Huayu: Director started with art films

mid-July.

The filming of the Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff in Inner Mongolia has been completed.

Li Yishu treated the entire crew to a big meal, and the next day he and Han Sanping set off for Hengdian.

Li Jun and Wang Fulin will later take the train to Hengdian with the crew's props, costumes and members of the cavalry unit.

On the large lake near Hengdian Film and Television City, water forts stand on the lakeside, and on the dock next to the water forts, dozens of warships are connected in rows with iron chains.

Thousands of extras who are proficient in water are training on the boat wearing armor.

"How's it going, Director Li!"

Director Xie Jin laughed and said, "Our warship is pretty good, isn't it?!"

"Not bad, it looks good. I think the effect will be very good when we officially shoot it!"

Li Yishu stood on the shore, looking at the three-story-high warships on the lake and the extras practicing on them. Concerned about safety issues, he asked, "How stable are these warships?"

Xie Jin said, "Don't worry, Director Li, there will be absolutely no problem with the quality. These warships were all built by the shipyard, and then professional masters were sent to our side to install them one by one."

Han Sanping asked, "Director Xie, is there any problem with the large warship?"

The naval battle in the Battle of Red Cliffs was not filmed in one area. The artificial lake dug in Hengdian was mainly used to shoot the ship charge scenes.

Because the wooden boat is not large in size and serves as a speedboat, in order to avoid extras falling off the boat during the collision, the filming was arranged in an artificial lake. In this way, we only need to arrange a rescue team in advance and there is no need to worry about any major problems.

As for the eight specially built large warships that were more than ten stories high, the water in the artificial lake was too shallow and the area was small, making them unsuitable for deployment.

Of course, the most important reason is that such large warships cannot be transported to Hengdian.

The warship adopted the design of "Zheng He's Treasure Ship". Its keel was nearly 100 meters long and its displacement reached nearly 10,000 tons. It could only be transported after it was built in the shipyard and lowered into the river.

Therefore, these eight large warships are currently docked at a pier near Wuhan. Every day, a large number of citizens go to watch, which can be regarded as an advance warm-up for the movie "Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms".

"Director Han, no problem!"

Xie Jin shook his head and said, "Now the treasure ships are all docked at the Wuhan dock. I heard from the people who stayed there that there are citizens going there to take pictures every day."

Hearing this, Li Yishu asked with a smile, "Did anyone criticize it?"

Xie Jin understood what Li Yishu meant and said with a smile, "There are definitely some criticisms. A history professor at Tsinghua University must have seen our warships in the newspaper and publicly criticized us for not respecting history. There were no such large warships in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He also accused us of using Ming Dynasty ships to impersonate the Eastern Han Dynasty."

Anyone who knows something about Zheng He's treasure ships or the maritime history of the Ming Dynasty can probably see the design origins of those large warships.

Li Yishu laughed and said, "Let them criticize as they please. We are making movies, not studying history. What's more, we are filming The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. If those experts and professors want to criticize, they should criticize Luo Guanzhong first."

Actually, what Lee Yi-shu was filming was "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" rather than the history of the Three Kingdoms. If she really wanted to film it according to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Zhao Yun would not have gone in and out seven times. That would have been Wen Yang's job!

"That being said, I still need to talk about it when I interview a few reporters." Han Sanping is an official after all. The director can make improvements for the sake of art, but as the director of the Beijing Film Studio, he cannot let others make fun of him.

"Then I'll leave this to Director Xie." Li Yishu looked at Xie Jin with a smile, "It just so happens that the Red Cliff drama is about to start filming, so we can invite some reporters and media to come over to liven things up, and Director Xie can help say a few words."

Xie Jin looked at him in surprise: "The director is not going to participate?"

"I'm afraid it's too late."

Li Yishu said: "This year's Locarno Film Festival will be held on August 8th, for a period of ten days. I have to go to the opening ceremony."

"You have a new movie?"

"Yes, it was a movie I shot at the end of last year. I sent it to the Locarno Film Festival at the end of last month. A few days ago, I heard that it had been shortlisted."

Li Yishu laughed and said, "Someone told me that the Locarno Film Festival is the fourth largest film festival in Europe. Now that I have won three awards at Berlin, Cannes and Venice, I must win the Golden Leopard Award at this fourth largest film festival."

Hearing this, Xie Jin said in admiration: "You young people are still full of energy. For more than a month, I have been racking my brains for the Battle of Red Cliffs, traveling back and forth from Hengdian to Wuhan."

If you want to shoot water battle scenes that are not boring and are safe, you must train in advance.

So during the one and a half months that Li Yishu, Li Jun and Wang Fulin were filming in Inner Mongolia, Xie Jin did not slack off, but went back and forth between the two places to train those extras who were proficient in water, so that they could not only stand steadily while the boat was moving, but also perform difficult movements.

In addition, Xie Jin also had to practice the two sides' warships charging, handing over, and fighting each other.

These must all be rehearsed in advance.

There are no very professional action specials in the mainland nowadays, and since they are on a warship, all kinds of martial arts moves must be designed in advance by someone.

Only in this way can we rehearse ancient naval battles that are both close to reality.

"It's because of you, Director Xie, Director Li, and Director Wang, that I feel safe and confident going to Europe. Otherwise, with such a huge investment, I wouldn't dare to slack off."

Li Yishu sighed, he was very glad that he asked Han Sanping for help to recruit these great directors.

Perhaps these people are not well-known in later generations, but they are all leaders of this era. Although they cannot compare with the fifth-generation directors such as Zhang Yimou in terms of awards, their directing experience is much richer than Zhang Yimou and others.

Director Xie Jin has made feature films, main theme films, and war films. His classic works such as "The Shepherd", "The Garland under the Mountain", and "Furong Town" are all well-known to the public.

Not to mention director Wang Fulin, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was enough to make him famous.

Director Li Jun is the chief director of "The Decisive Battle".

"Bloody Battle of Taierzhuang" directed by Yang Guangyuan.

Although Shen Haofang is not very famous, he has participated in many movies and TV series on ancient war themes. He has in-depth research on ancient wars and even directed the CCTV drama "The Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty" in the late 90s.

Each of them is an outstanding film and television director in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Bringing them together and coordinating them with Lee Yi-su, "Red Cliff" can become a landmark film.

It is no exaggeration to say that it has ushered in the era of domestic blockbusters.

Xie Jin smiled and said, "Director, you can go to Europe to bring glory to China without any worries. We old guys will stay in China to look after the crew for you."

"Director Xie, you are not old!" Li Yishu said with a laugh, "The Battle of Red Cliffs was all arranged and coordinated by you."

Xie Jin has studied water warfare for a year. Although he may not be able to compare with Li Yishu, a reborn person with rich film experience, in terms of thinking, he is definitely not comparable to the current Li Yishu in terms of rigor.

"Yes, Director Xie." Han Sanping also laughed and said, "The crew still needs you to complete the Battle of Red Cliffs before November."

Water battle scenes, whether it is the artificial lake in Hengdian or the large-scale water battle scenes to be filmed on the Yangtze River in the future, are best shot in summer and autumn, as winter and spring are too cold.

The actors can handle it, but the extras can't. And in order to avoid someone falling into the water and catching a cold, it is better to finish filming in summer or autumn.

"Haha!" Xie Jin said with a smile on his face: "Okay, then I, the old Lian Po, will play a warm-up role again."

That afternoon.

After inspecting the artificial lake, Li Yishu and Han Sanping went to the Han Palace. Everything that needed to be decorated in the palace had been completed.

The crew's props have also been arranged.

Now we are waiting to shoot the next indoor scenes, which include Cao Cao's triumphant return from the Eastern Expedition to the Wuhuan, Zhuge Liang's debate with the scholars, and Sun Quan drawing his sword to chop the wooden table.

Hengdian Film and Television City, a huge ancient parade ground on the outskirts of the city.

At this time, this place had already been transformed into an ancient battlefield, and military camps and positions had been deployed.

Inside the tent.

Li Yishu met the main actors.

After exchanging pleasantries with everyone, Li Yishu looked at Hua Zai, whose skin was a little darker, and said, "Hua Zai, are you still getting used to it?"

Hua Zai smiled and said, "It's great, Director Li. The scenery here is nice, and I can train with everyone. I'm quite adaptable."

"Well, act well. Your role as Zhao Yun is very important. You need to perform many scenes in person."

"Don't worry, Director Li. I'm now very good at riding horses. The teacher who taught us horse riding said that I'm a fast learner."

"Haha, you still have to be careful. If you get hurt, the crew will have to delay a lot of time. The actor who played Zhang Liao broke his leg and is still receiving treatment in Yanjing."

"You have to be careful then."

"..."

After chatting with Andy, Li Yishu went to see Leon Lai again. He played the role of Zhou Yu in this movie. The image of the elegant and easy-going Zhou Yu was very suitable for Leon Lai.

Speaking of which, twenty years later, many young people felt that Leon Lai was not worthy of being one of the Four Heavenly Kings. He was not good at acting, singing, or looking handsome. Later, he disappeared from the circle.

In fact, Leon Lai is the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings. His acting skills are better than Zhang Xueyou of this period, and his singing is better than Andy Lau of this period.

At the same time, he also actively participated in charity work. In 1992, Leon Lai donated all the 1500 million yuan he earned from four Yanjing concerts.

It can be said to be a benchmark for artists.

"I love Dawn" is not just a joke!

Li Yishu has also done some charity work in recent years, but none of them have as much influence as Leon Lai's.

Li Yishu was reluctant to donate money, not because she was reluctant, but because of a relationship with a certain cross society.

Now that he has met Dawn, he has a different idea. Maybe he can set up his own charity?
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Yiwu Airport.

Li Yishu and her mother Zhao Xue, who came from Sichuan, met Qingxia and her son at the airport lobby. Huang's mother and Lin's mother also accompanied them.

They didn't stay at the airport for long. Regardless of whether Li Yishu would be recognized, Qingxia's star face was still very dazzling even with sunglasses on.

On the plane, Qingxia deliberately sat apart from Huang's mother and Lin's mother to avoid people noticing her relationship with the eldest son Li Bangguo.

At that time, the population of JH City was not as large as it is later, only two to three million people, but because Yiwu was nearby, a large number of businessmen had begun to settle here.

Li Yishu drove his family to a detached house he bought in Jinhua.

The building is only three stories high, but it has all the necessary facilities, including flush toilets, showers, etc., all brand new. There is also a large yard at the door with some flowers and plants planted.

When they arrived at the place, Li Yishu drove the car into the yard, and everyone got out of the car. At first, they felt that the yard and the small building were very nice.

Only the mother Zhao Xue said unhappily, "Why live in Jinhua? It would be better to let Qingxia live in Sichuan!"

"Mom!" Li Yishu said with a smile, "It's not like we won't go to Sichuan and Shu to live. Qingxia will stay in the mainland for the next six months. Once we settle down here, we will go to Sichuan and Shu and visit our hometown."

"Yes, Mom."

Qingxia smiled and said, "I will not be going back to Taiwan for the New Year this year. My father will come to the mainland by then, and our family will celebrate the New Year in the mainland."

"Okay, okay!" Zhao Xue was overjoyed when she heard that: "Then we have to go to Sichuan to celebrate the New Year this year."

"I'm afraid it's not possible to celebrate the New Year in Sichuan and Shu."

Li Yishu shook her head: "The crew will not have a holiday for the New Year this year, and the CCTV Spring Festival Gala program team has already agreed with the crew that they will send someone to visit the crew on the eve of the New Year."

Zhao Xue was surprised and asked, "Is he going to visit your crew during the Spring Festival Gala?"

Li Yishu nodded and said, "Yes, there is nothing better than the Spring Festival Gala to promote our film."

Nowadays, the best publicity channel is CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala.

Although it has not yet reached the point where one can become famous overnight by appearing on the Spring Festival Gala, it is almost there.

In 1987, Fei Xiang became famous across the country with his song "A Fire in Winter" and became the most popular singer at that time.

The publicity effect is much stronger than it will be thirty years later.

Li Yishu has already communicated with the CCTV Spring Festival Gala program team. On the eve of the New Year, they will send people to the crew to record a Three Kingdoms New Year greetings group. At the same time, they will also broadcast a three-minute promotional video of "Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms" on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala program.

The promotional video model is not popular in China today, mainly because there is no channel for broadcasting it. Now that CCTV has agreed to broadcast the promotional video on the Spring Festival Gala, one can imagine how good the publicity effect will be.

Originally, the Spring Festival Gala program team was not very willing to broadcast any promotional videos. Including the three countries' New Year greetings groups, it would take almost five minutes in total.

For a national live broadcast program that is accurate to the second, five minutes is really precious.

But since the order has been given from above, not to mention Zhang Xiaohai, the director of the Spring Festival Gala program, even the director of CCTV has to do it.

This big production with a budget of 5 million RMB is, at best, related to the overseas expansion of Chinese films and future domestic blockbuster plans.

To put it in a broader sense, it is to promote Chinese culture and image.

Since the Hollywood movie "The Fugitive" was introduced last year, the mainland film market has been almost completely defeated. (End of this chapter)