Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 82 New script, add some humanistic care?

After the first China Film Directors Guild Awards ceremony concluded, its influence spread like wildfire, quickly sweeping across the entire film industry.

The next day, CCTV Movie Channel replayed the ceremony. The camera slowly scanned the faces of the winners, especially Wu Chen holding the Best Young Director trophy, who became the focus of countless viewers.

In Foshan, Wu Yangming and Yuan Xiaoqin sat in front of the TV at home, watching this scene, laughing so hard that they couldn't stop.

This event also caused a stir in the industry.

In the office of Guangguang Media on Hepingli East Street, Dongcheng District, Chairman Wang Changtian stared at the news screen, his hands folded across his chest, leaning back in his office chair, lost in thought.

There is a data report on the desk, which clearly lists the growth rate of the number of mainstream cinema chains and screens in China from 2002 to 2005 - in just a few years, it more than doubled.

With more than ten variety shows including "Music Billboard", "Entertainment Figures Weekly", and "Film and Television Billboard", Guangguang Media now sits firmly on the throne of China's largest television program producer and distributor, and is in the limelight.

However, the news of the "two stations merge" policy from the General Administration made him alert.

Once the policy is implemented, Guangxian's profit margin will be greatly reduced, and strategic transformation is imminent.

Turning to the film and television industry is the general trend, but Light Media has been deeply involved in the media field for a long time and lacks a foundation in the film industry.

At this year's Directors Guild Awards, among the nearly two hundred directors, only a handful had any connection with Guangguang, let alone any say.

"Stepping stone"

Wang Changtian narrowed his eyes and muttered softly.

If you rashly venture into an unfamiliar field without any prior experience, you'll likely end up with a bloody nose.

If you crawl and roll around, you'll probably end up with a bloody head.

There are many things to pay attention to when it comes to getting a foot in the door: either find the right person or spend money to pave the way.

If you can have both, you will get twice the result with half the effort.

Two days after the award ceremony, Wu Chen and Ning Hao walked into the China Film Building again, holding a thick stack of scripts in their hands.

Compared to his reserved attitude during the first visit, Ning Hao was obviously much more relaxed this time.

Wu Chen greeted Gao Chengsheng politely before entering Han Sanping's office.

As soon as the two sat down, Han Sanping took the script from Ning Hao with a smile and asked, "How's the polishing going?"

"I've read it, and the details have been polished a lot. It's much better than the first version."

Wu Chen chuckled in response.

This script was much more complete than the version he remembered from his previous life. Funding was no longer tight, allowing Ning Hao and others to put more effort into polishing the plot. The conflicts were more substantial, and the laughs were more frequent, making it a hilarious read.

"Oh?" A hint of curiosity flashed in Han Sanping's eyes, and he opened the script to take a closer look.

After a moment, Han Sanping nodded with satisfaction:
"The conflict is stronger, and the laughs are more frequent. We'll start filming after the New Year, so hurry up."

Wu Chen struck while the iron was hot: "Boss Han, Senior Brother, there is no problem with the script, but I have a small suggestion.

The title "Big Diamond" feels a bit cheesy. How about we change it to "Crazy Stone"? It's more relevant to the plot and has a more comedic feel. What do you think?"

Han Sanping and Ning Hao were both stunned and lowered their heads in thought.

"Crazy Stone"

The two of them pondered the name over and over again, and the more they thought about it, the more they felt that the name had a unique charm.

Ning Hao suddenly looked up and slapped his thigh: "I see!"

“It tastes good!”

Han Sanping nodded slowly.

The three of them agreed, and "Big Diamond" was officially renamed "Crazy Stone".

Before leaving, Wu Chen turned back deliberately:

"Boss Han, in the report, remember to have the writing staff mention my 'Xingchen Pictures' twice more. Give it some face. This is the first film my small company has participated in producing."

Han Sanping laughed dumbly and waved his hand: "Alright!"

A few days later, China Film Group issued an official press release:
China Film Group and Xingchen Pictures jointly produced the comedy film "Crazy Stone" directed by Ning Hao, which is about to start shooting.

This is the first work after the establishment of Xingchen Pictures, and it is also another masterpiece by Ning Hao after "Incense" and "Green Grassland" (not released yet).

The film is expected to be released this year, so stay tuned! "

When the news came out, the public reaction was lukewarm.

China Film Group released more than ten project news a year, but the director was unknown and failed to create any waves.

But industry insiders smelled something unusual.

Someone specifically looked up Xingchen Pictures—the company's legal representative: Wu Chen. This alone is enough to attract attention.

"A joint production by Wu Chen and China Film Group?"

Wang Zhongjun of Huayi frowned. Wu Chen was related to China Film Group, so it would be even more difficult for Huayi to poach him.

On the same day, Yang Jinsong, Publicity Director of Poly Huayi, was discussing matters related to next month's Berlin Film Festival with Gu Changwei. Upon hearing the news, he said cheerfully:
"Director Gu, your junior fellow from the photography department has quietly set up a company and even partnered with China Film Group to embark on the production path. It seems he's quite ambitious."

Gu Changwei smiled slightly: "Young people like to make trouble."

"It's better to make some effort." Yang Jinsong nodded, then lowered his voice, "By the way, Director Gu, is my sister-in-law going to the Berlin Film Festival?"

He recalled the Jiang Wenli slapping incident and was still frightened. If something like that happened in Berlin, it would be an international laughing stock.

As the person in charge of publicity, he must control the risks.

"She's not going."

"That's a pity!"

"."

Time passed day by day. Wu Chen did not waste time. After thinking for a long time, he finally started writing a new script "Black Swan".

This work is similar in style to "The Dark Side" and "Buried". On the surface, it is a thriller, but in fact it has profound connotations and is a feature film.

The film is actually a spin-off of Darren Aronofsky's play The Double.

These two stories were eventually made into two movies, but the script for "Black Swan" was not officially born until around 2008.

He started writing in advance, so there was no possibility of a collision.

And if he makes this movie, Darren Aronofsky might even come to him and regard him as a close friend.

The only trouble is that although this movie is not a big production, it still costs several million dollars.

While writing, Wu Chen was thinking about how to get the money and was worried about the source of funds.

"We are still too poor!" Wu Chen couldn't help but laugh at himself.

The 62nd Golden Globe Awards ceremony was officially held at 9:11 am Beijing time on November 17.

As the Golden Globe Awards have been trying their best to please the Oscars for several consecutive years, their predicted performance has become worse and worse, and is even not as accurate as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, which is only 10 years old.

However, with this persistence, the ratings have soared year by year, and the attention has become more and more widespread. The golden signboard created by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has become bigger and bigger, attracting major media around the world.

Zhang Yi attended the event with "House of Flying Daggers" and a CCTV reporter also conducted an exclusive interview on the matter.

At the Beijing Film Academy, Wu Chen and Park Song-il could hear their classmates' anticipation for Zhang Yi to win the award.

However, at noon, the news came back.

[Leonardo DiCaprio wins Golden Globe Award, but "House of Flying Daggers" loses to a strong opponent.]

The industry was in an uproar and the debate was polarized.

Do people need the Ballon d'Or?

[Awards are judged by chance, and it is normal to be rejected! ]

Zhang Yimou is frustrated after losing the Golden Globe, and is making every effort to "ambush" his Oscar bid!

In any case, the industry can only pin its hopes on the Oscar nominations a week later.

As a leading domestic director, Zhang Yimou's repeated failures have cast a shadow over the industry's outlook on the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars.

However, Zhang Yi's failure to win the Golden Ball made Brother Chen Kai feel relieved.

Deep in the alleys of Beijing, in an ancestral courtyard, Brother Chen Kai was reading domestic reports, feeling both regretful and relieved.

"Farewell My Concubine" is the only mainland film to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, a record that has stood for eleven years.

"It's a shame for Director Zhang's movie."

Chen Hong was standing aside, and seeing the complex look in Brother Chen Kai's eyes, she couldn't help but smile.

She knew the relationship between Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. They were both friends and each other's biggest competitors.

For Chen Kai, who cares about his reputation, he does not want to lose to Zhang Yi, otherwise he would not have hastily launched the script of "The Promise" after "Hero".

"Well, Zhang Yimou's film lacked a bit of humanistic care, which led to its loss to Spain's 'The Big Sleep'. I have to learn from his lesson and add more to 'The Promise'."

Brother Chen Kai nodded silently, and began to outline a more complete "The Promise" in his mind.

(End of this chapter)