Chapter 293 Test the waters

"Old Wu, sure, I'm waiting for you to break the domestic film box office record."

In the company, Lu Yang, who saw Wuershan, spoke first.

"Hey, publicity is definitely needed.

Besides, our movie is not bad, maybe it will be good. Director Gu has seen the finished film and said it was well made. "

Wu Ershan folded his arms and said with a smile.

"The movie is not bad, but the timing is not very good. It will be released at the end of the month, after the Lunar New Year holiday. Is that okay?"

Lu Yang asked back.

"Director Gu wanted to test the potential of the Spring Festival period, so he scheduled Painted Skin 2 and Director Xu's Lost on Journey to be released in late December and late January."

Since they were all family members, Wuershan did not hide anything and told it directly.

"Spring Festival schedule?" Lu Yang was a little confused.

"Yes, it is the Spring Festival period, but not entirely, after all, these two movies were released before the Spring Festival."

Gu Wei's voice sounded from the side.

"Director, here we come."

"Ah."

Gu Wei nodded and continued, "Everyone has seen how popular Avatar was before the Spring Festival last year. This period definitely has great potential, so I plan to test the waters with Lost on Journey and Painted Skin 2."

In fact, there was no Spring Festival period in China at the beginning, because movie theaters were closed during the early Chinese New Year.

Although Jackie Chan's "Rumble in the Bronx" was scheduled to be released on the first day of the Chinese New Year as early as 1995 and became a huge hit in Hong Kong Island, due to the limitations of the economic level and living conditions at the time, "Rumble in the Bronx" did not have a good box office in mainland China.

Generally speaking, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone is busy visiting relatives and friends to celebrate the New Year. Many film companies will not choose to release their films during this period, and even many cinemas will not open.

At that time, the box office of the entire Spring Festival period could only be maintained by the Hollywood movies released some time ago.

The deadlock was not broken until the release of "Huo Yuanjia" starring Li Lianjie in 06.

At that time, there were less than 3,000 screens in the entire mainland, and the box office for the entire Spring Festival was only 80 million yuan, while the movie "Huo Yuanjia" alone earned 70 million yuan.

In the following years, the Spring Festival box office in the mainland did not improve much, and it was all supported by imported Hollywood films.

The two of them were thoughtful after listening to it. "Lost on Journey" was okay, it was a low-budget movie, even if it lost money it wasn't much, but "Painted Skin 2" was a big investment, and Director Gu was really willing to spend the money.

But on the other hand, the release date of "Painted Skin 2" is still some time away from the Spring Festival period, so it cannot be considered the real Spring Festival period.

Lu Yang and Wuershan looked at each other and said, "Okay, you are the boss, we all listen to you."

...

After "Alone on the Beach at Night" was approved, Liu Yifei and Su Chang stayed at home every day to study the script.

"Xixi, please don't let yourself get depressed."

Seeing that Miss Liu's mental state was a little abnormal, Gu Wei felt a little worried. The young lady was a bit literary in nature, and now that she had encountered a suitable script, she had completely immersed herself in it.

"Xixi, it's okay. I'm here. I'll help you watch her."

Hearing this, the young lady rolled her eyes and ignored Gu Wei. It was Su Chang next to her who spoke up.

"Anyway, you two should take it easy. There are many cases where people get too caught up in the filming of a movie."

"Oh, I see. You're so annoying."

Liu Yifei complained impatiently, causing Gu Wei to touch his nose and smile bitterly.

At present, the tentative roles for this movie are Liu Yifei as the lead, Su Chang, Qin Hao, and Chen Minghao as the supporting actors. As for guest appearances, there are quite a few people, including Huang Xiaoming, Zhou Xun, Huang Bo and others.

"Well, we're still short of a few directors."

Since it involves cyberbullying in the entertainment industry, a big director must be involved, Gu Wei said to himself, then took out his phone and dialed.

"Brother, why did you think of calling your brother?"

Gu Wei was used to Jiang Wen's tone of referring to himself as his brother, and he didn't take it too seriously. Considering his age, it wasn't a disadvantage to call him brother.

"Director Jiang, for Yifei's movie, you and Sister Yun will stay for two days and play a cameo role."

"Okay, I will definitely support Director Gu's art film.

But, is it just a cameo? Do you have any lines? Otherwise, give me the script and I will act accordingly.

Brother, let me tell you, my acting skills are among the best among directors. I will definitely give my best when the time comes and try to win the Best Actress award for Yifei.

Just think about it, a big director personally acting with Yifei..."

Gu Wei was so numb listening to Jiang Wen talking incessantly that he didn't dare to show the script to him. If Jiang Wen was really allowed to direct the movie himself, the movie would probably soon become "Wen-style".

By then, it might become, “It doesn’t matter if there is cyber violence or not, we just want to stand and make the money in the entertainment industry.”

Or it becomes "What the hell is cyberbullying? In my eyes, there are only three things: making money, making money, and making money."

"Okay, Director Jiang, there's no need to go through so much trouble. It's just two shots and two lines. There's nothing more."

"Director Gu, please give me a few more lines. I can't express my full potential with just two lines..."

Gu Wei on the other end of the phone just treated it as a stand-up comedy and let Jiang Wen play out his ideas.

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Wen was talking excitedly, while Zhou Yun beside him looked at him with a smile on her face. "Why, Director Gu asked you to act?"

"Hey, I'm playing a cameo role, and I asked him to give me more lines, but he wasn't happy about it."

"You, who dares to add lines for you? You are the famous studio overlord, and people are afraid of you." As an old couple for many years, Zhou Yun knows her husband very well and directly complained about him.

"call."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Wei suddenly felt a little regretful. He shouldn't have mentioned this to Jiang Wen. He was so damn nagging.

Afterwards, Gu Wei greeted Zhang Yimou again, and the other party said that it was no problem and he would set aside two days in advance.

As for other directors, forget it. With the addition of these from Xingchen Film and Television, the number is enough.

...

At the same place, Zou Zhaolong came to the Star Film and Television Company again.

However, the person who discussed cooperation with him this time was not Gu Wei, nor Wuershan, with whom he had cooperated before, but Lu Yang.

"Hello, Guide."

Even if it wasn't Gu Wei, Zou Zhaolong would still appear very polite, because the other party was a director with a box office of 200 million after all.

"Hello, Mr. Zou."

A few days ago, Director Xu Ke called Gu Wei and said that he learned that Lu Yang was going to shoot a martial arts film and planned to help recommend a few martial arts instructors and related practitioners.

However, after some consideration, Gu Wei decided to reject the other party. As a result, Zou Zhaolong came to visit him again today.

"Director Lu, you're too polite. Just call me Zhaolong."

Hearing Lu Yang's address, Zou Zhaolong hurriedly waved his hands. Perhaps because he grew up in the Hong Kong circle, in Zou Zhaolong's eyes, actors and acting are just a profession and do not deserve the title of teacher.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Lu Yang explained the purpose of inviting the other party over.

Zou Zhaolong and the brothers from the Hong Clan were invited to serve as martial arts instructors for Lu Yang's new film and to be responsible for shooting the fighting scenes.

“Thanks to Director Lu for thinking highly of me, I’ll take this job.

However, there are several movies starting production at the same time recently, and some of the Hong brothers have joined the crew, so we may not have enough manpower.”

What Zou Zhaolong said is true. There are many people engaged in martial arts in the entertainment industry, but there are indeed not many who are talented. What's more, many people will consider inviting famous groups like the Hong Clan first when filming action movies.

In addition, with the rise of commercial films, fewer and fewer people are engaged in martial arts fighting, and the once famous Hong Kong Kung Fu has gradually declined.

"There is no need to rush to join the crew. The film is still in preparation and is expected to start next year."

Lu Yang has a dream of being a martial arts actor and is very interested in Hong Kong's martial arts films and filming. It is a rare opportunity for Zou Zhaolong to meet a director who understands martial arts and kung fu. The two of them shared their insights with each other and had a lively conversation.

On the other side, on the third floor of Xingchen Film and Television Company, Gu Wei and Wu Ershan were watching "Painted Skin 2". The final film had been edited, but some details were still being revised.

While the two were talking, they heard an employee say that Zou Zhaolong had come over and was talking to Lu Yang.

"Let's go and see them."

Upon hearing this, Gu Wei decided to go meet Zou Zhaolong.

"Okay, come to think of it, I haven't seen him for a while since we finished filming Painted Skin 2."

Wu Ershan gave a few instructions to his assistant and went downstairs with Gu Wei.

The second floor of the company is the reception room and offices of various directors, as well as some meeting rooms and rest rooms for employees.

"Director Gu, Director Wu."

In the office, the two were chatting when they saw someone coming in. After seeing who it was, Zou Zhaolong quickly stood up and greeted them.

"Sit down. I heard from the staff that you two were talking about something, so I thought I'd come over to check it out. I hope I didn't disturb you."

Gu Wei and Wu Ershan came over, sat down on the sofa, and started talking directly.

"No, I talked to Director Lu about some interesting things about previous Hong Kong movies."

"Yes, to be honest, I was born twenty years late. If I had been born twenty years earlier, I would have been able to witness the era when martial arts flourished."

Lu Yang was somewhat emotional, and his words were filled with longing for that era.

"It's not too late now. You two should work together on this movie and make it a classic."

Several people were talking to each other, constantly expressing their opinions on Kung Fu and martial arts films.

During the conversation, Zou Zhaolong mentioned Qian Xiaohao, who left behind several classic works during the glorious era of Hong Kong films.

For example, he was Uncle Jiu’s apprentice in “Mr. Vampire”. However, what mainland audiences are most familiar with about him is the line “My fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of God” in “Tai Chi Master”, which made the character “Dong Tianbao” he played quite famous on the Internet.

"It's a bit of a pity. When I first watched this movie, Dong Tianbao was much more domineering than Zhang Junbao."

Wu Ershan said at the right time, and Lu Yang nodded in approval.

"In my opinion, this movie can invite him to be in charge of the action and fighting scenes together."

"I can see it."

...

(End of this chapter)