China Entertainment: I have been a director since 05

Chapter 380 Director Chen, you are only fit to be a tool!

Cheng Hong knows best what kind of person Brother Chen Kai is: he is tough-mouthed but timid.

If she doesn't make this call, Brother Chen Kai will definitely not make the call now.

But after calling him, he didn't dare to leave Guan Ling alone.

Because he had been looking forward to working with Guan Ling for a long time. After Guan Ling and Jiang Wen collaborated on "Let the Bullets Fly" and won the Golden Lion Award, and officially announced their collaboration with Hou Hsiao-hsien on "Confessions", and officially announced their collaboration with Zhang Yimou on a new movie, Cheng Hong clearly felt that Brother Chen Kai was getting anxious.

At home, Brother Chen Kai always calls Guan Ling's name for no apparent reason.

Even the dumbest woman probably knows what happened to her husband.

Although he spoke toughly, he was already discouraged in his heart.

It's just like the feeling of exhaustion that film critics talk about at his age.

She knows best that "The Orphan of Zhao" is a film that Brother Chen Kai has poured a lot of effort into, in an effort to clear his own reputation.

Last year's "Mei Lanfang" was, after all, an art film.

It was also shortlisted for the Golden Bear Award in the main competition unit of the Berlin Film Festival.

Although there is no hair at all.

But it would be a bit too arrogant for the industry to criticize him too much based on this achievement.

Everyone's ridicule of him doesn't count. Art films have to sell copyrights, and the box office results are just a small number.

Regardless of what the other directors thought, they absolutely could not say no to him.

But since "The Promise", he has watched Guan Ling go from an unknown junior to now completely riding on his neck. He is powerless to do anything about this feeling.

"Mei Lanfang" lost to "Shoplifters" again and lost the opportunity to bid for the Olympics.

The "Oscar-winning" banner he raised when performing "The Promise" still slammed hard in his face.

This is the movie he must watch to make a comeback.

Can't turn over.

He was completely suppressed by so many juniors.

Jiang Wen was fine, Guan Ling just accepted it.

He felt sad just thinking about letting people like Ning Hao completely overtake him.

After a few beeps, Guan Ling answered the call.

"Director Chen? Why did you think of calling me?"

Liu Yifei listened to Guan Ling's conversation curiously, and she was also very puzzled.

"Isn't The Orphan of Zhao coming out now? If you have some time, could you please take a look and give me some advice?"

Brother Chen Kai was too embarrassed to speak.

Before he could finish, Cheng Hong took the phone.

"Director Guan, I'm Cheng Hong. Brother Kai couldn't save face, so I just ordered directly."

Cheng Hong said, "Some time ago, I heard that Director Guan and Director Zhang had reached a cooperation to shoot a movie. It just so happened that after "The Orphan of Zhao", Brother Kai didn't have any new directing work for the time being, so I kept urging Brother Kai to cooperate if Director Guan had a suitable opportunity."

Cheng Hong got straight to the point. "After all, you and Brother Kai both graduated from Beijing Film Academy, so you can be considered as close brothers and sisters. If there is such an opportunity, it is better to give it to Brother Kai than to others. The director's salary and so on are all easy to discuss."

Guan Ling understood that they were here to look for opportunities for cooperation.

Compared to Brother Chen Kai's embarrassed hesitation, Cheng Hong was full of decisiveness.

"It's not impossible to cooperate." After a moment, Guan Ling's voice was calm.

At this moment, Cheng Hong and Chen Kaige were holding their breath, because this sentence is usually followed by a "but".

"I have to screen the movie script, but before we work together, I have something I want to discuss with Director Chen himself."

……

Brother Chen Kai didn't know what Guan Ling would say, but since the two parties had reached a preliminary intention and cooperation conditions, he would naturally listen.

"Let me check my flight tickets and fly to the United States right away."

"I'm not that anxious. Didn't The Orphan of Zhao just come out?"

"I'm going to the United States to meet you at this time. If this news gets out, it may even bring more popularity to The Orphan of Zhao. Besides, everything now depends on word of mouth. It doesn't make much difference whether I am there or not."

Brother Chen Kai really knows what's going on.

"Fan Bingbing didn't participate in the promotion. Will it affect the popularity?"

Guan Ling took the initiative to mention the fact that Fan Bingbing did not participate in the publicity, and Brother Chen Kai hurriedly said.

"Compared to the cooperation we may have achieved this time, this matter is not worth mentioning."

Since the other party's attitude is so eager, Guan Ling naturally would not refuse.

After hanging up the phone.

Liu Yifei frowned. "When he's upset, he calls you shameless. When he has something to do, he comes to you and calls you his dear junior. I still remember that at the Huabiao Awards, he was ready to compete with you, but now he's taking the initiative to ask for cooperation. It's really interesting."

"Check the news about The Orphan of Zhao." Guan Ling said, "Cheng Hong forced him to make this call. Brother Chen Kai married some really good wives. I guess the situation of The Orphan of Zhao is not going well. Plus, I have been working with others too much recently, so the couple is getting anxious."

“Are these wives good?”

Liu Yifei's hearing seemed to be focused on the word "wife". She looked at Guan Ling suspiciously, "Why do I feel like you are envious?"

"If I'm not envious, should I cry?" Guan Ling pinched Liu Yifei's nose, which made Liu Yifei stunned.

She never expected that Guan Ling would give such an answer.

Then she went over to bite Guan Ling angrily.

Guan Ling already knew the opponent's skills, and used his lower three moves to attack randomly.

After waiting for a long time, Liu Yifei finally remembered the news. She went to brush her teeth and spit out the white toothpaste.

Only then did the new people start doing miscellaneous chores.

We've been working on this for too long and both of us are quite tired.

Only then did the other party see the news about "The Orphan of Zhao" on the Internet.

"I now understand why Brother Chen Kai was so anxious to call you to discuss cooperation."

Guan Ling looked at the film reviews online, and the familiar memories of watching "The Promise" attacked him.

"Brother Chen Kai has created another epic masterpiece after The Promise! Poet Chen will live forever! This shitty movie will live forever!"

Guan Ling shared this comment with Liu Yifei, "Look, the netizens are so talented, one is epic, the other is shitty, they describe their feelings very clearly, it seems that Director Chen has just made another big shit, and it's still a lot."

Liu Yifei felt a chill, "You think everyone is like you, and everyone comes out thick."

On the highway, right?
Guan Ling was shocked by Liu Yifei's driving speed. Thinking about how he had been drained by Fan Bingbing and Liu Yifei during this period of time, he quickly changed the subject.

Looking at the film reviews, the reviews for "The Orphan of Zhao" are really bad.

Unlike "The Laughing Man", that movie is bad, but it still makes people laugh. People are happy, so they don't criticize it so harshly.

"The Orphan of Zhao" is a revenge film, but it is so bad. The audience's criticism is so harsh.

And it seems that if word of mouth continues like this, it will be ruined.

The production cost of this movie alone was 4000 million, almost catching up with the total cost of "The Laughing Man".

Looking at the film reviews again, Guan Ling felt a little sorry for Lao Chen. All the reviews were negative.

"You lied to me. You lied to me! I'm sorry for him, he's sorry for you, you're sorry for me, blablabla... The epic story with ups and downs in my mind was turned into a petty soap opera! This is not the Orphan of Zhao, this is the Orphan of Chen."

"The first hour is a five-star palace drama, seven people died in a row, it's worth the half-price ticket, director Chen Kaige; the second hour is a three-star parenting drama, two people died, it's better to refund the tickets, director Kaige Chen, rnm, refund the tickets!"

"A married woman's father + a devilish godfather + a charming scarred uncle, a bad ending parenting story of three men loving and hating each other!"

"The only good thing about this movie is Fan Bingbing's looks! She's so pretty!"

"If we only talk about the first half of the film, I even think it has the sharp feeling of "Farewell My Concubine", but the second half makes me feel like it is the time of sages after the overexertion at the beginning, and it has no advantages at all. To be honest, Ge You might as well give birth to a son instead of making this film."

"It's a very good movie. Brother Chen Kai wanted to make a comeback with this movie, but it's a pity that he got stuck halfway through!"

"Director Chen has the spirit of a hero, but his heroic spirit is short-lived."

After seeing this heroic review, Guan Ling and Liu Yifei moved to Bengbu directly, laughing so hard that tears came out.

"I admit it, Director Guan, the netizens are really talented." There are some heroic and some timid reviews, and some are half-hearted. Although the two have not watched the movie yet, it is indeed very funny.

The two laughed for a while.

Liu Yifei looked at Guan Ling and said, "Master screenwriter Guan, given the current situation, what kind of script are you going to write for Director Chen?"

Guan Ling thought about it and felt that Brother Chen Kai's film style was more like what he had originally felt when he wanted to apply to the Department of Literature at Peking University. He was just a bard.

He is poetic and loves to dream.

He likes to write poetry in dreams with gorgeous shots, and uses his strong stylistic influence to lay out each story to release energy.

There is nothing wrong with this style itself, but the use of this kind of visual and epic quality sometimes completely erodes the logic of the film, which is his biggest problem.

And Guan Ling, of course, would not allow him to do that.

But in order to show his strengths while avoiding his weaknesses, Guan Ling really couldn't think of what to shoot for a moment.

The European suspense masterpiece "The Best Offer"? The beautiful scenery in it may be what Chen Kaige is best at.

But this movie doesn't seem to be easy to translate into Chinese.

Guan Ling thought about it, but couldn't figure out how to translate it into Chinese. And asking him to shoot a European-style movie was a bit too much to ask.

Liu Yifei's words stumped Guan Ling.

“What should I shoot?”

Guan Ling muttered to himself.

Liu Yifei looked at Guan Ling's serious expression and also calmed down.

……

In the following period, Guan Ling supervised Fan Bingbing vigorously in the crew during the day, allowing Fan Bingbing to fully display the domineering magic of "Scarlet Witch" in front of the green screen.

“I can’t control other people’s fear, I can only control my own.”

Fan Bingbing opened his hands and his eyes were calm and indifferent.

"This is an age of miracles, Doctor," Wanda, who was recruited by Hydra, was deceived by everyone and was turned into a villain first.

"This thing is the center of the vortex that devours all hope of life. The more you understand it, the less control it has over you."

"Wanda is orphaned, and she has her first intimate encounter with an Infinity Stone, and she empowers something that shouldn't be alive."

"I peered into your mind and saw the Great Destruction... but I don't care. I just want my brother.

I want...everything I have lost to come back to me!"

In the evening, Guan Ling danced the love cha-cha with Liu Yifei.

More than a week passed quickly.

At this time, the performance of "The Orphan of Zhao" and "Big Laugh in the Rivers and Lakes" really surprised many people in the circle.

"'The Laughing Man' won the box office championship with 6043 million in the first week, which surprised the industry insiders! After eight days of release, the box office of 'The Laughing Man' exceeded 1.1 million!"

"The film has won both northern and southern markets. It has achieved a comprehensive victory in the Northeast market, with every screening sold out. The performance in the southern region is also eye-catching. Although the screening schedule in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai is far lower than that of The Orphan of Zhao, the market performance has also withstood the strong pressure and has not suffered from any problems of acclimatization!"

"It has been crowned as a masterpiece. The lines from "The Laughing Man" have become popular sayings, such as 'Which unit are you from?' and 'Don't be too presumptuous, it's useless!' The lines have topped the hot topics on Weibo, Tieba and forums many times!"

"The support for The Orphan of Zhao was slightly higher than that for The Laughing Man, but the box office results were similar. Because it was shown at night, the box office was 5100 million in the first week! Now it has turned the tide and the box office has exceeded 1.2 million!"

"Both films have had digital high-definition pirated copies released, which has seriously affected the subsequent box office. Zhao Benshan accepted an interview and called on everyone to go to the theater to support everyone."

"After the release, Chen Kai went to Hollywood. According to relevant sources, this trip to Hollywood may be related to his collaboration with Guan Ling on a new movie!"

As the two big guys were fighting to the death, a lot of extra information also made everyone feel helpless.

High-definition piracy is a huge loss for both parties.

Ning Caishen even lamented on Weibo that pirates have already extended their hands into the computer room.

However, among all the news, the news that Chen Kaige was heading to Hollywood and might be working with Guan Ling left many people puzzled.

"The new movie is still in theaters, and you're already discussing cooperation? So urgent?"

Many people thought it was fake news.

……

"Director Guan, I've been in Hollywood for two days. I finally got to meet you today. I've been waiting so long!"

In the reception room, Brother Chen Kai spoke with some excitement.

His eyes are full of anticipation!

After packing up in China for two days, he went straight to the United States. When he arrived, Guan Ling was busy filming, so he just walked around by himself.

After waiting for another two days for Guan Ling's filming time, Brother Chen Kai was already overwhelmed by the film reviews that night.

The moment he saw Guan Ling, Brother Chen Kai felt inexplicably close to her.

"The performance of The Orphan of Zhao is pretty good?"

Since the other party had come to the door, Guan Ling naturally gave them a good look.

We exchanged a few pleasantries.

It would have been better if he hadn't asked. Once he asked, Brother Chen Kai's face was full of embarrassment.

"I have always adhered to a principle, which is to ensure that investors do not lose money, but this time it is a bit difficult. I can only see how many copyrights I can sell in Berlin."

Chen Kai smiled bitterly, "So after I finished talking to you, Director Guan, I came here right away. Although I usually tell everyone that you can't have both a good movie and a high box office, I know in my heart that this is just an excuse for myself."

"What Director Chen said today was very true." Guan Ling was quite surprised that the other party lowered his posture.

"To be honest with you, Director Guan," Chen Kai smiled and shook his head, "the industry has always said that I am a director who 'specializes in film festivals.' This definition does not offend me at all. In this era of freedom, speech is also free. I can't tell whether I am a director of art films or commercial films. I only know how to make movies, and the rest can only be left to time."

"You can also compose poetry." Guan Ling opened the loudspeaker's mouth close to Chen Kai's face, making it even more embarrassing for him.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Brother Chen Kai said, "Director Guan, you said you wanted to talk to me in person. Why don't you get straight to the point?"

"There were some things I couldn't say on the phone before. But today, I want to make my attitude clear first."

Guan Ling said seriously, "Director Chen, you are not suitable to be a master controller. You are suitable for movies, but you are only suitable to be a tool for photography."

After hearing this, Brother Chen Kai was stunned for a moment and didn't say anything.

He suddenly thought of the moment when his first wife told him that Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" was in Berlin. He was stunned for ten minutes and then said something.

I'm just a photographer!

He still remembers that sentence, because as time goes by, that sentence seems to be engraved in his mind and has become his pain.

But today, he felt humiliated when a junior told him in front of him that he was only suitable to be a tool for photography. The comment was even more vicious than his previous one about Zhang Yimou.

After all, he is a famous director.

For a moment, grief, grievance, and inexplicable emotions all surged into his heart.

He even wanted to walk away.

But Guan Ling in front of him had a serious and sincere look in his eyes, as if he was repeating what he believed to be the truth.

Let me tell you a fact that no one in the circle dares to say.

Brother Chen Kai was confused. He felt it was a mockery at first, but later he felt that it was not a mockery, but an inexplicable excitement!

It was as if Director Guan had said that to him right in front of him.

Brother Chen Kai, you told the world that you were here, but you took the wrong path.

This feeling, Brother Chen Kai has never felt it before.

He only remembered that in 1987 in New York, he was full of enthusiasm and declared in front of the world that Brother Chen Kai was here.

At that time, Zhang Yimou won the Golden Bear Award, and he won the Golden Alarm Clock in Cannes with "The King of Children".

This is the opposite of the Palme d'Or, a title chosen by a group of journalists in a cafe as the most boring and hypnotic film.

Guan Ling's words brought him back to that time.

It felt like there was a gun pointed at his lower back!

(End of this chapter)