Huayu has been doing one good deed a day since 2001

Chapter 269 The Most Absurd and Bizarre Versions of Mythological Blockbusters
At 8 a.m. on August 3, Lao Li met Mao Xiaotong, who had been brought to his villa on the North Third Ring Road.

Target: Mao Xiaotong
Acting, (58/100).

Lines, (48/100).

Dance, (58/100).

Japanese, (36/100).

For a couple of seconds, Lao Li was in a daze and had Mao Xiaotong perform a scene from the first episode of "Li Gou Hai" where the female lead meets the male lead on the subway.

I watched the entire performance attentively.

He remarked, "That's great, your learning progress is really good."

I have been providing guidance and instruction for two and a half months, from May 17th to now.

Xiaotong also had a week of summer vacation, plus a break when he was doing promotional tours.

In a short period of time, the other person's acting skills improved from 49 to 58!

Moreover, Mao Xiaotong has spent more than two months immersing himself in the script and has already produced a work at a level of 60.

This is the official start of filming, ignoring the fact that she was speaking Mandarin.

It has been done so that the audience will not be pulled out of the story.

While watching the film, you might not find Mao Xiaotong particularly outstanding, but you can still watch it without any obstacles or sense of incongruity.

Plus, this sweet girl has a really sweet smile and is naturally approachable.

It's hard for audiences to get tired of her.

Of course, this is on the premise that you don't play a character who is too silly, eccentric, or annoying.

Mao Xiaotong quickly bowed to express her gratitude.

Old Li waved his hand and said, "Your acting is passable now, but your Japanese is terrible... Come to the Media Building once during the day and get to know Deng Chao."

"You two have a lot of scenes together in the TV series."

"You play a character who starts out as an idealistic newbie in the ivory tower, but gradually transforms into an idealist who skillfully uses various means to achieve his goals after being toughened up by reality."

This requires Mao Xiaotong and Deng Chao to start developing some chemistry as partners.

As early as last year, a script outline was created and Deng Chao was asked to learn Japanese.

Tang Yan was chosen as the first choice for the female lead in March of this year.

It's already August, and he still wants to interview Tang Yan.

Even if the other party can deliver an acting performance of 55+, he will still give Tang Yan a chance to continue competing.

After all, filming started in 2007.

Mao Xiaotong's acting skills are improving rapidly, but her Japanese is terrible.

He then gave her instructions for another two hours before arranging for someone to take her away.

When he returned to the main villa, He Qing, who was also memorizing his lines in the living room, walked over with a smile. "Director Li, let's continue to help each other out? You're such a kind and helpful neighbor."

This villa belongs to Ah Xin.

Sister He, in her black stockings and cheongsam, barefoot, completely outshone Da Tian Tian's most dazzling image in Si Teng.

That charm and elegance?
He could only sigh, recalling He Qing, Pang Bing, Ah Xin, and Xiao Tong, among others.

They are all different types of styles of beauty.

Old Li stepped forward and said with a smile, "Sister Qing, a classic and gentle type of virtuous wife and loving mother, is more suited to a fashionable secretary outfit."

"This is a clash and fusion of classic and modern fashion."

"Then there is the clash and fusion between the elegant and beautiful mature women of Jiangnan and the sporty and fiery types."

He Qing said, both amused and exasperated, "Fine, next time we'll try out the secretary look for a photoshoot."

Let's not talk about feelings, let's just drive.

Even with more interaction, a unique sense of closeness can still develop.

She also needs traditional Chinese medicine liquid to treat her wounds, remove blood stasis, reduce swelling and relieve pain.

You also need to drink herbal tea to replenish your energy and stamina.

But none of this prevents Sister He from having a unique sense of accomplishment.

This is Lao Li's second work since entering the industry, and it comes from the early stages of his entrepreneurship.

They found her and gave her a villainous supporting role, and even made her gain 30 pounds.

You could say that she was half-disfigured and made ugly on screen in (The Tuner).

Among many aunts and cousins, being able to be a close friend is a win.

After all, her career reached its peak at the age of 42, with her endorsement of Bawang shampoo generating 800 million yuan a year!
This is what she used to earn by filming two hundred episodes of TV dramas.

Not to mention that Warner Bros. has said they would consider casting her as the second female lead in Teddy Bear if she were still willing to do so.

If you slip one tier from the lead actress, you can get a $300 million razor blade fee.

Teddy bear, teddy bear.

That bear is the main character.

So when Teddy Bear had a stable girlfriend later in the first movie, even though a sequel wasn't yet confirmed.

The creations will most likely revolve around the teddy bear's girlfriend.

Warner is like that.

The script for Little People 2 hasn't been finalized yet, and her salary for the sequel is already two to three million dollars.

Of course, if she were to take on the role of a nobody, she would definitely have to pay a hefty fine.

This refers to someone who suddenly achieves financial freedom and a meteoric rise in their career in middle age.

This kind of intense stimulation was also very significant for He Qing herself, as great as moving mountains and overturning seas.

She has a strong desire to share.

Otherwise, why would they frequently take the initiative to find opportunities to help Lao Li with small favors?

…………

Around 10 a.m. on the 3nd.

Tang Yan traveled from the 9th floor to the 15th floor and, at Lao Li's instruction, performed a scene from the opening of the first episode of "The Winner is Justice".

The scene where you bump into the male lead, played by Deng Chao, on the subway and ask him to give up his seat for an elderly person.

Old Li calmly finished reading, took a sip of tea, and nodded. "Tangtang, prepare yourself mentally. The winner is justice. Before filming starts, you'll be given another chance to try."

"But your chances of winning are less than 10% now."

"Just wait for the release of Chinese Paladin 3, and you'll gradually encounter new projects after Xiao Hong."

The person in front of me can indeed deliver an acting performance of 55+, but it will fluctuate between 57 and 58 at most.

She graduated from university, having prepared for much longer than Mao Xiaotong.

It's not even as good as Mao Xiaotong's 60 performances over two months. There's no need to try again to talk about acting skills.

Tang Yan's only advantage is her Japanese proficiency of 40+, even if she has to memorize her lines by rote.

It's similar to ordinary people memorizing Japanese or English songs by rote.

This also has 40+ years of experience, with a heavy accent, but you can make the audience guess while reading the subtitles.

Listen carefully and read clearly so that your lip movements match the pronunciation of the subtitles.

Tang Yan burst into tears and thanked him profusely.

Old Li has given her many chances.

After half a year of preparation, things were still the same, so she gave up.

Whether she lost to Huang Shengyi or anyone else, she accepted the loss based on her own ability.

Tang Yan left a few minutes ago.

Li Jiaxin walked in carrying a fruit platter. "Ayu, is Liu Tao coming over to deliver the finished film of (The Legend of the White Snake)? I'll just come and watch the new movie."

For a second, Old Li was in a daze, then remembered his work schedule.

Liu Tao then Dong Tong and Feng Kuzi, and Tang Jili indeed brought the complete film of (White Snake) to Lao Li for review a dozen minutes later.

The other party has already finished the special effects and edited the version.

Old Li will only send it to the Film Bureau for review after he has made a decision.

Liu Tao plays the role of Bai Suzhen, the White Snake, in the film.

The White Snake project was discussed with Lao Li in May 2005 when Jack Ma personally led a team to talk to him.

It's been over a year now.

The film's preparation began in May, and Wang Chuanjun, whom Time Xiaosheng invited, was cast as Xu Xian.

Deng Chao found it uninteresting and refused to start work until they reached an agreement on the price, focusing instead on dating.

Huang Xiaoming didn't answer either.

Jin Dong and Wang Kai are preparing for "The Lone Agent," while Hu Ge is filming "The Condor Heroes."

Therefore, the next level down delay.

Xu Xian was chosen from among a group of people including Wen Zhang, Lei Jiayin, Guo Jingfei, and Wang Chuanjun.

Xiao Wang's acting skills are not bad, and his height and looks are better than the others, so we've decided on him.

Filming wrapped up in early July 2005 for Reply 1988.

Filming for The White Snake began at the end of July 2005 and wrapped up in October.

It was sent to Hollywood for special effects.

Not only did Huayi Brothers, in which Alibaba holds a stake, invest in this company, but Time also invested 33%.

China Film Group invested 34%, totaling 30 million US dollars in special effects production costs.

A big-budget film with an investment of nearly 05 million RMB. It's been running for over half a year, since October 10.

The directors of The White Snake were Tang Jili and Feng Xiaogang.

Feng Xiaogang finished filming "If You Are the One 1" last July.

It wasn't scheduled for the summer season, so it was moved to the Lunar New Year season.

Therefore, when filming for White Snake began, Wang Jianlin of Huayi Brothers appointed Feng Xiaogang as one of the co-directors.

This can be considered as Lao Feng learning the process and model of shooting and producing special effects blockbusters.

The Legend of the White Snake.

The main plot remains the same: the floodwaters of Jinshan Temple rescue Xu Xian.

Old Li initially invested 33%, not only to support the development of special effects blockbusters in mainland China.

It's also convenient for him to speak out; he only needs to say one sentence.

I'm not afraid of being criticized for the story being unoriginal and similar to myths and legends, as well as the old version's storyline.

I'm not afraid of being criticized for this.

Everyone just focused on creating good special effects and using them to attract audiences.

It's not that Lao Li (Li Hongzhang) didn't want to put in the effort to come up with a script; it's just that mainland mythological blockbusters often have all sorts of bizarre and drastic alterations that make them really hard to watch.

The most absurd and bizarre one is the 2016 version of the Legend of the Gods by A-Jie.

That film managed to rake in nearly 3 million yuan at the box office, and only got a 3.0 rating on Douban.

The 14 version of Journey to the West: The Monkey King received a 4.4 rating on Douban and grossed 10.43 billion yuan at the Chinese box office.

Can you believe this box office is 10 billion?!

They promoted superstars and added 3D special effects, but it was a blatant deception that got them heavily criticized.

There are too many drastic and chaotic modifications, and the story is not well told.

The 2016 version of Journey to the West: The Monkey King Thrice Beats the White Bone Demon scored 5.6 points and grossed 12 billion yuan in mainland China.

The 15 version of Zhong Kui: The Demon Slayer also grossed 4 million yuan at the box office.

2011版黄圣衣白蛇都有2亿票房，同年速度与激情5是2.5亿，而黄圣衣版本是4.8分。

All of this demonstrates that mainland audiences have a strong demand for movies.

And they are particularly easy to bully.

Old Li wasn't worried about the film lacking originality; as long as you did a good job with the special effects, learned filming techniques, and improved, that was enough.

Even for films that score a passing grade of six or above, the probability of losing money is not high.

He set this general outline, and the production team's creative process basically revolved around this theme.

As Old Li got up to make tea, he laughed and said, "I'll take a look later. I've forgotten the general plot and haven't been paying much attention."

Ah Xin laughed, "You're so busy, how could you have the energy to care about such a small thing?"

"I want to watch this for fun mainly because this version of The White Snake ends with Xu Xian's son, Xu Shilin, becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination and making a triumphant return to save his mother and father."

"It doesn't have as many hardships as the TV version; it's just about becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination and being classmates with Shilin, a scholar from the Southern Song Dynasty."

"Fahai was only willing to release people if Leifeng Pagoda collapsed and West Lake dried up."

"They directly sent troops to attack Leifeng Pagoda, making it clear that West Lake is not easy to dry up, but Leifeng Pagoda is easy to collapse."

“If you don’t release them, we will demolish Jinshan Temple and use the power of scholars from this secular dynasty to save my parents.”

"I've been really looking forward to this part."

Concentrated essence is the best.

The plot of the White Snake series did not follow the heavily modified direction of Xu Ke's 1993 Green Snake series.

It is similar to (The Legend of the White Snake).

Liu Tao met Xu Xian at West Lake to repay a debt of gratitude, they got married, their love blossomed, and then Liu Tao revealed his true form, scaring Xu Xian to death.

Then they went to steal the immortal herb to save Xu Xian.

Then Fahai appeared and forcibly broke up the couple, capturing Xu Xian and imprisoning him in Jinshan Temple.

After giving birth, the White Snake fought with the Green Snake, who flooded Jinshan Temple, before being suppressed under Leifeng Pagoda.

The main attraction here is the special effects and magical battles.

The main storyline is very simple, with many side quests removed from the original Legend of the White Snake.

Only the charitable acts of free medical consultations after the White Snake and Xu Xian got married are preserved, where they treat the sick and save lives for very little money.

It's like (Spider-Man 1) where a loser transforms into a superhero, gets excited for a while, feels lost for a while, and is then stimulated by his uncle's death, leading to a personality sublimation.

Once you find the big boss, go and defeat it.

The story is that simple!
The biggest change is in the ending.

A mother's status depends on her son.

Xu Shilin achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination and returned to his hometown in wealth and honor.

Why bother with all that back and forth begging from an abbot?

Who is Xu Shilin? He is the reincarnation of the God of Literature.

Zi Shilin represents the literati and official class of the feudal era.

Isn't this name enough?

In ancient times, the social hierarchy was scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Do you think "farmers" refers to peasants? "Farmers" actually refers to the large landowners.

It's not easy to dry up West Lake, but can't we just demolish Leifeng Pagoda?

Li Wenyu couldn't help but chuckle, "This is starting to sound like a domineering CEO returning. Who plays Xu Shilin?"

Ah Xin nodded, "One of them is Huang Xuan, a young male actor newly signed by Huayi Brothers."

Old Li suddenly realized.

Huang Xuan from the Beijing Dance Academy is alright; he was able to get into the cast of "Full City of Big Buns" as the fourth male lead through open auditions. It's just that Zhang Yimou replaced him at the last minute.

Huang Xuan and Wang Chuanjun, who played Xu Xian, are the same age, both in their early twenties.

…………

A little after 8:3 p.m. on March th.

In a luxurious screening room with seats that can only accommodate ten people, a film of The Legend of the White Snake was watched.

Old Li smiled and nodded, "The special effects are great, and the fighting is exciting and clear. This can be considered Liu Tao's masterpiece since he entered the industry."

Only Old Li and his girlfriend were in the screening room.

Other members of the main cast, including Liu Tao, Dong Yi, Wang Chuanjun, and Huang Xuan, watched the screening in a larger theater that could accommodate 100 people.

This includes a group of people who received the news within a short period of time and rushed to see it first.

Ah Xin nodded, "Indeed, it's quite good. Liu Tao's appearance is actually quite dignified, virtuous, and beautiful. She is a model of being presentable in the living room and capable in the kitchen."

"I feel that she doesn't look as good in modern clothes."

After watching this version of the White Snake, she felt it was really good.

If she were to rate it, Li Jiaxin would give it a 7.5 out of 10.

That's the main storyline.

After being rebroadcast countless times in China (the 92 version of The Legend of the White Snake),...

If you look at this version of White Snake, you'll find that the plot development is very similar to the 92 version.

The most exciting part is the special effects battle.

The special effects are really amazing!
The entire $3000 million was used for special effects; other expenses such as actor salaries, set renovations, and prop making were additional.

This money resulted in special effects comparable to those of a mummy.

After all, the salaries of Liu Tao, Dong Yi, and Wang Chuanjun are all relatively small amounts.

80% of the film's budget was spent on special effects.

This is still in the era of Transformers next year and Iron Man the year after.

The biggest plot surprise is that Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian are suppressed and imprisoned for many years.

Huang Xuan plays Xu Shilin, who makes a triumphant return and forcefully rescues people by mobilizing troops to demolish Leifeng Pagoda.

Ah Xin gives it a 7.5 out of 10 based on her movie-watching standards.

Old Li would also give this version a 7 out of 10; the special effects are a huge plus.

Liu Tao, you often feel that this lady has an average appearance.

But sometimes he can be quite respectable.

Her version is still far from being comparable to Zhao Yazhi's.

But as you watch the whole thing, you'll find it's not bad at all.

From the audience's perspective, comparing Lao Liu and Azhi, they wouldn't dislike her much.

It's mainly the beauty that comes from the combination of costumes, makeup, props, and temperament.

After thinking for a moment, Lao Li walked outside and said, "If there aren't any other big movies, let's release White Snake during the National Day holiday."

(Before Me) is currently showing in theaters, and (Extreme Job 2: Veteran) is being heavily promoted.

The movie is aiming for the National Day holiday release.

This isn't bad news for the White Snake team; it's good news.

After all, in the current state of the mainland film industry, small films are not given the same treatment when they are released in major film seasons.

Last year's National Day film lineup included "The Hearing Girl" and Jackie Chan's "The Myth".

This year's May Day holiday is all about (crazy racing).

(End of this chapter)