Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 487 Old Tian's Contribution

Hou Keming and the others sat in the screening room, chatting quietly while waiting for the "guests" who had not yet arrived.

The so-called "guests" were people from Beijing TV and CCTV.

It wasn't Beijing Film Academy or Cao Yang who contacted them, but rather they heard that Cao Yang's graduation project was a documentary and that it would be made into seven episodes.

Most importantly, they heard that Cao Yang not only used the world's most advanced digital cameras to film this documentary, but also deployed cutting-edge drones for aerial photography, as well as macro lenses, high-speed photography, and more...

In short, as a documentary, it was outrageously extravagant.

This "luxury" includes the fact that the entire crew reportedly had a full set of equipment with Sony's most advanced CineAlta F35 camera, and there were three sets in total!
And there's also the complete equipment for ARRIFLEX D-21, the most advanced ARRIFLEX D-21 in ARRIFLEX D-21!
There's also a Phantom high-speed camera.

As for the three sets of equipment from RED ONE, although RED ONE is said to be very good and cost-effective, it is still a "cheap" device, so it did not shock the industry much.

What shocked CCTV and Beijing TV was that a documentary not only had so much state-of-the-art equipment, but also assembled six filming crews, with each crew's director being almost a big name in the industry.

For example, the executive producer is Cheng Jianye, a world-renowned producer; the team's episode directors include Gu Changwei, who has won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography twice; and Ning Hao, the renowned Chinese director who has recently garnered global attention...

In addition, the documentary involved a filming crew of hundreds of people, whose footprints covered all corners of the country, and the total investment in the documentary is estimated to exceed 1500 million...

Of course, this 1500 million does not include the money spent on hiring "big names" like Gu Changwei, Cheng Jianye, and Ning Hao.

Because for a big name like Gu Changwei, who has won two Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, even 1500 million RMB wouldn't be enough to cover his salary in Hollywood.

So after learning about these "insider" details, both CCTV and Beijing TV made a decision almost immediately: as long as the price wasn't too outrageous, they would try to acquire the broadcasting rights to the documentary.

As a result, CCTV and Beijing TV approached Beijing Film Academy at almost the same time.

Although Hou Keming thought this was a good thing, he would definitely discuss it with Cao Yang and take Cao Yang's opinion as the main factor.

However, after Cao Yang returned from Hollywood recently, he has been busy with post-production work on "A Bite of China," and Hou Keming has not found an opportunity to talk to Cao Yang about this matter.

It wasn't until Cao Yang finished producing "A Bite of China" that I finally told Cao Yang about this.

So when the Beijing Film Academy had already scheduled the first screening of "A Bite of China" in the small screening room, they only made the last-minute decision to notify CCTV and Beijing TV.

In this era, television stations, especially satellite television stations, are all considered "big shots," with CCTV being an even more "grandfather" generation, but it depends on who the target is.

If it were a typical content producer, such as one of the few private film and television production companies in China, or even a "small" acquisition director at a satellite TV station, they would have to go to great lengths to ensure a pleasant reception.

In this day and age, there are quite a few companies like Huayi Brothers that use their contracted artists for public relations.

But for Cao Yang, the TV station really couldn't be "arrogant".

Even CCTV is the same.

How did The Hangover do at the North American box office?

Hou Keming asked Tian Zhuangzhuang, who was on his left.

Today's preview of "A Bite of China" is to determine the best way to show it at the screening of outstanding graduation works in the directing department. Therefore, as the head of the directing department, Lao Tian sat to Hou Keming's left.

Meanwhile, the older generation of directors, such as Lao Situ, Xie Fei, and Zheng Dongtian, sat together alone.

Upon hearing Hou Keming mention this, Lao Tian immediately grinned widely.

The producer and screenwriter of "The Hangover" is Cao Yang. Although he is Lao Situ's last disciple, in reality, he was also trained by Lao Tian. The relationship between the two goes without saying.

Director Ning Hao was a graduate student mentored by Lao Tian, ​​so he can be considered Lao Tian's disciple.

Therefore, Lao Tian was very pleased with the huge success of "The Hangover".

The only thing that Lao Tian regrets is that, according to Cao Yang, this movie is a "vulgar" comedy, targeting the "disappointed" people after the economic crisis, and is aimed at the box office.

If the film were to be a box office hit and also receive several Oscar nominations, Lao Tian would be even happier.

But that's obviously impossible.

such a pity!
"After fourteen days of release in North America, it grossed $1.3 million. Not bad."

Old Tian remained outwardly calm and casually replied, "Yes, it's US dollars."

If it weren't for the slight upturn of his lips, and if Lao Hou didn't understand Lao Tian quite well, anyone who didn't know better would really think that Lao Tian didn't care.

"Pack!"

Old Hou cursed inwardly. This guy used to have a real artist's demeanor, but he didn't know when he started to become so good at "pretending".

Do you think I don't know it's in US dollars? Do you really need to emphasize that?
Based on Lao Hou's understanding of Lao Tian, ​​especially his understanding of Lao Tian before his ban on directing, if the students he mentored back then made movies that only pursued box office success and ignored art, Lao Hou would definitely curse them to death, and might even resort to violence.

Old Hou knew very well about what was going on in Tianzhuangzhuang.

Around 2000, when people talked about the top directors in China, most would unconsciously think of Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, perhaps with the addition of Xiao Gangpao and Jiang Wen.

But around 1990, when it came to active film directors in China, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Zhang Yimou, and Chen Kaige were definitely the three.

Unfortunately, a ban in 92 caused Tianzhuangzhuang to disappear from public view.

But Lao Hou knows that if we're talking about who has made the biggest contribution to art films in China, it's neither Zhang Yimou, who has won so many awards, nor Chen Kaige, who became a legend with "Farewell My Concubine," but Tian Zhuangzhuang, a name that outsiders would never guess!
It could even be said that Tian Zhuangzhuang was the core driving force behind the sixth generation of directors.

This is not something Hou Keming made up.

Currently, among the most active and well-known art-house film directors in China, besides Cao Yang, there are Jia Zhangke, Wang Xiaoshuai, Lou Ye, Lu Xuechang, and others.

Jia Zhangke's directorial debut, "Xiao Wu," encountered various difficulties during pre-production, including a lack of funds, personnel, and equipment.

It was Tian Zhuangzhuang herself who served as producer and, through personal connections, contacted investors in Hong Kong, thus resolving the film's funding difficulties.

Afterwards, in order to get the film approved, Tian Zhuangzhuang even refused to be credited as a producer, although it still failed to pass censorship in the end...

Even so, Tian Zhuangzhuang still managed to send a copy of the film to the editorial office of the French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma through personal connections, which led to the magazine publishing a long article entitled "Discovering Jia Zhangke" on its front page, attracting international attention.

In 2000, Tian Zhuangzhuang, as the "art director," assisted Jia Zhangke's "Platform" in applying for co-production status, enabling the film to obtain official approval. This pioneering model of "cross-border capital circumventing censorship" provided a template for the collective transformation of the sixth generation of directors.

Jia Zhangke has stated on multiple public occasions that, starting with "Xiao Wu," Tian Zhuangzhuang's insistence on realistic narrative, namely preserving the original dialect voices of non-professional actors, has profoundly influenced his creative philosophy.

When Wang Xiaoshuai was preparing to shoot his first film, "The Days of Winter and Spring," in 93, he also faced the predicament of having no money, no people, and no equipment.

So he went to Tianzhuangzhuang.

At the time, Tian Zhuangzhuang was still working at the Beijing Film Studio and was going through the darkest period of his life—he had just received written notice of a ten-year ban on directing. It was under these circumstances that Lao Tian risked providing Wang Xiaoshuai with filming equipment. You have to understand that film cameras were strictly controlled resources at the time, not to mention that he had just been banned from directing. Even if everyone was kicking him while he was down, life was definitely not easy for him.

In addition, Lao Tian privately arranged his own lighting and sound engineers for Wang Xiaoshuai, and also introduced investors from Hong Kong to help Wang Xiaoshuai produce "The Days of Winter and Spring".

However, because "The Days" bypassed the state-owned film production system, violated film management regulations, and participated in foreign film festivals in violation of regulations, Wang Xiaoshuai, following Lao Tian, ​​was banned from directing.

Wang Xiaoshuai not only received a ban on directing, but his directing license was also revoked for 5 years, making him the first filmmaker in China to have his directing license publicly revoked.

During the period when Wang Xiaoshuai was banned from directing, he lived in dire poverty, often going hungry. It was Lao Tian who helped him find advertising shooting jobs through unofficial channels to make ends meet.

In 2000, when Wang Xiaoshuai was preparing to film "Beijing Bicycle", Lao Tian once again provided tremendous support.

"Concretize the conflict between migrant workers and urban teenagers with a bicycle, and let the prop become the engine of the narrative." This was Lao Tian's suggestion to Wang Xiaoshuai for the script, and it became the core of all the conflicts in the film.

Furthermore, Lao Tian once again introduced Hong Kong funds to Wang Xiaoshuai. Although the deal ultimately fell through, it did reach an agreement with Taiwan, securing investment for "Beijing Bicycle".

In addition, during the filming of "Beijing Bicycle", Wang Xiaoshuai was expelled from Beijing for filming and his film reels were confiscated. Lao Tian helped solve all of these problems.

Furthermore, Li Bin, the lead actor in the film, was expelled from school for skipping classes to film the movie. It was Lao Tian who stepped in and sent a letter in the name of the Beijing Film Academy claiming it was "teaching practice," which led to Li Bin's school rescinding the punishment.

Wang Xiaoshuai once said in an interview at the Berlin Film Festival that without Teacher Tian's support, this film would have died in the alley long ago.

Similar to Jia Zhangke and Wang Xiaoshuai, Lou Ye and Lu Xuechang also received help from Tian Zhuangzhuang.

This is also why Old Master Situ introduced Tianzhuangzhuang to Cao Yang in the first place.

Despite Lao Situ's frequent scolding of Lao Tian, ​​he had considerable confidence in Lao Tian's abilities, given Lao Tian's proven help to art film directors.

In the domestic art-house film circle, at least in that era, to put it dramatically, Lao Tian was like a "savior".

As long as you're making an art film, and as long as your script gets Lao Tian's approval, you'll still get his help, even if you're not from the Beijing Film Academy.

Objectively speaking, Hou Keming actually admires Lao Tian quite a bit.

"I heard that 'The Hangover' only had a budget of 3000 million?"

Hou Keming asked.

"That's right. With a budget of 3000 million, the North American side has made the latest predictions based on the box office trends of the past two weeks. Several authoritative institutions believe that The Hangover can reach 2.5 million at the North American box office."

Old Tian said with a smile.

Then, as if remembering something, he added, "US dollars."

Hou Keming really wanted to roll his eyes or pout, but that wouldn't be in line with his status, so he didn't do anything out of line.

Did Qingdao Film Studio invest in it?

Old Hou asked, while inwardly marveling, "Who would have thought that a 'small' budget film of $3000 million could actually gross $2.5 million at the North American box office?"

Converted to RMB, how much is that? Nearly 20 billion!

This is just the North American box office; the global box office hasn't even been calculated yet.

Based on past experience, a $2.5 million box office in North America should translate to around $4.5 million in global box office.

This is over 30 billion RMB in box office revenue.

It's worth noting that the total domestic box office last year was only a little over 40 billion yuan.

"We invested. Since it was a film spearheaded by Cao Yang, Qingying Film Studio, following its usual practice, invested a small amount, not much."

The speaker this time was Xie Xiaojing, who was sitting to Hou Keming's right. He was the vice dean of the school and also the director of the Qingying Film Studio.

Old Tian glanced at his old classmate and pursed his lips. He and Xie Xiaojing were both students in the 78 directing department and were classmates.

"He only invested a little because he thought 'The Hangover' was a comedy without any intellectual content, wasting such a good opportunity to make money."

Old Tian said without any politeness.

He then whispered, "It would be better to hand over the position of director of Qingying Film Studio to me as soon as possible. I guarantee that Qingying Film Studio will make a lot of money."

Hou Keming and Xie Xiaojing exchanged a glance, both feeling a bit amused and exasperated, yet also finding it rather comical.

This is Tian Zhuangzhuang, the behind-the-scenes force of China's sixth generation of directors and a key figure in the art film circle. When he utters the word "make money," it always feels like a betrayal of art.

Of course, they also knew that Lao Tian was just showing off, joking, and bragging.

The two decided to ignore Tian Zhuangzhuang for the time being.

Just then, people from CCTV and Beijing TV walked in with Cao Yang.

Cao Yang walked at the front, followed by two middle-aged men half a step behind, and then four or five people of different ages.

Hou Keming, as the host, stood up and went to greet him.

He recognized the people who came; those who were half a step behind Cao Yang were a deputy director of CCTV and a deputy director of Beijing TV.

It's clear from the identities of the visitors that both television stations take Cao Yang's documentary very seriously.

This wasn't a place for conversation, so after a brief exchange of pleasantries, everyone found their seats.

Interestingly, whether intentionally or not, the deputy director of CCTV and the deputy director of Beijing TV sat together.

"Director Wang, are you also interested in Director Cao's documentary? Where do you plan to broadcast it? Beijing TV's prime time slot probably won't be dedicated to a documentary, right? If it's not broadcast on satellite, then it's meaningless."

After CCTV Director Fan sat down, he said in a low voice, "Consider this a reminder."

Yes, no ill intent, that's all.

"Of course we have made proper arrangements, but that's confidential. I will personally call Director Fan before the broadcast."

Director Wang of Beijing TV replied with a smile.

In terms of rank, Wang, the deputy director of Beijing TV, is certainly not as high as Fan, the deputy director of CCTV, but Beijing TV also has the aura of the capital city and is not intimidated by CCTV at all.

Director Fan smiled but didn't say anything.

(End of this chapter)