The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 166 Shocking, Them After the Box Office Boom

According to the agreement between Magic Media and Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, the entire 1.1 version of *The Martian*...

The production cost of $100 million was entirely borne by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. If Magic Pictures could keep the production cost below $100 million, the remaining $10 million would be a reasonable profit for Magic Pictures.

Shen Qing's base salary totaled $30 million, including the comic adaptation rights fee, screenwriting fee, directing fee, and male lead fee, plus 30% of the initial total box office revenue, 30% of the DVD revenue, and 3000% of the TV/VOD revenue.

In addition, the copyright for the entire Greater China region must also be included.

The American company spent $1.1 million to acquire the global rights, excluding those for Greater China.

Shen Qing then allocated 20% of the mainland China copyright share from the Greater China copyright to the domestic companies.

His previous strategy of holding large-scale exclusive screenings actually offended many people, and many people reported him to higher authorities. Shen Qing predicted that he would not be far from being summoned for questioning.

This is also why Shen Qing decided to suspend large-scale preview screenings after "The Great Wall".

You should make more friends.

Of course, the 20% share wasn't given away for free. After much discussion, the final price for this 20% share was set at 8000 million yuan. Those who think it's too expensive don't have to buy it.

The reality is that the 20% share was snapped up as soon as it was given up, with China Film Group, Enlight Media, and Wanda Group taking the largest share.

Next, it's time to select the actors.

The original version featured Mark Watney, who was played by Mark Damon. Shen Qing changed his name to Shen Geng and played the role himself.

The original female lead, Melissa Lewis, played by Jessica Chastain, has been renamed Zhao Xuan.

The female lead, Zhao Xuan, is portrayed as the commander of a Mars exploration team and a former Air Force officer. Since the Mars mission is a Chinese mission, the commander must naturally be a Chinese actress. If the female lead weren't the commander but an ordinary astronaut, then for a co-production aiming to cash in on America, a Hollywood actress would have been more appropriate.

The casting team extended audition invitations to Gong Li, Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing, Yu Feihong, and Chen Shu.

Shen Qing's first interviewee was Gong Li. The interview took place in the conference room of Shenqi Film and Television. The two of them chatted about the role of Zhao Xuan like friends.

The Martian was first published as a comic book in America, and later it was re-exported and published as a domestic comic book. After receiving the audition invitation, Gong Li read the original comic book overnight.

She found one copy of the American version and one copy of the Chinese version of the comic to read.

Although Shen Qing hasn't won any major international awards, his films routinely gross three to five hundred million US dollars overseas, with "Gravity" even ranking among the top three highest-grossing films of all time worldwide. Winning awards signifies international recognition, while ranking among the top three highest-grossing films globally demonstrates his conquest of international film markets. Many directors have won awards abroad, but only Shen Qing has managed to make non-English-language films that have captivated audiences worldwide.

Shen Qing holds an unparalleled position among Chinese directors. Even a veteran like Gong Li was flattered when she received an audition invitation from Shen Qing for the lead role, which is why she bought both versions of the comic to study the character.

"Zhao Xuan and Shen Geng are old friends who have known each other for many years. Their friendship is deep. Giving up Shen Geng means great emotional torment for Zhao Xuan. However, as the commander of the Mars exploration team, Zhao Xuan must be rational and decisive to ensure the survival of the team as a whole."

Any expression of personal emotion could shake morale and lead to a worse outcome.

Her hesitation would only increase the team's hesitation; her wavering on whether to continue the search could lead to the team aborting takeoff without authorization, jeopardizing the entire exploration group. Therefore, the performance of Zhao Xuan must be restrained; her emotions cannot be too outwardly expressed. She must portray inner turmoil while appearing decisive. The character should be primarily understated, conveying a turbulent inner world without outward displaying any emotion.

After explaining her understanding of the character, Gong Li looked at Shen Qing with a slightly nervous expression.

The producer, assistant director, and everyone else in the conference room also looked at Shen Qing.

Shen Qing was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly and said to the casting assistant director, "Give Sister Li the line where Zhao Xuan gives the order to take off."

After Gong Li took the script from the assistant director, Shen Qing said, "Let's try out a scene first."

Gong Li went home after her audition, and Shen Qing met Fan Bingbing the second person she met.

What Shen Qing found particularly remarkable was that the two had met privately before the audition. Although she tried her best to please him, she didn't mention the role at all.

Moreover, she was very well-prepared this time, and knew the plot inside and out. It was obvious that she had put in the effort beforehand, probably like Gong Li, she had carefully read both the American and Chinese versions of the comic.

Compared to Gong Li, Fan Bingbing's demonstration was more outgoing. Overall, it was quite engaging, but there was a hint of sanctimoniousness in it. Shen Qing was even a little worried that if she really was the commander, she might miss the last chance to take off, thus jeopardizing the entire exploration team.

After the audition, I still had to go back and wait for news.

The third person Shen Qing met was Li Bingbing.

Li Bingbing's understanding of the character largely overlaps with Gong Li's. Both emphasized that Zhao Xuan, as the commander of the Mars exploration team, must be absolutely rational, calm, and decisive in issuing the evacuation order, no matter how difficult the decision to give up is.

Any hesitation, struggle, wavering, or reluctance on the part of the commander could give the team members the wrong message, ultimately leading to an irreparable tragedy.

Therefore, the performance of the role should be restrained.

She cannot allow her team members to be encouraged by her vacillation to engage in any extreme behavior that could threaten the safety of the entire exploration team.

The conversation was largely the same as what Gong Li had said.

However, Li Bingbing suddenly changed the subject, saying, "But movies are not reality, nor are they even literary works that can depict the psychological activities of characters."

While real-life commanders may indeed require such skills, film is a visual art form with a broad audience, ranging from elementary school students to the elderly, and from male to female viewers.

An overly subtle performance might leave many viewers confused and unable to understand. Restraint is the main theme, but to adapt to the inherent characteristics of film as an art form, I think it's necessary to be a little more expressive, a little more hesitant, and a little more conflicted in the performance.

Shen Qing didn't offer any comments, but instead had someone hand her a script.

Li Bingbing's performance falls somewhere between that of Gong Li and Fan Bingbing.

After the audition, I went back and waited for news.

Besides the female lead and the Mars exploration team commander, the film also features a system operator and reactor technician, played by Kate Mara, a beautiful young woman born in 83.

Shen Qing changed the character's name to Wang Yanyun.

The role is not difficult; most actresses could play it.

But it is precisely because anyone can play the role that Shen Qing finds it even more difficult to make a choice.

The next key character is Alex Vogel, who in the original version was an astronaut from the European Space Agency and also a chemist.

At the end of the film, when the spaceship is running out of fuel, and if it forcibly adjusts its trajectory to pick up the male protagonist, there will not be enough fuel left to return to Earth, and everyone will face the risk of being trapped in deep space. In order to solve the altitude difference problem without consuming fuel, the character uses the existing conditions on the spaceship to create an explosion.

Detonate explosives inside a sealed compartment of the spaceship to blast open the hatch and create a momentary recoil force. This recoil force will slightly push the spaceship toward the male protagonist, ultimately resolving the altitude difference problem.

In the original version, the character was played by Acaselhen, a rough-around-the-edges man born in Norway in 1975.

Shen Qing changed the character from male to female, setting her as an astronaut from the United States who hitches a ride on China's Mars exploration mission to Mars. The role will be played by Anne Hathaway.

Co-productions still need to include Americana's actors.

In addition, Shen Qing also created a character from the European Space Agency, who is set up as an astronaut and geologist.

Then there are some minor roles.

For example, space agency officials, spacecraft commanders, and mission chief commanders.

In the original version, there was a spaceship called Hermes that traveled between Earth and Mars. It was designed as a transport ship between Earth and Mars and used ion propulsion.

The Ares 3 lander landed on Mars. There is also an Ares 3 lander on the surface of Mars. The lander is where the team lived on Mars, and it is also where the male protagonist first lived.

Therefore, the female protagonist Zhao Xuan is the commander of the Mars exploration team. In addition, there is a Hermes commander on the Hermes spacecraft, and a Mars exploration mission chief commander at the ground command center.

Shen Qing renamed the Hermes Earthfire Transport Ship to Star and the Ares Lander to Zhurong Lander.

Regarding the selection of the commander of the Starship, Shen Qing prefers to use Hu Jun. Directors like to use actors they are familiar with. As for the ground commander, Chen Baoguo or Tang Guoqiang are options. Shen Qing has tentatively decided on Ji Xuejian as the official from the space agency.

Buzz—Buzz—Buzz—

Li Bingbing and Li Xue were eating when their iPhones on the table suddenly vibrated. The two sisters jumped at the same time and looked at their phones. Li Bingbing quickly picked up the phone to check the caller ID, then looked disappointed. Without answering, she immediately hung up and, still annoyed, blocked the number.

"How annoying, do we even know each other? She calls right away."

Li Bingbing said irritably.

Li Xue didn't respond because she knew her sister wasn't really annoyed by people she didn't know calling her. She had their numbers saved; how unfamiliar could they be? What really bothered her sister was that Director Shen Qing hadn't called her yet.

-

Why do people put their phones on the table while eating?

I was just afraid I wouldn't be able to receive a call or text message from Shen Qing immediately.

"I think Director Shen Qing is satisfied with my performance."

Li Bingbing picked up his chopsticks but didn't eat. After thinking for a moment, he put his chopsticks down again and said...

"As of 24:00 on Sunday, January 1st, media statistics show that the overseas box office of 'The Great Wall' has exceeded 400 million US dollars. The domestic box office has suddenly reached 18 billion yuan, and if the box office in Hong Kong and Taiwan is included, the box office in Greater China has exceeded 2 billion yuan. The current exchange rate is 6.61 US dollars, which translates to 3.07 million US dollars."

Li Xue paused, looked at Li Bingbing, and continued, "3.07 million in Greater China and over 4 million overseas. According to the media, 'The Great Wall' has grossed over 7 million US dollars worldwide. Sister, according to the media, there were only 5 films worldwide that grossed over 7 million US dollars last year, including Shen Qing's 'Gravity'."

(Gravity was released in February 2010, which is January 2012. Because the Lunar New Year had not yet passed, Li Cao referred to 2010 as last year.)

The room fell into an eerie silence, and the sisters' breathing became clearly audible in the quiet.

Globally, only four or five films have managed to break the $7 million mark in a year, and $7 million is clearly not the limit for "The Great Wall." This is just the result of the first ten days of "The Great Wall's" full release.

How much will The Great Wall ultimately gross?

"Sister, for Chinese actors, there are only two kinds: those who have starred in director Shen Qing's Sino-US co-production blockbusters, and those who haven't. Those who have starred in them can break through the ceiling and have considerable influence and box office appeal worldwide; those who haven't starred in them don't have this international influence. This is not comparable to hanging out on the Cannes red carpet a few times or even winning a few foreign awards."

Li Bingbing remained silent.

Li Cao continued, "Which Chinese actress has Fan Bingbing's influence abroad? Neither Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, nor Zhang Manyu can compare. Liu Yifei, however, has a very good chance of surpassing her after 'The Great Wall.' Sister, we must seize this opportunity, at all costs."

Li Bingbing finally broke her silence. She sighed softly and said, "Sister, of course I know this is a rare opportunity. It's not that I'm unwilling to pay any price, but I need to be given the chance first."

Amazing Movies.

"Gong Li seems to have more leadership qualities, more like a commander. Li Bingbing has a heroic air, but her leadership is a bit weaker than Gong Li's. Fan Bingbing is very beautiful," Chen Zhixi said.

Dai Ying nodded.

Shen Qing holds a photo of Gong Li in her left hand and a photo of Li Bingbing in her right hand. On the table in front of her is a photo of Fan Bingbing.

-

After a moment's consideration, he said, "Gong Li is already forty-seven years old. As a front-line astronaut and commander, she is a bit too old."

When Shen Qing was leaving the company, she was stopped by Li Cao, who had been waiting in the underground parking garage for who knows how long. Li Cao insisted on treating Shen Qing to dinner, saying that his sister Li Bingbing was already waiting in a private room at the restaurant. His sister Li Bingbing had some new ideas about the character Zhao Xuan and wanted to ask Shen Qing for advice.

Gong Li is a bit older, and Fan Bingbing, who plays a commander, has a bit of a beauty pageant background. Considering all factors, Shen Qing does seem to prefer Li Bingbing, so he doesn't refuse too much.

When Shen Qing and Li Cao arrived at the private room, Li Bingbing was looking out from the door. When she saw the two of them go upstairs, she finally smiled.

Today's dinner party consisted of only three people: Shen Qing, Li Bingbing, and Li Xue.

"Your sister said you have some new thoughts about the character that you'd like to discuss with me?"

After the food was served, the waiter left and closed the door. The three of them ate and chatted, and Shen Qing casually asked a question.

Li Xue looked at Li Bingbing and nodded gently, her expression full of encouragement.

Li Bingbing looked at Shen Qing, smiled, and said, "I'd like to report to you about the role tonight, Director. For now, let's just talk about food and drinks, not work, okay?"

Shen Qing raised an eyebrow and said, "I might not be free tonight."

Li Bingbing stood up, moved her chair, and sat down next to Shen Qing.

"If I were to invite you to my bed tonight, would you be able to make time for me?"

Shen Qing coughed twice, choking a little.

It's not that he's unsophisticated; he's been here for almost ten years, and as a director for so many years, he's experienced quite a lot of things and met a lot of people. But this Bingbing is really good at coming up with lines.

Li Bingbing continued in a serious tone, "I can't think of a more suitable word than 'favoring you.' I admire you greatly, Director. To be able to spend time with you is a blessing, an immense stroke of luck for me."

Shen Qing didn't rush to speak, and the private room fell silent. Li Xue then broke the silence, saying, "Director, what my sister said is the truth. I can testify to that. She said the same thing in private."