Huayu: Director started with art films

"So, the chances of Chinese filmmakers winning awards at the three major film festivals will become increasingly slim in the future?"

Gong Li asked back.

"You can say that." Li Yishu nodded. This was not just his random guess, but was proven by facts.

In the 80s and 90s, the three major European film festivals frequently awarded major awards to Chinese filmmakers. The consequence was that from this year until the millennium, a full four or five years, apart from Zhang Yimou's "Not One Less", only Li An's "Sense and Sensibility" won the Berlin Golden Bear Award.

But Li An has already won this award in advance this year.

After the millennium, the probability of Chinese films winning awards has become much less. Excluding the films shot by Li An in the United States, the only domestic films that seem to have won the Berlin and Venice awards are "Still Life", "Tuya's Marriage" and "Black Coal, Thin Ice".

Not to mention Cannes, except for Chen Kai's Palme d'Or, no one else has ever won it.

Now that Li Yishu has snatched the Cannes Palme d'Or, Chen Kai will no longer have this unique honor and will definitely be less famous than him in the future.

"It seems I have to make more commercial films in the future."

After being influenced by Lee Yi-seok in the past two years, Gong Li’s filter for the Big Three European awards has gradually faded. Knowing that she can no longer win awards as frequently as in previous years, she has also lost the desire to continue making art films.

“It’s not that easy to make a commercial film.”

Li Yishu said with emotion: "In recent years, the mainland film market has been in a sluggish state, not to mention Hong Kong. I went to Hong Kong before coming to Cannes this time, and the situation there is also very bad. Taiwan, an important ticket base, has gradually begun to lean towards Hollywood films."

"Then why are you still filming "Red Cliff"? " Gong Li looked at him in surprise.

"I'm different."

Li Yishu smiled and said, "The main source of tickets for my movie is in Japan. Japan is very interested in movies and TV series about the Three Kingdoms. Last year, I recommended CCTV's Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Japanese TV stations. They spent more than 20 million US dollars to buy the broadcast and video tape rights of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms TV series in Japan, which covered all the costs for CCTV."

"Yes, you are the best!"

"That's right!" Li Yishu said with a smile: "Sister Gong Li, I am confident that this "Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms" will achieve a box office of no less than 1 million US dollars in Japan, and at least 3 million US dollars worldwide."

Gong Li looked at the confident Li Yishu, and while she felt deeply moved, she also felt a little proud.

She witnessed Lee Ye-su's rise from a cash-strapped young director to the godfather of Asian cinema.

"Of course you can!" Gong Li encouraged, and suddenly asked: "Do you want me to accompany you to Paris tomorrow?"

"Are you free? Don't you need to discuss copyright with Director Zhang?"

"For this award, the copyright price is probably difficult to negotiate, not to mention that it doesn't matter whether I'm here or not."

"Okay, then I'll tell Sophie Marceau tomorrow and go shopping for a dress with you tomorrow morning."

After chatting for a while, Li Yishu said, "It's getting late. Let's go back. Director Zhang and the others will probably be there very late."

After saying that, he took Gong Li's hand and walked towards the hotel.

Early the next morning.

Li Yishu called Sophie Marceau and told her that he would attend the premiere of her film "Brave Heart" in France in the afternoon.

At the same time, someone booked a flight to Paris in the afternoon.

Sophie Marceau was naturally very happy about this.

Today, Li Yishu's popularity is greatest in Asia, or in East Asia, followed by Europe and then North America.

The title of Asia's Godfather is not in vain, and it is largely due to Lee Yi-su's achievements in the three major European film festivals. She is the fourth in the world to win the triple gold Grand Slam, the first in Asia, and the youngest Grand Slam winner.

Having such a big director attend the premiere, who was invited by Sophie Marceau, will also allow her to stand out in the crew.

In the afternoon, Li Yishu took Gong Li and two group staff members who were fluent in French and flew to Paris.

This was Lee Yi-su's first time in Paris, and he felt a little breathless.

Just because the smell of Paris is too strong!
It was already early summer and the weather was slowly getting hotter. As soon as she stepped out of the Paris airport, Li Yishu could smell a faint smell of urine.

It's not that Lee Yi-su is deliberately slandering Paris, it's the truth. He had read the news online before, saying that Paris was full of feces and garbage, and he didn't quite believe it. But after coming there in person, he found out that it was true.

The reason is simple: people urinate and defecate anywhere.

The city of Paris is too old, and because the city government does not pay much attention to this area, there are very few public toilets. When people have urgent needs, many people just solve them in the flower beds or simply find a telephone pole.

Gong Li frowned: "Why does it smell bad?"

“Maybe this is the relaxation of Paris?”

"Relaxation?"

"Haha, no, I thought of a joke."

Thinking of the later days on the Internet when someone was advocating the Parisian relaxation feeling, Li Yishu couldn't help laughing out loud. Could it be that the anal sphincter was relaxing?
Seeing him suddenly laugh out loud, Gong Li was confused, and the two group staff members beside her were also puzzled.

"You can ask Xiao Wang, he often goes to France on business trips."

Li Yishu pointed at Xiao Wang beside him. He was the head of the French office of Art Entertainment Group. His main job was to purchase the copyrights of some French large-scale films and distribute them specifically in Southeast Asia.

French films are famous for their bold exposure, which is no less than Italian ones. After all, this is the capital of romance, with many beautiful women devoting themselves to art.

Nowadays, when Japanese short films and American Woodpecker series are not very famous, videotapes of European large-scale films are selling very well in Southeast Asia.

The bigger the scale and the prettier the heroine, the more it sells.

In fact, this is understandable. From the 19th century to the 1950s, European colonists wreaked havoc in Southeast Asia. Although they bred a group of sheepdogs, they also left behind a lot of seeds of hatred.

Who wouldn’t like to watch a movie with blonde and blue-eyed beauties performing in a large-scale manner?
Xiao Wang touched his nose and said cryptically, "Maybe...it has something to do with the lack of public toilets in Paris."

Hearing this, Gong Li was stunned for a moment, then she thought of something and was very disappointed. She originally wanted to stroll around Paris, so she went straight to the hotel with Li Yishu, got in the car arranged by the hotel.

It was not until the evening that Li Yishu took Gong Li to the Grand Theater.

The premiere of "Brave Heart" was very grand. When Lee Yi-su arrived, she found that both sides of the road were full of fans and reporters, most of whom were men. They were holding large photos of Sophie Marceau and banners in their hands.

"Sophie Marceau is really popular in France."

"Don't you say she is the Rose of France? Of course she is popular."

Under the arrangement of the staff, Li Yishu and Gong Li walked onto the red carpet and soon reached the end, where they met Sophie Marceau.

"Li, Gong, thank you for coming!"

Sophie Marceau was very happy. Li Yishu and Gong Li were both famous in France. Their presence at the event was a great honor for Sophie Marceau. "You're welcome, Sophie. We are friends."

Li Yishu smiled. He didn't rush to invite the other party to go to China to attend the Shanghai Film Festival in October. This kind of thing can't be discussed now. At least he has to wait until it's over.

At this time, Mel Gibson, the director, star and producer, came over and said, "Sophie!"

Sophie Marceau saw him coming and quickly introduced him: "Director Gibson, let me introduce you, this is Art Li, this is Li Gong."

"Hello Lee!"

Mel Gibson extended his hand enthusiastically: "I have seen your "Sixth Sense" and "Chicago", they are very interesting. I hope we can have a chance to work together in Hollywood in the future."

Li Yishu shook his hand and said, "Of course, I really liked the Mad Max series that you starred in. The chaotic apocalyptic world, violence and barbarity are still fresh in my memory."

"Wow, that was a movie from more than ten years ago. I didn't expect you to like it?"

Mel Gibson was surprised. "Mad Max" was a movie in 1979, and the last one was filmed in 1985, which is 10 years ago.

“Classic works can still make people reminisce even after more than ten years.”

Li Yishu smiled and said, "I heard Sophie talk about your new work. Although I haven't seen it yet, I feel it should be another classic!"

In fact, Li Yishu became interested in this series because of Charlize Theron's later performance in "Mad Max", so she found the old version and watched it.

Mel Gibson laughed happily and said, "Haha, you are right. This is the charm of movies. I still occasionally watch Gone with the Wind. I also believe that your Chicago will become a classic."

The flowery sedan was carried by everyone, the two people flattered each other, and Gong Li, who was wearing a dress next to them, and Sophie Marceau were taking pictures with reporters.

After chatting for a while, Mel Gibson and Sophie Marceau went to pick up the next guest, and Li Yishu took Gong Li into the cinema.

Gong Li asked: "It seems that you are very enthusiastic about Director Gibson? This is not like your style."

"It's OK. I heard he likes to flip the ball."

"Do you like squid?"

"No, I just like watching people get fired."

Gong Li looked at Li Yishu with a strange expression, but soon she was relieved. In the years she had known Li Yishu, she had heard too many strange things.

Li Yishu did not explain that squids are still rare animals now, but in another thirty years, there will be many people who like to stir-fry squids.

After half an hour.

As the red carpet ended, the main creative team expressed their thoughts on the crew’s shooting time and their outlook on the film, and finally, Brave Heart began to be screened.

The story of the movie is simple. It tells the story of the rebellion of William Wallace, a legendary hero in ancient England.

There's nothing surprising about it, and the war scenes are pretty good, except that the number of people is a little too small. In one battle, at most thousands of people were killed on both sides.

The only thing worth mentioning is probably that Sophie Marceau's look is very unique and beautiful.

The movie is 177 minutes long, nearly 3 hours in duration. The guests felt their scalps go numb when they heard the news.

Gong Li didn't expect a movie to last three hours.

Li Yishu said: "War movies are like this. If you want the audience to know the cause and effect, you must make it clear whether the war is just or the situation between the two sides. Otherwise, the movie will be a mess."

Movies like "Cleopatra", "Ben-Hur", "Saving Private Ryan" and "Pearl Harbor", whether successful or not, are almost all over 150 minutes long.

After all, for a war film, you have to tell the audience about history, and not all audiences have enough knowledge about history.

Gong Li asked: "Does your Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff also take so long to shoot?"

"That's more than that. We plan to shoot for at least 300 minutes."

"300 minutes? 5 hours!"

"Yes, but it is divided into two parts."

"That's pretty much it."

Gong Li breathed a sigh of relief. Most people cannot persist in watching a movie for five hours. No matter how exciting the movie is, they will feel a little restless.

After the nearly three-hour movie screening, the creative team came on stage again to thank everyone for their support, and then the media began interviews.

Li Yishu brought Gong Li to meet Sophie Marceau alone. He did not directly invite her to participate in the Shanghai Film Festival in October, but praised her acting skills in various ways, and then mentioned that Sophie Marceau was very popular in China.

Seeing that Sophie Marceau looked very happy, he told her about the invitation.

"No problem Lee!"

Sophie Marceau nodded and agreed without hesitation. "You may not know, but after I watched the movie Liberated Paris, I have been very interested in China. It just so happens that I have nothing to do in the second half of the year, so I will rush over to attend the Shanghai International Film Festival in October."

"Haha, Sophie, I believe your fans in China will be very happy that you can come."

Li Yishu smiled, thanked the other party, and said that she would ask someone to go to the film festival organizer in a short time, contact Sophie Marceau and send out an invitation letter.

After getting the definite answer, Li Yishu and Gong Li did not stay here for long, nor did they think about sightseeing Paris at night, but went straight back to the hotel.

The security in Paris is not very good nowadays, and the two did not bring bodyguards this time. Secondly, the stench in Paris made Gong Li suddenly lose the idea of ​​visiting this romantic city.

The next morning, one flew back to Cannes and the other flew directly back to China.

end of June.

After Li Yishu returned to China, he stayed in Yanjing for only two days before going to Hengdian Film and Television City.

After staying in Hengdian for nearly half a month, until June 6, Li Yishu led a large group to Inner Mongolia to prepare for the filming of Cao Cao's eastern expedition to Wuhuan.

Speaking of which, the actor who played Cao Cao was still Bao Guoqiang.

Originally, Li Yishu wanted to replace the role with someone else. She had previously thought of Zhang Fengyi, after all, he had performed in the film before. However, after comparing the roles, she found that Bao Guoqiang was the most suitable person to play the role.

6 month 15 day.

everything's ready.

The crew of "Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms", which has been preparing for nearly two years, has officially started filming!
Reporters from all over the country, as well as a dozen reporters specially arranged by Japan's Toho Co., Ltd., rushed to the scene to record this big production that cost 5 million yuan. (End of this chapter)