The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

This meme first appeared in the movie "Hello Mr. Billionaire," but given Li Chenggong's sarcastic tone, it's not hard to understand.

Not only were they laughing, but another employee with long hair in the video also laughed.

Li Chenggong also turned his attention to him and began to hurl his sharp tongue.

The line that you showed me the truth about long hair and short wit was changed by Gu Ning to "You made me realize that the saying 'long hair and short wit' applies to both men and women."

The scene then shifts to an old dormitory.

Niu Geng and several coworkers were watching the morning news, which was reporting on the Spring Festival travel rush.

They heard on the news that tickets were hard to come by, and they got anxious, discussing that they would buy tickets as soon as they got their wages today.

But when the agreed time finally arrived, the contractor failed to deliver their wages.

They couldn't get in touch by phone, and that's when they panicked and went to the construction site with other workers.

This section serves as a transition and is quite uneventful.

The story only gets interesting when Niu Geng receives sponsorship from the foreman, who buys him food for the journey with his fellow workers, and he heads to the airport.

As the plot unfolded, laughter filled the screening room.

It's still 08, before we've been exposed to all sorts of jokes and short videos, and most people's threshold for laughter is still very low.

Tian Zhuangzhuang frowned slightly as he watched; in his opinion, the film was quite ordinary and lacked any profound meaning.

But the laughter in the audience also indicates that the film was a success.

An hour and a half later, the film ended, and the teacher who was showing the film took on the role of host, coming to the screen and facing the teachers and students watching the film.

"This film was shot by Gu Ning, a student from the photography department. Judging from the laughter during the screening, the students really liked it."

The script and direction of this film were both done by Gu Ning, who is here today. If you have any questions about the creation and filming of the film, please feel free to ask.

Let's welcome Gu Ning to the front with a round of applause.

Applause immediately erupted in the room. Gu Ning smiled, stood up, turned around, bowed to the crowd, and then went to the projectionist.

"Is Gu Ning ready to answer questions from the students in the audience?"

"I'm ready." Gu Ning nodded.

"Alright, now please raise your hand if you have any questions."

As soon as the teacher spoke, many students raised their hands.

Although today's film screening was targeted at students majoring in directing, there were no strict restrictions; it was just that there was no deliberate promotion of it.

Quite a few students from other departments managed to sneak in.

Seeing so many hands raised, the projectionist chose a directing student he vaguely remembered.

"Hello, Senior Brother Gu, I'm Zhang Boyuan, a sophomore in the Directing Department." Zhang Boyuan greeted him somewhat awkwardly.

"Hello." Gu Ning smiled and nodded.

Zhang Boyuan took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and asked his question.

"Everyone says that film is the seventh art. Although Brother Gu's movie is very funny, I can't see any artistry in it."

If commercial films continue to abandon artistry, will cinema still be art in the long run?

"Junior brother, that's a very pointed question. If you hadn't been a little reserved just now, I would have thought you were deliberately trying to pick a fight," Gu Ning said with a smile.

As soon as Gu Ning said this, a burst of laughter immediately erupted in the room.

"Junior Brother Zhang, don't be nervous. I'm not trying to make fun of you, I was just joking."

Gu Ning's smile faded, and she said seriously, "Actually, I don't agree with the idea that film equals art."

Upon hearing this, the previously noisy screening room instantly fell silent.

Everyone stared at Gu Ning in disbelief, never expecting him to deny the art of film.

Many people have a question: How dare he do that!

"Director Li, why don't we let Gu Ning come down first?" Xu Bing said urgently.

Li Wei frowned slightly; he hadn't expected Gu Ning to utter such 'treasonous' words.

If movies aren't art, then what are these people?

"Let him speak!" Tian Zhuangzhuang waved his hand.

Gu Ning paused for a moment and said, "I know many of you can't accept what I just said, but movies and paintings are not that different. In the earliest days before we had writing, our ancestors used simple drawings to convey information."

Later, these drawings evolved into the earliest form of writing—pictographs.

This shows that the earliest writing and paintings were created to facilitate communication and had no artistic merit whatsoever.

Later, when people were good at writing or painting, it became considered an art form.

The same applies to movies; they were born with the development of technology.

People imbue films with artistry when they make them, rather than films existing because of art.

I'm not denying the artistic merit of film, but equating film with art is incorrect.

Those who initially disliked Gu Ning because of his previous words had no choice but to remain silent after hearing his explanation, even if they disagreed.

Zhang Boyuan asked, "But commercial films are all the rage now, and art films are losing audiences. Will films still have any artistic merit in the future?"

"The audience is different."

Gu Ning said, "It's impossible to please everyone. No matter what it is, some people will like it and some people will not."

Therefore, when we make a film, we need to clearly define the core of our work and our target audience.

Art films convey values ​​and ideologies that not everyone will agree with.

The concept of values ​​and ideas also changes over time.

The reason some art films have a small audience is not because the films have lost their artistry, but because the values ​​and ideas they express are outdated.

"Nonsense!"

Lu Chuan stood up and said, "The world is going downhill, and people's hearts are no longer what they used to be. Many ideas and values ​​are becoming increasingly diluted and utilitarian due to the influence of the environment and social atmosphere. The purpose of film is to make the audience reflect and to curb these bad trends."

Gu Ning had no intention of arguing with him, and smiled and said, "What Senior Brother Lu said makes sense. After all, I have only directed my first film, and my ability to express myself is not good enough. I do not have the same level of thinking as Senior Brother Lu. I will continue to work hard in the future."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan felt as if she had punched a cotton ball.

Where is your youthful vigor?

He stood up to refute her, partly because he disagreed with Gu Ning's point of view, but also because he thought Gu Ning was young.

Thinking that Gu Ning was young and impetuous, he would definitely argue with him.

The debate over whether a film is artistic or not, and between commercial and art films, has been going on for a long time.

The two argued and made a big fuss so that the matter could spread.

In terms of fame and background, Gu Ning isn't even worthy of carrying his shoes.

Once the news spreads, he will definitely gain more support.

This way, he can not only gain fame, but also take the opportunity to promote his movie.

But Gu Ning has already adopted such a humble attitude; if he still insists on holding a grudge, it would seem too aggressive.

Everyone was watching him, so he could only say, "It's good that you understand," and then sat down.

Then some more people asked questions. Perhaps because of the previous questions, the later ones were much simpler, and Gu Ning answered them one by one.

Half an hour later, the movie screening finally came to an end.

Gu Ning gestured to Liu Sanxi to make a phone call so he could discuss the distribution with Director Chen, and then left with Tian Zhuangzhuang and the others.

"Director Chen, didn't Chairman Han already promise to release it during the Lunar New Year season? Why did he suddenly tell me to wait for notification? I went to China Film Group but he wouldn't see me."

As soon as they stepped out of the screening room, Lu Chuan couldn't help but ask.

"Your movie isn't suitable for the Spring Festival season. The New Year is about family fun; showing a movie like this just adds to the public's distress."

"Then there's no need for Chairman Han to refuse to see me, is there?"

"Isn't it almost Chinese New Year? Chairman Han is not only busy with work, but also has all sorts of meetings every day. He will naturally have time to see you after the New Year."

Director Chen gave a perfunctory reply, then turned to Gu and said, "Xiao Gu, let's find a place to discuss the issuance."

"Let's go to my office," Xu Bing said.

Director Chen nodded, greeted Tian Zhuangzhuang and the others, and then left with Xu Bing.

Xu Bing took the two men to his office, made an excuse to leave, and left the two men behind to discuss the matter.