Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

Chapter 80: "Strict" Directing, the Battle for the Olympics!

"Director Zhao is so strict!"

Everyone on set looked at Liu Yifei, whose cheeks were flushed and whose eyes were filled with anger, and sighed inwardly.

When Director Zhao was directing, he was extremely demanding of Liu Yifei. Those who knew him understood that this was because the director was strict, but those who didn't might have thought that Liu Yifei was being targeted by the production company.

Now that it's been handed over to Director Ning for direction, he's still so strict after he came back!

Liu Xiaoli watched coldly, thinking that it would be better if Zhao Yanxi really targeted her strictly.

Looking at the girl in her tattered cotton-padded coat with a spring-like expression, who knows what the two of them were doing in the car?

This girl, it's one thing to be in a relationship, but she can't possibly get someone pregnant so quickly, can she?!

She couldn't stop her daughter from falling in love, and she also took a liking to this young man, Zhao Yanxi.

But if someone dies so early, his career will be over.

"I need to find an opportunity to remind her."

Besides saving on film costs, the biggest advantage of digital cameras is that they allow for the playback of footage at any time.

Although these digital cameras belonging to the company are second-hand items "discarded" by Crystal Pictures, they are still quite high-end for the domestic film and television industry.

Even in Hollywood, the Thompson Viperi is recognized as a top-of-the-line digital cinema camera, averaging $40 per unit. A complete, practical Viperi camera system can easily cost over $80 or even $100 million.

In other words, Crystal Pictures purchased a lot of goods in order to offset taxes. After offsetting taxes for two years, they sold the goods at a discount to Yanxi Films.

"Old Zhao, that's a bit unfair," Ning Hao said, pointing at the machine. "If you have something this good, you should have bought it when you were filming 'Crazy Stone' last year."

"Don't take it out when it's time."

"Otherwise, 'Crazy Stone' might have been even better!"

"There's nothing we can do about it. Crystal Pictures' export license was only issued at the beginning of the year," Zhao Yanxi said with a smile. "You'll be able to use it when you start your next film."

"Alright, come and see what we've accomplished over this period of time."

"Um."

Zhao Yanxi calmed down and watched the footage that Ning Wu and Ding Lang had shot over the past few days, scene by scene.

"Here... here... it's almost there."

"Oh, right, and here too. Zhang Jin's movements were fine, but his opponent was a bit lacking."

"Sun Li's performance here isn't quite right either. Xia Bing shouldn't be this naive and innocent. Ning Hao, you're not afraid to make requests because she's a big star, are you?"

"How could that be!" Ning Hao retorted, "Once they're on the monitor, they're all actors in my eyes, not big or small stars!"

"Alright, that's settled for the rest. Arrange the remaining scenes, and we'll reshoot them tomorrow!"

In the afternoon, Ning Hao and Ding Lang continued to work together on directing.

No great director does every scene personally. Zhang Jizhong has so many TV series, although they were all directed by Yu Min and Zhao Jian, but when they are promoted, they are all said to be "Zhang Jizhong's works".

No media outlet emphasized Yu Min and Zhao Jian in their reports.

Similarly, the same applies to the works of Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. The role of the chief director is not only to sit in front of the monitor, but also to have a macro-level control over the entire film project.

Of course, when it comes to projects involving Liu Yifei, Zhao Yanxi still has to personally get involved.

With an aesthetic sense spanning over twenty years, he could absolutely make Liu Yifei look like one of the best fox spirits, Xiao Wei.

Pure, beautiful, and charming... Xiao Wei can definitely be ranked alongside Little Dragon Girl, becoming another classic image in Liu Yifei's film history!

As expected, Feng Xiaogang lost his temper.

From the very beginning of filming, "The Banquet" was set to compete for an Oscar. Both Wang Zhonglei and Feng Xiaogang repeatedly declared in public that they would submit "The Banquet" for an Oscar.

When "The Banquet" finished filming, "Curse of the Golden Flower" hadn't even been officially approved yet.

However, no one expected Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping to act so quickly. No sooner had filming wrapped up than they announced their intention to compete for the Oscars.

In front of the media, Wang Zhonglei spoke with righteous indignation, stating that "The Banquet" is no less impressive than others and that "The Banquet" will definitely be on this year's Olympic roster.

Feng Xiaogang's words were even more intense: "The extremely luxurious and highly stylized period dramas like 'Curse of the Golden Flower' have long been stereotyped by Western audiences, and it is difficult for them to arouse any sense of novelty or resonance from the judges."

While *The Banquet* is also a period epic, it focuses more on the core of Shakespearean tragedy—human nature, power, and desire—making it the best choice for an Oscar nomination!

"If they ultimately choose 'Curse of the Golden Flower,' it only means that the judges in the bureau are a bunch of second-rate viewers who submitted a second-rate film to the competition."

Feng Xiaogang was full of confidence, but netizens didn't care about him.

Even before the finished film has been seen, "Curse of the Golden Flower," adapted from "Thunderstorm," is clearly more popular with netizens than "Hamlet."

"Director Zhang at least received a nomination, but Feng Xiaogang? Don't be ridiculous. Does he want to put on a terrible show for the Oscar judges?"

"So what if it's luxurious? The Oscars buy into that! 'Hero' succeeded, as did 'Curse of the Golden Flower'."

It's even more extreme, and definitely more eye-catching than a Western-style play like "The Banquet"!

"It's good that Feng Xiaogang is dabbling in comedy."

Zhao Yanxi looked at the comments online, and even saw Feng Xiaogang personally engaging in online arguments with netizens, which was incredibly exciting and stimulating.

The media battles in the film and television industry in the early 2000s were not as subtle as they are now, more than a decade later. Now, it is almost impossible to see celebrities, directors, or producers personally coming forward to criticize others; they mostly incite their fans or use alternate accounts.

In this era, the celebrities always go first, and the fans follow closely behind.

Not to mention online, even in media interviews, you can sometimes see two big names tearing each other apart.

Today's top celebrities, such as the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top actresses in China), all reached their peak status after years of experience!

"Oscars!"

Zhao Yanxi thought about it and realized that she should go, but now was not the right time.

What they need for the Olympics is public relations and capital.

I'll consider this when I have some spare money.

Although we are not short of money now, we can earn one or two million US dollars in royalties every month in the United States, plus the continued profits from the two movies;

But Zhao Yanxi has not forgotten her fleeting dream of working in theatrical theaters!

The period following the 2008 Olympics marked the beginning of a boom in the domestic economy and housing prices.

If you really want to open a cinema chain, next year will be the latest time for you to enter the market!

"Director Zhao, we've arrived."

The staff member whispered, startling Zhao Yanxi from her dozing.

"Um."

Zhao Yanxi straightened her clothes and got out of the car.

What comes into view is a huge outdoor filming location – the Zhenbeibao outdoor filming location.

Zhenbeibao has its own film and television city.

This border fortress from the Ming and Qing dynasties was discovered by Chinese filmmakers in the 1980s and has gradually become a popular filming location.

The Herdsman, Dragon Inn, Red Sorghum, A Chinese Odyssey

The most iconic building in this film city is the city gate where Supreme Treasure and Fairy Zixia kissed in "A Chinese Odyssey".

However, the current Zhenbeibao Film City is far less developed than it was in later years. The famous "Old Yinchuan Street" scenic area has not yet been built, and the main style is still the simple, primitive, rugged and desolate style.

Although "Painted Skin" was filmed here, it was not filmed inside the film studio, but rather on an outdoor set built outside the studio.

The company's staff started setting it up a month ago, and Zhao Yanxi took advantage of her free time to come and check on the results.

In case of any problems, we can make corrections in time!

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