Huayu: Starting with Marketing Bad Movies

Xu Feng's words opened up Han Sanping's mind and provided a different perspective.

Why are Chinese films consistently inferior to Hollywood films?

Everyone knows there's a gap, but nobody knows exactly where that gap lies. Many people take it for granted that Hollywood blockbusters are better than domestic films, without ever analyzing the reasons.

As the head of China Film Group, Han Sanping was certainly unhappy with this situation, but he didn't understand why.

Xu Feng was the first to explain the reason, whether it was right or wrong is another matter, but it certainly opened up a new world for Han Sanping.

"Chairman Han, this is what I think."

"Martial arts fiction is no longer popular. Young people don't read martial arts fiction anymore; they prefer fantasy cultivation novels."

"Why? Because cultivating immortality is much better than martial arts. In martial arts, a punch can at most shatter a large rock, and a jump can be three feet high. Cultivating immortality allows you to go directly to heaven and earth, and to split the heavens with a single sword. Young people will definitely prefer the latter."

"It's the same with period dramas. Other countries started making superhero movies, and the fights were all about superpowers, like punching a building to pieces. But we're still making visceral, hand-to-hand combat. Nobody's going to watch that."

"So we also need to upgrade accordingly."

Xu Feng's words were firm and resolute.

"I have two ideas now. One is still a period epic, but with an upgraded power system, just like how martial arts evolved into cultivation. We're upgrading from war to mythology."

"Take 'Red Cliff' as an example. It's still the same story, but mythological elements have been added, just like the Hollywood movie 'The Lord of the Rings,' which features the appearance of gods. The traditional dynastic struggle has been changed to a mythological war."

In fact, ancient emperors themselves possessed divine attributes.

Before the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the emperors of the Han Dynasty were called the Son of Heaven. At that time, the emperors were the offspring of the Heavenly Emperor, and everyone assumed that the emperors were gods.

Emperor Gaozu started his rebellion by slaying a white snake and was considered the son of the Red Emperor, implying that emperors naturally possess divine attributes.

However, as times changed, the divine attributes of the emperor disappeared, and the emperor transformed from a god into a human being.

In Xu Feng's films, the emperor is truly the Son of Heaven, accompanied by a hundred gods, and the war is no longer an ordinary war, but a true mythological war, just like "The Lord of the Rings," with magic and the participation of gods.

Zhuge Liang borrowed the east wind not by observing the weather, but by actually using magic to do so. The war was no longer an ordinary war; it was similar to the Investiture of the Gods, where every general was a superhero.

The story remains the same, but the power system has undergone a major upgrade.

It's basically just old wine in new bottles, like Avatar. It's a cliché story about a human falling in love with the daughter of a tribal chief and fighting against the colonists on the side of the tribe. But by putting on an alien theme, it immediately comes back to life.

Xu Feng did the same, giving a major boost to the power system of period dramas, giving them a mythological veneer to attract audiences.

He described in detail the various settings of his mythological film.

"Great!" Han Sanping exclaimed in admiration.

Xu Feng's words struck a chord with him.

He himself is a big fan of blockbusters, otherwise he wouldn't have supported Wu Baige in making "Red Cliff".

Xu Feng's suggestion to enhance the power system and give new life to period dramas greatly satisfied him, and he couldn't wait for Xu Feng to film it now.

"Didn't you say you had two ideas? What's the third one?"

Wang Changtian was also deeply moved and couldn't wait to know Xu Feng's other idea.

"Yes, what's another idea?" Han Sanping asked with great interest.

The first mythological historical film had already captivated him, so wouldn't the second one be a must-see?

"My second idea is science fiction movies, drawing inspiration from Hollywood superhero blockbusters to create a cinematic universe that combines mythology and science fiction."

Xu Feng said, "Hollywood has already set a good example for us. They directly incorporated Norse mythology into their superhero movies, with Odin and Thor both making appearances."

"My idea is to learn from Hollywood and create a superhero movie universe that belongs to China. We will also incorporate mythology into the setting, and go a step further than them by making mythology the main theme."

"The first superhero is Sun Wukong. He was once a hero who rebelled against the Heavenly Court. Because of his great strength, he was feared by the Heavenly Emperor and his memories were sealed. However, he later regained his memories due to an accident and began to rebel against the Heavenly Court again."

"Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing can all be turned into superheroes, given a science fiction setting, and made into a mythological cinematic universe."

"Journey to the West is already well-known in China, and it has a large audience in Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea. As long as we make a good film, the results will definitely be good."

After Hollywood superhero movies became a hit, there were also ideas to imitate them in China, and many similar movies have been made.

Unfortunately, the results were all incongruous, losing both the distinctive features of the East and the essence of superheroes.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe goes without saying. DC had a very good foundation, but it failed to create it. In China, it has only remained superficial.

Everyone's rushing to create cinematic universes, but the result is just sequels without a complete worldview to support them.

The mythological cinematic universe that Xu Feng mentioned is definitely not just superficial, nor is it simply a sequel.

Rather, it truly has a complete and grand worldview, just like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, representing a modern reinterpretation of mythology.

Xu Feng's golden touch is that he can get rewards as long as he produces good entertainment works, so he will naturally work hard in this direction and try to produce wonderful entertainment products.

If all goes well, after the unexpected success, the next movie will be chosen from these two ideas.

It's either a historical mythological cinematic universe that interprets ancient history through mythology, or a science fiction mythological cinematic universe that reinterprets mythology in a new way.

He's still thinking about which film to make, but it's definitely not a small-scale production like "Unexpected," but a truly big-budget production that will change the landscape of Chinese films.

"Okay, very good."

Han Sanping exclaimed in admiration once again.

Although this sci-fi fantasy cinematic universe wasn't as upscale as some period epics, he still liked it.

He felt that Xu Feng was right. With the popular appeal of Journey to the West, as long as it was filmed well, the results would definitely be good.

"Both of your ideas are excellent, and I like them very much."

"I will support you no matter which movie you make."

Han Sanping was very excited.

He saw hope for Chinese cinema in Xu Feng.

Unlike other big directors who seem intimidated by Hollywood, Xu Feng has the fearless spirit of a newborn calf, showing no regard for even Hollywood.

What Chinese films need now is this kind of spirit.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Han."

"I haven't finished filming my new movie yet," Xu Feng said with a shy smile.