Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 27 The heat has come
Before leaving, Hou Keming told Cao Yang another piece of news. After coordinating with China Film Corporation, everyone agreed that the movie would premiere in China on March 3, taking advantage of the current popularity.

Regarding the release in Hong Kong, Hou Keming contacted Jiang Zhiqiang of Emperor Entertainment Group and asked Emperor Entertainment Group to distribute the film and release it simultaneously with the mainland.

During the period before the release of the film, Cao Yang pushed all the promotion of the film to the actors, and he had already started preparations for the new film.

Compared with "On the Beach at Night Alone", "Empty Room" is obviously much more complicated. Cao Yang has been discussing the film's camera language with Tian Zhuangzhuang these days. This time he wants to try to use more camera language instead of relying solely on the actors' performance.

Cao Yang once went to the school to find Lao Situ, intending to give him a position as art director, but there was basically nothing to direct. Lao Situ was an absolute leader in the field of documentaries, but he seldom involved in art films.

In fact, it was just to thank old Situ for his support.

Old Situ refused without hesitation and warned Cao Yang not to learn these messy things at such a young age.

Cao Yang also secretly asked Lao Tian, ​​and Lao Tian curled his lips and said that old guys are like this, you shouldn’t look at the older generation with the thinking of young people, the dedication they emphasize and the dedication you understand are not the same word.

Well, Old Tian must understand Old Situ. Since he said so, Cao Yang gave up the idea.

Originally, I wanted to let Old Situ be the artistic director in public, and Old Tian be his deputy to coordinate the overall situation. Now, I can only give the position of artistic director to Old Tian.

Of course, Lao Tian is still a photographer and is used to it.

Art director is actually a very complex position.

Not only are they responsible for the design of all visual elements in the film except the performances, they also need to work closely with multiple departments such as the director, photographer, special effects artist, costume designer, etc. to ensure that the visual effects of each link are consistent with the overall style.

For example, if the background of a movie is set in Hong Kong, then the scenes and props involved in the movie cannot be distracting. Everything related to things like police stations and correctional institutions must be consistent with the background setting.

This is also part of the art director's job.

"Brother, are you interested in this movie? I'll give you a 10% share, of course, only the domestic box office share. I'll use the salary of your art director and photographer, plus yuan. The yuan will be deducted from the dividends of 'On the Beach at Night Alone'."

Old Tian looked at Cao Yang with a complicated expression. This kid...

"Okay, how did you talk to the school this time?"

"The conditions are still the same. Film practice is included as part of the teaching plan. Qingying Studio provides the logo, equipment and people, shares domestic copyrights, and takes 10% of the domestic box office."

Old Tian grinned and said, "Logically speaking, we didn't know the future of the film at that time, so we only took 10% of the domestic box office. The school lost money last time.

You have to know that the logo of Qingying Studio can be sold for hundreds of thousands, and your film only cost a few hundred thousand. They were mainly interested in the fact that they didn’t have to spend money and could arrange for students to practice.”

He couldn't help but ask curiously: "What about now?"

"Now?"

Old Tian laughed and glanced at Cao Yang. "Now the investment in this movie is much bigger, and the director is no longer an unknown person. It is reasonable to only look at the surface conditions."

"surface?"

Cao Yang really doesn't quite understand all this. For the school or the leaders, gains and losses are not simply about how much profit or loss there is. There are other intangible things that need to be taken into account.

"Once you make this offer known, almost all film companies will compete to invest. In this respect, the school has taken advantage of you.

Your last movie won two Silver Bears, so the domestic box office must not be too low. It is guaranteed to be over 1500 million. Let's say 600 million. The producer will get a little more than %, which is a little over million.

The school can get more than 60 yuan, which is a profit of nearly 40 yuan compared to the investment in factory logos, personnel and equipment. From this perspective, it has made a lot of money.

So, now you have become the school's favorite son. No leader will ignore you, and they will find ways to make you more successful. "

After a moment of silence, Lao Tian continued, "I guess, as long as you don't have a strong desire to go out and work on your own, the school will always bind you, let you study for a master's degree, let you stay in school, and give you a position."

"I'm still a student now. What you said is too far away from me."

"Far away? Ha, let's talk about the near future. Do you have any candidates for the male and female protagonists?" Cao Yang took out a pen and wrote a list, handed it to Lao Tian, ​​and said, "Here is the list. Two of them are from Beijing Film Academy and one is from the Central Academy of Drama. When we are free, let them audition for the play and then decide who to use."

Old Tian took it and took a look at it. He had heard of some of them, but didn't recognize any of them. He folded the list and put it in his pocket, intending to inquire about them when he had time so that he could give Cao Yang some reference suggestions. He had to live up to his identity as an art director.

"Where's the heroine?"

Cao Yang held up three fingers and joked, "One must be young, two must be pretty, and three must be charming."

"How are you choosing a concubine? Where's Li Xiaoran? Why don't you use her?"

Cao Yang smiled. She was a strong-willed woman who kept fighting despite repeated failures. She was a novice but loved to play and had some unusual hobbies.

"She and her agent want to compete with Zhang Ziyi. The two are competing for a role in a Chinese film, but they are out of time. You'll see, for some time to come, there will definitely be press releases about them both."

"Haha, that's a good thing. At least there will be no shortage of popularity for our upcoming movie."

There is indeed no lack of heat.

One is in the limelight, and the other is also in the limelight. When these two people started to fight, the media were going crazy with joy.

International star Zhang Ziyi has been feeling very proud recently, and as the Oscars are approaching, this feeling has been amplified. She was lamenting that there is no female star in China who can compete with her, when Li Xiaoran gave her a heavy blow.

In the blockbuster film invested by the national director of the National Academy of Film and Television with 30 million US dollars, there was originally a role that was specially "tailor-made" for her. This role was forcibly added in just for the international market.

How could such a sure-win character run away?
It's possible that he could run away!
The national master personally invited others to audition.

If it were an ordinary person, Zhang Ziyi wouldn’t care, but the key point is that this person just won the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress Award.

When she asked around, she found out that a minor supporting actor who had always been a bit player took a role in a college student's practical film and ended up winning two Silver Bears!

What the hell is going on? Is this reasonable? If the facts weren't right in front of us, who would have thought of this? Who would have dared to believe it? It's like a dream.

It’s bad enough that she got the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress by sheer luck, but she actually came to snatch the role from me!

So, when Zhang Ziyi was interviewed, she was asked what she thought of Li Xiaoran winning the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress award?

"Who is Li Xiaoran? I don't know her."

Li Xiaoran was interviewed and asked about "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which won a great Oscar.

"Zhang is very discerning. She has won many awards since her debut, such as the Asian Film Exchange Rising Star, the Toronto Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress, the American Online Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress, the Chicago Film Critics Association Best Newcomer, etc. There are too many, unlike me, who only has one Berlin Best Actress."

International Zhang: "I made my debut in the film "My Father and Mother" directed by Guo Shi, and won the Berlin Jury Award."

Li Xiaoran: "She participated in the 50th edition, and I participated in the 51st edition. Following Director Cao, I not only won the Berlin Jury Award, but also the Best Actress Award.

Oh, by the way, Ziyi, don't care about what others think. The Grand Jury Award is for the entire film. In principle, actresses can also go on stage. It's all my fault for being shy and not having the nerve to follow Director Cao on stage to receive the award."

International Chapter: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the movie I starred in, received ten Oscar nominations."

Li Xiaoran: "I don't quite understand Ziyi's position in the film. If you say she's the heroine, her name is in the third place; if you say she's the supporting actress, she thinks she's the heroine.

But it's a pity that among the ten nominations for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, there is neither a Best Actress nomination nor a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Zi Yi's acting skills are good, it's a pity."

International Zhang: "Let's wait until she has a movie released."

Li Xiaoran: "Thank you Ziyi for the recommendation. "Alone on the Beach at Night" will be officially released on March 3."

Zhang Ziyi refused to accept the interview. Am I recommending a movie to you? What I meant was that you haven't even starred in a movie that was released yet, so why are you talking nonsense to me?

(End of this chapter)