Chapter 838 The Birth of a Famous Director
"The Rise of Grassroots: The Inspiration Director Feng Xiaogang Brought to the Chinese Film Industry" is not a great article, but it puts forward a very novel concept - grassroots.
It calls directors like Feng Xiaogang, who are not from an academic background and have not won any awards, but have won the love and popularity of the audience through their works, grassroots directors. If there are grassroots directors, there will naturally be directors who are not so grassroots. The article is directly aimed at those directors who are from an academic background and started their careers with awards.
Readers who have read the short essays of marketing accounts in later generations should be very familiar with this style. Pulling one aside and stepping on another, and creating contradictions and confrontations are their usual tactics.
But readers of this era have never seen this before. It is several levels higher than the articles in the current gossip media.
As soon as this article came out, Feng Xiaogang, a new director who had just emerged, immediately gained the attention and appreciation of countless readers and audiences.
When some people are praised, others are criticized.
In this era, the academic school is the mainstream in the domestic film industry. The article "Rise of the Grassroots" praised Feng Xiaogang highly, but trampled on many directors who came from the academic school, which immediately aroused dissatisfaction among many directors in the industry.
The author of "The Rise of Grassroots, the Inspiration Director Feng Xiaogang Brought to the Chinese Film Industry" used a pseudonym and had never published an article in magazine before. Someone secretly asked the editorial department of "Popular Movies" for the author's information, but got nothing.
Unable to find the author of the article, this group of people naturally pointed the finger at Feng Xiaogang.
In the whole incident, everyone was scolded, but he was the one who benefited the most.
Even if this article was not written by Feng Xiaogang, everyone would assume that he wrote it.
For a while, Feng Xiaogang became a thorn in the eyes and flesh of many domestic directors.
Many directors have spoken out through various channels, openly or covertly criticizing and attacking Feng Xiaogang and his films.
Faced with numerous criticisms in the media, Feng Xiaogang, a rookie in the directing industry, was terrified and ran to Wenhua Film and Television to block Yu Dong.
"Mr. Yu, is it really okay for us to do this?" Feng Xiaogang asked with a worried look on his face.
Yu Dong had a confident look on his face, "What are you afraid of? What's the problem? Even if they find out it was us, what can they do? Don't worry, if you want to be famous, you will get scolded. Look at Liu Xiaoqing, the more she is scolded, the more popular she becomes."
Half of Yu Dong's heresy was heard from Lin Weimin, and the other half was figured out by himself.
It is not difficult to make an actor famous. Just pick a few good scripts and let him act in more works. As long as his works are not at the level of "Ant Race for Ten Years", he will most likely become popular.
But it is not so easy to make a director famous. It is much harder for a director to produce good works than to be an actor. Feng Xiaogang has no awards to his name, and it is unrealistic for him to become a "famous director" by relying solely on the audience's support.
In the 1970s and 1980s, a number of films with very strong storylines were born in China, and directors made great contributions to this.
But till now, how many people still remember who directed Shaolin Temple? How many people remember who directed Lushan Romance?
From the perspective of people in the industry, these directors are of course very famous, but for ordinary audiences, these people have long been a thing of the past.
Why were Zhang Yimou and Cheng Kaige able to become famous directors just a few years after graduating from film academy?
Winning an award is just the foundation. The most important thing is to have official recognition and extensive media coverage.
How can you be called a great director if your name is not familiar to the public?
The article "The Rise of Grassroots, the Inspiration Director Feng Xiaogang Brought to the Chinese Film Industry" is a move by Yu Dong to create a "famous director" persona for Feng Xiaogang. He has never won any awards, and there is no official recognition, so he simply follows the mass line.
Yu Dong went to Lin Weimin for advice and came up with the four words "grassroots rise". Then he asked someone to write an article with these four words as the central idea, which really attracted a lot of attention and discussion.
With media coverage, industry attention and public discussion, Feng Xiaogang's journey to becoming a famous director has got off to a good start.
After listening to Yu Dong's words, Feng Xiaogang felt a little more at ease.
Yu Dong then asked him: "Xiaogang, how have you considered that matter?"
Hearing this, Feng Xiaogang's face suddenly showed a bit of embarrassment, "Mr. Yu, I haven't thought about it yet."
"What else is there to consider? Your small company has been in business for three years, right? It's still half-dead. The most important thing is that none of you have any business sense. You have made some money, but has the company made any progress?
It’s different here.
Think about it, the first director we signed with Wenhua was Zhang Yimou. If you sign with us, your name will be linked to Zhang Yimou in media reports.
As for film investment, when you come to us, you don't have to worry about anything. We will take care of everything, including investment, distribution, and promotion. Just study how to make a good movie, and we will never interfere with the content.
The movie dividends are not less than one cent, and you can get one cent more in bonuses and wages than before, but all of this is for free..."
At this moment, Yu Dong was like Wang Po dragging Pan Jinlian into the sewer, and his tone was extremely bewitching.
"Mr. Yu, I understand what you said, but Mr. Shuo and I...the two of us..."
Feng Xiaogang's expression was hesitant and shy, just like Pan Jinlian who was about to be dragged into the water by Wang Po.
"I understand, I understand, you two are friends for life. But I still say the same thing, Xiaogang, people always strive for higher goals.
"Shuoye has been famous all over the country for ten years, but what about you? If it weren't for the two movies invested by our Guowen Society, what would you be doing now? Still shooting your commercials? Going to great lengths to get investment, and getting so exhausted just to make a movie?"
Yu Dong said this, patting Feng Xiaogang's arm earnestly, "Xiaogang, no matter how close our friendship is, we are not parents or brothers. People should sometimes consider themselves."
There was a look of struggle on Feng Xiaogang's face, and it was obvious that he was going through a fierce confrontation in his heart.
Observing Feng Xiaogang's expression, Yu Dong said slowly, "Forget it. I can see that you are a man who values friendship. Go back and think about it yourself. Come to me when you have figured it out."
Feng Xiaogang left Wenhua Films and returned to Dream Studio in a daze.
At this moment, there was only one clerk and cleaner in the company. He asked, "Where is Director Wang?"
"I don't know. I haven't watched it today."
"Where's General Peng?"
"I went out to dinner with a friend, and he said there was an advertisement for us to shoot."
Feng Xiaogang sighed helplessly. To be honest, Wenhua Films was established later than Haomeng Company. Now they are strong and prosperous, and the office is bustling with activity.
Let’s look at Haomeng. After three years, it has made some money, but the entire company is still the same as the makeshift team it was three years ago.
Feng Xiaogang looked at the company that had remained the same for three years, and he couldn't help feeling disheartened. This was different from the future he had imagined when he started the business!
He sat on the sofa, which he had bought when he opened the business three years ago. Peng Xiaolin had even asked a friend to help him find out that it was made of imported cowhide. Now, the leather was almost falling off.
Feng Xiaogang stroked the sofa, his mind flashing back to his experiences over the past three years.
Slowly, a thought became clearer.
He stood up and said, "If Director Wang and General Manager Peng come back, tell them I have something to talk to them about, and then give me a call."
"OK."
After saying this, Feng Xiaogang was about to leave Haomeng.
As soon as I walked out of the company gate, I saw Peng Xiaolin walking towards the company arm in arm with someone, drunk.
It was just past two in the afternoon, and Feng Xiaogang had no idea what kind of meal Peng Xiaolin was eating.
Seeing Feng Xiaogang standing at the door, Peng Xiaolin waved and called out, "Xiaogang!"
Peng Xiaolin approached and said, breathing heavily from his alcohol, "Come on, Xiaogang, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Wang Zhongjun from Huayi Brothers Advertising Company. Last year, his company took over the standardization project for more than 15,000 outlets of the Bank of China. Now, they are the leading company in the field of corporate image identification systems in China."
"Mr. Peng, please don't say that. We Huayi brothers are the younger generation. Your Haomeng Company, which has achieved success in both advertising and film and television, is the role model for us to learn from!" Wang Zhongjun said with flattery.
Seeing the two people flattering each other, Feng Xiaogang suppressed his disgust and greeted Wang Zhongjun, "Mr. Wang!"
"Hello, Director Feng. I watched your film 'See You Tomorrow' a few days ago. It was filmed really well."
Feng Xiaogang smiled and said, "Come on, let's go inside first."
He and Wang Zhongjun helped Peng Xiaolin into the company and asked, "How much did you drink?"
The smile on Peng Xiaogang's face was a little dull. "I didn't drink much, just a bottle of XO. Mr. Wang is very generous."
When Haomeng Company shoots commercials, no matter if it cooperates with a TV station or an advertising agency, it is strictly the second party. Usually they pay for the meals. Wang Zhongjun invited Peng Xiaolin to dinner and ordered XO?
A sentence flashed through Feng Xiaogang's mind: If someone is too nice to you for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief.
Sure enough, after chatting for a while, Wang Zhongjun turned the topic to the movie "See You Tomorrow" which is currently in theaters.
"Director Feng, your film is really well shot, with a unique style. A few days ago, I read the article in Popular Movies, 'Grassroots Rising', which is such an accurate description. You are a great director who rose from the grassroots."
"You're too kind. I just came from a humble background and I'm not a big director," Feng Xiaogang said politely.
At this time, Peng Xiaolin said, "Xiaogang, Mr. Wang's company is also interested in entering the film and television industry and wants to find two good projects to invest in. If your new movie..."
Feng Xiaogang sighed in his heart. In fact, he had guessed it roughly without Peng Xiaolin saying anything.
"Mr. Wang, I'm so sorry. My first two films were invested by Wenhua Films. I have an agreement with them that they will also be responsible for the investment of the next film."
Feng Xiaogang rejected Wang Zhongjun outright, but Wang Zhongjun did not show any displeasure. Instead, he smiled and said, "I understand. I hope I can have a chance to work with Director Feng in the future."
"I'll definitely do it if I have the chance in the future," Feng Xiaogang said politely.
After a few more words, Wang Zhongjun tactfully said goodbye and left.
Peng Xiaolin said: "Xiaogang, it's actually quite good to take Wang Zhongjun's money. They are green hands in the film and television industry and are easy to control."
"Wenhua Films treated us well, but they suddenly took other people's money. What's going on?"
Peng Xiaolin hit a snag and was unhappy, but he did not show it. After all, Feng Xiaogang is no longer the same as before.
"Mr. Shuo is not coming today?" Feng Xiaogang asked.
"Why don't you give him a call? He went to see a rock concert with his girlfriend last night. He'll probably get up late tonight."
As the two were talking, they saw Wang Shuo walking into the company with Xu Cairen in his arms.
"Oh, everyone is here today." Wang Shuo said.
Xu Cairen, who was beside him, smiled brightly when he saw Feng Xiaogang, "Director Feng!"
Then he greeted Peng Xiaolin, "Brother Peng!"
Seeing that Wang Shuo and Peng Xiaolin had both arrived, Feng Xiaogang struggled for a moment, but finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
"Master Shuo, Xiaolin, I have something I want to tell you."
Peng Xiaolin was drinking tea to digest the alcohol, while Wang Shuo was whispering to Xu Cairen. When they heard his words, they both raised their heads.
(End of this chapter)
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