Huayu: Everyone's been reborn, who's still going to be an actor?

Hou Hongliang recruited not only Kong Sheng and Li Xue, but also many behind-the-scenes personnel.

Those are the people that remote film and television companies are lacking.

Of course, besides Hou Hongliang's personal connections, the main reason they came was for better opportunities.

Cheng Yuan's treatment was much better than that of Shandong Film and Television.

Salary, film remuneration, and profit sharing from the works.

This treatment is absolutely top-tier in the industry.

With better career prospects, more money to be made, and the connection to Hou Hongliang, switching jobs is perfectly reasonable.

They might not be highly regarded there, but with Hou Hongliang's connection at Chengyuan Film and Television, things are different.

"I don't have enough money, so I can hold off on paying my salary for my new film," Cheng Yuan said. "I plan to take 'The Distinguished Citizen' to Berlin next year. If it gets nominated, it should solve my immediate financial problems."

The money from selling copyrights arrives much faster than the box office revenue sharing.

"Then there's even less of a problem," Hou Hongliang said. "The project approval, preparation, and filming of 'Crossing the Guandong' still need time. It would be good if filming could start in the first half of next year."

"That's fine then." Cheng Yuan nodded and said, "If there's an urgent need, I have some more on hand. If all else fails, I can use the box office revenue from 'The Hunt' to get a bank loan; that shouldn't be a problem. Don't forget, I have another big film coming out next year, hmm."

"We'll see when the time comes," Hou Hongliang nodded and said. "We probably won't get even half the share for that blockbuster."

Cheng Yuan was rich, and he naturally knew that.

The Hunger Games earned US dollars in North America.

As for the domestic market, sales are not low, but there are too many pirated copies.

The budget for "Taken" hasn't been finalized yet, but it's sure to be substantial.

Putting everything else aside, Cheng Long's salary is not low.

In addition, this blockbuster was spearheaded by China Film Group. Although Cheng Yuan is the director, Remote Films is only one of the production companies.

Remote film and television shooting and production of such blockbusters is clearly still somewhat lacking.

Cheng Yuan's decision to produce such a large-scale production may well have been motivated by a desire to train his company's team.

"How can you pursue speed when making a movie?"

Upon hearing that Cheng Yuan's new film was scheduled to begin shooting at the end of the month, Jiang Wen couldn't help but speak up.

"Let the Bullets Fly" was in the planning stages first, and although the cast has been finalized, filming is still a long way off.

The role of Huang Silang was ultimately decided to be played by Liang Jiahui.

This also takes into account the markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Of course, the investors' considerations must also be taken into account.

This movie has Hong Kong investment, so it wouldn't make sense if it didn't use Hong Kong actors.

It is not conducive to unity.

Cheng Yuan naturally had no objection to this.

Zhu Yawen plays the role of "Old Seven" in the film.

The original version featured a cameo appearance by the screenwriter.

As for the sixth brother's character, he's the same as the original.

After all, it's a society based on personal relationships.

"Did I pursue speed? No!" Cheng Yuan laughed. "How much time can a low-budget art film take?"

"What about your blockbuster film?" Jiang Wen asked. "Has Chenglong responded yet?"

Jiang Wen didn't continue the topic, after all, how long did it take for "Buried Alive" to go from preparation to completion?

"I'm going back," Cheng Yuan nodded and said, "but let's talk again after I finish this movie."

What did you say?

The amount of investment, how the shares will be allocated, and other matters all need to be discussed.

This is a blockbuster film; Cheng Yuan Films alone cannot handle it.

Cheng Long was very interested in this movie, but he also had another movie to shoot.

I heard that filming will start at the end of the year.

"I asked Lao Han, and he said your film 'The Hunt' probably won't be submitted for the Oscars."

Jiang Wen spoke up, but Cheng Yuan didn't say anything, only nodded.

As expected.

"Aren't you surprised?" Jiang Wen said. "I felt that 'The Hunt' had a better chance of being shortlisted."

After all, The Hunt almost won the Palme d'Or.

The quality speaks for itself.

Moreover, this film is very famous internationally and has an excellent reputation.

"The Hunt has been nominated for an Oscar, what are you going to do with The Promise?" Cheng Yuan said with a smile, "After all, the investment was so big."

"That movie..." Jiang Wen said, "It's risky!"

When "The Promise" was screened in Cannes, Cheng Yuan and Jiang Wen both went to see it and naturally discussed it afterwards.

"The imagery is quite evocative."

Cheng Yuan smiled and said something nice, even though Poet Chen wasn't there at the moment.

Jiang Wen simply rolled his eyes.

When you said you didn't understand this movie and even used it to criticize me, that wasn't what you said.

"Aren't you going to try?"

Jiang Wen looked at Cheng Yuan and asked, clearly somewhat surprised by his reaction.

"Can we even compete?" Cheng Yuan shook his head and said, "If we can't compete, why bother? Besides, even if we're nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, it'll be very difficult to win without lobbying."

This year, the film representing mainland China for the Oscars is "The Promise"!

Cheng Yuan already knew this, but he never intended to compete for it.

Although "The Hunt" almost won the Palme d'Or, it didn't win it.

Poet Chen is much more influential than him now.

But after "The Promise" was released, it received a flood of negative reviews. I wonder if I'll regret it.

"Then let's compete for it next year!"

Jiang Wen smiled and nodded. He wanted to comfort Cheng Yuan, but he didn't expect Cheng Yuan to be more open-minded than he was.

"Shall we compete next year?" Cheng Yuan said with a smile. "Compete with you, or with Zhang Yimou?"

If I remember correctly, Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower" will represent mainland China at the Oscars next year.

Neither "The Promise" nor "Curse of the Golden Flower" were selected.

The original version of "Let the Bullets Fly" also failed to represent mainland China in the Oscars; instead, it was "Aftershock" released around the same time.

However, it seems that the application was rejected.

"Aren't you going to fight?"

Jiang Wen looked at Cheng Yuan. If Cheng Yuan's "Distinguished Citizen" won an award at the Berlin Film Festival, the chances were still quite high.

"You're right, we should give it a shot," Cheng Yuan said with a smile. "How will we know we can't do it if we don't try?"

"Something doesn't sound right to what you're saying."

Jiang Wen was speechless.

"You said they rejected my film twice in a row, and I'm competing for it a third time, how can they have the nerve?" Cheng Yuan said with a smile, "07 is definitely mine."

He planned to take "Love" to the 07 Cannes Film Festival.

The original version of this film not only won the Palme d'Or, but also the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

If he gets the original, he might not get the one he filmed, but the chances are definitely higher.

If one takes it, one can be directly deified, establishing one's divine status in one fell swoop, thus creating a golden body.

However, "The Hunt" cannot represent mainland China in the Oscars, and Cheng Yuan also saw other things.

For example, compared to veteran directors like Chen Shiren, he is clearly still quite lacking.

At least that's how the relevant authorities see it.

Cheng Yuan didn't seem to have any complaints about this.

He never expected that making just two movies would allow him to rival them.

It's almost the end of July, and filming for "The Distinguished Citizen" has begun.

Cheng Yuan is already on summer vacation.

This time, the start of filming was still low-key, and no media were invited to hold any kind of launch event.

Although many media outlets have paid attention to this film.

Hou Hongliang remains the producer of this film.

However, although he was the chief producer, he wasn't actually in charge of the specifics. The executive producer was someone who had switched jobs from Shandong Film Studio along with Kong Sheng and the others.