Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 145 Fusion Creation

The year 2008 did not start well, with a rare snowstorm affecting a wide area.

However, the film market remained unchanged. Stephen Chow's sci-fi comedy film "CJ1" was released on January 31, just in time for the Lunar New Year in southern China.

The Spring Festival is just a few days away, but the popular Spring Festival film season is still deserted at this time, and going to the cinema for the New Year is not a popular way to celebrate.

In fact, Zhang Jun believes that the rise of the Spring Festival film season is inseparable from the decline of the Spring Festival Gala.

The Spring Festival Gala was so good in recent years that it kept families at home, so naturally no one went to the movies. But later the Gala became less and less entertaining, which led to people gradually losing interest in watching it.

But you need entertainment to replace meals, right? You can't drag your parents to internet cafes to have fun, or let them play mahjong at home all day.

Therefore, movie theaters became the substitute, and the Spring Festival film season rose to prominence, becoming the most important film season of the year.

Of course, this is Zhang Jun's personal opinion.

Since the science fiction novel written by the famous young director Zhang Jun became a hit, and he also announced his science fiction film plan, Chinese-language science fiction films no longer seem like nonsense.

The slogan used for the release of "CJ7" closely followed this topic, claiming it to be the first big-budget science fiction film in Chinese-language cinema.

The film was inspired by Spielberg's "E.T.", and Stephen Chow said in an interview that the film is also a tribute to "E.T."

The film grossed 1200 million yuan on its opening day and 6740 million yuan in its first week, which is a pretty good result.

This movie is quite different from Stephen Chow's previous nonsensical comedy style, or rather, Stephen Chow has never tried the nonsensical comedy style since the beginning of the new century.

However, the film's science fiction elements have been criticized, with many viewers feeling that the film's earlier marketing had misled them.

"CJ7" is not a science fiction movie at all.

Stephen Chow is also unlucky, after all, this generation of Chinese audiences has been baptized by Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters, and the huge success of "Transformers" last year is still fresh in our minds.

While "CJ7" appears to have alien elements, it is actually a film about the bond between father and son.

Such a story would naturally be disliked by audiences expecting a pure science fiction film, because they would feel cheated.

What these viewers didn't know was that this was Stephen Chow's last film appearance. After this movie, he completely moved behind the scenes.

Then, seven or eight years later, the slogan "We all owe Stephen Chow a movie ticket" was shouted out, which successfully made Stephen Chow's Star Overseas company a fortune.

However, Stephen Chow could not have foreseen what would happen seven or eight years later. At that time, he was simply tired of the long-term job of making the audience laugh on stage.

It's clear from his conversations during the roadshow that he used to rarely say things like "I need to rest for a while" or "I'm a little tired," but now he's expressed these thoughts on several occasions.

It's truly a pity that a generation's king of comedy has disappeared from the stage.

But looking at the world, it seems that all comedy masters experience similar fatigue and boredom in the later stages of their careers. Chaplin was like that, Jim Carrey was like that, and now it's just Stephen Chow's turn.

After returning from the Lunar New Year holiday, Zhang Jun devoted all his energy to the post-production of "Run, Dad!"

He and editor Tian Ke had been in the editing room for almost two weeks. The amount of footage was huge, with multi-camera shots of the competition scenes making up almost half of it.

The two of them edited from morning till night every day, going through the footage again and again to find the most suitable angles and rhythms.

After the initial editing of the footage is completed, the next step is color grading.

This story takes place mostly outdoors in strong sunlight, so the color tone needs to be warm and bright, but it must not be distorted.

Zhang Jun and the colorist meticulously adjusted the colors frame by frame, ensuring that the colors of each shot matched the atmosphere of the scene. The sunlight on the training field had to be dazzling, the atmosphere during the competition had to be intense, and the scenes at home had to be soft.

At the same time, the color schemes for youth and middle age should be different to reflect the differences between the two eras.

These tasks proceeded smoothly and without any major difficulties.

The real highlight is the soundtrack.

This time, Zhang Jun found a new composer to collaborate with, named Lin Hai.

Lin Hai is quite well-known in the industry. He composed music for "Palace of Desire" in his early years and later created music for many other film and television dramas.

His specialty is his ability to blend Chinese and Western musical instruments, combining folk music and orchestral music in a way that doesn't feel jarring.

The two met once before the Lunar New Year. Zhang Jun gave him the script and some rough cuts, and they discussed the general direction. After returning home, Lin Hai immersed himself in writing for almost a month, and submitted the first draft after the New Year.

When Zhang Jun listened to this version of the soundtrack in the editing room, he wore headphones and went through it from beginning to end.

The music was well-written, capturing the intended emotions, and some parts were even quite delicate. But after listening to it, Zhang Jun felt that something was off.

He took off his headphones, thought for a moment, and said to Tian Ke next to him, "Listen to this."

Tian Ke took the earphones and listened for a while, then looked up at him: "It's fine, is there a problem?"

Zhang Jun shook his head: "No problem, no problem, but something's missing."

"What's missing?"

"Passionate".

Zhang Jun stood up and paced around the editing room.

"This is a competitive sports film, not an art film. Training, competition, sprinting, winning—these scenes require music that gets your adrenaline pumping."

His version was so solid, it was almost like a documentary.

Tian Ke nodded: "Then you should just tell him."

Zhang Jun called Lin Hai that afternoon.

"Teacher Lin, I've listened to the piece. It has a very good foundation, and the delicate parts are very well done."

Zhang Jun cut to the chase: "But I have an idea, would you like to hear it?"

Lin Hai hummed in agreement on the other end of the phone: "Go ahead."

"Our subject is competitive sports, and I hope to incorporate more passion and excitement into the scenes of matches and training."

It's that feeling—the kind that makes the audience's heart race and their palms sweat just by listening to it.

Zhang Jun paused for a moment: "You can refer to more foreign sports movies and see how they handle the background music during the game scenes."

Lin Hai paused for two seconds, then asked, "Are there any specific reference films?"

Have you seen "Jerry Maguire"?

Zhang Jun said, "The movie starring Tom Cruise, about a sports agent, had a soundtrack that perfectly suited the atmosphere."

There's also "Baseball Love" and the "Rocky" series; these are all classics.

Lin Hai noted it down: "Okay, I'll go back and take a look."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Jun continued with his editing work without giving it any more thought.

Lin Hai hung up the phone and started tutoring that very evening.

He first found "Jerry Maguire," a movie he had seen years ago, but hadn't paid attention to the soundtrack back then.

This time, watching it again with specific questions in mind, I immediately grasped the feeling. The music in those competition scenes had a strong rhythm, an upward melody, and clear drumbeats, which could push the audience's emotions to a higher level.

Next up is "Baseball Love". The soundtrack of this film is more sentimental, but it also has that same uplifting power at crucial moments.

Then came Rocky, and as soon as the classic song "Gonna Fiy Now" came out, Lin Hai understood what Zhang Jun wanted.

That spirit of climbing out of the trough and gritting your teeth to move forward is all in the music.

After watching the movie, Lin Hai felt it wasn't enough.

He then played several games, including Pro Evolution Soccer and the NBA 2K series.

These sports games feature more direct and rhythmic music, designed to make the gameplay more exciting for players.

After playing the game for a few days, Lin Hai gradually got the hang of it.

He wasn't looking for simple "excitement," but rather the feeling of "athletes fighting until the very last second on the field." There was exhaustion, struggle, perseverance, and finally, a burst of energy.

With these preparations in place, Lin Hai returned to his studio and scrapped the first version, starting over.

This time, he had a picture in his mind.

The sunlight on the training field, the girls' running footsteps, Jackie Chan, playing the father, standing by the track, timing his words with a stopwatch, sweat dripping onto the track, his breathing growing heavier, but his steps cannot stop—

Lin Hai sat down at the piano and tried out the pieces one by one.

The pace should start slowly, reflecting the daily routine of training—monotonous but essential. Then, the pace gradually quickens as the competition approaches and the tension builds.

Finally, the sprint begins: a rapid drumbeat, brass instruments join in, and the melody soars upwards, reaching its climax.

When composing the background music for the match scenes, Lin Hai put himself in the role of an athlete.

He imagined himself as that girl struggling on the track, so tired he was about to collapse, but the finish line was just ahead. He gritted his teeth and sprinted across.

After finishing the passionate part, he wrote the tender paragraphs.

That was a scene depicting the emotional bond between a father and daughter. Jackie Chan played the father, who was usually strict, but his care for his daughter was subtly revealed in the details.

These scenes need to be supported by gentle music; they shouldn't be sentimental, but they should be moving.

Halfway through writing, Lin Hai suddenly remembered the background of the story that Zhang Jun had mentioned before: Yunnan Province.

He flipped through the script and noticed the setting of the story: the plateau, the sunshine, the mountains, and the lives of the local people.

Lin Hai listened to some folk songs from Yunnan Province, and their simple melodies gave him new ideas.

He tried to incorporate some local elements into the soundtrack.

For example, in one training scene, he used the hulusi (a type of Chinese flute), whose soft and melodious tone contrasted with the intense training scene, making it even more interesting.

There are also several background music tracks, which he referenced the tunes of Yunnan folk songs to give the music a local flavor.

More than half a month later, Lin Hai brought the second version of the soundtrack to the editing room.

Zhang Jun was watching a new rough cut with Tian Ke when he saw Lin Hai arrive. He invited him to sit down and took the CD Lin Hai handed him.

"Listen directly?" Zhang Jun asked.

Lin Hai nodded: "Listen first, then we'll talk."

Zhang Jun put the CD into the player and played the first song.

Music flowed from the sound system in the editing room.

The first piece is background music for a training session. It has a steady rhythm, conveys a sense of fatigue, but also a feeling of perseverance.

Zhang Jun listened without saying a word.

The second song is about preparations before the competition. The tension gradually builds up, and the heart-pounding drumbeats become more and more frequent.

The third piece was a sprint; when the brass instruments burst out, Zhang Jun felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end.

Then came the fourth and fifth songs —

As a gentle melody played, Zhang Jun noticed the sound of a hulusi (a type of gourd flute) in it. Its soft, slightly melancholic tone perfectly matched the mood of the scene.

After the last song finished playing, the editing room was quiet for a few seconds.

Tian Ke spoke first: "This version is good; it's more emotionally resonant than the previous one."

Zhang Jun nodded and turned to Lin Hai: "Teacher Lin, this version is different."

Lin Hai breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "As you said, I went back and watched those movies and played those games, and it really felt different."

Then, thinking about the Yunnan province background you mentioned, I tried adding some local elements, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate.

Zhang Jun waved his hand: "It's very suitable. The gourd flute was used well. It wasn't forced in; it blended in with the scene."

He thought for a moment and then added, "Even if you don't watch the movie, just listening to these soundtracks will make you think they're quite beautiful."

Lin Hai paused for a moment, then laughed: "That's quite a high compliment."

Zhang Jun laughed: "To be honest, this version will definitely make it straight to the final round."

For the next few weeks, Lin Hai stayed in the editing room, working with Zhang Jun to match the soundtrack frame by frame to the visuals.

In some places, the length needed to be adjusted, and in others, the emotions needed to be fine-tuned. The two cooperated quite well.

On the day he finished checking everything, Zhang Jun went through it from beginning to end.

Visuals, sound effects, and background music—all of these elements finally come together as a whole.

He watched the scenes on the screen and listened to the background music perfectly complementing the emotions of each scene, and he felt confident.

The production progress of the movie "Run, Dad!" has been closely watched by the outside world. It marks the first collaboration between Zhang Jun and Cheng Long, and is being promoted as a tribute to the Olympics, generating considerable buzz.

However, the film remained under wraps until the end of February when the official poster was released, announcing its release date of April 30.

day.

The film received the green light from the censors all the way. It was approved without any cuts just a few days after it was submitted for review.

Han Sanping told Zhang Jun over the phone, "The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is very satisfied with the subject matter of this film, believing that it has not only broadened the boundaries of Chinese-language films."

More importantly, it embodies the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people, perfectly fitting the atmosphere of an Olympic year.

Zhang Jun asked, "Verbal praise alone isn't enough; are there any specific preferential policies?"

"You little brat—"

Han Sanping laughed and said, "Of course, your film has secured a tax exemption. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television also instructed us to provide convenience in distribution and give it the best release date."

"That's great."

Zhang Jun said gratefully, "Thank you, Uncle Han."

"Don't rush to thank me,"

Han Sanping asked, "How's your relationship with Lu Chuan going?"

Zhang Jun didn't hide anything: "Aside from a few arguments and some reluctant compliments, we basically had no contact with each other."

Han Sanping was surprised by Zhang Jun's honesty, but he still said, "Whatever irreconcilable conflicts there are between young people, I hope you can still get along harmoniously with Lu Chuan and contribute yourselves to Chinese-language films together."

Zhang Jun verbally agreed, but in his heart he was thinking: "I can make a contribution, but Lu Chuan might not. His movie next year—it's hard to describe."

However, he didn't say this to Han Sanping. As long as Lu Chuan didn't mess with him, Zhang Jun wouldn't bother with him.

However, given Lu Chuan's temperament, she would definitely seek revenge if she had suffered a loss before. Even if she hadn't suffered a loss, she would still find a way to cause trouble.

Judging from low-quality, overly alkaline comedies, Lu Chuan has actually learned the bad habits of those public intellectuals in the cultural circle, who like to stand on a high point and point fingers at everything.

When someone points out his mistakes, he always assumes it's not his fault, but the fault of the person who pointed it out.

So sometimes, there's no other way; Lu Chuan will just come and offer herself up, and Zhang Jun can't avoid it.

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