I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 692 689. Bak Kut Teh

The premiere of "Gang Piano" achieved a box office of over 10 million, even more than double the box office of "Guanyin Mountain", which surprised everyone.

You know, their film... From the director to the actors, in terms of scale, they may not be enough for Liang Bingning alone.

Yes, Qin Hailu is indeed a good actor. She won the Best Actress in her debut, so her acting skills must be no problem...

But the problem is that there are too many movie kings and movie queens in this circle.

There are so many good acting skills.

This kind of award is a backing for actors.

But when it comes to real appeal, it still depends on popularity, celebrity status, etc...

What's more, what Qin Hailu has, Liang Bingning has.

What Qin Hailu didn't have, Liang Binning also had.

The two sides don't look like they are of the same magnitude.

"The Piano of Steel", a literary film that tells the story of a small northeastern town whose economy has plummeted and is full of desolation. There are no big names joining the cast. Can it produce a box office of 11 million?

Many people don't understand.

But... a short comment with the highest number of likes on Douban seems to reveal the reason why it has achieved such results.

"As a southerner, I'm not very interested in the Northeast. But I like Xu Xin's movies very much. I remember he was a co-director. How did he become a producer? But unexpectedly, this movie is very good. See Those lonely steel factories, I seem to suddenly understand what the "pain of the firstborn" is."

One short comment received more than 3,000 likes.

Many people have commented below:

"It's true that I came here for Xu Xin at first. After watching it, I thought: wow, it's really good-looking."

"It's not as bitter as I imagined. It feels quite interesting."

"The producer of "The Hawthorn Tree" - Zhang Yimou. The producer of "The Piano of Steel" - Xu Xin. Therefore, Zhang Yimou = "The Piano of Steel"."

"You can make equations upstairs."

"I discovered for the first time that Qin Hailu is really beautiful. I feel so charming."

"Wang Qianyuan is well-deserved for his title as Best Actor. Thanks to Xu Daohui for his discerning eye and bringing us such an excellent work."

Most of these people's words reflected why they chose this movie from the front or side.

Indeed, March… there’s really not much to see.

In addition to "Guanyin Mountain", there will be "Children of a Distant Planet" by Zhou Xun and Chen Kun on March 28.

The actors in these two movies are box office guarantees.

But when it comes to director level... there is really only one Xu Xin.

Although the other party is just a producer.

But this is the same as Zhang Yimou being the producer of "The Hawthorn Tree", which encouraged many Zhang Yimou fans to go to the cinema to watch it.

Xu Xin and Zhang Yimou took exactly the same path.

Use your influence to promote a movie.

Facts have also proved that this film, which made Wang Qianyuan, who was acting in a film for the first time, win the Best Actor, is indeed worthy of Xu Xin's title of "producer".

With an investment of 5 million, and a cost of only about 10 million for publicity, it was able to get 11 million at the box office on the first day, and I am afraid it will exceed 50 million in the first week.

Xiying Studio once again uses small to achieve great results.

Even Liao Film Studio also took off.

And this kind of success achieved with a small amount of knowledge seems like nothing at first glance.

But the reality is that everyone gets what they want in this movie.

Wang Qianyuan and Qin Hailu gained fame.

With this movie, Zhang Meng completely established a foothold in the film industry.

With this movie, Liao Film Studio may be able to achieve the total profit of the previous five years combined.

As for Xiying Studio... From a tactical level, it can be said in six words: get an award, get an award, or fucking get an award.

At the strategic level, they adhere to the brand image of "Western Film Productions must be high-quality", once again adding a resounding gold brick to their brand status in the hearts of movie fans.

As for Xu Xin himself, it can be said that he has won.

Because he took the first step as a "producer".

His main job is definitely still a director, but the box office of "The Piano" and the fans' journey to the cinema represent that his appeal is no longer limited to a "personal work".

Then, as long as he continues to serve as a producer in some good movies and movies that are accepted by the audience, his appeal will become more and more terrifying.

Your own work can attract fans.

Your work as a producer can also attract fans.

For outsiders, it doesn’t actually matter who is the gold medal producer in the film and television industry.

Very few people can understand and remember so many names like countless treasures.

But Xu Xin is different.

He has his own works and is well-known, and now he has proven that he can drive the influence of other works.

From now on, he will truly walk on two legs.

Others earn one million, he earns two million.

This characteristic of being able to grasp both hands with both hands has allowed him, who has already begun to take shape as a "great director", to once again raise the commanding heights of his career much higher.

It can be said that "The Piano of Steel" made everyone involved with this movie make a lot of money.

No.

In the early morning of the 24th, "Gang's Piano" delivered another good news.

The second-day box office of "The Piano of Steel": 17.4 million.

The rating rose another 0.1 to 8.8.

Following this trend, breaking 70 million in the first week seems to be a certainty!

Among all the newly released movies from January 1 to now, there are only three movies with a score of 8.8 or above.

9.0 of "Wulin Gaiden"

9.2 of "Guanyin Mountain"

And the 8.8 of "The Piano of Steel"

Three high-scoring movies, two of which are exclusive to West Film Studio.

In the spring of 2011, the entire film and television industry seemed to be their one-man show.

It has made a good start for the prosperity of the northwest circle.

…

On the morning of March 24, Xu Xin returned to Xi’an.

After getting off the bus at the factory, we went straight to the small conference room on the second floor of the office building.

As soon as he opened the door and walked in, he saw a few people inside and said quickly:

"Sorry, I'm late."

Qi Lei stood up to greet:

"Haha, it's not too late, it's not too late! We have just arrived...hahahahaha..."

Looking at his hearty smile, Xu Xin asked knowingly:

"Mr. Qi won the lottery today?"

There are other people from the Art Creation Center at this moment, and his title is very formulaic.

After hearing this, the smile on Qi Lei's face became a little brighter:

"Yes, that's right! You didn't pick up the lottery ticket! It's just that I didn't pick it up, you picked it up! This big lottery ticket for "The Piano of Steel"!"

"Ha~"

Xu Xin chuckled lightly, and after saying hello to a few other people, he said:

"Then... I hope I can pick up more lottery tickets in the future. Besides, Shen Xiaoyang bought this lottery ticket for me. I have to thank them properly later."

Qi Lei naturally understood what he meant and nodded:

"of course."

There was another round of joking, and after Su Meng helped Xu Xin fill a cup of tea, Qi Lei finally spoke:

"Come on, let's not talk about the lottery for now. Let's talk about the money printing machine first~"

As he spoke, he took a picture of the script in his hand.

"To our dying youth"

"Director Xu's recommenders are Guo Fan and Wen Muye? Let's start with you."

"good."

Xu Xin nodded:

"The reason why I chose them is because their plans captured the most important thing in this drama, the expression of emotions between a boy and a girl in their youth when they develop feelings for each other. To put it bluntly, Well, whether it’s the fight in the dormitory or the friendship between classmates... I think these two people, especially Guo Fan, have a good grasp..."

The final selection of the director of "To Youth" officially started with his words.

In fact, honestly speaking, the novel "To Youth" is quite good.

Compared with original scripts, Xiying Studio inherently loves movies based on literary originals.

Since the novel can be published, it means that it at least has sufficient support in terms of storytelling, otherwise it will definitely not pass the literary editor level.

As the "second generation" of the review team, Xu Xin's opinions are important to everyone.

This small review meeting lasted all morning.

There are seven people in total, and each of them has two recommendation quotas.

Among them, Guo Fan and Wen Muye overlapped 3 times and 1 time respectively.

In addition to Xu Xin, there were two other people who took a fancy to Guo Fan's plan.

And the next thing will be easy to handle.

Being valued three times represents its excellent quality.

After the morning meeting, the final candidates for "To Youth" have been announced.

Seven people, four votes voted for Guo Fan.

In addition to the three people who selected the script, the fourth vote was cast by Qi Lei.

And he was the only one who, like Xu Xin, chose Wen Muye.

The minority obeys the majority.

Guo Fan became the director of "To Youth".

However, because it is a debut film, in order to control the quality, the factory also needs to choose an experienced director to serve as the producer.

What I'm afraid of is that Guo Fan has no experience in handling some things.

But the candidate has not been decided yet.

At the same time, Qi Lei also made some plans at the meeting.

For example, turning Guo Fan into a model and putting it in front of all directors will let everyone see that Xiying Film Studio is not an old-fashioned thing based on seniority, but an enterprise with a pioneering and enterprising heart.

But this aspect of work has nothing to do with Xu Xin.

After completing the director selection in the morning, he declined Qi Lei's request to have dinner together and pointed to his computer bag:

"I have to leave quickly, Director Li is still waiting for me in Xiamen."

After hearing this, Qi Lei stopped stopping him.

He knew that Xu Xin was busy selecting scenes for "The Burning Sun".

However, a reminder:

"Remember, there was a celebration party for "Gang Zhi Qin" in Yanjing on the 31st."

"Well... Brother Qi also thought about inviting Shen Xiaoyang with him this time. I have to thank him properly."

"Don't worry, I understand."

After a short trip to Xi'an, Xu Xin got on the plane and rushed directly to Xiamen.

Xiamen, Fuzhou, Shantou.

These are the three shooting spots selected by Xu Xin in the photos brought back by Xue Yong.

First of all, these three cities are all close to the sea.

Although Fuzhou is the farthest city from the sea, some of its counties and cities have very good seaside scenery.

At least it looks good in photos.

He now wants to go and see it in person with Li Pingdong.

In fact, he didn't have any ambitions for "Heart of the Burning Sun".

After his literary consultant Lu Haibo recommended "Sunspot", he thought the story was very good and deep, so he decided to make it into a movie.

I have to admit that at first he was really aiming to win the prize.

Because "The Hawthorn Tree" had not yet been released, and he felt that the story line of the original novel "The Hawthorn Tree" was very thin, and it was about a special era, so he might not be able to do a good job in it.

This was his truest thought at the time.

Therefore, "Sunspot" is not so much a spare tire as it is a "trick".

But since "The Hawthorn Tree" won the Silver Lion and broke the record at the Venice Film Festival.

At present, except for the "Best Picture" that has always been inexplicably missed from major awards, he has really given up on other thoughts.

And the "best film" in his mind is not the three domestic gold medals.

The gold content of the three golds in China is indeed not very good.

He wants to win three gold medals from the three majors.

But because I got the Silver Lion, I am not too obsessed with the award.

Therefore, in the current movie "Heart of the Burning Sun", his mentality is really peaceful.

It has been more than two years since he got the original work for this movie.

Every storyline and every key point of emotional ups and downs are stored in my heart.

Countless times I have deduced the scenes in my mind, what kind of pictures are needed to express...

No one knows better than him.

And because he didn't covet the awards too much, he felt that he was really standing out as a Buddha now.

The Buddhist system is a complete mess.

At around three o'clock or almost four o'clock, he arrived at the door of the hotel called "Miramar" in Xiamen.

Judging from the size of this hotel, it must have been built relatively early.

This doesn't mean that he wants to live here, but it's the place where Li Pingdong made an appointment with him.

Come and invite him to tea...

As for what kind of tea...

He and Su Meng looked at the name of "Garden Cafe" and fell into deep thought.

"Are you sure you came right?"

He couldn't help but complain to Su Meng.

What kind of people do you think Xiamen people are?

wrong.

What kind of evil is Director Li doing?

Invite yourself to the coffee shop for tea?

"Director Li's address is here, Brother Xu, I followed the navigation."

Su Meng was also confused.

Then, Xu Xin dialed Xue Yong's phone number.

He really didn't dare to go in.

I was afraid that when I entered this cafe and asked, "Do you have tea here?", someone would knock me out.

But Xue Yong did come out of the coffee shop to greet him.

Seeing Xu Xin wearing a mask, he greeted him with a smile:

"Director Xu."

"Brother Yong, have you been beaten?"

"...?"

Xue Yong was stunned and didn't understand what he meant.

Until Xu Xin pointed to the house number:

"If you come to the cafe for tea, won't you get beaten?"

"Uh...hahahaha."

Xue Yong couldn't help laughing.

Then he shook his head:

"Director Li won't let me say more. Director Xu, let's go in first."

Xu Xin followed Xue Yong into the coffee shop, and then found Li Pingdong who was carrying him in the small box.

After Li Pingdong saw Xu Xin, he stood up to greet him with a smile and shouted something to the waiter. Only then did Xu Xin understand what kind of tea Director Li had invited him to drink.

Bak Kut Teh…

A snack that he had only heard of but never tasted.

Xu Xin was speechless for a moment.

What did I say, why did you come to the coffee shop?

I've been making trouble for a long time, so I came here to eat.

He couldn't laugh or cry:

"Director Li, I almost thought I would be beaten out after I came in."

After Li Pingdong was stunned for a moment, he understood the meaning of his words and laughed:

"Hahahaha, you will understand in a moment. If this restaurant is not delicious, I will not let you come here as soon as you get off the plane. Believe me, their Bak Kut Teh is very good. After dinner, we just went to Baicheng Beach. The sunset over there is still very beautiful.”

At first glance, the conversation between the two sounded like they were traveling to Xiamen.

But what we are actually talking about is location selection.

Baicheng Beach, Huwei Mountain Park, etc. Xiamen has a complete city scenery and fishing village culture around the coast. Coupled with some features of the old city, it is Xu Xin's first choice.

At noon, he took a bite of the airplane meal himself, and now he was a little hungry.

Li Pingdong seemed to be very familiar with Xiamen, so he just went along with the guests.

Pour tea and pass cigarettes.

he asked:

"Has the filming of "Painting on the Wall" been finished?"

"Yes, it's finished."

"That's pretty fast."

"Well, the rest is post-production, and it has nothing to do with me. When do you plan to start this film?"

"Probably in June or July. Let's make some preparations in advance. By the way, didn't the factory send you an invitation to be a judge?"

Hearing this, Li Pingdong nodded:

"Yes, I have agreed. The Silk Road Film Festival is a great name~! I heard it was your idea?"

"Um."

Xu Xin nodded and roughly explained the whole story.

Li Pingdong's face showed some emotion.

How many years has this been?

When filming "Secret" in early 2007 and "The Wind" in 2008, although he could feel the other's talent,... In just a few years, Xiying Film Studio can be said to have begun to rise at a rapid pace after he joined. It was almost confusing for him to understand.

Especially after winning the trophy in Venice last year...

It felt like Xu Xin's talent was beginning to explode as if he couldn't suppress it.

Whether it’s a work or some plans for a movie.

From speed to efficiency to results...

Everything gave him a feeling of "taking off" that he couldn't quite understand.

Clearly not yet thirty years old.

But some of the achievements he has achieved are things that many directors may find difficult to achieve in their lifetime.

Don't mention anything else, just the temperament you have...

The tenderness is completely invisible.

What replaced it was an aggressive edge.

It is still hiding.

Hidden in a sheath.

However, that sharpness is radiating out all the time, making the hairs of those who shave stand on end...

As Asia's leading photographer, Li Pingdong has met many great directors. There are even more directors...

When filming "The Wind", he discovered that Xu Xin already had the temperament of a great director in every move he made.

Now, this temperament is clearer.

…

After chatting about the Silk Road Film Festival for a while, the "tea" Li Pingdong said was also served.

"Let's chat while eating. Hey, Xiao Xu, try it and see if it suits your taste. The weather here in the south is hot and humid, so eating a bowl of this is the most comfortable thing..."

Hearing his words, Xu Xin nodded and took a spoonful of "tea" into his mouth.

Suddenly, a strange smell hit me.

The first feeling is that there is some salty soup added to Chinese medicine.

Following this feeling, a sentence came to his mind.

This soup...

Can't make noodles.

Faced with Li Pingdong's "how" look, Xu Xin could only give three words against his will:

"not bad."

"Haha, yes, this is made in Singapore. The aroma of pepper and cinnamon is lighter than that in Malaysia, but it is very sweet..."

"..."

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

I can only say that the taste is different.

Barely edible.

However, Su Meng seemed to like the taste very much. She sat next to her and started to chew the ribs with a smile.

At this time, Li Pingdong seemed to suddenly remember something and said:

"Oh yes, I forgot to ask you. I think there are three characters in the script "Heart of the Burning Sun". Do you have a favorite candidate in mind?"

"How many?"

"Who are you going to choose for the role of Xin Xiaofeng? Do you want me to recommend one to you?"

If anyone else had said this, Xu Xin would have definitely refused.

Zhang Yi had been preparing for this script for a long time, and although the audition was relatively short, Zhang Yi's "death row" performance left a deep impression on him.

For some of Xin Xiaofeng's scenes in the script, he has already designed many scenes around the other person's temperament since he confirmed the candidate Zhang Yi.

This is his chosen actor.

But the person who said this was Li Pingdong, and he had to give face to both emotions and reasons.

So he pretended to be confused and asked:

"Who?"

"Deng Chao. I collaborated with him on "Painting Walls" this time. This actor is quite good and his acting skills are also very solid. When the post-production shooting tasks were not tense, I was reading the script. He and I got along well. Very good. One day when I was having dinner, I asked about this script. I didn’t show him the script, but recommended him to read the original work. As a result, a few days after reading it, he came to me and asked me where the story was. A director wanted to film it, and he was very interested..."

"Well……"

Hearing this, Xu Xin ignored Xue Yong's hesitation in speaking.

After thinking for a while, he said:

"It hasn't been decided yet. Does Director Li think he is suitable?"

"Um."

Li Pingdong responded:

"I think he fits the image of Xin Xiaofeng better. Moreover, he has a decent face, which makes him suitable for portraying Xin Xiaofeng's struggle."

"Deng Chao..."

Xu Xin looked like he was squinting in thought.

He seemed to be seriously considering his possibilities.

After thinking about it for more than ten seconds, he nodded:

"Then let him give it a try. I haven't had much cooperation with him, and it's hard to comment on his acting skills. It depends on the performance on the spot. How about it?"

Although he didn't know whether this was Deng Chao's request or whether Director Li really thought the other party was good.

None of this matters.

The important thing is that he cannot refute the other party's face.

Although he was curious... Deng Chao should know very well that based on his relationship with the Beijing circle, even if he came to audition, he might not be able to use it.

What's the point of him doing this?

Are you planning to turn the stove upside down?

Or……

have no idea.

Can't guess.

The other party can come if he wants. Anyway, when the audition for "Heart of the Sun" begins, he will be looking for actors from the entire entertainment industry this time.

It is true that he is the factory's brand now, but he cannot appear stingy.

At least not on the surface.

Xiying Studio cannot and will not do Beijing-based projects.

This is an attitude that should be expressed to everyone.

So this casting scale is quite subtle.

In some respects, actors from the northwest circle have natural advantages.

But from another level, it is necessary to express the differences between the Northwest Circle and the Beijing Circle.

This scale must be grasped well.

After all, he is not an unknown director now.

For no reason, something the old man said flashed through his mind:

"The higher you stand, the more restrictive the rules are."

really……

The old man will not deceive me.