Chapter 510: Can’t catch up on time?
Domestically, regarding the grading system.

The General Administration responded quickly. Not only did they come forward to be interviewed, but they also issued a written notice later, which was very clear in its meaning:
"The domestic film industry is currently developing smoothly and is growing rapidly every year. After careful consideration by leaders of various departments, they believe that the rating system is not more suitable for domestic films than the censorship system, so this matter is temporarily pending."

As soon as the announcement came out, there was a lot of discussion in the circle and on the Internet, but netizens didn’t care, after all, everyone was used to it.

But the group of directors who took the lead were extremely disappointed.

"The Film Bureau's response speed this time was extremely fast."

"The rating system is indeed not suitable for China. Mainland media still controls news reporting."

Many people in the industry did not have high expectations at the beginning, but the announcement from the Film Bureau still dealt a severe blow to the enthusiasm of the entire industry.

Gu Wei saw the message sent by Song Ge and understood the details of the matter.

To be honest, almost anyone with a brain in the industry could have predicted this result.

The grading system has come to an end and it is estimated that it will never be mentioned again, after all, the country does not allow it.

But to be honest, not passing the grading system has both advantages and disadvantages.

The good thing is that it avoids many directors with crooked butts who shoot randomly.

The bad thing is that many educational movies and real-life stories are also restricted.

……

Regarding Spielberg's invitation, Gu Wei immediately called Zhang Yimou in China.

The national director was naturally happy to be able to participate in the competition in Cannes, but the only problem was that he was afraid that the film could not be edited into a film fast enough.

"Junior brother, I may not be able to make it in time. Cannes is a bit early this year."

Hearing this, Gu Wei pondered for a while.

Yes, this year's Cannes Film Festival was held to avoid a scheduling conflict with the eighth European Parliament elections.

Not only was the award ceremony moved forward by one day, but the opening ceremony and selection of shortlisted films were also moved forward.

According to the two people's plan, in addition to competing for the Oscars, "Parasite" will definitely try one of the three major European festivals first. The original plan was to compete in Venice.

Although "Parasite" won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in the original time and space, now that it has been filmed in mainland China, the film's metaphors and satires have been reduced, and Gu Wei cannot guarantee that he will be able to win the grand prize in Cannes.

But Spielberg's invitation obviously disrupted his plans.

"Gu, we are willing to reserve the last spot for you and Zhang, as long as you deliver it within the final deadline."

Faced with these sincere words, Gu Wei agreed on the spur of the moment. But now after Zhang Yimou said this, Gu Wei felt that he had agreed a little hastily.

"If only I had thought more about it at that time." Gu Wei secretly regretted in his heart.

"Brother, can you edit the finished film by the end of April at the latest?"

This year's Cannes Film Festival opens on May 5, which is the deadline for review of the last batch of participating films.

"Okay, then I'll fight for it."

Since Gu Wei has said this, Zhang Yimou will naturally not refuse his kindness.

The post-production time of a little more than two months was indeed a bit tight, but Zhang Yimou had already made up his mind that at worst he could do the early editing while filming.

"Brother, don't work too hard. If you really can't catch up, I believe Spielberg will understand."

...

After discussing with Zhang Yimou, Gu Wei thought about it and felt that he should say hello to Spielberg in advance.

He was afraid that the other party would let the cat out of the bag and tell the media reporters that Gu Wei's company had a movie that would be participating in this year's Cannes.

As a result, something unexpected happened, and Gu Wei was in a difficult situation.

"Haha, Gu, I say the same thing again. You can submit your film for review at any time until the last minute. If you really can't make it, it will only be a pity for Cannes."

It has to be said that Spielberg took great pains to invite Gu Wei to direct the "Jurassic" series.

隔了没两天，戛纳组委会就宣布，第66届戛纳国际电影节将于今年5月15日――5月26日期间在法国戛纳举办。

Spielberg will host the main competition, and female director Jane Camping will serve as president of the short film jury and the Film Foundation.

.........

In China, after more than 50 days of release, Lost in Thailand has finally come to an end.

The total box office closed at 12.67 billion, and the daily box office was less than . Song Ge and Xu Zheng discussed and decided to withdraw the film from theaters early. Anyway, the biggest piece of meat had been eaten, so there was no need to wait until the last minute.

Just like that, after the successful completion of "Lost in Thailand", Xu Zheng became the first director in China to join the billion-dollar box office club, which was quite a dreamlike feeling.

Netizens expressed their feelings that with directors such as Wuershan, Lu Yang, and Ning Hao in the past, and now Xu Zheng, Xingchen Film and Television Company is truly full of talented people.

There are even radical fans who said that the box office of "Lost in Thailand" alone exceeded 1 billion yuan, and next year Xingchen Film and Television Company will have nearly ten movies to be released. With this calculation, the box office alone can occupy half of the mainland film market.

This statement is indeed speechless, but there are many fans and netizens who believe in and look forward to it.

For a time, the internet was full of topics about several major directors of Xingchen Film and Television.

However, this also made many big directors in the circle feel aggrieved and powerless, especially since "Lost in Thailand" was a box office hit. This was only Xu Zheng's second film, and he was a latecomer.

As both are Lunar New Year films, Feng Xiaogang, Wang Jing and others, while expressing their congratulations, also have some intentions of sowing discord.

Not only did he say a lot of nice things, he also hinted in a tactful way that if Xu Zheng had any projects in the future, they could work together. After all, as a director, he wouldn't get much money from making a movie at Xingchen Film and Television Company.

Wang Jing even bluntly stated that in the future mainland film market, it will be a general trend for directors to invest and receive large amounts of director pay.

However, Xu Zheng is also a good person. Facing flattery and provocation, he behaves very low-key and modestly.

"I am still a newcomer in the directing industry. I will need the support and guidance of Director Gu and other seniors in the future. I also started my career with the investment of Xingchen Film and Television Company. I will not consider leaving in the short term."

At the press conference for Lost in Thailand, the three main creators Xu Zheng, Wang Baoqiang and Huang Bo were asked about the sequel during the interview.

Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang did not dare to answer rashly, "Director Gu has not notified us yet, but if there is a sequel and Xingchen Films invites us, we will give a positive reply as soon as possible."

In the eyes of the reporter, this answer is quite standard and there is nothing explosive about it.

So the reporters turned their attention to Xu Zheng again, expecting big news to be revealed.

Maybe it was because of the reporters' expectant eyes, or maybe it was because of the flattery of his peers and the on-site staff. Xu Zheng got excited and directly picked up the microphone and said, "There will be a sequel. The script is with Director Gu. Now that the box office is so good, I believe Director Gu will find time to start the next filming plan."

Not to mention the surprised expressions of Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang, just Song Ge, who was present, immediately had a slight change in his expression after hearing these words.

"Haha, you really only remember to eat and not to be beaten." Song Ge sneered in his heart.

In front of so many people, Song Ge would naturally not argue with his director, but he had already decided to give the other party a warning.

Discussions quickly broke out in the circle. After hearing the news, Ning Hao, Wuershan and others frowned. In their opinion, Xu Zheng's approach of acting first and reporting later was a bit unkind.

.........

Netizens were talking about it, and people in the film and television industry were also privately discussing the sequel to "Lost in Thailand".

Feng Xiaogang, who was working with Wang Shuo on the script of "Personal Tailor", sneered: "Xu Zheng is really too proud. He can't hold back when others just flatter him. It seems that Gu Wei is just average. He can't even control his subordinates."

Wang Shuo, who was leaning on the sofa with a ruffian look on his face, said: "Not necessarily. Maybe Gu Wei thinks highly of Xu Zheng and directly agreed to start the sequel right away. I think you are jealous!"

Feng Xiaogang started his career with the help of Wang Shuo. It can be said that he had to ask Wang Shuo for help whenever he was in trouble.

Before "A World Without Thieves" was released, it was not reviewed by the General Administration. The reason was simple: "There is no precedent for letting a thief be the protagonist. What is the thief's motivation for doing good things?"

Feng Xiaogang was almost going crazy at the time, and asked Liu Zhenyun to revise the manuscript, but it still didn't pass the review. He had no choice but to invite Wang Shuo.

People go through the plot again: This is simple, get pregnant, make the female thief pregnant, and then go to the temple to burn incense. The result is not only logical, but also improves the style through religious feelings, it is so capable.

Therefore, for Feng Xiaogang, being insulted by "Shuo Ye" was nothing. He said: "I am such an adult, how can I be jealous of him, a new director? I am speaking up for you!"

Wang Shuo smiled, "Oh, are you still standing up for me?"

Feng Xiaogang: "Of course, who are you? You are the soul of our Beijing circle. Zheng Xiaolong, Zhao Baogang, Jiang Wen, Ye Jing, and Daying, all of them have made it in the circle thanks to you!"

Wang Shuo felt proud to hear this and waited with a smile for Feng Xiaogang to continue.

"Gu Wei grew up in the capital and later entered the film and television industry, so he is considered a member of our Beijing circle.

But he has never come to pay his respects to you, and he has poached several TV drama directors such as Zheng Xiaolong. Does he still follow the rules and know the etiquette?" Feng Xiaogang said righteously.

Wang Shuo blinked his eyes, then suddenly stretched out his foot and kicked Feng Xiaogang, cursing with a smile: "Fuck you, you're trying to provoke me to help you vent your anger, right?"

Feng Xiaogang smiled and stepped back, saying, "I'm not the one who instigated this, this is so rude!"

The entertainment industry is a small world, and since it is a world, it is inevitable that there will be divisions. The Beijing circle is the most powerful one in the mainland entertainment circle.

As the soul of the Beijing entertainment industry, Wang Shuo was well-known in the mainland entertainment industry in his early years. The fame of Ge You, Jiang Wen, Zhao Baogang, Feng Xiaogang and others were all closely related to him. The "talented woman" Xu Jinglei also received a lot of help from him on her way to fame.

Wang Shuo once publicly commented on the show: "She is a girl from Xiangyang District, Beijing. She was born in rock and roll and she is sloppy and handsome. She doesn't care about her appearance at all. I especially like this kind of people!"

Old Xu did not owe Wang Shuo anything, and later bought him a house in Beijing. Wang Shuo openly admitted on a TV show, "I am a gigolo, whoever has money pays." He laughed.

Wang Shuo lives a free and easy life and particularly hates those who are hypocritical and pretend to be masters.

Furthermore, he didn’t dislike Gu Wei’s way of dealing with people, and Gu Wei’s current status and position were much higher than his.

Besides, he has gradually faded out of the film and television industry, and his influence on his old friends is not as great as before. How could he confront Gu Wei because of Feng Xiaogang's provocative words?

"You're just going to get bored with me, kid. Let's go!" After saying that, he stood up, put on his coat and went out.

Feng Xiaogang hurriedly said, "No, the script is not finished yet, we are still waiting for it to be completed and turned on!" Wang Shuo waved his hand without turning his head.

.........

In Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio has been troubled by Gu Wei these days. First, he was asked to gain weight for the movie.

After selecting the filming location, they invited the actors one by one according to the list given by Gu Wei.

But that's not all. Even after returning to Los Angeles, Gu Wei would use the fact that Christoph Waltz won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor to stimulate Leonardo.

What's more, there is no need for Gu Wei to over-stimulate him. As this year's Oscars ceremony draws closer, Leonardo, who is also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, suddenly finds that there are more and more calls for Christoph Waltz to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Poor Leonardo, he was ignored by the judges again.

at the same time.

The publicity for "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" is the largest among all the movies released during the Spring Festival.

After all, this is a movie directed by Stephen Chow, and it has its own fans and box office.

In addition, Taiji Ma has made a lot of moves recently. First, it continued to increase its acquisition of Huayi Company's shares, and then set its sights on Bona and Guangxian, intending to invest in them.

It was then announced that an independent film and television company belonging to Alibaba would be established in the near future.

The purpose of establishing the company is to fight against the invasion of Hollywood blockbusters and create films that belong to Chinese culture.

In fact, since Alibaba held the last "Internet Era + Film and Television Cultural Industry Summit", the other party has only one thing left to announce its entry into the film and television industry.

“Haha, that person said in front of the media that Alibaba will enter the film and television industry sooner or later, and will definitely redefine the film and television industry at that time.

Everyone thought it was funny at the time, but now it seems some people can’t laugh anymore.”

Tai Chi Ma's high profile made Song Ge wary. After all, his goal was to build Xingchen Film and Television Company into an industry leader and even form a monopoly.

Now that a capital tycoon has suddenly entered the market, Song Ge is naturally one of the people who cares the most.

"No matter how much money they want to invest, my principle remains unchanged. Xingchen Film and Television Company does not accept investment or any other names."

Gu Wei emphasized this point once again. When Xingchen Film and Television Company was first established, he naturally held 100% of the shares. However, as the company expanded and more people joined, Gu Wei inevitably gave some shares to several senior executives of the company.

Although the amount taken out is not much, it is still about 10%. Once someone is obsessed with money and makes a hole, there will be trouble in the future.

"That's what I answered too. But that one is quite interesting.

It's okay if you say you don't want to buy shares, they can buy the whole thing and you can set any price, haha." Song Ge said with a smile.

"Haha, the other party is really not short of money. We can cooperate with each other if there is a chance."

"Cooperate in making a movie?" Song Ge asked.

"Forget about movies, but cooperating on an animated film is more like it."

.........

(End of this chapter)