China Entertainment: Been working as a director since 03

Chapter 789: Don’t Believe in Truth or Lies

After the filming of "The Richest Man in Xihong City" came to an end, the box office performance of 35 billion was not enough to amaze the audience.

Because people have seen movies with a box office of 50 billion, 35 billion is no longer surprising.

However, this achievement is still envied by colleagues in the industry.

Everyone is so envious of Li Yu.

How is it that Li Yu is able to accurately grasp the needs of foreign moviegoers when making films in Hollywood, and accurately grasp the needs of domestic moviegoers when making films in China?

Li Yu is probably the only one who can be so successful in both the Eastern and Western markets.

Many movies envy Li Yu's ability.

Especially those big and famous directors who failed in their attempts to win Oscars or enter Hollywood.

If they had the same skills as Li Yu, they would have been promoted from Chinese directors to international directors long ago.

Li Yu’s fans and followers in China were also satisfied.

“There is a gap between The Richest Man in Xihong City and Director Li’s previous works, but as a comedy, it is already very satisfactory if it can make me laugh from beginning to end.”

"Director Li himself said that this is just a movie he made to relax. Domestic directors should really learn from him. They can make a good movie just by relaxing and not taking it too seriously. You guys, you say how serious and attentive you are, but in the end it's so bad that it's unbearable to watch."

"In a qualified comedy, the director and screenwriter do not preach anything, but simply make people happy. In the domestic entertainment industry, telling stories honestly and serving the audience honestly are considered advantages."

People’s evaluation of "The Richest Man in Xihong City" is not very high, but it is not bad either.

Because a movie that is not preachy, has a decent script, and is simply for fun cannot be a bad movie.

At most, people would say that the movie is not as good as expected.

After tasting the sweetness, Zhang Chen, the person in charge of Happy Mahua, plans to continue to deepen cooperation with Li Yu.

If they were asked to make a movie independently, they would not be able to do it, so they could only choose to work with Li Yu.

Directors Yan Fei and Peng Damu are probably cursing because Li Yu has intercepted their luck.

Li Yu agreed to Zhang Chen's request for in-depth cooperation.

Movies like "Catching Dolls", "The Lone Moon" and "The Shameful Iron Fist", which were produced with contracted artists from Happy Mahua, also performed well at the box office.

Li Yu will launch these film projects in the future, but he will definitely not be the director.

Because the quality of these films is average, they are qualified commercial comedies, but only qualified commercial comedies.

It's okay for Li Yu to make a film like this occasionally.

Shooting a film occasionally can be said to be a way to relax and adjust the body and mind.

Frequently making this kind of movies is equivalent to lowering one's own style.

There is no way, Li Yu’s current rank is too high.

A person at the master level cannot go to a new pond to fry fish every day.

Once or twice, I want to relive the atmosphere of the Novice Village.

If you fry fish every day, you will definitely be scolded for being crazy.

Shortly after the end of "The Richest Man in Xihong City", Li Yu boarded a plane to the United States.

He was invited to attend the 3th Academy Awards ceremony held at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles on March 4. Generally speaking, China has three spots every year and can send three films to the Oscars.

The film submitted by the mainland for review at this year's Oscars is "Dying to Survive", directed by Wen Muye.

The film produced in Hong Kong is "Operation Red Sea", directed by Lam Chiu Yin.

The film from Taiwan is "Daily Conversations", directed by Huang Huizhen, an LGBT film, that is, a same-sex film.

It is easier to win awards if you shoot this kind of special film well. Hu Jun and Liu Ye became famous for shooting "Lan Yu".

The film was nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award in the 54th Cannes Film Festival.

It was very impressive at the Golden Horse Awards, with a lot of nominations including Best Feature Film, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing, etc.

Liu Ye also won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor, or the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor.

Hu Jun did not win the award, but was nominated for the Golden Horse Best Actor.

After starring in "Lan Yu", Hu Jun's popularity and resources began to take off.

This "Everyday Conversations" is also very strong, winning the Best Documentary Teddy Bear Award and the Jury's Best Documentary Teddy Bear Award at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.

Li Yu's "Barbie" is an English film and was shot in Hollywood, so the rule that a region can only submit one film for the selection does not apply to Li Yu.

In recent years, the films submitted for review in the mainland every year have always caused some controversy.

Because even a commercial blockbuster like "Wolf Warrior 2" that obviously had no chance of winning an award was sent for review.

Some people think that when there are films in the mainland that have a greater chance of winning the award, why give away a film like "Wolf Warrior 2" that has absolutely no hope?

Part of the reason is that we can see clearly here that the Oscars clearly discriminate against foreign language films.

Anyway, no matter what film you submit, it's almost impossible to win an award, so giving it a nomination is already a face-saving move.

In this case, we might as well send mainstream films like "Wolf Warrior 2" and "Operation Red Sea" for review, which can at least export China's cultural values.

Although the effect is not very obvious, it still has some effect.

This time when he went to the United States, Li Yu brought Liu Yifei with him.

When he brought Liu Yifei to the Oscars ceremony, he didn't even need to say a word and let reporters take pictures. The media would naturally mention "Mulan", which was equivalent to giving "Mulan" free advertising, and it was advertising all over the world.

"I found that two of the three domestic films sent to the Oscars this year are related to you. You are so amazing." Liu Yifei said admiringly.

Li Yu was originally the first choice director for "Operation Red Sea".

Li Yu had already snatched one of Lin Chaoxian's films, "Operation Nujiang Red", and didn't want to snatch his "Operation Red Sea" again.

He also recommended Lin Chaoxian, who successfully became the director of "Operation Red Sea".

Not to mention "Dying to Survive", the investment was not enough. It was Li Yu who invested the largest amount of money, which allowed the project to be launched.

In addition to Taiwan's "Daily Conversations", the other two films are indeed closely related to Li Yu.

"It's just luck. Ten years ago, a mainstream film like Operation Red Sea would not have been able to get the precious spot for review," Li Yu said modestly.

"Just good luck? Really? I don't believe it." Liu Yifei said rudely.

"Okay, let me be frank. I have the ability to predict the future. I can tell which movies have potential, so I invest in them first. I think you should be satisfied with this answer?" Li Yu said again.

Liu Yifei didn't say anything. Her expression became even more suspicious, as if to say, "I believe you too much. I'm not a fool. How could I believe such a ridiculous statement?"
Li Yu was helpless. No one believed him whether he was telling the truth or lying. What could he do?
(End of this chapter)