Chapter 189 Six Movies Landing in the North American Market
It's summer time, and the mainland film market is in full swing.
Needless to say, "Transformers 2", which was released at the end of June, has already topped the box office in mainland film history and is heading towards the 400 million mark.
Last year, "Red Cliff" and "If You Are the One" just raised the box office limit for Chinese-language movies to 300 million. Finally, it is not too different from "Titanic". At least it is already at the same level, but now it has been pulled back.
There's a gap.
"Stubborn Carrot", which was originally highly anticipated by Bernard and caused a small-scale farce, was also released in mid-July, but it only took over 9 million at the box office in the first four days of its opening weekend.
By the end of July, nearly three weeks later, the total box office was only 21 million.
The production cost was 5 million yuan, and the box office was 21 million yuan in more than half a month, which is enough to be considered a success.
However, Yu Dong originally thought of giving the movie the title of Producer Li Qian, and the box office would at least be the same as "Nightclub".
"Nightclub" was produced with a box office of 60 million.
Moreover, Huang Bo has just starred in "Moon" and "Crazy Racing", and his box office appeal is much stronger than Xu Zhengke's.
But now it seems that not to mention 60 million, not even half of it is possible. 25 million is as high as the sky.
It has a very bad reputation and is a typical domestic copycat comedy.
Moreover, it was completely beaten by the two Hollywood blockbusters "Ice Age 3" and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" at the same time. The former had a box office of over 100 million in three weeks after its release, and the latter had a box office of 130 million in 11 days.
Throughout the summer season in July, the mainland market was completely dominated by Hollywood movies.
That is to say, at the end of July, two Hong Kong movies, "Ouchi Secret Agent Rei Ling Dog" and "Eavesdropping", were surprising.
"The Secret Agent" sold 35 million in the first five days in its first week, but this film still took advantage of the fame of Zhou Xingchi's "The Secret Agent", and its reputation was very average.
What’s funny is that in March and April, for some reason, a large number of Hong Kong filmmakers suddenly criticized Zhou Xingchi in the media, including Xiang Tai, former Hong Kong Film Awards chairman Wen Jun, and the director of "The Secret Agent" Wang Jing
Among them, Zhou Xingchi was criticized by reporters in the interview at that time.
While scolding others, I made a movie with a name that was just one word different from someone else’s movie.
There is no one else.
And another dark horse, the police drama "Eavesdropping" starring Louis Koo, Liu Qingyun, and Wu Yanzu, grossed 58 million at the box office in 11 days. For a Hong Kong movie without the participation of superstars, it can be said to be a big hit.
This is a movie that is somewhat different from previous Hong Kong police and gangster movies. There is no drag racing or martial arts action.
Seeing signs of big sales, some media are saying that Hong Kong films are about to usher in a revival.
I don’t know if it will be revived or not, but after the entire new generation of the entertainment industry in Hong Kong was wiped out, two of Louis Koo’s movies became huge hits at the same time, and with the already popular Donnie Yen, the Mesozoic generation in Hong Kong feels like it is on the rise.
...
Even if Li Qian is filming, he will pay attention to the situation of the film industry every once in a while.
"Ordinary domestic movies really don't have much competition against Hollywood blockbusters."
The summer season has entered its final stage, but domestic films have been completely defeated. There is no need for "Transformers 2" to appear. The two films "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Ice Age 3" alone have completely defeated other domestic films.
"Now it seems like any Hollywood blockbuster can easily sell tens of millions at the box office."
Xu Zheng was also filled with emotion. The year before last, "Crazy Stone" had sold 30 million in box office, attracting the attention of the entire film industry. At that time, he thought that was already an amazing figure.
But now we see that many Hollywood blockbusters, which are also non-serial films and have no reputation, can easily sell for more than 30 million, which is a figure that most domestic films can't match.
Li Qian shook his head, "Our country has just been market-oriented for less than ten years. There are few directors who can make commercial films. Many films directed by the older generation will not cater to the audience. There is nothing we can do about it. Take your time.
Our market ultimately belongs to our mainland filmmakers."
"I wonder how much box office "Journey to the Road" will earn by then."
Xu Zheng's movie hasn't even started filming yet, and he's already worried about the box office.
"Once the comedy is finished, we won't have to worry about not having an audience. Let's set a small goal first and get a box office of 50 million yuan."
"Is 50 million still a small goal? What about the big goal?"
Li Qian smiled and said, "One hundred million, you have to pursue something in life."
"..."
My dear, Xu Zheng lost his virginity. He opened his mouth to ask for 100 million, and his small goal was 50 million.
For 50 million, Xu Zheng still expected it. After all, it was his first time as a director, so of course it was inevitable that he would have various expectations.
If you fail once, it will be more realistic.
But even if he thought about it, Xu Zheng never thought about the possibility of breaking 100 million.
Is this the world of a great director? He can make hundreds of millions just by opening his mouth.
...
Time has entered August, and "Perfect World" is still being filmed in an orderly manner.
In the past half month, the scenes have basically been between Zhang Hanyu and Wu Lei.
It is not only the escape life of two people, but also Zhang Hanyu's father's education to Wu Lei, who has been without a father since childhood, is cowardly, hesitant, and follows the rules, but at the same time he is eager to seek some excitement and yearns for the unknown world.
He plays the role of a father all the time and teaches him many principles of life.
While driving on the road, I told him that the future is in front of the car and the past is behind the car. When we stop the car, it is the present. We should enjoy life and the present.
As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately stopped the car and asked Wu Lei what he wanted to do now. No matter what it was, help him realize it.
Eat snacks without restrictions, play games all night long, play as much as you can in the playground, play football with other strange children, break other people's windows and then leave in a rush.
Breaking the shackles taught Wu Lei many things that he could not learn from his mother, including bravery, independence, breaking the rules, and sexual enlightenment education that only his father could do.
Although some things, such as playing games all night, are wrong, life is not like that. You can just be happy with many things.
How boring it would be if the time and quantity were strictly controlled even for playing games or eating snacks occasionally.
Playing games is a real game, eating snacks is a real thing, playing in the amusement park is a real thing, the crew directly booked the venue, even kicking the windows of other people's houses is a real kick, leaving Wu Lei and a few children to play randomly and play freely, what?
How to be happy.
After being beaten twice by Li Qian at the beginning, Wu Lei was extremely happy during this period, and the emotions he displayed naturally fit the role perfectly.
The best performance is to act in your true colors, and there is nothing better than acting in your true colors.
In mid-August, the film had been filming for a month and was halfway through the process. Wu Gang and Deng Chao also joined the cast.
We have been filming scenes of Zhang Hanyu and Wu Lei having fun while escaping, and it’s time for their rivals to come online.
After putting on makeup and changing into police uniforms, this was their first scene as a group, and Li Qian narrated it himself.
"Teacher Wu Gang, Brother Chao, we all have a good understanding of the script and your respective characters. Our scene is on the way to escape. You discuss the hero's past, which can be regarded as giving the audience a side view of the hero's past."
After discussing for a while, Wu Gang made some suggestions, "Director Li, it would be better if his past were told from my mouth. After all, I am a character similar to his father in the movie."
Li Qian said, "Actually, I have thought about it this way, but there are two people in the police who want to save the male protagonist, and the other is a female psychologist who dictates the male protagonist's deeds. Compared with the role of Teacher Wu Gang, she has no contact with the male protagonist.
Then you can express why she also wants to save the hero by telling her past events. After all, they have never met before. With things like this narrated by her and the unique sensibility of women, it will be more convincing.
.”
"After all, in our movie, these are just embellishments. The most important ones are the roles of Zhang Hanyu and Wu Lei. There are no extra scenes for the other person. And as an observer, Teacher Wu Gang, you are also the other person in the story she dictated.
A protagonist, because it was you who sent the male protagonist to the juvenile detention center when he was a child, and his situation at that time was either acceptable or not. As she tells the story of the past, you will feel guilty next to her."
The director is the soul of a movie. Li Qian gave a good explanation, and Wu Gang no longer insisted on his own ideas.
"Then Brother Chao, your role is much simpler. A selfless criminal police captain, with a Sima face throughout the whole process is enough. After all, to be the criminal police captain of a city, you must have seen countless major cases, and seen all kinds of "emotional feelings"
"But the criminal's heart has long been as hard as stone, and the only thing in your eyes is the law." Li Qian briefly explained to Deng Chao what they had discussed before turning on the camera.
"Understood, it's simple." Deng Chao replied confidently.
They are all veteran actors, so there is nothing superfluous to say.
Prepare for a while and start shooting later.
Deng Chao saw Wu Lei sitting aside and reciting his lines, so he walked over and patted him on the head.
Wu Lei turned around and looked at Deng Chao with some confusion.
"Your name is Wu Lei, right?"
"Um."
"Hello, my name is Deng Chao. We are traveling together."
After saying hello and chatting for a few words, Deng Chao walked away because he still had to film.
Wu Lei was left still a little confused, not knowing what Deng Chao wanted to do.
They are not colleagues. Deng Chao played Zhang Hanyu's son, and Wu Lei almost played Zhang Hanyu's son.
When Li Qian approached him to play a guest role, he said that it was a film about the relationship between a father and his son, and he thought he would play Zhang Hanyu's son again.
But he was disappointed. He was not Zhang Hanyu's son, nor was he the protagonist. He was just a cameo with less than five minutes of screen time.
Although he didn't want to play someone else's son, especially a son of the same generation, he could barely accept it if he dedicated himself to art, but Li Qian didn't give him a chance.
The filming started immediately.
Although I have just joined the cast, the scenes are simple and the characters are not complicated. All of them are actors who have been filming for many years, so it went very smoothly.
When the female psychologist talked about how the male protagonist was sent to a juvenile detention center for stealing when he was a child, the detective captain played by Deng Chao immediately said that he learned bad things there, and Wu Gang showed just the right amount of guilt and heartache.
Originally he didn't have to be sent to a juvenile detention center. It was because he couldn't bear the male protagonist being a bad person in society, so he insisted on sending him to a juvenile detention center for reform. He felt that half of the actor's current changes were caused by him.
Not everyone in juvenile detention centers and prisons can be reformed and become better.
It's full of criminals. If you stay with a group of criminals, you might become a criminal.
A typical example is the Football Kingdom, whose biggest gangster was born in prison.
A few decades ago, the left-wing movement in their country was in full swing. A large number of guerrillas were arrested and imprisoned. As a result, the criminals and guerrillas in the prisons learned the ability to organize and mobilize. The guerrillas and criminals learned so well that they hit it off immediately.
It has slowly developed into the number one gang in the football kingdom today. They control more people than the government. After all, there are many poor people.
Of course, in our country, the majority of people who come out of prison never commit crimes again, but there are also some who come out and continue to commit crimes.
The male protagonist is like this. His father abandoned his mother when he was 12 years old. His mother died when he was 12 years old. He has no relatives and has been mixed up in society. Most of them have no choice but to become a gangster.
But it cannot be a heinous criminal, otherwise the audience will not have a good impression of this character.
Except for accidentally killing a wanted criminal who broke into his house and wanted to hurt his mother, the other crimes were theft.
Otherwise, the audience will not identify with this character no matter how he is filmed as a vicious murderer.
...
All the actors have joined the cast, and the daily scenes are more diverse. Although it is troublesome, it is not so boring.
On August 20th, Li Qian received a call from Song Ge. His past six films were about to be released in the North American market.
"Moon" and "Jaws: The Revenge" will be released in theaters, and "Frequency of Life and Death", "Sniper Phone Booth", "127 Hours", and "Jaws" will be directly released on TV on demand, DVD, and online platforms.
"Moon" is due to its high domestic box office, 250 million, and Colombia is a dead horse, so it should be watched in theaters.
"Jaws: The Revenge" is the one with the most expensive copyright fee, and there is a huge market for this kind of mature monster commercial film.
The video quality of "Jaws" is of a large standard for the Internet, so it is too reluctant to be released in theaters. However, if sales in DVD, TV, and online channels are good, "Jaws: The Revenge" can also boost the box office if it is released in theaters.