The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 403
October [-] left in a hurry, and November came slowly.

It has already snowed in many places in northern China, but on Hong Kong Island in the south, you can walk outside with a coat at this time.

The territory of this country is so broad, the geographical and cultural differences are naturally very large.

The conference hall on the ninth floor of No.30, Hong Kong Island World Financial Center is currently holding a seminar on film directors from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

This year marks the [-]th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong Island, so this seminar was naturally arranged to be held on Hong Kong Island.

At this time, Liu Zhenwei was standing on the stage to speak, talking about the Hong Kong Island film market.

He did not speak in Mandarin, but in Cantonese.

In the audience, a group of directors from Hong Kong Island, mainland China, and Wan Wan sat quietly.

It's true that no one slept, but it's really hard to say whether they can understand.

Li Shengyao came naturally.

After all, it is the Film Directors Seminar for the [-]th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong Island.

Except for Zhang Yimou who was preparing for the Olympics, all the mainland directors, including Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kaige, and Jiang Wen, were here.

Li Shengyao will make a concluding speech later.

That's right, he spoke last, and after the representatives of the directors from Taiwan, Taiwan and Taiwan finished their speeches, he made a concluding speech.

Although I didn't hear the speeches of the representatives, the assistant of Director Li had already written the manuscript two days ago.

It can be regarded as a talent, knowing what other people are going to say a few days earlier.

Li Shengyao actually didn't really want to make a concluding speech, as if he was the general representative of the Chinese director circle.

It was too high-key, and he wanted to keep it low-key.

Chen Xun has work in the past few days, and Dong Xuan happened to be free, so he took Dong Xuan south to Hong Kong Island, planning to have a good time for a few days.

He didn't want to show off.

However, Han Sanping said that this was what the above meant, saying that he was the only director who could suppress the bend of Hong Kong Island, and that no one else was very good at it.

Since the higher-ups valued Dao Li so much, he accepted it.

Wu Baige from Hong Kong Island is back, and Chen Kexin, who completed the post-production of "Certificate of Fame", also came. It can be said that most of the heavyweight directors have come.

On the other hand, no big names appeared on the Wanwan side.

The last time Lee Shing Yew participated in a seminar on film directors in Taiwan, Taiwan and Taiwan, he met Edward Yang, but Yang passed away in June this year.

At this moment, Li Shengyao glanced over the area of ​​Wanwan, saw Zhu Yanping, Niu Chengze and others, and was inexplicably agitated.

Edward Yang's departure is definitely a loss for Chinese-language films.

It's a pity that although he is a time traveler, he doesn't have the ability to bring the dead back to life.

Liu Zhenwei on the stage was still talking, and he didn't know what to say, as if he had brought several pages of paper.

Judging by his expression and tone, it seems that what he said is very meaningful.

But neither the mainland nor the director Wanwan can understand, aren't you a self-indulgent enclosure, talking to yourself?

Directors in the Hong Kong circle are like this, immersed in their own small world, they don't have a big picture, not only in life, but also in movies.

Wu Baige's previous films were all good, but when he made "Wind Talker", he wanted to shoot big scenes and reflect the stories of an era, so he couldn't do it.

This is true of "Red Cliff" and "Taiping Wheel".

"Red Cliff" can still rely on celebrities to flick the box office, but "Taiping Wheel" can't do it at all.

And this group of guys just don't know how to find problems from themselves, and they always say that the mainland audit restricts them.

They also don't think that Hong Kong Island has now become a harvesting ground for Hollywood movies.

He can't even keep his hometown, so he still pretends to be aloof.

The irritability in Li Shengyao's heart became heavier.

Faced with such a group of guys, what's the point of the so-called seminars for film directors from across the Taiwan Strait and from the three places?

After thinking about it, he simply got up and went to the lounge to sit down.

After a while, he came to the lounge, found the water dispenser, took out the paper cup, and took a glass of water.

He took a sip of water and felt a little better.

At this time, there was a sound of footsteps outside, and I saw Brother Chen Kai walking over.

Brother Kaizi is wearing a casual suit with a pair of light blue jeans. Although he is not very formal, he is tall and looks very imposing.

"Director Li..."

Brother Chen Kai was about to speak when there were footsteps outside, he immediately stopped him, nodded, then turned and left.

Li Shengyao had a question mark on his face, he didn't understand what Brother Kaizi wanted to do.

Of course he was too lazy to think about it, so he smiled and continued to sit quietly.

The person who came in after Brother Kaizi was none other than Liu Weiqiang.

He has a pair of black-rimmed eyes, and although he is wearing a suit, he looks like a man of science and engineering overall.

"Director Li, okay."

Li Shengyao nodded with a smile, "Director Liu, hello."

Liu Weiqiang glanced at the paper cup in Li Shengyao's hand, then took out a paper cup, then drew some water, and sat down beside Li Shengyao.

"Director Li, I'm going to Hollywood this year too."

"I know, there's something interesting about that movie."

Liu Weiqiang went to Hollywood at the beginning of the year, directed and filmed "The Deadly Scene", this film can be regarded as the suture of "Seven Deadly Sins" and "The Silence of the Lambs".

This kind of phenomenon is actually very normal. On the one hand, Hollywood producers hope that excellent directors in other places will work for them.

But they couldn't trust others' aesthetic vision, so they asked the screenwriters to stitch some classic movies and handed them over to foreign directors for shooting.

Such movies generally have a small investment, and if they lose money, they won't hurt their muscles and bones, and they will be sent away if they say "that guy hasn't reached the level of Hollywood".

If it explodes, they will make a lot of money.

The overall story of "Corpse Trace" is complete, but the middle is full of mystery, there are almost no ups and downs, and the film is rather dull.

There is no splash in the beautiful country.

Liu Weiqiang's Hollywood dream was thus shattered.

Naturally, Lee Shing Yew would not belittle Liu Weiqiang, he knew very well that the movie made such a horrible appearance had nothing to do with Liu Weiqiang.

When Liu Weiqiang heard this, a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

"Director Li, do you really find it interesting?"

"Well, I think it's okay."

Liu Weiqiang nodded, and continued: "According to "Corpse Scene", I have a better adapted script, I think it can be filmed, do you think it is okay?"

Li Shengyao looked at Liu Weiqiang in surprise, but he never thought that Liu Weiqiang would still miss this matter.

"Of course not."

"Uh……"

Li Shengyao went on to say: "Hollywood doesn't trust foreign directors, just like director Wu. Only two films failed, and they were abandoned. "Dead Trace" is a thing of the past. Even if you come up with a very good script, they won’t restart.”

Liu Weiqiang was silent for a moment when he heard the words, then nodded with a wry smile, "You're right."

He then sighed and left lonely.

Li Shengyao smiled, got up and was about to go out when he saw Brother Kaizi who had just left.

This guy didn't know when he approached, this time there was no sound of footsteps.

"Director Li, congratulations, "The Hangover" grossed over US$4 million."

Brother Chen Kai said good things and quickly walked into the lounge.

"Director Chen is polite, it's just luck."

Brother Chen Kai nodded, and then said: "Director Li, I want to talk to you about my new movie, and I hope you can give me some advice."

After Kaizi's "The Promise", it was silent for three years, and "Mei Lanfang" was released in the Lunar New Year holiday in 08.

The movie had a box office of [-] million at the time, and generally speaking, its reputation was decent.

The portrayal of the young Mei Lanfang is very good.

But when Mei Lanfang became an adult, that would not work.

Li Shengyao thought it was because Mei Lanfang had one goal when he was young, and that was to become the best actor.

But when Mei Lanfang became an adult, he had no goals, no such spirit.

Just like "Farewell My Concubine", Cheng Dieyi wanted to sing with his brother from the beginning to the end, and this enthusiasm continued until the end of the movie.

In "Mei Lanfang", the teenager wanted to become a character, so he trained hard.

When I was an adult, I met Meng Xiaodong, I met the little devil, and I encountered too many things, too complicated.

If you want to portray love, you should shape it around this theme from beginning to end.

If you want to portray Mr. Mei's patriotic spirit, you also have to add a plot around this point from beginning to end.

This is what "Mei Lanfang" lacks.

At this time, Brother Kaizi looked at Director Li with sincere eyes.

Li Shengyao did not expect that someone as proud as Brother Kaizi would ask him for advice.

Brother Kaizi is undoubtedly under a lot of pressure. "The Promise" is too bad, and "Mei Lanfang" is a work he has honed his sword in three years

Li Shengyao is not a stingy person, "You are being polite, how can I give you advice."

"Director Li, everyone can see your strength. Don't be humble. You can write an American comedy like "The Hangover". You are definitely the best screenwriter in the Chinese-speaking circle."

"Then talk about it."

Brother Chen Kai nodded, and then told the plot of "Mei Lanfang".

It is similar to "Mei Lanfang" that Li Shengyao saw in his previous life.

This movie should start shooting at this time, and it is estimated that it is almost finished.

Li Shengyao wasn't sure if there was enough time to change it now, he thought about it for a while, and decided to share it with Brother Kaizi.

"Director Chen, I personally think the story is too complicated when the male lead becomes an adult. You want to describe Mei Lanfang's legendary life, training hard as a teenager, getting married as an adult, meeting love, and encountering national and family hatred. There is no problem with this. But there is one line missing, an obsession or emotion that runs through the hero's life."

"It's like "Farewell My Concubine". Because of what happened to Cheng Dieyi when he was young, he has a feeling of dependence on his senior brother, and this feeling lasts throughout his life."

"The Mei Lanfang you just told me doesn't have such a feeling. I don't think it's that exciting."

"Farewell My Concubine" is the pride of Brother Kaizi in this life.

Hearing Li Shengyao's words, he immediately understood what Li Shengyao meant. He was silent for a moment, and then said seriously: "Director Li, your screenwriting ability is really superb. Listening to me talking like this, you have found the biggest problem with this movie. Thank you very much." .”

"Small idea."

After a while, the two returned to the conference center together.

Liu Zhenwei had finished speaking, and now Zhu Yanping was speaking above.

Brother Kaizi sat down, then folded his chest and pondered, his eyes shifted occasionally, and when he glanced at Director Li, there was admiration and emotion in his eyes.

He read the script of "Anita Mui" and thought it was well written, but he always felt that something was missing.

It wasn't until Li Shengyao said it that he realized that "Anita Mui" lacked a spirit that runs through the whole film, it was too complicated.

Li Shengyao was able to find out just by listening to him talk, this ability is amazing.

(End of this chapter)