This director needs to apologize

Chapter 383 I Can’t Carry More
As the screening of "500 Days of Summer" is coming to an end, the second important period of the year, the National Day, is about to begin.

Xiangrui's new work ended with a box office of 9 million yuan, but was somewhat impacted by some subsequent blockbusters and failed to achieve the small goal of breaking 10.

There's nothing we can do about it. The films that came after are all very impressive, and they are really not something that a vegetarian romantic film like "500 Days of Summer" can defeat.

Wu Lianjing is the seed player for both the National Day and the Lunar New Year holidays. First, he consolidated his base with a sequel to a hit kung fu film, and then followed up with a military action film to expand new audiences. Considering that he is nearly fifty years old, this wave can be regarded as a last-ditch effort.

Of course, his competitors are also very strong, and Tom Cruise is the first obstacle.

While the two "tough guys on the screen" were passionately confronting each other, Chen Yiming was still on vacation and was planning his second trip within a year with An Xixi.

At this point he has already acquiesced to his absence from the 2016 Spring Festival schedule. If he doesn't have the urge to create, he won't force it. He has always been very open-minded in this regard.

Moreover, this year is different from previous years. Due to his operation of launching the shots which were then fulfilled within seconds, the higher-ups have obviously classified him as a troublemaker who "stands up to others even though he has a little ability". In the words of Master Ma, it would be better for him to keep a low profile in the near future. If he does not attract attention, he will not be punished.

So Chen Yiming had even more reason to slack off. It happened that An Xixi had been busy with Xiangrui for more than a year and was now physically and mentally exhausted. The two thought that they had not had enough fun in the recent period, so they decided to take advantage of the time to go abroad for a trip.

Chen Yiming planned his itinerary with twice the effort he put in writing the script. He planned to fly directly to Constantinople, then take a boat west along the Danube into the Rhine, and finally visit the legendary Amsterdam with the girl.

An Xixi acted like a well-behaved girl, letting her husband do everything for her, but from time to time she would point out one or two flaws in Chen's strategy, which showed that she was very familiar with the places along the way and was just trying to coax Chen Yiming into playing.

The two of them, one pretending not to know while the other pretending to know, never tired of repeating their little amusing interactions. All the disturbances in the circle seemed to have disappeared all of a sudden.

Chen Yiming was once confused about his future career. As a commoner in his previous life, he had never imagined what life and mentality would be like after achieving "financial freedom".

The moment he learned that he had "enough money to spend the rest of his life", making movies changed from a career to a habit. Apart from the bad taste and sense of mission to reproduce the classics of his previous life, he actually did not have much pure creative desire. It was good for him to join the crew, but it was also possible to stay at home. Relatively speaking, the latter was more comfortable.

And An Xixi is not the type of person who hopes her husband will become successful. She fully supports Chen Yiming's choice regardless of the reason. If you want to join the crew to film, she will not complain that she is being left out. If you want to go out and play, she will follow you with your bag without saying a word. She is a husband and wife who follows his lead.

Chen Yiming once did something stupid and asked An Xixi why she didn't make some clear requests. Didn't she feel that she had lost the initiative in the relationship?
The girl replied calmly, "If I don't ask you, you won't be embarrassed to ask me.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing to do right now and I don't have the energy to do anything, so I stay here every day. If something really happens, I will just leave. Even if you arrange a wedding, I will not stay."

After hearing this, Chen Yiming actually started to think about the feasibility of getting a marriage certificate. The girl was so scared that she crossed her hands over her chest and sternly ordered him to give up the idea. If two people in the entertainment industry got married before the age of 30, there would definitely be rumors that she was pregnant.

However, this little episode still made some progress in their relationship. Chen Yiming persuaded An Xixi to go back to his hometown with him next Spring Festival. There would be no harm in seeing his parents.

One afternoon in mid-November, Chen Yiming and An Xixi returned from skiing. When they turned on their cell phones, they unexpectedly found that Wu Lianjing had called them several times in a row.

Brother Wu seems to have something to do. Chen Yiming didn't even have time to take a shower and called back directly. Sure enough, the call was connected after a few seconds.

Before Chen Yiming had the chance to say hello, Wu Lianjing's voice came from the other end of the phone, and he sounded weak.

"Yiming, I know you are on vacation. I am sorry to bother you."

Of course Chen Yiming replied that it was okay, but he did not forget to explain, "Hello, Brother Wu, I just went out without my phone, did I bother you?"

The two of them laughed back and forth for a few sentences before Wu Lianjing got to the point.

To Chen Yiming's surprise, Wu Lianjing didn't have any urgent business to talk to him about, he just wanted to talk to him about his frustration.

Chen Yiming couldn't help but mutter in his heart, when did he and Lao Wu become so close? It was probably because of a long conversation, right? The other party was upset and looked for a tree hole, why shouldn't he find me?

It's actually not that complicated when you listen to it. It's just that the market response to his two consecutive hits was very mediocre. The first urban action film that just came out barely made over 6 million yuan at the box office and was crushed by Tom Cruise. The subsequent transformation work is not as good as the previous one, with just over 3 million yuan after its release. The total box office is expected to be less than 5 million. Considering Wu Lianjing's box office appeal, it is undoubtedly a failure.

Wu Lianjing said in great distress, "Yiming, why do I feel like I can't read the direction of the wind? The theme of Chinese special forces fighting overseas mercenaries is by no means outdated. Didn't your movie 1951 break the box office record?

To be fair, I put more effort into this project than the earlier one. The gunfights and combat are all top-notch. The armored vehicles and helicopters that appear in the film are all actual active equipment. I even went through three months of military training for those big guys. Why is it that fans just don't buy into it after it was released?

You are the number one expert in today's film market. Can you analyze for me where the problem lies?
Or is it that in the eyes of fans, I can only mess around in furniture stores, can only use my bare hands and cannot handle guns or cannons? "

Chen Yiming was amused by what he heard. This wave of box office failures was a serious blow to Brother Wu, and he began to doubt himself. Brother, aren't you desperate? I have been wandering abroad for more than a month and haven't watched a single minute of a movie. How can I offer any constructive suggestions?
So Chen Yiming asked first, "Brother Wu, what is the opinion of the publicity and promotion department? Is it because of the audience's aesthetic fatigue after two consecutive screenings?"

Wu Lianjing replied, "There are indeed such arguments, but what I am entangled with is not the low box office, but the audience response. I have read the opinions of Broad Beans, Weibo, and ticket sales platforms. In order to avoid distortion, I also arranged for my brothers to visit hundreds of ordinary audiences. The overall evaluation is mediocre, which is roughly consistent with the Broad Beans score."

Chen Yiming understood it immediately. This was because the publicity and promotion department wanted to take the blame but failed to do so. It was a problem with the film itself.

He asked An Xixi to bring the laptop over, opened the broad bean page and checked it. Well, it was a clear 5.8 points, which was not even passing.

Even if the score for Wu Lianjing's action film The Broad Bean Man is relatively conservative, 5.8 is still too low.

His brother's hit movies are all about having a brisk pace and being easy to understand, and they get down to business without saying anything. Although they are not very appealing to the tastes of young intellectuals, they are still around 7 points in terms of watchability.

The current score of 5.8 indicates that more than half of the reviewers gave it less than 3 points, which means that there are flaws in the plot or it is obviously not in line with the three values. Even the huge number of Wu Lianjing fans cannot save it. Considering that filming military themes in China requires approval from relevant departments, it is unlikely that the butt is too crooked, which means that there is a problem with the rhythm of the plot.

After quickly browsing through several comments "suspected" of spoilers, Chen Yiming had a rough guess.

"Brother Wu, maybe it's really a problem with the story structure. Although I haven't seen the movie, I can find flaws just by looking at the plot synopsis."

Wu Lianjing couldn't wait to say, "Yiming, don't keep us in suspense. Tell me what the problem is."

Chen Yiming asked again, "Brother Wu, you are still using the playwright you worked with in the past, right? You provided the general framework of the script and they filled in and polished it?"

Wu Lianjing replied, "Yes, it's better to do what you are familiar with than what you are new to. Since this is a transitional work, shouldn't I find an old team that is familiar with my style, so as to avoid taking too big a step and getting into trouble?"

Chen Yiming laughed and said, "That's the problem. You two are too familiar with each other. You said that Mr. Tan should write the script according to your previous style. A lone hero is not suitable for the military, a place that emphasizes discipline and teamwork. How can it not be inconsistent if you just graft it together?

I can understand Mr. Tan's creative thinking. The characteristics of a monologue should be retained, and the creative method of first criticizing and then praising is also in line with tradition. However, he overlooked one point, which is that the military itself is not suitable for over-emphasizing individuals. It is not impossible to highlight them, but it requires a lot of preparation.

First of all, there is a problem with setting the story in the southwestern border of China. It fails to create a psychological distance between the audience and the story, which reduces the credibility of the entire story.

Brother Wu, think about it, the special forces soldiers who are regarded as the best soldiers in the eyes of Chinese audiences were not only ambushed by mercenaries, but also suffered heavy losses. You had to rely on your luck and your sudden burst of energy in the battle to fight back. Isn't this a bit against common sense?

The common sense I'm referring to here is the inertia of the public's consciousness. No matter how much you highlight the awesomeness of the villain mercenaries in the movie, it's useless. In a foreign war, the Chinese side suffered heavy losses, and the audience can accept it rationally but not emotionally. "

Wu Lianjing on the opposite side tried to speak up to defend himself several times, but finally swallowed his words back. It was obvious that he was unable to refute this point.

In Chen Yiming's opinion, screenwriter Tan simply gave Wu's action film a special operations shell, and the underlying logic remained unchanged. It would be a miracle if there were no problems in this operation.

Wu Lianjing was silent for a while before continuing, "Anything else? Yiming, go on."

Chen Yiming felt a little bit reluctant. This old man resolutely transformed himself at the age when he was about to retire from the entertainment industry. His ambition in career was far better than that of a nobody like him. It moved everyone who heard about it and saw it.

Now Chen Yiming's words are almost equivalent to directly rejecting the direction of military action. This blow is even heavier than the box office failure.

Therefore, he encouraged, "Brother Wu, military action is indeed a new track, and it is also a good opportunity for you to transform. The patriotic card does not have to be prefixed with the word "national". I agree with your decision.

It’s just that in terms of the script framework, it’s not easy to just apply your usual model, you need to arrange it more carefully.”

Wu Lianjing muttered for a long time, then stammered, "Yiming, you are an expert. If you were to adapt this story, how would you change it? Don't worry, I won't use your brain in vain. Brother, I will be sincere."

Chen Yiming laughed, "What's the big deal, Brother Wu, you are serious. If you don't mind me pointing fingers, I will just say a few words. If it is useful, that's the best. If it is useless, forget it.

Military themes have to play the patriotism card, and they have to play it big. To put it bluntly, movies are about emotional consumption. When making military movies in China, they can only and must arouse patriotic enthusiasm. Otherwise, wouldn't that be politically incorrect?

As for how to fight, we need to put the story back into China's perspective. Brother Wu, your film is about drug control in the southwest. There is definitely no problem with the theme, but the place of action is wrong.

Since we are fighting drug lords anyway, why bother trying so hard to come up with a justification for putting the bad guys into the country? We are special forces now, so why not take the initiative?

When the special elite forces captured the murderer outside the territory and were outnumbered, did it not have a reason, and the heavy casualties did not seem so surprising?
I know you are considering the review. Overseas law enforcement is indeed a bit out of line and does not conform to China's low-key style.

But let's change the background. How about retired special forces soldiers working overseas? Now Chinese engineering teams are flourishing in the Middle East and Africa. There are more than one dangerous incidents such as kidnapping, which are very familiar to the people.

Our country has a tradition of not interfering in other countries. When encountering local civil unrest, the most we can do is evacuate the overseas Chinese. As for those compatriots who cannot reach the airport or port, it is out of our reach. Isn't this the stage for you, a lone hero?

Now, it doesn’t matter how powerful you make your mercenaries. If they are to die, they will be the local natives. The audience will not empathize with the dead black uncle, right?

Gunfights, action, good versus evil, everything you want, saving compatriots and making a name for yourself overseas, there is nothing more patriotic, does it meet your requirements?"

Heavy breathing could be heard on the other end of the phone. It was obvious that Wu Lianjing was very excited at the moment, so much so that his speech was a little incoherent.

"Yi Yiming, sometimes I really want to open your brain to see how your brain grooves are formed. This is too light-hearted. I don't know how to express it. How about giving you a share of the box office profits? Don't think I'm stingy if it's only 1 point. I can't handle it if it's more than that."

Chen Yiming smiled and said, "Brother Wu, I don't deserve your grand ceremony. This is not a surprising idea. You can figure it out by summarizing it yourself. It's just a matter of sooner or later.

If you really want to make this movie, give me the credit of the planner, so that when the movie is a big hit, I can give you a reason to get a red envelope. This is the only amount I can give you, and I can’t afford any more.”

Wu Lianjing smacked his lips and was speechless for a moment. He left a sentence "I won't disturb you on vacation. We'll talk later" and hung up the phone.

An Xixi, who had been listening for a long time, looked over with a questioning look. Chen Yiming spread his hands and boasted, "It's just an idea. It's too embarrassing to directly come up with a script. Old Wu is also embarrassed. Your boyfriend is amazing, Wu Lianjing even chased me to answer questions and solve doubts."

An Xixi smiled and replied, "Yes, it's amazing. Such a grown-up person is still skiing on the children's ski slope. I took pictures of it."

(End of this chapter)