Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

"Ryan Reynolds?"

"I seem to remember this person. Although he has acted in some films, he is not a big star. He has only played minor roles and supporting characters."

"Now that you have plenty of funds, I think you can try making some real movies."

Clearly, even though a distribution contract had been signed for "Paranormal Activity," Paul did not consider what was filmed in a small house to be a "movie."

"Paul, what I'm making now is a film, and it's a film I'm aiming for at next year's Berlin International Film Festival!"

"God! There's only a month left until the registration deadline, are you going to be a quick shooter again??"

"So hurry up and ask the guild if he's available; I only need a maximum of twenty days of his time!"

Zhao Yanxi remembers that the "Deadpool" character in the original work was really well-acted.

To ensure the quality of the film, Zhao Yanxi was willing to gamble on his acting skills, which he had developed three years in advance.

Even if his acting skills are lacking, as long as the guarantor is still the same person, Zhao Yanxi can still demand and train him according to the original work's effect.

An open-book exam is always easier than having someone else give you a closed-book exam.

Seeing Zhao Yanxi's determination, Paul didn't say anything more.

"Okay, I'll go ask."

……

Paul is very fast, or rather, in the Hollywood film industry, finding an actor is also very fast.

In her own studio, Zhao Yanxi met the people Paul had brought.

"Hello, I am Zhao Yanxi."

"Hello, director."

"This film is almost entirely a one-man show for you, and it places very high demands on the actors. You can read the script first before deciding whether to take the role or not..."

Zhao Yanxi handed the script and a storyboard that was more than ten pages long to the other party.

Ryan Reynolds watched very carefully. Although he has been in the film industry for sixteen years, he has mostly played minor roles and supporting characters. He is still only a third-rate actor in Hollywood.

The Eastern director in front of him, though relatively unknown, was able to give him a chance to play the lead role.

He's willing to give it a try.

The meeting room was quiet, save for the sound of script pages turning and gasps of surprise.

"This is the first time I've seen a scene like this, director. I might need some time to get into character."

Ryan Reynolds said seriously.

Zhao Yanxi smiled and said, "Of course, that's no problem. The production team will even provide you with a rescue team to deal with any unexpected events that may occur during filming."

"Oh, and there's also a psychologist, to prevent you from developing psychological problems or depression during filming."

After saying that, Zhao Yanxi added without waiting for the other party's reaction, "If you can play this role well, I think this movie is very likely to premiere in Berlin next February."

"Is this a film prepared for a film festival?" Ryan Reynolds asked, his eyes wide.

"right."

"No problem, director, I can play this role well, please trust me," Ryan Reynolds said eagerly.

He never expected that fate would actually give him a chance to make an award-winning film.

Although I've never heard of this Chinese director having any directorial works, let alone any award-winning films, he will never give up any opportunity to make an award-winning film!

Films with demanding production processes and unique scripts, in particular, are often favored by the organizing committees of major film festivals.

"Okay, time is limited, so you need to familiarize yourself with the script and get into character as soon as possible. We'll start filming on November 1st!"

......

Soon, it was the end of the month.

Even though Zhao Yanxi was abroad, she witnessed a sudden surge of "patriotism" in the domestic entertainment industry.

Even before the movie was released, Zhang Ziyi was already subjected to a lot of very harsh criticism because of "Geisha," simply because she played a Japanese character.

Liu Yifei was not spared either. She signed with Sony, and because of her nationality, she was also cursed by anti-fans.

In their eyes, anyone with a foreign nationality is an enemy, regardless of whether they abide by the law or love their country.

No one would believe that this wave of public opinion wasn't orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.

As for the reason, in the entertainment industry, being famous is the original sin.

Zhang Ziyi's resources are so good that they block other people's path, and Liu Yifei also became popular overnight with "You Are the Apple of My Eye".

These two individuals, one blocked the leading actresses of the 70s and 80s, and the other blocked the younger actresses of the 80s and 85s.

"Don't worry about these things. As long as we abide by the law and don't do anything wrong, we shouldn't pay too much attention to the comments from online trolls and haters."

The video clearly shows that Liu Yifei is unhappy. The 18-year-old Liu Yifei is cheerful, optimistic, courageous and resolute, but she could not possibly have the calm and composed mindset of a 28-year-old who ignores the negative rumors and remains Buddhist to the end.

"I understand," Liu Yifei said in a low, childlike voice. "I just don't understand why they would do this when I haven't done anything to hurt anyone."

"Hehe, what reason does a mad dog need to bite? You still have us, your forever fans! Don't forget, I'm your number one fan!"

"Hmph, 'number one fan,' huh? I haven't seen you in any of my fan groups~"

"I'll go add a few more right now!"

......

"Liu Yifei's husband has requested to join the group chat!"

......

On October 31, "Paranormal Activity" officially premiered in more than 10 theaters in California.

Although the premiere format originated in the United States and was introduced to Hong Kong, low-budget films in North America typically do not hold grand premieres.

There was not even any press release publicity or online/offline promotion.

After all, these promotions all require traffic, and traffic costs money!

Unlike high-budget blockbusters, Hollywood blockbusters often invest tens of millions of dollars in marketing and distribution, and are shown in one or two thousand theaters at the same time when they are released, making the whole of North America aware of the movie.

However, low-budget films generally have no publicity budget, so they can't afford to hold premieres or do any promotion.

In most cases, there is only one way to release low-budget films in North America—that is, to first release them on a small scale, and then gradually expand the scale of release based on word-of-mouth feedback.

Fortunately, movies in North America don't have much of a theatrical release schedule; they can be shown indefinitely as long as theaters want.

For a low-budget film to become a hit and a box office dark horse, it all depends on extending its release period.

It gradually became a hit thanks to word-of-mouth from audiences accumulated through small-scale screenings in the early stages, as well as spontaneous recommendations and promotions from viewers.

This approach later evolved into the "preview" system, which involves small-scale screenings in a few or a dozen cinemas in the early stages, inviting well-known film critics to watch.

Then, by leveraging the influence of film critics and the spontaneous recommendations and promotions from a small number of viewers who saw the film on the internet or offline, more viewers can be attracted to the cinema to watch the film, and the scale of screenings can be gradually expanded.

The same was true for "Paranormal Activity". There were hundreds of people in the screening room. Apart from Zhao Yanxi and a few people from the studio, including Paul and Ryan Reynolds, there were dozens of film critics invited by Paul.

The rest were the audience members who saw the "Shutter" poster in the cinema that day and bought movie tickets out of curiosity.

There was no opening speech, nor any touching remarks.

Once everyone was seated, the lights in the theater dimmed, and with Paramount's classic opening animation, "Paranormal Activity" officially premiered in North America.

Ryan Reynolds watched with exceptional focus.

After all, this was Zhao Yanxi's first film, and he also wanted to explore Zhao Yanxi's directing abilities through this film.

In the first half of the film, occasional chuckles could be heard in the theater, mocking and laughing at the protagonists' self-destructive behavior.

But as the strange noises in the night became clearer and the camera shook more and more eerily, all the sense of relaxation vanished.

When the scene of Katie standing beside Mika for hours in a daze during the first late night appeared, suppressed gasps began to rise.

The handheld photography creates an immersive experience, making everyone feel like they are the one lying in bed, too afraid to move, only able to peek at the horror through their fingers.

Finally, at the horrifying moment when Mika was dragged out of bed by an invisible force, a unified and brief scream erupted in the screening room!

Some audience members gripped the handrails tightly, some even overturned their popcorn, and the sound of women sobbing in fear could be heard.

Even after the end credits rolled and the lights came on, many people remained seated, still shaken, their faces etched with lingering fear.

"My God..."

A film critic wearing glasses muttered to himself as he quickly scribbled something in his notebook.

"The ultimate in mockumentary style...achieved the most precise strike against psychological fear..."

"It redefined horror! No blood, no monsters, yet it'll leave you terrified to turn off the lights and go to sleep. Paramount struck gold; this is a genius director!"

......

"I must say, watching 'Shutter' in a theater really makes a difference!"

Paul said in surprise, "Perhaps it can give us a surprise."

Zhao Yanxi smiled and said, "Now it's up to fate."

"Let's go, get some rest. Filming for 'Buried Alive' officially starts tomorrow!"