Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 535: In the end, what actors compete for is actually culture

Ning Hao complained about "Resurrection of the Dragon" for a long time.

Zhang Chen really wanted to add that there is also a flying saucer hat.

It seems that Li Rengang is particularly fond of UFO hats, and he even created a trilogy of UFO hats.

"Resurrection of the Dragon", "The King's Guards" and "Legend of the Hongmen Banquet" all have flying saucer hats, which makes people extremely suspicious that this is what he sells.

Zhang Chen only found out later that "Black Mask" was also filmed by this guy. Why didn't you give Black Mask a flying saucer hat as well?
"So, those who work in the film and television industry still need to be cultured. Otherwise, if they continue to make random changes, it will be a mess. In a few years, the country will definitely introduce policies to prohibit the filming of these themes..."

Zhang Chen was surprised. Ning Hao's words came true.

Because in the future the country will really introduce policies that will not allow the magical changes to the four great classics.

You wanna take a photo?
Yes, we can shoot it according to the original novel.

This is also why there were so many Journey to the West series and Three Kingdoms series movies in the beginning, but they disappeared later.

hmm~
Zhang Chen suddenly lowered his head and began to think.

"What are you thinking about?"

Ning Hao was too familiar with him, and he knew at a glance what this guy was thinking about.

Zhang Chen had no intention of hiding it: "I was wondering, should we make a movie too?"

"You want to film the Three Kingdoms too?"

Zhang Chen shook his head: "It's not the Three Kingdoms, it's Journey to the West. The story of the monkey is well-known to everyone. In terms of popularity, it is much better than the Three Kingdoms..."

"Sure, I think it's OK. Do you have a good script? I can be the director~"

Ning Hao showed great interest. This guy was interested in this aspect, otherwise the studio would not be named "Bad Monkey Pictures".

"You? Go and make Lost on Journey for me first, and we can talk about Journey to the West later..."

The script for "Lost on Journey" was written a long time ago, but this guy just didn't want to shoot it because he thought it was just average.

As expected, it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

After seeing scripts of the level of "Stone" and "Race", it's hard to find anything else worth watching.

"It's a road comedy, the simplest kind. You can find any new director to shoot it. For example, Yang Qing from our company is a good one. He has also participated in two movies with Lu Yang. I heard that he wrote a script himself a while ago, but he didn't have the courage to ask the company for it..."

What a word to wake up a dreamer.

Only then did Zhang Chen remember that there was such a person in the company.

"Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen~" Zhang Chen began to call his assistant.

"Director Zhang, I'm here~" Xiao Chen appeared out of nowhere.

"Did Lu Yang and his team finish filming?"

“Yes, it is currently in post-production.”

"Okay, call Yang Qing and ask him to come to the company this afternoon. I want to see him. Never mind. Why don't you just book a private room tonight and invite Lu Yang and the others to celebrate the completion of Hurricane 2..."

"Okay, Director Zhang."

The assistant left to make arrangements. Ning Hao was just about to continue talking to Zhang Chen about the movie when there was a knock on the door, followed by a very recognizable female voice:
"Director Zhang, Director Ning~"

Everyone looked up and saw that it was Yang Xiaomi.

"I just happened to come over and heard that you two were here, so I came over to say hello~"

Yang Xiaomi had a friendly smile and beautiful eyes.

"Oh, it's Yang Xiaomi. I heard from the boss that the ratings of "The Hidden" recently broke the record of the 8 o'clock drama in Beijing. Congratulations~"

"Thanks to Director Zhang, the ratings of "The Hidden" are indeed good~"

"Well, are you here to see me this time?"

"Oh no no no, it's my fault for not making it clear. I came here to talk to screenwriter Yu. I've already finished the discussion and was about to leave. I heard you were here, so I came over to say hello~"

"Is something wrong?"

"Uh... Actually, I read a novel recently and I think it's pretty good and worth adapting. I want to ask screenwriter Yu for advice..."

The screenwriter Yu mentioned by Yang Xiaomi is Yu Zheng, who now has a very good relationship with Yang Xiaomi.

After "Beauty's Secret", Yu Zheng had already made a name for himself. Zhang Chen set up a separate team in the screenwriter department to specialize in costume dramas for girls, and Yu Zheng was the team leader.

After hearing this reason, Zhang Chen also became interested: "What novel?"

"Startling by Each Step!"

"Oh, that's it."

"Director Zhang knows?"

"I know, it's Maertai Ruoxi, right? It's the kind of stuff you little girls like to watch~"

Yang Xiaomi smiled and nodded.

Ning Hao, who was standing next to them, saw that the two were chatting animatedly and was unable to get a word in. He finally found a chance to speak and asked, "What is this "Startling by Each Step" about?"

Zhang Chen continued: "To put it simply, it's a story about a little girl traveling through time and space and falling in love with Emperor Kangxi's sons..."

Ning Hao was stunned: "Traveling through the Qing Dynasty... and falling in love?"

Zhang Chen knew what he was thinking and laughed, "So this is the type of thing girls like to watch. If a boy travels through time, he will definitely develop technology, increase the number of troops, and fight for hegemony, especially the Qing Dynasty. If you travel through time and space and don't rebel, you have a problem with your brain..."

Ning Hao had an expression that showed he agreed deeply.

Zhang Chen continued, "But novels are written by girls and are for girls. Girls don't like stories about fighting for supremacy and killing. They just like to read about love and being pursued by various handsome men from ancient times and elegant noblemen..."

When Zhang Chen said this, Yang Xiaomi nodded generously with an expression of yes, yes, yes.

"Oh, I see……"

Ning Hao has figured it out. In fact, "Startling by Each Step" and "Beauty's Rival in Palace" are the same, and the target audience is women.

Before "Beauty's Secret", the main audience group for TV dramas were men.

The main audience groups for spy war dramas, Jin Yong dramas, including "The Legend of Sword and Fairy", are actually men.

"Beauty's Rival in Palace" is an exception, its target audience is women.

In fact, few men like to watch palace fighting dramas.

The reason why there are still some male viewers of "Beauty's Secret" is entirely because of the various beauties in it.

Putting aside the reason of beauty, men prefer to see strength over skill. No one likes to see your twists and turns.

"What did Yu Zheng say?"

"Screenwriter Yu also thinks it has great market value. He said he would apply to have the novel adapted into a film or TV series~"

"Don't mention it. Just let the copyright department negotiate with them, get the copyright, and adapt the script. This project can be done~"

Zhang Chen rarely pays attention to TV dramas, but a hit drama like "Startling by Each Step" will definitely make money, so he can just buy it and start filming.

Yang Xiaomi was also very happy. She didn't expect today to be so smooth.

After "Painted Skin", she thought she was going to soar to fame and was eagerly looking forward to the preparations for "Painted Skin 2".

But no matter how long I waited, nothing came. After asking Sister Hua, I found out that Zhang Chen was preparing for several Hollywood blockbusters.

Apart from Zhang Chen, there was no other director in the company who was good at costume dramas, so the project of "Painted Skin 2" was shelved.

Fan Xiaopang was not in a hurry, since she was the heroine in several Hollywood blockbusters, but Yang Xiaomi was anxious.

I was waiting to soar into the sky, but it suddenly stalled.

But it is impossible to change the company's idea, Yang Xiaomi can only find a way to make a living for herself.

If movies don't work, then TV series will do. With my current status, it's a bit unrealistic to fight for the box office of movies alone, but TV series are no problem.

She is already the heroine of two hit dramas, "Before the Dawn" and "Insidious".

So she fell in love with "Scarlet Heart" which also has a strong female lead at first sight.

The heroines of hit dramas can no longer satisfy her, but the hit dramas with strong heroines are enough.

……

At night, in a large private room at the Hilton Hotel, when Zhang Chen pushed the door open and walked in, everyone who had arrived early stood up:
"Director Zhang~"

"Senior brother~"

There was a constant stream of greetings. Zhang Chen smiled and waved, and everyone waited for him to take his seat before taking their seats one after another.

"How was the filming? Did it go well? You've lost weight." Zhang Chen asked Lu Yang.

Lu Yang looked haggard, but in good spirits. Hearing this, he smiled and replied, "It went quite smoothly. Although there were some problems with the action scenes, it was safe and sound and did not affect the filming..."

The accident he was talking about was actually an actor getting injured.

In action scenes, it is inevitable for actors to get injured, not to mention that "Hurricane 2" has many intense fighting scenes.

Zhang Jin was injured in the corner of his eye, but fortunately, it was not serious, there was no disfigurement, and it did not affect the filming.

Before the filming of "Hurricane 2" began, Xingchen Entertainment had made thorough preparations, but when the actual filming began, there was still no guarantee that no accidents would occur.

There are more than a thousand people in a film crew, and there are more than a dozen departments alone. All kinds of troubles arise one after another, and it is impossible to avoid accidents.

The so-called preparation is just to try to prevent accidents from happening.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Chen got down to business.

"Yang Qing, I heard that you wrote a script yourself?"

Yang Qing was flattered and stood up hurriedly: "Yes... yes..."

Zhang Chenxu pressed: "Sit down and talk, everyone is just chatting casually..."

"Did you bring the script?"

“Yes, yes, yes~”

People who are looking for opportunities in the entertainment industry are always prepared.

Zhang Chen took the script and started reading it. It was indeed "Night Club".

The name is "Nightclub", but it is actually an absurd story that takes place in a supermarket convenience store.

It can be seen that Yang Qing paid great attention to cost control when writing the film, and the whole story takes place in a small supermarket.

Zhang Chen read it from beginning to end. The script was actually very average, but it was considered okay for a low-budget movie. "You want to direct it yourself?"

Yang Qing felt a little embarrassed, but still nodded.

“Is 500 million enough?”

“Enough, enough, enough~”

Hearing Zhang Chen's words, Yang Qing was extremely excited.

“How long will it take you to finish shooting?”

"Two...one month..."

Yang Qing first stretched out two fingers, then thought about it and immediately changed it to one.

Zhang Chen nodded: "Okay, then one month. We can find some big names to guest star. Ask your brother Lu Yang to help you contact them..."

Yang Qing nodded generously, and Zhang Chen continued: "This is your first play. We don't ask you to make money. As long as you don't lose money, the company will give you another play. The script has already been written..."

Seeing Yang Qing's surprised expression, Zhang Chen smiled and said, "Okay, no need to thank me. This opportunity was fought for you by Director Ning, and your brother Lu Yang must have contributed a lot..."

After the words fell, Lu Yang and Ning Hao both smiled awkwardly, having been seen through.
Zhang Chen didn’t think much of it at first, but when he thought about it afterwards, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Ning Hao’s recommendation of Yang Qing didn’t seem to be a casual remark.

It was definitely planned for a long time.

This guy is playing tricks on me.

Think about who Yang Qing is the assistant director of. If you want to say that Lu Yang has nothing to do with this, forget it.
"Respectfully Director Zhang~"

Someone started to make a noise, and others reacted and raised their glasses.

……

Nortel
A few days ago, Zhang Chen formally accepted the invitation from Beijing Film Academy to become a visiting professor.

But this is not the reason for my visit to Beijing Film Academy.

"Classmates, I am also a graduate of Beijing Film Academy. In the past, at the end of each year, I would come back to share some of my work experience with my juniors. Last year, I was a bit busy and forgot to share. Some people said that I was too proud, which scared me so much that I quickly made up for it..."

Zhang Chen's words caused laughter among the students.

"Let's talk about Pacific Rim first. Has everyone watched it?"

"I saw it~"

The audience said in unison, Zhang Chen smiled and said: "It seems that my alma mater still supports me~
In fact, I have written most of the things about blockbuster filming in the "Guide to Closing the Pit", but a few days ago I saw a message asking why the values ​​of blockbusters like "Spider-Man" are so superficial.

Even when "Pacific Rim" was released, some people complained that its core was as simple as a cartoon.

I think it is necessary to explain this point.

Commercial films, especially Hollywood blockbusters, pursue box office success and their core goal is to make a profit.

They serve the global market, facing billions of viewers in dozens of countries around the world. In order to transcend cultural, religious, and ideological differences, their values ​​must be simplified into the most widely accepted "universal symbols", such as justice and evil!

The simpler the core of a movie is, the easier it is to resonate with people. A complex core does look more advanced, but it is also bound to bring a higher cost of understanding. Don't think that something that seems natural to you is also the same in other places.

Human thought is very complex, not to mention that it transcends race, religion, and geography...

So can a blockbuster be made with depth? Of course it can!

But most directors can't do it.

The production companies will not allow it either, as projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars are unlikely to be both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.

Depth will inevitably affect the box office, and between depth and box office, the production company will definitely choose box office."

Today he is giving a speech to his junior classmates, so Zhang Chen will not say anything too nice, as that would only harm them.

Zhang Chen continued to say a lot: "Okay, if I say too much, you may not be willing to listen. There is still some time left, so why not change it to free questions? If you have any questions, as long as they are reasonable and legal, I will try my best to answer them..."

The students below became excited. Every moment like this was the most exciting for them.

Because Zhang Chen will really answer any questions.

But it was also the time that the school leaders were most afraid of, because Zhang Chen was so bold.

"Brother, can you tell me the inside story of the change of director of Dream of Red Mansions~"

The question was asked by a fat boy with a gossipy face.

Zhang Chen thought about it and said, "It's very simple. Director Hu Mei left because she was constrained too much. There are many investors in Dream of Red Mansions. Everyone paid money, so of course they want to promote their own actors. In most cases, these so-called relatives do not fit the role, so the director is naturally unhappy. But since they paid money, in a sense, the director has to give them face. What should I do?
It’s not so bad if there is only one investor like this, but what if there are several? Everyone has their own ideas, and the interests cannot be balanced at all. The conflict will eventually fall on the director. The director can tolerate it at first, but slowly he can’t stand it anymore and will leave…”

Zhang Chen shrugged: "It's that simple~"

Someone else asked, "Do you think it would be a good thing for Li Shaohong to take over?"

"Not really. In fact, any director who remakes Dream of the Red Chamber will definitely be criticized. Dream of the Red Chamber has a huge influence in China. Everyone has their own Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai in their hearts. It is difficult to satisfy everyone. If you can't do it, you will definitely be criticized...

Director Li Shaohong is a rather self-centered director. She once said, "Orange is Red. I haven't read the original novel, but it still won the award." So you can imagine the result..."

Zhang Chen was already being polite.

"So what do you think of Resurrection of the Dragon? Is it a good movie?"

Zhang Chen smiled, looked around the audience, and suddenly said, "Rubbish. I think Resurrection of the Dragon is complete rubbish!"

Ah!
There was a gasp from the audience.

Zhang Chen did not wait for their reaction and continued, "First of all, let me make it clear that King Liu's acting in the film is actually not bad. The one who really ruined the film is director Li Rengang. Director Ning Hao told me a story after watching the film..."

Zhang Chen told the story of Ning Hao, a big circle boy, working hard in the society, which caused laughter from the audience.

It's not a veiled attack at all, it's just naming names.

"Hong Kong directors are best at dealing with gangs and undercover police and criminals, but they are worst at dealing with the country and the political intrigues in the court. (I admit that I copied this from a book review, it's so well written)
That’s normal too!
If you ask them to imagine thousands of cavalrymen galloping across the plains, they cannot imagine it.

The biggest scene they could think of was dozens of people filming on the street.

Therefore, the epic themes they shoot always have a petty air.

Moreover, these people do not believe in the fact that people can give up everything for their beliefs, so the source of all the dramatic conflicts in the dramas they shoot is because of women and because of the uneven distribution of spoils..."

Zhang Chen paused, "And what I hate most is their non-serious attitude. They are so green and playful.

If you want to film history, at least do your homework. Otherwise, no matter how well your actors perform or how grand the scenes are, one line of dialogue will make people feel out of place. Isn't that embarrassing?

The scene that annoyed me the most in "Resurrection of the Dragon" was the scene where the veteran generals Han De and Deng Zhi were slashing at each other with swords in front of the battle, one shouting "Long live the great Wei Kingdom", and the other shouting "Long live the great Shu Kingdom"...

Really, when I saw this, I really wanted to curse!

Anyone with a little common sense knows that both Wei and Shu regarded themselves as the orthodox Han Dynasty, so where did the Great Shu and Great Wei come from...

Let's talk about "Resurrection of the Dragon". I don't understand. The director obviously wanted to film the Three Kingdoms. There are so many ready-made stories about the Three Kingdoms, why did he choose to make up a story?

If you want originality, don't use the skin of Three Kingdoms. If you want to film the Three Kingdoms, don't be original.

Do you think that everyone in the country has never read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" like you?

Even if you're playing with fiction, this isn't how you'd play it, right?

Speaking of this, I would like to talk about a topic that Ning Hao and I discussed a few days ago - in the film and television industry, all positions are ultimately competing for culture.

Why are the Four Great Classics the Four Great Classics? "Water Margin" lets you know how fake brotherhood is, "Dream of Red Mansions" lets you know how scumbag the upper class is, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" tells people that they should go with the flow in life and work, and "Journey to the West" tells you that even if you have a head of steel and bones, you still have to use backdoors to pull connections to transform into various forms.

We always say that the times are progressing, but is the present necessarily better than the ancient times?

It is true that science and technology have developed and life has become much more convenient, but on the spiritual level, I think people today should learn more from the ancients.

You are a handsome guy, what would people in ancient times say?
The people on Mo are like jade, and the son is unparalleled in the world.

Does poverty limit imagination?

He is poor and has no idea of ​​the prosperity of the city.

Why are you sleeping? Get up and have fun~
The days are short and the nights are long, why not go out for a night walk with a candle?

I miss you?
The mountains and rivers are vast, the stars in the world, everything is you, everything is you.

Have you experienced the charm of culture?
Or let’s try to imagine a scenario where you go traveling and see the beautiful scenery of Zhangjiajie, and you have pent-up emotions in your heart and just want to express them.

What would ancient people say?
The famous mountains tower into the clouds, and the strange peaks and rocks are fascinating.

Clear streams gurgle in the valleys, and it is a paradise for all living things.

The shadows of the mountains are vaguely like surging waves, and it feels like ascending to heaven when you climb up.

The scenery created by nature is like a painting, and the work of nature makes the world a fairyland.

But if it were you, it would probably be:

Looking at the picturesque scenery,
I wanted to write a poem to give to the world.
But I have no culture.
I mean, the waves are so big!

"

There was a burst of laughter from below, and Zhang Chen continued, "Two days ago, I was laughed at by my assistant director. My assistant director is Guo Fan, and he used to study law.

The simplest, polyphonetic word!

The shoulder is the bladder.

Cheap is shit.
The rate of carelessness is the rate of efficiency,
A careful boy is a handsome boy.
The "Ye" in eggplant is the "Ye" in cigar.
The "ka" in coffee is the same as the "ka" in curry.

This is too simple, right? Let’s talk about something a little more difficult.

There are many things he told me only after a long time and I just knew them. I would like to ask you about them today.

Did you know that Qin Shi Huang and Archimedes were contemporaries? "

The people below all shook their heads, and Zhang Chen continued: "Then did you know that Oxford University was founded in the Northern Song Dynasty?
Mammoths were not yet extinct when the Egyptians began to build the pyramids;
Modern mathematical terms such as yuan, shi, root, and solution were actually established by Emperor Kangxi.

Mei Lanfang and Charlie Chaplin took a photo together;

McDonald's was founded in 1937;

When Einstein published his theory of special relativity, Emperor Guangxu abolished the imperial examination system;”

Every time he said something, the people below shook their heads.

They all knew the people Zhang Chen mentioned, but no one had ever thought about them from this dimension.

“So everyone, whether you are going to be a director, screenwriter, or actor in the future, in the end, what you are fighting for is actually your cultural literacy.

Can you imagine that when a singer participated in a program, the production team played Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong" for her, and she actually asked, who is Yue Fei, can I ask him to write a song for me?
Is it ironic?

If you don’t want to encounter similar embarrassment in the future, then improve yourself as much as possible.”

(End of this chapter)