The sky is a bit gloomy today, but it does not prevent traffic jams on the ever-flowing highway.
Chu Xuan drove the car and slowly followed the vehicle in front of him. Liu Yifei sat on the passenger seat and tilted her head to look at the scenery outside the window.
However, Liu Yifei's eyes were a little dazed, and she was obviously not looking at the scenery, but her thoughts were wandering.
"I'm thinking wildly again."
A voice floated over, Liu Yifei gradually came back to her senses, turned her head and looked at Chu Xuan, smiling.
The scene she just filmed really left her with an unavoidable mood. Once she calmed down, she would think about something for no reason.
She clearly knew that she would resolve the matter with Chu Xuan, but before the matter was resolved, she would always have intermittent worries in her heart.
She shook her head to disperse all the distracting thoughts, and turned her head to look at Chu Xuan, her eyes filled with softness. Just looking at him like this, seeing Chu Xuan made her feel at ease every time she felt uneasy.
Chu Xuan turned his head and looked at her. Seeing Liu Yifei looking at him with deep love, he turned back and continued to look at the road with a gentle smile on his lips.
"You were not like this before, why are you thinking about all these things now?" he said.
Liu Yifei pursed her lips and said playfully: "Everyone is growing up. When faced with things that can affect me, of course I have to think about it."
Chu Xuan raised his lips slightly, turned the steering wheel and drove the car into Donglin Villa. He still remembered that two years ago when he was in the stage of first love, Liu Yifei was really innocent at that time, thinking about nothing and not considering anything.
But as Liu Yifei said, people are growing, and as they grow, they begin to think about some things. This is normal, and it is also a stage that life must go through.
When she got home, Liu Xiaoli had already prepared dinner.
As the family of three ate, Liu Xiaoli looked at her daughter and said, "I'll celebrate your birthday the day after tomorrow at home. How about calling Changchang and Sister Hua over to celebrate your birthday?"
Liu Yifei was startled, then glanced at Chu Xuan, then at her mother, then she reacted and said happily: "Yes, the day after tomorrow is August 25th, my 19th birthday!"
Chu Xuan smiled. He had communicated with his mother-in-law a few days ago. Since he and Liu Yifei had to film a movie but happened to be in the capital, Sister Hua and her friends were invited to celebrate Liu Yifei's birthday this year.
Suddenly hearing that the day after tomorrow was her birthday, Liu Yifei seemed a little excited, but she said: "Why don't you go outside to celebrate it? Mom, it's very tiring for you to cook alone."
"Why are you going outside?" Liu Xiaoli shook her head and said, "I couldn't help it before, but now I'm at home. Mom has time and will cook a good meal for you the day after tomorrow."
Cooking a big meal is very tiring, but after hearing what her mother said, Liu Yifei stopped talking.
After the meal, the family of three watched TV for a while. Since they had to attend a film festival tomorrow, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei went back to their room to rest first.
…
Beijing Film and Art Festival is a film and art festival organized by Beijing Film Academy and CCTV.
School leaders and TV station leaders serve as the organizing committee to judge the screened and shortlisted films.
This art festival is relatively niche, incomparable to the Golden Rooster, Golden Horse, and Golden Statue, and it has not yet developed into the highly influential Beijing International Film and Art Festival.
However, Beijing Film Academy and CCTV still have great influence in the country, and they also have extensive network resources in various aspects.
At this point, perhaps the audience does not know about this art festival, but many domestic professionals and filmmakers are more concerned about this art festival.
At this stage, many new directors' works, including short films by sixth-generation directors such as Jia Zhangke, have often come to this film festival to screen their works in recent years.
Today, August 24, is the launch day of this year’s Beijing Film and Art Festival, and it is also the first day of the opening ceremony.
Under Wang Jinhua's lobbying and under the review of the organizer, Bright Times Cinema was honored to be the venue for this Beijing Film and Art Festival.
Brilliant Era, a super-large theater with more than a dozen halls and more than 3,000 seats, is not the largest in the country, but its advanced decoration design and novel internal layout are currently unique in the country. For such a movie
For the festival, the quality is definitely enough, and even exceeds some standards.
Brilliant Times Cinema needs to use the film festival to expand its reputation, and the film festival needs this luxurious cinema to improve its quality. Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei are both members of Brilliant Times and outstanding students of Beijing Film Academy. The cooperation between the two hit it off.
The sun was shining, and a long red carpet was spread in front of the cinema. A car stopped, and the guests stepped onto the red carpet one by one and walked up the steps of the cinema. There were filmmakers, directors, and film producers.
There are also various movie stars, including Cheng Long and Zhang Ziyi.
It stands to reason that some big directors and superstars may look down on such a niche film festival, but some people are giving face to the Beijing Film Academy, and some are giving face to the Brilliant Era. This kind of humaneness and sophistication will last long in the entertainment industry.
decline.
The cinema is located in the business district, and pedestrians passing by are watching curiously.
There were security tapes held by bodyguards on both sides of the red carpet. There were not many media reporters, but the spotlights were flashing frequently.
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei got out of the car. One was wearing a black suit and the other was wearing a white dress. They walked gracefully on the red carpet, waved to the camera and the onlookers, and walked into the theater.
"Sister Hua."
"Now that you're here, I won't entertain you at my place. You can go and enjoy yourself."
Many big directors and producers came to the film festival, and since it was the home of the Brilliant Times Cinema, Wang Jinhua also chatted with these people with the attitude of making friends and expanding her network.
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei found the seats with their names on them, and Chenglong happened to be next to them. They met the big brother, and they were quite happy.
"Xuan Zai, Qian Qian."
"Brother."
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei smiled and sat down side by side.
Chenglong patted Chu Xuan's shoulder kindly, then gradually squeezed Chu Xuan's shoulder harder, and said: "Okay, it seems that he usually exercises."
Chu Xuan smiled and said: "I was on the set of Big Brother the year before last. I am so grateful that Big Brother helped me train. I finally got chest muscles and abdominal muscles. I must not slack off. This is the dream of many men."
Liu Yifei showed off her face slightly, Chu Xuan's original figure was already good, and when he was on the set of "New Police Story", after being trained by the teachers of the Chengjia class, Chu Xuan, although he is not an action actor, has the qualities of an action actor.
The figure is also quite rare.
Chenglong smiled broadly and was quite satisfied with the fact that Chu Xuan could maintain his figure. He suddenly hesitated, as if he was thinking about something, and then said after a while: "Xuanzi, Qianqian, I have an idea, let's see if you have any
not interested."
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei were startled. Brother Chenglong has an idea? Is it related to them? Make a movie?
At this moment, the opening ceremony of the Film Art Festival had begun, and the whole place slowly fell silent.
Witnessed by the media holding cameras, leaders such as President Zhang of Beijing Film Academy and Director Shen of CCTV delivered speeches.
After listening for a while, Chenglong lowered his voice and said: "I want to make a movie, action-type, with a main scene, and the investment is a bit large."
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei listened and nodded.
Action movies are closely related to Chenglong. Chenglong also seems to have never made a non-action movie. It only depends on whether it is the main scene or the main plot.
If it's the main scene, then Chenglong Film's investment is indeed a bit large, and an investment of 100 million is a base move.
Chenglong said: "Xuanzi, brother to tell you the truth, maybe you also know that my film performance has been declining in the past few years, so I have been seeking changes."
Chu Xuan nodded. Chenglong's film performance is declining. This is a fact.
Whether it is "New Police Story" or "Myth", it is not a success in terms of box office performance, but if it is not a box office hit, it is a failure for Chenglong.
There is no way, Chenglong's past achievements have been too high. For someone who was paid US$25 million in salary in the 1990s, one can imagine how high the quality of his films and global box office results are.
"But what?" Chenglong said: "The audience is tired of aesthetics, do you understand?"
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei understand that if one of them keeps playing a superhero, the action routines will not change much, and aesthetic fatigue is normal. Just like if the two of them keep playing sadomasochism like "Sword" and "The Condor", the audience will appreciate it sooner or later.
Fatigue, not to mention Chenglong has been playing the same type of role for decades, so it is normal for the audience to be tired.
Chenglong added: "So in the past few years, I have been trying to work with different actors to improve their acting roles. First, I can't move, which is really the main reason. Second, it is to break my previous habit of always focusing on me from beginning to end.
The style of the film, "New Police Story" and "Myth" are like this."
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei nodded. Compared with the style of Chenglong's previous movies, "New Police Story" and "Myth" are indeed different. Chenglong is no longer invincible from beginning to end, and both have joined Chenglong's previous movies.
elements of love.
Chu Xuan even thinks that Cheng Long is not good at emotional dramas about love. Many viewers said that the love in "Myth" is eye-catching and does not have the feeling of acting love. Maybe it is because the age gap between Cheng Long and Jin Heishan is too big, but
In the final analysis, Chenglong was biased by the market and thought that if he added some love in the movie that the audience would like to watch, the quality of the movie would be improved.
However, today's audience does like to watch some bloody things, but they must also be divided.
The superhero, who had been a loner for decades, suddenly fell in love, and the audience obviously didn't buy it.
Chenglong also summarized himself, saying: "Two consecutive movies have added love elements, and both were scolded by the audience. It seems that this road will not work."
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei smiled, but it was difficult to interrupt in such matters, so they didn't say anything.
At this time, the film screening began, and "Hope" was shown as the opening film. It was obviously the operation of Brilliant Times, Beijing Film Academy and CCTV behind it.
But many people present came here just for "Hope" and wanted to see how this science fiction micro-movie, which has become a hit across the country, would be presented on the big screen.
The soundtrack of the movie "Dragon Mark" began to sound, and "Hope" also began to play.
Chenglong looked at the screen, preparing to enjoy the science fiction movie starring the two little guys next to him, and then said: "So I want to make a pure action movie, but it must be different from the past."
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei were also looking at the screen, but they were also listening to Chenglong's speech.
"There has never been an actress as my partner, let alone a male-female actor. I think that if you are my partner and you are a couple, this combination should be attractive," Chenglong said.
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei raised their eyebrows and looked at each other with some interest.
Based on Cheng Long's past movie style, if the two of them and Cheng Long can form a partnership, such a combination does seem a bit attractive.
The audience is tired of watching Cheng Long show off his power by himself, so what if they watch the three of them show off their power together? If some of the original comedy elements in Cheng Long's previous movies are added, it seems a bit interesting.
At this moment, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei also somewhat understood Chenglong's purpose.
Chenglong wanted to make a movie with them for two main reasons. One was because of their popularity, and the other was because of the special nature of them being a superstar couple.
Apart from the two of them, there is no one else but the two of them who are both top-tier celebrity couples in the entertainment industry.
As they expected, Chenglong thought so.
In terms of popularity, he does not lose to anyone, or in other words, few people can match him in terms of popularity.
But the problem is that popularity does not equal box office appeal, as the modest box office results of his two consecutive movies prove this.
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei have not starred in movies as male and female actors yet, so if they star together in a movie with him, with the current high popularity of Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei, the box office results will be okay without the starring movie masterpieces.
expected.
At this moment, a small exclamation came from the scene. Chenglong saw the special effects scene of "Hope" on the big screen. The large special effects of half of the continent tilting to the bottom of the sea were not inferior to Hollywood in Chenglong's eyes.
.
Chenglong knew that this was a movie produced by Brilliant Era Film and Television, which made Chenglong's eyes light up and he felt more confident.
Returning to mainland China from Hollywood can be regarded as the beginning of his decline from the peak.
However, no one wants to come down from the top, and so does he.
In the past few years, I have been seeking change and trying to return to Hollywood, but it has obviously failed.
Having been in Hollywood for many years, he has channels for his films to be released globally, but whether it is "New Police Story" or "Myth", they can only be released in Asia at best, but they are rejected by distributors in North America and Europe.
The main reason is that the box office performance of these two movies in Asia is not satisfactory. Hollywood believes that releasing these two movies is very risky, and they cannot even earn back the publicity and distribution expenses, let alone schedule the films.
Domestic theaters are king, and overseas distributors are the boss. Being rejected by the distributor, Chenglong had no choice but to think about how to improve the box office of his movies in Asia.
As for the entire Asian box office, although the domestic market is still relatively small in the world at the moment, it seems to be the largest country in the entire Asian box office market.
Therefore, instead of talking about improving the box office of movies in Asia, it is better to talk about how to increase the box office of movies in China.
After thinking about it, he had the idea of returning to the pure comedy action movies of the past, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. This would have to add novel elements.
And he found this novel element, namely Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei.
Their popularity has exploded, and their identity as a wonderful couple has attracted the attention of the whole country. This makes these two little guys extremely unique in the entertainment industry, and thus attracted more people's attention.
If he can't fight anymore, he can let Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei fight.
With his popularity, coupled with this novel and extremely popular pairing, he felt that he was already very promising as an actor.
At this time, a small "haha" laughter came from the scene.
Chenglong looked at it and saw Liu Yi Fei kicking Chu Xuan away. He couldn't help but raise his lips. Based on the impression that these two little guys were very affectionate, it was indeed interesting to watch this scene with a filter.
Would it be more interesting if they did a comedy action movie?
Chenglong thought for a while and gained a sense of the image. The special effects on the screen were not inferior to those of Hollywood and strengthened his mind. This proved that the film and television production capabilities of the Brilliant Era were of high standards.
Chenglong couldn't help but said: "If I ask you to be the male and female protagonist together, then I can't just cooperate with the company in Xiangjiang, otherwise this matter will be difficult to handle. You should understand the reason."
When the two people who were immersed in the movie heard Chenglong speak again, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei were stunned for a moment, then nodded.
The Hong Kong film industry is quite exclusive. When Chu Xuan starred in "New Police Story", behind him were Hua Yi Brothers, who often collaborated with Ying Huang, and Liu Yifei. It was because Liu Xiaoli devoted a lot of resources in music that the cooperation between the two parties was finally achieved.
Although Brilliant Era is very popular on the mainland, it is currently not enough to be seen by the established companies in Xiangjiang, especially in movies. If Chenglong really wants to make a movie, and it is controlled by an entertainment company in Xiangjiang, then the two of them
If you want to participate in the show, and it's the male and female lead, it will be very troublesome.
Even if Sister Hua helps, the price paid is definitely quite high.
"Let Yinghuang and Bright Times cooperate to make a joint venture film, and Bright Times will handle the mainland theater chain and post-production, while Yinghuang and I will handle the filming and global release, and the problem will be solved," Chenglong said.
"Global release?" Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei were stunned for a moment.
Chenglong's sudden words made their voices a bit loud, which made the actor friends nearby look over. Perhaps because of the four words "global release", they thought that Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei had some cooperation with Chenglong, and they became suspicious for a moment.
There is also envy.
"Brother, first tell me what movie to make. We are still confused." Chu Xuan couldn't help laughing, and Liu Yifei nodded repeatedly.
"It's an original comedy action film. The three of us fight bad guys. The story line should be simple and not too complicated. This is my initial idea." Chenglong said.
"I'm going to film "The King of Kung Fu" right away. After the filming is completed, I will come to your company to discuss it in detail. As long as you are willing to cooperate with my brother, I think this matter will be fine." Chenglong said again.
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei looked at each other. It turned out that Chenglong's idea was just a preliminary plan, but even so, they were still honored and interested in Chenglong's active invitation.
"It's an honor for us to be able to cooperate with Big Brother. We also happen to have the idea of making a movie. When you are done with your work, please feel free to contact us. We will also hear what super blockbusters you want to make, Big Brother." Chu Xuan smiled and Liu Yifei smiled slightly.
Yan.
"Okay, I've long wanted to work with you again." Chenglong nodded. "Hope" had finished playing. He followed the audience and applauded: "Well done, the audience may only see the special effects.
But your performance is also a plus, especially Sissi, who has made great progress."
Liu Yifei looks beautiful and is very happy with the praise from her seniors.
At this time, a staff member came over and looked at Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei.
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei understood each other and prepared to stand up and said: "Brother, we are going to pick up the harvest. See you later."
Chenglong knew about the movie being screened, and the main creators of it had exclusive interviews. He nodded and said, "Then let's make a tentative agreement first."
"OK." Liu Yifei made an "OK" gesture, then walked out of her seat with Chu Xuan and went backstage to prepare for the interview.
