Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 374 Joint Development

Zhenbeibao Western Film City

Located in Yinchuan, it is different from most film and television cities in China. It focuses on being simple, primitive, rugged and desolate.

The original site was a frontier castle from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Among the numerous film and television studios in China, the Western Studios is one of the three largest film and television studios in China, with its characteristics of simplicity, primitiveness, ruggedness, desolation and folk nature.

Many classic movies were born here.

"A Chinese Odyssey", "Red Sorghum", "Heroes of Heaven and Earth"...

Any drama set in the Northwest or the Gobi Desert basically cannot avoid this place.

The background of "Painted Skin" is set at the border of the Ming Dynasty. Wang Sheng is a border guard. The scene of the desert with solitary smoke and the setting sun on the long river in the play is very suitable for filming here.

The one who recommends this is Ning Ying, which is also one of the investors of "Painted Skin", but the amount is very small, accounting for only one-tenth.

Since the restructuring, these old film studios have been having a very hard time. Except for China Film and Shanghai Film, which are doing very well, the other film studios are all half-dying.

The same would apply even if it were restructured into a film group.

Historically, "Painted Skin" is Ningying's only glory. This time Zhang Chen also brought them along, because this is their territory, and with their assistance, everything can be done with twice the result with half the effort.

Ning Ying really went all out this time. "Painted Skin" was invested 90 million, and Ning Ying invested one tenth of it, 9 million. This was all the assets they had.

In the words of Ningying’s chairman, if the movie fails, Ningying and its entire team will have to starve for several years.

This is not an exaggeration. The Xi'an Film Studio is a precedent.

Xiying has always been very bold. In the 1990s, it dared to take a gamble and cooperate with Hong Kong and Taiwan to produce "A Chinese Odyssey".

If you win, you will get to work in the club; if you lose, you will go to the sea to work.

Then they lost.

No one expected that "A Chinese Odyssey" would be a box office flop because it was too advanced. The Xi'an Film Studio really went bankrupt for several years and has not recovered yet.

Ning Ying has always been cautious, but this time it was Xingchen Entertainment that took the initiative to contact him.

After hearing about Xingchen Entertainment’s project, Ningying and his entire team held countless meetings and finally decided to take a gamble.

Therefore, Ning Ying was very attentive to the "Painted Skin" this time, and it can be said that she got a lot of support.

For Star Entertainment, this is just a movie.

For Ning Ying, this is her life and property.

"Chen Xi, notify the actors to start the script reading tomorrow~"

"Okay, I'll let you know right away."

The crew had just been formed and filming had not officially started yet. Chen Xi came here specifically to stay for two weeks and would leave once everything was on track.

There is still a movie collaboration waiting for her at the company.

……

At Xingchen Entertainment, the director of the screenwriting department escorted someone away all the way to the elevator.

"Take care. If you have any questions, feel free to call me. Let's keep in touch..."

"Of course, of course. Thank you very much. Please stay~"

The two waved goodbye
The director waited until the elevator door closed before returning. Yu Zheng, who was standing next to him, immediately came up to him and asked, "Director, who was that person just now?"

The director looked down on this guy. Yu Zheng was an outlier in the screenwriter team, his style was a bit wild, and he was not liked by the director.

If he hadn't been picked up by Zhang Chen himself, he would have found an excuse to fire him long ago.

But even so, the director would not be angry with him.

"Don't ask around. If you have time, spend more time on the script. Think about how long you have been in our department, and you still haven't made any achievements. We don't want to keep idle people in our department~"

The screenwriter team of Xingchen Entertainment is well-known in the industry. It can be said that as long as the people in the screenwriter team are willing to go to other companies, they will immediately be promoted to the level of department head.

I don’t know how many people want to poach team members every day, but no one leaves. The reason is that the treatment is too good.

The screenwriter team receives bonuses based on a percentage of the box office, and all the movies produced by Xingchen Entertainment are hits. With only a few movies under their belt, many team members have already bought houses in Beijing.

Yu Zheng was frustrated and left angrily. After the director walked away, he dared to complain: "If you don't want to say it, then don't say it. What's the big deal~"

He knew that he was not liked by the Director, but he didn't care, because he would definitely be the one to become the Hokage.

He is currently reading a novel which he feels is very worthy of adaptation, and is currently imitating the idea of ​​turning it into a script.

As for adaptation rights, haha, what is that?
When Yu Zheng returned to the office, several screenwriters were chatting.

"I'm not saying anything wrong, Perfect World is a well-known game company, how come their storytelling skills are so poor? The plot was so embarrassing to me~"

Another person said, "Yes, after we polished it, I think it really feels like a story. But it's good this way, at least we can feel more at ease when we receive the prize money."

This statement was immediately agreed by another person: "Yes, I heard that the same game "Wulin Wai Zhuan" has been online for three months and has a turnover of more than 40 million. I wonder how much prize money the second group can get?"

"Don't envy them. Isn't the game of the same name as Painted Skin also in development? We polished the game script ourselves, so we will definitely get a bonus when the time comes."

Only then did Yu Zheng realize that the game was being developed simultaneously with the filming of the movie "Painted Skin".

This aroused his curiosity again, and he immediately came over and tactfully handed over a cigarette: "Brother, I just heard you guys say that Painted Skin is developing a joint game?"

"Yes, not only games, but I heard there are also toys. You passed by President Chen Xi's office and saw the two dolls on his desk. I heard that they were samples sent by the toy factory."

Chen Xi's office has all glass windows. Yu Zheng recalled that there seemed to be two dolls there, but he had never paid attention to them.

"Do we get bonuses for games and toys, too?"

"I don't know, but given our company's style, it's possible~"

Xingchen Entertainment has never been stingy in spending money.

In fact, its style is similar to that of later Internet giants.

The requirements for employees are high, but the pay is definitely sufficient.

Just focus on your work and don't worry about anything else. When the time comes to get paid, you will definitely be satisfied.

Yu Zheng didn't say anything else, and the two people continued chatting.

“Do you think the plot of Director Zhang’s Painted Skin is a bit too simple? It’s basically a standard Cassandra-style story. It starts with the monster killing people, and then keeps revealing the truth, but the other party just doesn’t believe it.

The only twist is probably the part where Xiao Wei makes Peirong admit that she is a demon. Other than that...tsk tsk tsk..."

"What do you know? I heard Director Zhang and Manager Dong talking about how the plot of a blockbuster movie can't be too complicated, otherwise it will affect the box office..."

At this time, a screenwriter from Group 2 came over and said, “It can’t be too complicated, then why is the plot of Stone so convoluted?
And "Racing", you don't know how much hair our group lost for "Racing"? "

When he said this, the others immediately stopped talking.

Yes, director Ning Hao's scripts are famously complex. Audiences find them amazing when they read them, but screenwriters also have a hard time writing them. I don't know how many brain cells have died.

The second group in charge of "Racing" often retreats and brainstorms at every turn.

Zhang Chen's films are just the opposite. The plot of The Shallows can be summed up in one sentence. Painted Skin is also a very simple story. Only The Accidental Murderer is a little more complicated. The screenwriters themselves don't understand it when they think of this.

In another office, Dong Jianqiang was playing with a few figures in his hands. Opposite him sat two people, one of whom was the director of the screenwriting department.

“Everyone must pay attention to the IP joint development. Last year, one-third of our company’s profits came from products other than movies.

So for this "Painted Skin", Director Zhang pays special attention to the development of peripheral products. You must cooperate well with the screenwriter department. Perfect World is not good at writing stories, so we will use our expertise. Xiao Wang, the same goes for you. Before President Chen Xi comes back, you will be responsible for following up on the toy factory..."

Xiao Wang nodded when he heard this. "Don't worry, Manager Dong. I will keep a close eye on the toy factory. It's just that the pirated products..."

Xiao Wang is called Wang Chao. He is Chen Xi’s deputy and is responsible for business connection.

Dong Jianqiang understood what he meant, but he had no choice but to sigh and say, "We are not yet able to deal with piracy. Director Zhang's idea is to sell peripheral products simultaneously with the movie's release. We can make as much money as we can and use it as a way to accumulate experience."

After a few more words, the two left. Dong Jianqiang then leaned back in his boss chair and stretched.

On the desk in front of him were two action figures.

A pair of Q-version fox spirits and bird spirits, with gorgeous clothes and interesting looks, and their eyes and eyebrows vaguely resemble Fan Xiaopang and Yang Xiaomi.

The other pair is simulation figures, which are not as cute as the Q version, but more lifelike, with gorgeous shapes, and are half human and half demon.

……

According to media reports, based on online voting by netizens, "Painted Skin" became the most anticipated movie of 2006.

This is enough to show Zhang Chen's influence in the film industry. You know, there are many blockbusters this year, such as "The Banquet", "War of War", "Curse of the Golden Flower"...

In the "Painted Skin" crew, Zhang Chen is organizing a group of main creators to read the script.

Script reading is very important. It allows the actors to understand the director's intentions in advance and also helps to connect different actors' understanding of the movie roles.

When everyone’s understanding is on the same level, the performance can be more coordinated.

This is also the greatest significance of script reading.

Looking at the cast in front of him, which was completely different from the original, Zhang Chen felt some different feelings in his heart.

It’s quite interesting to say that the original version of “Painted Skin” was created by Wilson Yip and Zhen Zidan. The female fox demon was decided to be played by Fan Xiaopang, and investors from the mainland were found.

There was news at the time that the three were preparing to make an action horror film.

During that period, the investment form of domestic films was basically fixed: mainland funds + Hong Kong stars + big productions...

This model was first created by Zhang Yimou. "Hero", "House of Flying Daggers" and "Curse of the Golden Flower" all follow this model.

When others saw this success, they immediately imitated it, such as "Seven Swords", "The Promise", "The Banquet"...

But the original version of "Painted Skin" was released in 08, by which time mainland investors already had some experience.

No matter how I look at this movie, it feels like a bad movie. It's unlikely to be a big hit, so I've never wanted to make it.

Later, Shanghai Film Studio entered the picture and directly replaced the director with Gordon Chan. They also kicked out Fan Xiaopang and appointed Zhou Gongzi to play the fox demon.

Mr. Zhou recommended Chen Kun, and Chen Kun recommended his classmate Zhao Yanzi.

This is how the original version of "Painted Skin" came into being.

In the original version of "Painted Skin", Zhen Zidan was not the male lead, but he was the first role, because he was a Hong Kong and Taiwan star, and the pay of the other actors combined was not as high as his.

Unexpectedly, after many twists and turns, in this life, the role of the fox demon returned to Fan Xiaopang.

Mr. Zhou, who had snatched the role from her at that time, had to fall to the point of playing a supporting role to her, and the rest of the actors were replaced.

By the way, Mr. Zhou’s acting skills are already very good now, but his popularity is not good.

Yuan Shikong started to get involved in commercial films after "Li Mi's Conjecture". Later, she starred in "Painted Skin" and "The Sound of Wind" successively. Since then, she has never lacked roles to play.

……

Somewhere in Beijing, in a coffee shop

Zhao Yanzi and Chen Kun sat face to face.

Zhao Yanzi: "Didn't you get the role in the end?"

Chen Kun shook his head when he heard this. "I asked my agent to negotiate, but they didn't even consider changing the cast. The candidates had already been decided, and it was Zhang Chen who decided it himself. If he didn't say so, no one would dare to change. The remaining ones are all small supporting roles, and playing them would be equivalent to supporting Huang Xiaoming..."

Chen Kun spoke calmly, his eyes still filled with sadness.

Their class is a star class, and even in the star class, Chen Kun's acting skills are the most outstanding.

Huang Xiaoming can't compare with him at all.

When he was still in school, his teachers would recommend him for any good roles that came his way.

Even for the film "The Emperor of Han Dynasty" which made Huang Xiaoming famous, the organizer actually wanted to find Chen Kun at first, but Chen Kun had a film contract at that time, so the teacher recommended Huang Xiaoming.

Huang Xiaoming became famous with "The Emperor of Han Dynasty".

It is impossible to ask him to play a supporting role to Huang Xiaoming now.

Zhao Yanzi didn't say anything after hearing this. She couldn't understand why Zhang Chen didn't like him. She had wanted to get close to him at the New Year's Eve party to see if she could get a role, but she didn't expect Zhang Chen to be so disinterested in him.

Later, she wanted to use Tian Zhuangzhuang to ease the relationship, but Tian Zhuangzhuang seemed unwilling to get involved in this matter.

But "Painted Skin" is too famous.

Zhao Yanzi was thinking about whether she could let Chen Kun get a role first and then recommend her to the role.

It's a roundabout way to save the country. What if it works?
But who knew that even Chen Kun was not selected.

It seems that she is destined not to be in this play.

Just as Zhao Yanzi was about to sigh, she suddenly received a call from her agent: "The crew of Red Cliff wants to invite you to be the heroine of this movie..."

In an instant, Zhao Yanzi thought of many idioms: After all the hardships come happiness, you are the first day, I am the fifteenth day, today you ignore me, tomorrow I will make you out of reach...

He tried very hard to get a role in "Painted Skin", but failed.

On the contrary, it was "Red Cliff", which had never put any effort into it, but a heroine was suddenly dropped on its head.

Things are unpredictable~
"What's wrong? Is there something good?"

Chen Kun noticed that after Zhao Yanzi received the call, her whole spirit and energy were different.

"I guess so. Red Cliff asked me to play the leading female role~"

"Red Cliff? And there's a heroine? Who is that?"

Zhao Yanzi choked. It seems that there are no female characters in the story of Red Cliff. But she still said: "Sun Shangxiang~"

"Sun Shangxiang? The one with the machine gun and the ability to roll over?"

……

I listened to your advice and stopped writing about the earthquake.

(End of this chapter)