"I went to Xiangjiang with my family when I was 14 years old. The first time I came back was in 1979. I remember when I visited the Beijing Film Studio to shoot "Little Flower", I asked the crew how many shots they would shoot in a day, and they said they would shoot four or five.
The crew asked me back, and they were shocked when I said we shot fifty or sixty shots a day. At that time, when filming movies in the Mainland, whether it was lighting or lens settings, they were still the same old way, which was very outdated.
A movie takes a long time."
With a 37-year-old hairstyle, meticulously combed hair, silver-rimmed glasses, and a beige suit, the "Godfather of Hong Kong Film" Wu Siyuan and "Old Keller" in front of Li Qian is full of style, and he recalled with some nostalgia what he saw when he returned to the mainland.
Li Qian shook his head and said noncommittally, "In the early years, domestic labor costs were very low and film was reluctant to be wasted. It is appropriate to spend more time and waste less film."
The wages in China were so low at that time, and most of the people in the studios received fixed wages. They would rather shoot slower than waste more film.
3:1, and even some forced directors could achieve a 2:1 film-to-film ratio, which was common in that era.
This means that for each shot, there are only two chances of NG on average.
Moreover, it is impossible to see the shooting effect in real time on film. No one knows whether it will pass or not until the samples are developed.
In that case, you can only work slowly and carefully. The film quota given by your superiors is only so much. I would rather work slower and spend more time than waste film.
After all, labor is cheap.
When Li Qian retorted, Wu Siyuan was not angry and remained easy-going. He continued, "Yes, Director Li is right. Mainland movies of that era were very serious. They really regarded movies as an art form."
Taste.
When the mainland film industry was still lagging behind, I knew that the future of Hong Kong films must be in the mainland. Without the mainland market, the development of Hong Kong films would be very limited.
We lacked filming locations. At the end of the martial arts film, we found that high-rise buildings had been built in the suburbs of Xiangjiang, leaving no room for filming. In the Mainland, not only was there a vast film market, but there were also great rivers and mountains of all kinds.
So in 1992, when I was filming "New Dragon Inn", I came to the mainland to find Xiaoxiang Film Studio and collaborated on the filming. At that time, the filming was in the desert area of Dunhuang.
The conditions there were very harsh. When strong winds came, the sky was blocked and the sun was blocked. Everyone had no place to hide, so they had to hold hands and lean against each other, using their backs to block the sand and dust."
As soon as he started talking about it, he kept talking. Li Qian wondered whether all older people like to remember the past, especially in front of young people.
But it’s okay, just listen to the story.
Li Qian listened patiently, and Wu Siyuan became more and more emotional.
"Guess what, a gust of wind passed by, and my mouth and nose were all filled with sand. After the day's shooting, I went back to the simple hotel to take a shower, and it couldn't be cleaned no matter how hard I washed.
Later, after filming, I returned to Xiangjiang. For a long time, some sand would fall out of my body from nowhere. Although the conditions were difficult, the entire crew felt very excited. This desert landscape they had never seen before was an eye-opener for them.
, I never imagined that there is such a place in the world.”
Li Qian nodded. Of course, in the small area of Xiangjiang, you can't see these things.
After sighing with emotion, Wu Siyuan said with a smile, "Actually, many years ago, there was a group of Hong Kong filmmakers who yearned for the mainland. Since the 1990s, I have been committed to promoting the integration of Hong Kong movies and the mainland. At that time, I was the deputy minister of the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television.
Minister Tian asked me for some advanced international experience.
I explained to him one by one how to divide the accounts and how to make most of the box office revenue belong to the film studio. Director Tian immediately agreed: "Okay! Let's do the first trial, starting from your "Once Upon a Time: Part 3: The Lion King"
The fight for hegemony begins."
As a result, this martial arts film co-produced with Beijing Film Studio became the first film in the history of Chinese films to split the box office, which will make a mark in the history of Chinese films!"
Speaking of this, Wu Siyuan's pride was beyond words.
Li Qian felt so self-proclaimed that he wanted to fall asleep.
He then continued to talk about his achievements over the years, including discussing with the chief executive to establish a film bureau.
In 1988, preparations for the director seminar from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and three places began. Under pressure from all sides, the preparations were finally completed four years later. Most of the top directors and actors from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and three places attended.
...
Li Qian couldn't help but wonder if he had come in the wrong place. He had been here for half an hour and had only heard this old man bragging.
Although it is basically true, it cannot be said endlessly.
I have heard before that Wu Siyuan always likes to express himself. He often appeared on the show and said that he discovered Cheng Long. He suggested that Cheng Long open his double eyelids, and he became famous after that.
Li Lianjie, Xu Ke, Liu Dehua, Zhou Xingchi, Zhang Guorong and other people are all in his mouth, they were all discovered by him.
These words have been said countless times, and those who don’t know are probably because they were all praised by Wu Siyuan.
Moreover, after Zhang Guorong passed away, Wu Siyuan often appeared again, thinking that he was a role model to others, gossiping, saying that if Zhang Guorong had more contact with society, he would definitely not jump off the building, and he should not lock himself in the room and only see his own body.
Achievements are easy to be empty. If he can have more contact with society, he will see more miserable people and discover the beauty of life.
This incident caused Zhang Guorong's fans to chase Wu Siyuan and scold him for a long time.
Flamboyant, likes to brag and show off, and likes to take credit for any good thing.
Li Qian finally understood, but he was indeed the first Hong Kong filmmaker to move closer to the mainland. In his early years, he gave up the Hong Kong film market, stopped making films, and returned to the mainland to open a theater.
Finally, when Li Qian was about to fall asleep, Wu Siyuan finally revealed his purpose.
"Director Li, actually I am here this time on behalf of the Hong Kong film industry and want to have in-depth cooperation with you. The Hong Kong film industry should be integrated into the mainland. We have a large number of outstanding directors and behind-the-scenes workers."
cooperate?
Do you still represent the Hong Kong film industry?
Even Li Qian, who was relatively calm, unconsciously opened his eyes wide.
You represent a hammer. Yinghuang has a big grudge against you. Back then, along with Cheng Long, Tan Yonglin, and Zeng Zhiwei, they set up Dongmei Entertainment and wanted to arm-wrestle with the Yinghuang version. Wu Siyuan and Yang Shoucheng were already incompatible.
.
It can’t represent Yang Shou Cheng, it can’t represent Lin Jian Yue, Xiang Huaqiang, and it can’t represent the Hong Kong film industry?
However, Li Qian tolerated bragging.
"Why did Mr. Wu come to me? You should go to Huayang and Bernard for this kind of thing." Li Qian pretended to be surprised.
"I have always had a very good eye for people. Although Director Li's Future Pictures has just been established, it will definitely achieve great things in the future!" Wu Siyuan said quite proudly.
Come on, Li Qian has already thought that Wu Siyuan would say on a certain show a few years later that he had long been optimistic about Li Qian and his company.
If Wu Siyuan hadn't been a real Chinese, Li Qian would have thought he was from Nanbang.
When it came to business, Li Qian didn't talk nonsense. He shook his head and said, "But most people in the Hong Kong film industry don't want to integrate into the mainland. And I heard a while ago that Xiangjiang Film is trying to "find their roots" in a deliberate way.
"De-inlandization" tendency."
Although these Hong Kong filmmakers do not want to see the reality, the market size gap between the two places is too big. Co-productions have given Hong Kong movies vitality, but there are gains and losses. They have lost the market, but they have lost the Hong Kong flavor and a lot of content.
It’s neither fish nor fowl, and Hong Kong audiences don’t want to watch it. There are a group of Hong Kong filmmakers who are unhappy, clamoring about “root-seeking”?
Being exposed by Li Qian, Wu Siyuan was not embarrassed and continued to laugh, "This is just some people's inner imbalance. In the future, they will gradually recognize the reality, and they are only a minority. Most filmmakers are still actively integrating into the mainland."
Marketing."
As he spoke, he began to give examples, "A Xing is one. I talked to him about his new movie "Journey to the West and Conquer the Demons", but it no longer has much of a Hong Kong flavor. The same goes for Chen Kexin. I chatted with him for a while yesterday.
Director Li, you have a great influence on him. Listening to his ideas, I also plan to make a realistic movie about the mainland. This is also an initiative to integrate into the mainland."
"Chen Kexin?" Li Qian smiled.
"What is Director Li laughing at?" Wu Siyuan was a little confused.
Li Qian shook his head, "I can't afford Director Chen. A "October Siege" cost 40 million to build a port city. Zhang Hanyu's face is worth a million. In "Martial Arts"
Jin Chengwu’s straw hat cost US$6,000, not counting the freight from Milijian to western Yunnan.”
There is really no one who spends RMB 40 million to build outdoor scenes. Which major domestic director wants to use outdoor scenes? If he doesn’t cooperate with the local government, he doesn’t have to pay any money at all.
With Chen Kexin and the luxurious lineup of "October Siege", it is not difficult to cooperate with the government and get some support to build a city, but you have to spend your own money to build it.
Chen Deshen was busy working on films for five or six years, and Chen Kexin brought in investment and supervisory duties to build a city for him. However, what was built was not Xiangjiang Central, but more like Guangzhou of that era.
The pillars, iron fences and windows have all changed their shape. The crowded, cluttered and old structures of the Chinese community have also been given a new look. A lot of iconic buildings in Central are gone.
There was another profound meaning in the movie, the meaning of Xiangjiang people's survival in the cracks, and it was gone.
This gap was overcome by Chen Kexin's "This is a commercial movie", which made Chen Deshen stop playing with Chen Kexin.
Jin Chengwu's hat from "Martial Arts" is worth US$6,000. It was flown from Mi Lijian to Tengchong. It is said to be a precious antique, unique in the world.
A straw hat costs $6,000, and God knows what other rare antiques the other props are.
That film alone cost 20 million US dollars to produce, and I don’t know where the money was spent.
Li Qian cannot afford such a spendthrift and prodigal director.
After wasting so much time, Li Qian stopped nagging him and simply spoke directly.
"Mr. Wu, among Xiangjiang directors, most of those who want to integrate into the mainland are just doing it for money. Some of them are a bit ugly. This is no secret in the industry.
There are even some who are cheating, forgetting where the money comes from. After making money from us, they turn around and say nothing nice. Instead, they don’t want to see us well, and target them everywhere.
Of course I welcome and support those who really want to integrate into the mainland market, but the prerequisite is that they understand their own positioning, otherwise, whether they are directors or actors, I will not have the slightest interest in them."
These words made Wu Siyuan look a bit unhappy. Rumor has it that Li Qian didn't have a good impression of the Hong Kong film industry. He and his directors all used mainland actors, and almost no Hong Kong actors were used.
Originally, Wu Siyuan planned to see if Li Qian could give some support to some directors and actors in Hong Kong this time. After all, none of the movies invested by Li Qian was a big hit. It was a great help to both directors and actors.
"Mr. Wu should go to Hua Yang and Bernard. They are in short supply of directors, and it is relatively easy for actors from Xiangjiang to get into their films."
Li Qian smiled, then stood up and planned to leave.
These Xiangjiang directors have such ingrained ideas that they will probably have to wait until the next generation to understand the current situation.
"Director Li, wait a moment." Wu Siyuan called out to Li Qian, "All UME cinemas can join the future cinema chain."