China Entertainment King of Science Fiction

Chapter 91 The director cannot be a tool man

The film schedule density in North American theaters is very high, with more than a dozen new films being released every week, and hundreds of films being screened in North American theaters at the same time.

Therefore, if the film is not produced by a major company, it can only be screened on a small scale in North American theaters, ranging from single-digit theaters to dozens and hundreds of theaters. If your attendance data is outstanding, the distribution company

Only movie theaters and theater chains will consider expanding the number of theaters, and foreign films must abide by this rule of the game.

If Chen Jingxing did not sell the copyright at that time, and Huanshi.com contacted small distributors in North America to jointly distribute it, it would not be impossible, but it would basically be shown in Chinese theaters in Chinese areas. It would be good to have more than 10 theaters.

"Fatal Identity" can open in 725 theaters, which shows that Colombia has worked hard. The opening of "Heroes" in 2,500 theaters back then is still a record that is difficult for foreign films to break. In fact, even for local Hollywood films,

Not many can open with 2,500 theaters, and only large-scale productions can get this treatment.

Nowadays, as the Hollywood film industry is alone in defeat and crushing the world, it is difficult for North American audiences to develop a desire to pursue foreign films. Although more foreign films have entered North American theaters, they are no longer as Chinese-language films as they once were.

It has also entered mainstream attention on a large scale.

Chen Jingxing exchanged some information about the film's release with Edward Birch, and returned to the hotel with the other five directors. They heard that "Fatal Identity" would be released in North America, and everyone expressed congratulations.

After congratulating Xiao Yang, he asked: "When will it premiere? Let's all go and watch it together?"

Chen Jingxing hesitated for a moment and then said cheerfully: "Okay, it just so happened that Columbia said it would give me a dozen premiere movie tickets."

Ning Hao thought for a moment and decided: "That's enough tickets. Let's go see the premiere then?"

Although Ning Hao's tone was solicitous, no one present would be stupid enough to say he wouldn't go. This "Young Director Exchange Class" is also a good opportunity for everyone to get to know each other and expand their network. Everyone has the support and recommendation of a major studio.

Those who can only sit in this car will have a bright future. Who would offend others with such a lack of discernment?

It’s so outrageous that the producers don’t even need to read the script. They can directly feel the rhythm and structure of the movie’s story by looking at a few sets of data extracted from the script.

Columbia Pictures was very open-minded and did not hide anything. It showed them the complete industrial process of the new film project "Hotel Transylvania 2", and there was a dedicated person to explain it. They even played a short film to introduce in depth the "Black-ish" movie.

Although the six people knew more or less the production process of Hollywood movies about the production process and industrial details of the "Man in Clothes" series, the "industrialization" displayed by Columbia was still a bit beyond their expectations. It was really industrialization in the literal sense.

The format of the script is standardized, with unified fonts, unified format, unified line spacing, how many dialogues each character speaks, and how many times each scene is used.

When Lu Yang asked how much of the lens shooting plan could be achieved, the Colombian staff replied with pride: "Through the system management of the shot list and the dynamic preview of the lens, more than 90% of the lens shooting plan can achieve a high degree of restoration.

realization."

Then there is the realization of a "packaged into a box" lens shooting solution.

It’s so accurate that when the producer gets a “standard script”, he already has a 90% idea of ​​the movie. For example, when the script is 90-12 pages, it actually completely matches the movie’s duration of 90-120 minutes.

.

Chen Sicheng sneered: "I can easily get much more investment than he can give me in China, and the production costs can be recovered from the domestic market. Why do we come here to be tool makers? They think we are Koreans."

?”

According to the scheduled itinerary, the "study class" went to Colombia the next day to observe the so-called film industry process.

Ning Hao and Chen Jingxing looked at each other and had an idea in their minds: They should send producers over for exchanges and study. It would be a mistake to choose the wrong student for directors to come over for study.

For example, the simplest screenwriting team, the screenwriting team of "Men in Black 3" has fourteen people. Some people are responsible for the design of the world environment and social ecology, and there are even people who specialize in writing details such as advertisements in these environments. Everyone even uses the same screenwriter.

software.

Ning Hao also laughed and said: "Isn't it called the 'Westernization Movement' in the film industry where the film bureau organizes young directors to come to Hollywood to study? The 'Westernization Movement' also talks about sublimation and abandonment, so there is no need to copy everything. We still learn critically.

We can try out the good points when we go back and push them, and we don’t need to absorb the bad parts.”

Although Chen Jingxing didn't care, the reason why he hesitated was that he still felt that it was not appropriate for him to take the initiative to invite people to attend the premiere. Of course it would be okay for him to do this if he was someone outside the film industry, but the people who came with him were directors, and some

Someone who has more seniority than him, actively inviting people to watch the premiere of his movie in the United States always feels like showing off in front of his peers.

Xiao Yang said with a smile: "You can also join Hollywood. The director in Colombia seems to have known about our achievements and knew that your movie was being shown in China. Didn't he recruit you to join? He said that he could invest money for you.

Some low-budget films for Asians.”

No, you made the right choice!

…

Fortunately, the director was sent to study.

Guo Fan also said with emotion: "I think the director here is more appropriately called a shot planner. Here he either becomes a big director after becoming famous, or he makes independent films, or he sticks to literary films. Otherwise, he can only be a toolman, even editing.

I don’t have any rights.”

In addition to screenwriting software, photographers, equipment technicians, and scene management all have their own software.

Chen Jingxing and other six people drove towards the premiere theater of "Fatal Identity" in a car. Chen Sicheng looked at the billboards outside the window and said with a little envy: "It seems that Colombia has also put a lot of effort into promoting it. Several billboards are all about movies.

poster."

In addition, before shooting, a lens shooting plan will be produced, and there will even be a detailed shot list, and then a rough CG will be used to make a shot preview according to the shot list. At this time, the budget can be determined more accurately.

In pre-shot rehearsal, the speed and movement of the camera and the position of the actors were also determined.

Others, including Chen Jingxing, deeply agreed with this statement.

We are all smart people, so we naturally know that the industrialization of the film industry is the general trend, and we also know the power of industrial films, but after all, we are all directors, and we cannot change our lives here.

It can only be said that there are choices and sacrifices. For example, the division of labor software is good for screenwriters and even field workers. It can still be industrialized for those below me, but not for those above.

Young directors in China have grown up watching movies by fifth and sixth generation directors. Authorship is deeply imprinted in their film creation DNA, making them give up or suppress their authorship for the sake of the film industry.

It's very difficult.

(End of chapter)