Chapter 494 All Rejected
The time has come, late November.

After 4 years, Stephen Chow brought another new movie, still based on the "Journey to the West" theme.

The entire film industry is paying attention to this film launch.

You have to know that after more than ten years of development, the reputation of "A Chinese Odyssey" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Naturally, Xingchen Film and Television Company also received an invitation letter, inviting Gu Wei to attend the press conference.

After thinking about it, Gu Wei decided to let Song Ge go on behalf of the company. After all, Huayi Company had just stabbed the production alliance, so it would be inappropriate to contact them at this time.

At the same time, back home, one crew after another began preparing to set off.

This year's Golden Horse Film Festival is about to begin.

Many celebrities or invited guests who are keen on the red carpet are also posting news about going to the Golden Horse Awards.

This time, superstar Liu Dehua served as the chairman of the jury, and the hosts were Huang Bo and Zeng Baoyi. It was said to be a grand scene.

Many mainland films including "White Deer Plain", "Floating City Mystery" and "Killing" participated in the competition.

Hong Kong Island has films such as "Overheard", "Infernal Affairs", "The Big Chase", "Girlfriend Boyfriend", and "Cheers".

The previous rumor that Gu Wei would serve as the chairman of the Golden Horse Awards jury has also been refuted.

But when the king of pop Liu Dehua was interviewed by the media, he expressed regret, "I invited Director Gu before, but he said there is no work this year, which makes me feel very sorry."

When asked if Gu Wei would continue to invite him to participate in the Golden Horse Awards if he has a new work, King Liu blurted out: "Of course. It is our honor to have a world-class director like Director Gu come to the Golden Horse Awards, provided that he is willing to come."

As soon as the interview came out, mainland netizens felt relieved. After all, it is quite comfortable to be praised by the king of pop.

However, filmmakers from Taiwan and Hong Kong were not happy about this and accused Liu Dehua of being careful with his words as the chairman of the jury and showing everyone fairness and justice.

Tingfeng Nianjiuyan: "I am dying of laughter. Those people in Hong Kong still have the nerve to talk about fairness and justice?"

Tiger climbing a tree: "Let's not talk about the Hong Kong Film Awards. The Golden Horse Awards have become more and more competitive in recent years, specifically targeting mainland actors and directors. How can this be fair?"

This is true. With the rapid economic development of the mainland in recent years, its international status has become increasingly higher. However, the attitude of Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards towards the mainland is the opposite. When the mainland's economy was poor before, the other party was a little fair, but now they don't mention it.

Not only is it unfair, it makes people angry just by looking at it.

After seeing the online accusations against Liu Dehua, Gu Wei, who was on the set of "Parasite", also took time out to be interviewed by reporters.

"Yes, that happened before. Considering that I don't have any works, I rejected the invitation."

"When you have a movie in the future, will you consider participating in the Golden Horse Awards?" asked a reporter from Sina Entertainment.

"It depends. Maybe we won't be making art films in China in the next few years."

"Director Gu, would you consider inviting actors from Hong Kong to join in future movies?" said a reporter from Souhu Entertainment, holding up a microphone.

"We will invite you if there is a chance, but only for certain individuals. We will not consider cooperating with others who are not upright."

Gu Wei’s interview was reported that afternoon.

I have to say that journalists are very good at playing word games.

"Director Gu Wei bluntly said that some actors from Taiwan and Hong Kong were not upright and were suspected of having made independent statements."

"We are not considering making art films in the mainland for the time being. Director Gu will most likely start making art films in Hollywood."

"According to gossip, Director Gu Wei is suspected to have reached a cooperation with Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio to shoot an art film that will compete for the Oscars?"

For a while, the popularity brought by the interview made everyone temporarily shift their attention away from the Lunar New Year period.

Major film and television companies in the circle called one after another to ask about Gu Wei’s next film plan.

Wang Changtian from Guangxian called first. He first cursed the two Wangs, and then asked about Gu Wei's next plan.

"Do you really want to go to Hollywood to film?" Wang Changtian regretted it as soon as he finished speaking. Gu Weike is different from other domestic directors. For him, going there is as easy as going home.

"Well, after we get engaged at the end of the year, we'll go to Hollywood to shoot two movies and then come back to work on the second part of The Wandering Earth."

In a word, too much information was revealed, including engagement, filming two Hollywood blockbusters, and returning to start the second part of The Wandering Earth.

The amount of information was a bit overwhelming, Wang Changtian took a moment to calm down and said nothing for a while.

Seeing this, Gu Wei originally thought that Wang Changtian had nothing else to say, but when he was about to hang up the phone, he said a few more words.

"The release of "The Blade of the Assassin"?"

"Boss Wang, I am impressed by you, too. Haha."

Gu Wei couldn't help laughing and complained, but finally nodded.

"Let Guangguang distribute the film and sign the contract as soon as possible. Otherwise, when Director Han realizes what's going on, he will probably ask about it. After all, Director Lu Yang's box office record is there."

"Okay, I'll send someone to your place later."

China Film Group was more direct and directly asked whether the collaboration between Gu Wei and Leonardo was true or not.

"Really." "Then can China Film..."

"Mr. Han, this really won't work this time." Gu Wei directly rejected Han Sanping, leaving no hope for the other party.

"Why?" Han Sanping asked with some confusion.

"The movie that I collaborated with Leonardo had a small investment to begin with, and it was a literary and artistic film. The other party also took the initiative to reduce his salary, so it doesn't make much sense to leave a share of 3 to 5 million for China Film." Gu Wei explained.

"Wait, the one with Leonardo? And other movies?" Han Sanping is indeed a smart man and he grasped the key point directly.

"Well, there is also "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", which is a collaboration with Warner Bros. They value this movie very much and they asked for a high share this time."

Gu Wei did not explain too much about this movie, but he still did not plan to allow domestic film and television companies to participate, mainly because the cooperating Warner company did not agree.

For this movie, Warner invested tens of millions of US dollars in advance, and started the production of some special effects shots before "The Wandering Earth" was finished. As far as Gu Wei thinks, the other party is full of sincerity.

As for the subsequent calls from Wanda and Bona, Gu Wei still chose to refuse.

And after Gu Wei's rejection, several companies had nothing to say. After all, they all currently have projects to cooperate with Xingchen Film and Television Company.

Bona has "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" about to start, Wanda has "New Police Story 2013", China Film has "Chinese Partners", Guangguang has "The Breakup Master", and the star-studded "Special Identity" is also in progress.

Everyone suddenly realized that, unknowingly, Gu Wei seemed to have thought of this day a long time ago and had made clear arrangements for several large companies in the mainland.

.........

Gu Wei spent three days on the set of "Parasite", during which he directed two scenes. After he had a great time, he left.

As soon as he left, Zhang Yimou arranged for reporters to conduct a series of interviews.

Unexpectedly, when interviewing Liu Yifei, the question she was asked most often was about the new version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" on the Internet.

"Yifei, what do you think of the two characters played by South Korea, Duan Yu and Wang Yuyan, in the new version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils?"

"Ah, I haven't read it yet!" The straightforward Miss Liu confused the reporter and continued, "How about waiting until I finish reading it before answering?"

"Well, by the time you finish watching it, the day lily will be cold." The reporter couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Then an interesting scene appeared. A large number of reporters were waiting nearby, while Liu Yifei was holding her mobile phone, watching and laughing. After a long while, she stopped.

"Well, it's filmed well, but it wouldn't feel out of place if the actors who play Duan Yu and Wang Yuyan were replaced," the young lady said directly.

"Puchi." Many reporters at the scene couldn't help but laugh.

Now, the reporters have material to report.

In just half a day, the comparison between the new version and the previous two versions of Wang Yuyan, including Liu Yifei's interview, was pushed to the headlines of entertainment news by a large number of netizens.

The messages and comments are all about remembrance and recollection.

A large number of viewers are complaining and criticizing the current Jin Yong dramas, saying that they are getting worse and worse with each remake.

Not only is the casting of "Tian Long" a mess, the adaptation of "Swordsman" is even more outrageous. Linghu Chong even has an ambiguous relationship with Dongfang Bubai!
Many netizens also think that what Liu Yifei said is correct. The director must be blind to find a South Korean sissy to play Duan Yu.

Seeing Liu Yifei taking the lead, a large number of comments condemning the new version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" appeared at once. Everyone asked Hong Kong director Lai Shuiqing to get out as soon as possible and not to ruin Jin's classic work.

The producers of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils were also helpless when they saw Liu Yifei's remarks online.

In the end, they could only say a few bland words and did not dare to retort to Miss Liu. After all, if they pissed off Gu Wei, they would really not be able to survive in the mainland.

.........

As of November 11, the Hong Kong movie "Cold War" can be said to be the only one that stands out.

After half a month of release, the film has almost no competitors, the screening rate has remained at around 35%, and the box office has now exceeded 2 million.

"Tai Chi 2" did not last a full month and was closed with a box office of million.

The star-studded "New Mom Love Me Again" barely climbed to 20 million and is still struggling.

The Hong Kong media went crazy because "Cold War" has set the highest box office record for Hong Kong police and gangster films in mainland China to date.

A large number of Hong Kong media have reported on this movie, praising "Cold War" to the highest praise.

"Is it that serious? It's only 200 million. If you don't know, you would think the box office has exceeded 2 billion."

Many filmmakers in the industry were speechless and felt that the film was an exaggeration.

"It's just a loophole. When the next few movies are released, the true face will probably be exposed."

Sure enough, with the official release of "Life of Pi" today, the screening volume and number of moviegoers of "Cold War" suddenly dropped, and the average daily box office plummeted.

Now, the Hong Kong media were unhappy and began to accuse China Film Group of suppressing Hong Kong films and accusing Han Sanping of being domineering.

Fortunately, Han Sanping doesn’t have time to deal with them now, otherwise the producers and producers of “Cold War” would probably suffer the consequences.

.........

(End of this chapter)