Magic City, at the head of the Nanpu Bridge, Li Qian stood on the top floor of the Huangpu Building, looking at the Nanpu Bridge across the Huangpu River not far away.
It has been almost a week since I came to Magic City. After discussions with the Magic City Government, Publicity Department, Culture, Transportation and other departments, "I Am Legend" finally received permission from all departments.
Whether at home or abroad, if you want to restrict traffic and film in big cities, you must obtain various permits.
We just got the permission, and we are still seeking approval from the Shanghai Municipal Government for specific situations.
But the rest is simple. Modu Film Group, a subsidiary of Modu Dawenguang, will participate in the investment and distribution of "I Am Legend".
The CEO of the Magic City Film Group, Ren Zhongluan, represented the media and publicity department and accompanied Li Qian to select the location.
After making three movies, Li Qian is also a famous celebrity in China.
Fame is something that cannot be seen or touched, but it is very useful.
As a white man, if you are famous enough, you can also get the government to help you.
Zhang Yimou is currently filming in Yicang, and the media has reported several times about the preferential treatment "Hawthorn Tree Love" received there.
The best hotel in the local county seat, through the coordination of the government, only charges 380 for a deluxe suite that originally cost 1880 a day, and only 80 for a standard room that costs 180 a day.
In order to cooperate with the shooting, the local county also set up a "shooting co-organizer", which is the shooting assistance office.
It was filmed in conjunction with the crew. It is said that for the scene where the heroine is riding on a boat, the filming co-organizer rented a wooden boat all the way from Yichang. However, after filming, it was discovered that the schoolbag she brought with her when she got on the boat was gone when she got off the boat.
This movie is a success. If it’s a fault, I’ll reshoot it.
The next day, the filming co-organizer was asked to transport the boat back from Yicang, 90 kilometers away. It was too troublesome to go back and forth, so the crew asked the filming co-organizer to buy the boat directly.
The filming co-organizer also built a pavilion for the show where the male and female protagonists meet, and a pier, all of which were free of charge.
"Love at the Hawthorn Tree" was also filmed on location in Yiling, Yicang. The district committee also sent a request for instructions on "resolving the reception expenses for the film shooting." According to the reporter's interview, the reception expenses were 230,000.
Moreover, there is also a list of condolences from the local government to express condolences to the crew on the Internet, including two to three hundred kilograms of pork, five to six hundred free-range eggs, and other such foods.
The money is not much, but the attitude of the city and county governments is enough to show how effective Zhang Yimou's fame is.
There is also Brother Chen Kai who builds a city when filming a movie. In order to cooperate with the filming of "The Orphan of Zhao", the Xiangshan Film and Television Base spent a huge amount of money to build a Spring and Autumn and Warring States City.
However, the stage collapsed on the day of the launch conference last month, sending ten reporters to the hospital.
As one of the largest cities in the country, Magic City will not take the initiative to serve the crew like other cities, but Li Qian is still very welcome to come here to shoot.
...
On the top floor of the building, looking around, Li Qian said with some regret, "It's almost enough here, just bomb the Nanpu Bridge. Unfortunately, Yan'an East Road only has a tunnel and no bridge, otherwise it would be a perfect location."
This bridge is because the government is about to close Pudong, closing all tunnels and bridges. A large number of people living in Pudong are swarming to cross the Huangpu River, but there are soldiers at the bridge to test everyone and confirm that they are not infected before they can be allowed to pass.
However, the virus has spread. Not to mention Pudong, the entire city is no longer safe. Some wealthy people and dignitaries have arranged flights to leave.
As a military expert who studies the virus on the front line, the military sent a helicopter to the hero to evacuate his family. As a result, as soon as the helicopter took off, the hero's wife lost control of her symptoms, causing the plane to crash into the Nanpu Bridge.
It also happened to fill in the previous pitfall where the male protagonist took advantage of the privileges of his identity and asked the inspectors to repeat the inspection on his wife who showed that she was in danger.
There was a problem with the first monitoring. I relied on my rights to request another monitoring. This time it was fine, but something happened as soon as I got on the plane.
As a bystander, you will definitely applaud and even curse.
It also illustrates the seriousness of the virus. Even specially developed instruments cannot determine whether you are infected.
It would be great if this bridge was above the Yan'an East Road Tunnel, connecting the Bund and Lujiazui, two iconic areas of the magical city. It would be much better than the Nanpu Bridge in this remote spot.
When checking information, Li Qiandu discovered a funny thing. It seems that when the Nanpu Bridge was built, it was too far away, so many people in the city didn't know that there was another bridge on the Huangpu River.
"Even if there is a bridge, I guess it will be difficult. Even in the middle of the night, it will be difficult to open it to the crew for three nights."
Ren Zhonglun shook his head, Li Qian was too picky.
This is a magic city, not comparable to any other city except Beijing. Those second and third tier cities have directors like Zhang Yimou, Ma Xiaogang, and Li Qian, and it is estimated that a section of the city center will be closed for a week.
But this is the magic city!
Ren Zhonglun helped the crew to get three nights of shooting at the Nanpu Bridge in the early morning hours.
And they also agreed to clear the square around the Oriental Pearl TV Tower for Li Qian to shoot. It's easy to say that the surrounding square is not a must-go place. There are just some tourists. It's not a big deal to open it to the crew in the morning. This is originally owned by Magic City Optoelectronics.
After getting off the Nanpu Building, the group came to Nanjing Road again.
As the most prosperous business district in Shanghai, Li Qian planned to shoot the hero wandering aimlessly in broad daylight here.
The prosperity of the past and the emptiness of today.
"The street closure is certain."
Along the way, Li Qian pointed to both sides of the street and said, "When the time comes, all the flowers, trees, and burned cars will be arranged to create a doomsday scene where nature defeats civilization."
Ren Zhongyan said, "If Nanjing Road is to be closed, the price will be high."
This is a magical city, and it is also the most prosperous business district in the magical city. Even if you make money every day, it is not enough to describe it.
Moreover, the Nanjing Road business district does not need to advertise at all, as it has countless customer flows every day.
Li Qian also knew that he would be happy to move to a small city, but it was different in the magic city.
"It doesn't take much time. During the five-day workday, from early morning to nine o'clock every day, the crew will come to prepare in the early morning. Shooting will start at dawn, finish at nine o'clock, and return to the original state an hour later. Try not to delay
We can also provide a certain amount of compensation to merchants for their business.”
This is more or less the same, but you still need to seek the opinions of the merchants.
Under the leadership of the local street, Li Qian negotiated with various merchants for a whole day, and finally obtained the consent of the merchants, the street, and all departments after paying a price of 2 million.
The price is not high, it can even be said to be very low.
The streets were closed for filming, and no one was allowed in the shot.
It’s not just about these merchants, it involves many aspects. The transportation department alone has to plan in advance the traffic issues at that time.
I stayed in Magic City for another two days, waiting for approval from the government and various departments in other places, and then the mission of this trip was successfully completed.
The price paid was quite high, 2 million yuan was still a small thing, and money was also confiscated from the Oriental Pearl Tower, Nanpu Bridge and other places.
However, this is all included in the investment from the Magic City Film Group, which is equivalent to the support from the Magic City government, plus the 1 million provided by the Magic City Film Group, in exchange for a 10% investment share in "I Am Legend".
The production cost of "I Am Legend" will be approximately 80 million, and more than 50 million will be spent on post-production special effects and rendering.
Rendering is the most expensive. It can be said that how much time and how much money is spent on rendering determines the final effect of the special effects.
In a post-apocalyptic city, the buildings cannot be made older, nor can grass grow on the roads to cope with it. There is no room for flaws on the big screen.
...
Before leaving the capital, Li Qian was entertained ceremoniously by Ren Zhonglun, and many people from the Big Media and the entire media department of the capital came.
However, Li Qian didn’t know anyone, and none of the bosses from Big Media and Media were here.
It's normal not to come. Xue Jian, the boss of Dawenguang, was the deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Municipal Government.
I didn’t know anyone else, and even Ren Zhongyan was seeing them for the first time.
After the business was finished, Li Qian just started gossiping and said, "Director Ren, I heard that the entire Demon City Media Department is going to be merged and split. The Demon Shadow Group should be separated this time, right?"
Ren Zhonglun smiled and said, "Haha, Director Li is also interested in the media industry in Shanghai?"
"I'm just curious. China Media Group was dissolved four years ago. This time I heard that the nine major subsidiaries of China Media Group are going to be reorganized. I guess it will be a big change."
The optoelectronic systems in each province in the country are actually different. There are group systems. For example, Modu Media Group, Xiangnan Optoelectronics Group, Jiangning Optoelectronics Group, and their film groups and TV stations are all under the unified management of the group.
There are also stations like Ludong, which have a total broadcast system. Shanying Group and Ludong TV Station are both under the jurisdiction of the Ludong Radio and Television Station.
There are also Shenzhen towns, which also have different systems, and television and radio are separated.
The General Administration has tried various systems across the country. In 2001, it merged many state-owned enterprises such as CCTV and China Film Group into China Broadcasting Corporation, which has the same production as Magic City.
China Film Group is owned by China Broadcasting Corporation, and Magic Film is owned by China Media Group.
However, China Broadcasting Corporation was disbanded a few years ago, and China Film and Television was under the direct control of Optoelectronics.
With this restructuring of SMG, it is estimated that Moying Group will also be able to become independent, without the need for another leader.
And maybe you can get some benefits. You must know that China Media Group is the largest media group in the country after the dissolution of China Broadcasting Corporation. Its nine subsidiaries, the Oriental Pearl alone, has a market value of up to 44 billion.
At this critical moment, Li Qian suspected that Ren Zhonglun had worked hard for more than a week and was more concerned than Li Qian, just to gain political capital for himself through the sales of "I Am Legend".
For a film group, film business is definitely the main thing.
Li Qian's guess was correct. The entire Modu Media Department was working hard to split up and reorganize. It was imperative for the Moying Group to become independent from China Media. However, Ren Zhonglu also hoped that during the reorganization, the Moying Group could gain more.
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All the joints were opened, Ren Zhongluan seemed very happy, and he had another drink with Li Qian.
"Well, Director Li, I wish our cooperation goes smoothly and the movie is a big hit."
"Thanks to Director Ren for helping me."
"By the way, Director Li, I wonder if you have time to come to the opening ceremony of the Magic City International Film Festival next month."
"No problem. If you still have time a few days before the launch, I will definitely come."
Li Qian readily agreed to this trivial matter, even though he was not interested in the Shanghai Film Festival.
As the only international A-class film festival in the country, it is even higher than the Golden Statue and Golden Horse in terms of level, but its influence is really not good. It is not as lively as the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers, or even the College Student Film Festival.
...
However, a month later, on May 10, the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Film Festival, Li Qian, who originally thought he was here to make soy sauce, turned out to be tired all day long.
In order to enhance the influence of the Magic City Film Festival, the three parties, China Optoelectronics, China Film and Television, organized most of the festival specially and held various meetings non-stop.
In the evening, after a busy day, Li Qian received another call from Han Sanping.
"Okay, Director Han, see you later."
After hanging up the phone, Li Qian was a little confused. Why did Han Sanping ask him to do this?
I am not familiar with Han Sanping and have little contact with him. If I have something to do, I will have the opportunity to talk about it at various meetings during the day.