Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 563 Romance Film

Wang Shuo is disliked by many people who think he is a troublemaker.

But many people also like him, thinking he is a rare wise man who has a clear understanding of life.

Zhang Chen neither disliked nor liked him.

He felt that Wang Shuo was a performance artist.

Performance artists are often like children.

Ma Weidu once told a story about how, in the early 1990s, there was a bicycle repairman near Wang Shuo's house who would often shout, disturbing Wang Shuo's sleep.

Wang Shuo found him and asked him, "I'll give you 30,000 yuan. Can you set up a stall in another place?"

The other party said yes.

Wang Shuo really did give him 30,000.

That was back in the 90s.

Ma Weidu said that the 30,000 yuan was Wang Shuo's entire fortune.

The story is likely true, which also illustrates that Wang Shuo is an unconventional person.

Unconventional people often don't consider other people's feelings. For example, right now, Wang Shuo suddenly started commenting on Zhang Chen.

“I think it’s great that you don’t pursue awards. What’s the point of caring about those damn awards? Just live your own life and there’s no need to care about other people’s approval…”

"What you did in the movies was actually a case of learning from the West to defeat the West, using the Hollywood approach..."

"Film originated in the West, and so many people have already explored the path of localization. I'm not the only one who will succeed. What I advocate is industrial cinema, which is about using magic to defeat magic..."

"You've already become the top director in the country..."

"No, it should be Zhang Yimou. After the Olympics, he was called the 'National Master,' and he is undoubtedly the number one..."

"No, he's just a construction worker..."

"Wrong. He's one of the few directors in China who can tell a good story, but his better control over color overshadows his storytelling ability..."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, the director got a little anxious and kept urging the host to control the atmosphere in the earpiece.

Dou Wentao's mind raced, and he suddenly interrupted, "You just mentioned the Olympics. Speaking of the Olympics, do you know what foreign athletes find most memorable about it?"

This topic successfully diverted their attention.

"The opening ceremony?" Leung Man-tao chimed in, playing the straight man.

"The opening ceremony is of course a highlight, but there's another aspect: the food. Deng Ping-pong mentioned in an interview that the Olympic Village provides over 400 dishes daily, including 600 Peking ducks alone..."

Why Deng Ping-pong?

"He's not only a torchbearer, but also the deputy director of the Olympic Village; providing catering is one of his jobs."

"When it comes to food, I'm an expert!"

Upon hearing that this was what was being discussed, Zhang Chen immediately perked up.

"I recently returned from abroad, and in the last two years, I've often had to travel overseas for filming, sometimes for one or two months at a time. Life abroad is fine in most aspects, but the thing I'm most unaccustomed to is the food..."

"How to say?"

"When you eat in China, you definitely have to cook a proper meal, buy groceries, and prepare the food. It's normal to spend several hours on a single meal. Even when you eat out, you have to choose the best and have a lavish meal. That's what eating is all about..."

But abroad, eating is simply about filling your stomach. Many people eat a sandwich for lunch, just enough to stave off hunger. For us, that wouldn't even qualify as a casual meal.

Several people nearby, who had also traveled abroad, nodded in agreement when they heard Zhang Chen say this.

Dou Wentao: "Isn't there a very famous Engel coefficient abroad?"

Wang Shuo didn't understand, so Dou Wentao explained to him what Engel's coefficient was.

Zhang Chen: "The biggest misunderstanding is about the Engel coefficient. According to the calculation of the Engel coefficient, the situation in China is simply dire."

Seeing that Wang Shuo still didn't understand, Zhang Chen continued to explain:

Engel's ideal model is to earn 5,000 a month and eat 1,000 a month. When the monthly income exceeds 10,000, the monthly income is still 1,000 a month, and then the coefficient can be halved.

The lower this coefficient, the more money you have beyond basic living expenses, and the higher your standard of living.

But this approach is completely inapplicable in our country.

If I earn 5,000 a month and eat 1,000, and I still eat 1,000 even though I earn over 10,000 a month, wouldn't I have wasted my 10,000?

Leung Man-tao: “Yes, yes, foreigners can’t understand us. If you tell him that you put chicken, duck, ham, and pork hock together to make soup, and you’ve been busy for more than ten hours, only to eat a bowl of cabbage in the end, he will most likely break down on the spot.”

Hahaha~
Everyone burst into laughter.

"White food is really hard to eat. Its only purpose is to maintain vital signs. Foreigners won't understand that in my great China, eating and drinking are on par with prostitution, gambling, and smoking; they are leisure and entertainment activities."

"You're absolutely right. China's Engel coefficient is impossible to calculate precisely because it's impossible to separate spending on food from leisure, entertainment, and social activities. This is true for all countries with developed food cultures, including Italy..."

"I doubt Old Eng could understand why a country would treat food as a commodity for spiritual civilization..."

"The main problem is that people in our country love to eat too much, and they're willing to spend money on food. They'll be frugal with clothes that cost seventy or eighty yuan, but they'll eat hot pot that costs over a hundred yuan without batting an eye..."

"Me too. I have to think for a long time about whether to choose a 10-dollar or 20-dollar monthly phone plan. Night market snacks are so cool at 40 or 50 dollars. I'll come again tomorrow."

"Yes, yes, I'm in a good mood today, let's have a nice meal to celebrate."

When you're in a bad mood, treat yourself to a good meal to cheer yourself up.

Seeing a food

Why does it cost so much? I have to buy one and try it.

Why are so many people queuing up? I have to buy one and try it.

Everyone says it tastes awful, but I don't believe it. I have to buy one and try it.

Their motto is: "You can lose anything, but you can't lose your mouth."

When it comes to food, everyone has a deep feeling about it; they are all foodies.

The tense atmosphere from before was gone, replaced by a mutual appreciation among foodies.

"Foreigners are the type who drink the soup first thing when the hot pot is served, they don't understand the concept of a happy life~"

"Let me tell you, I know a place where they make exceptionally good Kung Pao Chicken. That restaurant doesn't sell anything else, Kung Pao Chicken is their only specialty, but it's really delicious..."

(I heard about this shop from my friend. Does anyone in Beijing know it? Please let me know the name.)
The program ended in a friendly atmosphere, and Zhang Chen and Wang Shuo even agreed to have a meal together after returning to Beijing.

Well, Wang Shuo is also a... no, a man of strong emotions.

……

The purpose of appearing on the show was to promote the movie, and the effect seems to be good.

As of now, "Bodyguards and Assassins" has grossed nearly 200 million yuan at the box office.

"The Message" was even more impressive, grossing over 100 million yuan in three days and 150 million yuan in five days.

It's related to the National Day holiday; everyone is resting and has time to watch movies.

It's also related to the Olympics. In the first half of the year, everyone's attention was on the Olympics, and they didn't watch many movies.

In the second half of the year, the pent-up enthusiasm was released, and the box office performance of several films released was quite good.

Zhang Chen received a reply from Chen Xiaowei that Maoyan Movies had been developed and was undergoing its final round of testing.

Once the testing is successful, promotion will begin, and Zhang Chen will definitely leverage his influence to help the product gain traction.

That's simple; he plans to use Maoyan to generate buzz for his Lunar New Year films.

I'll most likely have to post a blog entry about it then.

Sigh, blogs are still too inconvenient. If we had microblogs, it would be so much simpler. Whether it's arguing, promoting a product, or promoting a movie, one microblog post would be enough.

Hmm, is it necessary to ask Sina to launch Weibo in advance?

It's unrealistic to do it yourself.

Maoyan can do it itself because it's a vertical industry closely related to movies, and there's not much technical difficulty involved. Star Entertainment has a natural advantage in doing it itself.

But Weibo involves many aspects and requires traffic import, which is not something a filmmaker like myself can handle.

However, Zhang Chen wouldn't let Sina benefit for nothing; he had already figured out how to cooperate with Sina.

It's essential to keep a powerful tool like Weibo under your control. Even if you don't have complete control, you should at least have a stake in it. You can't let it become your enemy, or you could easily ruin your reputation.

Tuk-tuk-tuk~
There was a knock on the office door, and then Yang Xiaomi's little head popped out.

"What brings you here?" "I've brought you an invitation!"

"What invitation?"

"Director Xue Xiaolu wanted to invite you to the press conference for the start of filming of 'Only You,' so I volunteered to come!"

"Okay, leave it there. I'll go over there if I have nothing else to do."

As Zhang Chen was speaking, he noticed that Yang Xiaomi was looking at him with a resentful gaze.

"What did I do to you? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I've been reflecting on this for days, and you said you'd contact me on Wednesday, but today is Friday!"

"Uh~"

It turns out they came specifically to inform me that my period was over.

"Come on, I'll take you to eat hot pot!"

A true man is born between heaven and earth; if he says he'll take you to eat hot pot, he will.

Yang Xiaomi's smile immediately brightened, and she wrapped her arms around him.

"Let go, let go. What kind of behavior is this in the company?"

Zhang Chen led Yang Xiaomi downstairs, where the driver had already prepared the car.

"Director Zhang, where are we going?"

"Donglaishun, please."

After instructing the driver, Zhang Chen pulled Yang Xiaomi into the back seat.

He doesn't like Sichuan hot pot, but prefers old Beijing copper pot, especially hand-cut meat, which is incredibly chewy.

The car started and had been driving for a short time when Yang Xiaomi began to grope him.

Zhang Chen glared at her, without even looking where he was.

Yang Xiaomi went even further and pressed the partition button directly.

The partition was raised, turning the back row into an enclosed space.

Don't be surprised, even though it's not an extended version, all the cars driven by film company executives have this feature.

Zhang Chen: My second brother is invincible!

Yang Xiaomi: That's incredibly chewy!
Traffic in Beijing is terrible, so we had to keep stopping and starting. It took half an hour to finally arrive at Donglaishun.

The driver, being quite perceptive, pressed the call button in advance: "Director Zhang, Donglaishun is just one intersection away~"

Immediately, Zhang Chen's reply came through the loudspeaker: "Don't stop yet, drive around the restaurant twice, oh no, three times!"

……

Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Chen and Yang Xiaomi were eating hot pot in a private room at Donglaishun.

The driver set up a separate table outside, and there were only two people in the private room, but neither of them had any other thoughts.

The transmission of knowledge and the bestowal of the elixir were completed halfway through the journey.

Yang Xiaomi picked up a piece of mutton with her chopsticks: "Wow, it's so chewy!"

Zhang Chen rolled his eyes. Guan Yu was covered in wounds, all because of the traffic jam.

There was a knock on the door; Xue Xiaolu had arrived.

"Teacher Xue, please have a seat."

He invited Xue Xiaolu to sit down, served her bowls and chopsticks, and the three of them ate and chatted.

"I invited you here today to talk about movies. First, I have to ask you a question: Do you believe in love?"

Xue Xiaolu was taken aback, then nodded: "I believe you."

"That's good. I've always believed that if a director doesn't even believe in love, it's impossible for him to make a good romance film."

If you yourself don't believe in love, how can you expect everyone to believe in the love stories you make?

Xue Xiaolu nodded; she agreed with this viewpoint.

"It seems I didn't choose the wrong person. There aren't many directors who still believe in love these days. The industry is full of extravagance and all sorts of unspoken rules. How can directors, living in that environment every day, still believe in love? That's why China has never been able to produce good romance films..."

As for the photography, I only have one requirement: to capture that hazy, dreamlike feeling.

At first meeting, ambiguity, mutual suspicion, teasing from friends, finally breaking the ice, confirming the relationship, misunderstandings, and adjustments...

Everyone has experienced the process of falling in love; if a film can capture that feeling, it will be a success.

Why does such a simple genre as romance films continue to have a market worldwide?
Because every era has young people, and young people will inevitably experience love.

The process of falling in love is pretty much the same for everyone: first meeting, ambiguity, mutual suspicion, teasing from friends, breaking the ice, confirming the relationship, misunderstandings, and adjustments...

Therefore, love is the easiest thing to resonate with.

People who haven't experienced love often yearn for it, which is why they watch romance movies.

Those who have experienced love can empathize, which is why they also watch romance movies.

But only young people will watch it. Once they have children, they probably won't watch it anymore, because love has turned into family affection, and life has become about the mundane things like food, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.
To make a romantic film, you only need to focus on one point: highlighting the beauty of love.

It's about creating dreams~
It's acceptable to be detached from reality and unrealistic to a certain extent.

That's why there are always poor boys and rich girls, and princes falling in love with Cinderella.
If you gave Zhang Chen the opportunity to direct a romance film, he wouldn't be able to do it.

Because they don't believe it.

Zhang Chen's view on love is:

(Falling in love with) someone;

Falling in love with someone;

Love (the previous person);
Falling in love with (someone);
Therefore, he will most likely die alone.

"Come on, eat, eat, don't stop, let's chat while we eat~"

Seeing that everyone had stopped eating, Zhang Chen quickly greeted them. He preferred casual conversation to overly formal ones.

"Actually, there is a formula for shooting romantic movies, such as designing some small surprises."

Love is definitely sweet, and sweetness is a series of memorable moments;

A successful romance movie must have a scene that catches the eye—a chance encounter, a game, an embrace…

The most captivating parts are the pre-confirmation phases: the initial testing, the flirting, the longing and yearning...

Johnnie To's romantic films often feature women pursuing men, because men are generally easier to win over. Men can pursue women too, but then they have to put in the effort quietly. Our film, *Only You*, follows this path…

As the saying goes, it's easy for a woman to pursue a man, but difficult for a man to pursue a woman.

It really is.

For women, as long as they aren't too ugly, it's easy for them to win over men.

Men are too easy to pursue.

Of course, scumbags are an exception.

Conversely, when a man pursues a woman, the outcome is often unpredictable.

Because the driving forces are different.

Yu Minhong once said:
If all Chinese women's criteria for choosing a man is that he can recite Tang and Song poems, then all Chinese men will be able to recite Tang and Song poems fluently.
If all Chinese women said that all Chinese men need is to make money, regardless of their conscience, then all Chinese men would become men with bad consciences but who make a lot of money.

But Chinese girls want someone who is good-natured, good at making money, responsible, and handsome, so the outcome is hard to say.

Zhang Chen said a lot, mainly that he wanted to write one book with two versions.

"Only You" should not only have a Chinese version, but also a Korean version.

Korean romance films are generally very good, so it's unlikely that the original Chinese version will be inferior to the Korean remake.

As for why they did this, it was, of course, to maximize profits.

For romance films, it's unlikely they'll be successful overseas; making two films based on the same story is the best way to maximize profits.

(End of this chapter)