This director needs to apologize

Chapter 15 Meeting a reporter and talking about box office

As the famous Chinese mezzo-soprano Tang Weiwei sang, the movie subtitles rose and the theater lights brightened.

Chen Yiming saw the names of the screenwriters as he wished. There were three names in parallel, from left to right, Lu Yiwei, Wu Kesen (Hong Kong City) and Qiu Shenghe (Wandao).

Generally speaking, when there are multiple screenwriters juxtaposed, the one who ranks highest is the chief screenwriter, who takes charge of the early outline and the later summary.

When Wu Kesen started his career in Hong Kong in the early days, he entered the industry as a screenwriter. After that, he continued to write and direct as a director.

Being able to place Wu Kesen in second place in the screenwriter column shows the ability and status of chief screenwriter Lu Yiwei.

Chen Yiming secretly wrote down the name.

Chen Yiming and Mitu tacitly agreed not to get up, but sat quietly in their seats. After listening to the ending song and reading the staff list, they walked out side by side.

At this time, Mitu seemed to have turned on the mute switch, and expressed his opinions on the movie in a barrage.

"I didn't expect that Wu Kesen could film the Three Kingdoms like this. It was surprisingly good."

"The third-line narrative can also make me, a history novice, understand. Is this the story-telling skill of a great director?"

"Diao Chan and Zhen Ji are so handsome. Actresses are finally no longer blockbusters. Domestic directors should learn from their example."

The empty corridor also echoed with the discussions of other spectators.

"Lu Bu is so handsome! Xie Wenfeng should play Lu Bu!"

"During the Battle of Guandu, Lu Bu was already dead. Wu Kesen was just making up nonsense."

"Lu Bu lived humiliatingly for Diao Chan and died heroically for Diao Chan. This is love!"

"In real history, Lu Bu didn't even want to surrender to Cao Cao, and Diao Chan didn't exist at all."

"Shut up, Lu Bu did it, can you do it for me?"

"It's not the same thing at all, okay."

"You do not love me!"

Passing by the young couple who were arguing, Chen Yiming and Mitu turned their heads at the same time and smiled at each other.

After walking around and returning to the small sunken square at the entrance of the theater, the two of them were stopped by a young man who looked like a college student.

The boy, wearing a "Guandu" themed cultural shirt, asked politely.

"Is this your first time watching "Guandu"?"

The two nodded at the same time.

The little brother took a deep breath, pulled out a notebook from behind his buttocks, opened it, and picked up the ballpoint pen.

"Can you two please answer a few questions?"

A pleasant movie-watching experience usually amplifies the desire to communicate with others. For example, Chen Yiming at this moment does not care about wasting a little time.

The questions were all very conventional post-viewing surveys. After knowing that both of them were accustomed to watching movies, the younger brother’s questions became more formulaic, and he soon came to the last question.

"May I ask what impressed you most about the movie?"

"Zhen Ji's reversal at the end, it turns out that the love brain is just a facade, and she also has her own beliefs. I hope this is not my misunderstanding of Director Wu." This is Mitu's answer.

"The style of the fighting scenes is very unique. The horse fights are rare and exciting, and the foot fights also show the heaviness of the armor." This is Chen Yiming's answer.

These two answers made the little brother's eyes light up. He finally had something new to hand in his homework.

The words of the two people also attracted the attention of another middle-aged man next to him. He wore a peaked cap and a camera hanging on his chest, dressed like a typical reporter.

After the cultural shirt left, the peaked hat came forward to chat and introduced himself as the cultural reporter of the "Magic City Evening News".

Chen Yiming smiled and asked first, "Why did you come to this interview? The film is about to be released in its fourth week."

The peaked hat smiled bitterly and said, "Who said I just came here? I have been wandering around the major theaters in the Magic City for more than half a month. I have a mission from above. I can't help but take it."

"So "Guandu" is going to be postponed for a long time. My dear, the entire August half-summer period will be covered by one family. Does anyone else have any objections?"

"There are a lot of opinions. In newspapers, on TV and on the Internet, "Guandu" and Director Wu have been criticized as if "Guandu" is a terrible movie. In fact, most of the comments from the audiences I interviewed They're all pretty good." "Let's talk about how they spray."

"That's all. It was discovered that history was fabricated randomly and was not serious. The historical blockbuster was made into a gangster spy war, and a group of heroes were led by the nose by two women. In short, it has no structure, no accumulation, and no atmosphere."

"That doesn't stop the box office from being high, right? It's already over several hundred million. Is there any hope of breaking the record?"

"I almost ordered 3.5. I thought that even if the release of 3.9 is postponed, it would be a bit uncertain. Otherwise, the higher-ups will give us a task to continue to brag about it."

"I see, then come on, goodbye!"

"Hey, who among us is the reporter? Stop right there."

Mitu was holding back his laughter until he almost breathed his last. Now he couldn't hold it back any longer and bent down with a smile, exposing most of his beautiful back.

The eyes of the two men drifted downward involuntarily, ah, this back is so thin, no, this waist is so white.

……

The peaked cap's name is Cheng Yu. Yes, it's the big dragon character Cheng Yu who just appeared in "Guandu".

It doesn’t matter if you take part in a movie viewing survey, it’s all anonymous anyway.

But being interviewed by reporters is different. In his previous life, Chen Yiming was often tricked by various paparazzi, so he was wary of the journalist profession.

However, Cheng Yu is a staff reporter of "Modu Evening News", and he is also a cultural reporter, which is different from the purely entertainment reporters in the circle.

After introducing each other, Cheng Yu directly ignored Mitu, who was still in school, and focused on Chen Yiming, who claimed to be the manager of Bojue Media.

After all, reporters from the Shanghai Cultural Center have all heard of the name Bojue, and the questions they asked were more industry- and macro-oriented.

Also, there isn’t much to say about the movie itself, it’s all leftovers from several rounds of speculation.

"Yiming, do you think the model of "Guandu" can be replicated?" The reporters are all familiar with each other, and they are very familiar with each other just by their names.

"I'm not very optimistic about it. With so much effort, the box office has failed to lift the ceiling, which shows that the potential only ends here."

"Why do you say that? Although public opinion is mixed about "Guandu" itself, they are generally very optimistic about Director Wu's next film "Three Kingdoms - Red Cliff"."

"It can be seen that Director Wu has exercised great restraint to weaken the impact of his own style on the film. But we can still feel the distinctive Hong Kong color of "Guandu". A director's background and experience are enough to influence him lifetime."

"There's nothing wrong with that, right? I grew up watching Hong Kong movies. I don't think it's a big problem to shoot a Three Kingdoms movie like this. At least it looks very refreshing."

"Yes, I feel the same way as you. Unfortunately, this empathy is only limited to part of the generation born in the 70s, and our evaluation can only affect those who have shared the same experience with us. This is "Guandu" 》The upper limit lies.”

Cheng Yu nodded thoughtfully, "Indeed, compared with CCTV's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" TV series, the temperament of "Guandu" is still too sharp."

"I think only local directors can truly understand the Chinese audience and make films that break the restrictions of the industry. The last example in the industry is "Shipwreck", which was the result of the right time, place and people. It cannot be copied. Directors from Hong Kong who went north can’t do it, and neither can latecomers from Hollywood.”

Cheng Yu was obviously intrigued by this answer, and he immediately asked, "So, do you think domestic films can compete with Hollywood blockbusters?"

"There is no doubt! When there is a domestic movie that really pulls the whole family into the cinema, the 3.8 million for "Shipwreck" is just a drop. And it won't be too far away, just in the past two years."

Cheng Yu looked surprised. In the crowded film industry, this was the first time he heard a point of view that was full of confidence in domestic films, and it really made sense logically!
He is a typical post-75s generation. When he was a child, he personally experienced the empty streets when "Shaolin" was released. Like the new generation Mitu, he did not have this resonance at all.

Since the new millennium, Chinese films have been struggling due to the triple impact of TV series, piracy and the Internet. Except for a few blockbusters, other types of films either cannot be released online, and they are barely available online.

But who can guarantee that there will not be a second "Shaolin" that will ignite the fire of hope for domestic films and rekindle people's enthusiasm for watching movies.

Cheng Yu knew that there was no need to ask Chen Yiming about his expectations for "Red Cliff".

He turned to ask, "Can you tell me more specifically? What kind of movie can achieve the record-breaking performance you mentioned? I think "Guandu" has done everything it can. It has gathered big names from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and three places and invested a lot of money." It’s a big scene, the story is told well, and it’s a well-known theme of the Three Kingdoms.”

Chen Yiming thought for a while, "It's probably a comedy movie. Only localized comedy movies can bring the largest audience into the cinema."

After all, it was an unexpected low-cost comedy movie that opened the ceiling of China's film industry in the previous life.

Cheng Yu looked disapproving. Just this year, even the two kings, who once dominated the Lunar New Year festival with comedies, have encountered waterloo in their new movies and have turned to preparing for blockbusters.

Are there any directors in China who are good at comedy films? Are they relying on those fried rice with eggs in Hong Kong City?
Chen Yiming smiled and said, "Just listen to what the family says."

Among the famous male stars in this time and space, Chen Yiming has not discovered the isotopes of Xu Guangtou and Sha Gener, and he is not sure whether a new director will bring a few tepid second- and third-tier actors to create a new movie. The box office bomb came out.

(End of this chapter)