New Age Artists

Chapter 603: Rule Maker, Suffocating Zhang Yimou

Ming Leyu is an entertainment reporter born in the 80s. After the live broadcast ended, he immediately went to find the recording, watched it repeatedly, and analyzed it.

Every sentence is a hot topic!
"How dare you say that!" Ming Leyu read it several times and was still shocked.

Shen Santong’s “daring to speak” is the kind of courage that really dares to wield the knife against interest groups.

As an entertainment reporter, he certainly understands this circle.

The entertainment industry has always emphasized being humble and having high emotional intelligence.

No matter what the reason, no matter who is right or wrong, if the internal affairs of the circle are exposed to the public, everyone will reject them.

The reason is simple: we are all full of shit and no one is clean.

Shen Santong is a complete outlier. He has participated in countless battles, big and small, in "Red Cliff", "Ip Man" and "Lust, Caution", with Wu Yusen, Chen Kesin and Li An.

Now, it’s the turn of “The Flowers of War” and Zhang Yimou.

Moreover, Shen Santong has a characteristic: no matter who he criticizes, he never makes up stories, nor does he talk about others from the perspective of their private lives. He does not eavesdrop, and he does not have closed-source intelligence.

The real Shen Kaiyuan.

Not only technology is open source, but also swearing.

Sort out the information that is available on the table and can be checked.

In his early years, when he was still a fledgling, he had a dispute with Wu Yusen over "Red Cliff". He did not make any personal attacks, but simply counted the other person's Hollywood resume.

What Shen Santong said can stand up to scrutiny.

Many years later, I discovered that Wu Yusen was indeed like that.

Ming Leyu doesn't think Shen Santong is a good person. His private life is not very good, but there is definitely no mess in the entertainment industry.

I have never heard of him using the projects on hand or his position to enforce unspoken rules. On the contrary, every year he deals with many internal personnel because of unspoken rules.

The rules of San Tong Entertainment are the most strict, especially those of Shen San Tong's plays.

Ming Leyu himself also likes Shen Santong's movies and enjoys watching them.

He also agreed with the evaluation of "The Flowers of War".

As I was thinking, a colleague came over to remind me: "The editor-in-chief is calling you."

After entering the editor-in-chief's office, a middle-aged man in his fifties waved his hand and said, "Xiao Ming, are you in charge of Santong Entertainment?"

"Yes." Ming Leyu understood that this was a job.

"it is good."

"I'll write a bad article right away."

"Don't worry, leave it to me."

"Start with my private life. But I can't use my name, I'm afraid of being sued."

It turned out to be Hei Shen San Tong, he is the best at it!
Like it or agree with it, but life must go on.

Besides, as a white-collar worker who has worked for many years, Ming Leyu would not empathize with the big boss Shen Santong.

Wei Jie is a movie lover who was filled with indignation and complained in the Tianya Film and Television section and Douban group.

Cave?

That is the base camp of Shen Santong’s fans, so it’s better not to go.

"Shen Santong's naked market-oriented argument does not have any film art in his eyes. Can't he see the humanity of "The Flowers of War"?"

Wei Jie racked his brains and typed several hundred words, but found that the post quickly sank.

It’s not that there is no discussion, but that there are too many people discussing it.

After taking a look, I found that the forum pages were basically filled with discussions about Shen Santong criticizing "The Flowers of War" and Zhang Yimou.

Slaughter the board!

The most popular post has already reached several thousand views.

The supporters and opponents of Shen San Tong, as well as various armies of unknown origin, have wiped out the main road!
Shen Santong hasn't commented on people and things in the circle for several years. What's more, he commented on Zhang Yimou and "The Flowers of War", which is still in theaters, and it has become extremely popular.

The main reason is that Shen Santong was too cruel.

The live broadcast content looks normal.

Shen Santong criticized domestic art films for generally lacking "love and warmth" and focusing more on cold emotions such as deconstruction and tearing.

Hollywood art films, such as "Forrest Gump", bridge social contradictions through positive narratives, achieving both box office and social benefits.

Shen Santong called on Chinese film practitioners to learn from Hollywood's creative ideas, but opposed blindly pursuing international awards such as the Oscars and the European Film Festival. He stressed that local market standards should be established first to avoid being bound by Western narrative frameworks.

Listen, this is normal!

However, the gentleness is only on the surface.

It seems to explore the dilemma of art films, but in fact it is very sharp.

Shen Santong did not directly criticize "The Flowers of War", but through analyzing Zhang Yimou's creative path, he pointed out that his works have long catered to the West's "traditional-modern" stereotyped narrative of the East, satisfying the West's "teacher mentality" through static historical views and symbolic expressions.

Zhang Yimou was nailed to the pillar of shame as a "cultural vassal".

He even pointed out sharply that Zhang Yimou's "tradition-modernity" framework is essentially a variation of the Western "civilizational superiority theory."

The East in the movie is forever stagnant in the "sorghum field", while the West is the "azure blue" of salvation.

This narrative has made Western film festivals a treasure, but has relegated local culture to the background.

Although such films have won international awards, they undermine the subjectivity of local culture, resulting in a hollow core of art films.

The knife is bloody!

Shen Santong's all-out declaration of war on the old order.

Through live broadcast, direct communication with the audience is achieved, which brings film art to the mass level and triggers reflection on the narrative framework of art films.

Twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, even if someone had doubts, there was no channel.

Newspapers don't report on this kind of argument at all, but if it is posted online it will be accused of being a conspiracy theorist.

The approach taken by Shen Santong and his identity brought this discussion to the table.

Because Shen Santong is enough to represent Chinese films!
This is not an abstract description, but a statement based on facts.

In 11, Santong Entertainment accounted for more than half of the domestic film box office.

The total revenue for the year was 87 billion, an increase of 38% compared to last year, accounting for 34.5% of the total box office and 65% of domestic films.

The remaining domestic films only took in more than 4 billion yuan, only half of Santong Entertainment.

Hollywood's big strides into the market indicate two things: one is that domestic films are very weak, and the other is that Hollywood is not that strong either.

It’s easy to get Dongda audiences to enjoy Hollywood blockbusters.

But to make the audience crawl?
Please, this can't be done.

Therefore, there is a ceiling for the box office of Hollywood movies, and Hollywood cannot inspire the greatest empathy from the audience.

Only domestic films can achieve this, at least Santong Entertainment has achieved it.

"Wolf Tooth" broke the 2 billion box office mark thanks to its long-term screening, setting an amazing record and breaking the box office myth of "Avatar" in one fell swoop.

《阿凡达》的记录是在平均票价90元创下的，BJ、上海等大城市的IMAX票价在150元人民币左右，而普通3D票价也在80-100元之间，普通2D票价则在50-70元之间。

In terms of the number of moviegoers, "Lost in Thailand" and "Inception" both surpassed "Avatar".

However, the average ticket price for Santong Entertainment's movies is less than half of that of "Avatar". "Avatar" can be sold at a high price, but Santong Entertainment, as a local company, cannot do the same.

Until the release of "Wolf Tooth", "Wolf Tooth" crushed "Avatar" with 50 million viewers, almost double the latter.

However, this does not mean that Santong Entertainment is invincible.

Santong Entertainment's performance mainly depends on blockbuster movies and home advantage.

The three dramas "Wolf Tooth", "Li Shimin" and "Lost on Journey 3" have a total box office of 45 billion, which is equivalent to more than half of the total box office of Santong Entertainment. It fully demonstrates the nature of the winner takes all, and the box office distribution is not balanced.

Of course, only Santong Entertainment itself can say so about its shortcomings.

The three films are equivalent to the sum of all other domestic films. To put it bluntly, other film and television companies are really rotten fish.

It's like two different eras!

Santong Entertainment accounts for more than 60% of the domestic film box office, which makes Shen Santong a representative of the film industry and of high quality.

Representing private film and television companies, an important part of the film market, the legitimacy is absolutely sufficient.

This also allowed Shen Santong to criticize "The Flowers of War".

After all, "The Flowers of War" is produced by New Picture and directed by Zhang Yimou.

In the field of private companies, Huayi’s contribution to the film industry cannot compare to that of New Picture.

Zhang Yimou is a director who has achieved success in both the literary and artistic era and the commercial era.

Their status determines that they will not even take a look at any criticism unless it directly affects their interests.

Obviously, Shen Santong is a big enough figure.

So it was not just at the public level, but also within the industry, like a depth bomb, instantly stirring up the entire film and television industry.

All forces are shaken!

It's just vibration, it doesn't reach the level of shock.

The reason is undeniable. Santong Entertainment is the largest player in the film market and the mainstay. From producers to directors, to actors and stars, Santong Entertainment has produced too many people.

Just talking about those under the spotlight, among directors, there are professional ones, non-professional ones, half-professional ones, those who cross over, actors who cross over, and TV directors who switch to movies. There is blossoming in many aspects.

As for celebrities, middle-aged and new-generation actors, young idols and young actors have also developed comprehensively.

He has helped Director Chen's career regain vitality. He has surpassed the head of the group Li Youbin and is slightly ahead of Chen Baoguo. He is almost on par with the teacher Tang Guoqiang who has been around for 5,000 years.

It is true that these older generation actors have average film resources, while Director Chen has many representative films. "Cao Cao", as the opening work of historical biography, will definitely go down in film history.

Fan Bingbing, Huang Xiaoming and others have become top-tier stars.

The so-called super first-tier movies are not only popular in China, but also have a certain influence in Asia.

Santong Entertainment has raised the ceiling of actors' status.

The aftermath of Shen Santong's criticism of "The Flowers of War" has frightened people in the industry.

It's not just the criticism from public opinion or the film's box office failure, but also the fact that Tian Zhuangzhuang and Zhang Weiping's fierce opposition within the industry failed to cause any waves.

Those who knew the seriousness of the situation and understood its importance all had their faces changed drastically!

What an influence!

If Santong Entertainment remains inactive, the industry will only experience slight ripples but no major waves.

It's like a vibrating toy.

Through this incident, many people realized that the atmosphere has changed.

Whether it is a commercial company or an artistic academic school, it cannot easily stir up trouble.

1 month 5 day.

Huayi.

Entering the big brother's office, Wang Zhonglei said sarcastically: "This guy is now completely in control. Not even a word can be heard in the industry."

There was unspeakable envy, jealousy, and faint hatred in his tone.

When Shen Santong was semi-publicly criticized at the tea party, he had someone prepare a negative article, which was very foresighted. As expected, there was public criticism and it was released after the live broadcast.

As a result, there was not much trouble, just like a stone sinking into the sea.

Wang Zhongjun fiddled with the jade handle and was not surprised: "The situation is in his hands."

During that live broadcast, he read the manuscript compiled by his subordinates, which basically said that Chinese films should break away from their dependence on Western awards, establish themselves in the local market, build their own cultural narrative system, and at the same time be wary of cultural colonization by international capital and defend the industry's autonomy through content innovation.

There is no problem with the general direction.

No matter what the attitude is behind the scenes, no one can say anything on the surface.

Wang Zhongjun had to admit that he had misjudged Shen Santong. This young man was serious and determined.

Fortunately, Huayi is listed on the stock market, so it does not affect his ability to make money.

"Are we going to watch him call the shots?" Wang Zhonglei was unwilling and a little worried: "Brother, I heard some bad rumors."

Huayi is not mentioned in many matters because it is the leader.

Today, Santong Entertainment is comparable to all other film and television companies combined, and the content of its films and TV series is clean, without any personal opinions, and it does not serve as a mouthpiece for any individual.

As the importance continues to decrease, things that were previously unscrupulous now begin to pose hidden dangers.

Wang Zhongjun's hand that was stroking the jade sculpture suddenly stopped: "Don't worry, the sky won't fall, we still have the love of incense in our hands."

Wang Zhonglei breathed a sigh of relief and started talking about work.

After Huayi went public, his brother seldom came to the company, and he came this time for work.

Wang Zhonglei reported: "We have negotiated to schedule screenings in nearly 20 locations for Against the War."

"Well, we'll promote it well when the time comes." Wang Zhongjun just paid attention to it.

Wang Zhonglei hesitated to speak.

Seeing this, Wang Zhongjun was annoyed: "Just say what you want to say."

"Brother, should we focus back on movies?" Wang Zhonglei advised tentatively.

Nowadays, it is a compliment to compare Santong Entertainment with Huayi.

Hua Yi is already sitting at the children's table.

With the increasing market share of the film industry, Huayi has less than 11 billion box office revenue in years and faces fierce competition from Guangxian Media and Bona Films. Wang Zhongjun waved his hand, not caring much: "You decide on the entertainment aspect. You like it, don't you?"

“Yes, yes.” Wang Zhonglei said helplessly: “I think Santong Entertainment has also found a way forward, and its market value has exceeded 100 billion. What Shen Santong said about the film industry having the potential to be worth 1 trillion may be true.”

Wang Zhongjun shook his head.

He understands everything.

It seems that he doesn't come to the company, but he has not missed any reports.

The decline in market share in 11 was mainly due to the lack of Feng Xiaogang's films, as the young star was focusing on art blockbusters.

Wang Zhongjun talked about his friend's advice: "The risk of movies is too great. Without Feng Xiaogang, our performance would decline. You see, Santong Entertainment also relies on people, not systems and models."

"We need to find a model and a system, and we still have to look to the Internet for this."

As he spoke, he looked at the time and it was time to raise the horses, so Wang Zhongjun left.

Wang Zhonglei couldn't help but sigh.

After Huayi went public, he clearly felt that the hardworking and forward-looking big brother of those days had disappeared.

The big brother who was able to find a way forward steadily when Wang Jinghua left and Shen Santong rose to prominence is gone.

The big brother who had a small steel cannon in one hand, Chen Guofu in the other, and Hong Kong's Yinghuang in the other, and who had an integrated structure across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, and a comprehensive layout in business and art, is gone.

Wang Zhonglei was having all kinds of fun, but he felt a little uneasy inside.

Huayi also has a market value of more than 30 billion yuan following Santong Entertainment, and has trapped a lot of money from investors.

But with a price-to-earnings ratio of several dozen, can this thing be sustained?
Bright Media.

Wang Changtian didn't pay much attention to who Shen Santong was fighting with, all he had in mind was his career.

The current situation is that the industry is not making money, but it is not short of money.

The reason why it is not making money is because of the squeeze from Hollywood and Santong Entertainment, as well as the improvement in audience tastes and the lack of box office revenue.

Not short of money means that Santong Entertainment is in suspense, expectations for the film industry are high, and all kinds of hot money are pouring in.

When Wang Changtian was doing his business, compared with Huayi, which could cash out at any time, Guangxian was still in the struggling and climbing stage.

Analyzing the glossy annual report, he also stared at the dazzling box office report of Santong Entertainment.

How shabby you look at yourself.

Even though we have long wanted to promote new directors from the mainland and use mainland teams, the execution has not been very smooth.

Now is the time to make a decision.

Otherwise, after becoming famous, you can only engage in distribution and cannot touch the production field which has the highest risk but also the highest profit.

Wang Changtian made up his mind: "The profit from Shen Santong's "Wolf Tooth" is equal to the total box office of all our movies in the whole year, and even more! Tell the people below, don't make those "pseudo-art films" anymore! Learn from Santong Entertainment. We can't make blockbusters, but we can make comedies like "Lost on Journey" and national blockbusters like "Li Shimin"."

"Whoever objects, get out!"

1 month 6 day.

A blogger who claims to be a professor at Beijing Film Academy wrote on Weibo: "Shen Santong is denying the historical contribution of the fifth generation of directors! No matter how problematic Red Sorghum may be, it is still a milestone in the internationalization of Chinese films!"

The atmosphere on the Santong Weibo platform was relatively normal, and it immediately attracted onlookers.

"That's true. It was true back then, but what about now? Our film market is second only to North America and the world's second largest. Can't we support Zhang Yimou? Why do we have to kneel down to receive awards?"

Many things can't be fooled when they are discussed openly.

The atmosphere at Southeast University is very relaxed, and no one blames Zhang Yimou.

Compared with other directors of the same generation, Zhang Yimou's conditions are really average.

My parents don't work in this field.

Since there are no resources available domestically, we have to take the international route, and a layer of ambiguity is retained, which makes us kneel on the ground with a plop.

Even a discerning person understands that life is just about survival.

But now, the film market is over 20 billion, and with such a good reputation and ample resources, it is unacceptable for them to continue to fawn on others.

Even professors from Beijing Film Academy cannot monopolize the authority on film and art!
Young Directors Forum.

There are many similar forums, and there are many every month. We organize one whenever we have time.

A group of frustrated or proud directors get together. Generally speaking, the proud directors are particularly fond of participating.

Young directors, together with film experts, discussed how Chinese films should develop and gave the pulse of Chinese films.

The so-called young people are basically 30 and above, and there are also people in their 40s and 50s. After all, making a movie involves a lot of post-production work.

In the past two or three years, many film directors under the age of 30 have emerged.

They usually have good grades, love to show off, and always get into arguments with the literary and artistic academics.

The venue for exchanges between young directors can easily become a battlefield between the entertainment department of Santong and the literary and artistic academic school.

Generally speaking, literature and art are vulnerable.

Because their main demands are for the state to force "diversification of film screening types in theaters", for financial subsidies to establish and maintain "art film theaters", and for direct funding to "outstanding filmmakers".

Then they don’t allow problematic material or content to be passed, and the reason given is always “We can’t let good Chinese films die out.”

Every time I get scolded to death by the directors of Santong Entertainment Department, who kill the competition with one sentence, which is the same sentence Shen Santong said at the premiere of "Supermarket": "What's the point of having an independent personality when you're being kept by someone?"

This time, they started arguing again.

Lou Ye slammed the table angrily: "How can this be! Shen Santong only has money in his eyes, and can't see any humanity or art at all."

Wang Ran also slammed the table: "You are a fool who is sponsored by a hairy film producer, and you are not qualified to comment on Director Shen!"

People outside the circle don’t understand, but people inside the circle know about Lou Ye’s situation.

Lou Ye felt very honored about this and did not intend to hide it.

He claims that he makes movies for himself and doesn't care about the market. As long as someone pays for it, what he does is art.

If a few media outlets repeat it, it can really confuse people.

Especially in the film industry, although everyone talks about art, they actually care about profit very much.

Laugh at poverty but not at prostitution.

People like Lou Ye who found a sponsor from a Chinese film company at least have someone to sponsor them.

Like Jia Zhangke, he can make a lot of money through art films.

Some of Jia Zhangke's supporters even feel proud of it and talk about it with great relish.

There is no sign of contempt for commercial films' excessive emphasis on the market.

That's the face.

Very contradictory, but inexplicably self-consistent.

It’s not okay to make money by providing happiness and entertainment to the audience.

Using stereotypes, kneeling down, and entertaining European and American audiences, that’s great!
Very ugly.

It's just that the atmosphere in the circle has changed in recent years.
Wang Ran is both a beneficiary and a participant. With the movie "Love Is Not Blind", he advanced to the ranks of billion-dollar directors, and with the sequel, he has become a billion-dollar director.

Although it is a cheesy comedy, Wang Ran is also regarded as the second Feng Pants and the successor of Feng's sketch comedies.

But once you have achieved something, you will naturally demand various statuses.

Shen Santong is the head of all Santong Entertainment departments. His reputation belongs not only to him but also to his followers.

How can we allow Lou Ye to act so presumptuous here!
Shen Santong's criticism of "The Flowers of War" attracted much attention.

Many forces are watching.

Commissioner Smith was also observing, and he keenly sensed danger: "Not good, is Shen Santong's influence so strong?"

Something feels wrong.

Power must be demonstrated with an iron fist, and Commissioner Smith had no idea of ​​this comparison before.

In recent years, Shen Santong seldom targeted people in the industry, but instead confronted a certain concept.

This time, it blasted "The Flowers of War", showing its full power.

The water temperature is wrong.

The main thing is that the overall situation is calm, which is not good and it won't cause any waves.

"'The Flowers of War' should be given an award."

Commissioner Smith thought about it and felt that it was probably impossible.

He couldn't decide on matters within the empire, and the Oscar votes had been sent out.

And this year Weinstein promoted "The Artist", a black-and-white film with a good subject matter. Harvey's position in Hollywood art films is unquestionable and he is at the dominant level.

However, Commissioner Smith believed that the nomination should be given. He called his assistant and said, "Focus on attacking Zhang Yimou."

Yes, not only did he not speak for Zhang Yimou, he even went further to criticize him.

Create a feeling of suffocation, with no living space inside, and then find a way to provide air from the outside.

It is possible to win it over.

There was no opportunity before. Even though many people criticized Zhang Yimou as a farmer, there was no real pressure.

This time is different, Shen Santong really squeezed Zhang Yimou.

1 month 9 day.

Zhang Yimou had been observing the wind direction for almost a week, and asked Fu Lulu, "I remember there is a directors' symposium held by China Film Group tomorrow?"

At this time in early January, there are quite a lot of seminars.

But in the past Zhang Yimou usually did not participate, let alone now that this kind of thing has happened.

Fu Lulu was surprised. She had been with Zhang Yimou these days and flipped through her schedule: "Yes."

Zhang Yimou said: "I will be there tomorrow too."

Zhang Mo learned that his father was going to the symposium, so he came over to persuade him: "Dad, you'd better not show up now. What if you run into a fool?"

A young director who doesn't know the seriousness of the matter might really embarrass Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou shook his head: "It's time to respond. We can't delay."

"The Flowers of War" has some flaws.

One is that sex scenes should not be filmed, nor should sex scenes be marketed.

It just stays at the level of artistic expression, even if there are problems with the narrative, it doesn't reach that level.

The other is that as a commercial film, it undermines serious subject matter and is a gimmick that claims to have invested 600 million yuan. In fact, the war scenes are only a few minutes of perfunctory work, and it has completely become a commercial show that exploits the suffering of the nation.

After Shen Santong's attack, these two shortcomings were immediately exposed and could no longer be concealed.

Almost a week passed and the situation continued to ferment. Zhang Yimou was also watching, but he found that it was very unfavorable to him.

There are a lot of arguments at the public level, but they are all superficial and cannot shake these two points.

If we don’t respond, the reputation of the Olympics will be ruined.

"It's all Zhang Weiping's fault. He couldn't even handle this matter properly. If he hadn't wanted to hype up the sex scene, all the hype wouldn't have been like this." Zhang Mo was indignant: "Dad, don't work with him!"

Zhang Yimou's expression changed, but he said, "Don't worry about it."

night.

Zhang Yimou received a phone call.

I saw that it was across the ocean, so I talked about each other's drama and Pai's life.

They talked about their recent situation again. Li An smiled bitterly and said with concern: "Do you want me to come out and speak for you? You must be careful. Shen Santong is not easy to deal with."

"It's not like we're dealing with it."

Zhang Yimou frowned and said, "I have no hatred against him. After all, it's just some differences in film concepts."

Li An said: "Yes, but he always puts heavy accusations on people."

Zhang Yimou ended the call and declined, "Thank you very much. I will handle it myself."

Thinking of the relationship between "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero", "Lust, Caution" and "The Flowers of War" mentioned by Shen Santong, combined with Li An's well-timed phone call, I was a little silent.

Looking at the night sky, it was already dark here and Zhang Yimou felt cold.

Los Angeles is 16 hours behind in winter time, so it's a little after a.m. there.

From the phone call at this time, it can be seen that Li An really hated Shen Santong.

Zhang Yimou has experienced too many ups and downs. The more difficult it is to make a decision, the better it is not to make a decision rashly.

I am no longer at the age where I am dominated by my emotions, nor do I have a confrontational personality. People’s hearts are hidden, and it is hard to tell what is hidden behind them.

As his thoughts raced, Zhang Yimou floated back to himself.

He does have a problem.

It was Zhang Weiping's fault in terms of commercial operations, and it was his fault in terms of art. He shouldn't have crossed that line.

“Never stepped foot there before.”

Shen Santong's Santong Entertainment accounts for 65% of the box office of domestic films. "Wolf Tooth" has overwhelmed Hollywood blockbusters. Using data as a blade and content as a shield, it has dragged his "art" and Zhang Weiping's "business" into the mud at the same time.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yimou smiled bitterly again.

It is impossible to fight against someone like Shen Santong, because this damn kid is really not afraid of getting covered in mud.

(End of this chapter)