Chapter 149 Collaborating with Lao Mouzi? !

There is no need to mention Wu Baige, the most obvious example is "Three Kingdoms" directed by him.

The leading actors are almost all Hong Kong and Taiwan actors. Mainland China's most popular actress, Boss Zhao, plays a supporting role for a model who has no acting experience, although the model has a nice voice.

Films such as "The Guillotines", "The Siege of the City in October", "The Magic Couple", and "Wuxia" directed or produced by Chen Kexin all use 1-2 first-line mainland actors as supporting roles and promote Hong Kong and Taiwan stars.

He even used Huang Xiaoming and Wen Zhang as supporting roles for Taiwan's newcomer Ruan Jingtian in "The Guillotine" and promoted him to be the male lead.

You have to know that Huang Xiaoming was at the peak of his career at that time, and the influence of the "Ming Cult" was even more terrifying than that of the three little ones later.

Emblem dominated the small screen with "Struggle", "Dwelling Narrowness" and "Snow Leopard", and also had two movies "Ocean Heaven" and "Love Is Not Blind" to support its performance on the big screen.

Letting these two top mainland male actors play supporting roles for a newcomer from Taiwan would be absolutely ridiculous in 2020.

Not only that, there is one thing about Chen Kexin that makes her even more annoying than Wu Baige.

Wu Baige only used funds from the mainland to support Hong Kong actors, but Chen Kexin not only did this, but also enriched herself, harming the public interest!

It was revealed at the time that for the movie "Wu Xia" directed by him, a straw hat alone cost 6000 US dollars.

Bona's Yu Dong was so angry that his face turned green, but facing the impeccable account books, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.

In the face of doubts, Chen Kexin said confidently:

“Money is earned, not saved.”

In the end, the movie lost all its money, but Chen Kexin happily got a new villa with tears in her eyes.

But Chen Kexin is a more tactful person. He only does things instead of talking, so his reputation and public opinion are better than Wu Baige's.

Moreover, in 2008, the young generation in Hong Kong was almost wiped out. Chen Kexin also saw that mainland actors could no longer suppress them, so she gradually became less cautious.

But Wu Baige was very stubborn. Since he couldn't support the young actors in Hong Kong, he went to support those in Taiwan. The Heavenly Banquet was launched during this period.

After all, Wu Baige's approach was against the trend and was destined to be eliminated by the trend. After "The Crossing", no one asked him to make a movie again.

Not only is his behavior too annoying, but he is also outdated and eliminated by the times.

Chen Kexin is easier to deal with, but he is not outstanding among Hong Kong directors.

But at this time, Wu Baige's aura was so great that even Han Shanping was obsessed with and trusted him.

However, when the project of "Three Kingdoms" was launched, Liu Zhou felt it necessary to have a talk with Han Shanping. Such a good subject matter could not be wasted.

Just as Liu Zhou was lost in thought, Zhang Weiping came towards him with a big laugh:

"Boss Liu, you are finally back."

"Boss Zhang, seeing you walking like a dragon and smiling like a tiger, you should have made a lot of money this time, right?"

"Haha, I did make a little, but I can't compare to you. You went straight to Hollywood to make US dollars."

"It's not that easy to make money in Hollywood. With Director Zhang here, you can make a lot of US dollars in China!"

"Mr. Liu, let's stop bragging to each other. Come, I'll take you to meet some friends."

Liu Zhou first asked Zeng Li to find a place to sit, and then he followed Zhang Weiping to a small private room.

There were not many people inside, only four, and Liu Zhou knew two of them, Han Shanping and Zhang Yimou.

Seeing Liu Zhou coming in, Han Shanping was the first to greet him with a smile:
"Liu Zhou, when did you come back from Hollywood?"

"I've been back for a few days. I was resting at home before, so I haven't visited you, Mr. Han."

"Haha, it's okay. How does it feel to go to Hollywood to make a movie?"

"Okay."

"Oh, Mr. Han, don't talk about the past for now. I'll take Mr. Liu to meet some people first." Zhang Weiping said.

"That's right, there are still two Liu Zhous that I don't know yet."

At this time, Zhang Weiping pointed to an elegant middle-aged man and said:
"This is Jiang Zhiqiang, the president of Hong Kong Edko Films. The overseas distribution of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers all depends on Jiang."

"Hello, Mr. Jiang. I have heard of your name for a long time, but I have never had the chance to meet you before. Today I finally get my wish."

"Hello, Mr. Liu. I have heard of you for a long time." Jiang Zhiqiang replied with a smile.

In fact, the two of them once exchanged moves through the air.

When casting for "Hero" was in progress, Zeng Li and Zhang Manyu competed for the role of Feixue.

Behind the two are Liu Zhou and Jiang Zhiqiang.

In the end, Liu Zhou was slightly better and the role of Feixue was won by Zeng Li.

Of course, this is just a small matter, and as the roles are settled, the two will not take it to heart.

It has been almost two years since "Hero" was released, and this matter has long been forgotten by the wind.

“Then there’s an opportunity for us to work together.”

"Of course, there are countless people who want to work with Mr. Liu but are unable to do so."

"Haha, Mr. Jiang, you are too kind."

Then Zhang Weiping pointed to another thin middle-aged man wearing black-framed glasses and said:

“This is Chen Guofu, Director of Production for Columbia Pictures Asia, responsible for the production and distribution of the company’s Chinese-language films.

Several of Yimou’s recent films have been financed by Columbia, and Director Chen is also an excellent director.”

"Hello, Mr. Chen. I have watched your film "Double Vision" carefully. It is indeed very well shot." "Haha, being recognized by Director Liu is the greatest compliment to this film."

"Director Chen, you are too polite. I don't have the qualifications."

"Double Vision" is indeed a very outstanding thriller movie. I heard that Chen Sicheng's first "Detective Chinatown 3" also drew some inspiration from this movie.

Of course, compared to being a director, his achievements as a producer are even more brilliant.

In recent years, Columbia Pictures has been the absolute major financial backer of the mainland film industry.

Almost all the well-known movies are invested by Columbia.

In addition to Zhang Yimou's films, the main investors of Feng Kuzi's "Big Shot" and "Cell Phone", and He Ping's "Heroes of Heaven and Earth" are Columbia.

At this time, those who have money are the boss.

Chen Guofu is the director of Columbia's production department. In recent years, many mainland filmmakers have needed to curry favor with him.

Feng Kuzi is currently filming "A World Without Thieves". The female lead was arranged by Chen Guofu. She is Chen Guofu's old lover.

He and Huang Jianxin, Han Shanping's classmate in the Beijing Film Academy advanced training class, are the only two producers and supervisors in China who can implement the producer-centered system in the future.

In 2006, Chen Guofu left Columbia and joined Huayi, which allowed Huayi to start a full-scale attack in the field of production and no longer rely solely on Feng Kuazi.

It can be said that Chen Guofu’s contribution to Huayi’s listing is no less than that of Feng Kuazi.

After briefly getting to know the two and exchanging business cards, Liu Zhou looked at Zhang Yimou who had been silent beside him.

In the past, Liu Zhou had great respect and even admired Zhang Yimou, and had always wanted to meet him.

But as his status improved, Liu Zhou's thoughts on this matter faded a lot.

"Director Zhang, congratulations!" Liu Zhou said with a smile.

"What kind of joy is this? This movie has been badly criticized." Zhang Yimou said with a wry smile.

"Actually, there's no need to think too much about it. Since it's a commercial film, as long as it can make money, that's fine."

"That's what I said, but it's really unpopular."

At this moment, Zhang Yimou suddenly had an idea and said:

"Director Liu, you are good at story content. When do you think we can work together?"

Zhang Yimou's words were not just politeness.

Since "Hero", he has been criticized most for his empty film stories, while Liu Zhou's films often have very strong storylines.

If he could write a script for himself, maybe he could save his reputation.

Chen Guofu didn't know if he had been paying attention to the two of them, and suddenly said:
"Director Zhang, Director Liu, do you two want to work together?"

After hearing Chen Guofu's words, the others looked over, and Jiang Zhiqiang said:

"If you two great directors collaborate, I will invest no matter how big the investment is."

"It counts as part of our China Film Group."

"We in Colombia will also contribute."

Only Zhang Weiping looked unhappy.

"Hey, you guys are too impatient. We didn't say we wanted to cooperate!" Liu Zhou said.

"Then what did Mr. Chen say just now that you two wanted to cooperate?"

"Boss Jiang, Boss Chen misheard. Director Zhang was just being polite and said we can work together in the future if there's a chance."

"is it?"

At this time, several people couldn't help but look at Zhang Yimou, who gritted his teeth and said:

"Actually, I want to ask Director Liu to help me write a script. He is quite good at writing stories."

At this time Chen Guofu said:
“I think you two great directors can really collaborate!
If you two make a blockbuster together, it will definitely be a big hit, maybe even break the box office record of Titanic."

Han Shanping was immediately interested in Chen Guofu's words and said with interest:
"That's right, Yimou, your directing ability is recognized as strong, and your ability to coordinate large scenes is also strong. Add to that Liu Zhou's script, or you can co-direct, and there will definitely be something to it."

"Isn't it inappropriate to talk about cooperation now? We can talk about it after the celebration banquet." Zhang Weiping laughed dryly.

Liu Zhou found Zhang Weiping's look a little funny.

He regarded Zhang Yimou as his own anti-corruption agent and would not allow anyone to get involved.

But this old guy Zhang Weiping is not very honest. While Zhang Yimou was working hard on the filming, he was holding back and even plotting against him.

Now that the big guys have set up the stage, Liu Zhou thinks he can try to let Zhang Yimou slowly escape from his control.

Suddenly, Liu Zhou suddenly thought of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" that had just been ruined by Wu Baige.

If Zhang Yimou were to shoot this subject, wouldn't it be a hundred times better than Wu Baige's?
The more Liu Zhou thought about it, the more he felt it was appropriate. Perhaps Zhang Yimou was the only person in China who could make this movie well.

This is a ready-made story with many big scenes, which perfectly fits Zhang Yimou.

Liu Zhou ignored Zhang Weiping's green face and said with a smile:

"It's my dream to work with Director Zhang, and I just happen to have an idea that is very suitable for Director Zhang."

(End of this chapter)