China Entertainment 1997.

Chapter 523 "Three Kingdoms: Chibi" was released, breaking the box office record on the first day
April 2008

Breaking away from the haze of the previous two months, it slowly returned to normal, and even became more heated as the Beijing Olympics approached.

In the past two months, entertainment, which has been stopped or low-keyed one after another, has also begun to gradually recover.

TV dramas are still a little worse. The Olympic Games will be broadcast soon, which will inevitably squeeze a large number of ratings market. No matter how hard-headed TV drama producers are, they don’t think their TV dramas can compete with the Olympic Games at their doorstep.

So in addition to chatting about a few new dramas, this year's summer vacation is more about reruns of old dramas.

"Journey to the West" and "Huan Zhu Ge Ge" made a strong attack, and Fanxing drama was even more brilliant.

"Youth Bao Youth", "Wulin Biography", "Bright Sword", "Yi Tian Shou Long Ji", "Legend of Sword and Fairy", "Detective Di Renjie", "Princess Diao Man", "Beauty's Scheming", "Soldier Assault" and many other popular TV series produced by stars or participated in the production, Active in various David TV and local stations.

At its peak, Fanxing drama can directly affect more than 65% of the audience in front of the TV, and it is undoubtedly the overlord of the mainland TV field.

A few years later, even if the company Fanxing is gone, these Fanxing dramas that have left countless good memories for everyone will still remain in everyone's hearts...

Compared with the indifference of TV series, there is still some improvement in movies. The much-anticipated "Three Kingdoms: Chibi" is coming to the summer file.

In fact, at the beginning of the film's release, Fanxing and China Film also thought about whether to avoid the Beijing Olympics.

However, I still chose to release it in late July. On the one hand, it is not too close to May, but it cannot be separated from the summer vacation. Mid-to-early August coincides with the Beijing Olympic Games. month's advance.

Released in the summer, it is difficult to completely escape the shadow of the Olympics, but then again, the Olympics does not mean everything.

The world doesn't revolve around one person, nor does it revolve around this one thing.

No matter how popular the Olympic Games are, it is impossible to steal everyone's attention.

Movie releases and the Olympics are completely two concepts, and they can also be separated. Watching the Olympics does not hinder going out to watch a movie, and the release of a movie will not hinder everyone from watching the Olympics.

Except for the few days of the opening ceremony, which may be overwhelmed by the heat, at other times, the overall impact of the Olympic Games on the movie box office is not as heavy as imagined.

To put it bluntly, except for some events, most people just watch the Olympics for fun.

This year, because it is held in China, its influence is unprecedented. In normal times, the impact of the Olympic Games on film and television is actually extremely limited.

In addition, there is another thing that "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" was released simultaneously in Japan and other places.

The release time in Japan, South Korea and other places has already been set on July 7. The domestic side has been delayed for a few days, and if it is further delayed, the pirated version will steal the limelight.

Don't underestimate the ability of these pirates. It is not difficult for them to translate Japanese into Chinese. Awesome pirates can even have professional voice actors to re-dub a voice to sell.

Piracy may seem inconspicuous, but if it really works, it can easily kill a big production.

So even if "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is released at this time, there may be some other disadvantages, nothing more than soldiers coming to block it, and water coming to cover it.

At the same time, because of the dual pressure of the Olympic Games and "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff", the major theaters chose to retreat.

The only thing worth mentioning in July is the imported Hollywood film "National Superman Hancock" played by Will Smith.

In August, it will be Marvel's "Invincible Hulk" and the comedy "Nine Perfects" directed by Wang Yuelun.

There are also some other movies, but basically there is nothing to talk about, and even few of them go to theaters, and more of them go to TV channels.

However, among the above three films, the one that is really worth mentioning is "National Superman Hancock".

"Perfect and Nine Beauties" is a small-budget comedy film with limited potential. Not all comedy directors are Ning Hao, and it is considered a good achievement if it earns tens of millions.

"The Incredible Hulk" is a Hollywood blockbuster, and it is the second movie released by Marvel after the hit "Iron Man" in May.

The result can't be said to be a blood loss, but the box office in North America in June is indeed hard to say that it is satisfactory.

Especially compared to the super high income of "Iron Man", it is simply unbearable to look directly at.

Even Cao Xuan, who is a shareholder, couldn't help but send an email to the board of directors to inquire, and felt a wave of presence.

Of course, this movie is not actually a Marvel family. Universal also owns part of the copyright and can intervene in the production or even package it for distribution.

Marvel has never made a separate movie of "Hulk".

One is because I was scared by the collective failure of "The Incredible Hulk" and "Hulk" directed by Li An a few years ago, and I didn't want to share money with Universal.

So the Hulk remained invisible until "The Avengers" reappeared.

The actors were also changed because Edward Norton, the protagonist of "Invincible Hulk", loves to change the script, and even wants to intervene in the final editing rights of the movie.

In Hollywood, the final editing rights of movies are very sensitive.

Different from the director-centered system in China, Hollywood is a producer-centered system.

In principle, how to edit depends on the arrangement of the producer, and film editing should be considered based on various aspects such as the classification system, commercial attributes, and market trends.

Relatively speaking, such editing may sacrifice a certain amount of artistry, but the chances of bad movies will also be reduced a lot.

After all, most of the directors are film artists. Artists are self-willed and young, and they don't care about the thoughts of ordinary audiences...

Of course, it is not ruled out that the film is cut into a bad film by the producer. "Justice League" is a representative of this. This film is also a microcosm of the struggle between Hollywood directors and producers for the final cutting rights.

So under normal circumstances, Hollywood directors can raise opinions and have more or less editing rights, but the final editing rights are always in the hands of the producer.

Only top directors like Spielberg, Nolan, Cameron, and Quentin are eligible to retain the right to final cut.

In fact, Fanxing's film and television production concept is somewhat similar to Hollywood.

For many movies and TV series produced by Fanxing, although directors are still the mainstay, Fanxing also tries to give creative freedom and respect as much as possible, but at critical moments, producers and companies have enough right to intervene, and the only thing to prevent is for directors to let themselves go.

Regarding this point, directors who collaborated with Fanxing, such as Xu Laoguai, Chen Kexin, Zhang Dahuzi, have more or less expressed their dissatisfaction in private or in public.

Whether in terms of professionalism, funding, treatment, or various cooperation and assistance, Fanxing is almost the best company in China.

But only in this aspect, it has been criticized by famous directors, who feel that Fanxing's management is too wide and the atmosphere of capital is too strong.

While Fan Xing said "ah yes yes yes", she still went her own way.

They intervene, although some of them may not be right, but at least they are really knowledgeable. Most of the suggestions and requirements are professional, but there are disputes and collisions due to different routes such as art or business.

When real estate and Internet capital come in in the future, these filmmakers will know what "management is wide" and "capital atmosphere is too strong".

It is estimated that at that time, the first thing they missed was the coal boss who washed his feet and shouted positive energy, and the second was Fanxing, a professional company that was not free but knew how to do it.

Let’s talk about Edward Norton’s desire to intervene in the final cutting rights of "The Incredible Hulk". It is impossible for many directors to obtain the rights, let alone hand them over to an actor.

The unbearable Marvel fell out with him, and the Hulk/Dr. Banner who appeared later also became Mark Ruffalo.

Such a movie full of lawsuits, even if it is a Hollywood blockbuster, is not a cause for concern, not to mention that the Marvel movie universe has not yet risen, and the Hulk's reputation in China is really not particularly prominent.

In contrast, "National Superman Hancock" is worthy of attention.

Because of blockbuster movies such as "Happiness Comes Knocking on the Door" and "I Am Legend", Will Smith still has a certain influence in China, and he still has a little bit of popularity with "Superman", so he can definitely harvest a group of regular fans .

Sure enough, Hancock, which was released nearly 10 days ahead of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff", performed well at the box office.

It won more than 5000 million at the box office in less than two weeks. Following this trend, it is not difficult to break through [-] million.

However, with this achievement, it is still a bit weak to stop the Chinese-language blockbuster "Three Kingdoms·Chibi", which has been buzzing for nearly two years.

Before mid-July, the relevant authoritative media had already announced that the 7 summer vacation would be the news of "Three Kingdoms·Chibi".

Although there is a bit of suspicion of poisonous milk, but at this time, I don't believe who can counterattack and surpass "Three Kingdoms·Chibi".

At the same time, such publicity, although it has raised the film to a certain height, is a good thing for the box office. Countless viewers are very curious about the true face of this super big production, and want to buy tickets to watch it in the theater.

On July 7, Cao Xuan, along with Jiao Enjun, Bao Guoan, Nie Yuan, Gao Yuanyuan, Duan Long and other film creators appeared at the premiere ceremony.

Lao Mouzi, who was still preparing for the opening ceremony, also took a few hours out of his busy schedule to cheer.

Fanxing's singer Zhang Jie sang the title song of his new album, which is also the theme song "Ode to the Red Cliff" of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff".

This song is also a rare pure original song by Cao Xuan. Its style is bold and boundless, and there is no lack of tenderness after iron and blood.

After Cao Xuan wrote it, he asked a few friends to read it, and the evaluation they got was not bad. Although it is not a classic masterpiece, it can be regarded as one of the best ordinary pop songs.

So I sang it for Zhang Jie, plus the original title song "The World", which made his new album quite impressive.

After Zhang Jie sang the theme song, the first half of the premiere ceremony was completed, and the movie "Three Kingdoms·Chibi" officially started.

The opening credits of a company such as Longbiao, Fanxing, and China Film Corporation flashed across the film, and the film began with a low-pitched male voice narration and a few quick flashbacks.

In the 12th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao successively wiped out the remnants of Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi and other forces, conquered Gongsun Kang of Liaodong, defeated Wuhuan, and formally unified the north.

[Movie scene 1: Numerous cavalry cavalrymen of the Cao army defeated the alien race, two middle-aged men in Chinese clothes were killed, Gongsun Kang and several leaders of Wuheng knelt down and surrendered to Cao Cao.

[Movie screen 2: A map of the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the whole north is turned red, with a big word Cao on it]

In the 13th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao abolished the Sangong, restored the prime minister system, and appointed himself prime minister, directing his troops to the land of Jingyang in the south.

[Movie scene 3: Cao Cao is wearing the official uniform of the prime minister, standing next to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, facing south, and His Highness is a group of officials bowing their heads to pay homage]

[Movie screen 4: Prime Minister Cao gave an order, and cavalry, infantry, and warships of Cao Jun from all walks of life began to march to the south]

In August of the same year, Jingzhou Mu Liu Biao died of illness, and his son Liu Cong took over as Jingzhou Mu with the support of Cai Mao and others.

[Movie scene 5: The old man Liu Biao died of illness, a beautiful woman was crying, and a thin and cowardly boy was supported by several generals and officials]

In September, Cao Cao's army marched into Xinye. Liu Cong thought that he could not resist, so under the persuasion of Jingzhou civil and military forces, all the people in Jingzhou surrendered to Cao Cao...

And at this time, the flashback shot ended, and finally came to the feature film, under the city of Xiangyang, Liu Cong held the seal document in his hand, and offered it with trembling hands.

"Prime Minister..."

Cao Cao, played by Bao Guoan, was dressed in battle armor and his eyes were shining, but he soon became amiable and helped Liu Cong.

"The virtuous nephew understands righteousness and saves the people of Jingzhou from the suffering of war. He is really a pillar of the great man. I will report to His Majesty to recommend my virtuous nephew to be the governor of Qingzhou and named Liehou."

"Thank you, Prime Minister Long En."

The rest of Cai Mao and others paid homage, and Cao Xuan offered rewards, but either the benefits were not real, or the forces were directly included under his command.

After stabilizing the situation in Jingzhou, Cao Cao continued to pursue Liu Bei who knew he was invincible and crossed the river to Xiakou with his people.

The military and civilians fled, and mistakes inevitably occurred during the period, which caused the family members to lose contact, so the first climax of the movie appeared.

puff!

boom!
A shot stabbed several Cao soldiers to death. Zhao Yun, played by Nie Yuan, held a gun in his right hand and a sword in his left, rampaging through the army formation.

As the saying goes-

The blood-stained Zhengpao is red through the armor, who dares to compete with Dangyang.

In ancient times, there was only Zhao Zilong in Changshan who rushed to the battle to help the crisis!
There is actually nothing to say about this scene, it all depends on the martial arts design, intense, thrilling, exciting and aesthetic, as long as these elements can reach a certain level, it will definitely look good.

Considering that it is a small plot after all, it only lasts a few minutes, the pace is fast, and it has great audio-visual charm. It is still very enjoyable for everyone to watch.

Then Zhang Fei drank the Dangyang bridge, and it didn't last long, and the following scenes were still dominated by the alliance between Soochow and Liu Bei.

It is precisely because there are a lot of literary dramas in the back, so a few good-looking scenes are played in the front.

"Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is based on "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Three Kingdoms".

The original plot of the film basically does not deviate from this story structure, and more is a full complement of details.

There are very few magic reform plots, at least Dudu Zhou didn't have sex with Xiao Qiao during the day, and there were no two people who went to see Ma Sheng Pony and shouted "Mengmeng stand up".

Gao Yuanyuan, the heroine, has so few scenes that it can almost be described as pitiful. Halfway through the filming, she appeared in several scenes, and the accumulated shots may only be a few minutes.
The most important scene is just Zhou Yu and her chatting at night, talking about Zhuge Liang by the way, and it is not so much chatting with Xiao Qiao as revealing information to the audience.

Soochow and Liu Bei's alliance, on the surface, Zhuge Liang was fighting with words, and Lu Su helped him pave the way, but in fact, Zhou Yu was secretly promoting it.

Zhou Yu originally meant to use this matter to touch Zhuge Liang's weight, and at the same time to test the views of various forces in Jiangdong on this matter.

When Zhuge Liang figured out the way and distinguished friend from foe, it was time for Zhou Yu to make the final decision.

But Zhuge Liang's performance exceeded his expectations. Several times of encounters and temptations, as well as the climax of Zhuge Liang's tongue-in-cheek battle with the Confucians, Zhou Yu couldn't help feeling sympathetic to him, and Zhuge Liang did the same.

The two sides worked together and finally persuaded Soochow and Liu Bei to form an alliance to fight against Cao.

After that, it was the ceremony of offering flags and worshiping the generals. Zhou Yu was called the commander of the coalition forces. The coalition forces used Liu Bei and Dongwu soldiers and horses to launch two battles on land and water with Cao Jun, and the coalition forces won the first victory.

In particular, Zhou Yu personally commanded the water battle, if it weren't for the small power of Soochow, it would have almost approached Cao Cao's handsome ship.

After a big battle, Cao Cao felt that he was not enough to fight in the water, so he practiced the water army day and night.

And Zhou Yu also felt that Cai Mao and others accepted by Cao Cao had been in Jingzhou for a long time, and they were considered veterans of water warfare. They were not a small threat and should be removed early to further weaken Cao Jun's water warfare capabilities.

The movie also officially ended at this place, which was just the end of a section of the plot, so that the audience would not scold their mothers, and at the same time buried buttons to attract everyone to watch the next part.

The audience at the premiere ceremony applauded, but Cao Xuan himself was a little dissatisfied.

To be honest, compared with the lower part of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff", the upper part does have less commercial highlights, except for Zhao and Zhang at the beginning, and the latter two battles are still interesting.

In terms of literary and drama, Cao Xuan thinks he's doing a good job.

Regardless of whether it was a verbal battle against Confucianism, Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu's several confrontations, or Zhou Yu's and Sun Quan's rivalry, Cao Ying's calculations were quite standard.

But this kind of literary drama is more or less overdone for a commercial film. The rhythm of the whole movie is not procrastinated, but it is also a bit flat.

But this is also helpless, the Chibi War has too much information, cutting it into two movies is already the limit, compressing one movie is too much.

As a war film, the strategies and decisive battles of both sides are in the lower part, and sacrifices in the upper part are inevitable.

For Cao Xuan personally, this movie can barely be regarded as unsatisfactory.

However, the reporters and film critics who asked questions at the scene were quite positive, and the follow-up film reviews were better than Cao Xuan expected.

[Movies that match the plot and history are extremely rare in domestic films]

[After the bombardment of movies such as "The Golden Armor in the City", "Jing Ke Assassins", "Night Banquet", "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is quite satisfactory, but it makes my eyes shine]

[The victory of the details, a movie that has already been passed through, but the grand and intense fighting scenes and delicate literary dramas make people aftertaste]

[Cao Xuan thinks that the rhythm is a bit off, and most of the exciting plots are in the lower part, full of expectations]

[Jiao Enjun really amazed me, his acting skills are really good, the elegance and intelligence in the play make me feel that there are too many teachers Tang Guoqiang]

[Bao Guoan is the real god, a little more domineering and deep than the TV series Romance, and has the heroic appearance in my impression, like Cao Cao]

【…】

Maybe it was because of the big productions of commercial costumes made by famous directors from various places before, but this is a movie with above-standard quality in all aspects. Although it is not a surprise, it is enough to make everyone feel relieved.

To be honest, before that, everyone was afraid that Cao Xuan would screw up and follow in the footsteps of the others.

Looking at it now, there are not many big scenes in the upper part of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff", but they are quite exciting, and the literary drama is also quite emotional. The overall quality can be scored as 7.5~8.2 points.

Especially when it is set off by other blockbusters, the score can be extra +0.5 points.

Cao Xuan, who was already prepared to be scolded, didn't know whether he should be lucky or sad.

Compared with the relatively upper-middle film reputation, the box office of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is the most reassuring existence for Cao Xuan.

It happened to be Sunday, which was the peak period of the box office, and "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" hit the box office of 2700 million in one breath.

Surpassed "Painted Skin" and set a new box office record for Chinese-language films on the first day...  

　This movie is almost the most laborious movie I have ever written. When I first wrote and shot it, I realized that I wrote the wrong theme. The originality is not pleasing, and there are too few unoriginal highlights.

　　In this chapter, I wrote more than 4000 words of the plot, and then deleted more than half of it. On the one hand, it is the plot that everyone knows. generally

　　The number of words in this piece is less, and I will fill it up tomorrow

　　
　
(End of this chapter)