HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 124 [124] A terrible movie produces a divine theme song; "Red Beauty" receives widespread praise.

This was the first time Qi Yuan had fought such a costly battle.

He drew three times in a row, and all of them had gold attributes. He could only say it was amazing.

Ren Xianqi's good fortune has a bit of a mystical aspect; it's something you can't see or touch, and you can only explore it slowly in the future.

Fang Wenshan's classical style is something we won't study for now, as he doesn't write Chinese-style songs anymore.

He was interested in Chen Kaige's extreme visual style.

He found a disc and watched the music videos "Jiangnan" and "Dongfeng Po" repeatedly.

Having acquired Chen Kaige's exceptional visual sense, he was able to understand why Chen Kaige filmed a scene in that way.

Not a single frame is wasted; each frame has its own unique meaning.

This feature is truly amazing.

……

On October 6, at the Great Hall of the People, the premiere of "The Emperor and the Assassin" was held.

“Ah Yuan.”

"Director Chen."

Chen Kaige and Qi Yuan greeted each other from a distance.

The lead actors, including Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi, Li Xuejian, and Wang Zhiwen, as well as the media reporters present, were all surprised.

Previously, paparazzi released photos showing Chen Kaige and Qi Yuan hugging when they parted after having dinner, leading people to speculate that the two had a good personal relationship.

This time, people saw it with their own eyes.

Chen Kaige and Qi Yuan's relationship is better than everyone guessed.

Gong Li asked Zhang Fengyi and Li Xuejian next to her, "Are Qi Yuan and Director Chen really that close? One is a singer and the other is a director; they're from different circles."

"I don't know, maybe they just like each other." Li Xuejian shook his head in confusion.

Wang Zhiwen also couldn't understand it.

Zhang Fengyi did have a bold conjecture, but he dared not say it.

In his early years, Chen Kaige had some rather shocking photos, in which he was seen hugging and kissing a foreign man very intimately.

Many people suspect that Chen Kaige's sexual orientation is abnormal, which is why he was able to make "Farewell My Concubine".

Only after Qi Yuan got closer did Zhang Fengyi realize that he had been overthinking things. He shouldn't judge others by his own standards; Qi Yuan and Chen Kaige weren't what he thought they were.

Qi Yuan mentioned the music videos "Dong Feng Po" and "Jiangnan" and shared his insights on them.

He can rattle off all sorts of technical terms like the rule of thirds, negative space, size contrast, and visual guidance.

Chen Kaige's eyes shone, and although he tried his best to remain calm, the corners of his mouth turned up uncontrollably.

“Ah Yuan, you really understand me best. That’s exactly what I wanted to convey. You’re absolutely right.”

Chen Kaige felt as if he had drunk a cup of mead, and an indescribable joy welled up in his heart.

He was shocked.

Why does Qi Yuan understand his composition so well? Her analysis is exactly the same as his thoughts.

Soulmate!
If he were twenty years younger, he would really like to become sworn brothers with Qi Yuan.

Gong Li, Li Xuejian, Zhang Fengyi, and Wang Zhiwen exchanged a glance, their expressions momentarily stunned. Wait, does Qi Yuan really understand?
Chen Kaige's expression showed a hint of regret, and he said, "You really have a talent for directing. You have such a penetrating understanding of visuals and imagery. If you were to become a director, you would definitely achieve great success."

Chen Kaige spoke from the bottom of his heart; he felt that Qi Yuan's understanding of cinematic visuals was incredibly impressive!
Nonsense, Qi Yuan's understanding is exactly the same as his. How could he not be awesome if he's the same as him?

If it weren't for the people around, Chen Kaige would have encouraged Qi Yuan to become a director.

A former laborer who used to carry a camera for him could make it big, and now he's trying to surpass him.

Isn't Qi Yuan's talent far superior to that laborer's? If that laborer can do it, why can't Qi Yuan?
After a brief separation from Chen Kaige, Chen Hong introduced Qi Yuan to people like Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi.

The group treated Qi Yuan with great politeness.

There's no way I can be polite; Qi Yuan is a pop king in the Chinese music scene, and he and Chen Kaige are very close. Just now, Chen Kaige gave Qi Yuan extremely high praise, saying that Qi Yuan would be no worse than him as a director.

All of this made them dare not underestimate Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan was quite polite to them.

Gong Li, Wang Zhiwen, Li Xuejian, and Zhang Fengyi are all talented actors in the film and television industry, truly good actors.

"Ms. Gong Li, I really like your portrayal of Juxian in 'Farewell My Concubine'. She is charming and passionate, and dares to love and hate."

Actually, the first time Qi Yuan saw Gong Li's movies was Stephen Chow's "Flirting Scholar" and Zhang Yingmou's "Red Sorghum".

"Teacher Li, I especially like your portrayal of Song Jiang. You acted so vividly."

Li Xuejian was both amused and exasperated: "I regret it. I didn't even dare to go home for the Spring Festival this year."

"Teacher Wang, I have to apologize to you. I heard that before I came out, you were a representative figure of the idol group in mainland China."

Qi Yuan and Wang Zhiwen shook hands.

Wang Zhiwen replied jokingly, "Yeah, you're so handsome. You've completely overshadowed us. Shouldn't you make it up to us?"

In fact, Wang Zhiwen was quite happy that Qi Yuan had taken away his idol image.

In mainland China during the 1990s, "idol" and "pretty boy" were derogatory terms.

One major reason why the director of the CCTV version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" chose Tang Guoqiang to play Zhuge Liang was because Tang Guoqiang was a handsome young man.

At the time, a director said that Tang Guoqiang had been called a "pretty boy" for so long since his debut.

He's getting older, no longer young, and he wants to seek a career change.

If you give him such an important role as Zhuge Liang, he will definitely do his best to prove himself.

Then Tang Guoqiang really put in all his effort to portray a refined, loyal, and wise Zhuge Liang, which is also recognized as the most classic Zhuge Liang.

After the premiere ceremony was completed, the movie "The Emperor and the Assassin" began playing on the big screen.

Chen Kaige is full of confidence in this big-budget production that cost 70 million to make.

Qi Yuan watched the movie once and found many problems.

The film makes too many changes to the story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin, adding original plot elements such as the romantic relationship between Qin Shi Huang and a woman from Zhao, which deviates from the history familiar to the audience.

Li Xuejian acted very well, but his portrayal of Qin Shi Huang was too subversive.

The common perception of Qin Shi Huang is that he was a man of great talent and strategy who unified the six kingdoms.

His portrayal of a coward, neurotic, and manic character severely subverted everyone's perception.

Also, the film's overall style is somewhat like a stage play, and the actors' performances are quite exaggerated.

These are all potential pitfalls that can hinder viewers from getting into the story.

In particular, mainland audiences are more conservative in their thinking and find it difficult to accept such a big change.

The critical failure of "The Emperor's Shadow" is truly well-deserved.

Later, as times changed and people's views became more open and they were more accepting of new things, they gradually accepted the film, and the film's reputation began to rebound.

However, that happened after 2010.

It's 1998 now, this movie would only be universally panned.

Sure enough, after the film was released, criticism poured in from all sides.

Fortunately, Chen Kaige recently directed two music videos for Qi Yuan, proving that his directing skills are still there.

Otherwise, the media and the audience would criticize Chen Kaige for being unworthy of his position and not deserving of the title of the top director in mainland China.

The criticism of the film had nothing to do with Qi Yuan; on the contrary, his performance of the end-credits song "Red Beauty" received unanimous praise.

Some media outlets even described it as a terrible movie paired with a catchy song.

(End of this chapter)