Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 224 234 [Taking all the three major European film festivals next year]

Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio.

In the historical works room of Shanghai Animation Studio, Li Yishu followed the factory director Chang Guangxi to visit the various animation works produced by Shanghai Animation Studio over the past half century.

"Director Li, look, these are the excellent animation works produced by our Shanghai Animation Studio over the years. Since the reform and opening up, we have also been actively innovating in order to better serve the general public..."

Chang Guangxi introduced these animation works of Shanghai Animation Studio, almost all of which are well-known classics, such as "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King", "Three Monks", "Black Cat Sheriff"...

Looking at these works, Li Yishu also felt that her childhood was lucky, unlike the children later, who only watched Pleasant Goat and Beautiful Sheep...

At this moment, Li Yishu's phone suddenly rang. He was about to hang up, but when he noticed that it was Huo Wenxi calling, he quickly said, "Director Chang, excuse me, I need to take the call."

"It's okay, it's okay. Director Li, you have something to do first."

"Feel sorry."

Li Yishu turned around and walked to the side with the phone in hand to answer the call.

"What's wrong, Wenxi?"

Huo Wenxi on the other end of the phone said excitedly: "Boss, it's a big hit! Our Pioneer VCD is a big hit!"

Li Yishu raised an eyebrow: "It's popular? How many units have been sold?"

A few days ago, the Pioneer VCD advertisement was officially broadcast on CCTV and became a punctual time teller. The phrase "Pioneer Electric Appliances tells the time for you" made Li Yishu very satisfied.

This line, after being bombarded for a year, will surely strengthen people's memory and habits.

When buying home appliances in the future, the first thing that comes to mind is Pioneer Electric, just like the future "national liquor" Moutai.

After more than ten years of promotion, it has become the national liquor.

Huo Wenxi reported a series of numbers: "According to the data from this morning, Shanghai sold more than 5000 units yesterday, and more than 3000 units this morning. It is estimated that at least 5 to 6000 units were sold today. Yanjing also sold more than 6000 units yesterday and today..."

In just one and a half days, nearly 3 units were sold in four major cities in China: Yanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. This number was something Li Yishu had never expected.

Li Yishu asked, "Do we still have enough inventory?"

Huo Wenxi said excitedly, "We have plenty now, but if we keep selling at this rate, I'm afraid we won't be able to sell enough. I've just contacted Hefei, and they've agreed to cooperate with a state-owned home appliance factory next door. They'll help with OEM, working in three shifts 24 hours a day. We'll try to start distributing products to second- and third-tier cities in the inland area before January."

There is no concept of tier-5 cities at present. It was Li Yishu who proposed to measure cities based on population base and economic development, so the tiers were planned.

There are only four first-tier cities, namely Yanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The four cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have now begun to show their potential. Whether in terms of economy or per capita wages, they are enough to be first-tier cities in China.

The second-tier cities are the provincial capitals, including some economically developed cities, such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Many of them are now OEM for foreign products and have very good economic conditions.

The third-tier cities are ordinary cities. Considering that there has not been any population loss as in the future, the population base is there, and there are always thousands or tens of thousands of people in a city who can afford VCDs.

"Then speed up production and strive to make the Pioneer brand famous."

After saying a few more words, Li Yishu hung up the phone with a satisfied smile.

The instant success of Pioneer VCD was both expected and unexpected.

He had long known that advertising during CCTV's prime time would bring very high returns, but he did not expect that nearly 30,000 units would be sold in several major cities in just one and a half days.

You have to know that it is not even the millennium yet. Today, when the average monthly salary is more than 200 yuan, the price of a VCD is equivalent to what an ordinary family could afford without eating or drinking for a year.

Of course, this is only something an average family can afford in a year.

Today, with the reform and opening up, people with an annual income of 10,000 yuan are no longer uncommon. The meal that Li Yishu and others had on Huanghe Road a few days ago cost more than 3,000 yuan.

Eating up half of a millionaire's income in one meal was something that was unthinkable a few years ago.

Secondly, inviting Zhao Yazhi and Ye Tong to be the spokespersons this time is also a wise move!
The White Snake, which has become extremely popular in mainland China this year, is paired with an advertising format that is rare in this era, blending the past and the present. It not only highlights spokespersons Zhao Yazhi and Ye Tong, but also drives home the joy of life that Pioneer VCD brings to customers.

easy to understand!
Thinking of this, Li Yishu turned around and walked back, smiling at Chang Guangxi, the director of Shangmei Factory: "Director Chang, I came here this time not only to see the excellent works of your factory over the years, but also to discuss something with you."

Chang Guangxi was surprised and said, "Oh? Director Li, just tell me what it is."

"Nothing much, I just wanted to cooperate with your company on the VCD copyright of the cartoon on behalf of someone else."

"VCD copyright?"

Chang Guangxi was confused. What was the copyright of this VCD?
After Li Yishu briefly explained the functions of the VCD appliance, Chang Guangxi suddenly realized that this was just a videotape. However, this was not something that he, as a factory manager, could easily agree to.

Li Yishu was not in a hurry about this. He just came here to make a start. Later, Huo Wenxi would naturally arrange for someone to specialize in purchasing the VCD copyright.

Moreover, in the short term, Li Yishu will not spend money to buy it, she is just coming up with an excuse.

After visiting the Shanghai Animation Studio, Li Yishu also called Huo Wenxi and asked her to arrange for someone to come to the Shanghai Animation Studio to purchase the VCD copyrights of these cartoons and try to lower the price. If they are unwilling, then don't force it.

Later, when pirated discs start to flood the market, domestic film studios, including those in Hong Kong and Taiwan, will realize that selling to him is the best option.

Others are just trying to make money, but Li Yishu is selling it together with Pioneer VCDs. So even if he doesn't make any profit from the discs, or even loses some money, as long as the VCD player sells well, he can make it back.

There is only one way to fight against piracy, and that is to stop pirates from making money.

Time passes little by little.

By mid-December, Pioneer VCD had become completely popular in China.

This product has similar functions to a VCR, but with clearer images, a cheaper price, and smaller and thinner discs. It has become a must-have appliance for many people with well-off families.

At the same time, Huo Wenxi also began to send people to fly back and forth between film studios across the country to negotiate with them about the copyright of VCD discs, either for profit sharing or for a buyout.

However, the film studios are all state-owned units, and copyrights are not sold casually. As the major film studios began to report this matter to their superiors, they also began to pay attention to this area.

Since it was difficult to obtain the copyright of domestic CDs at the moment, Huo Wenxi immediately sent people to Hong Kong and Taiwan to advertise Pioneer VCDs on TVB while acquiring the copyrights of small film companies and preparing to cooperate with TVB.

When Pioneer VCD was developing in full swing, Li Yishu also returned to Yanjing from Shanghai.

Originally, Li Yishu only planned to stay in Shanghai for a few days, but because Qingxia took the initiative to ask for it, he had to stay for another week.

It was not until Qingxia joined the crew and officially started filming "The Six-Fingered Lute Demon" that he hurriedly returned to Yanjing, with Qingxia reluctant to leave.

You have to come back!

Thirty is like a wolf and forty is like a tiger. Qingxia is stuck at this age. In terms of fighting power, she is almost the same as Gong Li. On top of that, she has a purpose, so the fighting power she demands is even stronger.

After more than a week of high-intensity physical training, Li Yishu's body can handle it, but her waist can't take it.

So after returning to Yanjing, he took good care of his health while devoting himself to the post-production of "The Reader".

The days that followed were much more boring. Day after day, I participated in the post-dubbing, editing, and production of the film. From time to time, I called Huo Wenxi to learn about Pioneer VCD's current sales, production, and copyright issues.

Until the end of December.

Qiu Fusheng came to Yenching from Taiwan, preparing to submit a copy of "Central Station" to register for the Berlin International Film Festival together with people from the Beijing Film Studio.

In addition to this matter, there was another reason why he came to Yanjing this time, that was that the filming of "To Live" was completed, and he came to hold a wrap-up party for the crew.

That’s right, "To Live" was a project invested by Qiu Fusheng’s film company. Originally, Zhang Yimou had not thought of asking Qiu Fusheng to invest, but unfortunately, his reputation in the mainland has not been high in recent years.

Even though Gong Li won the Best Actress Award in August for "Qiu Ju Goes to Court" and Zhang Yimou himself won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Picture, many people inside and outside the circle have criticized his work for excessively belittling China and being pro-Western.

The movie "To Live" itself is full of topics, and the Xi'an Film Studio was not very optimistic about this movie. With no other choice, Zhang Yimou could only approach Qiu Fusheng again.

Inside a large foreign-related hotel.

A wrap-up party was held in the private room, and the main creative staff started chatting while eating and drinking. Soon they started talking about the movie, and Li Yishu asked knowingly, "Which film festival is Director Zhang going to send "To Live" to?"

"Cannes!"

Zhang Yimou said with a firm look: "I have long planned to send "To Live" to the Cannes International Film Festival."

Hearing this, Li Yishu smiled and said, "Then I wish Director Zhang a great success at the Cannes Film Festival."

He knew that Zhang Yimou would be treated like a black carp in Cannes for several years, until he came to his senses and stopped participating in Cannes, and went to Berlin and Venice to win awards.

Gong Li, who was sitting on the right, suddenly said, "Yishu, isn't the film Nobody that you and Zhang Manyu collaborated on also going to the Cannes Film Festival?"

"Oh, yes."

Li Yishu nodded with a smile: "This time I will compete with Director Zhang again. I hope we can both get what we want this time."

His psychological expectation is to win Zhang Manyu a Cannes Best Actress award, or a Cannes Best Director award.

He didn't expect or think about winning a big prize.

Zhang Yimou was surprised and asked, "Isn't Director Li going to attend the Berlin Film Festival?"

"Haha, what a plan! Director Li is going to compete in the three major European film festivals this time!"

Qiu Fusheng knew the situation and said with a smile, "Director Li has submitted works for the Berlin Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, and Venice Film Festival, the three major European film festivals next year in 1994!"

this! !

Zhang Yimou was extremely surprised. He only knew that Li Yishu and Gong Li had collaborated on a movie "Central Station", but he didn't expect that the other party had made three movies in total and directly monopolized the three major European film festivals next year.

The other main creators of "To Live" around were also shocked!

This is too exaggerated. Other directors only attend one film festival a year, and two at most is considered good enough.

Unexpectedly, Li Yishu directly filmed three movies and prepared to participate in the three major film festivals.

"Director Li, you are going to shine in Europe."

Ge You showed his signature smile and said, "Then I wish Director Li a successful start in Europe and a triple success!"

Guo Tao, who plays Chunsheng in To Live, said with a smile: "Haha, Brother Ge, Director Li's performance is not just one shot and three hits, but three shots and three hits!"

"Yes, yes, three runs and three shots!"

Ge You nodded repeatedly and said, "Director Li, you have set a record, right?"

With three films participating in the three major European film festivals in one year, based on Lee Yi-su's current achievements, it will be no problem for her to be nominated. It just depends on whether she can win an award.

"It doesn't matter whether it's recorded or not, I just hope to win the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival."

Li Yishu said with a smile, "As long as I can win the Golden Bear Award next year and complete the three major awards, I will be satisfied. Director Zhang should have the same idea, right? Now you only need one Cannes Film Festival to achieve the European three-award Grand Slam."

"Yes, it would be best if we could get it."

Zhang Yimou smiled. He definitely hoped to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

"Then I wish Director Zhang to complete the Grand Slam as soon as possible!"

"Director Li, same here!"

The meal took over an hour.

After dinner, Qiu Fusheng suggested going out to find a place to play.

Zhang Yimou shook his head and refused. He was in a hurry to go back to work on the post-production of "To Live". There were only less than four months left before the registration period for next year's Cannes Film Festival.

Four months may seem like a long time, but it may not be enough for Zhang Yimou. He is the epitome of slow work and fine results. With such a short time, he has to work overtime to catch up.

"I'm not going either, Mr. Qiu. I'm away filming for a few months and I can't stay at home any longer."

Ge You also declined tactfully.

Seeing that the director and the leading actor were not going, Qiu Fusheng hurriedly said, "Director Li, you have to go. I heard that Cui Jian will be singing at a bar in Sanlitun today."

Originally, Li Yishu had no interest in this. There really wasn't much to do in the entertainment venues in the mainland. But when Qiu Fusheng mentioned Cui Jian, he couldn't help but look at Gong Li: "Are you going, Sister Gong Li?"

"Let's go and have some fun?" Gong Li noticed that Li Yishu was a little interested, so she nodded and agreed with a smile.

"Okay, let's go out and have some fun! It's my treat!"

Qiu Fusheng waved his hand and asked the hotel to arrange several cars to take a group of people straight to the Sanlitun bar.

Soon we arrived at a bar called Hidden Tree Bar.

Looking at this bar, Li Yishu was filled with emotion. In his previous life, after he was suspended from his job at Emei Film Studio, he came to Beijing to become a migrant worker, and the place he often went to was the bar in Sanlitun.

The reason why she came here often was that many celebrities and bigwigs in the circle liked to drink and chat in Sanlitun at that time, and Li Yishu also came here with the intention of getting acquainted with these people.

Although he didn't get to know those big guys in the end, Li Yishu did make a lot of friends here, which helped him a lot in his future career in the online circle.

Looking back now, Li Yishu is no longer the migrant worker from Beijing after coming to Sanlitun.

After half an hour.

At around 8:30, Cui Jian came on stage and sang a rock song called "New Long March". The dynamic music brought Li Yishu back to her wonderful college days.

"I've heard of it, but I've never seen it before..."

The bustling bar, noisy sounds, and intense rock and roll all stimulated the young men and women at the scene.

Li Yishu hummed a tune, and Gong Li beside her smiled and said, "Do you like to listen to Cui Jian too?"

"Not bad. He was the most popular one when we were in college."

Li Yishu smiled. Among domestic rock singers, he only likes Cui Jian and the later Wang Banbi. Other rock singers are a bit too niche, including Dou Wei.

The songs in Dou Wei's album "Black Dream" are all very good, but I don't know if it's because of his singing style, but Lee Yi-su doesn't like it very much. It doesn't have the auditory impact that "Shame" brought to him at all.

"I know him quite well, how about introducing him to you?"

"never mind."

Li Yishu shook his head. He only liked listening to songs and didn’t like chasing stars. If he did, he would only chase beautiful female stars!

Suddenly, a thin girl with a flower basket ran over and raised a plastic rose with a smile: "Boss, do you want to buy a rose for the beautiful lady next to you?"

Such a young Mr. Zhou~
Looking at the familiar face, Li Yishu nodded playfully: "How much?"

Zhou Xun quickly said, "10 yuan!"

Li Yishu took out her wallet, took out a 10-yuan note and handed it to the other party.

"thank you boss!"

The little girl thanked him cheerfully, handed over the plastic rose, and then said with a smile: "I wish you two will be in love and happy together."

　Thank you Sheriff Blue Cat for the reward, thank you all for your monthly ticket support, thank you everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)