Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 201 Xu Zheng: I want to be as good as Director Zhou!

Xu Zheng is well aware of the importance of the Spring Festival period to comedy films.

Under normal circumstances, a comedy film that can earn 300 to 400 million yuan in other periods may be able to increase its performance by 50% during the Spring Festival period.

even more.

The reason why they wanted to withdraw the film from the schedule before was purely because they were scared by Stephen Chow’s fame.

After Zhou Mo's analysis.

Xu Zheng also reacted.

The competition between "Lost in Thailand" and "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" is actually not that big.

Although both films are comedies, Lost in Thailand is an urban setting while Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons is a dark myth.

The overlap between the two audiences is not high.

Since the hand is not high.

So what are you afraid of?

not to mention……

"Even if I really go against Zhou Xingxing, I will definitely not lose. If I win, I will make a big profit. If I lose, I will not lose either." Xu Zheng quickly adjusted his mentality.

He is actually a very proud person.

He made his debut in 1994, and just four years later, he won the Magnolia Award.

This achievement alone makes him look down upon the current group of so-called acting talents.

In the field of acting, Xu Zheng successfully became one of the top actors shortly after his debut.

So when he chose to enter the directing industry, he naturally wanted to replicate his past glory.

As for what kind of results are considered brilliant.

In fact, Xu Zheng didn't have a very precise concept at the beginning.

But when he saw what Zhou Mo did.

He got it.

Isn’t Zhou Mo’s path as a director what he most wants to replicate?
Let’s take a closer look at Zhou Mo’s history of making a fortune.

Before officially starting my own creation, I first worked with Jiang Wen to gain some experience.

The first movie was a low-budget romance film, which was quickly eliminated from "Ip Man 2" right after its release.

He directly used Hong Kong's newly-promoted kung fu superstar as a stepping stone.

From then on, you will continue to rise.

"New World" had a box office of 600 million yuan, and "John Wick" had a box office of 600 million yuan.

The journey was smooth.

With "Chu and Han", he even defeated a number of veteran directors, broke records, and directly topped the Chinese-language film box office champion.

Looking back at Zhou Mo’s three-year journey as a director.

The biggest feature is hardness.

Whenever there is competition, my first reaction is just one word.

Dry!
No matter how big a director you are, you have achieved many great results in the past.

Just do it and it's done.

It was only after reading Zhou Mo's experience that Xu Zheng realized that being a director could be so exciting.

He also wanted to be as hard as Zhou Mo.

Thinking of this, Xu Zheng glanced at Zhou Mo quietly.

This is what a man should do!

So, he said to Wang Changtian: "Boss Wang, don't withdraw the film, just release it as planned. I think what Director Zhou said makes a lot of sense. Zhou Xingxing was at his best when he was in the film himself. Only he can bring out that flavor in his films, no one else can do that."

Zhou Mo also didn't expect that Xu Zheng's determination to confront Zhou Xingxing was largely influenced by him.

He was thinking about the staffing for Lost in Thailand and Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.

In its previous life, there wasn’t much that “Lost in Thailand” could promote.

Xu, Huang and Wang haven't gotten up yet.

Although the first film in the "Lost" series was of good quality, its box office revenue did not exceed 100 million yuan.

The only person who really made "Lost in Thailand" talk about a lot was Fan Qiaoqiao, who made a cameo appearance.

But this time, with Zhou Mo's help, the promotion of "Lost in Thailand" has changed dramatically.

First, there was Zhou Mo, a super publicity point.

Plus a sweet cameo.

Even the news that "Lucy" and "Lost in Thailand" had a unified worldview was released by Zhou Mo in advance.

"Then let's continue with the original promotion plan. Besides that, Mr. Wang can promote more news about Lucy and emphasize that the two are based on the same world view."

Hear this.

Xu Zheng was deeply moved.

Check it out.

In order to promote the movie, Zhou Mo even released news about "Lucy".

What a selfless act.

He didn't feel that Zhou Mo had any selfish motives of his own.

After all, everyone in the world knows that with the current popularity of Zhou Mo and Da Tiantian, as long as "Lost in Thailand" can be associated with "Lucy", it will definitely be a win for "Lost in Thailand".

So Xu Zheng immediately said, "Director Zhou, thank you very much. If you need anything in the future, just tell me directly."

Zhou Mo didn't say anything.

Only he himself knew that by promoting "Lucy" and "Lost in Thailand" together, he was actually increasing the domestic box office potential of "Lucy".

Wang Changtian saw that Zhou Mo and Xu Zheng reached the same agreement.

Grit your teeth.

Also be ruthless.

"Okay, let's give it a try. But let's be honest, even though "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" was not starred by Stephen Chow, it still cannot be underestimated.

In terms of sentiment, if it weren’t for the assist from “The Chinese Zodiac”, no one in Hong Kong could have done better than Zhou Xingxing.”

Xu Zheng nodded.

"During this period, I will focus on publicity."

Zhou Mo wasn't really worried.

In terms of quality, there is actually not much difference between "Lost in Thailand" and "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

As long as Stephen Chow doesn't do anything like "I owe Stephen Chow the last movie ticket" this time, the final results of the two should be not much different.

……

The time came to the end of January.

The promotion of "Lost in Thailand" has entered the final stage.

Shiny.

Zhou Mo is chatting with Wang Baobao.

"'A Touch of Sin'' is going to attend this year's Cannes Film Festival. I'm optimistic about your performance, baby."

When Wang Baobao heard Zhou Mo's sigh, he smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed. The crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were more obvious, revealing a row of healthy teeth.

His smile was always infectious.

"Thank you, Director Zhou. I'll treat you to a meal later."

"Easy to say."

Wang Baobao said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Director Zhou. You wanted to invite me to the celebration banquet for Chu and Han some time ago, but I went back to my hometown and couldn't make it...

Director Zhou is so amazing. I wish I could star in one of his movies one day."

Zhou Mo raised his eyebrows. "Baby, do you want to cooperate with me?"

Wang Baobao laughed and said, "Director Zhou, what you said is true. Look at the current entertainment industry. There are many people who don't want to cooperate with you. If you can cooperate with Director Zhou, you will make a lot of money."

The words are direct and simple.

Even some people in the industry would find it a bit silly.

Zhou Mo looked at Wang Baobao again, and the other party blinked, apparently waiting for Zhou Mo's reply.

Anyone who sees this scene will think that Wang Baobao is a little silly.

But Zhou Mo knew that if someone really treated Wang Baobao as a fool, that would be really stupid.

After all, this man was cheated by his wife and agent, the two people closest to him, and after searching around, no black material was found.

Zhou Mo suddenly had an idea and thought of something.

So far, the person who plays the villain Zhao Taiwu in "Police Story" has not been found.

The actor who played Zhao Taiyu in the previous life "Veteran" was Liu Yaren. Although he was young, his acting skills were really good. He showed the madness and cruelty of the character very well.

Later I went in because of ice skating.

In the domestic adaptation of "The Veteran", "The Big Shot", the actor who plays Zhao Taiwu is Baobei.

But Zhou Mo didn't plan to use him.

He had worked with Baby in his life.

He played Zhao Qiyue in the new version of "The Myth".

Also second generation.

It is also a disregard for human life.

There do seem to be similarities.

But what can I say about Baby's performance in "Big Shot"? Among all the roles he has played, his performance is indeed quite good.

But it still does not meet Zhou Mo's requirements.

Although the baby version of Zhao Taiyu also has a crazy and cruel side, he makes people feel more like a second-generation bear.

It makes me want to kill him.

Zhou Mo has also been thinking about who should play the role of Zhao Taiwu during this period.

fierce.

insidious.

tyrannical.

Now, Zhou Mo suddenly realized that Wang Baobao was the person he was looking for.

So, he decisively made an invitation: "Baby, do you have any time recently?"

Wang Baobao was just trying this out.

I didn't expect there would be such a pleasant surprise.

Nodding excitedly.

"I'm so excited, Director Zhou, do you have a movie to shoot?"

Zhou Mo: "Well, you should have heard about Police Story. I found a role in it that suits you. It depends on whether you are willing or not."

"Yes, I am very willing. Director Zhou, just tell me the time. I will definitely join the crew then."

Zhou Mo laughed and said, "Don't be so anxious. I still want to tell you about the movie. You must have seen "Police Story" and you should also know the character of A Zu. The role you play this time is similar to A Zu...

The difference is that A-Zu is a rebellious second-generation official, and everything he does is to confront his father, while the second-generation rich man you play is a bad guy, rich and unkind, rampant and overbearing. Everything he does is for his own pleasure, not to get anything from his father..."

The setting in "Veteran": Although Zhao Taiyu is a super rich second-generation, his life since childhood has not been happy.

His brothers and sisters look down on him.

His father abused him.

He lives in an environment full of pressure, competition, and intrigue all the time.

This directly or indirectly led to Zhao Taiyue's extremely vicious character.

Zhou Mo did not continue this setting.

In his scripts, Zhao Taiyu has no brothers or sisters. He is just the eldest master of the Zhao family. His tyranny and viciousness do not come from the ridicule and suppression of his brothers and sisters.

But he is a super rich second generation.

He didn't treat ordinary people as human beings.

To him, ordinary people are actually divided into two types. One is a slave, such as the assistant who has always been loyal to him.

The other type is pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Zhou Mo never thought of adding some so-called "tragic family environment" settings for Zhao Taiyu.

Bad is bad.

There is no need to use conditions such as "bad childhood, childhood shadows" to pave the way.

There are many children of the powerful who grew up in wealthy families and lived a decent life but eventually turned to crime.

Is it possible that these people all had bad childhoods?

Nonsense.

Some people not only have no childhood trauma, but are extremely happy.

Moreover, they do evil not out of any compensatory psychology, but because they do not put ordinary people on an equal footing.

Wang Baobao waved his hands repeatedly: "Director Zhou, it's okay if it's not a positive character. In "A Touch of Sin", I played a murderer..."

“It’s not quite the same. In A Touch of Sin, you’re a cold-blooded thug who shoots people when they rob them of their money. You even have some tenderness towards your family.

But in "Police Story", you are a cold-blooded guy who has no feelings for anyone. Even the assistant who has been serving you for more than ten years, you will sell him out without hesitation when it is time to do so.

In this movie, I ask you to be flamboyant, vicious, and even ruthless."

"what?"

Wang Baobao suddenly panicked, and then said hesitantly: "This role is a bit challenging for me. I have never played this type of role before."

Zhou Mo waved his hand.

"Don't panic. You can create the craziest image in your mind in advance, and then when filming, just follow this image and be a little more restrained."

Zhou Mo had no worries about whether Wang Baobao could play Zhao Taiyu well.

Just kidding, in his previous life, Wang Baobao could even play a martial arts madman like Feng Yuxiu so well.

A Zhao Tai meeting.

Sprinkle some water.

Wang Baobao thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll give it a try, Director Zhou."

"very good."

Zhou Mo continued, "That's no problem. You can arrange your time during this period. Police Story is expected to start in February, and you can join the crew then."

Wang Baobao: "Okay, I'll call my agent now."

Wang Baobao just left.

Wang Changtian came over.

"Director Zhou, you're famous again."

Zhou Mo was confused: "What's wrong?"

Wang Changtian took out his cell phone and showed Zhou Mo a picture.

The picture shows Zhou Mo and Zhou Xingxing facing each other, each holding a weapon in his hand.

Zhou Mo's weapon is called "Lost in Thailand".

Zhou Xingxing’s weapon is called "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons".

Wang Changtian introduced: "It's being advertised on the Internet now that this is the battle of the century between you and Zhou Xingxing."

(End of this chapter)