Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 706: Three-Party Collaboration
Every year in late October, domestic competition for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film begins, and this year is no exception.

Thanks to Zhang Yimou's successful win, the domestic award for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film is both important and not important enough.

The reason why we say that it is important is that this kind of award represents honor. Once the award is won, the entire domestic cultural community will be honored, so they will naturally be very cautious when selecting films.

The reason why people say they don’t value it is that they already have it. When their wish is fulfilled, they will lack motivation.

When Gu Wei learned that Jiang Wen's submission of "One Step Away" for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film was rejected, he couldn't help laughing like a pig.

"Brother, you are also a film investor. How can you look good when you are rejected like this?"

"Haha, when I make a movie that's going to win an Oscar, will the higher-ups reject it?"

Hearing this, Jiang Wen felt a little depressed, but after thinking carefully, he felt that there was nothing wrong with what the other party said. The difference in treatment between people was really that big!

"Oh, it's so sad. I applied happily, but this is the result. Oh!"

Ignoring Jiang Wen's sighs, Gu Wei was instead very interested in the reason why he was rejected, so he asked directly: "What reason did the higher-ups give for the rejection?"

"I get angry when I mention this. When I applied for an Oscar, they said the movies I made were obscure and difficult to understand. Even Chinese people couldn't understand them, let alone foreigners.

The reason given this time was that my film had too many commercial elements and lacked artistic flavor, making it unsuitable to represent the country.

You tell me, they have said all the good and bad things about me. Now I understand how Leonardo felt when he was rushing to win the Oscar all these years.

They are all old guys, can they understand movies?"

Jiang Wen talked a lot, mixed with some emotions.

Originally, he wanted to ask for some comfort from Gu Wei, but after listening to him, Gu Wei just burst into laughter. Hearing that there were other people nearby, Jiang Wen discovered Liu Yifei's presence at the first moment.

"Can you please stop laughing? Yifei is next to us." Jiang Wen, who couldn't stand it anymore, asked directly.

"Yeah, haha, she's right next to us." When Gu Wei said this, Liu Yifei was still standing beside him, trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh, what a shame."

In order to get an Oscar, Jiang Wen patted his chest and vowed that there would be no problem. He even guaranteed in front of Director Tong at the General Administration that he would at least be shortlisted.

This incident was seen by many people. Now that his Oscar bid has been rejected, many news reports online are making fun of Jiang Wen. Fortunately, he is thick-skinned. If it were someone else, they would probably be too embarrassed to go out.

"Actually, haha, it's nothing. Other big directors also get rejected sometimes. It's normal." Gu Wei almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

"It's normal to be rejected, but the movie that was selected was disappointing. It's a Sino-French co-production called The Nightingale. What do you think of this? Even if you are lucky enough to win the grand prize, it will still be considered unsound in the eyes of outsiders."

"I'm not being blunt, but sometimes these people are really brainless. Can we develop the domestic cultural market with people like this?"

"Everyone is so fucking blind..."

Jiang Wen was just venting his feelings, but now it has directly turned into complaining. His words are getting more and more unpleasant, but Gu Wei did not stop him. He has long been fed up with those old guys. They have not retired at such an old age and are still ruining the domestic entertainment industry.

When Jiang Wen finished scolding, Gu Wei asked casually, "Is it Teacher Li Baotian's "The Nightingale"? "

"That's right!"

Gu Wei had no opinion about this veteran actor. On the contrary, he had some respect for him. He just thought that the people mentioned above were brainless. So many co-productions in the past had failed to achieve good results. Didn’t they learn their lesson?
……

On the other side, Zhang Yimou got up early in the morning, looked at the time and called Spielberg directly.

After the two sides chatted for a few sentences, Zhang Yimou went straight to the point and asked whether Universal was preparing any Sino-US co-production films recently?

Spielberg didn't know much and said he would ask Adam Ferguson first. Taking advantage of this time, Zhang Yimou got up and packed up. When the hangover feeling subsided a little, Spielberg called back.

"Zhang, Adam said there is indeed a big project. Conservatively estimated, the investment will not be less than 100 million US dollars. It is a standard Hollywood blockbuster. Has anyone found you?" Spielberg asked in return.

"Yeah." Zhang Yimou did not hide anything and just said a few important things.

"What do you think, Zhang? I suggest you take a good rest after making Jurassic World." Spielberg has seen Zhang Yimou working on the set. It can be said that he is so busy that he often does not sleep for a day or two.

"In fact, the company that approached me had invited me before, but at that time it was an art film, and now it has been changed to a co-production."

Zhang Yimou has always kept LeTV's "Lu Fan Yan Shi" in his mind. I heard that the other party had contacted Chen Kai and Jia Zhangke successively, but for some reason the deal failed.

Subconsciously, Zhang Yimou felt that "Lu Fan Yan Shi" was good and could be regarded as the next movie to be shot, but after shooting blockbusters like "Jurassic World", Zhang Yimou felt the pleasure of directing a big production again.

At this moment, he was very conflicted. Hearing that there was no movement on the other end of the phone, Spielberg understood that Zhang Yimou might be making a choice for his next movie. As for the post-production and editing of "Jurassic", he really didn't need the other party to keep watching.

After all, Zhang Yimou and Gu Wei are different. If Gu Wei directed "Jurassic World", Universal would give the post-production rights to the other party, while Zhang Yimou has not proven himself yet. At most, he can only put forward his opinions during the editing process. As for whether they will be accepted, everything depends on Universal.

"Sorry, I was distracted just now." Zhang Yimou said immediately after he reacted.

Afterwards, Zhang Yimou continued to ask about the details of this co-production, and finally learned that the investment might be 1.5 million US dollars, and the investors planned to invite top superstars from China and the United States to participate.

"Zhang, I'm not involved in this project, so I can't give you any advice, but you can ask Gu. I believe he will give you some good advice."

Yes, Zhang Yimou has realized it. When it comes to the director from China and the United States who has the deepest understanding of co-production films, it must be Gu Wei.

The two then talked about the post-production issues of "Jurassic World" for more than an hour, from dawn to high in the sun.

at the same time.

The person in charge of LeTV also informed La Peikang of yesterday's news. When he learned that Zhang Yimou did not accept the invitation, La Peikang began to feel troubled again.

The most important things for a movie are the script, director and actors. China Film Group has not yet received the script, but I heard that it was initiated by Thomas Tull and Max Brooks. Thomas Tull is the boss of Legendary Pictures, and he was inspired by the magnificence of the Great Wall.

The developer of the script, Thomas Tull, is a well-known monster enthusiast in Hollywood. He accidentally saw the Great Wall on a plane and thought it was an amazing building. So he came up with the idea of ​​creating a story about a mysterious army on the Great Wall to resist the invasion of monsters.

After learning about the general content of the script, La Peikang was very satisfied and became increasingly optimistic about this Sino-US co-production.

But the difficulty now lies in the choice of director. There are only a handful of directors in China who are capable of directing movies of this level.

Jiang Wen's personality was not something La Peikang considered at all. Who knows what the film would be like if he were to direct it!
Feng Xiaogang has been getting worse in recent years. I heard that he was still interested in participating in Guan Hu's "Old Cannon", but he was too late in time.

Brother Chen Kai could do it, as he has the Palme d'Or as a backing, which would at least make him impressive internationally. Unfortunately, he is busy with "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain", and judging from his past performance, he may not be suitable.

After much thought, La Peikang felt that Gu Wei and Zhang Yimou were suitable and were the best candidates.

Gu Wei, in particular, is very experienced, and his film "2012" has become a benchmark for Sino-US co-productions.

This project, a collaboration between China Film, LeTV, Universal and Legendary, is somewhat similar to "2012".

Unfortunately, when La Peikang mentioned this to the other party during a meeting at the General Administration, he was ruthlessly rejected by Gu Wei.

After a round of people thought about it, the only one who was suitable and had time recently was Zhang Yimou. Besides, Zhang Yimou had just won the Best Foreign Language Film and directed "Jurassic World". His current fame would be a plus for this new movie.

"Yes, let Gu Wei persuade Zhang Yimou, maybe it will work." La Peikang thought about this and felt that he should have a good talk with Gu Wei and ask him for help.

Anyway, Zhang Yimou has finished "Jurassic World" and has plenty of time.

And on the other side of the ocean.

At the Universal Pictures headquarters, after Adam Ferguson communicated with President Legend, he decided to make this big-budget Sino-US co-production bigger and stronger to see if it could be as good as "2012".

I don't ask for a very good movie, even if it can only achieve half, no, or one-third of the box office performance of "2012", that would be enough.

So selecting actors became one of his concerns, and Matt Damon, who had just finished filming "The Martian", became Adam Ferguson's first choice.

The last time "Jurassic World" failed to reach a cooperation, this time Adam Ferguson is determined to win.

Unfortunately, after communicating with the other party twice, Matt Damon still chose to refuse, saying that he currently had a script in his hand and planned to work with director Gu Wei again.

After making inquiries from many sources, Adam Ferguson finally learned that Matt Damon's film was an art film and that the shooting should not take too long, but it was not yet certain when it would start.

Moreover, Adam Ferguson also learned from other places that this film titled "Manchester by the Sea" will most likely be shot in China, in other words, in the same country as the filming location of the Great Wall.

So, Adam Ferguson prepared to ask Spielberg to call Gu Wei and ask him to help invite Matt Damon to join this co-production.

And just like that, something interesting happened.

There was no news about this big-budget Sino-US co-production in the domestic entertainment industry. Several companies did not reveal any news before the project was confirmed, but the investors involved all turned their attention to Gu Wei.

At this moment, Gu Wei had just finished his "morning exercise", which was a real morning exercise.

Run for forty minutes, then exercise for forty minutes, and try hard to lose your belly.

.........

(End of this chapter)