Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 375 The burden on my shoulders is heavy! (14)

For the movie "The Prisoner," Shen Yan doesn't plan to use any unconventional promotional methods...

Just participate in variety shows as usual, and then hold a few press conferences...

It's not that we don't value it...

Rather, the subject matter of this film is somewhat sensitive, making it unsuitable for large-scale promotion.

The movie had two endings. The first was the original version's confession—a forced attempt at positive energy…

Cheating is inherently immoral, but in the early part of the film, it is used by the female protagonist as a tool to fight against the corrupt education system and to transcend her social class.

To some extent, the plot has twisted the audience's perception of "cheating" into something that is right.

Viewers will find themselves involuntarily tense alongside the protagonist, fearing that the truth will be revealed…

Then you suddenly start lecturing: Cheating is wrong...

They completely overturned everything that had been created!

It gives the impression of starting strong but ending weakly...

Or rather, someone fed you a mouthful of shit!

The second possibility is that the male protagonist used coded language and made threatening remarks...

The story abruptly ends when the female lead grasps the doorknob…

It left plenty of suspense, and of course, the ending will definitely have subtitles explaining the plot—the female lead turns herself in…

In fact, the best ending should be that the male and female protagonists use their super high intelligence and first-class methods to become a pair of thieves who earn millions a month and achieve success in the worldly sense!
In this way, the issues of social class and corrupt system addressed in the film are clearly defined, truly delivering a powerful slap in the face to "schools that accept bribes" and "educational systems that prioritize exams above all else."

It's also quite darkly humorous...

But this kind of thing can't possibly be shown on screen!

There were two endings; I initially thought the second one was unlikely to pass censorship…

And it actually passed!
That's fine...

Shen Yan described the plot of "The Prisoner" and its ending, which wasn't exactly politically correct...

Lu Yang said, "That's understandable. Next up are *The Amazing Spider-Man*, *The Dark Knight Rises*, *Alien: Prometheus*... all big-budget blockbusters..."

Rao Xiaozhi nodded: "It's very difficult for domestic films to adhere to the 50% red line... If the standards aren't relaxed a bit, domestic films are doomed!"

Shen Yan waved his hand: "It's not that bad. If you watch too many Hollywood blockbusters, you'll find that the stories are very clichéd, just like fast food... If you eat too much fast food, you'll feel that this stuff has no art whatsoever..."

"Superhero blockbuster..."

"This trend will eventually pass..."

Spielberg once said that since the beginning of the new century, Hollywood stories have become increasingly worse and more boring.

Hollywood's special effects are becoming increasingly powerful, but the stories are becoming weaker, and the ability to tell a good story has been lost.

After a pause, Shen Yan added, "So-called superhero blockbusters are actually completely illogical. Planetary-level disasters, solved by just a few people?"

"But the audience loves watching..."

"One day you'll get tired of it..." He waved his hand and said, "Let's go eat!"

What food options are available around here?

"...There's a pretty good barbecue restaurant..."

"Then let's try it..."

……

We'll definitely have to talk about the film market.

After the start of the domestic film protection month, a large number of domestic films were released, including "Painted Skin 2," "The Great Wudang," and "Caught in the Web," as well as "The Mysterious Events of the Twelve Constellations," "Detective Hunter Zhang," and "Black & White" from LeTV...

There are still more than twenty domestic films scheduled for release next month.

Lu Yang began, "I think 'The Search' is pretty good... it's just a little..."

Shen Yan: "Empty?"

"Yes, it's empty... I don't know what he's trying to express..."

"It's already very good, I see it has a rating of 7.6!"

The movie "Caught in the Web"...

The theme is good, about cyberbullying... but it crams in too much content, making it feel confusing. Is it a romance or a realistic film?

Zhao Youting plays Yang Shoucheng, and Gao Yuanyuan plays Ye Lanqiu. They are strangers who have known each other for only a few days, but they already have feelings for each other...

Of course you could film it like that—a poignant seven-day love story between a woman battling cancer and the man—it's very romantic. But if you also want to criticize cyberbullying and cram in a bunch of other random things to criticize and satirize real-life issues, it becomes incredibly incongruous and messy, and the filming is also very superficial…

It felt like he was jumping around aimlessly, and I had no idea what he was trying to express...

Throughout the entire film, not a single character felt believable. The characters were like cardboard cutouts, acting solely to advance the story, pale and powerless, devoid of any human depth…

The subject matter is very realistic, but also very limited, so it can only be mediocre.

Compared to "The Hunt", it's really far inferior!

But then again, compared to "Mei Lanfang", "Sacrifice" and "The Promise", "Caught in the Web" is fantastic!
This is arguably the only decent work that Little Talent has produced since the millennium.

"It's a pity that Xiao Daren's reputation is ruined, otherwise, 'Caught in the Web' would definitely have broken 300 million at the box office!"

"Based on current estimates, the box office will likely be around 1.8 million..."

"It's already very good, considering it's a realistic subject matter with a very low budget..."

"That's true!"

After chatting for a while, Guo Fan suddenly asked, "Has your sci-fi film already started production?"

"It wasn't really a launch," Shen Yan thought for a moment before answering, "It was just that we contacted a few visual effects companies and discussed the modeling process..."

"Domestic special effects companies?"

"Correct!"

"Why not find someone from overseas?"

"On the one hand, it's too expensive. I asked Industrial Light & Magic, and the quote for a 7-15 second high-difficulty shot is $12 for the cheapest and $28 for the most expensive... I can't afford it! On the other hand, don't be too superstitious about overseas teams. The world's top VFX teams are also working on Hollywood blockbusters. How could they possibly allocate their best resources to Chinese films? They either outsource or hand it over to newcomers..." Shen Yan shrugged. "Besides, I'm not just making one sci-fi film. I'll just consider it spending money and time training technical staff... So, it's better to hand it over to a domestic team!"

"So what did you tell them?"

"I've reached an agreement with the Xiangshan Film and Television Base to build a space station... but my space station is based on Soviet aesthetics, so it has a somewhat rough, grainy feel..."

"Soviet aesthetics?"

Shen Yan nodded: "For our science fiction film, to find a suitable aesthetic, the only thing I can think of is the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union's heavy industry. This is connected to us. We have knowledge of this, we are familiar with it... Look, this is the design draft of the space station!"

Shen Yan took out his phone and showed the space station design drafts: "Look, it needs to be heavy industrial aesthetics, large-scale, detailed in design, and durable..."

This is roughly what the design looks like...

"Doesn't it look very Chinese at first glance?"

"Um…"

"We'll start filming once it's built..."

Lu Yang said, "...The Martian...I read the script, it's kind of like a combination of Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away..."

Shen Yan nodded: "Hmm... So, we need an actor who's got a natural comedic talent to play the role..."

"So, you chose Shen Teng?"

"right…"

Guo Fan: Shall we begin filming?

"Didn't you want to make a sci-fi movie? We'll co-direct it, with Lu Yang and Rao Xiaozhi as producers..."

Lu Yang and Rao Xiaozhi looked at each other, bewildered: "The two of us?"

"Yes!"

"Neither of us has ever made a sci-fi film..."

"You talk like I've actually filmed this... This is just trial and error!"

After a pause, Shen Yan continued, "The Martian will mainly be handled by Guo Fan. Lu Yang and Rao Xiaozhi, I have a few other films on my plate, you two will be in charge..."

"...What play?"

"...There are horror movies, romance movies, and action movies!"

"There are so many, we can't handle them all..."

“Then become a producer and discover new directors…” Shen Yan said earnestly, “The three of you bear the responsibility for the new development of Chinese films. It’s a heavy burden. You must work hard!”

(End of this chapter)