The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

Chapter 146 Methods

In early April, the crew of "The Great Wall" began filming location scenes, starting from Mutianyu Great Wall, which is less than 40 kilometers away from Huairou Film and Television Base, to Ulanbutong Grassland, which is nearly 500 kilometers away from Beijing, and then to Qicai Danxia in Gansu Province and Wangmangling in Jincheng. The total distance was over 9000 li and lasted for 29 days. At its peak, more than 2000 soldiers assisted in the filming.

In early May, the crew returned to the China Film Digital Base to continue interior filming.

The day after returning to the China Film Group base in Huairou, Jing Tian secretly cried because she overheard the film crew talking about her privately.

What did you guys think of Jing Tian's acting?

"I think it's really good. I don't know why there are so many people on the internet criticizing her acting as terrible, and some even say that if she's in a movie, it's bound to be a bad movie."

"Her acting used to be really terrible, but I didn't expect her to improve so quickly this time. It's like she's been reborn."

"That's why they say our director is amazing; there's no actor he can't train!"

"If you say the director is awesome, no one can refute it. He used more than 2000 soldiers to film a single scene. What ordinary director gets that kind of treatment?"

"I heard that the director initially wanted to hire all extras, but the government offered to provide maximum assistance."

There have always been quite a few people who praise Jing Tian's acting to her face, and she knows that those words are not to be taken seriously. It is these private discussions that are real. This is the first time that someone has talked about her acting skills behind her back.

She used to be clueless when filming, but this time she really got it and knows how to act.

For example, when playing Mo Jue's feelings for Shen Sui, the script required her to silently withdraw after seeing the relationship between Shen Sui and her senior sister Mo Ying. In reality, watching Shen Qing and Liu Yifei interact on and off screen, that feeling instantly filled her chest. This must be what is known as getting into character. However, she doesn't know whether her special feelings for Shen Qing are due to getting into character or whether she has really fallen in love with him. She really can't tell now.

Liu Yifei slept in Shen Qing's director's suite every night. Regardless of whether Jing Tian's feelings for Shen Qing were due to getting into character or because he had truly fallen in love with him, she had to suppress them.

When the scene showed Shen Sui and Mo Ying successfully testing the cannon and embracing each other, Jing Tian, ​​who was not far away, first felt wronged, since she had met Shen Sui first. Then she felt relieved, smiled gently, and turned to leave. The entire crew was shocked—could this be the kind of performance that Jing Tian, ​​whose acting skills were notorious throughout the country, could deliver?

But Jing Tian brought it to life. At that moment, she and the character Mo Jue truly became one; she *was* Mo Jue!

At that moment, Shen Qing was even a little worried that Jing Tian would steal Liu Yifei's spotlight. Although Liu Yifei performed quite well this time, and the role was tailor-made for her, and the character herself was quite likable, and she had much more screen time than Jing Tian, ​​Shen Qing was still a little worried that the second female lead would steal the spotlight from the first female lead when Jing Tian's acting exploded.

No matter what, Liu Yifei was his woman, while Jing Tian was not. Therefore, after that incident, Shen Qing became even stricter with Liu Yifei's scenes. It was common for them to shoot 30 or 4 takes. Fortunately, he had the abilities of Zhang Yimou, Zhou Xingchi, Spielberg, and others. He really knew how to train actors.

On June 5, filming for the movie "The Great Wall" officially wrapped up, with the entire filming process lasting 85 days.

At this time, "Breakup Buddies" had already finished filming half a month ahead of schedule. The next day, Shen Qing couldn't wait to call Gao Yuanyuan to his home and show her the script for "Let's Get Married". This would be a key drama series for Shenqi Films, and Shen Qing planned to continue to find director Liu Jiang to direct it.

In the original timeline, Liu Jiang was the director of "Let's Get Married." In this timeline, Liu Jiang also directed "My Love from the Star," starring Pan Yueming and Fan Bingbing. Now that Magical Films is preparing to film "Let's Get Married," the directing job will naturally be handed over to Liu Jiang.

As for why Shen Qing insisted on inviting Gao Yuanyuan to his home to explain the script, it was because he wanted a change of pace.

The filming period for "The Great Wall" lasted 85 days. Apart from a few scenes with Chen Zhixi, the rest of the time was spent with Liu Yifei.

Normally, a man who has a woman of Liu Yifei's caliber wouldn't get tired of her even if they were inseparable for 85 days. The problem is that Shen Qing's other women are also top-notch.

Besides, it's not good to go a long time without touching other women; problems will inevitably arise sooner or later.

The next day, Gao Yuanyuan was called to the house to discuss the script. Then Fan Bingbing, Yang Mi, Zhao Liying, Li Yitong, Nazha, Wan Qian, and Shen Qing were all involved. Otherwise, how could an ordinary person withstand such torment?

Nazar has already taken the college entrance examination, and she said she did quite well.

There's only one Liu Shishi left.

The two made an agreement last April that she would accompany Shen Qing for a year. Now the one-year period has actually passed, but Shen Qing and Liu Shishi changed the agreement last time. It is now that she has to accompany Shen Qing for 365 days to complete the agreement, and the days when the two are not together do not count.

The call came to Liu Shishi's cell phone, but she was out of town doing a commercial performance.

Since she became a sensation with "Scarlet Heart" and "About Time", and won the Golden Eagle Goddess award, her appearance fee has skyrocketed. As a result, her work schedule has been packed. During the filming of the movie "The Great Wall", Shen Qing even heard that she was so tired that she fell ill. Her fan group "Little Lions" even attacked Cai Yinong and her Tangren Film because of this.

"How much money did Xiao Cai give you? You're working so hard. Come back to Beijing and be with me."

"Sister K has been kind to me."

"You and she are just boss and employee, don't get too caught up in the drama. 'Scarlet Heart' was the one I specifically requested for you, and 'About Time' was a script I painstakingly wrote for you. If anything, shouldn't you come back to Beijing to be with me?"

"I've already given myself to you, and you're still not satisfied?"

"I'm not satisfied. It's been almost three months since I last saw you. If you don't come, I'll just call Cai Yinong and demand you come."

"No way, are you trying to kill yourself? Aren't you ashamed? Aren't you afraid of being exposed? Okay, okay, K-sister and I will discuss going back to Beijing to rest for a couple of days."

Liu Shishi hadn't returned to Beijing yet when Shen Qing received another text message from Jing Tian.

"Director, the role I was praised for the most was in your movie. The Great Wall was also the first time I learned how to act and the first time I got into character. You are my benefactor. I would like to invite you to dinner to express my gratitude to you in person. Please do me the honor of coming."

Driver Shen Lei took Shen Qing to the restaurant they had arranged to meet. The large private room contained only Shen Qing and Jing Tian.

"I came by taxi. I didn't bring an assistant or agent. Nobody knows me. Take me home after we finish eating."

Once the food and drinks were served, only the two of them remained in the private room. Jing Tian stared into Shen Qing's eyes and said...

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing corrected him, "I'm taking you home, not bringing you home. No problem, I'll have Shen Lei take you first."

"It's about taking me home, not just sending me home." Jing Tian looked at Shen Qing and asked, "What's wrong, scared?"

Shen Qing smiled nonchalantly and said, "What am I afraid of? What do I have to be afraid of?"

Jing Tian said, "Then take me home."

"What, curious about what my house looks like?"

I want to give you something.

"What is it?"

"Something I must personally deliver to your home."

"Could you tell me in advance? I'm so curious!"

"It's something that all men like."

"Oh, really? Then I'll have to see what it is. What if I don't like it?"

"No, unless you're not a man!"

After the meal, the two got into Shen Qing's car. Shen Qing gave him an address, and Shen Lei, focused on his own thoughts, drove them smoothly to their destination.

After going upstairs, he opened the door and invited Jing Tian into the room. As soon as he turned around, the other man's arm was already around his neck.

"I'm so caught up in the drama that I can't get out of it. All I can think about is Shen Sui. He's driving me crazy. You have to help me."

Jing Tian originally thought that the feeling would disappear after filming wrapped up, but she didn't expect that the feeling would not only not disappear, but would become more and more intense. She said that she was full of Shen Sui in her mind—in fact, she just lied. She was full of Shen Qing in her mind, not Shen Sui.

Shen is the character played by Shen Qing, but Shen Sui is not the same as Shen Qing. The person that Jing Tian keeps thinking about is Shen Qing, not the virtual character Shen Sui who is wearing Eastern Han Dynasty military uniform.

"How would you like me to help you?"

"I want you."

With that, she lightly jumped, hanging her legs on Shen Qing.

Shen Qing didn't speak, so Jing Tian asked her again, "Are you scared? Or are you not a man?"

Shen Qing glanced at her, then carried her into the bedroom.

At a point like this, any further procrastination would be worse than that of pigs and dogs.

Two days later, Liu Shishi also returned to the capital.

Filming for "Let's Get Married" has begun. Shen Qing met with director Liu Jiang and Huang Haibo in the office. In addition, Shen Qing also met with the technical team of Maoyan Movies during this period.

A few days later, the film "Sewing Machine Band," directed by Da Peng, finally started filming. Shen Qing and Chen Zhixi attended the film's opening ceremony together.

Da Peng wanted Shen Qing to come on stage and say a few words, but Shen Qing refused. Later, he wanted to lift the red cloth on the camera with Shen Qing, but Shen Qing waved his hand again.

"You're the director, so it's most appropriate for you to reveal the truth."

Upon hearing this, Dapeng didn't say anything more, but simply nodded solemnly.

Wu Jing took the script for "Wolf Warrior 1" to Shen Qing. Although Shen Qing had promised that he would invest in Wu Jing if he had a good script, Wu Jing still seemed unsure of himself.

-

"I won't read the script. I'm investing in you, Wu Jing, as a person, in your honesty in making movies. Just give me a budget, and I'll have Chen Zhixi lend you the money. I only have one requirement: the money must be used wisely. Shenqi Films will send someone to monitor how the funds are used."

"Director, rest assured, I guarantee that every penny will be spent where it's needed."

"Don't be so tense, relax a bit. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. My requirements aren't that strict either."

"Using money wisely is not about making the water too clear, it's about the most basic requirement."

After leaving Shenqi Films, Wu Jing immediately called Xie Nan.

"What did I tell you? Mr. Shen has such a sharp eye; how could he not see the potential in my script?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was also full of surprise: "President Shen has read your script? What was his reaction? Did he offer any suggestions for revision? If so, you must listen to him; President Shen's opinions are definitely correct."

Wu Jing was slightly embarrassed. Shen Qing hadn't even looked at the script. However, President Shen said that he was investing in the person. He valued Wu Jing as a person and that he didn't cut corners when making movies, which made Wu Jing even more touched.

"When President Shen was reading the script, his expression was serious. I thought to myself, 'That's it, President Shen definitely won't like it.' But after he finished reading the script, he said with a stern face, 'Is 8000 million enough? If not, then 1 million!'"

"real?"

"Of course it's true, filming will officially begin in two months."

《飓风营救3》的公映日期是8月12日，最大的两个竞争对手分别是7月21日上映的《变形金刚3》和8月4日上映的《哈利波特与死亡圣器下》。

Chen Zhixi inquired and found out that most cinemas expected Transformers 3 to have more than 70% of screenings, and on average, Transformers 3's total screenings might be around 73%.

The expected screening share for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" is also around 50%.

How many screenings are we expecting for Taken 3?

"The percentage varies across different cinema chains, but overall it should be around 53%."

Shen Qing frowned. "Transformers 3" started with 73% of the screenings, but "Taken 3" dropped to 53%?

"Lost in Thailand" started with 67% of screenings, and at one point it surged to 70%.

There is still a gap between the expected 73% screening share of "Transformers 3".

"I specifically asked some friends in the industry, and they said that when our 'Taken 3' is released, 'Transformers 3' will still have a certain level of popularity, and a screen share of around 15% is normal. 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2' has only been released for 8 days, and retaining 25% of the screen share is already a bit low. All of these together take up 40% of the screen share. What about the other films? It would be good if 'Taken 3' could get around 53% of the screen share."

"That's true," Shen Qing asked, "Who do you think is a bigger star, me or director Zhang Yimou? And which film, *Taken 3* or *The Flowers of War*, will generate more buzz?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Zhixi said decisively, "Back then, you were a bigger star! Box office is king. Your box office was on the level of Cameron and Spielberg. You were world-class! Of course, 'Taken 3' was more popular. The market generally believed that 'Taken 3' would be a 10 billion yuan film, while 'The Flowers of War' would most likely be a 5 million yuan film."

Shen Qing nodded, her mind replaying the interesting events from when "The Flowers of War" was released in her later life.

During this year's Lunar New Year film season, Zhang Weiping, the producer of "The Flowers of War," unilaterally announced that the minimum ticket price for the film would be raised from 35 yuan to 40 yuan, while the revenue share with theaters would be increased from 43% to 45%. This move naturally provoked a joint boycott from the eight major theater chains in China. Shen Qing remembered the outcome in her previous life: the Film Bureau intervened, and Zhang Weiping won a resounding victory, with the revenue share for "The Flowers of War" increasing from 43% to 45%.

Zhang Weiping even publicly declared: "Anyone who is dissatisfied can give up distribution, but I will never back down! I will not suffer any losses, because the box office revenue from screening in 10 theater chains is actually the same as that from screening in 5 theater chains."

If you're not happy, then don't screen my movies. I don't need your few theaters showing them. In fact, Zhang Weiping had already used this tactic three times before to force theaters to make concessions. The revenue sharing ratio for domestic films was increased from 38% to 40% for "Hero", to 41% for "House of Flying Daggers", and then another 1% to 42% for "Curse of the Golden Flower". However, this was a ratio that only big-budget films could get. The revenue sharing ratio for small and medium-sized films was still around 38%. It wasn't until the "Guiding Opinions on Adjusting the Revenue Sharing Ratio of Domestic Films" was issued in 08 that the principle of a revenue sharing ratio of no less than 43% for domestic films was established. But in reality, small and medium-sized films still couldn't get a 43% revenue sharing ratio after that. Weaker film companies would voluntarily lower their revenue sharing ratio in exchange for theaters increasing the screening ratio of their films.

However, the above examples are enough to illustrate that big directors can control theater chains and cinemas through screening rights.

"The Flowers of War" is good, but "Taken 3" is not.

"Go and discuss this with China Film Group and Enlight Media again, and ask them to convey our message to theaters and cinemas across the country. I hope that 'Taken 3' can get at least as many screenings as 'Transformers 3'."

"What if they disagree, citing difficulties?"

"Then let's find a way to get them to agree."

"it is good."

After years of collaboration, Chen Zhixi now unconditionally believes that Shen Qing can create miracles.

In the office, Shen Qing fell into deep thought.

Does the right to screen films force theaters to comply?

If anyone doesn't give me more screenings, I won't let them show my movie.

The controversy was too great, the conflict too intense, and it made too many enemies. Shen Qing had better methods.