2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 103 Candid Talk
Ma Liangchen originally had high hopes for Chu An. Despite being from the Central Academy of Drama, directing is a profession that requires not only talent but also comprehensive film and television creation abilities.

Therefore, good talents don't come every year. In the future, let alone reaching the pinnacle, even truly outstanding directors who can stand alone will be few and far between.

A player like Chu An, who surprises you right from the start, is one you might not encounter for many years.

This is the main reason why Chu An was able to take a semester off at the start of his freshman year. Ma Liangchen showed him the utmost leniency.

Chu An had no idea how much pressure Ma Liangchen was under. Let alone a greenhorn from the directing department, go look at the acting department. Many established actors who entered the Central Academy of Drama were not allowed to take on any roles before their junior year.

(Xu Shu was able to escape the exploitation at Tiandu Academy because of this rule at the Central Academy of Drama.)
In short, Lao Ma already thinks highly of Chu An.

But after the boy returned to school and they spent more than a month together, Ma Liangchen had to admit that his feelings for Chu An went beyond just valuing him.

It's a genuine liking from the bottom of my heart!
To paraphrase what Lao Ma once said when he was drunk, "No matter how well this kid learns directing, he's bound to be a big shot in the film and television industry in the future!"

To put it simply, the 02 directing class was full of talent; besides Wang Chengzhi, there were several other promising students. Last semester, the competition was fierce, with everyone vying for the top spot.

But when Chu An came back this semester, he was already the leader of the directing class. Not only Wang Chengzhi, who was close to him, respected him, but everyone else did too.

Ma Liangchen felt that Chu An had high emotional intelligence, good social skills, and excellent screenwriting abilities.

If he had put in a little more effort in his directing career and learned something real, his future achievements might not have been limited to China.

He will have a vast space to showcase his talents.

Before anything even started, he was already showing off.

Ma Liangchen glared at Chu An with disdain, then casually took the package. "A Hollywood director, huh?"

Looking down, Ma Liangchen suddenly sat up straight.

Christopher Nolan?

At this time, Nolan did not yet have the same reputation in the industry as he would later achieve, but
Ma Liangchen is no ordinary industry insider. He pays close attention to the Oscars and other A-list international film festivals every year and conducts academic analysis of the nominated and winning works.

He had seen "Memento" and knew that Nolan had been nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay.

Looking at Chu An in horror, he said, "He really is a Hollywood director?"

Chu An didn't take it seriously, and poured himself a cup of water. "Why would I lie to you?"

Ma Liangchen, "He asked you to write a screenplay?"

Although it was an uncertain question, Ma Liangchen already had the answer when he saw the title of the Batman script.

Chu An didn't want to repeat meaningless words. He came to see Lao Ma with important business, and it was about helping Nolan revise the script.

"Uncle Ma, I'm a little unsure, I need your advice."

Ma Liangchen's interest grew even stronger. This was one of the reasons why he liked Chu An. Outstanding people are proud, but Chu An was not proud, and he was never hesitant to ask for favors when necessary.

The emotional value is so strong, "Tell me about it."

Chu An said, "Why don't you take a look at the script first?"

Ma Liangchen didn't hesitate; he immediately put on his glasses and opened the script.

He didn't realize how important it was until he watched for just five minutes that he understood why Chu An had been brought in to revise the script.

This is basically just a "story outline"!
No!! It's not even a story outline; it's just a character setting for Batman.

"That's too vague. Are you unsure about your creative direction right now?"

Chu An shook his head. "The creative direction is actually not difficult. Nolan approached me because he had seen one of my short science fiction films and thought I combined business and philosophical thinking very well, so he entrusted this project to me."

Ma Liangchen understood. "So, all you need to do is give Batman, a relatively superficial superhero, a deep backstory, and then use that backstory to create the script."

Talking to professionals about professional matters saves time and effort; you understand everything immediately.

Chu An: "Yes, this part is actually not difficult."

Ma Liangchen: "So what are you unsure about?"

Chu An smiled slightly, "What I'm not sure about is Warner Bros.! That company is a bit crazy. They haven't decided whether they should write a complete script and secure the title of the top screenwriter, or settle for second best and only provide Nolan with creative inspiration and direction."

Chu An had actually been thinking about this matter ever since Nolan called.

Warner Bros. is a really weird company; the higher-ups are like controlling idiots.

In fact, the Batman series was already quite successful with its earlier installments in the 1990s.

You can also watch Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), and Batman Forever (1995).

Many people don't know that among all American superheroes, Batman is the most popular. For a long time, he was more popular than Superman and Spider-Man.

As for Iron Man, the most beloved character among Chinese audiences
Forget about competing with DC Comics in popularity; it doesn't even rank among the top in the Marvel Universe.

If we capitalize on Batman's popularity, follow its trajectory, and continue making good films, then the DC Universe will appear on screen and capture the world's attention sooner than the Marvel Universe.

But Warner Bros.' mess was just too much!
This company always believed that the success of the film was not due to the director and actors, but to the visionary leadership of the management.

From scriptwriting to filming and casting, they wanted to interfere in everything and refused to let go of anything. As a result, 1997's "Batman & Robin" was a complete mess.
Even a combination of George Clooney, Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, and Chris O'Donnell couldn't save it.

That's why the reboot project of Nolan's Batman came about.

As someone who's been through it all, Chu An knows that Warner Bros.' shady tactics were just the beginning; they would later wreak havoc on the entire DC universe.

Of course, what happened next had nothing to do with Chu An. He was just afraid that if he accepted Nolan's invitation and got the script done, Warner Bros. would intervene forcefully and ruin everything.

If that's the case, then Nolan has been screwed over.

The problem is, not only were they scammed, but the relationship that was so hard to come by was also lost.
If that's the case, then it would be better to just give Nolan a creative idea and let him work with Warner Bros. on his own!
Regardless of the outcome, Chu An will have made a good connection with Nolan, which may prove useful in the future.

After listening to Chu An's analysis, Ma Liangchen initially thought that Chu An was overthinking things. Regardless of Warner's situation, they had to seize the opportunity!
Why not take advantage of the opportunity to become famous? But after listening to the rest of the story, he realized that Chu An had a point; being cautious might not be a bad thing.

Chu An's next words made Ma Liangchen even more inclined to choose the second option.

"Uncle Ma, to be honest with you, given the current situation, I don't really want to enter Hollywood too early."

"I don't really want the identity of a screenwriter. Even in the United States, where screenwriters have a relatively high status, it's just so-so. You can't influence any project, let alone have any deep cultural output."

Cultural export is nothing new; it's a question that everyone in the film and television industry must consider.

"As for my identity as an actor, I know my own limitations."

"So, if I go to Hollywood now, I'll only have one identity left: an investor!"

"To put it bluntly, they're going to compete with American capital for jobs! As for the outcome, I'm not optimistic."

“But,” Chu An changed the subject, “if I achieve something as a director, then it will be different.”

Directors are tools of capital, serving capital, so the resistance they face is obviously not that great.

Regardless of his identity, once Chu An establishes himself in Hollywood, he will be able to do far more than Su Manqing.

Ma Liangchen nodded, feeling very gratified!
He really didn't know that Chu An had thought so far ahead. "So this is why you came to study directing?"

Chu An chuckled, "Don't tell anyone, or netizens will criticize me for overestimating myself."

Upon hearing this, Ma Liangchen burst into laughter, "Even if I didn't tell anyone, the netizens wouldn't let you off the hook!" Chu An's fans are strange. Everyone else claims to have countless die-hard fans, but when it comes to Chu An, they are all haters, not a single sasaeng fan.

If there's any topic about Chu An online, just look at it! It might start positively, but it quickly veers off course and becomes all teasing.

Speaking of fans, Ma Liangchen remembered something else, "By the way, didn't you and Lu Mingze just finish filming that drama? I saw online that it's going to be released soon?"

Chu An: "It's coming soon! It should be early July, to catch the summer vacation premiere."

Ma Liangchen was taken aback; that was incredibly fast.

In response, Chu An began to boast to Ma Liangchen, "I'll let you see my creative team sometime; their efficiency is extraordinary."

Ma Liangchen then remembered that "With You" was also written very quickly.

"Summer vacation? So you're clashing with 'The Burning Human World' and 'The Palace: The Lock of Spring'?"

"Really?" Chu An had been focused on his studies and didn't know anything about these things.

Well, he actually doesn't care and is quite confident in the quality and content of "Honor of Kings".

As for the two plays that Lao Ma mentioned, Chu An was quite familiar with them.

In fact, both of these dramas have some connection with Chu An.

"Burning in the Human World" is a name that was changed later and may sound unfamiliar, but it's actually quite familiar.

Directed by Shen Jin, starring Lin Wanxing. It's the same drama that Chu An helped revise the script for at the beginning of last year, which also led to his feud with Ji Yang.

All I can say is that Director Shen's pace is incredibly slow; it's been a year since filming started and post-production is only now complete.

The relationship between Chu An and the protagonist of "Palace: The Lock of Spring" dates back even further.

Produced by Tiandu, this Qing Dynasty drama continues Lu Mingze's Palace Lock series.

In fact, it was a key project launched by Tiandu in 2002 to stabilize the stock market after Lao Lu broke with Tiandu.

The aim is to let the outside world know that even without Lu Mingze, Tiandu still has the ability to create a super drama.

The director was a veteran director with a greater reputation than Lu Mingze, and the female lead was Xu Shu, the top actress in the capital.

Male host
That would be even more interesting.

Do you remember? When filming "With You", Tian Du promised Qu Lang, the male lead at the time, a big production in order to stop Lu Mingze. This made Qu Lang stand firmly on Tian Du's side and withdraw from "With You".

It was also because of Qu Lang that Chu An, an extra, was promoted to the lead role.

In short, both of these films feature familiar faces.

"They all chose the summer release window? This is going to be interesting."

Seeing that Chu An didn't seem to care, Ma Liangchen thought for a moment and decided to remind him.

"Don't let your guard down! Don't think that just because you've partnered with CCTV you're safe."

He earnestly explained, "The Palace Lock series still enjoys a good reputation and audience appeal. Although Lu Mingze isn't directing it, Wang Cheng, who took over, is no less capable than Lu Mingze. According to Tiandu, their goal this time isn't to continue the success of Palace Lock, but to surpass it!"

"Moreover, you should know that although this drama failed to air on CCTV, Hunan TV bought the premiere rights for 6 million yuan, which speaks volumes!"

"It's true that Hunan TV has money, but if the quality of the dramas is not good, they wouldn't be able to spend so much money."

"You might not be able to beat him during the summer season."

Chu listened quietly; he really had no idea about these things.

Before Ma Liangchen could finish, he continued, "Let's talk about Shen Jin's 'Burning Human World.' I heard that the title of that show is based on your adapted lines?"

Chu An smiled, "Just making random changes."

Ma Liangchen couldn't laugh. "I know you revised that script. It's like you had two scripts airing on TV during the summer vacation."

"But the problem is, the screenwriter is still credited as Mr. Ruan Wenlin. People in the industry may know about your relationship with Shen Jin, but the audience won't accept it!"

What Lao Ma said is true. You can say that signatures are useless, but they can also be very useful when they are.

The audience won't remember how much Chu An sacrificed behind the scenes; they'll only remember your real name at the beginning of the film.

To put it bluntly, "Blazing Human World" has nothing to do with Chu An; on the contrary, it aims to target Chu An's "Glory" during the summer.

At this moment, while Old Ma was speaking with deep emotion, Chu An was lost in thought.

What he was thinking was, what a coincidence!

These three films feature Xu Shu, Lin Wanxing, and Su Manqing, bringing together three actresses connected to him.

I don't know who will win.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Old Ma asked, getting a little impatient.

That's just how the film and television industry is; if you don't move forward, you fall behind. Every production that airs is a life-or-death struggle.

They'll either surge forward with great momentum, attracting tons of money and resources to their side. For at least a few years, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they'll dominate the market.

Alternatively, they might suffer a crushing defeat, take years to recover, or even see their acting career come to an end.

The entertainment industry has always been so snobbish and callous.

"I don't know what you and Lu Mingze were thinking back then, getting involved with this 'mainstream' ideology."

Old Ma said seriously, "This subject matter is not a good job! It's a lot of hard work for little reward, and the audience won't buy it."

"Even if we manage to get on CCTV's good side, it's still a bit of a loss, especially this year!"

Chu An raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong this year?"

Ma Liangchen said, "In previous years, this might not have been a big deal. CCTV's ratings were always guaranteed. Even the least popular dramas could still get a 7 or even 10 rating during prime time, at least they got enough exposure."

"Strive for 7 and aim for 10" refers to the ratings of CCTV-1 during prime time.

Over the years, as long as it can be broadcast on CCTV-1, the minimum viewership rating can reach around 7%, with an average of 10%.

For well-received dramas, the percentage is 15%-17%.

Of course, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is an exception and cannot be surpassed.

"Both of CCTV's major productions at the beginning of this year were failures."

"The first season only had an average viewership of 5.8%."

"The second season was even worse; the finale only had a 3.9% rating!!"

"To be honest, CCTV's selection of dramas this year has received a bit of a downturn in terms of public opinion. Your drama is a patriotic one, and if things go wrong, it could get a new low, and you'll have to take the blame!"

.

(End of this chapter)