China Entertainment started in 2004

Chapter 651

"The movie is about to be released, how can I not come back?" Wang Shu heard Sun Li's resentful voice and replied with a smile.

"I thought you wouldn't come back." Sun Li said in a teasing voice.

"Haha." Wang Shu laughed and changed the subject, asking, "How are things over there?"

"Not bad." Sun Li continued, "After this period of promotion, I feel that the audience is very enthusiastic about watching the movie. The movie should achieve very good box office when it is released."

"As the leading actress, the higher the box office, the better it is for you. Maybe after this movie, you will become a first-line movie actress." Wang Shu said with a smile.

Sun Li also had expectations in her heart, but she said, "How can it be that easy?"

It is now 2010, and the first-line actresses in mainland China are Zhou Xun, Jiang Wenli, and Mei Ting.

Jiang Wenli was able to become a first-tier star because she won the Cannes Best Actress Award for her role in "The Piano Tuner".

Mei Ting was able to enter the first line because of starring in "Pacific Rim"

However, Jiang Wenli has been working in the art film industry for many years, so she does not count.

When it comes to commercial films, the mainland's first-line actresses are only Zhou Xun and Mei Ting.

As for Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, they are top-tier actresses.

For example, Zhang Ziyi’s pay is 1000 million yuan, while Zhou Xun’s pay is only 500 million yuan.

Because there are only a handful of first-line actresses, Sun Li has a great opportunity to step into the ranks of first-line actresses in commercial films with the help of "The Night the Comet Comes".

The premise is that "The Night the Comet Came" does well at the box office.

If it was only 200 or 300 million, it would not be enough to put Sun Li on the front line. It would only be possible if the box office reached 500 or 600 million.

Of course, the first-line actresses in commercial films are relatively weak. As long as there are no high-quality works to follow, they will soon be reduced to their original form.

If Sun Li really becomes a first-line actress because of "The Night the Comet Comes".

Then Wang Shu will definitely be more popular among actors in the film and television industry.

Under his direction, Jiang Wenli, Mei Ting and Sun Li all became first-line actresses, and Jiang Wenli even won the Cannes Best Actress Award.

These data that cannot be falsified are placed in front of everyone, and everyone knows it clearly.

"Didn't you say that the audience's enthusiasm for watching movies is high? As long as the box office of the movie is high enough, you as the heroine will be able to become a first-line star." Wang Shu said with a smile.

"It would be great if it were that smooth." Sun Li hummed and continued, "Are you in Beijing or another city now?"

"In the capital." Wang Shu.

"Oh, we're not here." Sun Li said, "We're promoting the movie in Chengdu now and are expected to return to Beijing tomorrow."

"Yeah." Wang Shu responded.

The two chatted for a while and then hung up the phone.

In the afternoon, Wang Shu went to the studio of Yangshi and accepted an exclusive interview with Yangshi.

The interview with Yangshi is a recorded broadcast and will be broadcast after the movie is released, so Wang Shu can selectively reveal some spoilers during the interview.

I can only selectively reveal a small part and can't say more.

Even though it is a recorded show, no one can guarantee that there will not be too many spoilers, and someone has already leaked it before the show even airs.

"Director Wang, we are very curious about how you came up with the idea of ​​shooting the movie "The Night the Comet Came?" the host of Yangshi asked politely.

Faced with questions, Wang Shu spoke freely.

"I was in Hollywood, in my apartment, surfing the internet to learn about parallel universes and quantum physics, and I came across the word 'decoherence,' which explains why different possibilities don't occur at the same time. For example, there could be 2000 of you in this room at the same time, but because of decoherence, you don't affect each other. The opposite of 'decoherence' is 'coherence,' which means that parallel universes collapse and things become chaotic and crazy, and the word also means 'clear/organized.' It has two opposite meanings, which I find very interesting."

“Then, the idea of ​​making a movie about it came up.”

“The theme of Comet is very simple: parallel universes that were originally independent of each other appear at the same time, you go to the wrong world line, run into another self, and find that your boyfriend/girlfriend has been switched. This theme is not uncommon in science fiction films.”

"Humans are not perfectly rational creatures. We behave chaotically, speak at the same time, and repeat similar, useless messages over and over again."

"This is very interesting and could be made into a movie for the big screen."

The CCTV host nodded and then asked, "Director Wang, many people are also curious whether "The Night the Comet Came" is a hard science fiction film like "Pacific Rim"?"

Wang Shu smiled and replied, "Not really."

The host of Yangshi then asked, "Director Wang, according to the information disclosed, there are 20 to 30 parallel worlds and hundreds of foreshadowings in "The Night the Comet Came", is that right?"

Wang Shu kept smiling and replied: "The movie has not been released yet, so I can't tell you about this for now."

"But every edit in the movie is a different time and space, because the characters' costumes and the furnishings in the house are constantly changing. After just a few seconds, an actor's buttons are suddenly unbuttoned, and another actor's wine glass changes color, which all hints that the world line has changed."

"This is not a pure hard-core science fiction, it has fantasy parts. The most sci-fi plot is the 'Schrödinger's cat' part, and the rest is just me trying to explain an adventure with a scientific theory."

The host of Yangshi responded and then asked, "Director Wang, I heard that "The Night the Comet Came" was only filmed for three days, right?"

"Yes." Wang Shu replied in a serious tone, "It was only filmed for three days."

After saying that, he immediately laughed and said, "Not only did we only shoot for three days, but we only had one living room and a few cameras."

"On the night the comet comes, as long as people's hearts are thrilled enough, nothing else matters."

"I feel sorry for those viewers who are clinging to scientific explanations."

"For thousands of years, long before the birth of modern science, comets have been synonymous with magic and mythology, so in the first few minutes of the film, the audience is told: pay attention, something magical is about to happen."

"What I want to explore is human nature, and quantum physics is just a supplementary tool."

“Other science fictions make people afraid of the starry sky, but Comet makes people afraid of themselves.”

"The most heart-wrenching scene in the whole film is when Sun Li walks alone on the street in the dark, seeing the comet passing overhead, the houses in countless parallel worlds, and countless possible selves - some of them are enemies, some are suspicious and jealous. Among the infinite possibilities, she chooses the best world, kills herself in that world, and replaces herself."

“The world line ends at this moment, and the story becomes clearer than ever before. This is not simply ‘evil comes from the heart’, but the person you are most familiar with and trust the most – your self – has completely disappeared.”

"Sun Li, who was calm, rational and kind, turned into the most vicious killer."

"At that moment, the Gestalt collapsed, just like when you look in the mirror and find a strange face in it."

“Meeting yourself is the death flag in almost all science fiction stories.”

"The only thing we are afraid of in the world is ourselves. You fear violence because you know you can become a perpetrator. So, this movie is a metaphor. Deep down in your heart, there is always something that makes you uncomfortable, unacceptable, and unyielding. If you don't fight it, things will become like this-"

Wang Shu paused for a moment and then continued, "Science fiction is just a genre. It puts people in an extreme environment that is impossible to exist in reality, and then uses these strange things to stimulate thinking. This is the most important thing."

On April 4, the premiere of "The Night the Comet Came" was held as scheduled.

Even though this movie was a low-budget film and was shot in just three days, it still had its premiere.

A press conference was held in the morning.

At 3 pm, the premiere red carpet event began.

Wang Shu is now a consecutive Oscar-winning director and is quite well-known in China. Han Sanping, Wang Changtian, Ren Zhonglun and other industry leaders have come to support him.

In addition, a large number of actresses from the mainland film and television circles, including Zhou Xun, Ning Jing, Mei Ting, Yang Mi, Shu Chang, Yan Danchen, Xu Huanhuan, Dong Xuan, Fan Binbin, Li Binbin, Gao Yuanyuan, Jiang Wenli, etc., came to the scene to show their support.

In Hong Kong Island, Zhou Haiwei, Zhang Bozhi and others also came to show their support.

Everyone knows that some people came to show their support because they have a close relationship with Wang Shu.

Some people came simply because Wang Shu was an Oscar-winning director who had won the Golden Globe for two consecutive years, and they wanted to take this opportunity to show their face in front of Wang Shu.

"Congratulations on winning another golden man." Han Sanping said with a smile.

"Haha." Wang Shu laughed. "The quality of Life of Pi is not bad. As long as the Oscars don't act weird, I should get a share of the grand prize."

Han Sanping nodded. He had seen "Life of Pi" and found it to be of high artistic quality.

I heard that the original work is considered impossible to be adapted into film or television in Europe and the United States.

With this gimmick, Wang Shu not only adapted it into a film, but also did it very successfully.

Just for this reason, he deserves a big prize, an Oscar.

He smiled and said, "What do you think about what I told you before?"

"What?" Wang Shu didn't react for a moment.

Han Sanping replied in a somewhat speechless tone: "About returning to China to make a movie."

"Didn't I tell you before?"

"You have won the Oscar for the second time in a row this time. Your honor in the field of film has surpassed many people in China."

“Plus, you are adept at making both art films and commercial films.”

"So the higher-ups hope you can return to China to help the development of domestic films."

"Someone has said that if it is a film you make, as long as it does not involve issues of principle, the standards can be relaxed a bit."

"I think you should understand that the reason for doing this is to reassure you and let you know that the higher-ups really support you."

"Uh..." Wang Shu opened his mouth after hearing that, but still evaded the question, "Boss Han, didn't I tell you this before? Right now I need to finish the movie I'm working on with Paramount, and I can look at the other things later."

It's only 2010 now, which is not a good time to return to China to make commercial films.

The right time will come in 2012.

Of course, if you want to make an art film, now is the right time.

But since it is an art film, Wang Shu can shoot it in Hollywood.

Art films shot in Hollywood can win not only the three major European awards, but also the Golden Globe and Oscar awards.

In China, the most there are are Huabiao, Golden Rooster, Hundred Flowers and Golden Horse.

In comparison, these awards are nothing special.

"Okay." When Han Sanping heard this, he knew that Wang Shu had already made a plan in his mind, so he stopped persuading him.

Then he added, "I still have things to deal with, so I won't stay here any longer. I wish the movie Comet will be a big hit."

"Is there really something wrong?" Wang Shu asked.

Han Sanping laughed: "Why would I lie to you? The company has a lot of things going on right now. I just squeezed out some time to come here, and now I have to rush back for a meeting."

"Okay, I won't stay any longer." Wang Shu said with a smile.

After sending Han Sanping away, Wang Shugang returned and Ren Zhonglun came over: "Director Wang, congratulations on winning another Oscar."

"Haha, Mr. Ren, you're too polite." Wang Shu responded with a smile.

Ren Zhonglun then asked curiously: "Director Wang, I just saw you chatting with Mr. Han, what did you talk about?"

"Nothing much, he just asked me if I would make a movie in China next time." Wang Shu knew what Ren Zhonglun was thinking and answered half-truthfully.

"Oh?" Ren Zhonglun pretended to be curious when he heard this, and asked, "What did Director Wang say? Is he filming in China or not?"

"How else can I answer?" Wang Shu said with a smile, "My top priority right now is to make a good movie with Paramount. Other projects are too far away now."

Ren Zhonglun was silent for a moment, then asked, "Director Wang, are you interested in cooperating with Shanghai Film Group?"

"4 movies, 5000 million W in contractual intent."

"The director's salary is 1000 million yuan."

"If Director Wang wants to participate, he can do so."

4 million yuan for 5000 movies, which means 1250 million yuan for each movie, plus the director’s salary of 1000 million yuan, a total of 2250 million yuan.

In other words, by cooperating with Shanghai Film Group, not counting the share of investment, just directing a movie can earn you 2250 million yuan.

This price is far higher than that of other domestic directors.

But then again, Wang Shu is indeed worth the price.

Not to mention the fact that he is a Venice and Oscar-winning director, the fact that most of the commercial films he made were huge hits is enough for Ren Zhonglun to ask for an extremely high price.

Now that the two are combined together, 2250W seems very high, but it is not high for Wang Shu.

However, this price is already astronomical in the country.

Shanghai Film Group is full of sincerity.

Ren Zhonglun saw that Wang Shu was silent, and then he continued, "The script... is also another matter."

"If Director Wang has a suitable script, it will cost 200 million per episode."

2250W plus 200W is 2450W.

Wang Shu could feel Ren Zhonglun's sincerity, but he didn't need the money, so there was no need for him to do this.

Because of this letter of intent, unless he participates in the investment, the copyright of the film has basically nothing to do with him.

Moreover, even if one participates in the investment, one will only enjoy the right to dividends, and the copyright will still be in the hands of Shanghai Film Group.

Then he smiled and said, "Mr. Ren, the conditions you offer for Shanghai Film Studio are very generous."

“Although I don’t know what other directors charge, this price is already the highest.”

"only……"

After a short pause, he continued, "How about this, Mr. Ren, if I return to China to make a blockbuster movie in the future, I will invite Shang Shangying."

(End of this chapter)