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

Chapter 998 Promotion of "The Origin of the White Snake" (23)

The biggest challenge in Sino-foreign co-productions is resolving cultural conflicts!

Significant differences exist in the cultural backgrounds, audience aesthetics, and viewing habits of different countries, which makes it easy for co-productions to have inconsistencies in narrative style, character development, and the use of cultural elements.

Secondly, some co-productions, in order to cater to the market, simply piece together Chinese and Western elements, resulting in films that lack depth and coherence.

In addition, some co-productions prioritize commercial interests over artistic value during production, which also affects the quality of the films.

How to deal with it?

There's actually no solution!

There used to be a type of co-production that showcased the cultural differences between China and other countries. Ang Lee's early films, such as "Pushing Hands" and "The Wedding Banquet," are examples of this!
The film showcases the clashes between Eastern and Western cultures, such as food, parenting, and lifestyle; as well as the generational gap between parents and children, such as tone of voice and style of handling affairs.

Later films included "The Joy Luck Club", "Siao Yu", "Gua Sha", "My Grandson from America", and most recently "The Farewell".
In fact, during the project's inception, "The Great Wall" was intended to be a benchmark for Sino-US co-productions.

Unfortunately, the script still had shortcomings in execution…

"For Sino-foreign co-productions, it definitely has to address a problem facing all of humanity: monsters, disasters, adventure... those are the three main themes..."

"The Meg is a perfect fit for the genre and subject matter!"

"There have been many Sino-US co-productions in recent years."

For example, *Independence Day: Resurgence* and the recent *Escape Plan 2: Hades*, etc.

But without exception, they all met a tragic end.

Both critical acclaim and box office success!

"The Meg... In terms of plot, there's nothing to criticize. As for special effects, the CG is very realistic... It's a decent popcorn flick!"

"Sister Lotus has been developing her career in Hollywood in recent years and has encountered some pretty good projects!"

Shen Yan continued, "If you're interested in monster movies, you can go to the theater and experience the charm of a Hollywood A-list production!"

It's finally over!
I racked my brains but still couldn't think of a way to praise "The Meg"...

The reason is... too simple. Most of us viewers' impression of sharks is Shaquille O'Neal—nicknamed The Big Shaq—and Yao Ming's public service advertisement against shark fins—"No buying, no killing!"
As an aside, the public service announcement against shark fin soup stated that over 70 million sharks are killed every year in a particularly cruel manner: their fins are cut off by fishermen, and the remaining parts are thrown back into the sea. These cut-off fins are then used to make shark fin soup. Many sharks face extinction due to this kind of fishing.

So Yao Ming said the famous line in this public service advertisement: "Without buying, there would be no killing."

But this thing has nothing to do with most ordinary people!

For ordinary people, having lived their entire lives without ever seeing a shark, let alone having the financial means to enjoy shark fin soup.

The only way to learn about shark fin is through the spread of this public service advertisement.

Many people don't even know that shark fin is shark fin!
People who eat shark fin soup are the top-tier members of the upper class. Yao Ming is one such person. Only people at their level have the opportunity to have access to shark fin soup.

There are many other similar situations. We advocate water conservation, but how much water does a golf course waste in a year?
The water wasted by a single golf course is enough to power hundreds of thousands of people for a year.

Wealth cannot be shared, but sins must be equally distributed—this is a growing awareness among countless working-class people, because these calls to action have absolutely no impact on ordinary citizens. On the contrary, these are things only the wealthy can enjoy!
Then, Yao Ming's advertisement was criticized!

Oh, Shen Yan then started talking about the movie "White Snake", which will be released on August 17th.

"China's animated film market share has long been low—only 4% to 5%, far lower than that of the United States and Japan. In a mature film market, the market share of animated films should be around 15% to 20%... This gap means huge growth potential, especially as the acceptance of young audiences increases, animated films are expected to become a new growth engine for the film and television industry."

"That's why we created Spark Animation!"

"White Snake," "Ne Zha," and "The Longest Day in Chang'an"...

"The director of 'Ne Zha' is Jiaozi, whose previous work was 'Hit! Hit a Big Watermelon!' He already possesses mature animation directing skills, so we basically didn't interfere with 'Ne Zha,' only providing financial support..."

"Ne Zha should be released next summer."

"Set against the backdrop of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, 'Chang'an Thirty Thousand Miles' depicts the dramatic changes in Chang'an after the An Lushan Rebellion. Through Gao Shi's recollections, it reveals the past stories between him and Li Bai!"

"It's a historical animation... It's still in post-production, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should be released during the Lunar New Year holiday next year!"

"In the folk legend of the White Snake, or in most works of this genre, Xu Xian is a passive character!"

tool...

This is unfair to Xu Xian, but he was just an ordinary person. His life plan was simple and uneventful.

He endured the hardships and suffering that an ordinary person should endure, without any dramatic events or great love or hate.

He is neither a male protagonist who grows through adventures, nor a female protagonist with a perfect and deeply affectionate character.

It was Bai Suzhen's appearance that changed his entire life, so many forums say that he is not good enough for Bai Suzhen!

After all, Lady White Snake is a white snake with great supernatural powers!

Therefore, we must change!
In our version of "White Snake: Origin," because the White Snake is set up with amnesia, Xu Xuan guides her in her search for self and explores the relationship between humans and demons...

"Yes, the male lead's name has also been changed to Xu Xuan... a dashing man whose image is based on Linghu Chong from 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer,' which also gives him a chivalrous air."

"The script framework is Titanic... It also features the suspension bridge effect, and the characters meet, fall in love, and die for love within three or four days. But the most fundamental similarity is that the two lovers have a very high degree of spiritual compatibility."

"The production cost of 'White Snake' is 150 million... with marketing and distribution included, the cost may exceed 200 million. We are confident that we will bring everyone a visual feast..."

"Oh... this animation is geared towards adults and isn't suitable for children... there's a short sex scene..."

"After all, the ending was so tragic, it would be inappropriate not to include some sex scenes!"

At this point, Shen Yan added, "The White Snake can be considered the origin of Chinese mythology... We have so many myths and legends, it's a rich mine. After The White Snake, we will continue to explore new themes!"

Please give us your support!

(End of this chapter)