I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 703 700. Director Chen

He and Chen Kexin did not meet by chance, but were recommended by Luo Shunjun.

Luo Shunjun told him that Chen Kexin wanted to invite him to drink coffee.

At first, Xu Xin was quite puzzled as to what this famous director wanted to do with him.

But since someone sent out an invitation, he would definitely get it.

So he agreed.

He took Su Meng with him, while Chen Kexin was alone.

Chen Kexin, who was born in 1962, is almost fifty years old, but at first glance, Xu Xin had a good impression of him.

He has a very bookish air about him.

He is more like a writer than a director.

And, to be honest, Xu Xin really liked the works he made. Especially "Curry Chili" and "Sweet Honey".

Xu Xin showed great respect for this senior.

Chen Kexin's attitude was also very kind. After everyone sat down, he smiled and said to Xu Xin:

"I'll call you Axin, okay?"

Xu Xin was stunned and nodded quickly:

"No problem, Director Chen."

"Because I think this way, everyone is relatively familiar with you. Axing and I have talked about you and said you are very good."

"...?"

Xu Xinxin said that the "A Xing" in his mouth couldn't be Zhou Xuchi, right?

All of a sudden, he became excited.

After the director's sharp eyes caught the change in Xu Xin's eyes, he added with a smile:

"We met at the Golden Rooster Awards, and he was deeply impressed by you."

"This...haha~"

Hearing his idol praising himself, he really had nothing to say except laughing.

It was at this point that the topic began to cross over from the unfamiliar stage and became more harmonious.

The topic is mainly focused on "Hawthorn Tree".

This is what Chen Kexin is curious about.

After watching "The Hawthorn Tree" in the cinema, he carefully understood the ins and outs of the movie.

Although I saw from the interview that Xu Xin was inspired by Zhang Yimou to make this movie. But... the photos he took were so contemporary, as if he had personally experienced that era.

This movie was particularly to his liking.

"I have watched it many times and I still have a DVD at home."

He paid pretty high praise.

"I really like this type of film that transcends generations. This type of film with a distinct mark of the times is actually quite difficult to grasp. A Xin, you handled this really well."

At first glance, this sounds a bit like the conversational attitude between a teacher and a student.

But Xu Xin readily accepted it.

Not to mention anything else, in terms of status, in that era, the other party was one of the gods of Hong Kong movies.

Even though we are getting older now and the output is not as good as before, Hong Kong movies are no longer what they were back then.

But people who go up the mountain have no reason to laugh at the "god" who comes down the mountain.

And when he praised himself, Xu Xin also praised him.

And he praised it sincerely:

"I used to really like watching "Curry Chili". At that time, there was a video hall in my house. I watched "Curry Chili" many times, and then I also watched "Sweetie" once. At that time, I thought the 50 cent ticket was worth it. It was so unfair, and the movie was terrible. But ever since I grew up, "Sweetie" has become one of my favorite movies..."

"Hahahaha~"

Faced with Xu Xin's words, Chen Kexin laughed heartily.

Smiling and nodding:

"Well, this is normal. This is what I just said, it is the mark of the times. In every era, audiences of different ages have different tastes in choosing movies. It is normal..."

The two of them were chatting over coffee.

The atmosphere is quite pleasant.

As we chatted, we started talking about movies and actors.

At this time, Chen Kexin put forward a very interesting point of view.

He believes that the future film market in mainland China will be the second Hong Kong.

In the words of Chen Kexin:

"To be honest, I'm not very optimistic about the next generation of mainland actors."

Seeing Xu Xin tilting his head slightly and seeming to doubt his statement, he said:

"Axin, have you ever thought about the difference between Hong Kong film actors and mainland film actors? I mean the essential difference."

After hearing the last sentence he emphasized, Xu Xin thought for a moment and then gave his answer:

"The difference between life drama and stage drama."

Chen Kexin's eyes lit up instantly:

"That's right, that's the difference. These actors in Xiangjiang may all have big shortcomings. For example, they may not even know how to move at the beginning, their Mandarin is not standard, and they can't even remember their lines. But... ...You can always find shadows of those characters in daily life in the characters they play. But actors from mainland China are different. Most of them have formal academic backgrounds, and everything they perform is like a stage play."

"But there is no distinction between the two. I have always had a view that the so-called acting geniuses just start at a higher level than others. In the end, everyone reaches the same end point."

After hearing Xu Xin's words, Chen Kexin said in a tone of agreement:

"Yes, this is correct. There is really no difference between the two points. Although the actors in Xiangjiang are not from professional backgrounds, many of them are forced to become actors because of their livelihood. Their advantage lies in their experience. Accumulate. What profession do you want to play? I have seen this profession and how others perform it, so I will act accordingly. This way, everyone will not feel out of place on the screen. This is for Xiangjiang actors. Advantage."

"That's right, the vast majority of actors in mainland China are actually from majors. They have experience in systematic stage drama training. And Director Chen, your so-called "no acting", is also an actor with majors starting out. This stage is a big problem to overcome. Compared with the various aspects of life experienced by Xiangjiang actors from childhood to adulthood, we study, take exams, further study acting, and graduate... This stage makes it necessary for us to carry out a lot of acting life in the days to come. Observation and training..."

Xu Xin used the same idea as him, analyzing the different strengths and weaknesses of both parties.

Does Chen Kexin agree?

Of course I agree.

This is why he agrees with Xu Xin’s view of “different paths lead to the same destination”.

That's exactly what it is.

Why do many newly graduated actors find their acting skills awkward?

To put it bluntly, it is not enough for life.

Lack of observation and lack of understanding.

If you don't have enough life experience to control such an inexperienced character, your unfamiliarity will be conveyed to the audience.

But the same principle applies...

"Actors who are too life-oriented and do not have a formal academic background will easily pass the first stage. If they want to move up, they will also face a hurdle. That is actors who have undergone systematic training and study and have a formal academic background. Those skills that are already easy to master.

How should I simulate, how should I study, how should I analyze characters, etc... To put it bluntly, a mainland actor is a bottle, and all he needs to do is fill himself. Many people will be eliminated from the market during this "filling" process.

The actors in Xiangjiang are like the barrel effect. They have water, and it will be easy to accumulate at the beginning. But after reaching the shortcomings, they also need to make up for the shortcomings... In fact, there is no difference between the two. What a difference. "

"Yes, yes, that's right."

Chen Kexin nodded, pushed up his glasses, and then returned to the original question of the two people:

"But it is precisely because of this that I say that I am not optimistic about the next generation of actors. Because... the country is getting stronger and stronger, you know what I mean. Think about it, how old is Xiangjiang? At the beginning Everyone has to find actors from theater troupes and martial arts schools.

Later, movies evolved, and people didn’t like actors whose characters were too facial-looking. So, suddenly, there were a lot more in Xiangjiang... How do you describe it with that word? ...Grassroots? Suddenly there are many more grassroots actors. OK, everyone got to know Ah Xing, the Four Heavenly Kings, Fa Ge, so many people.

These people created the reputation of Hong Kong Oriental Hollywood, and they sustained an era. But you see, twenty years ago, Xiangjiang was this group of people. Today, these people are still the same in Xiangjiang. "

In fact, Luo Shunjun and Su Meng were confused when they heard this.

I don’t understand what Chen Kexin is expressing.

Doesn't it mean... that he doesn't have a high opinion of the next generation of mainland actors? Why did this get involved with Xiangjiang actors again?

Is this... off topic?

Is it possible that he wants to talk to Brother Xu/Director Xu about the reasons for the decline of Hong Kong movies?

But when they were wondering, Xu Xin asked:

"Director Chen, what do you mean... we will also face this kind of situation? It's like the academic actors who used to be in Xiangjiang Film were squeezed out by the so-called training courses and life-oriented actors. Nowadays, there are more and more people in mainland China. All the actors have majored in education, and they are going to another extreme...like why not eat minced meat?"

"!"

Luo Shunjun and Su Meng were stunned when they heard this.

But Chen Kexin gave Xu Xin a thumbs up.

Obviously, the two of them have been on the same spiritual level since they started chatting about these things.

In other words, from the director's perspective, their thinking is the same.

What Chen Kexin wants to express himself cannot be understood by others.

But Xu Xin understands.

Outsiders may be confused by what Xu Xin said, but Chen Kexin understood what he meant.

At this point, the two are very much in tune.

After giving Xu Xin a thumbs up, he held the coffee and said:

"I think it must be like this. In my opinion, Xiangjiang is like the epitome of the mainland film world. Mainland movies are now on the road to the best era. But when it was at its peak, when this generation The moment an actor becomes eternal in people's hearts means that it will experience a long period of depression in the future."

"..."

Xu Xin stopped talking now.

Instead, he frowned.

He was a little irritable for no reason.

It's so fucked up that this place doesn't allow smoking.

But despite being annoyed...

"Mengmeng, go find a place for me to buy some chewing gum. Don't you have Camille's phone number?"

"OK."

Su Meng quickly stood up and left.

After Su Meng left, Xu Xin thought about it for a while before saying:

"Director Chen, how long do you think this cycle is?"

"Hard to say."

Chen Kexin shook his head:

"Hong Kong movies have been brilliant for twenty years, but began to decline around 2000. But... since 2000, the progress of the world has made it difficult for many of us in the previous era to understand... It's like this Same as mobile phones. Who would have thought that smartphones can do so many things ten years ago?... So, rather than saying when will it decline, I think that the peak period of the mainland film market will be much less than that of Hong Kong films. We are not the only ones making progress, you see..."

He pouted behind Xu Xin.

Xu Xin turned around and took a look and found a table full of Asian faces.

"Korean films have also gained momentum in recent years, and Japan is not bad either. In the past, it was difficult to meet Koreans in Cannes. But now... they are also considered regular guests."

Following his words, Xu Xin saw a hint of nostalgia and recollection coexisting on Chen Kexin's face.

He had no way of knowing whether the other party was nostalgic for the prosperity of Hong Kong Cinema in the past, or whether he was wallowing in the past and unwilling to welcome a new tomorrow.

It doesn't really matter.

It's like the topic the two discussed today.

It's a big proposition, but it's destined to end in vain.

Because that's the future.

No matter how powerful a person is, at most they can only rely on their own judgment based on the "now" to find the direction for the future.

Rather than being reborn, we cannot be sure of an unchanging future.

What's more... rebirth itself is also a paradox.

Because you know the future, you change the present. But when the present changes, will the future before your rebirth still be the future?

"However, at least there are successors for the new generation of directors."

Hearing this, Xu Xin raised his head and looked at him drinking coffee with a smile on his face.

Although he knew he was praising himself, he still shook his head modestly:

"The road is long and difficult, but the journey is about to end."

"Haha~"

Chen Kexin showed a hearty smile again and replied:

“If you work without fixing, you will have a promising future.”

As he spoke, he held out the coffee cup.

Seeing this, Xu Xin also picked up his cup of coffee.

Is there any hope for the future...

"Ding."

Although it was his first meeting, he still remembered the director who had been in the golden age of Hong Kong movies and gave him words full of goodwill and expectations.

Go slowly.

One step at a time.

After he felt the bitterness in his mouth, he thought about it and suddenly turned to Luo Shunjun and said:

"Brother Luo, print out the script of "Partners" and show it to Director Chen.

…

The ancients said that if you give someone a peach, you can repay it with a plum.

After realizing that Director Chen liked stories with a sense of the times, he asked Luo Shunjun to print out the script for "Partners".

In fact, it is not difficult to find out if you look at the other party's movie types.

He is really a genre director who likes to look for people from two places or even two generations from the changes in time. As the years go by, conflicts will naturally arise using "time" as an iterative framework.

Such is the case with A Tale of Two Cities.

"Sweet Honey" is like this.

The same is true for "Tou Ming Zhuan".

Or to put it in the simplest terms, "time" is particularly important in Director Chen's films.

In a broad sense.

The current director of "Partners" in the studio has not yet submitted a satisfactory answer, and for this kind of film about the changes of the times, Xu Xin felt that Director Chen might like it.

Moreover, after hearing this, Chen Kexin did not refuse.

Although this method is quite "obtrusive".

But today's chat was very pleasant. Since he didn't mind reading the script, he wouldn't refuse.

Soon, Luo Shunjun came back with a stack of newly printed scripts.

Xu Xin handed it to Chen Kexin and said:

"Director Chen, please read this story."

Then, there was the other party’s summary.

Chen Kexin watched the movie quite quickly, and it took less than 20 minutes.

Obviously I understand the outline of the story.

After reading the script, he had the same feeling.

Very much to his liking.

But Xu Xin handed over the script, so he definitely had to ask about the situation.

So he asked:

"Axin, do you want to film this script?"

"I don't want to film it. I'm worried that I can't find anyone to film it. This script is an investment from the studio, and I'm currently looking for a director."

The reason why he said this was naturally due to his own considerations.

First of all, Director Chen has almost never made any bad movies.

Even the thriller and comedy movies he has been involved in have received pretty good ratings.

More importantly, Xu Xin likes the way he expresses the emotions of the protagonists in "Sweet Sweetness" and "The Name".

Delicate and subtle, good at exploring the inner emotions of the characters.

The reason why he likes to use "time" to make movies is because many of the characters under his lens have been tempered by time, and their character transformation is very natural, and there is rarely a mechanical copycat.

The implicit beauty of this kind of film fits the temperament of the script "Partners" very well.

The difficult thing about this film is that its story structure is actually quite similar to "The Social Network".

The reason why the factory couldn't find a suitable recommender for so long is that the scripts submitted by these directors were more or less borrowed from "The Social Network", and several characters were seriously stereotyped.

Instead of doing this, it is better to let the other party try.

Of course, this doesn't mean it's certain.

If Chen Kexin is going to take part in this matter, then Yindu will definitely come and take part in it.

In terms of strength, all directors in Xiangjiang can be said to be the back garden of Yindu to a certain extent.

Xu Xin is sending out an invitation.

If Director Chen is interested, he will have to ask people from Yindu to communicate with him when he returns.

This way everyone will cooperate more smoothly.

But if he's not interested, that's another story.

The factory won't care how much of Yindu's share of the pie is divided.

Because the final decision-making power for this movie rests with you.

How much you invest is up to you.

As long as the other party can come up with excellent film ideas and bring enough reputation to the factory, then there will be no problems with this film.

After all, they are brothers.

After hearing what Xu Xin said, Chen Kexin thought about it and suddenly said with a dumb smile:

"Obviously I just asked you to have coffee, why did you suddenly find yourself a job?"

Seeing that the other party relented, Xu Xin quickly added:

"If Director Chen is interested, then come up with a plan and give it a try. Silver Capital and the studio may cooperate on this movie, but there is no rush at this stage. Cannes has just begun, and Director Chen is busy with "Martial Arts" first , let’s sit down and chat together after we return to China?”

"..."

Chen Kexin said nothing at first.

Instead, he looked down at the script in his hand, thought about it for about ten seconds, and nodded gently:

"good."

Let me tell you first that I will take my child to the hospital for eye examination tomorrow morning. This time I will have a thorough retinal examination.

I don't know how long I will be busy.

If I come back early, I will add another chapter.

If you are particularly tired, you may have to take a day off, sorry.