Chapter 394 Cai Yinong's Request
[I have a cold, so I will update twice today, and will resume updating three times tomorrow]
At noon that day.
Xu Kun specially set up a table to welcome Zhao Wenzhuo and Wu Jing, and also accompanied them were Zhang Jin, Yang Junyi, and the big villain Sun Honglei.
When these seven people are together, the good and evil in the film have come together.
Because Wu Jing had hinted that he was averse to playing a villain during their phone conversation, Xu Kun originally thought that after they met, they would have to haggle for a while before they could confirm the role.
So before setting the banquet, Xu Kun called Wu Jing aside and wanted to have a good talk with him first.
Unexpectedly, during this meeting, Wu Jing's attitude took a 180-degree turn. He said that everything would be arranged by Director Xu. He had no other ideas, he just wanted to follow Director Xu to broaden his horizons and see the differences between the shooting methods of the new big directors in the mainland and those from Hong Kong Island.
Perhaps because he knew that Xu Kun was prejudiced against people from Hong Kong Island, he took the initiative to talk about his experiences of being discriminated against and excluded in Hong Kong Island.
Only then did Xu Kun realize that although his failed film "Black Fist" was not completely realistic, it did reflect some of his experiences in real life.
Even the girl who cheated on him in the movie can be found in real life.
In response to Wu Jing's active show of goodwill, Xu Kun also chose to return the favor.
Although he had not seen Wolf Warrior played by Wu Jing, he had seen both parts of The Wandering Earth and knew that Wu Jing would become a big shot in the future, so he naturally behaved in a very approachable manner.
This was very useful to Wu Jing, who had been fed up with being looked down upon in Hong Kong Island.
When it comes to patriotic films, the two also have a lot in common.
Wu Jing felt even more in awe of Xu Kun's assertion that the 08 Olympics would arouse the people's patriotic enthusiasm.
He actually had a vague idea, and he also felt that he should make some films that would cheer up the Chinese people, especially those from the mainland - if Xu Kun hadn't interfered, he would have gritted his teeth and scraped together money to make "Wolf Tooth" in the second half of the year.
But Wu Jing only had a subconscious idea and had not yet formed his own theoretical system, while Xu Kun, after systematic predictive analysis, embodied this idea in the entire movie.
This gave Wu Jing a feeling of enlightenment.
However, Xu Kun cannot be considered the originator.
There were many similar movies in Hong Kong in the early days, such as Jackie Chan's Police Story, which featured plots about Hong Kong police making a name for themselves overseas.
If we really have to say what is clever, we can only say that the time point chosen by Xu Kun is very clever. If the Olympics can really rally the patriotic enthusiasm of the people, then this movie will basically be half successful.
As for the other half, it depends on the quality of the finished film.
Only after other people arrived did Xu Kun and Wu Jing end their conversation.
When they arrived at the banquet, Sun Honglei joked, "You are the great director who has great appeal. Others may not be able to raise enough funds for filming even if they beg for help. But you set the total investment at 80 million, but it was pushed up to 100 million!"
This was one of the 'results' of the meeting a few days ago.
Xu Kun smiled helplessly and said, "How can I have such a strong appeal? It's mainly because this incident happened by chance and it alarmed the higher-ups. Many people mistakenly thought that this film would be favored by the policy, so they tried every means to get a stake in it. I couldn't stop them even if I wanted to.
In fact, I would say that too much money is not necessarily a good thing. If the total investment is 100 million, the box office must be close to 300 million to make a profit. This puts me under even greater pressure.”
"You are just being ungrateful. Having money is better than having no money. Besides, your money is not that much. The cost of making The Warlords was 300 million."
Talking about "The Warlords", Xu Kun finds it weird. The market is so small these days. If we only count the mainland, the box office is probably only 400 to 500 million at best - and that requires the right time, place and people.
Therefore, it is 100% impossible for "The Warlords" to recover its costs. I really don't know what the investors who just arrived there are trying to do. Do they want to learn from "Hero" to revitalize the Hong Kong film market?
Or do they hope to make the money back from overseas markets?
But considering the current cold reception of costume films, isn't this just a complete waste of effort and going in the wrong direction?
At this time, Zhang Jin, who was also very familiar with Xu Kun and had arrived a few days earlier, could not help but curiously inquire: "Brother Kun, I read the script these days. The rest of the script is very good, but I don't quite understand the part about the subprime mortgage crisis. Will Americans really encounter big trouble next year?"
“This is already a sign.”
Xu Kun explained: "After reading the relevant forecasts, I have been paying attention to the news in this regard. In April this year, the second largest subprime mortgage provider in the United States declared bankruptcy. In early June, a Fortune 4 financial company in the United States stopped its hedge fund related to subprime mortgages. These signs all indicate that the United States may indeed trigger an economic crisis due to subprime mortgages."
Xu Kun is actually throwing darts first and then drawing the target. The . financial market is so large that as long as you go there with preconceived ideas, you will definitely find the corresponding evidence.
If he had not accurately known that a financial crisis would occur in the United States in 08, this matter would have very likely turned into a misunderstanding.
After a pause, Xu Kun continued, "I will prepare for both scenarios. I will shoot a version where the crisis has already occurred, and another version where it is predicted to happen. Before the film is released, I will decide which one to use based on the situation in the United States."
Because the release date was confirmed in advance, the film's timeline was set at the end of September 08.
One is to synchronize the time with the screening time as much as possible to enhance the audience's sense of immersion; the second is to add a gimmick of rescuing Mr. Fu in time and allowing the old hero to go to Beijing to participate in the National Day military parade.
As for the scene where the rescued "Mr. Fu" salutes the red flag with tears in his eyes while wearing a medal on his chest during the National Day military parade, Xu Kun will film it in advance during this year's National Day as the final easter egg in the movie.
In fact, Zhang Jin still didn't understand, but after hearing Xu Kun's serious tone, he stopped worrying about it.
Except for Sun Honglei, everyone present was a martial artist, and as they talked the topic naturally turned to kung fu and action movies.
Xu Kun even made an appointment with Wu Jing, Zhao Wenzhuo and Yang Junyi to find an opportunity to compete with each other - but there was no need for Zhang Jin, as the two had already decided who was better when filming "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".
Just when they were chatting enthusiastically, Xu Kun suddenly received a call from Cai Yinong.
So he apologized to everyone, left the table and went outside the private room.
"Boss Cai, do you have any more instructions?"
"How dare I give orders to you, Director Xu?"
Cai Yinong smiled and said, "I heard that Liu Xiaoli has been making trouble for a while and is finally going to sign a contract with your Huayi, so I have an unreasonable request and I want Director Xu to help me fulfill it."
"What's your request? Tell me first."
"I want to attend this signing ceremony."
Cai Yinong said, "Looking at Liu Xiaoli's performance these days, it's obvious that Zhu Yawen and I made the right bet. This can be considered a big help to Huayi. I want to take this opportunity to regain some face. It shouldn't be too much, right?"
"Is it as simple as just showing up?"
This request is not excessive, but Xu Kun doesn't think Cai Yinong would make such a request just out of spite.
"Haha, Director Xu can't hide anything."
Cai Yinong confessed: "Afterwards, I will have someone send out some press releases to publicize that we, Tangren, also contributed to this signing, so as to prevent people from making nonsense outside."
I see. They are worried that if Liu Yifei signs with Huayi, someone will use her rejection of Tangren as an excuse to criticize her.
"Let me ask."
Xu Kun said: "Although we are working together this time, whether Huayi regards you Tangren as a rival depends on the attitudes of the two Presidents Wang."
"Ah~"
Cai Yinong sighed and said, "Now that Director Xu said that, I don't know whether I should expect President Wang to regard us Tangren as opponents, or whether he doesn't take us Tangren seriously at all."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Kun quickly called Wang Zhonglei.
After telling Cai Yinong about his request, Xu Kun took the initiative to add one more thing: "Whether Cai Yinong can go or not, you guys can decide, but I'll let Zhu Yawen go and take a look, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
"Of course, that's no problem. I have to thank Xiao Zhu in person for this. Otherwise, if that woman succeeds, Huayi will become a joke. As for Cai Yinong, wait for me to discuss it with my eldest brother. I will give you an answer by tonight at the latest."
(End of this chapter)
