On Monday, the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhang Yuanjun, together with Yu Feihong's group, flew to Chuncheng, Yunnan Province.
After participating in "Love Is Afterlife" Zhang Yuanjun realized why the cost of this film was so high.
Not to mention the cost of film, this thing is really expensive.
This has been Teacher Yu's dream for 10 years, which has led to her perverted desire to control the details of the film.
Some things that are not a problem in the eyes of other directors are extremely important to her. For example, setting the scene, she has to spend half a year traveling all over the country, and finally find a suitable location in Yunnan Province, and then spend money to complete the scene. Set it up – Almost all of the main sets in Love Comes After Life were improvised.
This kind of work is done in the Bashang grassland closest to Beijing.
It also eliminates the need to take people from the capital to Yunnan Province, which is time-consuming, laborious and expensive.
The mountainous areas of Yunnan Province have complex terrain and unpredictable climate, which is far less convenient than the Bashang grassland.
On "Love Is Afterlife", Yu Feihong wrote, directed, acted, and produced, and no one in the entire crew dared to compete with her.
In fact, from Zhang Yuanjun's perspective as an outsider, Teacher Yu should at least leave the production to an experienced old man and not spend money according to her whim.
But as I said before, this has been Teacher Yu’s dream for 10 years, and she doesn’t allow others to interfere.
When the crew arrived at Tengchong, the filming location, it was already early the next morning.
After checking in at the hotel, Zhang Yuanjun asked: "How far is the filming location from the hotel?"
"We are starting production in Gaoligong Mountain, which is still a few hours' drive from here."
Zhang Yuanjun found another reason for the high cost of the film. For such a journey, the daily transportation fee is not a small amount.
When a director makes his debut film, he would like to break every penny into two cents to spend. Teacher Yu is better, he can do it no matter how extravagant it is.
Gradually, Zhang Yuanjun changed his thinking and said that "Love Has an Afterlife" was Teacher Yu's dream for 10 years.
Is it a director’s dream? Do you have to play Ah Jiu’s dream yourself?
neither.
It was simply "I want to film this story."
Just so willful.
Teacher Yu is 36 years old this year. It can be said that her life has been smooth. In addition to her good family background, whether it is said that she does not understand the sufferings of the world or that she is idealistic, in general, Teacher Yu has a very "girly" mind.
This also caused her to spend too much money.
On the day of the launch on the 2nd, not many media came to report. After all, no one was willing to go to the mountains for a literary film on this cold day.
"On March 2, the directorial debut of Fairy Yu Feihong, "Love Has an Afterlife," was launched in the Gaoligong Mountain Scenic Area in Tengchong. The film tells a poignant and romantic love story, and the male protagonist is played by the popular niche actor Zhang Yuanjun. On the day of the launch, Zhang Yuanjun was dressed in a 12-month-old costume. He appeared in a white robe and looked extremely handsome, which made the fans who were watching the scene scream."
The story of "Love Has an Afterlife" takes place at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. This is the first time Zhang Yuanjun wears a robe. Not to mention, it looks really good.
"Looking at your appearance, I know I picked the right person." Teacher Yu was 10,000% satisfied with Zhang Yuanjun's appearance.
Zhang Yuanjun looks handsome, handsome and gentle in this robe, which is in line with the character setting of A Ming who has been reading sages since he was a child.
But his acting skills can add a bit of unruly gangsterism to A Ming. After all, A Ming grew up in a bandit's den, so it would be bad to be too bookish.
The mixture of these two temperaments in the same person made the crew praise Teacher Yu for his discerning eye and "choosing such a good actor."
"Should I sit back and raise the price?" Zhang Yuanjun got the same salary for starring in "Love Is Afterlife" as Mr. Yu did for "Famous" two years ago, 100,000 yuan.
"The contract has been signed. It's too late for you to raise the price." Yu Feihong said with a smile, "Okay, no more fun, get ready and start shooting."
Only when we actually filmed it did we realize how detailed Yu Feihong was as a director.
She really looks like Akira Kurosawa, the kind of person who shuts down the entire crew just waiting for a cloud.
On the first day of shooting, except for some outdoor shots and long shots without dialogue, there was not a single plot sequence!
Ask her what's wrong with her and she'll tell her. Even if the actor plays the role, she still can't do it.
Just consume it.
Then it took nearly 2 hours to return to the hotel from the scenic spot.
The filming of "Love Is Afterlife" reminded Zhang Yuanjun of the time when he was filming "The Condor" in Yandang Mountain.
…………
After announcing the jury for the main competition unit in January, the Cannes Film Festival Organizing Committee announced the first batch of 10 films shortlisted for the main competition unit of this year's 60th film festival on the first Tuesday after the Lantern Festival.
Among them, the opening film is "Blueberry Nights" by Wang Jiawei, the chairman of the jury of the last film festival.
Cannes 60, this year’s main competition section is particularly good-looking, with many films by famous directors shortlisted.
But there is one movie from the United States that caught the attention of the Chinese media:
"Buried Alive", director: Rodrigo Cortez.
This is Rodrigo's first feature film, and it is already a very impressive achievement for a new director to be shortlisted for the Cannes main competition.
But it was not the director Rodrigo who attracted domestic attention, but the film's leading actor and the only character who appeared in "Buried Alive", Zhang Yuanjun, who plays John Yong.
Zhang Yuanjun's entry into Hollywood was already in the news last year, but many viewers, including the media, still don't know what kind of film Zhang Yuanjun has made.
At this time, the film was officially unveiled and shortlisted for the Cannes main competition, rekindling the curiosity of the media.
Of course, behind this wave of attention is the support of Huayi and China Film.
"Buried Alive" has investment from the two of them. They also learned about the film's shortlist before the outside world and have been making publicity plans.
Director Han and Wang Zhonglei were both crazy with joy today.
The Hollywood film you invested in was shortlisted for the main competition in Cannes. What is this?
For Han Dong, this is political achievement.
For Wang Zhonglei, this is the best proof for the company to go overseas. He can use this story to raise another sum of money!
Although China Film and Huayi received fixed income from "Buried Alive" and did not participate in the global accounting, as long as Wang, Han, and Zhang don't tell the truth, who can know!
Moreover, the three parties had agreed beforehand that China Film and Huayi would use "Buried Alive" to tell stories, and Zhang Yuanjun had to cooperate with them and not dig up their roots.
Otherwise, the total investment of more than US$7 million from China Film and Huayi would be so easy to obtain?
Can Zhang Yuanjun earn 5 million for nothing?
China Film and Huayi are both promoting "Buried Alive" as a candidate for Cannes. China Film said it will participate in global distribution. "The success of "Buried Alive" provides a good example for Chinese film investment overseas."
Huayi said that it undertook "more than half of the investment" in the film, and "we will participate in the global distribution of the film, which is a milestone for Huayi's film to go overseas."
The reporter went to Yunnan Province to interview the leading actor. Zhang Yuanjun responded: "I am honored to be shortlisted for Cannes. I don't dare to think about winning the award. Being shortlisted is success."
Liu Yifei, who was rehearsing a drama in Beijing, was a little discouraged:
"He has been shortlisted for Cannes, but I haven't taken any pictures yet."
(End of chapter)
