Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 101 Split Screen Montage

On July 2002, 7, Lu Kuan was in the editing room of Beijing Film Academy, explaining some precautions to Ning Hao and others, when he was suddenly patted on the shoulder.

"Ouch!"

Boss Lu turned around suddenly, then cried out in pain and sat down with his hands on his waist.

"Teacher Tian, ​​why don't you make any noise when you walk? It's so scary!"

Tian Zhuangzhuang's calm face remained composed. "What's wrong with your waist? You can't stretch it just by turning around, right?"

"Young people nowadays are in very poor health."

Lu Kuan has no words to express his suffering, and Yaozi has been suffering a lot recently.

Bingbing hasn't had many announcements recently, and I went to him last night to report on my work all night.

The man is strong and virile, and the woman has been lonely for a long time, so it is inevitable that it will be another sleepless night.

Tian Zhuangzhuang came here to inquire about the editing progress of "Whiplash" and Lu Kuan's college entrance examination results.

"Oh! Don't worry, Mr. Tian, ​​there shouldn't be any problem. But if there's anything unexpected, I'd like to ask you to give me a heads up..."

Lu Kuan and Tian Zhuangzhuang walked to the outside of the editing room and handed a cigarette to Lao Tian in a very servile manner.

导演系本科要求的文化课成绩是考生所在省份一本录取线的70%，2002年苏省一本线552，70%就是387分。

Chinese, math and English are 150 each, totaling 450, comprehensive score is 300, total score is 750, so it is not a big problem to get 387 in Lu Kuan.

After all, he obtained an undergraduate degree from Beijing Film Academy and a master's degree from the University of Southern California in his previous life. He could get a lot of points just by studying Chinese and English.

"I don't have that ability. You have to rely on yourself."

Tian Zhuangzhuang glanced at him and then gave him an idea.

"We need to expedite the editing of Whiplash. I'll talk to Principal Zhang and have you screen it on a small scale at the Standard Press."

Lu Kuan understood what he meant. Even if he failed the academic subjects, he could still get extra points from Zhang Huijun with his amazing film works.

Rules are rules, and human relationships are human relationships. There are no real thresholds or one-size-fits-all approaches in domestic society, and everything can be negotiated.

The prerequisite is that you have to have something, not just bullshit, otherwise the back door is definitely not opened for you.

"Yes! Understood!"

Tian Zhuangzhuang saw him jumping up and down like a monkey and called him to go downstairs together.

"Teacher Tian, ​​where are we going?"

"I'll take you to the Beijing Film Studio and let you learn how Hollywood directors make movies."

"Hollywood? Who?"

“Quentin.”

The memory of the dead suddenly attacked Boss Lu, and he instantly recalled the experience in his previous life when a group of Beijing Film Academy students lined up and rushed to watch the film set.

Quentin arrived in Beijing in May. The interior scenes of the revenge against Ishii Goren in "Kill Bill" were moved from Tokyo to Beijing due to Miramax's consideration of reducing costs.

But Quentin had so much fun in Peking that the action scenes that were scheduled for three days were often delayed until eight weeks, and such blunders happened all the time.

This caused the final film cost to surge by 3600% from $50 million, even exceeding the estimated cost in Tokyo. . .

The two of them walked in silence as they passed the crowd of extras gathered in front of the Beijing Film Studio.

The sun was high in the sky, and those figures who were about to be wilted by the sun were still looking forward to it. If it weren't for the crew of "Blind Well", Sha Gen would probably be one of them now.

"Blind Well" was completed in May, and the post-production should be almost finished by now.

Lu Kuan has been very busy recently, so he just discussed editing ideas with Li Yang after the filming was completed, and plans to find another time to review the finished film.

Entering the Kill Bill crew residence, Quentin's screams are endless, mixed with the F-word's no-post-rock output.

"STOP! STOP!" Chen Feihu screamed at the top of his lungs, shook his head at his master, and gave up.

Yuan Heping looked at the white man lying on the ground with his belly exposed like a dead pig, and said helplessly: "Quentin, change someone else, you can't act."

The foot-obsessed director raised his hand weakly to express his agreement and gave up the role of "Master Baimei" in the film.

There was another good-natured laugh on the set, as everyone was happy to witness the embarrassing moment of the Palme d'Or director.

Lu Kuan looked carefully and saw that half of the country was here!

Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Jiang Wen, and Jiang Zhiqiang.

There was also a burly man who was a little unfamiliar, but Lu Kuan recognized him. This was Han Shanping's secretary Gao Chengsheng.

Zhang Yimou first greeted Tian Zhuangzhuang, and then saw that the road on the side was wider.

"Xiaolu, long time no see."

"Hello, Director Zhang, I'm here with Teacher Tian to learn and observe today."

Zhang Yimou smiled kindly, and the wrinkles on his face became deeper. He had a good impression of this young man.

In addition to speaking frankly about the structural problems of his script in the fourth audition, he also remained calm and composed after having a conflict with Hong Kong filmmakers.

"I heard from Zhuangzhuang that your movie is almost finished. Can you invite me to the screening?"

"Of course, you're most welcome!"

Boss Lu must be humble in this situation, as a group of people are watching him.

The three of them exchanged greetings and continued watching Quentin filming.

I saw him wiping his sweat with a handkerchief, and having an intense discussion with China's first assistant director Zhang Jinzhan, as well as the photographer and art director.

Chen Kaige and several other big directors gathered in a circle and listened to the translator's retelling.

Lu Kuan quickly understood Quentin's confusion without any translation.

There are two main points.

The first is that there is a scene in "Kill Bill" where a killer goes to the hospital to kill the heroine. Quentin felt that the plot was too complicated and the narrative method was not innovative enough.

The straightforward portrayal of the female killer charging into the hospital and ultimately being defeated after a fierce battle with the heroine lying on the hospital bed seems a bit too bland.

As we all know, Quentin is famous for the non-linear narrative structure in "Pulp Fiction" and he has extremely high requirements for the narrative language of his films.

The second point is that before Ishii Goren duels with the Revenge Bride, it is necessary to insert a story about Ishii Goren's bloody growth history.

This flashback should neither overshadow the main theme nor be naturally embedded so that the audience does not feel it is abrupt. This requires a very sophisticated coordination ability of the director in film editing.

The set soon fell into dead silence, with only Quentin's occasional complaint of the F-word uttered, and everyone fell into deep thought.

Film is an ancient art, and the techniques of modern films are very mature.

Quentin is called a film genius because he has his own innovations in narrative structure and visual expression.

This is also the purpose of a group of Chinese directors coming to observe and exchange ideas.

Zhang Yimou was the first to speak out: "Quentin, this scene is really a bit abrupt. Not only does it disrupt the narrative structure, but it also affects the rhythm of the plot. Beatrice's revenge rhythm will be interrupted, and the audience's previous experience will be paused here."

Jiang Wen was mainly concerned about the second question, which was somewhat similar to the shot of the police chief in "Looking for a Gun".

"Quentin, how about this for the first part? Skip the preparatory work for the female killer and start with a close-up of the heroine, then use a Hitchcock zoom to build up the tension?"

Quentin's eyes lit up, but he immediately shook his head and said, "This kind of zoom is too background-intensive. The hospital bed background doesn't have a lot of camera language to express it, so the effect probably won't be very good."

Boss Lu laughed at this; these two questions were like open-book exams for him. "Split screen montage!"

Split screen montage is split screen montage.

This sentence was spoken in English. While the Chinese directors were still waiting for the translator to relay it, Quentin had already begun to rehearse this plan in his mind.

Chen Kaige's face was a little unhappy: "Zhuangzhuang, it's better not to let your students interrupt in such an occasion, so as not to show your weakness."

Boss Lu glanced at him with disdain.

Are you showing off? Someone's pants weren't tied properly and you're exposed.

Every word he says is to show off, suppress others, and take advantage of his seniority, which is annoying.

Quentin slapped his thigh and said, "What a genius idea!"

He stood up and walked over to ask Lu Kuan to go to the monitor.

"Friend, tell me what you think."

A group of big directors looked at each other in surprise. Zhang Yimou, Jiang Wen, Tian Zhuangzhuang and others were all enlightened when they heard the split-screen montage relayed by the translator.

Only Chen Kaige had a gloomy face and felt very embarrassed.

Foreigners are foreigners, they don’t know the ways of the world at all. Why do you treat me like a guest of honor when I scold you?

Boss Lu doesn't care about his tricks. He knows who is the awesome one and who is the fake one among those present!
“Quite simply, the split-screen montage serves as a juxtaposition of time and space.”

"The portrayal of the female killer's preparatory actions and the heroine's helplessness create a strong contrast."

"Here, the heroine is set up as a lamb to be slaughtered, and it will be very satisfying when she fights back later."

The principle here is similar to that of a cool novel. The author will do everything he can to suppress the protagonist and the readers' emotions, and then pretend to be cool and dominate the world.

Jiang Wen clapped her hands in praise, "What a brilliant idea! What about the scene where Ishii Yulian inserted the story?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang and Zhang Yimou kept nodding, waiting for Lu Kuan's answer.

"You can try using animation for this part, in the style of Japanese manga."

Lu Kuan asked the artist for some paper and quickly sketched some Japanese-style scenes and comic compositions.

This is the basic skill of a master's degree from the University of Southern California in the previous life. There is no good director who is not good at drawing storyboards and storyboards.

Quentin and the Chinese director gathered around to watch carefully and brainstorm.

Tian Zhuangzhuang wondered, "Wouldn't this be too abrupt, going from a realistic lens to a comic style?"

Lu Kuan smiled and explained, "There are two advantages to doing this."

"First, the comic style replaces real-life filming, so the scale can be larger. Many blood-spurting and frequent thrusting actions are impossible to perform with real people."

"Secondly, using a different presentation method to differentiate from the main plot does not affect the integrity of the narrative structure, but adds more style and plot tension."

Quentin didn't look up from beginning to end, but just let the monitor replay the live-action version of the Revenge of Ishii Goren, madly putting himself into the perspective of the Japanese comics.

"Crazy idea!"

Zhang Yimou and others looked at the young director with approval.

It may be an exaggeration to say that the solutions to these two problems are a stroke of genius, but they are indeed the optimal solutions at present.

Tian Zhuangzhuang felt very relieved as he watched Lu Kuan and Quentin talking in fluent English, while Zhang Yimou and others beside them were listening attentively.

This fifth-generation director, who is still full of energy, returned to the Beijing Film Academy and took up the teaching position again in order to cultivate the next generation of film talents.

His golden decade was banned, so it was difficult for him to have the urge to create, so he might as well make use of his remaining energy.

Later, at the 2017 Annual Awards Ceremony of the China Film Directors Association, he spoke on behalf of the fifth generation of directors including Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige.

His face, which was already full of wrinkles, did not show any signs of aging, but was full of ambition and hope.

The tone is smooth, without any excitement:
We are a generation of ups and downs, but in this society, we have seen people, the sky, the earth, and know what love, responsibility, and giving are.

We later put all of this into our movie, using our own lives to make a movie. I think this may be the attitude of our generation.

I hope that future filmmakers will do the same, passing on the backbone of Chinese filmmakers from generation to generation.

Seeing the wide road like a rough jade at this time, he was naturally delighted.

Tian Zhuangzhuang decided to say hello to Zhang Huijun first, so as not to miss such a good seedling.

Boss Lu acted big in front of others again, returned to Beijing Film Academy with satisfaction, and called Ning Hao to have dinner with him.

After eating, the two had to go back to the editing room. They were too lazy to run outside the school, so they went directly to the Xinjiang Province restaurant in the cafeteria to eat pilaf.

"What's wrong? If you have something to say, then let it out!"

Boss Lu's mouth was full of oil from chewing the lamb chops, and he glanced at Ning Hao opposite him.

Ning Hao was tongue-tied as if he was constipated, and then swayed from side to side as if he had hemorrhoids.

"Um, Director Lu, oh no, Mr. Lu!"

"I've almost finished saving up my scripts, I think... hehe..."

Boss Lu knew the answer well: "What's the budget?"

"I plan to set the location in a mountain city, and I will try to find actors whose reputation is more important than fame, or who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama or the Beijing Film Academy."

Ning Hao gritted his teeth and reported a number: "600 million!"

Boss Lu sneered secretly. This figure was similar to the funding he proposed to Andy Lau later when he sought the "Asian Star Director" plan.

"As a director, I understand your need for more funding."

"But as a producer, I suggest you first scout the locations and draw up a storyboard, then give me a budget that meets the requirements."

This is Ning Hao's first feature film. Lu Kuan needs to gradually train him to follow the standardized procedures of Hollywood crews, which will also be beneficial to his future career.

The biggest benefit is that it doesn’t cause any trouble or exceed the budget for you as an investor.

Ning Hao didn't care about that and thanked him repeatedly with great joy.

In fact, he just mentioned it casually. After fighting side by side with Lu Kuan against several people from Xiangjiang, he knew that Boss Lu was far from as simple as he appeared.

Therefore, I placed my hopes on him for funding for the first film, but I didn't expect Lu Kuan to agree so readily.

He was happy, and Boss Lu was even happier.

Whoever makes this movie knows, but they will make money after it is made.

Lu Kuan smiled and said, "I'll have Wenwen come to you to sign the contract tomorrow. You can decide whether to take a share of the box office or a fixed director's fee."

"By the way, please consider arranging auditions for Zhang Songwen, Huang Bo, and Wang Baoqiang."

"Of course, the role is the most important. If you are not qualified, you should just brush it off."

Ning Hao nodded hurriedly. Not to mention arranging an audition, even the investor's shit smells good.

At this point in time in 2002, the domestic film industry was particularly bleak, and it was indeed very difficult to attract some investment. The situation would not improve until the huge success of "Hero".

And that's only for those famous directors.

Lu Kuan called Sun Wenwen in front of Ning Hao. Looking at the smiling girl with a big gold chain and a short hair in front of him, he felt that his butterfly wings had changed the life of another director.

Oh my! Why didn’t I have such a good life in my previous life?
(End of this chapter)