Why are some film crews able to attract investment and generous sponsorship even though the outside world is not optimistic about them?
For example, the alms master Guo Fan.
Because he doesn’t just talk to investors based on an idea.
Not only does he have a script, but he also has sufficient design drafts and preliminary preparations. He can really come up with something to show investors.
Although in the preparation stage, he couldn't promise investors a profit, film investment itself carries high risks, and investors are of course willing to trust the crew who can show him something.
I am criticizing a certain Hong Kong director by name. If you want to swindle money, I don’t ask you to show any number of things to investors. At least you have to have a script. You can't ask others to pay just based on an idea in your mind. This is not ethical.
You have to be careful when cheating money.
Zhang Yuanjun Studio is of course a new force in the industry, and its funds are limited.
Therefore, every step Zhang Yuanjun takes is very steady.
If a production supervisor from another company came to see Zhang Yuanjun's studio preparing for a project, they would definitely be puzzled by his process.
The early preparations for "Get Famous" and "Rock, Paper, Scissors" were all done with advance money from the studio. For the former, students with 02-level books were asked to rehearse over and over again on the stage. For the latter, he dared to spend more than 100 before the script was released. Wan asked the art and special effects teams to do the design draft first.
Therefore, when interested investors, large and small, come to negotiate, colleagues from the studio will take them to see the preparations for "Animal World".
The half-person-high art design draft, the scrapped script that has been revised countless times, and the animation design that dozens of engineers at Hualong Digital are working on - although there are no samples for investors to see.
All of this tells investors that we have sufficient preliminary preparations for this project and can invest with confidence.
Then, the studio's producers were asked a question: "Who is the director of your movie?"
Forehead……
He really got to the point.
It’s really hard to find a director for this movie. No one from the Mainland is currently good at this kind of comic book movie. There are a few directors from Hong Kong and Taiwan with distinctive styles who might be able to give it a try, but they haven’t decided on a candidate yet.
The producer responded: "We have contacted several Hong Kong directors and are still discussing the details."
The name of the Hong Kong director is still valid. Some investors were half relieved when they heard that the film would be filmed with a Hong Kong director.
"What about the cast? Are there any stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan? If Lin Chiling can play this heroine, I will pay for it without a second thought."
"She hasn't even acted."
"It doesn't matter if you haven't acted before, the audience loves to watch it."
"We will try to fight for it." If we don't keep our words to the letter, how can we get him to pay for it if we keep our words to the letter?
"Can the leading actor be changed? If you let Edison Chen play the role, I'll add another 3 million." Some investors still don't believe in Zhang Yuanjun, or in other words, they don't believe in the ability of mainland actors to play the leading role on the big screen.
"No, other roles are easy to negotiate, but we can't change the male lead." He refused without any hesitation.
At first glance, he is just a small investor. Big companies like China Film, Shanghai Film, and Huayi all know that behind Zhang Yuanjun is Guodao Restaurant Group. How can such a young man let someone else play the leading role in a movie.
Therefore, although they are also superstitious about the cast of Hong Kong and Taiwan, they have no idea of the male lead. At best, they want to use a Hong Kong and Taiwan actress as the female lead.
Lin Chiling may really be a good choice.
The current investor visits have yielded good results. China Film, Shanghai Film, and Huayi have all verbally expressed interest in "Rock, Paper, Scissors," and some small and medium-sized investors have also expressed their willingness to invest.
The hesitation comes from the choice of director.
Wang Zhonglei attaches great importance to Zhang Yuanjun, and he even read the original comics for "Animal World".
The style is distinctive, and he can't think of any current mainland director who can master this style.
Zhang Yuanjun's decision to find a director from Hong Kong and Taiwan was right.
But Huayi will not give money until the director is confirmed, and I believe the same is true for other investors.
Does the director have a goal?
There really is!
That was Xu Ke who was on the street.
Last summer, "Seven Swords", an investment of 140 million Hong Kong dollars, cost so much that even my own mother didn't recognize it. From the preparation of this drama in 2002 to its release in 2005, Xu Ke did not make any feature films during this period.
However, the film's sales in the Mainland were 80 million and in Hong Kong it was only one million, causing the film's reputation in the industry to plummet.
Half a year has passed, and there is no news about Xu Ke's new film. Some people think that he is gathering strength, but Zhang Yuanjun knows that the old monster can't attract investment.
After "Seven Swords" and before "Detective Dee", the old monster had a very unsatisfactory life.
If you can't get investment for the blockbuster movie you want to make, you can only co-direct with others, or make bad movies like "Deep Sea" and "Women Are Not Bad".
Tsui Hark has been living in the capital since moving to the north. He really received an invitation from Zhang Yuanjun and was really considering whether to take over the filming of "Rock, Paper, Scissors".
But half a year has passed, and he still hasn't been able to get over the shadow of "Seven Swords" being thrown into the street.
It's not that frustrating. This wave of directors won't be frustrated because their movies fail. They just can't figure out where they lost.
He really thought "Seven Swords" was very good.
He also reads the opinions of critics. Some criticisms he thinks are justified, but most criticisms he does not agree with.
The story of "Seven Swords" is very good, the action is cool, and there are many big names gathered, so why can't it be sold for money?
Zhang Yuanjun doesn't care at all about "Seven Swords". But Xu Ke asked Zhang Yuanjun, who came to visit, this question that he had not thought about for half a year.
"You are an audience and a professional. Why do you think "Seven Swords" cannot be sold for money?"
Zhang Yuanjun refused to answer this question: "How do I understand this? Besides, you must have heard many opinions in the past six months. I can't name them."
"It's up to you to tell me today. If you don't tell me, I won't come here again, and I won't consider "Rock, Paper, Scissors."" Xu Ke insisted that he tell the truth today.
Zhang Yuanjun could only say: "The production of "Seven Swords" is very good, with good photography, action and soundtrack."
"You don't need to say this, just tell me what's wrong."
"The only problem is that you provoke the audience." Zhang Yuanjun said bluntly, "Here, Yang Yuncong is the Seven Swords Senior Brother, and Chu Zhaonan is a despicable villain. Your adaptation completely deviates from the audience's understanding of the original work, just like if I filmed "The Legend of Heaven and Dragon Sword" "If I don't shoot Zhang Wuji, if I let Song Qingshu be the protagonist, I will definitely be beaten to death by the audience."
Xu Ke does not agree with this view: "If you shoot according to the original work, what is called an adaptation? It just wants to show the audience something different. When I made "Dragon Gate Inn", I didn't follow Hu Jinquan's work."
"Because there is no original work for "Dragon Inn", your film just borrowed the words "Dragon Gate Inn". Of course, you can not make it according to Hu Jinquan's work, but "Seven Swords" cannot."
The old man thought for a while and said, "Go on."
"The second thing is that you were too ambitious in "Seven Swords". I can see that you wanted to make a "Seven Swords" series, so you crammed too many things into the first part, but the movie is so long. You had to cut out a lot of material, which resulted in many twists and turns in the film that were very blunt and the audience was confused and had no idea what you were talking about..."
Xu Ke has been reflecting on it for more than half a year, and now he can listen to opinions.
Zhang Yuanjun said a lot, whether Xu Ke agreed or disagreed, these were all what he asked himself to say.
"So much like Akira Kurosawa." These were Zhang Yuanjun's last words.
Xu Ke smiled and did not deny it.
"Okay, I'll think about "Rock, Paper, Scissors" first. I'll ask my assistant to take you back. It's getting late." Xu Ke saw off the guest.
"Okay." Zhang Yuanjun smiled, stood up and left.
Got up late.
(End of chapter)
