Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 542 Help Wang Baoqiang?
Highland Center
Roger Ebert is a full-time film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times and the first American film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism.

After the movie started, Roger habitually wrote down his thoughts on the movie in his little notebook.

The first one is - the visual effect is shocking.

Roger admitted that there was really nothing to pick on in this regard.

The special effects of "2012" are excellent.

The global disasters caused by crustal movements, the raging tsunamis submerging cities, the instant collapse of high-rise buildings, the eruption of volcanoes, the plane crashing off cliffs and other scenes are all extremely realistic. The doomsday scenes present the ultimate beauty of destruction, making the audience feel as if they are at the disaster scene.

While watching a movie, I truly felt the horror and oppression of the doomsday disaster.

These wonderful special effects successfully concretize the concept of "doomsday", bringing strong visual impact and emotional resonance to the audience.

After a while, he wrote the second point in the notebook - Cheng Long's transformation was very natural.

Cheng Long himself said that in this movie, he is no longer a hero who can fight, but a daredevil who fights for his life so that his family can survive.

Although there are still thrilling scenes like the motorcycle chasing the plane, there is only one.

Moreover, there is no Cheng Long-style symbol in the whole film, which is a great improvement.

The film industry has never given Jackie Chan any acting awards because Jackie Chan himself is too symbolic.

Or maybe the personal style is too strong.

An overly strong personal style is not a good thing for an actor.

Stephen Chow and Jim Carrey are in similar situations.

No matter what kind of movie it is, as long as these people are involved, the personal style of the film will be assimilated immediately.

Awards bodies hate this.

But the same situation is considered a good thing if it happens to a director.

A director is considered a good director only if he has a strong personal style, otherwise he is just a tool.

After recording, Roger put down his pen and continued watching. But after a while, he secretly frowned, and then suddenly laughed contemptuously.

He seemed to have discovered a lot of small details, all of which revealed the director's little thoughts.

The first is the attitude of governments when disaster strikes.

In "2012", the responses of various governments fully reflect the complexity of human nature.

The United States chose to conceal the truth from the public, but in the end the actual president chose to die with the public, showing his responsibility;
Roger smiled slightly when he saw this.

He felt that Zhang Chen was trying to flatter the United States.

If an American director were to film this, then the president would definitely be a wimp, that's what they usually scold him for.

But because Zhang Chen is not American, he doesn't dare to shoot like that.

Not only did they not dare to shoot it like this, they also made the president into a hero.

Then there is Italy.

When the disaster happened, the Italian people prayed.

On the top of the wall is Michelangelo's fresco of the Creation of the World. When the earthquake occurred, cracks appeared right along the middle of the fingers of God and Adam, suggesting that the cycle of life and reproduction of mankind is about to come to an end.

This is actually a very interesting shot, suggesting that God has given up on humanity.

India was very unlucky, the sea level reversed and the entire land sank into the sea.

Japan was similar, the entire country sank.

haha~
Roger thought he had discovered Zhang Chen's little thoughts.

He happened to know about the long-standing feud between China and Japan.

In a doomsday disaster film directed by a Chinese director, Japan was sunk~
Then the British Empire Museum was destroyed.
haha~
He also happened to know that there were many Chinese cultural relics in the British Museum, all of which were looted during the Opium War.

The Chinese government once demanded its return, but the British side refused.

Since you’re not going to take it back, then no one should want it.

Roger guessed that this was probably what Zhang Chen was thinking.

But these are nothing, they are just personal opinions, every director will bring them in when making a movie.

What he really found interesting was:
There are so many countries, some choose to conceal it and only open it to the elites.

Some countries choose to disclose the truth to the public and pray with their people.
Only China is different.

When the disaster struck, there was a flash of a shot of China, with many hot air balloons taking off.

There are not only scenes of workers producing the Ark boarding the hot air balloon, but also scenes of ordinary people boarding the hot air balloon.

This shot is very short and mixed in with many shots. It is easy to miss it if you are not paying attention, but it was captured by Roger by chance.

What does this Chinese mean?
Is it implying that the Chinese government treats its people differently from other countries?

Thinking of this, Roger excitedly recorded his discovery in a small notebook.

Then he randomly listed a few shortcomings, such as the flat character creation and the fact that each character was not well explored.

Writing film reviews is all about finding faults. There is no such thing as a perfect movie in the world. If they can't find any faults, who will take film critics seriously in the future?

After thinking about it, I added one more point - the connotation is not fully explored.

The whole film is only concerned with playing with technology. The cause of the disaster is not well connected with history, religion or philosophy, and there is a lack of reasonable explanation. There is no time to take into account the deeper exploration of the impending destruction of human civilization in the fast-paced life and death escape of the characters.

Yes, he really thought so.

Many religious people really think that all this is God's punishment.

……

The premiere was a great success, with both stars and audiences showing great enthusiasm and praising the film.

After the movie was over, Zhang Chen answered some questions from the media and the premiere was declared over.

Then came the dinner party.

The media had nothing to do with it at this time, it was just a social gathering for people in the circle.

As soon as Zhang Chen walked into the banquet hall, he became the focus of the whole event.

"Congratulations to Director Zhang for making another masterpiece~"

"2012 is definitely the best disaster movie I have ever seen~"

"Director Zhang, can you tell us what the subject of his next work is so we can avoid it in advance? If we go against Director Zhang, we will be doomed..."

The compliments came pouring in as if they were free, and Zhang Chen could only greet them with a smile.

Although he doesn't like social occasions, the situation today is special and everyone is here to support him. As the host, he must of course give them the warmth of spring.

However, although it is a compliment, it is not necessarily false.

The special effects level of "2012" is indeed among the best in the world.

Not only domestic audiences, but also American audiences were amazed after watching it.

Someone patted him on the shoulder: "You succeeded again this time~"

Zhang Chen turned around and saw the person coming. He quickly took a glass of wine from the waiter next to him and raised his glass to the people nearby: "The quality of the film is one thing, but to be successful, we also need the cultivation of all the predecessors..."

Opposite him were Han Sanping, Ren Zhonglun, Yan Yiyu and others.

Zhang Chen has received the news that the screening schedule for "2012" on the first day is 81%.

81%~
Only "Red Cliff" in the world has received this incredible screening schedule.

In the original time and space, when Red Cliff was released, China Film Group directly issued tasks, requiring this cinema to achieve a sales of 2000 million, and that cinema to achieve 3000 million...

The end result was that the first-day screening rate of "Red Cliff" was as high as 81%, which is unprecedented and will never be repeated.

Now, this special treatment has become "2012".

It seems that the boss still takes good care of him.

In order to avoid being accused of behind-the-scenes manipulation, many blockbuster films were released at the same time as "2012".

There is only one domestically produced film, "Mei Lanfang", but it will be screened at the end of the month and as a preview, so there is no competition.

But there are many Hollywood blockbusters.

DreamWorks' "Kung Fu Panda" and Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia 2" were both released on the same day as "2012".

Sony's "Hancock" will be released at the end of the month.

There are three Hollywood blockbusters released during the same period, so you can no longer say that "2012" dominates the schedule.

As for film scheduling, it can be said to be a market behavior.

It’s the first disaster film in China, the work of the country’s top director, and it also has the popularity support of its predecessor “Pacific Rim”. Isn’t it okay for theaters to be optimistic about it?

Can't you give it a higher ranking?

No?

Let me put it another way. Isn't it okay for theaters to be patriotic?

If you dare to say no, you will be beaten.

After saying goodbye to a few big guys, Huang Xiaoming came towards him.

Huang Xiaoming also had a cameo appearance in "2012", but his scenes were few.

In fact, many celebrities who are good friends with Star Entertainment just played a supporting role in the film. After all, it is a $100 million blockbuster released worldwide, and many people are willing to do it even if it is just a supporting role.

"What's wrong? You look so sad?"

Zhang Chen and Huang Xiaoming clinked their glasses, and the champagne tasted strange in their mouths.

"Nothing, just jealousy. When you make a movie, you get rave reviews, but when I make a movie, I get criticized to death~"

Huang Xiaoming was talking about "The Deer and the Cauldron".

Recently, Zhang Da Huzi's "The Deer and the Cauldron" was aired and received a lot of criticism.

Just browse the comments online and you will see that netizens are cursing in all kinds of ways.

Of course, not only he was scolded, but also Zhang Da Huzi, and the scolding was very reasonable.

People criticized Huang Xiaoming for being greasy and saying that he failed to bring out the rogue temperament of Wei Xiaobao.

Scold Zhang Da Huzi's casting. The male lead was chosen to be a greasy uncle like Huang Xiaoming, and the seven female leads were not very good either, each one was uglier than the other.

This is actually a bit unfair to Zhang Da Huzi. Wei Xiaobao's seven wives are actually pretty good in terms of selection:
A Ke, played by Ying Caier, is beautiful and charming, Su Quan, played by Hu Ke, is mature and charming, Princess Jianning, played by Shu Chang, is lively and adorable, Mu Jianping, played by Liu Yun, is simple and kind, Shuang'er, played by He Zuoyan, is gentle and well-behaved, and Zeng Rou, played by Li Fei'er, is gentle and generous.

Compared with other versions, the seven actors are actually not bad in appearance.

What's really bad is the makeup.

I don’t know whether Zhang Da Huzi owed the makeup artist wages, or he just replaced the artist. The makeup in “The Deer and the Cauldron” was a disaster. She was obviously very beautiful, but when she was on camera, she turned into a firewood girl.

……

In the crowd, Liu Yan observed silently.

The people around Zhang Chen changed like a revolving lantern. She had mustered up the courage to recommend herself several times but never found an opportunity.

Yang Xiaomi had the same thoughts as Liu Yan. Her heart was on Zhang Chen the whole night and she seemed absent-minded when chatting with other people.

In fact, among the female artists who have collaborated with Star Entertainment, her frequency is already very high.

She is basically the first in terms of TV dramas.

It all depends on the relationship with Chen Xi.

But I am afraid of comparison in everything.

There is also a Fat Fan in front.

Out of reach~
It just so happened that today was an opportunity, and Fan Xiaopang was not here. Yang Xiaomi felt that this was a good opportunity specially arranged by the Buddha for her to steal the house.

Yang Xiaomi is a Buddhist.

However, her bitch radar had already been beeping. In this banquet hall alone, there were so many pretty girls who wanted to snatch this opportunity from him.

She is not the only one who wants to eat Tang Monk's flesh.

For example, that busty girl over there, her eyes are so naked, she doesn’t even know how to hide it, and you can tell at first glance that she’s a newcomer in the industry.

How can you stand out among thousands of troops and get the first blood? It is not an easy task. There are so many eyes watching, so you must find another way.

Yang Xiaomi feels that she needs to design it well~
I have to be unique. I come from a Tsinghua family and am not on the same level as those uneducated little goblins.

Didn’t Director Zhang also say that when actors fight to the end, what they compete for is their cultural heritage?

……

Zhang Chen had no idea that he was surrounded by wolves at the moment.

He is talking to Wang Baoqiang.

Wang Baoqiang is wearing a suit today, looking smart and handsome. It is obviously carefully matched and he looks a little handsome.

As soon as he opened his mouth, most of his accumulated handsomeness disappeared.

When I smile again, what's left will be gone.

"Director Zhang, thank you for giving me the opportunity. I've wanted to make a martial arts film for a long time..."

Wang Baoqiang's voice is very distinctive, without any sense of distance, and with a hint of humor.

"I didn't expect that last time I told you that I was from Shaolin Temple, you actually recommended me to join the group..."

He came here specifically to thank Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen recommended him to join the crew of "The Besieged City in October" and played the role of Deng Sidi, the rickshaw driver originally played by Xie Bi Wang.

Huo Wenxi certainly wanted to squeeze Xie Bi Wang in, but was explicitly rejected by Chen Xi.

"What Director Zhang hates most is those artists who look down on mainland China. There's an incident of beating up the White Dragon Horse. There's no way I'm going to let him appear in the movie."

In a word, it almost destroyed the possibility of Xie Bi Wang appearing in Golden Harvest movies.

"He was young and ignorant at that time..."

"As adults, we must be responsible for our own actions."

Huo Wenxi was interrupted by Chen Xi before he could finish his words, but he had no choice but to sigh helplessly.

I can only lament that the boss has bad luck.

This is the situation of Eagle King's number one brother. He is almost completely isolated from the largest film and television companies in mainland China and Hong Kong.

The top singer of Eagle King, Joey Yung, only sings and does not act, while the top actress, Gillian Chung, is almost banned from the industry.

Hey~
What kind of evil is this?
"Do you like making action movies?" Zhang Chen asked.

"of course."

Speaking of this, Wang Baoqiang looked excited: "I have loved martial arts since I was a child, so I entered the Shaolin Temple. After I came out, what I wanted to shoot most was a kung fu movie. Unfortunately, no one was willing to hire me..."

"What if I ask you to be the villain in a kung fu movie, but not the protagonist? Would you be willing?"

"Yes, of course. No matter what role it is, as long as it's a kung fu movie, I'm willing to do it."

Wang Baoqiang is famous for his humbleness. Even after winning the Best Actor award, he still played supporting roles.

But his agent Song Zhe next to him was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. Is this silly boy so lucky?

Hearing this, he immediately forced a smile and came forward: "Director Zhang, I'm Song Zhe, Baoqiang's agent."

Facing the business card handed over by Song Zhe, Zhang Chen did not take it: "It's not that serious yet. If you need anything, my people will contact you. Now we are just chatting..."

Song Zhe also realized that Zhang Chen didn't like him, so he nodded and smiled apologetically before leaving.

Only then did Zhang Chen look at Wang Baoqiang with a friendly expression again.

Wang Baoqiang was also a little confused by this operation. Why did Director Zhang seem to dislike his agent? But at the same time, he felt that Director Zhang was very friendly to him.

Very friendly indeed.

Wang Baoqiang's personality actually makes it difficult for him to be friends with Zhang Chen, but Zhang Chen has a pretty good impression of him.

Good acting~
Good character too~
It is considered a breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry.

Many people say that he is pretending to be honest, but Zhang Chen thinks that is not the case.

Take his divorce, for example. It became known to the entire internet and both parties have completely fallen out.

At this point, everything is out in the open, and any evidence will be exposed.

But a wife and an agent are the people closest to him and the ones he trusts the most.

At this critical moment, there is no black material to produce, not even a single solid evidence.

Doesn’t this just indirectly prove that Baoqiang has a strong character?
That's my wife and my agent.

The wife can still say that we are together less than we are apart, so I have to be on guard.

The agent works with the artist day and night, so the artist will never be able to hide anything from the agent.

But there is none, I can't even come up with one~
……

Wang Baoqiang didn't dare to delay too long. After expressing his gratitude, he said a few more words and left.

After walking a few steps away, Song Zhe, who had been avoiding him before, came up again: "What did you guys talk about? Has the movie been decided?"

Wang Baoqiang shook his head: "It's not decided yet. Director Zhang just mentioned it, but he didn't elaborate, so I didn't dare to ask."

Then he asked curiously, "When did you offend Director Zhang?"

He just looks stupid, but he is not stupid at all. He saw Zhang Chen's attitude towards Song Zhe just now.

Song Zhe was even more puzzled: "I don't know either. I just met Director Zhang for the first time today~"

On the other side, Wang Jinghua was also chatting with Zhang Chen: "Are you optimistic about Wang Baoqiang?"

Zhang Chen did not hide it and nodded: "Yes."

"No wonder you're willing to give him a chance even though he's from Huayi. How about I find a way to sign him?"

Wang Jinghua's mind came alive again, as if she saw a second Yang Xiaomi.

Yang Xiaomi was able to get so many resources because of her good relationship with Chen Xi and Zhang Chen as well.

This is just a by-product.

Zhang Chen himself admitted that he was optimistic about Wang Baoqiang, so what could be tolerated?

Zhang Chen shook his head and said, "You can sign it, but not now. Just observe quietly. When the time is right, I will let you know..."

Wang Baoqiang is an honest man, and honest people should not be hurt like that.

Zhang Chen decided to find some time to help this honest man.

At this moment, the phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated twice.

Zhang Chen took it out and took a look. It was a text message from Yang Xiaomi.

The content of the text message is incomprehensible:

Ouyang lost the radical!

Zhang Chen was surprised that he understood it in seconds.

If I had this kind of brain in my previous life, would I have accomplished nothing?

Yang Xiaomi, who was far away, saw the smile on Zhang Chen's face and knew that he understood.

I secretly said 'yeah' in my heart, the seduction was successful!

……

Has anyone seen "Big Scene"? I think it's pretty good. You can take a look at it.

Today I suddenly had an idea. I want to write about Hong Kong entertainment in 1984 in my next book. It’s just an idea.

I was born in the 1980s. Even though I always criticize Hong Kong in my books, the classic movies I think of are basically Hong Kong films.

I also have many Hong Kong filmmakers that I like, they are great examples of learning by doing.
If you have similar good books, please recommend them to me so that I can learn from them.
Also, please give me a monthly pass~
(End of this chapter)