The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 499 Zhang Guoli’s emotion
"Sugar Mountain Earthquake" has achieved unprecedented success. Looking at the box office trend, it is likely to exceed [-] million. Feng Xiaogang has proved his strength as a top commercial film director.

In the Mainland, his box office appeal at this time should be no less than that of Lao Mouzi, and higher than the top actors in the Chinese film and television industry.

Not to mention Zhao Yanzi, Zhou Xun, even Andy Lau, Jet Li and others, at this time, the mainland box office appeal is not as good as that of several major directors.

With results like "Sugar Mountain Earthquake", the popularity is naturally very high.

It was not until mid-July that Brother Cheng Long's "Air Rescue" was released worldwide, which took some of the attention away from "Sugar Mountain Earthquake".

However, anyone with a discerning eye can understand that "Aerial Rescue" may be very good at the overseas box office, but in the mainland, it will only have a box office of [-] million, which is not comparable to "Sugar Mountain Earthquake".

Reporters and paparazzi in the film and television industry are all staring at "Sugar Mountain Earthquake", while "1937" is much less popular.

However, "Sugar Mountain Earthquake" has been produced after all, and it can be considered a thing of the past.

Actors in the industry are still thinking about "1937" even more.

Many actors contacted Lee Sung-yew and wanted to make guest appearances in it.

Even Cheng Long, who was promoting "Air Rescue" in Beautiful Country, said he would come back to play a guest role.

Wu Jing and Hong Jinbao are producing "Bangkok Has Fallen" and they also want to make guest appearances.

At ten o'clock in the morning this day, Ningbo Xiangshan Film and Television City.

Leslie Cheung and Wang Gang came to the rehearsal set of "1937" together. Lee Shengyao greeted them warmly and chatted for half an hour. Lee Shengyao went to work, while Leslie Cheung and Wang Gang stood nearby and wandered around to familiarize themselves with the environment.

Both of them have been confirmed to join the cast and signed contracts, with Zhang Guoli playing an officer and Wang Gang playing a doctor.

They don't have many roles, so naturally they can't be like Xiao Mingge and Zhang Yi, who need to stay on the set for almost seven or eight months.

They just come here to get familiar with the environment and rehearse the plot they need to perform.

Both of them have been preparing for five days. After the rehearsal, they will go to work on other work and wait until November or December to come over for the official shooting.

The other guest actors basically followed this routine, taking some time to rehearse and get familiar with the working environment.

For some it is five days, for some it is one week.

Then I have to get busy with other work, and then come over to film when the movie is officially shot.

At this time, Zhang Guoli was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, a pair of overalls, and sandals. He looked very refreshing and young, not like an uncle in his fifties.

Wang Gang was more formal, wearing short sleeves, casual pants, and a pair of sneakers.

"Let's see how they rehearse first?"

There are a lot of reports about "1937" from the outside world. Everyone basically knows that this movie requires one shot to the end, and the actors have to rehearse for a long time. They cannot just stop for three seconds, but must perform the scene smoothly for at least three minutes.

Under such circumstances, the actors, scenes, equipment, and movements must all coordinate seamlessly to avoid lags.

The scheduling requirements for directors are very high.

Zhang Guoli once had a dream, which was to become a film director like a small steel cannon.

It's a pity that he directed TV series with good results, but the first movie he directed, "The 601st Call", was a flop with only a few million box office. After the share, his personal director's salary was not enough.

Since then, no film and television company has been willing to invest in him.

Zhang Guoli was helpless, but he still had a dream in his heart. He wanted to prove himself and make a big movie again.

For example, Wang Gang came here just to leave his name in such a special movie.

And Zhang Guoli still has a learning attitude. He wants to learn from Director Li, hoping that he can grow further.

At this time, the two people stood aside and watched Xiao Ming and Zhang Yi perform. They quickly moved from one scene to the next. They were really walking and acting at the same time, covering almost 5 meters in 100 minutes.

In the scenes they passed through, there were many extras wearing Minguo costumes, and these people were also performing.

Everyone has different things to do, and everyone has different lines to say.

This scene lasted for 5 minutes, without any pause, no one laughed, and everyone was highly focused.

It doesn’t even feel like filming, more like simulating a slice of life.

Zhang Guoli stared at Brother Xiao Ming and Zhang Yi in surprise, "These two have good acting skills."

If you can act in a long-shot scene, you naturally have two skills.

Zhang Guoli knows Brother Xiao Ming well. The two often meet in Huayi. He knows that although this junior is sometimes greasy, his acting skills are good.

But I wasn't very familiar with Zhang Yi, so I didn't expect that this young man with a humble appearance could be so powerful.

Wang Gang nodded, "Not only are the two leading actors excellent, but the extras are also very good. I didn't see any obvious mistakes."

There were almost 100 people in the extras for the scene just now.

Zhang Guoli has been a director, so he naturally knows how difficult it is to make no mistakes when so many people are performing at the same time.

"This group of actors cherish this opportunity to perform, and their attitudes are very good."

At this time, the rehearsal of this scene was over, and the actors quickly dispersed. The two leading actors went to touch up their makeup, and the extras also had to touch up their makeup.

Some people have finished touching up their makeup and want to drink water or get props.

Wang Gang watched with squinted eyes, but Zhang Guoli opened his mouth with a look of shock.

"what's wrong?"

"It's too quiet."

There were more than 200 people on set, including extras and on-set workers. With so many people gathered together, the entire set was extremely quiet.Whether they are extras or field workers, they all know exactly what they want to do. Even during breaks, the crew is well organized.

"That's awesome. These actors and crew all abide by the rules. Director Li has found a group of very good people, isn't that right..."

Wang Gang looked over with a puzzled expression.

"These extras and set work are all good, but more importantly, the set system formulated by Director Li is good. This is so rare."

Leslie Cheung thought about the film industrialization proposed by Lee Sheng Yew and couldn't help but admire him.

When he was directing TV series before, once there was a scene with more than [-] people, the set would be like a vegetable market.

He held a loudspeaker himself, and several assistant directors also held loudspeakers. The actors were talking, and the set workers were talking. Being in it, it felt like hundreds of ducks were quacking.

On the set of "1937", it was as quiet as a high school class.

Soon after, the actors continued to rehearse. As before, they were well organized and the scene was very orderly. Maybe some of the group actors performed poorly, but there was no problem as a whole.

At twelve o'clock, it's time for dinner.

The actors and field staff separated and went to different places to receive lunch boxes.

It was still the same as before, everything was orderly and the whole crew was very quiet.

It was so quiet while eating...

Zhang Guoli couldn't help but sigh, "The rehearsals are not messy, the breaks are not messy, and even the meals are not messy. This crew is really good. Such a crew will definitely be able to produce excellent works."

Wang Gang was hungry and smiled, "Let's see what everyone eats."

For example, Xiao Mingge, Zhang Yi, and the assistant director, Li Shengyao, eat relatively well.

They also eat lunch boxes, but there are more than a dozen dishes on the table for them to choose from.

Zhang Guoli and Wang Gang naturally sat at this table.

After dinner, there was still about an hour of rest time, and everyone found a place to rest.

Zhang Guoli and Wang Gang are older and no longer need a nap.

The two people planned to take a look outside. Soon after, they left the film and television city and saw the fields beside the film and television city.

The crew of "1937" rented a hundred acres of land, and various facilities had been built at this time.

There are ditches, trenches, pools, paths, rivers, ruins, grasslands, and even more than a dozen large trees transplanted here.

Zhang Guoli nodded while watching, his heart was shocked.

He has acted in many war scenes, such as last year's "The Great Cause of the Nation" and this year's "The Great Cause of the Party". There are many war scenes in them, but at most they are just two rows of sandbags and maybe a few trenches dug. It will be like the crew of "1937", doing so many scenes in this film.

These details were something he had not encountered before.

I have to say that Director Li’s films are indeed very demanding.

Wang Gang was also very surprised. He felt that the crew of "1937" had done a lot.

After walking around outside, the two of them took a short rest. When they went to work in the afternoon, a makeup artist would put makeup on them.

After all, there is little time for rehearsals, so naturally we can’t delay.

While the two of them were putting on makeup, Li Shengyao pulled up a chair, sat across from the two of them, and then told them about the play.

After the two people finished putting on makeup, Li Shengyao immediately took the two people to the future filming set and then moved them.

It's also a long-shot plot, with Zhang Guoli, Wang Gang, Xiao Mingge, Zhang Yi, and some extras all appearing here.

Li Shengyao walked through the scenes one by one, very calmly and skillfully, as if he had already played this scene thousands of times in his mind.

He didn't even take the script.

Brother Xiao Ming and Zhang Yi are used to it, and they are not surprised by Director Li's ability.

Zhang Guoli and Wang Gang were surprised when they saw Li Shengyao telling a long play without reading the script.

Especially Zhang Guoli, he has always wanted to be a film director and wanted to steal his mentor. At this time, he was benchmarking against Lee Sing-yew. Only then did he realize that with his current brainpower, without reading the script, it would probably take one or two It takes a month to memorize it.

And Director Li is so calm, so cool.

As expected of Director Li.

At this time, the sun was very bright and the temperature was very high, but Zhang Guoli felt cool.

Compared with Director Li, he is far behind.

A movie like "1937" took him a lifetime to prepare, but he probably wouldn't be able to film it well.

"Hey, don't think about making movies in the future. Just focus on acting or filming TV series."

He glanced at Wang Gang and thought of Zhang Tielin.

The scene between the three of them is still simple, the camera is there, the three of them sit down around a small round table and chat.

What Li Shengyao played was too high-end.

He can't play.

(End of this chapter)