I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

"arrive?"

Xu Xin was stunned for a moment, but immediately reacted and asked:

"Just you?"

"Uh...right."

"...I'll send you an address. You can come directly and give me a call."

"Mmm Good."

"Well, hang up first."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Xin sent him her address directly in English.

Then I heard Liu Yifei ask:

"Who?"

"Guo Fan."

"ah?"

Liu Yifei was stunned:

"He came to Los Angeles? Looking for you?"

"That's right. Beijing Film Academy has a Sino-US talent exchange program and selects four directors to come to Hollywood to study. I gave him a spot."

"I know this matter is led by China Film Group Corporation. Has it started now?"

"No, it just started in November."

"Then what is he doing here now?"

"Come to me. I heard that I have a Hollywood movie, so I want to come over and join in the fun and work as my follower for a few days."

"...???"

After hearing his words, Liu Yifei had a ridiculous expression on her face: "What are you talking about?"

"Brother, after all, he is also a director who made 700 million in his debut film... his starting point is higher than you. What are you talking about?"

"What's the word?"

Xu Xin was unhappy:

"Seven hundred million, is it very high?"

"No... not high!?"

The madness in his words frightened the fairy sister:

"Are you fooled by eating too much lard? That's 700 million. How much is your first movie?"

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

Looking at her dumbfounded:

"So, are you surprised that his first movie had such a high box office and you think I don't deserve to have him as my little follower? Or do you simply think that he is better than me and I don't deserve it?"

"Look, look, you're in a hurry, you're in a hurry!"

"..."

At this time, Xu Xin's blood pressure was a little high.

no.

Why are you so naughty?

Leather sofa?

He rolled his eyes directly:

"I'm too lazy to care about you."

"Oh, yes, yes, I don't dare to question Director Xu. Director Xu has everything to cover the sky with one hand, who in the world is not allowed to give him a small amount of noodles?"

"...You just touched my heart, right?"

"Nonsense! You arranged a performance of "The Little Widow's Visit to the Grave" for me, which made me unhappy. Can I still make you happy?"

"..."

have to.

Xu Xin, who knew he was in the wrong, was speechless.

Turn around and walk into the Paramount building.

As he walked, he complained:

"You damn fat man."

"What!?...Xu Sanjin! I'll kill you!!!"

The fairy sister's face suddenly overflowed with murderous intent.

Chasing Xu Xin all the way, it seems that everyone will die together in the Wuling down the hillside.

She chased her all the way to the lobby on the first floor. Due to her identity, she regained her reserve. While waiting for the elevator with Xu Xin, she asked:

"You don't really use someone as a follower, do you?...Don't make trouble. Although I know that he first came out of our crew, but now and then..."

Xu Xin's head was covered with black lines.

I said in my heart, don’t educate me about your emotional intelligence, okay?

He glanced at her speechlessly and shook his head helplessly:

"Otherwise? Will the producer be happy if I arrange an assistant director position for him? So he will be my on-set assistant this time. And the most exaggerated thing is that as a director, I have no problem communicating. I also have to let Meng Meng should be his assistant, otherwise he wouldn’t even be able to communicate well.”

"No...are you serious?"

Liu Yifei was really stunned now:

"Is he going to join the group?"

"Yeah. Otherwise, why do you think he came to the United States two months early? After I gave him the spot, he heard that I was going to make a Hollywood movie, and he insisted on coming over to learn from it. So he came over early. He hangs out on the set every day. , he must have a position, right? Without a work permit, I’m afraid he’ll be interrupted by security guards.”

"..."

This time Liu Yifei completely ruined her outlook on life.

"The director with a box office of 700 million yuan will be your assistant?"

"It has nothing to do with the box office... Not to mention he is an assistant. I am here now with the mentality of learning and crossing the river by feeling the stones of Hollywood. People must recognize themselves. The box office is achieved by the audience. It does not mean that the director's ability has been perfected. On the contrary, who has not personally experienced the Hollywood industrial system, who dares to say that he can defeat the whole world? Is this true?"

"Well……"

Seeing her stunned look, Xu Xin walked into the elevator and shook his head slightly:

"Box office and achievements are never an excuse for a director not to learn. I think the same is true for actors. If you can have this concept, it means that you have already expanded in your heart."

"..."

It was originally a chat between friends.

But as Xu Xin said these words, Liu Yifei's brows furrowed completely.

…

Guo Fan did come here on his own initiative.

Xu Xin didn't lie to her at all.

Otherwise, like Ning Hao, Chen Sicheng, Lu Yang, and the guy who filmed "Oldboy" Xiao Sang, he could come over at the end of November and then go home for Christmas.

When he heard that Director Xu was going to start filming, he came over in advance without hesitation.

To be honest, Xu Xin was also quite happy.

In fact, looking at the people around him, except for the old man, he really doesn't have many friends in the director circle.

For an older director, looking at him is like looking at a rising star.

Fellow directors looked at him like a mountain that he didn't know when he could reach.

As for junior directors...

Um. We, Mr. Xu, are quite young, and are still in school trying to figure out how to play with 35MM film.

Young age, excellent grades, outstanding talent... Under these labels, in fact, he is just an ordinary boy.

It's rare to have a director who is particularly close to me, and we can communicate with each other... Although most of the time I teach, from handling various situations on the set to shooting ideas and so on.

But Xu Xin really likes this kind of person.

Fei Xian'er went to sign the contract for "The Little Widow Visits the Grave".

Xu Xin came to Paramount's audio-visual studio and continued to work on the shots he drew and the shooting techniques for action scenes.

After waiting for about forty minutes, the phone rang again:

"Director Xu, I'm downstairs at Paramount."

"Well, okay. I'll go down right now."

After hanging up the phone, he sorted out the various materials on the desktop and walked out of the studio holding a thick stack of everything the director of "John Wick" needed to prepare.

There's even a Chinese translation of the script.

Then he saw Su Meng sleeping on the sofa in the rest room outside.

"...Tsk."

Mengmeng, this kid must have some glandular hypertrophy, right?

Why do you still like to open your mouth while sleeping?

Moreover, I told you last night to let you go to bed early. You are still up after 3 o'clock in the morning because you are watching dramas.

Fishing at work, right?

Just as he was thinking about it, there was a knock on the door.

Cindy, the temporary secretary assigned to him by Paramount, opened the door and walked in:

"Mr. Director, there is a lady looking for you..."

Before Cindy finished speaking, Xu Xin saw Liu Yifei's face.

So she waved and signaled the other party to come in. Liu Yifei entered the room with her front feet, and saw Su Meng lying on the sofa with her mouth open, sleeping soundly.

"..."

The corner of her mouth twitched.

Although she usually loves Qiqi very much. but……

I always felt that Xu Sanjin was not nice to his assistant.

It's like having a pet.

It’s not enough to be patient.

So, she whispered:

"I'm done...what should she do?"

"Wake me up...use this!"

Suddenly looking at the fruits and drinks prepared for him on the small coffee table, Xu Xin suddenly rolled his eyes, and a breath of "I'm not a human being" was sprayed on Fei Xian'er's face.

Watching him pick up the lemon slices hanging on the edge of the glass, Liu Yifei frowned.

"Hey!!!~~~~"

The fairy sister, who had already guessed what this bitch was going to do, looked disgusted:

"Is it damaged or not?"

"Just tell me if you want to see her reaction! What's more, I went downstairs to drink water at around 3 o'clock last night, and she was still watching TV series on the sofa. I need to give her a small punishment but a big warning."

"..."

The fairy sister stopped talking.

Obviously he doesn't want to join the others.

Then, she watched helplessly as Xu Xin put the lemon slice to her mouth and twisted it...

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that.

Director Xu's quality is relatively high. In order to prevent Mengmeng from accidentally swallowing the lemon core into the trachea, he also removed the lemon core in advance.

Along with this, a small "string" of lemon juice dripped into Su Meng's mouth.

Mengmeng frowned at first.

Then he subconsciously smashed his mouth, turned around...

"Ababa, Baba, Baba..."

"!!!"

Looking at Su Meng who started to twitch like a carp on the sofa, Liu Yifei burst into laughter instantly:

"Pfft...hahahahaha!"

"Wow... Lurrulu..."

"Hahahahahaha..."

Xu Xin also burst out laughing.

Looking at the assistant who was so sore that her facial features were squeezed together and with tears in her eyes, the culprit, the culprit, pinched a wrinkled lemon slice and asked:

"Would you like to watch the drama until three o'clock next time?"

"Hahahahaha..."

The exaggerated laughter of the fairy sister in the room covered up all of Su Meng's answers.

(;Д`)

…

"Director Xu."

"Um."

Xu Xin nodded as he drove out, and when Guo Fan saw Liu Yifei still sitting in the passenger seat, he quickly said hello:

"Teacher Liu."

Liu Yifei smiled slightly:

"Director Guo."

Su Meng, who was sitting in the back seat of the Lincoln Navigator, jumped out of the car with tears in her eyes and opened the trunk.

After Guo Fan pushed his two suitcases into the trunk, he saw a pile of documents on the back seat as soon as he opened the door.

"That's the story script of the movie "John Wick", including breakdown shots of action scenes, split shots, and shooting ideas. You can take a look at it when you get home."

"All right."

Guo Fan did not feel tired from the journey, but asked with great interest:

"When will filming start?"

"Tomorrow. Don't sleep during the day today, adjust the jet lag, and start filming tomorrow."

"Hey, that's good."

After agreeing happily, Guo Fan didn't ask where he was going, but lowered his head and looked at the pile of information.

Liu Yifei originally wanted to chat with Guo Fan.

After all, as the leading director of domestic youth films, the box office success of "To Youth" directly set off a large wave of youth films.

She is also very interested in this subject.

Although she can't talk about it if she doesn't act...but she likes to watch this kind of movie.

But the other person looked at him seriously, so she didn't bother him.

Instead, he chatted with Xu Xin all the time.

Everyone is now going to pick up Wu Qiqi who is packing her things in the hotel. After picking her up, we will go to dinner together.

Guo Fan looked all the way.

The Lincoln car is spacious. Although Xu Xin didn't pull out the two seven-seater seats in the back, it didn't look crowded when two girls and one boy sat in the back seat.

After everyone gathered, Xu Xin took everyone directly to a quite American-style restaurant.

The main focus is BBQ.

Yang Mi particularly likes his beef brisket.

But for Xu Xin, it was a kind of torture. Because every time the two children come to eat, their hands and bodies are all greasy.

Adults don't have so many problems.

After ordering a bunch of beef brisket, chicken wings and the like, everyone sat around the table. Xu Xin asked Guo Fan:

"What do you think of this story?"

"Well……"

Holding a "bucket" of its specialty extra-large milkshake in his hand, Guo Fan looked embarrassed.

What do you say to yourself?

However, looking at Xu Xin's eyes, he still chose to tell the truth:

"I feel like this story is so ordinary."

But Xu Xin seemed a little unhappy when he heard this:

"Speak nicely, the heroine is sitting here."

"..."

This time it was Liu Yifei's turn to face collapse.

Guo Fan asked in confusion:

"Is there a heroine in this film?"

"Yes, John Wick's wife, there's a picture at the beginning."

"Hello!!!"

The fairy sister couldn't bear it anymore and whipped his legs under the table.

Seeing Xu Xin's grinning virtue, she decided that she would be a loyal New Balance believer from now on.

The tendon soles of its sneakers are really hard.

It really hurts to kick someone.

So cool.

Guo Fan glanced at Liu Yifei with a strange expression...

I thought to myself, Teacher Liu, you are really not picky about food.

Accepting all the work for free?

After putting aside his joking attitude, he said:

"I think this story is a bit... flat. The structure is actually quite complete, but there is nothing particularly outstanding. It's a bit similar to... a cool article in an online novel. The retired soldier king is bullied by a gangster, and then kills the other person's whole family. In the middle of the process, there have to be people who are shocked by melon-eaters, relying on shock to make up for the protagonist's character bit by bit... The script was written by our people?"

"No, it was written by a foreigner."

"..."

After hearing Xu Xin's answer, Guo Fan was speechless for a moment.

This script with a strong "King of Soldiers" style was actually written by a foreigner?

Immediately afterwards, bursts of absurdity filled my heart.

Director Xu...how do you know how to make this kind of film?

Xu Xin seemed to see through his expression and asked with a smile:

"Do you think I shouldn't film this script?"

"Uh... no."

Guo Fan quickly shook his head.

But the expression actually pretty much speaks for itself.

Xu Xin shrugged:

"Two aspects. On the one hand... I don't actually know much about Hollywood. For my first try, I definitely want to choose a more popular story. After all, my real purpose is to see this industrial assembly line. Observe from a distance. On the other hand... this is our own company's script. The good news should not go to outsiders.

Don’t think this story is simple either… Action movies are actually quite difficult to shoot. The main difficulty lies in the lens. You’ll know it later when you see the disassembly shot I drew. I haven't tried action movies yet, but I want to give it a try this time. Besides, like you, I came with a learning attitude... and the gains were quite big.

In the past month of preparation, I have seen a lot of things inside the Hollywood film industry. For example, things at the level of physical effects. For example, a vague model of car... Come on, let me show it to you. "

As he spoke, he rummaged through his phone and handed it over.

Guo Fan took it and took a look and found...it was a huge parking lot.

only……

He was suddenly startled.

I subconsciously enlarged the photo.

Look here, look there, then raise your head in surprise:

"Are they all car models? Or..."

"No, they are all drivable cars."

Xu Xin shook his head slightly:

"The parking lot is just outside Los Angeles. It's so big... They are the kind of vehicles that can appear in movies at will, without any appearance copyright issues. Moreover, the scrap rate of these cars is quite high. Maybe a mature crew... for example Demolition maniacs like Mikenbe, in one scene, fifty or sixty vehicles were directly destroyed and scrapped. But they can use them at any time and repair them at any time..."

"I thought a lot of them were special effects..."

"There are some, but there are also a group of directors in Hollywood who are loyal believers in real-life shooting. Don't think these cars are expensive, on the contrary, they are very cheap. You can get an old one for a thousand dollars. The more expensive ones are nothing more than It’s only a few thousand. It doesn’t hurt at all if it explodes..."

"..."

Guo Fan was speechless now.

Of course he was not that stupid, thinking that the few thousand Director Xu mentioned were RMB.

Just surprised...

They say that you can see the whole leopard when you look at one spot.

As a director, isn’t this photo the most appropriate metaphor right now?

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Xu Xin continue:

"And this is just the tip of the iceberg. When the crew was selecting props, I went there too... Although there are prop warehouses in Hengdian, they are quite big... but the ones in Hollywood are even bigger. They will subdivide them into different categories. There are props from different eras, maybe ten years is a span. And all the things inside can perfectly avoid copyright. The things you want to use can be as big as a sphinx, as small as a pocket watch... They’re all over there. In such a big warehouse, there are three or five companies in one company..."

"..."

Xu Xin said.

Guo Fan listened.

This is his first time in Hollywood.

There are so many things I haven’t seen before.

And everyone at the table could understand why Xu Xin would bring this out to talk alone.

A layman looks at the excitement, an expert looks at the door.

Movies are actually just the last link in the entire industrial system.

And before it, there are countless parts-like links, a link-by-link assembly line.

These assembly lines are the real core of Hollywood.

The two directors didn't exchange much about the film.

Rather, one person speaks and the other listens.

The speaker tells what he sees and hears as much as possible, letting the listeners know the methods and their production capabilities.

The person listening does not necessarily learn anything from it.

But it's enough to at least know how these things work.

something……

Like a seed.

It will be inadvertently blown up by a gust of wind, carried away, and fall into a barren soil.

Sprout.

only……

No one can notice it until the seeds sprout.

…

After eating, Liu Yifei went back to the hotel to rest.

When the crew starts filming tomorrow, it will be her role, so she has to be energetic.

But...that's the same sentence.

Her scenes are really few, and as long as her condition is not bad, she can probably finish the filming in one day.

The little widow goes to the grave.

Therefore, she didn't have to follow Xu Xin the whole time. She didn't understand the director's job, so she just had to be a good actor. And she also had to think about the conversation the two had in the elevator in the morning.

There does seem to be something wrong with my mentality.

Studying...she is really good, but she doesn't have the same energy as during the preparation stage of "The Hawthorn Tree".

After Xu Xin sent her and Wu Qiqi back, there were only three people left in the car.

On the way back, Guo Fan suddenly said:

"Director Xu, I have something I want to talk to you about."

"Just tell me."

After hearing this, Guo Fan hesitated for a moment and then said:

"Now...many outside investors are looking for me."

"?"

Xu Xin turned to glance at him and nodded slightly:

"Definitely. The first drama was so popular, and it also made a topic popular. It's unusual that there are fewer people looking for you."

With that said, he asked directly according to his own understanding:

"Can't decide?"

He thought Guo Fan was asking if he could take on outside work alone.

Naturally, West Film Studio would not stop this kind of thing, not to mention that the studio had no ability to completely confine a director to death in the factory. That's no different from Beijing Circle.

Say hello and take pictures if you want.

Guo Fan was just in the club at the Art Center, and he didn't sign any kind of contract.

But who knows, Guo Fan gave a positive but unexpected answer:

"Well, I do have some hesitation... I don't want to shoot this subject anymore."

"...?"

Xu Xin was stunned.

Only then did he realize that his "undecided decision" was not about whether to take on a job outside, but that he no longer wanted to make youth movies.

So, he asked:

"What do you think? Tell me."

"I just... find it boring. Director Xu, I am 31 this year. If "To Youth" can be regarded as my tribute to youth, I really want to make it. But after paying tribute to youth, I feel... at least for myself For me, I have no regrets. But now many people are looking for me and want to invest in me, hoping that I can continue filming."

"Part 2 of "To Youth"?"

"No, no, no, a brand new story. They are also youth movies..."

Speaking of this, Guo Fan suddenly laughed at himself:

"It's strange to say that even my wife has asked me how I managed to achieve such a high box office... But the problem is that even I don't know. Even Travel TV wants me to go back and guide the work... But in my heart But it's very empty. Even if this film hits the street, I will feel at ease. If it makes a small profit, I will be complacent... But it suddenly made more than 700 million in the box office. Now I don't dare to go out to meet people, feeling that I am not worthy... …But there are too many people who come to me with problems.”

Xu Xin asked speechlessly:

"It's been a long time, you came to my place to get some peace and quiet?"

"No, it's really not the case. Don't get me wrong... I really feel that I am not worthy. Director Xu, do you know that many investors have already given me dividends of 8%. 8% of the total box office , there are at least 150 scripts with this theme in my mailbox. And these stories... How should I put it, they are pretty much the same. They are basically the type of making up for the regrets of youth. But the problem is that I don’t dare to do it now. Come on, first of all, I have no regrets myself, and I can’t deal with other people’s regrets. Secondly..."

Speaking of this, he suddenly paused.

In fact, he himself had been holding back his words this time.

This...he couldn't say it in front of Liu Yifei.

After all, he also wants to save face.

But Director Xu...it's okay.

Although he is a "senior brother", as the person who led him in, even if Director Xu is younger than him, he has the respect of his seniors in his heart.

From a professional perspective, he was actually quite willing to chat more with his "senior brother".

But after all, Su Meng was still sitting behind her.

But... I heard that Director Xu's assistant is famous for being cute and has no worries at all.

So I no longer hesitated:

"Secondly, I really don't dare to touch it. I'm afraid that the next film will hit the street and prove that I am a genuine parallel import... Instead of doing this, I might as well keep my appearance. After all, if I change the genre, others will At least I can say: Guo Fan is trying a different track..."

"..."

Xu Xin was speechless for a while, but not because of his thoughts, but because of his words "change the track"...

I have just learned this word and haven’t used it a few times.

The Internet has spread throughout the entertainment industry, and it has indeed brought new things.

Such as the track.

For example, empowerment...

Although he still doesn't know what empowerment is.

As for Guo Fan’s thoughts...

Frankly, he understands.

After all, after he filmed "The Secret", a large number of people also found him. They knew that he was busy with the Olympics at that time, but they did not hesitate to spend a lot of money to get him to "come out" and make movies.

Of course, the so-called heavy money seemed like a joke to him.

What kind of international joke are you kidding? He didn't even bother to take a look at the 18 million yuan placed in his own home.

But Guo Fan's situation is different.

His family conditions were not enough to allow him financial freedom.

It's not like Xu Xin has never been poor. When he was a child, sitting in an old man's cart along the national highway selling boiled water bowls of noodles, his father taught him a very simple truth.

When you have no money, don’t think so far ahead.

Earn the money in front of you first, earn it penny by penny, and save it penny by penny.

When you have food at home and no panic in your heart, then think about the future.

And after becoming rich overnight until now...he actually doesn't know whether his father's words are right or wrong.

After all, there is an old saying that a person is poor but his ambition is short, and there is an even more old saying that a person who is poor has little ambition.

Everything must be viewed dialectically.

And this point of view belongs to Guo Fan...

After thinking for a while, he asked:

"How much did you earn in total from "To Youth"?"

"The director's fee of 500,000 yuan must be quite a lot according to my situation at the time. If it weren't for you, Director Xu, the factory might not have given me so much. Then after the movie box office came out, even though I didn't sign a contract, the factory paid me I received a 1% box office dividend. After tax, it was over five hundred."

Xu Xin was not surprised when he heard this.

Putting aside Guo Fan's director's fee, just talking about box office dividends, the normal rate in the industry is 1% to 2%.

For a new director with zero directing experience and no accumulation of feature films, a 1% dividend is actually too high.

It is generally accepted in the industry that the directing fee + 0.5 box office dividend.

Some don't even give it.

After all, most new directors rely on their own scripts to attract investment.

And as the director's fame and strength gradually accumulate, this number will become larger and larger.

To put it bluntly, if the factory gives you something, it’s a favor, and if you don’t, it’s a matter of course.

What's more... I can offer a director with 0 experience a director's fee of 500,000, which is really not low.

You can't use results to deduce theories.

But for Guo Fan, who he knew well...

Still not enough.

So, Xu Xin asked three very soulful questions:

"Did you buy a house?"

“Has the mortgage been paid off?”

"Is it a room in the school district?"

Guo Fan's mouth twitched...

Vaguely, he seemed to know what Director Xu wanted to express.

In such a heartbreaking way...