In addition, for the movie adapted from the novel "Terracotta Warriors", Sun Dahai has now quoted a price tag of not less than 10 million Hong Kong dollars for the shooting cost and no less than 12 million Hong Kong dollars for the total investment.
We are all insiders, so this price must be a real investment, not a false price blown out in publicity.
This will also be Hong Kong's first multi-million Hong Kong dollar blockbuster that is completely independently produced without cooperating with Hollywood.
A film with such an investment scale can be regarded as a top-notch production in the current Hong Kong film industry. As the original author and screenwriter, Li Bihua naturally hopes to promote this cooperation.
In the previous life, Fang Tianyi Group, the producer of this movie, was not strong enough. The investment in this movie was claimed to be 5 million Hong Kong dollars. In fact, the full investment was just over 2 million Hong Kong dollars.
As a co-production, most of the actors in the crew are mainlanders, so they don't need much pay at all. When filming on location, the local government and the garrison also gave the crew a lot of help.
They not only provided free accommodation, transportation and other logistical guarantees to the crew, but also provided people and materials, making a great contribution to the filming of the film.
A large number of soldiers served as extras, war horses, various costumes, firearms and other props, as well as real objects such as vintage World War II aircraft, tanks and trucks that appeared in the film. These were all coordinated by the government and the army.
In the 1980s, there were no professional film and television costume and prop companies in China. Without their nearly free assistance, even if the budget of this film was doubled, nothing would be produced.
Sun Dahai believes that after Youlian Agency invested in this movie, the domestic cooperation for this movie will never be less than in the previous life.
Coupled with the sufficient filming funds provided by himself, Sun Dahai has enough confidence to make this film several levels higher than his previous life. Even if it cannot become a classic, it must at least become a popular and popular film.
The investment amount proposed by Sun Dahai is not just about burning money to make money.
The novel "Qin Terracotta Warriors" contains too many factors, including ancient costumes, action, war, fantasy, modernity, love...
The three-part structure makes the time background of this film span from the Qin Dynasty to the Anti-Japanese War period, and finally returns to modern times. The preparation work for such a film is as heavy as preparing three films separately.
How much.
If the novel "Terracotta Warriors" is adapted into a movie script, it will definitely have to be a commercial film. Due to the limited length of a movie, a large number of emotional scenes in the original work will definitely have to be compressed and deleted, and the stunning visual effects in the final film will be
It has become the focus of the movie to attract the audience.
Not only will there be various stunt shots in the film, but the post-production special effects workload is also very heavy. Sun Dahai estimates that Hong Kong may not be able to handle it locally, and will have to be sent to the United States for special effects. Every frame of these shots is
It takes a lot of money to accumulate it.
Therefore, Sun Dahai now makes a sufficient budget to prevent director Cheng Xiaodong and the crew from being unable to use their hands and feet. Lowering quality requirements in order to save money is a slap in the face for billionaire Sun Dahai.
.
Speaking of Cheng Xiaodong, this blockbuster director with an investment of tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars seems to have fainted.
If he had seen the future "Westward Journey", he would definitely be mumbling now: "I just woke up and was walking outside with nothing to do, so I stopped in to listen. You suddenly brought out a movie that cost 10 million Hong Kong dollars to shoot and made me think
Director? My teeth haven’t been brushed yet..."
Zhang Yimou, who had been listening for a long time, thought he understood what Sun Dahai meant by asking him to come with him.
It was simply that Youlian was going to start a new project, and Sun Dahai asked him to come. He probably wanted to direct the film himself, or he might be asked to serve as an assistant director.
Sun Dahai made it clear to Li Bihua from the very beginning that the film adapted from the novel "Terracotta Warriors" was going to be shot in mainland China, so the film would be a co-production.
Sun Dahai asked Li Bihua to pay attention when adapting the film. No matter the film's concept, plot, lines, or props, there must be no political problems, so that the script can pass the review of the mainland.
Anyone who has read this novel knows that many scenes in the novel cannot be completed in a studio, and corresponding locations need to be found.
Especially those big scenes that describe war, whether it is the ancient war that took place in the Qin Dynasty or the anti-Japanese war that took place in modern times, not only require suitable locations, but also a large number of group performances, as well as corresponding costumes, props and scenery.
, which included a large number of horses and World War II vehicles, tanks and aircraft, which was simply not possible in Xiangjiang.
As a result, co-production of this film with mainland China became the only option.
Sun Dahai has a mainland background, so it is unlikely that there will be much of a problem in facilitating this matter. However, the crew is involved in the issue of cooperation with the mainland. With Zhang Yimou stepping in to coordinate, I believe it is a very good choice.
To be honest, Zhang Yimou is now more interested in the operation model of Xiangjiang Film, but not very interested in such noisy commercial films that lack ideological depth.
However, who makes him a contracted artist of Youlian? Moreover, he has a good personal relationship with Sun Dahai. Even if it is free help, as long as Sun Dahai asks, Zhang Yimou will not refuse.
Unexpectedly, Sun Dahai changed the subject. He pointed at Zhang Yimou and asked Li Bihua with a smile: "Do you think Director Zhang's appearance and temperament have many similarities with the male protagonist Meng Tianfang in your novel?"
Hearing what Sun Dahai said, not only Li Bihua immediately looked at Zhang Yimou seriously, but even Cheng Xiaodong also turned to look at Zhang Yimou.
Zhang Yimou was also stunned. He looked at Sun Dahai in confusion. Sun Dahai smiled and nodded at him, saying that there was no need to worry, he knew what he was doing.
Then, he continued to tell Li Bihua: "Director Zhang filmed a movie "Old Well" last year as the male lead, and won the domestic 'Chinese Film Golden Rooster Award' for Best Actor, and the 'Popular Film Hundred Flowers Award' for Best Actor.
Good actor.
The film "Old Well" is currently being exhibited at the Tokyo Film Festival and has been nominated for multiple awards in the main competition section. It has also been enthusiastically received by film critics and local audiences.
It is reported that this film is very likely to win the Best Film Award at the Tokyo Film Festival. At the same time, Director Zhang is very likely to win the Best Actor Award for his wonderful performance in this film.
If this news is finally realized, Director Zhang will be the first actor in China to win the title of Best Actor in an international Class A film festival.
What I say here as ‘China’s No. 1’ does not only refer to mainland China, but also includes filmmakers from Hong Kong and Wanwan.”
Sun Dahai proudly told everyone this inside information.