In fact, while filming "The Love Between Humans and Ghosts", Li Yi remembered another movie about the same relationship between humans and ghosts. However, the difference was that the movie was a Chinese movie, or in other words, it was a Hong Kong Island Eight movie. Movies from the nineties.
As a Chinese and Hong Kong Islander, Li Yi actually prefers that movie, but unfortunately, at this stage, if such a movie is made, it will only be released on Hong Kong Island.
Although the movie "The Last Days" is slightly inferior to "The Sixth Sense" in terms of box office and reputation, and is also slightly worse at the box office, it is still a very successful movie.
This also made several Hollywood companies such as Dean Pictures pay more and more attention to Li Yi.
After all, this is all about making big gains out of small things.
The return on investment is frighteningly high, but the key is that the risk is really not high.
Therefore, when they learned that Li Yi was going to return to China at the celebration party for "The Last Days", which had a North American box office of over 300 million U.S. dollars, James Dean and others were a little shocked.
"Li, why don't you stay in Hollywood? No matter what movie you want to make, we at Dean Films will definitely support it!" James Dean was naturally unwilling to let go of a money-giving boy like Li Yi.
Just kidding, although it was only two movies, the first "The Sixth Sense" brought hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to Dean Pictures, and more than that, although the subsequent "The Last Day" was diluted due to the sharing of investment. The profit was reduced, but the income was still hundreds of millions. The key is that it was easy to make money.
Another point is that the movies directed by Li Yi are really economical, even if his salary is very high, but this is Hollywood, and no one will really say anything. After all, Li Yi shoots movies with very few shots. It's pitiful, and although there are only two movies, both movies far exceeded expectations, and the key is that the cycle is very short.
Compared with those big directors who are always asking for additional investment and filming for a few years, Li Yi is the big director that capitalists like them most dream of!
It saves trouble, worry and effort. Where can I find such a director?
Li Yi shook his head and said with a smile: "My home is always in China. I miss home!"
As soon as he said these words, James Dean didn't know what to say.
Of course, James Dean couldn't really force Li Yi to stay in Hollywood, but he still said that the door of Dean Pictures would be open for Li Yi at any time.
Li Yi naturally would not refuse this.
After all, there is no telling when he will come again?
At the same time, Zhao Guangming, who came from China, specifically found Li Yi.
"You said before that you had an idea similar to "The Last Love", which could be made into a domestic film. Can you tell us about it?" Zhao Guangming is indeed here for Li Yi.
"Director Zhao, it's useless to say it, right? Can this type of movie still be released in China?" Li Yi said disapprovingly.
"That's not necessarily the case!" Zhao Guangming said with a faint smile.
Now it was Li Yi's turn to be a little surprised.
"What? Didn't you say this area is the red line?" Li Yi asked in surprise.
"Of course it's a red line, but there are exceptions to everything," Zhao Guangming said.
"Exception? Director Zhao, what are you referring to?" Li Yi asked curiously.
""Journey to the West" is purely based on the subject matter. There are monsters, the underworld, etc., but it can break through the red line and get the dragon mark. The same is true for "The Legend of White Snake"" Zhao Guangming smiled and looked at Li Yidao .
Li Yi suddenly felt like he had a sudden realization, but he had neglected this aspect.
Although the country is indeed very stagnant in terms of movies, as Zhao Guangming said, there are exceptions.
That is, some stories adapted from traditional Chinese literary masterpieces are allowed to exist.
Because in itself, those anecdotal literature, folklore, etc., are very well-known among the people and are familiar stories to everyone, so in this area, relatively speaking, it is not so strict.
In other words, this is the only subject that can break through that red line.
Li Yi's eyes suddenly lit up, because although his movie about humans and ghosts involved monsters and monsters, the story itself was adapted from the famous "Nie Xiaoqian" in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio".
Speaking of "A Chinese Ghost Story", in terms of story, it is even more bizarre than "The Love of Ghosts". Logically speaking, this kind of story basically has no chance of winning the Dragon Award in China, but it happens to be based on It is adapted from a traditional literary masterpiece, but it has the possibility of breaking the rules.
Of course, it is very difficult for ordinary people to cross that red line, but for a director with the highest reputation and influence like Li Yi, it is really not difficult!
Li Yi immediately told the story of "A Chinese Ghost Story" briefly.
Zhao Guangming frowned when he heard this.
Although movies adapted from Chinese classical mythology, literary classics and other classics can break through that red line, it does not mean that they can be messy.
Although Li Yi simply told the story of "A Chinese Ghost Story", the story itself had many things that crossed the line.
"The story is adapted from "Nie Xiaoqian" in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio". Why does Director Zhao think there is a problem?" Li Yi couldn't help but said when he saw Zhao Guangming frowning.
"You, the story is a good story, but..." Zhao Guangming hesitated.
"Just what?" Li Yi asked doubtfully.
"I just listened to the story, and I feel that some of the plots in it would be a bit over the line if filmed!" Zhao Guangming said with a wry smile.
Li Yi shrugged and said, "What does Director Zhao think is problematic?"
"That's all, you finish the script first, and then I'll help you submit it for review. However, it's best to just stop filming!" Zhao Guangming said nothing more in the end.
This type of movie itself will be very controversial. The controversy here is not a dispute among the people, but a controversy between the film review department.
In fact, it is precisely because this type of movies can often break through the red line that some more stubborn old leaders have always had very different opinions on it.
To put it bluntly, this is actually brushing the edges, jumping repeatedly between what is possible and what is not.
In particular, some domestic directors often like to do other tricks in this kind of movies, which will embarrass the people responsible for reviewing the films.
After sending Zhao Guangming away, Xu Nannan was naturally very reluctant to let go of Li Yi, but she also knew that Li Yi had stayed in Hollywood long enough this time. Therefore, in the next period of time, Xu Nannan almost looked like she wanted to squeeze him out. Just like Li Yi.
When Li Yi was about to leave, his legs were still a little weak.
The news of Li Yi returning to China is a big event for the entire Chinese entertainment industry.
Of course, everyone's joys and sorrows are different.
For domestic fans of Li Yi, they are naturally cheering.
"Director Dog is finally back. It's not easy. I don't know how I got here for more than a year!"
"I passed it upstairs! Although Director Dog is good at making movies, but when you say this, why the hell do I think you look like a resentful woman?"
"I have one thing to say, the dog director won't be here. I feel like I've been having trouble watching movies lately. Is that okay?"
"Although I have watched "The Sixth Sense" and "The Last Days", I still feel that they are not interesting enough. For dramas, I still want the domestic version to be more immersive!"
"Who says it isn't?"
The domestic media and film critics naturally cheered.
For the media, Li Yi himself is the biggest news material, and his works can often bring huge traffic.
The same is true for film critics. There is so much to write about Li Yi's movies. Although Li Yi went to Hollywood, his movies can also be written about, but after all, they have not been released in China, so they are still about the same. Less traffic.
But for those colleagues in the country, none of them are happy anymore. The big devil is back, and they have to feel the fear of being dominated by the big devil again.
Just after returning to China, Li Yi finished the script of "A Chinese Ghost Story". After all, if it had to be submitted for review, even with his reputation and Zhao Guangming's support, even if it could pass, there would still be some wrangling.
There's nothing we can do about it. After all, the subject matter is sensitive, isn't it?
Don't look at many domestically produced adapted movies of this type, which can break the rules, but in fact, people also have requirements, and it is not enough to just use the title of adaptation casually.
And where it works and where it doesn't work, there is no standard for this stuff, so some have to wait.
However, Li Yi was not in a hurry. He naturally wanted to spend time with his wife and children when he came back.
For this reason, although Li Yi returned to China during this period, movie fans, media critics, and domestic celebrities and actors who have been staring at Li Yi are all a little disappointed, because Li Yi completely looks like he is on vacation. It looks like he has no intention of working at all.
However, what Li Yi didn't expect at all was that he originally thought that even if "A Chinese Ghost Story" could pass the review, it would have to be changed at least several times, even if it was just the script. But who would have thought that in less than a month, Zhao Guangming told Li Yi, the script of "A Chinese Ghost Story" has passed review!
"Did "A Chinese Ghost Story" pass the review?" Mu Qing asked curiously.
Li Yi was also a little confused but nodded and said: "Yes, I didn't expect it to be so fast!"
Mu Qing is also an insider, so she naturally knows what Li Yi means. In fact, as long as it is a highly sensitive script, it usually takes a long time.
If it were another director with a smaller position and less influence, it might be easier for the script to pass review, but the subsequent movies would probably have to endure.
But when it comes to Li Yi, in fact, because Li Yi has been very cooperative before, most of the time, the script does not change much, so the review of the script he submits can generally be said to be the final review.
Because they all know that Li Yi's script is different from other directors' scripts. Other directors may submit a script that looks one way, but the one they shoot looks completely different.
But Li Yi is different. Whatever his script looks like, it will basically look like it will be filmed. Most of the time, there is no such thing as cheating.
For this reason, it takes longer.
But it was so fast this time, which really surprised Li Yi.
Zhao Guangming met Li Yi quickly.
"Why is it so fast this time?" Li Yi asked curiously.
"Unexpected, but reasonable!" Zhao Guangming said with a smile.
"How do you say it?" Li Yi asked.
"On the one hand, it must have something to do with your previous trip to Hollywood. You went to Hollywood to shoot two movies, one is "The Sixth Sense" and the other is "Ghosts", which are very troublesome here. There was a lot of public opinion." Zhao Guangming analyzed.
"What?" Li Yi looked confused.
I'm making a Hollywood movie in Hollywood, but the movie can't be released in China, so what's the public opinion about?
Zhao Guangming explained: "Your two movies have received great reviews at the box office in Hollywood, and they are highly regarded. Many domestic audiences have also watched the movies, so some words have spread. Many people say that you are Because there is no hope for this kind of subject matter in China, that’s why I went to Hollywood!”
"You know, there have always been some people who have complained about this in China. But this time, when a great director like you was "forced" to leave Hollywood to film, many movie fans also had a lot of complaints. Although Everyone has long been accustomed to saying this kind of thing, and some directors are saying it every day, but after all, the impact this time is still relatively large!" Zhao Guangming said.
Li Yi nodded. In this regard, of course he has a good knowledge. It can be said that he is a big scissor. Many times, he is the key target of some directors' scapegoating.
After the movie was a hit, people started talking about the problem of the big scissors, saying that the big scissors cut out the essence of the movie.
Does this situation exist? There are indeed some, but they are not that exaggerated.
But as Zhao Guangming said, anything that is suppressed for a long time will eventually come out.
"So, the script of "A Chinese Ghost Story" that you submitted is just right. It can be said that if this script was placed at other times, it would indeed be waiting, but at this time, it is more appropriate. After all, you just If you come back, if you are beaten back, it will really be confirmed that you, a great director, have been "forced" to leave Hollywood.
Another thing is that "A Chinese Ghost Story" and "A Ghost Story" are similar to some extent, and it is easier for the audience to compare the two. This movie happens to be an excerpt of "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", It is considered to be in compliance with our regulations. Some people originally had doubts about the scale of some plots, but in the end it was passed.
Therefore, this movie can be regarded as a model! Don't go too far! " Zhao Guangming said.
"Don't you know about me? When have I ever done something that made everyone unhappy?" Li Yi said calmly.
Zhao Guangming nodded. It is precisely because of this that this time it went so smoothly. After all, the film review department also relies on people to review films, not machines. Li Yi is famous for following the rules and being a good person. Don't feel sorry for them.
To reciprocate the favor, they naturally have a good impression of Li Yi. If it were a director who often acted like a monster, even if there was no problem, he would definitely be stuck.
Therefore, being humane and worldly is really important!
(End of chapter)
