Chinese Entertainment: Starting from 1996

Chapter 474: Lunar New Year Film Festival Begins

The movie ends with a touch of red. Originally, Liu Zhou was going to put some behind-the-scenes footage at the end of the film, just like Cheng Long did, because the filming in Iceland and Mohe was quite interesting, and the snowy scenery was also very beautiful.

However, considering that the movie is already so long, it was not added. I think the audience may be unable to hold back after watching the whole movie.

Indeed, it was so. The screening lasted two and a half hours, which was already very long. Add to that the half an hour before the premiere, and we sat there for more than three hours in total.

Some people were already feeling very uncomfortable, but they still gave warm applause at the first opportunity.

The movie "Interstellar" did not disappoint them. Whether it was the plot, special effects or the actors' performances, it was all excellent and worth their long wait.

So this movie also deserves their heartfelt applause.

However, some people may still not be able to help it and rush to the bathroom with their backs bent.

Liu Zhou, who returned to the stage with the main creators, didn't care about this.

In fact, when the movie was halfway through, especially when the thousand-meter-high wave appeared, he already knew that the movie should be a success.

The constant exclamations and the audience's attentive expressions showed that the movie did not disappoint everyone.

Those who came to the premiere, even if they were ordinary audiences, were all veteran movie fans, and their requirements for movies were generally relatively high.

If their relatively picky tastes can be satisfied, then there should be no problem for other fans and passers-by.

Liu Zhou also understood that everyone might be feeling a little uncomfortable, so after returning to the stage, he simply thanked everyone and then signaled to the host to end.

As everyone left the venue while excitedly discussing, Liu Zhouze and the invited celebrity guests went to the nearby Shangri-La Hotel, where there was a premiere reception.

The center of the cocktail party was undoubtedly Liu, Zhou and others. The box office of the movie was so high. After watching the movie, anyone who is not stupid knows that the box office of "Interstellar" is going to explode.

I just don't know if the box office can exceed the 1.3 billion of "Avatar" as Liu Zhou said to reporters.

However, most of them still find it a bit difficult. But since the movie that was previously hotly discussed by the media online has broken the 1 billion box office, it shouldn't be a problem.

Only people in the industry, especially the bosses of film and television companies, can realize how strong the promotion of "Interstellar" is. Now coupled with the film itself, there is no problem. This is undoubtedly a box office bomb. Now it depends on how powerful this bomb is.

Whether the box office of "Interstellar" can meet expectations actually has little impact on Liu Zhou now. Even if the movie is more successful than expected, it will only be icing on the cake for him.

However, no one thought that "Interstellar" would fail, and those who were able to attend the cocktail party also knew that Golden Harvest was also managing the simultaneous release of this film in North America.

If "Interstellar" also achieves good results in North America, then for the film's leading actors Liu Ye and Fan Xiaopang, it may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that they can make it into Hollywood, but there will definitely be no problem for them to go international.

Even if the film wasn't so successful in North America, the domestic box office exceeding 1 billion is still a remarkable achievement. For the film's leading actors Liu Ye and Fan Xiaopang, it is really a great bonus.

So at the cocktail party, many people looked at the two with envy and even jealousy, but no matter what they thought in their hearts, they still had to cheerfully and sincerely express their congratulations.

The two are also the top male and female actors in the country at this time. After "Interstellar", their influence and even box office appeal will definitely increase significantly, and their status in the circle will be even higher.

Even if I was jealous to death, I still didn't dare to offend them.

As two people who have been in the circle for many years, they are well aware of some of the performances and thoughts of their peers, because they were also in their positions before and watched others shine.

Liu Ye was fine, as he had already calmed down. However, as for Fan Xiaopang, she actually enjoyed the feeling.

So she kept looking for Zhang Ziyi, Li Bingbing and others at the party. Seeing them look like they wanted to eat her up but had to treat her with a smile made her feel very good.

On the other hand, Liu Zhou and Han Shanping were entertaining some company bosses and big directors such as Zhang Yimou and Xu Ke.

After exchanging compliments with the CEOs of the film and television companies, Liu Zhou also sat down with Zhang Yimou and Xu Ke, two directors from his own company.

"Director Liu, can we still borrow that 70mm film camera?" Xu Ke asked impatiently as soon as he sat down.

"Of course you can, but it will take some time. There are only five cameras of this type in the world. Even I have to use my connections to borrow one."

"Then Director Liu will lend it to me to study. After watching your movie, I realized that my understanding of special effects is too narrow."

In the past, Xu Ke thought he had a deep understanding of special effects. Even before "The Martian", he felt that no one in China could match him.

After experiencing the bombardment of 3D special effects of "Avatar" some time ago and the baptism of IMAX film of "Interstellar" now, Xu Ke realized that he was out of date.

Special effects are always related to the most cutting-edge technology. If you don’t understand the technology, you will never be able to make the best special effects movie.

Now Xu Ke admires James Cameron even more for spending ten years accumulating technology to prepare a movie.

Moreover, he did not just sit and wait for the technology, but personally took part in the research and development of the technology. This shows his true love for special effects.

In the past, Xu Ke felt that he claimed to be very passionate and obsessed with special effects, but he only had a superficial understanding of it. Not to mention comparing with James Cameron, he was far inferior to Liu Zhou, who came later.

But he really likes special effects, and he is glad to have joined Golden Harvest, which gives him the opportunity to be exposed to more cutting-edge technology, otherwise he might still be sitting in a well and looking at the world from a narrow perspective.

"No problem, but aren't you currently shooting the 3D blockbuster "Dragon Gate Flying Daggers"? Are you also planning to try shooting 70mm film IMAX movies?"

Actually, Xu Ke had the idea of ​​revisiting the script of "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate" a long time ago, but he was worried that someone would accuse him of rehashing an old story to make money, so he couldn't make up his mind.

Compared to other Hong Kong directors who only treat movies as commodities, Xu Ke still has a passion for movies and has always been serious about them, and he does not eat too much.

Some of his films have poor plots, but you can't say he wasn't careful when filming.

For example, he filmed "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" twice. Although the content was a bit broad and empty, the costumes, props and special effects were first-class at the time.

Especially the one shot in 2001, the special effects can still be said to be very good even after ten years, the film's elegant and lively style is unmatched by any film or TV series in later generations. He remade "Swordsman of Shu Mountain" at the beginning of the century because the special effects were more advanced at that time, and this time he is going to remake his classic "New Dragon Inn" because of the special effects.

It was only because of the impact of "Avatar 3D" that Xu Ke finally made up his mind to shoot "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate".

This film was the first collaboration between Golden Harvest and Xu Ke's film studio, and apart from providing money, the studio did not interfere with his preparations for the film.

Therefore, the choice of actors is similar to the original time and space. Zhao Huaian is of course still played by Jet Li, but Zhao Huaian in "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate" does not have many highlights.

On the contrary, the role of the second male lead, Yu Huatian, the director of the Western Factory, was undoubtedly portrayed very well.

Although this character is the second male lead, combined with the role of Feng Lidao, his screen time is almost the same as the first male lead, so he can be said to be on par with the male lead.

Not to mention now, even the role of the original time and space is sought after by the industry, not to mention that Xu Ke is much more famous now and the movie is produced by Golden Harvest.

Moreover, this time, Golden Harvest rarely had any pre-determined roles, and it was truly an open audition for the industry, thus attracting competition from most of the male actors of the right age in the industry.

I don’t know if Chen Kun was destined to be nicknamed Factory Flower, but he was favored by Xu Ke among many male actors and was chosen to play Yu Huatian.

Except for Qin Hao who didn't want to take on martial arts movies after filming "Sword Rain" and didn't go for the audition, people including Huang Xiaoming, Deng Chao and Nie Yuan also competed for the role.

Without the bonus of Painted Skin, and the box office failure of the movie Mulan in which he played the leading role, his fame did not overshadow his peers as in the original time and space, making him the most popular middle-aged male actor in the mainland.

Now, not to mention that he is far behind Huang Xiaoming, even Deng Chao and Nie Yuan are not much different from Chen Kun in fame, so compared with these people, he has no advantage at all.

But in the end, he stood out with his solid professional ability and outstanding appearance and successfully got the role.

Then the role of Ling Yanqiu was unexpectedly taken by Fan Xiaopang.

This character is much weaker than Jin Xiangyu in the original version. It should be said that she has nothing to do with Jin Xiangyu. She is just the heroine in name.

Although this role does not allow for full performance, she is the leading actress in a blockbuster movie after all, and no actress would not be tempted.

The original Fan Xiaopang must have also participated in the audition, but at that time Xu Ke had already reached a cooperation with Huayi under the recruitment of Chen Guofu. Although "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate" was not controlled by Huayi, if the difference was not big, Xu Ke would definitely choose Zhou Gongzi instead of Fan Xiaopang.

Now the two are competing fairly, and their popularity and influence are comparable. Zhou Gongzi's professional ability may be stronger, but in terms of character image, Fan Xiaopang is more suitable.

In the end, without any off-field factors, Fan Xiaopang finally defeated Zhou Gongzi and got the role.

In fact, the character of Ling Yanqiu in the original "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate" also has little presence, and because of Ms. Zhou's figure, she does not give people the feeling of being chivalrous.

Relatively speaking, Fan Xiaopang is more suitable.

In addition, the original role of Li Yuchun was replaced by Yang Mi. At that time, she was a singer mixed in with the crowd of actors, obviously for the sake of her fame.

Li Yuchun is very popular both in the original time and now. Many people may not know that she is the finale of most red carpets in China, and she is also very favored by international luxury brands.

But now there is no need to pursue his fame. Xu Ke has the confidence now, and Golden Harvest will not sacrifice the quality of the film by inserting a non-professional actor.

Although Golden Harvest did not interfere with the preparation of the film, Xu Ke had been in the entertainment industry for many years and was not ignorant. This role was not very important, so he gave it to Yang Mi.

However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The leading female role, Fan Xiaopang, is also the leading female role in "Interstellar". It can be predicted that in the next one or two months, she will become very popular, and her fame and influence will reach a higher level in the future.

The second female lead Yang Mi also became popular because of "Love Is Not Blind". For Xu Ke, there were two good signs before the filming even started.

The early preparations and special effects for "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate" are almost ready, and filming can officially begin next month.

The film is planned to take a year to produce and is expected to be released during the Spring Festival next year.

At the same time, in order to better mobilize the audience's viewing emotions, Zhang Yimou's first film after joining Golden Harvest, "The Flowers of War", is also planned to be released during the Spring Festival next year.

This year's Spring Festival, the two of them each brought a movie to compete with each other, and in the end Zhang Yimou won slightly.

The bundling marketing between the two at that time was very effective, and now their second fight will surely attract everyone's attention.

"The Flowers of War" is shot by Zhang Yimou, so the budget is definitely not small.

Although this movie doesn't have any special effects, the church and the house where the soldiers and invaders fought had to be built from scratch.

The cost in this regard is not much less than the special effects cost of "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate". In addition, the film also invited the popular international superstar Christian Bale, which can be said to have maximized the attention of "The Flowers of War".

It can be said that both "The Flowers of War" and "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" are highly anticipated films. Both have star-studded directors and are produced by Golden Harvest. They have been receiving a lot of attention since the project was launched.

Fans of the two great directors actually want to see who will win in the second fight between the two, so from the beginning of the project, under the operation of Golden Harvest, the marketing of the two films has been tied together.

It is quite a coincidence that the two films were launched almost at the same time, and the preparatory work was completed at about the same time. Both of them are also preparing to officially start filming next month.

So it would be a shame not to promote the two films together due to so many coincidences.

This time, both of them took advantage of the time they still had to come and attend the premiere of "Interstellar" and learn something at the same time.

Afterwards, Liu Zhou also shared his experience of filming "Interstellar" with the two.

As the cocktail party is coming to an end, "Interstellar" will be released in major theaters across the country.

The last and most important movie schedule of the year is finally here.

After experiencing a hot Spring Festival period, the tepid March, April, May and June, the continued hot summer period in July and August, the hot National Day period starting in mid-September, and a brand new hot Singles' Day period, 2010 will finally end with the Lunar New Year period.

(End of this chapter)