Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

The celebration banquet is scheduled for the 25th.

The box office of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" reached 1.3 million yuan around the 20th.

Yang Siwei is preparing to hold a grand celebration banquet, taking the opportunity to officially introduce "Yanxi Film Studio" to industry colleagues.

At the same time, the celebration banquet will also be an opportunity to officially announce the company's next two film production plans.

One is naturally "Crazy Stone" directed by Ning Hao; the other is "First Love," with a script provided by Zhao Yanxi and directed by Ding Lang, the assistant director of "You Are the Apple of My Eye."

The reason it's not "So Young" is mainly because "So Young" is a bit too melodramatic.

Zhao Yanxi recalls that the novel received extremely polarized reviews after it was adapted into a film.

People either like it a lot or hate it.

Zhao Yanxi didn't want her studio to ruin its reputation just because of a movie.

While the Thai film "First Love" had limited box office success in China, its refreshing and charming style garnered widespread acclaim.

Furthermore, in Zhao Yanxi's view, the poor box office performance has little to do with the film itself.

After its release in Thailand in 2010, the film became popular among young audiences in Thailand through the internet, accumulating a very high reputation and a huge fan base.

Despite generating so much buzz before its release, it wasn't until 2012 that it was finally shown in theaters in China.

How could viewers who have already watched pirated versions several times possibly go to the cinema to spend money on tickets again?

Furthermore, the aesthetic tastes of Thai actors differ from those of domestic audiences.

If the entire cast consisted of young domestic actors, and capitalized on the popularity of youth and campus themes sparked by "You Are the Apple of My Eye," the box office performance might not have been much worse!

As for the director, although Ding Lang was not famous in his previous life, Zhao Yanxi unexpectedly discovered during the filming of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" that he was quite skilled and had considerable directing ability.

At the same time, during the editing process, one can quickly grasp one's own requirements.

As the chief editor of "You Are the Apple of My Eye," the entire film was edited to perfection.

These abilities are sufficient; youth films don't inherently demand high levels of skill from their directors.

Zhao Yanxi was willing to use "First Love" as practice to train Ding Lang.

After all, he has plenty of good scripts in his mind; what he lacks are good directors who can bring them to life.

There are only so many well-known directors in the industry, and most of them are already "taken," so it's not easy to poach them from outside. The only option is to cultivate a few from within.

Ning Hao is one, Ding Lang is another, these are the future foundation of their own company!

...

The victory celebration banquet will be held at the Capital Hotel.

Yang Siwei delivered the invitations to prominent film and television companies, celebrities, and state-owned enterprises such as China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group.

Leaders from art schools such as Beijing Film Academy, Central Academy of Drama, and Shanghai Theatre Academy, as well as directors and producers—basically anyone with a prominent position in the industry—were all present.

This time there's no need to worry about the lack of big names to anchor the event. Huayi Brothers' Wang Zhonglei led the two Bings, Yinghuang Huo Wenxi brought the Crown Prince and Bai Bing, and Li Shaohong was followed by Chen Kun and Yang Mi.

Industry bigwigs such as Wang Changtian, Yu Dong, and Ren Zhonglun were also present until Han Sanping brought Lu Chuan and Zhao Yanzi into the room.

Zhao Yanxi moved among the crowd, surrounded by sounds of praise.

When you succeed, you'll be surrounded by good people. Zhao Yanxi feels this most deeply now.

Most of the people present today were important figures he could only look up to in his previous life, and now they all greeted him with smiles and congratulations.

The feeling of success is truly wonderful!

"Yanxi, Yifei, congratulations on the huge success of 'You Are the Apple of My Eye'!" Huang Xiaoming said with a smile. "I'm afraid no one in the crew could have imagined that you, Yanxi, would realize your dream so quickly."

"Haha, not at all," Zhao Yanxi said with a smile, "Brother Xiaoming, you're doing well too, you've already acted in Director Feng's movie."

"Just a supporting role," Huang Xiaoming chuckled. "I don't even know when I'll get a lead role. Yan Xi, if you find a suitable role in the future, just don't forget about me!"

"How could I forget?"

As they were talking, Fan Bingbing and Li Bingbing walked over to Zhao Yanxi at the same time.

"Director Zhao~"

"Director Yan Xi... Yi Fei"

Li Bingbing called out politely, Fan Bingbing called out affectionately, Liu Yifei watched coldly from the side, and Zhao Yanxi, feeling the murderous intent beside her, could only exchange polite greetings.

......

The celebration banquet was nothing more than the leaders giving their remarks and the main creators sharing some interesting stories from the set.

After Han Sanping and Mu Deyuan, representing China Film Group and Beijing Film Academy respectively, spoke, Zhao Yanxi and the main creators smashed the ice sculpture representing the 1.3 million yuan box office.

Subsequently, Yang Siwei, in his capacity as the publicity director of Yanxi Studio, announced the studio's next production plan.

"Stone" isn't anything special; it's a film written and directed by Ning Hao and his wife, and quite a few people in the industry know about it.

However, the youth film "First Love," written by Zhao Yanxi herself, has attracted a lot of attention.

As soon as Zhao Yanxi stepped off the stage, she was surrounded by Wang Zhonglei, Yu Dong, Huo Wenxi and others.

"Director Zhao, does 'First Love' still need investment?"

"Director Zhao, just ask if you need any help. Funding, actors... Huayi has everything you need!"

...

"I'm sorry, we really don't lack funds right now."

"As for the cast, it will most likely be the original cast and crew from 'You Are the Apple of My Eye'..."

As Zhao Yanxi explained, she struggled to escape the crowd's encirclement.

On the other side of the banquet hall, Wang Jinghua was also solemnly instructing Zhu Yawen:

"Yawen, whether you're the male lead or the second male lead, you have to give it your all. One movie isn't the most important thing; what's more important is maintaining a good relationship with Director Zhao."

"Since he chose people from the original cast, I know that Director Zhao is someone who values ​​old friendships."

"If we cultivate a good relationship, what resources won't we have in the future?! This is the third director in the country to earn over 100 million yuan!"

"I understand, Sister Hua."

...

The celebration banquet is also an occasion for people to connect and build relationships.

At Liu Yifei's coming-of-age ceremony, Zhao Yanxi could be a salted fish.

But since this was his home turf, he had no choice but to raise his glass and toast everyone.

The people sitting in Han Sanping's room are mostly heavyweights, such as Wang Zhonglei, Yu Dong, Lu Chuan, and Zhao Yanzi.

"Good lad, I was originally thinking of investing a little in Ning Hao's commercial film, but I didn't expect you to snatch it up first. This one drink of yours isn't enough~" Han Sanping said, pretending to be serious.

"President Han, this is not my fault," Zhao Yanxi said with a smile. "Director Ning didn't say that you were planning to invest. If I had known, I wouldn't have competed with you."

"Haha, fine, fine, you can vote if you want. Next time you have any good projects, remember to save some for China Film Group."

"Next time for sure, next time for sure!"

"We at Huayi are too~" Wang Zhonglei raised his glass and said with a smile, "Director Zhang even specially instructed me to toast Director Zhao to congratulate the film on its successful opening."

"Thank you, Director Zhang," Zhao Yanxi said with a smile, raising her wine glass in a gesture of respect.

"What's so great about a commercial film?"

Just as the guests and hosts were enjoying themselves, Lu Chuan suddenly mumbled something, for some unknown reason.

Seemingly not satisfied with just muttering, he picked up his wine glass and looked at Zhao Yanxi seriously, saying, "Little Zhao, as your senior from Beijing Film Academy, I must remind you of something."

"A director still needs to have artistic aspirations; they can't sacrifice the film's artistry for box office success. With films like 'Stone' and 'First Love,' I think you've gone astray!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the table fell silent!

Before Zhao Yanxi could say anything, Han Sanping's face showed displeasure: "Lu Chuan, what nonsense are you talking about!"

"China Film Group has been supporting commercial films for the past two years. The development of the film market also requires the release of commercial films. Are you questioning China Film Group's policy?!"

"Mr. Han, I didn't mean that."

Lu Chuan quickly explained, "I just didn't want Xiao Zhao to go astray."

Whether we took the wrong path or not is not up to you to decide!

Han Sanping suppressed his anger. He had originally wanted to use Zhao Yanxi to encourage Lu Chuan to change his career path. China doesn't lack veteran directors who can make good art films, but it lacks commercial directors who can master commercial films.

I never expected Lu Chuan to be so clueless!

"Whether I've gone astray or not is none of Director Lu's concern. But no matter how artistically unsound my film may be, it shouldn't warrant being sued!"

The news that "Kekexili" was sued by Liu Yujun, the director of "I Drink Tibetan Antelope", was only recently revealed.

"Zhao Yanxi, what do you mean!" Lu Chuan suddenly stood up, her face flushed red.

I don't know if it was because I was too ashamed or because I was angry.

It's most likely the latter; people with thick skin probably won't feel ashamed.

"The story concept, scene design, character development, and cinematography of that movie made in 98 are so similar to yours made in 04. How did you let him beat you to it? You should be the plaintiff!"

"He doesn't have your artistic talent at all!"

"Excuse me, everyone, I have something to attend to. Please excuse me for a moment."

After saying that, Zhao Yanxi didn't care whether Lu Chuan was furious or not, and turned to leave.

A real man doesn't fly into a rage while looking behind him!