HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 352 [352] International director Wu Baige teaches Qi Yuan and Chen Kaige how to do things?

The celebration banquet came to an end.

The next day, photos of Qi Yuan and Fan Xiaopang on the red carpet made the front page headlines.

[With a global box office of $3.6 million, it is the best-performing Chinese-language film this year, second only to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".]

[The finale of "The Bouquet" broke the box office record set by "Infernal Affairs." Only Qi Yuan himself could defeat Qi Yuan.]

[A talented man and a beautiful woman, the most attractive male and female couple in East Asia.]

The accompanying photo shows Qi Yuan and Fan Xiaopang on the red carpet. The former looks dashing in a custom-made suit, while the latter is stunningly beautiful. Both are photogenic, and their photos together exude a sense of style and sophistication.

Countless netizens and fans of the couple strongly demanded that the two team up again, and that there be a happy ending so that everyone wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

Not all media outlets are focusing on "Bouquet" and the Qi-Fan couple.

[Qi Yuan and Chen Kaige shake hands and make peace with the bigwigs of China Film Group and Shandong Film Group. Is this a prelude to the Battle of Red Cliffs?]

Industry insiders revealed that director Chen Kaige will collaborate with Qi Yuan for the second time, with an investment of 3-4 million yuan to present an epic Battle of Red Cliffs.

[The first-ever blockbuster historical commercial film, with an investment that breaks all previous records!]

……

For the Chinese film industry and even the general public in China, the news of the production of "Red Cliff" was big news.

With an investment of 3 to 4 million yuan, this amount is unprecedented. There has never been a film with such a large investment scale in China before.

If it really reaches 4 million, the total investment will exceed that of Zhang Yingmou's "Hero," which is currently in preparation.

Of course, the calculations can't be done that way. "Red Cliff" is quite long, and it definitely can't be filmed in one movie. It has to be divided into two parts.

The total investment for the project exceeded that of "Hero," but the investment for a single film did not.

This big news not only spread throughout Hong Kong and Taiwan, but also became a sensation in Japan, where major media outlets dedicated special pages to reporting on it.

[Is the Emperor of Chinese Music Confirmed to Star in the Epic Historical Drama "Red Cliff"?]

A Japanese film company contacted China Film Group and Chen Kaige again, offering to invest $1500 million and requesting, as before, that a Japanese actor play Zhuge Liang.

Without hesitation, Han Sanye and Chen Kaige rejected the request from the Japanese film company for the second time.

Zhuge Liang is a symbol of the wisdom and loyalty of the Chinese nation, and his image is closely linked to the national sentiment of China.

Casting a Japanese person as Zhuge Liang? They should apologize to the entire nation.

CCTV didn't use Japanese actors when it was short of funds to film "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" before. "Red Cliff" has no shortage of investment, so why use Japanese actors? It would be more appropriate to have a Japanese actor play Jiang Gan, Cai Mao, or Zhang Yun.

……

hawaii.

The crew of "Windtalkers".

Wu Baige made a big splash in Hollywood this year.

His collaboration with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 2 grossed $5.45 million worldwide.

December is almost over, and there's no doubt that Mission: Impossible 2 will become the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide.

This marks the first time in history that a Chinese director has won the global annual box office champion.

This was Wu Baige's peak moment, and he was full of confidence in his future in Hollywood.

MGM trusted him greatly and spent a huge sum of $1.15 million to let him make "Windtalkers".

this day.

Several journalists from mainland China interviewed Wu Baige. Recently, many media outlets, especially those in Hong Kong, have been severely impacted by Qi Yuan's actions.

Hong Kong media have a history of spreading rumors, and they were tormented to the point of near death by Qi Yuan's top-notch team of lawyers.

News of the planned filming of "Red Cliff" spread throughout East Asia, and these media outlets learned their lesson and dared not fabricate stories anymore.

The clever ones thought of Wu Baige, who was doing very well in Hollywood.

Wu Baige started her career in the Hong Kong film industry. In the 1980s, the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, Wu Baige proposed to make a film about Red Cliff.

Limited by the film production technology and market environment at the time, this idea was never realized.

By 04, Wu Baige had experienced several consecutive failures and could no longer make it in Hollywood.

He said he would never make Hong Kong or Chinese-language films again, only British films, but he slapped himself in the face and returned to the mainland in disgrace. He decided to bring his idea from more than 20 years ago to the big screen, and everyone can see how it turned out.

Wu Baige has a strong attachment to the subject of the Battle of Red Cliffs.

When the reporter told him that Qi Yuan and Chen Kaige, those two unethical men, had beaten him to it and were going to film the Battle of Red Cliffs before him, Wu Baige was somewhat surprised.

Has Chinese-language cinema developed to this point? The Battle of Red Cliffs? Couldn't it be made without 4-6 million yuan? Aren't they afraid of losing money?

The reporter quickly provided an explanation: "Bouquet," a film co-starring Qi Yuan and Chen Kaige, was a box office hit in East Asia, with the Japanese market becoming its largest market, grossing over 3.6 million yuan.

A film combining Chinese and Japanese elements, shot in two parts, has a chance to recoup its costs.

If these two markets perform well, it's possible to make money by introducing them to other places.

"Director Wu, do you think they'll do well filming the Battle of Red Cliffs?"

Wu Baige shook her head: "To be honest, I'm taking a wait-and-see approach to the level of technology in China. My suggestion is to wait a bit before filming."

Blindly bringing classic IPs to the big screen will only ruin them. These large-scale films can employ thousands or even tens of thousands of extras in a single scene, and domestic directors lack the capability in this area.

He hasn't even filmed yet, and Qi Yuan and Chen Kaige are already trying to beat him to it? What kind of nonsense is this?

He had heard of Qi Yuan before; his album "22" was quite popular in Hawaii. Wu Baige had heard Qi Yuan's songs; he was just a minor singer and actor.

Chen Kaige and Wu Baige looked down on him.

It's not even certain whether Chen Kaige directed "Farewell My Concubine". That year's Palme d'Or was a tie, so what's there to brag about?

If you have the ability, make another film that wins the Palme d'Or, or like him, try your luck in Hollywood and see if Hollywood studios and audiences will buy into it.

Having reached the pinnacle, Wu Baige was somewhat arrogant and complacent.

He got carried away in front of reporters and even gave Chen Kaige and the screenwriters some advice.

"If I were to film the Battle of Red Cliffs, I would hope the theme would be peace and anti-war. Xiao Qiao is a very important character, and she should be portrayed as a peace envoy against war, while Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu are the embodiment of justice, fighting for the common people..."

Wu Baige spoke eloquently, bringing out the theories he used to film "Red Cliff" in his previous life, full of preachy tone.

Once these journalists return to China.

A lengthy article of over 10,000 words quickly gained attention and became a sensation.

Internationally renowned director Wu Baige elaborates on his vision of the Battle of Red Cliffs. As is widely known, Director Wu had envisioned bringing the Battle of Red Cliffs to the big screen as early as the 1980s, but this wish has been delayed for over a decade, remaining unfulfilled—a regret for him.

I heard that a domestic director wanted to film Red Cliff, and Director Wu, with his broad vision and magnanimous spirit, generously shared his years of experience and insights…

……

Qi Yuan and Chen Kaige, who were in China, were completely taken aback! Wait, was this Director Wu teaching them how to do things?

(End of this chapter)