New Age Artists

Chapter 618: Cutting the Iron Chains with a Blade and Fluttering into the Vastness

Before boarding the plane.

Shen Santong received a call from Cameron, thought about it, and answered it.

"Haha, Shen, is there any more story about the United States?" Cameron gloated and teased in a mocking tone.

Cameron can never forget the last "civilization debate".

Shen Santong questions the United States' moral dilemmas, war behavior, racial issues, and Hollywood's cultural narrative.

The critical stance is extremely sharp, exposing the double standards and historical cycles of the United States on military, moral and racial issues.

Cameron also tried to defend the values ​​of the United States, but was suppressed by Shen Santong's logic, making his position seem fragile and pitiful.

Lost the argument.

Even though two years have passed, Cameron still feels a little upset.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, because what Shen Santong said was true.

Shen Santong's bundling of Avatar with Citigroup's national destiny shows that the authority of Western narratives has been shaken in the post-Cold War era, which is as painful as a knife stabbing one's heart.

Cameron had been keeping an eye on Shen Santong's movements in the United States. He must have felt very happy when he saw that he had canceled his Oscar trip because of backstabbing in China.

Shen Santong knew that Cameron was looking for trouble, and his mouth twitched slightly: "Don't ask me this question, ask yourself, you have the leisure time, it seems that the preparations for the sequel to "Avatar" have been completed?"

Cameron's tone paused. The sequel was still in the technical research and development stage. He was engaged in deep-sea exploration. Fortunately, he had already experienced how difficult Shen Santong was. He changed his tone and said, "Shen, if you lose your job, I can give you a job."

Shen Santong said casually: "I will make Wonder Woman completely different from Avatar and teach you how to tell a story in a movie."

"Haha, you can keep your mouth shut." Cameron's heart skipped a beat, then he sneered, "Wonder Woman is not something you can touch. You don't understand the rules of Hollywood."

Wonder Woman is both a feminist totem and a product of American national mythology, carrying progressive ideals.

If this kind of role was directed by someone like Shen Santong, Cameron would be really heartbroken.

However, the chances of this happening are close to zero.

This is not just about business, it is also about civilizational narrative.

Shen Santong said: "Time Warner acquired AOL for a whopping $2000 billion in 1650, which was the most failed M&A case in history. Considering the subsequent market value evaporation, asset write-downs and business divestitures, the total loss was close to or even exceeded $2000 billion."

"In 09, Time Warner and AOL were completely separated. The separation process cost billions of dollars, and AOL's valuation after independence was only $34 billion, less than 2% of the merger."

"Cameron, movies are not just movies. Both Warner Bros. and its parent company Time Warner need to tell the story of the DC movie universe."

"Why don't we make a bet and see which is more true, the ideology or the dollar?"

"Maybe this year you will hear news about my company reaching a strategic cooperation with Warner."

"Wow?"

Shen Santong waited for a while and found that there was no sound on the other end of the phone. He couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

If he dares to answer the phone, he will be sure to win the argument.

What he said was true. He would only handle Wonder Woman as a last resort. Coincidentally, Warner Bros. was in urgent need of saving itself.

Are the funds and institutions holding shares behind Warner so firm that they can turn a blind eye to a loss of $200 billion?
This is 200 billion US dollars at the beginning of the millennium.

The plane taxied into the exclusive runway, and the tower glass reflected a hint of gold.

Silver wings pierced through the clouds and streaked across the sky.

Shen Santong felt that he should buy a private jet.

Chen Chexi asked worriedly, "What are you going to do about the domestic situation?"

Shen Santong asked back: "What's the matter?"

Seeing that he was calm and composed, Chen Chexi thought he was just pretending to be strong: "No need to pretend. There's a huge uproar in China. The atmosphere is not right this time. The General Administration is going to hold a meeting."

Shen Santong sneered: "A bunch of rotten fish and shrimps. I wanted to take them forward together. Now it is actually more convenient."

In Shen Santong's view, what happened in the country was nothing.

It's the same if you leave after attending the Oscars, not a day's difference.

However, in order to accompany a group of clowns to complete the show, Shen Santong still canceled the trip.

Crisis, crisis.

Things are always dialectical. This is a good opportunity. Shen Santong has also made up his mind to jump out of the entertainment circle and escape from the whirlpool.

Shen Santong was not in a hurry, but Chen Chexi was: "Really not in a hurry, won't it be different after participating in the Oscars?"

"If I don't cancel my trip, how can I show that I'm anxious?" Shen Santong said, "Besides, there's no need to attend the Oscars. I don't have a work and I'm not an award presenter. It's actually quite boring to just join in the fun."

It’s a pity for Chen Chexi. This is the Oscars, the Hall of Art: “I always feel a little regretful.”

Shen Santong demystified her: "This year's Oscars' The Artist will be the biggest winner."

"A story about the superstars and fans of the silent film era. As the times progressed and talkies emerged, silent films were gradually phased out and forgotten. Coupled with the Great Depression, the status of both sides reversed."

"Targeting the preferences of Oscar judges, the average age of these judges is 62 years old, and less than 40% of the judges are under 2 years old, while judges over 60 years old account for 54%. There are more than 60 judges in total, and more than half, more than , are over years old."

"The North American producer is Harvey Weinstein. He has mastered the code to winning awards. From the selection of themes to public relations and marketing, he has accurately grasped the tastes of the judges and formed a set of processes."

"Western awards are also a form of social culture. Western filmmakers are similar to us, with little culture and even lower levels of knowledge."

David Lynch, known as the master of surrealist films, is a fine arts graduate from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts;

Alfred Hitchcock, the "Father of Thriller and Suspense Art Films", is a Fine Arts student at the Department of Art, Goldsmiths College, University of London;

Akira Kurosawa, the so-called only world-class film master in Asia, was an art high school student who had never even attended university before he became a student of Kajiro Yamamoto.

Woody Allen, the idol of young intellectuals around the world and the master of black comedy films, only has a high school diploma from Midwood High School in the United States.

Stanley Kubrick, who ranked fourth in the "100 Greatest Directors of All Time" by the British film magazine Empire, has the same academic qualifications as Woody Allen and graduated from Tufte School in New York.

Quentin Tarantino, the most outstanding young director of American independent films in the 90s, was a clerk in a video store who rented out videotapes.

The same is true of Spanish film master Pedro Almodóvar, a switchboard operator for the Spanish national telephone company.

The Wachowski sisters, or brothers, who wrote and directed The Matrix, were carpenters and painters before they entered the film industry.

Kim Ki-duk, one of the top ten most influential directors in South Korea, dropped out of agricultural technology school.

Shen Santong: "If you put aside the filter and watch the so-called masters' movies, the core of the story is just average, like Cameron's "Titanic", which is just so-so."

Chen Chexi told Shen Santong to stop talking, otherwise he would become a bad person.

The pillars of her art were being dismantled one by one. If this continued, her spiritual world would collapse.

Shen Santong said something optimistic: "This trip to Hollywood has strengthened my confidence."

"Hollywood is becoming increasingly bloated, the industry is hollowing out, production costs remain high, and the quality of the work has not improved as costs have risen."

"As our production standards catch up, coupled with the institutional advantages of our elite education system that makes it accessible to the general public, a younger generation of filmmakers who are not influenced by the outside world will grow up, and the films they create will surely shock the world."

"Because the core of our culture is modern and industrial, Hollywood is covered in industrial skin, but its core is still pre-modern."

“The further we go, the more obvious the generation gap becomes.”

Hearing this, Chen Chexi seemed to be thinking about something.

For example, costume blockbusters and historical blockbusters, the former are covered with oriental skin, but the core and story are western, while historical blockbusters remain the same.

However, in recent years, some peers have followed suit and tried to imitate.

But the box office performance hardly reaches the level of Santong Entertainment's productions.

This shows that pure oriental and ancient elements are just superficial, and the core probably lies in cognition.

Combined with what Shen Santong said, historical blockbusters are moving forward according to the tone he set. The key to success of Santong Entertainment's productions is to have modern and industrial cognition, rather than piling up ancient elements.

Chen Chexi was shocked. Costume blockbusters were no match for historical blockbusters. Maybe what Shen Santong said could really come true.

One day, Chinese films will be to Hollywood like a hot knife cutting butter, or a machine gun to cavalry.

The high-end satellite TV system on the plane supports multi-channel live broadcast. After more than ten hours of flight, the 84th Academy Awards ceremony came to a close.

Despite years of declining ratings, the black-and-white silent film "The Artist" unsurprisingly swept the Oscars.

"The Artist" became the second silent film in history to win the Best Picture Award after "Wings".

"Wings" is a film from the silent film era, made in 1927, and won the first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1929.

At the same time, "The Artist" is also the first black-and-white film to win the Best Picture Award since "Schindler's List" in 1993, and Jean Dujardin also became the first French actor in history to win an Oscar.

Landing.

In late February in BJ, drizzles were seeping into the plane trees along Chang’an Avenue, gathering strength for the emergence of new buds.

Back home.

Shen Santong did not issue any statement, but only inspected branches in various places.

The sinking incident continues to ferment.

Zhang Weiping felt that he was about to lose Zhang Yimou. Shen Santong had caused him to suffer heavy losses, so how could he give up the opportunity to add insult to injury?

Even if they did not personally intervene, they added fuel to the fire through their media partners.

The "chain of evidence" of Shen Santong's scandalous materials, scandalous photos and internal documents that had been prepared long ago were released to keep the heat going.

At the same time, we should occupy the moral high ground and issue a statement: the righteous cause should not be an excuse for some people to bully good movies, and we should not put a stigma on good movies.

Li An, who is currently polishing the 3D visual effects of "Pie", has also spoken out overseas.

Li Min has a new movie "Pie" this year. The production company suggested that he take this opportunity to throw back the dirty water that Shen Santong had thrown at him, so as to avoid the movie being hyped up after its release and eliminate the hidden dangers.

However, Li An also avoided direct conflict.

In response to the old news that "The Flowers of War" missed the final Oscar nomination, some people used their support for "The Flowers of War" to wash away "Lust, Caution".

"Art should be diverse and inclusive, and the spirit of criticism should not be abused. Lust, Caution caused controversy, but fortunately it won an award in Venice, proving that its artistic value is recognized worldwide."

“‘The Flowers of War’ didn’t win any awards, but its artistic value is still worth affirming. It’s a truly good movie.”

When asked by reporters whether he has confidence in Chinese films, Li An said: "The Chinese film environment is quite good. Art should not be hijacked by politics. Individuals will not affect my confidence in Chinese films."

Shen Santong was not mentioned by name, but every sentence was suggestive, echoing Zhang Wei's comment of "a good movie".

The entry point is reasonable, as he and Zhang Yimou already have a good relationship.

By elevating the label of "inclusiveness", it implies that Shen Santong's remarks are extreme and narrow-minded, and that he lacks the open-mindedness that an artist should have.

Taking advantage of the authority of Western awards, they belittled Shen Santong's criticism as "local bias", implying that he did not understand international art standards, and indirectly portrayed Shen Santong as an "ideological defender."

He also did not forget to certify Chinese films as "internationally renowned directors". As for whether Chinese films need Li An's certification, it is not important, and the audience's opinions are not important either. Their own departments care about that.

When Li An left office, some forces lurking in the public opinion field of Dongda University were quickly organized.

The film critics have published articles criticizing the film, and they have found a place to focus on, as Li An is an internationally renowned director.

Shen Santong's criticism exposes the cultural inferiority of Chinese filmmakers, and the public resonates with this, which is another proof of the tragedy of culture.

As the momentum grew further, rumors began to circulate in various industries, calling for a "soft ban."

The Hong Kong and Taiwan circles and the academic community have reached a consensus on "overthrowing Shen".

In film festival reviews, venture capital meetings and other occasions, Santong Entertainment's projects were excluded on the grounds of "sensitive subject matter", further isolating Shen Santong. Seeing this, Huayi quietly gave a push and let the Hong Kong circle take the lead.

Privately contacted senior executives of the China Film Group Corporation and professors of the Film Academy, and hinted at reducing cooperation with Santong Entertainment on the grounds of "maintaining industry unity."

The Hong Kong circle then spread the news.

Any partners related to Santong Entertainment will find it difficult to obtain capital support from Hong Kong and Taiwan in the future.

Huayi used the media to hype up the idea of ​​"new directors surpassing old forces" and brought out 523, Lu Chuan and Guan Hu, and introduced directors whose style was comparable to that of Santong Entertainment.

Wang Zhonglei said publicly that these directors have both business acumen and respect for artistic diversity.

Although it was not stated explicitly, it also implied that Shen Santong was "comfortable with his status quo."

In just a few days, the forces on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong and Macau gradually converged on "overthrowing and sinking".

More and more old accounts were dug up, and "over-birth" and business disputes also emerged.

Using an anonymous whistleblower account, they published half-true and half-false scandals such as Shen Santong's early tax scandals and Santong Entertainment's exploitation of newcomers, further arousing public doubts.

The hired troll army spread the news on Huhu, Tieba and Weibo in the tone of "industry insiders", revealing the multiple double standards hidden under Shen Santong's "noble" mask.

They instigated a war of words between supporters of Shen Santong and fans of Li An, and even let the internet trolls play the role of fans of both sides, portraying Shen Santong as an "extreme ethnic group" and Li An as a "rational victim."

Inciting fans to oppose each other and creating "patriotism hijacking" controversy.

A hot topic appeared on a certain website, #Should art have national boundaries#. Starting from the website, it was introduced to major social platforms, linking Shen Santong with "closing the country to the outside world".

Professional film critics confused the nature of Shen Santong's criticism with jealousy of Li Min's international achievements.

The "downward sinking" fire burned more and more vigorously.

From beginning to end, Shen Santong did not respond.

Not only that, Santong Entertainment's Shen Office issued a document strictly prohibiting the artists under Santong Entertainment from taking sides, and also allowed discussions on Weibo to resume.

3 month 9 day.

Shen Santong’s new drama “Chinese Partners” held a launch ceremony.

Director Shen Santong was absent. Reporters found that Shen Santong was only the chief director and chief producer, and the real director in charge became Li Muge.

At the same time, it is forbidden to talk about related matters at the opening ceremony.

More and more outrageous rumors emerged, including that Shen Santong was actually dead.

Movie fans left messages on Shen Santong’s Weibo account.

Shen Santong has never responded.

At the same time, Dongtian.com shows that Shen Santong will no longer serve as the director of "Chinese Partners", and will also no longer serve as the director of "Charlotte's Troubles" in the second half of the year, and will only retain the position of chief producer.

Shen Santong’s 12-year film plan was scrapped, and his tradition of making two films a year was broken.

Careful netizens discovered that in the 13-year film plan, only the general producer was retained for "The Lone Moon" and "Detective Chinatown".

Someone close to Shen Santong spoke out, and under pressure Shen Santong considered retiring.

The director's retirement at the age of 28 immediately caused an uproar.

Huayi's Wang Zhongjun made a rare statement that the film industry should unite.

Just when public opinion was considering it as sarcastic, a gag order came out. Wang Zhonglei ordered the Huayi system not to allow anyone to talk about it.

Hua Yi retracted his hand, but the "sinking" force did not stop.

On the contrary, he was encouraged by the fact that Shen Santong's 12-year film plan was scrapped.

Under the urging of many parties, Li An returned to Taiwan and initiated the establishment of the "Cross-Strait and Hong Kong Film Alliance".

Together with directors from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, including Wang Jiawei, Du Qifeng, Hou Xiaoxian, Jia Zhangke, and Wang Xiaoshuai, we launched the "Chinese-language Film Globalization Cooperation Plan."

At the press conference, the first chairman of the board, Johnnie To, emphasized that only unity can fight against Hollywood.

It is not stated explicitly, but it is implied that Shen Santong is not only a thorn in the industry's division, but also the culprit who divides the film circles across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong.

When asked by the island media whether it was aimed at Shen Santong, Li An denied it with a frown. Daju said it was just for Chinese-language films, and at the same time called on Shen Santong to participate in cultural exchanges.

Li An is still the "elegant master".

It was not him who systematically weakened Shen Santong's resources and reputation.

It was not him who was besieging others using tools such as industry rules, public opinion manipulation, and policy leverage.

Shen Santong advocates "art without borders" and "industry unity" and returns to the "right path" as soon as possible, instead of excluding dissidents and becoming a radical lone wolf.

The island’s media immediately hyped up the “Masters’ Conversation” in an effort to undermine Shen Santong’s right to speak against foreign narratives.

Mainland media also responded.

Proposing "cooperation in competition" rather than "fierce confrontation" distinguishes Shen Santong from his extreme line.

Shen Santong's failure to respond further solidified his image as a "dictator" and he was seen as arrogant and disrespectful.

A grand alliance of academics from across the Taiwan Straits and Hong Kong.

The older generation of mainland academics have begun to push for policies to restrict "sensitive topics."

Through his connections, he suggested to the General Administration that the censorship of historical themes should be strengthened, especially those that intensified "national consciousness". He also submitted a number of radical articles on "blowing Shen" and "cultural war" from Wuyouzhixiang and Jiliu.com.

Among them, Jilliao.com is more radical, Dazuo Tezuo.

Point out the harmfulness of Shen Santong’s films to young people, especially students.

Foreign media seemed unable to stand it, and The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times spoke out for Shen Santong one after another.

The previous focus was on Shen Santong's criticism of feminist and racial remarks, but now it has shifted to criticizing the cultural policies of the University of Tokyo and speaking well of Shen Santong.

Barry Meyer, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, thought the time was right and immediately took advantage of the situation.

If Shen Santong could serve Warner willingly, the DC universe would definitely be able to rise.

Chinese people have changed Hollywood more than once, and Jackie Chan has brought about a complete transformation in Hollywood action movies.

Before, Hollywood action movies couldn't really be called action movies. Fights were always a round-based system of two people using their fists to hit each other back and forth. Even kicking movements were very rare, and they were seriously lacking in entertainment value.

James Wan revolutionized horror films. Previously, horror films achieved their horror effects by disgusting people, such as beheading and amputation.

The scariest way is to have a psycho killer or a ghost standing behind you when the camera turns, that's it.

James Wan's innovative narrative structure and suspense setting inject new elements into horror films.

When Shen Santong received a call from Barry Meyer, he complained about the recruitment: "Is the market value of Warner Bros. as high as that of Santong Entertainment?"

I guess it's about the same.

Shen Santong called his men to a meeting. Documents were piled on the long table, and a projector displayed the various business sectors involved in Santong Entertainment.

After returning to China for more than half a month, Shen Santong isolated himself from the spotlight. He only made adjustments to the company to ensure that there were no problems within the company, and then conducted low-key inspections of branches and local cultural and creative industry clusters in various places.

Shen Santong asked: "How far has the public opinion fermented?"

"The public is extremely fed up." Response from monitoring public opinion.

The person in charge of official relations said: "I think it is understandable to do anything now."

A cold light flashed in Shen Santong's eyes: "Then do it!"

3 month 16 day.

Santong Entertainment and Chengdu Tianfu Software Park have reached a comprehensive cooperation.

Further support the "CD City Digital Entertainment Industry Development Plan (2009-2014)", deepen cooperation between the two sides, and establish a world-class animation and game industry base.

Santong Entertainment already has a presence in Chengdu, but the intensity is different. This time, it plans to move BJ’s animation assets here.

The CD city government attaches great importance to this and provides various kinds of support, including expanding office space and incubation services, granting rent reductions and tax refunds.

Santong Entertainment came with projects, which can revitalize Tianfu Software Park, Dongjiao Memory, No. 35 Hongxing Road Cultural and Creative Park and other carriers, and accelerate the development of animation enterprise clusters.

Not only the industry, but also universities, such as Sichuan University and Chengdu University, have targeted animation classes, and in the future, classes will be able to enter Santong Animation one by one.

The Science and Technology Bureau also has cooperative projects, including cutting-edge technologies such as 3D rendering and motion capture, and the application of cloud computing in animation production.

3 month 19 day.

Santong Entertainment and Hangzhou have reached a comprehensive cooperation, moving their gaming business and part of their animation business here to establish the "Santong Hangzhou Animation, Gaming and Cultural Creative Center."

the same day.

Santong Entertainment and Hefei have reached a comprehensive cooperation to expand the talent center and establish a computer technology talent reserve base.

Shen Santong originally thought that the positive cycle of the film market and cultural market had already arrived, and an invincible foundation had been laid, and everyone would move forward together in the future.

Even if Santong Entertainment falls behind, there will be others catching up.

Reality gave him a wake-up call, and this idea was shattered.

Shen Santong was too lazy to even respond. There was no point in fumbling in the cesspool, it would only get stinkier. There were too many BJ gods, so Shen Santong just ran away.

Hit, the first one to run.

Run, and be the first to run.

The bad situation this time is not just in the entertainment industry. It's so treacherous that Shen Santong can't tell who is a human or a ghost, so he just goes at his own pace.

This will allow him to step away from specific film affairs, resign from his position as director, focus on the company's strategic transformation, and devote more energy to team and company building.

He had been planning this for the past two years, and he took this opportunity to unload the burden.

The development of Santong Entertainment is also on the right track, and Shen Santong wants to do something more interesting.

For example, we study the expression of industrial language, and give Hollywood a taste of its own medicine, injecting oriental energy into Hollywood.
Break away from the power struggle in the film industry and turn to technology research and development and industrial layout.

Shen Santong took two steps back, but instead felt a sense of relief and joy.

Swing the blade to cut the iron chains, and flap the wings into the vastness.

There is a lot of room for development in the local area.

Moreover, the two parties hit it off immediately. The tax revenue and employment that Santong Entertainment can provide can drive the industry and make it a leader in the cultural and creative field. More importantly, Santong Entertainment has the ability to create a city's business card.

A group of directors from the fifth and sixth generations win this award and that award, and their news is always in the entertainment section.

"Lust, Caution" has won many awards, Li An is an internationally renowned director, and the Shanghai Film Studio strongly supports it. But will Shanghai say that "Lust, Caution" is its city's business card?

Movies like "Guan Yin Shan" are said to have spread Chinese culture, but who would recognize it and have the nerve to do so?
If any place regards this kind of movie as its own face, it will surely be drowned in the spit of the people.

The highlight of Santong Entertainment is something that dares to be put on the table, and it is a good work that can be accepted by the public.

In terms of industry, the cultural and creative industry is just so-so, but the satisfaction it brings is a higher level of enjoyment.

"Leader, this is a collective decision of Santong Entertainment. There is no other reason. I don't feel wronged. Why should I feel wronged? I don't feel wronged at all. There is no such thing as 'escape'. The company is really bloated. For the better development of the company, it is also for the consideration of employees."

It would take more than a day or two to complete the functional evacuation, at least one or two years, but the steps had been decided, and Shen Santong took the opportunity to end his retreat.

He is not targeting anyone. To put it bluntly, do these people in the entertainment industry deserve it?

However, Shen Santong's move of retreating to advance actually split up Santong Entertainment, and unexpectedly achieved an effect similar to Moses dividing the sea, ushering in a bigger storm in the entertainment industry.

(End of this chapter)