In early April, "Best Friend 2", directed by Wang Jing and starring Leslie Cheung, Leung Ka-fai, Lan Jieying, Mao Shunyun, Lou Languang, and Chen Jialing, officially started shooting.
This movie has attracted a lot of attention from the beginning. Among the leading actors, Leslie Cheung has just become famous for "A Chinese Ghost Story", Liang Jiahui has just returned from mainland China filming "Tongzhi Zhongxing", and Lam Jieying is now even more famous.
It’s a mixed blessing.
(Note: "Tongzhi Zhongxing" is the third "Ci Xi Biography" after "Burning the Old Summer Palace" and "Curtain Curtain". Another time and space has not been filmed. It is now jointly produced by DreamWorks and China Film Co-production Company. Later,
It will be released in the summer after completion.)
After joining DreamWorks, Tony Leung only had a few small guest roles in other films. However, he made two more films in mainland China and was ridiculed as a "red actor" by some Hong Kong media.
With such a cast, it is simply not too eye-catching.
About half a month later, the scandal between Cheng Long and Lan Jieying gradually subsided. This was the result of the joint efforts of Jiahe and DreamWorks.
During the "wine scandal" report, although Jiahe tried his best to clear the air for Cheng Long, in the end many people still believed that Cheng Long was at fault, and there were even rumors that Cheng Long was extremely lecherous.
With Cheng Long's current fame, he doesn't need to rely on hype to be exposed, so this scandal will do him no good at all.
Lan Jieying has more advantages than disadvantages. Due to the long-term ban on TVB, her fame has been almost exhausted. Now she has become famous because she won the Academy Award for Best Newcomer and had an affair with Cheng Long. Then she starred in Wang Jing
The new film also has an ambiguous relationship with Kang Jianfei. As a result, Lan Jieying has been on the headlines of the entertainment edition for half a month, and her exposure has exceeded that of Hong Kong's top actresses.
However, this news spread across the ocean to Japan and Taiwan, and Cheng Long fans there stopped doing it. Taiwan was slightly better, with Japanese Cheng Long fans collectively angrily criticizing Lan Jieying, and some even made overseas phone calls or wrote letters.
They went to Oriental Entertainment Company and claimed that if Lan Jieying and the others were not banned, they would commit suicide in protest.
Unlike the boycott that Lan Jieying received in Japan, Wang Zuxian became an overnight sensation in both Japan and South Korea.
In April, the screening of "A Chinese Ghost Story" in Asia has completely ended, with a total box office in Asia of more than 137 million Hong Kong dollars.
In another time and space. Due to scheduling and schedule issues, "A Chinese Ghost Story" could only do well at the box office in Hong Kong, but it was extremely popular overseas. In addition to Southeast Asian countries, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, "A Chinese Ghost Story" has also been in
It was released in 8 countries including Japan, France, South Korea, Finland and Sweden.
Now DreamWorks' overseas distribution capabilities are even stronger. "A Chinese Ghost Story" was released in Japan immediately following "Shushan" and swept the box office market during the Spring Festival in Japan. With just one film, Wang Zuxian surpassed Lin Qingxia and became Japan's most popular movie.
Foreign actress.
And South Korea is even crazier. Although the Korean box office is far lower than the Japanese box office, Koreans' love for "A Chinese Ghost Story" cannot be described in words.
Wang Zuxian has become the dream lover of many men in South Korea, while Leslie Cheung also ranks first among the most popular foreign male stars in South Korea (Cheng Long ranks third).
Just before the filming of "Best Friend 2" started, Leslie Cheung went to South Korea to appear on a show. When he left the TV station after recording the show, it caused a small-scale commotion.
A film review in Japan's "Movie Weekly" gave "A Chinese Ghost Story" a very high evaluation: "The investment cost of "A Chinese Ghost Story" is one-fifth of "Shushan", and its box office in Japan is four-quarters of "Shushan"
One, but from the perspective of film art, "A Chinese Ghost Story" is more surprising than "Shushan".
"Shushan" excels in special effects, scenes and beautiful scenery. In these aspects, "A Chinese Ghost Story" is much inferior. In terms of storyline, "A Chinese Ghost Story" is also extremely old-fashioned. It is far less exciting than the story of "Shushan".
The essence of "A Chinese Ghost Story" lies in the people and the way it interprets the story:
First of all, let’s talk about people. Director Kang Jianfei has found the best spokesperson for the story, and that is Wang Zuxian. In this film, Xiaoqian, played by Wang Zuxian, captures the hearts of the audience with her amazing beauty. The whole film is filled with a strange and sad feeling.
The romantic and liberal atmosphere. The stunning female ghost Xiaoqian is enough to make any man in the world fall for her, and her unforgettable love with Ning Caichen has become an eternal sentiment in the hearts of the audience;
Secondly, let’s talk about the performance method of this film. "A Chinese Ghost Story" shows a very high level of screenwriting. The rhythm is tense and fast, and the plot is exciting one after another. The development of the plot seems to have stepped on the development node of the audience’s mind and emotions.
In terms of styling design, Xiaoqian is dressed in white as snow, elegant and light, Ning Caichen seems to be dressed like a book boy in the Song Dynasty, and Yan Chixia's style is rough and simple. The soundtrack in the film is the highlight among the highlights. In addition to the moving melody, it is also
It is rich in Chinese classical beauty. It uses deep mixing and reverberation effects to create a sense of space and mystery. In the film, Chinese and Western instruments such as erhu, harpsichord, and flute are mixed. From every detail of the film, we can discover music and sound effects.
It almost perfectly matches the development of the plot, like the piece of music escaping from the woods. The harpsichord is used to represent the roar of the dryad, and the flute is used to show the vigor of the Taoist priest. The two tracks sound in unison, from far to near, as the camera moves.
It changes in real time, giving people the desire to escape from the woods with the Taoist priest soaring into the sky.
Let’s talk about the action scenes. In this film, all the shots of masters fighting were shot from bottom to top, with the cameraman lying on a pre-set slide rail to chase them out one by one. This gave the picture a three-dimensional scroll effect, and the masters’ movements were
The tilt angle of the one-dimensional martial arts scene changes to two-dimensional, and the fast panning tracking shots become three-dimensional, making the entire action scene rich in layers and thrilling. The director used a lot of tilted shots and block-cut editing techniques, and the low-camera
The upward shooting deforms the object, the oblique composition of the lens and the block-cut editing technique make the lens unstable, thereby enhancing the sense of movement and creating a huge momentum and strong visual shock. Overall, "
The action scenes in "A Chinese Ghost Story" are different from traditional Chinese kung fu movies. What they focus on is not the real kung fu of each move, but the deification and illusion of martial arts, using stunts and editing methods to create visual spectacles that go beyond physical conventions and the limits of the human body...
…”
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, which has been in operation for two years, recently listed "Police Story", "Shushan" and "A Chinese Ghost Story" as teaching materials. These three films have become required courses for the directing department of the Academy.
As for Europe and the United States, "A Chinese Ghost Story" will not be released until after the Cannes Film Festival, and I don't know how much box office it can earn.
As the director of "A Chinese Ghost Story", Kang Jianfei's reputation in the Japanese film industry has also reached a higher level. Some people have already respected him as a commercial film master - because Kang Jianfei's movies often sell well in Japan.
This time when he went to Japan to shoot "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", Kang Jianfei was blocked by Japanese reporters at the filming location.
In "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" adapted by Kang Jianfei, the male and female protagonists belong to a multinational killer group, both headquartered in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The male and female protagonists played by Kang Jianfei and Zhong Chuhong accidentally met and met each other while completing an assassination mission in Japan.
In love.
The film was filmed in several countries, and they are all countries and regions where DreamWorks movies have higher box office. Filming in multiple countries can make the film appear international and high-end. Secondly, it also caters to movie fans in these filming locations.
Increase overseas box office.
Of course, shooting in multiple countries also causes the shooting cost to increase exponentially.
After Kang Jianfei's shooting plan was initially formulated, a dedicated person was already responsible for the preparations.
For example, filming in Japan takes about 5 to 7 days. The crew has already reached a sponsorship agreement with the Peninsula Hotel in Tokyo and several businesses in Ginza to provide free venues to the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" crew for filming.
In addition, The Peninsula Tokyo will also provide free meals and accommodation for a week to the Hong Kong staff of the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" crew.
The price Kang Jianfei had to pay for this was to have the Tokyo Peninsula Hotel logo appear for one second in the movie. As for those Ginza merchants, they were much more casual, and just took a few indoor shots. It was completely
It is a friendly cooperation.
The place where Kang Jianfei was besieged by Japanese reporters was in the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel in Tokyo. He was still setting up a plane with Li Yu and Zhong Zhiwen. The reporters who came after hearing the news broke in regardless of the obstruction of the hotel security.
After all, you are filming on someone else's territory. There is no need to offend local reporters, and when the movie is released, these reporters will need to cooperate with the publicity. Kang Jianfei let Li Yu and Zhong Zhiwen continue to work, while he took the more than ten Japanese reporters
He came to a corner of the lobby and said: "Japanese journalist friends are really enthusiastic. I am very happy to be interviewed by you. However, due to the tight shooting time, I hope everyone can understand that I can only answer a few simple questions today."
After several years of studying without any effort, Kang Jianfei's English level is pretty good and he can communicate in basic daily life. However, the English spoken by the Japanese is confusing. Sometimes even the British cannot understand it. In order to avoid misunderstandings,
The embarrassing incident happened, Kang Jianfei still spoke in Chinese, and then the Japanese staff of the crew translated it into Japanese.
A reporter at the front asked first: "Mr. Kang, I heard that you are directing and starring in an urban action film this time. Why don't you ask Lin Qingxia, Li Saifeng or Miss Wang Zuxian to be the heroine?"
Nowadays, Wang Zuxian and Li Saifeng are the most popular Hong Kong actresses in Hong Kong. Lin Qingxia also had many fans in Japan for "The Royal Sisters" a few years ago, but she has been semi-retired in the past two years. She participated in the Kadokawa Films movie last year.
It also didn't sell well, so its popularity has dropped a lot.
Except for Wang Zuxian, Li Saifeng and Lin Qingxia, the Japanese really have no impression of other Hong Kong actresses. The "Best Partner" series also sold well in Japan, but the heroine Zhang Sijia is not very popular in Japan, and few Japanese people
Can call Zhang Aijia's name.
So now Golden Harvest and New Art City are very embarrassed. The Japanese market has unlimited potential for Hong Kong films, but these two companies have never been able to launch actresses who are popular in Japan. In order to take care of the Japanese box office market, Golden Harvest and New Art City only have
There are two options, one is to go to Oriental Entertainment Company to hire Li Saifeng and Wang Zuxian to film a movie, and the other is to hire popular Japanese actresses to go to Hong Kong to be the heroines. The former option is cheaper for Kang Jianfei, while the latter option is good, but it is not popular in Japan
The salary of actresses is too high.
Kang Jianfei took this opportunity to introduce Zhong Chuhong to the Japanese reporter. He called over Zhong Chuhong, who was wearing sexy clothes: "This is Miss Zhong Chuhong, the heroine of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". She is also a popular first-line actress in Hong Kong. As for why we didn't invite Lin Qingxia and the others.
When playing heroines, the answer is simply because they are not suitable for the role."
""A Chinese Ghost Story" is very good, has Mr. Kang ever considered making a sequel?" another reporter asked.
Kang Jianfei nodded and said: "The plan for the sequel is currently under discussion. However, the sequel of "Shu Mountain" has been finalized, and director Xu Ke will officially start filming in the second half of the year."
The reporter's questions began to shift to gossip: "Mr. Kang, there are rumors that Wang Zuxian and Leslie Cheung are in love. Is it true?"
Kang Jianfei smiled and said: "You have to ask the person involved. Okay, time is tight, I will answer five more questions."
