Chinese Entertainment: Directors Start with the Fairy Sister

Chapter 94, "Sacred Lament," features the character Xiao Liu, who is kind-hearted.

The filming of "Lust, Caution" was launched in Shanghai with great fanfare.

The female lead, Tang Wei, is about to become famous overnight for taking off her clothes.

Zhao Yanxi has also finished writing the script for "Saint's Lament" at Crystal Pictures, but while the script is finished, where to film it is another question.

This kind of film definitely wouldn't pass censorship in mainland China; it could only be filmed in Hong Kong or Hollywood.

After thinking about it, Zhao Yanxi decided to film in Hong Kong Island instead.

Although the production cost of this kind of art film is low, the same five million would be five million US dollars in Hollywood, but only five million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong.

The difference in costs is over 30 million RMB, while the copyright for "Still Life" only sold for 40 million RMB!

The next crucial issue is casting.

The most important characters in Pietà are a mother and son, especially the mother, who is the focal point of the entire film. Whether it is hesitation, allure, warmth or eeriness, she must be portrayed perfectly.

There are many actresses in the industry aged 35-45, including Ning Jing, Xu Qing, Jiang Wenli, Zhang Manyu, and Xu Fan, Feng Xiaogang's wife.

The best actors among them are naturally Jiang Wenli, Zhang Manyu, and others.

"Jiang Wenli..."

Zhao Yanxi frowned slightly, as if she had thought of something.

I turned on my computer and searched for domestic news. Sure enough, I found a news item from two months ago: [Jiang Meili gained 30 pounds for filming "Li Chun"!]

Under normal circumstances, Jiang Wenli's image and temperament are quite suitable for the mother in "Saintly Tragedy," but after gaining 30 pounds, she no longer looks the same.

The mother in the original work is a victim who is constantly seeking revenge for her son, so such a character could not possibly be a fat woman.

That leaves Xu Qing, Zhang Manyu, and others to make a choice. Zhang Manyu is the best option, but although she has not officially retired from acting, she has gradually withdrawn from the film industry in recent years.

In recent years, apart from appearing in Wong Kar-wai's films, it seems that he hasn't taken on any other movies.

The last time I acted in someone else's movie was in Zhang Yimou's "Hero".

However, as long as there is no official retirement, everything is still manageable.

Zhao Yanxi plans to make a detour to Hong Kong Island next time she returns to China to check on the progress of "New World" and, incidentally, invite Maggie Cheung to return to acting.

Don't think that just because you've become a big director and won awards, you can hire any actor in the industry.

Great directors choose actors, and great actors choose directors.

Those actors with good looks and temperament, outstanding acting skills, and high popularity are also the kind of people that many big directors want to work with.

Wen Ziren worked quickly, completing the post-production of "Paranormal Activity II: The Haunted" in early September.

According to the distribution contract for the first film, Zhao Yanxi directly summoned the head of distribution at Paramount.

After watching the entire film, Paramount readily offered an extremely favorable policy—

With a 13% distribution fee and a $1500 million marketing budget, we ensured a simultaneous opening in 2000 theaters across North America!

A 13% issuance fee is basically the limit for issuing companies.

The reason why we dared to ask for 10% of the distribution fee when negotiating with Lionsgate for "Lurking" was because Lionsgate wanted 30% of the investment, and "Lurking" was considered Lionsgate's own project.

Hollywood's distribution fees range from 10% to 30%, with 10% basically going to their own projects and the remaining 30% going to contracts with newcomers who have no established connections.

No matter how reluctant Paramount was, Zhao Yanxi was all smiles when Paul signed the contract.

Paramount only has priority rights, not absolute rights. If it doesn't agree to 13%, Lionsgate would probably be happy to offer 12% of the issuance fee.

However, since Paramount is one of the six major Hollywood studios, Zhao Yanxi didn't want to be too shrewd in her calculations.

Both sides gained some benefits, and it will be easier for them to meet again in the future.

The final release date remains Halloween.

After Paramount signed the contract, they began preparing for the promotion and distribution of "Shutter".

Despite the time difference between the two places, Zhao Yanxi and Liu Yifei's communication was not limited by it.

Although the replies were not timely, the two still shared their work and life on QQ every day.

The second round of auditions was also held for "The Forbidden Kingdom".

Liu Yifei said that director Minkoff made many difficult requests this time, and she did not perform well in many of them during the audition.

"However, after the audition, director Minkoff called me again. He said that the audition requirements were not his, and told me not to overthink it."

"Mom said that Huayi was behind this, but the next day, President Wang called Mom again, inviting us to join Huayi, which Mom immediately refused, hehehe..."

Looking at the message Liu Yifei sent, Zhao Yanxi could feel how happy Liu Yifei was when she typed it.

It seems even fairies enjoy watching clowns!

Zhao Yanxi naturally wouldn't rush back for the premiere of "The Banquet".

Yang Siwei went as a representative; after all, Wang Zhonglei has attended every single one of the company's productions.

However, I did keep an eye on the news after its release.

Anyway, Feng Xiaogang's blockbuster dream was shattered, but the so-called serious-themed Eastern version of "Hamlet" made the audience laugh from beginning to end.

The media described it this way: "The dialogue in 'The Banquet' can rival that of 'The Promise'."

Perfunctory, vulgar, pretentious...

"What kind of lines are these? After tonight, with a sister-in-law, what's the point of having a kingdom?" "You're the Empress, the mother of the nation, and you still kick off the covers in your sleep." It's absolutely hilarious.

"Before, even if you fed poop, it was chocolate-flavored poop. Now, it's plain poop, and many people are actually quite happy with it—Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun are still pretty good!"

"This is Feng Xiaogang's worst film ever!"

"Director Feng, just stick to comedies. You're really not cut out for blockbusters."

Amidst sighs of disappointment, "The Banquet" still garnered 1200 million yuan at the box office on its opening day and 5500 million yuan over its opening weekend.

This opening weekend's figures might have been decent in the past, but compared to its competitors like "House of Flying Daggers" and even "The Promise," it falls far short.

It's only slightly higher than "You Are the Apple of My Eye," which had an investment of over a million.

Industry insiders have already roughly estimated the box office figures for "The Banquet." If we only look at the box office figures, it's inevitable that the film will lose money. The only question is how much the copyright was sold for at Cannes.

It seems Huayi will not make it public; they cannot tarnish Feng Xiaogang's reputation as an ever-victorious general, no matter what.

This is Huayi's lifeline!

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