Chapter 186 The Chinese Special Forces Battle the Nine-Nation Allied Forces
"What kind of movie is "Stubborn Carrot"? It was also produced by Li Qian? Why haven't you heard of it?"
"Huang Bo probably acted in it. I know about this film and have paid attention to it, but I didn't expect that it was produced by Li Qian."
"It's still a comedy. There's another movie to watch during the summer vacation. I hope it's not as bad as "Nightclub"!"
"Li Qian is still awesome. Although he only makes one movie a year, he also supervises and produces several movies."
"The name "Stubborn Carrot" seems a bit unreliable. Could it be that like "Crazy Stone", this carrot is a treasure?"
"The comedy played by Huang Bo and produced by Li Qian should be reliable. The three films produced by Li Qian are all very good and worth watching."
...
The three films produced by Li Qian, "Jaws: The Revenge", "127 Hours" and "Nightclub", were all hits at the box office and word of mouth.
Even though the box office of "127 Hours" was only over 30 million, compared with the production cost of 1 million, it is not an exaggeration to say that it was a hit.
Credibility and appeal are accumulated through successful films. When your films become hits, the audience will unconditionally believe in you.
Soon, Bernard's Weibo immediately attracted many netizens' comments.
Starring Huang Bo + Comedy + Produced by Li Qian, everyone is optimistic about it.
Li Qian has just announced a new film on Weibo. In addition, Weibo itself is backed by Xinlang and has a large number of users. Major companies are also paying attention to this new online platform.
I saw that a small-budget movie that no one knew about had attracted so much attention from netizens because Li Qian had the name of producer, and the bosses of various companies were also jealous.
This simply directly increases the attention of the movie by several levels, and the effect is more effective than millions of promotional dollars.
As an investor and distributor of the film, Yu Dong is also very satisfied with his publicity strategy and smiles quite contentedly.
"Look, isn't this enough? Regardless of whether he agrees or not, it is just a disguised promotion of the movie. Millions of promotional expenses will be saved."
It doesn't matter if you don't want to cooperate with the publicity. It's not the same. You just need to write his name, including the two characters Li Qian, that's enough.
"Dong Yu, isn't it good for us to do this?"
Zhang Hao, who is in charge of publicity, is still a little worried. After all, Li Qian has made it clear that he does not want to participate in publicity, so he is using Li Qian's reputation for publicity without even giving a notice.
"What's this?"
Yu Dong disagreed, waving his hands and saying, "He is also an investor in this movie, and we didn't let him contribute. We just used his name for a while. In the end, he is not the one who benefits."
Having said that, to be precise, Li Qian is still the largest investor in this movie.
Bernard invested 2 million, Modu Wenguang invested 500,000, and the remaining 2.5 million were all invested by Li Qian, but the person in charge was Bernard, who was the first to participate.
In the entertainment industry, this kind of use of other people's fame for publicity is very common. Usually, if it has no impact on others, they will turn a blind eye.
It's just borrowing Li Qian's name, and it doesn't cause any loss to him. On the contrary, Li Qian also has a share in the movie's success, so Yu Dong doesn't think there is any problem.
However, not long after, Li Qian posted on Weibo that he was not the producer of "Stubborn Carrot", which immediately made some fans who paid attention to the movie dumbfounded.
"What's the situation? Is it supervised by Li Qian?"
"Oh no, it's so shameless, using Li Qian's name to promote money fraud!"
"You are crazy about money. Why don't you write Li Qian, Zhang Yimou, and Ma Xiaogang as co-producers?"
"Is it so shameless to use someone else's name to promote it? Did you pay me?"
...
Netizens are still very jealous. There is definitely no need for Li Qian to deny this kind of thing, then the facts are very clear.
Looking at the abusive comments on Weibo, Yu Dong was also a little confused.
This Li Qian has a very bad temper, but he just borrowed his name and didn't lose anything. Is it necessary to be so direct and not communicate at all?
There was a lot of scolding below. It is estimated that the good media will also be treasured. Zhang Hao was anxious and quickly asked for permission to delete the difficult Weibo.
"Delete it, explain the situation, and say that the staff at the bottom made a mistake. Li Qian is just an investor, not a producer."
Yu Dong said helplessly that he couldn't shamelessly give Li Qian'an the title of producer at this time.
However, even so, netizens still did not stop criticizing. What is the difference between this and temporary workers taking the blame?
Swearing is the favorite thing among netizens.
The situation has changed so quickly that a movie that originally had huge box office potential has become a source of criticism on Weibo.
Yu Dong couldn't understand why Li Qian did this instead of investing in the movie.
However, this obviously doesn't give him face.
Then let’s see the real chapter during the Lunar New Year!
This year, two blockbuster movies will be released by Bernard, "October Siege" and "Mulan" for the New Year. The investment in the former is as high as 200 million, and a large number of stars will star in it.
Yu Dong still has enough confidence in "October Siege". Even though Zhang Yimou's new film is scheduled for the Lunar New Year, he has not thought about changing the schedule.
Although the investment in "Mulan" is less than 100 million, last year's "Painted Skin" starring Zhao Wei and Chen Kun sold well over 200 million, which can definitely support a blockbuster.
In addition, Hua Mulan is a well-known character to the audience, so there is no need to worry about her popularity, and Yu Dong has high hopes for her.
"By the way, is the film "Cohabitation in Time and Space" that Li Qian previously produced also scheduled for the Lunar New Year?" Yu Dong asked Zhang Hao.
"I don't know, but it's been half a month since filming started, so it should be on the Lunar New Year schedule," Zhang Hao replied.
Yu Dong nodded. "October Siege" will be released in December and "Mulan" will be released in November. Yu Dong is very ambitious for this year's Lunar New Year film.
It doesn't matter if "Cohabitation in Time and Space" doesn't come in November. If it comes, let Li Qian see it. Relying on his own fame alone is ultimately limited and cannot be compared with the big productions of big companies.
Otherwise, if he makes one movie a year and supervises two or three more movies, wouldn't it mean that all the good time slots throughout the year are taken up by him?
...
"Stubborn Carrot" became a farce because Bernard took it upon himself to use Li Qian's name to promote it.
Although it only lasted more than half a day, Xinlang was eager to have more topics on Weibo and reported the matter one after another on Xinlang News.
It was a joke, which had some impact on the film's reputation, and also allowed Huang Zhongjun and Wang Changtian to watch the scene.
Li Qian didn't catch him and let him go. He was easy to talk to. He didn't use his own banner and just smashed his sign.
Now that "Perfect World" has been announced to the public, Wu Jing's "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" script has not yet been released, and Xu Zheng has to finish his busy work for a while before he can start production on "The Journey", so he has nothing to do.
Continue to concentrate on writing your own storyboards.
However, within a few days, "Transformers 2" was released on the 24th, which shocked the entire film industry.
33 million on the first day and 161 million in the first five days.
This sequel to the 2007 Hollywood blockbuster that earned RMB 280 million, its box office results dumbfounded all filmmakers.
This data directly broke all the current first-day, single-day, and first-week box office records.
It’s not even a little bit over the top, jumping directly from 27 million on the first day of “Red Cliff” to 33 million.
Moreover, it received 160 million in 5 days, which basically broke the box office record of "Titanic" in the history of mainland movies.
Another 130 million was taken in the second week, and 291 million was obtained in 11 days, which is simply appalling.
In the third week, it still had a box office of 70 million, and the trend is as steady as a dog. The 361 million has already surpassed the box office record in mainland film history set by "Titanic".
...
In mid-July, "Perfect World" has started shooting in Yundian. The information about the new film has been announced on Weibo before. Li Qian didn't even hold a press conference. He just took some photos after the opening ceremony and uploaded it to Weibo.
Go up.
It's quite convenient and saves trouble. Anyway, the purpose has been achieved, which is to announce that the filming of the movie has started and warm up.
As soon as I started filming today, I learned that "Transformers 2" broke the box office record of "Titanic", which made Li Qian sigh.
"I didn't expect that 11 years later, it would still be a Hollywood blockbuster that broke the record."
Executive director Fumakuno said seriously, "There is still a big gap between domestic films and Hollywood, and this is inevitable."
There is indeed a big gap. After all, the history of Hollywood movies is how many years ago, and China has just entered the era of commercial movies.
However, Xu Zheng has a different view, "Actually, this is only one aspect."
This is one aspect, but there must be another aspect.
Wen Muye asked curiously, "Teacher Xu, what are you talking about?"
"It's also a matter of the audience's concept of watching movies. Except for a few directors like Director Li, they don't have much trust in the films of other directors. Instead, they have a blind worship of Hollywood blockbusters. Any Hollywood blockbuster can sell
High box office." Xu Zheng said.
"This is also one aspect."
Li Qian nodded, "These Hollywood movies that can be released in China are selected from hundreds of movies. This is a great advantage. Audiences cannot see those bad movies in the cinema, so they will naturally think of Hollywood."
The movie is better."
"However, Brother Zheng, what you said about the audience's distrust of domestic films is actually not distrust. It's just that many films are niche. Even if the film quality is high, the audience is not large, and there are no big directors or superstars. Naturally,
There won’t be many viewers, and for Hollywood blockbusters, the audience is much wider.”
"Director Li, can you tell me in detail?"
Xu Zheng was immediately interested. As a tacky literary young man, he was quite a director and made good movies. He wanted to make the movies he wanted to make and also wanted to make money.
As a director with two consecutive films that have exceeded 100 million, Li Qian's views on the market are undoubtedly worth listening to.
"How should I put it? In fact, if you look at our domestic movies, many of them have good reputations and good box office, but the audience is not wide enough."
Li Qian thought for a while and said, "Let me give you the most obvious example. Action movies are considered a niche in China. As a result, "Ip Man" barely exceeded 100 million at the box office during last year's Lunar New Year period when competition was so fierce. What do you think is the best?
What is the main reason, or what is the most important factor in the success of this movie?"
The question was posed to them, and both of them were deep in thought.
They really haven't thought about this problem. After all, they care more about "Moon", "If You Are the One" and "Mei Lanfang" than this action movie.
Xu Zheng thought about it for a while, and suddenly an idea flashed, "The character Ip Man is different from the male protagonists of many domestic action movies. He is no longer the kind of rough guy who fights and kills. He is a martial arts master, gentle and gentle.
He has the demeanor of a master, and his style is on a higher level, a bit like Jet Li's Once Upon a Time in China."
"That counts for a bit."
Li Qian nodded and looked at Wen Muye again.
Wen Muye first expressed his agreement with what Xu Zheng said, and then expressed his own thoughts, "I think "Ip Man" is not a simple action movie. The core of this movie is not the fighting scenes, but focuses on telling stories.
, talk about people.
Director Ye Weixin has established an image of a good man for Ip Man. Most of the time, Ip Man is at the edge of the picture, neither arrogant nor deliberately prominent, making people feel calm and gentle, especially Jin Shanzhao, who is in sharp contrast.
Most of his shots are in motion, with big ups and downs, and rapid pushes and pulls, clearly showing his violent and rude character, while Ip Man is the opposite.
There is also the translator Li Zhao, who seemed like a traitor at first, but slowly he discovered that he had been helping Ip Man and the people. If he hadn't changed some of Ip Man's words when translating, Ip Wen might have died in the process.
I was ridiculed by Japanese and Japanese people."
Wen Muye analyzed the main characters and the overall narrative in the movie, but he still didn't get to the core part.
Li Qian smiled and said, "What you are talking about is a breakthrough in the action movie "Ip Man", but the core thing is actually very simple. This is an anti-Japanese movie. Whether it is the bandits looking for Jinshan or the Japanese,
Li Zhao, who works as a translator, fights these people who appear to be bad guys, but it is the hero Ip Man who fights them. In the end, the people they deal with are all Japanese. To put it bluntly, this movie stirs up the patriotic feelings in our hearts."
The two looked at each other in confusion. When "Ip Man" was released, the words "patriotism" frequently appeared in the news and in the mouths of professional film critics.
But as professional filmmakers, even if they have never directed a movie, they have never attributed the success of a movie to such a simple four words. It is too tacky.
Film narrative, character creation, camera control... these are what they study.
Li Qian also understood their thoughts, and he continued, "China does not seem to pay attention to emotions in movies, but in Hollywood, as long as it is a real commercial movie, no matter what type, most of them will have an emotional main line.
Like the disaster movie "The Day After Tomorrow", the hero's son goes to New York to find his girlfriend alone in the face of a natural disaster. The hero also overcomes many dangers and goes to New York to save his son. The goal in this line is to save his relatives.
"Taken" is an action movie, and the whole theme is a father saving his daughter, while "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is an adventure movie, and the adventure team is also two families."
Hollywood has studied movies thoroughly and knows what best attracts and resonates with audiences.
"Family, love, friendship, patriotism, every emotion that can resonate with the audience, as long as it is done well, can make the audience pay for the movie. Jet Li's "Fearless" sold more than 100 million, and Jackie Chan's
"Baby Project" and "The Myth" have never been able to break through the 100 million mark. I don't say absolutely, but "Fearless" can break through 100 million, which has something to do with the core theme of the movie."
Although this argument is different from what I have heard before, if you think about it carefully, "Frequency of Life and Death" is about the relationship between father and son. The most touching thing about "Moon" is the relationship between two identical clones, which is better than the relationship between biological brothers.
"But Director Li, "A Perfect World" doesn't have these factors?" Wen Muye couldn't help but ask.
Li Qian smiled and said, "Who says it's not true? The relationship between the characters played by Zhang Hanyu and Wu Lei is similar to that of father and son. This is the core of this movie."
"But it's not that easy to write such a good script, right?" Xu Zheng said. He had been revising the script of "People on the Road" before, making minor repairs. After listening to Li Qian's words, he seemed to grasp it.
What's the point.
"It doesn't mean it has to be complicated, but has more connotations and depth. Wu Jing is now preparing a new movie, which is also an action movie. His script should be out soon. I will give it to you when the time comes. It is simple and straightforward.
But it’s also very attractive.”
Wu Jing?
They both knew that Li Qian was looking for Wu Jing to make a movie, but...
It's not that they look down on Wu Jing or anything, it's just that Wu Jing has never studied directing and is just an action actor. Even if he had already worked as a director, "Wolf Fang" was just a simple action movie.
I really can't believe that Wu Jing can write a script that is full of emotion and captures the hearts of the audience.
"Director Li."
Talking about Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived and while they were chatting, Wu Jing suddenly appeared on the set and walked over quickly.
"Lao Xu, Xiao Wen."
After greeting Xu Zheng and Wen Muye, Wu Jing happily took out a folder from his bag and handed it to Li Qian.
"Director Li, I have completed the script. Please take a look at it."
From Beijing to Yunnan, it spanned more than half of the country. Even though he was exhausted physically and mentally, Wu Jing still looked excited. He just waited for Li Qian to nod, and preparations for the film "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" could begin.
Wu Jing couldn't contain his excitement when he thought that his second movie had the potential to be a box office hit.
The outline and general plot of the script were given by Li Qian. He had already thought about the content of the script, so he first let Xu Zheng and Wen Muye read it, and then asked the life producer to bring some food and drinks.
"Brother Jing, please take a rest first."
Wu Jing was also tired. It was summer again. He unscrewed the bottle cap and drank a whole bottle of water in one sip, looking forward to their comments on the script.
Li Qian just spoke highly of this script, and Xu Zheng and Wen Muye were also very curious, so they got together to read it.
After a long time, they put down the script, looked at each other, and smiled bitterly.
It was Xu Zheng who couldn't help but speak first, "Is this the story of China's retired special forces fighting against the nine-nation coalition..."