China Entertainment started in 2004

Chapter 539 Sun Li: Schedule Conflict

Chen Long represents Hong Kong Island, so even if Beijing Culture and Tourism wants to find him, it will be useless.

Now, Wang Shu has become the youngest Oscar-winning director in history.

He is young, talented, and has won many honors, including the Best Director Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Director Award at the Oscars.

He is not only the first Oscar-winning director from mainland China, but also the youngest Oscar-winning director in history.

Looking at the entire mainland entertainment industry, only Wang Shu can serve as the image spokesperson for Jingcheng.

Indeed, there are many people in the domestic entertainment industry who are far superior to Wang Shu in terms of qualifications and positions.

But these people are only somewhat famous in the country.

On the international stage, there is no explanation.

As the capital of the country, Beijing needs an image ambassador for the international stage rather than for the domestic stage.

In this case, there is only Wang Shu.

However, the capital is the best place after all, and it is proud.

So this matter was just mentioned to Wang Shu and there was no follow-up.

Although there was no follow-up, Wang Shu happened to mention it at this time.

As expected, when the staff of Jiangcheng Culture and Tourism heard him say this, their faces changed.

Afterwards, they used both emotional and logical persuasion to invite Wang Shu to be the image spokesperson for Jiangcheng, and several people took turns to persuade him.

Unable to refuse such a kind offer, Wang Shu finally agreed.

However, this is only a preliminary agreement now, and it can only be implemented after Wang Shu has time.

As the staff of Jiangcheng Culture and Tourism said, Wang Shu is from Anlu.

Anlu is just a county town and cannot afford to have the youngest Oscar-winning director in history as its image spokesperson.

Jiangcheng is different. It is the provincial capital, which is a perfect match for Wang Shu.

In addition, Wang Shu either refused to agree to this matter, or agreed to serve as the image spokesperson for his hometown.

Therefore, he actually had no other choice but Jiangcheng.

In the evening, Wang Shu received a call from Sun Li.

"Director Wang, has the film been completed?" Sun Li asked softly.

"Yes, the wrap-up party was held today." Wang Shu said with a smile.

"When will you return to Beijing?" Sun Li asked.

"On the way to the airport now." said Wang Shu.

He is a director, not a producer.

All the work of the crew is the responsibility of the producer and has nothing to do with him.

Now that the filming has finished, his work is done, so he naturally slipped away.

"Then it will only take two or three hours to reach the capital?" Sun Li continued.

"If you count the time on the road and the waiting time, it should be three or four hours," said Wang Shu.

"Yes." Sun Li responded, and then asked, "Do you have any schedule after returning to Beijing? Deng Chao and I would like to treat you to a meal."

Wang Shu was sitting in the car with a driver, so his words were quite serious. He pretended to think, "I don't have any free time in the short term, but it's not that I can't squeeze out some time. I'll see when I get back to Beijing."

"Okay." Sun Li responded with some disappointment.

The two chatted for a while and hung up the phone.

A few hours later, Wang Shu returned to the capital.

After a tiring journey, I just got home and received a call from Sun Li.

"Director Wang, are you home?" Sun Li asked.

"Here we are." Wang Shu was a little surprised when he received the call.

It was already three o'clock in the morning, and Sun Li hadn't slept yet.

Either it's when you wake up from a sleep, or you set a time.

The two chatted for a while, and Sun Li finally revealed her purpose. She said, "Director Wang, when will the casting for your co-production start?"

"Maybe within one or two months." Wang Shu gave an approximate date.

"Are you in such a hurry? Didn't you say before that there wasn't even a script?" Sun Li's tone sounded somewhat resentful.

In fact, when she learned from Deng Chao's call that Wang Shu already had a script for a co-production film, she felt more confused.

I thought Wang Shu didn’t have a script, and since he also had to shoot “Life of Pi”, the co-production could only be put on the agenda at the end of the year at the earliest.

Unexpectedly, Wang Shu had just finished filming "Life of Pi" and was about to shoot a co-production.

This was not what Sun Li wanted to see because the time conflicted with her schedule.

After learning at the beginning of the year that there was no plan for the co-production, Sun Li accepted the offer to act in "Moonlight Treasure Box".

This drama, directed by Liu Zhenwei, brings together many well-known actors such as Zheng Zhongji, Liang Yongqi, Zhu Yin, Guo Gang, Huang Bo, Zeng Zhiwei, Wu Junru, and Zhong Xintong.

Although the cast is not luxurious, it is a group of very famous actors.

Sun Li plays the leading female role.

For her, this is a very high-quality drama and a rare opportunity.

Who would have thought that it would clash with Wang Shu's co-production.

This is uncomfortable.

Although Sun Li has not yet got the role, she feels that with her relationship with Wang Shu, she can get the role as long as she asks.

Even if she can't play the leading female role, she can still play the second or third female role.

Under normal circumstances, the roles for supporting roles such as the second or third female lead are bound to be less attractive than those for the leading female lead.

However, we still remember the example of Zhang Ziyi stepping onto the international stage by playing the supporting actress in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Therefore, no one dares to underestimate the role of a supporting role in this co-produced blockbuster directed by Wang Shu.

It can even be said that even the supporting role offer is far better than the leading role offer in China.

Otherwise, Li Binbin would not agree to play a supporting role for Liu Yifei.

“There was no script before, but during the filming of Life of Pi, the script was slowly developed.”

"Plus, Director Han has been urging us to do this, so we just put this project on the agenda."

Wang Shu took over.

"Okay." Sun Li sighed.

"What's wrong?" Wang Shu heard that the other party's tone was wrong and asked at the right time.

Sun Li sighed and said, "I was originally thinking that I could play a role in your co-production this time, but now it seems that I have no chance."

"Why do you say that?" Wang Shu asked knowingly.

He knew that Sun Li had acted in the movie "More Than Blue", and he also knew that the film would start shooting next month.

It’s just that Sun Li’s development trajectory is different from her previous life, so he cannot conclude that Sun Li has also accepted the offer to act in this movie now.

Now listening to Sun Li's tone, it is certain.

The other party must have accepted the offer to act in "The Treasure Box", which now happens to conflict with the schedule of the co-production he is preparing. "The Treasure Box" is directed by Liu Zhenwei and brings together a number of Hong Kong stars.

If Sun Li refused to perform at this moment, it would be very offensive.

By then, there will inevitably be quite a stir.

Therefore, it is impossible to refuse to perform.

If he didn't refuse to act, it would inevitably conflict with the schedule of the co-production film directed by Wang Shu.

"I'm going to join the crew of 'A Chinese Odyssey' next month. Why do you think so?" Sun Li said helplessly.

"'The Treasure Box of Yue Guang'?" Wang Shu pretended to be confused.

Sun Li explained: "It was directed by Hong Kong director Liu Zhenwei. In addition to me playing the leading female role, there were also Zheng Zhongji, Liang Yongqi, Gillian, Zhu Yin, Zeng Zhiwei, Wu Junru, Huang Bo and others."

"What a strong lineup." Wang Shu continued to pretend to be surprised after hearing that.

"They are indeed very strong, and they are all well-known actors in Hong Kong Island." Sun Li did not comment.

"Then why are you sighing? Just looking at the cast of this movie, it's already pretty good," said Wang Shu.

"It's really good, and this is my second time working with director Liu Zhenwei," said Sun Li.

"The second time?" Wang Shu pretended to be surprised again.

"I previously collaborated with director Liu Zhenwei on a movie called "Robot", which is scheduled to be released in September this year," Sun Li said a little embarrassedly.

"'Robot'? A science fiction film?" Wang Shu asked.

"Robot", just by the name of the movie, what comes to mind subconsciously is a science fiction movie.

In fact, it is indeed positioned as a science fiction film.

The full name is Science Fiction Romantic Comedy Movie.

Sun Li was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then responded, "Yes."

"Huh? Why did you take so long to reply? Isn't this a science fiction movie?" Wang Shu asked knowingly.

"Oh, I told you it's a science fiction movie." Sun Li replied angrily.

Upon hearing this, Wang Shu laughed and joked, "It seems that the movie Time Traveler has opened up new acting opportunities for you. Now there are science fiction movies looking for you to act in."

In fact, the "Robot" crew chose Sun Li to play the leading female role because the movie was produced by Pony.com.

Prior to this, Sun Li participated in the TV series "Sweet Honey" produced by Xiaoma Pentium, and the two sides had a very pleasant cooperation.

Later, Pony.com invested in movies and had subsequent cooperation.

However, the play "Time Traveler" happened to appear among them.

Now it can be seen that "Time Traveler" opened up the acting path for Sun Li, which is why she was favored by Xiaoma Pentium and got the offer to play in "Robot" and then this "The Treasure Box".

"So this is just a way of treating you to a meal to thank you?" Sun Li continued with a pout.

In the original timeline, even if there was no drama "Time Traveler", Sun Li would have received offers to act in "Robot" and "The Treasure Box".

Now, in Sun Li’s eyes, she received the invitation to star in “Robot” because she gained fame through her role in “Time Traveler”.

So, she was very grateful to Wang Shu.

Because of the movie "Time Traveler", her career has been developing steadily.

"Haha, you're still thinking about treating me to a meal?" Wang Shu laughed and teased, "You don't even have a schedule, why would you treat me to a meal?"

"Can't I invite you if I don't have time?" Sun Li said with a smile.

"Have you ever heard of a saying? If someone is too nice to you, he is either a traitor or a thief." Wang Shu continued to tease, "What are you thinking? Tell me the truth."

"I'll tell you the truth." Sun Li snorted.

Seeing that Sun Li didn't say anything, Wang Shu didn't ask.

In fact, even if Sun Li didn't say it, he could guess that it was most likely Deng Chao who had ideas about co-production.

Then he brought the topic back to the topic and said: "The cast of the movie "The Treasure Box" is good, and it is directed by Liu Zhenwei, so it should be good."

Although he said this, he actually knew in his heart that Liu Zhenwei's "More Than Blue" imitated the style of Stephen Chow's "A Chinese Odyssey".

I can only say that without Stephen Chow, he really can't make this style of movie.

Comedy movies pay great attention to rhythm, especially Stephen Chow's nonsensical style movies.

Rhythm is very important, and the performance reaction will not work even if it is a second early or late.

If this point cannot be controlled, the movie will look awkward.

Zhou Xingxing's success lies not only in his performance, but also in the rhythm of the movie.

This is also the reason why movie actors can fully cover the roles of TV actors, but TV actors may not be able to act in movies.

When it comes to performances in TV dramas, it’s usually enough to just perform roughly, and there are no strict requirements on the performance rhythm.

For example, for the same scene, in a TV drama, an actor can perform the desired effect in just ten or twenty seconds.

And this performance can even be called very good and won an award.

But in the movie, this scene requires the actors to present the required effect within three seconds. If the actors take more than ten or twenty seconds to perform, the rhythm of the entire movie will be disrupted.

Then, another bad movie was born.

Many directors in mainland China are unable to make commercial films precisely because few people understand this point.

They all thought that the rhythm of making commercial films was the same as that of art films, so they used the same method to make art films to make commercial films.

One bad movie after another was made.

"I think it's not bad either." Sun Li said with a smile, and then added, "But after reading the script, I think this movie should be similar to Stephen Chow's A Chinese Odyssey."

After that, he went on to tell Wang Shu the general content of the script.

After listening to this, Wang Shu smiled and said, "There are indeed some similarities."

"Liu Zhenwei is the director of A Chinese Odyssey after all, and they are also good at copying each other."

“Not surprising.”

"Alas." Sun Li sighed, "I know all this, but I'm just worried that the movie will be compared with A Chinese Odyssey after it's released."

"Didn't you just say that Zhu Yin was in the show? Fairy Zixia is in your play, so how can we compare them?"

"Having said that, I always have this feeling after reading the script." Sun Li still sighed.

Wang Shu could only think that the sixth sense in the group was indeed right. Just as she had guessed, after the release of "A Chinese Odyssey", "The Treasure Box" was indeed compared with "A Chinese Odyssey".

For this to happen, Liu Zhenwei is primarily to blame.

The movie "The Treasure Box" has too many plots and structures similar to "A Chinese Odyssey", but it does not have the effect of "A Chinese Odyssey".

It can be said that the beginning and the end of "The Treasure Box" are comparable to "A Chinese Odyssey".

The film completely copied classic scenes such as the appearance of Fairy Zixia and the warrior at sunset on the city wall. It is so forced that it is hard to complain.

After all, it's 2009 now, and the rote approach is a thing of the past. Not only do audiences not buy it, they also feel like they've eaten a mouthful of shit.

At the same time, characters such as Bull Demon King and Bodhi Patriarch also made cameo appearances in the movie, and the film was so rushed that the audience had to put the actors' names on the side to remind them that they could recognize the stars while watching the movie.

In terms of rhythm, it is far inferior to "A Chinese Odyssey", but it rigidly copies the content and structure of "A Chinese Odyssey", and it really has a copycat and cheap feel.

That’s right, “The Treasure Box” is obviously an independent film with a good cast, but the content gives people a very copycat feeling.

(End of this chapter)