The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

Gu Ning prepared two scripts: one was "Parasite" and the other was "Hidden in the Dust".

The former not only won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival but also the Academy Award for Best Picture.

"Into the Dust" was nominated for Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival, and its domestic box office exceeded 100 million yuan after its release.

Although it was released 22 years ago, and the film grossed over 100 million yuan, it was still one of the few art films that made money at the domestic box office.

Both of these films have significant problems, or rather, most art films are quite sensitive.

Parasite is a South Korean film that tells the story of a poor family that lives off a rich family, showcasing the conflicts and differences between social classes.

South Korea has a very serious class conflict, and satire of the upper class is very common in film and television.

In South Korean films and television dramas, more than 80% of the villains are officials, large conglomerates, lawyers, judges, or tycoons.

Without these identities, you'd be embarrassed to play a villain.

However, this movie has a major point of contention: some viewers believe it glorifies the rich because the entire wealthy family is portrayed as good people.

Anyone who expresses this viewpoint simply hasn't understood the film.

There is a scene in the film where the protagonist's family of four uses "any means necessary" to get jobs, becoming "parasites" on this wealthy family.

They remarked that this family was so easily fooled; the owners, President Park and his wife, were so naive and kind. Then, the male lead's sister said something quite interesting: "It's precisely because they're rich that they're kind."

Just like the line in the Chinese drama "The White-Haired Girl": "Poverty breeds cunning, wealth breeds conscience."

Is it that wealth breeds kindness, while poverty and suffering breed evil thoughts?

The film aims to convey that whether or not one is kind does not depend on whether or not one is endowed with kindness.

However, this movie was not released in the country due to factors such as the ban on Korean entertainment.

The film "Into the Dust" also had a bumpy road. It was released in 22. Although it received good reviews abroad, it was met with a lot of criticism in China.

Because the general public believes that this is a deliberate attempt to vilify rural areas in China.

Actually, it's not really true, because the movie's timeline is set in 2011.

However, the audience is from 2022, and most of them have long since gone out to work and are no longer familiar with the actual situation in rural areas.

People from the South, in particular, find it hard to imagine that rural Northwest China was so poor 11 years ago.

Gu Ning is from Anhui Province, and his parents were also from the countryside. What impressed him most was when he went back to the countryside with his father in 07. There were still people living in adobe houses in his hometown.

At that time, Anhui Province was only ranked in the middle among all provinces, and was considered relatively poor.

Although he had never been to the Northwest, he knew that some provinces there were even poorer than Anhui Province.

The timeline in the movie is 11 years, which may be somewhat exaggerated, but it cannot be considered a deliberate attempt to smear the film.

However, Chinese people have always had the mentality of not airing their dirty laundry in public. Regardless of whether it is true or false, the movie was released at a time when national self-confidence was at its peak.

This type of film naturally drew a lot of criticism, and although it wasn't banned, it was removed from major platforms.

In fact, Gu Ning does not agree with filming about suffering, but only suffering can reveal human nature.

You can't end up like Xu Zheng, a deliveryman living in a seven-million-yuan house while his child's tuition is 20 yuan per semester.

Foreigners might see this and think it's really impressive, with a level of living expenses that even ordinary people in the US can't match. But viewers still criticize it.

However, it would be quite reasonable to film this movie now and push the timeline back a few years.

Tian Zhuangzhuang ultimately chose "Hidden in the Dust".

Gu Ning was not surprised by his choice. Tian Zhuangzhuang and Zhang Yimou are both fifth-generation directors, and the story of "Hidden in the Dust" is very much in line with the tastes of fifth-generation directors.

"What are your plans for the other script?" Tian Zhuangzhuang asked.

"Keep it for now. If Director Tian is interested in it later, you can give it to him," Gu Ning said with a smile.

"Don't call me Director Tian. Would you like to be my student?" Tian Zhuangzhuang said.

"student?"

Gu Ning was taken aback. If Lao Tian gave him a spot in the postgraduate program, he would definitely be Lao Tian's student after he started his postgraduate studies.

Old Tian's current statement clearly indicates that he wants to take him as a disciple, rather than a teacher-student relationship.

"teacher!"

Gu Ning hesitated only briefly before standing up, changing her form of address with a serious expression, and then said with a grin, "Would you like me to kowtow to you?"

"What era are we living in that we're still using this kind of nonsense?" Tian Zhuangzhuang said with a laugh.

Just kidding.

Becoming an apprentice of Tian Zhuangzhuang has only advantages and almost no disadvantages.

These days, it's still easier for artists to get by if they have a mentor.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Tian Zhuangzhuang isn't as famous as Zhang Yimou or the poet among the fifth generation of directors.

But if he points his finger at Zhang Yimou and curses him, Zhang Yimou will probably have to put on a smiling face.

They had a very good relationship when they were studying at the Beijing Film Academy.

After graduation, Tian Zhuangzhuang went to Beijing Film Studio, the poet could only go to Children's Film Studio, and Zhang Yimou was even worse off, going to Guangzhou Film Studio, which is in Guangxi.

Before the assignment, Tian Zhuangzhuang went around asking people for help to keep Lao Zhangzi in the capital.

Although it didn't work out, he made several long trips to the Guangzhou Film Studio to visit Zhang Yimou.

Back then, it wasn't like it is now. Traveling far away was not only troublesome, but also very painful.

Zhang Yimou also had great respect for Tian Zhuangzhuang. Two years later, when Tian Zhuangzhuang was filming "Yang Guifei", Zhang Yimou put aside his work to go and help.

When interviewed by reporters afterwards and asked whether he was co-directed, he immediately and explicitly denied it.

During a Directors Guild event, the organizers wanted him to speak on behalf of the directors, but he voluntarily stepped aside and let Tian Zhuangzhuang speak, as a sign of respect.

If Gu Ning had a thick skin, he could directly address Zhang Yimou and the poet as "Uncle-Master" when they met in the future.

His connections within the industry are one aspect; he has been teaching for many years and has trained quite a few directors.

Like Wen Muye, the one who filmed "Dying to Survive," and Lu Yang, the one who filmed "Brotherhood of Blades," both of whom were his students.

Gu Ning became Tian Zhuangzhuang's disciple, making him the sect's top disciple, while Wen Mu and the others could only be considered outer disciples.

Even if we can't get them on board or cast them in movies in the future, we should at least give them a friendly price, right?

"Normally, you should have a ceremony to formally become an apprentice, but I find that too much trouble, so I won't do it. I'll find some time later to invite some of my close friends over for a meal and introduce you to them," Tian Zhuangzhuang said.

"You can arrange it as you see fit. I don't like trouble either," Gu Ning said.

There's no need to make this relationship public knowledge; it's enough that the big shots in the industry know about it.

Who would constantly talk about having connections? You don't need to tell me if you need to know.

I won't name any actress with the surname Han here.

"How did you manage to write a script like this?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang said, "I remember you're from Anhui Province, which is very far from the Northwest, isn't it?"

"It is quite far, and it is precisely because it is so far that I am even more eager to learn about it, after all, the Northwest has a strong revolutionary history. I have done a lot of research on the Northwest in order to write this script."