I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 760 757. Piloting

Offstage, Xu Xin and his colleagues from Xiying Studio were next to Wanda’s team.

As good friends, he and Wang Sicong are naturally next to each other.

In the morning, the two of them attended the opening of the venture capital meeting together. In the afternoon, he had to work on the work related to the opening ceremony in the evening.

When Xue Xiaolu on the stage finished introducing himself and began to explain the script called "Beautiful Destiny", Xu Xin saw his friend turn on his mobile phone from under the table.

Mobile phone Baidu started searching for the movie "Ocean Paradise".

For Xu Xin, he can only say that he has an impression of this film. He remembers that it was a film released last year.

In recent years, he actually spends less and less time going to movie theaters. Most of the time, he waits for movies to be released and buys a DVD to watch at home.

Especially after his remarks about going to watch "If You Are the One 2" with his wife caused unnecessary trouble, he became even more cautious about going to the cinema to watch movies.

After Wang Sicong opened the Baidu Encyclopedia of the movie, Xu Xin held up his phone and took a look.

I found out that the release date is June.

Last June.

No wonder, he was filming "The Hawthorn Tree" at that time.

A look at the box office...

Oh yo? 140 million?

this……

A director with such a big background is actually appearing on the stage of a venture capital meeting where new talents in the film industry can go to raise funds for the film?

An emotion with a bit of speculation emerged in his heart.

and……

Tell the truth.

Xu Xin always felt that she looked familiar.

I must have seen her somewhere.

I have met this director Xue Xiaolu.

I just...can't remember.

Where is it?

He became more and more confused, but looking at Xue Xiaolu who was telling the story of the movie script on the stage, he stopped thinking about it.

Venture capital meetings, after all, focus on script projects.

No matter what intentions the other party comes with, it will only happen after the venture capital meeting is over.

…

In 10 minutes, Xue Xiaolu’s statement was completed.

Frankly speaking, at least judging from the stories I heard, the investors here are basically very interested.

In fact, the film and television industry can be quite magical sometimes.

It’s the same script, but in the hands of a newcomer, it’s nothing like bullshit.

But in the hands of a director with a box office record of over 100 million, even if it is a piece of shit, it still tastes good.

For Xu Xin, the script brought by Xue Xiaolu was average.

First of all, it is either a twisted story or a simple story about a mistress giving birth to a child for a rich man and then coming to Seattle to wait for the birth. Then from an arrogant and willful mistress to a rich man, he suddenly fell into despair, and then started an affair with the driver, and finally acted out a story with a bit of fresh flavor.

To be honest, it's quite bloody.

Regardless of the director's thoughts, from a purely storytelling perspective, Xu Xin is not the audience for this story.

And I didn’t think the story was that exciting. Instead, I felt that the story of someone else’s mistress having an affair with another man was a bit too damaging to my outlook.

But this is where it gets so bloody.

Standing in front of everyone is a director with a box office of over 100 million and who has manipulated Jet Li.

No matter how bloody this script is, there will still be people who want to film it.

For example, Wanda Film and Television.

After Xue Xiaolu left the stage, the name "Beautiful Destiny" was added to the list of script venture capital stories that Wanda Film and Television was interested in in Wang Sicong's hand.

Another example is Xiying Studio.

Qi Lei took over the list in the same form. After seeing that the team members were also very interested in the script, he didn't express any opinions and handed the form to Xu Xin.

Seeing this, Wang Sicong poked his head this way.

When he saw the name of this script on the form, his expression became strange.

He is the same as Lao Xu.

The symbolism that comes today is greater than the other ingredients.

He is not currently employed at Wanda. Although Wanda is his family, it is not easy for him to speak about this kind of thing as an "outsider".

Similarly, in the eyes of the outside world, his status symbol is that of Wanda's successor, and the word "rich" is plastered on his forehead.

The same is true for Xu Xin.

Everyone knows that he has a strong say in Xiying Film Studio, and his own performance is so good that he can crush all the new generation directors.

If Wang Sicong's arrival is to tell the filmmakers that "Wanda is rich", "I am very interested", and "as long as the story is good, I can make the decision", then Xu Xin's arrival is more like a warning to the filmmakers An inspiration.

Maybe I am the next Xu Xin.

As long as Director Xu thinks my story is good, West Film Studio will definitely vote for it.

Director Xu has decision-making power.

The functional attributes of the two people are actually the same. Just like tonight's opening ceremony, it makes sense that the top leader of the Shaanxi people will also be there personally.

But now the two of them have become "rivals" with the same script name on the form.

Lao Wang was speechless.

As for Lao Xu, after noticing his friend's gaze, he understood what he meant. He came to his side and whispered:

"I, Wang Duoyu, have voted for this script! Even the gods can't stop it, I said so!"

Wang Sicong's mouth twitched...

He covered his mouth and asked:

"Who is Wang Duoyu?"

"How would I know."

"are you crazy?"

"Do you have medicine?"

"..."

Finally, under the eldest young master's disgusted look, Xu Xin returned the form to Qi Lei without making any comment.

Qi Lei returned it to the others.

Whether Xu Xin invests in this story or not, he will not express an opinion.

To put it bluntly, whether it is Xiying Studio or the Art Center, we cannot rely on them to make the final decision on everything.

What's more, for venture capital fairs, what comes are all small-cost productions that are not very large. In this regard, it should also be used to cultivate the investment vision of other subordinates. The biggest core of Xiying Studio is actually the art creation center that has begun to take shape.

Which one is more important, he and Xu Xin both know in their minds.

Power cannot be too centralized, but it cannot be too loose either.

This kind of scale must be grasped well.

…

The morning flew by in a blink of an eye.

At the venture capital meeting, one after another young filmmakers used this short ten-minute statement to describe their film dreams.

There are some shining points among them.

Moreover, it can be seen that the investment companies invited this time are very interested in these filmmakers' low-cost films.

When collecting the forms at noon, Qi Lei, as the organizer, took a look at them and told Xu Xin about it.

There are 7 projects that Xiying Studio is interested in.

Among other companies, the company with the most interest has 15 script projects.

You know, it's only been one morning. The entire venture capital meeting lasts for 8 days.

After these lists are submitted to Xiying Studio, starting in the afternoon, these filmmakers who have made their presentations will enter one-on-one negotiations.

These interested investment companies will talk to these directors and screenwriters face to face.

The initiative this time belongs to the filmmakers.

The two parties are actually mutual and can be considered fair.

When Xu Xin heard Qi Lei say that everyone was very excited, he was in the car going home for dinner with Wang Sicong.

The two of them had finished their work at the venture capital meeting and had to go to the opening ceremony in the afternoon.

"...So, everyone is very keen on this kind of low-budget movies?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Lei on the other end of the phone smiled and said:

"Absolutely. Your "33 Days After Love" is here. Everyone sees the potential of low-budget movies, so the response is very positive."

Faced with his praise, Xu Xin's face was calm. He just pursed his lips and said:

"Okay, I understand. That's good. It means everyone is very active. I'll go back to eat first. See you in the evening."

After giving his opinion, he hung up the phone.

Then...the car fell into silence.

Wang Sicong, who was chatting with Di Wei on WeChat for a while, suddenly realized something was wrong. He subconsciously looked up and saw Xu Xin's contemplative look.

"What's wrong?"

he asked.

"..."

Xu Xin, who came back to his senses, glanced at him, shook his head slightly, and explained the situation Qi Lei had just relayed.

Now, Wang Sicong was a little puzzled:

"Isn't that great?"

"It's pretty good."

"...but I don't think you're happy."

"Did you see it?"

"Nonsense, it's all written on your face."

Wang Sicong put away his mobile phone and said in confusion:

"There's no reason, why are you unhappy? There are a lot of people here today, and these young filmmakers don't tell all...but the stories brought by most of them are quite thoughtful. Although some scripts are not After careful consideration, after just half a day of venture capital meeting, I feel that I am thriving. Why are you unhappy?"

"..."

Xu Xin said nothing.

Instead, after thinking and organizing the language, he said:

"Maybe what I say next is a bit pretentious, so just think I'm farting."

"Oh, is it so serious?"

Wang Sicong nodded slightly:

"you say."

"That's not a good thing."

Hearing Xu Xin's words, he was stunned.

Asked subconsciously:

"What do you mean? There are many projects that everyone is interested in at the venture capital conference. Isn't that a good thing?"

"That's right."

Xu Xin nodded vigorously, expressing his understanding of this matter.

But he immediately changed his tune and said:

"Of course, it's not a bad thing... just think that I think more. Brother Qi just told me on the phone that it was "33 Days" that made everyone see the potential of low-cost movies, so this Very positive every time.”

"...Well, what next?"

"Then have you ever thought about it? In fact, many people are also betting, but they don't really think that the scripts of these low-cost movies are so wonderful..."

"..."

Wang Sicong's eyelids blinked several times in succession, and he suddenly understood what his friend meant:

"You mean... they are just like buying horses? Bet that someone can copy "33 Days"... No, let alone copying, it should be said that as long as it can have some influence, it is considered a successful investment? Doesn't that mean? ?”

"Well, that's what I'm afraid of."

While talking, Xu Xin showed a somewhat self-deprecating expression:

"Isn't it a bit pretentious?... It is clear that venture capital will be so successful, and these investors' enthusiasm for low-cost movies is obviously to give more new filmmakers opportunities to unearth some... stories that the market would have ignored in the past. But now I But it’s a bit like putting down the bowl and cursing your mother.”

"That's not the case."

Wang Sicong adjusted his sitting posture slightly.

He took out a cigarette from his trouser pocket, opened the cigarette case unconsciously with a somewhat hollow look, and handed one to Xu Xin.

Apparently, he was thinking too.

Su Meng, who was driving in front, heard the commotion and saw through the rearview mirror that Brother Xu and Brother Cong were about to smoke, so she took the initiative to slow down the car and increase the air conditioner.

Xu Xin also opened the rear window a crack.

As soon as I lit the cigarette, I heard Wang Sicong say:

"What you are thinking is indeed reasonable. It is the nature of businessmen to pursue profits. The cost of 10 million for "33 Days of Love" was exchanged for 4.3... Seeing that it exceeded 4.4 when it was offline, and reached 450 million, the box office result is already certain. For all capital parties, it is like a huge cake sitting high in the clouds.

It’s the same principle as those movies in Hollywood in the past few years, such as “Claire” and “The Hangover”, where millions of dollars of investment were exchanged for hundreds of millions of dollars in box office. This profit-return ratio... is so generous! "

Having said this, he took Xu Xin's lighter and lit a cigarette for himself, then put the lighter into his pocket and continued with half-squinted eyes:

"Hollywood also frequently produced low-cost productions in those two years. From this point of view, this is the inevitability of market rules. With you at the forefront, everyone spent millions, or even ten or twenty million, to bet on horse racing, and the profits were generous. The return ratio is enough to ignore many unreasonable risks. But... there is still one thing I don’t quite understand about you."

"For example?"

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Doubts filled Lao Wang's eyes again.

"There is a horse to bet on, so why isn't it better than a pool of stagnant water? In terms of the quality of a small-budget movie... in terms of the quality of a venture capital meeting, I think it's passable. And this kind of passable movie really enriches the movie. The market drives the development of the industry, and newcomers come to the fore. This is a driving force and a symbol of vitality. What are you worried about?"

"I'm not worrying, I'm thinking."

Xu Xin shook his head slightly:

"The success of small-budget films does represent the potential of our Chinese-language film market, the audience's acceptance, consumption power, and tolerance. But you have to understand one thing, this thing is just a piece of meat exposed to the sun.

You can say that I am a tiger, I have eaten away the fattest meat, but what is left is enough for some small animals, scavengers, and even flies to enjoy a delicious meal.

But...when mosquitoes eat it, the meat will get maggots and rot, which will make everyone "disgusted".

Because they are low-budget, there are enough of them. When theaters are filled with these movies, they will inevitably drown out some truly shining works.

Moreover, you have to look at this matter from two sides. On the one hand, it does give more people a chance to come forward... but... it is not actually friendly to those movies produced with medium or even high costs.

If these high-budget movies are lions, then low-budget movies are like hyenas. They cannot become industry standards, but they can surround and kill these movies. "

At this time, Wang Si cleverly understood what he meant:

"You mean you're worried about the market flooding? Bad money driving out good money?"

"Um."

Xu Xin nodded and laughed at himself:

"That's why I said I'm a bit pretentious."

"Well……"

Wang Sicong thought for a while and said:

"That's not the case. One thing you said is quite right. For example, this morning we saw many people coming with... a small-budget movie with an urban emotional theme, similar to "33 Days After Love". And , everyone is very interested.”

"The subject matter has been over-consumed, so that... the entire subject matter may be completely dead in the future."

Xu Xin seemed to know what he was going to say and came to the conclusion directly.

"That's right!"

After belatedly reacting, Wang Sicong, who was in direct synergy with his friend, nodded seriously:

"It will indeed be so. I'm afraid that when a lot of so-called movies like 34 Days of Love, 44, and 100 Days come out, and a large amount of homogeneous content comes out at the same time...then this subject will be dead. Completely dead. Got it!"

"..."

Xu Xin was silent.

Holding a cigarette and squinting his eyes, he thought for a moment and then said:

"So... it is not only necessary to have a small cost, but also to continue to promote the so-called "blockbusters". Use "blockbusters" to set market standards and create a larger market... Including theater chains, there must be a big , medium and small film selection standard ratio will do...well..."

Speaking of this, an idea flashed in his mind...

Wang Sicong was originally waiting for his next step.

I want to see how he plans to solve it.

After waiting for a while, seeing that he didn't say anything, he asked unconsciously:

"Then what? Tell me...what do you want?"

"Well……"

After Xu Xin came to his senses, he looked at his friend and said something that didn't make him angry to the point of heart attack:

"I said that I have a research topic for my second graduate thesis, will you be angry?"

"..."

Wang Sicong felt his heart suddenly twitch...

It was as if someone had suddenly grabbed his heart and punched him hard several times.

With absurdity and speechlessness, I looked at my friend:

"We've been fussing for a long time. Are you thinking about the thesis?"

"……hey-hey."

Xu Xin laughed awkwardly, then nodded:

"That's right. In fact, I have noticed before that the number of students in our school is increasing compared to previous years, and I have basically prepared the outline of each topic for the paper. I plan to publish it after finishing it this year. Although I don't know if I can get into C The core of the journal... But I have talked with Teacher Yu, and it is basically no problem to use it for graduation. But... what we just talked about, I can just use it as an extension of this paper... This may be what I will use as a graduate student. This is the core direction of the doctoral research topic!”

"Do you want to take the Ph.D. exam?"

Wang Sicong was dumbfounded.

What a rich second generation who spent money to find connections and sponsorships after the college entrance examination to go to Beijing Film Academy to pick up girls...

Originally, Baoyan was outrageous enough.

Brother, you actually want to take the Ph.D. exam?

"Yes, why not take the exam? According to Teacher Yu, my topic is evidence for judging the future direction of the Chinese film market and has high academic research value. Of course, the premise is that I have to produce a good enough paper …But it’s not too difficult for me to get a Ph.D. exam… Hey, speaking of it, I might still be the first doctorate in Xujiawan. When I get the Ph.D. exam, maybe there will still be smoke coming out of my ancestral graves. ……Ha ha."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Including Apple and Su Meng in front, everyone was speechless after hearing Xu Xin's words.

Although Brother Xu is very capable, everyone recognizes him.

Can……

Why does it always feel weird when I say the words "green smoke rising from the ancestral graves" from my own mouth?

Where is Wang Sicong?

Jaw-dropping.

stunned.

transfixed.

Chicken you...ahem.

"You spent half a day treating it as a thesis topic? Instead of... wanting to solve it?"

"That's not the case either."

Xu Xin waved his hand:

"Its solution is not beyond human intervention."

"...What do you need to rely on?"

"time."

He said concisely and concisely:

"Rely on time, rely on precipitation, and rely on the survival of the fittest under the natural laws of the market."

As he spoke, he raised his palms and drew a direction forward starting from the center of his eyebrows:

"It is a good thing that we can see the future development pattern of the industry from this incident. However, we must also consider our stage clearly.

Now, we are at the stage that, as I said, it first proves...whether it is through my efforts or everyone's efforts, we have created the soil for small-budget films to promote market prosperity and diversity.

At this stage, the goal is to expand this soil little by little. Plant the food seeds first, then consider how to eradicate the weeds after they grow wildly, and finally let all the seeds grow into towering trees.

It is a stage, a process, and no link in the middle can be escaped. What we can do is guide the market rather than forcefully intervene. "

As he spoke, he took the last puff of his cigarette and put the cigarette butt out in the ashtray.

When I lowered the window, the hot air outside rushed in.

In this noisy and manic wind, looking at the bright weather outside the window, he said word by word:

"The market has its own laws of inevitable formation and advancement. We can see further, so we have a greater obligation to lead the direction of the entire Chinese film industry. This time, we are not gardeners, farmers, or sailors, but navigators. .”

Speaking of this, his tone became more determined:

"Stand in front and navigate it!"

In fact, I was very tangled when I wrote this chapter. I was afraid that just like yesterday, I would be criticized if I wrote even a little bit... But as I said before, Xu Xin is not about rebirth or time travel, he just does it. Had a dream.

I think the core problem that makes the later period of rebirth writing unsustainable is that too much "future" is overdrawn in advance, which leads to the development of the times and personal efforts running counter to each other, and the two cannot be combined.

So in this book, I buried a lot of plots for Xu Xin that seem to be able to easily overcome the difficulties as long as he is reborn once, but he has to have a lot of "water".

And this chapter is actually the introduction to the last stage of the entire book.

From the first part of strengthening itself to the second part of laying the foundation for Xiying, the role of this chapter is the last stage, which is the beginning of the standardization and "rationalization" of the entire industry.

It is not just a simple dispute between circles and factions, nor is it a matter of personal achievements, but a kind of...my own point of view under the proposition of whether there is a country or a family first.

It’s not Shui Ha. I hope readers who see this can understand my intention through my explanation.

The reason why I explain this is mainly because I am worried that my writing skills are not enough to express my point of view well, or to withhold this "proposition", so I explain it superfluously. Please understand.

By the way...the stones are really uncomfortable.