Chinese entertainment for engineering students

The release of the movie was a very troublesome matter. Even Wang Xu had to walk up and down, and was even called by Director Jiang to meet with a certain leader in the Science and Technology Department.

But Wang Xu finally understood why Han looked so much like the Dragon King that day and kept his mouth twisted.

Without him, jealousy.

Wang Xu's movie actually became a pilot project for the box office splitting system.

The key to this news is that it was not the competent authorities such as China Film or the Ministry of Culture that notified Wang Xu, but the leaders of the Ministry of Science and Technology, which is a bit interesting.

Wang Xu thought about it for a long time but didn't understand the twists and turns. The meeting was very harmonious. The leader first affirmed Wang Xu's recent move to promote the development of science and technology through film and television, and then the secretary handed over a The notice of the big red seal for each position was handed over to Wang Xu.

The title is "Notice on piloting the sharing of joint venture films using "The Matrix" as a pilot. The name clearly explains everything. The content is that 30% of the total box office will be handed over to the producer as a share and then distributed to investors. .

The meaning of pilot is actually to give it a try. It was really common in the 1980s and 1990s. If it works, find a place to do it and then cross the river by feeling the stones.

When it comes to film distribution, China Film still buys film copies and pays them according to the number of copies. Often, even if a film sells well, it can earn millions in revenue, and most of them cannot even recover the cost.

Therefore, the film studio at the moment basically still has the same plan, which is to draw a framework and shoot a few feature films and documentaries with a general range of themes, and then allocate a sum of money.

Then the film studio would collect projects on its own and make things that no one would see.

In fact, the first two years were not bad, and various themes were still filmed, especially rural themes and urban themes, both of which were very impressive. However, apart from winning some awards, excellent films had almost no profit. Everyone I gradually lost the energy to do it.

Especially rural-themed films, which have a wide audience in rural areas. However, the screening of such films not only makes no money, but also loses money, a lot of money.

When movies go to the countryside, a projection team rides three-wheelers, pulls the projection equipment and curtains, and goes to a village with good traffic to show the movie. The surrounding villages will be notified by the village chief early, and then the big Girls, daughters-in-law, men, women, old and young, with mats and benches, all gathered in the village where the movie was shown to watch.

Not only rural areas, but also some remote farms, pastoral areas, border defenses, checkpoints, mines, etc. all have similar services. Wang Xu has seen a yurt cinema where many herdsmen ride horses to watch movies.

Instead of showing the movie in the yurt, I would find a larger and more conspicuous yurt, and then show the movie on the pasture next to it. If nothing else, you can see the mosquitoes and bugs flying everywhere on the screen. of black spots.

This policy can be said to be the only way for remote areas to access movies at that time, and it is the best childhood memory for children in most parts of China.

Even a kid like Wang Xu who grew up in the city would sometimes go to a village where movies can be shown to watch movies. Watching in a movie theater costs money, so ride a bicycle and go farther away to a factory, university, or village. Watching movies is no big deal.

At that time, watching movies was really comparable to various festivals in later generations. It was really crowded and packed with people.

The funniest thing is that the movie curtain is actually translucent, so you can see it from the front and back. When you look at it from the back, everything is in reverse, which makes it look particularly weird.

Obviously, it is impossible for such movies to be included in the box office, and the movies shown are all old movies. Many of them have no box office in urban areas, but they are particularly popular in rural areas or in certain dialect areas.

This is a Chinese characteristic and a welfare policy. Anyway, Wang Xu thinks it is pretty good. Later, when television became popular, especially pirated VCDs, this kind of activity of sending movies to the countryside slowly disappeared.

Therefore, if we say that the current film policy is actually reasonable, we cannot say that it is necessarily corrupt. It is actually a method summed up in long-term practice.

Those free movies also need to be copied. These things cost money, and this money depends on state funding. The more popular a movie is in rural areas, the more copies the country has to make and then distribute it to everyone for free.

Then the losses for this film were even worse, and even the authorities didn’t really want to make these things.

In the early 1980s, many excellent rural-themed films appeared, such as "Sweet Career", "Laughter at Moon Bay", "Our Cows Are 100 Years Old", "Xiyingmen", "The Winding Mountain Road", "The Way to Make Money", "Life", "Furong Town", there are actually so many more that I can't even count them. These are all very good-looking old rural-themed films.

Well, "Furong Town" is not a rural movie in the complete sense, although many things happen in rural areas.

However, these films reached their peak from the beginning of reform and opening up to the mid-1980s. They include dramas, comedies, and tragedies, with rich genres and diverse themes. To be honest, not only rural people like them, but also urbanites like Wang Xu.

But after that, few masterpieces were produced. By the 1990s, there were few films that could seriously tell rural stories. Except for one "Cockfight" which was somewhat interesting, there were really no other impressive films. .

If we look at it from an economic point of view, it means that rural reform has come to an end, urban reform has entered the fast lane, and the focus of reform has shifted. Anyway, under the influence of multiple factors, rural-themed movies have declined.

But Wang Xu feels that since several directors won awards overseas and gained both fame and fortune, all directors' hearts have been drawn away by overseas awards, which cannot but be said to be an important reason.

The late 1980s to the 1990s were the most popular era of so-called auteur films in China, which focused on self-expression and various metaphorical connotations, but did not focus on telling stories or pleasing the audience.

Almost all the emerging directors are chasing awards, and no one is honestly making good-looking movies anymore.

In the 1990s, movie box office declined and the market was in a sluggish state. Many analysts blamed rising ticket prices and rampant piracy, but Wang Xu really didn't think that was the case.

In 1990, there was still a national box office of 2 billion. By 1994, that is, this year, there seemed to be only 1.4 billion left. After that, it continued to decline. In 1997 and 1998, it seemed that the box office was only 1 billion. Movie ticket prices increased, but box office fell. Okay, can theaters really make money?

Many movie theaters have closed over the years.

The audience is dissatisfied, so reform is imperative.

In this era, movie theaters did not have the so-called concept of theater chains. Most of them bought their own copies, screened them themselves, and were responsible for their own profits and losses. The chain of interests here was even more complicated. Most of the movie theaters now belonged to a certain street or factory. The property rights are in such a mess that the film company has no way of managing them.

Therefore, charging money based on copies is a very clear and simple charging method.

The problem is, a good movie is a copy, and a bad movie is also a copy. The prices are basically the same, but the revenue from the movie theaters is very different.

Various transactions will emerge in endlessly, which is one of the important reasons why senior officials want to take action and carry out reforms.

China Film has also set up some theater chains based on overseas templates. However, some big cities have their own film bureaus and have distribution capabilities, so they have also set up some theater chains of their own.

Anyway, in this era, theaters are still in their infancy and development. It can be said to be extremely chaotic. China Film is also groping. The game between all parties has not yet reached a balance, and it is really chaotic.

With such a mess of cinema lines, it’s hard to say how much money can be divided, but at least the box office has finally become measurable. The first imported film will be released at the end of the year. Before that, it is actually feasible to explore the road with a cooperative film. of.

But there are too many interests involved. Although the higher-ups don’t know what this film will be like, the investment of 200 million is a real deal and a very scary amount of investment.

This is also a super investment that has never appeared in the entire Huaxia region. Although in Chou Country, it is at most a medium investment, and it is not too much to call it a small and medium investment, but in China, it is unique.

The release of this kind of movie is a huge event in itself. It was the kind that was no problem on the last seven o'clock news. China Film obviously wants this popularity. Now that the Chinese film market is getting more and more sluggish, who will watch this trend? All anxious.

Introducing foreign films for stimulation is naturally a means, but it would certainly be better if internal staff could participate more, or even jointly film.

There was no choice before, but suddenly a choice popped up in front of everyone, and China Film Group was obviously happy to see it happen.

Wang Xu's movie is actually a side project. It is a privately invested movie. Strictly speaking, the Chinese investment is negligible. Even Wang Xu's funds came in in the form of Xiangjiang funds. Who said that China would not allow it at all.

But everyone above knows that this thing is really dominated by Chinese people. Almost most of the content is produced by Chinese people, and it is even more localized than many Xiangjiang films.

This film has actually become a buffer between reformers and conservatives, allowing everyone to have a step down, watch it first, and then talk about it.

These are all things that Wang Xu can think of. He knows how much impact his film will have on the entire film industry. This is why he did not hesitate to spend his own money to make it in the beginning.

What confused him was actually the intervention of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Looking at the official seal on the document, it was obviously the work of the Ministry of Education. Then the official seal with the August 1st logo clearly made him even more stunned.

How could these incompetent units interfere in the distribution of a movie so openly? Can China Film Company really tolerate it?

Of course Wang Xu asked Director Jiang, but Director Jiang smiled and said nothing. It would be bad for Wang Xu to understand this thing too clearly, so it would be better to leave him confused.

It can be said that the Ministry of Science and Technology paid attention to this film earlier than China Film Company. Director Jiang reported it to Wang Xu as early as when he established the project, and even assigned someone to keep an eye on it.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has seen the rapid iteration and development of a series of software and hardware products led by this film. With the preparation, shooting, and post-production of the film, various products are maturing rapidly.

By the time the filming of the movie was completed, what everyone saw was a very mature and complete product series for shooting special effects science fiction movies.

Although they don’t know how to make movies and don’t know what Wang Xu’s movie is like, they understand technology. This method of using one industry to drive other industries is a path that China has been exploring.

With such an obvious case in front of us, how could we not make good use of it, but this thing is not under their control, so let's contact everyone first.

A phone call came in, “What, they also used drones?

Is there a joint laboratory with you? That's a good relationship. We need to promote this thing. Why don't you even say hello to us when you join forces?

What? He invested it himself, so that's fine.

What? Has he started making arms?

Just don’t count it, just don’t count it.

This kid is so scary.

Yes, it really should be, do you also contribute?

Okay, let's count it as your share and we can discuss it together later. "

Then another call came, "

Yes, that's him. You know about him making movies.

It’s good to know. I enrolled in several universities, including Shuimu, Film Academy, and Aviation Academy.

Well, this is the situation now...

Okay, okay, you go find out.

Okay, I'll call you later. "

Then another: "

What, his new lenses and optical components were made at your place?

The relationship is good, right, the local factory, does that involve them too?

What about the chip? If this is not leaked, I will count you among them. "

Well, it seems that there are a lot of units involved. It's okay. It's simple. Wang Xu's matter can be pushed up.

Who could have imagined that the issue of filming and releasing a movie would eventually land on the desk of a certain office.

Then the problem became simple. A meeting of department directors was held with relevant personnel from several major ministries and commissions participating, and finally this notice was issued.

And China Film, um, very enthusiastically searched for various ideas and methods, showed off its own strengths and abilities, and showed an aura of vowing to carry out the reform to the end, and took the final operational rights of this matter back into its own hands. superior.

Other departments are easy to get together and disperse, but they will use the release of the film to promote their respective fields. You can choose the angle yourself.

As for, how is this movie? Well, no one knows. It would be nice to have a show here before it is officially released.

Well, that's right. Along with that notice, there was also a verbal notice to show a movie for the leaders. I won't write the address. It was probably south of Beihai Park and west of the Forbidden City.

I heard that movies would be shown there and tickets would be sold. It was said that several leaders particularly liked watching movies, but I didn’t expect this to be true. Does this count as hosting the premiere to the highest standards?

When Wang Xu went back, he quickly told Wang Fei, "Hey, Scorpion is the only one responsible for this. There are several directors who are qualified." Then he made a low-key call to all the directors involved.

"Director Zhang, that's right, that's right. I just asked you to go there and play it again. Oh, oh, oh, you're busy, you're busy. I have nothing else to do. I just wanted to let you know."

"Dududu..."

"Brother Wen, where will the film be shown to the leaders? What other preparations do you think I should make?"

"roll."

"Hey, what's your attitude?"

"Dududu..."

"Director Xu"

"Dududu..."

Well, Wang Xu felt as if he had offended someone. Looking at Wang Fei's gloating expression beside him, he couldn't help but pull her into his arms and rub her.

"They're just jealous, they must be."

…

Two days later, Wang Xu and Wang Fei, a young couple in formal attire, were picked up by a black Audi 200, carrying with them a large box in which the latest copies of the film were locked.

The film was one hundred minutes long and was exactly the same as the one submitted for review. It was approved without any cuts, so Wang Xu had an official dragon mark and was qualified to be released.

The full name of this thing is "Film Exhibition License", a system that was only officially implemented last year. Since then, it has become an important hurdle that countless movies need to pass. It seems that there is no entertainment novel that does not write about this. Wang Xuhehe, he also joins in the fun.

By the way, the films of Jiang Wen and Lao Mouzi are still stuck.

Ahem, seriously, Wang Xu has watched this film countless times, and every scene is clear to him. Wang Fei had actually watched it several times, but today, as they were sitting in the front row, it was hard to do anything, so they could only watch it again with some embarrassment.

In fact, most actors don't like watching their own movies very much. No matter whether they perform well or not, they will feel inexplicable embarrassment. Except for those who ponder over and over again in order to improve their acting skills, those are usually fragments, not the whole movie.

But both Wang Xu and Wang Fei were fine. The movie was actually quite good, especially Wang Fei. After getting over the initial nervousness and embarrassment, she was immersed in the movie again.

The 100 minutes passed by very quickly. After watching it several times, Wang Fei would not cry in the movie again. It seems that she has never cried. She probably won't cry when she plays the movie.

But during the performance, the tears were indeed real. When she came back, she hugged Wang Xu and cried for a long time. She said that she felt that Wang Xu was really dead and gone forever. The props she was carrying were extremely cold, and her heart felt like ice. Tears flowed down involuntarily.

This is also the reason why that section is particularly touching. The actors' true interpretation can accurately convey the emotions, and the audience can feel it.

"Wang Xu is very good. The film is well shot. Although it is a science fiction film, it has our attitude. Wang Fei is also very good. She acted very well and brought out our warmth."

This evaluation is not a low one, and Wang Xu is a little frightened. Especially the comments about attitude and warmth are so accurate that they really make Wang Xu feel like a confidant that touches his soul.

After leaving, Wang Xu still felt a little dizzy, but looking at Wang Fei who was holding her arms tightly, the two of them supported each other, and it was obvious that she was the same way.

Looking at each other and smiling, it's worth it.

——

(I still don’t know if there’s more, there’s always something going on at night, but I’m not sure if it really takes that long. I’ll write it when I have time, but I’ll see you in advance.)