Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 477: Talking with Lao Mouzi

The filming in February went smoothly. It is not difficult to shoot a green screen movie. The biggest difficulty lies in the post-production synthesis.

After all, it was Zhang Chen’s first time, so he was extremely careful and cautious during the shoot. He discussed every shot with the special effects director to avoid any omissions.

The biggest task for the art team and the props team during this period is to do various kinds of aging.

But I have to admit that it does make the film look more textured.

Previously, Zhang Chen said that he wanted to find 20 students from Beijing Film Academy to record the various problems encountered during the filming of "Pacific Rim".

He really did it.

It was my first time making a science fiction film, and there were too many pitfalls to avoid.

Even if you are surrounded by a first-class team, there are still some pitfalls that you have to avoid.

Only by experiencing it can you know how to make choices and how to deal with different situations.

Zhang Chen recorded all of this, such as the choice of special effects company, why this special effects package was given to this company and that special effects package was given to that company;

How to save money on prop production;

How do Chinese and foreign actors communicate with each other in the crew?
In the filming of Pacific Rim, which shots had to be shot with real scenes and which with green screens?
There are so many tricks involved here, and Zhang Chen recorded them all in detail.

He said that he would share it for free when the time comes, and he will definitely do what he says.

In addition, Zhang Chen would post a blog every few days, sometimes talking about interesting things in the crew, such as the foreigners looking for a dumpling restaurant in Hengdian;
Sometimes they discuss topics that netizens are concerned about, such as "Pacific Rim";
Seeing that the event was gaining popularity, Sina.com arranged a text live broadcast.

The so-called text live broadcast is the live broadcast in the chat room.

Netizens posted questions in the chat room, and Zhang Chen answered them on the spot, with someone specifically translating them into text for him.

It can also be regarded as the primitive form of live chat in later generations.

Sina.com did some preheating three days in advance, and the headline on the homepage was - Online interaction with China's top director Zhang Chen.

Baidu Tieba was in an uproar.

Similar posts in several forums related to Zhang Chen were all pinned to the top.

Brothers, everyone must participate actively, there are not many opportunities to communicate with idols face to face~
Wait a minute, brothers, should we collect what are the issues that the bar friends are most concerned about, so that if any brother gets the chance, he can ask questions on behalf of our bar friends.

Yes, yes, yes, I think it’s a good idea. What I want to know most is when will “Hurricane 2” start filming?
I want to know what the hell Pacific Rim has to do with pandas? I can't figure it out no matter how hard I try.

Sina's technical department is holding a meeting to discuss how to deal with technical problems that may be encountered at that time.

The first is the issue of concurrency.

The number of visits to the forum is average, and usually dozens of concurrent visits are enough. However, on the day of the live broadcast, the number of concurrent visits may be dozens or even hundreds of times the usual number. Design, diversion, and load balancing must be done in advance, and all these must be prepared in advance.

The second issue is safety.

It is inevitable that Sina will be attacked when it does live streaming.

Competitors will do bad things behind the scenes, and Zhang Chen is a controversial figure, so there must be people who hope that he will make a fool of himself in the live broadcast.

Technically, isolation is required to avoid cyber attacks.

In terms of operations, we need to review and eliminate any issues that cross the line.

Even so, when the actual live broadcast day came, the situation was still serious.

At Sina's technical department, the technical manager looked at the rising number of online users and felt uneasy: "Have you built the new node? If you have, transfer the load to it immediately~"

"Right away, right away, it's already switching~"

The more excited they are chatting online, the more nervous they are backstage.

Who would have thought that there would be tens of thousands of people watching it as soon as it was aired.

【What is the panda element? 】

The editor randomly selects questions, and of course, those that are meaningless or malicious will be blocked by him.

Zhang Chen smiled and said, "Pandas do exist in Pacific Rim, and they play a very important role, but I can't tell you now. Let's wait for the movie. It will surprise you..."

The recorder quickly converted the words into text and then output it to the screen.

Editor's Picks

[Are costume films really over?]

This question is quite interesting!
Zhang Chen thought for a while and said, "It can't be said that it's over, but this craze is definitely over. Last year, whether it was "The Banquet", "Curse of the Golden Flower" or "Painted Skin", they didn't sell well abroad. Foreigners are tired of this kind of subject matter, and this kind of costume blockbuster must rely on the overseas market. If the overseas market doesn't recognize it, it's unlikely to continue...

But it’s not too late to say that he’s finished. Wait a few years, until domestic consumption capacity increases and the audience’s aesthetic fatigue is over, there will definitely be people who will continue to make movies...”

[But I heard that "Painted Skin" sold well~]

Zhang Chen shook his head: "Painted Skin only sold well in Southeast Asia. Its art style is the kind that Japan and South Korea like very much, but it still doesn't work in Europe and the United States..."

Zhang Chen has no intention of concealing the overseas performance of Painted Skin. If it is not good, it is not good.

[Didn’t you say that Painted Skin would surpass Titanic? Now it hasn’t surpassed it. What do you think?]

Most of the questions were friendly, but there were definitely some unfriendly ones, which most editors would ignore. However, Zhang Chen decided to answer this question.

"Painted Skin's box office did not surpass that of The Big Boat, which is a bit regrettable. I guess I am exaggerating, but Pacific Rim can definitely do it.

I’m putting this out there. If Pacific Rim can’t break the mold, then no movie will be able to do so in the next few years.”

Zhang Chen spoke with full confidence, and the recorder who was responsible for typing was full of excitement. He was also a fan of Zhang Chen and liked Zhang Chen's arrogant look.

Under the water, in an invisible place, Qingcheng Wuji was giving orders in the chat group of friends.

Let's play the game "The Man from Nowhere" together~
Then, on the scrolling screen, a bunch of questions about the release date of "The Man from Nowhere" scrolled frequently, pushing other questions to the top.

[When will "The Man from Nowhere" be released? ]

"It's the May Day holiday. I just watched the finished film a few days ago. It's very good and should live up to everyone's expectations~"

Netizens didn't expect to actually get information about the movie, and someone immediately asked:

[What about "Hurricane 2", when will it start filming?]

Zhang Chen continued to answer: "After May, we are already preparing. After the release of The Man from Nowhere, Hurricane 2 will start shooting..."

Someone immediately noticed something was wrong:
【The director is not you? 】

"No, the director of Hurricane 2 is Lu Yang, who is also the director of The Man from Nowhere~"

[Ah, no, don't mess around, such a good series, don't let it end badly~]

The Internet was suddenly filled with screams of ghosts and wolves.

Zhang Chen smiled: "It can be seen that everyone is a true fan of "Hurricane", me too. I understand your feelings, but please believe me, I will not joke about "Hurricane". After "The Man from Nowhere" is released, you will understand why I dare to give him such an important project as "Hurricane 2"..."

Zhang Chen’s explanation failed to convince everyone. Before seeing the results, everyone still hoped that Zhang Chen would personally direct "Hurricane 2".

No matter how Zhang Chen explained, it was useless. In the end, he could only promise to wait and see the results after "The Man from Lone Ranger" was released.

"If everyone is not satisfied with "The Man from Nowhere", then I will come back and continue directing~"

Only after things had come to this point did everyone let him go.

But someone immediately started a new topic:
[I want to watch the Agent Universe. Can you tell me who the Agent Universe includes? ]

Zhang Chen thought about it and felt that there was nothing wrong in revealing these.

"At present, only Lao Chen and Abu have been confirmed, and both are series. Abu's is "The Man from Nowhere", and Lao Chen is Abu's master. The tentative name is "The Sanction Agent" or "The Equalizer"..."

[Will it not be linked with foreign agents? For example, James Bond or Ethan Hunt or Jason Bourne? ]

Zhang Chen said generously: "It's possible, but all this will have to wait until Hurricane has enough influence, then we can seek cooperation with the companies that these characters belong to."

Originally, Zhang Chen wanted to say more about "Pacific Rim" which has a similar idea, but after thinking about it, he shut up.

The time is not right.

Suddenly, someone asked a sensitive question: "Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping have broken up now. Are you satisfied now?"

The editor looked at Zhang Chen, waiting for him to make a decision, whether to answer or skip it.

In the background, the operation and maintenance personnel shouted anxiously: "The number of online users is starting to rise~"

The technical director was sweating: "Immediately, add another node~"

Zhang Chen did not evade the challenge, but chose to confront it head-on: "Of course I am satisfied, this is my goal. On the other hand, if Zhang Weiping had done his job well, would Zhang Yimou have the character to fight him?

When it comes to the term "fox borrowing the power of the tiger", the person involved must be clear about his or her own position: are you a powerful tiger, or a fox taking advantage of the situation?

If you don’t figure it out, your fate will be the same as Zhang Weiping’s.”

[Will Zhang Yimou join Xingchen Entertainment? ]

"It's not certain yet. We do have an invitation, but everything depends on Director Zhang's own wishes. But even if he doesn't join, we can still work together in the future."

Zhang Chen is a matter-of-fact person. He will answer any question as long as it is not too sensitive.

The Internet reached a climax at this moment.

How can it be more fun to chat about gossip than to chat about a serious show?

[Can you tell me about the box office of "Still Life" during the Lunar New Year holiday? ]

"Again, he picked the wrong time slot."

Zhang Chen didn't want to ridicule Chief Jia anymore, as he believed that the Lunar New Year movie had already taught him a lesson.

[What do you think of the lawsuit between Huang Shengyi and Xinghui Company? ]

"I support Xinghui Company in this matter. It is obvious that Huang feels that he has become famous and is getting cocky. He is starting to disobey orders, so he dares to fight with Xinghui Company~"

"A bootlicker? That doesn't exist. I have no personal relationship with Stephen Chow, and I have no business dealings with Star Shine. This is purely a personal opinion, you don't have to accept it..."

This method is really cool. It’s not like someone has done text live broadcast before, but no one was as bold as Zhang Chen.

Sina's operations department was overjoyed to see the number of online users rising steadily, but the technical director had a bitter look on his face.

This is because they anticipated the peak situation and made preparations in advance.

If it hadn't been anticipated, an accident would have happened today.

"I'll contact Zhang Chen after the broadcast to see if we can make this kind of live broadcast a regular thing. The effect is really great~"

After hearing what the operations boss said, the technical director's face became even more bitter.

Fortunately, the live broadcast only lasted for an hour before it was closed. Zhang Chen still had a filming task the next day and couldn't do it too late.

The entire technical department felt relieved.

This live broadcast affected many people.

Looking at the words "Live broadcast has ended", Yang Xiaomi behind the screen was worried.

According to Zhang Chen, Painted Skin didn't sell well overseas and a sequel is unlikely.

Wouldn’t that mean that the opportunity that I had waited so hard for was gone?

She had read the synopsis of "Painted Skin 2", and this little bird-like girl was successfully promoted from the third female lead to the second female lead.

But now, it’s gone just like that?
……

On the other side, Zhang Yimou had just turned off his computer.

He also didn't expect that someone would talk about him and Zhang Weiping during the live broadcast, and Zhang Chen did not avoid the question but gave a direct answer.

He remembered what Dong Jianqiang had said to him some time ago.

During this period, he and Zhang Weiping broke up, and many film and television companies contacted him, but Zhang Yimou refused on the grounds that he had to fully prepare for the Olympics.

In fact, he hasn't figured it out yet.

Zhang Weiping's incident made him feel like he was once bitten by a snake and became afraid of ropes for ten years.

I'm very scared of escaping from the wolf's den and falling into the tiger's den.

……

Coincidentally, in another house in Beijing, Zhang Weiping angrily turned off his computer.

The question that questioned Zhang Chen, "Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping have broken up now, are you satisfied now?", was posted by him.

Zhang Chen actually responded positively, which made him feel a little bit humiliated.

He originally wanted to reveal his identity, but he didn't dare to say it.

But the hatred in his heart was no less. Ah Mou parted ways with him, and it was inseparable from Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen cut off his financial resources, which was his mortal enemy.
Zhang Weiping lit up a cigarette, the smoke curled up, covering his entire face, and only a hint of a fierce look could be vaguely seen.

There are many other film and television stars who secretly follow Zhang Chen’s live broadcast.

After the live broadcast ended, countless people couldn't wait to call their agents or agencies.

"Hurricane 2" has started preparations, and I want to get a role in it, even if it's just a supporting role.

……

At Jing Tian's residence, Jing Tian was still in a state of excitement.

I finally understand what Director Zhang meant by live streaming the eating of melons.

So interesting!
How dare he comment on others so openly? Isn't he afraid of offending people?
But then he thought of Zhang Chen’s past. Hasn’t he offended enough people?

Just at this moment, Lu Zheng called.

"Uncle Lu!"

"Have you watched Zhang Chen's live broadcast?"

"Looked."

"The Hurricane 2 is about to start filming, so the Witch project may have to be put on hold~"

"Yes, I understand Uncle Lu~"

"Don't worry, I'll contact Zhang Chen in a couple of days to see if I can give you more scenes~"

"Ah, is this appropriate?"

"If there's anything inappropriate, we can just give the money and it will be over."

"Oh~"

……

Zhang Chen didn’t know that his live broadcast touched the hearts of countless people. He thought it was just a chat to bring him closer to his fans.

Those who engage in artistic creation must never distance themselves from the masses.

You must know what the audience likes in order to produce work that the audience will enjoy watching.

A few days later, most of the scenes for Pacific Rim had been filmed.

The filmed parts have been handed over to the special effects company to start producing special effects.

At this rate, filming may take longer than the originally planned three months.

Then, quite suddenly, he received a call from Dong Jianqiang.

"Zhang Yimou wants to see you?"

"what?"

"I said Zhang Yimou wants to see you."

Dong Jianqiang repeated it again, and then said: "I invited him to join our company before, but he refused because he was busy preparing for the Olympics. Then he suddenly called me today and wanted to meet you~"

Zhang Chen was confused, "But I'm in Hengdian now."

"It doesn't matter. He said he could come to see you in the name of visiting the set..."

"Okay, let him come."

He couldn't figure out why Lao Mouzi wanted to see him. If he couldn't figure it out, he just gave up. Lao Mouzi was not a man-eating tiger, so he could just meet him once.

Then, a few days later, Zhang Yimou came to Hengdian.

Zhang Chen did not promote it in a big way.

Zhang Yimou suddenly showed up at the studio without even notifying us in advance.

The security brothers who were in charge of guarding the gate were all dumbfounded.

"Security brother, I'm here to look for Director Zhang Chen, can you please help me contact him~"

"Oh~"

The security guard threw away his cigarette in panic and wanted to run inside. After running two steps, he remembered that he had a walkie-talkie at hand.

After a while, Zhang Chen came out to greet him personally.

"Director Yimou~"

"Director Zhang Chen~"

The two hugged each other like good friends.

"Director Yimou, come with me. I'll show you around my crew first..."

"That's great. I also want to see how science fiction movies are made."

Zhang Yimou is still very passionate about filming.

Zhang Chen took Zhang Yimou to visit the crew and get to know all the actors.

"This is the cockpit of the mecha, built according to a 1:1 real scene. Director Yimou, do you want to try it out?"

Zhang Yimou smiled and shook his head, "Forget about trying. Just by touching the cold and hard texture, I know the photos will turn out great..."

Instead, he was more interested in the things on the other side: "Is this a model of a building?"

"Yes, there is a scene tomorrow where a monster fights a mecha. There is a scene where the arm of the mecha is hit into the building. The angle of view is shot from inside the building, so I made this thing..."

“Can I see your filming process?”

"of course can."

Now that A-mou is here, we must treat him to a meal in the evening.

I didn’t get too many people together, so I just asked Fat Fan and Hu Jun to join us.

Lao Mouzi is from Xi'an and can drink quite well.

After a few drinks, their relationship became much closer.

"Actually, I watched your live broadcast a few days ago, so I wanted to come over and say thank you in person. If it weren't for you, I don't know how long I would have been deceived..."

After hearing what Zhang Yimou said, everyone else shut up.

Zhang Chen was curious: "You don't blame me?"

"Why should I blame you? I can't thank you enough. I just didn't pay enough attention to these things before.

After you shouted at me that time, I asked someone to check it out, and only then did I find out that Zhang Weiping had done so many things without telling me in the past few years.

It was then that I realized how stupid I was.”

Zhang Yimou was quite emotional.

Zhang Chen saw that he was not pretending: "No need to thank me, I didn't have any good intentions, I just hope you don't blame me~"

Zhang Chen raised his glass: "Let's drink this. If there was any offense in the past, let's write it off. How about that?"

"can!"

The two clinked glasses.

Seeing the two men drink it all in one gulp, Fan and Hu next to them immediately began to applaud.

As both of them are directors, the next topic naturally turned to movies.

After drinking a lot, Zhang Chen spoke without restraint.

"Director Yimou, to be honest, I really like your early works, such as Red Sorghum and Talk It Out, but I don't like the commercial blockbusters you made~"

hiss~
Fan and Hu standing by gasped.

Be good~
Although your previous grudges have been written off, you cannot create new grudges immediately.

Fat Fan wanted to remind Zhang Chen under the table, but unexpectedly kicked Hu Jun's foot, causing him to raise his eyebrows in pain.

It seems too late.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yimou was not surprised at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "Oh, why?"

"Because your commercial film is not commercial at all~"

Zhang Yimou said nothing and waited for the next words.

Zhang Chen continued: "What is the logic of commercial movies? Big production, big stars, and topicality, but the most important thing is that commercial movies make people feel refreshed after watching them...

Your film is different.

"Hero", "House of Flying Daggers" and "Curse of the Golden Flower" all make people feel aggrieved after watching them, because these three films are actually art films at heart. The core of the commercial films you make is still art, but you use commercial techniques..."

After Zhang Chen finished saying this, Zhang Yimou hadn't said anything yet, but Fan and Hu were both moved.

They never thought about this aspect.

But after listening to Zhang Chen's analysis, it seemed quite reasonable.

However, Zhang Chen immediately changed the subject: "But I admire you a lot. It's actually very difficult to grasp this degree. If you grasp it well, it's like "Hero", but if you don't grasp it well, it's like "The Promise"..."

Hearing that "The Promise" was mentioned again, Fan and Hu shut up again.

It's okay for two great directors to comment on another great director, but this is not something that two actors can interfere with.

Zhang Yimou had no prejudice against business and art, and nodded when he heard this: "I actually agree with what you said before, that even if we make a movie, we must live up to the investors.

It was for this reason that I switched to making commercial blockbusters. Deep down, I don’t like commercial blockbusters…”

"what?"

“Because I always feel that commercial films are boring.

Take your The Shallows, for example. It’s good, but I just finished watching it and didn’t think about anything. I just felt it was boring…”

When he heard "The Shallows", Hu Jun looked at Fan Xiaopang and saw that the other person's expression was a little embarrassed.

Because "The Shallows" is the work of Fan Xiaopang, and it is her first commercial work.

Zhang Yimou also reacted at this time and immediately made amends: "Ms. Fan, I don't mean anything else, it's just..."

Fatty Fan smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It's okay, I understand..."

Zhang Chen also got excited: "Then let me ask you, what do you think of "The Accidental Murder"? "

"The Accidental Murderer is good. It makes people reflect on some things after watching it~"

"Look, this is the way you, the fifth generation, think. You think movies are a means of education, but I am different. I think movies are just movies, just a form of entertainment. There is no need to pay attention to the core idea. As long as it is good to watch, it's fine..."

Zhang Yimou did not refute, but lowered his head as if he was thinking about this, or maybe he was just eating some peanuts.

“Have you ever thought about why the reputation of Curse of the Golden Flower is not good in China and the United States?”

"Appreciate further details."

“Because the core of the movie Curse of the Golden Flower is not suitable for commercialization.

Commercial movies are often very simple, good guys are good guys, bad guys are bad guys, and there is no discussion of human nature...

"Curse of the Golden Flower" is too complicated. You mixed too many things into it, husband and wife killing each other, brothers killing each other, father and son fighting each other, and brothers and sisters incest...

From the director's perspective, there are many things that can be explored here, but from the audience's perspective, it is too complicated. There is no good person, and the viewers feel depressed and have no release.

The biggest failure is that you added a lot of steamed buns..."

"Curse of the Golden Flower" was filmed as "Curse of the Golden Flower", "The City is Full of Big-breasted Girls", "A Murder Case Caused by a Pile of Buns"...

The most important thing is that people don’t feel uncomfortable at all when they hear these names. Isn’t this the biggest failure?

Some people in later generations also put the blame on Zhang Weiping, but it seems not to be the case.

It’s Zhang Yimou’s own aesthetic!

"Besides, you've been doing this for several times in a row, and the audience has already gotten used to it. This year's Curse of the Golden Flower earned 2.8 million yuan, which is completely overdrawing your reputation. If you make the same old commercial art film next year, I guarantee you'll flop..."

(End of this chapter)