are more moviegoers during the Lunar New Year holiday.

But I didn’t consider the issue of publicity.

The Lunar New Year holiday is full of blockbusters, and the one released at the same time is "Curse of the Golden Flower". Given Zhang Weiping's personality, this movie will definitely occupy most of the space. How much resources will be left for "Return of the Leaves".

The movie is indeed a good one, and Zhao Benshan's performance is also very wonderful, which makes people unforgettable after watching it.

Pity.

This film didn't get much attention at all, so of course it didn't do well at the box office.

If the box office is not good, the theaters will reduce the number of screenings, and the box office will not be any better.

Not every movie can rely on word of mouth.

By the way, Uncle Benshan’s acting skills are actually very good, and "Liu Laogen" is the best proof of this.

In terms of acting, he is better than Fan Wei.

In fact, the acting skills of many people in China are seriously underestimated, especially comedians, because people always unconsciously regard movie roles as an extension of their comedy roles.

Of course, Guo Degang is an exception, he really can't act.

Among the people in Deyun Club, the one who has developed the best in film and television is the eldest son. That's because many of the roles he played were very similar to his own personality, which is equivalent to acting in his true colors.

Zhang Chen thought about it and thought that if this movie was produced by their Xingchen Entertainment and they chose a time during the May Day or National Day holiday, it should be no problem to get a box office of 20 to 30 million.

It is unlikely to be higher, after all, it is a realistic subject.

Because realistic themes have to respect facts, dramatic conflicts are generally not very strong. The only way to impress the audience is to arouse their resonance.

However, the story of "Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots" can only move people and give them some touching feelings, but it is difficult to resonate with them, which limits the box office ceiling.

Why did the later movie "Dying to Survive" get a box office of 31 billion? It’s because there are too many cases of people being sick and unable to afford treatment around us.

It is easy for the audience to find similar situations in their own experiences, which arouses resonance.

"You're going to film this story?"

"Do not."

Zhang Chen shook his head: "I'm afraid I don't have time. There's another movie coming out in Hollywood called 'I Saw the Devil', and in China it's 'Painted Skin'."

"Who are you going to ask to film it? Ning Hao? Make it into a crazy series? 'Crazy Homecoming'?"

It’s a good suggestion, but Zhang Chen doesn’t quite dare to do it.

Ning Hao was the director he promoted and he wanted him to be the second banner of Star Entertainment, so he could not afford to make any mistakes.

Moreover, the script structure of "Returning to the Roots" is completely different from that of the Crazy series.

The biggest label of the Crazy series is multi-line narrative, and "Crazy Racing" almost takes this to the extreme.

Why did "Crazy Alien" later have such a bad reputation? In addition to the fact that it was a rushed work, another big reason was that it did not meet people's expectations.

When people hear a title that starts with "Crazy", they subconsciously think it is a multi-line narrative type, which Ning Hao has turned into a label.

If you try to take advantage of the crazy popularity, you will soon know what success and failure are both due to the wind and clouds~
"Forget it. Ning Hao is not suitable either. I'd better think of other candidates."

……

Asking for monthly ticket

(End of this chapter)