I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 411 409. A clever woman cannot make a meal without straw

The phone hangs up.

Yang Mi shrugged to her husband:

"You made an appointment with me because you probably want to go back?... It's normal to think about it. Zhang Ziyi has become so virtuous now. I guess Shanghai Film Studio also knows that it's a big headache, right?"

"Then you don't want to act?"

"I……"

The original sentence "I don't want to act" has already reached my lips.

Yang Mi, who still had beads of sweat on the tip of her nose, glanced at her husband... She suddenly sighed:

"Sigh... I know you like this story. If possible, you would even want to get it in your hands, right?"

"……Um."

Xu Xin nodded:

"There are a lot of things that can be expanded upon in this script, but each of these things that can be expanded upon can be hidden in the story. It is the kind of story that the more detailed it is, the more flavorful it becomes. I still want You to act... …”

Yang Mi frowned:

"That's not so humble."

"Not close to humbleness."

After hearing her recognition, Xu Xin lit a cigarette and expressed his thoughts:

"My idea is actually quite simple... Let's not mention the so-called "star" effect for now. Simply, I judge every script from the perspective of a director... This script, in all the broad senses I have come into contact with, The meaning can be given to the literary works in movies, and it can be ranked in the top five. When I saw this story, I had a kind of joyful mentality... just like meeting a peerless beauty."

"But I think the tone of the story is quite slow."

"It's just because it's slow that it has flavor. Of course, this is also my personal feeling. Maybe it won't be the case when Wang Jiawei shoots it... But let's not mention these. As far as the definition of an actor is concerned, in my mind , you and this story have a picture. Can you understand?

Its artistry lies in the flavor and texture that pervades the story as a whole as the character Gong Er. She is much better than the character Ip Man. She is alive, Ip Man is a witness, and she is the one who has experienced it.

If you play Gong Er, then this story will be real to me. A real Gong Er slowly recounted this martial arts past as a witness. Although different people have different interpretations, at least for me... you are the most suitable one.

And the main reason why I always like it so much is because... I think it is a movie that can make you remembered by everyone. Just say "The Wind" and "The Secret". Maybe in five years, many people will have forgotten the plot. But this story... five years, ten years, even twenty years, your interpretation of her... I think it will be remembered in everyone's heart.

For an actor, this is a rare thing. "

What he said was sincere.

And really tell the truth.

He believed in his instincts as a director.

This story would not be too bad for any director to film.

Because the tone of the entire story is determined by the direction of the script.

The wife really clicked with this story.

The story is also really exciting.

Of course, no matter whether it is filmed or not, some people will definitely say that it is a bad movie or that it does not suit their taste.

But what to say about this thing.

All the transactions shocked all the customers.

According to what my wife said, all heroes "come and go", so watching this movie may be boring. But if you can calm down and carefully evaluate the texture revealed in the script, no matter how the movie turns out, the script itself must be qualified.

Nor does he feel humbled by doing so.

Wang Jiawei's artistic achievements are something that no one can deny no matter how much they dislike him.

Every director has a different style, and there must be a reason why he can gain so many fans with this style.

Recognizing the excellence of others... this is not difficult for Xu Xin.

And my wife's acting skills are not as good as they are.

She still has a lot of room for improvement.

This kind of room for improvement requires actors to try more different types of roles, enrich their hearts, and climb up little by little.

And when climbing up, the most indispensable thing is a humble heart.

When you feel that "it belongs to me" or "I am not rare", then you are not far away from being lost.

Good stories, good directors, and good actors all complement each other.

How do you say that? ...It's a pity for others?

That seems to be what he said.

Don't say anyone can play the role of "Gong Er" well.

There is still one in ten thousand.

If the performance fails... others may just criticize Wang Jiawei for making a bad movie.

But in Xu Xin's case, he really felt sorry for this script. It's like you had a chance to save a child, but you missed it and regretted it.

Although Xu Xin didn't express these thoughts clearly, Yang Mi felt the sense of expectation from her husband's words.

That……

After thinking about it, she sighed helplessly:

"well."

It was only because you said, "This role is quite interesting" that I put so much effort into it.

Then let’s end it from the beginning.

If you want me to act, then I will act.

Who told me to love you.

"Then let's talk about it when my senior brother comes to see me. He said he would come and see me in a few days."

After she finished speaking, she wiped the sweat from her face:

"I'm going to take a shower."

"Um."

…

New Year's Day in 2010 is actually quite nonsense.

Because January 1st is Friday.

And then... there are 3 days of statutory holidays.

The 2nd is Saturday and the 3rd is Sunday.

These three days of vacation are no different than taking a weekend off.

During the three days of New Year's Day, the couple lived quite peacefully.

It has a rather calm taste.

On January 4, after the New Year's Day holiday, all units resumed normal work.

It was on this day that Xu Xin received a call.

"Hello, Director Xu. This is CCTV's "Documentary Project Plan Collection Team". I am the team leader Luo Ming."

Xu Xin was stunned when he heard this title.

Then he cheered up:

"Well, hello, Team Leader Luo, I am director Xu Xin."

"Hello, Director Xu. That's it. I'm calling because I want to talk to you about the project related to the documentary "A Bite of Heaven on the Tongue" that you submitted. Are you available tomorrow?"

"tomorrow?"

"Yes, January 5th."

"Yes, I have time tomorrow. Do we want to have an interview?"

"Yes, we like the proposal you provided, so we would like to discuss the proposal with you."

"Okay, Team Leader Luo, please tell me a time. I will go over... is it CCTV?"

"Yes. Then...how about 9:30 tomorrow morning?"

"no problem."

Xu Xin agreed immediately.

Fang Xiu has said before that these documentary projects are planned as the first projects of 2010, and the results of whether they are passed or not will be released after New Year's Day.

I didn't expect it to come so quickly.

He got the news just after the first day of New Year's Day.

After hanging up the phone, Yang Mi, who had been listening next to her, asked:

"What about the documentary? Are you going to start filming?"

"It passed. But it's hard to say when the filming will take place..."

"What about the hawthorn tree?"

"Keep shooting. Although this documentary is made by me, it does not mean that I have to shoot it myself. I am not a director of photography... more often than not, I am the controller, making a shooting plan, and everyone goes to shoot it. After I get it back, I will control the general direction. You don’t have to do everything~"

While talking, Xu Xin stood up:

"I'm going to the study."

"okay."

In the study room.

He once again took out the "Tip of the Tongue" plan, which was much thicker than when he submitted the plan.

Frankly speaking, Xu Xin really feels that he is quite busy.

Starting from "The Hawthorn Tree" and then getting the news from Lao Fang that CCTV was going to make a documentary, at first glance, he seemed to be busy every day, but in fact, he did not miss any of these tasks.

Sometimes "Hawthorn Tree" got stuck, so he changed his mind and made "Tip of the Tongue".

After running out of inspiration for "Bite of the Tongue", he started working on "Hawthorn Tree" again.

After getting the book "Sunspot" from his literary consultant Lu Haibo, he was still sorting out the overall story direction in order to adapt it into the story script he wanted.

And after all this is done, there is still the matter of "Transaction".

These tasks all rely on thinking, and he has to do them all by himself.

Ordinary people really can’t do it.

This is not...

When the original "Tongue" was submitted to CCTV, the plan was only about ten pages.

But now even the preparation work with the information is almost turned into an exercise book.

The content inside is also diverse and has everything.

It was all done by him adding, deleting, and modifying bit by bit.

I dare not say that it is particularly mature. After all, documentaries, like movies, have quite a lot of details that require brainstorming.

But at least the main idea is there.

The core soul of the whole idea is "eating".

Use "eating" to explore the culture and national roots of the Chinese people.

Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are ordinary things for ordinary people.

See true knowledge in ordinary places.

This is a story he wants to "see".

…

January 5th.

CCTV. In the small meeting room of the "Charm Record" column team.

When Xu Xin arrived, there were already about ten people sitting in the entire conference room.

Maybe it's the "celebrity effect"?

Ever since he was led throughout the large office by the clerk, he had received a lot of attention.

After entering the conference room and looking at these people, he quickly said politely:

"Sorry, I'm late."

"Haha, Director Xu, welcome."

A dark-faced man in his forties was the first to greet him.

"I am Luo Ming."

Seeing the real owner, Xu Xin smiled and held hands with him:

"Hello, Team Leader Luo, my name is Xu Xin."

"Come on, come on, sit down and talk. Director Xu, please."

"Don't dare. Team Leader Luo is too polite."

Xu Xin quickly said modestly.

During the Olympics, he had a lot of dealings with people from CCTV, so he couldn't say he was nervous or timid.

We are here to talk things over, not to build relationships.

Just communicate normally.

But the atmosphere was quite formal.

Not to mention anything else, just by looking at the tea cups, manuscript paper, and writing pens placed in the positions marked with calipers in front of my desk, I knew that this place also continued the same system of meetings within the system.

After Xu Xin sat down, Luo Ming said:

"Since Director Xu is here, let's start today's meeting... Everyone welcomes us with applause!"

Amid the roaring applause, Xu Xin stood up again, bowed, and sat down again.

Luo Ming continued:

"Director Xu, the purpose of inviting you here today is to discuss the project approval of the documentary "A Bite of Heaven on the Tongue"."

"Um."

Xu Xin nodded and responded:

"Did my plan pass our review?"

"Yes, it has been passed. We would like to hear your shooting ideas from Director Xu."

"good."

Xu Xin took out the stack of manuscripts from his bag.

But he didn't open it, but handed it to the recorder behind him:

"Please help me make a copy."

"Okay, Director Xu."

The recorder nodded and left quickly with the document.

Then Xu Xincai said:

"Actually, the shooting idea of ​​this documentary is very simple, which is to use the act of "eating" to explore the roots of our culture..."

He began to describe his shooting philosophy.

Although the entire concept has been described in writing in the plan, some things are clearer if spoken orally.

It is also convenient for everyone to ask questions.

Xu Xin made this statement for about 20 minutes.

The core point is summarized in Xu Xin’s last paragraph:

"The purpose of the entire documentary is to show the rich experience that the Chinese people have accumulated in their diet, their diverse eating habits and unique taste aesthetics, as well as their Eastern life values ​​that have risen to the level of survival wisdom. ... I have finished my statement, thank you all."

When I concluded my statement with this sentence, the eyes of everyone present today were completely brightened.

This idea...

OK.

Although at first glance this sentence sounds a bit like eight-legged essay.

But the emphasis is on form and meaning.

The ideological realm of the entire documentary was suddenly raised.

Surprise took up most of the emotions filling Luo Ming's eyes at this moment.

Looking at Xu Xin sitting down, he thought for a while and asked:

"Then how does Director Xu plan to show these values?"

"Each episode, one core."

Xu Xin put down the teacup and said calmly:

"For example, when I was creating the episodes of "Time", my inspiration was the poem "Nostalgia" by Yu Guangzhong. The taste of hometown is the longing that every wanderer lingers on when he is away from home, and the taste that distinguishes the environment he is in. Password. It is also the most important solace for their emotional attachment to their hometown.

The so-called "food and color nature" means that everyone from different classes, different cultures, and different regions cannot do without "eating". Through the link of "eating", we can see how farmers produce crops and how cooks Production, how diners taste it... this entire closed-loop process is the best reflection of our country's thousands of years of reproduction, migration and survival.

Farm cuisine, local cuisine, trendy cuisine, Hakka cuisine...our cuisine, the gangs of chefs, and even the different taste pursuits of the same food by diners from the north and the south, these are the things that make our country..."

When he said this, he made a gesture of grabbing and squeezing each other with his hands:

"The process of coming together. This is the core idea of ​​the entire creation of "Tip of the Tongue". We want to show everyone the food flavors of different regions in the surface phenomenon.

Let some people with a narrower vision realize... It turns out that outside of the living soil they are familiar with, there are so many delicious foods that can make them have the urge to feast.

But on the inner level, we embrace all rivers through "eating" and integrate the thousands of years of history and reproduction of nations, countries, and civilizations. "

"What about the theme trend of the story? Is it a straightforward food explanation? Or..."

another person asked.

"No, just record the stories of ordinary people."

"Director Xu will go and shoot it in person?"

"Of course not... Our country is so big, let's not say too much, just shoot according to the season. It will take three to five years at least. I can... The problem is that we can't just kill me as a sheep. Is it right?"

"Hahaha, of course not."

A joke lightened the mood in the conference room.

"I heard... aren't we planning to hire an external film crew this time? Right?"

Hearing his words, Luo Ming nodded:

"That's right. This time we all solicited plans from the outside. The filming team also adopted a "project system". The standards for the total budget items, personnel, food and accommodation were all based on bidding, and were uniformly controlled by the station. However, the filming team Progress is carried out by the project team.”

The implication is that on the basis of the "big frame", the shooting process is not restricted by the system and should be freer.

Of course, this freedom is also relative.

The final program content is still under their own control.

"That's it. If this documentary is to be shot, then after I form a team and serve as the director, I will assign episode directors in the team to shoot with the project materials prepared in advance. After the shooting, I will do it myself. control."

What Xu Xin said is reasonable.

After all, Xu Xin’s idea for this food documentary is to shoot according to the seasons, so some things may have been filmed in the south during a specific season, but have been missed in the north.

Then, after the people in the conference room made some explanations about the team formation and the refinement of some positions in the documentary, they began to enter the highlight of the documentary.

That is the budget.

This kind of documentary is remembered by years, and eating horse chews can be a big profit.

In Xu Xin's vision, he would make a documentary of six to seven episodes, with at least a budget of around one million for each episode.

It sounds ridiculous at first.

This is not a movie, and there is no star salary or anything like that. How could it be so much?

But actually...that’s how much money it costs to make movies and documentaries.

The first is artificiality.

External directors are not directors within the system. They are paid a dead salary, and the money is still there whether they work or not in a month.

First of all, the director must consider the issue of labor costs.

Directors, photographers, stage managers, etc., these people are an expense.

Which hotel to stay in and which car to rent on a business trip are another expense.

The most important thing is the equipment. This time it is a project system, CCTV only provides the money, and the documentary director who wins the bid will set up all the expenses and equipment by himself.

It also includes soundtrack, editing, packaging, post-production, etc.

A series of links are all piled up with money.

Moreover, the schedule has been set, and calculations will start after joining the team.

Under the subcontracting team model adopted by Xu Xin, the director team of each episode, including some professional consultants, is at least 15 to 20 people.

These people's "salary" is 5,000 yuan a month, which is still 100,000 yuan a month.

If we shoot for one year, it will be 1.2 million.

Therefore, the budget he gave for an episode of "1 million" is already considering that this is a public project and does not fall within the compression limit of private investment.

To put it bluntly, Xu Xin knew how much money would be approved by the "public" in advance of the Olympic Games.

result……

When hearing his quotation, those present, including Luo Ming, looked speechless.

"Director Xu, since we will be partners soon, we will not tell lies to you. The truth is, seven episodes, one million per episode, a total of seven million in production costs, we cannot afford that much."

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

"Isn't that much? Each of those BBC documentaries costs tens of millions. Each of these seven episodes of the documentary is expected to be about 50 minutes long. Seven million is already as low as it can get. Budgeted.”

He originally felt that one million per episode was too low to be low.

But why do you hear this meaning...

Still want to press down?

After hearing his words, Luo Ming shook his head slightly:

"We have just started, and we can't compare with big TV stations like the BBC."

"...Then what is our budget?"

"An episode is around 650,000."

"65... sixty-seven forty-two, five-seven-thirty-five... four and a half million! ????"

Xu Xin was stunned instantly.

People say that it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice.

What do you think I am?

Don't call me a clever woman... Do you think I'm some kind of Doraemon?

650,000 for an episode of documentary, about 50 minutes?

Feed mud into a chicken's belly and ask the chicken to pull out a golden egg for you? ? ?

Compared with you, the Olympic Organizing Committee is considered generous!

His eyes were full of absurdity.

And Luo Ming also knew that this request was indeed a bit...too demanding.

But he still explained:

"Director Xu, it's not that we are stingy, but the total budget in Taiwan is limited. To be honest, we have five projects that we are interested in at the same time. And the total budget for this project outsourcing bidding documentary is only 1,500 Wan. Director Xu, "Bite of the Tongue" has already taken up one-third of our entire project budget this year..."

The implication is: our sincerity is really sufficient.

After he finished speaking, a middle-aged man next to him nodded:

"That's right, Director Xu. What we also pay attention to is to cross the river by feeling for the stones, first test at a single point, practice and sum up experience, and then promote it on a large scale. This first fire, we must use it within a limited time. It only needs to be burned vigorously."

"……ha."

Xu Xin couldn't help but smile bitterly:

"Dear leaders... Do you know? The one million per episode I mentioned is still the production cost of a single episode without counting my personal labor costs."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The whole room was silent again.

What can they say?

There is only so much money. In the first year, everyone is trying to cross the river by feeling the stones. There is not much money to begin with. If you take your labor costs into consideration... then the production cost might easily exceed tens of millions.

Wouldn’t it be possible to make other films?

But what Xu Xin said was also true.

In fact, his purpose in "Bite of the Tongue" was not to make money, and he didn't even consider making money at the beginning.

He plans to get a Starlight Award, and then after graduating from graduate school and staying in school, he will naturally start to rationally transform these resources from the Olympic Games to the World Expo into himself and turn them into nourishment for his improvement.

Qualifications are so important.

People who don’t need it have no use for their bullshit. But those who need it can ask for it from their grandfather or grandma.

It's okay if he doesn't take this path, then he can just be a director and make money at the box office.

But now that you have decided to take this path, sometimes you have to do it even if it is for nothing.

What's this called?

This is called knowing the general body.

Be down-to-earth and hard-working, with a spirit of dedication to the collective.

It is a very, very beautiful and extremely important character.

But the problem is...

I don’t even want money anymore, I’m working for nothing.

You can't just let me pay you back, can you?

A budget of 600,000 per episode?

Where can I find a bunch of ghosts and monsters like this for you...

After thinking for a while, he said:

"I don't need to talk about my labor fee...but...Team Leader Luo, can you please add more? One million per episode, ask around, it's really a bargain!"

"Director Xu, we have already considered 4.5 million for you! Five documentaries! The total budget is only 15 million!"

"No...you add more...four and a half million is the same as zero."

"...We can provide you with the equipment, okay?"

What was originally a good and lofty documentary project meeting to explore the deep civilization of the Chinese dynasty suddenly turned into a haggling at the vegetable market in just a few sentences.

All of a sudden, the level of force dropped.

But there is nothing that can be done on either side.

One side is four and a half million, rounded to the nearest zero, it would be better not to give it.

On the one hand, one-third of the budget has been allocated, and they hold it pitifully in front of you and tell you: If there are difficulties, overcome them, and if there are no difficulties, you must overcome them even if they create difficulties.

Neither side could do anything about the other, and this originally pleasant discussion turned into an inseparable tug-of-war.

There is no one left.

(Today’s chapter is about taking my wife to the hospital. She has a heart problem.)