I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 655 652. Real completion

On the first day of New Year's Day, he had half a day to spare, and on the second day of New Year's Day, he directly boarded a plane and headed to Wuxi.

The old man is still waiting for him.

Although... during the phone call, Zhang Yimou was a little unhappy when he heard that Xu Xin was not spending the night in Wuxi.

I feel that you have come all the way here and you are rushing just for a meal, which seems a bit too perfunctory.

But when he really saw Xu Xin, he still smiled.

"Brother! Brother!"

The three children who went home together on New Year's Day hung around Xu Xin.

And Xu Xin gave his own gift.

According to his father, a big gift should be prepared for a big happy event in Director Zhang’s family.

But Xu Xin thought about it for a long time, and finally chose a... gift that seemed a bit unworthy at first glance.

A latest Polaroid.

It's not expensive, about a thousand yuan.

Including 200 pieces of photo paper, the total is just over two thousand.

When he took out the gift, Zhang Yimou was enjoying himself and didn't think much about it. He just complained:

"If anything, this thing will be wasted by the children."

But Chen Ting's eyes lit up.

"Xiao Xu, thank you!"

Apparently, she loved the gift.

And also understood Xu Xin's intention.

For this family of five, when everyone's names are together in the household registration book, it is a new beginning.

Xu Xin always remembered that Sister Mo told him that the family portraits of his father, Aunt Ting, and his younger brothers and sisters were taken with equipment from a photo studio he rented at home.

Therefore, the meaning of his gift is also very simple.

It is to record these beautiful moments in the family anytime and anywhere.

There is no need to hide or feel guilty.

Walk in the world with integrity.

Therefore, she really liked this Polaroid. After taking it over, the three children's attention was quickly attracted by this camera that can take pictures and print at any time.

Leaving Xu Xin behind, Yijiao and Yiding gathered around their mother and raised their hands to play. However, Yinan was okay and just helped his mother unpack the photo paper in a sensible way.

"Let's go have a cup of tea."

It's only early 10 o'clock, and it's not time to eat yet.

Xu Xin nodded, followed the old man, and walked into his study, which was neither too big nor too small.

"Where's Sister Mo?"

he asked.

Zhang Yimou casually pointed to a place for him to sit and replied:

"She went back to her mother's house on New Year's Day... She recently met a boy who was quite nice to her. He probably went to her mother's office to advise him."

As he spoke, he took out a bag from the desk drawer and handed it to Xu Xin:

"This is what the boy gave me, here."

Before Xu Xin could be surprised that Sister Mo was single, his eyes focused on this small bag.

I took one out and found that it was full of small round boxes. A bunch of letters on the box formed non-English words. The only ones that could be spelled out were four.

"SNUS"

Snas?

Xu Xinxin said what is this?

He asked in confusion:

"What is this?"

"Swedish's souvenir, what does it seem to be called... lip smoke? There are a bunch of tea bag-like things inside, and it is said to be... put in the mouth? That seems to be the way it comes from. You try it."

Hearing this, Xu Xin nodded and unscrewed the box without asking any more questions.

In fact, smokers can more or less get his curiosity.

It's like when you encounter a brand of cigarettes that you have never seen before, no matter whether the cigarettes are cheap or expensive, you always want to smoke one and try it.

After opening the box, as expected, there was a pile of "tea bags" the size of coins.

Xu Xin took out a piece, touched it, and asked curiously:

"Handled?"

"Yes, that's what he said. He said that the reason why Sweden has the lowest incidence of lung cancer is because they used this to enter the era of non-burning tobacco. Momo specially asked him to bring this back, saying it was for you. of."

Hearing this, Xu Xin didn't ask any more questions, but just threw it into his mouth.

Smash it, smash it...

It has no taste either.

"Are you sure it's Han?"

Because there was something in his mouth, he spoke more vaguely.

Zhang Yimou nodded:

"That's what he said."

"Will it produce smoke if I hold it in my mouth?"

Xu Xin asked awkwardly.

Zhang Yimou rolled his eyes:

"How would I know? I don't smoke."

"..."

This time, Xu Xin remained silent again.

Because now he started to drool in his mouth.

As soon as his saliva touched this thing, he immediately tasted a... very strange smell.

Saying the smell of smoke is not the smell of smoke, and saying it tastes bitter is not bitter.

He tilted his head in confusion and stared at the old man, his mouth closed and his face blank.

Zhang Yimou said nothing and stared at him.

Apparently, he was curious too.

I want to see if Xu Xin will puff out smoke or bubbles after eating this.

But as time passed, Xu Xin's expression suddenly changed:

"Eh? Spicy...spicy! Bitter!...That's wrong...what is this? Eh?...Ah!"

He vomited directly into the trash can.

Feeling the unusually colorful taste in my mouth, my eyes were speechless:

"What is this?"

"How would I know!"

"...Don't lie to me, do Swedes really have this?"

With a face full of resistance, he threw the thing on the table and pushed it far away:

"I'd better keep it to honor you, I can't bear it...TUI~"

After spitting again, he took out two napkins and scraped his tongue a few times. The embarrassed look made Zhang Yimou burst into laughter.

"Haha... Then you should keep it. After all, Momo asked someone to buy it for you."

"..."

Xu Xin curled his lips speechlessly and asked curiously:

"This boy...is a foreigner?"

He was so excited to say the word "ye".

When it comes to this matter, Zhang Yimou is quite open-minded:

"Yes. They are Swedish. They have known each other for a long time. They are considered insiders and work at IMAX. They have a Chinese name called Meng Danqing. They have been chasing Momo for a year or two..."

"Well……"

Strictly speaking, Sister Mo is actually quite beautiful.

This is true.

He really hoped that Sister Mo would find a down-to-earth man to settle down for the rest of her life, but if possible... it would be best if it was one of his own.

Finding a foreigner, at least to him, always felt weird.

But this kind of thing is a private matter, and no one has the right to say anything.

only……

He rarely said:

"Then... I want to fall in love this time and last as long as possible."

"……Um."

Zhang Yimou obviously understood what Xu Xin was talking about and nodded.

yes.

Know people, know faces, but don’t know hearts.

This time... I have to take a closer look.

After Zhang Mo finished talking, Xu Xin took out a cigarette from his pocket.

After ordering one, he asked:

"How's your movie going? When is it opening?"

"On the 10th. I will go to Nanjing on the 4th. Bell will arrive on the 5th. Everyone will prepare and start. The estimated time is to end in June. In order to match Bell's time, everyone may not be able to celebrate the Chinese New Year normally this year."

"……ah?"

This time, Xu Xin was really surprised:

"It's not the New Year?"

"It's difficult. Foreigners don't have the Spring Festival, and the filming schedule is also tight, so I have finished talking to the crew. This year, during the Chinese New Year, I will only have two days off, thirty-one days and one day off on the first day of the Lunar New Year. The time is too short, and there is no Can't go home."

"..."

For a moment, Xu Xin didn't know what to say.

He just asked tentatively:

"I'm getting married on the 15th and you are the witness..."

"I know. I'll go there on the night of the 14th and leave after attending your wedding on the 15th."

Zhang Yimou laughed:

"What? Are you afraid that I won't go?"

"Haha, no way. I'm afraid you will work too hard."

Listening to these insincere words, Zhang Yimou shook his head funny and asked:

"What are your plans for next year? Do you have a specific story? I have a few pretty good scripts here. Can you choose?"

"Yes. "Sunspot", I plan to film this next year."

"The script is out?"

"Well, it's out. Can you take a look?"

"Don't watch anymore."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yimou answered very quickly, with almost no time to think about it.

"Your style has gradually matured, and I don't need to worry about it anymore. I'm now fully preparing for "Jinling". Even if I can distract myself from reading your script, it's too perfunctory and I won't be able to give you any constructive suggestions." . Might as well let you play freely."

"Um……"

Seeing this, Xu Xin stopped asking questions, and instead took the initiative to start chatting about the plans of the Xiying Studio before and after the year before and after.

After talking about some trivial matters, from investment companies to three movies, Zhang Yimou nodded slightly, holding a teacup in his hand and fell into deep thought.

After thinking for a moment, he said:

"If You Are the One 2, I watched it after I saw you two quarreling on the Internet."

"...?"

Xu Xin was stunned.

"Did you go to see it?"

"Well, I watched it. I also saw your response... Your point of view is right. The film is indeed very separated from before and after. However, you have not had much exposure to commercial films... Of course, I mean normal The kind of commercial films that operate, "Secret" and "The Wind" cannot be counted. You have never been exposed to these things, so when you watch it, the first thing you pay attention to is its artistry. This is actually a bit Misunderstanding~"

Xu Xin sat up slightly.

There is no one else in the study.

What the two men said must have been from the bottom of their hearts.

So regardless of whether it is useful or not, he has to listen to it first.

"Commercial films have more commercial elements than anything else. It's like after these films are made, they don't pursue any awards or recognition. The only goal is the box office. Even in the eyes of some companies, as long as the box office is good enough, they If you make money, that's success. As for word of mouth and the like, it doesn't matter at all."

"Uh-huh."

Although he didn't know what the old man was going to say, Xu Xin continued to listen.

After all... it had been a long time since he had listened to the old man giving him a lesson.

"So, from their perspective, your statement itself is wrong."

"..."

Xu Xin was stunned.

Zhang Yimou also noticed his confusion, and while telling him not to be impatient, he waited for him to finish speaking before continuing:

"Of course, the mistake I am referring to is not that you are really wrong. It is that you were too subjective on this matter and more or less guided the emotions of the people."

"……ah?"

Xu Xin was really confused now.

Where did this begin?

Seeing his confusion, Zhang Yimou continued:

"If You Are the One is actually a commercial movie full of Feng Xiaogang's personal style. If you talk about the artistry of this movie, your starting point is wrong. In terms of artistry, "The Hawthorn Tree" is way ahead of it, but you know why your box office debut Zhou only won 2 million, but now he is overtaking him again and starting to pull away?"

"……Why?"

The old man told the truth. Although he didn't pay attention to the box office of the movie on New Year's Day, on the 31st, the box office of the movie was 312 million. "If You Are the One" has reached 340 million.

"Because Feng Xiaogang understands that if you want to make an art film, then make an art film. If you make a commercial film, then abandon art and completely commercialize it. To put it bluntly, he uses commercial films to compete with you. He wins and loses. The same goes for you, "Hawthorn Tree" is a movie that will be written into film history, and you are too bully compared to "If You Are the One"."

Xu Xin still didn’t understand:

"Then why do you say I'm too subjective?"

"Because you're trying to base all comparisons on film on an artistic level."

The old man held the teacup and expressed his opinion:

"This itself is something that goes against the laws of the market. Like I said, why did you lose? Is it because "The Hawthorn Tree" is not exciting? Or is it because "If You Are the One" is so good? In fact, it's neither. You lose, The fault is not with you, but with the audience. But it’s not that the audience is wrong, it’s that you underestimated the audience’s need for entertainment.”

"..."

In Xu Xin's suddenly frowning brows, the old man who has grown one year older and has a clearer understanding of the world said:

"Xiao Xu, no one has the right to interfere with people's pursuit and yearning for a better life, and the same is true when it comes to movies. It is true that the movie itself needs artistry, humanistic value, and full of thinking... But It is undeniable that these thoughts are actually very tiring. Don’t you yourself sometimes not want to do anything and just want to be in a daze, or keep some tedious things away from yourself and only do things that require the least use of your brain, or A time for simple, crude and fun entertainment?”

"..."

"In terms of movies, the nature of business and art should be balanced. If the Chinese film market is full of artistic works, then I can only say that this market is not far from death. The opposite is also true. And, although it is Balanced, but in fact, in my heart...three to seven is the most normal ratio."

"Thirty percent art films, seventy percent commercial films?"

"That's right."

Xu Xin’s probing inquiry received a positive reply:

"I know you are not interested in making commercial films, but don't forget, it's just your own idea. Movies are a cheap form of entertainment. Think about it personally. You have a busy day and make an appointment with your girlfriend after get off work. In front of the cinema.

What do you two really want to watch, is a movie about bitterness and hatred, full of reflections, controversies, struggles, rebellions, and many other spiritual expressions on the world? Or do you want to watch a movie while eating popcorn, drinking drinks, and laughing? "

In the former case, maybe you are more tired thinking about the details, metaphors, and portrayals of human nature in the movie than you are at work. But you can forget the latter after reading it, but at least, for those one or two hours, you will feel very relaxed and comfortable, and you can decompress yourself. This is one of the basic reasons why commercial films have become mainstream.

That's why you lost.

Everyone knows that "If You Are the One" has a low rating, but it contains Ge You, Sun Honglei who you praise, Wang Shuo's life summary full of personal style... There is even Yao Chen, and the naughty Shu Qi... But it Not only these, it also has the beautiful scenery of Sanya, as well as various materialistic and luxurious appearances for people to fantasize and immerse themselves in.

What is correct may not necessarily be good. And if everyone thinks it is good, it must be correct.

Because it is human nature to pursue "good". "

"..."

These words left Xu Xin speechless.

For a moment, I didn't know what to say.

I could only smoke quietly.

After smoking half a cigarette, he asked:

"Am I being a bit high-key?"

"Well, we can see some signs."

A trace of relief flashed in Zhang Yimou's eyes.

Obviously, it is best if the disciples can realize it themselves.

He did not want to dampen the enthusiasm of his disciples, and he firmly believed that the path he was taking must be the right one.

But in this world, there is black and white, and besides black and white, there is also gray.

If the yin does not grow, the yang does not grow, and all things are balanced. This is the way to harmony.

And this is what he wants Xu Xin to understand today.

Xu Xin, after getting this answer, thought for a while and tentatively said:

"But I haven't always pursued the path you mentioned... For example, let's talk about the factory. The three movies to be released next year are all decided by me. I think they all belong to the category of commercial movies..."

"I don't care about them, I'm talking about you."

Zhang Yimou smiled and shook his head:

"How the factory is run is Tian Shuanghe's business. I'm talking about yourself. Your current artistic style... can be said to have held up the sky for directors of your generation. But you are not perfect... Just after the Olympics... One year, I may not say this to you, because you were not mature at that time. But now I can say what I want to say to you most: Your starting point is too high, this is your It’s an advantage, but it’s also your shackles.”

"Well……"

In a daze, Xu Xin recalled the night he asked him to go to Xiying Studio...

The words "No big deal, I'll go home and inherit the family business" are still in my ears.

Although it was a joke, when he took it out, he was actually quite proud.

But now...

At this moment, he heard Zhang Yimou's next words:

"Don't think of box office simply as a monetary transaction. You have to understand that those numbers that represent money are also the audience's recognition and love for you."

Looking at Xu Xin, he said extremely seriously:

"You have a responsibility to the audience who loves you, understand their tastes, understand their needs, and produce the works they like best."

"..."

"The essence of movies is a form of entertainment. Whether it is a commercial film or an art film, as long as the audience likes it, it is a good movie."

"..."

"There is no difference between the two, superior or inferior."

"..."

Xu Xin's brows wrinkled tighter and tighter.

In a daze, he suddenly remembered the answer he gave when Qi Lei asked him if he was interested in making a commercial film when he was in Xi'an:

"Not interested in."

He answered so resolutely and decisively.

But now... after hearing the old man's words, I suddenly felt a little shaken.

Am I responsible for...the viewers who like me?

Shoot what the audience likes and wants to see...

Then, inexplicably, he thought of yesterday again.

Yesterday, my wife took her to go skating because of her own words.

His original intention was to say that it was cold yesterday, not to mention the New Year's Day holiday, so there would be a lot of people, and it would be troublesome for her to be recognized, so it would be better to wait for another day.

But Yang Mi misunderstood what he meant, thinking that he didn't like too many people coming from Shichahai.

Speak for the people of Yanjing.

After the two of them arrived, Yang Mi complained that the ticket was expensive. He also stood from the people's point of view and enlightened them that it only costs fifty yuan. For ordinary people, this kind of entertainment is very cost-effective.

He didn't mean to look down on ordinary people.

But Yang Mi misunderstood.

Moreover, although he doesn't care about fifty yuan, he also knows that winter in Shichahai is a cost-effective way of entertainment for anyone.

But today I heard the old man say this...

Only then did he truly discover...

It turns out that his high profile actually meant staying within the circle.

It’s not that I look down on him, I’m just not interested.

I have no interest in watching these people do whatever they can to get the tens of millions of shares, and they all show off their magical powers.

But he forgot...

"Outside the circle", the audience's expectations for the movie and the joy of seeing a good movie.

Just like football, which is not about life and death but is higher than life and death.

I did not get the essence of the movie wrong, but I missed the most important part, the audience.

But the words of the old man in front of him today made him enlightened and enlightened...

"……I see."

He nodded sincerely.

As if he had completed himself, the eyes he looked at Zhang Yimou were shining brightly!

"I understand what you mean. Indeed, my starting point in this matter is wrong. You are right."

"……Um."

Zhang Yimou's eyes flashed with joy.

The corners of his mouth also began to rise.

But at this moment, before he could praise or encourage him, the door was "roughly" pushed open.

Yijiao walked in jumping:

"Dad, brother, it's time to eat!"

Let me explain, this is to fill Xu Xin's artistic bias. During the Olympics, he said he wanted to make films he likes, and his rejection of Qi Lei in the previous few films was all foreshadowing.

It's not that Xu Xin doesn't touch commercial films, but I need a natural change in mentality and the growth of Xu Xin after he has grown up by one year in the new year.

It’s not water, it’s not a wheel, the words are repeated over and over again.

This is a process.

The most important thread of 10 years has ended, and the threads of some movies after 11 years will be laid here. It's really not water.

Recommend a book, the new work of Nibai Buddha:

"You don't understand the director's happiness"

Introduction: "Director, I want to make a movie"!

"Oh, stand up and talk, the ground is cold~"

Huayu has many female leads, and Sissi Mimi has been appointed one after another~