Huayu Entertainment: You have been directing for three generations, are you comparing your qualifica

Chapter 188: Major good news for domestic films!
The day after Tian Xiaole returned, he asked Chen Zhixi to compile and report on her recent work.

The filming progress of "The Eight Hundred" and the post-production of "Pacific Rim" both require constant monitoring.

Along with it came a stack of invitations.

The Shanghai Film Festival has sent an invitation. Although the registration period has ended, if you register for "The Hunt", you can be directly shortlisted for the competition.

Having guessed that Tian Xiaole would refuse, they instead suggested that he be an award presenter.

The film festival's nomination list hasn't been announced yet, but the invitation inadvertently mentioned that "Wu Qingyuan" was nominated.

Invitations to the Golden Rooster and Golden Horse Awards also arrived one after the other.

"This Shanghai Film Festival has stopped pretending and is now so blunt."

Tian Xiaole realized that these people were all after the Palme d'Or they had just won, which was why they had pulled this stunt.

The jury president for this year's Shanghai International Film Festival is Chen Kaige. If two generations of Palme d'Or winners were to appear together, the buzz would be off the charts.

With another subtle hint and Director Chen as the chairman, it seems Lao Tian has a prize to win.

But would a Golden Lion-winning director like him care about an international film festival that nobody cares about?
Just as Tian Xiaole was considering refusing, Lao Tian and Director Chen called one after the other.

"Old Tian, ​​are you going?"

"Kaige personally invited me. The film should have finished shooting by the time the ceremony concludes, so I can go and take a look."

Having understood Lao Tian's meaning, Tian Xiaole accepted Chen Kaige's invitation to attend as an award presenter.

Han Sanping called again, genuinely worried that Tian Xiaole's phone was off again and she couldn't find him anywhere.

The celebration banquet for "The Hunt" was held, and the film's release date should be set. He was asked to go to China Film Group to discuss it.

"They say it's for discussion, but it's probably all decided already. We'll just have to make the final decision ourselves."

Tian Xiaole muttered to himself as he drove towards Zhongying Film Studio.

"Oh my, isn't this our newly crowned Palme d'Or winner, director? It's really hard to get a glimpse of you."

Seeing Tian Xiaole knock on the door and enter, Han Sanping smiled and joked.

As the head of China Film Group, he has to wait in line to even talk to someone. Who can he complain to?

Of course, if this person is Tian Xiaole, then it's fine.

It can provide him with political achievements, promote his culture overseas, and make money. It's too lenient if he's not treated well.

"No matter how big the award I win, I'm still a junior in front of you."

Tian Xiaole chuckled, walked to the familiar tea cabinet, took out a plain-looking tea bag that looked like loose tea, and started brewing it for himself.

"Haha, that's true..."

Han Sanping was laughing when he saw Tian Xiaole's behavior, and his lips twitched involuntarily. He forcibly changed the subject, saying:

"The state guesthouse is empty for a while now, how about we hold the [Hunting] victory celebration banquet there?"

"Uncle Han can make the arrangements; I just need to attend."

Tian Xiaole nodded, having no objection to where the event should be held. Since Han Sanping was so interested, he could simply take over the organization.

"Then it's settled. Which release date do you think is best?"

After Han Sanping finished speaking, he took out the schedule for the past three months from the drawer.

Tian Xiaole took the book and started reading, then shook his head with a wry smile. These days, it's really tough for domestic films.

After being decimated by imported blockbusters in May, leaving domestic films in a state of despair, June is no exception.

The highly anticipated sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, is scheduled for release on the 15th.

Looking down, a movie released in July caught Tian Xiaole's attention.

Transformers is finally here.

This movie has driven mecha fans all over the world crazy.

Now the pressure is on the Pacific Rim.

Both are mecha movies, both feature alien invasions. If the production quality is significantly inferior when the films are released, being criticized by the audience is secondary; the real fear is that the ignited flame of special effects will be mercilessly extinguished.

Based on the special effects produced so far, as long as the current level is maintained, although there is a gap between the two films, it is not the case that they cannot catch up.

"【The Hunt】has a rather depressing plot, so I don't expect it to do very well at the box office. I'll just release it in June and not try to compete with other domestic films in other release periods."

Tian Xiaole handed the form back and added:
"Let's hold the celebration banquet and the premiere together, so we don't have to be too extravagant."

Han Sanping thought about it for a moment and then agreed. He wanted to hold the event separately, to make it more grand, and to show the treatment that the Golden Palm should have.

Since Tian Xiaole has said so, and he has only been in office for a short time, it's probably best for him to keep a low profile.

"The celebration banquet is on the 8th, and the movie is scheduled for release on the 10th, so we can release it as soon as possible while the movie is still popular."

[Hunting] China Film Group has a 30% share, so they want to earn more from the box office.

The huge hole of "Wuji" hasn't been patched up yet, and now "Chibi" is giving Han Sanping another headache.

After arranging things, the two chatted casually. When talking about the current film market, Han Sanping showed an attitude of wanting to go all out and make a big splash.

Tian Xiaole was already used to Han Sanping's way of doing things. As a new official, he wanted to promote a blockbuster strategy, so he didn't take Han Sanping's idea seriously.

"If you don't think this is just my opinion, then you're wrong."

Seeing Tian Xiaole's indifferent reaction, Han Sanping said with a serious expression.

"Oh, there are other people who advocate making blockbusters?"

Tian Xiaole asked curiously.

Han Sanping smiled, a smile of approval on his face, pointed to the ceiling, and slowly said:

"The higher-ups have said that we need to accelerate the development of the film industry. Currently, the domestic film industry is growing at a rate of 30% per year, but we still feel that this is not enough and we need to increase the speed."

Tian Xiaole frowned and said:
"The film industry isn't something you can rush into. First, you have to consider profitability. Besides, there aren't many cinemas in China, and many third- and fourth-tier cities don't even have a movie theater."

"These issues have all been considered. With funding from above, all the major state-owned film groups have begun expanding their cinema chains, requiring them to cover outlying cities and extend into rural areas..."

Upon hearing Han Sanping's revelation, Tian Xiaole took it seriously; this was definitely good news for the film industry. Many films hadn't made money before, partly due to the competition from Hollywood blockbusters, and partly because there were too few cinemas in China, concentrated in first- and second-tier cities.

In other words, there are many people, but few have the opportunity to watch a movie.

With the increase in cinemas, although bad movies will still lose money, at least the losses will be less.

"More favorable policies are coming soon. Now that you've won the Palme d'Or, focus on commercial films."

Han Sanping looked at Tian Xiaole and said earnestly.

To drive rapid expansion of cinema chains, there needs to be a constant stream of blockbuster films to attract audiences to theaters.

Otherwise, no matter how many cinemas are built, if no one goes to the cinema, it's all just empty talk.

The cinema chain is like a shopping mall, and the movie is a commodity. The prosperity and development of the film market economy still depends on the support of commercially successful films.

Of course, these so-called blockbusters cannot all be imported films; more domestically produced films are needed.

Of all fields, film and television culture has the greatest influence, and we must take the initiative in this area.

"That's not quite right. If our films want to go global, the only options besides period martial arts films are internationally acclaimed art films. We need to take a two-pronged approach."

As a director with dreams, Tian Xiaole certainly couldn't agree to Han Sanping's offer to settle down in the commercial film field.

Now that we've won the Palme d'Or, the Golden Bear and Golden Lion are already in the works. Although the process will be difficult, if there are suitable subjects, of course we should give it a shot.

"You have your own opinions, so just do what you think is right. The future of Chinese cinema depends on you."

Han Sanping's words put Tian Xiaole in a very awkward position.

If Director Chen heard this, he would think that someone was going to compete with him for the responsibility of advancing Chinese cinema.

Around noon, I managed to snag a surprisingly delicious meal for the leaders at the China Film Group cafeteria.

Instead of going straight home, I went to the company.

The current policies are favorable to blockbusters like "Pacific Rim". By the time the movie is released, theaters will have already opened, and the pressure on box office revenue will be much less.

The biggest problem now is the quality of the film production.

When the movie is released, it will inevitably be compared with "Transformers".

I wouldn't dare say it surpasses it in special effects, but it certainly can't be too far behind.

Upon arriving at the company, amidst everyone's congratulations, Tian Xiaole waved his hand and announced that all employees would have an extra meal that evening.

He entered his office amidst even louder praise.

Looking at the recent news, the ratings for "Struggle," starring Wang Luodan, are quite good, rising steadily since its premiere.

Of course, there was also no shortage of controversy.

A biological father who is a tycoon, a stepfather who is a high-ranking official, and a girlfriend who is a rich heiress—what kind of "struggle" is this?
The only one still striving was cheated on by his best friend and girlfriend.

The Film Association has released a list of sixth-generation directors.

Tian Xiaole rightfully and deservedly appeared on this list, and in fact, she was ranked first.

"Ning Hao is actually ranked last?"

Tian Xiaole quickly discovered the pattern: the list was sorted by age, except for himself.

Wang Xiaoshuai, Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye, Wang Quan'an... and there's this disgusting guy.

"These people in the association are really good at changing their tune. They just got the Palme d'Or and this list of the sixth generation has already come out. The value of it has immediately increased."

There are quite a few people, but their works are quite different. Only Tian Xiaole and Ning Hao can make commercial films, while the others have settled in the field of art films.

Before long, Tian Xiaole wandered over to the special effects department.

The post-production of Pacific Rim is progressing very slowly. Some of the battle scenes that have already been produced are currently being rendered by engineers.

The film has many special effects shots; the few minutes of footage depicting the fall of Tokyo alone was a huge project that required several teams to work together.

Although the production process was slow, Tian Xiaole was still very happy.

This film is the first complete special effects project in China, and it also has the guidance of technical personnel attracted by high salaries from Hollywood. Once this project is completed, the domestic staff should have learned a lot.

Tian Xiaole saw Guo Fan discussing something with a group of employees.
As the assistant director, he had already finished his work when the film wrapped up. He had spent that time in post-production and probably learned a lot.

"It seems you really enjoy making this kind of movie."

Hearing someone speak, Guo Fan then noticed Tian Xiaole behind him.

"Director Tian, ​​congratulations on winning the Palme d'Or."

I really enjoy science fiction movies. They can achieve many scenes that live-action movies can't, and they can also showcase a larger world view..."

Guo Fan's eyes shone with a light, revealing his pursuit of science fiction films and his deep love for this genre.

"If you like it, then stick with it. Chinese science fiction films are still a blank slate, and we need more directors like you with dreams to keep getting involved..."

Tian Xiaole offered a few words of encouragement, which brought tears to Guo Fan's eyes. It's unclear whether it was the last sentence, about paying him his salary as an assistant director, that moved him.

···
In the afternoon, China Film Group announced that "The Hunting" will be released on July 10.

The film was released unexpectedly, just days before its theatrical run, which relieved many production companies.

Films that win the Palme d'Or, at least by virtue of their name, can attract a large audience to the theaters, compete with imported films, and avoid taking up prime release slots.

Many people privately praised Tian Xiaole, saying that this great director is really straightforward and is truly going against Hollywood blockbusters!

"With this low box office performance, they probably won't even be interested."

Many people in the industry, upon considering the copyright fees for "Hunting," stopped their mocking laughter and were left only with envy.

"This movie's box office performance should be quite good."

Thanks to the support of domestic directors, the three major European films have been elevated to legendary status, and "The Hunt" won the Palme d'Or, the most difficult award to win. Most viewers are filled with pride.

It's already won the most prestigious awards at the film festival, so I have to see what's so special about this movie.

(End of this chapter)