The King of Huayu Science Fiction

Chapter 255 Everyone Has Learned Word of Mouth Marketing

Lu Hongzhe, wearing a black windbreaker, and Yu Haoming, who was also wearing a black suit, soared into the air under the pull of Wia, stretched their limbs, rushed towards each other, took out their pistols and shot each other, and then rushed together, hijacked each other and froze each other He moved his arm and fell on the green blanket.

"Cut! Very good, this one is over!" Chen Jingxing got up from behind the monitor and shouted loudly while clapping his hands.

As soon as the words fell, not only the lighting and camera crew members breathed a sigh of relief, but also Lu Hongzhe and Yu Haoming, who were lying on the ground, also relaxed their body muscles and tense tired nerves.

Lu Hongzhe even turned over, stretched his limbs into a big character shape, and groaned comfortably. Looking at the light above his head, he showed a relieved smile on his face, and it seemed that he didn't want to get up for a while.

This scene was filmed near the end of "The Matrix", a climax scene of the battle between the hero and the pursuer. The two rose into the air like bats, flew towards each other, shot each other with guns, and then fell on the ground... A shot from the roof of a subway car.

That's right, for the fighting scenes of the original "The Matrix", Chen Jingxing imitated its style and artistic conception, as well as some classic famous scenes, and made many changes to the background and process of the fighting.

For example, in the action scene of the subway station, the two hit the track from the subway station, then hit the platform from the track, then hit the roof of the subway train from the platform, and then hit the dark tunnel from the roof.

After chasing and escaping from the subway station, they hit the roof of the building, and then mixed parkour into the chasing and fighting, from the residence to the shanty town, and then to the old bungalows in Jing'an District.

From the prosperous modernity to the people in the city to the western style, it not only shows the panoramic view of the magic city, but also transforms the fighting action scene into a visual spectacle in another sense.

In the previous life, the original version of "The Matrix" did not have enough funds for the first part. After all, it was an original script. Warner didn't approve too much budget. Although 6000 million US dollars was not a small amount at the time, this standard is still far from A-level production. of.

When the first part of "The Matrix" caused a worldwide sensation, Warner generously spent 3 million US dollars to make a sequel for the director brothers.

Because of the positioning of the first B+ film in the original version, the action scenes in the first film are not very grand. Even the "low martial arts" who have not yet awakened the authority of the savior actually have a lot to do.

Chen Jingxing naturally does not have the prudence and risk control considerations of Warner in his previous life for an original sci-fi script, so the budget cost is quite generous. As the big boss of DreamWorks, it is not too difficult for him to ask for more budget. 8 "Gravity" has been filmed for [-] million yuan, but the "money" of "Matrix" is really nothing.

The well-funded DreamWorks invested a production budget of 2.5 million in "Matrix". Don't underestimate the amount of 2.5 million. Mo Lai is responsible for the main special effects production, so the special effects budget compiled by DreamWorks is quite generous. , some work is outsourced, and most of them are contracted to domestic special effects companies and Korean special effects companies, which are quite cheap special effects studios.

In addition, the cast is quite cheap, even the well-known Yan Xiaoyue and Bao Shengming are only third-tier stars.

Yu Haoming, who plays the big villain, experienced an accident that almost ruined his acting career. To a certain extent, he is a newcomer in the actor circle. Although he is not a big celebrity, his acting skills belong to a relatively high level among young actors. A cost-effective actor.

Lu Hongzhe, who is the leading actor, is an eighteenth-line starlet.

It can be said that the remuneration of "Matrix" is quite cheap. If first- and second-tier stars are invited to participate in the film, the remuneration will cost at least tens of millions more.

And it's not just the first film, Chen Jingxing has long been determined to make three films, so he signed contracts with the actors for all three films, which to a certain extent avoided the result of the actor lion opening his mouth after the first film became popular.

If you sign a three-part package contract with a first-line actor, the actor is definitely not happy, and you have to pay a lot of money to sign it, but signing this kind of three-part package contract with an unknown actor, actors are all dreaming of it. Not only is it a big director's blockbuster, but it can also get a stable exposure in the next few years, only a fool will refuse.

Chen Jingxing, who has quite ample production budget, naturally needs to provide enough for the big scenes. Anyway, after the male protagonist awakens the authority of the savior, the second and third parts will be "Gao Wu", and the action scenes will be completely different.

The savior can fly to the sky and escape from the ground, and it is not suitable for this kind of parkour, chasing and fighting scenes on the rooftops of the metropolis. Chen Jingxing naturally wanted to capture as much as possible of the "low martial arts" stage in the first part. .

There are more action scenes than the original version. It is not only the director Chen Jingxing who has worked hard, the actors have also suffered more "torture". In addition, Chen Jingxing has higher requirements for action scenes, but he really does not have much shooting experience in kung fu movies. , the result is that not only the shooting time was from September last year to mid-January this year, but the entire crew felt miserable, and an action shot took a long time to grind.

Chen Jingxing stepped forward and pulled Lv Hongzhe up, and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll take this shot today, and the next one will be tomorrow." Then he patted Yu Haoming on the shoulder: "You two go back and see the doctor later." Massage the muscles in the room, no one is allowed to escape, it’s the last few days, don’t get hurt, or I won’t have a good year!”

Hearing Chen Jingxing's order to end work early, the entire production crew cheered immediately, only Lu Hongzhe and Yu Haoming's bitter faces did not ease, and the taste of muscle massage was not pleasant.

Although there are martial substitutes, they are generally only used in more dangerous scenes. Most of the action scenes are done by actors. The action scenes in "Matrix" are among the best in Huaguo movies in recent years, so Sometimes it's hard to avoid injury.

As the leading actor, Lu Hongzhe once had a muscle strain, and he returned to the set after half a month of recuperation. This is also one of the reasons why "Matrix" has not yet finished filming after Chinese New Year. Since then, Chen Jingxing has asked everyone who has Actors in action scenes must have muscle massage after work that day, and no one is an exception.

Fortunately, most of the shots were shot in a greenhouse, so we didn't have to suffer from the severe winter.

When the crew left in twos and threes, Lu Hongzhe and Yu Haoming walked to the infirmary built on the other side of the shed with their shoulders crossed. Chen Jingxing also met a thin old man.

"Mr. Qin, why do you have time to come to the studio when you are so busy?" Chen Jingxing smiled and shook hands with the visitor.

Qin Zhonghe, chairman of China Film Group, said angrily: "How dare I call myself a busy person in front of you, Director Chen, "The Mekong River" has been on the road show for a week, and you, the producer, have not shown a single face. I have printed your name on the front, and the media couldn't even take a picture, so I have to see what magic weapon you are building?"

Chen Jingxing quickly apologized: "I apologized to Lao Guo before, and I didn't want to. I can only say that I have a high-sighted and low-handedness. I really uttered big words before. This kung fu movie is really difficult to make, but it is almost finished, and there will be three more days at most. , No, four days, at most four days can be completed."

"I don't think you did it on purpose, kid?" Qin Zhonghe joked half-truthfully: "In the promotional period before the release of "Signal" in 14, you were filming "Source Code", and now "Mekong River" is starting. Intensive publicity, and you are busy with "Matrix" again, it's easy for you to be a shopkeeper."

The release of "Signal" is in charge of Guoying, so Qin Zhonghe made this joke.

Chen Jingxing could only complain about this. Although he really didn't like running around on road shows, dealing with screenings and media previews, and even being interviewed on the show, it was indeed a coincidence that he liked to be the shopkeeper twice.

"However, you are really good at this magic weapon..." Qin Zhonghe said with some admiration after joking.

After Qin Zhonghe came to the studio, he saw that Chen Jingxing was concentrating on shooting a few action shots, so he didn't bother him, but watched for a while. Chen Jingxing stopped work early because he saw Qin Zhonghe's figure.

Although the post-production visual effects have not yet been produced, Qin Zhonghe is also a senior director and producer, and he can also see some tricks from several action scenes.

The "new kung fu movie" that Chen Jingxing mentioned is really not just talk. The scenes he saw, from the dress to the action, including the camera position, are really novel, although he still can't fully imagine the green screen and The pictures and effects after the realization of other special effects have a refreshing feeling.

After Chen Jingxing spoke modestly, the two talked about the publicity work of "Mekong River" and the prospect of the Spring Festival file.

Speaking of the Spring Festival, even as the helm of National Film Group, Qin Zhonghe showed a little regret. Of course, he would not vent his anger on Chen Jingxing who made the idea of ​​setting up the Spring Festival. some.

The main reason is that the strength of the competition was beyond his expectation. He was naturally prepared for the appeal of "Mermaid" and Master Xing, but after all, Master Xing's last movie was four years ago, and the box office at that time was also low. There is no reference, so I still greatly underestimated the emotional power of "returning movie tickets to the star master", or the popularity of "returning movie tickets" in marketing.

Not only "The Mermaid", but also "Lion and Camel Country" and "Casino III", which have collapsed in word-of-mouth. The reason why many people think that this year is the strongest Spring Festival in history is that the screenings of these major films "Word of mouth" is not bad, even quite strong.

When word-of-mouth marketing is mentioned in the industry, DreamWorks is often thought of, especially the pre-screening word-of-mouth that is praised by film critics and the media through media previews and screenings.

Of course, Chen Jingxing has a different opinion on this. In his opinion, the quality of DreamWorks films is high, and all he needs to do is to spread this quality as much as possible through reasonable means.

In the eyes of colleagues, the quality of Chen Jingxing's movies will not be learned for a while, and those sci-fi settings and brain holes are sometimes impossible to learn, but the four words "word-of-mouth marketing" can be learned.

Perhaps it is because the quality of these films during the Spring Festival this year has indeed improved greatly. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some of them fished in troubled waters. Several major works have built a good reputation through screenings and media meetings with film critics.

After "Mermaid" was screened, the media and film critics said in unison, "Master Xing is back!", "This is the taste!", "My stomach hurts from laughing!", "The audience laughed from beginning to end!"

"Lion and Camel Kingdom" is "too hot!", "It has greatly exceeded expectations, and the special effects are not inferior to Hollywood", "There are laughs, sparks and tears", "The best IP adaptation of Journey to the West so far!"

Even the first two "Casino III", which are extremely popular, have received such reputations as "better than the first two!", "a little surprise!", "great progress!".

This makes the theme out of date, the director is unknown, and the main theme of the film "The Mekong River" has no outstanding points in terms of pre-screening word-of-mouth and expectations. Even the evaluation of point-of-mouth word-of-mouth collides with some films. Without spoilers On the basis of this, apart from "the special effects of burning tears are not inferior to Hollywood", there are no innovative compliments.

Therefore, in the face of competitors with the blessing of Xingye or big IP, I did not have a reputation of overwhelming my opponents in the screening. Even if there was a national film-led distribution, it only won 17% of the film schedule, barely surpassing "Casino" 16% of Fengyun III.

The "Mermaid" accounted for 35% of the film schedule, and the No.2 "Lion and Camel Kingdom" also accounted for 27%.

The four blockbuster films are gathered in the Spring Festival, and the film is only ranked third, which is not small from the top two. This means that the box office of "The Mekong River" may be very difficult.

(End of this chapter)