I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 372 The Secrets of the 90s Film Industry!

"Director Zhang, thank you so much!"

"Brother Jin..."

Wang Quan'an stood in front of the cinema where the film "Jinling" premiered a few days ago, excitedly greeting Zhang Yimou, Chen Jin, and others who came to watch the film.

Wang Quan'an himself graduated from Beijing Film Academy and is also from Shaanxi. He interned at Xi'an Film Studio, so he and Zhang Yimou were old acquaintances.

The two of them are actually quite close in private.

In addition, they had chatted on the plane before coming, and since they are both in the Chinese film industry, Zhang Yimou and Chen Jin would definitely come to support them, both professionally and personally.

Furthermore, Lao Wang still has some connections in Venice.

He is a regular at the three major film festivals and one of the few Chinese directors to have won the highest awards at all three. Especially in Berlin, where "Tuya's Marriage" won the Golden Bear, he was at the height of his fame and made him one of the top directors in China.

With an investment of over 100 million yuan, "White Deer Plain" is once again venturing into this highly competitive market, and of course, they are full of confidence in winning awards.

Besides Zhang Yimou and others, the cast and crew of "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate," who also went to watch the film yesterday, were also present. Tsui Hark and the others even sat next to Chen Jin, exchanging pleasantries and appearing quite familiar with each other.

However, Chen Jin wasn't too fond of Xu Ke, who was trying to curry favor with the arts and entertainment industry while also preferring to direct big-budget films with controversial actors. So, she was outwardly polite, but that was that.

It's clear that Xu Ke still has feelings for Chen Jin.

Chen Jin's popularity in China seemed to be waning recently, but the tearful scene of Instructor Li sacrificing himself to take down the Japanese devils during the Spring Festival became one of the most discussed scenes among netizens in the TV series "Jinling".

Chen Jin has returned to the public eye, and in such a positive light, relying solely on her acting skills rather than her looks.

This is definitely a plus for movie fans who love watching movies.

Xu Ke has always had a habit of chasing popularity, and with his ambitious sequel to "Detective Dee" about to start filming, he urgently needs a domestically recognized male actor, and Chen Jin is undoubtedly a very suitable candidate.

Andy Lau, the lead actor in the first "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame," was priced a bit too high, and director Xu Ke was already considering replacing him.

Moreover, if he can really secure Chen Jin as a "financial backer," he won't have to worry about funding for this film series at all.

Currently, not only Bona Film Group, the investor of "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate," but also several other companies like Huayi Brothers, all want to cooperate with him.

Huayi Brothers was the investor in the first "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" film, and can be considered a contributor to Tsui Hark's foray into the mainland market. However, as Tsui Hark gained a foothold in the mainland, the old man also had some of his own ideas.

For example, bring in another investor to expand the business.

Bona's CEO, Mr. Yu, really wants a piece of this pie, but it would be even better if they could bring in the currently hottest company in mainland China, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC).

With Chen Jin starring, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) handling the production, and both companies involved in the publicity and distribution, Xu Ke is definitely poised to become a top-tier director in China.

The reason why Tsui Hark is so keen on showing his face at the three major film festivals is because he is no match for the person next to Chen Jin.

Not big enough.

Even Feng Xiaogang of Huayi Brothers has always wanted to break into the arts and culture circle and compete with Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, who are also among the top three artists.

Although domestic media have been touting him as one of the top three directors in mainland China, Feng Xiaogang has always been ranked last. Many people jokingly call him "two and a half." Why "half"? Because Feng Xiaogang doesn't have any "trophies"!
Xu Laoguai is even worse compared to these others.

His resume is indeed impressive, including the Wong Fei-hung series and the classical series, but that's all in the past.

"The Legend of Zu" brought him down to earth, "Black Mask 2" returned from Hollywood in disgrace, and "Seven Swords" flopped. It was only with the help of Huayi Brothers that "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" brought him back to his former glory.

And here they are, starting to get restless again.

He didn't really watch "White Deer Plain" closely; as a Vietnamese guy, he wasn't particularly interested in this kind of rural, everyday film.

What he wanted was to bring the Electric Power Company onto his Di Renjie ship.

Andy Lau is definitely out of the question. He's not cost-effective, and his salary is too high. In mainland China, we still have to rely on the guy next to us.

With fame and money, and box office success and investment by their own means, which big director wouldn't want that?

Wow!
The 3-hour and 8-minute film "White Deer Plain" finally ended as Chen Jin held back her urination, earning applause from the entire audience.

This time, "White Deer Plain" also attracted the jury and organizers. The lineup was similar to that of the premiere of "Jinling" a few days ago, except that Hollywood stars were not present.

That's right, the film is too long, and it contains several scenes that would never be shown in China.

On the mountain of haystacks, Lao Wang's future wife, Zhang Yuqi, appears snow-white under the huge, wild lens.

Admittedly, aside from her personality and that hoarse voice, Zhang Yuqi is still quite presentable.

With powerful hips and the sky as his blanket, this erotic scene certainly got the men in the audience's adrenaline pumping.

"Good brother!"

"Sharing his girlfriend with the whole world like this..."

Chen Jin felt that Lao Wang might have a slight cuckold fetish, and he really wanted to get a peek into his lewd thoughts.

Moreover, Chen Jin felt that the 188-minute Berlin version of "White Deer Plain" was very well made, especially several shots that were very impactful and captured the simple farmers of Shaanxi with great texture.

No wonder it won Best Photography; even Lao Zhang, who was standing nearby, was quite impressed by the quality of the shot.

Zhang Yimou likes to make this kind of film, but unfortunately the copyright is held by Xi'an Film Studio. When he left Xi'an Film Studio, he naturally lost the right to make it.

"Director Zhang, you're from Shaanxi, you must have read the original novel 'White Deer Plain,' right?"

Chen Jin clapped her hands as she asked Old Zhang a question.

Zhang Yimou glanced at Chen Jin, knowing what she meant: "What do you think?"

"I feel you're more suited for this film. Director Wang focused too much on the erotic scenes and neglected a lot of humanistic and social depth..."

Chen Jin spoke softly, seemingly trying to teach a fish to swim.

Zhang Yimou shook his head: "Back then, who wouldn't have wanted to adapt this novel into a film?"

"After Chen Kaige finished filming 'Farewell My Concubine,' he was preparing to make a similar film, and 'White Deer Plain' was obviously a perfect fit!"

"But Xi'an Film Studio had no choice!"

Zhang Yimou whispered in Chen Jin's ear, of course, he was unaware of these secrets.

"They...don't allow photos upstairs?"

Judging from Zhang Yimou's expression, Chen Jin had some idea of ​​what was going on.

"Ok!"

"This notebook was originally in my possession!"

"The lead actress is Gong Li!"

Chen Jin: "..."

Holy crap, this is big news!
No wonder.

Chen Jin's first instinct was that he was capable of directing, and that he was the most suitable person for the role.

Gong Li was absolutely chosen to play Tian Xiao'e.

It might even be the kind of film that wins a major award; Gong Li might even get a gold medal.

This is absolutely a history of half a century of suffering in China, no less than that of "Farewell My Concubine".

Foreigners love to watch the old stories of China and never tire of it; after all, they enjoy the curiosity of seeing their ancestors once prosperous and now in decline.

Especially Europeans.

"The environment back then was very different from now!"

Zhang Yimou whispered in Chen Jin's ear: "This novel was noticed by Xi'an Film Studio in the 90s. Moreover, the three major film studios had a very good relationship with Xi'an Film Studio at that time, and basically every film they made could win an award!"

"But you also know, it doesn't have a good impact!"

Zhang Yimou smiled, and Chen Jin nodded: "Yes, there were so many award-winning films in the 90s that Westerners have developed stereotypes from that time!"

"Yes, so the higher-ups were very angry and simply banned the filming of similar videos!"

"Anyone who tries to film this will be banned immediately. Old Tian is the first one to walk into that trap!" "Hehehe~~~"

Speaking of Zhang Yimou's smile, which resembles that of a terracotta warrior, Chen Jin could imagine the scene of the first person in their circle being slapped in the face by their superiors.

Otherwise, there wouldn't have been the bizarre move of Tian Zhuangzhuang framing the ban.

"Back then, all the directors in the industry knew that whoever got the rights to 'White Deer Plain' and 'Ruined Capital' would be guaranteed to win awards at the three major film festivals..."

"The leaders of Xi'an Film Studio approached me and asked me to film it, but I hadn't even agreed yet... and the reporters had already published it!"

"And the writing is quite vivid..."

Zhang Yimou shook his head: "This is a huge scandal. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a notice without naming names, saying that the novel 'White Deer Plain' cannot be made into a movie!"

"The next day, Wang Feng, then deputy minister of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, pointed out to the press that the themes revealed in the works 'White Deer Plain' and 'Ruined Capital' were not positive and were not suitable for being adapted into film or television dramas..."

"Then, I was transferred to the Shanghai Film Studio!"

"Hahaha!"

Speaking of this history, Zhang Yimou was quite emotional. Chen Jin was actually quite curious about his thoughts when he watched "White Deer Plain".

He must have felt very emotional, because he was the one who directed the film, and he was also the most suitable person for it.

When Zhang Yimou arrived at the Shanghai Film Studio, he directed "Shanghai Triad," which won a major award. At that time, Zhang Yimou was at the peak of his directing career, and winning major awards was practically a sure thing for him.

However, Chen Jin actually quite supported the decision made above. This novel is indeed a bit tragic, belonging to some of the dark history of Shaanxi.

Foreigners have to watch until the climax.

From Chen Jin's perspective, who has seen the future, in recent years and the decades before that, Chinese directors have made films about China's suffering for Europeans, which Chinese people feel is shameful and a bad thing; but in the future, when the country is strong, this will not be a problem at all.

To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. The shameful aspects of history can be filmed, but if you film the various shameful aspects of modern times, that is your personal preference.

Because, as everyone knows, China was indeed extremely poor and backward in the past; that's a fact.

But those films you made about the dark side of modern society are just deliberate smears.

There is a fundamental difference between the two.

Therefore, Chen Jin never felt that there was anything wrong with Zhang Yimou's previous films such as "To Live", but it's hard to say about the content of Lou Ye's films.

"Actually, Xi'an Film Studio contacted me again in 04!"

Zhang Yimou suddenly added, "At that time, I actually still had a chance..."

"That's such a pity!"

Chen Jin thought about the timeframe and realized that Zhang Weiping would definitely not agree.

At that time, the two had already started collaborating. With "Hero" becoming such a hit, how could Zhang Weiping agree to let him make an art film?
Isn't "House of Flying Daggers" great?

When Zhang Yimou made "White Deer Plain" back then, it certainly wouldn't have been made in the same way that Wang Quan'an makes commercial art films now. It would have been a purely art film, which would have made it easier to win awards. It can only be said that Zhang Weiping is a thorough businessman.

Since collaborating with Zhang Yimou, he has not appeared at the three major film festivals, and he has not taken art films and art awards seriously at all.

Of course, they also wouldn't do public relations.

For the three major film festivals, you absolutely cannot do without public relations; but in North America, public relations are also not enough, you have to spend money.

Zhang Weiping is a stingy person, so he won't win any awards either.

"Let's go!"

"Xiao Wang's filming was alright; it captured some of the essence of the original story, but it lacked depth. He was probably worried about censorship..."

Zhang Yimou pointed and said, "After all, this film has a big investment and will be released in mainland China!"

The mainland version is obviously more heavily edited.

The films submitted for the exhibition also need to be reviewed; otherwise, they won't be given a film license.

The domestic film bureau is now somewhat open, but not much; it supports filmmakers to participate in the three major film awards, but the premise is that they have to supervise the censorship. Although the censorship is much looser than before, many directors still feel constrained.

According to Lao Wang's introduction, the original version of "White Deer Plain" was 5 hours long, but it was later edited down to 3 hours, and then 20 minutes were cut during the award review.

The censorship wasn't actually this strict a decade or so ago.

The new millennium has seen a one-size-fits-all approach, moving from one extreme to another.

If "White Deer Plain" had been filmed in the 90s, it would have been the most authentic version, and Zhang Yimou would have been able to handle it. But after 00, it could only have gone down the underground film route, and given Zhang Yimou's status at that time, he certainly wouldn't have bothered to do that.

Therefore, the awards won by many domestic films are actually related to the times.

After saying goodbye to Wang Quan'an's crew, the group left the film palace. Wang Quan'an, in high spirits, asked his senior, "How's the filming of 'White Deer Plain' going?" He was actually being a bit too forward, since everyone knew that the script was originally intended for Zhang Yimou to direct.

The newcomer, acting as a victor, inquired with ill intentions, yet Zhang Yimou still offered some encouragement.

This was truly impressive; Chen Jin was genuinely impressed.

If it were him, he would have already ridiculed and dissed him to his face. Thinking about it... young people do need more practice.

"Director Zhang, Chen Jin!"

Xu Laoguai, who also came out, had been holding back for several hours.

Seeing Chen Jin and the others leave the cinema, he hurriedly went up to greet them.

"Director Xu, is there something you need?"

"Brother Jie, Sister Xun..."

Xu Ke brought the main cast and crew of "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" with him, including Li Lianjie, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, and others.

Oh, and later there was also a guy with a cold face named Chun Ge.

Brother Chun is indeed a real man, just like a man.

Li Yuchun is very popular in China now thanks to her Super Girl appearance. Although she played a minor supporting role in "Dragon Gate", she was still brought to Europe to make her face and walk the red carpet.

Her fans in China are overjoyed and are promoting her on Weibo every day.

"It's Sina Night tonight, how about we grab a drink together?"

Dinglingling——

Just as Chen Jin was about to answer him, Zhang Yimou's phone suddenly rang.

A phone call from Dieter Kosslick, the curatorial director of this year's Berlin Film Festival.

"I'm going to answer this phone!"

Zhang Yimou smiled at Xu Ke and the others, picked up his phone, and walked to the side.

Chen Jin didn't really refuse, and agreed to Xu Ke, "Okay, let's chat together tonight!"

His mind was actually focused on Zhang Yimou's phone call.

Why is old Dieter calling at this time? Could it be that he wants Zhang Yimou to stay?

The fact that the "Jinling" crew was invited to the awards ceremony on the last day implies that "Jinling" will win an award.

Although I don't know what award it is, the fact that it's staying is a signal.

This is actually quite a possibility.

After causing trouble twice, Xiao Rizi seems to have settled things a bit. It's probably because more and more people are talking about "Jinling" at the film festival, and the jury still strongly supported the film despite being intimidated, so they felt there was no chance and gave up completely.

This attitude makes it entirely justifiable to award "Jinling" with prizes. Although the rating in the festival's daily publication was average, the film festival's popularity is undeniable.

Another point is that there aren't many truly competitive films in this year's main competition.

In Chen Jin's opinion, Lao Wang's "White Deer Plain" is already a masterpiece!

(End of this chapter)