Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 301-312 [The Beijing Circle Takes Shape]

"Director Li, this 1154 is the private room for our Haima Film and Television creative team. We take half a day every week to get together."

Wang Shuo walked in front, talking as he led Li Yishu to the fourth floor of the hotel.

Soon they arrived at Suite 1154. Wang Shuo knocked on the door, and after a while it was opened from the inside, and a middle-aged man appeared.

He was wearing black-framed glasses. When he saw Li Yishu, he immediately extended his hand enthusiastically: "Director Li, I'm Su Tong, nice to meet you."

Wang Shuo introduced: "Raise the Red Lantern, directed by Zhang Yimou, is adapted from Lao Su's work Wives and Concubines."

"Hello, Mr. Su!"

Upon hearing that the person was the author of "Wives and Concubines", Li Yishu smiled and shook hands with the other person.

"Director Li is too polite. Just call me Lao Su."

"Haha, then I'll call you Lao Su."

"no problem!"

The movement at the door also attracted the attention of the people inside, and a group of people walked over.

Li Yishu looked around and didn't recognize most of the people except for a few familiar faces. But she thought that they must be well-known writers or screenwriters of this era.

"Director Li, let me introduce you. This is Liu Zhenyun, the author of "Tower Shop", "A Pile of Chicken Feathers", "Revisiting 1942"..."

"This is Su Lei..."

"This is Mo Yan..."

There were more than a dozen people in total, and Wang Shuo introduced them to Li Yishu one by one.

Except for Mo Yan and Liu Zhenyun, Li Yishu had never seen most of the other people.

However, the works of these people were very popular in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

Moreover, adapting novels into movies is very popular these days. Whether it is Zhang Yimou or Chen Kaige, almost all of their works are adapted from novels, and those that rely solely on screenwriters are very rare.

Li Yishu values ​​this group of people very much. Currently, the company is still lacking in screenwriters. If this group of people can be won over, there will be no worries about scripts in the future. Therefore, he will not come here in person today.

After the group of people introduced themselves to each other, they all came to the living room and sat down.

This hotel suite had obviously been rearranged. Apart from a large coffee table in the middle of the living room, there were several large sofas.

Writers are all heavy smokers. As soon as Li Yishu came in, the house was filled with smoke. After getting to know each other, they all lit up cigarettes and started chatting.

Li Yishu rarely smokes, but in this environment and atmosphere, he couldn't help but light up a cigarette and started chatting with this group of writers.

Li Yishu had attended many such gatherings in his previous life. They were nothing more than bragging and flattery. He was very familiar with this. A group of middle-aged men with some achievements got together, drinking, smoking and chatting, all for the sake of bragging.

"Director Li, I heard that your novel about pure love, Love Letter, sold very well in Japan. Is that true? Do you have any idea of ​​writing a new book?"

"I write novels for fun, but you know what, those Japanese women love it. I remember that I sold more than 500 million copies last year."

"Director Li has made movies in Hollywood. What are the differences between screenwriters in the United States and those in China?"

"The gap is huge. In Hollywood, screenwriters are king. If they are not satisfied with their salary, they will march in protest. If they are a little unhappy, they will go on strike. Once they go on strike, the entire Hollywood crew will be paralyzed."

"..."

Li Yishu was drinking and smoking, and was having a great time chatting with this group of middle-aged greasy men.

Although he looks young now, he is much older mentally. When he goes out, he is surrounded by the halo and has to maintain the image of a big director. He can't brag like he does now.

Li Yishu put his arm around Mo Yan's shoulders and said, "Old Mo, I've read your novel Red Sorghum. It's really well written. Keep going. I believe you will win the Nobel Prize in Literature in the future!"

Mo Yan looked at Li Yishu in surprise: "Director Li is so confident that I can win the Nobel Prize in Literature?"

"Of course you can. Keep going."

Li Yishu patted his shoulder with a smile. At that moment, Mo Yan was still a little fat boy with long hair, and he did not have the temperament of a big boss in the future.

Others started to make a noise: "Director Li, Lao Mo can win the Nobel Prize, what about us?"

"Haha, you won't have this opportunity. You should work hard on your novels and scripts. The domestic film and television drama market will be booming in the future. The Film Bureau will soon introduce ten foreign films. By then, these old-fashioned films will basically have no room to survive..."

At this point, Li Yishu looked at everyone and said, "I have something to tell you. Don't spread it around!"

Wang Shuo quickly said, "Don't worry Director Li, we in the Seahorse Creative Group are not talkative people."

"Haha, of course I believe you all, but this matter has not been announced yet, so I can't say anything. I will tell you privately."

"By the end of this year, the authorities are expected to liberalize TV drama production and separate production and broadcasting. To put it simply, TV stations will no longer produce their own TV dramas, but will purchase them instead."

Seeing many people looking thoughtful, Li Yishu said with a smile:

"If you are interested in this business, you might as well give it a try. You did a great job on "The Story of the Editorial Department" and "Seahorse Dance Hall". When the production and broadcasting are separated, if you make a good TV series, you can sell it to major TV stations across the country as long as you have connections."

The future TV drama market is very vast. Not counting the period after the millennium, in the mid-to-late 90s alone, there were hundreds of TV dramas produced domestically every year.

By the millennium, this number had doubled. During the peak period, there were thousands of TV dramas produced every year. Most of them could not be broadcast nationwide on satellite channels, but they still had impressive ratings on local TV stations.

The most classic one is "Foreign Daughter-in-law Local Son-in-law". This Guangdong TV series has been filmed for more than ten years. The ratings in Guangdong and Guangxi are amazing, but outside of Guangdong and Guangxi, not many viewers have watched it.

Li Yishu certainly cannot monopolize such a huge market, and he doesn't like to eat alone because it's easy for others to target him.

The people in the room are all top domestic writers. Many of their works are long novels, which naturally have an audience base when adapted into TV series.

Whether this group of people start their own company or join his company in the future, when they lack the first pot of capital and a film and television crew, they will definitely think of looking for Li Yishu to cooperate with them.

"Thank you Director Li for revealing such a great business opportunity to us!"

Wang Shuo's eyes lit up. He was one of the first to enter the film and television industry and also founded his own company last year. Now he heard that the production and broadcasting would be separated by the end of the year, which was a great thing.

"Yes, Director Li, you have launched a big satellite!"

"Should I invest in a TV series now, and then find some connections to sell it to a TV station?"

"If the Yanjing TV station can't be sold, then the local TV stations will definitely be sold. There are so many provinces and cities in the country, and if a TV station is sold for hundreds of thousands, it can be sold for millions."

"Director Li, this is giving us a chance to make a fortune."

"..."

Anyone who is smart can tell how great the commercial value of this is.

Although the penetration rate of televisions has not yet increased, it does not mean that TV stations no longer need to broadcast TV dramas.

The purpose of TV stations broadcasting TV dramas is to attract audiences and then advertisers. The advertisers of local TV stations are mostly local companies, and they spend a lot of money to buy advertisements.

After all, business is still easy to do these days. In the eyes of the audience, if the advertisements are broadcast on TV, they must be good products. It is not like the rise of the Internet era, when the concept of brand began to solidify in the minds of ordinary people. "Well, there is no big business opportunity, I just want to tell you in advance. Anyway, it will be announced in a few months."

Li Yishu waved his hand and said with a smile: "If you want to give it a try, you can provide the script and my company will provide the funds and technology. If you want to start a film and television company together, that's no problem. If there is anything you can't handle, let Brother Wang know and I will definitely help you if I can!"

After these words were spoken, a few people who were still hesitant immediately expressed their willingness to give it a try!

There were more than a dozen people at the scene, almost all of whom were writers and had written novels. Mo Yan became famous with Red Sorghum, and his novel was reprinted and sold again and again. Wang Shuo also had many works adapted into movies and TV series.

Who doesn’t want their work to be adapted?

This is just like future online writers, who all desire to have their works adapted into film and television works, not only to make money, but also to increase their own fame. The direct consequence of fame is to maximize the value of their personal works.

At noon, a group of people had a big meal in the hotel. Li Yishu avoided the toasts by saying that he had something to do in the afternoon.

Arriving at the hotel entrance, Wang Shuo was a little drunk. He patted his chest and promised, "Director Li, I'll leave this to Brother Wang. I'll talk to those guys later."

"Brother Wang, I'll leave it to you. If anyone is interested, please contact you directly and then contact Manager Yong directly. I have to go to Zhuozhou in two days."

"Okay, keep it on me!"

After chatting with Wang Shuo for a few more sentences, Li Yishu turned around and got into the car. He had been drinking and the driver was arranged by the hotel.

Leaning on the back seat, Li Yishu narrowed his eyes slightly. The tone for the future of the company has been set. No matter whether these people want to set up their own business in the future or join him, they still need his support.

As any industry develops, various circles will emerge sooner or later.

In today's Beijing circle, it is his right to organize the group.

Starting with Wang Shuo and others, a group of people in the Yanjing literary and art circle were gradually recruited into this circle, whether they were actors, screenwriters, singers, directors, or behind the scenes.

Li Yishu touched his chin and recalled an online movie industry club that he often visited in his previous life.

Maybe he could also set up a club in advance.

The Chang'an Club, which became famous in the future, is still nowhere to be seen, but this club has indeed provided Tang Seng's wife with great business opportunities.

In this era where anyone can do anything, if he wants to become a big shot in the industry, he really has to start early, otherwise he will have no chance in the future.

mid-July.

Zhuozhou Film and Television Base.

This place was originally built by CCTV in order to film "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". It is a Han Dynasty imitation building complex in Zhuozhou. The materials used are exquisite and the overall style is realistic.

But perhaps due to budget issues, the construction is not very grand.

Li Yishu accompanied Gong Li in Yanjing for two days, and then brought a truck here.

He came to visit the crew of "Legend of the Han Palace".

This is not the first time that Li Yishu has come to Zhuozhou Film and Television Base. The last time she came was last year when she came to watch the crew of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but she was not in the city at that time.

After entering the Three Kingdoms City, Li Yishu discovered that there were quite a lot of people coming and going, and gradually the prototype of the future film and television city was taking shape.

The crew of "Legend of the Han Palace".

"Director Li!"

Chen Hong, who received the call, jumped out to greet him.

"Did I disturb your filming?"

Li Yishu said as she looked at Chen Hong.

She was wearing Hanfu, her hair was tied up high, and she had two beautiful earrings that made her oval face look rounder and smoother. At first glance, she looked a bit like Chang'e in the later TV series "The Legend of the White Snake".

Chen Hong shook her head: "No, it's time to rest now."

"Come on, don't stay outside. You're sweating all over."

It is a hot summer day now, and even though Chen Hong is wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, she is still sweating profusely due to the heat.

Hearing Li Yishu's words, she walked in front with a smile and led the way.

After entering the crew's rest room, Li Yishu saw a group of people sitting there, enjoying the fans, and they were all sweating profusely.

Director Chen Jialin was the first to rush over when he saw the newcomer: "Director Li, why didn't you let me know in advance that you were coming? I could have arranged for someone to pick you up."

"No, I just came to take a look."

Li Yishu glanced inside the room and saw several large electric fans blowing there.

Less than a minute after he came in, his head started sweating. You can imagine how hot it was.

"Director Chen, there's no air conditioning in the film and television city?"

"No, it would be nice if there was air conditioning."

Chen Jialin said helplessly: "It's too hot now. We can only shoot in the morning, evening and night. We can't go out at noon."

"I'll call and ask someone to send over some air conditioners, but will the power lines in the film and television city hold up?"

Today's circuits are different from those of later times. If the power is used too much, the fuse will burn out immediately.

Chen Jialin said: "There's no problem with the wiring. The wires at the film and television city have all been relocated here."

When they heard that air conditioners were going to be installed, the actors who gathered around showed their delight.

Filming a costume drama in July is the most torturous. Not only do the actors have to wear long-sleeved costumes, but they also have to film in a stuffy room. It feels like being in a big oven.

"Okay, I'll have someone deliver it from Yanjing. Director Chen, if there's a situation like this next time, just buy it in the name of the crew. I'm not Huang Shiren. Don't get a heat stroke when filming in such hot weather."

Zhuozhou is only about 70 kilometers away from Yanjing. Including the time to buy air conditioning, more than two hours is enough.

Li Yishu called Yongmei directly and asked her to contact someone to purchase ten air conditioners immediately and bring an installation technician to the Zhuozhou Film and Television Base.

After finishing the call, looking at Chen Baoguo and others sweating profusely, Li Yishu also sighed that actors nowadays are still very dedicated.

They were able to persist in filming even in such a hot day, unlike those people who came later who demanded RVs for every film and would not film without them.

"By the way, Director Chen, I bought some soda and popsicles for everyone to cool down. Please arrange for someone to unload the goods from the truck outside."

"Okay Director Li."

Chen Jialin immediately asked the site staff to take people outside to unload the goods.

(End of this chapter)