Back To 2005

Li Donglai was originally a field worker in Hengdiao. He was accidentally spotted by a Hong Kong director and started directing movies.

In the past ten years, Li Donglai has grown from a small director to a global player step by step. He has directed no less than five international blockbusters, including a well-known high-box office series.

It can be said that Li Donglai is definitely one of the top three Chinese directors.

When it comes to directing ability in international commercial films, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Chinese are number one.

For such a great Chinese director, Zhou Anan naturally has to maintain considerable respect.

The meeting place was chosen by Li Donglai. It was in the western restaurant on the fifth floor of the Qianbao Hotel. It had a window view of the river. Zhou Anan arrived ten minutes early.

However, the other party came earlier than him.

"Director Li, I'm sorry for being late and keeping you waiting."

Seeing the handsome middle-aged man drinking coffee slowly, Zhou Anan walked over and apologized with a smile.

Although there are still ten minutes left before the agreed time, the attitude can always make the other party feel comfortable.

"Mr. Zhou, you're welcome. I arrived early."

Li Donglai shook hands with the other party. Li Donglai, who knew some information about the other party in advance, was very polite and would not hesitate at all because of the other party's age.

Whether the other party holds a major entertainment company or the other party has written some eye-catching scripts, Li Donglai attaches great importance to this meeting between the two.

"Has Director Li ordered anything?"

After sitting down, Zhou Anan asked with concern.

Zhou Anan's first impression of this international director was pretty good.

"not yet."

"Then let's order food first and talk while eating."

"good."

After calling the waiter, the two simply ordered a few foods and then started to get into the topic of chatting.

"How did Mr. Zhou come up with such an amazing plot as "Edge of Tomorrow"?"

Speaking of movies, Li Donglai's eyes brightened obviously.

For the director, movies are the brightest color in life.

"Actually, I only came up with the idea after reading online novels. At first, I thought of a plot about being constantly reborn on a train. Then I saw South American science fiction movies and thought that adding the theme of alien invasion and homeland defense would make it more interesting. Meaningful and more engaging.”

Now that he has the title of screenwriter, Zhou Anan naturally wanted to show off his talents and briefly talked about the plot of a certain science fiction movie about infinite rebirth.

In fact, the movie "Edge of Tomorrow" borrowed many ideas from the science fiction film "Source Code", but the former's box office and influence were much greater.

Furthermore, the investment in "Source Code" is not very large, and it cannot support the production of 200 million yuan. Relatively speaking, the scenes of "Edge of Tomorrow" are much more powerful, and the artistic conception of protecting the family and the country is also better.

Zhou Anan must come back to the good news.

"Oh, this is another good subject"

Hearing Zhou Anan talk about the plot of "Source Code", Li Donglai was very interested and asked several questions in succession.

Afterwards, the two talked about the concept of the two movies "The Martian" and "Passengers".

Before I knew it, the steak was a little cold.

While traveling in the South China Sea, Zhou Anan wrote the scripts for three science fiction films in a row and asked the great director to choose them, which obviously aroused his strong interest. This was exactly the result he wanted at the beginning.

It's a pity that "Inception" has some elements that are not suitable for China. Zhou Anan can't remember the details clearly, so he passed it for the time being.

"I'm sorry. When it comes to good movies, I get a little excited and can't control myself."

Eating a slightly cold steak, Li Donglai apologized for asking so many questions before.

"It's okay, I'll ask someone to get another one."

After bragging in front of the international director without any trace of pretense, Zhou Anan felt very comfortable and called the waiter to exchange two steaks.

"Mr. Zhou, I am very interested in the three movies of your company. I just don't know if you can let me direct all three movies."

After chatting for so long, Li Donglai made his final request.

Originally, he insisted on meeting with the screenwriters of the films, intending to win the copyright or directing rights to three science fiction films.

It's just that this screenwriter has a bit of a background, so Li Donglai settled for the next best thing and wanted to direct these three movies.

He knew that his request was a bit unreasonable. After all, if the other party agreed, he would have to give him a four- to six-year cycle to complete the production of three movies.

However, Li Donglai really likes these three movies so much that he feels that missing any of them will make his director career regretful.

"Hahaha, these three movies were originally prepared for Director Li. If Director Li didn't tell me, I would have been afraid that the scripts of these three movies would be sitting in the warehouse gathering dust."

After hearing the other party's request, Zhou Anan couldn't help but smile and responded.

Originally, he just felt that he couldn't choose which movie, so he wrote the scripts of all three movies and let the other party choose freely.

Now that the other party has taken the initiative to direct all three movies, Zhou Anan couldn't be better.

Apart from Li Donglai, Zhou Anan really didn't trust anyone else to direct these three science fiction movies, which cost a lot of money.

"That's really nice."

Seeing that the other party agreed, Li Donglai's worries disappeared and he felt very happy.

For a director, it is very important whether the producer is a good person, and the film script is also something that can be met but not sought.

Having encountered a bottleneck in Hollywood, he urgently needs a few masterpieces to announce the arrival of Lee Dong-rae's era.

Let those with perverted eyes see that Chinese people can also conquer audiences around the world.

"I don't know, which movie is Director Li going to direct first?"

After confirming the intention to cooperate, Zhou Anan became concerned about the other party's production sequence.

He had a preference in his heart, but he had to respect the great director's ideas. After all, he was a layman who didn't know anything about film shooting.

"I want to make "The Martian" first, and then let people make the movie you just mentioned about infinite rebirth to find the real murderer at the same time to prepare for the follow-up "Edge of Tomorrow"."

After thinking about it, Li Donglai gave a rough plan.

"Okay, I wonder if Director Li has any other requirements?"

After hearing the other party's reasons, Zhou Anan, who was more focused on "Edge of Tomorrow", nodded in agreement.

"In terms of shooting, I want to borrow the 3D shooting technology that Cameron has recently used to make a 3D movie. But in this way, the production funds may increase slightly. I think"

In case the other party didn't know about 3D technology, Li Donglai even boasted a little about this emerging technology.

"no problem."

Regarding this point, Zhou Anan supports it unconditionally.

Although there are not many 3D screens in China now, Zhou Anan is aware of the general trend in the future.

When Cameron's epoch-making movie is released in two years' time, a large number of 3D theaters will emerge in China, enough for all Chinese people to appreciate the elegance of 3D movies.

In 10 years' time, the top three box office rankings of theater movies will be occupied by 3D movies for a long time.

"In addition, I want to acquire a special effects company in Hong Kong Island."

Unexpectedly, the other party supported his shooting plan so easily, and Li Donglai was a little embarrassed to tell him another request.