Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 536 Does science fiction have to be combined with emotion to be interesting?

"What are you laughing at? What are you laughing at?"

Ning Hao lost face, then looked at Wu Chen with a sly smile, "Laugh if you want to. Not everyone can get an invitation from Harper's Bazaar."
"Prove what? Prove that my image is among the best in the directing world, second only to yours!"

Wu Chen's mouth opened slightly, he scratched his head awkwardly, forcibly suppressing a laugh, and calmly said, "That's strange, why is it an invitation for you and Huang Bo?"

"I find it strange too!"

Xing Aina also suppressed her smile, looking somewhat curious.

"How would I know? By the way, have you received an invitation from Harper's Bazaar?" Ning Hao asked Wu Chen.

Wu Chen turned to look at Liu Yifei, but he didn't seem to remember her.

“I have quite a few, but it seems they haven’t really invited you,” Liu Yifei said slowly after a moment’s hesitation.

"Right, right? I told you, not just anyone can film this." Ning Hao said proudly.

As the dinner party ended, Ning Hao was still muttering to himself, a hint of smugness in his eyes.

Xing Aina finally couldn't help but roll her eyes: "To be honest, I'm really curious, why is it just you and Huang Bo?"

Ning Hao's eyes darted around, and he bluntly uttered two words: "Vision!"

Xing Aina was speechless for a moment.

"If Director Wu and Sissi were to take a photo together, I think it would be quite pleasing to the eye, and it also proves that Harper's Bazaar has good taste."

"You don't know its value. Wait until the photos come out and you'll have a good look."

Ning Hao angrily picked up his phone and immediately dialed Huang Bo's number.

"Hiroko, you really need to put a good job with this Harper's Bazaar photoshoot. Don't embarrass me. It has to look like a blockbuster!"

Huang Bo had just finished work and was about to get into his car when he hesitated for a moment before replying, "Okay, definitely."

On the other side, Liu Yifei rested her head against the car window, her eyes sparkling, still savoring the laughter and conversation from earlier.

"When do you think we can take a group photo for a magazine together?"

Wu Chen, gripping the steering wheel, smiled slightly. "Anytime is fine."

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he asked, "By the way, do you have any international fashion week magazines at home?"

Liu Yifei was taken aback, then nodded subconsciously: "Yes, I buy every single issue. What? Those are for girls, are you watching because you think someone is pretty?"

Her little mouth was already slightly pouting.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to see. I've never seen any before, how would I know who's good-looking?"

"Hmph, I'll get it for you when we get back!"

Even so, after returning home, Liu Yifei found all the recent international fashion week magazines.

The next day, Wu Chen took a magazine and placed it on the desk in Xingchen Pictures' office.

Not long after, Guo Fan pushed open the door and came in, looking somewhat tired.

"How's the casting?" Wu Chen stood up and sat on the sofa.

"Senior, to be honest, it wasn't particularly smooth. I think Huang Xuan, who played the introverted programmer in 'Bad Genius,' would have been more suitable for the role."
The second male and female leads, Wang Qianyuan and Tong Liya.

As Guo Fan spoke, his gaze involuntarily fell on a magazine on the table. At first, he only glanced at it briefly, then looked at it more closely, and finally couldn't help but pick it up.

"What's wrong? Can't find the female lead?" Wu Chen asked with a smile.

"It seems we've found it."

Guo Fan looked at the magazine and pointed to the person on the cover, "This model named Du Juan has the perfect face shape. Minimalist features and a high crown make her perfect for a 'semi-transparent mechanical body'."

Moreover, according to the introduction, she has a ballet background, with a stable axis and slight delay, enabling her to produce a gait and neck rotation that is 'human-like but not quite human'.

At this point, Guo Fan immediately realized what was going on.

"Senior, this magazine."

"I heard from Lu Yang that you've been so focused on this role lately that you haven't been eating or sleeping. I just saw it yesterday..."
Now it's up to you. As a new actress, you'll need to put in some effort to train her, but the benefits are obvious: she'll develop in the direction you most want to see.

Wu Chen stood up, patted Guo Fan on the shoulder, and then sat back down in his office chair. He had left quite a few things at the Hollywood company these past few days.

Ni Ni was originally quite suitable, but at that time she was under Zhang Yimou's management and was undergoing closed training for "The Flowers of War".
Moreover, in his opinion, Du Juan is a level more suitable than Ni Ni.

As March drew to a close, the wind in Beijing carried dust, and the branches of the locust trees on the street corners were already showing a hint of green.

With April just around the corner, the publicity campaign for "1939" is intensifying, appearing almost everywhere from subway light boxes to portal homepages.

Meanwhile, Wang Jing's sci-fi epic "Future Police" held a grand premiere.

Wang Jing's promotional style has always been extremely flamboyant, with him boldly proclaiming: "Taking the second step for domestic science fiction films, closely following in the footsteps of Director Wu's 'The Martian'."

There are many who advocate this, but they are blatantly lying.

"Science fiction is only good when it's combined with emotion!"

"Science fiction is ultimately about relationships between people, with a touch of romance making it irresistible."

"."

This is ridiculous, and netizens are stunned.

"No, is this a sci-fi romance movie?"

"Andy Lau and Fan Bingbing, damn it, I've decided to buy a movie ticket and see how they fall in love."

"."

It’s just that the ideal is very plump and the reality is very skinny.

Within two days of its release, it was already flooded with negative reviews.

"Fuck you, I want a refund!"

"The worst movie ever! What do you mean by 'following in the footsteps of The Martian'? You've got to be kidding me, you've just swapped the spacesuit for a battle suit!"

"I knew it! Adding emotions would make it look bad!"

"."

Inside the China Film Group building, Han Sanping held his forehead with one hand and gripped the newly released box office daily report tightly with the other.

It only grossed 10 million yuan in two days.

"Are sci-fi movies really that hard to make?"

As Han Sanping muttered to himself, he couldn't help but think of what he had said to Wu Chen that day, and his lips twitched slightly.

This time, over 100 million yuan was indeed thrown out in a flash, and there's still no way to recoup the costs.

Thinking of this, he immediately called Wu Chen.

"Are there any slots left for 'Ex Machina' and 'Love is Not Blind'?"

Wu Chen wanted to laugh as soon as he heard Han Sanping open his mouth.

"Chairman Han, it's not that serious! The failure of one sci-fi film doesn't mean anything!"

"China Film Group has already had five films flop since the beginning of the year."

Han Sanping added quietly, and Wu Chen was somewhat surprised by the number.

Good heavens, Starry Night Pictures hasn't even released a single film yet, and China Film Group has already had five consecutive box office flops?
"The movie '1939' will be released soon, and it will only take a month to turn a profit. Moreover, Ning Hao will most likely be preparing a new project this year."

These words made Han Sanping's eyes light up.

Although "No Man's Land" has not been released yet, Ning Hao's involvement gives it a high chance of success.

Do you think "Future X-Cops" will gross over 100 million?

Han Sanping ultimately circled back to the most practical issue.

These days, box office earnings exceeding 100 million are nothing to brag about, let alone for a film with an investment exceeding 100 million. He felt that this expectation was not too high.
Wu Chen shook his head: "It's difficult, Chairman Han. Things are different now than before; information about the audience flows much faster."

(End of this chapter)