national idol

Chapter 298 Producer

Lao Yangtou is an old shadow puppet artist in Hua County, Shaanxi Province. His son is a volunteer who travels around all the year round.

One day, Old Yang's son returned home, bringing back a foreign girl and a foreign boy Brooks.

After staying at home for a while, Lao Yangtou's son rushed to Hoh Xil as a volunteer to participate in the protection of Tibetan antelopes with Yang Niu. Because the journey was difficult and it was inconvenient to bring a child, he left a letter and entrusted Lao Yangtou to take care of Brooks.

Old Yangtou didn't want to bring this little foreigner who had no blood relationship with him, but it was a pity that his son had already gone far away.

In desperation, Old Yang could only take on the heavy responsibility of taking care of Brooks.

During the period, Lao Yangtou and Brooks were mutually exclusive and opposed to each other in terms of living habits, language forms, behavioral thinking, and cultural concepts. Friends of all ages.

This is the general plot of the movie "Grandson From America".

The core of this film is the emotional progressive process between the old and the young. In this progressive process, various contradictions and conflicts are interspersed, and through these conflicts and conflicts, many laughs, tears, and connotations are extended.

Among the many contradictions throughout the film, the most important one is the cultural contradiction between the two.

As an old artist of shadow puppetry, the most precious thing of Lao Yangtou is a set of shadow puppetry that makes a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace.

And Brooks likes the Spider-Man of the American Marvel series.

However, there is no smoke of Monkey King fighting Spider-Man in this drama, only the warmth and peace of the old and the young accepting each other in the friction.

The whole play describes various current situations under the collision of Chinese and Western cultures through the process of getting along with the young and old. It is full of laughs, touching and thought-provoking.

The film was directed by Qu Jiangtao and won three nominations at the 22nd Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival for Best Original Screenplay, Best Director's Debut and Best Children's Film.

Although nothing came to fruition in the end, and the popularity among the general public was not high, in Ding Ning's view, this film is a rare masterpiece among domestic films full of vulgar commercial films. It has content, appeal, thought, theme, and Positive meaning, there is no shortage of laughs and tears.

This is also an important reason why he chose such a film as his directorial debut.

Of course, that's not the only reason.

There is not much difficulty in shooting. Whether it is the shooting technique, screen design, or film language, it is very plain and suitable for beginners.

The scenes of the whole film only revolve around a few simple small places, which are small villages and small towns in Shaanxi Province.

There are few characters, almost one old and one young, plus a supporting role, the head of the cultural station of the town, not even a heroine, which is beneficial to control.

Ding Ning chose this play because he didn't need big-name actors, and the required investment was very low.

Combining these reasons and summarizing it in one sentence, this is a low-cost, low-difficulty word-of-mouth film.

Ding Ning believes that no one would have guessed that he would make such a film his directorial debut.

Invited by Ding Ning to be the producer of this drama, Zhu Yan was very surprised after reading the script that Ding Ning presented: "Is this the script you wrote?"

"Yes," Ding Ning said, "Mr. Zhu, what do you think of this script?"

Zhu Yan pondered for a long time, and while flipping through the script, he said slowly: "Since you invited me to be the producer, then I have something to say. The script is a good script, full of flesh and blood, sweet and sour, full of content, and full of contradictions." The portrayal is also very good. The language of the characters is also good, very humorous. The details are also very comprehensive, and you can see the intentions. You must have thought about the script writing."

"However, I don't see much commerciality. The scene is monotonous, the plot is thin, and the characters are scarce. It looks more like a sketch script. I personally don't think it has any commercial prospects. I think I can understand your original intention of writing such a play, you You want to make people think that you have content, feelings, culture and ideas, right? You want to rely on this drama to accumulate word of mouth."

"Yes." Ding Ning smiled shyly.

He chose such a movie because he really hoped to establish a good image among the public, not vulgar, not commercial, and able to settle down and focus on the movie itself, not moneymoneymoney. Folk singers in the eyes of fans.

With a good image, he will naturally have a good reputation. Even if he may only make one such movie in his life, many things will continue for a long time.

This is an investment for the long term, and it's also a package.

Everyone has their own mask, and public figures can't do without the packaging. That's what Ding Ning does.

After Zhu Yan was silent for a while, he said, "If you were a student who just graduated from the academy, it would be a good idea to make a micro-movie. It will surely accumulate a lot of word of mouth. But if it were you, it wouldn't be inappropriate." Yes, but I think you have to be prepared for a miserable box office."

"Now is the era of blockbuster movies. There are not many big stars and small fresh meat. The audience will not buy it unless you can reach the level of Wei Changping. You may think that your popularity is not worse than Wei Changping. To be honest, it is far worse. The three words Wei Changping are displayed, not only the popularity, but also the screening rate."

"As for your show, I dare say that when it's released, the screening rate will definitely be at the bottom. If you encounter a schedule with a lot of blockbusters, even if you get word of mouth, it's useless if you can't increase the screening rate. "

"Besides, the publicity cost of a drama is very high now. Even if the drama can get a pretty good box office with your personal appeal, I think the investment and output are probably not directly proportional. Change to a more down-to-earth script. , with the same investment, maybe you can get several times the box office than this script, and the word-of-mouth will not be worse than what such a play can give you."

"Word-of-mouth is a word-of-mouth thing. A thousand people applaud it, and 1 people applaud it. You can make a thousand people applaud you for this movie, but if you change the script, you might be able to make 1 people applaud it. Which one do you think is more rewarding? many?"

What Zhu Yan said makes sense, but Ding Ning spent a lot of time and painstaking efforts revising the script. He has made up his mind: "This play is not commercial, I knew it from the first word of the script. Indeed, as you said, Mr. Zhu, I want to accumulate some word of mouth through this drama. But the most important thing is that I really want to make this drama."

"I want your words." Zhu Yan patted Ding Ning's shoulder with a smile, feeling very relieved.

What he said before was not simply bad-mouthing the film, but to see if Ding Ning would persevere.

If Ding Ning didn't have a bit of persistence and was swayed by his temptations, then he wouldn't bother to be a producer who fell from the sky.

Fortunately, Ding Ning has his own persistence and has not let him down: "You can't avoid utilitarianism in everything you do these days, but it is difficult to produce good works if you put utilitarianism first. Because I want to shoot So it’s very important to have such a sincere heart when you want to shoot, otherwise you will lose enthusiasm very quickly.”

"Yes." Ding Ning nodded with a smile.

"However." Zhu Yan paused and said, "My style doesn't fit well with your play, and I'm a bit busy recently, so I don't think I can spare much time, so I may not be able to be the producer. How about this, let me help you ask if there are other directors who are willing to be the producer of your film."

"Don't worry, I won't leak the script for you easily. If you believe me, I'll ask you right away. It must be a great director of the fifth and sixth generations. You want to learn from me as a producer. Art, right? I'll find someone more suitable for you to teach you."

If it can be the director of the fifth and sixth generations, then of course it would be great. Ding Ning thought for a while and said, "Is it convenient? Will it cause trouble for you, Mr. Zhu?"

Zhu Yan smiled: "How come, it's a matter of little effort, just help me write a good theme song in the future."

"Then trouble Mr. Zhu." A theme song is not a small case, if it can be exchanged for the guidance of the fifth or sixth generation director, let alone a theme song, in the future Zhu Yan's play, the theme song will be arranged by him become.

……

Ding Ning thought that it would take some time for Zhu Yan to contact the director for him, but the famous director Hou Yang called him the next day, saying that Zhu Yan had introduced him. After reading the script, he thought Yes, I intend to be the producer of this play.

After confirming that it was Hou Yang, Ding Ning was overjoyed.

Hou Yang, like Wei Changping, who is now in full swing in the director circle, is a representative of the fifth generation of directors in China.

But compared with Wei Changping, who was going smoothly, his career was more bumpy. He was once banned from filming for ten years because of a movie that violated the political bottom line. Since then, his popularity has been lower than that of Wei Changping in the circle. Give way more, but it's a world of difference when you go out of the circle.

During the ten years of being banned from filming, Hou Yang has not been idle. As a producer, he has participated in the shooting of many films and brought out several well-known directors of today's young and strong school.

After the filming ban ended, he has been working as a master tutor at the best Yanjing Film and Television Academy in China. The students he cultivated are not to say that the world is full of peaches and plums, but in the circle, his students are definitely a force that cannot be ignored in the domestic film industry. It is well-known at home and abroad.

It is precisely because of this that even though he no longer personally shoots movies, everyone still respects him as a leader among the fifth generation of directors.

Such a director is perfect for Ding Ning.

The big director is also a master tutor of Yanjing Film and Television Academy. He has rich shooting experience and high teaching level.

Not only does this old man carry a ring with him, he might even be able to teach him the Fen Jue, what a wonderful thing.

However, Hou Yang also put forward a condition: "Before filming, I hope you will arrange a time to come to Yanying to take directing classes for two and a half months on the [-]st of next month. Do you have any questions about this?"

This matter is a bit embarrassing, but the opportunity must not be missed, anyway, there are no important arrangements for the future, Ding Ning thought for a while and said: "No problem."

Hou Yang said: "That's good, but I have to tell you that the two-and-a-half-month directing class is in the nature of a summer training class. There is a mix of good and bad people. It may be a star like you, or it may be that the family has a lot of money and didn't go out. Dude, you have to be mentally prepared."

"no problem."

Ding Ning has also heard about this summer training class. You can get in after you pay online, but it's not that easy. Generally, you need to have experience in the industry.

Of course, there are really rich local tyrants who can sell even official student status, let alone training courses, so the quality of students will inevitably vary.

For this, Ding Ning didn't mind much, no matter what, he was a respectable person, and he expected that no one would trouble him, at most, he was more enthusiastic about him.

"Well", Hou Yang paused, and continued to warn: "You'd better keep a low profile about this matter, there is no need to let people who don't matter know."

"Okay." Even if Hou Yang didn't remind him, Ding Ning would not spread the matter around.

After all, if the news leaked out, it would not do him any good, and it might cause a lot of inconvenience.

Hou Yang said: "Then I will wait for you in Yanjing. After you arrive in Yanjing, call my mobile phone number. This is my number. You can contact me at any time if you have anything to do. Of course, don't call me in the middle of the night. "

Ding Ning smiled: "Okay, Mr. Hou."

This is called Teacher Shang, and Hou Yang also smiled: "Then I will hang up first."

"Okay, goodbye, Mr. Hou."

After hanging up the call, Ding Ning immediately called Zhu Yan and thanked him sincerely.

Zhu Yan is still an old saying, just remember to help him write a good theme song in the future, which is naturally what should be done.

After hanging up Zhu Yan's phone call, Ding Ning sorted out his recent arrangements.

It is now June 6th, and "Three Heroes" has been released in China for just one week, and July 15st is not far away.

During this period of time, he must solve all the things that should be done.

Things are too little, too much, too much, the most important thing is Gu Xi’s new album, his part will definitely be taken care of at the end of the month, and most of the rest are not troublesome, and many of them can be delayed , so after careful calculation, there are not many things that he must accomplish in the near future.

This is not a relative term. Compared with the previous period of time, the two-place running is almost as hard as a toss. For him, if he can sleep peacefully for six hours a day, he is not busy.

But there is one thing that is more difficult, and it collides with the training time, and that is the soundtrack of "The Family of Gold Powder".

Currently "The Family of Gold Fans" is still being edited, produced and dubbed. According to the plan, Yin Feihong intends to give him the soundtrack for the episodes in July.

There are a total of 35 episodes, and it takes a lot of time to complete the soundtrack.

Fortunately, the soundtrack of TV dramas is not that picky. He has already done all the soundtrack materials that should be there. In addition, he is not fighting alone. It's not that difficult either.

However, this matter is not sure now, we can only wait and see.

If the water comes and the soil is covered, the soldiers will come to block it. At worst, he will move the entire "Sound Heroes" studio to Yanjing.

(End of this chapter)