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

Chapter 621 Returning Home (23)

"The Witch" is a film quite different from Western superhero movies...

Super speed, super strength, rapid self-healing, telekinesis, mind control, and one-punch kill.

Mutant?
Actually, no, it's more like "Lucy"...

The female lead is invincible.

The original version was actually quite good, but the director and screenwriter were overly concerned with the world-building, probably because they were afraid that the audience wouldn't understand this semi-fictional world. They used extremely long lines of dialogue to explain the ins and outs on several occasions.

In fact, some things can be explained clearly with just a few simple shots...

You're making a movie!

Shen Yan was deeply impressed by "The Witch" because of a lot of short videos on Douyin (TikTok). The videos would start with "Look closely, this woman is called Xiao Mei..." and then praise the action design: human shield, wall running, and throat slitting with a dagger.

If you're tired of American superhero blockbusters, this is a good change of pace.

Actually, Vietnam also has a local film called "Hai Phung," a female version of "Taken"...

Daniel Katz nodded and casually asked, "I'm getting someone to improve the script... are you directing?"

Shen Yan shook his head: "I don't have time... my schedule is already full!"

"Will it be able to be shown in China?"

“…I’ll go back and talk to China Film Group,” Shen Yan thought for a moment, “Getting China Film Group to become a co-investor shouldn’t be a problem!”

After discussing "The Witch," Daniel Katz brought up a project he had recently taken a liking to—a low-budget project with a bizarre theme.

For example, M. Night Shyamalan's *The Split*, Yorgos Lanthimos's *The Lobster*, Robert Eggers' *The Witches*...

The films are mostly horror-themed, and their production costs are all under 1000 million...

To be honest, these movies are all pretty... unconventional!

Major film studios typically wouldn't invest in this.

However, Shen Yan nodded in approval.

I haven't heard much about the other two, but Split, I think, had a budget of $900 million and grossed over $2.7 million worldwide!
M. Night Shyamalan's comeback!
M. Night Shyamalan is a legendary director who rose to fame with "The Sixth Sense," a film with a budget of $4000 million that grossed $6.7 million worldwide. After that, he faced a series of setbacks and collaborated with each of the six major Hollywood studios—earning him the reputation of being a ruthless director who screwed over all six of them!
He eventually made a comeback with "Split".

They embarked on a low-budget horror film route...

Regardless of how well the subsequent works are received, they will definitely be profitable!

……

After leaving the company, Shen Yan and Shi Shi headed to the airport to return to China. On the way, Shi Shi asked, "They... seemed to respect you a lot?"

"I'm a shareholder of A24, and so far, the projects I've provided are the ones that have made money..."

Why would you offer them projects?

“In the North American market, I’m an outsider…and I’m Asian, so they’re very xenophobic!”

Shen Yan smiled and continued, "I wouldn't feel comfortable just investing without managing the business, so I invested in an independent company that specializes in low-budget R-rated films."

"Just invest and not take responsibility?"

"Back then, Orange Sky Golden Harvest invested $2500 million in Legendary Pictures, securing a board seat. But Legendary Pictures didn't take it seriously at all. They didn't discuss project development or operations with us; they just treated us like an ATM..."

Shi Shi nodded: "I know about this... Tang Yan mentioned it!"

"You're still in contact with Tang Yan?"

“Occasionally,” Shishi opened her phone and found WeChat, “this is a congratulatory message she sent me…”

Shen Yan glanced at it; the message read, "Congratulations to your young master Shen for winning three awards at the Venice Film Festival for 'Burning'!"

"...What's your relationship with her like?"

"Usually..." Shi Shi put away her phone, then seemed to remember something: "What's wrong? Do you want to collaborate with her?"

"I was just asking a casual question..."

After all, the four beauties of the Legend of Sword and Fairy... Shen Yan occasionally had the idea of ​​collecting them, but since Tang Yan and Shi Shi weren't familiar with each other, he decided against it!
"A while ago, Lao Cai told me that a co-production film had approached me..."

"What's it called?"

"It seems to be a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon..."

"A sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Who's the producer?"

"I don't know!" Shi Shi shook her head. "She only mentioned it to me briefly..."

Shen Yan took out his phone and dialed David Fenkel's number. Five minutes later, he figured it out...

Harvey Weinstein's plan!
Harvey signed a five-film contract with Netflix, one of which was the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel.

They brought in Yuen Woo-ping to direct, and the screenwriter was the same one who wrote "The Forbidden Kingdom"...

"Don't accept that role, it's most likely a bad movie!"

"Oh…"

She nodded slowly, without asking any further questions…

Shen Yan, feeling extremely uncomfortable, couldn't help but retort, "You're the only one? Aren't you going to ask why?"

"You wouldn't scam me, and besides, it's just a movie. It's not like I don't have movie offers..."

"Okay, you have a point!"

Shen Yan shut up...

……

After "Blind Witness," Shi Shi received a large number of offers for police and gangster films.

She then took on two Hong Kong films, "Lost City" and "Call of Heroes"—both were basically minor roles as the female lead;

There's also a domestic film called "Hot Pot Hero"...

After all, she's at the peak of her career, and she'll be involved in most projects.

If you think it's suitable, then accept it!
Shen Yan and Shi Shi rested for a full 20 days, and it was now September 24th.

At this point, "Burning" had been in theaters for 15 days, accumulating a box office of 4.26 million yuan, breaking the box office record for domestic art films...

This box office success is not only due to Shen Yan's unparalleled appeal, but also thanks to the broadcast of "Nirvana in Fire"...

Nirvana in Fire didn't generate much discussion at first—it aired just as the phenomenal success of Boss & Me was happening.

By the seventh day of its broadcast, a bunch of people started praising "Nirvana in Fire"...

Oh, by this time, the first run of "Boss & Me" had already finished...

"Nirvana in Fire," a grand historical drama about political intrigue!

To be honest, the plot is so-so, and the power struggles within it are not worth scrutinizing.

You could say its portrayal of power struggles and court intrigue is like child's play, but you can't deny that this show is genuinely enjoyable to watch.

The male protagonist, Mei Changsu, has an incredibly capable subordinate. Even princes, the crown prince, and the emperor are all manipulated by this sickly man who never leaves his house!

Even when Qin Banruo uses her beauty to seduce someone, there are still plots where spies betray the protagonist because of love, which makes the audience feel both tormented and satisfied.

Moreover, the costumes, props, and cinematography of "Nirvana in Fire" are indeed high-end, and the camerawork is restrained, neither pandering nor vulgar, far surpassing the garish and overly colorful period dramas on the market.

To be precise, it has a sense of returning to the simplicity of period dramas from back in the day!

In the past two years, with the rise of Yu Zheng, period dramas have basically adopted the Yu Zheng color scheme—bright reds and greens, and vibrant colors!

Shen Yan also posted on Weibo: "A qualified period drama, regardless of the plot, must have basic taste and aesthetic sensibilities. But most dramas nowadays often lack this. The garish filters are everywhere, and every scene feels like watching a photo editing app! And the lighting is just too white, everyone has an overly smoothed face, there's no sense of realism at all."

Thank you, *Nirvana in Fire*, and thank you to the Shandong Film and Television production team, for protecting my eyes…

"Nirvana in Fire" is really good, I highly recommend it!

(End of this chapter)