China Entertainment started in 2004

Chapter 608 Director Chen, what do you think?
With the first wave of reviews for Life of Pi, Wang Shu’s strength has once again been proven.

Some people in Europe and the United States who had previously questioned whether Wang Shu had the qualifications to attend the MTV Video Music Awards have now shut up.

However, Wang Shu did not stay in the United States for long, but rushed back to China.

Because "Life of Pi" will also hold its premiere in China, as a director and targeting the domestic market, he needs to show up.

It takes more than ten hours to fly directly from the United States to Beijing, so he will not be able to make it to the premiere, but he can make it to the subsequent meet-and-greet event.

As long as they show up, they will have the publicity effect of a stabilizing force.

……

Zhang Yimou and Chen Ting walked into a movie theater in Beijing and bought two movie tickets to watch "Life of Pi".

The movie "Three Shots Surprise" directed by him has been scheduled to be released on December 12th.

That is to say, 20 days after the release of "Life of Pi", Zhang Yimou's "Movies and Stories" will be released in theaters.

He is not too worried about "Pacific Rim" which is released in the same period as "Three Guns Surprise", because this movie is obviously a popcorn commercial blockbuster.

Zhang Yimou does not think that an art film like "Three Shots Surprise" can compete with the commercial film "Pacific Rim" at the box office.

Unless Wang Shu makes a terrible film called Pacific Rim, there is no chance that Three Shots Surprise will win at the box office.

The success of Wang Shu’s previous films such as "The Cruise" and "Trip to Taipei" are on the table.

Zhang Yimou doesn't think Wang Shu will mess up Pacific Rim.

Therefore, the only film that is in sharp contrast and competition with "Three Guns Surprise" is "Life of Pi".

Not only are both films art films, but one is heading for the Berlin International Film Festival, and the other is heading for an Academy Award.

The contrast is even more obvious.

In fact, if Wang Shu has the idea, "Life of Pi" can also be registered for the annual Berlin International Film Festival.

However, there is a hard condition for participating in the Berlin International Film Festival, which is that the film has not been released in other regions except the local area.

"Life of Pi" has been released in both the United States and China, and will be released in the United Kingdom and other international countries soon. It is not enough to register for the Berlin International Film Festival in February next year.

However, Zhang Yimou's "Three Shots Surprise" was there. This movie was nominated for the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.

Sitting in the cinema, Zhang Yimou watched "Life of Pi" attentively. Chen Ting did not disturb him and sat quietly beside him.

When the movie was over and the two walked out of the cinema, Lao Mouzi, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up. He asked, "How do you feel?"

Chen Ting said frankly: "It's a very good movie, especially the 3D movie, which is a plus."

"Yes, a 3D movie." Zhang Yimou replied with a sigh, and then said, "Do you know? Life of Pi has always been called the most impossible work to be adapted into a film or TV series in Hollywood."

"I heard that many directors in Hollywood have reviewed the script, but they all gave up on the project because they thought it was not good enough to film."

"Now, Wang Shu has not only adapted it into a film, but has also done it very successfully."

Chen Ting could understand Zhang Yimou's mood at the moment, and also knew what he was thinking, so he asked with concern: "Are you worried that "Three Shots Surprise" will be affected?"

"It's not that I'm worried, but it will definitely be affected!" Zhang Yimou sighed, "You said it's a 3D movie, it's a plus."

"Let me ask you, is there any director in our mainland who has made a 3D movie?"

After the premiere of "Life of Pi", publicity and promotion continued.

Again, the most important factor in determining whether a movie can be successful at the box office, besides the number of screens, is publicity and promotion.

Even a bad movie can achieve good box office results as long as it has strong publicity and promotion and can trick people into buying tickets and going to the theaters.

Sina Entertainment: The visual effects of "Life of Pi" are realistic yet delicate, which is eye-catching and not inferior to traditional blockbusters such as "Pirates of the Caribbean". The rhythm of the whole film is leisurely and comfortable, neither impatient nor procrastinated, neither noisy nor dull.

The film walks the fine line between commercial blockbusters and art films, finding the best breakthrough point. With its bright and gentle tones, soft and mysterious music, simple and clear stories, and philosophical thoughts that appear from time to time, the film guides the audience to explore the mysteries behind the story.

At the end of the film, Pi, who is now in his prime, slowly tells another version of the shipwreck. The animals that accompany him across the sea may be a fairy tale created by Pi because he cannot face the dark side of human nature. The fantasy journey on the sea is as light as an untouchable dream. The bleak reality is dismembered in pieces before the audience's eyes, and the strong collision with ideals and beliefs ends up in a bloody mess.

Wang Shu's powerful production team created a huge contrast between the warm-toned film and the dark human nature. The participation of the gold medal composer Mike Donald undoubtedly added a lot of color to it.

The music master Mike Donald made the music of "Life of Pi" soft, graceful, soothing and harmonious.

This slow-paced, melodic soundtrack style is very different from the strong drum beats and situational soundtracks popular in Hollywood, but it shows extraordinary adaptability and is fresh and natural in this film.

The music clip "Leaving India" uses the Indian musical scale to describe the unspeakable bitterness of Pi, a young boy just beginning to fall in love, about leaving his hometown and his lover; "Flying Fish" is lively and agile, and even adds a tuba in the second half to add a sense of humor. Every note jumps with the joy of the first "big harvest" at sea; "Tiger Training" is short and varied, transitioning from a melodious female humming to a slow drum beat, and then the suppressed cello playing accompanied by the low drum beats is like a downpour, urgent and difficult to calm down.

The theme song "Pi's Lullaby" was written by Mac Donald and Indian singer Jayashree. Jayashree's ethereal Tamil female voice, coupled with distant woodwind instruments, ripple-like hand drums, and colorful instruments, creates a peaceful and tranquil natural environment, which easily makes this softness penetrate into people's hearts.

Echoing this ode to nature is the lush green at the beginning of the film and a naughty sloth looking curiously at the hummingbirds flying not far away.

Sohu Entertainment: The opening of the movie easily reminds people of Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. The latter uses postcards to present the beautiful scenery of Paris to the audience, while Life of Pi opens with the living conditions of various animals, accompanied by relaxed and lively music with Indian characteristics, casually outlining a wonderful world where all things grow and nature is beautiful. This calmness and peace also contrasts with the subsequent turbulent waves and even the cruel reality revealed at the end, making the audience "guess the beginning but not the ending."

In the film, the audience can see the strange and colorful underwater creatures hidden in the ocean swimming around, as if they are holding a fashion party; they can also see the scene where the sea and the sky meet in the middle of the night, the quiet sea and the stars in the night sky complement each other, and Pi's boat seems to be docked on a beautiful and huge mirror; they can also see the magical pictures dotted with marine creatures such as luminous whales, speedy flying fish, and fluorescent jellyfish; and on the mysterious island where Pi and the tiger landed, there are tangled old trees, docile meerkats, and flower buds that flash in the dark night that seem to contain human teeth, all of which just fit the visual meaning of the word "fantasy" in the title.

Tencent Entertainment: "Life of Pi" presents themes on three levels.

First of all, it is the psychological change process of young Pi, from the relatively stable family life in India, the free belief in religion, and the budding beautiful love with his sweetheart, to the double invasion of fear and loneliness when drifting on the sea, and the constant experience of alternating hope and disappointment. In the later period, he even talked to the tiger, asking it to come out to see the gods together. After the diary was blown away by the wind, the channel for him to confide also collapsed, and thus the emotion of despair was born - Pi said to the tiger, we are going to die.

His relationship with the tiger was also undergoing subtle changes, from confrontation and fear in the beginning, to seeking various means to tame it in the middle period, and he escaped with the tiger on the cannibal island. When the boat was finally rescued, he looked at the tiger that had been dependent on him before disappearing into the jungle without looking back, and said: "Life is a process of constant letting go, but the most regrettable thing is that we didn't say goodbye properly." Many viewers shed tears secretly, and some even said that they hoped "the tiger would turn around and look at Pi at the last moment", and even hoped that "the tiger would not leave Pi in the end."

At the same time, Wang Shu added the element of faith on the emotional level.

The film interprets the truth of "faith" from a high-level perspective, which is the greatest success and touching. The film is not just for visual satisfaction. When the audience is stunned by the real ending, they have completed their self-recognition. At the same time, it pushes religion and faith to every audience, using an unprovable drift to prove the existence of God.

NetEase:.
Baidu:.
The Internet is flooded with all kinds of praise, boasting articles and film reviews.

Many people who have not seen "Life of Pi" and have always been skeptical about whether art films can be wonderful, after hearing various voices praising "Life of Pi", their interest was aroused, and they began to waver and consider buying tickets to go to the cinema.

It is said that "Life of Pi" is very well-made and has received rave reviews on the Internet. In addition, Wang Shu is an Oscar-winning director with a good reputation.

Many viewers who had not yet bought tickets to enter the cinema wanted to go in and take a look.

Chen Kaige and Chen Hong walked out of the theater after watching the movie. Seeing that Chen Kaige had remained silent, Chen Hong tilted her head and asked, "How did you feel?"

"What's going on?" Chen Kaige knew what Chen Hong was asking, but he didn't want to answer and pretended not to understand.

"Movies, how is Wang Shu's movie?" Chen Hong asked.

Chen Kaige didn't want to answer, and immediately asked back: "What do you think?"

Chen Hong responded without hesitation: "I think it's great. There's a great chance that I can win an Oscar."

"Oscar statuette?" Chen Kaige was immediately displeased when he heard this, and replied with disdain, "How dare you say that?"

"Let's not talk about how good the movie is. The fact that the Oscars are a platform that values ​​experience means Wang Shu is doomed to not win the award."

Chen Hong also knew this, so she said, "I didn't say I was going to win a big prize."

“Is it possible that he can’t win the big prize, but has a good chance of winning the small prize?”

When Director Chen heard this, he felt like he was being teased and snorted, "Small award? Do you think a small Oscar award is so easy to win?"

"Besides, even if it's a small prize, what does it have to do with Wang Shu? The little golden man isn't his."

Chen Hong smiled and said, "Have you forgotten? There is also an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Isn't this related to Wang Shu?"

"Haha, the script of "Life of Pi" was not adapted by him, so what does it have to do with him?" Chen Kaige sneered.

When Chen Hong heard this, she suddenly realized something and couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

She managed her emotions and continued, "Whether Wang Shu can win an Oscar or not, just tell me how you felt after watching this movie."

Director Chen had his own opinion in his mind, but he would not say it. He responded, "What's the use of how I feel? I don't have any movies to be released at the same time as him."

"You'll have to ask Zhang Yimou about this question. His film 'Three Shots Surprise' is about to be released."

While saying this, Director Chen couldn't help but observe a moment of silence for Zhang Yimou.

He could see that Wang Shu had really learned a lot of things from Hollywood, and the movies he made basically had a Hollywood flavor.

Moreover, we do have the ability.

For example, "Life of Pi" is said to be an art film, but it was actually shot using commercial techniques.

It is somewhat similar to his previous work "Mei Lanfang".

It’s just that Wang Shu is obviously more proficient in business practices.

In addition, "Life of Pi" is a 3D movie, which is something refreshing in China.

Director Chen couldn't help but feel that it was an extremely unwise choice for New Picture to release "Three Shots Surprise" during the New Year period.

First there was "Life of Pi", and then there was "Pacific Rim".

In addition, "Three Shots Surprise" is not a commercial film, but an art film.

If compared with these two movies, the audience's desire to buy tickets will be greatly reduced.

The box office of the movie will be cut in half.

Therefore, the wisest choice is to shift the release dates and stagger the release dates.

Having said that, the New Year period is the best period of the year.

"Three Shots Surprise" has been in preparation for so long, waiting for this schedule.

In addition, the new screen also has the pressure of collecting payments.

Director Chen feels that neither Zhang Weiping nor Zhang Yimou are willing to give up the New Year period.

"If the two of them are confident in the drama "Three Shots Surprise", they should not move the schedule!"

Director Chen muttered to himself that Zhang Yimou is also a big director and he also needs to save face.

"Life of Pi" was released just as it was released, but it was moved to a different schedule right after.

How embarrassing is this?
(End of this chapter)