Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 348 Chen Kaige: If I ever cooperate with Linlang Entertainment again, I'm a dog!

It must be said that 3D movies have indeed greatly promoted the vigorous development of the Chinese film market.

In the 10s, watching movies with 3D glasses was the mainstream, and people felt a bit uncomfortable without them.

However, after the pandemic, 3D movies suffered a slump and eventually returned to the era of content being king.

"Chairman Han, I can say with absolute certainty that 3D is definitely the future direction of development. 3D plus IMAX plus special effects is a combination that is greater than three."

Gu Bei analyzed the situation seriously with Han Sanpin, and then pulled a twist, "But you should know how fickle moviegoers are."

Every time a new genre of film appears in Hollywood, it's quickly abandoned by audiences, losing its initial novelty.

"You mean 3D movies will be like the epic films of the new century, everyone will love them at first, and then whoever makes one will fail?" Han Sanpin asked rhetorically.

"No, it should be more like science fiction, becoming a mainstream element in film creation, providing different creators with choices."

Gu Bei shook his head. "Moreover, I don't think 3D movies will be as short-lived as epic films. They will have at least a ten-year development period, and in the early stages, everything they shoot will be fresh and exciting."

Once the novelty wears off, it ultimately comes down to the film's content.

Han Sanpin's expression immediately relaxed a lot.

He leaned back slightly in his chair: "So, you think 3D movies will greatly boost the film market in the early stages, but once domestic audiences get used to them, they won't be too invasive to the Chinese film market?"

Of course!

In the future, movie theaters will almost become comedy sketch theaters!
3D and 8D are nothing compared to comedies that are popular with the masses!
"Ultimately, the reason why everyone likes Hollywood movies so much is because they haven't seen enough of them. The Hollywood movies that are allowed to enter the market are all high-quality films."

Gu Bei casually said, "If we really let everyone see it, they'll get tired of it in no time. Voting with money is the best way to select people."

"That's an interesting point of view."

Han Sanpin said thoughtfully.

Subsequently,

After Gu Bei and Han Sanpin continued chatting for a while,

After confirming that the Gravity crew was ready to travel to Lugu Lake to film the final scene of the female lead returning to Earth,

Gu Bei went back to adjust to the time difference. He didn't want to stay in Kyoto any longer, as the media was watching him closely.

After Gu Bei left,

Han Sanpin took out a document.

This is a document entirely in English, numbered WT/DS363, and also bears the WTO's designation.

If Gu Bei had paid closer attention to industry trends, he would have known that this was North America suing China over the trade rights and distribution services of publications and audiovisual entertainment products, which did not comply with the commitments made upon China's accession to the WTO.

The current import limit of 20 films and the 13% net box office revenue share are both included in this.

Regarding the expert report on this case,

It was just released last month and distributed to all member countries.

There is no doubt that the film import policy needs to be revised, but how to revise it will take a long time to discuss.

Han Sanpin looked at the document in his hand, thinking about Gu Bei's suggestion, and pondered quietly.

Gu Bei returned to Linlang Entertainment.

As the director of The Message,
Gu Bei still participated in several interviews.
The media is still in the era of satellite TV, so there isn't much publicity to do, and there aren't many platforms for you to go on air.

The main focus of publicity is still on the actors; their profession dictates that they are the most attention-grabbing figures in a production.

Although there were unpleasant incidents before, at most it just means we won't cooperate in the future.

Zhang Ziyi didn't want to completely fall out with Linlang Entertainment, so she returned to participate in most of the promotional activities.

After all, if she doesn't participate in the promotion, it would be a lose-lose situation, as it would tarnish her own reputation and damage Linlang Entertainment's box office, resulting in more harm than good.

The media had initially intended to enjoy the spectacle.
However, it turned out that Zhang Ziyi and Liu Yifei, the two female leads, had not met yet.
Instead, the two of them took separate trips, each leading a group of actors from their respective production crews, flying all over the country to participate in various promotional activities.

It's quite like a king not meeting another king!
Tangshi Film and Television Base.

Chen Kaige finished a day of filming.

Then, when he returned to the hotel, he found Arthur watching a TV program, which happened to be Gu Bei being interviewed by the media.

"Gu Bei has returned to China?"

Chen Kaige's face immediately darkened.

"It should be...it should be!"

Chen Hong responded somewhat hesitantly.

Arthur, standing nearby, glanced at Chen Kaige and then at Chen Hong, wondering what caused the subtle atmosphere between his parents.

As for Chen Kaige

This time, we took on the major earthquake project.
It was the most regrettable decision he ever made in his life!
Before coming,
Chen Kaige's self-image
As the director personally invited by Gu Bei, the boss of Linlang Entertainment, he should have been in charge of the entire crew, holding the power of life and death over them.

Moreover, given Linlang Entertainment's past extravagant lifestyle...

Even without unlimited budget support,

At the very least, there should be enough space for him to indulge his 'artistic' ideas, right?
however……

After arriving in Tang City,
Chen Kaige discovered that he couldn't be the emperor of the film crew.

It could even be said that this was the time he had the least amount of power to film a movie in China after the success of Farewell My Concubine!
What infuriates him most is the special effects artist.

It is said that this special effects artist came from a small special effects studio in Paris called Ice Studio, and only spoke French and English. There was also a translator on site to communicate with him.

Chen Kaige originally planned to add some of his own artistic interpretation to the earthquake special effects.

As a result, the special effects artist completely ignored him.

The discussion about the shooting location was going well,

As long as Chen Kaige begins to utilize his artistic understanding...

The special effects artist pretended not to understand anything!

Chen Kaige once suspected that the translator had gotten the job through connections.

But after spending more time with him, he realized that the special effects artist was trying to be lazy and was unwilling to cooperate with his artistic understanding to create those complicated special effects.

So whenever Chen Kaige started improvising, the special effects artist would pretend to be clueless and speak in incomprehensible French.

How could Chen Kaige possibly indulge the special effects artist?
He made a phone call to Gu Bei to complain.

He attempted to replace the special effects studio with a special effects company he was familiar with.

As a result, Gu Bei's tone was very nice when he answered the phone.

But as soon as the topic of changing special effects companies comes up, they start making excuses, saying things like there's not enough funding or the project timeline isn't long enough, and they have all sorts of reasons why they're unwilling to change special effects companies.

Until later,

Chen Kaige had just heard from the translator,
I learned that the parent company of this ice and snow studio is Rose Pictures.

Originally an animation and special effects studio, it was acquired by Rose Pictures to produce original feature-length animated films. Turns out, it was a case of connections!
The relationship between Gu Bei and Rose Pictures

Chen Kaige was also very clear about this.

In the end, he realized he couldn't touch the special effects artist, so he could only let the other party pretend to be stupid.

Fortunately, this Gaul was a bit lazy,
But they're doing just as well.

The special effects produced were not artistic enough.

The realism and texture are superb, absolutely world-class.

Okay, let's leave it at that!

Chen Kaige was unable to add his own artistic interpretation to the special effects scenes.

So he turned to look at the script.
Without altering the overall framework, he is not incapable of making contributions.
In particular, there are many capable companies involved in major earthquake projects.
The lead actress, Linlang Entertainment, was played by Gong Li, while her daughter was chosen by the recently popular actress Fan Bingbing. Chen Daoming and a group of elderly people from scenic spots also played supporting roles.

It can be said that it is no worse than the Wuji group, and is even much more useful.

however,
Chen Kaige's behavior,

However, they were stopped by the executive producer sent by Linlang Entertainment.

The executive producer wouldn't let him change the script, could Chen Kaige tolerate that?

So he made another phone call to complain to Gu Bei, and after a long rant, it finally had some effect.

The executive producer was fired.

Linlang Entertainment has hired a new executive producer.

He was asked to revise the script, but he still needs to discuss it with the screenwriter before he can revise it.

If the two sides really can't reach an agreement, then shoot a few more takes and choose the best one later in the film's post-production.

When have I, Chen Kaige, ever been treated like this?

It seems I really have suffered from it!

Chen Kaige immediately figured it out.

Isn't this similar to the movie he filmed in France called "Kill Me Gently"?
The current process at Linlang Entertainment is that the producer is the central figure, and the director simply carries out the studio's opinions to make the film.

Thinking of this,

Chen Kaige was very angry.
He picked up his phone: "Before, because of the time zone, Gu Bei didn't want to talk to me. Now that he's back in China, let's see what excuse he'll use to avoid me this time!"

Watching Chen Kaige throw a tantrum, Chen Hong couldn't help but think to herself, "Didn't you ever consider that he might not want to talk to you? Otherwise, what's the point of time zones!"

And in Gu Bei, Kyoto,
I received a call from Chen Kaige.

He answered the phone with great enthusiasm and asked, "Director Chen, how is the earthquake project progressing?"

"good!"

Chen Kaige naturally wouldn't admit that he had lost control of the crew. "Director Gu, you're back in China? When are you coming to Tang City to visit the set? I'd like to talk to you about the earthquake project."

"What's there to visit the set? I have complete faith in Director Chen's abilities!"

Gu Bei didn't hold back his praise, "With Director Chen's artistic understanding, making a simple commercial disaster film like 'The Great Earthquake' would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?"

Gu Bei's flattery made Chen Kaige a little smug.

Gu Bei was convinced that it was definitely the people from Linlang Entertainment who were trying to fool him.
How could Gu Bei, a director with an art film background, not understand how unpleasant it is for a director to have producers interfere with the creative process?
Chen Kaige said with a hint of satisfaction, "Even if it's a commercial film, I want to convey some completely new understanding to the audience. I think the current script is still too thin and needs to be deepened."

"Add it? Of course we have to add it!"

Gu Bei chimed in without hesitation, "Director Chen, you can just discuss it with screenwriter Teacher Su. As long as the overall framework of the script doesn't deviate from the original script, it's fine."

Teacher Su is also a famous screenwriter who has won the Huabiao Award and the Golden Rooster Award. He also wrote the disaster movie "Super Typhoon".

And I remember that just two weeks ago, Ms. Su won the Huabiao Award again. She should have a lot to discuss with Director Chen regarding artistic understanding.

Chen Kaige paused for a moment.

The screenwriter of the earthquake project is absolutely top-notch, having won two Huabiao Awards and one Golden Rooster Award, which are quite prestigious.

But that's the problem.
Chen Kaige couldn't win against his opponent!

Chen Kaige comes from a prominent family in the Beijing film and television industry. He practically grew up in the film studio and has won the Palme d'Or. Usually, when he asks someone to revise a script, they will do so.

But it was Ms. Su, the screenwriter of the earthquake project.

They are also bigwigs in Beijing's elite circles, but even closer to the system.

If Chen Kaige wants to revise her script, he must first obtain her approval.

Chen Kaige called Gu Bei because he wanted to use Linlang Entertainment, an investor, to put pressure on Gu Bei.

Gu Bei's excuses
Chen Kaige was somewhat dissatisfied: "Director Gu, are you really that busy?"

"Director Chen, I've just been too busy!"

Gu Bei said helplessly, "I need to promote Fengsheng, and I also have to film the exterior scenes of Gravity. The filming dates are almost up, so I'm filming right on time."

How about this, I'll go visit the set after I finish filming Gravity in November.

The movie will be finished filming by November!
Chen Kaige continued speaking for a few more minutes.

He couldn't bring himself to ask Gu Bei for help.
So there was still no way to persuade Gu Bei to come visit the set.

After hanging up the phone, he was somewhat annoyed: "Gu Bei lets Linlang Entertainment operate under a producer-centric system. Is he trying to ruin Chinese cinema?"

"Actually, you don't necessarily have to change the script."
This script was developed by Teacher Su and Gu Bei together.

I've seen it, and it's not that bad. Just film it exactly as the script says!

Chen Hong gently persuaded him.

"Then where is my authorship as a director?" Chen Kaige said somewhat unhappily. "No, if Gu Bei's approach doesn't work, then I'll go and ask Han Sanpin."

result,

Chen Kaige also encountered a rebuff from Han Sanpin.
Han Sanpin stated that he was merely a nominal producer.

Moreover, he was busy with the release of "The Founding of a Republic" and had no time to deal with the earthquake.

Chen Kaige encountered setbacks repeatedly.
Just as he was preparing to call a meeting with all the teams to discuss tomorrow's filming,
He passed by an open room and saw a Gaulish special effects artist and a translator from Linlang Entertainment, both of whom were completely drunk.

then,

Under Chen Kaige's shocked gaze,
The Gallic special effects artist urged the drinker in fluent Chinese: "Drink, keep drinking!"

Chen Kaige was immediately dumbfounded. You can speak Chinese?!

Suddenly, memories of the entire filming process flooded back, making Chen Kaige realize that everything had been preordained.

As a director with a Hollywood background, it's only natural that Gu Bei would admire producers.

Especially when Gu Bei took the position of boss of Linlang Entertainment!
"Capitalists, they're all capitalists!" Chen Kaige muttered through gritted teeth. "If I ever cooperate with Linlang Entertainment again, I'm a dog!"

(End of this chapter)