2001 Media Godfather

Is Chapter 100 truly a lofty ideal?
Lu Mingze has already gained experience in filming fashion dramas; while he may not be an expert, he is certainly quite adept at it.

With screenwriter Chu An overseeing the project, the filming of "Glory" progressed rapidly.

As for Su Manqing, her acting skills are beyond question. Moreover, she's the kind of actress who not only acts well herself but also helps Chu An quickly get into character, achieving a passable level of performance.

The only thing that Ms. Su found a little difficult to adapt to was the filming standards for television dramas.

Television dramas don't have the same level of attention to camera work and acting as movies, so Teacher Su has to accept "mediocrity".

Many shots, by Teacher Su's standards, were simply unacceptable and needed to be reshot. But in the eyes of Lu Mingze and the other crew members, they were quite satisfactory.

This made Teacher Su feel somewhat uncomfortable. And...
"You studied film directing?"

During a break from filming, Chu An and Chu An chatted while snacking.

Chu An didn't know why she suddenly asked this question, "Yeah! What's wrong?"

Su Manqing frowned and said, "Then I suggest you stop making TV dramas in the future."

Chu An, “???”

Su Manqing explained, "Some habits, once formed, are very difficult to change. Do you understand?"

Chu An seemed to understand but not quite. "You mean, habits formed from TV dramas aren't suitable for movies?"

Su Manqing pursed her lips, "That's one way to understand it."

He then added, "Of course, if you're just making commercial films, then disregard what I said."

Teacher Su had considered it for a long time before sharing these heartfelt words with Chu An.

In her opinion, Chu An has great potential. He may not become a powerful actor, but his development in the entertainment industry is definitely limitless.

Therefore, I sincerely hope that Chu An can avoid some detours.

"Thank you!" Chu An said sincerely.

Su Manqing's perspective was something he had never considered. Her words today truly served as a wake-up call for Chu An.

Taking this opportunity, he also had some things on his mind that he wanted to talk to Teacher Su about.

Chu An's face was serious and he said earnestly, "I've always had a grand ideal!"

Su Manqing couldn't help but become serious upon hearing this. "What?"

Chu An, however, gave an irrelevant answer, saying, "Old Lu should actually reduce production as well."

Seeing Su Manqing's confusion, Chu An explained, "The profits from 'The Best of Us' and 'Glory' are enough for Lao Lu to take a break and reflect for a while."

"Including our team, we've actually gone through the process of working together on two films. If we continue down the traditional profit-making route and just shoot any suitable commercial script, it would be a bit of a waste."

Su Manqing nodded thoughtfully, as if she understood Chu An's meaning.

In fact, although Su Manqing looked down on the creative level of the TV series crew, she had to admit that this crew had the highest cohesion and the best atmosphere she had ever seen.

And
After spending some time with them, Teacher Su could see that Ma Lan, Wang Zheng, Dong Wende, and Ji Yinglai were all truly capable people.

"You mean taking the elite route?"

"Will Director Lu only choose big-budget productions that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful from now on?"

Chu An smiled slightly, "Not entirely."

These words startled Su Manqing. Chu An's expression seemed to say that his ambitions were far more than that.

"Then what do you want to do?"

Chu An didn't answer this question directly, but instead asked Su Manqing a question in return, leaving Teacher Su in an awkward position, "Tell me, let's leave aside Chinese film and television! Let's not even talk about movies, just talk about the advantages of the TV series industry?"

Let's wait a bit longer for the movie! In 2002, the cinema reform was not yet complete, and the movies were just a mess.

Su Manqing doesn't really know much about the TV drama industry.

However, he tried answering with, "The market!"

As it turned out, she was right.

Chu An: "That's right, it's the market!"

Looking at the whole world, apart from English-speaking regions, no other region has as many people or as many television stations as China.

Moreover, due to the promotional and dissemination nature of TV dramas, not only China, but no country dares to fully open up the TV drama market, so it is still a relatively closed and protective environment.

Objectively speaking, this was also the main reason for the rampant growth of the domestic TV drama industry in the following two decades.

No matter how it's filmed, people will still buy it!
(Although the majority of businesses still lose money, that's determined by industry norms.)
Chu An: "The market is our biggest advantage, but have you ever thought that the market could also be our most solid foundation?"

"Basic?" Su Manqing didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

Having laid the groundwork, Teacher Chu finally revealed his grand vision: "I mean, with such a protective market as a safety net, why not expand outwards?"

"I want to get out!"

Go out.
That's a rather ambitious goal!
Upon hearing this, Su Manqing frowned, as if she was thinking about something.

It's important to understand that when Professor Chu goes abroad, he's taking Chinese works with him, which is completely different from Professor Su's foray into Hollywood.

This really surprised Teacher Su.

Chu An simply waited quietly, confident that Su Manqing would understand his words.

This concept is not unfamiliar to her. Anyone with even a little experience in the entertainment industry knows that the rise of Hong Kong cinema follows this logic.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong films used Hong Kong Island and Taiwan as a safety net to expand into Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia, and they did achieve considerable success.

Hollywood operates on the same logic: with a guaranteed North American market, it can then expand globally.

Extending this further, Huawei, ByteDance, DJI, and a host of home appliance brands in another time and space—any company that has achieved some success on a global scale—follow this line of thinking.

With the huge Chinese market as a backing, overseas expansion becomes much easier.

The only difference is that some companies believe that dominating the domestic market is enough, while others are not limited to the immediate future.

Su Manqing thought about it for a long time and finally came to a conclusion: "Difficult!"

She certainly understood what Chu An was saying, but
He said, half-jokingly, "Teacher Chu is a bit naive!"

"You have to understand that a large part of the reason why Hong Kong films have been able to go global is that the special political environment has made it relatively relaxed, so you can make any kind of film."

“But you can’t do that in mainland China, and even if Hong Kong Island succeeds, it hasn’t gone beyond Asia.”

What Su Manqing was talking about wasn't actually the review system, but rather the desire and motivation to expand outwards.

It needs to be explained here:
Many people believe that the censorship system, which has been criticized by the Chinese public for so many years, has strangled creators, preventing them from filming or writing anything, and that this is the government's fault. Some have even gone so far as to criticize it as a lack of freedom, a lack of confidence, and even a form of deceiving the people.

Actually, that's wrong! And a huge mistake.

The censorship system is getting stricter every year, which is entirely the fault of ordinary viewers.

Is it hard to accept? But that's the truth.

Looking back at the development of the domestic film and television industry, starting from the 80s, the regulations became stricter and more restrictive.

The 1980s, and even the early 1990s, were the best era for creators; they could film anything.

Anything with nudity, ghosts, gore, or violence.
The same applies to online novels. In the beginning, what couldn't be written? Officialdom stories, gangster stories, erotic stories, and so on.

No one is restricting you; feel free to do as you please.

So why are things getting stricter and stricter? Because the people can't stand it anymore!
If you make a ghost movie, nine out of ten people will say it's good, while one will say it's spreading feudal superstition.

If you make a gangster film, some people will say it corrupts social morals.

If you make a historical film, you'll find a bunch of people looking for flaws with a magnifying glass, accusing you of historical nihilism.

Even when making a war movie with some blood, parents say their children can't watch it! So why not just not make any? If even one person is uncomfortable and makes a big fuss, then just cancel it altogether!
Anyway, with such a huge market, people will watch whatever they make, and these creators won't starve.

In this kind of environment, people have no motivation to leave.

That's exactly what Su Manqing meant.

In response, Chu An asked Professor Su another question, "Do you think there are other factors besides censorship that prevent domestic dramas from going global?"

Su Manqing thought for a moment, "Yes!"

Chu An, "Tell me about it."

This time, Su Manqing didn't give a bluff; she had genuinely thought about the question carefully.

"The mainstream culture of the world today is still dominated by the West, while our film and television works have too strong a Chinese cultural attribute."

“Outside of the East Asian cultural sphere, white people can’t understand it.”

Chu An gave a thumbs up, "Insightful!"

Actually, this is still a matter of review and approval.

You said
Ghosts and monsters can't be filmed, gore can't be filmed, and even suspenseful plots with intrigue and intrigue are easy to cross the line.

So what can we do? We'll just film whatever is right and whatever is less likely to be rejected.

So it became either period dramas or war dramas, either urban romances or martial arts/fantasy dramas.

That's all there is.

These are precisely the categories with the strongest regional cultural characteristics, and also the categories that are most likely to be incomprehensible to foreigners.

Chu An grinned, "So, we've already reached a conclusion, right?"

Su Manqing, "What summary?"

Chu An said, "That is, if our goal is to expand outwards, then we should choose themes and content that are easy to export."

Seeing Su Manqing nod, Chu An continued, "It must be content that downplays cultural attributes and is easily understood by the world."

"Moreover, it must comply with the domestic review environment. After all, we need to ensure that we don't lose money in China before we can confidently go abroad."

This time, Su Manqing didn't nod. Instead, she handed her water glass to Chu An as a gesture of comfort, saying, "Drink some water and speak slowly."

"Don't be discouraged! It's okay if we can't get out of here, we won't starve a pretty boy like you with no acting skills."

"Little fresh meat" is a new term that Teacher Su learned from Chu An.

In Teacher Su's opinion, Chu An's own summary has already blocked his own path, so what else is there to say?
Unexpectedly, Chu An took the water glass and drank it all in one gulp, then glared at Teacher Su with disdain.

"There's always a way! Why give up so easily?"

Without joking, he said, "Actually, there's another theme, and it's a major category."

Su Manqing was stunned! "What?"

Chu An: "Science fiction!"

"Imagining the future is a common passion of all humankind!"

"We can use science fiction as a starting point to show foreigners the imagination of Chinese people!"

Su Manqing was speechless; Chu An was right.
Science fiction, whether it's movies or TV series, is the category with the weakest regional cultural attributes and is the easiest for people to accept.

It seems like a good idea.

The problem is, this is even harder to produce than other genres!
He reached out and touched Chu An's forehead. "Are you alright? Do you have a film industry? What are you doing getting into science fiction?!"

This thing is easy to get results from, but the problem is that its hardware requirements are also the highest.

Special effects companies, prop makers, and filming equipment are things that don't just appear out of thin air.

Chu An certainly knew. Take The Wandering Earth for example; that was more than a decade in the future, and the special effects were still difficult to create. What's even more difficult is the production of the props needed for the film, which requires a complete film industry system.

Iron Man wasn't difficult to film; the script, cinematography, and actors were all quite ordinary.

The suit of armor that made Iron Man a huge success is something you simply couldn't make in China.

This is where the problem lies!
This is also why only Hollywood in the world can mass-produce science fiction blockbusters.

This also reflects why Guo Fan, in another timeline, received such high praise from the outside world after filming "The Wandering Earth."

It's no exaggeration to say that he laid the foundation for Chinese science fiction films.

Faced with Su Manqing's questioning, Chu An chuckled and miraculously pulled a script out from under his buttocks.

"We really don't have the foundation to make science fiction films, which is why we have to explore and catch up!"

Su Manqing took the script with a puzzled look and read it: "Love, Death and Robots".

As he flipped through the pages, he listened to Chu An's ramblings.

"Here's what I'm thinking: after filming 'Glory,' the team will explore this script."

"We can start with CG animated short films, and mix in a few live-action short films!"

"While training our troops, we are also cultivating special effects companies and prop teams!"

"When the time is right, we'll move towards feature films!"

"With such a huge domestic market and such a great script like mine, how could I be afraid of losing money?"

Su Manqing, “.”

have to say
The script is excellent! Each short story is profound and full of twists and turns.

That's incredibly appealing!
Chu An's idea was to use this opportunity to train his troops.
"Now that you mention it, I think it has potential!"

Combining CG with live-action performances, using short films and the domestic market as a safety net...

Gradually transitioning to feature films is probably the least risky option.

"I think it's a good idea!" Su Manqing actually agreed with Chu An's suggestion.

Upon hearing this, Chu An burst into laughter, "Then it's settled?"

Su Manqing nodded, still not quite understanding.

Chu An glanced at the script and said, "Then you can pick any role you want from this script!"

Su Manqing, "Hmm"

"Um!????"

Finally realized, what do you mean I just picked whatever I wanted?!
"I never said I was going to act!"

Then Chu Antian, with her big face and showing her teeth, said, "Support domestic products!"

"It doesn't take up much time, it's just a short film of ten minutes or so!"

"With your acting skills, you could do two of those in three days!"

"It's settled then. It'll take up three days of your time. You can choose two!"

Su Manqing, “.”

It feels like I've been tricked by Teacher Chu.

What's this talk of going global? What's this about lofty ambitions? Aren't they all just prelude?
……

.

(End of this chapter)