I'm not just a director

Chapter 197 Talks and Lobbying

Jiang Pei'an and his team stayed in San Francisco for two days.

Early in the morning of the third day, Han Shanping notified Jiang Pei'an and Lei Zhenyu to meet in his room for a small meeting.

"We also visited Industrial Light and Magic two days ago. To be honest, this outing and communication had a great impact on me."

Han Shanping said with emotion.

As a special effects technician, Lei Shower, seeing Industrial Light and Magic, which is almost the leader in the industry, naturally has infinite emotion in his heart:

"They are at least decades ahead of us in terms of equipment and technical personnel.

It is absolutely unrealistic for China to catch up with Industrial Light and Magic in the short term, and we still have a lot of room for improvement. "

Thunderstorm is telling the truth.

Domestic special effects started late and developed slowly. It is really unrealistic to overtake on a curve.

Looking at the special effects industry as a whole, it is the most difficult type of industry to separate "technology" and "art".

A truly superb special effects master should definitely be a good director and a good artist without being seen by the artist.

But definitely a super artistic person.

To give a very simple example, such as the most common scenes in film and television, ocean waves and hair.

The things that are closest to nature can be reproduced through algorithms, and the closer to the real time.

There is not much difference between a technical engineer and an art master in the eyes of ordinary people.

From the perspective of Hollywood, the special effects production industry is actually a low-profit industry.

On the one hand, labor costs are high, and there are many places where people are employed.

For a special effects production, it is not uncommon for a team of hundreds of people to be dispatched for the pre-shooting alone.

In addition, the most important thing is that the research and development investment is quite large.

Because the technology is updated too fast, in order to achieve an effect, a software was developed.

In less than half a year, the software will be upgraded, and new software must be developed to keep up with demand.

On the other hand, in China, let’s not talk about the mainland.

The relatively well-known old gun special effects companies in Hong Kong are Xiantao Digital (Fighting the World, Kung Fu), Wan Kuan (Shu Shan Chuan, Wuji), etc.

They all have the ability to produce international projects, but even so, they are still not as good as Hollywood's visual effects team...

Han Shanping nodded approvingly, looked at Jiang Pei'an, and said:

"Then it's up to you, Director Jiang."

Jiang Pei'an nodded and said:
"Having Industrial Light and Magic in charge of the visual effects of "Inception" will definitely not be bad, but can we invite them to do special effects shooting in China, I'm afraid..."

As he spoke, Jiang Pei'an twirled his thumb and index finger, making a "money" gesture.

The three immediately understood, money.

Just when Han Shanping was about to nod his head in agreement, Jiang Pei'an said again:

"It's probably not enough just to be rich, let's invite Director Li Ammonium to come over as a lobbyist.

He should come here this time to seek the special effects production of Industrial Light and Magic. If he can also come to our front, I hope it will be bigger. "

Ever since Li Ammonium won the Oscar for his film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, he has become the hottest director in Hollywood.

If he came forward, Industrial Light & Magic should give him a face-saving consideration.

Han Shanping thought for a while, then nodded:

"I'm here to contact Director Li, so why don't we go to Industrial Light and Magic today, and talk to Director Li first?"

"It's better to be like this."

Jiang Pei'an nodded.

……

The place I agreed with Li An was the coffee shop next to the hotel.

Li An came here alone. Li An, who is about to reach [-], looks energetic and in good condition.

"President Han, Director Jiang."

Li Ammonium greeted several people with a smile.

"Please take a seat. It is really disturbing to invite Director Li over this time."

Han Shanping said with a smile.

Li Ammonium waved his hand and said modestly:

"It's boring for me to stay in the hotel by myself. It's also a very good experience to come out and exchange experiences with domestic counterparts."

Li An felt to Jiang Pei'an that he was a modest gentleman, as gentle as jade.

Perhaps other aspects are worthy of criticism, but his first impression is still good.

Several people exchanged pleasantries for a while, mainly because Han Shanping chatted with Li An, after all, he is the leading brother this time.

The topic continued to deepen, and finally talked about the purpose of the trip.

Han Shanping sighed:

"I came here this time mainly to plan for our next movie, and the visual effects in China are still not as good as Hollywood.

Our next movie will be shot mainly in China, so we want to invite people from Industrial Light and Magic to go to China to participate in the production with us..."

Having said that, Han Shanping paused, and looked at Li Ammonium.

Li Ammonium's temples were already white, and there were many wrinkles on his face. He put down the coffee cup in his hand, and said slowly:
"Well, but people from Industrial Light and Magic may not be willing to go there. There will be many technical aspects involved, so I'm afraid it's not very easy to invite."

"We also think the same way, so we want to ask Director Li to help us talk about it. Hehe, this is also to promote the development of the domestic film industry."

Han Shanping said with a smile.

Jiang Pei'an sat on the side and listened and nodded, Lao Han also worked hard.

Every time, the big move of "China Film Development" is used.

But some people like this, such as Li Ammonium.

Li Ammonium is not only a great Chinese director, but also a rare talent in the world director circle.

The themes he can control are very rich, and he has made many stars popular, and there are many classic works.

He has won important awards in the film industry such as the Academy Award, the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, and the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival.

His ancestral home is in Jiangxi Province, he studied in the United States, and later stayed in the United States to marry and have children.

Although he has lived in the United States for decades, he still has not changed his nationality.

This is the exact opposite of those stars who emigrate abroad after becoming famous.

Moreover, Li An also mentioned many times in the interview that he is a Chinese director, and he is very proud of being a Chinese.

Of course, these are just the background, and what really determines Li An's attitude is...

Who made this request?

If someone else asked him to lobby, Li An might not agree.

But the person speaking now is the vice chairman of China Film Group.

You must know that China Film Group is one of the largest film and television production and distribution companies in China, and occupies an important position in the domestic film and television copyright market.

At the same time, he also holds an important means of controlling whether foreign films can enter China and when they will be released.

Such a boss-level person, ask you to do a "small matter", can you agree?

Li Ammonium thought for a while, then said:
"I can help, but I can't control the final result."

Han Shanping and Jiang Pei'an looked at each other, smiled and said:
"It's half the battle already if Director Li agrees to come forward, I'm really grateful."

But Li Ammonium asked:

"Mr. Han, may I ask, are you here for Director Jiang's next movie?"

There is nothing to hide, Han Shanping nodded and said:
"That's right, it's a sci-fi movie, so there are scenes that require special effects."

Hearing this, Li Ammonium was a little surprised and said:
"Some time ago, I heard that Director Jiang had a sci-fi movie being filmed, and I also saw that press conference.

Director Jiang's concept of 'time and space' has inspired me a lot, and I am looking forward to Director Jiang's next sci-fi movie. "

Jiang Pei'an smiled and said:
"Thank you, Director Li, for your attention. After all, we need to try more, as there are no outstanding sci-fi movies in China.

Although I have been in the industry for a short time, I also want to contribute as much as possible to the Chinese film market. "

Li Ammonium shook his head and said:

"Films can't be compared by the length of entry into the industry. I can be regarded as the long-term entry, from youth to middle age, and now it is almost [-] years old.

Speaking of us, we seem to be two particularly extreme examples. You have peaked since your debut and are still growing.

From this point of view, Director Jiang, you are indeed the study object of many people, including me. "

If Li An's words were heard by reporters, it might spark another huge public opinion.

"Li Ammonium, winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, actually threatened to learn from Jiang Pei'an?"

Headlines like these are sure to keep coming.

Han Shanping smiled and said:
"Perhaps this is the reason why the outside world calls the two of you 'Movie Shuang'an'. Excellent people always take different paths to reach the top."

"Hahaha, Mr. Han said so."

Several people chatted for a while, and agreed to go to Industrial Light and Magic again in the afternoon.

……

"Oh, let me see, this is really the biggest news in the film and television industry of this century, Li, you and Jiang are both my idols.

I didn't expect you two to appear in front of me at the same time, which is really amazing. "

Big Wave Jennifer said with an exaggerated expression.

"This is the executive director of Industrial Light and Magic, Jennifer."

Jiang Pei'an introduced Jennifer to Li Ammonium.

After two days of getting along, both parties are very familiar with each other. Han Shanping said bluntly:
"Miss Jennifer, we have already decided to ask your company to make special effects shots for our next movie."

"Oh, it's really a wise and great decision."

Jennifer nodded with a smile.

"But... we also encountered some problems, I wonder if your company can solve them?"

"Tell me?"

Jiang Pei'an answered the call and said:
"Because of the movie scene shooting and other reasons, we chose to complete the shooting and production of the special effects shots in China.

Can I invite technical staff from Industrial Light & Magic to accompany us to China? "

"Oh, this is really...Jiang, although I appreciate your talent, but you know, we can't rashly send employees to you.

There are too many uncertain factors in this, and we cannot guarantee the completion progress and effect of the work, please understand. "

Sure enough, as everyone expected, ILM refused.

"Jennifer, I don't think this is too difficult to do, it's not a big deal after all.

You have to know that in addition to Industrial Light and Magic, we can also choose companies such as Weta and Sony. "

Li Ammonium, who had been silent by the side, suddenly interrupted.

The full names of Weta and Sony mentioned by Li Ammonium are Weta Digital and Sony Image.

The former works include "Lord of the Rings", "King Kong", "Avatar" and so on.

The latter is "Spiderman", "Superman" and so on.

These are the top three special effects companies in the world.

Li Ammonium has lived abroad for a long time, and he knows very well that the character of these big companies is probably to bully the weak and fear the hard, and to see money like life.

What's more, what he said was us, and this place represented Jiang Pei'an's side and Universal Pictures headed by him.

After all, he came here this time to investigate the special effects of the next movie.

Jennifer obviously also heard the implication of Li Ammonium's words. Her expression was very sad, and she said slowly:
"Li and Jiang, you are all film directors I like very much, but your request makes me very sad.

In order to stop me from being sad, I decided to convey your request to my superior, Minister Victor, and let him make the decision. "

Jennifer is a very smart woman. Seeing that the two big orders were about to go to waste, she quickly pushed them to a leader with higher authority.

"Wait a moment, I'll come as I go."

After leaving a word, Jennifer left.

"Director Li, what you said just now, will it affect your movie?"

Han Shanping asked.

Li Ammonium smiled and said:

"It's not a big problem, chatting with companies like them sometimes requires tough tactics.

Although they control advanced technology, we are not without choice, after all, it is a buyer's market now. "

Everyone chatted for a while, and not long after, Jennifer walked in with a man.

Obviously, Jennifer had already told this man named Victor about the previous incident.

"Oh, Li, you are very welcome, and Han, you are our most respected guests."

Victor said enthusiastically.

Obviously, in front of this minister named Victor, Li Ammonium and China's "film and television overlord" Han Shanping are the ones he wants to serve.

As for Jiang Pei'an, a "newcomer" director who has recently gained international fame, he is not within the scope of his "enthusiastic service".

Well, it's so realistic.

"Just now Jennifer has already told me the origin of the matter, Li, Han, I think you think things are too simple.

For better effects, the production of special effects is a heavy process that consumes energy, manpower and material resources.

It requires more or less cooperation between different departments to complete.

Many directors start looking for a special effects team only after the film is shot.

However, if there are unsolvable production shots in the early stage, it will cause a lot of waste of funds, and there is even a risk of reshoots.

And at the headquarters, we will do all these services for you, including the already set up shooting scene and various machinery and equipment.

While filming was also supported by experienced technicians…”

Victor said a lot, and he didn't exaggerate. Special effects production itself is a very complicated thing.

If there must be a unified process, then this process includes at least 14 categories of major items and hundreds or even thousands of small items.

If any major category is not properly operated, the entire crew will fall into the dilemma of wasting funds and reshooting.

Of course, there is another important element in his words.

money!
Han Shanping and Jiang Pei'an looked at each other, and they both saw determination in each other's eyes.

"If we complete the construction of special effects venues and studios, as well as the follow-up of equipment and props in our country.

In addition, how much does it cost to invite your technicians to China to shoot? "

Hearing this, Victor licked his tongue, with excitement in his eyes, and said:

"I must clarify that these costs do not include the cost of special effects shots.

And we have the right to recycle the equipment and props in the venue after they are used up! "

……

(End of this chapter)