Chapter 231 Invitation from 'Shanghai Fortress' and 'The Wandering Earth'
Chapter 231 Invitations from "Shanghai Fortress" and "The Wandering Earth"!
"The box office champion has been announced. Marvel's latest movie "Avengers 3" has won this year's May Day box office champion in one fell swoop!"
"The May Day melee has come to an end, and "Avengers 3" beat out "The Players", "The Next Us", "God of War" and other domestic films to win the May Day championship!"
"How far is the gap between domestic directors and world famous directors?"
"With a box office difference of 200 million, "Ready Player One" missed the box office championship!"
"There are 4 movies on May 1st that have a box office of over 1 billion, and the total box office of the movie market has reached a new high in recent years!"
"As one of the most anticipated movies by fans this year, "Avengers 3" can be said to be a success. With its super cast and gorgeous special effects, it has earned over 2 billion in box office, setting a record for the highest box office of a Marvel movie!"
"The movie "The Player Behind the Scenes" starring Xu Zheng failed at the box office and failed to continue the explosive performance of "The God of Medicine"!"
"Lin Yuan made his debut in a Hollywood film for the first time and was well received by all walks of life. The Chinese elements shocked audiences at home and abroad. "Ready Player One" is undoubtedly the most sincere imported film this year!"
It can be seen from the reports of major media that this year's May 1st domestic films have once again been overwhelmed by foreign imported films. "Ready Player One" put enough pressure on them before, and "Avengers 3" came later.
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Although the domestic film "The Next Us" and "The Player Behind the Scenes" starring Xu Zheng have done a lot of publicity work before their release, filmmakers in the industry still don't have much hope for these two films. The reason is very
To put it simply, most Hollywood movies are science fiction films with excellent special effects, and their main focus is visual shock.
On the other hand, the domestic films released during the May Day period in China are either suspense films or romantic and artistic films, and they are no match for these Hollywood films in terms of box office appeal.
The box office has come to an end, which also means the end of the May Day period. Whether students or office workers, they are back to their busy work.
The domestic film market has also entered an unprecedented off-season.
However, this off-season will not last long. In less than a month, with the college entrance examination coming, the film market will usher in the summer carnival again.
As movies such as "Tomatoes" and "Jurassic World 2" have begun their preliminary publicity work, the media and audience's attention has also shifted from the two movies "Ready Player One" and "Avengers 3" to the upcoming movie
New film above.
"Hey, Sister Xia, okay, then I'll come over right now."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan put the phone aside, stood up and stretched.
Since returning to Shanghai and starting to work on the script of "My Motherland and Me", he hasn't been out much and treated it as a long vacation for himself.
However, Lin Yuan estimated that his vacation was over, because he had just received a call from Sister Xia, asking him to go to the company and discuss any work matters with him.
As for the so-called work matters, you don't need to think about it. In all likelihood, the film crew wants him to play the leading role, or other film companies have some scripts and want to talk to him about cooperation. Other than that,
Lin Yuan really couldn't think of anything else that Sister Xia might want to see him for.
Lin Yuan naturally has no objection to this. After all, it will take some time for "My Motherland and Me" to start filming. You have to find something to do in these few months of free time. Otherwise, you will not get exposure and will be known by the audience sooner or later.
Forgetting, what is the difference between this and being hidden in the snow.
After briefly cleaning up, Lin Yuan quickly rushed to the company.
"Good morning, brother Lin Yuan. Long time no see. Brother Lin Yuan, you have become handsome again."
The artist at the front desk immediately burst into laughter when he saw Lin Yuan enter the company, and his voice was so sweet that it made your bones tingle. You must know that the biggest contributor to Xitian Media's current scale is Lin Yuan. If he can do it with Lin Yuan
If she has a good relationship, she won't be far away from becoming famous.
However, Lin Yuan just nodded to her and didn't say a word during the whole process.
It wasn't that he was pretending to be cold, but other artists in the company were already heading towards the front desk after hearing the noise. After hearing the footsteps coming from far and near, Lin Yuan hurriedly walked towards the office with his head lowered.
Come on, he really can't bear the enthusiasm of the company's female artists.
Lin Yuan opened the door, said hello to Sister Xia, pulled out a stool and sat down directly.
"Sister Xia, what do you want from me?"
"It's not a big deal, it's just that two crews want to make a movie with you. Here are the scripts. You can read them first." Sister Xia handed the two scripts on the table to Lin Yuan, then stood up and took a glass from Lin Yuan.
Warm water.
Lin Yuan took the water glass, took a sip, and focused on the two scripts in front of him.
The two scripts are "The Wandering Earth" and "Shanghai Fortress".
Lin Yuan is no stranger to these two scripts. In 2014, China Film Co., Ltd. decided to start filming the movie "The Wandering Earth", and "Shanghai Fortress" was not too late. It started writing the script in 2013.
It is said that in order to present the "Shanghai Battlefield" in the original work, the crew also specially built a 15,500 square meter real scene in Shanghai.
The filming of these two big-budget movies is not a secret at all in the industry, but no one knows when the filming of these two movies will officially start.
While Lin Yuan was flipping through the scripts, Sister Xia explained some news about these two scripts to Lin Yuan: "It's a coincidence that these two scripts are both domestic science fiction movies, and they are both based on the same name.
It is adapted from a science fiction novel. However, there are currently many candidates for the leading role in "The Wandering Earth" and they have not yet been confirmed. However, Teng Huatao, the director of "Shanghai Fortress", said that as long as you are confirmed to star, the position of the male lead will definitely be reserved for you."
Hearing this, Lin Yuan couldn't help but ask: "Is Teng Huatao the director of "Shanghai Fortress"?"
Teng Huatao has directed many works, including the TV series "Snail House", "Wang Gui and Anna", as well as love movies such as "Waiting for the Wind" and "Love Delivery Service". Of course, the most famous film of this director is definitely ""
"Love Is Not Blind" is the biggest dark horse in the annual box office market.
This director is certainly capable, but judging from the films and TV series he has filmed, his specialty is obviously romance films. Now, after a few years, he is back to work on science fiction films.
, which really surprised Lin Yuan.
Sister Xia immediately heard the surprise in Lin Yuan's words, and explained: "What's the matter? The director of "The Wandering Earth" is still Guo Fan."
What Sister Xia means is very simple. Judging from the works, the two directors Guo Fan and Teng Huatao have similar styles. One of their masterpieces is "My Deskmate" and the other is "Love Is Not Blind". And judging from the number of works,
, Guo Fan’s experience is not as good as Teng Huatao’s.
However, this cannot be said.
Although Guo Fan has directed relatively few film and television works, his advantage is that he is young. If a young and up-and-coming director makes a science fiction film, and a sixth-generation director makes a domestic science fiction film, the former will definitely have a greater advantage.
However, Lin Yuan did not intend to explain, but changed the topic and asked: "Sister Xia, have the other actors for these two movies been decided?"
"The confirmed actor for "The Wandering Earth" is Wu Jing, but whether Wu Jing is the leading role or a supporting role is still uncertain. However, for "Shanghai Fortress", the heroine has been decided. She was with you before.
Thank you for your cooperation."
Hearing this, Lin Yuan nodded in agreement.
In a science fiction film like this, female characters definitely cannot appear as flower vases. Among domestic actresses, there are not many who can play heroic and heroic female characters, and Shu Qi is one of them.
What's more, Shu Qi is more suitable in terms of image, popularity, salary, and relationship between actors.
"The second male lead is chosen to be Lu Han and Gao Yixiang. Both of them are currently very popular stars. They will be of great help to the popularity of the movie and subsequent publicity and hype."
The warm water in Lin Yuan's water cup was getting colder. After hearing what Sister Xia said about the male duo, he suddenly frowned, looked up at Sister Xia, and reached out to interrupt her: "Sister Xia, please wait a moment. I
I’d like to ask, isn’t this a science fiction war movie?”
"yes."
"Then how come director Teng Huatao thought of casting Lu Han?" Lin Yuan expressed confusion.
It is understandable that Gao Yixiang is the second male lead. He is also a popular star, but his image is here, and there is nothing wrong with starring in this kind of science fiction war movie. However, Lu Han is really incompatible with the character image in the script.
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The atmosphere suddenly solidified. Sister Xia hesitated for a moment before slowly explaining: "There is no way, the film investor is China Television Entertainment."
There are not many artists under China Television Entertainment, but there are quite a few contracted agency artists, and Lu Han is one of them.
Lin Yuan suddenly felt a headache. This was indeed a bit embarrassing. Nowadays, there are far fewer cases where popular stars are starring, but the number of popular stars appearing on the big screen is increasing. Every month, big and small agents
The company will let young talents enter the big pot of entertainment industry like dumplings.
There is no way, now there are fewer and fewer opportunities for newcomers to be exposed. In addition to debuting in variety shows, they can only leave an impact on the audience by starring in film and television dramas on the big screen.
"Sister Xia, please continue talking."
"Okay, then the other characters are"
Lin Yuan didn't interrupt until Sister Xia finished speaking, but from the back, the names he heard were all unknown, or relatively unknown stars who had just debuted.
Lin Yuan can basically confirm that China Television Entertainment invested in the filming of the movie "Shanghai Fortress". In addition to being stimulated by the two science fiction movies "Ready Player One" and "Avengers 3", it also has another purpose, and that is
Newcomers must be highly praised, and in order to ensure word-of-mouth reputation, Lin Yuan, an evergreen figure at the box office, is needed to lead them to success.
Nowadays, the casting of movies is basically positioned in this way, with fresh meat to attract money and powerful actors to ensure reputation. This combination has become the most commonly used routine in domestic filming.
Enlight Media had the same intention in sending Lin Yuan to the director position of "My Motherland and Me" before.
Lin Yuan can understand this.
Besides, he himself doesn’t have any biased view of popular stars. After all, most popular stars are relatively young and have to spend time learning to sing, dance, rap and basketball. The schedule is very tight, so it’s normal for his acting skills not to be as good as those of professional actors.
It doesn't matter, as long as you are willing to learn, just like when Zhang Yixing was filming "Kung Fu Yoga", Lin Yuan admired his seriousness and dedication.
However, Lin Yuan has never been in contact with popular stars such as Lu Han, and he doesn't know their attitudes when filming, so he is a little disgusted with such casting, but it does not affect whether he will star in the movie.
The most important thing now is that he has to see the quality of the script of "Shanghai Fortress". If the quality of the script is average, he will naturally have no reason to star in this movie.
Lin Yuan speeded up his reading, but when he was halfway through, he frowned.
Although he has not read the original work, after seeing the plot in the script, he directly "sentenced death" to the movie in his heart. From the beginning to the present, nine out of ten domestic science fiction movies are bad movies.
Only one of them could barely reach the passing mark.
In Lin Yuan’s impression, current domestic science fiction movies basically find a bunch of handsome men and women who are eye-catching, create an exaggerated look, and then make random gestures in front of a green screen, and there is no interaction between the actors.
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The appearance is ridiculous, the content is empty, and the story is boring. These are the shortcomings of most domestic science fiction movies. In the past, you could use the excuse of insufficient special effects to excuse the past, but now the level of special effects in China is not much different from that in foreign countries.
In the end, the script was still so bad.
Only those who have read the scripts of domestic science fiction movies know that domestic science fiction movies have never made a serious science fiction film at all. Most of them are romance films and suspense films, but they are just dressed in the guise of science fiction themes.
"Shanghai Fortress", which has been in preparation since 2013, is no exception.
Five years have passed, and the original work is obviously about the alien dark forces in the future world attacking the earth. Jiang Yang follows the female commander Lin Lan into the Shanghai Fortress to become a commander, and fights against the alien invaders with the Gray Eagle Team.
story.
But after reading the script, Lin Yuan felt that the whole story seemed to be telling the love story between the protagonist Jiang Yang and the female commander Lin Lan at a time of doomsday crisis.
Lin Yuan could only open the script and read it slowly, hoping that there would be a twist later. Unfortunately, his brows became more and more frowned. As Lin Yuan expected, the script was really bad.
But fortunately, at least he has read it carefully now and can refuse it openly.
"Sister Xia, I'm afraid I have to thank Director Teng Huatao for his kindness. I feel that the protagonist image of the movie "Shanghai Fortress" is really not suitable for me. I'd better watch "The Wandering Earth"." Lin Yuan still left a message for Director Teng Huatao.
Some face, after all, this script is not the responsibility of another director.
Now I can only hope that the script of "The Wandering Earth" can give him a little surprise.
After hearing Lin Yuan's answer, Sister Xia also realized that the quality of the movie script of "Shanghai Fortress" may be substandard, but from the perspective of practical interests, Sister Xia definitely hopes that Lin Yuan will star in the movie "Shanghai Fortress"
of.
The reason is very simple. "Shanghai Fortress" and "The Wandering Earth" are both big-budget movies. The investment of the former is 400 million, and based on the starring actor's 10% remuneration, Lin Yuan can get at least 40 million in remuneration.
Although the latter claims to have an investment of 500 million, there are already rumors about Wanda withdrawing its investment.
I'm afraid that Director Guo Fan invited Lin Yuan to star in the movie because he wanted to use this method to stabilize Wanda Pictures so that the other party would not withdraw its investment.
As Lin Yuan's agent, Ning Luoxia must have the obligation to remind him.
"Lin Yuan, the situation of the crew of "The Wandering Earth" is a bit complicated. Wanda Pictures seems to be preparing to withdraw its investment. In addition, the crew has rented eight studios in the film and television base of Oriental Film Capital. Judging from the current situation, the crew
The remuneration offered to actors is not ideal.”
Compared with other genres, sci-fi movies that rely on large-scale special effects are the most expensive in terms of cost. This is why major domestic film studios have been reluctant to make hard-core sci-fi movies.
Firstly, the previous special effects level in China was too low, and secondly, the cost of film production was too high.
The cost of making a hard-core science fiction movie can completely make two or three comedy movies that hit the box office championship. In this case, major film companies that value commercial interests are naturally unwilling to spend money on science fiction movies.
Photographed above.
If it were not for the box office stimulation of science fiction movies such as "Ready Player One" and "Avengers", I am afraid that the official filming of science fiction movies such as "The Wandering Earth" and "Shanghai Fortress" would have to be delayed for another two years.
After talking about the situation in "The Wandering Crew", Sister Xia also gave her advice seriously: "If you think there is a problem with the script of "Shanghai Fortress", I think you can discuss it with Director Teng Huatao. I believe Director Teng Huatao
And the screenwriter is still very willing to modify the script."
Sister Xia is not wrong in what she said.
With Lin Yuan's current exaggerated popularity, if it is confirmed that he can star in "Shanghai Fortress", even if the screenwriter is unwilling to modify the script, the investor, China Television Entertainment, will obediently ask the screenwriter to modify the script according to Lin Yuan's ideas.
There is no way, who makes Lin Yuan the box office guarantee in the domestic film market?
After hearing what Sister Xia said, Lin Yuan asked in surprise: "The crew of "The Wandering Earth" rented eight studios?"
"I also heard from my friends over at the Oriental Movie Capital. It shouldn't be wrong. It is said that people from the props team have already gone over and started busy setting up the scenery." Sister Xia started to explain.
As a qualified agent, you must be well-informed about the gossip in the industry, not to mention that the crew has invited artists to star in movies, so naturally you have to inquire about it in advance.
Originally, I said this to make Lin Yuan reconsider "Shanghai Fortress", but unexpectedly, after hearing this answer, Lin Yuan became more interested in the movie "The Wandering Earth".
When filming "The Secret of the Dragon", the crew rented ten vacant film and television bases in Huairou to shoot the movie. Director Wu Ershan can be said to have spent all the investment money on the cutting edge.
With its special effects production and high-quality script, as well as a starring cast such as Huang Bo, Lin Yuan, and Shu Qi, it is only natural that "The Secret of the Dragon" won the box office championship during the National Day period after its release.
Now the crew of "The Wandering Earth" is also spending money wisely. If the quality of the script passes the standard, once this movie is released, it is likely to become a benchmark for science fiction films in Chinese movies!
As for the divestment of Wanda Pictures, Lin Yuan is somewhat used to this kind of thing after having experienced the divestment of "In the Name of the People" before.
However, this kind of thing does not have a big impact on him. Anyway, his current card balance is still sufficient. Since he could invest in "In the Name of the People" and "Manslaughter" before, why can't he invest in the movie "The Wandering Earth"?
?
Of course, the premise is that the movie "The Wandering Earth" is of a quality that allows him to invest.
With this idea in mind, Lin Yuan became more and more serious when reading the script of "The Wandering Earth".
After spending nearly half an hour reading the script, Lin Yuan had only one thought in his mind: He didn't know the level of the two directors, Guo Fan and Teng Huatao, but the screenwriters of the two crews were obviously not on the same level.
The script of "Shanghai Fortress" focuses entirely on the relationship between the male and female protagonists and the characters of the Gray Eagle team. There are too few portraits of the group during the disaster. It is difficult for people to immerse themselves in the alien dark forces attacking the earth.
In the midst of a crisis, it feels like having a vigorous love affair at the end of the world.
But "The Wandering Earth" is different. In addition to the detailed description of the actions of the protagonist and his group, it also has a rich and vivid portrayal of the ordinary people in desperate situations.
Comparing his feelings, if Lin Yuan were asked to choose a movie to watch as an ordinary viewer, he would definitely choose the latter, there is no doubt about it.
After all, who is willing to spend sixty or seventy yuan on a giant screen movie ticket to watch a romantic movie?
After closing the script, Lin Yuan rubbed his eyes and said seriously: "Sister Xia, help me contact Director Guo Fan and tell him that I am interested in this script and ask him if the actors have been decided yet."
Sister Xia glanced at Lin Yuan and then agreed: "Okay, I'll tell you when Director Guo Fan gets his reply."
After returning to the apartment, Lin Yuan received a call from director Guo Fan that night.
In fact, Guo Fan himself did not expect that Lin Yuan would be interested in the movie "The Wandering Earth". Generally, most popular domestic actors are reluctant to star in domestic science fiction movies. After all, the quality of domestic science fiction movies is so poor.
That is obvious to all, and no one wants to damage their reputation by starring in such a movie.
So after learning that Lin Yuan was interested in the script, Guo Fan directly asked for Lin Yuan's phone number from Ning Luoxia and couldn't wait to call.
Although Lin Yuan was interested in the script, he still seriously asked about the current situation in the crew.
For example, Wanda Pictures' divestment, film remuneration, confirmed cast list, etc.
After hearing Lin Yuan's question, Guo Fan also smiled helplessly: "Wanda Pictures is indeed preparing to divest, but it has not been confirmed yet, and the producer and I are already looking for other investors to ensure that it will not affect the movie.
Shoot normally."
This kind of thing cannot be concealed by Guo Fan if he wants to. He might as well admit it openly.
The only actors who have been confirmed so far are Zhao Jinmai and Da Shu, and their combined salary is less than 500,000 yuan, so Guo Fan is embarrassed to mention Lin Yuan's specific salary.
There was no way around it. Wanda Pictures had originally planned to divest. Now they not only had to get the investment that Wanda Pictures would divest, but they also had to get enough investment to pay Lin Yuan's salary.
However, it is not easy to attract investment for domestic science fiction films.
Huayi Brothers and Enlight Media have put one focus on the transformation of low-cost films and the other on domestic animated films. Wanda Pictures, the only company with investment intentions, is now withdrawing due to various circumstances. Even if it is withdrawn from other companies
The film company has secured investment, and the investment amount will definitely not be too large.
"Teacher Lin Yuan, that's it. Regarding the remuneration, I can't make the decision for the time being. I have to discuss it with the producer, but I can guarantee that the remuneration given by our crew will never be lower than the remuneration you received from your last film. How about it?"
This is already the biggest guarantee Guo Fan can make. As a top star, Lin Yuan's salary is not low. Now he has won the box office championship during the Spring Festival this year and became the first domestic actor with a box office of over 10 billion. Naturally, his salary is also
A rising tide lifts all boats, and Guo Fan’s conservative estimate is around 40 to 50 million.
Based on the current situation of the crew of "The Wandering Earth", it is obviously impossible to spend so much money to pay Lin Yuan's salary, so they can only shamelessly try to bargain with Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan could also guess the crew's current predicament from Guo Fan's hesitant answer on the other end of the phone.
To say that he doesn't care about the remuneration is definitely impossible. After all, with his current celebrity status, the minimum remuneration is 40 million. Let him star in a commercial movie with zero remuneration, let alone he disagrees.
Even Xitian Media and Enlight Media behind it would not agree.
Seeing this situation, Lin Yuan tried to say: "Director Guo Fan, if not, the salary will be treated as my investment in the movie, how about that?"
Guo Fan, who was on the other end of the phone, his eyes lit up when he heard this. He was a little surprised that he heard it wrong. It took him two seconds to react and quickly replied: "Of course, I will call the producer right away.
One sound."
You must know that Lin Yuan's salary is at least 40 million. Even if Wanda Pictures does not withdraw its investment, it will be difficult for the crew to come up with a salary of 40 million, not to mention that Wanda Pictures may withdraw its investment now.
Now that Lin Yuan is willing to use his remuneration to invest in movies, it can be said that this has solved the immediate needs of the crew.
The crew only needs to raise an additional investment of 20 to 30 million, and the filming can basically begin.
After finishing the call with Director Guo Fan, Lin Yuan made a special call to Director Chen Kaige and asked about the preparations for the crew of "My Motherland and Me". No matter how he said that he was also one of the directors of this film, he could not be there.
When the time comes to break up the scene, the crew from both sides will run back and forth.
Fortunately, the movie will not start shooting until the end of the year, but the crew will be casting the film at the end of the month and he needs to take time to go there.
After getting the accurate news, Lin Yuan was relieved. Judging from the current situation, he just had to wait for Director Guo Fan to give him a reply.