Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 762 La Peikang's Conflict
Also shock, anger and determination.

Different people interpret it differently, just like the old saying goes, those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die.

Audition scene...

Gu Wei stared at Miss Liu, who was exerting a little too much force, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

But before he could open his mouth, the door of the conference room was pushed open from the outside.

"Wow, they're all here." Gu Wei's mouth twitched slightly, and he saw Han Sanping, the leader, followed by Ye Ning, Wang Changtian and others.

At this moment, Miss Liu has entered the state, and there is a feeling that her eyes cannot accommodate anything.

Han Sanping and others who came later sat next to Gu Wei, while those who were originally at the audition site stared at Miss Liu's performance.

I want to see the difference between this double-award winning actress and Gong Huang, or I want to compare the two in my mind.

Some people also looked at Liu Yifei with curiosity from time to time, and then looked at Gu Wei. They couldn't understand why the wife of the big director also came to the scene for the audition.

Logically speaking, there was no need for Miss Liu to come for the audition today. After all, the entire circle had already tacitly agreed that she would play one of the leading roles.

But why did Gu Wei ask her to come? It was because acting, after all, was about showing a certain state to the outside world, and one could not just work behind closed doors.

Moreover, acting requires long-term practice and maintenance. Ultimately, it cannot be disturbed by too many other factors.

For example, the two actors from Director Chen and Feng Xiaogang's family, they played many classic roles before they married the big directors. After they married the directors, they gradually got involved in production and other aspects of the film business, and their acting skills declined visibly.

At this point, Miss Liu has not participated in the production in order to maintain her condition.

In her words, when the day comes when she doesn't want to act anymore, she will be a good assistant to Director Gu.

Gu Wei also supports this matter. After all, everyone has their own ideals and goals.

Just like Miss Liu, after winning the Best Actress award, one day she might suddenly not want to act in a movie anymore.

The same might happen if it were Gu Wei. Who knows, he might break the record again one day, and once he’s satisfied, he won’t consider making movies anymore.

Maybe many people in the circle think that Liu Yifei is asking for trouble by giving up her job as a director's wife, but Gu Wei still believes that people always have to find something to do, and it is a kind of luck if they can do what they are interested in while working.

"Yifei's acting skills are good. She is unique among domestic female stars." Wang Changtian came up and flattered her.

Before Gu Wei could speak, Wu Jing said directly: "Director Wang just arrived and didn't see Teacher Gong Li's performance before."

"Oh, Gong Li is better than Yifei?" Wang Changtian asked curiously.

"When it comes to acting, Gong Li is still better, but Yifei has a certain temperament, just like... just like..." Wu Jing was about to say something, but suddenly he couldn't find the words.

"Just like the temperament of a soldier." Gu Wei suddenly interjected.

"Hey." Wu Jing slapped his thigh, "Yes, it's the temperament of a soldier, a bit like the temperament of the female soldiers I saw in the army."

"No wonder. I was wondering why Yifei's performance looked a bit serious." Han Sanping said, rubbing his chin.

When Gong Li auditioned before, it took less than five minutes from the moment she entered the room to the end. But now, after Miss Liu finished her performance, Gu Wei specifically looked at the time: six and a half minutes!

After writing a few words on the notebook, Gu Wei looked up and asked, "Is the schedule okay?"

"No problem, Director Gu. I've been at home doing nothing these days."

"Haha." The whole audience laughed.

Miss Liu's snow-white face turned red instantly, which was so adorable.

Gu Wei shook his head, his face tense, afraid that he would not be able to hold back his laughter, "Okay, here is the complete script."

"Boss lady." The assistant handed over a script and called out sweetly.

"Remember to keep it a secret." Seeing Miss Liu turning around and about to leave, Gu Wei hurriedly reminded her.

"I know." After leaving these three words, Liu Yifei hurriedly fled the audition scene like a frightened rabbit.

"Hahaha." Seeing this scene, everyone present couldn't help but laugh.

...

outside world.

"One Step Away" was a complete hit after its release, although it only achieved a little more than half of its original goal of starting at 10 billion and sprinting to 20 billion.

But for Jiang Wen now, it is completely enough.

The improvement that a movie with a box office of over one billion brought to Jiang Wen was all-round.

At present, many headlines or hot searches of film, television and entertainment information have included eye-catching words such as "Director Jiang Wen sets a new record" and "The first two parts of the Beiyang Trilogy are completely legendary", and the number of clicks has soared.

There was constant news about the audition site of Xingchen Film and Television Company, and the news that Gong Li and Liu Yifei had completed the audition firmly occupied the top of the hot search list.

But as time is approaching February, the promotion of Lunar New Year movies has begun to reach its climax.

Among them, "Dragon Blade" starring Jackie Chan is the most high-profile. Jackie Chan and many other leading actors have frequently appeared on major talk shows. This postponed film will soon be released in major theaters in mainland China.

Following it is Ning Hao's "Lost in Thailand", followed by "Zhong Kui Conquers the Demons", "The Man from Macau 2" and "Wolf Totem".

In addition, there are nearly thirty movies released during the entire Spring Festival period, which means that starting from this year, the size of the domestic Spring Festival period is no longer inferior to the Lunar New Year period.

At the same time, the office of the chairman of China Film Group.

"Director Li An has been in frequent contact with Huayi, Bona, and LeTV these past two days.

I heard that he even went to Shanghai Film Studio. According to the employees, Director Li stayed at Shanghai Film Studio for the entire afternoon.

While the secretary was reporting on his work, La Peikang, who was sitting upright in his chair, frowned and thought, as if he was about to face some important decision.

"Go to the cinema?" La Peikang muttered to himself. He seemed to be moved but did not dare to make a decision easily.

This is the first time that La Peikang has been in such a situation of repeated thinking since he took over as chairman last year.

If it had been before "The Crossing" was released, if La Peikang had encountered a project like this where a big director was looking for investment, he would have probably made the decision long ago, just like he had tried hard to get the project for "The Great Wall".

But the situation is different now. Han Sanping's "The Crossing" became a huge flop as soon as it was released.

When China Film checked its accounts at the end of the year, it was found that the biggest loss on the books was "The Crossing", and it was a huge loss.

Come to think of it, the total box office revenue was less than 200 million yuan, and after deducting various fees and taxes, the total amount left was less than 100 million yuan. Even then, the five investors had to share the profit in proportion, so China Film could only get a little over 10 million yuan.

What can you do with this little money? To put it bluntly, the cost of producing just two expensive special effects shots in "The Great Wall" would be more than this amount of money.

This has also become a worry for La Peikang during this period. It has only been a year since he took office, and there is such a deficit and mess, which really gives him a headache.

However, he is confident that under his leadership, China Film Corporation will never see another serious accident like "The Taiping"!
In other words, it is impossible for directors from Hong Kong to get any large investment from China Film Corporation.

However, although La Peikang had good ideas, he was still in a dilemma when he really met a big director who came to raise investment.

After all, Li An is different from John Woo. He is a real Oscar-winning director, second only to Gu Wei among Chinese directors in Hollywood. After a while, La Peikang raised his head, looked at the secretary and asked, "Where is Director Li?"

The secretary has followed La Peikang for so many years, how could he not understand what the big boss meant? The fact that he asked where Li An was at this time also showed that the chairman was actually moved.

"Director Li is in Shanghai and will arrive in the capital tomorrow."

"Well, how's the situation with Director Gu?" La Peikang nodded and continued to ask.

The secretary checked the time and said, "They are auditioning over there. I wonder what time it will end today!"

……

In the conference room, the audition continues...

After Miss Liu finished, Fan Binbin and Zhang Ziyi arrived one after another, but Han Sanping was not interested in these people.

Next, the auditioning celebrity artists performed their performances without props one after another, while Han Sanping picked up a script from the table in front of him and began to read it.

As one of the initiators of "The Battle of Nantianmen", Han Sanping has read the script more than once, but when he got it this time, he found that it was different from the last time he read it.

"The latest version?" After taking a quick look, Han Sanping turned to Gu Wei and asked.

"Well, what's the matter?" Gu Wei replied without even turning his head.

"There are a lot of changes, and the plot becomes more and more exciting." Han Sanping also praised it.

In front of him, Sun Li was performing a non-property show, and after hearing Han Sanping's words, Gu Wei fell into deep thought.

As an independently innovative film, Gu Wei is very strict in his control of the script and selection of roles.

Leaving aside the role for now, regarding the script, Gu Wei has recently been thinking a lot about how to shoot a work that does not exist in the original time and space but can still capture the audience.

After repeated thinking, Gu Wei summarized a few points:
First, the plot cannot be dragged out.

Especially for a serious military film like this, love stories cannot take up too much of the film's content.

Just like Wu Jing's version of "Wolf Warrior", when Gu Wei was thinking about the script, he deleted some emotional scenes and added a lot of emotional shots.

In the film "Battle of Nantianmen", there are almost no romance scenes, and many characters express their emotions in terms of unity, sacrifice, selflessness, and defending the country.

Second, it is strictly forbidden to start well but end badly.

Since it is a military-themed movie, the war scenes will be the theme, and it cannot deviate from the course during filming. If the entire Gu Wei version of "The Fortress of Devil City" came out, it would probably be criticized to death by the audience.

Third, it is logical.

Wars in different periods must have weapons and fighting scenes that suit the scene. For example, in ancient times, stone axes, stone spears, and wooden clubs were used to fight wars.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, bronze ware was the main tool. After the Han Dynasty, iron ware became the main tool. In modern times, guns and cannons made their debut.

"The Battle of Nantianmen" is set a hundred years later, so no modern weapons will appear in the entire film.

There will be no hand-to-hand combat between humans and aliens. Even in close combat, everyone will wear mechas and fight in a big and bold manner.

After setting a good goal, the entire Xingchen Film and Television special effects team will naturally move in this direction.

...

Gu Wei, who was lost in thought, felt someone touching him. He turned his head and saw that Wu Jing nodded at him and made an expression.

When he turned around, he saw that Sun Li had finished her performance and was looking at him with a smile.

"Oh, that's all for today. We'll notify Teacher Sun if there's any follow-up developments."

"Okay, thank you Director Gu." Sun Li's expression was a little unnatural, but she maintained it well.

But the moment she walked out of the meeting room, Sun Li already knew in her heart that she had no chance this time.

As a well-known female artist in China, when Sun Li finished her audition, it was already 6:30 in the evening, which also meant that the first day of work was successfully completed.

"How many people auditioned today?"

"43. I remember them here." Guo Fan pointed to the notebook, on which various data were clearly written.

"Okay, let's stop here." He turned his head and looked outside. It was already completely dark. "Everyone has worked hard. Let's have dinner together tonight."

"Haha, let's go." Han Sanping echoed before Wu Jing and Guo Fan could speak.

As for Ye Ning and Wang Changtian, well, as the bosses of the two film and television companies, they definitely didn't have the time to go to Xingchen Film and Television Company to watch a day of auditions, so the two found an excuse to leave in the morning.

A few people chatted and laughed. As soon as they walked out of the meeting room, Gu Wei's phone rang, "Boss La, what's going on?"

"Yes, there is one thing." La Peikang did not hide anything and told him everything.

He called just to ask Gu Wei, after all, the other party had resources in Hollywood and might have inside information, just like the previous "The Great Wall". Afterwards, La Peikang realized that Gu Wei played a matchmaking role in it.

“Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk?”

"Yes, it's Director Li An's latest script. The project hasn't started yet and is in the stage of soliciting investment." La Peikang replied, and then continued to ask: "What do you think?"

"Haha, Mr. La, it's useless to ask me about this. Will China Film Investment Group listen to me if it doesn't invest?" Gu Wei was speechless.

He originally thought that La Peikang called late at night to inquire about the audition.

After all, "The Battle of Nantianmen" was a big investment of Jiaotong University. Although Han Sanping and a vice president were keeping a close eye on it, it was impossible for La Peikang to completely ignore it.

In the end, I didn't expect this to happen.

Encountering this situation, Gu Wei was thinking in his mind what to say?
It is definitely impossible for Gu Wei to directly say that he is not optimistic about the project and let La Peikang reject it outright. After all, he has not even read the script. Moreover, once the news gets out, how can Gu Wei and Li An meet in the future?

"Who said it was useless? I heard that you persuaded Director Han to give up The Crossing."

When La Peikang said this, Han Sanping was right next to them, and his voice was quite loud, so Gu Wei witnessed with his own eyes the change in Han's expression from happy to depressed.

You know what, Lao Han's speed of changing his expression is really amazing.

"Haha, those are all rumors, I never said that." Gu Wei laughed.

"Okay, Li An will come over tomorrow. I'll show it to you after I've read the script and I'll give you some professional advice then." La Peikang directly stated his plan.

"Forget it. I'm very busy here and don't have time to read the script." Gu Wei refused instinctively and didn't intend to get involved.

"Haha, I'm not asking you to say whether you agree or not, I just want you to take a look at the content of the script with the professional eyes of a great director." La Peikang changed his words. Anyway, he just wanted Gu Wei to take a look.

"Oh well!"

.........

(End of this chapter)