Most people in this world live for fame, fortune and beautiful women.
Artists are naturally not immune to vulgarity.
When John Williams was young, he happened to witness the symphony work "The Last Supper" by the world-famous musician Richard in Vienna with his parents.
He saw the solemn and sacred National Opera House filled with golden sunset. The expensive crystal chandeliers were shining brightly and holy against the setting sun. Countless spectators were like believers, letting the baton wave and perform in the epic grand ceremony.
Mesmerized by the magnificent music...
As a young man, he was deeply shocked.
When the performance ended, there was thunderous applause.
He heard his father staring at the stage with tears in his eyes, like a privileged witness.
He felt a hot blood boiling in his chest, as if it was about to spurt out from his throat.
"This is Master Richard's last work, and history will surely remember him!"
His father muttered to himself and left these words.
Then...
He saw Master Richard bowing to everyone and gradually disappearing under the golden light, but the audience did not leave for a long time.
Some people were mumbling incomprehensible sounds like their fathers, some were looking at the stage with expressions of sadness, and some were cheering in low voices full of reluctance.
The scene is like a dream.
Naturally, he didn't know what this performance meant.
But when he went back to class, he saw that he had never had any faith. The music teacher with a somewhat cold expression did not teach them music as usual, but clasped his hands together as if praying for something, and asked him to pray along with him.
After praying, he told a story to John Williams. The protagonist of the story was a master who was about to leave. The story was full of the ups and downs of wandering, full of the bitterness of not being recognized, but always persevering. Unfortunately,
Before the story was finished, the music teacher received the news and left the music room with his face covered.
The next day, newspapers, news...
Countless people are vying to mourn the passing of the music master with heavy voices.
He was one of the witnesses, and he felt an unprecedented respect and seriousness, as if another chapter of history had been cut off.
He began to long for it and long for it.
He hopes that he can become a figure who will be remembered and mourned by others a hundred years later, and will be glorious and dazzling in the pages of history.
Later, John Williams naturally followed this path...
However, this road has always been arduous. Step by step, he created many popular works, caused waves of trends, and was vaguely called a "master".
But when he became proficient in this industry, he truly understood that "classic" and "trend" are completely different concepts.
His works are well known, but none of them can compare with "The Last Supper", and there is even a big gap between him and the real music masters of this era.
It is simply impossible for such a work to be mounted in the sacred hall of Vienna in a grand manner, and even if it were to be mounted, it would not be remembered by the world.
Over the years, he has really worked hard on his creations and read countless manuscripts by masters.
Complete, incomplete, ancient, modern...
He will read it.
These manuscripts are indeed enlightening.
Somehow, there seems to be a guiding force that makes his works more and more impressive.
However!
It seemed like he could only stop there.
The distance to the master seems very close, just a few melodies and notes away, but it seems extremely far away, like a gap that we desperately try to cross but cannot cross.
However, God will always have mercy on those who strive to pursue art.
He heard passages of very inspiring melodies, especially "The Last of the Mohicans", "Going Home" and "The Sound of Silence"...
"Mr. Zhou Yang, have you had any inspiration today?"
"No……"
"Mr. Zhou Yang, have you thought of how to fill it in today? Let me play another paragraph. Listen to it. Do you think it is appropriate to fill it in this way?"
"No, it doesn't feel right..."
"Mr. Zhou Yang...have you had any inspiration today?"
"Well, not yet..."
"So are there any other melodies in your head?"
"I think there is, but I can't remember it recently..."
"Shall we talk about music again?"
"OK."
John Williams wondered why an ordinary director would suddenly compose such powerful melodies and songs!
This itself is illogical.
He also thought about why this person was Chinese, and he was an extremely young Chinese director...
This is even more illogical.
He will complain, regret, and be jealous.
Jealousy: Why is God so unfair? He clearly gave him a gift for his works, but he didn’t give him a complete version, but instead it was incomplete...
John Williams seemed to have opened a door.
The door was filled with gold, but he couldn't dig it out. He could only watch and worry!
Sometimes he even feels jealous as to why God didn’t give him John Williams, even though he is obviously the most musical and pious person.
But the reality itself is cruel.
May.
summer solstice.
John Williams asked Zhou Yang various questions almost every day.
However……
The response I got was extremely regrettable.
Zhou Yang seemed unable to remember.
…………………………
The crew of "Infernal Affairs" has been set up.
Site selection points were also placed in Zhou Yang's office one after another.
The first scene is just after arriving at the Wanfo Mountain behind Paitou Village in Shatin District, which is the temple where Han Chen shouts in front of everyone in the opening film, "One general succeeds and ten thousand bones wither".
The actor who plays Han Chen is named Tsang Jiabao. He is a famous big brother actor in Hong Kong. He is known as one of the uncrowned best actors. He is familiar with the king Liu Hua and others.
The actor who played Huang Zhicheng was originally going to invite Wang Qiusheng, but Zhou Yang read his resume and felt that this guy had some inexplicable remarks about Hong Kong, so even if someone specifically recommended him, Zhou Yang refused. However, Wang Qiusheng was very interested in Zhou Yang.
Yang himself didn't catch a cold and joined the cast of "Night Walker" early on.
"Infernal Affairs" is not as rich and powerful as "Night Walker".
"Night Walker" is indeed generous.
Not only did they spend a lot of money to hire a large number of actors in Hong Kong, but they also bribed many media. Every day when you open your eyes, you can see some mainstream media hyping "Night Walker", as if this movie is about to become a box-office movie.
Hitting Southeast Asia and beating Hollywood's cross-generational movies.
In comparison…
"Infernal Affairs" is actually very inferior. Not only does it not have the shadow of any blockbusters, it is even quite shabby.
Although the lineup is good, it is far from as powerful as "Night Walker", and when the investment project came out, the media was disappointed.
With a budget of 15 million, it is not even as good as the salary of a slightly more important actor in "Night Walker".
Is this a fucking movie that rivals "Nightcrawler"?
Are you kidding me?
In addition to some basic fees, the actors of "Infernal Affairs" were paid according to the movie share.
Some people have specifically calculated that the box office of the entire movie "Infernal Affairs" must be at least 200 million, so that these actors can receive generous remuneration. Otherwise, Liu Tianwang alone will suffer a huge loss.
However, sometimes things are just weird.
Liu Tianwang not only didn't care, he was cheerful all day long when he showed up on the set. He even tried every possible means to discuss with Zhou Yang, hoping to invest some money out of his own pocket.
Not only Liu Tianwang, but also the actors who joined later have expressed their desire to bring money into the group.
And there are countless nepotisms involved.
"Mr. Zhou, Wang Duobao Beverage hopes to get a piece of advertising space for our movie, just give them a close-up shot of drinking..."
"Mr. Zhou, the owner of the Haiyang Lao franchised hot pot restaurant just discussed with us. They are willing to invest 10 million in advertising fees, as long as they can highlight the deliciousness of their hot pot and give their sign some close-ups..."
"Also, Mr. Zhou, what Liu Tianwang just said is that he has a business friend who loves movies and admires you very much. He hopes to make friends with you..."
"..."
In the office.
Xu Mei came to Zhou Yang very solemnly with a piece of information.
"Infernal Affairs" will be officially shot in two days.
Zhou Yang was writing filming drafts, composing music, and communicating with the crew. He also spent some time in the evening learning various vocals. He was so busy that even Xu Mei felt shocked, fearing that Zhou Yang would suddenly die on the spot.
Fortunately, the male lead role in "Those Years of Youth Together" was finally given up by Mr. Zhou because he was too busy. Otherwise, Mr. Zhou might have schizophrenia!
Under such high-intensity work, as Zhou Yang's agent and assistant, she should have shared more work instead of increasing her workload.
However……
But she had to come.
Don't look at "Night Walker" which has been hyped up in Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China. In comparison, "Infernal Affairs" has no publicity at all and even the so-called opening ceremony is not planned...
But the capitalists are so enthusiastic that they almost go crazy!
The marketing of Baoli mobile phones is really too successful!
"Das Kapital" mentioned: If there is 50% profit, capital will take desperate risks; if there is 100% profit, it will dare to trample all human laws; if there is 300% profit, it will dare to commit any crime!
The envious capitals used various channels to get Zhou Yang to do a big marketing campaign for their products in the form of a movie...
"Forget it, tell them all we have to do is make a good movie...Ignore other things for now, we are not short of money, so we can't deliberately do any marketing."
do not know why.
After spending more time with John Williams, Zhou Yang seems to have become more paranoid about his works, and even has some pretentious feelings for some reason.
"Really refuse? Then Liu Tianwang wants to pursue some investment..."
"Forget it, let them add more, but I really don't understand what people like Liu Tianwang think. Even if they bring money into the group, we won't increase his share ratio much. This is too much money and there is no room for it.
Flowers?”
Zhou Yang was puzzled.
No matter how hard I try, I can't figure out what Liu Tianwang and his gang are thinking.
Could it be that his brain is broken?
……………………
There are a lot of things in this world that are really nonsense.
For example, movie investment...
"Infernal Affairs" is a movie with a full investment of 15 million, which is a huge investment, and Zhou Yang has never thought about investing any more money in it.
A few hours later.
Xu Mei handed Zhou Yang a list of additional investment projects for "Infernal Affairs".
After reading it, he felt confused.
He saw that 15 million was suddenly raised to 30 million, and it was raised during a limited investment period.
"So, you got your money back before even shooting, and you also made money?"
"Well, yes." Xu Mei nodded.
"What's going on with King Liu Tian?"
"Liu Tianwang accepted Haiyilao's advertisement and felt a little embarrassed..."
"What's so embarrassing about this?"
“The boss of Haiyanglao saw that we refused to insert his advertisement in the movie, so even if he wanted to save the country, he invited Liu Tianwang to speak for him, and asked Liu Tianwang to take the actors to their Haiyanglao hotpot restaurant for dinner. Liu Tianwang felt that this was exploitative
The reputation of "Infernal Affairs" was suspected of making money, so I invested some money in the movie. Mr. Zhou and many actors accepted advertisements. In fact, the investment of 15 million was indirectly infiltrated by many advertisers, all hoping that
It has something to do with movies..."
Xu Mei said a lot of things.
After hearing this, Zhou Yang was shocked and ridiculous.
In a sense, these capitals are truly pervasive.
Of course, it doesn't matter as long as it doesn't affect the movie itself.
Then, he answered a phone call.
The call was from James Bunter.
…………………………
Early morning on May 8th.
"The Grandmaster" was downloaded amidst a commotion.
The total box office in China was 440 million yuan, and the total global box office was 250 million US dollars. It not only refreshed the box office history of Chinese movies, but also created a new box office record for the export of Chinese movies.
After I posted the picture, I didn’t smile at the controversy surrounding this movie. Instead, the discussion exploded.
Some people think that this is a milestone in Chinese cinema and should be ranked alongside Chen Kai's "Overlord". Some people think that this is just a successful commercial film. Although its ideological conception is not low, it does not reach the artistic heights of "Overlord".
, some people regret that the box office of this movie not only did not exceed 500 million, but was even close to 450 million...
This is a movie that brings together top international superstars from the three regions of China!
Although it broke the record, it was still not satisfactory.
Huang Jiacheng was quite satisfied. When the filming of the movie started, he never thought of making a movie on the same level as "Overlord".
How to shoot?
The movie "Overlord" has been in preparation since Chen Kai's father's time. The work is the legacy of Li Ruihua, the top screenwriter in the industry. Before his death, he refined and revised it repeatedly, down to every line and punctuation. After the script was written, it was
From filing to filming, it took more than ten years...
Looking at the entire history of Chinese films, there are only a few works like this that have taken two generations of hard work!
And what about "The Grandmaster"?
In essence, it is a slightly more serious commercial film after the decline of martial arts. It is a success if it portrays the theme of a great warrior serving the country and the people.
Huang Jiacheng himself defines it this way, but you still want to compare "The Grandmaster" with "Overlord", which is the pinnacle of Chinese film art. Isn't this bullying an honest person?
noon.
Huang Jiacheng came to the set of "Infernal Affairs" and planned to take advantage of the heat to chat with Zhou Yang about the script of "The Grandmaster 2".
However……
When he first entered the office, he saw Zhou Yang's face full of sadness, as if he was struggling with something.
"Brother Huang?"
"Xiao Zhou, what's wrong?"
"May I ask you some questions about human relations and worldliness?"
"Um……"
"How could I say no to James Bunter's offer to serve as a consultant on Infernal Affairs?"
"???"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Sorry, I only have 4,000 words left today. The second one was even longer, but I ended up writing a piece of shit. I’m such a fucking waste. You can scold me no matter what you want.