Actor: Thank you.

"Making money out of patriotism... okay?"

The next day, on the flight to the Shanghai Film Studio.

Wu Jing, who was sitting next to Zhang Yuan, hesitated for a long time, then turned his head and asked softly.

He agreed with Zhang Yuan's statement.

This kind of publicity, by strengthening the content that can arouse the audience's patriotic feelings, can increase box office revenue.

In this regard, he had no different opinions from Zhang Yuan.

Because so many films prove his vision.

Being able to make money has become one of Zhang Yuan's labels in the industry.

But he always felt a little uncomfortable.

This bunch of old-school action stars... Don’t be fooled by Wu Jing’s young age, he is truly a veteran action star.

They are more concerned about whether the action scenes in the work are smooth and whether they can satisfy the audience.

This is the error of empiricism.

One trick may not be enough to conquer the world.

As times change, audience tastes will change.

And the aesthetic threshold will become higher and higher.

Films with strong action but weak plot and characters are bound to decline!

In fact, it’s not just action movies. What about Hollywood blockbusters that are known for their special effects?
When I first saw the special effects, I was shocked.

"Jurassic Park" scared film colleagues all over the world, and "Avatar" taught all audiences a lesson, letting you know what the new-era 3D special effects blockbuster is.

and then?
The plot is getting worse and worse, the characterization is getting more and more rigid, and only the special effects are left.

In fact, when Pacific Rim was released, this problem was already very serious.

Later, even the top director Spielberg's "Ready Player One" encountered similar problems.

They all say it’s a love letter to the “fans”.

But it also proves that these films are becoming more and more "fan-oriented" and are no longer epoch-making works for the whole nation like "Avatar".

Even Cameron's own "Avatar 2" has this problem.

After watching too many special effects, everyone feels fed up with it.

What's more, even the special effects are starting to go downhill.

The same goes for kung fu movies. After all, Li Lianjie’s fighting style is still the most handsome, and Chen Long’s performance is still the most fancy, and no one can surpass them.

So when Wu Jing questioned the "patriotic elements", Zhang Yuan did not directly refute him, but instead gave him guidance.

This is a good opportunity to give him a chance to change his previous way of thinking.

“Anything that is not innovative will be abandoned by the times.”

Wu Jing nodded without comment.

He actually misses the environment when he first debuted.

Very simple, very pure.

A story about a hero's growth, plus a group of knowledgeable kung fu actors, can make a box office hit.

Those with vested interests are the least likely to innovate.

Many industries and even countries are slowly declining because powerful interest groups are hindering their development.

"Jing, in fact, any literary and artistic work is 'playing with people'." Zhang Yuan said sincerely.

“Find out who your audience is and what that audience wants, and you can make money.”

"I said this movie is a magical anti-Japanese drama disguised as a kung fu drama."

“To say that it’s tapping into patriotic sentiment is not entirely true.”

"The script of this play is more about exploiting the negative side of patriotism, which is hatred."

"This also fits the element of 'revenge' in the Hollywood trinity."

“But there is also a positive side to patriotism.”

"I believe that the positive pole, that is, national honor and national pride, will be the common theme of future action movies."

"Really?" Wu Jing was surprised to see that he was so sure about it, but he was still skeptical.

Because the films he came into contact with, especially the work he did after he came to Hong Kong, mostly had negative themes.

Gangsters, killers, thugs, corrupt police are all this kind of people.

He is really not familiar with positive topics.

“Literary and artistic work is actually an extension of politics.”

"Otherwise, the earliest film studios in our country were all state-owned enterprises, and the earliest art troupes were all from the military."

"Even though we have reform and opening up, it's still the same."

"If you want to live a good life, you have to follow the country's propaganda."

“Is it like this all over the world?”

At the 95th Academy Awards in 67, why did "Forrest Gump" win the final prize and take home six awards?

However, its rival The Shawshank Redemption in the same year did not win a single award.

Isn’t “Forrest Gump” a promotional film for the American dream?

A man with intellectual disabilities can become rich and powerful and even become a shareholder of Apple by relying on his stubbornness and good health.

And what about "The Shawshank Redemption"?

It's the exact opposite of the American Dream.

A banker was falsely accused of murder and languished in jail.

In the end, even though he knew he was innocent and the prisoner was someone else, the warden needed his help with accounting for his own benefit and the transfer of assets must not be known to outsiders, thus depriving him of the chance to regain his freedom.

This film not only satirizes the physical constitution of the Lighthouse Country, but also satirizes the mainstream religion.

After all, "the path to salvation lies within it."

Similarly, it was the 99st Academy Awards in 71.

"Saving Private Ryan" won Spielberg the Best Director award again, and the film also received great reviews and box office success.

But the same year's work, "The Truman Show", did not earn a single cent.

Anyone with eyes can tell which of these two films is better and which one is more realistic.

Jim Carrey's performance in "The Truman Show" is absolutely world-class.

But "Saving Private Ryan" is the "core values ​​of capitalism."

"The Truman Show", like "The Shawshank Redemption", truly depicts the dark side of the Western world.

If they are all "politically incorrect" works, don't even think about winning any major awards.

There is also the absolute masterpiece "Requiem for a Dream", which reflects issues such as D products and drug addiction in the Lighthouse Country. It has extremely high artistic and practical value.

Still no award.

Legendary director Kubrick died of an inexplicable heart attack shortly after filming Eyes Wide Shut.

It was not until many years later when the "Lolita Island" and "P. Diddy" incidents were exposed that people realized that this movie was actually a documentary!
Lao Kutou not only knew about it, he also filmed it.

The so-called freedom and democracy is just a gorgeous coat.

After all, literary and artistic works are soft power and propaganda tools.

"As artists, we must first be confident."

“Don’t think too highly of yourself and feel that you are superior to others and want to teach the audience and give them a lesson.”

"You can't belittle yourself and think that you are just a toy or a clown."

Zhao Benshan makes a living by entertaining ordinary people, but no one treats him as a clown.

No one is treating Jim Carrey as a clown.

Zhang Yuan saw that Wu Jing seemed to be thinking about something but his brows were furrowed, so he knew that he didn't fully understand yet.

The most difficult thing for a person is to find his own position. Just let him think about it slowly.

The Kung Fu boy didn't say a word along the way.

He remained silent until he got off the plane and arrived at the set.

Because if what Zhang Yuan said is right, then what about the "Wolf Tooth" that he filmed before and is about to be released?
I took other people's money and created a work that goes against their theories?
When we arrived at the Shengqiang Film and Television Base in Shanghai, we had to hold another formal "launch conference".

Zhang Yuan just let them be and seek peace of mind.

There were quite a lot of media reporters coming. He had accumulated a lot of popularity while filming in Shanghai before.

So the scene was quite lively.

After the press conference, many reporters stayed and wanted to continue filming the crew.

Zhang Yuan asked his assistant to chase them away several times, but there were still many people following him and hiding in the corners pretending to be passers-by but actually taking pictures secretly.

This can be considered as a worry after becoming famous.

drop by drop...

He is planning to be careful in what he says and does, and not to create any negative news under the "surveillance" of so many people.

At this moment the cell phone rang and he took it from his assistant.

"Hey."

"Hey, thank you."

As soon as I picked up the phone, I heard a gentle voice of thanks.

The caller is Chen Kun.

After much hard work on Prada's part, he finally got the endorsement from Prada.

So I called to say thank you.

I said that if he got the endorsement, he would just thank me.

Zhang Yuan knew what was going on and he just hoped that Chen Kun was lucky enough to withstand the "curse" of this brand.

Anyway, you took over it yourself, so I feel at ease...

He made a lot of money this time, and said he would treat him to hotpot and mahjong later.

Zhang Yuan agreed readily.

"That's good." Zhang Yuan put down his phone.

"Xiang Xingda's current No. 1 brother and No. 1 sister are both mine."

"The remaining 'little friends' will be around the corner."

"Chen Kun?" Wu Jing happened to be nearby and heard their conversation.

"Yes."

"Is that true?" the Kung Fu boy asked, hugging his shoulders.

"what's up?"

"You gave him an endorsement as compensation for 'Painted Skin'." Wu Jing also heard this story from people in the circle. It was half true and half false, and he never completely believed it.

Because there are too many intrigues in this industry, friendship and integrity are few and far between.

It's a blessing if you don't stab me in the back.

So even after hearing that it was Zhang Yuan who did it, he still hesitated.

"I guess so, more or less." Zhang Yuan thought about it and, judging from the surface, it was indeed the case.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... that's great." Wu Jing gave a thumbs up: "I've been in this business for so many years, and I've never seen anyone like you."

"You'll see it today."

Zhang Yuan hooked his arm around his shoulder and went together to patrol the venue to make preparations.

But before they had taken a few steps, a joyful female voice was heard behind them.

"Honey!"

"Who?" Zhang Yuan and Wu Jing turned their heads together and found a girl with a face like a peach, thin but not weak, running towards them with excited steps.

She has a high nose bridge, deep eye sockets, and a very distinctive appearance, which is obviously different from the women in the water towns in the Jiangnan area.

Zhang Yuan recognized the other person at first sight.

Can't fail to recognize it.

After all, they had slept in the same bed for several weeks on the set of "Wolf Tooth"!
The person who came was Lu Jingshan.

She was holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

Judging from his state, he was obviously here to visit the set, and seemed to want to give a surprise on purpose.

Whoops!

Zhang Yuan thought to himself that it was unclear whether he was surprised or not.

Now I'm scared!
I just said that we should be careful with our words and actions and not create negative news.

He knew Lu Jingshan's personality. As a mixed-race girl, she was much more enthusiastic than the average Chinese girl.

When we met before, he always jumped on me or on my back.

It's quite lively.

It feels like dating a girl from high school or just entering college.

Full of youthfulness.

During the days he was with her, Zhang Yuan felt that he was much more cheerful and energetic.

People are driven by their surroundings.

But no matter how sunny and energetic you are, you can't launch a sneak attack on me!

Zhang Yuan seemed to hear the sound of shutter clicks coming from every corner.

If she jumps on me or kisses me again, I will definitely be in the newspaper tomorrow.

"A martial arts master does not practice martial arts, and a Wing Chun master turns to screaming."

It’s possible that all Hong Kong media will come up with headlines like this.

It's bound to cause a lot of scandals.

This is still an external trouble.

And internally too!
He couldn't even imagine how busy his phone would be.

There must be a bunch of women lining up to call and question me.

Am I still qualified to be the owner of the fish pond?

But you can't just throw the other person over your shoulder and claim that you are a crazy fan.

It will be discovered and it will hurt the girl's feelings.

At this moment, Zhang Yuan's brain experienced extremely fast thinking like the Big Bang.

But there is no good way.

But I have to say that at home you rely on your parents, and when you go out you rely on your friends.

Wu Jing, who was beside him, saw this and understood it immediately and reacted instantly.

After all, he was involved in the "Wolf Tooth" crew incident.

Zhang Yuan sacrificed himself for the smooth filming...the so-called sacrifice was sleeping with girls every night.

very tired.

I have to think of new tricks and unlock new postures every day, which requires a lot of brainpower.

The person who came was his heroine, so of course he knew her character.

At the same time, it is also clear that there are secret cameras everywhere.

Just because of this, Zhang Yuan will suffer tomorrow.

His brain and heart also experienced an explosion of thoughts.

But what he thought was somewhat different from Zhang Yuan's.

He remembered that Zhang Yuan had invested money in his filming.

Then he thought about the call from Chen Kun just now, and he did receive the "compensation" from Zhang Yuan.

What is this called?
This is called goodwill.

After this incident spread in the circle, it became a credibility guarantee that movies invested by Zhang Yuan would definitely make money.

Many people now believe that if they work for Zhang Yuan, they will at least not be treated unfairly.

Wu Jing was close to him, so he was even more convinced of this.

So at this "critical moment", the Kung Fu boy stiffened his neck.

Take off smart!
He took a step forward in an instant, half blocking Zhang Yuan and at the same time blocking the path where Lu Jingshan was jogging.

Miss Lu was stretching out her arms, planning to give her lover whom she hadn't seen for a long time a "love hug", but she found her body became lighter.

Censored!

Wu Jing raised his arm and pulled Lu Jingshan, who was halfway running, to his side.

He pulled her towards his chest and instantly held her in his arms.

"Long time no see." he said.

After being stunned for a moment, Miss Lu stretched out her arms to hug him and patted Wu Jing on the back.

He is a good buddy of mine and the director of my debut film. We have a good relationship.

There's nothing wrong with a hug.

what?
When Zhang Yuan saw this, he felt a chill on his head...

I rub!

What happened during my absence?
Have Wu Jing and I become “fellow travelers”?

If you do this, I'll have to talk to Xie Nan.

At least I can get back some of the advantage in advance.

But when he saw Wu Jing hugging Lu Jingshan, he gave him a look that showed he was ready to die.

If you have a really good relationship, you don’t need to say anything, just a glance can show it.

It's like two middle-aged men want to wash their wives' feet behind their wives' backs. Can they just talk about it?
One lustful look and you'll understand everything.

I drove the Cadillac and the automatic navigation system went away...

The situation is similar now.

Zhang Yuan exchanged glances with the other party and immediately understood what the Kung Fu boy meant.

"The wind is strong."

"Bullshit?"

So touched!
So touching!

What is a buddy.

At this critical moment, brothers have to step forward to take responsibility.

In this way, he didn't hug me, but hugged him instead.

If it is really photographed, I can pick it up myself.

In an instant, the world became wider and the crisis disappeared!
After all, he is a martial artist, so his movements and reactions are quick.

If you don't use your brain when practicing martial arts, you can only be a gangster for the rest of your life...

Wu Jing is actually quite smart and is definitely a smart guy in the martial arts industry.

Zhang Yuan thought to himself, I’ll remember this!
Gave the other person an affirmative look.

Not to mention compensating several million.

I'll accept compensation of tens of millions!
Money is easy to get, but brothers are hard to buy.

It's worth my taking care of him.

It’s worth it just this time!

"Let's go, let's talk when we get back." Zhang Yuan hurriedly gave the order.

"Don't move, there are paparazzi around." He immediately added.

Lu Jingshan finally reacted and she and Wu Jing let go of each other.

"Go and rest first, we'll talk later in the evening."

"I'll take her to the hotel." Wu Jing shook his head and exchanged glances with Zhang Yuan again.

"No, let her come to the set openly." Zhang Yuan denied.

"You take it with you."

"I know."

Hiding at this time will only make the matter more obvious.

Just show it off and let them take pictures.

"The two old men exchanged glances again, affirming each other.

Lu Jingshan looked at them.

I think your relationship is a little bit abnormal...

The three of them walked towards the crew members openly.

Wu Jing even deliberately hooked his arm around Miss Lu's shoulder and walked forward.

Lu Jingshan hadn't figured out what was going on yet and just felt it was strange.

However, what they didn't know was that Wu Jing's move just now happened to help Miss Lu avoid a minor disaster.

Because there are more than just reporters and paparazzi stalking the set right now... (End of this chapter)