Huayu is free to do as you like

Just like Zhao Liying said, Hengdian Film and Television City, which was closed down at the end of January, reopened half a month later, with more than a dozen movies including "Dajiang Dahe 2", "You Fei", "Thank You Doctor" and "Born to the Sun" Film and television dramas have resumed production one after another.

However, there are also some dramas that have completely stopped filming due to insufficient follow-up funds.

Many film and television dramas that were in preparation last year have also been delayed due to lack of funds due to the general environment.

At this time, all practitioners in the domestic film and television industry have truly experienced what winter is coming.

China's film and television industry has entered a golden age of rapid development since 2011, which happened to be Gu Wei's first year at Beijing Film Academy.

At that time, the construction of domestic theater chains was gradually completed, and the Chinese film industry ushered in a period of unprecedented rapid growth, setting box office revenue records repeatedly.

Since 2011, the growth rate of the film and television industry has been more than double the average growth rate of all A-share companies.

At that time, traditional industries such as steel, chemicals, and textiles were in decline, profits gradually declined, and stocks collapsed.

As a result, some listed companies began to set their sights on the film and television industry and look for investment opportunities.

Film and television is actually a small industry, but when the profits of this small industry are much higher than other industries, capital will flow in. This is determined by the profit-seeking nature of capital.

Data show that there were 96 mergers and acquisitions in the cultural industry in 2013, which increased to 159 in 2014 and 196 in 2015. On average, there was one merger and acquisition every two days.

So much so that there was a joke circulating in the industry at that time: “What do companies in different industries such as catering, animal husbandry, dairy products, machinery manufacturing, fireworks and firecrackers have in common?

The answer is that they have all become film and television companies.

Alibaba’s US$4.5 billion acquisition of Youku and Wanda’s US$3.5 billion acquisition of Legendary Pictures both occurred at this stage.

It was also from this stage that internal entertainment entered a golden age of prosperity and prosperity.

Various film and television drama projects have been launched, and the salaries of celebrities and artists have skyrocketed.

The so-called traffic era also began during this period.

It’s just that people are not as good as a thousand days, and flowers are not as beautiful as a hundred days.

Since 2016, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has repeatedly issued relevant documents to regulate areas such as film and television, games, and Internet finance that were hotly speculated by the capital market at that time.

In October 2018, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued a document detailing the review of refinancing and once again proposed that listed companies must not raise funds for cross-border investment in film, television or games.

The various measures taken by the China Securities Regulatory Commission are regarded by the industry as an attempt to subside the capital craze and to allow capital to "move from virtual to real" and flow back into the real economy.

Since then, capital has receded on a large scale, and the film and television industry has slowly entered a cold winter period.

Now that the YI epidemic has struck, the film and television industry has been hit again.

Countless small companies have had to close down due to financial problems. Most actors and practitioners at the bottom have difficulty finding job opportunities and can only rely on their savings to survive.

But when the tide recedes, you will know who is swimming naked.

As long as the film and television industry continues, truly high-quality projects will never be short of money, and top celebrities will never be short of filming.

In 2019, the gift film "My Motherland and Me" was a great success, with a total box office of 3.1 billion yuan, a good reputation at the box office, and a lot of money.

At that time, there were voices within China Film Group Corporation that they wanted to refer to the "Founding of the People's Republic of China Trilogy" and make two similar tribute films in the same format.

Now a few months have passed, China Film has hired Ning Hao as the chief director, Zhang Baibai as the chief planner, and also hired Zhang Yimou as the chief producer.

At the same time, the theme of the new film was determined - by telling hometown stories that happened in the five major regions of China, showing the achievements of the motherland's recent poverty alleviation, and presenting the hilarious stories and deep emotions between the Chinese people and their hometown.

China Film's large conference room.

China Film Group, led by producer Xu Jianhai, discussed the preparation of the film with Ning Hao, Zhang Baibai and others.

"Now that we have the theme, the most important thing now is to select the director.

Then you can write the script, select actors, and start filming as soon as possible.

Although the current environment is not very good, as a gift film "My Hometown and Me" has been scheduled to be released on National Day this year.

We are pressed for time."

“There are five stories in total, I will shoot one, and there are still four directors missing.

I think Xu Zheng can do it. He did a good job in [Winning the Championship] in [My Motherland and Me].

And I know he has some time recently, so he should have no problem completing a unit."

Ning Hao immediately recommended his good friend Xu Zheng. The two have become good friends since they met at "Crazy Stone". Over the years, in addition to their relationship, they have formed a community of interests.

[My Hometown and Me] has laid a good foundation, and [My Hometown and Me] will be a hit without any accident. Xu Zheng has been deeply involved in the whirlpool of public opinion recently and has been attacked by many people in the industry. He wants to win over his brothers.

Xu Jianhai hesitated.

Logically speaking, with Xu Zheng's qualifications and talent, it would be no problem to be a unit director.

However, [囧Mom]’s saucy actions caused his reputation in the industry to decline sharply.

In addition to theaters, many conservative-minded filmmakers are also dissatisfied with him. They feel that Xu Zheng's messy behavior and breaking of the industry's unwritten rules will bring chaos to the film and television industry.

Seeing Producer Xu frowning, Ning Hao knew the reason and quickly added.

"Xu Zheng's reputation among the audience is still very good. He is from Shanghai, so he can film stories in the Oriental section."

Seeing Ning Hao's positive recommendation, Xu Jianhai couldn't help but give the chief director face and nodded slowly.

"Then send an invitation to Director Xu and confirm it as soon as possible to start preparations for filming."

After deciding on Xu Zheng, the chief planner Zhang Baimei also recommended his good friends Deng Chao and Yu Baimei.

"I initially wanted to ask Guo Fan to direct a unit. I contacted him a few days ago and he said he was busy preparing for [The Wandering Earth 2] and had no time, so he refused.

I think you can contact Gu Wei and ask him if he has any schedule."

Networking in the film and television industry is the primary productive force. Ning Hao recommended Xu Zheng, Zhang Baibai recommended Deng Chao, and Xu Jianhai was the producer of "The Wandering Earth". He was good friends with Guo Fan and Gu Wei, so he naturally recommended them.

Everyone has no objection to Producer Xu's idea. With Gu Wei's reputation, even being a director can greatly improve the box office of "My Hometown and Me".

Five directors tentatively decided on four, but everyone discussed the last spot for a long time but couldn't come up with an accurate result.

[My Hometown and Me] is different from the previous film [My Homeland and Me]. The main theme is comedy, and the directors just chosen have all made comedies.

Some people in the conference room said that they should ask Feng Xiaogang, who is a master of comedy, while others said that if they invite Xue Xiaolu, they must have a female director.

Finally, Zhang Yimou, who had been listening in, spoke up: "Yan Fei and Peng Damo, who have photographed [The Richest Man in Xihong City], are pretty good. You can contact [Happy Twist]."

Everyone, look at me and I look at you, Xu Jianhai said, "Then just listen to Director Zhang!"

Bay Bay, Penghu Island.

After more than a month of filming, "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils" has reached the final stage.

The crew moved to a nursing home on Penghu Island to film the scene in which the spiritual monastery kills the leader of the cult.

After Chen Guilin killed Aberdeen, he was looking for Lin Luhe, nicknamed "Nuutou", who was ranked first on the wanted list.

Through clues, he came to a spiritual monastery with beautiful scenery. The spiritual leader inside told him that Lin Luhe was dead.

Chen Guilin was confused. He didn't know what he could do.

At this time, the Venerable used drugs and deception to make Chen Guilin think that his cancer was getting better. He took the initiative to spend all his money and planned to put off worldly things and start a new life as the Venerable said.

It was quickly discovered that everything was fake.

On the surface, this gang of harmful people in the spiritual monastery are solemn and precious, have no desires and are benevolent to the people, but secretly they are men stealing and women being prostituted, extravagant and lustful, and engaging in fraud.

Lin Luhe, who transformed into a Venerable, changed from a violent criminal to a charlatan. He also knew how to combine the "shame culture" of Eastern ethics and the "sin culture" of Western religions to brainwash believers and form a group to efficiently seek wealth and murder. .

So "Evil Man" Chen Guilin came online again.

This part will provide the most enjoyable scene in the whole film, when Chen Guilin kills all the stubborn cultists one by one in the hall of the spiritual monastery.

"Ka! It's over, take a break and move on to the next scene!"

The director's voice came as Gu Wei completed a scene and walked to the rest area next to him wearing the clothes of the spiritual monastery.

Zhou Ming was concentrating on playing with his mobile phone. When he saw Gu Wei coming over from the show, he immediately stood up with a smile.

"Brother Wei, drink some water~"

She was wearing a small blue lace dress, her fair face was full of collagen, and she reached out and handed over a bottle of water.

"Thank you~"

Gu Wei took it, sat down, unscrewed the lid and took a sip.

Zhou Ming's filming was completed a few days ago, but she has not left the crew and plans to return to China with the crew after the film is completed.

These days, she stayed on the set like Gu Wei's personal assistant, helping him pass water and pick up things after he finished the play.

"We have been filming on Penghu Island for the past few days. The scenery here is very beautiful. If you have nothing to do during the day, you don't have to stay on the set. You can go out and walk around."

“No matter how beautiful the scenery is, it means nothing to me alone.

Brother Wei, why don't we go out for a walk after the show is over tonight? "

Zhou Xi's big, moist eyes were full of expectation.

Gu Wei took another sip of water and thought about it.

"There's no night show today. It shouldn't be too late to finish work in the afternoon. It's okay to go out for a walk."

"Very good!"

When Zhou Ming heard Gu Wei's promise, a big smile appeared on his face and he almost jumped up with joy.

Gu Wei looked at Zhou Ming's excitement and smiled.

"Mr. Gu, Mr. Xu from China Film Group just called you, saying that he has something to ask you. I hope you can get back to him at a convenient time."

Yang Dan handed Gu Wei's mobile phone from the side and said.

Gu Wei thought for a while, dialed the phone directly, and waited for a few seconds to get connected.

"Mr. Xu~"

"Mr. Gu, I'm sorry to disturb your filming~"

The phone was connected and the two exchanged a few polite words.

"What's wrong, Mr. Xu?"

"It's like this. China Film is preparing a new movie [My Hometown and Me], which is a series of movies like last year's [My Hometown and Me].

This play has a total of 5 story units, and I would like to invite Mr. Gu to be the director of one of the units.

Of course, it would be even better if Mr. Gu could act in person! "

Xu Jianhai didn't hesitate and stated the purpose of the call straight to the point.

"[My hometown and I]" Gu Wei hesitated.

The movie was indeed a box office hit, but it didn't mean much to him to shoot or star in it.

"My schedule here is too full, I really don't have time~" Gu Wei meant to politely refuse.

"Mr. Gu has filmed "My Motherland and Me" and should know that each unit of our puzzle movie is very short and can be filmed very quickly. It won't take long.

And Mr. La really hopes that Mr. Gu can take over. He hopes that this series of movies will not be like the "Founding of the Nation Trilogy" where each one is worse than the last."

Xu Jianhai was not talking nonsense when he mentioned La Peikang. China Film Group really hopes that Gu Wei can join. As long as he is there, there will be a minimum guarantee for the box office of the movie.

"Is that so?" Gu Wei hesitated.

"I want a part of the investment share!"

Being a director and completing the filming of a unit independently is different from the performance of "My Motherland and Me" which only had a few minutes. He wants to get what he deserves.

Xu Jianhai was silent for two seconds on the other end of the phone.

"I'll talk to Mr. La and he should be able to give me a share, but it won't be as much as an ordinary movie. After all, "My Hometown and Me" is a tribute film. I hope Mr. Gu can understand this."

Xu Jianhai was not surprised that Gu Wei wanted an investment share.

This is already an unspoken rule in the industry. China Film Group has been cooperating with Gu Wei for so many years.

However, he cannot decide the specific amount, and La Peikang needs to make the final decision.

Moreover, among the five directors of "My Hometown and Me", except Gu Wei and chief director Ning Hao, other directors will not have a share.

Even Ning Hao's share will not be higher than Gu Wei.

There is no way, this society is so realistic, whoever can make money is eligible to get benefits.

According to previous achievements, no one in the entertainment industry can make more money than Gu Wei.

"I know, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Xu. I will let the company's people connect with China Film."

After confirming the matter, the two chatted for a few more sentences.

Xu Jianhai roughly talked about the theme of "My Hometown and Me" and what it wanted to express.

Tell Gu Wei that this time it is a proposition composition, and he needs to write a hometown story about the southern region, which needs to show the recent achievements of the motherland's poverty alleviation and the plot of the Chinese people and their hometown.

Gu Wei certainly knows what "My Hometown and Me" is about, but he still patiently listened to Xu Jianhai's words.

After hanging up the phone, Gu Wei thought about it and called Yang Liwen who was far away in Beijing.

".Understood, Mr. Gu. I will contact China Film Group later.

Does the screenwriter department need to start writing the script now?"

"I already have a draft of the script. I will write an outline and send it back in the next two days. You can ask the screenwriter department to enrich it according to what I wrote."

This kind of compilation movie does not require too much effort. Just follow the original version.

"Once the script is completed, we will start preparing the crew and selecting the location. I am in a tight schedule here.

Let Director Li Xin take charge of the crew~"

Gu Wei plans to be a hands-off boss. Once everything is done, he can go and shoot.

This way, it won't take up much time.