Chapter 267 Special Effects

Feng Xiaogang's angry criticism of Weinstein was just an episode of this year's Shanghai Film Festival. No matter how netizens discuss it, it will not affect the exchanges between Chinese and American filmmakers.

At the same time, the first forum on cooperation between domestic films and Hollywood was successfully held under the auspices of Shanghai Film Group.

In early June, reporters began to enter the venue of a large star-rated hotel in Shanghai.

There were many people attending the meeting, and Ren Zhonglun of Shanghai Film Group attached great importance to this meeting.

Ever since he failed in the competition for the right to import films, Ren Zhonglun has always wanted to increase Shanghai Film Group's influence in China and compete with China Film Group.

Seeing China Film making huge profits from imported films, Shanghai Film Group is jealous. However, the imported films are decided by the higher-ups, so Shanghai Film Group has no hope in this regard.

After considering for a long time, Ren Zhonglun decided to take another approach and let Shanghai Film Group reach a cooperation with Hollywood to make a domestic special effects blockbuster. Especially at the current stage when 3D special effects are very popular, many people will feel an inexplicable confidence in anything with the word Hollywood attached.

At nine o'clock in the morning, participants arrived one after another and the meeting officially began.

The representatives from the United States this time are Robert Pisano, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Richard Gelfond, head of IMAX.

In the mainland, Ren Zhonglun is the representative, along with directors such as Feng Xiaogang.

Both Huayi Company and Bona Company sent people over. According to Shan Cong, one of the participants, the meeting did attract a lot of people's attention.

"Mr. Ren, what is the main purpose of this forum?"

After the meeting started, the host said some polite words and then opened the question-and-answer session.

"As the domestic film market continues to improve, embracing Hollywood and cooperating with them has become the most pressing issue for Shanghai Film Group.

We have just signed a joint venture agreement with Hollywood Technical Company, and both parties have reached a cooperation agreement to jointly develop the domestic market. "

On the stage, Ren Zhonglun spoke leisurely, and the reporters below showed excitement when they heard his words. It turned out that today's trip was not in vain, and now they had more material for the report.

"Mr. Ren, what exactly is the cooperation like? Does Shanghai Film have a clear development plan?"

The reporter next to him then asked another question.

“In the next few years, the two sides will jointly produce special effects blockbusters to promote domestic culture.

In addition, Shanghai Film Group's goal for next year is to break through 1 billion yuan in box office revenue, meeting the company's expectations."

Facing reporters' questions, Ren Zhonglun spoke eloquently and had prepared a draft before the forum began.

In addition, Ren Zhonglun also believes that China lacks producers, professional producers who understand art and the market and consider the investors and can recover costs, and they are not professional enough.

When Yu Dong from Bona spoke, he mainly talked about overseas distribution, promoting a low-price distribution strategy to let foreign markets know about China. As for the domestic market, he called on film production departments to produce more good films to seize market share.

"I think the lag of domestic film technology compared to Hollywood is only temporary and not a big problem. The key is that the marketing aspect lags behind a lot. As the domestic film market gets better and better, companies that have an advantage in marketing will get the best development."

Some people say that this is not a comprehensive perspective.

When we got to Feng Xiaogang, the other party brought up the old issues again and said a lot about how both parties should be honest in their cooperation and should not cheat the partner for the sake of petty profits.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter at the scene. It seemed that Weinstein had made Feng Xiaogang very angry this time.

"Um, Director Feng, let's get down to business."

Wang Zhonglei next to him quickly interrupted and changed the subject. If some media reporters reported blindly, Huayi Company would be the one to suffer in the end.

“Someone just said that the biggest gap between China and Hollywood is not the special effects industry, I disagree with this.

I think the domestic film industry technology is a big problem, because so far many domestic blockbusters have to take the special effects abroad, not to mention Hollywood, even next door South Korea, their special effects technology is now much better than China's. "

After seeing Wang Zhonglei's gesture, Feng Xiaogang changed the subject.

Hearing what Feng Xiaogang said, Robert Pisano and Richard Gelfond beside him kept nodding in approval.

“Regarding special effects and filming techniques, I think as long as there is investment, the return will be proportional.

Just like Hua Xia's director Gu Wei, his company has a very good level of special effects. Even in Hollywood, many movies are taken to his company for post-production."

It was Richard Gelfond's turn to speak. He gave an example and the reporters in the audience also became excited. After all, the other party was praising Director Gu, and they also felt proud.

However, the expressions on Wang Zhonglei and Yu Dong's faces were somewhat unnatural. What does it mean that there is a return on investment? The key is that the investment is too large and the return is too slow.

At that time, Star Films spent hundreds of millions of dollars purchasing equipment and sending employees to Hollywood to study.

"With this money, it is better to invest in other areas."

The two of them thought silently in their hearts.

The topic of the forum was quickly publicized by the media.

"They all talk about making special effects movies to help spread domestic culture, but after several years, there is still no action."

"It's Director Feng. He even promoted his new movie during a meeting."

...

In addition to the Feng Dapao incident, the affairs of Starlight Company and Lu Chuan were also exposed by the media.

"Is he capable? He's been procrastinating for so long and can't even come up with a decent script. If he's not capable, then we need to find someone else."

The original words of the person in charge of Starlight Company were leaked. When facing the interview with media reporters, Lu Chuan was hesitant and only said that he needed time to create. He was also trying to conceal the fact that he was replaced.

The key point is that it cannot be concealed. The two parties had previously contacted each other and planned to shoot a historical blockbuster, a movie about the Chu-Han contention.

As a result, not to mention the script, after months of hesitating, Lu Chuan didn't even come up with anything decent.

"First, Cocolisi was accused of plagiarism, then Nanjing! Nanjing! was forced to postpone its production for rectification, and now the cast has been replaced at the last minute.

Some people really have nothing in their stomachs.

Starlight Company is also confused. There are so many directors in the industry, why did they choose him? "

“Some of them are also sixth-generation directors and still need support from the Young Directors Program.”

Netizens did not hold back and many of them started posting comments.

Subsequently, Star Entertainment announced that it had invited Hong Kong director Li Rengang to be the director. After he accepted the invitation, he quickly decided on the title of the film, which was "The Banquet at Hongmen".

"Well, Starlight can't hire anyone, right? There's no director who can only wear a flying saucer hat."

"I heard that a lot of actors from Hong Kong were added to the crew."

After hearing the news, Lu Chuan was so angry that his face turned blue. With the idea of ​​​​fighting for the sake of saving face, he activated his ultimate move "Daddy is coming".

It has to be said that Lu's father does have some influence in the circle. He then found two companies, New Media and Emperor Entertainment Group, to invest in Lu Chuan and started preparing a new movie.

It is said to be a historical blockbuster, and it can be seen that the two sides are at odds with each other.

The industry is enjoying this melon very much. Mainland capital has found a Hong Kong director, and mainland directors have found Hong Kong capital. Is this a two-person show?

At the filming location of "2012", Liu Yifei, who had no roles to play in the past two days, brought Su Chang who came to visit the set, and the two of them went to nearby attractions and had a good time.

"You've been here for two days. Lu Yang called me and asked you to go back and promote the product."

Looking at Su Chang who came back with Liu Yifei, Gu Wei said with a smile.

"It's okay. I told Director Lu Yang to stay for two more days and then go back to continue the promotion."

Su Chang said with a smile.

"Director, the star-studded Mr. Lu is here to visit the set."

While they were talking, the assistant came over and said.

"Um, are these two days some auspicious days that the visits to the set can all be made at the same time?"

Hearing this, Gu Wei said something, but still got up and walked out. The other party was here, so he had to go and meet him.

When Gu Wei, Liu Yifei and Su Chang arrived at the entrance of the crew, they saw Lu Zheng not far away, accompanied by two staff members, who were carrying snacks and fruits from the car. Seeing Gu Wei walking towards the door, Lu Zheng's eyes lit up and he went to meet him.

"Director Gu, I'm sorry to bother you while you're filming."

After shaking hands with Gu Wei, Lu Zheng began to speak.

"It's okay, Mr. Lu. I also want to thank you for what you brought to the crew."

Gu Wei smiled slightly, waved his hand and said.

"You're welcome. I thought I couldn't come here empty-handed, and I didn't know what the crew was short of, so I picked some fruits to bring over."

"Director Gu, long time no see."

Lu Zheng and Gu Wei were chatting when Jing Tian came up to say hello.

"Long time no see, has the movie finished shooting?"

"Not yet. The filming is not going well, so the crew is on holiday for the past two days."

Jing Tian smiled sweetly.

"Ahem, well, the crew came to the south to film, and since it was close to here, we came over to take a look."

Hearing Jing Tian's words, Lu Zheng's mouth twitched slightly, and he spoke hurriedly.

"Don't just stand there, Mr. Lu. Let's go inside and take a look."

Seeing this situation, Gu Wei was happy. This girl really was simple-minded, especially in front of him, she was very honest.

"Let's go and have a look."

...

In the outside world, after the Shanghai Film Festival ended, Huayi Film Company made big moves.

Huayi’s big and small Wang used 1.5 million yuan to acquire 22% of Shanda Games’ shares, which officially kicked off Huayi’s journey of mergers and acquisitions.

It also started Huayi Company’s “de-filming” strategy.

"I think it's definitely not enough to just make movies, because I've been making movies for so many years, I do understand the movie product, and movie products cannot be completely controlled."

"As a listed company, Huayi's best path is diversified development."

After acquiring Shanda Games, Wang Zhonglei immediately accepted an interview and spoke about the company's future development plans.

"Haha, you haven't even figured out the movie business yet, and you're already trying other things."

In the circle, more than one film and television company boss is waiting to see the good show from Huayi Brothers.

Seeing him rising from a tall building, seeing his banquet guests, seeing his building collapsed.

The current Huayi Company is indeed a big tree in the entertainment industry. In addition to Gu Wei, Lao Mouzi, Chen Kaige, Jiang Wen, and several state-owned enterprises, no one else can ignore them.

The other party also took advantage of its good development to poach people in the circle, causing many companies to complain.

Speaking of this aspect, Cai Yinong was the one who had the most profound understanding of this. How many people that Tangren Film and Television had tried so hard to attract went to Huayi Company just because of their yearning to watch movies on the big screen.

Their internal atmosphere has become a mess in recent years, and it has brought about bad influences. There have been rumors about double plugs and the like. Gu Wei even suspects that it is because they have played too much and too much in recent years, so they are no longer capable and now have a strange desire to make progress.

On June 6, the movie "Ocean Paradise", directed by Xue Xiaolu and starring Li Lianjie and Wen Zhang, officially landed in major theaters across the country.

“To be fair, watching Ocean Paradise is like a long journey, with a slow pace mixed with bitterness and sweetness that only you can experience.”

“A father and son, a life, with separation and death, but no tragic sentimentality, but no matter how well the film is made, the audience has already been overwhelmed by the ordinary life and sincere emotions that permeate the film.”

“Ocean Paradise is the best gift for Father’s Day 2010.”

I don’t know if it was the comments from internet trolls or spontaneous comments from netizens, but the movie received good reviews after its release, with mostly positive reviews online.

However, the domestic market is like this, good reputation does not necessarily lead to high box office.

As expected, the movie flopped at the box office, and it didn't make any splash at all.

Even with Li Lianjie and the popular young actor Wen Zhang, the ending could not be changed.

"In the future, I will continue to write scripts with all my heart and bring good films to audiences and fans."

The movie flopped, and the person who was under the most pressure was naturally the director Xue Xiaolu. If the performance was not good, it would be difficult to attract future investments.

Just like that, another movie invested by China Film Group failed, and Han Sanping's pressure increased again.

On the other hand, Lu Zheng’s arrival did not affect the normal filming of the crew.

In the crew, Gu Wei sat in front of the monitor and made a gesture, indicating to do it again.

"Hey, Director Gu is very strict during filming. He has done six or seven NGs."

Looking at the staff who were putting the props back in place, Lu Zheng exclaimed in amazement.

Shaking his head, Lu Zheng glanced at Jing Tian next to him, only to see that she was staring at the filming scene with light in her eyes.

"Don't worry, the movie we're shooting now isn't bad either. We'll continue to invest in other blockbusters after it's released."

"Ah... yeah, I get it, Uncle Lu."

Jing Tian said after reacting.

...

"Mr. Lu, tell me what you have to say."

Looking at Lu Zheng who was wandering in front of him, Gu Wei couldn't help but ask.

"Then I'll tell you..."

Sure enough, Gu Wei raised his eyebrows after hearing this. When he heard that Lu Zheng came to visit the set, he knew that the other party had something to talk to him about.

Unexpectedly, the other party was very direct and wanted to entrust the post-production special effects of "Warring States" to Xingchen Film and Television Company.

"Director Gu, you are the most experienced in special effects. We can rest assured to leave it to Xingchen Films."

Gu Wei did not refuse. No matter whether this movie was a bad one or not, he would definitely make money from the special effects.

In the original time and space, according to official statistics from the film crew, there are more than 1000 computer special effects shots in the film, breaking the special effects record for Chinese-language costume blockbusters.

Not to mention other investments, the production cost of the post-production special effects alone is as high as tens of millions, which is also among the highest in the country.

At least when it comes to supporting Jingtian, Lu Zheng is really willing to spend money, but as for how much he actually spent, no one knows.

However, after the movie was released, its reputation was so bad that even its special effects were ridiculed by netizens.

Hanhan also criticized the plot of "Warring States" in his blog post, and also mocked the level of special effects technology in China.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lu. No matter what the result is, we will definitely give you the best special effects."

Gu Wei laughed and made a promise.

"no matter what the result is?"

Lu Zheng was still thinking about these words in his mind, but after hearing the second half, he didn't take it to heart.

"I feel relieved with Director Gu's words."

……

(End of this chapter)