I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 874 870.Little Times

On August 2, the second Silk Road Film Festival hosted by Xiying opened.

Xu Xin took a group of foreign friends to climb the Great Wall for a day.

Including himself, his legs were weak when he came back in the evening.

On the morning of the 3rd, just like the special forces training in the field, Xu Xin took them off again and flew to Xi'an.

The original schedule this time was that after visiting the Great Wall in Yanjing, I would go to Xi'an to see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Terracotta Warriors. After a day or two of wandering around, on the 5th or 6th, everyone would see what they were interested in. movie, and then wait for the closing of the Film Festival on the 10th to complete the post-production work of "The Ringing Ring". This trip ends here.

As a result... after a trip to the Badaling Great Wall, these people asked in unison:

"We're going to watch a movie."

We are actors, places of interest and the like are not important to us.

Please let us watch the movie!

So dedicated.

Xu Xinxin said.

So, the reception job changed from him to Xiying Studio.

Anyway, this movie is also equipped with English subtitles, so you don’t have to worry about not understanding it.

They simply broke into pieces and went to enjoy the Silk Road Film Festival where they no longer traveled together. After Xu Xin broke up with them, he plunged into the venture capital meeting.

The scale of this year's venture capital fair is really much larger than in previous years.

The process has basically not changed. The creators still bring script projects and explain the model to attract investors through self-reports.

But...there are so many film producers this year.

On the first day of registration, Xiying Studio received more than 80 registration emails. When the venture capital meeting started, the total number of film producers + investors had exceeded 150.

Counting as a group of three people, the number of investors alone is close to 500.

Not to mention the applicants for the project.

To say it was crowded would be an understatement.

After "33 Days", everyone saw the potential of small domestic film productions.

This is one aspect.

On the other hand, the films that were shortlisted for all the main competitions of the Silk Road Film Festival last year and the Silk Road section were bought by the audience.

The films shortlisted in the two units of the first session, whether they are released in theaters or sold directly as digital films, can basically guarantee that investors will get their money back or lose less money.

What does this mean?

This shows that the audience recognizes the films selected by the Silk Road Film Festival.

There is a market for film selection and funds can be withdrawn, so its risks will be infinitely reduced. Reducing risks and increasing projects means increasing returns.

Last year's best film "HELLO, Mr. Tree" cost less than 4 million to produce, but its final box office performance was 14.5 million.

Although a box office of over 10,000,000 yuan may not look impressive at first glance, you must know that this film is very good in terms of subject matter and reputation. And it also successfully landed and achieved box office profits.

How can there be so many hits in this world?

Not all directors are named Xu Xin.

Most movies require an investment of several million, and it is very difficult to recover the cost.

Some have lost everything, while others have to sell copyrights year after year through TV stations and online media for hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands to recoup their costs.

Films that can directly recoup their costs and make a profit during the release stage can be called excellent.

Even director Han Jie himself said that the success of "Mr. Tree" is inseparable from the Silk Road Film Festival. If this film festival hadn't helped them open up the market, it would have been very difficult for their film to be released in theaters.

The contribution of the Silk Road Film Festival is real.

Looking at all the films of the first edition, generally everyone's response on the Internet was very good.

The audience can recognize it and the market has demand.

What should a businessman do?

Need to ask? If you can't beat it, you'll definitely join.

Therefore, there are many scripts and stories in this venture capital meeting.

A scene of prosperity.

Although the final transaction amount has not yet come out, but based on this number of people... he thinks it will not be bad.

As for these filmmakers, they still follow the same old rules. The factory does not charge them a registration fee, but an investment deposit is required.

Two million.

Prevent them from evading their bills.

After the film is over, the film studios that have not invested will directly return the money. Film companies with transaction records will sign a contract with the project leader to ensure that the money will be returned after the project is approved.

In addition, each company must provide a bonus of 50,000 yuan or 100,000 yuan to reward outstanding project personnel and encourage them to create better creations.

And this time Xu Zhi and the others also came, alone in the name of Nifeng.

Yun Tu was led by Xue Haifeng.

Someone from Shanghai Film Studio also came out alone, and the same was true for West Film Studio and Yindu.

Yuntu is only a private company, but this kind of venture capital meeting must have the name of a state-owned factory.

But no matter what, this second venture capital fair can be said to be prosperous.

And in the midst of this prosperity, a script was photographed on Xu Xin's forehead.

"Sanjin, look at it."

On the morning of the 7th, when it was almost time for dinner, Xu Xin came out of the office of Qujiang Conference Center and bumped into Faxiao who came to see him.

"very?"

He took the script in his hand with a confused expression, and subconsciously glanced down at the name.

"Little Times"

"...?"

He couldn't help but blink. His first reaction was that the title of the script seemed familiar.

But immediately a memory that made his skin crawl came to his mind.

I especially remember that year when Tomson was in the first class, with two men on top, he was as shocked as a wolf smoking.

Especially when he saw "Screenwriter: Guo Jingming", he was so shocked that his hair stood up.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing that something was wrong with his expression, Xu Zhi asked curiously.

Xu Xin quickly shook his head.

You can talk about this to anyone, but not to the group of people you send novels to, represented by Xu Zhi.

Once you say it, it will really spread from one to ten, and you will not be able to be a human being in the future.

Think about it, when I go back to my hometown to meet each other in the future, my relatives and friends will sit in front of the coal fire and have a short chat. Suddenly someone says:

"Sanjin, I heard that you have heard of two men kissing each other in the corner?"

Oh my god.

Thinking of this scene, a chill came from his heels to Tianling Gai.

"It's okay, what's wrong with the script? "Little Times"...isn't it Guo Jingming's novel? Has he adapted it? Is it going to be a movie?"

"right."

Xu Zhi nodded:

"That's right. Guo Jingming just came today and sent it to Mr. Xue, so he can put it with him. Mr. Xue is not very interested, but I took a look at the script and it doesn't look bad..."

"You must feel uncomfortable."

Xu Xin opened the script at random, with a look of dismay on his face:

"Isn't this the book you confessed your love to? That girlfriend you had in college was called... she was called... she? She likes Guo Jingming, so you put the bookmark in the page and confessed your love to her. Why don't you like her?"

After he said this, Xu Zhi's face turned green.

look.

This is why Xu Xin would not tell Xu Zhi that he had heard about Guo Jingming's corner.

When the two brothers are together, everyone will know exactly who has something embarrassing.

Logically speaking, this kind of confession is not an embarrassing thing. But the mistake was that Xu Zhi's relationship was not perfect. After his sophomore year, his girlfriend from college fell in love with a senior Sunshine senior.

Xu Zhi is allergic to alcohol, but other girls are not allergic.

At a party, everyone had a few drinks, and the senior was indeed many times more handsome than a crooked guy like Xu Zhi.

They both made a mistake.

During college, unlike entering society, there are many practical things that cannot be changed.

Many people in the ivory tower are relatively simple-minded.

No matter how rich you are, you can't stop some people from being born with facial appearance.

And this experience, no matter how you put it, there was something wrong with that girl. But among a few small talkers, a big man like Xu Zhi can't even look down on a woman. How promising is that?

Of course, having said that, only Xu Xin can mention this kind of thing.

You can use it to tease him.

Anyone else dare to mention it?

Don't want to die?

Don't worry about how much the compensation is, let's get you into the hospital first.

Thinking of this, Xu Xin sighed:

"Sigh... I don't know if that woman regrets it? Mr. Xu is a popular person now... What is she doing now?"

"..."

The green color on Xu Zhi's face faded slightly.

He said angrily:

"Selling insurance."

"...Yo? Have we reconnected?"

"Qiu! I started a WeChat group with a college classmate. She joined me, so I ignored her. But she added a lot of classmates to the group to sell insurance."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

"Okay! Smack your lips!... Let's go eat. You eat and watch at the same time."

Xu Zhi forcibly pulled him toward the elevator.

After going downstairs, several strangers saw the two of them appearing and impatiently honked their horns a few times, urging him to get in the car quickly.

After Xu Xin got on the bus, Xu Yang and the others saw that he had a script in his hand, so they asked about the situation.

Then……

Xu Zhi's criticism meeting began.

"Er Nao (Xu Zhi's nickname), I've always wanted to ask, are you not good enough? Why can't you keep any girl?"

"I guess it won't work all the time. When we were young, we had a competition to see who could pee the farthest, and the other two would pee on their shoes."

"Hahahaha, yes, yes, I remember I went to school and even peed my pants once!"

"Hahahahahaha..."

"How do you say those words? This...seeing things and missing people is it? Like this, Sanjin, ah! Don't read it. This script has been selected! If you don't pay, I will pay for it myself! Let us pay homage to him when he died. love!"

"I love you so much, I just got turned on."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"

"You guys, please be careful. You are such a naughty Mada, you don't dare to let him pull the steering wheel. I'm afraid he will jump over the wall in a hurry."

"Hahahaha~"

Amidst laughter, Xu Xin closed the script of "Little Times".

Forget it.

Too lazy to look.

He has no interest in Guo Jingming's books.

It always feels too pretentious.

But... I have to admit, especially since high school, many girls in the class liked his books. It seems that he also published some magazine, and many classmates were subscribing to it at that time.

The nickname "Little Four" seems to have come out at that time.

From this aspect...well, how can it not be regarded as a kind of youth?

He turned to Xu Zhi, whose face was suppressing redness, and asked:

"How much investment does he want?"

"I don't know... why should we talk? You take a look first, and if it works... we can just talk in the afternoon."

"OK."

Xu Xin nodded in agreement, and then asked curiously:

"Are you blushing so much?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"

The whole car burst into laughter.

The whole carriage was filled with a happy atmosphere.

In this atmosphere, Xu Xin became more and more certain.

He will keep this secret until his death.

Otherwise...if he fell into the trap of these people, his fate might be even worse than Xu Zhi's.

…

Just kidding.

But everyone can see that Xu Zhi seems to have a plot for "Tiny Times".

As for whether it was because of his girlfriend back then or other reasons... no one dug into it.

It's okay to criticize minor embarrassing things, but it's another thing to reveal the scars.

Therefore, Xu Xin had to go over and have a chat to find out what was going on with the script.

So, after the venture capital meeting started at 2:30 in the afternoon, he asked Xu Zhi to call Guo Jingming into the special reception room of Xiying Studio.

"Director Xu, long time no see."

After all, the two of them have contact information, but they have never used it once.

But Xu Xin still had a spring-like smile on his face:

"Long time no see, Teacher Guo... Why didn't you contact me this time? It seems like I didn't entertain you well."

"Haha, no, Director Xu is too polite. I also want to experience the atmosphere of our Silk Road Film Festival."

Guo Jingming sat down while talking, and Xu Zhi also sat next to him.

Xu Xin boils water and makes tea.

I also have the script for "Tiny Times" on hand.

"Teacher Guo, please have tea."

"Thank you, Director Xu."

"You're welcome."

Xu Xin smiled slightly and asked:

"I've read Teacher Guo's script, and it's pretty good. But... it's a pity that I haven't read the original work of "Little Times". So I still want to share my own thoughts. In this story... from some characters, For example, some of the scene descriptions are a bit exaggerated about materialistic life?"

Hearing this, Guo Jingming was not surprised, but nodded and replied:

"I can understand Director Xu's thoughts. But... it's actually because you haven't read my novel... because I plan to be the director myself for this play. So when I was designing the script, I paid more attention to putting it in my mind. But its core is actually determined in the original work. What I want is an ukiyo-e style, which reflects the emptiness in everyone's heart amid extreme materialism..."

Guo Jingming began to talk endlessly about the core of his script and his thoughts after filming.

But Xu Xin's originally casual attitude gradually became serious.

Even when Guo Jingming said the sentence "The style of Ukiyo-e reflects the emptiness in everyone's heart", he had already sentenced the script to death... It cannot be said that. To be more precise, it was his attitude towards People have no confidence anymore.

There is no other reason than that the word "contrast" should not appear in the main theme of the movie.

The narrative structure of the movie is a very clever thing.

Is contrast allowed?

Of course it is allowed.

But contrast is a technique, not a subject.

You must know that movies are not literary works. Literary works, through eliciting associations, can evaluate a certain point of view that the author wants to express hidden between the textual conception.

But movies are visual art.

It's film and television art.

What people see with their eyes is always the first impression.

If you see glitz, that’s glitz.

Of course, as a director, you can build a scene. For example, the XX character is sitting in a magnificent palace. The palace is splendid and splendid, and its splendor is embellished with lights and decorations.

But only near the XX character, the lights are dim, and the character seems to be sitting in the shadow.

This is a very common expression.

A director cannot say that he has built a bustling city, full of CG special effects and technological sense, but in fact you want the audience to see behind the bustling city... such as a certain inconspicuous beggar.

That's bullshit.

But if you set the story of a beggar in a city full of prosperity and technology, the perspective only needs to be quietly shifted, and you will get a completely different result.

This is why contrast is a technique, not a subject.

Not to mention anything else, the old man's "Golden Armor" has been worn out.

But, what is its evaluation?

Actually very average.

The old man's play also uses a contrasting technique, but he also understands that a single contrast is not pleasing to the eye, so he uses the core of "Thunderstorm" and nests a dynasty with a history of nothingness to assist.

But when it was actually shot, in the old man's film career, its quality was still not high.

It's lower than average.

But now...it's not that Xu Xin looks down on others with his "dog eyes".

Even the old man needs to be nested in a "Thunderstorm" before he can barely use contrasting techniques to run through the entire movie.

You, a new director, first chose an exaggerated Ukiyo-e style, and then used contrast to express the emptiness beneath materialistic luxury?

Are you sure you're not kidding?

This has nothing to do with genius or not, it is purely a deviation in positioning.

It deviated from the initial positioning.

After reading this story and hearing his words, Xu Xin was almost 100% sure that this story would end up being a movie with nothing but luxury and drama without any contrast.

Because what he saw from the other party's endless words was not the director's perspective.

It is a misunderstanding that screenwriters hope readers will understand their works according to established ideas.

But the question is, why should the audience follow your ideas?

Countless directors throughout the ages have died under this misunderstanding.

What's more, the other party is more like a novelist than a screenwriter now.

He subconsciously wanted to say something.

But after taking a look at Xu Zhi, he closed his mouth again.

It doesn't make any sense.

From the moment Xu Zhi took the script over, it proved that he was interested in the story.

He is Xu Xin, not Xu Zhi.

There is something that can be said, but not now.

So, after Guo Jingming said a lot, he just nodded:

"Well, what's the budget for this play, Mr. Guo?"

"I'm thinking...to shoot one and two parts together. Because my book is divided into three chapters, the Origami Age, the Void Bronze Age, and the Thorny Gold Age. The timelines of the first two eras are close, so I hope to do one and two parts together. Make it. So, the total budget for the two movies is... 40 million to 50 million."

"Oh~"

Xu Xin responded, indicating that he heard it.

Just about to speak...

"At the same time, if we can reach cooperation, I also want to...please do something to Director Xu."

"……What?"

"I would like to ask your lover, Yang Mi, to be my leading role, playing Lin Xiao!"

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

A picture instantly appeared in my mind.

The wife slapped the script on the table:

"Snapped!"

"Xu Sanjin! You are so brave! How dare you let my aunt make such a rubbish movie!"

"Eat my aunt's punch!"

"Hi!!!"

That picture...that smell suddenly appeared.

So, Xu Xin shook his head and said without saying anything:

"I'm afraid this is impossible. To be honest with Teacher Guo, Yang Mi is currently preparing a work that I have been preparing for several years. Including the end of this year and the beginning of next year, she has a movie to be released, and the promotion period is still running. And the child will be sent to kindergarten soon... Her schedule can't be arranged at all."

"Well……"

Guo Jingming opened his mouth and asked tentatively:

"It will only take two or three months at most... When is Director Xu's movie going to start?"

"Probably around the end of this year. It will start after she finishes promoting the movie."

"this……"

Obviously, Guo Jingming also understood that there was no comparison between him and Xu Xin.

But he still didn't give up.

Because Lin Xiao’s first choice, Yang Mi is really suitable.

So, he continued to say tentatively:

"How long will the filming take? I can adjust the schedule for her."

"When were you originally planning to shoot?"

"This year."

"That is to say...for example, if we reach a cooperation this time, you go back and start preparations?"

"Yes."

"That's even more regrettable..."

Xu Xin shrugged helplessly:

"Next year, her Hollywood movie will also be released. As the protagonist, she will be promoted globally... Although the specific schedule has not been determined yet, I estimate that it will be at least the second half of the year until she is finished. In the second half of the year, Director Lu Yang, Have you heard of Teacher Guo? He also made an appointment with Yang Mi for a martial arts movie..."

Although he hasn't decided how to get "Embroidered Spring Knife" yet, it doesn't stop him from using it as an excuse.

This film...

My daughter-in-law is really not suitable to be photographed.

There is no other reason.

Price drop.

However, in order to silence the other party, Xu Xin also gave his own plan:

"However, I won't mention whether we can cooperate in investment. As for actors, I don't know... what does Teacher Guo think of Yang Ying?"

"...baby?"

Guo Jingming was stunned.

Xu Xin smiled and nodded:

"Yes, that's her. Teacher Guo can consider her."

Anyway, it is a digester of sewer resources.

Xu Xin would not let Yun Tu cast this film.

It has nothing to do with how many female readers Guo Jingming has in the consumer market or his future profit prospects.

It was purely because...he was not optimistic about this person's ability as a director.

Even if this movie can explode at the box office, it is definitely not a reflection of his personal ability.

Cloud Atlas does not allow bad movies to appear. It is normal for a director to make a mistake or choose a wrong subject, resulting in a film of low quality.

It's just...a bad movie and a bad story are two different things.

During this movie, he planned to chat with Xu Zhi later. If he is really interested, let Ni Feng make the investment.

The temperament of Cloud Atlas is so irrelevant to this film.

Not to mention, he also wants his wife to act...

OK.

You old man doesn't even look at your physique.

My wife gets angry and I can't stop her. With your physique, I'm afraid you won't be able to withstand her punch.