The only sun in Huayu

Chapter 71 Two Paths (24)

When I was in junior high school in the 1990s, I had to bring my own lunch, which was a pancake rolled with eggs and chili peppers.

He's still doing well; he's a young man from a small town, and his basic living needs are met.

Some rural students would bring a large bag of pancakes to school and rely on pickled vegetables or rotten eggs for their meals every week.

Sometimes, by the weekend, the pancakes would be moldy, but we'd just tear them off and continue eating.

The worst part is not being able to get enough vegetable fiber, which makes pooping a very painful experience.

Material poverty affects everyone from individual families to the nation; poverty brings sorrow to every household.

The 1980s and 90s were relatively good, but going back further, to the 1950s and 60s when Shen Shandeng's parents grew up, material resources were even more scarce.

Of course, material conditions improve gradually.

His grandparents had trouble even surviving, let alone eating. There was also war going on at that time.

When his parents arrived, they went hungry, but the children survived.

His generation witnessed even more rapid development.

Shen Shandeng is grateful to the previous generation, who endured hardship, but if he had to choose, he wouldn't want to go back; it was too tough.

Take the entertainment industry for example.

It started with the children of employees from the film studio compound, and then other compounds.

Only now are people like Wang Zhongjun and Feng Xiaogang, children of marginalized families, taking center stage.

Although they are all part of the Beijing circle, the circles are changing.

Jiang Wen, on the contrary, has become somewhat marginalized.

Overall, the focus has shifted from what people in the old courtyards did and what they watched to what people in the Beijing elite circle did and what they watched.

Moreover, the Beijing metropolitan area is increasingly becoming a geographical concept.

The movie was coming to an end.

Zhou Yun plays a crazy mother who stands on a train, holding her child and shouting at the sun.

"Alyosha, don't be afraid. The train stopped up there. When he smiled, it was dawn."

Yes!

It's getting brighter!

In later generations, with the popularization of the Internet and smartphones, and the rapid development of short videos, the weight of first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in cultural and public opinion has decreased, and more and more local characteristics have emerged.

Society is becoming more and more equitable, and a large number of small and medium-sized cliques and factions have been eliminated. This is something that can be done only once in the world.

At that time, whatever the common people watched became popular.

Instead of just watching what a certain circle does.

Some people just want to go back to the past!

Now that Jiang Wenjian has taken office, Shen Shandeng should also take a look.

He is labeled as a small-town youth from a small city in one of the four provinces of China.

If it weren't for creating this trend and pointing out the urgent need for a transformation in period dramas...

He had money and a pig's head, but he couldn't find a temple to worship the gods.

First, we need to explore the cesspool of overseas award-winning competitions.

Because domestic academics offered him no path.

Then try small and medium-budget films. Only by relying on external forces, such as cinema capital and internet capital, and breaking out of the circle, can there be a chance to stand out.

This is still a result of continuous social progress.

Further back, people like Zhang Yimou could only rely on overseas film festivals; they simply had no other resources.

Compared to the impenetrable secrecy of local vested interests, overseas film festivals are relatively fairer.

Of course, this "relative" refers to twenty or thirty years ago.

As domestic industries develop and material conditions improve, the three major European economies, after selecting their representatives in the fifth and sixth generations, have also formed interest groups.

With this ebb and flow, there's been little progress overseas.

Shen Shandeng would feel a surge of emotion at the grandeur of the previous era, but he knew why.

Therefore, I cannot empathize with Jiang Wen's "The Sun".

However, Shen Shandeng also knew that Jiang Wen was quite good in the current film industry.

It's a story told from the perspective of "self," not someone else's story.

They are steadfast, but they are also a minority within the circle.

The movie has ended.

light is on.

Yu Dong asked with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation, "Is it good?"

Shen Shandeng thought for a moment.

"to be honest?"

Shen Shandeng's words indicated his pessimism, and Yu Dong's heart skipped a beat. His life was too miserable, and his face turned pale instantly: "You, you, say it."

Seeing his appearance, Shen Shandeng said, "How about we forget about it?"

Yu Dong insisted, "I'm fine, my heart is very good."

Shen Shandeng revised his wording: "The audience of the film 'The Sun' and the audience of 'In the Heat of the Sun' are not the same."

"What the audience likes is not Jiang Wen's youth, but the throbbing of youth, Ning Jing's chest and thighs, that sense of taboo."

"None of these 'The Sun' films are available." "Ugh~~~" Yu Dong collapsed onto his seat in the small screening room.

His life is so hard!

"Brother, don't scare me."

Shen Shandeng got scared and quickly went to call Yu Dong's driver and assistant.

Yu Dong quickly stopped him, saying, "I'm fine, I'm fine."

Suddenly, a bitter laugh escaped his lips, sending chills down Shen Shandeng's spine.

"It's really smashed, it's stuck in my hands."

Shen Shandeng advised, "Aside from the plot, the visuals are still acceptable. Objectively speaking, if Jiang Wen were to make a film based on the story of 'Looking for a Gun,' with some beautiful women and thighs, I think it wouldn't be difficult for it to break 100 million at the box office."

Jiang Wen suffers from the same problem as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige: the author's mentality.

If the three of them had a good script and followed it faithfully, the aesthetics and visuals would be absolutely top-notch, world-class.

Unfortunately, he's bad at games but loves to play, and doesn't know how to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

Lu Chuan's "The Missing Gun" was filmed under the guidance of Jiang Wen during Jiang Wen's ban on directing, and it turned out to be quite good.

Yu Dong didn't want to say anything more; he never wanted to touch Jiang Wen's movies again.

"Director Shen, can you help me think of a way to save this?"

Shen Shandeng thought for a moment: "There is a way, but I'm afraid it won't be in time."

Yu Dong's hope surged instantly: "Please tell me, brother, I'm begging you."

Shen Shandeng said, "This play is Jiang Wen's interpretation of the last era. From his perspective, the audience is too small."

"At most, we'll add some arthouse film enthusiasts, like those who enjoy films like 'Still Life'."

Yu Dong is really going to pass out.

"Still Life" grossed several hundred thousand yuan.

My life is so hard!

Shen Shandeng comforted him, "Jiang Wen is Jiang Wen after all, not Jia Zhangke. He can still be sold for ten or twenty million."

"Boo~~~" Yu Dong could no longer pretend; he almost lost his breath.

Of the 20 million, the distributor would only get 2 million, while he distributed "The Sun" as if it had grossed over 100 million at the box office.

Advertising, prints, and various events—the two grand premieres in Venice and Beijing alone cost two million.

Yu Dong invested heavily, like buying a horse's bones with a thousand pieces of gold, without thinking about making money. He simply wanted to replicate the success of Zhang Weiping and Wang Zhongjun by binding themselves to a great director, thus giving Bona Film Group top-notch production capabilities.

Now I finally understand why Taihe, which initially invested in Jiang Wen, and Wang Zhongjun ignored him—they were really ripped off!

Shen Shandeng wanted to run away; Yu Dong was too scary.

I don't know if it's an act.

"There is still a chance. I think there are at least two paths. If we take both approaches at the same time, it may be difficult to recover the costs, but we won't lose too much."

Yu Dong asked urgently, "Quick, tell me!"

Shen Shandeng said, "The first path is to replicate the success of 'A Chinese Odyssey'."

"A Chinese Odyssey?" Yu Dong asked, puzzled.

"This movie was not good at all, and it flopped at the box office back then, but Peking University students praised it, and everyone praised it, and suddenly it became a source of nostalgia. 'A Chinese Odyssey' made a fortune by using the name of 'A Chinese Odyssey'."

Shen Shandeng explained: "The Sun is shrouded in mystery and very much a stream of consciousness, so we had to go down that path. Jiang Wen wanted to tell a story from the last era, so we just told it openly and honestly."

"We can't talk about it from his perspective; we have to approach it from the students' perspective. Many students, especially those from top schools, are elitist; their biases unconsciously align themselves with the elite."

"Don't emphasize Jiang Wen's perspective, but rather focus on different interpretations of the previous era."

"Since public opinion is negative, your production team should take a different perspective and say that the last era was not a time of scrap metal, but a time of passion, so that students can relate to it."

Shen Shandeng offered a solution: "Time is a bit tight. You must immediately find Peking University students to write an article that is nostalgic, literary, and bourgeois, then spend money on it, and then find print media and public intellectuals to promote it."

"Schools have already started. It would be best if you could go on exchange programs to high-ranking schools. Your voter base is the students."

The reason why so many people like Jiang Wen in the future is because of a distorted perspective. They regard themselves, who have not participated in social labor and are off-the-job, as elites.

This is enough to show that the country's high level of development has enabled many people to attend university.

Moreover, ordinary college students are full of confidence in the future; otherwise, they wouldn't be so optimistic.

Now, we should start with top universities.

The industrial chain has not been upgraded. In industries like automobiles, there are only screw-driving and sales positions, and very few R&D positions. It is hard for ordinary college students to be optimistic.

Yu Dong gasped: "This is not easy to do. Some media outlets won't like this angle."

Yu Dong understood a little better; no wonder so many media outlets said they couldn't understand it.

It's probably also related to the perspective of the film.

Time is tight, and it's not easy to find people. Peking University will probably need to hire engineering students, and liberal arts students may not be interested.

Public intellectuals, in particular, are likely to oppose this, so the only option is to buy it with money. Add to that the money spent on media coverage, and since it's an urgent task, it's definitely a considerable expense.

Yu Dong also had other concerns: "Using this direction to enter the campus carries risks."

Shen Shandeng knew that it would be difficult for Yu Donglai to do it, but Jiang Wen had the qualifications and licenses, so he said, "Jiang Wen will do it."

Yu Dong's face fell; this was too difficult.

"Let me see if we can try another approach?"

Shen Shandeng said bluntly, "Strike the traitors to China."

(End of this chapter)