"The future is the era of superhero blockbusters. We have contacted Hollywood. DV Company is willing to hand over the directorship of the next superhero movie "The Righteous Man" to you..."
"This is a movie that promotes Chinese martial arts. The protagonist of the movie is a Chinese from Toronto. He was born in Hebei. He followed his master to practice martial arts since he was a child. Later, he suspected that his father was a big devil who did all kinds of evil. In order to learn more profound martial arts, he defeated
Father, the protagonist went overseas and finally embarked on the road to becoming a superhero..."
"DV Company attaches great importance to local Chinese films. The protagonists and villains will choose Chinese artists. If "The Righteous Man" is completed, they will consider linking it with "Superman" to form a series of universe movies..."
"This movie is adapted from the comic of the same name "The Righteous Man" which was just released in Europe and America last year. Please take the time to read the comic during this time..."
"..."
September 4th.
Starlight.
Cao Bangguo took out a script and handed it to Jiang Ge.
Jiang Ge took the script and saw the words "righteous man" written in English on the script.
Since the release of the "Superman" series of movies, Cao Bangguo has been keenly aware that "superhero movies" are very likely to be the prelude to the explosion of Hollywood industrial movies.
And the "Superman" series of movies is just an introduction to Hollywood industrial movies!
In DV comics, "Superman" is just a branch. In addition to "Superman", they also have comic stories such as "Daredevil", "Beast Man", and "Eagle Shooter". These stories are all in the hearts of comic fans.
It has a certain weight. Relying on these weights, the story background of the entire movie is gradually unfolded.
In the comic series, these superheroes have independent branches and intertwined chapters and stories. In the latest issue of "Daredevil" comics, the "parallel universe" theory of science fiction is even used to combine these superhero stories.
mix together……
These are all big IPs and are sought after by countless comic fans. Cao Bangguo is also the source of these comics and speculates that DV Company is turning all these big IPs into movies and creating a "superhero movie universe".
This is the mainstream and direction of the future, so last year, Cao Bangguo thought about making his own superhero movie.
"Machine Man" is an attempt.
Unfortunately, the attempt was not successful. Although it was marketed as a domestic blockbuster and a Chinese-foreign joint venture, the real box office not only did not have the amazing appeal of "Superman", it could not even compare with an ordinary small hit movie. Cao Bangguo reflected for a long time
, I feel that "Roboman" itself has no problems, and there are no technical or plot problems.
The real reason is the audience problem.
Yes!
The audience's lack of acceptance and understanding of the movie "Roboman".
The foreshadowing of "Machine Man" is not enough!
The first image of "Superman" was derived from the preparation and management of comics, and it itself has a huge fan base of comic fans.
But "Machine Man" does not have that. The appearance of the story and the explanation of the background, without the foreshadowing of comics and other works, will be extremely abrupt. Movie fans will only feel that the movie is very strange and there is no sense of involvement.
""Roboman" is a lesson. It lets us know the difference between our own movies and Hollywood industrial movies. But now that we are making industrial movies, we are actually lagging behind, whether it is special effects, plot, or market acceptance.
In fact, they are all lagging behind..."
"At best, movies serve capital. The so-called art and the so-called niche pursuits are just gorgeous shells for movies..."
"We can't draw ready-made comics to test the market and pave the way for IP. We simply can't afford it for more than ten years. What we have to do now is to learn advanced Western knowledge while finding ways to hone our own films.
…”
"'The Righteous Man' is an opportunity!"
"..."
Jiang Ge listened to Cao Bangguo telling him many things.
He knew that everything Cao Bangguo said was right, and he never denied his teacher Cao Bangguo's acumen for the film market.
But Jiang Ge silently turned over the script of "The Righteous Man". As he read it, he felt more and more that this work was a groveling import.
The content of "The Righteous Man" is very simple. It is the story of a young man who defeats his father and saves the world for the sake of justice in his heart...
But the boy's father is a character that is difficult to accept. This character is called "Fu Manchu" and was once used to describe the Chinese people.
And if these simple plots are carefully considered, Jiang Ge feels more and more that the "Chinese martial arts" in this movie seems to be just a gimmick...
Why become stronger and go to America?
Isn't this a subtle hint that the United States is the ideal country that the Chinese people admire and long for?
"I want to film "Painted Skin"."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"I want to make "Painted Skin", a magical movie with oriental colors..."
Jiang Ge raised his head and took out his script under Cao Bangguo's disbelieving gaze.
Cao Bangguo took the script and read it silently.
Jiang Ge felt uneasy.
This is the first time since he graduated that he has not followed the direction Cao Bangguo set for him.
After a long time, the imaginary thunderous rage did not appear...
Cao Bangguo just put the script on the table.
"This script is good, but I think we should film "The Righteous Man" first. What do you think?"
"..."
Django said nothing, silence is the best protest.
"Then I'll find another person to shoot "The Righteous Man"... You can budget for "Painted Skin" and see how much it will cost..."
Cao Bangguo looked at Jiang Ge's appearance and was not angry, he just smiled.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door in the office.
Then the door opened.
When he saw the person coming, Jiang Ge shrank and his teeth almost clenched together.
Zhao Sicheng!
Then, behind Zhao Sicheng, there was another young man with a smile on his face.
"It's better to dissolve enemies than to make enemies. I originally wanted Director Zhao to help you film the film as a behind-the-scenes director. The signature and box office honors are all yours..."
……………………
"Young Master Wang, you bowed your head too early. You have always been unruly and unruly, but you were frightened by a small Xingyang Cinema."
"I wasn't scared, I just went with the flow..."
"Oh! Okay, it's us who are stubborn and can't keep up with you young people... Lao Wang will hand over Wanda Cinema to you, I'm convinced..."
"..."
September 5th.
Premiere day of "Men in Black."
This is a movie written by Zhou Yang and starring Hollywood director Chelsea.
Wang Sikai came to his own Wanda Cinemas early, waiting for the release of "Men in Black".
During this period, he received a call from Xu Zhongqiang, the CEO of Meikai Rui Cinemas.
On the phone, Xu Zhongqiang, as an elder, sneered at Wang Sikai...
The unruly Wang Sikai, who was blaming people online and facing the cynicism of his seniors, naturally hung up the phone without saying a word.
Not long after, his father Lao Wang called him.
On the phone, his father told him seriously that the relationship between theater chains should not be a competition, but a win-win cooperation. He also criticized Wang Sikai on the phone for being too individualistic.
He also reminded him that "Xingyang" theater chain came into this circle just to get a piece of this cake. "Counterattack" is Zhou Yang's declaration of war. It is really unwise to bow to Zhou Yang because of the slightest disturbance, and it damages the collective.
Interests.
Wang Sikai was tired of hearing this.
"But this is a general trend... The movie "Counterattack" has been released for three days. Under the siege of "Superman 2" and "Infernal Affairs", the total box office can still exceed 70 million, which itself can explain a lot of things...
..." This is how he responded to Lao Wang.
"One "Spider-Man" can reveal his true colors. A great director like Cao Bangguo can't support "Roboman" with the help of him. Do you really think he can fight in superhero movies by himself? As long as one movie fails
, tens of thousands of capital will surround him like ants and bite him to death... If you bet everything on him, isn't this equivalent to letting him strangle us by the throat with his works?"
"But since his debut, he has made so many movies, but none of them has failed... What if he succeeds?"
"You have forgotten that Zhou Yang is just a director, and his works cannot represent Chinese cinema..."
"Then tell me, how many movies can China produce? How many directors can really stand up?"
"Unless he can make a hit movie in the future, he won't be able to support a Xingyang Cinema chain with his works alone."
"What if he has a lot of hits?"
"..."
The gap between Wang Sikai and his father Lao Wang seems to be getting stronger and stronger.
As the capital of the older generation, Lao Wang focuses on his own management and manages the theater capital like an iron barrel, rejecting any external capital.
In fact, faced with the premiere authorization of "Counterattack", Lao Wang was extremely disgusted. Subtly, he wanted to join forces with other theaters to "block" Zhou Yang's works, cutting off Zhou Yang's theater channels.
Zhou Yang will definitely find it difficult to move forward.
How can I get my works to go to theaters?
But Wang Sikai thought completely differently...
He seemed to see that the trend of the times was rolling forward, and Zhou Yang was absolutely unavoidable in this trend.
More than two hours later.
Wang Sikai walked out of the theater.
After hearing waves of admiration and the endless aftertaste expressions of movie fans...
He knew that those theaters that did not seek cooperation with Zhou Yang would most likely regret it!
damn it!
"Men in Black" is another world-class movie with the potential to be a hit!
Just when Wang Sikai was feeling emotional, his phone rang.
The call was made by the assistant.
"Mr. Wang, James Bunter's "Jaws" has been introduced to China. What Hua Xing means is that the premiere of "Jaws" will still be held in Xingyang, but we at Wanda will premiere it simultaneously and in real time!"
"Have you seen the samples of 'Jaws'?"
"Not yet, it's very confidential!"
"I know, what's the reaction from other theaters?"
"It's crazy! After all, this is James Bunter's work, but Zhou Yang also holds the premiere authorization for this movie. Mr. Wang, you made the right bet!"