China Entertainment started from art school

Chapter 323 Conquering the Producer and Director

Li Jingkun discovered many problems after reading the script of "Mulan", but this is not enough, he still wants to know more: "I don't know if you have a shooting schedule? Also, if there is a shot script May I have a look?"

"..."

Does he really care about everything?

The producer discussed with the director for a while, and felt that with the other party's wealth and background, it seemed that there was no need to keep any secrets out of here.Moreover, the other party is also a very powerful director and producer. If I show him the whole project, maybe he can see it more comprehensively and find out more problems?

After thinking about it, they asked the assistant to take all the information about "Mulan" and show it to him directly.Even some weapons and props were brought over.Text materials, picture materials, real objects, etc. have all been moved over.

At the same time, some staff members gave him a brief introduction to the materials and props, and at the same time expressed how much time and energy they spent on these things.During this period, Li Jingkun didn't say much, just nodded from time to time.

About half an hour later, he no longer had any doubts, but when expressing his opinion, he still took a precautionary shot: "I have read the script carefully, there are some advantages, but there are also many disadvantages , To be honest, I am really disappointed. Maybe what I will say later will be more serious, I wonder if you can accept it?"

Now that you've reached this point, there's nothing to hesitate about.

The biggest person in charge of this project, Chris Bender, couldn't wait, he said: "It's okay, just say it!"

The cost and publicity of this movie cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It really can't be dealt with casually. If it hits the street, it will have a particularly big impact on him!
But now there is such a professional person who can consult, he really doesn't mind being asked any questions by the other party.

Therefore, after everyone gathered around for a while, Li Jingkun began to open the script and talk about the problems he saw one by one:
"This script as a whole still has many advantages, but there are actually many disadvantages..."

Everyone nodded without speaking.

Li Jingkun actually said a nonsense, but it must be said, because the process is like this, before you say "but", you have to be sure first, right?

Then comes the official content: "First, the rhythm of the story is wrong, second, there are many loopholes in the plot, and finally, there are problems with the character setting!"

"..."

Everyone was stunned, this frankly basically negates the whole script, okay?

The characters are wrong and the plot is wrong, so what are the audience watching?

But this was just the beginning, and no one else said anything; and Liu Tianxian, who had been silent from the beginning to the end, didn't even say anything, she just looked at Li Jingkun adoringly - she liked watching him talk the most!
Especially watching him speak in front of a group of bigwigs, and these bigwigs who usually have a high status and great power can only listen to his "teaching" silently at this time.

This is the man she likes and admires!
I remember that when she first came here, she could only listen to their arrangements and talk honestly. Now that her boyfriend is here, they have to listen to her boyfriend honestly.

"Let me start with the plot first, because there is a problem with this setting, if you don't change this, what rhythm and characters are you talking about?
"Mulan" is first and foremost an ancient Chinese folktale, so if the film is to be adapted or produced, it must be filmed according to a historical story in ancient costumes, not a martial arts novel.

Yes, of course you can tease the action scenes and wars to be more powerful and mighty in order to show the strength of the characters and the wonderful images, but some things are a bit too much!

For example, I saw a scene in the shooting plan just now, saying that a character is required to run up the city wall with his feet. The city wall is 90 degrees, no matter how good you are, you can't run up it?
This is absolutely not acceptable!The problem is too big, whether it is the Chinese audience or the audience from other countries, absolutely cannot accept this kind of setting!
Again, this is not a martial arts movie!
Well, this is the first point, and the second point let’s talk about the characters. Of course, the setting of the characters is also related to the style and type of the plot.

For example, the character setting of Xianniang, you set her up as a witch, maybe you think this story is fake, so you want to add some fantasy things?

Or are there similar characters in your other stories like Maleficent and Cinderella, so you add one too?
Well, assuming that this character is okay and acceptable, then let's take a look at her role in this story, what is her character's appeal, and what does she mainly want to do in this story? "

Li Jingkun really has too much to say about this movie, not to mention that he can only ask questions. With his identity and experience, as long as he can ask questions and make sense, the other party will take it seriously. considerate!
Even if you can't change everything, if you can listen to [-]% to [-]% of the movie, it will change a lot in the end, at least there is a chance to pass the pass line.

This time he talked about a lot of problems, at least 10 or more, and none of them were nonsense. He explained basically every point, and analyzed why these are problematic!

After all, with his identity here, as long as the other party sincerely asks for advice, it's hard not to be persuaded.

In fact, whether it is the producer, the director, or these few screenwriters, they are all professionals in this field; the reason why the original time and space made the movie like that is mainly because they vainly thought that the Huaxia story was like this, and then they were proud I just don't want to know more and learn more.

But now there is an industry leader pointing out the problems to them one by one, and they are still willing to correct some problems.

So in general, what did Li Jingkun say?

First, the plot should not be too fantasy, don't take it as a martial arts or magical story.To be honest, it is enough to shoot as a traditional Chinese folk story. If you want to have exciting fighting and battlefield scenes, it is not difficult. Huaxia and Hollywood have a lot of powerful action guides, and there are many people who have researched and achieved results in this area.

You spend so much money on publicity, it is really better to spend more on this aspect.

Second, since it should not be filmed as a martial arts and magic story, Xianniang's character setting should not be so perverted; and her story line should be reorganized, her character development is not normal at all.

Third, Hua Mulan did not join the army for family glory.

Fourth, Hua Mulan's growth line was not handled well, as if she suddenly became very powerful, and the process was a bit too abrupt.

Fifth, there is a problem with the image setting of the emperor. If you want to set him as a positive image, there is a problem with the character modeling...
"Unbelievable..."

Finally, the producer Chris Bender sighed, "I have to admit that what you said is very good! If you can really modify it according to what you said, this story is indeed much more exciting and logical!"

The director and the four screenwriters didn't talk much, because they didn't dare to say anything anymore...
In fact, they refuted it a few times just now, communication needs to be back and forth!
But then it was discovered that Li Jingkun could always fight back with rich knowledge and more logical settings, leaving them speechless several times.

Li Jingkun's understanding of Chinese humanities and culture is much deeper than theirs. At the same time, they know that he has a super memory ability and rich knowledge. Getting kicked out of the project doesn't necessarily mean either.

In front of directors and producers, screenwriters must have even less "human rights".

It's easier to change a screenwriter than a director...
·······
At noon, Li Jingkun and Liu Tianxian ate in the cafeteria of Disney Company, and chatted for more than an hour in the afternoon.Later, their vice presidents came out, and the two chatted for a long time.

What they talked about was not just about "Mulan", but also about Netflix and Shimen, "Queen's Gambit" and "Knives Out" and so on.

However, I will definitely not talk about business secrets, but the other party also expressed compliments and cooperation intentions, saying that Disney is also willing to cooperate with outstanding talents and excellent companies all over the world, and I can also cooperate with them if there are good projects cooperation and so on.

Later, they begged Li Jingkun and the others to stay in Los Angeles for one more day. They would revise the script in the afternoon and tomorrow morning, hoping that he could take another look.

Li Jingkun also agreed, so he continued to live here that night.

In the evening, Li Jingkun and Liu Tianxian went out for a stroll, and they didn't bother to go to the Avenue of Stars or other scenic spots. One of them had been there before, and the other was that they just wanted to go out for a walk together, so as to enjoy the evening breeze If you are tired from walking, just find a place to sit down and chat.

"You are really handsome today!"

After shopping around for a while, the two sat down on the open-air seat of a coffee shop, ordered two cups of coffee each, and then sat down to rest.Liu Tianxian still couldn't forget his performance today, and couldn't help mentioning it again at this time.

"The main thing is that there are too many slots, right? I don't understand why they are so confident. They can point fingers at another country's classic stories without doing their homework well."

"Maybe it's because the live-action versions of "Maleficent" and "Cinderella" have successfully made money? Let them think that our Huaxia story is almost the same."

"I don't understand, and I don't want to care about it, anyway, that's it."

"You have done a lot, really don't need to say anything more, and it's not our own project. But today is really handsome, I admire you so much, haha. You don't know that when I first came here, I was actually a bit , A little uncertain, right? I feel that there are so many people running for this, and I feel worried that I won’t be selected.

And they also naturally have a superior attitude towards the actors who come to audition, maybe they are really amazing, they are all well-known Hollywood filmmakers.But when you came today, I felt that they were completely suppressed by you, and that attitude was completely different from when I came here. "

Li Jingkun also said with a smile: "Maybe my performance in recent years has been so good, it's hard for them not to believe it. In recent years, I have had two or three films with a total box office of more than 4 million dollars. Be any other person, maybe they can't necessarily believe that."

"Never mind him, if it doesn't work, I'll just stop acting. Haha, even their vice president came out to see you today. How can other people get this kind of treatment?"

Li Jingkun said with a smile: "Actually, their president should come to see me."

The current president of Disney is still Robert Iger. Of course, he is one of the most powerful people in the United States, and he is also the most trusted president of the board of directors of Disney. He has worked in Disney for decades.

But after all, they are an entertainment company. Now there is a world-renowned director and the owner of a world-renowned film and television company visiting. As the helm of Disney, it is not too much to come out to meet and say hello.

In the afternoon of the next day, Li Jingkun and Liu Tianxian went to Disney Company again and talked about other things.

To Liu Tianxian's surprise, their CEO, Robert Iger, actually came out to meet them...

·······
When bidding farewell to Disney's headquarters, Liu Tianxian and Li Jingkun stayed in the office in Niuyue for a few days, and then flew back to China to attend to their own affairs.

Li Jingkun began to follow up the work here. The preparations for the two projects "Queen's Gambit" and "Knives Out of the Sheath" are almost ready, and they will start to start soon.

In the former, he mainly checks the progress, and then meets with the director to understand the progress.

For the latter, he has more things to do. He has to go to the scene again with the photographer, lighting engineer and others, and design the shooting techniques and lighting methods of some scenes in advance.

At the same time, the work of the art department, recording department, and production department must be confirmed in place, and finally all actors must be called for script readings and other work.

Then it officially started in late September.

Much of Knives Out takes place in a period, neo-gothic mansion; but even the mansion isn't exactly where it was shot.Among them, the plots that happened on the second and third floors are the stage rebuilt by the crew.

At the same time, some exterior scenes of the mansion were done in a mansion in Massachusetts.

However, compared with some other movies, the difficulty of shooting and work of this movie is really not that big, and the shooting time is also the same.

······
When Li Jingkun was busy in the United States, Liu Tianxian who returned to China was not idle either.

At this time, her music album is still short of some follow-up work, but she has discussed with Li Jingkun a while ago, and will release the first title song in a few days.

In fact, with the current music environment in China, it is basically impossible to make money by selling physical albums, but digital albums can also be sold online if they can return some money.

But if you really want to make some money back, you still have to rely on post-production commercial performances or concerts to make money.

The concert feels a little far away for Liu Tianxian, but commercial performances and popularity are still very important.

Another point is that she herself likes singing and music, so even if she doesn't make much money, she still wants to release songs.

Especially the first song that will be released soon will be released for free at that time - in fact, if you want the Chinese music scene to develop healthily, normal charging is conducive to the development of the industry, instead of making all your works free. ·····

There are many such singers in the music circle, and many fans like it very much.

Yes, he did this to show that he is great and considerate of his fans. The problem is that singing has become their sideline, and they don't make money from it at all.Instead, relying on commercial performances, concerts and variety shows, etc., to earn a lot of wealth.

But more low-level musicians and newcomers, they don't have such a big reputation, they don't have so much income, if they don't charge fees, they will starve to death and finally change careers.

If you charge fees, you will be scolded by others, and no one will invite you for commercial performances, then you will have no source of income, and finally change careers...

Of course, this situation cannot be improved in a day or two, nor can Liu Tianxian or Li Jingkun change anything, so they can only do their best to do their own things well.

And before preparing to launch the first song, she also gave everyone a preview on the scarf in advance, telling everyone the good news.

(End of this chapter)