Chapter 419 'Journey to the West Conquering the Demons' Released
It has been three days since the Golden Globe Awards ended, but the news on the Internet and the voices of netizens have not stopped.
Moreover, officials are also vigorously promoting the fact that "The Truman Show" represents the first time a mainland film has won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Even the news broadcast briefly reported it for a few seconds and made a briefing.
A movie was featured on Xinwen Network twice, and both times were on its own, not together with other movies. The influence is evident.
Logically speaking, the Golden Globe Award is not as valuable or popular as any of the three major European awards.
The Golden Globe Awards is just an awards ceremony, while the top three in Europe are a film festival. Its duration, participating films and filmmakers, global popularity and importance are all higher than those of the Golden Globe Awards.
However, what is rare is precious. It has been won by all three continents in Europe, but it has not won the Ballon d'Or.
More importantly, the Golden Globe Awards have always been called the benchmark for the Oscars, and half of those who have won the Golden Globe Awards have won Oscars.
As a result, "The Truman Show" won a Golden Globe, which was much more exciting than other films winning in Venice and Berlin.
However, it is a phenomenal movie in itself. In the past, those movies that won the Berlin Golden Bear and the Venice Golden Lion did not have a wide domestic audience and were not well-known. Naturally, no one would care if they won the award.
Not only the officials, the media and audiences, but also industry insiders and major directors all have mixed feelings about it.
...
Beijing, Chenguang Courtyard, No. 18 Liulitun, Chaoyang District, Layshi Pictures, a newcomer in the film and television industry, president Zhang Zhaogang and Zhang Yimou signed a director contract.
"Welcome Director Zhang to join Leshi." Zhang Zhao looked excited and shook hands with Zhang Yimou heavily.
After the contract was signed, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had secured the great director Zhang Yimou, which would directly make Lay's Pictures one of the giants.
Even though "The Thirteen Hairpins" failed at the box office, it still managed to get close to 600 million in box office despite such polarized reputation, which is enough proof of Zhang Yimou's ability and box office appeal.
After all, not everyone is Li Qian... Thinking of Li Qian, Zhang Zhao feels a toothache.
"I'll trouble you, Mr. Zhang. Preparations for "Return" are about to begin." Zhang Yimou smiled, but he wasn't too excited.
"Director Zhang, just leave it to me." Zhang Zhao agreed. Although Zhang Yimou's next film will not be a commercial blockbuster, it will also be a better literary film.
Literary films mean that the cost is not that high, and this is what Zhang Yimou is best at.
Make a high-reputation literary film to restore your reputation first, and then make a commercial blockbuster. There is no rush for this moment.
Zhang Zhao added, "And this kind of subject matter can have an impact on the Oscar selection. The Oscars are quite welcoming to movies that span decades of life experience."
Oscar?
"Let's talk about it then." Zhang Yimou shook his head. He won't get any Oscars in the future.
To be precise, at Li Qian's rate of making one movie a year, no other domestic director will have an Oscar quota in the future, unless it is also a phenomenal movie.
Golden Globe Award, I won the Golden Globe Award, and the Oscar statuette is just around the corner. Li Qian is not even 30 years old.
When he thought of this, Zhang Yimou felt a sense of loss.
Ever since "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the Oscar statuette he and countless directors have been pursuing for ten years is about to be won by Li Qian.
Based on his understanding of optoelectronics, as long as Li Qian's movies don't have any plot to smear China, Li Qian will basically take over the Oscar spots in the future.
Just like in the past ten years, he has won nearly half of the Oscars. Except for "The Hawthorn Tree" and "Three Guns", the other films are the only choices for the Oscars, and no one can shake him.
If Li Qian maintains his previous level and his current reputation, basically no one can take away the qualification for the Olympics.
Unless the next talented new director emerges and can replace Li Qian.
But Li Qian is only 30 years old. Judging from his age in this industry, he himself is still a newcomer.
He sighed heavily in his heart. What he had been pursuing for ten years was about to be obtained by a young man. Apart from being happy about mainland movies, Zhang Yimou felt more empty.
If a mainland film wins an Oscar, what should he pursue?
"Why!"
...
Also starting to feel confused was Brother Cheng Kai.
Inspired by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", winning an Oscar was their biggest pursuit in the past ten years.
The movie that was the most controversial at the beginning was "The Promise". Cheng Kai had already won the Palme d'Or, and he was determined to win the Oscar that he had missed with "Farewell My Concubine". The publicity campaign far exceeded that of "Hero".
But when the nominations were announced that year, Brother Cheng Kai was given a heads-up.
It wasn't even nominated. In addition, it failed miserably at the box office and its reputation dropped to freezing point. There was even a bastard who made a "Steamed Bun" movie to humiliate himself.
Under the four blows, Brother Chen Kai, who was initially ashamed, disappointed, and mixed with disappointment, began to retreat from the world and disappeared directly from the public.
Recalling his escape, Brother Cheng Kai still feels a little burning on his face.
More than once, he desperately thought about clearing everyone's doubts about him, but he failed to do so.
But now, Brother Cheng Kai is thinking that he may not have a chance.
Without making entertainment films, it would be impossible to reach Li Qian's box office of more than one billion. If there is no accident, Li Qian will still control the number of candidates for the Olympics.
"Why!"
...
Compared with Zhang Yimou and Cheng Kai who were a little disappointed, Ma Xiaogang of the same era had completely different thoughts.
He also went to the Olympics. "The Night Banquet" is known as the "Hamlet" of the East. It was aimed at Westerners' appetites for overseas copyrights and Oscars.
However, let alone an Oscar nomination, it didn't even get a Golden Globe nomination.
Carefully prepared and tailor-made movies for foreigners were not nominated. This was Li Qian's first time competing for the Olympics and he won the Golden Globe.
Coupled with the fiasco at the Lunar New Year stall, Ma Xiaogang became increasingly unhappy.
"snort!"
Ma Xiaogang looked at the praise for "The Truman Show" and Li Qian all over the Internet, and Ma Xiaogang was filled with indignation and disdain.
If you want to win an Oscar for a comedy film, just dream. How high are you boasting now? If you don’t win the award when the time comes, I’ll see how it ends!
Thinking to himself, Ma Xiaogang unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth slightly, as if he had seen Li Qian's dilemma after "The Truman Show" failed to win an Oscar.
However, when I think about the box office of "1942" which just exceeded 200 million, my face falls again.
...
No matter how lively the outside world is or what others think in their hearts, Li Qian was jet-lagged when he came back. After a short rest, he held a celebration press conference for "The Truman Show".
The box office is more than 1.7 billion. Although there are high-definition pirated copies, it should not be a big problem to break through 1.8 billion.
One hundred million more or one hundred million less doesn't make any difference. Besides, the movie has been released for 40 days.
There is no need to deliberately keep a low profile, that’s just living too carefully.
Besides, there's no way to keep a low profile, because the movie's box office and influence are at stake here.
At the celebration press conference, the most asked questions from reporters were about their confidence in winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
What else can I say? It can’t be said that I don’t have confidence.
Li Qian laughed and said, "It's my first time to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Of course I hope to win. Now that I'm participating, I don't think anyone would just want to accompany me on a trip. In that case, it's better not to sign up."
"Director Li, Oscars have never been about comedy, and "The Truman Show" is a comedy. What aspects of the film do you think can impress the judges?" the reporter asked.
"Actually, "The Truman Show" is essentially a drama, but it tells the story in a black humorous way. Moreover, "The Artist", which won the Oscar for Best Picture last year, also has comedy elements. As for impressing
For the judges, it depends on what the judges saw in the movie." Li Qian said.
"Director Li, after "The Truman Show" won the Oscar, you became the only mainland director to win an Oscar. Even directors Zhang Yimou and Cheng Kai didn't win the Oscar..."
"It's just a nomination so far, and I haven't won an award yet."
Li Qian didn't wait for the reporter to finish, then interrupted him and said with a smile, "However, I still want to thank this journalist friend for helping me with the loan."
loan?
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Loan Oscar, this idea is really novel.
However, no one gave Li Qian any more loans.
The entire press conference was quite satisfactory. Even though the reporters were very excited, Li Qian was very calm, which disappointed them.
Immediately afterwards, seeing that Li Qian refused to follow this trick, reporters asked about Li Qian's plans for a new film.
"There are no plans for a new movie yet. I plan to take a two-month break before making any plans. After all, making a movie is also a brain-consuming task."
"???"
The reporters were stunned. Take a break?
Li Qian actually said he wanted to rest?
In the past, every time a movie was about to be released, Li Qian would almost announce the preparation of a new movie.
But this year, we have to take a break?
...
After the press conference ended, this press conference without much information was hotly discussed by netizens because there was no sign of Li's new film.
"My youth is gone, the movie is about to be released, and Li Qian hasn't prepared a new movie yet?"
"The former fast shooter Li Qian is gone. Li Qian has fallen. As a director, what do you want to do if you don't make movies!"
"Has Li Qian made enough money and has to win an Oscar, so he has no motivation?"
"I guess so. Both movies have a box office of almost 3.5 billion. How much money do they have to make!"
"Then we won't go to the cinema to watch the next movie. After two months, we can watch it online. Anyway, if you become a member, you can watch it for free."
"Yes, if you don't watch it, I won't watch it, and everyone won't watch it. If Li Qian can't make money, why don't he have to work hard to make more movies?"
"Logic genius, let's see if you can wait two or three months."
...
There is nothing Li Qian can do about the resentment of movie fans. He is not an iron man. Even if he stands on the shoulders of giants, it still takes a lot of effort to make a movie.
Besides, there will definitely be a lot of things going on in the company this year, so it’s impossible to ignore them completely.
It's only January, so it's still very early.
After the celebration press conference, Li Qian was extremely busy. The invitations for exclusive interviews kept coming. Various TV stations and media could fully schedule Li Qian's time for the next month.
I can only accept part of it selectively, with exclusive interviews every five or six days, and always give myself a break.
Between resting, interviews, handling company matters, and dealing with optoelectronics, more than half a month has passed.
"The Truman Show" benefited from the Golden Globe Award, and its follow-up popularity has remained high, and it has also won a lot of box office.
As the Spring Festival approaches, "The Truman Show" has successfully exceeded 1.8 billion and is still being released on a small scale. Optoelectronics has specially extended the release time.
Compared with the 1.68 billion of "I'm Not the God of Medicine" last year, the box office growth was not large and could not keep up with the 30% increase in the market.
However, the later trend of "I'm Not the God of Medicine" was so good that it even reversed the trend and attracted many more viewers in their forties and fifties.
After all, the genre of the movie is there, and "I'm Not the God of Medicine" caused too much social sensation.
However, 1.8 billion is enough to meet Li Qian's expectations.
During this period, new films are also being released one after another, but since the Spring Festival is approaching, there are especially many animated films.
Movies such as "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf", "Polulu Ice and Snow Adventure", "Rock Kingdom", "Balala Little Demon Fairy" are flooding the big screen.
However, "Pleasant Goat" is as stable as ever, surpassing 100 million in ten days, while other movies are a bit worse.
The comedy movie "Happy Home" starring Happy Family received 150 million box office in 20 days after its release.
You don't even need to read other people's reviews to know that this is 100% a bad movie, bad enough to compete for the best bad movie of the year.
Shonan Channel and these hosts must have tasted the benefits. They produce a comedy like this every year, but the box office is okay.
The Hollywood blockbuster "Cloud Atlas" starring Zhou Xun was released and grossed 70 million at the box office in four days.
This itself was meant to be a co-production, but Optoelectronics just introduced new regulations last year, which restricted the conditions for co-productions. As a result, it was released as an approved film, and the domestic investors suffered a huge loss.
Not only this one, but most of the movies that tried to take advantage of the co-production route have all failed.
In the second half of January, a total of twenty movies were released. Although the box office was not very popular, the movie market was surprisingly lively.
Until February 7th, the 27th of the Lunar New Year, three days before its release on the first day of the Lunar New Year, "Journey to the West: Conquer the Demons" will hold its premiere ceremony in Beijing.
In one month, the domestic film market once again welcomed a major production directed by a major director.
However, this is still released by Future Pictures.