Chapter 355 Invitation Letter Cooperation
The huge success of "Ode to Joy" has once again attracted the attention of other film and television companies in the industry, and these major companies have also seen the strength of Xingchen Film and Television Company in the field of TV dramas.

If we say that the initial popularity of "Capital Love Story" could be attributed to luck, then the fact that two TV series are now so popular in succession is definitely not something that can be attributed to luck.

"The Internet, film production, and now the TV drama field are added. All that is missing is a theater chain. Xingchen Film and Television Company has achieved industrial closure, and a giant is about to be born."

In the Wanda Pictures office, Ye Ning looked at the scenery outside the window and muttered to himself.

According to his understanding, Song Ge has been in contact with Dadi Cinemas recently, and it seems that either it is about acquiring shares or making a purchase, and the talks are almost done.

The movies in the second half of the year have already consciously started their promotional activities.

Gu Wei was in the company, revising the script of "The Wandering Earth", and from time to time he would receive invitations to press conferences for upcoming movies.

China Film Group’s “The Founding of a Party” will be released next month.

Although the General Administration asked China Film Corporation to cut shots of some people, it did not affect the treatment of the film at all.

Gu Wei estimated that the treatment this film would receive when it was released would definitely be the same as that of "The Founding of a Republic", with a series of operations including booking theaters, government agencies organizing viewings, etc.

"Boss, this is an invitation from the crew of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, inviting you to attend the movie premiere."

In the office, a young assistant came in with a gold-stamped invitation letter and reported.

"Well, put it somewhere."

Looking at the exquisite invitation in his hand, Gu Wei couldn't help but shook his head. Sending out invitations for the premiere nearly a month in advance was really rare in the circle. Normally, they would start inviting guests on a large scale more than a week in advance, or at most two weeks in advance.

At this moment, the cell phone on the table vibrated. Gu Wei picked it up and saw that it was Li Binbin calling.

Gu Wei raised his eyebrows and guessed the other party's purpose.

Cannes had already closed by then.

This year's 64th Cannes Film Festival was truly a shrewd and calculated event. First, it continued to uphold the banner of art, while at the same time not forgetting to support and encourage newcomers and business. In the end, it achieved the best of both worlds and everyone returned home satisfied. It was a major strike of a balance.

The highest award, the Palme d'Or, was given to Terrence Malick's masterpiece "The Tree of Life".

In fact, when the movie "The Tree of Life" was confirmed to participate in the competition, everyone had a vague guess of the result.

Cannes could say no to An Li's Brokeback Mountain and Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, and even though these two films later turned to Venice and won the highest honor, the Golden Lion Award, it did not damage Cannes' reputation.

However, Cannes could not say no to Terrence Malick, and "The Tree of Life" was worthy of the Palme d'Or. The theme of the film was a grand and profound one, stretching from a family to all mankind and then to the universe. The exquisite shots and natural scenes impressed many people.

The purpose of Li Binbin's call was the same as Gu Wei guessed, which was to personally invite him to attend the premiere of "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan".

Li Binbin made a cameo appearance in "2012", and he also spoke highly of the film at the Cannes Film Festival, so Gu Wei naturally would not refuse.

"I'll be there when the time comes, don't worry."

"Okay, Director Gu, I'll be looking forward to seeing you then." Li Binbin said politely. After all, she was still thinking about continuing to cooperate with Gu Wei in the future. You know, in terms of influence in Hollywood, the producer of the movie "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is nothing compared to Tomorrow's Star Pictures. After all, the latter has cooperated with old companies such as Warner, Universal, DreamWorks, and Disney, especially Warner. The two have cooperated for almost ten years.

Although Deng Wendi's identity attracted many actors and celebrities in the circle, they were eager to curry favor with her and use her to enter Hollywood.

But compared with Gu Wei, he is still far behind. After all, the former has only produced a few movies and can only be regarded as a filmmaker in Hollywood, not even among the top ones.

"When the time comes, I'll just go there by myself and treat it as watching a movie." Gu Wei thought silently after putting down the phone in his hand.

The movie "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" was written by an American and has a lot of personal opinions. It tells the story of friendship, hope, and "love" between two women.

Especially the "love" part, which occupies most of the plot.

After all, even Li An's "Brokeback Mountain" could not be released in China. At that time, because "Brokeback Mountain" involved homosexuality, it was considered a sensitive topic in the mainland.

Since China has not yet implemented a film rating system, films with this type of subject matter are difficult to obtain approval and are therefore rejected by the General Administration and cannot be released publicly.

Although many countries around the world have legalized same-sex marriage, China's attitude towards homosexuality remains conservative, and strict control is exercised over films and TV series involving homosexual themes. The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television decided to ban the public release of Brokeback Mountain in the mainland because it was worried that the film would cause controversy among the audience. This decision reflects the official cautious attitude towards films with homosexual themes.

...

On the other hand, Xu Zheng, who got the script of the second film in the "囧" series, has been studying it day and night these days. The more he reads, the more he feels that this movie has the potential to become a hit.

Magic City.

After putting down the script in his hand, Xu Zheng began to think about the issue of actors. Just as Gu Wei said, sometimes it may take several years for a movie to go from project approval to filming.

On the one hand, it involves issues such as script writing, adaptation, and funding. On the other hand, it is the issue of actors' schedules. It is possible that the schedule of an actor you have chosen will invisibly slow down the filming progress.

When it comes to personnel, the first person Xu Zheng thought of was naturally Wang Baoqiang. After all, without him, how could it still be a sequel to "Lost"!
The saying “distant people should not interfere with close ones” means that people with whom you have a distant relationship should not interfere in the affairs of those with whom you are close, otherwise you may end up being unpopular with both sides.

During the Capital Film Festival, Gu Wei met Baoqiang and his wife. They were already married with children, and had been signed to Huayi for several years, so Gu Wei would definitely not tell him to be careful about being cheated by people close to him.

It is a taboo in the world to speak too deeply to someone you are not very close to. If one day the relationship becomes good enough, perhaps someone will say something to "point it out", but before the relationship reaches that level, there are some things that cannot be said.

If you talk too much, your relatives and friends may become enemies.

In early June, Xu Zheng invited Wang Baoqiang to Shanghai. The two first went to the Shanghai Grand Theater to watch a play, and then found a place to eat something.

Wang Baoqiang could naturally guess Xu Zheng's purpose, but he was not in a hurry. Some things needed the other party to speak first before he could make a decision. After all, Wang Baoqiang was able to make it out of the bottom of the entertainment industry, so he was an excellent choice in terms of both IQ and EQ.

The two of them ate and chatted, but after talking about a lot of trivial things, Xu Zheng didn't mention the main business.

This almost confused Wang Baoqiang, "Could it be that the other party really just wants to get together with me?"

On the opposite side, Xu Zheng took a bite of food, thinking about how to start the conversation. Inviting Wang Baoqiang was naturally his purpose, but the situation was different from when he filmed the first movie. With the support of Huayi, Baoqiang's status has risen greatly in the past two years. If he wanted to invite him now, the price would not be the same as it was then.

Although Gu Wei did not say how much start-up capital this movie could give Xu Zheng, after reading the script, Xu Zheng had a rough idea in his mind. For a movie that does not involve special effects and top actors, the investment will definitely not be too high.

Xu Zheng's idea at this time was to invite Wang Baoqiang at the lowest price, save money as much as possible, and spend more money on filming.

"Brother Zheng, if you have something to say, just say it. I can hardly eat anymore because of what you're doing." Wang Baoqiang showed a simple and honest face and took the lead in bringing up the business.

But Xu Zheng on the other side would not look down on Baoqiang because of his honest appearance. The two of them had been together for some time and had some understanding of each other.

"Qiangzi, there is something. I got the script for the second film in the囧 series. I asked you to come here to discuss the next film..."

At the dinner table, Xu Zheng talked a lot, but he became a little hesitant when talking about the film pay at the end.

"Brother Zheng, stop talking. You can decide on the pay. The most important thing is to make a good movie and give an explanation to Director Gu." After hearing what Xu Zheng said, Wang Baoqiang rolled his eyes and said honestly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Zheng instantly understood that it seemed that Baoqiang also wanted to rely on the big tree of Xingchen Film and Television.

This is indeed Wang Baoqiang's idea. Although he was promoted by Director Feng and signed to Huayi Company, it can be said that he started his career with Huayi, but people go to high places and water flows to low places.

After Huayi went public, the company currently does not have any film and television resources suitable for him. In the past two years, he has to go to Jia Zhangke to shoot art films. If this continues, when will he be able to develop?

Now, Wang Baoqiang wants to take this opportunity to see if there is a chance to join the Star Film and Television Company, so that he can enjoy the shade of a big tree. Not to mention that Gu Wei also has a lot of resources in Hollywood. For celebrity artists, this is the most fatal attraction.

"Okay, I feel relieved when you say that. Now we are still missing a main role. If you have any suitable candidates, please let me know."

After learning about Wang Baoqiang's thoughts, Xu Zheng didn't say it directly. He had to take care of Gu Wei's meals, so it was natural for Wang Baoqiang to come over now.

Hearing this, Wang Baoqiang paused and said, "How about Huang Bo? Since this movie is a comedy, we naturally have to find an actor with this kind of talent. Brother Bo has acted in Director Ning's movies. The two Crazy Trilogy movies both received good reviews and box office. I think he is the most suitable."

"Yeah, why didn't I think of that?" Hearing this, Xu Zheng's eyes lit up instantly and he had a general idea in his mind.

...

(End of this chapter)