Rebirth: I'm filming extra scenes on the set

Chapter 165: "The Warlords" vs. "Assembly", who do you support?

in the afternoon.

Jie Lun's scenes have been filmed.

Director Zhu Yuanping also paused from his busy work.

See Chen Cheng.

Zhu Yuanping was stunned, as if he had thought of something, and his face looked not very good.

Chen Cheng said, "Director Zhu, don't get me wrong, I'm just here to check out the set, I don't have any other ideas."

Chen Cheng and Zhu Yuanping were not familiar with each other.

However, after being in the crew for so long, I still understand some of the rules.

Once someone accepts a role, it is theirs. No matter how talented you are, don't go and mess with it.

The same is true in other areas.

I'm not afraid of your ability.

I’m just afraid that you have the ability to mess around.

If you mess around like this, the whole circle will be your enemy.

When Jie Lun saw Chen Cheng coming, he was a little excited and deliberately pulled Chen Cheng to his office, saying, "Director Zhu, Chen Cheng is my best friend. I hope you won't mind if he comes to see me."

Zhu Yuanping smiled and said, "Director Chen is a well-known director in the mainland. I have no objection to him coming to the crew to guide the work."

in the office.

At this time, Zhu Yuanping, Jie Lun, Chen Cheng, Cheng Xiaodong, and Zeng Zhiwei were sitting together.

Jie Lun said directly: "Director Zhu, how about this afternoon's scene?"

"I think it's normal. Your acting method is a bit fake and the audience might be disgusted."

Zhu Yuanping shook his head.

In fact.

In the afternoon, a conflict broke out between Zhu Yuanping and Jie Lun.

Jie Lun has his own ideas about performance.

such as.

He recently figured out the method of "narcissistic performance".

He felt that this method was very suitable for him and reflected his style.

But Zhu Yuanping thinks this performance method is too low.

If it is under normal circumstances.

There are conflicts between the director and the leading actor, and the leading actor has to listen to the director every minute.

But the problem with the domestic film system is not actually up to the director to decide, but whoever has the stronger ability has the final say.

Jie Lun is not only the leading actor, he is also the producer.

In this way, there is no doubt that the core of this drama is Jie Lun.

It's normal for Jie Lun to have his own opinions.

then.

Here comes the contradiction.

Should I listen to the director or to Jie Lun?
Obviously.

Although director Zhu Yuanping knew that Jie Lun was the core, he thought that Jie Lun was just a cross-border company and was not professional at all.

Jie Lun felt that he had such a strong say that he must have a certain status.

This is not.

As soon as you enter the office.

In front of Chen Cheng, the two of them had another conflict.

This made Chen Cheng feel a little embarrassed.

After all, Chen Cheng is just an outsider, he is not a member of the crew.

Seeing Jie Lun was about to speak again.

Chen Cheng pressed his hand and said, "Jie Lun, stop, stop, I know what you mean. How about I say something?"

"Row."

Jie Lun nodded.

His invitation to Chen Cheng to visit the set was only secondary.

The real purpose was to let Chen Cheng put pressure on Zhu Yuanping.

of course.

Chen Cheng also knew what Jie Lun meant.

But there's really nothing you can do about this kind of thing.

Even if you do a good job, you will be scolded in the circle.

"Director Zhu, I have worked with Jie Lun before. Jie Lun's thinking is very eccentric, just like his songs, he has a very strong style. So, it is natural that Jie Lun will bring some of the styles he has realized into the movie."

"I understand that. However, it is a movie after all, and everything has to follow the basic rules of movies."

Zhu Yuanping nodded.

Chen Cheng also said, "That makes sense. But I don't think Jie Lun is the type who will just put everything he thinks of into the movie. Many of his ideas may seem a little surprising to us for now, but now the audience is very receptive to new things, so why not try more? Of course, Jie Lun, overall, I think Director Zhu is more authoritative."

Ok.

If Chen Cheng were brought here, what could he say?
He could only try to smooth things over.

Zhu Yuanping and Chen Cheng must not offend.

Jielun.

Chen Cheng would not be offended.

However, although Chen Cheng was trying to smooth things over, it must be said that Chen Cheng's identity was there.

Especially for director Zhu Yuanping.

Only in their circle would they say that Chen Cheng is the real billionaire.

of course.

This is controversial.

But who cares.

The director naturally has to speak for the director circle.

It would be a big deal if a director spoke for a nominal director.

same.

Chen Cheng is in the circle, so he has to speak for the circle and must not break the rules of the circle.

It's not about who is awesome or strong, you can just say, "Get out of here."

Sometimes you can say something, but you have to bear the consequences yourself.

This is not.

After Chen Cheng finished speaking, Cheng Xiaodong on the side said, "I think what Director Chen said makes sense. Jie Lun's idea is very good, and Director Zhu's directing level is even better. I think if we communicate more in the future, there should be no problem."

Zeng Zhiwei then made a joke: "Director Chen, you are here to watch the fun."

Chen Cheng knew that Zeng Zhiwei wanted to lighten the mood, so he smiled and replied, "Of course I'm here to watch the fun. It's not my crew that's in trouble. I wish you guys would quarrel and make trouble every day... It would be great if we had one less competitor."

This made everyone in the office laugh.

Zhu Yuanping glanced at Jie Lun and said, "Jie Lun has many novel ideas, and I admire them."

Jie Lun is not stupid, he replied: "It's just that many of my ideas are very immature. After all, I used to be a songwriter."

One sentence for you and one sentence for me.

The conflict between Jie Lun and director Zhu Yuanping was resolved.

In fact.

There weren't many conflicts between the two.

It’s all for filming.

Sometimes, there is a lack of communication during filming, and since neither of them is willing to give in to the other and neither of them wants to lose face, the conflict becomes more and more serious.

This kind of thing is all too common.

In "The Warlords", Chen Kexin and Cheng Xiaodong also had a quarrel.

If it weren't for Chen Cheng, Chen Kexin almost packed up his things and prepared to quit as chief director.

It was also Chen Cheng at this time.

Although Chen Cheng was just trying to smooth things over, everyone still gave Chen Cheng face.

then.

You take a step back, I take a step back, and nothing will happen.

……

"Chen Cheng, I have to admit that you are amazing. You helped me solve a big problem as soon as you arrived at the crew."

night.

Jie Lun invited Chen Cheng to have a midnight snack.

Jie Lun said as he was eating skewers.

Chen Cheng shook his head and said, "I am not that powerful. You two don't have any deep hatred, you just can't let go of your face. I will speak up for both of you, and everything will be fine."

"That's what I mean, but it depends on who is involved. If someone else comes, who will give him face?"

"Hahaha. So, in the end, it's still you who has to give me face. Otherwise, I won't be able to save face."

"You are such a smart guy. You did me such a big favor and acted like nothing happened. Come, let's have a drink. Thank you for today."

"No need to thank me, we are all brothers."

"Good brother, I recognize you as my brother."

"Great, from now on when I don't have any movies to shoot, I'll hang out with you. When I'm short of money, you can write a song for me and I'll sell it for money."

"Oh my god, Chen Cheng, you have come up with this idea."

"Otherwise, let me tell you, I made a movie not long ago called The Warlords."

"I know, what is this movie about?"

"It's about brothers."

"Talking about brotherhood?"

"Correct."

Chen Cheng nodded: "When it is released, you will know what The Warlords are about."

"Okay, I will definitely go."

Jie Lun said seriously. …

Speaking of the pledge of allegiance.

Don't say it yet.

When Chen Cheng returned from the Jielun crew, he learned that "The Warlords" was about to be released.

It's not just "The Warlords".

Huayi Feng Xiaogang's "Assembly" is also scheduled to be released at the same time as "The Warlords".

obvious.

This is a competition.

I read the media reports.

Chen Cheng had a general understanding of the situation.

Although both films are co-productions.

But even though it is a co-production, there are also some differences.

Although "Assembly" is a co-production between mainland China and Hong Kong, with Feng Xiaogang in charge, most people would regard it as a mainland film.

After all, there's nothing wrong with treating it as a mainland film.

Feng Xiaogang is so famous that Hong Kong does not have much influence in this film.

The Warlords, although it is also a co-production.

But judging from the main creative staff, Hong Kong is still the main focus.

As for Chen Cheng, he was the deputy director.

But compared with Chen Kexin, there is not much comparison.

in this way.

For the general public, "The Warlords" has become a Hong Kong film.

One is the mainland.

One is Hong Kong.

The competition between the two became a contest between mainland films and Hong Kong films.

Someone will say.

Why do we have to compete on the same stage? Isn't it better to avoid time periods?
Such competition will definitely affect the box office of both films.

After all, not everyone can watch two movies in a short period of time.

Many people will choose one of the two films.

Some people will even watch the fight from the sidelines.

They just wait for the box office results of the two movies to come out and then choose the one with the highest box office.

But a pity.

Many times there is no way to avoid such competition.

Movies are not like TV series.

TV series can be broadcast on countless TV stations.

Even if it is not broadcast on TV, it can be put on some Internet platforms.

But the movie.

The most profitable place is the cinema.

As for movie theaters, there are 365 days in a year and 12 months in a year, and each movie is released for about one month.

So a lot of the time.

There are only 12 time slots to choose from for a film.

But not all 12 time slots can be selected.

Because in many time slots, even if a movie is good, the box office will be greatly reduced because it is the off-season.

As long as they have strong production capabilities, they will keep their eyes on some golden parties.

Such as the Spring Festival party, National Day, May Day, summer vacation, and Mid-Autumn Festival, these are all golden parties in the traditional sense.

The National Day period is a bit far from the Spring Festival.

Then.

The best schedule is the May Day holiday and the summer vacation.

In comparison.

The May Day period and the summer vacation period each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage of May Day is that, for seven days, nominally everyone in the country has a holiday, and the flow of people is large enough.

The disadvantage is also obvious, there are only 7 days.

The advantages of the summer vacation party are also obvious. The two-month student vacation is more lasting.

But the disadvantages are also obvious.

Although the summer vacation lasts for two months, only teachers and students have the vacation during these two months. Everyone else still works as usual.

The consumption of teachers and students was not that high at that time.

Then.

The best schedule is now only May Day.

This is not.

Whether it's "Assembly" or "The Warlords"... they all chose the May Day schedule.

As for some other films.

This is when things get more difficult.

You can choose to compete with two blockbusters during the May Day holiday.

same.

You can also choose to change the time slot.

For example, "Painted Skin".

"Painted Skin" was filmed earlier than "The Warlords".

but.

Obviously, the overall strength of "Painted Skin" is not as good as these two.

As a result, "Painted Skin" did not keep up.

As for when "Painted Skin" will be released, it's hard to say.

Sometimes it depends on the schedule.

Sometimes, in addition to considering the schedule, you also have to consider your competitors.

Many films were shot early on.

But due to the lack of a good release schedule, its release was delayed for several years.

……

"Chen Cheng, do you have time to accompany us to promote it?"

"But new director, are you talking about The Warlords?"

"Of course. You've seen it on the news. Our competitors are very strong this time."

"I know, but it's useless for me to promote it."

Chen Cheng shook his head: "I'm just a producer behind the scenes. No one would recognize me if I stepped on stage. Besides, we have Jet Li, King Liu, and Jin Chengwu... three giants. That's enough."

Chen Cheng refused.

The refusal is not because of his different status or his tough words.

Because in itself.

The people behind the scenes are no better than the people in front of them.

He needs to cooperate with some of the main actors in front of the screen to promote the film.

This may even be written into the contract.

But the producers behind the scenes are different.

Generally, it is rare to invite behind-the-scenes producers to promote the work.

Moreover, this kind of publicity does not take one or two days. Some of them have to be carried out all over the country, and they have to travel to dozens of cities in the country.

The main actors have high film chips, so it's no problem for them to run along.

With such a small fee for the behind-the-scenes staff, who would accompany you?

"You, you are being modest again. Although you work behind the scenes, you are also a well-known director in the mainland."

Chen Kexin said so, but did not insist.

Then he asked, "Let me ask you something. Are you familiar with Feng Xiaogang?"

"generally."

Chen Cheng asked, "But new director, what's the situation?"

"You have to understand your competitors. I watched his drama The Banquet last time. The acting was okay, but the plot was terrible and the actors were just acting casually. By the way, this drama is very similar to Curse of the Golden Flower in form. What do you think?"

After thinking for a while, Chen Cheng said, "But for the new director, I feel that Curse of the Golden Flower and The Banquet are just average. However, although they are just average, their big scenes still attracted a lot of people. In particular, for Hong Kong, big scenes are the Achilles' heel of Hong Kong movies, and this is a big blow to Hong Kong movies."

"I see it."

Chen Kexin also nodded.

These Hong Kong directors also feel the huge threat from mainland directors.

Think about those days.

Their Hong Kong films dominate Asia and even have a place in the world.

But if you look at mainland movies at that time, mainland directors were still worrying about the box office of 10 or 20 million.

Only a few years.

Mainland directors have made such great progress.

Take Chen Kexin for example.

He can be said to be a top director in Hong Kong.

However, the media's evaluation of them seems to be lower than that of the three major directors in mainland China.

"So, for a new director, The Banquet might have lost money, but Assembly might not be bad."