The movie market is still very busy in January, and it is hard to get a ticket for "Avatar".
Li Qian is still writing his own script. Generally speaking, the script of "I Am Legend" is simple. After all, it is just an actor, so it is not much complicated.
But in addition to some details in Chineseization, cultural differences between China and foreign countries also need to be taken into consideration.
Regardless of whether it is a literary film or a commercial film, every country has its own unique culture.
Even if you can't explain why, this culture will be revealed through various details.
Just for eating, every country, and there are so many countries in Europe, have different habits on the dining table, and the food on the dining table is very different.
Even in each province in the country, this is different.
The Cantonese people put a table of Sichuan food on the table, a big pancake rolled with green onions, and a pot of Northeastern stew. Although it has nothing to do with the plot, it feels inexplicably strange when you look at it.
This is a very insignificant detail and a symbol of culture.
In "Cohabitation in Time and Space", Gu Xiaojiao takes Lu Ming to pretend to be her boyfriend to a banquet. She stuffs the napkin into her collar at the dinner table and is laughed at by her best friend and her boyfriend.
The use of napkins is also a kind of culture. It doesn't matter whether it is correct or not, but it depends on the public's perception.
In the early 19th century, Westerners still tucked napkins into their collars.
As a result, during the Victorian era, there were more and more rules at the dinner table, and napkins began to be put on the lap again.
Culture depends on cognition. Westerners have different ideas from Chinese people. Hollywood blockbusters are very popular. The bottom line is that for a long time, China has continuously accepted Western culture and is more accepting of many behaviors that are different from domestic ones.
Otherwise, classic American dramas like "Friends" and "The Big Bang Theory" would definitely be scolded if they were made domestically with the plots intact.
It is impossible for a promiscuous heroine to be accepted by domestic audiences.
It's okay for men...
Fortunately, there are not many things to pay attention to in "I Am Legend".
The end of the world is nothing more than a reflection on human nature, the release of social violence, the presentation of personal heroism, and the choices of human nature and survival.
Religion doesn’t need to be mentioned. No matter whether it’s good or bad, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t matter. Otherwise, it will have to be reviewed by religious authorities.
The audience won't think about this when watching a movie, but the director must consider that it will affect the audience's viewing experience.
In terms of personal heroism, "I Am Legend" only has one protagonist, which is nothing. There is no complex human expression in the end of the world.
But the most worthy of consideration is the ending. As the two opposites in the movie, humans and zombies, it goes without saying that zombies are villains, but zombies also give birth to wisdom.
Since wisdom is born, we must consider whether there is a reversal in the movie.
At the critical moment, the hero and the zombies died together, leaving the survivors who were found later to take the serum to find the surviving humans.
Still, the hero released the wife of the zombie boss, and the zombie boss retreated with the zombies. Finally, the hero took the serum to find other surviving humans and the government.
The second one is obviously a happy ending, and most commercial films like to use happy endings.
But here it is different. The hero's wife and children had died during the evacuation. If they had not died, he probably would not have stayed in the Magic City alone, but would have gone to find his wife and children.
He has no worries. Supporting him to survive in this deserted city, in addition to the human survival instinct, is his mission as a soldier!
In order to protect the serum and the hope of protecting the entire human race, he died together with the zombies.
He lived gloriously, died great, died well, and died for the entire human race, so he is a legend.
And if there is no sequel to the second ending, it will feel a bit unfinished.
What's more, those zombies, after developing intelligence, have become a huge threat to mankind.
Even though they are originally humans, humans will not allow such a race to exist.
As for why zombies have become intelligent and must be equal to humans, this is something only a fool can think of.
However, the second ending has more connotation. It is not just about the results, but about a new group, transformed from people, with human feelings, wisdom, and strict hierarchy, as if a group has not yet fully
Thoughts on the evolving new humanity.
Of course, there are many darker endings that can be imagined. For example, there are different levels of infection among zombies. The smarter ones are less infected. The heroine is also a mildly infected person. Her appearance is no different from that of humans. She is a zombie boss.
Went undercover.
At a critical moment, he stabbed the male protagonist in the back, and later sneaked into other human gathering places, working together inside and outside to kill all the humans on the earth.
Or when you were undercover, you fell in love with the male protagonist, and finally betrayed the zombie boss and helped the male protagonist kill the zombie boss.
This result can also lead to many endings. For example, the heroine is accidentally bitten, the infection becomes more serious, and she completely becomes a zombie.
Then in order to save her, the male protagonist accidentally became infected and became the new zombie boss.
It's like a reincarnation.
The ending has little impact on the previous plot, so Li Qian left it alone and wrote the script first.
However, I still found a special effects company that I had been working with before and asked them to draw some concept drawings of zombies and go through the photoelectric test first.
After all, domestic movies are strictly prohibited from being bloody and scary, and zombie movies don’t seem to have happened yet.
Of course, it doesn’t mean you can’t take pictures. The standard lies in the hands of photoelectrics. It’s bloody if you say it’s bloody, and it doesn’t matter if it’s not bloody.
In Li Qian's memory, there is a movie about mutants, "City Alert," in which some of the mutants are somewhat close to the zombies in "I Am Legend."
And it doesn't matter whether it's scary or not, what's important is that it can create that kind of atmosphere.
If the zombie image has not been given before, just change it slightly to make it less scary.
...
While working on the script, Li Qian also confirmed his second investment in Grava.
Because this time we need to purchase a large number of ticket machines, and we also have to deal with public relations with theater chains, movie theaters, and several ticketing systems across the country.
After all, it's not just a matter of doing it. If the theater doesn't agree, there's nothing you can do about it, and if the ticketing system provider doesn't agree to access your website, it's all in vain.
It is expected that 100 ticket machines will be gradually put into use this year. First-tier cities will need one in each district, and second-tier cities will need at least two machines in each city.
This was completely unprofitable, so Li Qian gave 5 million for the second investment.
Moreover, Li Qian also got a big business for Grava.
It is now hard to get tickets for IMAX 3D "Avatar". You can't buy tickets a day or two in advance. Ordinary 3D tickets, even on weekdays, are hard to get in the evening, and many of them are bought by scalpers.
Grava had an online ticket booking business before, so Li Qian negotiated with four optoelectronics companies and allowed Grava to obtain the ticketing business of five cinema lines: Pacific, Happy Blue Ocean, Oscar, Silver Star, and Tianhe.
Of course, these are only 3D tickets. Grava still distributes tickets manually, and there are not so many manpower at the moment.
And it’s not all of them. They took a third. They actually cut off some of the tickets themselves and then pretended to be scalpers and sold them at a high price.
There are regulations on ticket prices, and there is generally no problem with increasing prices, but cinemas cannot sell as much as they want. It is impossible to sell two or three hundred.
As for other major theater chains, Li Qian also negotiated with a few and got some 3D tickets.
The main thing is the very few IMAX theaters, which are the focus of attracting users.
However, the price of grava cannot be increased. You can only sell the amount you bought.
Li Qian doesn’t expect Grava to make money now. Word of mouth and users are the real thing.
After the negotiation was completed, one day later, Li Qian posted on Weibo to advertise Grava. Otherwise, not many people would know about this website.
“I would like to recommend a website to everyone. On Grava, you can buy movie tickets online in more than ten cities across the country. You don’t have to queue in the cinema anymore.”
Looking at this extremely simple advertisement, Tong Liya couldn't help but complain.
"Your advertising skills are not good at all. It's a shame that you were in advertising before."
"What matters is who advertises, not how."
Li Qian spread his hands and said, "If we can't negotiate, let me tell you. Are you still worried about queuing up all night to buy tickets? Are you still worried about breaking up with your girlfriend because you can't buy movie tickets... That's the kind of advertising slogan."
"Pfft."
Tong Liya couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Haha, it smells like that. I seem to have heard a similar advertising slogan. It seems to be some kind of health care product."
"Not all unscrupulous advertisements are like this. They seem to have magical powers. You can almost recite them after listening to them once. But this advertisement does not need to be like this. It is difficult to buy tickets for IMAX and 3D of "Avatar" all over the country. It is the audience's favorite
There is a demand for movie tickets, not for me to forcefully sell them."
"That's right. I heard that tickets to the Science and Technology Museum and Huaxing are particularly difficult to get, and which Wanda store in Shijingshan is too far away."
"Living in the Sky" was a hit, and Tong Liya also became a hit. Actors are always busier than directors. From the time the movie was released to now, it hasn't stopped. She hasn't had time to watch "Avatar" yet.
"Don't even think about IMAX3D. You can't get it. If you have time someday, I'll ask Grava to save two tickets with better seats."
"Then the day after tomorrow. I have a magazine shoot tomorrow. I have an appointment with Su Lun in the afternoon. She wants to talk about the new movie with me."
Speaking of the new movie, Tong Liya added, "How about I also act in Brother Fan's "Time Administration"? I think the script is also very good."
So greedy...
Li Qian shook his head, "The two movies are inseparable. How can we get so much time? And you're not suitable either."
"Why am I inappropriate?"
"The heroine of "Time Administration" is similar to a princess. She is abducted by the hero, and then undergoes a series of acts of destruction and robbing the rich to give to the poor. Only in this way can the contrast of this character and the hero's relationship with the poor be better reflected.
A change from the current rules, this character has a cooler appearance and a little rebellious heart."
"Then who do you think is suitable?"
"Well... the casting is Guo Fan's business, why should I worry about it?"