I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Yang Mi has already started promoting "The Grandmaster".

So soft on various programs.

In comparison, Xu Xin's life was much more leisurely.

Teacher Yu came to help him choose candidates for the documentary project at the school.

One of the two films is waiting for the Berlin Film Festival, and the promotion of the other only starts in December.

The reason why "Perfect Strangers" was scheduled so late was actually because it was in December. Westerners have also been working hard for a year, so when they take a break to watch a movie during the New Year, they have to be on a first-come, first-served basis. Coupled with the Italian premiere, the promotion in Italy is more of streaming ads and TV stations.

After the advertisement is put out, there is no need for intensive publicity for the time being.

This is the advantage of having a small land area.

So, he does two things every day.

During the day, you can cultivate yourself and do "Broken Silence"... You don't even need to do "Broken Silence".

This movie is... too long.

Another two years can be considered as ten years of sharpening a sword.

The overall framework has been polished thousands of times in Xu Xin's mind, and the rest is just fine-tuning when inspiration comes.

During the day, he focused on fitness.

In the evening, Yang Dangding and Wu Yang accompany the baby.

The most gratifying thing during this period is actually the sesame cakes.

What should I say? ...Young people are in good health?

Or is this kid really outperforming everyone when he becomes self-disciplined?

Xu Xin's abdominal muscles were only faintly outlined at most. As his diet gradually returned to normal, the final result was that his body fat rate dropped a bit.

Visceral fat has been reduced a lot.

But the person on the side of Shaobing has completely changed.

The intensive fat loss period stopped when his weight reached the standard line.

Next he started building muscle.

You can see Xu Xin almost whenever he goes to the gym.

The child practices really diligently.

And...Xu Xin didn't know if he was delusional.

I always feel like this kid has become more handsome after losing weight.

Moreover, you can see three meals posted on his WeChat Moments every day.

It's all chicken breast, oatmeal bread, broccoli and carrots.

Even one day Xu Xin took him to make hot pot at noon, but the child didn't even eat sesame sauce. Beef is also chewed in the leanest part.

A piece of meat, dipped in chopped green onion and soy sauce, I don’t dare to eat more than this.

Every day I keep saying something like "sodium exceeds the standard and water is locked in".

This made Xu Xin feel a psychological burden after eating that meal, and he felt that he was committing a crime by pulling sesame cakes.

And time just flew by little by little.

People...sometimes I'm afraid of comfort.

When you are at ease, time passes quickly.

…

In the middle of the month...some changes come.

At that time...he was looking at the news on TV with a look of confusion on his face.

this……

ah? ? ? ? ?

He was puzzled and shocked, but he didn't know who to talk to.

But after calming down, one thing is certain.

Zhang Weiping...should be coming out soon, right?

And some things...

It should be started soon, right?

…

Then, with a work permit hanging on his chest, Xu Xin went to attend a meeting.

After it started, it ended uneventfully.

Afterwards, the days passed so comfortably day by day.

It feels like I just went to Shenmu two days ago, but in the blink of an eye, the freezing cold weather of December is here.

On November 29th, it was stuck at 9 a.m.

Xu Xin, who was covering himself tightly, walked into the screening room just as the movie was about to start.

He is pressed for time and has a heavy task today.

"A Thousand Arrows Pierce the Heart" is also released today, but unlike "1942", it is a lunchtime screening and premieres at 1 p.m.

Just a few days ago, "One Flew Over the Home" was released on the 24th.

As for the box office performance...not to mention, it's pretty good.

It generated a box office of 3.12 million on the first day.

In just five days, the box office has already reached nearly 19 million.

If this trend continues, it shouldn't be a problem to get back the money.

But if you want to make money...that's a long-term reward.

It did well at the box office and received good reviews.

Many media attributed the success of this film, which basically has no box office appeal, to the Silk Road Film Festival.

Before the Silk Road Film Festival, you asked what "One Flew Over the Home" was, and one hundred and one out of a hundred people didn't know.

But after "Silk Road Film Festival", it became famous. Although it didn't win any awards, it was shortlisted in Tokyo together with "Heart of the Burning Sun" and "Heart of Thousand Arrows". Even if it dropped out of the competition, it still gained good popularity.

In addition, the quality of the movie itself is quite good.

In the eyes of outsiders, this director may not be said to have a bright future, but at least it can be summed up in "bright".

But Xu Xin knew it very well.

We won't see him again for at least two or three years.

The reason is that "One Flew Over the Nursing Home" is the "only star" of this Tokyo Film Festival.

The only film that left someone to win an award and didn't completely drop out of the competition.

A drink and a peck have nothing to do with heaven and are purely caused by humans.

As for "Thousands of Arrows Pierce the Heart"... To be honest, Xu Xin doesn't know why Wang Jing chose to star in "1942"...

Fine.

As the plot began, he heard Zhang Guoli's voice.

Zhang Guoli, who looked like a landlord, held a lantern and explained the background of the disaster in a few words...

Xu Xin nodded slightly.

Gotta admit it.

Feng Xiaogang is indeed capable.

As far as this film is concerned, whether it is the lens, scheduling, or tone, it makes him feel comfortable watching it.

And 2 hours and 20 minutes later, he sat in his chair in silence for a long time after watching the movie credits appear.

In the theater, as the lights came on, the audience prepared to leave.

At this time, Xu Xin heard the whispers of a young couple next to him:

"It's over... the good mood for eating will disappear after a while. I will never waste food again..."

This is what the boy said.

"Let's watch "Chilling" after dinner. I don't want to watch "Thousand Arrows". I heard that the movie is also a very tragic story... Why are these movies so crowded recently? If we had known we wouldn't have come Yeah. It looks so annoying..."

"Chill" is released on November 8th.

Xu Xin originally planned to watch.

Want to see Lin Gou's plastic Cantonese.

But at this moment, he just looked at the direction the two people were leaving in a daze.

And there is an urge.

He wanted to catch up and ask the two of them what they thought of the movie.

There is no need to give a long review, just give it "good" or "bad".

He has never read Liu Zhenyun's novels, and he has never even liked his writing style.

but……

After watching Feng Xiaogang's "1942", he gave it a very high evaluation.

This... should be the most thoughtful movie that the other party has made in recent years. Whether it is the scheduling of scenes, the acting skills of all the characters, or even the... things conveyed in it.

It doesn't look like something from the Beijing area.

It should...be found in Liu Zhenyun's original work.

Because of this, he wanted to see what the original novel was like.

But let’s not mention the novel, as far as the movie is concerned...

It's really great.

Although everyone has different factions, at this moment, the good movie in his heart is criticized like this by two people... He actually feels a little uncomfortable in his heart.

But in the end he didn't ask.

Thousands of people look at the Buddha, and the Buddha has thousands of faces.

The angle is different.

Indeed, if nothing else is taken into account, in terms of storytelling.

This story...is a bit too tragic.

But that doesn't stop it from being an excellent work.

He is thinking about...

A voice came into my ears:

"I just finished reading it, and let me tell you... don't make yourself uncomfortable. I feel so depressed now that I don't even have the heart to eat."

He seeks fame.

It was a little girl talking to her mobile phone.

It looked like he was sending a WeChat message.

"..."

The audience left in droves.

Xu Xin was speechless and followed the crowd out.

"Ding."

Yang Mi sent a message:

"How's it going? I'm done here. I'm going back to the hotel to pack my things. I'll probably be home for dinner. Have you finished reading?"

"finish watching."

he replied.

After thinking about it, I gave my own evaluation:

"A very good film in my opinion. It would be an understatement to say it is his most thoughtful and best work."

"/Surprised, the rating is so high?"

"Yes. Of course, there are also flaws, such as too much narrative, which leads to a lack of explosive power. It feels a bit like one thing at the expense of the other... but it is still a good movie. It can be rated as 80 points."

"Okay, then I'll take a look when I get back. Remember to eat~"

"Um."

After replying, Xu Xin turned off the phone.

You really need to eat.

You still have to eat well.

Not a grain of food should be wasted.

…

Xu Xin has actually not been very selective in eating for so many years.

You can eat delicacies from the mountains and seas, and you can live even if you are given a bowl of noodles.

At noon, he found a noodle shop in the mall and ordered a bowl of noodles.

Because he was wearing a coat and a baseball cap, he looked very bloated when sitting on the chair. But it was precisely this bloat that made him inconspicuous among the people eating.

What's more, the tables in this noodle shop are small long tables against the wall.

A bowl of noodles and a meat bun, this is today's lunch.

I have to mention that "1942" is quite powerful.

He is now in a state where he can even pick up the crumbs of a dropped cake.

After finishing the crispy-skinned Tongguan Roujiamo, he poured the last crumbs from the wrapper into his mouth. Only then did he have his hands free and open Weibo.

He wanted to see what netizens thought of the film "1942".

Then I saw a comment under the topic # 1942 # :

"A narration at the end of the film: "I have forgotten all these terrible things, why are you writing about them again? "What's the point of this terrible movie director filming it again?"

The movie is a good movie. But there was a sense of déjà vu as Director Feng was forcibly giving us a history lesson.

By the way, if you want to see Feng's humor, or the touching feeling of "Assembly Number", or the sensational "Tangshan Earthquake" and want to cry for a while, don't watch it.

It's all in this movie, but none of it is done well. "

"..."

Seeing this comment, the corner of his mouth twitched...

Very strange.

Xu Xin wanted to refute from an objective perspective.

And can say a lot of words to refute his views.

But... he tried to watch the film from the perspective of the audience, but found that he could not say any of these rebuttals.

Because what they said is quite right.

This is also the flaw in the film that he and his wife just mentioned.

All four lines are there.

But none of them were done well.

Although they are all intertwined and blended together in the end...it's just like this comment. Nothing is perfect.

And after watching the movie, his evaluation was also that it was a good movie. But the biggest feeling is not to lament how great Feng Xiaogang is this time, or how good this story is, but to not want to waste any grain of food.

It's really like a history lesson...

There is certainly nothing wrong with history classes teaching people to remember history.

Let more people understand the tragic situation of Henan's Great Escape, remember history, and work hard.

No problem for sure.

But... why does everyone, including myself, feel so strange?

As he frowned, he thought about it.

At the same time continue to scroll down.

I found that most people thought this movie was too miserable and felt very sad after watching it.

Although it is just an expression, the summary is: the impression is average.

That's not a good sign for the movie...

After thinking about it, he closed Weibo and opened Douban.

After searching for "1942", the page loaded quickly.

The rating has been unlocked, and more than 4,000 people have rated it: 8.6

This score... isn't bad.

Although the scores are still lower than those of my own films that scored 9 at the beginning, as long as the film's subsequent reputation is no problem, an increase is almost certain.

But when he saw the reviews, he found that there were no five-star reviews, but mostly two- and three-star reviews.

"I'm thinking that you are the dominant figure in the Lunar New Year movie every December. Are you out of your mind this time? Are you in a movie with this tone?"

"I just finished watching it, and there was only one word: miserable. Too miserable to be like Feng Xiaogang. If you say this is a West Film Studio film, I will be more tolerant. But if you don't film Feng's humor, it will be released during the Lunar New Year. If you give us such a plate of bitter melon, how can we eat it?"

"Let's take an objective view. The movie is indeed a good movie. It can be said that it is the most thoughtful film that Director Feng has made in recent years. There is no vulgarity or distortion, and the film reveals his intentions everywhere. The 2 hours and 20 minutes of the film can be watched in one go. .

...Okay, enough about the objective, let’s talk about the subjective: I remember Feng Xiaogang said it himself during the interview. This was a story he wanted to restore history to all his compatriots, a story worth remembering. I have read this novel by Liu Zhenyun, so I have a rough idea of ​​the plot. The theme of "Reviewing the Past 1942" is quite serious. Before it was released, I was not worried that Director Feng's artistic level would not be able to handle such a big subject matter. I still understand whether the movie is good or bad. But I want to ask, what do you want us to remember about this memorable story?

In fact, I could still tolerate it before. What I can't stand the most is that you copied the ending from the original work. That sentence "I have forgotten all these terrible things, why are you writing about them again?".

Sorry, after hearing this narration, this "1942" may be more appropriately summarized as a mockumentary.

Movies with serious themes have always been difficult to master. In the final analysis, it is not the plot, but the core. The central theme of a film must be clear. But in "1942", I only saw one documentary.

Even, it is far less exciting than Liu Zhenyun's novel. "

This... can be considered a short review, and the reviewer gave it a 2-star rating.

With this comment in mind, he finished the bowl of noodles.

After wiping his mouth, he made room for other waiting guests, lowered the brim of his hat and walked out.

After arriving at the stool for people to rest in the mall, he continued to read the comments on Douban.

It must be admitted that the interpretation of the movie from some viewers on Douban is indeed relatively more "sophisticated" than the few short comments on Weibo where most people express the most direct sighs.

But it is precisely because of this habit of watching movies seriously that many people have a lot of opinions about this movie.

Some people gave it full five stars, but most of their interpretations were praising Feng Xiaogang's sincerity and the compassion of the film's truthfulness and inner empathy.

Rarely does it talk about the theme and conception of the movie.

Xu Xin also gradually understood the audience's thoughts.

They don't deny the seriousness of the film.

There is no denying Feng Xiaogang’s level of care.

What is really unacceptable is that the movie is too real, so real that even if four story lines are going on at the same time, there is nothing "fresh" in any of them.

To put it bluntly, watching this movie is really like taking a history class.

The history teacher did not do any exaggeration or processing of history. He just followed the script in class and presented what was going to be said today intact.

Even though it is based on the character Fan Dianyuan played by Zhang Guoli as the entry point.

But the audience didn't accept it.

Because Fan Dianyuan here may be fake, but the various attitudes of Chiang Kai-shek and his bureaucrats back then were real. Under this reality, Fan Dianyuan's fate was doomed from the beginning.

To put it bluntly, from the perspective of some viewers who understand this period of history, the biggest failure is actually the bureaucratic line.

Because it is so real, it seems that how much suffering other lines have suffered is "just as it should be" in the history books.

Everything is based on the real historical events they know, so the surprise of this film is gone.

This is an unpleasant aspect of the movie.

As for another group of viewers, they were holding popcorn and Coke, and their starting point was to watch Director Feng’s new work. But this new work made the popcorn in their hands taste different.

So, the movie is good.

But the movie is not good.

This part of the argument is almost the same as in the Weibo topic.

They may not have the comments from professional audiences, but Douban’s comments themselves have no threshold.

Everyone can express their opinions.

That's how they viewed it, so that's how it was written down.

There was no scolding or any sign of deliberate bad comments, it was just expressing my own opinions.

"..."

Tsk.

After reading it, Xu Xin got up, walked from the first floor to the first floor exit, found a deserted place and lit a cigarette.

After he finished, he went back upstairs and bought a ticket for "Chills."

…

Early in the morning on November 30th.

Xu Xin saw the first-day box office of "1942".

First-day box office: 26 million.

It is much lower than the 33 million for "If You Are the One 2".

However, judging from the media reviews, the movie "1942" is mostly praised.

But the more it is like this, the more it means that it is not popular at all.

Douban ratings are quite stable.

Seeing this, Xu Xin stopped paying attention.

He is also leaving here to promote the movie in Italy.

Get ready to set off in these two days.

If I have that time, I might as well be a cook for a while. After all, it's the end of the month and the beginning of the month, and my wife's relatives are coming soon. It's been very dry these two days.

Unexpectedly, it’s December 1st.

Habitually browsing the news in the morning, he saw a message again:

""1942"'s reputation collapsed, Huayi Brothers' stock price collapsed"

The news was headline-grabbing at first glance, but Xu Xin still clicked on it and read it. After all, stock price has always been an important indicator for Huayi.

After clicking in, you will understand why the news has this title:

"After opening low on the morning of the 30th, the stock price of Huayi Brothers has been going down, and closed at 12.95 yuan, with a full-day trading volume of 230 million yuan..."

Needless to mention other financial data, when Xu Xin saw the words "lower limit", he immediately realized one thing...

"1942"...it seems like it's really not going to work anymore.

I quickly checked the box office for the second day.

In his impression, the box office of "If You Are the One 2" on the second day seemed to be more than 47 million?

I especially remember that it beat "Hawthorn Tree" by about five million.

The latter is more than 42 million.

But……

"1942"'s second-day box office...is different from the normal three- to four-day blowout that a high-grossing movie should start with...

Its second-day box office was only a measly 29 million.

Only three million more than the premiere...

Although this is a lot of money, for Feng Xiaogang and Huayi Brothers...or to be more realistic, for those investors who own shares of Huayi Brothers...

Suddenly, he was stunned.

What is the total investment for this film?

He quickly continued to investigate.

Then a string of data came into view:

"1942" total investment: 200 million yuan.

Looking at the news again, I found that it was from December 2011.

In other words...if this number is not false, then...

If publicity is included, the total production cost of this movie would be at least 250 million.

With a cost of 250 million, it would take at least 600 million to break even.

This box office trend seems to be a loss.

But it's not over yet.

Even Xu Xin, a person who doesn't understand the stock market, knows...compared to the loss of the work, the real big problem is the fall of its stock.

If you really count both sides...

Huayi suffered heavy losses this time.

…

Facts have proved that Xu Xin's guess was correct.

The first-week box office of "1942" was released on the second day after he arrived in Italy.

130 million.

At first glance, this result is already great. It is another movie with a box office of over 100 million.

But looking at the box office curve of "1942", the highest single-day figure has not exceeded 30 million, which shows that no matter how hard Feng Xiaogang works on this movie, the audience's interest in watching the movie is still not great.

Just like what many people said.

During this Lunar New Year holiday, they originally wanted to see a light-hearted and humorous popcorn movie.

No one wants to spend more than two hours in a movie theater.

And by comparison, the situation of "Ten Thousand Arrows Pierce the Heart" is not much better.

His first-week box office was less than 30 million.

However, unlike "1942", the investment in "Ten Thousand Arrows" was only over 4 million. It's a low-budget movie that can't be made in a small movie.

In the first week alone, it has already recouped its investment and started to make a profit.

During the entire release period, its final box office is estimated to be around 65 million.

For a movie with an investment of 4 million, the box office is actually no different from a myth.

But why can it be profitable but "1942" can't?

After analysis, some industry insiders attributed the success to the Silk Road Film Festival.

To put it bluntly, because of the Silk Road Film Festival, the audience already knew in advance that it would be "tragic".

With psychological construction, some audiences will naturally be filtered out.

Audiences who bought tickets can accept this kind of misery, so its profits are natural.

At the box office, the two movies are definitely incomparable.

But in terms of return on investment, maybe none of the ten "1942" can catch up with "Thousand Arrows Pierce the Heart".

However, the movie "Thousand Arrows Pierce the Heart" actually has nothing to do with the factory, so the factory can't see the good or bad profits.

However, Huayi's stock price has been sluggish in the past few days since it fell below the limit on the first day of release.

It seems that market confidence is also insufficient.

Milan, Italy.

"Xu Xin, it's almost time. What are you looking at?"

Liu Yifei, whose hair has grown a bit longer, reminded her.

She has just finished filming "Famous Catchers"...it lasted nearly five months. According to her, once the filming is finished, she will definitely not make any movies next year.

too tired.

After coming to Italy, she even planned to stay here for a long time.

Get away from all the trivial matters and get into vacation mode from now on.

And now, the crew of "Perfect Strangers" is in Milan, and will soon participate in a TV show in Milan to promote the movie.

I have to say that the propaganda here in Italy is quite effortless.

Just a few major TV stations.

Although the promotion time is very early, the schedule is not intensive.

And the atmosphere was very relaxed, just like the TV station that Xu Xin participated in before in Rome...what's the TV station called? It was a talk show.

Even the host didn't talk much about movies, but why Xu Xin likes Italy so much.

And in front of an audience of over one hundred people, a family-style Italian meal was served...

The whole process was spent chatting briefly at the host's home and the west's, except for the opening premise of a movie. I won’t mention it at other times.

When the program ended, Xu Xin asked Jasmin in confusion:

"Aren't we here to promote the movie?"

And Jasmine’s answer was also very “professional”:

"That's right. Didn't we promote it? Paul introduced our "Perfect Strangers" crew to the show at the beginning...Have you forgotten?"

"..."

Fine.

When in town, do as the Romans do.

Used to it.

As for the entire promotion plan for "Perfect Strangers", this time the distribution company in Italy is responsible for it. In addition to TV interviews, there will be several face-to-face meetings just before the release.

Programs recorded by TV stations will only be played when the movie is close to release.

Other times, it’s a big movie theater and some advertisements in magazines and media.

You don’t have to pay a penny for promotion costs, it’s all included in the share of the movie after it’s released.

It can be said that Xu Xin is very worry-free.

But his plan to get together with his wife had to be postponed until after New Year's Day.

Because the reception received by Yang Mi in "The Grandmaster" is quite amazing, Wang Jiawei's status in Europe is indeed high, and the crew is traveling around Europe these days.

It would be difficult to meet him in Italy.

When both parents come out, the child becomes the biggest "burden".

After participating in the recording of the TV station in Milan today, he has to return to China.

Just thinking about it...

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Why are you dazed?"

"Well……"

Xu Xin, who came back to his senses, glanced at her and nodded:

"I'm looking at the domestic box office."

"oh oh."

The fairy sister nodded:

"Are you going back tomorrow?"

"Um."

"Then... I won't go back before the domestic publicity? I need to take a good rest."

"no problem."

Xu Xin nodded:

"as long as you are happy."

Today’s update is 7K. Mainly...after what happened in July today, I went directly to make an appointment for a physical examination, a full-body examination. Then I will have a gastrointestinal endoscopy tomorrow, and I am doing a bowel cleansing. It's so scurrying...I can't leave the toilet at all, sorry.