Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 26: Talking about money is better than talking about feelings

The next day, Zhou Mo boarded the plane with dark circles under his eyes.

After working non-stop for two days, he felt a little overwhelmed.

At this moment, he began to envy the Time Assassin's vigorous energy, which was like taking stimulants. After scrubbing his body continuously every night, he could still work with high energy the next day.

High energy seems to be an essential skill for successful people.

Zhou Mo remembered that Zhang EMO seemed to be the same, often working for long periods of time but still able to stay highly alert while filming.

No matter how uncertain the future of Zhang Yimou will be, at least he can produce at least one work a year even though he is in his seventies.

This old Deng really likes making movies.

Zhou Mo honestly said he couldn't learn it.

He silently said in his heart:

"It's impossible to work so hard, only a rich woman can let me enjoy life like this..."

Back to the crew, the filming officially began.

Zhou Mo soon discovered a problem:
The large-scale war scenes were more difficult than he had imagined.

Whether it is personnel mobilization or picture adjustment, the difficulty of shooting increases exponentially as the scene expands and the number of participants increases.

After encountering another shooting difficulty, he paused filming.

Zhou Mo discovered his own shortcomings and confirmed the result of forcing himself to continue filming.

Either the effect is too poor or the cost is overrun.

If you don’t want the first two, you can only postpone it.

There is nothing wrong with admitting your shortcomings; what’s important is to continue the filming.

Zhou Mo decided to find a helper.

"Who are you going to look for?" Da Tiantian asked.

"The best person in China at shooting large scenes is undoubtedly Zhang EMO." Zhou Mo gave an objective evaluation.

Lao Mouzi himself is a photographer, and he is best at pictures.

In his previous life, even though Zhang Yimou later made "Green on the Lake", which received poor reviews and the audience scolded him for making a bunch of shit, no one still said that his pictures were ugly.

What's more, it hasn't been long since 08, and after directing the Olympics, Zhang Yimou has officially secured his title of "national master".

Zhou Mo suddenly remembered that in his previous life, someone had compared Zack Snyder and Zhang Yimou, believing that both of them were photographers and were not good at shooting stories.

Zhou Mo felt that anyone who could say such a thing was a bit reckless.

Zhang Yimou is a serious international first-tier director and a super hunk who has won numerous awards for his pictures.

Comparing these two people together is undoubtedly a huge insult.

"We don't even know them, so it's impossible for them to come." Da Tiantian hit the nail on the head.

"So that's what I said." Zhou Mo spread his hands and said, "Then let's call Cheng Long and let him direct this part of the war scene."

"Don't you disapprove of his work?"

Zhou Mo explained: "Not approving of his movies does not mean not recognizing his ability. Cheng Long's directing ability is still very strong."

As a senior actor who started out as a stuntman, Cheng Long has dabbled in almost all film-related professions, including photography, directing, and guidance.

And it’s done pretty well.

In the past, both "The Myth" and "The Blade Warrior" had war scenes, and the quality was quite good.

This is all due to Cheng Long’s guidance.

Da Tiantian was not very happy at first, thinking that Zhou Mo had asked her to help press him into a cage to prevent him from interfering with the filming of the crew, and now he wanted to call him back.

"Wouldn't that make me seem very fickle?"

"Tiantian, only you can do this, otherwise I really don't know what to do..."

After some words, Da Tiantian's expression changed immediately and she went to find Cheng Long happily.

Her method of persuading Cheng Long was also very simple:
Throwing money.

Da Tiantian suggested investing in a movie made by Cheng Long.

Cheng Long was overjoyed and came to the crew immediately.

"It's not a matter of whether to invest or not. The main thing is that I am willing to contribute to the crew."

“It is our duty to restore the glory of Myth.”

On the other side, Zhou Mo had already gone to be interviewed by "Let the Bullets Fly".

The media were a little disappointed when they first learned that the person being interviewed was not Jiang Wen. However, when they saw that it was Zhou Mo, they all perked up.

Zhou Mo is good, he is young, inexperienced and easy to fool.

More importantly.

This dude really means what he says.

"Director Zhou, I heard that there was a passionate scene between Jiang and Liu during the filming of the movie."

Zhou Mo broke out in a sweat, thinking that it was worthy of being an entertainment news media.

He had heard in his previous life that some media had asked about the issue of King Yan and Guo Furong visiting other dormitories on the set during an interview.

There are also media outlets that dare to ask whether Big Brother and Fat Soldier have that kind of relationship.

Fortunately, Zhou Mo had experience in film distribution and had mastered some interviewing skills.

Do not ask.

When asked, the answer is “I don’t know, don’t ask me. If there are any rumors, go find him.”

"It was Zhang Mazi who did it. What does it have to do with me being the fifth brother?"

However, the media participating in the interview for "Let the Bullets Fly" were much more ruthless than those who interviewed "Love Is Not Blind". After hearing his answer, they not only did not give up, but concluded:
"If you don't answer, it means it's true. If you evade the question, it means you witnessed it with your own eyes."

Zhou Mo: I'm
Seeing that the questions were becoming increasingly outrageous, he simply used the Great Shift of the Universe.

"Instead of focusing on some messy things all day, why not talk about how long the current movie box office record can last?"

The reporter was stunned when he heard this, and then reacted randomly.

Isn’t the box office record referring to “Earthquake”?

Is Director Zhou cueing Director Feng?

Do these two people have a grudge?
The novice reporter just remembered that Zhou Mo was used as a shield by Xiao Gangpao.

The old man has already started asking questions along the way:

"Then how long do you think it can last?"

Zhou Mo looked at the reporters' reactions and was very satisfied.

His idea is simple.

Refuse the self-proving trap and enjoy the offensive life. "Relationships between men and women" are not only dangerous, but also easy to overturn. It is better to discuss some more interesting topics.

For example: Daole.

Sure enough, when the topic of box office came up, the reporters were attracted.

He pretended to think for a moment and said, "About half a year."

Half a year?

"Earthquake" will be released in July, which is exactly half a year until January next year. If we add the release date of "Bullet", it will be just right.

Zhou Mo was extremely satisfied, as he finally got his advantage back.

When the atmosphere was right, some media mentioned Zhou Mo's filming of a TV series, and Zhou Mo decisively began to promote "The Myth".

The media doesn’t care, as long as they are given something to write about.

As for the media that asked the question first, that was of course arranged in advance.

It was Marco who paid for contacting the media.

Ever since Zhou Mo agreed to help, Marco gave him a sum of publicity funds and told him to spend it as he pleased, even if it was used to promote Shenhua.

This feeling of using other people's money to do your own business.

It’s so cool.

After a round of interviews, the promotion of "Let the Bullets Fly" was settled, "The Myth" became popular, and Zhou Mo gained traffic.

A win-win-win situation.

Afterwards, Jiang Wen and Ma Ke called him separately.

Jiang Wen was very satisfied with Zhou Mo's behavior of changing the subject and said that he was a howling frog.

Mako said the opposite. "Brother, I asked you to answer, not to kill others. Please restrain yourself."

After completing the publicity, the crew also finished filming the war scenes.

Zhou Mo specially invited Cheng Long to dinner to thank him for his efforts during this period, and said that Brother Long should take care of what he should do in the future, and leave the rest of the filming to me.

Cheng Long was also very happy and didn't feel unhappy at all about giving up his position again. He said that the money was in place and everything would be easy to discuss, and he was welcome to come to him again in the future.

He even said, "Working with Director Zhou is the happiest thing that has happened to me in recent years."

Zhou Mo: "I'm sorry to have made Brother Long run an extra trip."

Cheng Long: "No, no, as long as you are willing to spend money, it's no problem to make a few trips."

For a moment, the atmosphere was harmonious with clinking glasses.

After the meal, Da Tiantian began to doubt her life: "You guys are too direct in your words."

Zhou Mo thought it was a good idea: "In business, it's better to be direct than to spin and jump and never get to the point. Besides, didn't you use money to knock me down in the first place?"

Da Tiantian shook her head: "It's different, that's a full cage."

Zhou Mo: "It's because of Cheng Long that I said this to him. I wouldn't say this to anyone else. Tiantian, Brother Long has been through hard times and has seen many ups and downs. Often times, speaking directly is more useful than beating around the bush."

Zhou Mo was not against talking about money. On the contrary, he thought talking about money was good.

Making movies is like doing business, and in business, money should be discussed.

If one day people stop talking about money when doing business with you, then there will be a problem.

After talking about Dao Le, Da Tiantian complained: "Speaking of Brother Long filming a movie, you are much quieter this time. Usually you just stare at the filming and don't give any instructions at all."

Zhou Mo is very open-minded.

"There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. There is nothing wrong with giving the war scenes to Cheng Long. After all, the final editing rights are in my hands."

"You feel relieved, but I'm still spending money!" Da Tiantian started to make fun of her again.

"Don't worry, I won't let you pay for it."

Although Chenglong Films has not produced any excellent works for many years, the decline in the quality of its films does not mean that it will lose money.

This is also a characteristic of the film industry.

The quality of a movie is completely different from its box office.

Otherwise, Fatty Wang wouldn’t have filmed “The Man from Macau”.

"The Man from Macau" is undoubtedly a bad movie, but it really made money.

On the contrary, the art films made by Wang Jing are of good quality, but he loses money every time he makes them.

Zhou Mo remembered that in two years, Cheng Long would release a police series movie, which would do well at the box office, so he would ask Da Tiantian to invest in it.

After Cheng Long left, the crew returned to their daily shooting routine.

The first scene Zhou Mo filmed was the Taoshan Debate.

This was the first time that Zhao Kuo debated on state governance, the general situation of the world, and the emperor and the people after entering the Qin State.

Those who traveled with him included Xunzi, Zou Yan, Gongsun Long and Han Fei.

There are also many other historical figures of the Qin State.

The theme of this scene is the road dispute.

During the Warring States Period, hundreds of schools of thought contended with each other, and each school wrote books to express its own understanding and used language and words to interpret its ideals.

Whether it is Xunzi, Zhao Kuo, Gongsun Long, Zou Yan, or Han Fei, they are all people who can create their own schools of thought.

Therefore, Zhou Mo required that every actor in this scene give their all in order to express the fascinating thoughts of the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Warring States Period.

Before filming, Zhou Mo asked Zhu Yilong and Hu Ge whether they needed to audition.

Zhao Kuo and Han Fei have important roles.

Perhaps the smooth filming in the early stages gave Zhu Yilong and Hu Ge a lot of confidence, and they both said straightforwardly that they didn't need it.

"Next, watch me perform."

Zhu Yilong and Hu Ge bravely took to the stage.

After a while.

Zhu Yilong and Hu Ge played Ji Ji happily.

　I found some interviews from the early years some time ago, and they were so exciting to read.

　　Daoquan Chaoge once said:

　　"Fans don't even need to set the pace, the contestants will do it themselves."

　　It is a very vivid description of the entertainment industry in its early years.

　　If they have something to say, they really dare to speak up.

　　I also saw a gif of a fairy being interviewed by an architect. The fairy's fingers that didn't know where to put made me laugh to death.

　　In addition, I would like to ask for votes, reading and collection. Thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)