New Age Artists

Chapter 656 Fierce

Li An recalled his journey from Taiwan to the United States, from an unknown househusband who lived off his wife to where he is today.

As a world-renowned director, he is famous all over the world and highly respected in the Chinese world.

Pushing Hands, his first personal film that changed his destiny, was made with the help of James Schamus, who not only served as producer but also as screenwriter.

Since then, the two have collaborated seamlessly on films such as "The Wedding Banquet", "Eat Drink Man Woman", "Sense and Sensibility", "The Ice Storm", "Ride with the Devil", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "The Hulk", "Brokeback Mountain", "Lust, Caution", and "Taking Woodstock".

Everything is so silky smooth.

Li An never felt that he was catering to Western aesthetics and narrative logic.

In Li An's view, the filming of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which grafted Eastern martial arts philosophy with Hollywood genre films and won global acclaim, was a natural result and the result of years of hard work.

However, looking back now, behind all this, is it really true, as the public opinion says, that he is just a person chosen by the Western narrative?

James Shams' cultural background is no secret either.

“Tigers eat people.”

These words echoed repeatedly in Li An's mind.

In the film, he portrays the relationship between Tiger and Pi as a symbiotic one, which may be a whitewashing of reality.

As a carnivore, the very existence of the tiger is a threat to the Pie, just like the plunder and oppression of the Third World by imperialism.

A tool of imperialism and hegemony
In fact, Li Min does not reject or hate the identity of a cultural agent.

But they cannot accept that they are being instrumentalized and domesticated.

His thoughts returned to the filming of Life of Pi, and he remembered how he carefully designed each shot. The symbiotic relationship between the tiger and the boy became the core metaphor of the film.

It was a clever structure that kept him awake at night and excited him.

Incomparable sparks of inspiration burst out at every moment. Some days and nights, he even worried that his heart would not be able to bear it because of being too excited.

Li An simply believed that it was God who had descended upon him and that he had received some kind of blessing from nowhere. He cleverly incorporated his profound questioning of the nature of human existence and his complex exploration of faith and truth into the film's narrative.

Major film critics associations hinted to him, as did people at 20th Century Fox's public relations department, that the film had a chance of winning an Oscar.

However, fame and fortune seemed to be shattered.

Li An's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly. "Instrumentalization" and "domestication" made all his efforts seem like a clown, just like a being manipulated for performance in "The Hunger Games".

This is what he hates or fears.

For a director, a person whose work is driven by inner passion, this makes all his creations meaningless.

Thinking back to the movies I had made in the past, my long-time collaborator James Schamus probably looked at him like a monkey trainer looks at a monkey.

Li An felt powerless. He never thought that his film would be interpreted as such a metaphor.

He once thought that he was telling a universal story from an Eastern perspective.

If he can't even control his own consciousness, what's the point of his existence?
"what!"

Li An shouted silently, stood up, walked to the window, looked at the flying snowflakes outside, and felt an urge to jump down.

BJ's winter is so cold that even the air seems to be frozen.

He recalled his days on Wandao Island when he was young. At that time, he was full of ideals and passion, and eager to express his understanding of the world through movies.

In "Life of Pi", Pi uses three religions to explain the world, just as Li An himself uses three film languages, Taiwanese ethics, Hollywood genre, and oriental mystery to please global audiences.

Li An has to face the cruelest black humor. The more skillfully he stitches together Eastern and Western narratives, the more he becomes a perfect cultural specimen of the system.

This is the perfect prisoner of being a cultural comprador.

Making the tiger disappear without looking back is also Li An's interpretation of his own cultural identity.

The Eastern symbol that entered the Western jungle has long been domesticated into an ideological carrier that never looks back.

This closed loop of "Eastern directors using Western grammar to tell the story of the self-domestication of the colonized" is full of prophetic closed-loop logic, which makes Li An feel creepy.

Jiang Zhiqiang knocked on the door and walked in.

Seeing Li An's pale face, he comforted him: "This is the other party's psychological warfare. Your film is a profound exploration of the essence of human existence, faith and truth."

"Don't pay attention to the smears and don't read them. I will handle this matter. We have many friends and we will not let public opinion ferment."

Li An forced a smile and made a joke: "This provides me with another perspective to think about. I will be more careful in the future. I don't want to be a domesticated cultural thug."

"You don't need to change anything." Jiang Zhiqiang frowned and said, "This is all nonsense! Are you fake? Am I fake too? Are we both thugs? What does that mean?"

Li An was relieved: "Yeah, I think too much."

Jiang Zhiqiang said: "Many people are on our side this time. This time it must be Shen Santong who is behind this. This guy is too domineering. How can he become the Shaw Brothers of the mainland?"

In Jiang Zhiqiang's view, Shen Santong was courting his own destruction.

They didn't know how to make room for the Spring Festival schedule for everyone to enjoy the feast together. This year's Spring Festival schedule collides with Huayi's Journey to the West-themed movie, which is an ugly sight.

If you act tyrannically, you will be caught sooner or later. The more you act, the more lonely you will become, and you won’t even have a friend.

Shen Santong brought together the Hong Kong and Taiwan circles, academic circles, and film and television companies at Dongda University, as well as all the Hollywood types outside.

The connections between us have never been so close.

The two were chatting when the phone rang. It was a cross-ocean call from CAA.

CAA's co-chairman and senior agent called Li An personally to tell him the good news.

The project of "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" has been basically agreed upon, and CAA will help him introduce high frame rate technology partners and cinema equipment upgrade resources, while promoting it globally.

CAA said meaningfully: "Lee, many people stand with you. The negotiation with Sony Entertainment went so smoothly because you were blackmailed at Dongda."

Li An's mood suddenly improved and he shared the good news with Jiang Zhiqiang.

Jiang Zhiqiang was quite envious, but unfortunately such investments were all core Hollywood projects and he had no chance to participate. He congratulated him and said, "Director Li, was I right? Look, the rewards are coming now."

"Shen Santong has many enemies. He pushed for the international release of 1937, which greatly offended the film's financiers. Sony Entertainment hates him very much and will take advantage of him whenever they get the chance."

Li An quickly adjusted his mindset. So what if the messy remarks were true?
His current reputation and status are not fake, and he is not someone who is powerless to fight back.

After calming down, a hint of coldness flashed in Li An's eyes.

Shen Santong is not just an ordinary bad guy.

He had not offended the other party in any way, but the other party had been chasing him since "Lust, Caution". He was not only resentful of him, but also of Wandao.

The Golden Horse Awards, the pride of the Chinese film world, was wantonly humiliated by Shen Santong and was in a state of humiliation.

This disrespectful, vicious and malicious smear campaign has not only not stopped, but has intensified.

Li An looked at Jiang Zhiqiang: "Boss Jiang, do you think Shen Santong discriminates against us people from Hong Kong and Taiwan?"

Jiang Zhiqiang laughed when he heard this, knowing that Li An was back, and said with a smile: "Director Li, you can see it too, it is indeed the case."

Huayi.

Wang Zhonglei introduced the Spring Festival schedule to his brother: "'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons' is the best choice for the Spring Festival. From what I heard, 'The Monkey King: Hero is Back' is very strong and not as dark as 'Conquering the Demons'."

"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" collides with "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" not because Hua Yi thinks it can beat it, but mainly because it has to. "The Monkey King: Conquering the Demons" subverts the traditional image of Journey to the West too much, and if "The Monkey King: Hero is Back" can establish a positive image of the Monkey King, "The Monkey King: Conquering the Demons" will definitely be subject to comparative scrutiny when it is released later.

Wang Zhonglei already felt that things were not going well and that "The Demon King" could not withstand deconstruction.

"You take care of these small matters." Wang Zhongjun listened briefly and replied perfunctorily.

He has more important things to do.

Wang Zhonglei talked about the recent turmoil: "Brother, this wave of deconstruction cannot be underestimated. How do you think we should deal with it?"

Wang Zhongjun said: "We can optimize the channels. Shen Santong offended people. We can cooperate with him and strengthen cooperation with Hollywood and Hong Kong Island to ensure a stable supply of movies."

Santong Entertainment has become the focus of public opinion due to the collapse of Shenyang and the overseas expansion of its culture, which can be regarded as a way out for Huayi. It has promoted Huayi to accelerate the production of high-quality products, deploy Hollywood and Hong Kong Island, create a series of movies, and at the same time deploy games and the Internet to expand online channels, such as the online ticketing system.

"I call for market diversification and letting a hundred flowers bloom. You decide for yourself."

As he spoke, Wang Zhongjun became irritated.

Huayi’s market value is hundreds of billions. Deep down, Wang Zhongjun doesn’t want to follow Santong Entertainment and make a living, but he can’t help it.

There was some small profit from the acquisition of several Internet companies, but it was getting further and further away from Santong Entertainment.

In the past two years, Wang Zhongjun would fantasize from time to time, imagining that he had made a historical blockbuster like "Red Cliff" in the 2000s, which won the annual box office championship for many consecutive years, with annual box office revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan.

The commercial value of any one film or television IP exceeds that of the entire IP of its peers, and it has set multiple box office records, earned hundreds of millions of US dollars from the United States, and made huge profits around the world.

The official also favors it, and it has fans all over the world. It also won the "Wonder Woman" project in North America, making Huayi Brothers a world-class film and television company.

Wang Zhongjun felt uncomfortable as soon as he returned to reality.

The first entertainment stock without Santong Entertainment is Hua Yi, who felt uncomfortable all over and asked his brother: "Do you think "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" can beat "The Return of the Great Sage"? "

Wang Zhonglei was silent for a moment: "o(╯□╰)o"

Huayi’s current rival is Guangxian. Compared with Santong Entertainment in the past two years, it is more of a bundle.

To put it bluntly, it is shameless to use marketing to drag others down, but in reality, there is a real gap.

Wang Zhongjun sighed and reminded: "Forget it, forget it, we will just follow suit to deal with Shen Santong and others, don't rush too far ahead."

Shen Santong is also paying attention to changes in public opinion.

The main purpose is to prevent people from playing the role of the real person and to ask Weibo to limit the flow of some conspiracy theory articles.

However, with the level of education at the University of Tokyo, once that layer of membrane is broken, there is never a shortage of experienced drivers.

In-depth articles emerge in an endless stream, some of which even Shen Santong exclaims that they are eye-opening.

There is an article about the connection between "Life of Pi" and "Li An", and Shen Santong also gained a new perspective.

Movies are full of the creators' personal opinions.

Li An's works also bear the characteristics of the author's films, and "Life of Pi" must also have his projection.

Li An probably also has cognitive confusion and self-questioning between China and the United States and between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

There are many similarities like this. On the surface, Pi is a vegetarian who does not kill animals and has a tolerant and empathetic personality. But beneath the surface, he is the winner in the fight between "storm disasters" and "cannibalism" and is very fierce when it comes to killing animals and eating meat.

He is very similar to Li An, who was able to stay at home for six years and still emerge as a director in the environment of the United States. Under his gentle appearance, he is also the winner of the chicken game and broke through the shackles set for Chinese men in the United States.

Li An flew here from the United States. Obviously, he would not remain indifferent when faced with such deconstruction. Shen Santong was somewhat curious about how Li An would respond.

Li An’s counterattack was quick.

It's not just Li An, many lines are struggling hard.

This wave is really trying hard to survive.

Just like the eternally gloomy Chinese towns captured by six generations of directors, they have to satisfy the Western curiosity about the Iron Curtain, while also being wary of the capital flow map revealed by real deconstructors.

If this thing were to be exposed, many people would lose their jobs.

Jia Zhangke wrote "Defending the Dignity of Stories" in his column for Southern Weekend.

The author focuses on Life of Pi and does not mention his own film. He compares the deconstruction controversy to the tearing down of Dunhuang murals. He does not use his own film as an example, but focuses on the metaphor of the Bengal tiger in Life of Pi.

It's not just Jia Zhangke. Regulars at the three major film festivals also used the same rhetoric.

Ideological criticism is denigrated as aesthetic deficiency, and postcolonial deconstruction is stigmatized as a populist tide.

Li An is also taking action.

In an exclusive interview with Phoenix, Zhang Yimou was always on the lips: "Director Zhang's use of Christian symbols to reconstruct the story of Nanjing is precisely a creative breakthrough in the context of globalization."

Speaking for Feng Xiaogang: "If the suffering presented in 1942 was set in Hollywood, it could have triggered a wider discussion on human nature."

Talking about the Golden Horse Awards, he directly mentioned Shen Santong: "I just declined the invitation to be a judge for the Golden Horse Awards this year to give more space to young directors. If Director Shen Santong does not reject Wan Dao, I would like to invite him to be a judge. We welcome him."

Li An also talked about the necessity of deconstructing grand historical narratives, from "Lust, Caution" to "Life of Pi".

Through the metaphor of Pi breaking through moral boundaries for survival, it implies that historical suffering should be transformed into an abstract exploration of human nature.

The setting of the unity of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam is used to illustrate the legitimacy of deconstructing a single historical perspective.

The cruel reality is wrapped in a fantasy narrative, giving an argument that art should be above real politics.

Li An emphasized: "Just like Pi chose to believe in a more beautiful story, filmmakers have the right to reconstruct historical memory."

“The tiger is both a threat and a companion, just as historical trauma has a dual effect on creation.”

“Critical thinking is more suitable for the field of documentaries rather than art films. Art requires time to appreciate.”

Li An also attended a symposium held by his hometown department, emphasizing the importance of cross-strait cooperation.

The success of "Life of Pi" is inseparable from cross-strait cooperation, and it is also a reflection of multiculturalism.

The online platform of Renri published an article directly criticizing Shen Santong and calling for "letting a hundred flowers bloom."

Some industry media, such as China Business News, proposed that "the cultural market should avoid relying on a single enterprise", emphasized the innovation capabilities of companies such as Huayi and Guangxian, and advocated promoting industry progress through competition.

As each line is launched, economists or film bloggers analyze the importance of a "healthy competition ecology" and warn against monopoly risks.

Caixin.com, Southern Weekly and The Paper conducted related reports, emphasizing the balance between "national sentiment" and business rationality.

The film and television self-media cooperating with major companies are also taking action. While affirming Santong Entertainment, they are also objectively reviewing other companies' films, guiding the audience to choose according to their needs and downplaying ideological colors.

Huayi’s senior executives including Wang Daxiao and Guangxian have publicly expressed their support for the overseas expansion of cultural products, but stressed that domestic companies should work together to expand the global market and avoid internal friction.

The Film Bureau held a symposium to promote the industry's infrastructure, encourage local film and television companies to collaborate, and indirectly provide a window for all domestic companies to upgrade their technology.

Data released by China Film Group and other institutions emphasize the increase in the global share of domestic films, downplaying the contribution of a single company and highlighting overall strength.

All the power on the Southeast University network has been activated.

An open letter written by Li Min was circulated on the Internet, targeting Shen Santong and refusing him to hide behind the scenes.

"For many years, Shen Santong has been spreading rumors, slandering and defaming Director Li Min more and more. Li Min basically ignores this rogue behavior, just like a dog on a leash. Obviously, Director Li Min is not afraid of its barking, and does not have the time and energy to fight with a mad dog."

"In the spirit of letting people talk without causing the world to fall, Director Li An does not care about such personal grudges. Starting from Lust, Caution, he believes that as long as the facts are made clear, he believes in the wisdom and discernment of the audience and netizens."

"But recently, the true face of this populist who is using an unclear banner has been increasingly revealed. The trick of spreading rumors and slandering people's character, morality and public opinion has not been very effective, and he has tried to distort director Li Min's film theory and propositions."

"They refused to admit defeat, got angry out of shame, and took advantage of the situation. They tried to take advantage of the power of others by labeling many directors they disliked, including Director Li Min, as dogs of foreigners, accusing them of taking money from outsiders and even being thugs of Western ideology. They tried to stir up public opinion to silence artists and prevent them from speaking out."

"Shen Santong knew that he had run out of ideas and his creative ability had withered. He was unwilling to accept his setbacks in the film market, just like a dog without a leash ready to bite people. He was completely crazy."

"Since Shen Santong wants to put people including Director Li Min to death, we have no choice but to take up the dog-beating weapon and fight back against this insidious, despicable and shameless thought police and populist culture."

This open letter was forwarded by many people in the literary and art circles.

The navy was dispatched to conduct police operations without restraint.

"Li An is a well-known international director, registered with relevant departments, a standard target for wooing at Dongda, and a Citibank employee. His wooing value in both countries is very high, especially at Dongda, where he is almost the most honest person. In terms of personal morality, Li An has been able to endure Shen Santong's slander, provocation and harassment for such a long time, but has never used his connections or mysterious power. He can indeed be said to be a 'highly respected' artist."

"It can be said that everyone hates privilege. But the reality is that Director Li is a privileged person with pure blood. He was born in Taiwan, has a Citi citizenship, and became famous in Hollywood. He is worth wooing."

"What's the use of Shen Santong's money? We should thank Director Li for saving his face. If Director Li, a well-known director with an international background, really lets go, it will be a big deal."

"After reading some of Shen Santong's remarks, I feel that he dreams of becoming a privileged person. If that doesn't work out, he can be a lackey for the privileged person. At least he can be considered to have entered the privileged circle. But this person has neither the bloodline of the privileged person nor the connections to be a lackey for the privileged person. He can only take advantage of the audience's naivety, cheat people, and make enemies everywhere. Now, he has provoked the real privileged person, and the privileged person is going to summon an iron fist to hammer him."

"Could it be that someone has really forgotten that Li An is a pure-blood privilege? I originally wanted to get along with Shen Wumao as an ordinary person, but Shen Wumao really doesn't know how to respect me. It's Director Li's cultivation to let you go, and it's Director Li's strength to crush you!"

(End of this chapter)