I'm not just a director

"My opinion on this script is just a little bit..."

Putting down the script in his hand, Jiang Peian leaned comfortably on the sofa and said slowly:
"Shoot it out."

Hearing Jiang Peian's words, Jiang Wen laughed, gave him a thumbs up, and said:
"I know you are a knowledgeable person, and the outside world says that you are an out-and-out commercial film director.

I think they all misunderstood. You are the most artistic person. "

Hearing this, Jiang Peian shook his head and said:

"Since you gave me this script, you must have had the idea of ​​filming it. When will it start filming?"

"As soon as I finish filming "Let the Bullets Fly," I'll form a team. Now we've already got people out there enjoying the scene."

"Lack of money?"

Jiang Peian looked at Jiang Wen and asked directly.

Seeing Jiang Pei'an being so straightforward, Lao Jiang felt a little embarrassed. His expression was a little awkward and he said:

"There is a small funding gap. The one closest to me is you, and you are also a wealthy owner."

Jiang Wen didn't know how rich Jiang Peian was.

But if you can make a movie that can earn more than 100 million at the box office, how can you be short of money?
So he has been eyeing Jiang Peian since he joined the crew.

As for why it was brought up now?
Lao Jiang also has his own little thoughts. After all, he is still the leading actor in "Let the Bullets Fly".

If Jiang Pei'an talks about investments and the like as soon as he enters the crew, Jiang Pei'an will definitely have a bad impression of him.

Now that two-thirds of the entire movie has been shot, it’s not too early or too late to make a request at this point, it’s just the right time.

Seeing Lao Jiang's expectant look, Jiang Peian couldn't bear it.

But "The Sun Also Rises" is such a mess.

In the original time and space, when Jiang Wen filmed "The Sun Also Rises", Taipei Film and Television first invested 3000 million.

However, after spending 1800 million, less than one-third of the film was shot, and Taihe withdrew its investment at this time.

Since the remaining 1200 million could not be paid, the film was stopped for a while.

Then Han Shanping brought Yang Shoucheng, and Yinghuang agreed to invest 2200 million.

But he requested that the box office share should be shared before Taihe. Although Taihe was unwilling, he had already invested 1800 million yuan in advance, so he had no choice but to agree to this share method.

After Yinghuang invested 2200 million, the money was still not enough. At this time, Jiang Wu and Zhou Yun made up 7, 8 and 4 million respectively.

However, Jiang Wen did not get the 1000 million yuan salary he originally deserved.

"The Sun Also Rises" ended up with a box office of 1800 million due to problems with the film's own expression and errors in publicity.

Jiang Wen's first artistic film operated on a commercial model failed at the box office.

The production fee alone is 1800 million from Taihe Television, 2200 million from Emperor, and 1100 million from Jiang Wu and Zhou Yun, which is probably more than 5000 million.

This box office performance is like rushing to grandma's house.

So investing in "The Sun Also Rises" right now is simply too much money and nowhere to spend it.

However, Jiang Pei'an then thought about it and realized that the man in front of him was not a peaceful master.

Now that he has opened his mouth, he should also give a symbolic vote. After all, this is the male protagonist of "Let the Bullets Fly".

"How much is missing?"

Jiang Peian asked directly.

Jiang Wen's face lit up and he stretched out a hand:

"five million."

Hearing this, Jiang Peian looked at him with a half-smile and asked:

"enough?"

Who doesn’t know that one of the people who spends money making movies in Hong Kong is Jiang Wen?

five million?
Even doubling it is probably not enough!

Jiang Wen, however, patted his chest suddenly and said:
"Five million is definitely enough. Of course, if you have more money, you can invest more. No matter how much you invest in making a movie, it's not too much."

This guy actually told the truth.

Jiang Peian smiled and shook his head and said:

"Then five million. I'll have someone from the company contact you later."

"Thank you, director."

Jiang Wenle said.

……

The filming of "Let the Bullets Fly" has ended in Guangdong Province, and the next step is to return to the capital to reshoot the remaining scenes.

Basically, it takes more than half a month to finish all the filming.

It is now the end of July, the weather is extremely hot, and the sun is mercilessly scorching the earth.

In addition to the hot weather, the summer season of the film market is also extremely hot this year.

Jay Chou's "Initial D" swept the box office as soon as it was released. Apart from imported blockbusters, there is no other film on the market that can hit the box office.

This work is not like other films with the same theme. Instead, it abandons all kinds of fancy stunts and vigorously explores audio-visual elements.

The details including the engine, brake sound effects, etc. in the film are also very well done.

Coupled with the wide-angle view, it brought a certain visual impact to the audience.

The music of the entire movie is the highlight, needless to say.

Huang Qiusheng, Guan Xige, Shawn Yue, Pheasant Brother, almost all acted in their true colors or gave super-level performances.

Other movie characters and other plots are arranged very reasonably.

For example, when designing the movie, the racing scenes were interspersed with the explanations of father Bunta, which was a very clever point in the story arrangement, and the transitions in between were very comfortable.

This should also be the best movie starring Jay Chou himself.

The character of Fujiwara Takumi in the play is very similar to some of the characteristics that Jay Chou has displayed on major screens.

They are the kind of people who look a little dull and cute at ordinary times, but as soon as they come into contact with something they like, they can immediately change into a different person.

It's like the feeling when Jay Chou picked up the microphone at the concert.

Of course, it may also be because it can give the audience a strong sense of involvement if the character plays the role...

The movie hasn't been released yet. After Jiang Peian returned to the capital, he gave everyone a three-day holiday to deal with personal matters.

He took Hu Jing to the movie to watch "Initial D".

"Teacher Huang Qiusheng's acting skills are also very good, and he really grasps the transitions between emotions very well."

After walking out of the cinema, Hu Jing said in amazement.

Jiang Peian nodded, it was true.

In everyone's impression, the acting skills of Hong Kong and Taiwan stars are generally very exaggerated.

Whether it's lines, body movements or expressions, the dramatic exaggeration makes people feel as if they are watching a drama.

But Huang Qiusheng's performance in "Initial D" is different from the past, and it is more about the details.

"Apart from Huang Qiusheng, Guan Xige's performance was very good, but it's a pity..."

Guan Xige's ruffian handsomeness is simply displayed on the big screen.

As Jiang Peian said, it's a pity.

"Why is it such a pity?"

Hu Jing asked ignorantly.

"It's nothing. Let's go back to the car first. It's too hot."

Jiang Peian shook his head and held up a sun umbrella for Hu Jing.

……

The next day, Jiang Peian went to Xinghuo. "Hello, Mr. Jiang."

"Morning, Mr. Jiang."

"Mr. Jiang, are you back?"

People kept saying hello to Jiang Peian along the way, and finally Su Qing followed him back to the office.

Seeing Su Qing's attitude of reporting work, Jiang Peian quickly waved his hand and said:

"Mr. Su, don't report on work today. I have to go to the studio in the afternoon, and the filming over there isn't over yet."

Su Qing closed the folder helplessly and said:

"Then I'll send all the documents that need your approval to your email, and you can take a look.

By the way, Ninghao has made a script. I have sent the script to your email.

Then they wanted to apply for a grant from the company to make the movie. "

Hearing Su Qing's words, Jiang Peian raised his head and glanced at him.

Ning Hao is the director who specially arranged for him to shoot movies at Lions Gate.

Ninghao's last movie was called "Breathless 2".

A very good low-budget suspense film series, as the successor to the "Ghost" series.

The "Hold Your Breath" series did not disappoint Jiang Peian, and soon opened a gap in the North American market.

"What's the name of Ninghao's script?"

Jiang Peian asked.

""diamond"."

?

Is fate so powerful?

When Jiang Pei'an heard the name "Diamond", he suddenly felt that it was reasonable and unexpected.

The script of "Diamond" was the first script written by Ninghao, and was later renamed "Crazy Stone".

In his previous life, Ninghao had just graduated from Nortel and no one was willing to invest, so Ninghao first made two literary films, "Incense" and "Green Grass."

Ninghao's first film "Incense" was shortlisted for the Locarno International Film Festival, and he began to become famous in the industry.

He sorted out his previous script "Diamond" and decided to use it as his commercial debut.

At that time, Liu Tianwang was working on a project called "Asian Rising Star Director Program".

He was looking for seven young Asian directors to direct six feature films, and the only one selected from the mainland was Ning Hao.

At Liu Tianwang's suggestion, Ninghao reworked the script, localized it, and chose a mountain city as the background.

Moreover, all the dialogues were changed to the dialect of the mountain city, which enhanced the sense of locality and comedy.

Ninghao originally planned to ask for 600 million in investment funds, but Liu Tianwang didn't have that much, so he could only give 300 million in the end.

Due to lack of funds, the entire film was shot in high-definition digital and then transferred to film later...

"Where's the Ninghao people?"

"Still at the Lion's Gate, saying we're enjoying the view."

"It's a shame. Let him come back and say that the company has invested in this project.

However, the script needs to be changed. Just shoot it in China, not abroad. If this story is adapted, it will be more suitable for release in China. There are too many similar ones abroad. "

Ninghao became famous for his small-budget film "Crazy Stone", which was popularized by word of mouth. Many people commented that he had new ideas, boldness and light burden.

But this kind of comment was made in 2006 in the original time and space.

This narrative structure of parallel and intersecting multiple clues is indeed novel enough, and the advantage of this narrative structure is that it can catch people's attention.

He can attract people to keep reading and praise the wonderfulness of the story precisely because it is indeed a well-designed and compact plot.

Guy Ritchie's "Two Smoking Barrels", a 1998 work, has also been mentioned again because of its intersecting narrative method and similar narrative structure to "Crazy Stone".

What's more, Ninghao also said at the time that he liked Guy Ritchie's movies.

After watching the two movies, it is inevitable that I will have some thoughts of my own, especially the most controversial aspect of the drama.

Important props become the main clues, the goal is clear, and the direction of the story is clear from the beginning.

The story of "Crazy Stone" is about how a group of people captured the stone.

The story of "Two Smoking Barrels" is about who among a group of people can get the two smoking barrels in the end. The title of the movie has already foreshadowed this purpose.

Therefore, the beginning and end of the story will be related to this important prop, and this important prop will also run through the story and become a clue to the development of the story.

In both movies, in addition to important props, there are also some clues that assist or interfere with the ultimate goal of important props.

For example, whether the craft factory in "Crazy Stone" will be demolished and used by real estate bosses.

Will the Jedi bar in "Two Smoking Barrels" be plotted by Harry?

The clue settings in the two movies correspond obviously and are extremely similar.

This kind of usage can attract the audience and make them worry about the clues' impact on the realization of the ultimate goal of the story and the fate of the characters.

But in comparison, the clue of the craft factory in "Crazy Stone" is actually very weak.

It does not have much impact on the story, and its expressiveness is not strong. The description from the crisis in the craft factory to its final acquisition is vague...

If this movie were shot abroad, it would definitely be eliminated by "Two Smoking Barrels".

But if it is localized and turned into a domestic movie, it will definitely be more successful than the original film.

Mainly because the original time and space "Crazy Stone" was limited by funds, the actors were compromised, there was no publicity, and the picture quality was rough.

When people watch this movie, they can see that there is a sense of compromise everywhere in it.

Jiang Pei'an will never let such a thing happen again, so he must support Ning Hao's filming.

"Okay, I understand, then I'll go back first."

Su Qing nodded.

"By the way, there's one more thing."

Jiang Peian talked about investing in Jiang Wenxin's movie again.

Su Qing, a literary young man, obviously knew something about Jiang Wen. She looked at Jiang Peian in disbelief:
"Boss, are you crazy? Jiang Wen, which of his movies has made a profit? Do you still dare to invest in his new movie?"

Yes, that's right.

Jiang Wen's movies really didn't make much money.

The famous "Sunny Day", the cost of this movie is more than 2000 million, and the box office is 5000 million.

Distribution, theaters, and investment were divided into one cent, and the film ended up losing 1000 million.

The second movie is "The Devil Is Coming", which cost 3000 million yuan and has not been reviewed in China.

So it was released overseas and the box office was $2. It can be said that the film was a huge loss.

The third part is "The Sun Also Rises" and everyone already knows the ending.

Therefore, in the eyes of movie fans or industry insiders, Jiang Wen's movies are really different from others and have their own style.

But it doesn’t make money!
Isn't this equivalent to making money at a loss?

That's why Su Qing's reaction was so big.

Jiang Peian smiled and said:

"Mr. Su, Jiang Wen's movie this time is quite good. I'm relieved. And it's not much more than five million. Just make a friend, okay?"

"Whatever you want, the company belongs to you anyway."

Su Qing rolled her eyes at him, turned and left.

Jiang Peian smiled, five million is really not much, a movie "Let the Bullets Fly" can help him earn back a hundred times! (End of chapter)