China Entertainment: Been working as a director since 03

Chapter 360 Invite Xu Ke to join

After gathering those people, Li Yu began to prepare for the filming of "The Great Wall".

Because this is a mythical special effects blockbuster.

To be on the safe side, Li Yu found an experienced special effects master to serve as assistant director.

This person is none other than Xu Ke, the originator of China’s fairy tale films and the genius director of Hong Kong’s golden age.

Li Yu's "The Great Wall" has some similarities with Xu Ke's "Shu Mountain" decades ago and the later "Di Renjie" series.

Take "Detective Dee" as an example. Both "Di Renjie" and "The Great Wall" chose a period of history as the skeleton and then added some new content.

Mr. Xu is still very thoughtful. Let’s not discuss the plot of his "Di Renjie" series.

After all, Hong Kong directors have a tradition of not being good at filming historical themes, and it’s not Xu Ke’s problem alone.

Looking only at the special effects and imagination, Li Yu believes that Xu Ke has done a good job and can be regarded as a qualified special effects blockbuster that can be enjoyed by the audience.

"Director Li, you have great ideas and courage. I admire you for having the courage to raise 5 million yuan to innovate and make a mythical film."

He has always believed that special effects blockbusters are the future, but unfortunately his ideas were too advanced in his early years in Hong Kong.

He wasn't just involved because "The Great Wall" was entirely to his liking.

Xu Ke immediately set off north to the capital to meet with Li Yu for detailed discussions.

He felt that Li Yu's "The Great Wall" series was really to his liking.

In addition, this is a super special effects blockbuster with an investment of 5 million.

He firmly believes that there is nothing wrong with the path of fairy tale films and special effects blockbusters.

There is another very important reason. He hopes to resolve his regrets through the movie "The Great Wall".

Xu Ke was very excited after receiving Li Yu's invitation.

The originator of the fairy tale film "New Shushan" was his work that played with technology and special effects.

The First Emperor represented the human race in their struggle with heaven. What a good idea and how imaginative.

He never thought his idea was wrong.

Just through the script, he can see how ambitious Li Yu is.

Especially after seeing Li Yu's script, he discovered that the movie actually contained mythological elements such as God Haotian, Heavenly Court, and Immortal Clan.

Li Yu added so many elements just to create a special effects blockbuster.

While his peers were still making gangster movies, police and gangster movies, and comedies, he, a freak, used the latest special effects technology at the time to make fairy tale movies, and the result was a complete mess.

As a person who has experienced this, Xu Ke understands very well how much pressure Li Yu is under.

In addition, his ideas are always wild and unconstrained.

His two favorite elements, the unconstrained imagination and special effects, were already present. Just reading the script made him feel itchy, and he thought he had to participate.

The scripts of the "Great Wall" series are personally controlled by Li Yu, and the quality of the scripts is definitely far better than Xu Ke's "Di Renjie".

As a technical person, Xu Ke can be said to have a deep love for special effects.

Decades ago, he proposed to his company boss the idea of ​​filming "New Shushan" and planned to invite a Hollywood special effects team to be responsible for the special effects production.

As a result, the company's owners and shareholders were frightened by his crazy idea.

Even though he had already had blockbuster previous films such as "The Best Partner" at the time, he was a director who had proven himself. The boss of the company still didn't dare to invest money and rejected his crazy idea on the spot.

Later, he found Jiahe and finally got 30 million investment to realize his idea.

After receiving the investment, the situation he faced at that time was no different from Li Yu now.

If you have to follow a path that no one has ever taken, you will inevitably attract criticism and even cynicism before you succeed.

From the filming to the release of "New Shushan", the voices of doubt have never disappeared.

After the film flopped, the negative voices became even louder, causing a heavy blow to his career.

In the more than ten years after "New Shushan", Mr. Xu, who loves special effects deeply, did not dare to make such a large-scale special effects film again, and investors would not spend real money to take risks with him.

Therefore, Xu Ke's statement that he admired Li Yu was not a compliment, but sincere. He knew very well that this was a huge gamble.

If "The Great Wall" fails, Li Yu will not dare to touch such large-scale special effects films for many years to come.

Unless Li Yu doesn't want investors at all and plans to spend money on filming for fun.

"Director Xu, haven't you ever done the same thing as me? There are some things that you know are difficult, but you still want to do them.

Because if you do it, you may regret it for many years; if you don’t do it, you will regret it for a lifetime. "

Li Yu said very casually with a smile on his face.

"It's all old news. I suffered a huge loss at that time. Director Li, don't compare your "The Great Wall" with my blockbuster movie. It's unlucky."

Xu Ke smiled bitterly, with some self-deprecation in his tone.

He knew exactly what Li Yu was referring to.

Having done the same thing, isn't it referring to his "New Shushan"?

The investment in "New Shushan" was 30 million, and the box office was less than 2 million. This was no ordinary rush to the streets, it was a rush to the eighteenth level of hell.

"It's not surprising that we suffered such a heavy loss at that time. Hong Kong people of that generation grew up reading martial arts novels about Teacher Cha and Gu Long.

They only know about martial arts and have no concept of Xianxia at all. This was one of the reasons for the failure. Hong Kong Island at that time did not have the soil to host fairy tale movies.

Also, the special effects technology at that time was too backward. If a Xianxia movie wants to look good, special effects are very, very important.

Special effects are no less important to fairy tale films than science fiction films. This is the second reason.

The two reasons are intertwined, and it is normal for the box office to fail.

In addition to these two big problems, there are also some small problems. The script is too poor and the form is greater than the story.

The plot is fragmented, messy and jumpy, and the whole movie feels like it has been pieced together. "

Xu Ke flew thousands of kilometers from Hong Kong Island to the capital. Of course, Li Yu would not whip Xu Ke into an old movie made decades ago as soon as they met.

After stating the objective facts, Li Yu finally gave a more pertinent summary: "In general, the failure of "New Shushan" was caused by the backwardness of the market and special effects technology at the time.

If "New Shushan" is placed in the current mainland market and the script is optimized, there will definitely be a market.

Because the Internet literature in the Mainland is so popular, and various fairy tales and fantasy novels are emerging one after another, the mainland audience already has the concept of Xianxia. "

Xu Ke was very moved after hearing Li Yu's words.

At that moment, he felt like he had met his soulmate.

Li Yu actually affirmed his Xianxia route and said that the biggest reason for his rejection was not the movie itself.

He was completely convinced by Li Yu's comments.

Including Li Yu saying that his "New Shushan" script was poor and the plot was messy.

When it comes to screenwriting, how many people in China are more authoritative than Li Yu?

Just compare the scripts of the "Great Wall" series with his "New Shushan". The two are not on the same level at all.

The "Great Wall" series does not have the problem of a messy plot. The plot is very exciting and the story is very clear. The main line is pointed out almost from the beginning. After unifying the six kingdoms, the First Emperor did not want the Emperor of Thailand to be canonized that day. He wanted to be equal to the sky. The emperor wants his people to be on an equal footing with the immortals.

It's numerous fun to fight the destiny.

The whole story gives people a very burning feeling.

"Except Director Li, which director in China can guarantee the quality of every movie script he writes?

There is only one person like Director Li who combines the best director and the best screenwriter in the whole country of China. Looking at the whole world, he can only count two slaps. "

Xu Ke couldn't help but feel a little envious when he said these words.

If he had Li Yu's screenwriting talent, he would have destroyed the Hong Kong film industry in the 1980s and 1990s.

It can only be said that a freak like Li Yu with strong directing ability and strong screenwriting ability is really rare and cannot be envied at all.

(End of this chapter)