China Entertainment started from Nortel 96

Chapter 174 Advice for Commercial Blockbusters

Ever since he agreed to shoot Lao Mouzi's "My Father and Mother", Qi Wei would call Lao Mouzi from time to time.

Sometimes I also talked about the story of "Manjianghong".

After several contacts, Lao Mouzi had already heard a rough idea of ​​the story, and indeed he was very interested.

But now Lao Mouzi is a rare commodity to live in, and Zhang Weiping is infinitely tolerant of him.

This is why Zhang Weiping found Qi Wei.

"I think your story is very interesting. It is indeed a very novel idea to film a tragic story with comedy. We can contact Zhao Benshan and Pan Gazi to play the role of two prison guards for cross talk.
I heard that you have invested in Zhou Xingxing's new movie "The King of Comedy" and have obtained his distribution rights in mainland China. You should have a good relationship with him. Maybe we can contact him and make this movie a co-production
I think you're a good fit for the leading role."

Zhang Weiping talked endlessly about the feasibility of this project, and Qi Wei who was on the side was taken aback by what he said.

Compared with the version of the later generations, let yourself play the role of the four-character prince of the later generations.

I am about 1.8 meters tall, tall and big, as long as I put on a little makeup and improve my figure, it really fits the image of the young general in the play.

At the very least, I won't make others feel that I'm playing a pirate prince.

According to Zhang Weiping, let Zhou Xingxing play the role of the later Shen Xiaocao, and then let Zhao Benshan or Fatty replace Yue Fatty.

Looking at it this way, it is indeed more interesting than the later version.

It made Qi Wei a little bit interested.

But fortunately, Qi Wei is not so easy to be fooled.

After thinking about it for a while, Qi Wei almost understood why Zhang Weiping and Lao Mouzi were so keen on their own story.

Because they want to try to make a commercial blockbuster.

The cooperation between Zhang Weiping and Lao Mouzi began with the movie "Speak Well".

This movie allowed Zhang Weiping to successfully get the admission ticket. After that, he became his own film and television company, and successively invested in Lao Mouzi's "Not One Less" and the current "My Father and Mother".

But whether it is "No One Less" or "My Father and Mother", the investment is around tens of millions.

Although there is a lot of investment, in this era, it is not a big investment movie.

You must know that the investment of Erzhang and their first film "Speak Well" is close to 3000 million.

Although "Speak Well" caused Zhang Weiping to lose 1800 million in his investment, this was because Zhang Weiping sold the distribution rights of this movie at the price of cabbage in order to get admission tickets.

In fact, the film is a profitable project.

Since it is a profitable project, it means that Lao Mouzi's business attempt is successful. Logically speaking, if Lao Mouzi plans a good project, it should be easy to get no less than this investment.

But the investment in the next two projects is so low, it is obvious that the investment has been downgraded.

The reason is not Lao Mouzi, but actually Zhang Weiping.

When Zhang Weiping first established a film and television company, the company's distribution channels had not yet been established, so it was not suitable for making any blockbuster films.

For a movie, the importance of the distribution channel is self-evident. Without a good distribution channel, no matter how good your movie is and how much attention is paid to it, it will be difficult to realize the potential of the movie.

This is why Zhang Weiping asked Lao Mouzi to make two "low-cost" movies.

After working for more than a year, Zhang Weiping's distribution channel has finally been perfected, and now, the time is ripe to help Lao Mouzi make a commercial blockbuster.

Commercial blockbusters, like Director Chen's "Jing Ke Assassins the King of Qin", have an investment of more than 7000 million. Lao Mouzi is a director of the same level as Director Chen, and Zhang Weiping helps him make commercial blockbusters. It is impossible for the investment to be lower than this amount.

Considering inflation, the investment may even exceed [-] million if you make a gimmick.

At this time, in the domestic film market, it is difficult for domestic films, including imported Hong Kong films, to exceed [-] million at the box office.

One hundred million yuan is the threshold.

According to the triple box office return, the investment exceeds 4000 million, and the cost cannot be recovered through the domestic box office.

However, there are many domestic films with an investment of more than 4000 million. In 96, "Song of Qin" starring Jiang Wen and Ge You had an investment of more than 4000 million, and "Jing Ke Assassins the King of Qin", which is still in theaters, even reached 7000 million.

With such a high investment, the cost cannot be recovered through the domestic box office, so why would anyone invest in it.

The fundamental reason is that when preparing these films, they did not consider the domestic box office, but overseas results.

Most of the investment in the film "Jing Ke Assassins the King of Qin" came from Xiaobenzi. Although this movie did not do well at the box office in the Mainland, this movie has achieved very good results in Xiaobenzi and some countries.

Coupled with discs and some copyright income, Xiaobenzi's investment in "Jing Ke Assassins the King of Qin" actually made a profit.

Zhang Weiping, who has become an insider, knows the news.

Profitable projects will naturally attract investment, that is to say, commercial blockbusters are promising.

This is a fundamental reason why Zhang Weiping and Lao Mouzi are eager to try.

What type of commercial blockbuster is suitable?

To consider overseas box office results, it must satisfy the Chinese curiosity of overseas audiences.

At this time, domestic filmmakers consider overseas achievements when making films, and either make something that satisfies the inherent impression of foreign countries' ignorance and backwardness in China, or make something that does not only belong to Chinese cultural characteristics in foreign countries.

The former is obviously not suitable for commercial blockbusters, and it is easy to be banned.

Lao Mouzi's film "To Live" was banned, and this is his only film that was banned.

If this way does not work, there is only another way.

As for things that only belong to Chinese cultural characteristics, there are only historical dramas or martial arts movies left.

That is, period films.

From this point of view, the story Qi Wei told is indeed very good.

But Qi Wei doesn't think so.

Regardless of the later version, the story itself is not good, and it will still be unacceptable if it is copied to this era.

After reacting, Qi Wei quickly figured it out, and said, "President Zhang and Director Zhang, I don't think the story of "Man Jianghong" is suitable."

"Why do you think so?" President Zhang asked suspiciously, and then emphasized again: "We intend to let you be the protagonist in this project, and Lao Mouzi also thinks you are very suitable."

Lao Mouzi at the side hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

This made Qi Wei see the difference between the two of them.

After Zhang Weiping established a film and television company, Lao Mouzi's film "Not One Less" won numerous awards, but the box office was not high. It was not until the entire film was released that it managed to achieve a "balance of capital and profit".

And the "My Father and Mother" filmed now is more of a literary film, and it is also rushing to win awards.

In other words, the two movies that Zhang Weiping invested in for Lao Mouzi were both to burn himself in order to fulfill Lao Mouzi.

But you must know that Zhang Weiping invested in Lao Mouzi not for charity, but for making money.

He's more of a businessman than a filmmaker.

So he is more eager than Lao Mouzi to make a commercial blockbuster.

Making a commercial blockbuster is like a big gamble, high investment means high risk.

Then find a way to reduce the risk.

One of the ways to reduce the risk is to find big-name actors, well-known actors, and popular actors to participate in the performance.

At this time, the vast majority of mainland audiences are not going for the movie story itself, but watching big-name actors.

If you don't have big-name actors, just find a few unknown actors. No matter how good the story of your movie is, no matter how well-produced and how beautifully shot, it will be difficult to attract enough audiences.

It is wishful thinking to get a high box office.

This is why Zhang Weiping wanted to invite Zhou Xingxing and Qi Wei for this drama.

Needless to say Zhou Xingxing, the king of comedy.
As for Qi Wei, the great success of his two solo albums has made Qi Wei a pop star in the mainland, and he has a certain influence in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

There was even news that Qi Wei was about to hold a concert at the Hung Hom Stadium in Hong Kong City.

Uh... This news was obviously released by PolyGram, obviously to help Qi Wei hold a concert to warm up.

Zheng Donghan is indeed helping Qi Wei to fight for the opportunity of the Hung Hom concert, and it has basically been confirmed, it is just a question of how many concerts will be held.

And you must know that Ren Xianqi, who is gradually less famous than Qi Wei, has started to play Linghu Chong and Yang Guo, let alone Qi Wei.

In order to be more commercialized, Zhang Weiping has a tradition of forcing celebrities into Lao Mouzi's movies.

Fatty Zhou in "Full City with Golden Armor" and Xiaoshenyang in "Three Guns" were all forced into Zhang Weiping watching their traffic.

What's more, Qi Wei is different from ordinary traffic, and has already proved his box office appeal in the movie industry.

That is the movie "Love in the Internet Age".

Although the box office of this movie is not high at more than 1000 million, at least [-]% of the audience who walked into this movie theater went to Qi Wei.

A small-budget movie with an investment of only 300 million yuan, because of Qi Wei's participation, the box office will be several million more, if it is a commercial blockbuster with tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.

Of course, it is also possible that Qi Wei can't support the box office of commercial blockbusters, but it doesn't prevent Zhang Weiping from starting to fantasize about time.

Moreover, Qi Wei is not an ordinary actor, he is also a capital.

He has enough money to invest in this movie.

It is impossible to invest in a commercial blockbuster alone, and it is also necessary to find someone to share the risk.

In Zhang Weiping's view, Qi Wei is a very suitable target.

Qi Wei opened a film and television company later than Zhang Weiping. Although he has made some achievements, the film and television industry is a place that requires experience and qualifications. Qi Wei is too young, which can easily cause others to despise him.

Qi Wei, who has capital, is naturally regarded by Zhang Weiping as a big water hose that can squeeze wool.

Zhang Weiping's emphasis on letting Qi Wei play the leading role is actually reminding Qi Wei that this is for an international director like Lao Mouzi to release a commercial blockbuster to praise him.

For ordinary actors, this is definitely an irresistible temptation.

Zhang Weiping thought that Qi Wei would definitely agree, and even in order to get this film and television project approved as soon as possible, he would definitely agree to some seemingly insignificant demands of his own.

It's a pity that this wishful thinking was wrong.

People who can trap old schemers like Lu Buwei with strange goods and living methods must not be underestimated, so Qi Wei has always been very vigilant towards Zhang Weiping.

Qi Wei has already seen his thoughts clearly.

What's more, Qi Wei himself is not interested in the project "Manjianghong".

Qi Wei shook his head, looked at Lao Mouzi and said to him: "I don't know if Director Zhang has seen Director Chen's "Jing Ke Assassination of the King of Qin". The failure of portraying important characters, take the example of Qin Shihuang played by Mr. Li Xuejian, he did perform well, but he did not conform to the image in the audience’s mind, this is a challenge to the audience.”

"challenge?"

"It's a challenge! In fact, this story of mine is just a joke. It's just a casual talk. If it is really made into a movie, it will be suspected of whitewashing Qin Hui. This is historical nihilism, and it is also a challenge to the audience.

But to challenge the audience, there will be no good fruit to eat, and it will end up the same as "Jing Ke Assassins the King of Qin", and it will only fail at the box office. "

Loyalty is loyalty, treachery is treachery. At this time, the common people think so straightforwardly, and there is no market for whitewashing treacherous officials.

Therefore, if you move the movie of the later generations to the present, even if you have the means of publicity and distribution like the later generations, and the market is good, it is impossible to get such a high box office.

Having said that, Qi Wei could not help but pause, and glanced at Lao Mouzi.

When Lao Mouzi made such a movie in later generations, many people said that he was coerced by capital and had to do it in order to make money for his children.

But Qi Wei does not fully agree with this point of view.

The big directors in these circles all claim to be cultural people, and movies represent their thoughts. If they want to show their own culture in movies and appear different, they will consider issues from different angles.

You will not think about the problem from the perspective of the audience, and you will bring private goods.

This problem is likely to arise in the movie Lao Mouzi.

Of course, it may not be a problem in his opinion, but it is not necessarily friendly to the audience.

Then this becomes a problem.

Therefore, what Qi Wei said cannot easily dissuade this old man from wanting to develop this project.

So Qi Wei said to Zhang Weiping again: ""Man Jianghong" is the story of Yue Fei, Mr. Zhang, Yue Fei is our national hero, do you think foreigners like to read his stories?"

Qi Wei's words awakened the dreamer.

Yue Fei is a national hero and an anti-golden hero, and he beats foreigners outside the Jin Dynasty, and foreigners are also foreigners.

This will be unfriendly to foreigners, and it will be difficult to sell the film.

"This is indeed a problem." Zhang Weiping thought for a while and said.

The best way to dissuade them both is to come up with a project that appeals to them.

Qi Wei couldn't help but think of another movie by Lao Mouzi, which is really suitable.

So Qi Wei said: "Like "Song of Qin" directed by Zhou Xiaowen, and "Jing Ke Assassinates the King of Qin" directed by Director Chen are all about the story of Qin Shihuang. When they make commercial blockbusters, they all consider Qin Shihuang's story, I wonder if you two have thought about why they are like this."

Still waiting for the second answer, Qi Wei explained: "Qin Shihuang had a magnificent life, and he had many stories to dig out and tell in detail. In addition, Qin Shihuang destroyed the six kingdoms and unified the world. He was very influential at home and abroad. Emperor, many foreigners are interested in his story, I think, if Mr. Zhang wants to prepare a commercial blockbuster for Director Zhang, it is better to write the story of Qin Shihuang."

Still waiting for Zhang Weiping's reply, Lao Mouzi said first: "The story of Qin Shihuang has been written badly, and "Qin Song" and "Jing Ke Assassinates the King of Qin" also prove that the subject of Qin Shihuang has no potential."

Indeed, as Lao Mouzi said, the movie "Song of Qin" was not only banned in China, but also had no splash abroad. It is a pure loss movie. As for "Jing Ke Assassins the King of Qin", at least the domestic box office is miserable It also shows that this is a failed work.

Qi Wei replied with a smile: "Director Zhang, you are not a director like Director Chen. Of course, I did not mean to belittle Director Chen. I just want to say that I prefer the pictures of the movies you made, Director Zhang. It is a kind of beauty, it is a visual feast, if Director Zhang shoots a commercial blockbuster, I believe the audience will like it very much."

Qi Wei's words did not convince the two of them, so Qi Wei continued his efforts: "If Director Zhang is willing to make a commercial blockbuster about Qin Shihuang, I am willing to invest."

This made Zhang Weiping interested.

This meeting was just a few simple conversations, which has refreshed his understanding of Qi Wei.

Although Qi Wei is young, he is a very thoughtful and assertive person, and he also has maturity of different ages.

This also made Zhang Weiping dare not underestimate Qi Wei, and became more serious.

After thinking about it for a while, he felt that Qi Wei was not aimless, he must have come prepared.

So he asked: "It seems that you already have a good idea, I wonder if you can talk to us about it."

That's what Qi Wei wanted, so he replied with a smile: "It's a good idea, but I don't dare to say it. I do have an idea. I don't know if combining the story of Emperor Shihuang's assassination with martial arts can make a difference..."

　ps: The previous chapter was blocked. I have changed the application and still haven’t passed it. I didn’t drive.

　　I don't know how many times I have written this book, so I can only ask the editor for help on Monday.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)