I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

  Chapter 136 134. Fry a Book

"What's the matter?"

  Looking at the dazed Jay Chou, Xu Xin asked in bewilderment:

"Any questions?"

"Well…"

   Jay Chou came back to his senses, shook his head instinctively, and then asked:

   "You just said... why my script is better than your script at the box office? What do you mean?"

"It means that if the story line is simple and single, instead of the four endings, it will be told in a straightforward way, and one story will end. Then, in terms of your appeal and the consumption sentiment of fans... this movie should make money. But It’s hard to say if you earn more or less.”

"…Then what?"

"Then? If you use this script, it will be more complicated, and the box office will be difficult to control. That is to say...a movie has a golden time, understand? The beginning and the end are the golden time for the attention of the two audiences." period. Under the same circumstances, it is this period that the audience remembers most.”

"Uh-huh…"

"But the version I changed, in fact, the most golden part is that the details and the four endings seem to be one, but in fact they are completely separate ideas. And it appeared in the middle of the movie. Therefore, the keynote of this story It will be a little more complicated, and if the shooting methods of these four endings are used, the fragments of each ending actually have a certain degree of abruptness for the film.

  It doesn't mean that it is out of the plot itself, but that the audience will have a kind of... eh? Wasn't it fine in the last second, why does it suddenly look like this in the next second? Therefore, the processing here must be very, very delicate. To achieve at first glance, the story is a single-line narrative, but in fact, the foreshadowing and clues for each of the four endings have been given between the transitions of the shots. But even so... this script has a very natural disadvantage...or fatal injuries cannot be changed. "

   "What is it?"

"Rhythm."

  Xu Xin pointed out the biggest disadvantage of the whole script:

"After Qingyi kissed you, the rhythm of your script will speed up without any turning point. Especially in the last paragraph, Bao and they pointed out that you were the only one dancing from beginning to end after the day of the ball. You After you suddenly understand that the so-called Lu Xiaoyu is a "non-existent" person, until you learn who Lu Xiaoyu is from your father, and a series of things that follow.

  The rhythm began to become very fast. If you are fast, the audience's thinking will follow you to become faster. This kind of flashback in time and space will confuse people's logic. You will not understand, you will be at a loss, you will be taken to the next point of contradiction after you can't figure it out... countless contradictions will start to accumulate, and in the end, even if your story line is simple and clear, the audience will come out "I saw it What is the sense of déjà vu. Therefore, this is a test of the audience's comprehension ability. Got it? "

"But this is the surprise and surprise of traveling through time and space~ It's like when I make music, what is the most important thing? Surprise, different styles, mix and match, tailoring, when everyone thought I was going to be la la la la, I suddenly Oh oh oh oh~..."

   "But it's a movie."

  Xu Xin shook his head, looked at his friend seriously, and told him word by word:

"The director's responsibility is to first tell the audience a clear story. From the beginning to the end. You have to bring the audience a story, a story with a clear and clear main line. When all the established clues are clear, the audience reads from the beginning. It doesn’t create any superficial discomfort towards the ending. It also resonates with your main story and makes them think, “Oh, that’s it, I get it.”

   "Uh... wouldn't that be exciting?"

"What's wonderful is the story itself, not a certain plot in a certain movie. What you are pursuing now is to use this kind of flash point of time travel to resonate with the audience. But in fact this is the biggest mistake. Movies, see The first thing should be the main body. While the story line of the main body is clear and clear...it’s as if we are both singing. I can only sing the same song, but you can add your own things to it. Do you understand? "

   Seeing that Jay Chou didn’t seem to understand yet, Xu Xin scratched his head and suddenly found a very vivid example:

   "A movie is a person, an individual. Just like the two of us. Look at your small eyes, single eyelids, and thin lips, so ugly..."

"Um????…???????"

   Jay Chou was dumbfounded, he stared blankly at Xu Xin, and pointed at himself...

   means: you call me ugly?

  Xu Xin nodded:

  ‘Yes, look, you are so ugly, you are also human. As for me, I am handsome with big eyes, high nose bridge, sword eyebrows and star eyes. But I am also human! "

   "Are you a devil?"

   Jay Chou couldn't help it...

  But Xu Xin shook his head firmly:

   "No, I'm serious. I didn't mean to say that I'm more handsome than you even though I'm really more handsome..."

   "...???????"

"What I want to tell you is that whether it's a good movie or a bad movie, it's all about telling a story. Telling a good story means growing up. And on the basis that we are both human, whoever is ugly, whoever is ugly handsome, it varies from person to person, understand?

  Your script, the tone of the whole story has been established, but this flaw...is like a birthmark on your face. With a birthmark, it appears flawed. And after removing the birthmark with laser, you are a great beauty. And this birthmark is the kind that needs to be very, very careful in controlling the entire rhythm of the story.

In front, you have to leave enough foreshadowing, and through Lu Xiaoyu's perspective, leave enough clues that are incompatible with Ye Xianglun's era... For example, she doesn't know many things, or hasn't seen many things... It can be a car, it can be It's music, what else can it be... something that didn't exist 20 years ago but will be commonplace in 20 years.

   Highlight Lu Xiaoyu's incompatibility, and start to prepare enough for the audience in front, so that the audience can have enough foreshadowing when they start to accelerate behind you. In the end, they have to understand the story first. When I feel that the meaning is still unsatisfactory, I think about it carefully...I suddenly found out...Ah, it turns out that this story still contains such a surprise that is worth digging deeply...Do you understand? "

"Well…"

   Vaguely, Jay Chou felt that he could not keep up with his thinking.

   "You... speak slowly... what details..."

"Well…"

   Seeing his dazed look, Xu Xin thought for a while, then flicked his finger on the script:

"It's okay, let me add it for you... For example, here, Ye Xianglun took Lu Xiaoyu to the video store. You can add a little easter egg... Your setting is 79 years, right? 20 years later will be 99 years, the millennium... You can leave a little fun easter egg, didn't you debut in 2000, you can let Lu Xiaoyu say: Hey, this JAY is so ugly, can he also be a singer?"

   "..."

   The corner of Jay Chou's mouth twitched...

   "Please..."

  He looked at Xu Xin angrily:

   "I released the album in November, but it can be set to 99 years!"

"Artistic processing. It's like raisins in pilaf. Although there are not many, the sweet taste of every bite is the best enjoyment... Hey, let's eat pilaf at night, how about it?" ?”

   "I haven't eaten yet..."

   "Then eat it. It's at the corner of the Hutong, Beijiang Ramen Shop. It tastes pretty good."

   "...I come to your house as a guest, so you invite me to eat ramen?"

   "Brother, I asked you to be a guest, don't you also let me eat takeaway?"

   "...makes sense. Good job!"

   Thinking about it, Jay Chou seemed to be really like this... then nodded:

   "Is there any other noteworthy details?"

   "That's all right, as long as you can control the rhythm well. I'll help you add some things one after another... You'll have to think about it when the time comes."

"…Um."

   Jay Chou responded, and fell into deep thought while reading the script.

  Xu Xin took a sip of guava and lit another cigarette.

  He actually wanted to ask... how are he and Hou Peitong doing.

   But this must not be asked.

  Friends.

   Don't do the thing of exposing the scars.

   After a while, Jay Chou seemed to suddenly remember something, and patted Xu Xin on the shoulder:

   "Hey, wait... Dani, bring the violin here~"

"…do what?"

   "I finished the last song, it's not bad."

   Soon, Dani brought the electronic organ over.

  Xu Xin took the laptop away and made room for him.

   Jay Chou rubbed his hands, pressed a few keys to test the sound, then turned to Xu Xin and said:

   "I call this song "The Longest Movie". It sounds pretty good~ I plan to put it in the new album!"

   "...The new album is starting now? Are you a model worker? You are! You don't plan to release an album every year, do you?"

   "How? No way? Is it difficult to get one card a year?"

   As he spoke, he saw Xu Xin's absurd appearance, and smiled "evilly":

"Please, I'm a genius. My songs are all in my head. I can come up with whatever I want. If it weren't for the company's restrictions, I can release two songs a year~ You know my fans are waiting for me How hard is it?"

   "..."

  Xu Xin had an absurd expression of "what are you bragging about" all over his face.

   Obviously, he didn't believe it.

   "Ha~ Don't believe me, just wait and see~! Next year, the new album will definitely come out~!"

   "..."

   "It's starting~"

  Ding ding dong dong the piano melody sounded.

   "Our beginning~"

   "It's a long movie~"

   "Showed for three years~"

   "I still have my ticket..."

  In the beginning, Xu Xin was indeed listening to the song.

   Anyway, this is also my "original" song.

   But it didn't take long for him to focus on Jay Chou's electronic organ.

   Or above the right hand that plays the keyboard.

   Just press the three keys of thumb, ring finger and little finger...

  Occasionally there will be some changes, but the whole sound is 70% to 80%, in fact, it's just those three keys...

   "Give me two more minutes...let me freeze my memory!"

   "Don't melt your tears...cough cough cough...remember~!"

   "..."

  Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

  Although I couldn't bear to interrupt, I still couldn't help saying:

   "You can't even remember what you wrote yourself?"

  Singing and piano sound cut off...

   "Of course not, I can definitely remember my own. But didn't you write what you are singing now? What kind of broken lyrics are these, difficult to sing, and high-pitched..."

  Because of the script, Xu Xin buried him for a while.

  He finally found a chance to fight back.

   "Heh~ smelly man~"

  Xu Xin sneered:

   "It's you who set the melody so high, okay? ... No, then why do you sing so high? The note is an octave higher, right?"

   "噫~~~~"

   As soon as these words came out, Jay Chou was full of disgust:

   "Please, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand music, okay? Let me ask you, which octaves are higher?"

   "...how do I know? You are a singer and I am a singer? You still ask me?"

   "Of course I know! I'm testing you~"

   "How do I know if you know? What if you lie to me, take the answer from me and turn around and pass it off as your own?"

   "噫~~~~~"

  The disgust on Jay Chou's face grew stronger, but he still put his hands on the piano keys:

   "Listen up...Give me at ~~~~~~ Here are G#4, F#4....Two minutes~ Let me freeze my memory~ Don't melt...Here is..."

   "Just give me the highest note. I understand all these."

   "You know a hammer!"

   Really couldn't stand his friend's inexplicable Wang demeanor, so he had no choice but to ring the piano again:

   "How do I remember!~...This is A4, standard A4~"

   "Well, let me just say, A4, my ears can't hear you wrong!"

   "..."

   Jay Chou was stunned for a moment, then nodded suddenly, and described his mood at this moment with a sentence that Xu Xin taught him when he was in Hengdian:

   "Your shameless appearance is quite the style I used to be."

   "Hahahahahaha~"

  Xu Xin couldn't be happier.

   While having fun, he asked wonderingly:

   "Your song is so difficult to sing... why do you have to set such a high tone?"

   "Because it's cool~"

   "..."

Fine.

   so cool~

  …

  The whole afternoon, the two of them chatted in the study.

   Most of the chats are music, movies, and some gossip...

   And when it was five or six o'clock in the evening, Xu Xin planned to take him out for dinner. Although I said to eat pilaf just now, but friends must be warmly entertained when they come.

  Porsche moved away, Audi also moved away, and let the garage door open.

   Jay Chou just discovered... So there is still a Ferrari hidden in his friend's house?

   "SPIDER4.3? Or COUPE4.3?"

"…What's the meaning?"

  “…you bought the car yourself, and you don’t know the model yourself?”

   "I don't know, it's the most expensive one anyway."

   "That's SPIDER4.3... Wow, I find you very interesting, you make me feel like you don't understand everything, do you just buy things based on the price?"

   "That's right. I bought everything, why do I need to know so much? I'm not a car repairer... Dani, which one do you choose, to drive a Porsche or this one?"

"Well…"

  By the side, Dani looked at the red Porsche, and then at the low-key black Audi.

   "Brother Xu, does the Porsche belong to Sister Mimi?"

"right."

   "...Then I don't want to drive her, I will drive this, can I follow you?"

"good."

   Handed her the Audi key casually, Xu Xin also asked:

   "Why don't you drive this?"

   "Forget it, I don't know the way."

   Seeing Jay Chou shaking his head, Xu Xin stopped talking.

   Soon, two cars drove out of Shijia Hutong and merged into the night traffic.

  In the car.

   Jay Chou flipped through the discs in the storage compartment of the co-pilot, and asked wonderingly:

   "Didn't you say you are my fan, and you didn't even buy my CD?...DJ skewers? Phoenix dance for nine days?...Please, what kind of taste do you have?"

   "..."

   Now, Xu Xin blushed.

   This is what he used to pick up girls and fry the street.

  I thought it was super cool at the time, but now that I think about it...so stupid!

   "Why don't you sing directly."

   "...you treat me like a CD player?!"

   "Then choose one at random, listen to a song and still be so inked... Just that popular Internet song, that's it!"

   "..."

  The dubious Jay Chou pushed the disc into the CD player, and for a moment...

   "If you really need something ~reason~"

   "Ten thousand~is it enough..."

  Non-mainstream absolute king--Jay Chou listened to Zheng Yuan's "Ten Thousand Reasons" with gusto:

   "Hey, let alone, the voice is not bad~ It's very suitable for this kind of soft love song~... Where shall we eat?"

   "Japanese Cuisine."

  “…Sashimi? Sushi? Why eat that?”

   "Because I haven't eaten it. Last time I said I would bring Mimi together, but she gave up."

   "Have you never eaten sushi?"

   Jay Chou looked surprised.

  Xu Xin shook his head:

   "No, I have eaten the kind before... the kind of meat floss and seaweed at the school gate stall. I have never eaten serious ones..."

   "...???"

   There was no reason, Jay Chou felt a little absurd.

  Then, the two arrived at a restaurant called "Matsumoto".

  The restaurant is on the east side of Di'anmen, not far from Quanjude.

   Then Dani stepped forward to communicate.

   Soon, the waiter took the three of them into the interior of the restaurant, which is surrounded by mountains and water, and the decoration looks quite elegant, and they were ushered into the restaurant.

  Just passing by a box, it happened that the waiter came to deliver the food and made way for the three of them.

  Xu Xin glanced at the things on his tray, and suddenly frowned.

  This thing... why does it look so small?

  A small porcelain bowl, less than the size of a palm, with a bowl of soup in it... There is also a larger tray, filled with ice, but there are only three or five slices of raw fish on it...

  How about feeding the rabbit?

   Entering the box, Xu Xin's first words were:

   "The amount of food in your family doesn't seem to be large."

  The waiter froze for a moment, then nodded:

   "Yes, sir, Japanese cuisine is relatively more refined, so the dishes are not large."

   "Is that so..."

  Xu Xin flipped through the menu, and Jay Chou, who didn’t take off his mask, said:

   "Shall I have more?"

   "Okay, it seems that the servings are not big, order more. I haven't eaten well today because I'm so busy."

  Hearing this, Xu Xin turned to look at Dani again:

"And you?"

   "Very hungry."

   "Look at the one who starved our big girl."

  Hearing Xu Xin's complaints, Dani smiled.

   But the smile didn't last long.

   I saw my dear brother Xu flipping through the menu. After a glance, he said in disgust:

   "It doesn't seem like there's anything there... What's the point of eating sashimi?"

  When the waiter heard this, he was about to step forward and guide the customer to order, when he suddenly saw the customer buttoning the menu:

   "You are like this."

  The young guest handed the menu back to himself directly, and then said:

   "Fry one."

   "..."

   "..."

   "..."

  In the eyes of the three people who were dumbfounded, Young Master Xu did not forget to add:

   "No staple food first."

   "..."

   "..."

   "..."

   Jay Chou stared straight at Xu Xin:

   "Do you have to be so mad?"

   "Didn't you see the size of his dishes? It's such a big bowl, with three or five slices of sashimi on it... There are not many dishes in his house..."

   After Xu Xin finished speaking, he looked at the waiter:

   "Okay, hurry up and place an order, I'm hungry."

   "Uh...first...sir, you...you mean...except for the staple food...all..."

   "Come all over again."

  Xu Xin looked at the menu, and found that there were only twenty or thirty dishes in total.

   Treating guests to dinner, you have to make a show.

  Let’s say it’s just three people... If there are more people, it’s enough for a table with one sheep.

   "Don't, don't, don't... just give me the menu."

   Jay Chou, who was really speechless by this kind of thing, took the menu from the waiter...

  Xu Xin was quite dissatisfied.

  Although Jay Chou didn't stop him, after the waiter walked out of the box with a feeling of speechlessness, he said:

   "What are you doing? Why don't you stick something between your teeth?"

   "...No... Hey, last time you said you were from Shenmu, where is Shenmu?"

   "Northern Shaanxi."

   "...Aren't you in Shanxi?"

   "What do you mean?"

"that is…"

   Jay Chou thought for a while and said:

   "Your style is very similar to the person who approached me before~"

"…who?"

"Business activities, two people from Shanxi contacted the company, hoping that I can attend the wedding of one's daughter. The first asking price was 5 million, the second was 800, and the third was 1,000...Your style is very good. like oh!"

   "Then why don't you agree?"

   "Why do you agree..."

   Jay Chou shook his head slightly:

   "It's not my friend, so don't sing congratulatory songs to others, it will take away the marriage~"

"and you…"

  Xu Xin seemed to want to say something, but suddenly stopped, and quietly changed the subject:

   "Hey, is it difficult to play the piano?"

   "..."

   Jay Chou glanced at him before replying:

   "It's not difficult, it's easy to learn, but it's difficult to play well."

   "I can see it too. When you sang that song in the afternoon, you pressed the three keys with your right hand and it didn't work... Then why do you think it's so difficult to play well?"

"Intervals~ the transitions and setbacks of intervals... In fact, all musicians' pieces are like that. But if you want to play well, it's about emotions and resonance. But in fact, it's all about note by note. It’s just the handling and control of the details when connecting~ Do you know why Lang Lang is so good?”

"…who?"

  Xu Xin was taken aback.

   "Lang Lang... Please, you don't know him."

   "LONGLONGAGO?"

   "Do you still understand English?"

   "...how fresh, who doesn't know ABCD?...you don't speak English?"

   "Chinese, big brother! Hey, my friend, why don't you even know Lang Lang!"

   "...what's he doing?"

   "Pianist! He even went to the Spring Festival Gala!...Haven't you seen it?"

   "No, I was just waiting to see Mr. Benshan's skit in the Spring Festival Gala, and after watching it, I shot it. Who is this guy... You like him very much? Your friend?"

   "No, I don't know him either, but I like him so much..."

   "Then do you like him more or me more?"

   "...Wow! Why can you say such a horrible thing?! What are we? Lovers? Wow, you really are... Oh yes, last time you came to my house, you vomited into my bathroom..."

   "Fart! Obviously you vomited yourself! What does it have to do with me!"

   "I didn't vomit! I never vomit when I drink alcohol!"

   "That's because you didn't meet me, you met me last time, you vomited."

   "Don't talk nonsense, let me tell you..."

   "Oh, don't be such a locomotive..."

  Dani on the side just watched the two of them in that BATTLE quietly.

   It didn't take long to laugh out loud.

  Brother Xu is really interesting~

   she thought.

  …

  It cost more than 6,000 for a meal.

  Xu Xin smacked his mouth when he paid the bill.

  Well, indeed, I was sloppy.

   Except for the relatively small amount of sashimi, the others are really good.

   At least in normal size.

  If it's really fried, then I can't eat it today and walk away.

  Japanese cuisine, so scary.

  From the beginning to the end, neither of them mentioned anything about Hou Peitong, as if it had become a thing of the past.

  That night, Jay Chou didn't stay at Xu Xin's place, but went back to the hotel.

  He still has luggage at the hotel, and he has to leave for the next stop early tomorrow morning, afraid that there will be too little time.

   But before leaving, Xu Xin promised him that he would help him finish the script.

  After he left, Xu Xin's life returned to normal.

Yang Mi finished filming "Wulin Biography" after October 1st. There were ten episodes in total. From the beginning as Bai Zhantang's junior sister, to the final talent competition with Guo Furong, she understood at the last step. After the scholar's heart and his own wishful thinking, he left his clothes and left.

   Zhu Wushuang in "Wulin Biography" has a "perfect curtain call".

   It took nearly a month in total.

   To be honest, the speed is quite fast.

   And there is no delay in the promotion of "Golden Armor", which is scheduled to be released on December 14.

  But it’s not her turn to promote the work yet. It must be Jay Chou, Zhou Renfa, Gong Li and others at the beginning. She still has some time.

  So I wanted to stay in my brother's arms every day and not come out...Unfortunately, things backfired.

  She is not busy here.

  But Xu Xin's side has been busy at a speed visible to the naked eye since the beginning of October.

  With the "Four Great Inventions" as the core concept, the opening ceremony throughout has finally entered the work summary stage.

   After half a year, the production team finally designed a rough framework.

  The next step is to start making PPT according to the process and complete the first draft.

   At this stage, whether it is PPT modeling, prop simulation, or the selection of some props, everyone is busy.

  Because it has to be submitted for review, the team at this stage, whether it is link design or prop simulation, etc., takes every step carefully, cautiously, and cautiously.

  So far, the entire Olympic creative plan consists of 108 creative sections in the "Four Great Inventions", which are held, researched, deleted, and connected little by little. For the entire month of October alone, nearly one-third was cut.

  In the remaining two-thirds, it is conservatively estimated that nearly half of the pre-plan links will be cut off.

   That is to say, everyone has worked hard to think about ideas for a year, and at most only one-third will be adopted.

   But no one feels bad.

   can't feel bad.

  At the beginning of the year, I didn’t think there was anything wrong, but as the weather in Yanjing turned colder, the end of November came in a blink of an eye.

   After entering December, this 2006 is coming to an end.

   There is only one and a half years left before the Olympic Games.

  Everyone immediately felt an invisible sense of urgency.

   It is no longer the relaxed and leisurely way it was at the beginning.

  In the meeting room, because of the deletion of links, the "smell of gunpowder" began to become stronger.

   Quarrels have become a commonplace thing.

   With Director Zhang present, all these were controlled to a very reasonable scale.

  Everyone is a literati dispute. There are quarrels in the meeting, but after the meeting is over, the normal working stage can still be resumed.

  However, in the past few days at the end of November, Zhang Yimou became particularly busy.

   Two things.

  One, "Golden Armor" began to enter a period of intensive promotion. It is no longer like before, you go to this show today, and he goes to that show tomorrow. Instead, it has entered a very intensive period of publicity.

  Including Yang Mi, everyone should start to participate in the promotion work of this movie.

  Second, Director Zhang suddenly told everyone about his itinerary on this day.

  As early as 2004, he received an invitation from the Metropolitan Opera House of the United States to direct Qin Shihuang, an original Metropolitan opera. (Note 1)

   When it was time for him, he agreed, and the Metropolitan also gave him time to direct the opera.

   January 2007.

  After Christmas. The first major performance of the Metropolitan Theater at the beginning of the year is this opera in which although "Qin Shihuang" is being performed, there is not a single person from the Celestial Dynasty in the audience.

   In other words, Director Zhang is leaving.

To the United States.

  Estimated to wait 40 to 50 days. Maybe I won’t even be able to come back for the Chinese New Year.

  Adding the matter of "The Golden Armor in the City", Director Zhang personally said:

  "Before New Year's Day, the proposal for the opening ceremony must be submitted for review." (Note 2)

  The creative team was working overtime, going through PPT, software, and even site simulation, which they spent countless efforts on the way.

  On this day, Xu Xin, who was about to take a quick nap with his girlfriend in his arms, received a call from Jay Chou:

   "Hey, Xu Xin, are you busy right now? There is something I want to tell you."

   (Note 1: In fact, the timeline of "Qin Shihuang" was in October 2006, and Metropolis was released in December. Director Zhang stayed in the United States for more than 40 days. I changed the timeline here.)

(Note 2: The timeline has also been changed here. The actual submission time is in March, and the approval results will come down soon, but it is relatively slow here. The reason why these two timelines have been changed is also to cooperate with the The plot, you don’t have to be serious.)

   Finally broke through the 5,000 average! Thank you everyone! Thank you, thank you!

  (end of this chapter)