Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 134 It’s all about the movie

Li Xiaoran was very angry.

After Zhang Yimou invited her to his first commercial film but she eventually missed it, Zhang Yimou once said, "Because of the high pressure of making a profit from Hero, I had no choice but to choose Zhang Ziyi. You will be my first choice for the next film."

You have to know that Li Xiaoran had no plans to star in "Hero" at that time. It was Zhang Yimou who personally invited her. As a result, the crew hyped up the competition for the role between Li Xiaoran and Zhang Ziyi.

When the popularity grew, I chose Zhang Ziyi instead of Li Xiaoran.

Li Xiaoran thought that Zhang Yimou would keep his word, but she didn't expect that when preparing for his second commercial film, he immediately chose Hong Kong actress Anita Mui as the heroine.

Just when Li Xiaoran was disappointed, Zhang Weiping used the same old trick again and released the news that there was another female lead in the script and he intended to choose between Zhang Ziyi and Li Xiaoran.

Li Xiaoran was so angry.

I have become your tool for hype, right?
I was fooled once last time. Do you think I will be fooled twice?

Things are different now.

At that time, in order to raise each other's status, I cooperated in the hype, but now?

Three of the four great Qingyi actresses have won international film awards, and you are the only one without any major award. Why should you be tied together with me for hype?
So, during an interview with a reporter, Li Xiaoran simply stopped indulging him.

The reporter asked: "Director Zhang Yimou's latest commercial blockbuster is said to start shooting in September. Producer Zhang Weiping said that the other female lead will be chosen between you and Zhang Ziyi. Is that true?"

Li Xiaoran gathered her hair and said with a smile, "That's not true. Don't listen to Zhang Weiping's nonsense. He is just trying to hype himself up. I respect Director Zhang very much. He is a great director, but I will not appear in his film."

The reporter, of course, likes to stir up trouble, so he asked again, "Zhang Weiping said that he was going to invite Zhang Ziyi, and Director Zhang wanted to invite you, so the two of them had a dispute and a big fight, which seems to be a little different from what you said."

"Haha, this statement sounds familiar, doesn't it? Zhang Weiping also said the same thing in Director Zhang's previous film, Hero."

Li Xiaoran was so angry that her teeth were itching, but she still had a smile on her face.

Then he said, "I solemnly declare once again that I will not act in Director Zhang's film. I hope Zhang Weiping can let me go and stop using me and Ziyi for hype. It would be much better to put more of this energy into the film rather than hype."

The reporter then went on to stir up trouble, "Zhang said that she is not afraid of competing with you. She was able to defeat you last time, and she will definitely be able to do so this time."

Li Xiaoran was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"Zi Yi is very competitive and her acting is very good. I like Zi Yi very much, but there is one thing I want to say. I think Zi Yi has taken the wrong path.

When will she be able to win an international award if she keeps making commercial films like this? Among the four of us selected by the media as the so-called Four Great Qingyi, only Ziyi has not won an international award.

Ziyi, you have to work harder, don't be obsessed with your box office, don't take a detour, art is the greatest pursuit for us actors."

Bah, you vulgar woman, you still want to suppress me!
After seeing the news report, Zhang Ziyi was so angry that she almost smashed her phone. Didn't she say "I defeated you" in the last interview? Why did you use the award to mock me in front of the media?

Bah, you vulgar woman. I also have the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress, okay?
At this moment, Zhang Ziyi's desire to win the International Film Queen Award became even stronger. She didn't want to keep talking about the box office, and she didn't want to be pushed into a corner and say that she also had a Hundred Flowers Film Queen award.

In this era, any female star who has some aspirations hopes to win awards. Mentioning box office is really a vulgar thing.

Zhang Weiping must have seen the report. He had originally wanted to use Li Xiaoran and Zhang Ziyi to hype the relationship, and thought that the two would be happy about it. Unexpectedly, Li Xiaoran was unwilling to do so.

What an ungrateful woman.

Then the reporter interviewed Zhang Weiping and asked him what he thought of Li Xiaoran's words.

Zhang Weiping said bluntly: "We want to make an industrial blockbuster, a groundbreaking work that will subvert the domestic film market. Li Xiaoran is not even in my consideration. She is just an empty title of actress. I will not choose her."

The reporter probably thought it was pointless to add fuel to the flames of the conflict between him and Li Xiaoran, so he asked, "As far as I know, Director Cao Yang is also preparing a commercial blockbuster. What do you think about this?"

The reporter was secretly looking forward to it. You are famous for your big mouth. I have provided you with the hot spots for hype. It depends on whether you dare to hype it.

Sure enough, Zhang Dazui was silent for a moment, then he raised his head and said directly: "Director Cao Yang may be good at filming women, but this is a commercial blockbuster with an investment of hundreds of millions, not a child's play. I advise him to go back and continue to film movies with heroines."

The reporter was so excited. As expected, the most anticipated thing was to open his mouth wide.

"Producer Zhang, let me remind you that Director Cao Yang's "Despicable Milk" is said to be a man's movie, and it won the Cannes Palme d'Or. Director Cao is not only good at filming women."

The reporter "kindly" gave a reminder.

Zhang Weiping glanced at the reporter and said calmly, "Did he win the Best Actor award for "Meanwhile Milk"? No, he won the Best Actress award for his first three films, but not for this one. So, he can only act in movies with women. He is not good at acting in movies with men."

Since when does it become unacceptable if you don’t win the Best Actor award?
Are industry standards so high now?

If you film a movie about women, you have to win the Best Actress award, and if you film a movie about men, you have to win the Best Actor award?
The reporter thought to himself, you are making far-fetched arguments. Director Cao's movie won the Palme d'Or, and you actually say that he can't film men's movies?
Are you raising the industry standards?

But the reporter would not correct him. He thought, Zhang Dazui is not a fool, how could he not know what it means to win the Palme d'Or?
What Zhang Dazui wants is controversy. Since he cannot hype up international celebrities Zhang Ziyi and Li Xiaoran, he will step in personally to create controversy and stir up the popularity of the movie.

In fact, it’s no wonder that Zhang Dazui is unscrupulous. Although Zhang Yimou’s last film “Hero” had high box office, he didn’t really make much money.

Speaking of this, Zhang Weiping was so angry. Damn Harvey Weinstein bought the North American distribution rights of "Hero" and has been dragging its feet on releasing it. No one knows when the hell it will be released!
I've urged them many times and gone over to talk to them many times, but they just tell me the timing is not right. Damn it!
Hook eight things!

This time, "House of Flying Daggers" is claimed to have an investment of 2.4 million yuan, and the pressure to recoup the investment is really amazing, so Zhang Weiping will try every means to increase the popularity and exposure of the movie.

As for whether it would offend Cao Yang, I guess he would be happy to hype it up, right? He was acting crazy and stupid, saying that the movie that won the Palme d'Or was not good, wasn't it just to cause controversy?

As long as it can increase the box office of the movie, he is willing to keep talking big.

(End of this chapter)