Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 187 197 [If Li Yishu can win an award, I, Jiang Wen, can too! ]

The script of "In That Faraway Place" was created by the editing department of the Xi'an Film Studio. Teng Wenzhi was in a hurry to find someone to move to another position at that time, so he ran away to the Beijing Film Studio. This also caused him to ignore the fact that the script was created by the Xi'an Film Studio.

After arriving at the Beijing Film Studio and his work became relatively stable, Teng Wenji thought about making this movie again.

He spent several months reaching a cooperation with a film company in Hong Kong called Jianian. This is a film company founded in Hong Kong by people from Taiwan, and it also has its own agency.

It is okay to invest in Teng Wenzhi’s movie, but the male actor Zhang Hongliang from their company must be used as the female lead.

Teng Wenji naturally agreed without hesitation, because the situation this year was quite different from last year.

Last year he was still able to squander the studio's money, but this year it was no longer possible. First of all, he changed his job, and had to rebuild his old network of connections.

Secondly, now it’s about self-sufficiency. If your movie is not profitable, then the opportunity to direct the next movie will be a long way off.

Moreover, co-production films are now very important, because only co-production films can be released in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the bulk of the money is now made in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

As for the female lead, Teng Wenji originally wanted the actress he had chosen before to continue playing the role, but who knew that Jianian Film Company would recommend another one.

She is Chen Hong, a mainland actress who has signed a contract with Qiong Yao's company.

She is a mainland actress and an artist from Qiong Yao's company, so it is naturally impossible for Teng Wenji to refuse.

Not long ago, Teng Wenji went to Hong Kong and met the male and female protagonists when he was discussing the script with Jia Nian Film Company.

I have to say that Chen Hong is really beautiful!

To use the description in "Dream of Red Mansions", it is perfect: the lips are red without any makeup, the eyebrows are green without any drawing, the face is like a silver basin, and the eyes are like water apricots.

This also made Teng Wenji very excited, and he immediately decided that she would play the leading female role. He then rushed back to the Beijing Film Studio and prepared to start forming a crew for filming.

However, when the Beijing Film Studio learned that the script they were going to shoot was written by the Xi'an Film Studio, they immediately became troubled.

It's just a script. If Beijing Film Studio wants it, Xi'an Film Studio will not refuse to give it to them. At most they will just give them some money.

But because of his criticism of Li Yishu last year, Teng Wenji caused the Xi'an Film Studio to receive a lot of criticism for no reason.

Teng Wenji, relying on his status as a senior in the industry, has never apologized to Li Yishu.

It was not until the former director of the Xi'an Film Studio, Wang Tianlin, went to the Emei Film Studio to apologize in person that the public opinion was suppressed.

In addition, the situation of the Xi'an Film Studio has been getting worse and worse over the past year. After Chen Kai spent a lot of money to shoot "Tree", which failed to win awards overseas, he used his connections to transfer to the Beijing Film Studio. This has led to the gradual loss of talent in the Xi'an Film Studio.

In other words, only Zhang Yimou can barely hold up the scene.

Even if Teng Wenji shamelessly asked for the copyright, the people at Xi'an Film Studio would ignore him.

The Beijing Film Studio didn't really want Teng Wenji to come, so when choosing between Li Yishu and him, the leaders of the Beijing Film Studio naturally chose the former. But Teng Wenji used his connections to transfer the position over directly.

In this regard, the Beijing Film Studio had no choice but to accept the talent, but they would block it whenever possible.

No matter what movie Teng Wenji wants to make, the studio will not approve it and will not allow you to participate in any production work. The worst that can happen is that you will have to pay one extra person's salary, but you cannot offend Li Yishu for this.

It just so happened that at this time, Chen Kaige was also transferred to the Beijing Film Studio, and Teng Wenji immediately set his sights on him.

Compared to Teng Wenji, Brother Chen Kai has much more connections in the Beijing Film Studio, and his father is a third-generation director who has connections and contacts in major film studios across the country. Many of his old classmates and colleagues now hold high positions.

I believe that with Brother Chen Kai's intervention, we will definitely be able to get the script.

Hearing what Teng Wenji said, Brother Chen Kai was surprised and said, "It's just a script. Can Xiying Studio delay giving it to you?"

"Originally I would have been able to get it if I had gone to ask for it, but now that Li Yishu is in power, the Xi'an Film Studio is probably trying to curry favor with him, so I can't get it here."

Teng Wenji said indignantly, "Isn't it just a little box office revenue abroad? How can art, such a noble word, be measured by box office revenue? Do those foreign audiences understand what art is? They don't understand at all! Brother Kai, the movie you shot called "Tree" is art. I think you should be awarded the Palme d'Or!"

Palme d'Or!!

Brother Chen Kai originally thought that he was about to let it go, but when he heard these three words again, his face gradually darkened.

What he can't accept the most now is that his film "Tree" did not win any awards at Cannes.

Even if he was just given a grand jury award, it wouldn't be so frustrating for Brother Chen Kai.

"Okay, Cannes is all in the past." Brother Chen Kai waved his hand, as if he didn't want to continue discussing this topic: "Did you come to me just to talk about the script?"

"No, I just thought of asking you for help."

Teng Wenji touched his bald head and said with a smile: "The main reason I came here is to have a drink and chat with you."

Brother Chen Kai said: "I'll ask about this for you, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Haha, thank you so much. I'll toast to you."

Teng Wenji immediately smiled and said mysteriously: "I found a Hong Kong company to invest in this movie, and the male and female protagonists were recommended by them. I went to Hong Kong a few days ago and met the female protagonist. She is so beautiful." "Haha, I say, Old Teng, you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve."

Chen Kai smiled and said, "No matter how beautiful she is, can she be as beautiful as Ni Ping?"

“Different types.”

"Okay, please stop making trouble. The incident during the filming of "The Chess King" a few years ago is embarrassing."

"Haha, how can it be called shabby if it's something we both agree on?"

Teng Wenji laughed. A few years ago, he filmed a mainland version of "The Chess King". The female lead was carefully selected by him. Later, something went wrong and Teng Wenji's wife found out about it, and she made a fuss.

The final result was naturally that nothing happened to Teng Wenzhi, but the actress could not stay in the Xi'an Film Studio and disappeared after resigning.

"You, you."

Brother Chen Kai shook his head slightly.

Yanjing.

In the bedroom, after a fierce battle, Jiang Wen touched Liu Xiaoqing's hair and said, "Xiaoqing, thank you very much this time."

"What's there to be thankful for?"

Liu Xiaoqing smiled sweetly and said, "I personally asked Wang Shuo to get this script for you. I also helped you get the funding. I also helped you get the investment from Hong Kong. When we shoot the movie, just don't embarrass me."

"Don't worry! I adapted this script myself and added a lot of things from my childhood. It will definitely work."

Jiang Wen is very confident about the next movie he is going to make.

Not only did he put a lot of energy into the script, he also spent a month interviewing thousands of actors. He finally chose a child who looked very much like him as a child to play Ma Xiaojun in the movie.

It took him a month just to shoot the leading actor. As for other aspects, Jiang Wen put in a lot of energy. For this purpose, he specially invited Gu Changwei, the first cinematographer of Xi'an Film Studio, to collaborate with him.

"I'm telling you, don't hook up with the actresses while filming." Liu Xiaoqing snorted, "I'm about to go film CCTV's "Empress Wu Zetian", so don't fool around behind my back."

"Haha, don't worry, I will be loyal to you until death."

Jiang Wen laughed and said, "I have already planned the movie. I will spend a few months to polish it and then go to the Cannes Film Festival next year. I will win the Palme d'Or and let Li Yishu see that I, Jiang Wen, can also make movies!"

Speaking of Li Yishu, Jiang Wen was filled with anger.

Two years ago, Li Yishu told him to his face that he could only play the role of a reckless man like Yu Zhan'ao, and could not play the role of Cheng Dieyi, which made Jiang Wen very angry.

Over the past year or so, he has been seeking a breakthrough and has even taken on two TV series to break through his own character image.

In a TV series called "I Love My Family", he made a cameo appearance as Suspect C.

Another TV series, "Yanjing Native in New York", was the first time he broke through his tough guy image and played the role of Wang Qiming, a cellist who mainly focused on literary dramas.

During the post-production, Jiang Wen watched it in person and thought the effect was very good. He had heard from the director before that it would be broadcast on CCTV in September. Jiang Wen has begun to look forward to unveiling his new image to the public.

If Jiang Wen thinks that he has made a great breakthrough in acting, then "Sunny Days", which he wrote and directed himself, is Jiang Wen's roar and challenge to Lee Yi-su.

Isn’t he just a crappy director? If you can shoot it, I can shoot it too!
If you can win an award, I can win an award too!

"Jiang Wen, could you please stop being so childish?"

Liu Xiaoqing frowned and said, "You were the one who provoked Zhang Guorong in the first place. Li Yishu is the director, so of course he has to protect his actors. You don't know him, so what's wrong with him saying a few words to you?"

"Besides, Li Yishu is no ordinary person. The movie The Sixth Sense, which she filmed in Hollywood, grossed over $4 million worldwide a few days ago. No matter how great your movie is, no one can make $4 million worldwide with a single movie!"

Hearing this, Jiang Wen curled his lips and said, "I don't want to make commercial films. Besides, the reason why Li Yishu can get such a high box office is because the American film market is so strong that it can cover the whole world. Let him make a movie with a Chinese as the lead and see if he can get a global box office of 4 million US dollars. I tell you..."

"Okay, you're just jealous."

Liu Xiaoqing interrupted Jiang Wen and said in a dissatisfied tone: "I told you, Jiang Wen, don't talk about these things in front of outsiders in the future. Li Yishu is not an ordinary person now. Do you think she is just a director? My friend in Hong Kong told me that Li Yishu also invested in this "Sixth Sense" and her share is not small."

Jiang Wen was surprised and asked, "Is it true?"

"Of course it's true. You can go back and look for the video tape and see that the company that produced the movie is called Art, which means art, and it just corresponds to the homonym of Li Yishu's name."

Liu Xiaoqing is no longer an ordinary actor. Since she became famous after "Furong Town", she has begun to transform herself and invest in and produce her own films.

After making a few movies, although I didn’t make a lot of money, I still made a small profit.

Now that I see that Lee Yi-shu has been so successful in running her own film company, I naturally hope to work with Lee Yi-shu.

Although Xiao Naigou is good, the commercial value brought by Li Yishu is still far behind.

(End of this chapter)