Huayu: As a child star, I just want to be famous

Chapter 587: Super Large Production (6K) Ask for monthly ticket
Chen Linfeng and Liu Qianqian had heard about the public opinion turmoil in East Asia, but after all, they were in the United States, not at the center of the storm, so they did not feel it very deeply.

Liu Qianqian usually has nothing to do and likes to watch the news.

Whenever there was news of someone speaking up for her or about the birth of Chen Linfeng, she would always happily ask her husband to come and see.

And when Chen Linfeng showed an unlucky expression, she couldn't help laughing happily.

Chen Linfeng just thought of it as a way to make his wife happy and didn't really care about it.

It is good for the baby if pregnant women keep a good mood.

After the Golden Globes, the Emily Con Critics' Choice Awards are next.

This, like the Golden Globe Awards, is one of the four major precursors to the Oscars.

Similarly, the nominations for this award were announced at the end of last year. "Joker" won best film, director, actor, photography, makeup and many other nominations.

The official awards ceremony was held on January 1th.

This award is different from the Golden Globe Awards in that they place all their bets on one movie.

"Joker" won three major awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor, as well as a smaller award, Best Cinematography.

"Blue Jasmine" won the Best Actress, "Dallas Buyers Club" won the Best Supporting Actor, and "12 Years a Slave" won the Best Supporting Actress.

"American Hustle", which was almost on par with "Joker" in the Golden Globe Awards, only won the Best Ensemble Award, as well as technical awards such as Best Costume and Best Makeup this time.

The most important awards all went to "Joker".

The media called it a great victory for "Joker".

Coincidentally, on the same day, the Oscars announced their nominations.

"Joker" received a total of 11 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction.

Became the leader in the number of Oscar nominations this year.

Below it, American Hustle received 10 nominations, 9 Years a Slave received 6 nominations, and Dallas Buyers Club received nominations.

In addition, there are films such as "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Blue Jasmine" that have appeared in the Outpost and Weathervane, and they also have four or five nominated awards.

These are the films that can compete head-on with "Joker" in this year's Oscars.

Another one that must be mentioned is "The Grandmaster", which represents Chinese-language films and is competing for this year's Oscars.

"The Grandmaster" also received two nominations, one for Best Cinematography and one for Best Costume Design.

The award for costume design will also compete head-on with "Joker".

On the day the Oscar nominations were announced, the news that "Joker" received 11 nominations, leading the pack, became the headline of the entertainment sections of major media outlets.

The domestic media are also very excited. This number of nominations always reminds people of "Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings".

Of course, both films ultimately won 11 Oscars.

There is still a big gap between nomination and final award.

But this does not affect the public's imagination in advance.

Some domestic media even predicted that "Joker" would be like "The Lord of the Rings" and win all 11 nominations.

Chen Linfeng just regards it as a vision.

The possibility of it being true is extremely small.

He is in the middle of the situation and knows it best.

It is difficult for the Oscars today to reproduce the grand scene they once had.

Although "Joker" has a great influence, it is still far behind these two films.

In other words, in the Internet age, it has become difficult for the public to maintain their love for something for a long time.

The fact that the company has been able to maintain its influence until now is the result of constantly spending money on press releases in the media and hyping up its popularity online.

However, some tabloid media in Hong Kong are hyping up the "ultimate showdown" between "Joker" and "The Grandmaster".

I think "Joker" will fail miserably in front of director Wang Jiawei.

The tabloids in Hong Kong still dare to write anything as usual, which makes him feel both amused and helpless.

So far, Chen Linfeng no longer needs to do anything extra to qualify for the Olympics.

Just keep up the current promotional pace.

Instead, Leonardo has started to prepare to launch the "Oscar owes him a Best Actor" move.

The specific time may be later.

The final round of voting began on February 2 and lasted for a little over 14 minutes.

The timing is just right as we started promoting the product at the end of January.

Chen Linfeng didn't care about this and left it all to Leonardo.

He took Sissi directly back to his country.

This year's Spring Festival falls on February 2st, and Chen Linfeng needs to come back to take care of the situation of this year's Spring Festival.

As he had thought before, the movie "Where Are We Going, Dad?" was scheduled to be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which is February 2st.

Therefore, the film "Time Traveler" directed by Guo Fan was also scheduled on this day.

Needless to say, Now You See Me was also released on the same day.

In addition, there is "30,000 Miles from Chang'an" directed by Chen Kaige.

Other films competing include Wang Jing's "The Man from Macau" and Zhen Zidan's "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

There are also some smaller movies, such as "Ex-Files" and "A Chinese Odyssey".

Even Frozen got in on the action.

The competition during the Spring Festival is getting more and more intense.

This made Chen Linfeng feel as if he had returned to the time before he traveled through time. The Spring Festival period in later generations was also filled with blockbusters, and many movies tried to steal the show.

Thanks to the good example created by "Your Name" and the ever-increasing box office in the following two years.

The Spring Festival period has finally become a period that everyone is competing for this year.

When the media reported on this year's Spring Festival period, they almost all used the term "death period" to describe the phenomenon of a large number of blockbusters in February.

However, the above movies competing for the Spring Festival period are actually divided into different grades.

In terms of public expectations, "Now You See Me" is undoubtedly the number one.

The film was written and directed by Chen Linfeng, and he and Liu Qianqian played the leading roles, with the original Spider-Man as one of the main characters.

The trailer is full of cool new concepts.

Each one attracts movie fans, who regard it as a feast for the new year.

This film presents its peers with an invincible momentum.

Even among the film producers competing for the Spring Festival box office, no one would think of competing with such a film.

What they are thinking about more is to take up as much of the market as possible outside of "Now You See Me".

The bet is that the market during the Spring Festival is big enough.

Summarizing the experience of the Spring Festival period in previous years, the depth of the market is almost unfathomable, and the movies in previous years did not really meet the public's viewing needs.

Just get a small piece of this huge cake.

After "Now You See Me", the three most popular ones are "Time Traveler", "30,000 Miles from Chang'an" and "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 2".

"Time Traveler" is not worth mentioning in terms of director and cast.

Director Guo Fan is still an unknown figure at present.

The male lead, Hu Ge, and the female lead, Gao Yuanyuan, are both famous enough, but when it comes to movies, neither of them has the ability to pull in box office success.

There is no need to say much about Gao Yuanyuan. There are some actresses who can bring in some box office revenue, but she is definitely not one of them.

Hu Ge has acted in many movies in recent years and has gradually established himself in the film industry, but he previously played mostly supporting roles.

This is the first time that he takes on the full male lead role, and even his fans are a little worried whether he can pull it off.

All of the above are weaknesses of this movie.

But the script for this film was written by Chen Linfeng.

This one is enough.

A lot of people went there for "Chen Linfeng's latest love script."

When promoting the film, the crew also mainly focused on this aspect.

"30,000 Miles from Chang'an" is directed by Chen Kaige.

Even though Chen Kaige seems to be having some bad luck recently, his momentum has declined even more since Zhang Yimou reached the top.

But his years as a director are not in vain. Whenever a new movie comes out, a large number of movie lovers can't help but pay attention to it.

The film's producer not only emphasized in its publicity that Chen Kaige had spent several years honing his skills, but also specifically mentioned that Chen Linfeng was involved in the script.

Yes, they also use him as a publicity point.

But don’t tell me, it really works.

What movie fans are most worried about is whether Chen Kaige will listen to Chen Linfeng.

But he would not doubt whether Chen Linfeng's idea was good or not.

This is also what the public is most curious about at the moment, that is, whether Chen Linfeng can restrict Chen Kaige in the script.

Many people in the industry are also paying attention to this.

It has been widely rumored online that the reason why Chen Kaige made good movies back then was because he was not yet famous and he had to follow the script.

Ever since he became famous with "Farewell My Concubine", over the years, there has been no one to restrict him, so the films he made have become worse and worse.

At this time, Director Chen had not yet completely disappointed the public.

The saying "Chen Kaige spent his whole life proving that Farewell My Concubine was not filmed by him" was made later.

Now it seems that there is a big guy who can restrict him.

When it comes to the long-standing Internet rumor, everyone suddenly becomes excited.

If this is really possible, then Director Chen will have to stand up for himself in the future.

Of course, if "30,000 Miles in Chang'an" is really good, that also means... well...

The last one, "Journey to the West", was able to maintain high expectations, not because the crew itself had many advantages.

There is only one, and the protagonist is the monkey.

That's enough, all of China loves that monkey.

As long as the quality is acceptable, it will be reflected in the box office.

I've done this many times and it works every time.

After returning to China, Chen Linfeng was not busy participating in film promotion activities.

He really doesn't need this now.

The other actors just need to rush forward.

Woody Harrison, Tobey Maguire, Benedict, and Cobie Smulders are no small names.

Almost all of them are Hollywood actors who are familiar to Chinese movie fans. When they attend promotional activities in China, they can attract a lot of attention.

Hollywood stars are still quite useful at this time.

After attending the event in China, they will go to Hollywood to continue.

The team can be led by two producers, Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt.

What Chen Linfeng was more concerned about was the domestic TV series "The Biography of Emperor Zhaolie of the Southern Song Dynasty" which was about to be broadcast.

That's right, the show will also be broadcast during the Spring Festival, a few days earlier than the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Everyone is on vacation and has time to watch TV series at home, which is the best option from a scheduling perspective.

The only problematic point at the moment is the broadcasting platform.

Needless to say, V-station will definitely give its full support.

The platform broadcasting rights were purchased at a sky-high price of 500 million per episode, totaling 30 million RMB for 1.5 episodes.

Considering this price at this time, it must be a sky-high price.

The key is not the exclusive broadcasting rights.

The reason is that the cost of producing the drama "The Biography of Emperor Zhaolie of the Southern Song Dynasty" is very high.

The average cost of a single episode was about 600 million, and the total cost of the entire series was close to 2 million.

If it was just a palace drama, the cost would not be so high anyway.

But according to Chen Linfeng's requirements, war scenes must be absolutely exquisite and perfect.

This costs a lot of money.

The cavalry unit maintains a combat system of three horses per person, and a cavalry unit of several hundred people may need thousands of horses.

In a war, the number of soldiers that appear must be at least several hundred, so that the magic of the camera can be used to create a war involving tens of thousands of people.

In order to restore history as much as possible, each army even distinguishes between heavy infantry elites with full armor, minion troops with only leather armor, and general troops with mixed equipment.

The people may still be the same group, but they need to keep changing their clothes during filming, which is very time-consuming.

To inattentive viewers, the difference may not be that big.

But the texture of the series is reflected in these details.

"The Biography of Emperor Zhaolie of the Southern Song Dynasty" was filmed entirely in the format of a blockbuster movie.

In the episodes that focus on war scenes, it is normal for a single episode to earn tens or even hundreds of millions.

On average, the cost of producing the entire series is about 600 million per episode.

Considering that both Qilin and Longlin are veterans in the industry, they have always been very strict in reviewing budgets.

We are able to spend our money to the maximum extent possible. If we switch to another company, the cost will probably soar.

Not to mention online dramas, in this era, even the big-budget TV dramas broadcast on TV stations don’t do this.

The TV station's four-star broadcast, that is, the four satellite TV stations jointly bear the expenses, the highest record is only 300 million per episode.

Even if V-station offers 500 million per episode, it definitely cannot buy the exclusive broadcasting rights.

This will not change just because V Station is a company under Chen Linfeng.

The crew is also discussing broadcasting cooperation with Penguin Video.

The price remains the same at 500 million per episode.

Now I'm kind of stuck here.

As for Penguin Video, I’m not sure if spending so much money can achieve the desired effect, especially since it is shared with V Station.

Even though the situation has changed somewhat now and the headquarters has invested more resources in film and television, no one dares to make such a big decision.

What if it fails?

Everyone has to consider this issue.

In fact, it is obvious that Chen Linfeng intended to impact the overseas market by making such a top-notch TV series.

There is no need to say much about East Asia, as the market channels have already been established.

As long as the price is not too high, it will definitely be sold.

This is also a common routine.

It is necessary to cultivate the market.

At that time, the president of NBA had to stand in front of CCTV like a minion, just to give the game videos to CCTV for free so that they could broadcast them for free.

It's all the same.

These markets in East Asia need to be further consolidated.

As for the European and American markets outside of East Asia, if you want to enter them, you have to take drastic measures.

This kind of drama with nearly perfect ancient war scenes is the ruthless trick he prepared.

However, entering mature markets like Europe and the United States is not something you can do just because you want to.

At least you have to achieve remarkable achievements in your own country first.

In "The Biography of Emperor Zhaolie of the Southern Song Dynasty", Emperor Zhaolie travels through time and saves the fate of Yue Fei, which is the feast he carefully prepared for the domestic audience.

But the problem is that, in his opinion, the situation of V Station alone is a bit precarious.

As a video platform, v站 has not yet become fully popular.

"We must have another video platform to help!" Chen Linfeng said firmly.

"Mr. Chen, we understand this, but the other party really doesn't want to take too much risk, so it's useless no matter what we say."

Dong Ruohua from Longlin Marketing Department said with a bitter face.

He really tried every trick he could.

Chen Linfeng raised his hand and said, "You don't need to do anything. I'll do this."

He thought about it and made a phone call.

"Mr. Sun, I'm Chen Linfeng."

On the other end of the phone, Sun Huaizhong was stunned. Why did this person call him?

Thinking about recent events, he had an idea.

He immediately put on a friendly smile and said, "Mr. Chen, I just saw the trailer of your film and was thinking about when to talk to you. I didn't expect you to call me right now."

"Then we really are in sync."

"That's right," Sun Huaizhong said, "What does Mr. Chen want me to do this time?"

"Well," Chen Linfeng said straight to the point, "It's about the drama 'The Biography of Emperor Zhaolie of the Southern Song Dynasty'."

"Oh, this movie," Sun Huaizhong said, sitting up straighter, "My subordinates have informed me of this movie several times. It is a good movie. I heard that you are the screenwriter. From the quality point of view, there is no problem.

It’s just too expensive, twice as much as the highest price, so it’s really hard to make a decision.”

Chen Linfeng paused and said, "I know your difficulties, but I am very confident about this film.

As you know, I haven't been involved in TV dramas for several years. This time I suddenly went back to write a TV drama script because I think it can be a hit.

And it is a kind of drama that has a certain degree of fame all over the world. After it is broadcast in China, I will contact Netflix and go to Europe and the United States through their channels.

The company has now almost completed the relevant translation and dubbing work.”

He really isn't kidding.

How could he be completely indifferent to Netflix, the streaming media giant of later generations?

I tried to find a way to participate in the investment several years ago.

Although he couldn't be considered a major shareholder, he still had a certain friendship with Reed by using the old trick of entrusting voting rights to the company's founder.

In this case, it is not very difficult to borrow Netflix's channels.

The real difficulty lies in whether Netflix can allocate more publicity resources.

This is the reason why Chen Linfeng wants to become famous in the country now.

"Well, this way..." Sun Huaizhong fell into deep thought.

"I understand how much Mr. Chen values ​​this drama. In fact, we have always been optimistic about this drama, but we are just worried about the risks..."

Chen Linfeng interrupted, "How about this, if the film's final number of views is average and causes losses, then I'll just consider it as a favor to you, how about that?"

"Mr. Chen, you are too polite. Actually, there is no problem on my side. Since you have said so personally, what else can I say? We at Penguin have always wanted to cooperate with you, Mr. Chen."

Sun Huaizhong smiled brightly, without any sign of embarrassment.

"I'll ask my men to contact someone from your company right now."

In his opinion, up to now, there was really no risk in the whole thing.

It would be great if "The Biography of Emperor Zhaolie of the Southern Song Dynasty" could cause a viewing frenzy like the dramas filmed by Chen Linfeng back then.

Penguin can gain a group of new members and increase its market share.

And if the effect is average, that's even better.

Chen Linfeng's favor is much more important than the compensation.

When he returns to the Penguin headquarters, he can brag about it a bit, and maybe even Mr. Ma will pour him a glass of wine during dinner.

Chen Linfeng didn't chat much with Sun Huaizhong and hung up the phone calmly.

"Okay, it's settled. The other party should contact you later."

Dong Ruohua had a complicated expression.

Mr. Chen, you make us look stupid.

After putting in so much effort, it’s better for the boss to just make a phone call.

But that's how the world is. When bosses talk about things, things are always simple.

Sometimes, a deal can be done simply by relying on things like prestige, face, and personal connections.

Penguin acted quickly. Starting from late January, Penguin's pop-up windows, WeChat public platform and Moments, as well as large advertisements on the homepage of Penguin Video, were all filled with promotional pictures or preview videos of "The Biography of Emperor Zhaolie of the Southern Song Dynasty".

The overwhelming publicity immediately attracted the attention of many TV drama fans.

During the promotion of this drama, the time-travel element was not particularly emphasized.

After all, we still have to give some face to the higher-ups.

The focus of the publicity and promotion is on the drama's portrayal of war scenes.

In particular, scenes like cavalry charging, separating the infantry camp, and then destroying it have almost never appeared in previous film and television dramas.

As a fan of ancient war history, Cheng Liwei knows this very well.

In previous film and television dramas, cavalry would either charge directly into the enemy's densely packed infantry formation.

Or just show the cavalry charge.

But the battlefield scenes he saw in "The Biography of Emperor Zhaolie of Southern Song" were somewhat different.

At least there was a shot in which a group of cavalry used an arc to disrupt the infantry formation, which looked pretty realistic.

It’s a pity that there are too few of them and we can only see a few shots.

He discussed the history of ancient wars with others in forums and BBSs where he also liked it, and there were also many netizens discussing it.

"When filming The Great Tang Empire, Chen Linfeng created a relatively formal siege battle. I wonder if he will come up with something new this time."

"There were still too few war scenes in The Great Tang Empire. I hope there will be more this time."

"It's too expensive. I guess it's over before I can really enjoy it."

"It's good enough that they can film something seriously. At least it's not one of those rubbish movies where even the armor is messed up."

"Yeah, anyway, I will definitely watch Chen Linfeng's drama."

Cheng Liwei nodded. He shared the same opinion. No matter what, he had to watch it.

That is, what does this name, "The Biography of Emperor Zhaolie of the Southern Song Dynasty" mean?
Is there any man in the royal family of the Southern Song Dynasty who can be called "Zhaolie"?

Could it be unofficial history?

(End of this chapter)