This director is so innocent.

Chapter 135 A Three-Time Golden Horse Award-Winning Actress, Well-Deserved of Her Title

The following morning.

Media reporters covered the press conference for the start of filming of "Painted Skin".

"With two leading actresses, Zhou Xun and Fan Bingbing, sharing the stage, who is the leading lady?"

"Painted Skin" had a budget of 2000 million US dollars, with mainland Chinese actors carrying the main cast!!!

"Shocking!!! Su Jin's claim that Hong Kong and Taiwan actors have box office appeal is utter nonsense."

"Do Hong Kong and Taiwan directors really have any appeal? Su Jin will tell you."

There's been a lot of discussion online, but the topic that's been discussed the most is "box office appeal".

"I admit Su Jin is right. Movies are story-driven, but Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors do have box office appeal. Otherwise, why would directors like to cast big stars so much?"

"Hiring big stars is to ensure the basic audience of the movie, not to guarantee box office appeal."

"In mainland China, for a movie to achieve good box office results, it depends on how many screenings the theaters give it. Look at 'The Promise,' a terrible movie, it had 90% of the screenings and only grossed 1.75 million yuan."

"This poetry prodigy is awesome!!!"

-

"How could you send a voice message?!"

"Why do you guys call Chen Kai 'Brother Chen' and 'Poetry Prodigy'?"

"You don't know Director Chen's glorious deeds? Let me tell you all about it, he was the director of the Olympic Games selection process—"

The online discussion was so intense that it temporarily overshadowed the news of the upcoming release of "Assembly".

Su Jin took a plane to Changsha early this morning to participate in the recording of the "Happy Camp" program.

"W: Two Worlds" aired on Christmas Eve!

Hunan TV asked him to do some promotion.

Da Meiyuan didn't come. Filming for "Nanjing! Nanjing!" is about to wrap up, and it's at a crucial stage, but Lu Chuan won't let anyone leave.

If they won't let me go, then so be it!

It's just a TV series; he's enough.

However, Zeng Li was free and came over as well.

The recording of the program went smoothly without any major incidents. After the program ended that night, Su Jin took a plane to Yincheng, Ning Province.

The opening desert scene of "Painted Skin" was filmed here. After filming here, the movie returned to Hengdian for further shooting.

He'll be staying here for four or five days to help Wuershan keep things under control.

After all, these are four top-tier celebrities. Without him here, Wuershan, a novice director, really couldn't keep things under control, and a lot of trouble would arise.

It's not about being perfunctory; rather, actors may have many of their own ideas, not following the director's vision, or randomly changing lines.

At this point, novice directors simply cannot overshadow top-tier celebrities.

Let's talk about the salaries of the six main actors.

Zhou Xun and Fan Bingbing had the highest scores, both at 120 million.

He raised Fan Bingbing's salary by 20 yuan; otherwise, Fan Bingbing's salary would not have been as high as that of Zhou Xun, a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning actress.

Next is Chen Kun with 90, Huang Xiaoming with 80, Charlene Choi with 80, and Yang Mi with 50.

Normally, Charlene Choi's salary is 200 million, but he lowered it.

He himself was the director, screenwriter, and producer, receiving a salary of 200 million yuan, plus a 12% share of the box office revenue.

Wuershan was settled for 50.

Including the fees for other minor supporting roles, the total actor fees amounted to around 1200 million.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the 1200 million yuan actor salaries only account for 13.3% of the total investment; "Painted Skin" was a very expensive production.

For example, the skin that Zhou Xun held her head with both hands as if she was about to tear off—this scene only lasted five or six seconds in the movie, but the skin cost 130 million yuan.

The skin was specially made in North America, and then the special effects team applied the hair. The eyebrows and some hair on the head were made from the baby's lanugo.

The concept art was designed by Japanese filmmaker Takatake Amano, the music was composed by Ikuro Fujiwara, the costume designer was Zhang Shuping, and the director of photography was Zhao Xiaoding, Zhang Yimou's go-to cinematographer.

There were also set constructions; the final scene where several people fight in the cave was built using set constructions.

It was a little after four in the morning.

Su Jin was still asleep when Xiao Ying woke her up.

The desert filming location is far from the city, more than 40 kilometers away, and the temperature difference between day and night is also large.

You have to get up early to get your makeup done, otherwise you won't be able to shoot many scenes in a day.

After quickly washing up, I went downstairs and saw Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, and Huang Xiaoming chatting casually.

Charlene Choi and Yang Mi didn't have any scenes to film here, so they didn't come along.

As for Fan Xiaopang, her scenes in "The Invisible Guest" have not yet been filmed, and she will not be able to join the crew until early December.

Of course, she doesn't have any scenes here either.

Huang Xiaoming has excellent eyesight and spotted Su Jin yawning at a glance. He asked in surprise, "Director, when did you get here?"

Zhou Xun and Chen Kun initially thought it was Wuershan, but when they turned around and saw it was Su Jin, they smiled and greeted her.

Su Jin nodded slightly and said, "What were you all doing standing here last night? Didn't the car come?"

"You're here. Stand here for a bit and let's chat."

"You guys keep chatting, I'm going to get in the car and take a nap," Su Jin said, then headed straight for the van outside.

I was so tired, I only slept for a little over four hours.

In a daze, Su Jin felt the vehicle moving. She opened her eyes, looked around, found it was safe, and then went back to sleep.

Around 6:10.

The vehicle finally arrived at Black Wind Camp.

As soon as the car stopped, Su Jin couldn't wait to get out and breathe in the fresh air. The roads in this era were really bad, full of potholes, and she almost got carsick.

Zhou Xun went to get her makeup done, while Chen Kun and Huang Xiaoming went to find Zhang Jin to practice their moves, as they had a fight scene coming up.

Su Jin stretched her body while wandering around aimlessly.

This was his first time seeing a desert, and he was quite curious.

As we strolled along, a red sun slowly rose from the horizon, bathing the entire desert in a golden glow, like a golden ocean.

"It's so beautiful!"

You'll never truly appreciate the beauty of "a lone plume of smoke rising straight from the desert, the setting sun sinking round into the long river" until you've experienced the desert firsthand.

Time flew by and it was past nine o'clock; it was time to start filming.

The first scene shows Xiao Wei making her first appearance, barely clothed.

Then Wang Sheng burst in, wreaked havoc, and left gracefully with Xiao Wei in his arms.

Behind the monitor, Wuershan was very excited, feeling a bit like he was on his first date with a girl he liked.

Hearing the voices of various departments preparing over the walkie-talkie, Su Jin asked, "Old Wu, are you ready?"

The first scene was assigned to Wu Ershan to test his abilities.

If possible, he wouldn't have taken any further action.

"Alright." Wuershan nodded emphatically.

"Let's begin!"

Wu Ershan nodded, took a deep breath, and picked up the megaphone: "All departments, prepare! Action!"

Each main character's appearance is unique and meticulously designed.

For example, Rose's appearance in "Titanic".

First, a wide shot shows the chaotic dock, then a car with the door open, a close-up of a hand, then an overhead shot (the face is covered by a wide-brimmed hat), and finally a shot of the face.

Where's Ruth's boyfriend?!

The car door opened, and there it was in a flash.

This is the difference between the appearance of the main character and the supporting character.

And what about Xiaowei?

Wuershan also put a lot of thought into it.

Xiao Wei is a fox spirit, and her first impression is that she is alluring and beautiful.

So Wuershan started by filming the feet, then moved the camera up to a pair of fair thighs, and then began using overhead shots to capture Xiaowei and a group of men around her.

There's a small problem here: Zhou Xun's feet aren't very attractive, so they used a foot model to take the photos.

This is normal procedure, please don't be surprised.

After all, an unattractive pair of jade feet greatly affects the overall visual appeal.

In the 03 version of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber", the scene where Zhang Wuji tickles Zhao Min's soles was filmed using a foot model.

In the scene, Zhou Xun, wrapped in a white fur coat and with her legs bare, leans against a soft couch, looking innocently at a group of men eyeing her covetously.

Seeing this, Su Jin silently gave Zhou Xun a thumbs up.

Great reputations are never undeserved.

The title of three-time Golden Horse Award-winning actress is well-deserved.

That look in her eyes was amazing.

Three different expressions in just a few seconds.

At first, she was naive, then curious, and then afraid after the men around her gathered.

If it were Sister Xia, she couldn't possibly pull this off.

Before the men around him could even make a move, Ni Dahong, who was playing the role of a bandit leader, finished a bowl of wine, threw the bowl down, and kicked one of the men away.

"Beauty, are you hungry? What would you like to eat?" The bandit leader leered at Zhou Xun's delicate shoulder, then picked her up and carried her towards the room.

"Beauty, hahahaha————"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

The original plan was to arrange a scene where Zhou Xun's clothes were pulled off, but she was unwilling, so the scene was changed to a touch on her shoulder.

"Cut! Very good, Teacher Zhou, you've worked hard." After saying that, Wu'ershan turned to Su Jin and said excitedly, "Boss, you made the right choice with Zhou Xun. I'm completely convinced."

He had heard many directors say before, "An actress like Zhou Xun can definitely inspire a director's creativity; she's every director's dream!"

To be honest, he was somewhat skeptical, even dismissive.

Now—now he's bursting with inspiration.

Su Jin smiled slightly, but remained silent.

Wu Ershan is so happy when filming Zhou Xun, but so painful when filming Yang Mi, not to mention Huang Xiaoming who always has that wicked smile.

Charlene Choi's acting skills aren't great either. The key issue is that she can't speak Mandarin well; she speaks very slowly, like a sloth.

"I'll go check on Chen Kun's preparations," Su Jin said, getting up.

"I'll go take a look too," Wuershan said.

The next scene is where Chen Kun dominates the battlefield, and Xiao Wei falls in love at first sight.

Upon arriving at the back room, they saw Zhang Jin directing the actors on how to move, block, and parry attacks.

Chen Kun was also there, dressed in black armor and holding a halberd, looking majestic and handsome.

In any case, the feminine energy did not come.

Su Jin walked over and asked, "Zhang Jin, how's the preparation going?"

"No problem, I just need to teach them some positioning and routines," Zhang Jin replied.

Su Jin nodded, then turned to Chen Kun and asked, "Chen Kun, are you alright?"

"no."

OK.

""

Since there are no problems and the scene is set up, let's start filming.

"Action."

First, they filmed Xiaowei taking the heart, then a group of henchmen rushed in, and Xiaowei took a few steps back in fear.

Before the underlings could even react, Chen Kun charged in wielding a halberd, taking down one underling with each strike.

Zhou Xun tilted her head and looked at the man who looked like a god of death, her eyes filled with curiosity. What was this thing?

Her gaze is an imitation of the family's dog and cat, and even Xiaowei's posture is slightly hunched; she never stands straight.

Wuershan looked at Zhou Xun on camera and clicked his tongue in amazement. She really brought Xiao Wei to life.

Chen Kun also made a mistake; his action scenes were quite good.

"Click, wrong."

The second scene depicted Huang Xiaoming on a mountaintop, wielding a large knife and slaughtering hundreds of bandits.

This scene was much more difficult, and it took two whole days to film.

Huang Xiaoming was also exhausted. After all, wearing eight pounds of armor and wielding a two- or three-pound longsword to kill people would exhaust anyone.

Su Jinfu was exhausted, both mentally and physically!

After all, it's a group performance with forty or fifty people, so it's not easy to direct.

After staying there for four days, Su Jingang and Wuershan did not make any rash moves, and the actors did not cause any trouble, before returning to the capital.

Before leaving, he advised, "Old Wu, film exactly as the script is. If you need to revise the script, Zhou Xun and the others should listen to you. If you've got it sorted out, call me."

"Don't worry, boss, I will absolutely not change the script," Wu Ershan assured him.

"You'd better keep your word, Yiran—" Su Jin snorted twice, then turned and got into the car.

As Su Jin's car disappeared from sight, Wu Ershan waved excitedly.

With the boss present, he kept his true feelings to himself and didn't voice many of his thoughts.

First, the script needs to be changed; second, the scenes need to be redesigned.

For example, when Wang's army launched a night raid on the bandit stronghold, he originally planned to increase the number of soldiers from thirty or forty to over a hundred.

There are still some fight scenes that he doesn't think are exciting enough, so he plans to discuss them with Zhang Jin.

After returning to Beijing, Su Jin did not go directly to the film set, but went back to the company to discuss the matter of "Sheep Without a Shepherd".

Feng Zhazi's "Assembly" is too powerful.

When "Assembly" was released, many people, including some film critics, thought that "Assembly" would at most gross over 100 million yuan.

After all, the cast and the subject matter are what they are.

But after the release of "Assembly", they were thoroughly proven wrong.

In its opening weekend, the film grossed over 70 million yuan and over 100 million yuan, effectively halting the upward trend of "The Warlords" at the box office.

That's right, before "Assembly" was released, "The Warlords" was making over ten million in box office revenue every day, but after its release, it dropped to a few million.

Everyone was stunned. Feng Zhazi, leading the relatively unknown Zhang Hanyu, had actually managed to defeat a major production from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong.

Then a bunch of mainstream war-themed movies were approved for production.

Since you, Feng Zhazi, can break 100 million, I'll ask for more, surely breaking 30 million is within my reach!

Feng Zhazi was even more complacent, believing himself to be the only one who mattered in the world, and he gained a large number of loyal fans.

The current chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards, Chan Ka-sang, has become a fan of Fung.

"I often criticize Spielberg because he sometimes changes right and wrong. For example, with 'Saving Private Ryan,' I left the theater and cursed him for half an hour."

"Because he packaged it as patriotism and humanity, using such a huge sacrifice to save one person's life, but once the audience leaves the movie theater, they will think that Germans are like monsters, that all Germans should be killed, and that it is even acceptable to commit crimes against them."

"This completely distorts humanity. A crime is a crime, and it won't change because of how you package it. The war film 'Edge of Jue' is like this: Jue is an enemy on the battlefield, but he can save the enemy simply by putting down his gun. This is the kind of humanity that should be promoted."

"I've been watching Xiaogang's movies. I think he's the director who can best combine commercial appeal and artistry in film. He's really amazing."

Huang Jiaqiang was a little uneasy when he saw how powerful "Assembly" was, so he called Su Jin back to discuss countermeasures.

Su Jin poured Huang Jiaqiang and Zhao Shan a cup of tea and said, "Why are you so worried? Cheer up! The good box office of 'Assembly' means it's a hot film, which is a good time for 'Sheep Without a Shepherd' to be released."

Huang Jiaqiang and Zhao Shan stood facing each other, waiting for their boss to start trying to fool them again.

With only so many screens available, and its screening schedule being suppressed, and audiences not yet having developed a habit of watching movies, how could "Sheep Without a Shepherd" possibly snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?

"A letter?" Su Jin smiled slightly and said, "I have some good news for you. When I got back, I called Han Sanping, and he assured me that the screening share of 'Sheep Without a Shepherd' would be less than 40% in its first year of losses."

Upon hearing this, Huang Jiaqiang and Zhao Shan became visibly excited. One of them said, "Boss, now that you mention it, I think 'Sheep Without a Shepherd' can compete with 'Assembly'."

One of the main reasons why "Assembly" did so well at the box office was that the government booked out screenings.

Without this, it's at best on par with "The Warlords," neither can really compete with the other.

"Don't be too happy yet. The 40% screening share is just the beginning. If the box office is good, the theaters will definitely reduce the number of screenings."

Therefore, we should also do the publicity we need to do. As for Zhou Xun, I will ask her to set aside a week to do some publicity.

Also, tell Ning Hao that during the promotional period, don't be subtle in your speech, be a bit more audacious. Let's criticize "The Warlords" a bit, but let's leave "Assembly" out of the question, since the higher-ups like that.

"Boss, what about you? Will you go along for some promotions?"

"When I'm filming, I only need to travel to Beijing. For other locations, Ning Hao, Zhou Xun, and Tony Leung Ka-fai are enough."

"Boss, I think you'll have to come along for a week."

"Get lost, I don't have time. I've already wasted almost a week's worth of time on 'The Seen Guest.' Besides, I'm just the producer, lead actor, and director. Why would I run around?"

Seeing Su Jin enter, Huang Jiaqiang had no choice but to say, "Boss, 'W—Two Worlds' has aired, and the ratings have skyrocketed. You're famous again."

Su Jin was stunned for a moment. He had been staying in the Black Wind Camp, that godforsaken place, for the past few days and had completely forgotten about this matter.

What were the ratings?

"The first three days saw a 5.4% increase, followed by three days with a 7.8% increase."

1

"So high? That means there shouldn't be any problem with the ratings bet."

"There shouldn't be any problem." Huang Jiaqiang seemed to remember something and continued, "Director Wang from Hunan TV called me yesterday and wanted you to participate in 'Happy Camp' or 'Day Day Up' to continue promoting us."

"I'm busy, I'll turn them down."

"I, Mosquito, have already refused for you."

"You made a mistake."

"What about the roadshow and promotion?"

"I'm busy filming. Please give Ning Hao and the others more variety show appearances and interviews."

Jue Shi became a beast of burden for money, and now he's a beast of burden boss for money.

So, did Bai time travel?

Besides, Jianmu only had a 30% investment share in "Sheep Without a Shepherd," so why should he be the only one suffering while the other three companies sit back and wait to get their share of the profits?

Unless the other three companies provide funding, I'll definitely go on a roadshow soon.

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