I'm not just a director

Chapter 265 Both go to Hong Kong
Nowadays, the screening period of a film in theaters is generally 45 days to two months.

The first round period is ten or fifteen days. The first round period is a golden period, which determines the quality of the box office.

After that, the film will enter the second round of screening, and the film will also be screened from the lobby of major theaters into small halls.

Originally, the first screening date of "Inception" was to end around January 1, but judging from the current situation, the film is still very popular.

Therefore, many theaters across the country have contacted China Film Group and expressed their intention to extend the first-round schedule of the film.

The first round period is expected to be extended to January 1.

As a result, the first round of "Inception" is about 20 days long.

Interestingly, Lao Mouzi's "Hero" also enjoyed this treatment, and the two set a record for the first-round schedule of a movie.

The current box office of the two is also shrinking.

"Heroes" is overwhelmingly ahead, and "Inception" is following closely behind.

After all, both are works by famous directors, and they are also domestic masterpieces in everyone's mind.

These two movies are also very interesting. One tells the history of China before, and the other is science fiction that imagines the future.

When many people watch these two movies, they are not bothered at all when faced with the somewhat expensive movie tickets.

He even consoled himself:

If you want to stay grounded in the present, you cannot abandon history, and you must also look forward to the future!

……

Although the two movies were released in the mainland about two weeks apart, "Hero" was delayed for about half a month due to scheduling issues.

As a result, the three major works "Infernal Affairs", "Heroes" and "Inception" appeared in the eyes of the people of Hong Kong Province at the same time.

Needless to say, "Infernal Affairs" has grossed more than HK$5000 million at the box office since its release, which is enough to make it a "god" in the eyes of many Hong Kong people.

Of course, this title is only given when the general environment this year is not good and the film industry in Hong Kong continues to reduce production.

After all, last year's "Kung Fu Football" had a box office of more than 6000 million yuan, which was much higher than "Infernal Affairs".

Later generations commented that "Infernal Affairs" was a work that saved the world. Its real significance in saving the market was to promote the signing of the "Arrangement" between Hong Kong Province and the Mainland.

Under this "Arrangement", Hong Kong films are no longer subject to restrictions on imported film quotas. From now on, they can enter the mainland market in the form of co-productions and be released nationwide.

To put it simply, Hong Kong films can cooperate with mainland filmmakers and gain access to the mainland’s 14 billion movie market.

Therefore, the two sequels of "Infernal Affairs" added mainland actors such as Hu Jun and Chen Daoming.

Of course, if "Infernal Affairs 1" could be released in the mainland back then, it might not be able to beat "Hero".

But a box office of over [-] million is definitely not a problem, and it can definitely make the entire Chinese film market even more popular.

Of course, it’s not bad now. “Inception” is already booming in the mainland market.

For Hong Kong Province, although it has experienced the baptism of "Infernal Affairs", it still has expectations for the big-ticket productions "Heroes" and "Inception" with hundreds of millions of investments.

After all, apart from Hollywood blockbusters these days, there is no movie that dares to claim "hundreds of millions of investment".

Now there are more than one in the Mainland.

People in Hong Kong are still very optimistic about "Inception". Although the Hong Kong media says that the director Jiang Pei'an has a poor reputation, they can only criticize it based on the reputation. The quality of his movies is definitely resounding.

People in Hong Kong are no strangers to Lao Mouzi. As early as the 90s, Lao Mouzi participated in Hong Kong film production as an actor.

This movie is "Ancient and Modern War between Qin Terracotta Warriors". Lao Mouzi participated in this movie, not because the director took a fancy to him.

But screenwriter Li Bihua designated him to play the role. According to her, Zhang Yimou's angular face did not require makeup at all.

It looks like a terracotta warrior and horse, which perfectly fits the style of the film.

At this time, Lao Mouzi had already won the Tokyo Best Actor and also won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. He was the first Asian director to win this award.

It can be said that although the Hong Kong audience at that time was not familiar with him, in terms of celebrity status, he was definitely higher than Wu Yusen and Xu Ke.

With a little publicity, it will definitely be a hit.

At that time, Lao Mouzi was filming "Codename Jaguar" in Beijing. Logically speaking, he would not accept the invitation to make a movie with others.

But it happened that he encountered a lot of trouble at this time. In 1988, he divorced his first wife.

His love affair with Emperor Gong was also exposed, and the whole country was abuzz with discussions about his divorce.

In the eyes of many people, Lao Mouzi is Chen Shimei. When he was asked to act in a play with Emperor Gong, Lao Mouzi's first reaction was to do this.

This creates an open space where the two of them can be together, away from the outside world.

In this way, the filming of "Ancient and Modern War between Qin Terracotta Warriors" officially started, and the gears of fate began to turn.

Lao Mouzi probably never imagined that 12 years later, he would come to Hong Kong with "Mainland's first commercial blockbuster".

But having said that, this "Terracotta Warriors" was indeed a commercial success.

Shortly after its release that year, with a box office of 2100 million Hong Kong dollars, it ranked No. 5 on the box office list at the time.

……

Since the two movies were released in Hong Kong at the same time, Jiang Peian called Lao Mouzi and decided to go out together.

After all, both Zhang Ziyi and Jet Li are going to appear at the movie's promotional meeting, so it's convenient for everyone to go together.

This makes the Hong Kong media extremely happy. Two influential mainland film crews are bringing their two biggest movies to date, and more than a dozen well-known movie stars are coming to Hong Kong. This is definitely the most sensational news this year.

As soon as the two major crews got off the plane, they were immediately caught by the media who had been waiting early.

"Director Zhang, do you think "Hero" can beat "Infernal Affairs" to become the box office champion?"

"Director Zhang, are you still in contact with Gong Li recently? What do you think of her serving as the jury president of the Venice International Film Festival?"

""Infernal Affairs" is very popular in Hong Kong, and even the leading actors in "Heroes" are basically all Hong Kong stars. Does this mean that mainland actors are not as good as Hong Kong actors?"

"The investment in "Hero" is 3000 million US dollars, while "Infernal Affairs" only has 2000 million Hong Kong dollars. If the box office of "Hero" exceeds that of "Infernal Affairs", wouldn't it be a bit bullying?"

The media immediately surrounded the "Hero" crew headed by Lao Mouzi.

Lao Mouzi did not speak, but Zhang Weipin next to him spoke:
"First of all, I would like to thank the media in Hong Kong Province for their attention and support for "Heroes".

Regarding the movie issues, we will explain them one by one when it is released in Hong Kong.

It's just that we are a little tired now, and Director Zhang has not rested for several days.

We will stay in Hong Kong Province for a while. If you have any questions, we will discuss them next time. Thank you all. "

Jiang Peian also heard Zhang Weipin's speech. He shook his head. The Hong Kong media was not that easy to fool with this kind of excuse.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Weipin's words came to light, the media immediately said:

"Can I understand that you are not ready to answer our questions yet? It shouldn't be difficult to respond to this kind of question, right?"

"Aren't Director Zhang going to say a few words? Do you want to enter the Hong Kong film and television industry with such a arrogant attitude?" If the previous question was a bit harsh and provocative, then the following words were purely provocative.

Zhang Weipin quickly waved his hand and said:
"No, that's not what we meant. We do need to rest. It's convenient for everyone. It's really not convenient for interviews today."

There were many reporters surrounding the "Hero" crew, and the scene was so noisy that Jiang Pei'an could even see the helplessness on Lao Mouzi's face.

On the other hand, Jiang Pei'an's side was quiet, and there were quite a few media surrounding him, but everyone took the crew's microphone and looked at him to ask. It didn't seem right not to ask.

In fact, the group of media who came to surround Jiang Peian already regretted it.

Before the crews of "Heroes" and "Inception" even got off the plane, everyone in these media outlets had already decided on the people they wanted to interview.

Priority will be given to the "Heroes" cast and crew, followed by the "Heroes" cast and crew.

There are definitely many people who want to interview "Heroes". If any media is slow or fails to squeeze in the best interview position, they will turn around to interview the "Inception" crew.

Now it seems that the group of reporters surrounding the "Inception" crew are completely unlucky.

Just when the media and crew were staring at each other, Jiang Peian stretched out his hand and said hello to them:
"Thunder monkey~"

He even greeted the media at the scene in not-so-standard Cantonese.

"Haha, Thunder Monkey Thunder Monkey."

"Well, welcome to Director Jiang to Hong Kong."

"How is Director Jiang's health lately? Why do he feel like he's lost weight?"

Demon King Jiang has already greeted them. Isn't it a bit foolish not to say anything anymore?

As a result, the media chatted with each other, as if a leader had come to inspect the work, which was in sharp contrast to the noisy scene next door.

"Hey, I remember you, you are not that..."

Jiang Peian pointed to a young man holding a microphone.

"It's not me. Director Jiang, you admit your mistake. I'm not."

The younger brother immediately waved his hand and denied it.

Seeing the reporter being frightened, the actors behind Jiang Peian looked at each other.

Is Director Jiang so powerful in Hong Kong Province?The Hong Kong media, which is known for its sharp "retribution for everything", actually cowered like this in front of him.

Looking back at Lao Mouzi, who was surrounded by the crowd and sighed helplessly, this scene felt so funny.

"Haha, I haven't seen you for a long time. Thank you all for coming to pick me up at the airport. It's getting late. You should go back to eat after get off work. I won't leave you all alone. Goodbye."

Jiang Peian took the lead and led the crew of "Inception" to leave, and the surrounding media quickly made way for them.

The besieged "Heroes" crew next door watched helplessly as Jiang Peian and others left.

"Pian."

Lao Mouzi suddenly shouted.

Jiang Peian turned around, glanced at Lao Mouzi, and said with a smile:
"Director Zhang, didn't you say you were going to treat us to a big dinner when we were on the plane? I thought you were going to use the excuse of being interviewed by the media to skip the meal."

Although Lao Mouzi was old, his mind worked quickly. He nodded immediately and said:

"Isn't this a coincidence? I have already booked the hotel in advance. Let's go there now."

As soon as Lao Mouzi moved, the media around him immediately followed.

"Director Zhang, you haven't answered the question just now?"

""Hero" uses a large number of Hong Kong stars, does it mean that the quality of mainland actors is not as good as Hong Kong stars?"

"Director Zhang..."

Zhang Yimou was known in the circle as an "iron-fisted director" in his early days, and he was absolutely uncompromising among the crew.

However, his vigorous and resolute nature at work was not brought into life. Lao Mouzi looks like an old farmer from Shaanxi Province, and his usual temperament is also low-key and inarticulate.

Even though he was shouted at by the Hong Kong media, he still responded with silence. The noisy scene was in sharp contrast to Lao Mouzi's temperament.

"You are all so enthusiastic, are you planning to treat me to dinner?"

Just such a light word immediately silenced the noisy scene.

Everyone looked at the owner of the voice. The owner of the voice was a smiling young man. Who else could it be if it wasn't Jiang Peian?
Jiang Peian slowly walked towards the center of the crowd and said as he walked:

"I can completely feel your enthusiasm, but I must also be considerate of the elderly. Director Zhang, who is over 50 years old, cannot withstand such trouble from you."

People on both sides of the road slowly moved out of the way, staring at Jiang Pei'an.

"I'm young, you can ask me if you have any questions. I don't have any reporters around me, so people think I have no influence in Hong Kong Province, haha."

Jiang Peian's tone was very relaxed, but the media present did not dare to ignore his words.

After all, this is a master who can change his mind faster than turning the pages of a book. If he says the wrong thing, he can make you stand up on the spot.

Whenever Jiang Pei'an comes to Hong Kong, basically the editors-in-chief of various media outlets will tell their reporters:
When interviewing Jiang Peian, hold back.

In Hong Kong, you can have sharp interviews with popular young talents and comment on popular actresses.

But remember, Director Jiang Peian and Jiang from mainland China, interview with caution!

Every time Jiang Pei'an comes to Hong Kong, several media outlets will fire several of their reporters.

These are lessons learned through blood and tears.

After Jiang Peian finished speaking, none of the media present spoke, and a few even silently put away their microphones and cameras.

"If no one says it, forget it. Let's go, Director Zhang. My stomach is empty and I'm just waiting for your treat."

Jiang Peian waved his hand and led the "Hero" crew out of the airport.

In the car, Lao Mouzi specially pulled Jiang Peian to express his thanks;
"Pei'an, if it weren't for you today, it might not be so easy to get out of this airport. Thanks to you."

Jiang Pei'an smiled and said:
"These people are the masters who bully the weak and fear the strong. Evil people will be punished by evil people. I will not tolerate them."

Zhang Weipin on the side said:

"But we have offended the Hong Kong media, which may not be good for the promotion of our movie."

Jiang Pei'an shook his head and said:
"Producer Zhang is worrying too much. Even if you are polite to them today and invite them to a meal, they will still scold you when they deserve it. This is what makes it interesting."

Zhang Weipin didn't speak anymore. He didn't quite agree with Jiang Peian's point of view.

Jiang Pei'an could tell at a glance, but he didn't pay attention to him.

This guy has average character.

(End of this chapter)