Chapter 611 General Administration Meeting
"Director Han, what about the extension? Have the higher-ups agreed?"

This is the third time that Ye Ning and Wang Changtian have urged Han Sanping this month. The two followed Gu Wei's advice and put "Devouring the Starry Sky" aside for the time being and are currently focusing on this matter.

But it’s no wonder that they are so anxious. After all, if the extension key for "The Wandering Earth" can be applied for, the box office of this movie will be unbelievable.

"I'm still applying, but a few old guys are obstructing us. Don't worry, there will be no problem with the extension. Just give me some time." Han Sanping said in an annoyed tone.

"Director Han, you have to keep a close eye on this matter. If it is delayed, the loss will be huge."

In the industry, "The Wandering Earth" is still killing it. Its accumulated box office is now enough to crush other movies of the same period, and even the super high box office of previous domestic films.

Although the daily box office has fallen below 100 million yuan and is still declining regularly, it is already the biggest winner of the National Day holiday.

As time passed, "Logan" was released in Hollywood.

The first-day box office closed at 2160 million, which was about two million lower than the first-day box office of the original time and space due to the influence of "The Wandering Earth".

And what followed was a lot of complaints:
"I couldn't bear to watch halfway through, so I fast-forwarded through the whole thing. Are you sure this movie is a science fiction movie? Are you sure it's not an action movie? And the fighting power in action movies seems to be much stronger than Wolverine."

"Is this considered a Marvel hero? It's such an insult! To put it bluntly, Wolverine is just an ordinary human with the ability to heal himself and steel claws! He's basically at the "human" level. Captain America is probably stronger than him!"

"This is fucking awesome! Most action movies have better fighting skills than this one, and it's still sci-fi? Sci-fi, you bitch! In the end, he actually had a fight with a gangster on top of a train for quite a while. It's really one of a kind."

"It turns out that not all Hollywood movies can be called blockbusters. Compared with The Wandering Earth, there is a huge gap. Marvel is going backwards."

……

When Gu Wei saw the reviews online, he knew the ending of the movie.

The distributor's box office forecast is at least 6 million yuan.

It now seems that it is impossible to reach a bottom line of 6 million, and it is certain that we will be slapped in the face.

However, even if the word of mouth is bad, thanks to the fans Marvel has accumulated over the years, there will be no problem for the box office to exceed 100 million.

As for the revenue? Well, the domestic release of the film is just extra income.

"Director Gu, Director Zheng Xiaolong has sent me a message. The set for the filming of Red Sorghum has been built and the project can be launched at any time."

Jiang Xueruo called.

After the filming of "Jade Knife", one of the Seven Weapons, was postponed, she became responsible for connecting with the project directed by Wu Ershan.

It took about half a year from the time the company initiated the project to now, and "Red Sorghum" has finally completed the preparations for the filming location.

"Tell Director Zheng Xiaolong to hold the casting call as normal. Show him the list of actors I recommend. If they are suitable, give them a chance."

"Ok."

Gu Wei glanced at Liu Yifei who was playing a small game nearby.

"Xixi, the casting for Red Sorghum is about to start."

"Yes, I heard it. If Yawen is selected, will it delay his marriage?"

"Has the wedding date been set?"

After hearing what Gu Wei said, Liu Yifei raised her head and nodded, saying, "I have prepared the money for the gift in November."

"Will you have time to go then?" Liu Yifei suddenly asked. Zhu Yawen naturally wanted Gu Wei to attend, but he was embarrassed to invite him directly. He could only hope that Gu Wei would go with Liu Yifei when she came to attend the wedding.

Hearing this, Gu Wei said nothing, but was silently planning his future schedule.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will need to fly directly to Hollywood in mid-November to attend the premiere of "The Revenant". After the release of "The Revenant", Oscar public relations will officially begin.

I will also have to oversee the release and public relations work of "Parasite", and Zhang Yimou will also go along.

I'll have to stay there for at least a month or a month and a half, and every day will be filled with cocktail parties and gatherings...

If the postponement of "The Wandering Earth" is successful, the celebration banquet will probably be held in late November. Han Sanping, Wang Changtian and others have already decided to hold a grand event, and Gu Wei, as the director, will definitely attend.

Then during the Lunar New Year holiday, Star Pictures will release "New Police Story 2013", followed by Warner's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes".

Finally, the Academy Awards will announce the nominations in January, and the awards will be presented in late February or early March...

Thinking of this, Gu Wei felt a bit of a headache as he would be quite busy for some time to come.

"It depends on the situation, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to go there by then." Gu Wei gave a general outline of the upcoming itinerary. It would take a lot of time just to travel back and forth between China and abroad.

"Yeah, okay, I know you're busy."

.........

"The film, which is invested and produced by Xingchen Films and directed by Zheng Xiaolong and adapted from the novel of the same name, Red Sorghum, has announced casting auditions."

"The guest list for the Bazaar Charity Dinner has been announced. Compared with previous years, the number of guests has increased again, but the number of top celebrities has obviously decreased, and the lineup is a bit thin."

"The deadline for submission of foreign-language films to the 2014 Oscars is approaching, and hundreds of films from 76 countries will compete for nominations in the next month or so."

In the outside world, netizens and audiences are happy this year. On the one hand, there is the wonderful domestic blockbuster "The Wandering Earth" to watch, and on the other hand, the Golden Lion Award-winning work "Parasite" has brought good news from North America.

Under Reid's arrangement, "Parasite" had a small-scale release for one week in Warner's theaters in New York.

Among the total number of viewers, which exceeded a thousand, about half gave ratings on the American Film Forum website.

Among the Chinese works previously nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the lowest approval rating was for Farewell My Concubine at 88%, while the average approval rating was as high as 95%.

The current approval rating of "Parasite" is as high as 97%, exceeding the review value.

Although this year as many as 76 countries and regions actively nominated films, setting a new record for the number of participating films.

However, compared with the previous two years, the overall strength of this year's best foreign language film "contestants" is relatively weak, and there are no big seeds that were locked in early like "A Separation" and "Love" in the previous two years.

Moreover, netizens suddenly discovered that "A Touch of Sin" directed by Jia Zhangke was deeply loved by foreign film critics, and some media even gave it a full score of 100.

Last Friday, October 10, Jia Zhangke's "A Touch of Sin" was also released in a small group in North America.

The purpose is naturally to be shortlisted for next year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. "Parasite" has already secured its domestic selection spot in advance, so everyone has to find another way.

Another film that also had a small-scale public screening in the past was Feng Xiaogang's "84". Unfortunately, the freshness of this film on Rotten Tomatoes is only %. Not to mention "Parasite", it can't even compare with some other countries' participating films with good themes.

Unfortunately, "A Touch of Sin" and "1942" did not get the national selection quota, so they directly went to North America to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film, and their advantage was very small. In fact, another Danish film that missed the application was "The Hunt", which was hailed as this year's popular Oscar foreign language film.

This film has a profound presentation of human nature, society, values, etc., and has received high ratings on North American film forums.

After the results of the screening of "Parasite" were reported back to China, some experts and filmmakers naturally would not miss this popularity.

As a result, many people have directly posted comments online, expressing their optimism for "Parasite". Some people have even listed all the entries this year and analyzed them one by one.

Judging from the preliminary list of the best foreign language film, the major European film countries are generally weak: France's "Renoir", Spain's "15 and a Day", Germany's "Two Lives", Italy's "La Pellegrini", Comparatively speaking, "The Beautiful City" is still somewhat well-known.

.........

The General Administration was indeed quite fast. Within two days of the time when directors in the industry came together to report the rating system to higher authorities, they issued a notice.

At the meeting, all the directors in the industry attended, including Jiang Wen and Chen Kai, who were busy with "One Step Away" and "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain".

I heard that the two rushed back to the capital overnight after receiving the notice. It seems that the higher-ups also want to take this opportunity to have a good talk with everyone, probably to achieve ideological unity.

The meeting was mainly attended by directors and filmmakers in the industry, but the CEOs of various film and television companies did not receive any notice.

By the time Gu Wei arrived at the General Administration's meeting room, the huge room was almost full of people.

"Director Gu, The Wandering Earth is a huge hit at the box office. Congratulations."

"Director Feng, you're too polite."

"Director Gu, you are an internationally renowned director. I need you to say a few more words about the rating system."

"Director Jia, you are too kind to me. We should all discuss this together. This is not something that can be done by one person alone."

"Gu Wei, this way!" After greeting a few directors and chatting for a few words, he heard Han Sanping's voice calling him.

"Mr. Han, you are here too?" Gu Wei walked up to him and said jokingly.

"Nonsense, you guys are making such a big fuss, why don't we come? Not only me, but also Director La is here, sitting over there."

Referring to the direction Han Sanping pointed, Gu Wei immediately saw La Peikang talking to several leaders.

The two looked at each other, nodded and smiled as a greeting.

About ten minutes later, with the entry of other department heads and several deputy directors, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

"Tsk tsk, everyone is here. It seems that the higher-ups attach great importance to this meeting." Gu Wei whispered to Han Sanping.

"Do you know what our country's old traditions are?" Han Sanping suddenly turned his head and asked in a low voice.

Gu Wei shook his head to indicate that he didn't know, and then he heard the words "unified thinking".

At the beginning of the meeting, the person in charge went straight to the point and first made some polite remarks about the mainland film market developing better and better.

Then the topic changed and they talked about the rating system. To sum it up in one sentence, creation is allowed but it must follow the rules; making movies is allowed but the rating system is not.

However, the challenges of implementing the film rating system are far more than these. Listening to the leaders talking below, Gu Wei came to some conclusions in his mind.

Then, it was the director's turn to speak and ask questions.

The scene was extremely lively. Art film directors like Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye, and Wang Xiaoshuai all talked about the various advantages of film classification, and the representative of the film industry was Hollywood.

"A good system can create a prosperous industry. It is urgent to determine the domestic film rating system..."

"In the 1980s and 1990s, although the domestic economy was backward, many films emerged that won awards at overseas film festivals..."

"Mainland movies are not allowed to have violence, sex, or content that reflects real-life contradictions, or even ghost scenes, but imported films are not within the scope of the regulations...

Like Ghost Rider...”

"It depends on the person. Some directors can shoot illegal content, while some can't even mention it..."

Wow! Gu Wei, who was sitting in his seat and listening to other people's speeches, exclaimed, "Wow! These guys are really going all out this time. They dare to say anything and say everything."

After listening to the directors' speeches, the people below had different expressions.

Feng Xiaogang looked indifferent and obviously didn't care whether the rating system could be set or not. It reflected that he seldom made art films. The movie "1942" almost ruined Huayi's stocks. In the short term, the Wang brothers would definitely not let him touch this kind of subject matter again.

Brother Chen Kai looked a little haggard. It seemed that he had been worrying a lot about the preparations for "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain" during this period, and he didn't care about the rating system. When it was his turn to speak, his old problem came back. He said a lot of confusing things, which made Gu Wei frown.

Zhang Yimou supports the rating system. He is the domestic director who has won the most awards. During his speech, he compared the relaxed market environment in the mainland in the last century with the current one, and used "To Live" as an example.

As for Jiang Wen, he has been supportive of the rating system ever since he was banned from directing. Every movie he made contains a lot of metaphors. Now he speaks freely and with a firm attitude.

Gu Wei generally believes that directors in the industry are indeed tortured by the censorship system, and at least 70% of them support the rating system.

The more people spoke, the more blunt their words became, and the faces of the leaders above became uglier and uglier.

"Director Gu Wei, you are the most familiar with Hollywood among everyone here. Tell us what you think?"

When they heard someone calling their name, everyone looked at Gu Wei, and everyone wanted to know his opinion.

"Leaders, directors, my idea is very simple. I hope the General Administration can relax the film review standards."

When these words came out, the directors smiled, while the leaders on the stage frowned slightly.

"Director Gu, can you elaborate on the relaxation of the review standards?"

"To be honest, our country is different from Europe and the United States. It is not advisable to completely copy their rating systems. After all, the fundamental purpose of the rating system is to divide the audience, but in China, there is no guarantee that minors will not watch restricted content through other channels..."

“There is a conflict between the mainstream cultural values ​​in the country and the ‘bad taste’ films that may be present in the rating system…”

Gu Wei spoke eloquently, and many directors didn't understand whether he supported the rating system or not.

Several deputy directors chatted quietly for a while, and after Gu Wei finished speaking, one of them said, "Director Gu means that he does not support the grading system."

"I don't fully support it, but I think if the domestic censorship standards continue to be so strict, it will be difficult for the mainland market to develop. Maybe some directors will consider developing overseas."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this. It turned out that Gu Wei was planning to force the General Administration to take action.

.........

(End of this chapter)