Actor: Thank you.

Raising children is the most expensive thing.

Ning Hao put his arm around his wife and talked about his future plans.

Move to a bigger house.

transfer.

Preparing for school districts.

Attend an international school.

Studying abroad in the future.

Ultimately, it all comes down to money!

Big Head and his wife have actually been married for several years, but they only recently started considering having children after they became financially well-off.

I never imagined that having a child would actually cost even more money.

The new parents were very excited, and their big heads kept talking non-stop.

"Sure, I'll definitely give you a big red envelope after your baby is born."

"What are your plans?" Zhang Yuan asked, looking at Bo Ge and his wife.

"You should think about what you're planning to do," Huang Bo said with a smile, glancing towards his bedroom.

"Ahem... Let's not talk about this anymore."

“Go ahead and talk about it, I love talking about this!” Big Head got even more excited.

Do you plan to have children?

"I should ask in a different way: Who are you planning to ask for it from?"

"Shh!" Zhang Yuan covered his mouth with one hand and grabbed his neck with the other.

To die!
Cheng has a good ear; if he hears that, I'll have a hard time tonight.

"Your child's red envelope is cancelled." Zhang Yuan said irritably, letting go of his hand.

"Let's talk about work," Huang Bo interrupted from the side.

"The premiere of 'Cow' is tomorrow. Are you free to come and support it?" Brother Bo still had his signature ugly smile.

His wife must like his talent and character.

"Yes, I'll definitely come." Zhang Yuan put on a supportive tone: "Even if it's not for the film, it's for you."

“When I was watching movies at home last time, I felt that you were sure to win a big prize this time.”

"Thank you for your kind words." Huang Bo clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute.

I don't know if they took it seriously or not.

Anyway, it's been submitted to the Golden Horse Awards, Hundred Flowers Awards, and other prestigious awards, so this film is aiming for awards.

The film was made with great difficulty.

It's rare to see a film crew this tired and facing such difficulties.

Not only is it cold, but there's also not much to eat.

It was always dirty and tattered, and people would roll around in the mud even in the dead of winter.

But you know what? It's often in these kinds of environments that people's hearts are at their purest.

There were no distracting thoughts.

I didn't think about winning awards, and I didn't have much money. I just wanted to finish the work well.

In their early years, Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaogang were like that; their works were all quite solid.

On the contrary, as he became richer, his works lost their purity.

It's just that people have changed.

After chatting with these people, I saw them off. See you at the cinema tomorrow.

"Are you done talking?"

"Hey."

"how's it going?"

"I look pathetic," Zhang Yuan said, describing his state of mind.

Being forced by Huayi to act as a middleman is not something to be ashamed of.

But I just watched.

"It's good that you got it done," Cheng Hao comforted him, patting his head.

"By the way, what are your plans regarding the Japanese?"

"Keeping you sealed off like this isn't a good solution," my dear sister said with her usual worry.

"It's alright, I'm about to take care of it," Zhang Yuan replied confidently.

The next day, at Bona Cinema in Beijing.

Guan Hu and Yu Dong are both considered veterans of the entertainment circle, so they arranged the premiere at the other's newly opened cinema.

Zhang Yuan looked around and thought, "Not bad, the equipment is very new."

An IMAX theater has also been prepared.

When it comes to IMAX, Shanghai is the epitome of trendiness.

The earliest IMAX theater to open in China was in the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.

Back then, it was called a giant screen cinema.

There is also a dome theater, which uses two different technologies.

It is equivalent to 3D and glasses-free 3D.

He calculated that Avatar would be released in two months, just in time.

Thinking of Avatar, Zhang Yuan is even interested in watching the IMAX version again; it's truly breathtaking compared to other films released at the same time.

An absolutely groundbreaking work.

However, it received a lot of criticism after its release, with some saying that Cameron only had technical skills and the plot was weak.

Some even said his story was plagiarized.

Cameron didn't plagiarize, because early in his career, before his breakout film "The Terminator" was even released, he wrote a script called "The Matrix".

Half of this script was adapted into Avatar and Avatar 2.

The remaining half, after revisions, became another cinematic masterpiece, Alien 2.

These two plays seem completely unrelated, but those familiar with the stories and delving deeper will find that the content is the same.

And think about how the protagonist became a Na'vi and how the Xenomorph was born...

Their ideological foundations all stem from the Vietnam War, and they are all based on anti-war and anti-colonialism.

And all of these films starred Sigourney Weaver, the lead actress in "Alien".

In this respect, Cameron and Jiang Wen are quite similar; they're essentially telling the same story, just in reverse.

After greeting the main creators, we all took our seats.

There were quite a few familiar faces, including Erxi, who played a small role as a communications officer in "The Message".

There's also Shibuya Tenma, who played the villainous Japanese soldier Sato, who exploded his head in "Ip Man".

This person continued to work in China and became a specialist in playing Japanese soldiers in various movies.

She can be considered a rather pro-China island nation entertainer.

Although he had already seen it, Zhang Yuan still had to pretend that he hadn't.

After all, there were reporters taking pictures all around.

My reactions while watching the movie will be recorded.

If you happen to yawn and squint and get photographed, it's guaranteed to be a news headline the next day.

"The movie 'Cow' made Zhang Yuan drowsy..."

This drama is considered by many to be the peak of Huang Bo's acting skills.

In fact, Brother Bo's acting skills have been improving all along, and he has made progress in the later stages as well.

But such a compelling character is rare.

Moreover, reality shows can diminish an actor's mystique; when people see you, they'll only remember your performance on variety shows, making it difficult for them to focus on watching your actual performance.

The film tells the story of Niu Er, a resident of the Yimeng Mountains, and a dairy cow that was "fostered" in the village by the Eighth Route Army during the War of Resistance against Japan.

During World War II, many dairy cows were indeed transported to the front lines as supplies.

The Eighth Route Army also received some donations.

In an era when even cornbread wasn't always available, being able to drink milk, a high-protein beverage, was a privilege.

Even if you are lactose intolerant, drinking this while having a hearty meal is highly nutritious.

The film is quite tragic. The village is massacred not long after the film begins, and it is the most shocking three-way massacre of the village, which is shown in reverse order.

It tells the story of a man and an ox struggling to survive in a chaotic world of war, where one side rises and the other falls.

This metaphorically represents the fate of the Chinese people, from their individual lives to their national destiny.

Eighth Route Army, Japanese Army, bandits, refugees.

People came and went, but Niu Er always stayed with his cows.

Just like ordinary people holding on to their land.

This drama also gave birth to Huang Bo's famous meme.

It's the one who covered her face and chuckled.

Moreover, one of the great advantages of this play is that everyone speaks in dialect, which sounds particularly authentic.

Just as Zhang Yuan thought, Guan Hu was relatively pure at this time.

Although there was a little bit of personal agenda involved.

For example, there is also a "naive rookie Japanese soldier" in this film who has never killed anyone.

He was forced by the Japanese captain to practice killing.

It's the same old story of good guys among the Japanese.

However, the plot corresponds to the refugees who later wanted to kill a cow for meat, so it doesn't seem out of place.

It's not like the kind of crossover story where an important character is deliberately created to showcase the kindness of islanders.

This "kind" Japanese soldier ended up engaging in a passionate firefight with a Nationalist soldier, dying together in the process.

When Zhang Yuan saw this, he glanced at Guan Hu standing to the side.

This is a metaphor for the Japanese and the Nationalist army fighting to the bitter end, only for someone to come out and reap the rewards...

At the beginning of the century, some people did indeed embrace this idea, believing that they had taken advantage of the National Revolutionary Army's severely weakened state. It's hard to say for sure.

Moreover, there are also disagreements among the children of high-ranking officials, and between the civil service and military service factions.

Guan Hu was a typical civil servant with a clear anti-war sentiment.

Unfortunately, it was indiscriminate anti-war sentiment.

The so-called indifference is actually an anti-war stance with confused principles and positions.

There is a similar tendency in cross-country travel.

Zhang Yuan withdrew his gaze.

That’s all.

He'll invest in this film purely because of Huang Bo.

Bo Ge's performance in this film is comparable to Bao Qiang's performance in "Mr. Tree".

Later, at the Venice Film Festival, after watching his film, foreigners called him the "Chaplin of the East".

It's a way of praising him, but there's definitely a hint of that.

Because of the film "Cow," Guan Hu categorized it as a comedy...

The whole village dies right from the start, and the ground is littered with charred corpses; it's a comedy.

That's dark humor.

But it also happens to fit Chaplin's theory of comedy.

"Life is a tragedy when viewed up close, but a comedy when viewed from afar."

This statement contains great wisdom.

For you personally, every day is tough; you're always working overtime.

But when you look back in old age, life seems like an absurd comedy.

For the audience, watching the characters in the film from afar is naturally a comedy.

But when you become a character in the film, it becomes a tragedy.

This is what is known as "the clown is myself".

Niu Er in "Cow" is the same character played by Huang Bo.

It seemed like a tragedy, but he was the only one in the entire village who survived, and he lived until after the war.

Isn't this a comedy within a tragedy?

For those foreign judges, China's wars and brutal history are neither understood nor cared about.

So it's viewed from a distance, and from a distance it naturally looks like a comedy.

That's why Huang Bo is called the "Chaplin of the East".

Like Chaplin, the characters he portrays are all about finding joy in hardship and being trapped by the tides of the times.

Of course, Huang Bo can't compare to Chaplin.

No one can compare to Chaplin.

But Brother Bo's performance was indeed brilliant.

Even minor ailments are found in Guan Hu.

He and the other actors, especially actress Yan Ni, are flawless.

Zhang Yuan's attitude towards Guan Hu remained the same: as long as it wasn't too outrageous, he would make money.

Because even if I tell him not to take pictures, he won't take them anymore?
They will still make films, but they'll find different investors.

While I'm around, I can still keep them in check, but they become even more unrestrained elsewhere.

The film ends with a clever wordplay: "Niu Er's Tomb" becomes "Er Niu's Tomb".

In the final shot, amidst the overall somber tone of the film, a rare glimpse of fresh vegetable leaves appears.

It symbolizes the newborn China.

clap clap clap...

Zhang Yuan and the others stood up and applauded.

Aside from a few minor flaws, the film is quite good overall.

Zhang Yuan reflected on the story and realized that the main focus was on Niu Er and the ox, leaving little room for twisted interpretations.

"I really like this movie."

"The character Niu Er embodies some of the excellent qualities of the Chinese people."

"Resilience, perseverance, and trustworthiness."

"I saw the shadows of many of my parents' generation in many of these films," Ning Hao said, sharing his thoughts on the movie.

This is true.

Guan Hu himself said that one of the main reasons for making this film was that modern people have lost many of the qualities of the ancients, such as perseverance and courage.

Actually, it wasn't lost.

Only some people were lost.

He wanted to film a character like Niu Er, who possessed "animalistic" qualities.

The so-called animalistic nature is about growing wildly without regard for anything and living without fear.

Many artists share this preference, advocating living like wild dogs.

Smoking a cigar, holding a glass of red wine, and embracing his wife who is half his age, he says he wants to live like a stray dog...

Indeed, it's a dog.

"Huang Bo is a very good friend of mine."

"After watching this show, I'm very jealous now."

“Damn, he acted so well…” Zhang Yuan also stood up to speak.

He shouldn't bother with values; he should just express his true feelings.

This kind of "jealousy to the point of being unrecognizable" cursing behavior drew a burst of laughter.

Bo Ge laughed along with him.

He knew perfectly well that Zhang Yuan was flattering him.

Huang Bo talked about the difficulties of filming, especially working with animal actors who are uncontrollable individuals.

The cow doesn't care about the camera or the performance; it does whatever it wants.

Gao Hu was also present.

Zhang Yuan cast a somewhat wistful glance at him.

He helped and supported Huang Bo in his early years.

Only a few years have passed, and now Huang Bo is supporting him.

In this play, Gao Hu plays a supporting role as an Eighth Route Army soldier, serving as a foil to his old comrade.

It can be considered a deep brotherly bond.

Teacher Yan Ni, on the other hand, was as usual, as if she had drunk fake alcohol before going on stage.

When asked about her most memorable scene with another character in the film, she said...

"Huang Bo has a scene where he has to touch my chest."

"As a result, he got so embarrassed that he hesitated and didn't dare to touch it, hahaha..."

After saying that, he chuckled to himself.

Huang Bo's wife was in the audience, and it was hard for Bo Ge to keep a straight face.

At this time, saying the wrong thing can easily make headlines.

"Huang Bo groped Yan Ni's breasts..."

Zhang Yuan always felt that Teacher Yan Ni might have taken too much medication for postpartum depression, and the effects of the medication hadn't worn off.

After taking antidepressants, people feel high and euphoric, and her condition was similar.

After the ceremony was completed, the main cast and crew bowed to all the guests and the event officially ended.

The group went to a nearby restaurant for a meal.

Guan Hu took the lead in raising a glass to express his gratitude.

"Wishing the film great box office success!" Ning Hao also joined in with a celebratory song.

The investor, Zhang Yuan, rolled his eyes at him.

After watching the film, do you believe what you're saying?

It would be a miracle if this kind of artistic play, with its tragic undertones, could be a big hit.

A good movie doesn't necessarily guarantee a high box office.

Zhang Yuan never expected to recoup his investment through box office revenue from the very beginning.

They make money solely by selling copyrights.

"I'll have the company allocate funds for your trips to Taiwan and overseas exhibitions, and you can get reimbursed for those expenses, which will be included in the film's cost."

Restaurant owners aren't afraid of big eaters.

At this point, a few measly coins won't make a difference; making a good publicity campaign is the most important thing.

"Mr. Zhang is so generous!" Brother Bo offered a toast.

"Save your money, and don't even think about first class." Zhang Yuan patted him on the shoulder.

"If not, I'll take a long-distance bus and save you some money," Huang Bo joked.

Ning Hao watched the two of them talking so informally.

Which artist would chat with their boss like that?

This is it.

Zhang Yuan is indeed good to his own people.

Thinking that with him around, even if there were risks in cooperating with Huayi, it wouldn't be a big problem.

After the meal, as everyone was preparing to leave, Zhang Yuan suddenly pulled Guan Hu aside.

"Brother Tiger, I need your help with something."

"What's up?" Guan Hu was quite happy to be back on the big screen: "Just say whatever you want."

"To be precise..." Zhang Yuan carefully chose his words.

"I'm not looking for you; I actually want to ask your mother for help." (End of Chapter)