Actor: My Entertainment Era

On the second weekend of March, Zhang Yuanjun finished all his training courses and waited for the filming of "John Wick 3" to start.

The next day, Zhang Yuanjun took his wife and children south to his hometown to stay for a few days and visit his parents.

When Zhang Yuanjun returned home with his wife and children for a reunion, his fans opened Youku and started watching the third season of "Round Table Talk". Today's guest was Zhang Yuanjun, and the topic they discussed was quite pointed: "Bad Movies: What Makes Them Bad and Why Are They Bad".

The topic of young handsome men and bad movies has been talked about a lot in recent years, but Zhang Yuanjun and Liu Yifei seem to rarely talk about this in the public media. Many people are curious about how the No. 2 Chinese film actor - "Monster Hunt " caused a certain impact on the reputation of Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and now Zhang Laosan is temporarily the No. Chinese film actor - would comment on bad movies and the current environment of the film and television industry.

Another guest of this episode is Wang Hailin, the sharp-tongued screenwriter who has been very popular in the past two years. He has always been at the forefront of criticizing young actors and bad movies, and has won the support of many audiences.

Netizens also want to see what Wang Hailin will say today.

The show begins.

The host Dou Wentao struck a match, lit the incense in front of him, and made an opening joke about Zhang Yuanjun: "Today, we are honored to have invited Mr. Zhang Yuanjun, a performing artist at the top of the pyramid in the Chinese film industry."

The camera turned to Zhang Yuanjun, who waved his hands and said with a smile: "Don't say that, I'm just an actor."

Dou Wentao said, "It's mainly these two," and glanced at the other two guests opposite him, Ma Weidu and Wang Hailin, "I need to use your name to stimulate them and get them excited."

"No need for introductions, right?"

"No need. Teacher Wang is still my leader." Zhang Yuanjun said with a smile.

"Oh? How do you mean this?" Dou Wentao asked.

"Teacher Wang is the vice president of the Screenwriters Association, and I am a member."

Wang Hailin said: "I am not a leader, and I cannot control you."

Dou Wentao said: "Before doing this program, I did some research. Yuanjun, you and Teacher Wang are from the same hometown, right?"

"Yes, they are all from Gan Province."

Dou Wentao then passed the message to Ma Weidu: "I find that the three of us today have a relationship of inheritance. Teacher Wang can be said to be a one- or two-generation relationship with you."

Wang Hailin said: "Master Ma is a senior."

Dou Wentao added: "Yuanjun is the next generation screenwriter of Mr. Wang."

"Yes." said Zhang Yuanjun.

Ma Weidu said: "I was just trying to make a living at that time."

Dou Wentao said, "Teacher Wang, don't you want to make a living now?"

Wang Hailin said: "It's getting harder and harder to get by now."

Several people laughed.

Dou Wentao said: "Nowadays, for screenwriters like those with high level, what price can they reach?"

Wang Hailin said: "It's quite high."

Ma Weidu asked, "How much is the script of the most expensive movie now?"

Wang Hailin said: "For a movie, one can earn several million. For a TV series, the highest can be several hundred thousand, four or five hundred thousand."

"One episode?"

"One episode." Wang Hailin smoothly directed the conversation to the actors, "But for many of our actors, one episode costs 100 million to 200 million yuan."

The other three laughed.

"This is incomparable." Wang Hailin continued, "But as far as I know, these screenwriters who can get 300,000 or 400,000 or 400,000 or 500,000 per episode often take six or seven years to write a script."

"Of course." Ma Weidu said, "If you want such a high price, you have to spend time to bargain."

"That's not right." Dou Wentao said, "I heard that many screenwriters now lead a team, sign a contract with the producer, and then assign the work to the kids below them."

"This is cheaper," Ma Weidu said. "The film producers are cunning. They won't let you make so much money."

Dou Wentao pointed at Zhang Yuanjun: "Yuanjun, you seem to write scripts very quickly." Currently, there are only 6 scripts signed by Zhang Yuanjun, including the "Swan Elegy" which has not yet started filming, but 5 film scripts have been released, from the graduation drama "To Become Famous" to the most recent "The Invisible Guest", none of them were bad films, and each of them won at least one box office award, with a very good result.

Zhang Yuanjun said: "I actually write even slower, and I can only write for myself. I can't be a full-time screenwriter like Mr. Wang, because I'll starve to death if I do that."

"Has anyone made you an offer for your script?"

"Yes." Zhang Yuanjun said with a smile.

Dou Wentao smiled and said, "Can you tell me how much it is?"

Wang Hailin continued: "Given his fame, the price will definitely not be low."

Zhang Yuanjun smiled and said, “It’s almost the same as what Teacher Wang just said.

“But I know that if I can’t write about other people, I won’t make that money.”

Dou Wentao went on to say, "We always talk about the script, which is the basis of a play. But in today's entertainment industry, who is more important, the star or the script?"

Wang Hailin said: "It still depends on the star. Because now it is like this, for TV dramas, the TV station and the platform will only buy you based on what kind of actor you are. In fact, if you get the actors right from the beginning, then your drama will basically make money."

Dou Wentao said: "So I was particularly impressed by Mr. Wang's previous speech. I wonder if it has improved now. He said that there is market demand. The so-called market refers to the film buyers of the big TV stations, and most of them are middle-aged women. They are 'sexual maniacs' and buy young handsome men."

When he said this, Zhang Yuanjun and Ma Wei beside him also laughed.

Wang Hailin said: "Yes, if you look at the film purchasing departments of TV stations now, they are basically all lesbians, and they are also of a certain age."

"That's for sure," Ma Weidu said, "She doesn't have the power until she reaches the age."

"Then, there has been a very interesting phenomenon in recent years." Wang Hailin continued, "When the TV station leaders come to visit the set, they will decide whether to buy the play or not. If they come to visit the set, they will organize the male actors to accompany the leaders for dinner."

"I haven't figured it out yet," Ma Weidu asked, "Why should a man accompany the leader for dinner?"

"Because it's all female leaders who buy films." Wang Hailin explained, "Then, a friend of mine was filming a movie, and his male actors were all talented actors, but they didn't look good. If the first, second and third male actors were all the same, it wouldn't work, so the costumes, assistant directors, makeup, and energetic young men were sent to clean up, and they were told that you were to accompany the leaders for dinner, and no female actors were allowed to appear. In this way, the film was sold. "And if you go and see, the distributors of the big film and television companies are all young men now."

Dou Wentao smiled ambiguously and said, "This is what a screenwriter is like. He knows how to watch a play."

Wang Hailin went on to say: "In the past, all the distribution companies were full of young girls, pretty young girls who sold the films."

Dou Wentao was inspired to say: "I have listened to Mr. Wang a lot. He made me doubt that all this is manipulable. I have seen some investors who want to go public if they have the conditions, and will create the conditions if they don't. Since they have invested money, they must succeed. How to succeed is the so-called means. There are rumors in the industry that they buy data and make data. If the show is not well made, they will use other public relations channels to improve the reputation of the show. Now, if someone organizes an event and releases a promotion, I can clearly see from the replies below that they are definitely not real fans."

Zhang Yuanjun took over the conversation: "So now whether it's a TV series or a movie, the publicity and promotion costs are getting higher and higher.

"What you just said does exist, and it's very common. As for the real and fake fans you just mentioned," Zhang Yuanjun decided to expose an unspoken rule. "Look at this star online with millions of fans, tens of millions, and even hundreds of millions. Among the millions, there may be real ones, but among the tens of millions and hundreds of millions, eighty to ninety percent are fake and bought.

"People who follow you may not necessarily be your fans. They may just click on it casually or do something else. Let me reveal something. In the industry, if you can get 30 people to buy tickets for you, you are the top star, and the one with the most traffic."

"30 is enough?" Ma Wei didn't understand this at all. He felt that 30 was a bit too little.

Zhang Yuanjun explained: "It's enough. There is a thing called inflation coefficient on the Internet. For example, if our program starts airing and there are 1 people watching, the platform will change the number of people from 1 to 1000 million in the background to make it look better. It deceives people into watching, thinking that if there are 1000 million people watching the program at the same time, it must be good, so I want to watch it too. But in fact, there are only 1 people.

"Then it's very clear when it comes to fans. Just buy fans. A few thousand dollars can give you 30 or 30 fans. If you want to get millions or tens of millions, you just need to spend more money. Mr. Ma, think about it. If you have 30 real fans, these 30 people will buy the books you write, and these people will watch the programs you make. These people can influence many people around them, and your popularity will increase immediately."

Dou Wentao then asked, "So according to what you said, it's all fake?"

Zhang Yuanjun thought for a moment and said, “Many things on the surface are fake, but the inside is real.

"Actually, think about it. You are the boss of the investment company. If you don't look at the ratings, click-through rate, or the number of fans, what do you look at? You can't follow a movie from beginning to end, and you can't watch every movie. Why buy his movie? Because he has 100 million fans and can attract a lot of audiences to watch it. At this time, you have to believe it. There is nothing you can do about it."

Ma Weidu followed Zhang Yuanjun's words and talked about his own movie-watching experience: "Just now I said to look at the data. Sometimes I don't know what movie to watch, so I just look at the box office. If it sells well and has good data, I'll go watch it. Anyway, I have really come across some really disgusting movies, really bad movies."

After listening to this, Dou Wentao said, "So, let's talk about the issue of bad movies having high box office. How do you two professional filmmakers explain this issue?"

Wang Hailin said: "Bad movies have high box office, which to some extent caters to the tastes of some audiences. Feng Xiaogang had a thesis that was criticized by people. He said it was because of the bad audiences. Of course, his statement is a bit extreme, but a large part of our audience may still be more suitable for watching bad movies."

The other three responded to Wang Hailin's opinion with a meaningful smile.

Zhang Yuanjun added: "We may have high aesthetic tastes as individuals, but once it rises to the level of the market and the audience, I think we should not overestimate their tastes. Of course, you can't fool the audience either."

Wang Hailin agrees with Zhang Yuanjun's view: "We didn't know that the ratings were manipulated before. For a while, we saw how these dramas were so popular, so we studied how they were written and thought about how to surpass them. After studying for a while, I found that it is indeed difficult for us to find the kind of energy of these dramas. If you find that energy, your ratings will be high, that is, you need a sense of stupidity.

“And it’s not that you say I’m learning to write, it’s that you, the creator, are sincere and put your whole heart into this feeling, and the ratings of the play you create will be high.

"You can't say that I look down on you, the audience. I am writing this for you with great reluctance. You have to really believe in it to be able to write this kind of play."

Dou Wentao sighed when he heard this: "The more I talk, the more I think of a philosophical question, a question about the nature of this world. Who cares about the truth? Why would investors invest in your play? Your play has good data, and the data can be made. I am also a manager, what can I show my boss? It's still data. You say it's all fake, but there are really so many people watching it. Just like what Ma Ye said just now, it's number one on the list, so I went to watch it. So I have a thought, are we all living in a specious way?"

Zhang Yuanjun replied: "This world is just a huge makeshift team."

Zhang Yuanjun's words were agreed by the three people and they all laughed.

Zhang Yuanjun said: "Many things seem grand to us, but in fact they are a mess. For example, I often travel between the two countries to film, including Hollywood crews and domestic crews. To be honest with you, we have been talking about the issue of film industrialization in the past two years. When comparing China and the United States, I really think that 99% of the crews in our country are still in the traditional troupe model, that is, grass-roots troupes.

"Even our famous directors, their crews are also grass-roots. For example, can you imagine a crew with a lot of explosion scenes, without alcohol control? They drink on the set. This is a very serious problem in American crews. After work, you can drink wherever you want, but on the set, they are drinking while the scene is being filmed."

"Back to what you said just now, to some extent, it is true that everyone is living in a vague way, and it's all about the same."

Speaking of bad movies, we have to mention young actors again. Dou Wentao said: "It is a phenomenon of fan worship. So to some extent, you say it is a play, but it is not necessarily true. For fans, we just want to see our idols. We don't care about their acting skills or thoughts. We just want to see them. It's nothing more than whether we see them through movies or fan meetings. But we creators think that this kind of thing hurts the development of the entire industry. Is that what you mean?"

Wang Hailin said, "Yeah, then why did you ask me to write the script? You can just ask him to show off his ideas and make a PPT for him. If you want us to make changes like this or that, we are just making dumplings to feed pigs."

Zhang Yuanjun listened to Wang Hailin and added: "After all, movies and TV series are works of mass communication. I am not a journalism major. If there is anything wrong, please criticize me, Mr. Dou. Since it is mass communication, you should allow everyone to evaluate it. It is okay for fans to watch idols. If you hold a fan meeting, others will know that this event is for fans. I am not a fan, so I will not spend money. But film and television works are not like this. Film and television works are for the public. Which production company dares to write on the poster, "This film is specially for fans of so-and-so's fresh meat"?
"It's okay to go to the cinema to see your idol, but at least it has to be a movie."

Wang Hailin talked about his own experience: "I encountered a situation where a female actress was acting. At that time, I saw in the news that an actress in a certain crew could not memorize the lines and said 1234 on the set. I was very angry when I saw it. I said that if such an actress dared to act like this in my play, I would dare to write the lines 1234, and you still have to pay her because she received the money. At this time, one of our actors told me that in our current play, the female lead acts like this every day. She is the boss's girlfriend and the female lead. I said forget it, forget it this time."

The three of them burst into laughter!

Ma Weidu also said that he had heard of actors not memorizing their lines: "When asked what lines are in today's scene, the assistant would squat outside the camera to remind him of the lines. The assistant would recite them once, and he would recite them once. This made his opponent actor collapse, because the lines he heard were overlapping."

Wang Hailin shared another industry phenomenon: "There was a scene where an actor was going to throw him to the ground, then point at him and curse. The actor threw a stand-in, then pointed at the sack on the ground and cursed. The actor did not appear from beginning to end."

Zhang Yuanjun found these stories so funny.

As the only actor present, I have a lot to say here:

"There is indeed a problem in our acting industry. I think the audience's expectations of actors are getting more and more tolerant, to put it nicely, and lowered, to put it bluntly. Now even being on time and memorizing lines have become things worth praising. Wow, he arrives on time every day to start work on the set, waits for seven or eight hours on the set, and uses his original lines throughout the show. I think this is as it should be, you are paid for it."

Wang Hailin went on to say: "The audience's low expectations for actors are also reflected in one aspect, that is, they have no ability to distinguish acting skills. When they say good acting, they mean crying scenes, yelling, and as long as the actors make some big expressions, they think they have good acting skills, and they even call this plastic surgery-style acting."

Dou Wentao said: "Now it has evolved, it's called reincarnation-style acting."

Several people laughed again.

Zhang Yuanjun said: "But this kind of performance is a sophomore course, and our sophomore teachers will teach us how to stimulate the tear glands and how to cry."

Zhang Yuanjun added: "Last year and the year before last, because Yifei was pregnant and had a baby, I stopped a lot of work and stayed at home to accompany her. In the past two years, I watched a lot of dramas and found that many actors nowadays do not really practice their skills well before they come out to film, and even become famous before they are well practiced. And a very scary thing is that everyone around him praises him for his good acting, and no one tells him that he is wrong. Over time, he really thinks he is very good."

"In the past two years, a new model has emerged, where veteran actors partner with young actors. The producers are smart and know that audiences don't like young actors anymore, so they find veteran actors to serve as foils. However, the marketing still focuses on the young actors. After a while, the audience may even think that the young actors can act because of the veteran actors' guidance."

"In fact, there are not so many veteran actors. Many actors are just old, and they are not veteran actors."

Dou Wentao smiled and said, "You are the only one who can be convincing in this."

This model has indeed allowed some middle-aged and elderly actors who had little exposure and few job opportunities in the past to return to the screen. Generally speaking, these veteran actors are still capable, but there may be some old but incompetent actors who take advantage of the situation.

The four of them sat together and talked about the issue of bad movies for nearly an hour. Finally, Dou Wentao made a summary:

"We have invited Professor Zhang Yuanjun to come today. We have talked for so long and it has really benefited me a lot. I hope you can come to our show more often in the future. Thank you."

"Thank you." Zhang Yuanjun took the cup of tea.

The show is over. (End of this chapter)