China Entertainment: Been working as a director since 03

Chapter 783: Familiar Taste

"Don't be hasty. I believe in your vision. If you think it's good, we'll buy it. The company just made a profit of four or five hundred million yuan, so we're not short of money." Li Yu said with a sense of wealth.

Li Muge was very convinced by the reasons given by Li Yu.

But why does the tone of this speech sound a bit familiar? Shouldn't such lines normally come from Da Tiantian's mouth?

Maybe Li Yu was infected by Da Tiantian.

Those who are close to ink become black, and those who are close to red become red.

Yes, that's it.

At least that’s what Li Muge thinks.

Li Yu added: "What I said just now was just a joke. Actually, like you, I occasionally pay attention to some novels that have film and television value when I have time.

I have seen readers discussing "The Rumored Chen Qianqian" online and it is quite popular.

In addition to this one, I also asked people to buy "Finally Waiting for You" and "My Lucky Star". I think these two novels have the potential to be adapted into film and television. They are both within your comfort zone and you can handle them.

"Finally Waiting for You" was later turned into "I Like You" starring Zhao Lusi and Lin Yushen.

"My Lucky Star" is "My Lucky Star: The Moon Rises Over the Sea" starring Zhao Lusi and Wu Sanshi.

The ratings and quality of these dramas are pretty good, and Li Muge can easily snatch them all up.

Li Muge nodded in sudden realization. So that's what was going on. It made sense.

He asked why Li Yu agreed to his proposal to purchase the copyright after only reading the beginning.

It turns out that Li Yu has always been paying attention to novels with adaptation potential.

Li Yu should be one of the first people in the industry to be optimistic about the adaptation of online literature into film and television.

Many years ago, Li Yu purchased a batch of film and television copyrights for online novels.

Many people didn’t understand at that time, including Li Muge.

Facts have proved that Li Yu's vision was very advanced and this investment was very profitable.

After sending Li Muge away, Li Yu went to the editing room to supervise the editing work of "The Richest Man in Xihong City".

Since Li Yu added a lot of things to the original version, such as the Mary Sue plot where Wang Duoyu gave up his inheritance for a woman he had known for less than a month, he cut it out, and the plot he adapted is longer.

This led to a problem: after the first edit was completed, the film had two scenes that were two hours long.

This won't work. This is a comedy, and comedy focuses on dense laughs and a fast-paced plot.

Generally speaking, the length of a comedy film should be between 90 minutes and 105 minutes.

No matter how good a comedy is, if it runs for two or three hours, even if the jokes last from the beginning to the end, it would be inappropriate if the audience becomes numb from laughing.

If it is a feature film, with more foreshadowing to immerse the audience in the world of the movie, the length can be appropriately extended.

"Titanic" is like this. It is about 194 minutes long and can depict the complex character relationships and rich plots in detail, making the romantic love in the movie a classic in world film history.

Li Yu decided to cut the length and continue editing to retain the essence, keeping the length of the film within 105 minutes.

Let the audience enjoy the show without feeling tired.

The photographer felt it was a pity because every clip of the two-hour video that has been preserved is the essence.

The difference is that some are 80 points, and some are 90 or 100 points. Even if we have to deduct those with 80 points, it would be a pity.

Unfortunately, there is no other way. Sometimes, we have to cut to cater to the audience or for some other reasons.

Jiang Wen's Let the Bullets Fly, which netizens jokingly said could be nominated for World Heritage status, was said to have a first cut of more than four hours.

How can a four-hour movie be released? Is this going to break the world record for the longest movie?
The producer said at the time that he would continue cutting the film, and in the end it was cut from four hours to only 132 minutes.

Many movie fans expressed their regret and hoped to see a four-hour version.

Like these fans, Li Yu hopes that Jiang Wen will release a four-hour director's cut.

Sadly, this is destined to be a once-in-a-lifetime series.

The post-production of "The Richest Man in Xihong City" was really not complicated. The original version took only seven or eight months from the start of filming to its release.

The main reason is that movies really don’t need any complicated special effects.

Judging from how long Guo Fan has been working on the post-production of "The Wandering Earth", it has not been released yet.

There is a reason why few directors in the country are willing to touch science fiction films.

Shooting is difficult, the investment is huge, and post-production is complicated. Science fiction fans are picky and difficult to please, so it is easier to shoot other genres.

About a month later, Li Yu notified actors such as Liu Yifei and Shen Teng to be prepared to cooperate with the crew in publicity.

Hualiu Company immediately began to build momentum for the release of "The Richest Man in Xihong City" in advance.

"After several years, Director Li Yu's latest work, The Richest Man in Xihong City, will be released during the Spring Festival."

As the news that Li Yu's new film will be released during the Spring Festival came out, fans outside the circle became excited, and some directors and actors in the circle began to curse, especially those who, like Li Yu, planned to release their films during the Spring Festival.

After Wu Jing received the news, he called Li Yu to confirm it immediately.

Because Wu Jing also has a movie planned to be released during the Spring Festival.

The director of this film is not Wu Jing, but a crosstalk performer named Guo Degang.

That’s right, this film is called "Nineteen Generations of Ancestors", directed by Guo Degang and starring Wu Jingyue, Yun Peng and others.

"Director Li, you are trying to give me a surprise, right? Lao Guo told us a few days ago that there will not be many competitors during the Spring Festival next year. Only "Monster Hunt 2" and "Journey to the West: The Women Kingdom" are relatively strong opponents. As a result, you suddenly set the release date for the Spring Festival, and Lao Guo is numb." Wu Jing said.

It is reasonable for Wu Jing to call Guo Degang "Old Guo".

Although the two of them look like two generations standing together, they are actually the same age.

Guo Degang was born in 73 and Wu Jing was born in 74, only one year apart in age.

Speaking of Guo Degang's "19th Generations of Ancestors", it is also quite interesting. A bunch of big names were invited, and it was definitely a bad movie judging by the quality. The amazing thing is that this bad movie did not lose money, but even made some money.

Because the cost of this movie was only 30 or 40 million, and the box office was 170 million, it was a sure profit.

The main reason is that Guo Degang has accumulated a lot of connections over the years, and he has a lot of face. When he made a movie for the first time, many big names gave him face, so the cost was very low.

"Is Lao Guo annoyed? There's no need to be. Not everyone can be a director. I don't think Lao Guo is a good director. His '19 Generations of Ancestors' and my 'The Richest Man in Xihong City' are not competitors at all." Li Yu and Wu Jing have a good relationship, so he speaks very directly.

Who are you scolding? If Li Yu is now reduced to competing with "19th Generation Ancestors", he would rather announce his retirement.

"Yeah, I'm just asking on behalf of Lao Guo whether you're really going to release it during the Spring Festival. Now that the results are out, I can give him an explanation." Wu Jing also felt that the two films were not on the same level.

(End of this chapter)