The King of Directors 2000

Chapter 501 Problems with the crew

Time flies so fast. In August, "Sugar Mountain Earthquake" was released and its total box office exceeded [-] million, making it the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in the mainland.

It shocked countless people for a while.

Last year's "The Founding of a Country" was only over [-] million. I thought Chinese-language films would break through the [-] million mark first, but this time it jumped to [-] million.

I have to say it’s awesome.

Xiaogangpao was in high spirits, and then promoted his new movie, saying that "If You Are the One 2" will be released during the Lunar New Year at the end of the year. In addition, he will take some time off to seriously consider his next movie.

At the same time, the post-production of "Hawthorn Tree Love" is coming to an end. Zhang Weiping revealed that Lao Mouzi will next produce a film describing the Jinling Massacre and will also invite Hollywood superstars.

Li Shengyao's "1937" and Lao Mouzi's Jinling Massacre.

Both great directors chose the story of the Minguo period, and many people analyzed that this was a popular topic.

Naturally, some people predict the box office of these two movies. Some people think that Director Li's "1937" will be at least [-] million, and some people think that Lao Mouzi's new film will be at least [-] million.

This topic has attracted a lot of discussion, and there are many posts in the entertainment section of major forums.

In addition, there is the release of "No Man's Land". Although this movie cannot be compared with "Sugar Mountain Earthquake", it still triggered a movie-watching craze in the mainland. Many people like this kind of black comedy.

Ning Hao was very considerate, saying that the production of this film was inseparable from Li Shengyao's support, which gave Director Li a wave of traffic.

Li Shengyao didn't pay much attention to outside matters. He was still at Xiangshan Film and Television City, receiving talented actors, giving lectures to the actors, leading the actors to their positions, and discussing shooting plans with the assistant directors.

The weather was hot at this time, and Li Shengyao was devoted to work, and he lost three or four kilograms unknowingly.

The entire "1937" crew is focused on rehearsing for this movie.

At noon on this day, the sky was originally fine, but suddenly it became angry and changed. The clouds were thick, thunder continued, and heavy rain poured down.

The actors and crew of the "1937" crew were eating. When they saw this, they immediately packed their lunch boxes and ran under the eaves to take shelter from the rain.

Dapeng was one of them, walking with a young man.

This young man is of average height and build. He wears a pair of glasses, has a dark complexion and a somewhat square face. He looks naive. His name is Bi Gan and he is from Guizhou.

Li Shengyao published a paper on the industrialization of Chinese films, and then cooperated with China National Theater to arrange directing students to go to the studio to practice, find problems, and write about shooting experiences.

He naturally leads by example. The crew of "1937" includes ten college students in the film and television industry.

Bi Gan is one of them. He is not a student of Chinese drama, but a student of the Directing Department of Shanqi Media College. Hearing Li Shengyao's call, he took the initiative to come over to learn about the filming on the set.

Li Shengyao asked Dapeng to take these ten students.

Dapeng was wearing a pair of glasses, a pair of light gray short-sleeved shirts and a pair of black pants. He looked fifty-fifty tall and had no star image at all, just like an ordinary young man.

While he was eating, he said, "It's raining forever, and we have to rest again in the afternoon."

Most of "1937" are outdoor scenes. If it rains heavily, there will be no way to rehearse.

It rained a few days ago. At first, Dapeng, the set workers, and the actors were somewhat happy because they felt they could relax a bit.

However, after entering August, the rain in Ningbo suddenly increased.

In the past week, it has rained every afternoon, sometimes at two o'clock, sometimes at three o'clock.

It started to rain earlier today, after twelve o'clock.

Judging from the clouds in the sky, I'm afraid it will last for several hours.

Under such circumstances, people like Dapeng began to worry about whether the actors had enough time to rehearse.

Bi Gan nodded. He had finished eating, closed the plastic lunch box, and then threw the lunch box into a garbage bag aside. He looked at Dapeng and opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He thought for a while, took a plastic cup to get the water, drank two glasses of water, and then came back.

"Brother Dapeng, I wrote some suggestions and I want to show them to the director."

Dapeng was stunned when he heard this, then blinked, "Will it make the director angry?"

Dapeng has been on the set for almost a month and a half. He has seen hundreds of people in the "1937" crew operating stably and efficiently under the command of Director Li.

He is now Director Li's most loyal fan and admires Li Shengyao's ability very much.

Bi Gan is a bit straight-tempered and usually very quiet, but he often speaks shockingly.

Among the ten college students who came to practice, he had a normal relationship with the others.

This person either doesn't speak or says something embarrassing.

Dapeng was not worried that Bi Gan would be embarrassed. He was more worried that such a thing would affect Li Shengyao's condition.

After all, it rains every day, which is not a good thing for the crew.

Although Director Li did not curse with a sullen face, the smile on his face was obviously much less.

"Will not."

Bi Gan said it very confidently.

Dapeng nodded and was about to agree when his mind suddenly turned around and said, "Wait a minute, what advice do you want to give to the director? Let me see."

Bi Gan nodded, then took out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Dapeng.

They, the students who have come to practice, have to find faults and record the mistakes made by the crew one by one.

It is actually normal for him to give advice to Lee Sheng Yew.

Dapeng took the paper and read it quickly, then frowned and said, "Don't mention the fourth point."

"Can't you tell?"

"Of course not. The director is the most powerful screenwriter in the Mainland. Even Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kai asked him to revise the script. Haven't you heard of these two things?"

Bi Gan's fourth suggestion was that the story of "1937" was mediocre, and he wanted to help revise the script.

Dapeng was speechless. You, a directing student who has not yet graduated, are revising the script for Director Li. Don’t you even look in the mirror?
"The director was great before, but that doesn't mean every script he wrote was good. The previous "Taken 3" was just average."

Bi Gan immediately followed.

Dapeng used to be a host, so of course he wouldn't be silenced by these words, "You think it's ordinary, but the global box office of this movie is more than 3 million U.S. dollars. The script of this movie was conceived from a commercial perspective. If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense." ." Bi Gan glanced at Dapeng and did not speak further.

Seeing this, Dapeng couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted. He felt that Bi Gan had an innocent heart, and such young people should be encouraged.

"Then just take a look. If the director is in a good mood, just mention it. If he is in a bad mood, don't mention it."

"it is good."

After a while, Dapeng finished his meal and then went to the director's lounge with Bi Gan and met Li Shengyao.

At this time, Director Li had finished his meal. He was sitting on a plastic chair, looking down at the rehearsal schedule, frowning and looking serious.

The nearby field workers and actors walked much lighter.

"Hello director."

Dapeng then revealed the purpose of his and Bi Gan's visit.

Li Shengyao smiled when he heard this and said, "Tell me."

Bi Gan took a step forward and adjusted his glasses, "Director, August and September are rainy months in Ningbo. It may rain most of the time. We have less time to rehearse. I think this must be resolved. .”

"Oh, do you have any ideas?"

"When it rains, we can't rehearse outdoors. This can't be changed. I think we can shoot some material when it's not raining. When it rains, we can analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the rehearsal based on this material."

The successful filming of "1937" requires not only the actors to contribute their wonderful acting skills, but also the photography, lighting, and scenery and everyone else to complete the task accurately and efficiently.

During the break, it is not enough for actors to conduct script seminars. Other types of work must also be active and they must constantly think and review.

If you have video material, you can indeed find the shortcomings better.

Li Shengyao nodded, "Okay, this point can be adopted."

Bi Gan was very happy when he heard this, with a smile on his face, "The second point is about photography."

The equipment for the "1937" crew has been in place for a long time.

However, considering that the actors were not rehearsed enough, the cameras were not turned on.

Even if the Steadicam cameraman followed the actors with heavy stabilizers, it was just for show and did not turn on the camera.

Lee Sheung-yew's original intention was to wait for the actors to be good enough in rehearsal before officially filming.

Bi Gan continued: "The weather changes greatly and it is difficult to determine the photography parameters. I think the crew can make a table to show what parameters are required for different temperatures and different weather conditions. We can do research now."

"This way, if we encounter the same climate environment, we can directly use the previous parameters."

There is sunshine or not, there are clouds or not, and the camera parameters are very different.

The camera has three parameters: shutter, aperture, and sensitivity to control the final screen brightness.

Generally, film crews will adjust the photography parameters when telling plots at different scene times.

"1937" needs to be even more rigorous in this regard. The entire story takes place in one day, from day to night and back to day, and the screen brightness needs to be adjusted all the time.

If there is data that can be used as a reference, it should be faster when the official shooting begins.

This suggestion can be used, but because the shooting seasons are different, it can only be used as a reference. The photographer needs to carefully check to see if it is suitable.

Li Shengyao did not point it out, but smiled and nodded, "You have a lot of ideas, and this can be used."

Bi Gan was even more happy. He couldn't help but glance at Dapeng, with some pride in his eyes.

"Also, I feel that the set of the crew does not have the characteristics of the country. We should find military, historical and cultural consultants."

Li Shengyao paused after hearing this, and then looked at Dapeng, "What do you think?"

When the crew was being formed, several military, historical and cultural consultants were invited to provide guidance on the scenery.

Bi Gan felt it was not enough, and Li Shengyao wanted to ask Dapeng's opinion.

"Director, I..."

Dapeng thought for a while and then said: "I think our set has a Chinese-style feel, but it's still not distinctive enough."

Li Shengyao nodded when he heard this, "Okay, then we will invite a group of experts in related fields to come over."

He doesn't think this is a bad thing. Since it's not good enough, he will try to do better.

Bi Gan saw that Li Shengyao seemed to be in a good mood, and then said the last point, "Director, I think the movie script can be more exciting, and we should make adjustments and improvements."

When Dapeng heard this, he immediately turned around and glanced at Li Shengyao. He was worried that Director Li would be angry.

He was obviously worried too much. Although Li Shengyao was indeed troubled by the weather in Ningbo recently, Director Li would not offend others because of it.

As for whether a great director like Director Li can be questioned by a college student who has not graduated, Lee Sheng Yew has never considered this.

He is not floating.

Although he is a capitalist and a big director, he can still empathize with little people.

"Okay, you can try to modify it, and then tell me the plan."

Li Shengyao smiled and continued: "But I will most likely not accept your revision suggestions."

In his previous life, Bi Gan was known as the "wild version of Wong Kar-Wai". He was very good at playing with light and shadow, but the story of the movie was very poor, and the script was written while filming.

The script he rewrote should not be commercially viable.

Bi Gan was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Li Shengyao to directly tell him that there was a high probability that he wouldn't use it. He then came to his senses and raised his head somewhat.

"I will definitely change it into a wonderful plot, and you will agree."

Li Shengyao waved his hand, "Okay, I look forward to your correction."

Bi Gan then left the director's lounge. He raised his head towards Dapeng and said, "Brother Dapeng, the director is very easy to talk to."

Dapeng rolled his eyes at Bi Gan, "The director is the only one in the world who can support the prime minister. Don't think that every director is like this."

(End of this chapter)