Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 529 Fixed Angle
There has been a hot topic recently that Zhang Chen became the first director in China to have a cumulative box office of over 1 billion yuan.

"The Darkness", "The Accidental Murderer", "Taken", "A Quiet Place", "Painted Skin" and "Pacific Rim", six movies, with a cumulative box office of over 1 billion.

The industry is shocked!

Zhang Chen has created too many records:
Highest first-day box office record;
The fastest record of breaking 100 million in China;
The fastest record to break 200 million;

The fastest record of breaking 300 million;

The fastest record of breaking 400 million;

Now, there is one more record - the cumulative box office of personal works has exceeded 1 billion.

No one has gone before!

He is the first and so far the only director in China whose personal works have grossed over 1 billion yuan.

Since the release of Painted Skin, Zhang Chen has been the top director in China, but it is only now that people in the industry have realized the gap between Zhang Chen and them.

Several other famous directors, in particular, secretly calculated the cumulative box office of their works and took a deep breath.

It’s not even half a star!
One billion may not seem like a lot.

But if you think about it, even if the box office exceeds 10 million, there will need to be movies.

So far, no one dares to boast of making 10 movies with a box office of over million yuan.

If you can have a work that grosses over 100 million yuan, you can be promoted to a famous director.

Then, Zhang Chen's donation of 1000 million yuan was also brought up.

1000 million! Other celebrities only donated 20 at most, but Zhang Chen donated 1000 million at once.

Then it was revealed that Fan Xiaopang donated 400 million yuan.

Not only Fan Xiaopang, but almost all the actors in Zhang Chen's group donated a lot.

Fan Xiaopang, Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Jin, Liang Jiahui, Chen Daoming, Yang Xiaomi, each donated between 50 and more than million...

Zhao Benshan, Huang Baiming, Huo Wenxi and others who were good friends with him also increased their donation amounts.

There is no such thing as an ice bucket challenge, it's just a wave of donations started by Zhang Chen.

Some netizens who were interested in doing good started to count and listed the stars who donated less and published the list online.

Well, it's equivalent to a public execution.

Then someone said, donations are free!

The amount of money an individual donates is entirely a personal freedom. There should be no forced donation, and there should be no comparison in donations!
Well, that makes sense.

Someone forwarded his remarks and reposted them under Zhang Chen’s donation blog, hoping that Zhang Chen would express his opinion.

Zhang Chen ignored him.

Two days later, he inexplicably made it onto the Forbes China Celebrity List.

Zhang Chen's forehead was filled with black lines. Wait a minute, didn't they even notify us when I was put on the list?
Fortunately, it is a celebrity list, not a rich list.

In the past two days, celebrities have been constantly besieged by reporters, asking them why their donations were so few.

Someone was asked anxiously and said: "Zhang Chen is a wealthy man, he is on Forbes, it is reasonable for him to donate 1000 million, how can our little star have money?"

Is this you?
I can tolerate my uncle, but I can’t tolerate my aunt.

Zhang Chen was unhappy, so he wrote another blog post.

Well, Lei Zhenjian was specially notified this time.

Last time I posted a blog, I didn’t notify him and got blamed for it. I could hype it up a bit.

[First of all, let me talk about the Forbes Celebrity List. I had no idea that I was on the list, nor did I know the basis for being on the list?
But fortunately it is a celebrity list. I like to show off, so I can barely be considered a celebrity. If it was a rich list, I would doubt the authority of the Forbes list.

Then let’s talk about the issue of donations.

First of all, I personally donated 1000 million yuan. This is my personal wish. I have money, so I donated more. There is nothing wrong with that.

I agree with the freedom of donation.

There is no need to force donations.

If you don't want to donate more, that's your freedom, but to say that the little star has no money is too fake.

The film and television industry is notoriously easy to make money in.

Anyone who has gained some fame should have no shortage of film offers.

You can say that there is a huge gap between your income and that of big stars, and that’s fine, it’s true.

But your income is far different from those salaried workers, you have to admit that.

As the saying goes, if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight.

If you choose to be a star, you must bear the obligations that come with being a star.

What is a star?
Public idol!

Celebrities occupy public resources, enjoy conveniences that ordinary people can hardly enjoy, and easily earn money that others cannot earn in several lifetimes.

This is the crown!

When the country encounters problems and it is your turn to contribute, shouldn’t you also contribute more than ordinary people?

This is its weight!

It's impossible that you took all the benefits, the manager had both hands, and then when something went wrong, you said it was personal freedom!

Why don't you talk about personal freedom when you are enjoying the crown.

If you don’t think you can be a public idol, then don’t do it!

To put it bluntly, you want to be a whore and also want to be a saint. Do you think all the people in the country are stupid? 】

At first, Zhang Chen didn't think much about the donation.

He simply wanted to donate.

You can donate if you want.

It is hard to say whether the donation is based on the heart or the actions.

But if someone insists on stepping on him, that's not okay!
After the roadshow, Zhang Chen returned to Beijing, thinking he could finally take a break.

Haha~
It is now the end of December and the film list for next year has been announced, but the cast has not been decided yet, even the director has not been determined, and all of these require Zhang Chen's approval.

Everything, one after another, was waiting for him to make the final decision.

Since Zhang Chen didn't go to Hong Kong, Chen Xi dragged him to a conference call. What an unscrupulous worker.

Recently they were discussing the candidates for "The Evil Dead". The gang boss was decided to be Fatty Hong, the policeman was chosen to be King Li, and now the remaining candidate is the perverted murderer.

There are many candidates, and there are many Hong Kong actors of this type, such as Wu Yijiang, Shan Liwen, Huang Ziyang, Simon Yam, Zheng Haonan, Wang Juntong, Liang Zhaoman...

"We are going to choose one from these people."

"Of course you can, but this doesn't meet the requirements of a co-production, right?"

The co-production agreement stipulates that one of the leading actors must be a mainland actor, and there are also requirements for other behind-the-scenes staff, the location where the story takes place, etc.

Now all three main actors are from Hong Kong, which obviously does not meet the requirements of a co-production.

"You were the one who chose Li Tianwang and Hong Jinbao. It's not appropriate to use mainland actors to play the perverted murderer. It would be bad if it is considered to be an allusion to the mainland. We plan to use mainland actors for the female lead and supporting roles..."

"The Evil Dead" is a story with two male protagonists, and strictly speaking, the female protagonist is actually a supporting role.

This is a bit borderline, but it's a solution.

Zhang Chen had a headache again.

It is still unknown whether the subject matter of "The Evil Dead" can enter the mainland.

The theme of cooperation between police and gangs has never appeared in the mainland.

Although the purpose is to punish worse perverted murderers, it is hard to say whether it can pass the review.

But then again, the police in "Storm" are not good policemen. Liu Tianwang plays Lu Sir, who hates evil, but also takes human life lightly. But it still passed the review and was released normally in mainland China.

Zhang Chen did not make any major changes to "Storm". He just replaced King Liu with King Li and the director with Benny Chan. The rest of the cast remained the same.

I'm quite looking forward to it. I can finally see Hu Jun and Ray Lui acting together.

I had just finished a conference call with Chen Xi when Dong Jianqiang came over and asked me to have a meeting to review the plan.

The Sound of Wind was confirmed the earliest, with Fu Donglai as the director and the same all-star cast as the original, including Zhou Xun, Li Bingbing, Zhang Hanyu, Huang Xiaoming, Wang Zhiwen, Yingda...

Zhang Chen specifically requested that the cast must be all from mainland China, so the original Su Youpeng was replaced by Tong Dawei.

China Film Group has high hopes for "The Sound of Wind".

The script is very well written, and although it is slightly different from the original, it is equally wonderful.

The biggest feature is that this is an ensemble drama, without a traditional male or female protagonist.

In other words, everyone is a protagonist.

This places extremely high demands on the performance. Every actor must be flawless and everyone's level must be similar.

Otherwise the shortcomings will be obvious.

The original version of "The Sound of Wind" was handled very well. Not only did it find a lot of veteran actors, but the younger generation were also good actors.

Chen Guofu’s acting skills are pretty good. Actors like Huang Xiaoming and Su Youpeng, who are not known for their acting skills, also gave good performances in “The Whistleblower”.

Let’s focus on Yingda University.

Although this guy's character isn't very good, his acting skills are really good.

He is also a director and host.

The mixed wind engenders water.

The most famous thing about him is the things that happened between him and Song Changying. They fought and quarreled all the time. They were obviously a couple, but they fought to the point of being stupid. The plot was comparable to that of a novel.

Let’s talk about “The Siege of the City in October”.

It is also a mainstream theme, and a play that Zhang Chen likes very much.

Like "The Sound of Wind", it is also a group drama.

This is not Zhang Chen's project. Strictly speaking, it should be considered Chen Desen's.

Teddy Chan is not considered a well-known director in Hong Kong and can only be considered second-rate.

Gao Chengcheng is the director of "The Spy" directed by Cheng Long.

But Zhang Chen likes his other two works more - "The Siege of the City in October" and "One Man's Martial Arts World".

He had already started preparing for the project "The Siege of the City in October" in 2002.

At that time, he met Zeng Xianji, vice president of UFJ Bank.

After reading the script, Zeng Xianji thought it was very good and decided to invest in it.

But the budget is scary, it costs 6800 million Hong Kong dollars.

All in all, it would take at least 200 million to make back the investment.

This was impossible in 02.

But Zeng Xianji still voted.

The original words were: "October Besieged City will definitely be a good film, just go for it."

Who knew that when it rains it pours, the financial crisis hits and something unexpected happens to the financier.

Chen Desen was disheartened and moved to Vancouver, and the project was shelved.

In the original time and space, Chen Kexin found him in 07 and said that my "The Warlords" was a hit and the mainland market had opened up, so I would be the producer for him and the film would have a chance.

Then Huang Jianxin mediated everywhere, and the Film Bureau and investors gave the green light one after another. The film was restarted again, shot in Shanghai, and many stars joined in. After its release, it became a classic.

In this life, the Bole became Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen said one sentence, and Chen Xi found Chen Desen and announced in a domineering manner: "You will be the director of "The Besieged City in October", and Golden Harvest will back you up."

The largest investment in the project is the construction of Old Central in Hong Kong.

But this is not a big deal for Zhang Chen.

Tell Hengdian and they will start the renovation immediately, and it will be completely free.

Two months later, the renovation of the old Hong Kong Central filming base was completed so as not to delay the filming of the movie.

What we need to do now is to decide on the candidate.

The director is none other than Teddy Chan, and Golden Harvest is prepared for long-term cooperation.

After "The Siege of the City in October", we can continue to develop "A Man's Martial Arts World".

Chen Desen’s films are all very alternative. "The Besieged City" is not a movie in the traditional sense, and "A Man's Martial Arts" is not a martial arts film in the traditional sense.

Forget it, we’ll talk about this later.

Let’s talk about "The Besieged City in October" again. Many people wonder what it means and why it is called this name?

The original director of Time and Space and Hu Jun explained it this way:

Because Sun Yat-sen went to Hong Kong in October to meet with revolutionary representatives from thirteen provinces, and Yan Xiaoguo, played by Hu Jun, surrounded Hong Kong Central with assassins to hunt down Sun Yat-sen, it was called the October Siege.

Zhang Chen still decided to use the original cast of "The Besieged City" as follows:
Chen Shaobai played by Liang Jiahui, Shen Chongyang played by Zhen Zidan, Li Yutang played by Wang Xueqi, Deng Sidi played by Xie Biwang, Shaolin monk Wang Fuming played by Bater, Liu Yubai played by Liming, Yan Xiaoguo played by Hu Jun...

Among them, Liu Yubai and Yan Xiaoguo have a very exciting fight scene.

The cool thing about the movie is that there is no villain.

In the traditional sense, villains are meant to highlight the justice of the protagonist, but "The Siege of the City in October" is actually a collision of two beliefs.

As a killer sent by the Qing government to encircle and suppress Sun Yat-sen, Yan Xiaoguo should have been hateful.

But what Hu Jun portrayed was the image of a soldier who was loyal to the emperor and patriotic, willing to serve the court even at the cost of his own life.

It's really hard to hate him.

You can say that he is pedantic, unable to see the facts, and stubborn, but he is also insisting on his own justice and he has his own beliefs.

This is the charm of "The Siege of the City in October".

In previous martial arts films, the adrenal glands were hit.

"The Siege of the City in October" hits the heart.

The basic actors remained unchanged, except for Li Yuchun's character, called Fang Hong. Zhang Chen was not sure whether to replace her with Da Tiantian.

The main reason is that after the film was released, it left a very famous meme, that it was Fang Hong who saved Sun Yat-sen in the end, so it was Li Yuchun who saved New China.

Hahaha!
Zhang Chen is a little reluctant to give up this joke.

In addition, Da Meiyuan, Yang Xiaomi and Zhang Chen are also ready to be squeezed in. Oh, and there is also Zhang Li. Zhang Li is a contracted actor of Golden Harvest.

Well, that’s the good thing about co-productions, you can cram in a lot of people.

"The Siege of the City in October" belongs to the typical "guests from all directions mode", or the "gathering of heroes mode".

which is:
A certain spiritual leader gathered all the masters hidden in the world, formed a temporary group, and went together to complete an earth-shaking task.

The "Eight Guests" model is a classic routine in movies. Hollywood has "Ocean's Eleven", Hong Kong has "The Lucky Stars", and mainland China has "Outlaws of the Marsh".

The pattern of "Guests from All Directions" is very fixed, gathering heroes from all walks of life together, like rivers flowing into the sea and trickles of water, and first describing everyone's awesomeness, and then everyone making an appearance.

It's like putting ingenious gadgets into a bag one by one, raising the audience's expectations little by little, and finally when the bag is shaken, the several gadgets are magically put together into a dazzling object, and the show begins.

In "Ocean's Eleven", George Clooney summoned the other Ocean's Eleven one by one;
In "Five Lucky Stars", the character played by Sammo Hung is the spiritual leader, while American ginseng, rhinoceros skin, rehmannia glutinosa, and monk fruit are visitors from all directions.

This is even more obvious in "Water Margin". Everyone has a story, and then they go to Liangshan together and gather under the banner of Cai Fu, oh no, Brother Song Gongming.

In "The Siege of the City in October", they are intellectuals, peddlers, tailor shop owners, bag porters, and cart drivers. Once they hear the call, they immediately take out the pulp from their bags and gather together into an invincible force.

(End of this chapter)