Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 146 [Guy Ritchie, nicknamed Director Li]

Early March.

Li Yishu took an international flight directly from the United States to Hong Kong, accompanied by Huo Wenxi and several hired bodyguards.

To be honest, it’s a bit of a waste to hire these bodyguards.

Because during the nearly one month of filming, except for having meals with Monica at a nearby restaurant, Lee Yi-su usually worked in two shifts at the hotel and with the crew.

But it does feel different to have a bodyguard. At least Lee Yi-su doesn't have to worry about going out at night.

The nights in the United States, especially in Hollywood, are really like hell. All kinds of monsters and demons pop out at night.

During this period of time, Li Yishu has seen a lot of strange things.

It is common for drunk people to fight each other on the streets, with men beating men and women beating women.

Fortunately, there is only one place like a bar street like this, and other places are normal.

After all, Hollywood is a famous tourist attraction in Los Angeles, and the people who live here are either rich or noble, so the Los Angeles police naturally take good care of this place.

Tomson Films.

"Director Li, the revenue from Sword Rain has come out."

Xu Suo said: "I have already given the specific financial report to Amy."

"Yeah, I know. Amy told me."

Li Yishu nodded and said, "Is it time to consider releasing Farewell My Concubine?"

"Not waiting for the Cannes Film Festival to end?" Xu Lu was stunned.

"We have to wait, but we can do some publicity and preheating in advance."

Li Yishu said: "Farewell My Concubine is an art film. If it is not promoted in advance, the box office in Hong Kong will probably not be very good. People in Taiwan are used to watching art films, so I am not too worried about it. The box office in China should not be too bad..."

Hearing this, Xu Suo thought about it and nodded in agreement: "Director Li is right. This movie should be promoted in Hong Kong in advance. I will talk to Guo Rong later and see if he can mention our film appropriately during the interview."

"I heard from Amy that Guo Rong is still filming a movie in Shaanxi?"

"I came back a few days ago, and the filming was stopped again."

Thinking of Wang Jiawei, Xu Lu sighed, "It's been more than a year since the film was shot, and it's still not finished. I heard from Guo Rong that Wang Jiawei's progress is probably less than halfway, and there is no script at all. All the lines were thought up by Wang Jiawei on the spot, and it seems that the budget is not enough."

Li Yishu raised her eyebrows and said, "Then I just hope the investors can always have quick-acting heart-saving pills on hand."

Xu Lu shook his head: "Anyway, I will never invest in Wang Jiawei in my lifetime. His directing ability is good, but he is too slow in filming."

"It's a bit too slow, but maybe that's Director Wang's style."

Li Yishu smiled without comment.

If it's a big production that takes three to five years to shoot, it's not a big deal, just like "Titanic".

When the film was released in China in 1998, when the ship sank on the screen, the audience kept exclaiming at the wonderfulness of the movie, but Lee Yi-su and several of his colleagues had sad expressions on their faces.

The gap is too big.

Too big to be acceptable.

The box office revenue of the movie "Titanic" accounted for almost one-third of the total box office revenue in mainland China that year.

And based on the total investment of US$2 million in the film, this is more than the total box office in mainland China in one year.

Later, Li Yishu finally understood why Han Sanping supported Zhang Yimou in filming "Hero" in the millennium when there was no market at all, and even contacted the army to participate in the filming.

But for the Wang family to spend two or three years shooting an art film, to be honest, it really is a matter of personal ability.

Looking at all the art films that are still fresh in people's memory around the world, there is hardly any one that is as time-consuming as "Ashes of Time", which makes the audience fail to understand even the most basic story in the end.

Li Yishu couldn't help but wonder if Wang Jiawei deliberately used this movie to try out some different styles.

Because it is obvious that Wang Jiawei has begun to try multi-angle third-person non-linear narrative.

This is even more evident in his later film "Chungking Express". From the interspersed appearances of characters, each character's inner monologue, and the uneven presentation of the monologues, it can be basically concluded that "Ashes of Time" can be regarded as one of his experimental films.

Xu Lu asked, "Let's not talk about him. Did you finish filming your movie in the United States so quickly?"

"Well, the filming is done, but the post-editing will take some time."

Li Yishu sighed and said, "I won't work so hard next year. Four movies a year is really a bit too tiring."

"Haha~"

Xu Suo couldn't help laughing and said, "Director Li, it's okay to work a little harder. While you are still young, you should work as hard as you can. When I was filming, I worked almost non-stop for a whole year. After finishing one crew, I would move on to the next one."

"Look, now the schedule is all scheduled until next year."

Li Yishu shook her head. After finishing filming "The Sixth Sense", she will soon finish filming "Central Station". After that, she will collaborate with Zhang Manyu and Emei Film Studio on "Nobody", and also with Qingxia on "The Reader".

"Nobody" was easy to say, as it was filmed in the mountain city he was familiar with, and Lee Yi-su was also prepared to tell this story well through a multi-threaded, multi-perspective narrative style, as well as parallel montage shooting techniques.

Speaking of which, the narrative style of "Nobody" and "Crazy Stone" is very similar. There are two main plots and two hidden plots, and then the two collide at the end, forming a strong visual impact.

When it comes to movies of this style, one cannot avoid Guy Ritchie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", but this movie was released in 1998. Li Yishu will finish filming this year and release it next year. She might even be considered the originator of the movie.

Guy Ritchie might even mention in an interview later: "I have been learning from Director Li all my life. People call me Little Director Li."

"Jingle Bell--"

At this moment, Li Yishu's cell phone rang. He took out his cell phone and flicked up his right thumb, flipping open the cover. It was Qingxia calling, so he answered the call directly, "Hello, Sister Qingxia."

"Director Li, I heard you came to Hong Kong?"

"Yes, I arrived last night."

"Haha, I'm in Hong Kong too. It just so happens that I've finished filming these few days, and Director Lai is also in Hong Kong, preparing for the release of "Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land" in Hong Kong. Do you want me to set up a party so that we can all sit down together in the evening?"

"Okay, Sister Qingxia, I just happened to be planning to have a good chat with Director Lai about the script."

"..."

After chatting for a few more words, Li Yishu hung up the phone.

Xu Xu couldn't help but ask curiously, "What did Qingxia want to talk to you about?" "Nothing, I just talked to Sister Qingxia about a script before. This time I came to Hong Kong, so I just had a chance to talk to her."

"New script?!"

Xu Su's eyes lit up and he said, "Director Li, I wonder if our Tomson will have a chance to continue working with Director Li?"

"The film has already found an investor, so it's not a good idea to put it on hold. There will be opportunities in the future."

Li Yishu smiled. With the movie "Sword Rain", he had already repaid Xu Su's favor, and it was much more than that.

Many people think that Xu Xun got a great deal. The movie "Sword Rain" grossed over 1.7 million US dollars worldwide, and sold quite well in Europe and the United States.

Xu Suo, who owned a share, almost made back all the money she had invested in the film company over the years, including the principal and interest.

However, Li Yishu did not think that Xu Su had taken advantage, because he knew that "Farewell My Concubine" could win the Palme d'Or. At the same time, with the same actors and the director was not an unknown person, there would be basically no problem in repeating history and winning the award.

A Palme d'Or award is worth all the effort Li Yishu has put in.

This is the only Palme d'Or that Chinese people have owned in the past hundred years. (The Palme d'Or in the short film does not count)
night.

In a restaurant.

Li Yishu brought Huo Wenxi here. He was not familiar with the environment here and did not have a driver's license, so he had to let Huo Wenxi bring him here.

As for Amy, she is still in charge of handling the box office tax and tax avoidance for "Sword Rain".

The box office share in China is easy to deal with, but the box office share in Japan, South Korea and North America is the most troublesome.

However, Li Yishu's share of the North American box office has now been used to set up a company and buy a house, and he has also withdrawn a lot of extra money. Therefore, according to the tax avoidance policy there, he basically does not need to pay any more money, nor does he have to pay any taxes related to foreigners.

"Director Li is here, come in and sit down!"

When Li Yishu opened the door and walked in, she saw that in addition to Qingxia and Lai Shengchuan, there were also Zhang Guorong, Zhang Manyu, Zuxian, Zhang Xueyou, and Liang Jiahui.

"Director Li."

Zhang Guorong and Zhang Manyu also stood up at the same time to welcome them.

Seeing that several people had stood up, the others naturally didn't want to be treated specially, and they all stood up to welcome Li Yishu's arrival.

Li Yishu smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I was delayed on the way. My assistant just got his driver's license not long ago."

"It's okay, we just got here not long ago."

Qingxia introduced Zuxian, Zhang Xueyou and others to Li Yishu with a smile, and then took him to sit next to her, saying with a smile: "Director Li, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you in advance. Guorong and the others knew you were in Hong Kong and insisted on coming over."

"It's okay." Li Yishu waved her hand, looked at the celebrities, and said with a smile: "Were you attending the celebration party of "East is West" before?"

Zhang Manyu was surprised and asked, "Director Li also watched A Chinese Odyssey?"

She knew that Li Yishu went to the United States to film a movie. The movie was released in early February, and a celebration party was held recently after it was released.

Li Yishu shook her head: "No, I saw it in a magazine when I returned home. It said that East is West did very well at the box office, more than 20 million?"

"Yes, the box office in Hong Kong was over 2300 million."

“How long did it take?”

"It took more than 20 days to shoot in total. Including editing, it should only take about a month, right?"

Wow, this is a real quick shooter.

It's a group portrait film with so many main actors, but it was finished in 20 days. No wonder that fat guy Wang Jing can finish a movie in seven days.

While Li Yishu was expressing her feelings, the waiter soon started serving the dishes.

At the dinner, everyone ate and chatted, but perhaps because of the presence of outsiders, Li Yishu, Qingxia and Director Lai did not mention the script.

Instead, Zhang Guorong asked, "Director Li, when will the Cannes Film Festival announce the nominations?"

Li Yishu thought for a moment and said, "Based on past years' experience, the shortlist should be announced in late March or early April."

Zhang Guorong said: "I really hope I can win the Best Actor Award at an international film festival like Manyu."

"Haha, I believe you can do it, brother."

Zhang Manyu covered her mouth and laughed secretly. She is considered the first actress of the younger generation to win an international film actress award.

Zu Xian beside him asked curiously, "Director Li, will Farewell My Concubine be released after participating in the film festival?"

"Well, it will be released in June." Li Yishu looked at Wang Zuxian and thought to herself, she has seen one more, how many more are left?
"Then I must watch it carefully. When I read the book before, I always felt pity for the character of Cheng Dieyi. Now that my brother is playing the role, I must watch it even more."

Zuxian had previously worked with Zhang Guorong in the classic "A Chinese Ghost Story", and the two have always had a good relationship in private.

"Jingle Bell--"

Suddenly Li Yishu's cell phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was Anita Mui calling. He got up and went out to answer it.

"Miss Mei."

"Director Li, it's me, Zhao Wenzhuo!"

Ok?
Are the two of them hooking up?

Li Yishu smiled and said, "It's Wen Zhuo. Why are you calling from Miss Mei's phone?"

Zhao Wenzhuo said lamely, "I don't know your number, Director Li, so I asked Sister Mei to answer the phone. I heard from Sister Mei that you came to Hong Kong. I wonder if you are free tomorrow. The movie I shot in Hong Kong will be released tomorrow."

It looks like they really hooked up.

Come to think of it, Zhao Wenzhuo was very handsome when he was young. He was tall and strong, giving people a sense of masculinity and power. In Hong Kong, where "tough guys" are popular, he was not very popular.

Li Yishu smiled and said, "Okay, Wen Zhuo, what time tomorrow?"

The new movie should be "The Kung Fu Emperor Fang Shiyu", right?

Speaking of which, Zhao Wenzhuo's acting in this movie is really good, and he showed the viciousness of the Nine-Gates Admiral Ordo vividly.

"It will be officially released at noon tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)