What was the biggest difficulty in the early preparations for "Famous"?
Is it funding? Is it the crew?
It is the conflict between Zhang Yuanjun and Tian Zhuangzhuang.
Zhang Yuanjun respects Teacher Tian very much.
However, "Famous" is a commercial film. Although it is very experimental, Zhang Yuanjun hopes that this film will make money!
But Teacher Tian doesn’t think so.
In other words, he knows that this is a commercial film, but his mind has not changed yet.
He is still preparing for "Famous" based on his previous ideas for making literary films.
For example, he planned to shoot the whole process with a film camera, saying that it would have more texture.
Zhang Yuanjun was so frightened that he explained to him for a long time, saying that the budget was not enough.
"Our shooting cost is only 2.3 million yuan, and we really can't afford it if you use film.
“Even if the film in the factory is at a discounted price, we don’t dare to use it because we still have to save money for post-production and publicity.
"Just use digital, and we'll transfer it to tape later."
Of course, Tian Zhuangzhuang was not so easily convinced and still insisted on using film.
Zhang Yuanjun simply said: "If you have the ability to persuade all the crew members to not pay for the film and save the money to buy film for you, then I will shoot on film."
Zhang Yuanjun explained again: "Teacher Tian, I took money from investors. If I spend more than I should, how can I explain it to others?"
Until Zhang Yuanjun left, he failed to persuade Tian Zhuangzhuang.
Wang Jinsong acted as a peacemaker, but he was biased towards Zhang Yuanjun. He advised Tian Zhuangzhuang: "Didn't I say to help the child?"
"I didn't even ask for the director's salary, isn't this helping him?"
"You also have to understand his difficulties. It's not easy for him to do this drama. He begs his grandfather and grandma everywhere, and all his personal money in the past few years has been poured into it. Don't look at the fact that everything is going well for this crew now. Do you know how many people outside say that Is he overestimating his capabilities? Just wait to see his joke.
"He saves money just to increase the probability of making a profit. It doesn't matter if we lose money on one or two movies, but this kid is doomed."
Director Tian Zhuangzhuang has never made a crime suspense film or a comedy before. He took over "Famous" because he was completely interested in the experimental nature of the film.
The stage style of "Famous" is very heavy, or in other words, it is a drama moved to the big screen.
When Wang Jinsong said this, Tian Zhuangzhuang was really shaken: "Just transfer to magnetic film. I'll also play with a digital camera."
In fact, Tian Zhuangzhuang is not stubborn. The reason why he is so easy to persuade is not because Zhang Yuanjun and Wang Jinsong are so good at talking.
But Tian Zhuangxang himself also has the idea of embracing commercial films.
Seeing the success of Zhang Yimou's "Hero", Chen Kaige's "The Promise" will also be released during the Lunar New Year this year. As the eldest brother of the fifth generation director, he also wants to try his hand at commercial films.
However, his reputation is not as big as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, so it is difficult for him to attract investment for blockbusters.
Of course, he himself doesn't care about reputation or not, he just wants to try out the current popularity.
The drama "Famous" is very good. Although it is not a blockbuster, it is quite to his liking.
It's just that the actors are all raw people, but after all, they are all students of the school, so he doesn't care anymore, he will just spend some energy to adjust when the time comes.
After Zhang Yuanjun left Tianzhuangzhuang, he went to the People's Art Theater.
He had publicly announced Pu Cunxin in the media before, and it really worked.
Pu Cunxin really agreed to talk to the crew. The script had been sent a few days ago. Pu Cunxin was very satisfied with the role after reading it and had a strong intention to participate. Zhang Yuanjun went over to fight for it today.
He often came to the entertainment industry, and Zhang Yuanjun often came to watch plays.
Before entering, I looked at the performance information on the bulletin board for the past few days. What a coincidence, there will be a new "Li Bai" by Pu Cun tomorrow.
During the summer vacation, theaters are gradually filling up. Although it is difficult to do dramas nowadays, Renyi, as the top domestic drama, has a good attendance rate.
Tickets for tomorrow's "Li Bai" have been sold out a week earlier.
Zhang Yuanjun took a few more glances at the play announcement board.
"Hey, Master, what are you looking at?" Zhang Yuanjun knew who was speaking without even turning his head to look.
"Teacher He." Zhang Yuanjun greeted.
He Bing smiled and said: "I knew you were coming, so I asked Brother Pu. I also read the script. It's not bad. Why didn't you ask me to act?"
The two of them walked to the theater together.
Zhang Yuanjun choked to death with one sentence, and he could only say: "After "The Punisher", your net worth has skyrocketed. How can I afford you?"
"I like to hear that." He Bing's face wrinkled with a smile.
"Will you perform "Li Bai" tomorrow?"
"Let's play. I'll play He Shisan. Remember to come and watch when the time comes."
"I really want to come, but I haven't bought a ticket yet." Zhang Yuanjun was wondering if he could get a free ticket.
He Bing was helpless: "If the box office is gone, it's really gone. I don't have any tickets either. Come tomorrow, I'll take you backstage and let you watch from the audience."
"Then I got it." Zhang Yuanjun smiled.
"Sit down, Brother Pu should be here soon."
Zhang Yuanjun, the person behind the scenes of the entertainment industry, came relatively rarely, so he walked around slowly and looked at things slowly.
Within ten minutes, Zhang Yuanjun finally saw Pu Cunxin, and He Bing was also beside him.
"Hello, Teacher Pu, I really like your plays, and my mother also likes you."
Pu Cunxin is very tall and thin. When he saw Zhang Yuanjun, he first asked: "Did you write the script?"
"Write and play."
"This year you?"
"20 exactly."
"Huh-" He Bing said, "You can write this script at the age of 20. Brother Pu is better than me at that time."
"They are better than us." Pu Cunxin nodded, agreeing with what He Bing said, and continued, "I read the script, and the role of Guan Jingnian is very interesting. Let me ask one more question, who played Lu Ziye?"
It can be seen that what Pu Cunxin really wants to play is Lu Ziye.
"Our teacher Wang Jinsong." Zhang Yuanjun explained, "Originally, Teacher Wang was scheduled to play Guan Jingnian, but he said that his image was not good and he couldn't play a middle-aged and elderly handsome guy like Guan Jingnian, so he played Lu Ziye."
Pu Cunxin must know Wang Jinsong and nodded: "Okay, there is no problem with me. I have played the role of Guan Jingnian. Do you want to sign the contract now or talk about it later?"
"Sign it later, I came here specifically to take a look." Zhang Yuanjun said.
"Okay, I'll show you." Pu Cunxin and He Bing were in front, showing Zhang Yuanjun the backstage of Renyi.
Pu Cunxin really didn't have the airs of a vice president at all. He gave Zhang Yuanjun a junior introduction to the history of the theater, the theater's classic plays, the theater's furnishings, etc. in detail.
After Pu Cunxin was elected as the Vice President of Humanities and Arts—despite his unwillingness to be the Vice President—the focus of his work shifted from film and television back to the stage.
In recent years, it's not that he hasn't taken on roles, but he has deliberately taken fewer roles.
Therefore, it was not easy to recruit Pu Cunxin for "Famous".
While walking around the backstage of the People's Art Theatre, Zhang Yuanjun also expressed his love for the stage in dialogue dramas and read a monologue on the spot.
"Not bad." Of course, in front of the two of them, Zhang Yuanjun's ability was not enough, but he could tell that his basic skills were very solid, and he was praised by the two of them. He Bing said, "How about you take the test in our theater?"
Zhang Yuanjun said with a smile: "I really have plans to take the Humanities and Arts exam. Who doesn't want to enter the Humanities and Arts?"
"You kid can do it," He Bing said.
That chapter has been blocked. I will revise it and try to release it tomorrow.
(End of chapter)
