I'm not just a director

Chapter 321 Cooperation in a new movie

Fatty Yu is here again.

Ever since Jiang Peian and Fatty Yu had a chat last year, Fatty Yu had "disappeared."

Perhaps Jiang Peian's requirements were too harsh and Fatty Yu failed to convince the company's executives for a while, or maybe Fatty Yu found a way out again.

Anyway, he hasn't contacted Jiang Peian for a long time.

"Mr. Yu, you have lost a lot of weight recently. Are you starting to pay attention to your health?"

Looking at Fatty Yu who had lost a lot of weight, Jiang Peian said with a smile.

Fatty Yu waved his hand and said:
"Hey, stop talking, it's hard. It's really difficult. All these domestic companies, one by one, are starting to exert their efforts, making it difficult for people to guard against it."

Obviously Fatty Yu came here to complain today.

Jiang Pei'an naturally knew what he was referring to when he said "start exerting force".

From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, many domestic film companies have announced cooperation with capital.

Whether it is the mainland, Hong Kong Province, or foreign cultural capital, the cooperation is closer.

This is also the most obvious turmoil after the policy liberalization last year.

"Haha, I see that Bernard is also actively seeking partners? Some time ago, there was news that you planned to cooperate with Director Zhang on a new picture."

Jiang Pei'an said with a smile.

Fatty Yu's expression froze, then he quickly shook his head and said:

"It's all nonsense, don't listen to what's said outside."

Jiang Peian smiled meaningfully, he really wasn't just hearing this.

Fatty Yu did have personal contact with Lao Mouzi, but this decision was directly rejected when it came to Zhang Weipin.

Poor Fatty Yu is like a mistress trying to escape from an affair, inserted between two pictures...

"Then Mr. Yu is coming here this time?"

Jiang Pei'an did not reveal this matter, but asked with a smile.

"Hey, you see, I have forgotten that I haven't congratulated Director Jiang for his movie's box office exceeding [-] million.

To be honest, Director Jiang, you are really the most powerful director I have ever seen, bar none.

At your current age, you have achieved such an achievement. Brother, I really admire you! "

Fatty Yu slapped him directly with a slap in the face without respecting martial ethics.

Jiang Peian smiled and said nothing. He already roughly knew the purpose of Fatty Yu's visit this time.

Seeing Jiang Peian smiling and saying nothing, Fatty Yu became anxious and said quickly:

"Why don't you believe me? As far as your performance since your debut is concerned, not to mention it is comparable to the entire Chinese film industry, but it is also a level that some directors cannot reach in their lifetime."

Seeing that Fatty was anxious, Jiang Peian smiled and said:
"I'm not doubting Mr. Yu, but box office is not the only criterion for measuring a movie.

Although the box office of some directors' works is not high, their artistic achievements are not comparable to mine, haha. "

Fatty Yu shook his head and said:

"That's not what you're saying, brother, the point of making movies now is to make money, otherwise the higher authorities wouldn't relax policies and stimulate the market.

As you said, box office is not the only criterion for measuring a work.

But if the box office is not taken into account, it will definitely be a failure of the movie.

Directors in Hong Kong are very self-aware of this, so they are ahead of us, and even now they want to continue to be ahead of us. "

There were too many things to say about this. Jiang Pei'an didn't want to continue arguing with Fatty Yu about this topic, but looked at him and asked:
"So why did Mr. Yu come here this time?"

Fatty Yu smiled and said:

"It's still the same cooperation as last time..."

Fatty Yu felt a little embarrassed after following Jiang Pei'an for so long, but he was also a capable person. The embarrassment on his face flashed away and he continued:

“I held a shareholders’ meeting after I went back last time. Although I repeatedly recommended my brother, there were always objections from people on the board of directors.

During this period, I have been constantly persuading the directors until your new movie is released..."

Speaking of this, Fatty Yu said with emotion:
"Seeing the box office results of your new movie, brother, those stubborn guys finally got the idea.

It's embarrassing to say that those people are just a group of guys who can only see immediate benefits.

If "Heartbeat" hadn't done so well at the box office, I guess they still wouldn't have agreed to our cooperation. "

Jiang Peian smiled and said:
"Not everyone can have such a unique insight into the film market like Mr. Yu. So, Bernard has agreed to the cooperation plan I proposed before?"

"agreed."

Fatty Yu nodded quickly.

Hearing this, Jiang Pei'an smiled slightly.

The conditions he proposed at the beginning were very simple. Spark and Bernard would jointly finance the filming of the movie.

Jiang Peian technically invested in the company in the name of the director, and the remainder was dividends from Bernard and Spark.

At the same time, Bernard is responsible for handling theaters and distribution.

After all, Bernard has its own distribution channels and partners. This is the basis for Jiang Peian's willingness to cooperate with Bernard.

"but……"

Fatty Yu glanced at Jiang Pei'an and pondered.

Jiang Peian knew that the other party would not agree so happily, so he smiled and said:
"But what?"

Fatty Yu smiled awkwardly and said:
"Let me make it clear first that this request was not made by me, but by the guys on the board of directors. They want to decide the theme and type of the cooperative film themselves, haha."

Jiang Peian glanced at Fatty Yu and asked curiously:
"What type of movie?"

"Zhiguai type."

Fatty Yu laughed dryly.

Jiang Peian was very puzzled after hearing Fatty Yu's words.

Is this always what Fatty has thought about?Could it be that he wants to hold up the Golden Bridge?After all, Jin Qiaoqiao's most famous role is the Peacock Princess in "Journey to the West".

But this is not right, the time does not match up, the two should have met their eyes 10 years later, which is still far away.

Seeing Jiang Peian's confused look, Fatty Yu smiled and said:
“The main reason is that they feel that monster-type movies are easy to achieve success, and every monster-type movie is a big production.

We are cooperating with my brother, and if we want to make it, we will make a big production, and finally go out of China and let foreigners see our culture. "

baffling.

Jiang Pei'an felt a little regretful about cooperating with Fatty Yu, but he suddenly became enthusiastic.

Seeing that Jiang Pei'an remained silent, Fatty Yu quickly said:
"If you think the subject matter is not good, we can change it. Your opinion will be the main one, brother. After all, you are the director of this movie..."

Before Fatty Yu finished speaking, Jiang Peian waved his hand and said:
"Strange and weird types are also possible, but these must be adapted from some traditional IPs... which means changing the meaning of traditional novels..." At this point, Jiang Pei'an suddenly thought of a movie.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Captain Wang Sheng led his army to rescue a stunning woman from a fierce battle with bandits in the Western Regions and brought her back to the Jiangdu Palace.

The other party was transformed by Xiao Wei, the beautiful fox from the sky, wearing human skin.

Its skin must be maintained by people's hearts, so Xiao Wei's invisible assistant Xiao Yi, a demon built from a desert lizard, kills people every few days and takes their hearts as offerings to Xiao Wei to show his love for Xiao Wei. As a result, Jiangdu City falls into chaos. In terror...

That's right, the movie Jiang Peian was thinking of was "Painted Skin".

The story of "Painted Skin" is based on an article from Pu Songling's "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", also known as "Painted Skin Ghost".

However, the plot of the movie "Painted Skin" is very different from Pu Songling's original work.

It has nothing to do with horror, magic, or suspense. It is a feast of humanity that mixes love, responsibility, family, and sacrifice.

This is just an ordinary love story. In this feast, it speaks directly to the heart and metaphors the emotional patterns of many modern urbanites.

Jiang Peian briefly explained the plot outline of "Painted Skin" to Fatty Yu.

After hearing this, Fatty Yu stood there with his mouth wide open.

"Don't like this story?"

Jiang Pei'an asked.

Fatty Yu quickly shook his head and said:
"This story sounds very interesting, and it also has a lot of metaphors. What surprised me is that this is the plot you just came up with after hearing my request?"

Jiang Peian waved his hand and said:

"How is it possible? I read Mr. Pu Songling's "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" in my early years, so I was most impressed by this chapter.

At that time, I thought about what angles I would use if I adapted this story.

In fact, this idea has been lingering in my mind for several years.

I just heard Mr. Yu say that you wanted a monster-type movie, and I immediately thought of this. "

Just kidding, of course you can't say that he just thought of it, otherwise he might really be pulled out and sliced.

Fatty Yu breathed a sigh of relief and said with admiration:

“If you just came up with it on the spot, it would be really scary.

But even so, I still think you are very admirable, brother.

No wonder you are successful at such a young age. Most people are unable to do this kind of thing, which is to catch an inspiration and keep thinking. "

In fact, many directors have never stopped adapting the novel "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio".

There are at least hundreds of film and television works related to "Strange Tales" from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and three places. Among them, Hong Kong Province has taken a different approach and has also made many romantic films about it, which can be regarded as rich in the film and television characteristics of Hong Kong Province...

In 1987, Xu Ke decided to remake the famous film "A Chinese Ghost Story" directed by Li Hanxiang in the 60s.

The original version is an adaptation of "Nie Xiaoqian" from "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio".

Xu Ke made drastic adaptations to the story and added more grandiose martial arts stunt scenes, which ultimately grossed HK$1800 million at the box office.

It was shortlisted for ten Academy Award nominations that year. The scholar Ning Caichen played by Zhang Guorong and the female ghost Nie Xiaoqian played by Wang Zuxian in the film have become one of the most classic imaginations in film history.

As a result, Xu Ke quickly created two sequels with the original team, which were also very successful. This sparked a wave of ghost fox movie craze in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In those years, various fox demons and female ghosts appeared on the screens of Hong Kong and Taiwan in an endless stream. In the Mainland, there was also a wave of fairy tale movie craze in the 80s.

Different from the Liao Zhai movies shot by Hong Kong filmmakers, the plot is more inclined to commercial entertainment films.

Liaozhai movies shot in the Mainland treat them as classics, and most of the plots are faithful to the original works.

There are many classics among them, such as "Rouge" by Zhejiang Film Studio, "Ghost Girl" and "Fox Fate" by West Film Studio, "Blue Water" by Shanghai Film Studio, etc.

When it comes to the artistic peak of the "Liao Zhai" movies shot in the Mainland, it is undoubtedly a movie called "The Ancient Tomb".

Although it was a movie made more than ten years ago, the film imaginatively connects the five stories in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" together.

The actor who played the female ghost and fox demon in the "Liao Zhai Fantasy Universe" film was Zhou Gongzi, who was only 17 years old at the time.

As well as Daji and Fu Yiwei in "The Legend of the Gods", the actresses are all stunning screen goddesses...

In people's minds, in addition to Xu Ke's "A Chinese Girl" trilogy, the "Liao Zhai" series that impressed everyone the most was probably the version of "Painted Skin" that Jiang Pei'an talked about today.

Coincidentally, Zhou Xun had appeared in "Liao Zhai" more than ten years ago. If "Painted Skin" is finalized this time, he plans to let her star.

After all, her role as Xiao Wei perfectly blends the fox demon's animal nature with human charm.

The so-called fox monsters often exist, but Xiao Wei does not always exist.

Among the fox demons, almost no one can surpass Zhou Xun's Xiao Wei.

"Your idea is very good. Haha, brother, please come up with a version of the script as soon as possible. Let's take a look at it first. If possible, we will start gathering a crew for filming."

Fatty Yu was very happy. Not only did he finalize the cooperation this time, he even had plans for a movie together.

Judging from Jiang Pei'an's past actions, once the script is finalized, the rest of the filming will be much simpler.

Even Fatty has begun to imagine the sensation caused by this collaboration between Bernard and Spark, and how their movie swept the market after its release.

After all, from Jiang Pei'an's story outline just now, he could feel that this was a very grand story with profound metaphors.

This is the big production that Fatty Yu wants. After all, only big productions can take off now and attract box office!
Next, Fatty Yu discussed some details of this cooperation with Jiang Pei'an, and Jiang Pei'an also called Su Qing over to listen.

"Mr. Su, what Director Jiang and I discussed today, please first draft a simple cooperation outline.

Then I will issue a specific cooperation contract after I return. If possible, we can finalize this cooperation as soon as possible. "

Fatty Yu said impatiently.

Su Qing glanced at Jiang Pei'an and saw that her boss acquiesced. Su Qing smiled and said:
"Of course, no problem. Thank you, Mr. Yu, for choosing us to cooperate with Xinghuo."

After finalizing the cooperation, Fatty Yu was in a good mood. He smiled and said:

“I also have to thank Director Jiang for choosing Bernard.

You can rest assured that as long as "Painted Skin" is released, we at Bernard will definitely spare no effort to support it.

Haha, after all, this is also a movie that we Bernard invested and cooperated with. "

The three of them laughed, and then Jiang Pei'an invited Fatty Yu to have a meal. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon when they came back.

"Boss, this should be your first film adaptation of a traditional cultural work, right?"

Su Qing also listened to a lot of conversations between Jiang Peian and Fatty Yu at the wine table.

Jiang Pei'an nodded and said:
"Yes, in fact, no matter how it is adapted, some people will criticize it for not respecting the original work.

The 86 version of "Journey to the West" has always been a classic, but many people have complained about it. Fortunately, "Painted Skin" is not large in length and has a lot of room for adaptation. "

Su Qing smiled, clasped his fingers and said:
"I'm quite interested in this adaptation of "Painted Skin" by you, boss. It's a love triangle, no, it should be... a hexagonal love. It sounds very interesting to me."

……

(End of this chapter)