Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 109 Lunar New Year Derby, who should we choose to perform?
On the last day of March, the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards came to a close.

As this year marks the 100th anniversary of Chinese-language films, this year's Academy Awards seem to carry considerable historical significance;

The organizing committee had been ambitious to "come up with something new" from the very beginning, but in the end, the increasingly commercial Academy Awards fell into doubts from all sides.

But compared with the doubts about the Academy Awards, the bigger storm came from across the Pacific.

The trailer for Memoirs of a Geisha was recently aired in Japan, and director Marshall, who had remained silent, finally spoke:

“There is nothing wrong with Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh playing Japanese geishas in this film.

My criteria for choosing an actress is who is best suited to the role, not whether she is Japanese or not."

From Kyoto, where geishas once concentrated, to movie chat rooms on the Internet, many people began to criticize Marshall's casting mistake and the star of the film, Zhang Ziyi, believing that she should not have taken the role. After all, there are only a few actresses making their way in Hollywood today, and each of them represents the domestic image.

At this time, Zhang Ziyi curled the corners of her mouth slightly and looked at the report handed over by her brother Zhang Zinan with disdain.

Without this kind of Hollywood blockbuster film, how could she break into Hollywood?

Relying on Zhang Yi?

Thinking of Zhang Yi, Zhang Ziyi's expression changed slightly, because she felt that Zhang Yi seemed to be a lot colder towards her recently, and it seemed like she didn't care whether to reply to her daily greetings or not.

"Haven't you found out Wu Chen's cell phone number yet?" Zhang Ziyi turned to look at Zhang Zinan.

"I can't find out. Not many people in the industry have Wu Chen's phone number, and we don't even know some of him well." Zhang Zinan shook his head and then asked, "He can't make any big productions in Hollywood, so why should we care so much?"

"You don't understand the rules of Hollywood!" Zhang Ziyi explained after hearing this, after all, he was her brother.

"With the way Wu Chen's Buried is performing in North America, it's very likely he'll make $30 million. As long as he succeeds with another film, his position as a Hollywood B-list director will be secure, and he shouldn't be short of investment for his second film.

If a film is produced in China, the box office revenue can only reach 100 million or 200 million yuan at most. Big productions also focus on overseas box office, otherwise they will not be able to make money in China.

But in Hollywood, you see, his movies with a budget of a few million can still make $30 million at the box office. The difference is incomparable."

"Then what should we do?" Zhang Zinan was certainly not stupid. In recent days, reports on the North American box office of Wu Chen's "Buried" have been at the forefront of domestic entertainment news.

But the problem now is that I can’t get the number at all.

"I'll do it myself."

Zhang Ziyi sighed and felt that she still had to find Hu Jing.

"By the way, Huayi seems to want to find you. Feng Xiaogang seems to be preparing a big production." Zhang Zinan said quickly.

"Feng Xiaogang?" Zhang Ziyi smiled. She really couldn't think of what big production Feng Xiaogang could shoot.

The only person in mainland China who is truly capable of making big productions and has proven himself is Zhang Yimou. Even Chen Kai still needs "The Promise" to prove himself.

"It's just normal contact. If it's really a big production, it's acceptable." After saying that, Zhang Ziyi picked up the phone and dialed Hu Jing directly.

At this time, Hu Jing was sitting in a cafe. People were hurrying on the street outside the window, and the coffee cup on the table was steaming.

She accompanied Zeng Li, and seeing Zeng Li's worried look, she couldn't help but ask, "Did Director Chen Yifei really get into trouble?"

"Well, Director Chen suffered from gastric bleeding due to excessive fatigue from filming the movie 'The Barber'. He is currently receiving treatment at Huashan Hospital. The crew has temporarily stopped production."

Zeng Li gently shook the spoon with her right hand, and the brown coffee formed a small vortex.

Hu Jing didn't know what to say for a moment. Her luck was too bad. It was her first movie and the director got into trouble. She hoped nothing serious would happen, otherwise the movie would be a disaster.

Hu Jing sighed as her phone on the table suddenly vibrated. Seeing it was Zhang Ziyi calling, Hu Jing couldn't help but murmur, "What's up?"

She understood Zhang Ziyi's character, the typical person who would not visit someone for no reason, but out of friendship as classmates, she still picked up the call.

"Jingjing, how have you been recently?" Zhang Ziyi took the lead in exchanging a few words of greeting. Zeng Li remained silent, but she could actually hear the voice, and Hu Jing did not hide it.

After chatting for a few sentences, Zhang Ziyi finally got to the point, "Jingjing, can I ask you for a favor? Can you give me Director Wu Chen's number?"

Hu Jing's face changed when she heard this: "How can I give you something like this? The director's number is private. I wouldn't dare to do it without Director Wu's permission. Otherwise, we can't even be friends."

"What's the big deal? He doesn't know it was given by you, and you're not the only one who has it."

"Have you found out? If you had, you wouldn't be asking me." Hu Jing pouted. "If you want to talk about other things, I can still help you. But I can't help you with this. You figure it out yourself."

After saying that, the phone was hung up.

Zeng Li looked up and smiled, feeling a little emotional. "Director Wu is also a famous director now."

Thinking back to when she, Hu Jing, and Yuan Quan went to Beijing Film Academy, only a little over a year had passed, but times had changed a lot.

Hu Jing's eyes were filled with reminiscence. She was lucky enough to have participated in Wu Chen's first work, so she was a bit familiar with him. Then she remembered Chang Li's instructions and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Didn't the teacher say he might be making a Kunqu opera movie and asked me to prepare in advance? Why does Director Wu seem to be suggesting a Hollywood movie?"

Zeng Li was slightly stunned. She thought she was the only one who knew the news, but it turned out that Chang Li had told everyone.

"."

At this time, Wu Chen was still perfecting the first draft of "Black Peony". Polishing can take a long time, but the casting of the two roles of the first and second female lead was imminent.

Zhang Jiqing was still waiting for him to send someone over.

Just then, Jason Blum called. The conversation wasn't about box office sales, but about Paramount and Fox Searchlight inquiring about Wu Chen's new film. "They thought you were planning to adapt Black Swan for the screen, and they seemed pretty anxious."

Wu Chen listened to Jason Blum's laughter on the phone and asked casually, "Then how did you respond to them?"

"Of course, I said I wasn't planning on making this film, and told them I was planning on making a purely commercial film. Paramount immediately expressed no interest, but Fox Searchlight asked a few more questions."

"It's really realistic." Wu Chen responded with a smile, not thinking there was anything wrong.

Paramount's performance is too normal. In their opinion, the most valuable film is "Black Swan", and Wu Chen has not made any commercial films so far. Who knows what the result will be? The risk is too high and it is not suitable for them.

Fox Searchlight is a subsidiary of Fox that specializes in independent productions and small and medium-sized films. They thought it would be okay to get in touch with them and naturally asked a few more questions.

Time quickly came to April. Wu Chen was still busy writing the script, while the confident Brother Kai had already made bold statements at the product launch conference with "The Promise".

The reason is that there are reports that strong films such as Feng Xiaogang's "The Nobles" and Zhang Yimou's "A One Man's Journey" will join the Lunar New Year film battle.

The reporter asked Brother Chen Kai if he was ready for the fight.

Unexpectedly, Chen Kai sang out loud: "Your statement easily reminds me of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Then who am I, Cao Cao, Liu Bei or Sun Quan?
It seems like the roles haven't been assigned yet.

I suddenly remembered a saying: "The east wind blows, the drums of war beat, who in this world is afraid of whom?"

Even Wu Chen, who lives a secluded life, heard Brother Chen Kai's bold words from Pu Songri and others.

It just so happened that at school, Chen Kai represented the directing department, while Zhang Yi represented the photography department, and the dispute between the two departments began again.

"Brother Zhang Yimou, this is an art film. It's really a disadvantage to be in the Lunar New Year period."

Everyone in the photography department was discussing the matter, while Zhang Yi, who was doing post-production, was arguing with Zhang Weiping.

"Don't release it during the Lunar New Year period. Chen Kai's The Promise is also on the same schedule. It would be a huge disadvantage for an art film to be released during this time."

Zhang Yi didn't think too much about it. This period of time shouldn't belong to the art film "A Solo Journey".

"Why? Are you afraid of Brother Chen Kai?

He doesn't have a movie that earns over 100 million yuan. The Lunar New Year box office is ours. Even if Feng Xiaogang comes, he has to give us some respect.

It will be released during the Lunar New Year holiday. I said I would hold a press conference tomorrow. Is that giving face to Brother Chen Kai?"

Zhang Weiping boasted, tearing up a newspaper that clearly stated, "Wu Chen's new Hollywood film, 'Buried,' has surpassed the $25 million mark at the North American box office, is close to reaching $30 million, and is on the verge of reaching $20 million domestically."

Then put it in front of Zhang Yi.

"Look, your junior students in the photography department understand it better than you think. If you want box office success, you have to rely on foreign box office success. What can you do with this little domestic box office success?

There are 30 million US dollars there, and at most 20 million RMB in China.

For a film to be successful, it must be a combination of an artist and a calculator.

I think this is the way out for Chinese films.

Don't be frightened by outsiders calling you vulgar, saying that you make movies just to make money, or that Zhang Yimou is going from bad to worse. I want to ask you, if you don't make money, can you continue your art?"

Zhang Weiping stood up, his expression excited. "It's enough to make an art film once in a while. Our next film must be a big one, aimed at the global market."

The next day, Zhang Weiping specially called in a reporter to respond to Chen Kaige's words:
"Whether there really is a tiger in the mountains is still unknown. Having ambition is a good thing, but whether you can realize it is another matter."

This exchange of words has caused tensions to grow between the two sides, which means that the two most famous directors of China's fifth generation will engage in a head-on confrontation for the first time.

A derby battle in the film industry seems to be about to break out.

As for Wu Chen, the North American box office of "Buried" directly broke through the 30 million US dollar mark on the first day of its third week. Although the box office on weekdays has dropped to 200,000 to 300,000 US dollars a day, Wu Chen's North American debut performance is indeed surprising.

The media have stepped up their coverage, and at the same time, following the North American hit of Wu Chen's "Buried", Stephen Chow recently brought "Kung Fu" to New York to launch a publicity campaign and held a grand premiere, intending to take advantage of the victory to enter the American film scene.

The domestic media naturally applauded, after all, another domestic film hit the foreign market.

"How is Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu" being reviewed in Hollywood?" Han Sanping asked impatiently.

"American audiences and critics have given this film a rating that surpasses 'Shaolin Soccer'.

On the famous Rotten Tomatoes website, "Kung Fu" has an 85% approval rating, with most of the reviews being praiseworthy," Gao Chengsheng responded immediately.

Upon hearing this, Han Sanping couldn't suppress his smile. It seemed that there would be several big surprises this year. First it was Wu Chen, then Zhou Xingchi, and later there would be Brother Chen Kai.

Are Chinese directors and Chinese films about to take off?
Thinking of this, Han Sanping quickly asked, "Has Wu Chen contacted you recently?"

"Director Wu seems to be staying out of the spotlight recently. Apart from the news about Buried, there is no other news. I asked him a few days ago, and he said he was still writing the script."

"Okay." Han Sanping nodded.

At this moment, Wu Chen stretched lazily and looked at the computer screen in a trance. There was finally a period in the last paragraph of the script of "Black Peony".

“Who should I look for as the two actors?”

Wu Chen leaned back in his chair, lost in thought for a moment.

(End of this chapter)