I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 1058 1053. Meeting an old friend in a foreign land

November 30.

All the noise about Lao Wang and Qi Ge’s wedding has gradually calmed down.

On the Internet, not many details about the wedding in Maldives have been disclosed, and even photos are few and far between.

In addition to the two bridesmaids who were allowed to post a few photos, there are some photos released by Lao Wang and Qi Ge themselves.

For example, the blurred shadows of two kissing in the sunset.

For example, the blue sea, etc.

There are less than 20 photos in total, and they are all not related to the wedding scene.

Who are the guests, what happened, etc., both Lao Wang’s family and Qi Ge’s family have done a good job of keeping it confidential.

Even though the reporter has learned the general process from some people, such as the wedding banquet is a Michelin chef, such as all expenses are included, such as wedding dishes, and even the wedding time, etc. But no photos of the scene have been released.

On the contrary, it is a domestic wedding banquet.

The wedding banquet on the 25th was quite large.

According to the media, half of the entertainment industry came.

The standard is quite high.

And Lao Wang held this kind of wedding banquet three times.

From Lao Lao Wang's friends, to the entertainment industry, to Wei Wei's hometown...

This wedding really made him exhausted.

But compared with the formal ceremony, this kind of wedding banquet is not news.

No matter what, in the eyes of many people, Wei Wei has married into a wealthy family.

As for whether the future life will be good or bad... let's wait and see.

As for Xu Xin's family, after staying in the Maldives until late November, they took Lao Wang's plane back together.

The bright days must not be over.

But it's not interesting to have sea views and beaches every day.

The brothers are a little tired of staying.

Simply start preparing for the next travel destination.

After learning that Xu Xin will go to Berlin for a few days at the beginning of next month, I don't know who brought up the idea of ​​skiing.

So, a few poor brothers put the next destination in Norway.

They have already been there.

Xu Xin will meet up with them after he finishes his work on the 5th.

As for Yang Mi and the others, they will not follow this time.

There are jobs in China.

On the 30th, Xu Xin got up early in the morning and prepared to go to Berlin.

Tomorrow is the first round of judging for the 64th Berlin Film Festival, and he must go.

Yang Mi helped him pack all his luggage the night before.

This time, it was not just a change of clothes, but also snowboards, winter clothes, etc.

In order to prevent a few people from going deep into the mountains and forests, she even gave Xu Xin a satellite phone.

And forced Xu Xin to swear to her that he would carry the phone with him no matter where he went.

And at that moment, Xu Xin felt... she didn't seem to treat him as a husband.

Weird...

Finally, after everything was packed, Yang Mi handed over a notebook:

"Here."

"What?"

"Look at the materials for this review on the plane. You don't know what other people do."

"Well... OK."

Xu Xin responded, took the information book, and kissed his wife:

"Leaving?"

"Yeah, love you~"

"I love you too~"

He waved and got into Cheng Hu's car.

Needless to say, the journey was natural. After the plane took off smoothly, he opened the information book and started reading.

It takes seven or eight hours to fly to Berlin. Time is very slow, so just kill time.

And Yang Mi's information should have been printed from Baidu Encyclopedia. The chronological records are the template of the encyclopedia.

At first glance, it looks very detailed, but it's actually useless to dig out more.

There are a total of 8 judges in the main competition unit this time.

Apart from Xu Xin, there are seven others, including three American producers, actors, and directors, including Corporal James Sams, the captain of the Berlin County Review Team.

Of course, this is a joke.

But the reason for mentioning James Sams is very simple. This captain and Li An are in a golden partnership.

The two have been working together since 1991.

He is the producer of Li An's movie "Pushing Hands", and even this movie was co-written by the two.

The following "The Wedding Banquet" and "Eat Drink Man Woman" were also written by the two.

And he is also the producer of "Lust, Caution", "Brokeback Mountain", and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"...

It can be said that the two are bound together.

It's a bit like the relationship between Xu Xin and Qi Lei.

Mutual achievement and mutual support.

So, it's not an exaggeration to say that this person is a master of the Celestial Empire.

But then again, Xu Xin and Li An are not familiar with each other.

I only met him once with the old man, and at that time he was just a little Karami, not in the eyes of the big boss.

So I didn't think about making any friends with him.

As for the other six people…

To be honest, they all looked unfamiliar to Xu Xin.

Oh yes, he had seen one of them before, that is Michelle Gray, the director of the terrible movie “The Green Hornet”.

Xu Xin was really upset to see that this guy was selected.

But it doesn’t matter, he believes in the value of the Golden Bear.

The fact that these people were selected means that they must be good and must have made achievements in certain fields.

However, when he looked at the profile of one of them, he showed a little doubt.

Barbara Broccoli.

This name may be unfamiliar to many people.

Even to Xu Xin.

But her resume is a bit... shocking.

First of all, this girl was born in 1960.

That's nothing.

But...

In 1979, this girl was the assistant director of "007 Moonraker"...

At the age of 19, the assistant director of the world-class IP 007 film series...

When Xu Xin saw this, he almost didn't react.

But this is not over yet.

In 1987.

That is, when Xu Xin was still wearing open-crotch pants, this girl was already the producer of "007 Living Daylights".

26 years old...

Is it outrageous?

And the next step is even simpler.

"Golden Eyes", "License to Kill", "Tomorrow Never Dies"... "Casino Royale", "Quantum of Solace", "Skyfall"... and "Spectre" which has already started shooting but has not yet been completed...

This sister's resume covers almost all 007 movies.

This is a bit scary.

He looked at the other party's information and wondered where this person came from.

Could it be that 007 is from his family?

But the problem is that the information his wife prepared was the kind of Baidu Encyclopedia, just writing a resume, but not detailed at all. When he was about to open the computer to check, he flipped down a page casually and was stunned again.

This page is completely explanatory text.

Similar to the supplementary clause.

First, Xu Xin was given a name: Albert Brookley.

When Xu Xin saw this surname, he knew that the two must be related.

Moreover, this information was obviously edited by humans.

Obviously, Yang Mi also found something wrong and conducted some investigations behind Barbara's information, and...

The investigation was very clear.

This Albert Bruckley is the businessman who bought the copyright of 007 from the original author.

In other words, the Bruckley family is a family.

They are also the owners of the big IP 007.

And Barbara is Albert's daughter.

The information not only introduces Albert's life, but also lists the ill-fated fate of the 007 IP, and almost reproduces the fight for the copyright of 007 in front of Xu Xin in words.

After reading it, Xu Xin thoroughly understood the ins and outs of the 007 movie IP... Actually, he didn't understand it thoroughly. He had heard the teacher talk about how bloody the copyright of 007 was in class before, but it was very general, obviously not as clear as the things in these three or four pages.

After reading it, he understood it more intuitively.

He was impressed by his wife's efforts in preparing the information, then picked up his phone and sent a message to Yang Mi:

"How long did it take you to prepare the information on 007?"

"Not long. I saw that this person's resume was a bit strange, so I asked the American side. They sent me these, and I asked someone to translate them for you."

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Hehe."

Putting down the phone with a smile on his face, he handed the information he had read to Su Meng who was playing with his phone next to him.

"Write it down. If I forget, remember to remind me."

Su Meng nodded, took off his headphones, and started to work.

The little assistant is usually silly and cute, like a big mentally retarded mascot.

But in terms of his job...

Well.

Cute all his life, he is not inferior to others.

...

Berlin is 7 hours behind China.

Xu Xin arrived at a little after 5 pm in China time.

And it was just a little after 8 am in Berlin.

After entering the customs, looking at the familiar but not so familiar airport...It's a pity that there was no Volvo to pick him up this time.

Thinking of this, he estimated that he could contact Bentley this time when he returned, after all, they were looking forward to it.

With his new advertisement reaching over 100 million views, it seemed to have become one of the top 20 most viewed videos on YouTube this year, and even Jean-Claude Van Damme seemed to have a second spring in his career.

The influence of an advertisement on a brand gradually fermented.

Our old Xu has also made his own place in the advertising industry.

Thinking about these things, he called the staff who received him at the Berlin Film Festival.

Soon, at around 9 o'clock in the morning, Xu Xin, who felt how congested the city of Berlin was, arrived at the hotel where he was staying.

Nothing to do today.

But there was an official welcome dinner in the evening to introduce several judges to each other.

This was something Xu Xin had to attend.

As for the rest of the time, he could arrange it freely.

But...

To be honest, since he and his wife wandered around Berlin for a few days last time, he no longer felt anything new about this city.

The pickled cabbage was not as delicious as the ones in Northeast China.

The sausages were just so-so.

As for the other dishes... they were just so-so.

So, he let Su Meng arrange them herself and stayed in the room to do his own things.

He actually had a lot of work on hand now.

It's just not that urgent.

The Cannes nominations will not be announced until February.

The special effects shots of "John Wick" are still in production.

Originally, he planned to prepare for the project "Monster Hunt" in the first half of next year and start it in the second half of the year. Now that Qi Ge is pregnant, he can only put it on hold for the time being.

None of them are urgent matters.

But he still habitually hammers here and there.

Perfecting the story in his mind bit by bit.

Oh, yes, there is one more important thing.

He has to finish his doctoral thesis.

This thesis is a graduation thesis, and he has already thought of the title, called "Subconscious Representational Feature Control under Film Vision-Space Construction".

This time there is no prediction of the future market or industry research like before.

Instead, it returns to the most basic professional level as a director.

People say that he is good at using lens language to create atmosphere aesthetics... There are even many movie clips about him on the Internet. For example, deconstructing a scene of a movie, what is his intention, or how to express the character's mood, etc.

But to be honest... some are right, and some are wrong.

This also made him realize a problem, that is... everyone's understanding of lens language is actually misunderstood.

Some moviegoers who like to be picky always limit their attention to the screen, but ignore the matching of the space.

They always wonder what the director's props express, what this clip implies... but ignore the layering of the entire space, and the immersive feeling expressed in the inspired subconscious.

He accepts that the audience can guess this way.

But his students can't.

Because in some of the films he has watched now, he has found some signs. That is, many young directors will deliberately make some superficial expressions profound.

For example, to express that a person is very angry.

Isn't it enough for you to just take a close-up of his face?

Let the audience see his veins bulging, his eyes bursting, or his face ferocious...

No, no.

Give a back view, and put a red vase or balloon representing anger on the background, and match it with a "Scream" poster, etc.

Metaphysics.

Learning is useless.

It makes him feel so painful.

Filmmaking is a technical job, but how to control the expression of the subconscious is an ambiguous art.

He didn't know if it was really influenced by himself, why more and more directors like "introverted" actors, and then rely on various props to express the character's mood.

This is simply nonsense.

Playing with esotericism is actually like not speaking plain words and talking about all sorts of things.

It's unnecessary.

So after he discovered this trend, he wrote a paper to teach everyone how to distinguish between subconsciousness and representation, how to deconstruct when to use lens language, and when to directly "shoot in the face".

This paper may not be forward-looking.

But...

If it can help some directors clear the fog, don't go into a dead end, and do things that look like gods and even God's mother doesn't recognize them every day, it will be much better than some papers with forward-looking ideas.

He is not just a doctoral student who wants to graduate with this paper.

He is also a director with some fame and status.

He is a leader among the new generation of directors.

He always has to play a leading role.

Indeed, good film masters will have their shooting styles imitated by others.

But Xu Xin does not think he is a master.

He is just a director who does not want to be bad with others, or even worse than them.

…

I locked myself in the room until almost 1 o'clock. Because of the time difference, Su Meng, who was already a little sleepy, appeared at the door.

After Xu Xin opened the door, a lunch was delivered.

"Brother Xu, the special Turkish kebab curry sosa TACO you asked for."

Xu Xin nodded and took it.

Although the names of these burritos sound not very serious, they are Turkish, Indian and Mexican... But he and Yang Mi have eaten this dish before, and it tastes very good.

While he was eating and watching the football program on TV, his mobile phone rang.

Xu Xin did not think much at first. He listened to the sound of WeChat ding ding bang and took a look.

As a result, he was stunned when he saw the name of the person who sent the message.

[Dapeng-Dong Chengpeng]

Which disciple of Mr. Benshan?

He stuffed the whole cake into his mouth, wiped his hands, and turned on his phone.

The last time they chatted, they were actually quite close.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Dapeng sent him a blessing text message.

This is almost a must-have "course".

This message is actually useless, and it can even be sent to a group, but it can't be absent.

During the holidays, Xu Xin's work WeChat is like a dense bombardment, one after another.

He doesn't care, but Su Meng is the most annoying.

There are many people on his work WeChat.

Dapeng:

"Director Xu, have you arrived in Berlin?"

Xu Xin was a little puzzled.

He came to Berlin... Although it's not a secret.

But the friendship between the two is obviously not to the point of being open and frank.

He asked this question in a strange way.

But Xu Xin didn't hide it from him, and said directly:

"Yes, I just arrived. What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

As a result, Dapeng replied immediately:

"I'm in Berlin too!"

Seeing this sentence, Xu Xin didn't have any special thoughts.

It is already the end of the year. Some people may only have one project a year. They finish filming while the weather is good. The TV series will go to post-production. Actors can take a vacation or a rest.

Although Berlin is not a tourist city, it is not uncommon to come here for fun.

So he replied:

"That's quite a coincidence. Are you done this year?"

His plan was to chat with Dapeng.

If the other party asked to have a meal, he would probably refuse.

After all, coming here is also for work.

As a result, Dapeng replied:

"Yes, I am preparing for the fourth season of "Diaosi Man". This time I plan to invite Martina Hill from "Diaosi Lady" to play a role. I came here specially to invite her."

Then the second sentence:

"Director Xu, are you free?"

The third sentence:

"I want to talk to you about the script you saw last time."

Now, Xu Xin's face showed a hint of confusion.

The last script?

He was puzzled.

Vaguely... I remembered that it seemed to be a story of... candid shooting?

What was the specific content?

I really can't remember it.

But...

He looked at the other party's second invitation, thought for a moment, and said:

"Then let's meet in the afternoon. I just finished my meal and there is a film festival dinner in the evening. We can meet in the afternoon and have a cup of coffee."

Dapeng replied immediately:

"Okay, Director Xu, then send me a location and I'll find you. What time is convenient for you?"

Seeing this, Xu Xin remembered that there was a cafe next to the hotel.

So he simply sent him the hotel location:

"I'm available anytime. If you come now, tell me when you arrive and I'll go down."

"Okay, I'll leave now and contact you when I arrive."

"Okay."

After replying, Xu Xin said to Su Meng:

"The lead actor of "Diaosi Nanren" Dapeng will meet me for coffee later. Do you want to go with me?"

"Ha... um."

Before he finished speaking, he looked at the mascot, who had his nose upturned and yawned so hard that his nose hairs were clearly visible, and looked tired. He changed the subject and asked helplessly:

"What time did you go to bed last night? You slept all the way on the plane without a care in the world."

"Hey~"

Su Meng said awkwardly:

"I played games last night and stayed up late."

"..."

Okay.

Xu Xin shook his head helplessly.

After all, he is his personal assistant, mascot, and door panel.

Spoil him.

"Then I'll bring you a cup of coffee later. We have a dinner party tonight."

"Yeah! Brother Xu, don't make it too bitter. I like sweet..."

Xu Xin rolled his eyes.

He thought you were so picky.

So...

"Coffee, double double strength. Xiao Qin, help me send it to Su Meng."

Sitting in the cafe, he said to Dapeng's assistant.

When the waiter heard that this Chinese customer wanted four times the strength, he looked weird and embarrassed...

He had never heard of this request.

How about just injecting it into your vein?

Four times the strength...do people really drink that stuff?

But Xu Xin thought it was very simple.

Playing games after get off work and slacking off at work, right?

God damn it!!!

...

In Xu Xin's opinion, the cafe in Berlin is more like a bar.

Anyway, he saw the two German guys drinking beer and chatting and was quite convinced.

If you say one or two bottles, it doesn't matter...then the draft beer cup must be paired with two dishes, right? No, I just drink it straight.

It's amazing.

Just as he was sighing, he heard Dapeng say:

"Director Xu, you haven't rested yet? You look very tired."

Xu Xin came back to his senses and laughed:

"Is it so obvious?"

"Yes, the eye sockets are a little sunken."

"Haha, it's jet lag. I won't rest, just stay up all night, and go back to sleep after attending the film festival cocktail party in the evening."

Hearing this, Dapeng's eyes flashed with envy:

"Berlin Film Festival judges... Let alone judges, I can't even enter the film festival. Oh, that's not right, I can enter by buying a ticket."

"Hahaha~"

After all, he is Mr. Benshan's apprentice.

Xu Xin thought that his sense of humor is sincere.

So he asked:

"How was the chat with the Diaosi lady?"

"It was OK. We have met before. Sohu arranged it. We are not familiar with each other, but we are not strangers. Besides, we also pay for the film. The Diaosi series is not difficult to shoot, so there should be no problem."

Xu Xin nodded slightly:

"You just arrived too?"

"No, I have been here for four days. I will go back tomorrow. I didn't expect to see in the morning that the German film festival will start the film review tomorrow. I estimated that you are a judge and should arrive a day in advance, so I asked you."

The two chatted for a while about small things such as reviewing movies.

After the waiter brought Xu Xin's coffee, Xu Xin took a sip.

Wow.

It's really bitter.

But his cup is also concentrated, so he quickly refreshes himself, otherwise he is really afraid of sleepiness.

It's just that this thing...he really can't get used to it.

It's like taking Chinese medicine.

But as long as there is no sugar, it is really refreshing.

After drinking the second sip with a grin, he said directly:

"I remember your story is... about a candid photo shoot, right?"

"Yes."

Dapeng nodded. The story... has actually been polished.

Of course, he didn't come to Xu Xin today for the script.

"Director Xu, it's like this... My plan for this drama is to put it into operation after I finish filming the fourth season of "Diaosi Man" next year."

He didn't seem to know what to say specifically, and he was speechless.

But Xu Xin knew what he was thinking after taking one look at him.

It's still the same time.

He wanted to film this script himself.

Or become a director myself.

Xu Xin had nothing to object to. New directors naturally need opportunities, and if this opportunity is their own story, then... If nothing else is mentioned, just understanding the script will definitely be helpful to a new director.

Besides, he also said last time that he wanted to be the director himself.

But the way he was speechless at this moment showed that he was trying to attract investment.

Xu Xin no longer knows how many people have seen this expression on their faces.

So he laughed and said:

"Are you looking for me to invest?"

"!"

Dapeng was surprised at first, and then the expression on his face immediately turned into embarrassed embarrassment:

"This... I still haven't hid it from you."

"Ha~"

Xu Xin chuckled.

"Actually, this is normal. It's always the hardest time to find someone to borrow money, right?"

However, he was a little curious:

"Aren't you on Sohu? Didn't you try to ask Sohu to invest money in you?"

"I... talked about this with Mr. Zhang. But it was never implemented. Mr. Zhang said that he could invest for me, but there was no specific amount. Then... I made a quotation and sent it to him."

"What's the price?"

"thirty million."

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

Although...

Since those big Internet investors came in, the box office and remuneration of the entire movie market have started to rise. Even the prices have started to rise.

Investments that easily exceed 100 million are not uncommon news.

But this number... is indeed a bit exaggerated in Xu Xin's opinion.

You know, how much budget did he have to shoot "Scorching Sun"?

Not to mention "Perfect".

His current movies are basically promotions, and the highest they don't exceed is 5,000...

And a new director can ask for 30 million just to open his mouth.

It’s outrageous enough.

So he asked:

"Didn't I approve it for you?"

"If approved... five million is approved."

Fine.

The problems that ordinary directors will encounter naturally also appear in Dapeng.

But...

As the memory rolled over, he remembered it very clearly.

The reason why he took inspiration from Jean-Claude Van Damme for the Volvo advertisement was because of him.

I still owe the other party a favor.

So, he didn't have any nonsense.

To put it bluntly, the investment in a movie is not enough to make him emotional and rational.

No need.

So he said directly:

"Send the script to the factory. Let the people from the Art Creation Center review it... Oh yes, send the budget too. The budget standards in the factory are actually a little different from those outside. We have a cost price for some things. , or there are ready-made ones in the warehouse, which can save a lot of money. As long as the film has investment value and passes the review, then I will talk to them and see if you want a joint venture or a sole proprietorship. We will talk about it then. how?"

One cup of coffee was not finished.

Things have settled.

Even Xu Xin has never read the script...

Firstly, he had seen it before and knew what the story was.

Secondly... there are almost no scripts in the factory that he can personally "grasp".

The art creation center is becoming more and more mature, not to mention the most basic aesthetic ability such as the quality of a script.

What about the third one...

Just like Dapeng said.

At this moment, according to Chinese time, it is already 11 o'clock.

After a long day of hard work, he was tired.

So be it.