Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 417 is worth looking forward to.
There are dedicated actors all over the world.

During the two weeks that Cao Yang was giving acting lessons to the actors, he personally witnessed Jim Carrey gradually lose weight.

The method for losing weight is also very simple: strictly control your appetite.

Jim Carrey's diet consists of an apple, an egg white, and a little bit of salad dressing every day.

In addition, his trainer will create a daily exercise plan based on his physical condition.

Simply put, it means controlling your food intake and exercising.

If strictly implemented, the results will be immediate.

However, this did not come without a price. Jim Carrey was initially in very good spirits, but as he implemented this weight loss program, his spirits visibly declined.

The most typical example is that he is particularly prone to getting distracted when Cao Yang is giving instructions.

Cao Yang turned a blind eye to this. Was his purpose in explaining the scenes to ensure that everyone could fully understand and perform the roles in the film?

That's only one aspect.

The main purpose was simply to provide a more plausible explanation for the actors' later immersion in their roles.

As for those directors who followed his example in directing actors but failed to achieve the same results, well, it can only be said that these directors lack the talent for directing and getting actors into character.

After all, there is only one "Cao Yang," and geniuses who are proficient in a certain field have always been rare.

Of course, as long as the director truly understands the film he is about to make and then instills this concept into the actors through acting instruction, it will still have a significant effect.

"Actors who can be ruthless enough to lose or gain weight are generally quite good."

Ning Hao echoed Cao Yang's sentiments.

"Mm." Cao Yang nodded.

"Didn't you ask me to be an executive producer on Nolan's 'Batman' set? You know Christian Bale, who plays Batman, right?"

Ning Hao asked with a smile.

Cao Yang nodded. "I know."

"That guy is even more ruthless than Jim Carrey. When he was filming 'The Mechanic' in 2004, in order to make his role as a mechanic with severe insomnia more in line with the character, the tall man of 1.8 meters went from 173 pounds to 110 pounds. He said it only took him less than four months."

Ning Hao even gestured to show Christian Bale's height.

The main reason is that Ning Hao is only 1.7 meters tall. After gesturing, he looked at Cao Yang and added with a smile, "Can you imagine? Someone about your height weighs only about 100 pounds, practically skin and bones."

He then added, "What's even more amazing is that right after he finished filming 'The Mechanic,' he was chosen as the male lead in 'Batman,' and in order to fit the image of Batman, he gained more than 30 kilograms."

Even more remarkably, after filming the first "Batman" movie, he starred in "Resurrection," and to fit the character, he lost another 25 kilograms, returning to just over 100 pounds.

Then, Ning Hao exclaimed, "It's hard to imagine that there are such dedicated actors in China."

Cao Yang patted Ning Hao on the shoulder and said with a smile:

"That's because you don't know. Who says we don't have any in China? You know Lin Fangbing, who graduated from our school, right? When filming 'Tang Minghuang' in 91, she gained 50 pounds to portray the plump and rounded Yang Guifei."

Later, while filming "Love at Shaolin Temple," she lost another 40 pounds in less than two months to portray the female knight-errant character.

Ning Hao clicked his tongue twice and said with a shameless grin, "I knew it. How could the older generation in our country not be this dedicated?"

Haha, you didn't say that before.

Cao Yang stopped talking about that topic and said, "Last night, I attended a private party where Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinoff introduced me to someone, Thomas Tull, the founder of Legendary Pictures."

In 2005, Legendary Pictures signed an agreement with Warner Bros. to co-finance 40 films. Thomas Tull was interested in one of my short stories and wanted to co-invest with Warner Bros.

"You want me to be an executive producer?"

Ning Hao's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked.

He was well aware that the films adapted from Cao Yang's short stories not only performed well at the box office but also garnered considerable awards.

For example, Juno, and The Fault in Our Stars.

Both of these films were executive produced by Cheng Jianye, and Ning Hao greatly admires Cheng Jianye.

Just kidding, the executive producer of two Oscar-winning films is a very impressive figure on a global scale.

As far as Ning Hao knew, a Hollywood film company had already extended an olive branch to Cheng Jianye, wanting to hire him as a senior executive.

However, Cheng Jianye refused.

Cao Yang did not answer Ning Hao's question for the time being. Instead, he glanced at Ning Hao and said with a smile, "What Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. value is a short story in 'Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey 7'."

Ning Hao was clearly taken aback. He knew the contents of "Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey 7". This volume contained all kinds of comedy novels, and its sales were much lower than the previous volumes.

Most importantly, these films adapted from comedy novels are unlikely to win any awards, and their box office performance is also highly uncertain.

Why did Legendary Pictures choose to focus on the novels in this series? What a terrible eye!
Ning Hao wanted to complain.

"Don't worry, no matter which novel is being adapted into a movie, as long as you give the order, I will definitely get it done."

Although Ning Hao somewhat "looks down on" these comedy novels compared to those award-winning, more profound novels, he still firmly stated his stance immediately.

Then, with a grin, he asked, "Junior Uncle, which novel is it? I'll familiarize myself with it when I have time."

""the Hangover"."

Ning Hao thought for a moment. As Cao Yang's trusted confidant and a member of his team, he was bound to pay close attention to Cao Yang's series of novels published in North America.

To be honest, Ning Hao greatly admired some of Cao Yang's novels and their creativity, but for some of them, he only found them somewhat interesting.

Hmm, that's interesting; it's a nicer way of putting it.

In fact, he was somewhat dismissive of some of the novels, such as "Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey 7," which was newly published by the studio after Bellman took over the management of Cao Yang's novels.

The novels inside are all comedies, and they have no substance whatsoever. Many of the comedic elements are not natural coincidences, but rather forced coincidences.

To be honest, he knew in his heart that the content was most likely a story outline provided by Cao Yang, with the studio organizing relevant personnel to expand on the content, and then it was published under Cao Yang's name...

He always felt that this was somewhat detrimental to Cao Yang's popularity.

As expected, this film did not sell well compared to the previous six.

He never expected that a film company would be interested in adapting a novel that so "forcefully" throws out jokes and creates laughs.

"Is it 'The Hangover,' the movie where the groom and his best man get drunk at a bachelor party and cause a series of hilarious situations?"

Ning Hao asked.

"Yes, this is it."

Cao Yang smiled and said to Ning Hao, "You should study this novel carefully. When you direct it, you'll be able to direct with a clear purpose."

Ning Hao nodded habitually at first, then the word "director" suddenly popped into his mind, causing him to pause for a moment before asking, "Me? Direct?" "You don't want to?"

Ning Hao could no longer control his expression; his eyes were practically slits as he nodded vigorously. Then he realized he shouldn't have nodded.

He quickly said, "Ha, Junior Uncle, I knew you loved me the most! Of course I want to! Thank you, thank you for giving your junior nephew such a wonderful opportunity."

What executive producer? What is that? Just a military supervisor.

The claim that it lacks substance and doesn't sell well is only relative to the previous books. For many authors, if their books could achieve the sales of "Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey 7", they would be laughing in their sleep.

The idea of ​​"forcing" jokes and humor is just a matter of American culture. Those jokes simply don't suit the habits of American audiences. Otherwise, why would Legendary Pictures want to adapt them into a movie?
Cheng Jianye is the executive producer of two Oscar-winning films, which is very impressive. But no matter how impressive he is, he is still an executive producer, not a producer who can stand on the awards stage.

Besides, in the eyes of Chinese people, how can a producer compare to a director? They are about to become a great Chinese director who has "broke into" Hollywood.

How did other directors "make it" to Hollywood?

It's like using a series of movies as a stepping stone; only the very best of the best have the opportunity to develop in Hollywood.

However, some people seized the opportunity, while others failed.

However, some directors, despite achieving great box office success, never even get the chance to try, like Little Cannon.

What about yourself?
With just a word, my junior uncle could direct a Hollywood movie.

If Little Cannon knew, he'd be green with envy.

Choice is more important than effort; the ancients were right!

"First, work with me to make 'Joker' well. This movie doesn't have many special effects or big scenes, so it's easy to make. After that, you can work on 'The Hangover'."

"No problem, Junior Uncle, I'll do whatever you say."

Ning Hao said very obediently.

Cao Yang smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

The budget for "The Hangover" was roughly between $3000 million and $4000 million, which is quite a large budget for a comedy film.

Would Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. be willing to let Ning Hao go straight into directing?
To be honest, they were somewhat unwilling.

Although Ning Hao has directed "Crazy Stone," which grossed over 100 million yuan at the Chinese box office, his experience is still too limited.

After Cao Yang recommended Ning Hao as director to Thomas Tull, the founder of Legendary Pictures, Tull was clearly reluctant.

Because he didn't even know what movies Ning Hao had directed on his own, or rather, he didn't know who Ning Hao was at all, and had never heard of this director before.

Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinoff did know Ning Hao.

But all that was known was that Ning Hao was the executive producer sent by Cao Yang to the "The Dark Knight" production team.

Cao Yang told them that Ning Hao is a very talented director. He once made a movie called "Incense" with a budget of $5000, and also made a dark comedy movie called "Crazy Stone" with a multi-narrative style.

Most importantly, he clearly explained every storyline in the film, which is where the director's skill is truly demonstrated.

Of course, based on these two points alone, it is still somewhat unconvincing to directly appoint Ning Hao as the director of "The Hangover".

Cao Yang didn't push Ning Hao too hard. He just said that if Ning Hao's "The Dark Knight," which he was the executive producer of, grossed over $8 million worldwide, he would give Ning Hao a chance.
Upon hearing this, Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinoff said almost without hesitation that it was no problem.

If this Batman sequel can reach $8 million in global box office, Jeff Robinoff would be happy to give Ning Hao the opportunity, even if only out of respect for Cao Yang.

Thomas Tull didn't immediately agree, but instead asked, "Dear Director Cao Yang, you will personally write the script for 'The Hangover' and serve as its producer, right?"

Cao Yang said, "Yes."

Thomas Tull shrugged and said with a smile, "Then I'm fine with it too."

He's just a director who's only responsible for shooting according to the plan. As long as he doesn't try to be clever and shoots randomly, and he doesn't have the final editing rights, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Cao Yang had actually considered having Ning Hao direct "Crazy Racer" first, but he was also a little reluctant to let him go.

It's not that we're reluctant to let Ning Hao direct, but rather that we're reluctant to let him film right now.

The script for "Crazy Racer" is excellent; it's a masterpiece that combines multi-narrative storytelling with dark humor. Given the current size of the domestic box office market, it's completely unable to realize its full potential at the box office.

Let's wait a few years until the domestic box office market really takes off before making it.

And we can also use these few years to let Ning Hao make a name for himself in Hollywood.

Since Chinese actors face bottlenecks in their development in Hollywood, why not cultivate a few Hollywood directors like Cao Yang? This would reduce the limitations imposed on them by Hollywood.

With things temporarily settled, Cao Yang left Ning Hao behind to continue directing the Joker crew while he flew back to China.

On Monday, March 31, the premiere of "Love in a Seaside City" was held.

Cao Yang didn't pull any tricks; it was a traditional premiere ceremony.

Furthermore, instead of releasing it on a weekend, the film will be officially released nationwide tomorrow, April 1st, April Fool's Day.

If you're wondering what the special meaning is of the release of "Love in a Seaside City" on April Fool's Day, you can only say that Cao Yang wanted to play a joke on everyone, a very "romantic" joke.

Of course, even viewers who have seen the movie would probably not believe it if they said online that "Love in a Seaside City" is not an extremely romantic movie, but a "romantic" yet melancholic one.

Won't doing this damage our "reputation"?
If a movie is of poor quality, it will definitely erode everyone's trust and could easily backfire.

However, this problem does not exist if the movie is of high quality.

Anyway, Cao Yang never said that "Love in the Seaside City" was a romantic movie; it was just something the media and the audience imagined.

When they met again, Cheng Long was much better and looked much more energetic. His first reaction upon seeing Cao Yang was to smile and hug him, and say "thank you".

When they met again, Da Mimi pretended to be a naive and ignorant girl, showing admiration and respect for Cao Yang. She even deliberately used her best weapon to accidentally scratch Cao Yang's arm.

When they met again, Jing Tian was still the same Jing Tian, ​​a cute girl with big eyes and a sweet smile. She looked at Cao Yang as if she had seen a prince on a white horse, her eyes revealing intimacy and affection.

"Director Cao... it's been a long time."

Jing Tian originally wanted to walk over and take Cao Yang's arm, but he stopped abruptly half a meter away from Cao Yang.

She didn't know how Cao Yang would see her, nor did she know if Cao Yang would care about that night in Berlin. She was both expectant and apprehensive.

"It's been a while since I've seen you."

Cao Yang gently patted her head and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Have we become strangers after just over a month?"

As he spoke, he stretched out his arm.

At this moment, Jing Tian's big eyes were almost invisible from laughing so hard.

She quickly grabbed Cao Yang's arm, as if afraid that if she was any later, she would miss it.

(End of this chapter)