The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 540 Rewards
The temperature in Yanjing has completely dropped in mid-November, and it may snow at any time.

In such a climate, people either go to work or stay at home.

The streets outside are very quiet, with fewer pedestrians and fewer cars.

Only the cold wind blows, announcing the arrival of cold winter.

In a teahouse in the DC area, Li Shengyao and Han Sanping sat opposite each other by the window on the second floor.

The waiter served pastries and tea.

Li Shengyao then raised his glass and touched it with Han Sanping.

The two have not seen each other for more than two months. A few days ago, the news came out that Lee Sheng Yew bought TVB. Han Sanping called Lee Sheng Yew to congratulate him.

Goodbye at this time, Han Sanping was very tired.

He has been very successful in the past two years. "The Great Cause of Strengthening the Country" and "The Great Cause of Strengthening the Party" both had a box office of more than 4 million. Han Sanping's face was full of glory wherever she went.

At this time, Lao Han's eyes were tired and even bloodshot.

Li Shengyao couldn't help but be curious, "Director Han, what's wrong with you?"

"Oh, don't mention it. There have been a lot of meetings recently."

After all, Han Sanping is a member of the system. It is understandable that he will have many meetings near the end of the year.

Hearing this, Li Shengyao smiled and said, "I've also had a meeting recently."

"Hey, you are different from me. You always went to receive the award, while I sat down and listened."

Lee Sing-yew bought the equity of Shaw Brothers TVB and became the actual spokesperson of TVB. After holding a banquet and meeting everyone from TVB and people from the entertainment industry in Hong Kong, he was officially crowned TVB.

He did not take any more action, did not go to TVB to make a living, but quickly returned to his position and continued to direct the filming of "Parasite".

Although there are various invitations every day, most of the time, Lee Sheng Yew refuses. In his mind, it is better to make movies and brag about it with people in the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

This time I returned to Yanjing because I had a reason to go back.

The Ten Outstanding Young People of China in 2011 were awarded yesterday in Yanjing, and Li Shengyao was one of the winners.

This one of China's top ten outstanding young people is considered a recognition from above, and almost no one in the entertainment industry has received it.

Mainly people from within the system or from the sports circle.

For example, Dayao, Fu Mingxia, Guo Jingjing, Liu Xiang, they have all been awarded the top ten outstanding young people in China.

Lee Sung-yew should be the first director to win this award.

He asked the crew to rest for five days. He went back to Yanjing to receive an award and casually took a look at Chen Hao, Dong Xuan and the others.

Han Sanping said that she had been having too many meetings recently and seemed tired, so she must have a task.

Li Shengyao smiled and did not ask further.

Han Sanping thought that Li Shengyao would ask, but Li Shengyao didn't ask, so he could only take the initiative and said: "There are many foreign affairs this year. I hope China Film Group can support more films that promote patriotism and build the self-confidence of the Min people. I really Very difficult.

There are not only performance requirements, but also support for related movies.

But as you know, most of these domestic movies are losing money. "

There are indeed a lot of things happening abroad this year. The beautiful country has taken action, and the Arab Spring has swept through Zhongdong.

There are requirements above, which is very normal.

With the explosion of the mainland film market, China Film's status in Hollywood has grown rapidly. They have invested more in Hollywood films in the past two years.

This year's hit "Transformers 3" has investment from China Film.

The exact amount of money China Film invested is uncertain. China Film’s requirement is a share of the box office of "Transformers 3" in the mainland market.

Under such conditions, there is no way for Hollywood to hack China Film's money. After all, the mainland is China Film's home field.

"Transformers 3" has a box office of [-] billion, and China Film Group must have made money.

In addition, "The Great Cause of Strengthening the Country" and "The Great Cause of Strengthening the Party" have both made huge profits. It is inevitable that the top management of China Film Group has higher requirements, and they are not very fond of mainland movies that lose money.

Hearing this, Li Shengyao probably understood the reason why Han Sanping was looking for him.

Han Sanping continued: "Director Li, the filming of "Chinese Partner" has been completed. I think this movie is very good. When the movie is released, I will show it to your Fenghua Cinema for screening."

The quality of "China Partners" is good, with a box office of more than 5 million, and it is showing in Fenghua Cinemas, which is actually a profit to Fenghua. After all, China Film Group has its own cinema.

"Director Han, thank you very much."

"It's funny, I've always owed you a favor and I haven't paid it back."

Han Sanping paused for a moment and then said: "Now that China Film Group is on the rise, considering the emergence of more and more outstanding films, we China Film Group must enhance our competitiveness. After a high-level meeting, we decided to cooperate more with private enterprises, especially in foreign films. In terms of introduction, we can introduce excellent films more reasonably and efficiently.

During the meeting, I emphasized the possibility of cooperating with Fenghua. Director Li, please don’t refuse this time. "

Li Shengyao paused for a moment and thought for a moment before he understood what Han Sanping meant.

The Huaying he was talking about was China Film Group.

Twenty years ago, only China Film Group had the right to introduce and distribute foreign films. However, since the establishment of China Film Group in 20, China Film Group has the same privileges as China Film Group and can introduce and distribute foreign films.

In the past, the box office in the mainland market was low, and China Film was somewhat suspected of failing. Now that the box office in the mainland is improving, China Film has begun to compete with China Film.

China Film had competitors and began to think about broadening its film channels.

China Film Group has money and resources. If they want to maximize profits and achieve good results, they must continue to invest in good mainland films or introduce high-quality foreign films.

There are very few good films in the Mainland, and China Film's executives know very well that even if they spend a lot of money, they may not necessarily get high returns.

On the contrary, there are many foreign films that, if introduced to the mainland, may achieve high box office.

In Li Shengyao's previous life, China Film began to cooperate with private enterprises after 2012 to introduce foreign films.

The foreign films mentioned here are not imported films with a fixed quota, but approved films.

The imported films in the media generally refer to divided movies, such as "Kung Fu Panda" and "Harry Potter".

The approved films are not included in the imported films. They are bought by mainland capital, translated, and then introduced and distributed by China Film.

For example, Hengye Pictures spent US$50 on "The Genius", US$70 on "Dangal," and US$50 on "The Invisible Guest."

These three films all performed well at the box office in the Mainland. Hengye bought them first, then translated them, submitted them for review, and applied for the right to broadcast in the Mainland.

Such movies are buy-out films, and foreign investors do not participate in the sharing and are not subject to import film quota restrictions.

But it still has to be handed over to China Film or China Film for distribution.

In Lee Sheng-yew's previous life, these three films were all distributed by China Film.

Han Sanping's idea was to let Fenghua buy excellent foreign films, buy them and broadcast them in the mainland. China Film had connections and would review them faster, so they could make money together.

This matter is also beneficial to Fenghua. Li Shengyao naturally knows which movies will be popular and those external films can be bought.

He raised his tea cup and clinked it with Han Sanping again, "Director Han, happy cooperation."

Han Sanping smiled, her eyes a little brighter, her voice a little louder, and she looked very excited.

"Director Li, there is another benefit."

"You said."

"China Film has obtained a piece of land in Guangzhou, and we will build a film and television city there. Director Li, Guangzhou is a big city, how about working together?" China Film had the opportunity to build a film and television city in the past, and then Han Sanping invited Li Shengyao, but gave it to Li Shengyao. Refused.

Han Sanping is very confident this time because Yangcheng is a super first-tier city.

When Li Shengyao heard this, he looked at Han Sanping strangely.

I have to say that China Film and CCTV have very poor vision.

In Foshan, Zhongshan, and Dongwan, there are film and television cities cooperating with CCTV and China Film, but the economic results are not good.

China Film seems not to understand that the film and television industry is heading north. Now the two film and television centers in the mainland are Yanjing and Shanghai.

Only the film and television industry centered on Yanjing and Shanghai can continue to operate.

For example, Shanghai Film and Television City, Hangzhou Film and Television City, Hengdian Film and Television City, and Wuxi Film and Television City are all film and television cities built around Shanghai. Only these film and television cities can survive.

The film and television cities in Guangdong Province can be described as sparse. Not only are there no crews to produce film and television dramas, but there are also very few tourists. Investing in film and television cities in Guangdong Province is definitely a money-losing business.

Needless to say, when Lee Sheng-yew won TVB, in addition to awarding him one of the top ten outstanding youths, he was also given a practical benefit.

That is to build a film and television city in Suzhou.

The Yangcheng Lake Peninsula in Suzhou is going to be a tourist resort, and a film and television city worth about 30 billion will be built inside the resort.

The above gave this benefit to Fenghua.

Li Shengyao thought about it for a moment, and then said slowly: "Director Han, Fenghua will not participate in this project. We have won the film and television city project in Yangcheng Lake Tourist Resort in Suzhou. This project will cost about 30 billion. We are short of funds here. For the time being, We won’t engage in other big investments.”

Lee Sheung Yew just spent 95 billion to buy TVB equity and land, and now he is spending another 30 billion to build a film and television city. This reason is not bad.

Of course, in fact, with Fenghua’s size, they would have no problem borrowing another 200 billion yuan.

However, when Li Shengyao said this, he obviously did not want to get involved.

Hearing this, Han Sanping understood what Li Shengyao meant and did not continue the invitation.

However, he was still very shocked, because the film and television city project in Suzhou Yangcheng Lake Resort was very popular, and many forces were eyeing it.

According to his understanding, Huayi, Guangguang, Bona, as well as Hengdian and Shanghai Film Studio all have ideas.

But I didn't expect that it would be given to Li Shengyao.

Director Li took over TVB, and the bosses paid more attention to it.

He raised his tea cup and offered Li Shengyao a toast, "Director Li, forget about it, I have something to ask you.

The above requires China Film Duoduo to invest in mainland patriotic films, but also wants me to maintain performance. Isn't this embarrassing?Can you help me, help me select those film projects. "

Li Shengyao's business vision is notoriously good.

Han Sanping believed that if Li Shengyao was willing to help, China Film would not lose money.

Li Shengyao smiled when he heard this and said, "Director Han, let this be your case. I really want to help you, but I don't have any expectations. The type of movie you mentioned is difficult to succeed commercially."

At this time, "Wolf Warrior" and "Operation Mekong" had not yet come out, and mainland patriotic films, even if they were of high quality, could not make money.

Hearing this, Han Sanping nodded and smiled bitterly, "Isn't that right? In recent years, apart from "The Great Cause of Strengthening the Country", "The Great Cause of Strengthening the Party", and your "1937", how can other movies make money?"

Li Shengyao picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea.

Leave this matter to Han Sanping. It has nothing to do with him. His energy is still focused on the filming of "Parasite".

……

After staying in Yanjing for four days, Lee Sheng-yew went south to Hong Kong Island. After returning home without any rest, he immediately continued filming "Parasite".

Naturally, the actors did not dare to say anything more. On the contrary, they were very generous in cooperating with Lee Sheng-yew's time.

At eleven o'clock in the evening on this day, it was only about ten degrees in Hong Kong Island, and the cold wind blew faintly through the streets.

On the set of "Parasite", several water trucks were brought in. The water in these trucks was all warm water. Later, the scene where the male protagonist, his daughter, and son were running wildly on a rainy night was filmed.

Of course, it's impossible to use tap water. It's too cold. If you get caught in the rain in this weather, you will definitely get sick.

Only heat, use warm water.

Fortunately, technology is now advanced enough to heat water on a large scale and there are water storage trucks.

If it had been filmed 20 years ago, a scene like this would probably have been filmed in the summer.

The plot of this scene is that the male protagonist enjoys a day in the villa, and the rich family suddenly returns home. The male protagonist can only take his daughter and son to escape from the villa in a hurry, and the three of them run in the pouring rain.

My daughter is still very aggrieved and doesn’t want to do it anymore.

The hero and his son still have firm beliefs and want to continue to pretend and make a fortune by relying on the rich.

During the day, Li Shengyao took Liang Jiawui, Bai Yu, and Song Yi to the scene, and then asked the three of them to rehearse. This was the official shooting time.

In addition to Li Shengyao, Liu Dehua, Ni Dahong and others also came.

In addition, Xu Anhua also came.

In the first half of the year, Anhua Hui relied on Andy Lau's investment to shoot "Sister Tao". The film was a great success at the Venice Film Festival, and the heroine Ye Dexian won the Best Actress.

Director Xu is 64 years old this year. He wears a pair of glasses and has very gentle eyes. He looks like an intellectual, patient and kind person.

She is one of the few directors in the Chinese film and television industry who has always insisted on artistic creation. Her films are full of humanistic feelings, as well as observation and compassion for the bottom class.

"Man [-]", "Day and Night in Tin Shui Wai", "Night and Fog in Tin Shui Wai", etc., Xu Anhua deserves the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival.

Lee Sheung Yew admires Xu Anhua, a director who is always thoughtful and emotional.

At this time, Xu Anhua was sitting next to Li Shengyao. The two of them were chatting while looking at the picture on the director's monitor.

Xu Anhua looked at the screen on the director's monitor and kept nodding.

Unlike Wong Kar-wai who likes to show off his skills, most of Hui Anhua's films are shot from an objective and cold perspective, and the same is true for "Parasite". This allows Hui Anhua to find great commonalities with Lee Sing-yew.

At this time, listening to Li Shengyao telling the story of "Parasite", Xu Anhua liked it even more.

She likes movies that think about society and care about the people at the bottom.

Nowadays, major directors from Mainland China and Hong Kong are piling up special effects, investing money, and telling some specious themes.

There are fewer and fewer directors like her who make movies honestly and tell stories in a straightforward manner.

She didn't expect Lee Sing-yew's "Parasite" to have this theme.

But apart from the subject matter of "Parasite", what surprised her the most was Lee Sheng-yew's attitude.

It can be seen that Li Shengyi likes her movies very much. Whether it is "The Man at [-]", "Days and Nights in Tin Shui Wai", "Night and Fog in Tin Shui Wai", Li Shengyao speaks clearly and clearly, and is not an unreasonable compliment.

This made Xu Anhua very happy.

Although she is the best female director on Hong Kong Island, her films are very commercially unsatisfactory, and her colleagues on Hong Kong Island do not really recognize her.

After the script of "Sister Yao" was written, she searched around Hong Kong Island with the planning book, but no one was willing to invest. Finally, Andy Lau took action, and "Sister Yao" could be released.

And Li Shengyao, the head of TVB, the boss of Mainland Fenghua Cinemas, Fenghua Video, Fenghua Film and Television, an absolute boss, actually recognized her movie so much, which made her very happy.

"Director Li, I am happier to get your approval than to praise foreigners at the Venice Film Festival."

(End of this chapter)