Huayu Shen Gongbao

Chapter 72, First Intelligence Report

Reign of Assassins is Snow Leopard Studio's first film and also the studio's first foray into content production.

This is also Li Xue's first time as a producer, and she is still learning and exploring many things.

The studio plans to use the pre-production of Resurrection to gain production experience, recruit relevant personnel, and initially build a content production team.

In addition, Shen Gongbao is going to film Red Cliff next, and Li Tao is also filming the movie "Butterfly Flies", so neither of the main actors are available.

Therefore, the filming schedule for this movie is tentatively set for January next year.

There is ample time to prepare for the film, but we still need to finalize the schedules of the director and lead actors first.

In particular, the director, who is the core of the production team, must be confirmed first, so that subsequent preparations can proceed more smoothly.

When it comes to martial arts movies, Shen Gongbao immediately thinks of Lu Yang, the director of Brotherhood of Blades.

This person also directed the film "A Writer's Odyssey".

Although Lu Yang's films still have some issues with the script, they are quite good in terms of Chinese aesthetic style in costumes, props, and visual design, as well as the feel of martial arts.

In addition, Lu Yang was just a recent graduate, so he could be signed to the studio for training.

Therefore, Shen Gongbao recommended Lu Yang to Li Xue.

Hearing Li Xue's words, Shen Gongbao was still somewhat surprised. He asked, "In what ways is it unsuitable?"

Li Xue analyzed: "First of all, Lu Yang just graduated from the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy this year, and he has no experience in directing feature films."

I talked to him twice and felt that he had some talent, but his ideas were very unconventional and his abilities needed improvement.

It would be too risky for us to directly invite him to direct Reign of Assassins.

Secondly, in the current film market, audiences still appreciate the model of pairing big directors with big stars.

Although the production cost of "Reign of Assassins" was not particularly high, it had three popular stars in the lead roles: you, my sister, and Sissi, so the cast was not a problem.

We should find a director with a certain level of fame.

This is highly beneficial for content production control, future promotion, and even theater scheduling.

Li Xue's analysis made a lot of sense, and Shen Gongbao quickly understood.

Lu Yang's abilities are still insufficient at present. It was only after he had filmed several movies that he was able to produce a work like "Brotherhood of Blades".

Furthermore, from a market perspective, it is indeed inappropriate to hire Lu Yang, a complete newcomer, as director.

The current film market is indeed dominated by blockbusters; even a dark horse like Crazy Stone only grossed 2300 million yuan at the box office.

The main reason is that there is no such thing as WeChat Moments at present.

Internet traffic is still mainly in the public domain, and the influence of traditional media is still significant. The influence of genuine word-of-mouth in movies cannot be effectively converted into box office revenue.

The concept of "tap water" had not yet taken off in 2007.

Whether a film's production team is worthwhile directly impacts its promotional effectiveness, theater scheduling, and audience choice.

As a reborn individual, Shen Gongbao, with his perspective from the future and his own ideas, was able to come up with some excellent creative ideas.

However, when it comes to film production, he is a complete novice and still needs to learn.

So Shen Gongbao asked again, "Do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

Li Xue was prepared. She handed over two documents and said, "I recommend two candidates:

One is Guan Hu. He has been filming TV series for the past few years, and his works are excellent. His ability is definitely not a problem.

He happens to want to return to the film industry but can't find good projects right now. If we contact him, we're sure we can reach an agreement.

Another one is Tsui Hark. Although "Seven Swords" was not a success, Tsui Hark is still a top-notch director in the field of martial arts films.

Moreover, he is famous enough that if we can get him to collaborate, our film will definitely get attention.

However, Xu Ke is difficult to hire, and he's quite expensive.

From a professional perspective, Li Xue's recommendation is perfectly reasonable.

Guan Hu may be biased and make bad movies in the future, but in the present, he is indeed very strong. "Get on the bus," "The Black Hole," and "The Migrant Workers" are all very good works.

Tsui Hark does indeed have something to offer; he's quite authoritative in the field of martial arts fiction, and his reputation is considerable.

But Shen Gongbao didn't want to contact them.

He recalled in his mind which martial arts films he had watched were the most classic.

Soon, the image of "Swordsman of Double Flag Town" appeared in his mind.

This martial arts film, released in 1991, remains relevant even in the future era of short videos.

Whether it's the scenes of "yellow sand filling the sky and blood staining the sword" or the martial arts spirit of fighting against tyranny and evil, the movie can be described as a classic.

Being cool is a feeling, and that's the most important feeling in martial arts films.

This is especially true for the movie Reign of Assassins.

So Shen Gongbao suggested, "How about we invite He Ping to be the director?"

"He Ping? He was fired by Columbia Pictures after the failure of 'Warriors of Heaven and Earth,' and it seems he's been taking a break for the past two years." Li Xue thought for a moment and said, "Director He is one of the representatives of the Fifth Generation of directors. His ability and status are definitely sufficient."

However, whether he is willing to direct our film requires further discussion.

"It's okay, you can make an appointment with him first."

The Gionee camera shoot went smoothly and was finished in one afternoon.

Shen Gongbao was a decisive person, and that very evening he took Li Xue to dinner with He Ping.

When Shen Gongbao first met He Ping, he had a good impression of him.

Although his hair and beard were somewhat gray, he was clean-cut, lean and energetic, with a rugged face, and looked quite like a chivalrous knight.

He Ping had a better impression of Shen Gongbao, not only because of his talent as a "social butterfly," but also because Shen Gongbao's previous satirical remarks about certain people in the entertainment industry were very much to his liking.

In terms of temperament, He Ping is also straightforward and has criticized Guo Jingming and Zhang Yibai, among others, in the entertainment industry.

So he went straight to the point and said, "I didn't expect anyone would still remember me and take the initiative to ask me to make a movie. Do you have the script with you? I'd like to take a look at it first."

He Ping's peak status in the industry was in the early 2000s.

At the time, as Columbia Pictures' sole producer and consultant in mainland China, he wielded considerable power and resources.

At that time, Zhang Yimou had not yet proven himself in commercial films, while He Ping was considered the director in mainland China who best balanced commercial appeal and artistic merit.

"Warriors of Heaven and Earth" was prepared and filmed earlier than "Hero," but "Hero" was released first and became a success. "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" was released a year later and suffered a huge loss of 5000 million yuan. He Ping was dismissed by Columbia Pictures and bid farewell to the mainstream stage of the film industry.

This is the cruelty of the film industry, and also what makes Zhang Yimou so amazing.

So after He Ping quickly finished reading the script, Shen Gongbao said, "I always believe that every director has his own strengths and weaknesses."

For example, Zhang Yimou is not good at storytelling, but he is good at directing and filming large-scale scenes. He has a lot of energy and can take care of all aspects of the crew.

Director He, you are actually not good at large-scale scenes, but better at shooting small and beautiful stories.

Therefore, the commercial failure of "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" was not due to a lack of ability, but rather because it was misguided from the beginning. The excessively long filming period and the poor ending were inevitable.

"The 'Reign of Assassins' project is within your comfort zone in terms of genre, Director He, but the setting is the misty Jiangnan region, no longer a Western style, which presents a certain challenge for you and is very suitable for your comeback."

Effective communication means speaking according to each person's personality traits.

He Ping was very direct, so Shen Gongbao didn't beat around the bush either, directly explaining why he had come to He Ping to direct Reign of Assassins.

He Ping was only fifty years old at the time, and he definitely wanted to continue making movies.

However, the projects that came his way all had various problems, and no one wanted to hire him for big projects anymore. He didn't want to act in TV dramas like Zhou Xiaowen, so he had no choice but to stay idle.

The investment for "Reign of Assassins" is estimated at 2500 million yuan. The cast is good, the script is also decent, and it is indeed the most suitable for He Ping.

So he nodded and said directly, "No problem, I'm willing to take on this project."

I do have one issue with the script.

Shen Gongbao said, "Director He, you can bring up any ideas you have. This script is only a first draft at the moment."

In order to meet the deadline, Shen Gongbao wrote a script outline that was exactly the same as the one in his previous life, Sword Rain, and he didn't even have time to optimize it.

He Ping said with a smile, "After skimming through the script, the character that impressed me the most is Jiang Asheng, played by you."

This is also the most exciting part of the story.

To be honest, Reign of Assassins is a good story, but I think the overall style is too feminine.

The greatest thrill of martial arts films lies in revenge and retribution, using extreme violence to break free from the constraints of the existing system and fulfill what people cannot do in reality.

The protagonist can retire from the martial world or see through the illusions of life, but that must be a graceful departure after taking revenge and unleashing extreme violence.

I'd like to increase Jiang Asheng's screen time, incorporating more masculine elements into the film, creating a clash between the gentle beauty of Jiangnan and the ruggedness of the Northwest desert. Is this feasible?

He Ping is indeed very capable when it comes to martial arts films; he saw the problems with the script for "Reign of Assassins" at a glance.

The plot and character design of Reign of Assassins are indeed too effeminate, constantly talking about retiring from the martial arts world and letting go of hatred, resulting in a lack of satisfying excitement.

This is also the main reason why the film failed at the box office after its release.

Therefore, finding the right director is very important for a project, especially since Snow Leopard Studio is just starting out and needs the help of professionals.

Upon hearing He Ping's words, Shen Gongbao also became interested and immediately began discussing the script with He Ping at the dinner party.

The two got along very well.

The director for the "Reign of Assassins" project has been officially confirmed as He Ping.

As for Lu Yang, a newcomer, Snow Leopard Studio still signed him and made him an assistant director on set to gain work experience.

Over the next few days, Shen Gongbao discussed the adaptation of the script with He Ping.

After all, the script is the foundation of a film. Once the script is finalized and the film's style is roughly determined, the subsequent preparations can proceed step by step, and Shen Gongbao will no longer need to worry about it.

By July 30th, Jianyu's work direction was basically finalized, and Shen Gongbao had some free time, so he prepared to go to Han Sanping for tea.

Unexpectedly, on the way to China Film Group, I saw the Heavenly Bead change color and subtitles appear on it.

Today marks exactly ten days since Shen Gongbao obtained the Heavenly Pearl. His Heavenly Eye function has been activated, and the first piece of information has been delivered on time.

In August 2007, Jing Tian, ​​whose debut as a singer had received a lukewarm response, instead enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy, hoping to pursue an acting career.

Lu Zheng, the powerful figure behind her, has ample funds and is determined to make Jing Tian a star.

He is currently in contact with Tongle Film & Television, intending to produce the television series "An Epic of a Woman".

Upon seeing the information appear on the Heavenly Pearl, Shen Gongbao's eyes lit up, and he instantly understood the significance of this intelligence!

After the Red Cliff production team purged investors like Cheng Tian, ​​the financial hole became even bigger than in the previous life.

Han Sanping is extremely worried about this and is looking for investors everywhere, but the progress is not going smoothly.

Isn't Lu Zheng a perfect partner?

The other party has money and wants to make Jing Tian famous, but they don't have any cooperation channels in the film and television industry at the moment.

The Red Cliff production team was short of money, and after the main cast was replaced, Lin Chih-ling was also dismissed.

There's also a female lead role for Xiao Qiao in the production!

If Jing Tian were to play Xiao Qiao, and use this opportunity to negotiate investment with Lu Zheng, then the funding problem for Chibi could be easily solved!