Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 373 Small Goal: 4000 Million

The main focus of "Kowloon Walled City" is the Internet, which is a promotional strategy that was decided very early on.

It’s not a popular schedule, and it’s not a popular movie, so it’s difficult to get too much media resources.

The media also needs to make a living. When they see your cast and there isn’t a single star, they will be too lazy to promote it.

Xie Miao is not a star. He is a typical example of someone who reached his peak as soon as he debuted. His first work was "The New Shaolin Five Ancestors", in which he played Jet Li's son.

Then they collaborated again in "A Letter to Dad", and he also worked with Jet Li's son.

Then there is no more.

Wang Jing wanted to sign him to continue filming, but his parents insisted that he go back to school, so he missed the opportunity.

In fact, not missing out does not necessarily mean you will achieve much, and the future of child stars is hard to predict.

The supporting characters in the movie "Kowloon Walled City" are more famous than the main characters, the director is also a newcomer, and there is no news value at all.

The biggest news point of the whole film is behind the scenes. The director of "Kowloon Walled City" is the assistant director of "Taken", and the action director is also the same person.

This is probably the only thing that interests reporters.

Therefore, there are some reports in the media, but they are not long.

The first trailer did have some effect, at least people who paid attention to it knew the action style of the film.

The edited scenes are all very explosive, just like the slogan says – punch to the flesh.

Soon, the publicity team and the Internet trolls posted the trailer to major forums, including Tieba, Mop, Tianya, Xisi Hutong, etc.

Many online places where men like to gather have seen some advertisements for "Kowloon Walled City".

Zhang Chen met Lu Yang, Xie Miao and Guo Fan who had just returned from work at the company.

"How about it?"

"I just finished an interview with Guangguang, and there's another one this afternoon..."

Once the publicity campaign is launched, it will not stop, and the main creators basically have no time to rest, not to mention that they are still newcomers, and every publicity resource is extremely precious.

"I'll say hello to Sina and ask them to arrange an interview for you~"

Zhang Chen is now the top V-lister on Sina Blog, so he still has some face.

"Thank you, senior brother."

Lu Yang always addresses Zhang Chen as "senior brother", but the same cannot be said for the other two, who can only call him "boss", as they are not from Beijing Film Academy either.

Zhang Chen turned around and asked Guo Fan, "How is it, what have you learned from being an assistant director?"

Guo Fan may be a great player in the future, but now he is still a fledgling eagle that has not yet spread its wings. The look in his eyes when he looks at Zhang Chen is full of admiration.

Hearing Zhang Chen's question, he scratched his head embarrassedly: "I learned a lot. Director Lu taught me everything. He would tell me everything he knew. I feel that I have grown very fast during this period of time."

"It's right to study hard. Although being an assistant director is tiring, it's very challenging. Every director has gone through this."

Zhang Chen encouraged him, but Lu Yang next to him said, "Guo Fan is very capable. He earned the interview this afternoon with his eloquence~"

"Oh, tell me in detail~" Zhang Chen also became interested.

Guo Fan felt even more embarrassed after hearing this: "It's nothing. The other party is also a small media. Once I told them about it, they agreed."

Lu Yang was not happy, "You really are so good. You reduced a 10-point contribution to just one point. Let me explain, Senior Brother. It's like this..."

After adjusting his words, Lu Yang said, "It's a magazine, and it's really not big. As soon as Guo Fan came in, he said to the front desk, 'I'm from Xingchen Entertainment, the production company of Taken, and I'm looking for your person in charge.'
The other party was stunned. When they heard that we were from the Taken company, they politely invited us to the reception room. Soon after, their person in charge showed up.

At this time, Guo Fan told him that we have a new movie to be released and we would like to use your resources to promote it. In return, if there is any development of the movie, we will inform you as soon as possible to ensure the timeliness of your news.

After saying that, he also took out photos of us having dinner together when we were on the set of "Taken", as well as photos with Liang Jiahui.

The person in charge of the other party immediately believed it and expressed his full cooperation. ”

"It didn't cost a penny?"

“It didn’t cost a penny.”

Zhang Chen immediately looked at Guo Fan differently, "You are really a talented guy~"

No wonder he was able to trick Wu Jing into joining the crew of "The Wandering Earth" with just his mouth and invested 6000 million yuan.

Guo Fan laughed foolishly: "It was all luck, luck~"

Zhang Chen patted his shoulder and said, "Work hard, grow up quickly, and be able to take charge of your own affairs~"

At the same time, he looked at Lu Yang and said, "You should also work hard. How about this, if the box office of Kowloon Walled City can exceed 4000 million, I will let you direct a movie in the spy universe~"

Lu Yang's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Taken 2?"

"What the hell are you thinking? A side movie."

"That's fine." Lu Yang is not picky about food at all.

Zhang Chen was talking about "The Man from Nowhere", which is considered Zhang Jin's personal work in the agent universe.

After the big cake was drawn, Zhang Chen turned around and left, but Lu Yang looked like he had been injected with chicken blood, his face flushed red.

The people around him looked at him with envy.

Directing a side movie of the spy universe alone, even if it is a side movie, it is still the spy universe.

"Taken" is currently the highest-grossing movie in China, no doubt about it.

The Agent Universe is the core of the core of Star Entertainment.

Dong Jianqiang came over at some point and patted Lu Yang on the shoulder: "Yangzi, you have to work hard. The 4000 million box office target that Director Zhang set for you is not high..."

The people around were all stunned. A box office of 4000 million was not considered high. It would have been in the top ten of the annual box office last year. But when they thought about the fact that this was Xingchen Entertainment, they felt relieved.

What kind of place is Xingchen Entertainment? It is known as the monster house in the film industry.

Founder Zhang Chen’s first film, “Dark Invasion,” grossed 6000 million yuan. Starting from the second film, he made an average of two films a year, and none of them grossed less than million yuan.

The second director is Ning Hao. His first film, "The Dark Side of the Galaxy Vol. 2", grossed 6000 million yuan at the box office. His second film, "Stone", also successfully broke the million mark. His third film, "Racing", which is about to start shooting, will definitely break the million mark, according to the company.

Lu Yang was the third one, and he was only given a small goal of 4000 million, which was indeed not high.

Lu Yang suddenly felt like Alexander and knew what it meant to be in pain and happy at the same time.

Pick up your clothes and go out.

"What are you going to do?"

"Looking for resources~"

"Wait for me~"

The trio who just returned set out on their journey again, working hard for their own future.

Lu Yang holds hope, while Guo Fan sees the prospects.

If Lu Yang does a good job and can direct a core masterpiece, then I might also have the opportunity to direct, even if it is a small production like "Kowloon Walled City".

Guo Fan felt that he was one step closer to his science fiction dream.

On the other side, Zhang Chen and Dong Jianqiang got together again.

"You are so cunning. With just one sentence, that kid has fully exerted his subjective initiative~"

Zhang Chen smiled confidently: "Why do you think the success rate of directors in our country is so low? Is it because they lack talent? No, it's because they lack opportunities.

It’s easy for a new director to get a position as assistant director in a crew, but it’s very difficult to get a full-time position. It’s as difficult as collecting all seven dragon balls~”

"That Guo Fan is not bad either~"

"Yes, he is good. He can be trained. If he can stand on his own, he can also be given the opportunity to direct."

Zhang Chen now has a bit of a collecting addiction. There are very few directors in China who don’t have any black material on them, and he doesn’t want to miss any that he can use.

"Don't take 'SPL' lightly. Hong Jinbao is quite capable and Wilson Yip is also a good director."

The promotional materials for "SPL" mainly feature Zhen Zidan + Hong Jinbao + Simon Yam. Wu Jing also appears on the poster, but she is just in the background.

There is actually no negative information about Wu Jing, but many people don't like him and think that he over-exploits sentimentality.

This bowl of rice is delicious, but if you eat it for too long, it will eventually backfire.

In this respect, he is a bit similar to Jia Ling.

I was stunned by her beauty when she watched "Hi, Mom", but when she watched "Hot as Hell", she suddenly became annoying.

Back to Wu Jing, this person's life is really full of ups and downs, more exciting than a movie.

In 88, when he was 14 years old, he was almost paralyzed, but thanks to God, he recovered.

In 95, he starred in "Kung Fu Kid". Zhang Xinyan trained him to be the second Jet Li, but unfortunately he did not become a big star.

"Tai Chi Master" in 98, "The Flying Dagger of Xiao Li" in 99.

Although he didn't become a huge star, he did gain considerable fame.

Then, he went to Hong Kong to develop his career.

"I was filming a kung fu scene and I broke a table. The stagehand said to me, 'Brother Jing, stop breaking it because we'll need it in the next scene.'"

Wu Jing's original words show that the action film environment in the mainland is indeed not good. Many media said that he wanted to make action movies and become a real action star, but the best action film resources were in Hong Kong, so he resolutely decided to go to Hong Kong and start over.

This may be the reason, but there is also another reason: his girlfriend’s career is in Hong Kong.

His friend is Fan Yimin, the heroine of "Tai Chi Master" and also Miss Hong Kong.

Now comes the drama.

Wu Jing went to Hong Kong but didn't get any acting jobs for a whole year. His girlfriend broke up with him, and he was tricked by his agent into doing some underworld boxing.

You don't have to fight, but you have to pay one million as compensation, because you have already trusted the agent and signed the contract.

A martial arts champion from the mainland was deceived into coming to Hong Kong to fight underground boxing. His girlfriend ran away. He lost both his true career and love. It was really tragic.

After enduring a year of hardship, his fate changed. Some said that Wong Pak-ko admired him, while others said that Jet Li helped him and introduced him to Hong Jinbao. Anyway, he joined the crew of "SPL" and played a ruthless villain with superb martial arts skills.

A real battle without any set moves brought a lot of hype to "SPL" and also earned itself a way out.

Since then, he has received many film offers, including "Black Fist", "Gemini Thieves", "The King's Avatar", and "True Men". Although they were all supporting roles, it was much better than before.

Among them, "Black Fist" tells the story of his real experience in the first year he came to Hong Kong.

Later, his senior brother Li Lianjie also called him to film "The Mummy 3".

It is said that Sun Entertainment's film and television director Wong Pak-ko admires him very much. After the big success of "SPL 2", reporters asked Wong when he would shoot the sequel. Wong's answer was "It depends on when Wu Jing is free."
By the way, Sun Entertainment is Xi Mihua’s company.

"Ning Hao has left?"

"Well, we went to Qingdao the day before yesterday. We should have started filming today. Liu Jiang and the crew of Before Dawn have also left for Xiangshan. What about you? When are you leaving?"

"Just these two days."

The crew of "Painted Skin" is almost done with preparations. There are three main filming locations: the desert in Yinchuan, Qingshuiying Village in Ningwu and Mentougou in Beijing. They will go to Qingshuiying Village first.

Zhang Chen actually didn’t think that “Kowloon Walled City” would definitely beat “SPL”, so he only gave Lu Yang a task of 4000 million.

"SPL" did not enter the mainland in its previous life, and its box office in Hong Kong was not good, but to be honest, it was actually well made.

It has a very Hong Kong movie style.

Action actors are also actors, just like ordinary actors.

Ordinary actors need to have acting skills, and action actors need to have kung fu skills.

This is the basic requirement. In addition, it must have characteristics.

Zhen Zidan and Xie Miao both have average looks and ordinary looks.

But Zhen Zidan is a little stronger than Xie Miao because he mainly uses the practical style of free fighting.

That's the characteristic.

But ironically, it was not kick-boxing that made him the king in the end, but "Ip Man".

Let’s talk about the characteristics of action actors. In the field of action movies, who has the most characteristics? Haha, it’s Wang Baoqiang.

Can't guess?
If you watch "A Man's Martial Arts", Feng Yuxiu is the villain. Strictly speaking, he can only be considered the second male lead, but he beat the first male lead Zhen Tian into ashes in seconds.

……

Sun Entertainment
Huang Bohao is also discussing the movie with Hong Jinbao.

"I asked some Hong Kong actors who participated in Kowloon Walled City, and they said that the fighting in this movie was very fierce, and the style was completely different from that in Hong Kong..."

Huang Bogao was a little worried.

Hong Jinbao didn't care at all: "Don't worry, I've paid attention to "Kowloon Walled City". Their movie, except for the slightly famous action director, was beaten by us in other aspects. They themselves must have no confidence, otherwise why would they find so many Hong Kong actors to help support the scene..."

Huang Bogao nodded after hearing this, as if he had taken a reassurance pill: "You are right, Danny still has great box office appeal~"

Compared with "Kowloon Walled City", "SPL" is indeed far better than them.

Zhen Zidan's resume alone is more exciting than all the actors in "Kowloon Walled City" combined. He has starred in "Hero", "Blade", and "Shanghai Noon 2".

Although he played supporting roles, he was also treated as the protagonist, and the movie "Iron Monkey" he starred in sold more than 10 million US dollars in the United States.

"When it comes to Kung Fu movies, we in Hong Kong are second to none."

Hong Jinbao spoke with great confidence, but the actual situation has long been different.

In the past two years, Hong Kong Kung Fu films have declined, while Southeast Asian Kung Fu films have been on the rise.

What is really popular now are Thai Kung Fu movies, such as "Ong Bak" and "Tom Yum Goong".

Tony Jaa is on a roll right now.

Hong Jinbao is simply living in the glory of the past.

……

The story of the original "Painted Skin" is: In the late Ming Dynasty, there was a scholar named Wang Sheng who met a beautiful homeless woman on the road. He took her home and had sex with her every day.

Then a nosy Taoist priest discovered that the beautiful woman was not a normal person, but an evil ghost who specialized in eating human hearts.

Instead of exorcising the demons, he made a show of giving the evil spirits a way out.

He hung his dustpan in front of the house, hoping that the evil ghost would retreat. However, he didn't expect that the evil ghost also had a temper. You ask me to retreat, but I won't, and I will even humiliate you.

The evil ghost dug out Wang Sheng's heart, which angered the Taoist priest, who killed the evil ghost in rage.

Wang Sheng's wife, Chen, went to a beggar to save her husband.

The beggar asked Chen to eat his thick phlegm. After Chen swallowed it, the beggar disappeared.

Chen felt that she had been deceived, so she went home and cried in front of the coffin. Unexpectedly, she felt nauseous and finally vomited a fresh heart. Her husband came back to life.

The story is very strange, but it praises positive energy, which is about being loyal to marriage and staying away from mistresses.

Of course, the screenwriter team of Xingchen Entertainment would not change the original work. They perfected the version narrated by Zhang Chen.

Overall, it is not much different from the original time and space, and it is still a story about a mistress.

The crew of "Painted Skin" arrived in Ningwu, Ningxia.

The main cast also arrived one after another.

Fox demon Fan Binbin~
Mrs. Wang, Mr. Zhou~
Wang Sheng Huang Xiaoming
Little bird spirit Yang Xiaomi~
Monster Catcher Zhang Jin
Zhang Chen removed the character of Pang Yong from his version of Painted Skin as he still felt that the original story was too confusing.

Pang Yong loves Madam Wang, Madam Wang loves Wang Sheng, Wang Sheng is wavering between Madam Wang and Xiao Wei, Xiao Wei loves Wang Sheng, and the lizard spirit loves Xiao Wei. This is no longer a love triangle, but a four-corner, a five-corner...

And the main theme is about love that cannot be obtained.

Even Aunt Qiong Yao would shake her head after seeing this.

Zhang Chen simplified it, it was just a story about a mistress interfering in someone's relationship, don't make it so complicated.

The function of the character Pang Yong is actually very simple, he is the force responsible for the righteous camp, it is also possible to replace him with a monster catcher.

Monster Hunter was originally intended to be a female character, but the whole film felt a bit imbalanced between yin and yang, so it was changed back to a male character.

Zhang Jin is the martial arts star he is promoting in the future. People even fell out with the Hong Clan for him. Zhang Chen will always give him some good resources.

A huge sum of money to buy horse bones!

The current "Painted Skin" crew is star-studded~
This is a project directed by Zhang Chen himself, and the slogan is "Break 200 million".

A lot of companies want to fill it.

It was impossible for him to play the leading role, as it was decided a year ago. Huang Xiaoming and Zhou Gongzi turned down countless roles for this.

As for Fan Xiaopang, that is even more impossible, because she is Zhang Chen’s favorite heroine.

After watching a few movies, everyone has already figured it out. This Fatty Fan might have fed Director Zhang some kind of magic potion.

Whenever she appears in a movie, everyone will consciously fight for the second and third female roles, and the first female role will definitely go to someone else.

"Painted Skin" is like this. Even the supporting roles in it have become popular. The three major agents have shown their tricks and fought each other until they were bloodied.

Yang Xiaomi hid in the corner and trembled, afraid that he would be replaced again. It was really...

Look at who play the maids. Li Xiaoran was inserted by Chang Jihong, Qin Lan was cast because of Huang Xiaoming's face, and Wang Luodan was cast because of Dong Jianqiang's relationship.

The male actors are similar, the soldier leader is Wang Qianyuan, the horse bandit leader is Chen Minghao, and the night watchman is Zhang Yi~
They are all talented actors, but they are not well-known now.

This is also Zhang Chen's bad taste. When people look back a few years later, they will say, wow, it turns out that the supporting actors in "Painted Skin" were all big names.

The supporting roles don’t have many parts, but these stars are willing to come and make guest appearances. Zhang Chen’s project is good, even if it’s just to show off their face.

……

Let me tell you something first. Recently, my brain has been full of thoughts and I’m madly wanting to work with Jackie Chan to shoot "San Andreas".

This thought came to me once before, but I suppressed it. But these two days, when I was writing about the plot of cooperation with Jackie Chan, it popped up again. I really don’t know what kind of movie we should cooperate on to surely break the 100 million mark.

The main reason is that I wanted to use "San Andreas" to give the author a reasonable reason to provide advance training for Wenchuan, but I didn't want to write "Aftershock".

The reason why I dare not write about it is that I think this is a dangerous point. In 06, it was too unrealistic to control a project of million US dollars. With the number of screens in China, it would certainly not be able to recover the cost, so it would require global distribution.

If you want to distribute the film globally, you have to find the big six. Otherwise, nothing will be left. Or the main character is too minor.

What do you think?
(End of this chapter)