Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 127 Cannes Main Competition

In the following days, what awaited Cao Yang were seminars of all sizes, whether they were organized by the Film Bureau or the association. Their purpose was nothing more than one: to let a big director make a commercial film to see if the market had really recovered.

In fact, this matter is still very important to the higher-ups.

The new "Film Management Regulations" promulgated by the State Council officially came into effect on February 02, 2. It was only ten months before "Hero" was released. If the market really picks up, it will prove the correctness of the implementation of the "Film Management Regulations".

Ten months is a very short time for a policy to be implemented and take effect.

Therefore, the higher-ups are not sure what the current situation is and whether they should increase support.

This requires a big director to explore the market again so as to understand the situation more accurately and take corresponding measures.

"Director Cao, are you back from Hollywood?"

At a meeting, Cao Yang met Xiao Gangpao who was also at the meeting. He grinned at him and asked.

"Hello Director Feng, long time no see. I just came back two days ago."

"I saw in the news a while ago that your movie caused quite a stir. It seemed that before filming even started, the scheduled actors broke the news? They said that the biographical characters were fabricated?"

The little steel cannon had a smile on his face and bared his teeth, and it could be seen that he was somewhat gloating.

He then said to Cao Yang in a comforting tone: "Although Sean Penn's acting skills are okay, he is a well-known bad boy. You are too young to handle such an old guy. In my opinion, you should not choose him as the leading actor."

Well, it doesn’t seem like consolation, but more like advice from an elder to a younger one.

Cao Yang could see that the little cannon was still brooding over the fact that he was eliminated from Sony Classics last time, otherwise he wouldn't have had nothing to do but pay attention to these trivial things on the other side of the ocean.

"Well, Director Feng, you don't know the whole story. It's not just Sean Penn. Another candidate I valued, Tim Robbins, also followed suit. Not only did he not fulfill the private agreement to play the leading role, but he also followed Sean Penn in releasing a lot of information that was unfavorable to the film."

Cao Yang answered with a smile, but he was not as frustrated and angry as Xiao Gangpao had imagined.

Go ahead and pretend.

Xiao Gangpao thought to himself, a positive character was exposed as a scumbag, all the previous preparations were turned into nothing, and everything had to start all over again, how could it be so easy?

This movie hasn't been shelved yet, and it certainly won't be any better if it's turned around in a hurry.

According to Xiao Gangpao's estimation, Cao Yang's road to Hollywood is probably similar to that of the great poet Kai Ge, as his future was ruined by one movie.

However, I still feel a little sympathy for Cao Yang. This kind of thing happened during the preparation period of the movie. He deserves it!
"Director Cao is still young. If he fails, then so be it. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. This time should be regarded as a lesson. If young people experience more things like this, it can enrich their life experience."

Cao Yang nodded, still smiling and complimenting, "Director Feng is right. You understand so many great principles. You can tell at a glance that you have a lot of life experience."

The two then shook hands and turned to walk to their respective seats.

"Bah, you are so sharp-tongued. You deserve to fail."

As he walked, the little steel cannon thought to himself, "Luckily Sony Classics didn't choose me. I was backstabbed by the two potential male lead actors, and the character was completely overturned. This is a fucking disaster. I don't know if this movie shot in such a hurry can be good. I deserve it!"

However, the great poet and director Kaige, after meeting Cao Yang at another meeting, patted him on the shoulder and sighed, as if they were in the same boat.

"Don't worry about it. You're still young. The Americans are different from us. Even if you make a good movie, there's nothing you can do if they don't approve. In the end, they'll cut it into pieces and make a good movie look weird."

Cao Yang was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Brother, you are right. I am fine. Thank you for your concern."

It seems like everyone thinks their movie is a failure, right?
That's right. After such a big storm, an American "hero" character turned into a shameless politician who was hated by everyone. According to common thinking, this movie is definitely doomed.

Cao Yang was a little dazed. No wonder Old Situ and Old Tian hardly mentioned this movie. Maybe in their opinion, this movie, which they continued to make "against all odds", could not be successful.

"Those people in Hollywood only care about profits and don't keep their promises. You should learn from your mistakes. Next time you have a chance, don't make the same mistake. Don't believe any promises made by them. As long as they are not put into words, their promises are worthless."

Brother Kai comforted him again, and it was a sincere comfort. After this failure in Hollywood, Lao Chen must have been deeply touched, and his words came from the bottom of his heart.

"Brother, you are right. I remember it and will definitely learn from it." Cao Yang responded with a smile.

Old Chen stopped talking about such a depressing thing and instead took Cao Yang to a corner where no one was paying attention and whispered some instructions to him.

"You must have agreed to the teacher's request, right? It's about making a movie."

"Well, since the teacher has asked me to do it, I must agree. I plan to make a commercial film to try it out."

Cao Yang knew that it was about making a commercial film. Old Situ said so, and Old Chen also agreed to make a commercial blockbuster with a large investment.

Old Chen glanced around and whispered, "You can agree, but in a meeting like this, you should try to fool around. Don't make promises on the spot. You have the school and teachers behind you, so you must ask for more support. You don't have to show up for these."

"Okay, senior brother, I remember it." Cao Yang nodded and said.

Although Lao Chen is a little arrogant, he really treats Cao Yang as his own. Well, a junior brother who needs his care in all aspects.

"Well, remember one thing, listen more, watch more, and agree more, express fewer opinions, have fewer unique insights, and just follow the crowd."

Before leaving, Lao Chen did not forget to give instructions.

For a period of time afterwards, such meetings were no longer held. As the disease struck the capital, measures were begun to be taken.

Cao Yang and Dong Xuan are staying in the community and are not going anywhere. It is only mid-February now, and they may stay here until May.

So I took advantage of this time to write all five scripts registered in Hollywood into short stories. Once they are published, others won't be able to make similar movies.

Cao Yang thought about it and named the book "Cao Yang's Fantastic Journey", and made it into a collection, divided into one, two, three..., and then all the better Hollywood movies that appeared later would be written into short stories in advance and put into this collection.

I estimate that the sales volume should not be too bad. When a movie is selected from it, as long as the box office is good, the sales volume of the novel will surely surge.

It's really a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.

In addition, after thinking about it for a period of time and the above requirements, he also had new ideas about which commercial film to make.

In fact, if you think about it, this is a bit like writing an essay with a given topic. To put it simply, the time is short and the task is heavy.

First of all, the preparation period of this film cannot be too long. If it is too long, it will lose the purpose of testing the market. What they want is timely feedback.

Secondly, the investment in a movie cannot be too small, otherwise it will lose its meaning.

However, due to the short preparation period and the need to complete filming and release in a short period of time, it is impossible to make special effects and props that take too long. This limits the investment and it is impossible to invest too much. 50 million to 100 million is about right.

Finally, if you want to achieve your goal, the easiest way is to have a big director and a big star.

In fact, this is also the model of Zhang Yimou's second commercial blockbuster "House of Flying Daggers".

The story of "House of Flying Daggers" is actually quite simple and ridiculous. The heroine Xiao Mei originally liked Captain Liu, but as the plot developed, she also developed feelings for Captain Jin, and finally found that she loved Captain Jin the most.

Captain Liu turned hatred from love and wanted to kill Captain Jin...

A typical love triangle, with the Feidao Sect rebelling against the imperial court interspersed in the middle.

I have to say that Zhang Yimou’s storytelling ability is really weak.

But I have to say that the colors of Zhang Yimou's paintings are really beautiful.

The film makes extensive use of bright colors such as green, yellow, and red, giving a strong visual impact.

The essence of the beautiful mountains and rivers has been brought to the screen, with beautiful dancing of cheongsam beauties, verdant bamboo seas, Chinese drums, and galloping horses...

These are fused with the carefully crafted Chinese-style background music, which is simply a feast of beauty. The beautiful scenery, beautiful women and beautiful music are a feast for the eyes.

During this period, Cao Yang wrote novels during the day and perfected the script before going to bed at night. The rest of the time he spent interacting with Dong Xuan. The great director demonstrated in person, and he deepened his understanding by explaining things in a simple and easy-to-understand way, so that he could better coach the other party in acting.

Dong Xuan learned very quickly, especially after learning that the literary eccentric Depp performed very well in Cao Yang's new movie, and that he interacted very well with the female lead in several scenes, he decided to learn some new knowledge.

So Cao Yang also taught some new movements and new knowledge.

Everything else was fine and Dong Xuan liked it very much, except for the part where he got really angry. Dong Xuan said it was not fun, it was too long, it made him want to vomit and he couldn't breathe.

Cao Yang didn't force her. He had always despised this kind of perverted behavior. It was not as fun as having twin ponytails.

It wasn't until April that news suddenly came online that the Cannes Film Festival announced the films entering the main competition unit.

At first, everyone's attention was focused on Chinese-language films. When they saw that Lou Ye's "Purple Butterfly" had entered the main competition unit, they checked the information and found out that this movie was actually starring international stars Zhang Ziyi and Liu Ye, as well as the acting talent Feng Yuanzheng.

Moreover, "Purple Butterfly" is the only Chinese-language film to enter the main competition unit of Cannes.

I can't help but have high expectations for this movie.

Then, someone suddenly posted: There is a movie in the United States called "Despicable Milk", directed by Cao Yang, and it has also been selected for the main competition unit of Cannes.

Although everyone who saw it was quite surprised, the impact was limited. Now is a critical moment and people outside are in a panic. How can they be in the mood to pay attention to the Cannes Film Festival?

Only a few people discussed it online, and then someone brought up the issue, isn't this the director selection incident that caused a stir last year, and in the end Cao Yang was chosen to shoot a biographical film in Hollywood?

No one doubts Cao Yang's ability now, so everyone is looking forward to the performance of this movie at Cannes.

(End of this chapter)