Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 665: Change of Topic Target Oscar

Internal entertainment.

There was news from Berlin.

Lou Ye's "Tuina" won the Silver Bear Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution, which is normal for this group of art film directors.

However, the biggest winner this time was "Black Coal, Thin Ice", which not only won the Golden Bear Award, but Liao Fan also became the first domestic Berlin Film Emperor and won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor.

At this time, netizens brought up Liao Fan's pay again. Even though he won the Best Actor award, the price offered by the circle was still not high, at least not comparable to that of South Korean artists.

Subsequently, a fantasy film "Zhong Kui Conquers the Devil", with an investment of 200 million yuan and starring Chen Kun and Li Binbin, held a grand opening ceremony in the capital.

The film industry is very excited, and producers are clamoring to match the special effects of Hollywood's top blockbusters.

Light Media and Wanda also received a small amount of investment and became co-producers. The parties jointly promoted the film, which was very popular.

Huayi also held a press conference.

The subject matter of this movie is a bit "high-end", and it is said to be the first movie in the Chinese-language film industry to focus on fighting human trafficking - "Lost and Love"!
The leading role was played by Liu Dehua, who was rarely invited. This was also his first time to play a role as a rural father in the mainland.

For Liu Dehua, who is determined to be a good actor, make a breakthrough and prove himself, the temptation of this script is fatal.

I heard that when the crew communicated with him, it could be described as effortless.

As a result, netizens refused to give the other party face and openly questioned the other party's publicity, directly bringing up "Blind Mountain" directed by Li Yang and their own "Dear" directed by Chen Kexin.

Accusing Huayi of excessive publicity, the first anti-trafficking film did not live up to its reputation.

Anyway, Huayi is now on the decline and is involved in the ban on Korean culture. In the eyes of netizens, everything it does is wrong.

At the same time, more and more consulting reports from Hollywood are coming back.

What? Gu Wei publicly scolded a tough guy like Jason Statham and made him cry on the set.

Scarlett Johansson's passionate scene.

Zhang Yimou's crew of "Jurassic World" lost their temper and cursed a famous superstar present.

Anyway, the reports kept coming out, and netizens were unaware of the situation and watched it with great interest. But those who knew the matter understood that it was used to distract the attention of mainland netizens.

Don’t just sit there doing nothing and make anti-Korean remarks online every day. Wouldn’t it be nice to take a look at Scarlett Johansson’s “half-naked photos” when you have time?

Over the past week or so, public opinion for banning South Korea has continued to ferment. Even though the General Administration held a meeting, it could not contain the conflict between the two sides, not to mention that the comments of the majority of netizens are still adding fuel to the flames.

Led by Xingchen Film and Television Company, Wanda, Guangxian, Bona Film Group and other companies almost had a fight with Huayi at the meeting.

"These two bastards will be punished sooner or later, fuck."

In the office of Xingchen Film and Television Company, Wang Changtian, Ye Ning, Yu Dong, and Song Ge were holding a video conference with Gu Wei who was on the other side of the ocean.

The conflict between Yu Dong and the Wang brothers has been going on for a long time. He almost couldn't help but get into a fight during the meeting, and now he was still swearing.

"Ahem, Mr. Yu, calm down." Seeing that Yu Dong's scolding became more and more unpleasant, and had already escalated to the level of an elder, Gu Wei couldn't help but give him some advice.

"I think Director Yu's scolding is not wrong. He is acting like a pimp with a clear conscience and even openly asked us to make a public apology at the General Administration meeting. What the hell is he thinking?" Wang Changtian's face was not looking good either.

But it has nothing to do with the meeting. After all, it’s not me who wants to beat up those two guys.

The main reason is that after several companies jointly made statements, Guangguang was severely criticized by Korean fans. Xingchen Film and Television Company has many fans, Wanda and Bona have produced many blockbusters and have many fans as well, but Guangguang has produced a lot of bad movies and now they are being criticized again.

After thinking for a while, Wang Changtian continued, "Director Gu, what are the rules for this matter?"

As soon as the words fell, Ye Ning and Yu Dong fell silent. The crying child gets the milk. The reason why they agreed to join forces with Xingchen Film and Television was naturally self-evident.

"Haha, I understand what Director Wang means. Xingchen Films has approved many movies and TV series this year. I'll make it clear here that, in addition to the already scheduled "Painted Skin 3" and "Lost in Thailand", other companies can give up some of their shares."

In the video, Gu Wei smiled and said.

You have to know that people all come and go for profit, and Gu Wei never expected how high their ideological awareness was.

"TV series is also okay?" Ye Ning asked for confirmation.

"Well, including Nirvana in Fire and Red Sorghum, the company will give up 30% of its share for each TV series, and you three will split it equally." Song Ge said directly. These things were also discussed in advance between him and Gu Wei.

"In addition to the share, some roles in movies and TV series will be given up to you three companies to train new talents, provided that your acting skills are up to par." Gu Wei continued.

In the past, he would be quite disgusted with the capital hype and forced promotion of newcomers, but now, if possible, he will also appropriately support them on certain occasions.

Newcomers with certain business capabilities should be highly praised, including the cooperating companies. At least the audience should not think that the domestic entertainment industry is dominated by Xingchen Film and Television alone and that there is a trend of monopoly.

After all, monopoly can be carried out in private, but public opinion cannot find fault with it in public.

As the gap between the rich and the poor grows wider and the rifts in society become more serious, conflicts become more acute, and anti-rich remarks are flying everywhere, a group of people need to stand up and help him take the blame, otherwise sooner or later Gu Wei and Xingchen Film and Television Company will become the target of public criticism.

"Awesome, Director Gu, I'm impressed. No one else in the industry has your courage." Yu Dong gave a thumbs up, truly convinced.

Wang Changtian and Ye Ning did not expect Gu Wei to be so generous. They originally thought that he would at most participate in the investment of the movie, but they did not expect there would be an unexpected surprise.

You know, the profit margin of TV series is no smaller than that of movies, but the bulk of the money goes into the pockets of the TV stations.

It is only in recent years, since the emergence of online video platforms, that their eating habits have become more refined. In the past, they would like to chew human bones into crumbs.

And now that the integration of online platforms has been completed and the winners have been selected through the survival of the fittest, the next few years will be the time for TV stations to cry.

After all, TV stations certainly do not have as many copyrights as video websites. In this area, the advantages of LeTV and Tudou, which hold many film and television copyrights, have already become prominent.

And one point is very crucial. With the entry of financial and Internet funds, after several years of trial and error, these capitals have already fully understood the rules of the entertainment industry. And because of their strong strength, they are also formulating new ways of playing after becoming familiar with the rules.

This capital is different from the coal bosses in the past. After all, the coal bosses hugged the ladies and said they were making positive works, but in private they were only responsible for paying money and not doing anything else. However, the capitals want to swallow up the entire entertainment industry in one bite.

For example, before a new drama was released, TV stations did not spend too much money on publicity. But now, if you don’t make a basic budget of several hundred or tens of millions for publicity and promotion, no one can stop you from losing money.

It is precisely these big capital companies that have the ability to spend money on publicity and public opinion.

The purpose of Gu Wei's doing this is naturally to unite several major companies to jointly fight against the influx of capital. You must know that capital has no bottom line. After all, they dare to let the audience crowdfund to make a movie, and the fund transfer and money washing involved are child's play.

To put it bluntly, Gu Wei wants to be one of the people who make the rules, rather than being a sucker who is fleeced.

"But there is one thing I have to say in advance. Most of these TV series are directed by new directors or directors who don't have much experience." Song Ge coughed lightly, thinking that some things should be explained in advance to avoid any unexpected events.

"A new director?" Yu Dong suddenly felt unhappy after hearing this.

"Oh." Gu Wei hadn't thought about this originally, but since Song Ge mentioned it, he did feel it necessary to make it clear to several partners.

"Everyone, you are all aware of the professionalism of Xingchen Films. Even if we use newcomers, you don't have to worry about the quality of the work."

“To put it bluntly, if companies in the industry only use their products for big and experienced directors, it will be a fatal blow to the entire director industry.

If investors would rather invest in a bad film director with many successful experiences than spend a penny on a newcomer who just graduated from school, the final result may be to kill the possibility of Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige reappearing. "

"Maybe it's possible to kill the next Gu Wei." Wang Changtian joked.

But investing in works directed by small directors is still not an easy thing. No one would say anything after a few jokes.

Seeing this situation, Gu Wei had no choice. This was how things were, and whether or not to invest was purely voluntary.

In the original time and space, after Zhang Yimou, Jiang Wen, Chen Kaige, and Feng Xiaogang gradually aged, there were few directors in the mainland that could be shown off. Some people may think that people like Wu Jing, Xu Zheng, Wu Ershan, Guo Fan, Ning Hao, Lu Yang, and Wen Muye are also good, and their movies have high box office, but when it comes to international awards, almost none of them can compete.

To put it bluntly, the money made was quite substantial, but the number of classic works was decreasing, and the number of international awards received was also decreasing.

The reason for this is really the influence of Hong Kong filmmakers moving north.

Before the millennium, because they had experienced the baptism of the golden age of Hong Kong films, in the subconscious of the audience, Hong Kong and Taiwan directors were inherently more valuable, more capable and more dedicated than mainland directors, so it was natural that they earned more money and received more support.

This led to the fact that for quite a long time, Hong Kong directors had no shortage of investment. Countless companies in the mainland offered them money, even if they made bad films. They just wanted their fame.

Secondly, after Hong Kong and Taiwan practitioners collectively moved north, Hong Kong and Taiwan directors were more willing to use actors with whom they had worked many times in the past. This phenomenon seriously squeezed the living space of mainland actors. Later, Hong Kong filmmakers even banded together to bully mainland artists and even wanted to monopolize this huge market.

Otherwise, why, after 03, a large number of mainland directors, led by Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, began to transform and try to shoot big-budget commercial films.

There is no other way. If I don’t change and achieve results, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to drink the soup.

For a long time, film and television companies and investors have preferred to use experienced and successful directors, which has led to a large number of newcomers being unable to make a name for themselves. Later, with the rise of the Internet, a group of people gained a certain amount of fame and fans through Internet short dramas, and in turn were able to obtain investment from investors.

However, having missed the golden age of the entertainment industry, what greeted them was a cold winter for the film and television industry.

"I support Director Gu. That director is not a newcomer. Wanda will definitely follow the pace of Xingchen Film and Television. It doesn't matter if Director Wang and Director Yu feel that it is not suitable. We can take over the extra share."

Ye Ning didn't ask about who would be the director at all. He only believed in one thing: he would not suffer any loss if he followed Gu Wei. Even if he did suffer a loss in this area, the other party would make it up to him in other ways.

"Hey, that is to say, we still trust Xingchen Film and Television in terms of production." Yu Dong waved his hand and his attitude suddenly changed.

After a while, Wang Changtian said worriedly, "But it's not a good idea to continue to spread the online opinions about banning South Korea. The purpose of the General Administration's meeting is very simple, which is to maintain stability. We still need to find a way to change the subject."

"This is already being done. Haven't you noticed that more and more Hollywood reports have appeared on the Internet recently?" Song Ge flicked the ash from his cigarette, looking like he knew what was going on.

"In addition to reporting on it, we can also give more coverage to the Golden Bear and Best Actor awards won at the Berlin Film Festival these two days to divert conflicts," Yu Dong also suggested.

"Not enough. The award-winning movies, actors and directors are not well-known. Netizens will only be interested in them for two days..." Ye Ning retorted.

"We are aware of this situation, but it is better to have a topic than no topic."

"Yes, tell some major media outlets to report this."

Everyone offered suggestions, aiming to gradually calm public opinion without affecting each other.

When things are done, the Koreans will no longer be able to stay in the country, and we will accompany them in their verbal attacks.

"Starting from the 14th, the Hollywood company added another million US dollars..."

When Gu Wei's voice sounded, several people stopped talking and took a breath of cold air instead.

"As everyone knows, the purpose is for this year's Oscars. And according to the current situation, there may be additional investment in the future."

Everyone was a little shocked to hear this number, especially Song Ge. As far as he knew, the money spent on "The Revenant" and "Parasite" since the public relations began last year was no less than 20 million US dollars.

To put it bluntly, even with these additional costs, the cost is higher than that of two movies.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Gu Wei continued, "I hope that both films can win the awards. No matter which film is successful, the public opinion impact it brings will overshadow everything."

"Thank you for your hard work, Director Gu." Wang Changtian sighed. In terms of input, their companies could not compare with the other company.

"Director Gu, don't worry. We are in charge of the domestic situation. The Koreans won't be able to make any waves." Yu Dong said in a firm tone.

"Okay, thank you for your help."

...

After the video conference ended, Gu Wei continued filming.

After repeated consideration, Gu Wei decided to make the movie "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" 120 minutes long.

Taking 120 minutes as an example, the shooting cycle of a work of this length usually takes about three months, and the length of the material may be 480 minutes or even more.

As for the movie "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", considering that it has a lot of special effects, the length of the material will even exceed 600 minutes. In summary, the filming is not difficult, but the time consumption is a problem.

So recently, after Gu Wei finished attending various events, he devoted almost entirely to the crew.

Apart from two cocktail parties on the 21st and 24th, he has no plans to go anywhere, and the same goes for Zhang Yimou. Apart from necessary appearances, he has devoted almost all his time to the movie.

As time goes by, the main creative team of "Parasite" has completed their preparations and is just waiting for notification before sending it out.

Time comes on the 23th.

Hollywood has completely entered into the atmosphere of the Oscars, and the enthusiasm and grandness are in no way inferior to the three major European film festivals.

Domestic media are reprinting and reporting on the event. Even official media such as the Film Channel have sent reporters there because this year is really different.

In addition to Hong Kong's "The Grandmaster" which was nominated, more important are the two mainland directors Gu Wei and Zhang Yimou. The former was nominated for four awards, and the latter is also expected to win the Best Foreign Language Film.

At around nine o'clock in the morning, a group of five cars set out from Xingchen Film and Television Company. In addition, a Mercedes-Benz business car carrying Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli drove from the villa to the Capital Airport.

This time, two domestic films were shortlisted for the main nominations for the Academy Awards. In addition to Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli, Qin Hao, Chen Minghao, Hu Ge, Yuan Quan and others each brought two assistants, and the team was huge.

Outside the Capital Airport, when the media reporters saw Liu Yifei and others, they immediately became excited.

Because there is no need to guess where they are going, the destination - the Oscar Awards ceremony.

The group of people was a big target, and the reporters surrounding them were very enthusiastic, so keeping a low profile was definitely impossible, and an interview was a must.

The most frequently asked questions by reporters were about what everyone was thinking and feeling at the moment!
The most common answers from Liu Yifei, Qin Hao and others were excitement and determination to win glory for the country.

Wow, it was just like what we rehearsed in advance!!

The international flight to Los Angeles had just taken off when the news was reported online and spread quickly.

Sina Entertainment: "With the Oscars ceremony approaching, the main creative team members of Parasite, including Liu Yifei and Qin Hao, showed up at the Capital Airport at around 11 a.m. today and set off for Hollywood."

Souhu Entertainment: "It is reported that there are a large number of people going to Los Angeles this time, up to 20 people, and Ms. Liu Xiaoli is among them..."

Penguin: "Liu Yifei, Qin Hao and others accepted an interview and expressed their confidence in winning the grand prize."

In the film and television industry and the entertainment industry, almost everyone has seen the latest news.

As you know, we only need to wait one more week to see the final results:
“Will the mainland produce its first Oscar-winning foreign-language film?”

“Can films directed by mainland directors win more important Oscar awards, such as Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture?”

Regardless of whether Liu Yifei and others who were already on the plane could see it, their Weibo posts were already filled with messages from actors and filmmakers in the industry:

"Come on, Yifei!"

“I wish Director Gu Wei all his wishes come true!”

"Come on Qin Hao! Come on Director Zhang! I wish you success in winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film!"

"Come on Director Gu, I look forward to winning the Best Director Oscar for the second time."

……

(End of this chapter)