China Entertainment: Director’s happiness is so simple

Nolan walked away with the script for the first film.

The script has been registered, so there is no big problem in giving it to him.

After Nolan left, Lu Pingping put his matters behind him.

Nolan, who wants to succeed, will not let this opportunity pass him by.

So he can definitely get the job done.

Lu Pingan himself continues to invest in the preliminary preparations for "Wonderful Night".

The biggest preparation work at the moment is making relevant props.

This requires the use of physical special effects technology.

Coupled with the master chef from the Forbidden City, the work progressed very quickly.

During this period, Han Sanpin came over to take a look.

The script has been reviewed, and Han Sanpin said his superiors praised Lu Pingan for his efforts in cultural export.

It’s just about cultural export.

Lu Ping'an actually had a different idea.

Cultural export is related to national strength and the global environment, and cannot be forced at this stage.

Regarding cultural export, Lu Ping An’s attitude is serious.

He believes that this is an ambitious goal, but if it is to be realized, it must be considered realistically.

The most basic point is.

In order for the work to be effective in cultural output, he believes that the most important prerequisite is that the domestic audience likes to watch it.

If my family likes it, then this is a good work.

Good works have similar aesthetics internationally.

Just like kung fu movies, among the many classic movies in Hong Kong, which one was aimed at the West from the beginning?

If you shoot well and the video is really good-looking, there will naturally be fans from abroad who come here because of the smell.

So don’t think about output or not. If you shoot well and serve the local audience well, that is actually the greatest success.

Only when this is done can it stand the test of time.

Of course, we should also look forward to foreign box office, but don’t hold out too much hope.

With a strong culture, the estrangement will naturally be deep, and we are really weak and cannot force it.

If you blindly pursue to be liked by other people but not liked by your own family, it is difficult to tell who is exporting to whom.

So when adapting, you have to keep your eyes open.

Such as "Tuner" and "Source Code".

The adaptations of these two works actually do not involve "cultural" related issues.

In other words, there is no particularly big controversy in terms of "culture".

Suspense crimes, science fiction, solving crimes and fighting terrorists are universal.

Therefore, after the film was filmed, it was well received by domestic and foreign audiences.

"Night at the Museum" is different.

Although this film is suitable for all ages, in the film, the audience can see countless fantastic landscapes, touch "history" up close, and travel across continents and thousands of years (or even billions of years) of human civilization.

But it's very "American."

Almost all of the central characters in the film are Americans.

If it is shot in the Mainland, it will definitely have to be adapted, and it will definitely have to be prepared for poor box office overseas.

Therefore, Lu Pingan does not expect this film to make much box office overseas, as long as the domestic box office is good.

Will this film do well at the domestic box office?

Lu Ping'an thinks it's okay.

First of all, its core is universal.

Lu Pingan retains the central core of "the father regains the respect of his son".

This theme can be used anywhere.

In addition, the core selling point of the film is "the resurrection of museum exhibits at night."

This is a imaginative movie with great special effects, suitable for all ages, and has a fun plot, making it perfect for the summer season.

With the two cores retained, the skeleton of the film is complete.

The plot is also relatively easy to adapt.

For example, various American historical figures involved in the original film, exhibits from around the world, etc.

These can be replaced one by one.

"Theodore Roosevelt" could be replaced by Sima Qian, who was wise and later became "disabled" like Roosevelt. This would fit perfectly with the plot at the end of the film when his body is cut in half by a carriage. The key is that Sima Qian is also the author of "Historical Records", and The entire Natural History Museum is extremely adaptable.

In fact, Lu Pingan originally wanted to find some great people in modern times, such as Mr. Sun and teachers, but it was really difficult to put them up, and Lu Pingan also cherished his life.

In ancient times, the others were really not as suitable as Sima Qian.

"Attila the Hun" can be replaced by Genghis Khan or the brutal emperor of the northern nomads in history, retaining the attributes of "dismemberment by five horses" and "brutal".

"Augustus Octavian", this character in the film is a bit silly. He could have been replaced by Zhao Kuo. He could use the joke of armchair warfare, but he would always be ridiculed by "cowboys" for armchair warfare.

The Roman military formation can be replaced with the military formation from the Warring States Period, and you can also make a spoof of "Wind and Wind".

The scene needs to be big and powerful, and there should be a montage at the end. It turns out that the soldiers are small soldiers to create a big contrast and increase the laughter.

It also echoes the scene at the end of the film where the two CPs deflate the tires.

"Western Cowboy Jedediah" is a modern American character. He and "Octavian" form a CP and become a highlight in the film. Lu Ping'an could replace him with a domestic character, but because the plot involves "Chinese Americans" "Labor", Lu Pingan finally decided to retain it as a member of the museum's modern history exhibition area, which can be regarded as a display of the "Qing Dynasty Exhibition Area".

In this way, the plot of the "cowboy" beheading "Octavian" in the film has to be changed, and it becomes Zhao Kuo tying up the cowboy and beheading him to avenge his descendants.

"The black and white masked man representing the Civil War" didn't have many scenes in the original film, and it was mainly just to add chaos, so it could have been replaced by the Three Kingdoms Wei, Shu and Wu, adding chaos to chaos.

The Indian guide girl "Sacagawea" can be replaced by Hua Mulan. This is a familiar character in both China and the West. In the film, she is responsible for the beauty, the sass, and the "tracking" at the end of the film, which plays some "laughing fruit" Just fine.

"Lewis and Clark's Expedition" can be put together in the "Tang Dynasty Display Area", so that they can be replaced by Tang Xuanzang. Anyway, there are only a few scenes of these two in the film, so just show them.

"Columbus" was replaced by Zheng He, a perfect replacement.

"The Mayans built the pyramids" should be replaced by the construction of the Great Wall, and the country's business card must be shown.

"Neanderthal", replaced by BJ ape-man.

"Easter Island Stone Statue", in the film, this guy always wants candy. The hero didn't bring any candy to it at first, and it didn't lose its temper. He also reminded the hero that Arati was very irritable and a bit like a good old man. In the end, the hero Before the performance, a "Quiet!" was heard, causing everyone fighting to turn off their engines and listen to the hero's speech.

This can be replaced by a large Buddha head stone statue.

The character is set to be a chatty, good-natured guy, and the dubbing is by Luo Jiaying's version of Tang Monk, who talks nonsense about Journey to the West. The protagonist gives him bubble gum in order to shut him up, which is very reasonable. The last "Amitabha" was uttered, and the Buddha's voice suppressed the whole audience. ,Perfect!

In this way, "Dexter the capuchin" can be replaced by a domestic monkey and named "Wukong". A monkey that always looks for trouble and causes chaos in the museum is not just a monkey causing havoc in heaven.

If Zhou Xingxing is willing to authorize it, he can also replace it with "Supreme Treasure".

Moreover, it is easy to find actors for this kind of monkey. There are still many teams of folk artists who perform monkey tricks, so it is not difficult to find them.

At the end of the film, the "Postal Carriage" is replaced by the "Qin Dynasty Carriage", which is another perfect replacement.

The "Dinosaurs", "African Mammal Exhibition Hall" and "Aquarium" can all be the same as the original ones, no need to change them. The museum has a vast land and abundant resources, so it's not a big problem.

The last thing is the most important "Pharaoh's Writing Tablet". Lu Ping'an directly replaced it with a pure gold oracle bone turtle back plate.

As a result, the "Pharaoh" had to be replaced by King Zhou of Shang Dynasty or the earlier Chi You. There was a big contrast. At first, I thought he was a peerless evil man, but the ones who suppressed him were four huge "Four Heavenly Kings", but it turned out that After opening the seal, what came out was a cute young man.

In short, this film is a comedy.

Be logical, but you don’t need to be too logical, as long as the respective characters are roughly consistent with history.

The original film actually mentioned this. For example, "Roosevelt" said: "I am not the president, I am just a wax figure."

Wax figures are different from real historical figures.

This is the setting of comedy elements and one of the important reasons that promotes the protagonist's growth.

It wouldn’t be fun if all the characters and cultures of historical figures were retained.

Other elements from all over the world should also be present.

The original film also featured Chinese elements such as "terracotta warriors and horses" and "stone lions", but there were no scenes.

The Ping An Lu version can also be played in this way, adding some foreign elements, such as Europeans in wigs, dirty pirates, Roman plaster statues, Egyptian pharaohs walking their dogs, etc., but it is also just a fleeting shot and no drama.

As for the plot, we only need to change the museum setting.

The New York Museum of Natural History has little business and is about to close down. The owner of the museum is a messy rich man who puts everything into it.

The protagonist is also a frustrated father and inventor. Through a job that no one dares to do, he regains his dignity in front of his son, overcomes the shadow of divorce and regains love. In the end, the museum's business is booming, and the protagonist also achieves success in his career.

In this way, a film with a strong Chinese flavor was born.

Although this will be less global than the original film.

But Lu Ping'an thinks it's not a big problem.

Because it’s still the same sentence.

Cultural export depends on national strength, environment and export channels.

It's unrealistic at this stage, especially for a movie with such rich cultural elements.

Therefore, Lu Ping An's purpose is to make domestic audiences find it enjoyable first. If it really doesn't earn much box office overseas, that's fine.

Furthermore, since I filmed it first, this is China’s IP. If I checked it in advance, the copyright belongs to me.

Hollywood blatantly wants to grab an IP that has been released around the world without spending any money?

People also want to have a good face!

Therefore, for overseas profits, Lu Ping An only focuses on the adaptation rights.

Even the right to adapt is not his purpose.

If the Chinese version couldn't do much overseas damage, he would make an American version himself.

The cost is 12 million US dollars, and the global box office is more than 500 million US dollars. If you can make a profit, you must make a profit, and you can also mix in more Chinese elements to increase the drama.

This is better than the original Chinese version with just soy sauce.

If you really are afraid of being criticized, you don’t have to direct it yourself. Anyway, there are no rewards for remakes of the same movie and for series.

So just let others direct it, and publicize it to the outside world as long as the adaptation rights are sold.

If the American version of the film may not be as good as yours, but it is more successful than yours, it will only make the domestic public reflect on practical issues.

In short, as long as the domestic version is filmed well, Lu Ping An will always win.

The next question is how to make the movie more interesting.

The script and preliminary preparation are on the one hand, and the actors are also on the other.

The protagonist is important.

You must have acting skills, be good at comedy, have good character and good popularity with the audience.

Who to choose?