Chapter 38
The Wu Gong family lived in an expensive residential complex called Athena in Yanjing City.
His father is a well-known painter and has some reputation in the literary and art circles. His family is very wealthy, so Wu Gong has never had to worry about food and clothing since he was a child. When he grew up, he was admitted to the Film Academy smoothly. After graduation, he became a screenwriter and worked in large and small crews. Some of his films became hits, some did not, but he has always been considered famous.
But Wu Gong himself knew what was going on.
The crews that came to see him were more or less related to his father.
As for those scripts, he was only the third, fourth, or even fifth or sixth screenwriter. Although he attended every meeting, he seldom wrote them himself.
In short, if you stay in this industry long enough, you will always become a little famous.
And after gaining this so-called fame, he wrote even less.
Anyway, there are so many poor students who have just entered society. He just recruits a few young people every year to help him write articles, and it doesn’t cost much.
At most, he did four jobs a year.
But when I looked at the input statistics on my computer, I found that I had written less than 40,000 words in total.
Fortunately, the students he recruited were also somewhat talented. As long as he had a project with good returns a year, his reputation would not be damaged.
But starting last year, Wu Gong, who had reached middle age, suddenly felt that he didn't want to live like this anymore.
He was divorced, his son was grown up and he couldn't take care of him. The midlife crisis came, so he simply fired all his students and thought about doing something on his own.
It would be a lie to say that anyone who enters this industry doesn't want to create a work of their own.
Wu Gong was no exception. He began to try his best to contact his friends in the circle. After many twists and turns, he finally contacted Wang Yige.
Wang Yige didn't say anything, but took him to participate in the fledgling project and gave him his new work.
This work is a standard commercial genre film, a police and gangster theme, heavy on action and light on plot, exactly the type he is already very familiar with.
But after Wu Gong won the Chick Program and got the project, he just felt unhappy no matter how he looked at it.
He has so much talent, but there is no room to display it!
So, he wanted to revise the script. After all, it was his first directorial work, and he had to add some of his own humanistic and philosophical thoughts into it.
This change lasted for a year.
Of course, not all of the year was spent revising the script.
Various social events, award ceremonies, and even symposiums, one after another.
In this industry, as long as you have a little fame, these things are inevitable.
Wu Gong also loves to do these things, so he has never settled down.
A while ago, I was too tired, so I went on vacation and stayed abroad for several months. Looking at various beaches and beauties, and staying away from the film and television industry, I felt a lot better.
But fortunately, even in this time-killing schedule, he managed to finish revising the script.
Originally, there would be no worries about investment for a project with Wang Yige as producer and scriptwriter. The investment in this film was not too large, a total of 700 to 800 million yuan, which Wang Yige could attract by just drinking some wine.
But after reading the new script, Wang Yige was no longer willing to drink the wine. The companies that had originally invested in it also withdrew their investments after sensing that the wind was blowing in the wrong direction.
Now Wu Gong had to find someone to fill the gap of 300 to 400 million yuan, so he signed up for the Golden Crane Award's venture capital meeting.
I was actually shortlisted.
It was already past five o'clock the next afternoon when Wu Gong found out that he had been shortlisted.
He had a heavy drink the day before and slept in a daze until the afternoon. He casually opened a web page and saw that he was shortlisted. His hangover was gone.
When I turned on my phone, I received many blessings from my friends in the industry. "I said that Mr. Wu's new work would be fine", "Congratulations to Mr. Wu on being shortlisted. These are 30 projects selected from thousands of projects", "Mr. Wu may not make a name for himself, but he will make a big splash. I wish you good luck in your venture capital investment"...
This group of people are all good at changing their attitudes according to the situation, but even though Wu Gong knew this, he was still confused by them.
I'm so happy that I want to have a few more glasses of wine to clear my mind.
Just as I poured the wine, the door clicked.
It was his son Wu Ge who came back.
Wu Gong and his son have never gotten along.
The main reason is that my son is difficult to manage. He was thrown into an aristocratic boarding school since he was a child. Now he is in the second grade of junior high school, which is the most disobedient age. I heard from the teacher that he doesn’t study every day, hangs out outside, and forms gangs.
But Wu Gong didn't know how to manage it.
After all, with their family background, they shouldn't have to work too hard, right?
But I didn't expect that he would come back so early today.
Wu Gong was happy and wanted to say a few words to his son after a long time. He was about to call his son, but he didn't expect that Wu Ge would go straight back into the house.
In the past, I would definitely put down my schoolbag and run out, either to go to an Internet cafe to surf the Internet, or to go somewhere with my girlfriend to mess around.
Wu Gong kept his words in his mouth, looking confused.
Is this a gender change?
He walked to his son's door and pushed it open without thinking.
I thought he would see his son doing something weird in the room, playing games or even smoking.
But I didn’t expect…
Wu Ge was actually sitting at the desk studying seriously? !
When Wu Ge heard the door open, he didn't get angry, but turned around and asked, "Dad, what's the matter?"
Wu Gong had all his educational quotations in his heart, and he stammered, "Why... did you start studying?"
"It's useless to just muddle along," Wu Ge said seriously, "I have to start studying hard and catch up with my peers, then pass the high school entrance exam and go to college."
After hearing this, Wu Gong felt very happy.
Maybe my previous nagging worked? Or maybe my words and deeds finally had an effect?
Today is really a double happiness.
“Why has your son changed?” Wu Gong narrowed his eyes. “Do you think everything your father says makes sense?”
However.
Wu Ge shook his head seriously: "No, I watched a movie and it changed me."
"Ah?" Wu Gong was confused for a moment. "What movie is so powerful? An old classic? Is it The Chorus or Dead Poets Society?"
"Neither," Wu Ge said, "It's a new movie on Netflix called Chaos Campus."
My son grew up in an international school. He has standard English pronunciation and often goes over the Internet to watch foreign films.
but.
What kind of movie is this “Chaos Campus”?
It sounds familiar, as if I've heard it recently.
"Okay, Dad, stop bothering me. I need to study, or I won't be able to keep up." Wu Ge coldly ordered his father to leave. "Go have a drink."
"good……"
Wu Gong walked out of his son's room embarrassedly.
Is this "ChaoCampus" a foreign movie?
How could it be so powerful that it made his son turn over a new leaf...
With all kinds of doubts, Wu Gong climbed over the wall and opened Netflix.
This is the movie recommended on the homepage.
And the posters and the like actually look like they are made in China.
What good films can be produced in China?
Wu Gong didn't believe it.
When Wu Gong first opened the movie, he went to watch it with a critical attitude.
But gradually, he was attracted by the plot and hoped that Ming Ziqin could succeed in his revenge.
In the second half of the film, after the situation is revealed, Wu Gong can never get out again.
This movie is so interesting!
What a new idea!
Even after finishing the film, Wu Gong still felt that he had not seen enough.
On the one hand, after watching the movie, I felt very satisfied.
On the other hand, he felt a little ashamed of himself. How could others produce such good works?
Then, he saw the end credits.
Director/Screenwriter/Editor: Qiao Yiqiao.
Hold the grass?!
Qiao Yi Bridge?!
Oh Gong is shocked.
Is this the Qiao Yiqiao that I met in the Chick Project? !
This is his film!
Wu Gong immediately started searching on the Internet.
It was not until I saw various photos that I confirmed that this was the Qiao Yi Qiao.
He actually won the Rotterdam Golden Tiger Award for his debut work.
Moreover, the number of views of this movie on Netflix has reached more than 100 million.
The comments section is full of positive reviews.
“I’ve never seen such an interesting award-winning work!”
"Hahahaha, I laughed from the middle to the end, it was so funny!"
"This is the first Chinese film I have ever seen. It is really good. China is great!"
"Although I kept laughing afterwards, this film actually reflects two universal issues: violence and education."
"My child is seven years old. After watching this film, he cried and said to me, 'Mom, I want to study hard.' I asked him why, and he said he was afraid that if he didn't study hard, he would be caught by his bad brother."
"Hahaha, I'm a teacher in Taiwan Province. I played it for the kids in my class, and their test scores improved a lot. I'd like to call it the new era version of 'Encouraging Learning.'"
The comments section was filled with voices from all over the world, and Wu Gong had to use a translator to understand them.
But no matter where in the world the comments are left, they are all positive.
Wu Gong didn't believe it and flipped through forty or fifty pages before finally finding a bad review.
"The main character's acting was too realistic, it scared my child to tears, bad review!"
Wu Gong: “…”
I am completely convinced.
This Qiao Yiqiao actually made such a good film.
Wu Gong paced around the room anxiously.
But when he thought that his son studied hard after watching this film, he couldn't help but thank Qiao Yi Qiao.
This solved a big problem for him!
But that’s not all.
Wu Gong originally wanted to check the news about his nomination for the Golden Crane Award Venture Capital Conference to calm himself down, but he did not expect to see that Qiao Yiqiao, who was ahead of him, was also shortlisted!
Wu Gong was completely panicked.
He still remembered how he provoked Qiao Yiqiao...
If this work fails miserably, how can he still have the face to continue working?
But this "Chaos Campus" is enough to show Qiao Yiqiao's talent.
To be honest, after so many years in the industry, this is the first time he has seen such a talented new creator.
Be it creativity, use of camera language, training of actors, or conception, he is superior in all these aspects.
And his new work, without any connections or background, was actually shortlisted for the Golden Crane Award Venture Capital Conference.
This is the most awesome venture capital meeting in the Chinese film industry!
Wu Gong finished a pack of cigarettes at home, feeling a strong sense of frustration.
But he didn't want to give up.
He must come first in the venture capital meeting.
Compared with Qiao Yiqiao, perhaps his biggest advantage is that he has more experience and more connections.
Thinking of this, Wu Gong turned on his cell phone and called many people.
"Hello, Mr. Zheng, are you busy with the Golden Crane Award recently?"
"Director Zhao, how have you been recently? Is the Golden Crane Award going well?"
…
Qiao Yi Qiao has not been idle these days.
After he finished the script, he readjusted the outline and various reporting materials he had written previously, and then submitted the materials for project review.
After the previous experience, Qiao Yiqiao did not go to the branch office to report this time. Instead, he went directly to the headquarters for special cases.
The Ministry of Justice also gave strong support, submitting a letter of cooperation to the Film Bureau in less than a week and taking the initiative to join the review.
The Ministry of Public Security was not idle either. After all, this was a film and television production with prison guards involved. Qiao Tang took the initiative to help Qiao Yiqiao and submitted it for joint review at the same time as the Ministry of Justice.
When Director Nie of the State Administration of Press, Publication, saw the two weighty letters of review, although he felt that the prison theme plus the mention of the earthquake was a bit challenging, on the one hand, "Chaotic Campus" had a very good social response, which gave him more trust in Qiao Yiqiao, and on the other hand, he did not want to offend the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security, so he did not intervene any further.
I just took a look at the script and made sure there was nothing inappropriate for children. Then I called Qiao Yiqiao over for a meeting and asked him to be careful not to make the film too bloody or violent, and not to over-exaggerate the earthquake and stir up social emotions. Then I approved it.
After Qiao Yi Qiao walked out of the Film Bureau building, it felt like dawn had already arrived.
Although he does not have a big tree to back him up in the film industry, having these positive and non-rigid departments to protect him can be regarded as another kind of "background".
After leaving the Film Bureau, Qiao Yi Qiao did not return to Heng City, but continued to stay in Yanjing.
Because the Golden Crane Award Venture Capital Conference will start tomorrow.
…
Unlike previous years, this year's Golden Crane Award Venture Capital Conference will be held for two days.
But Qiao Yi Qiao was not very clear about what venture capital was like in previous years, so he only knew that there seemed to be an additional process this year, which was the mid-term roadshow.
The mid-term roadshow will be held on the first day, from 8 am to 8 pm, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center.
All the shortlisted works were assigned a small exhibition pavilion, like a temple fair, where the creators could communicate with the exhibitors.
Most of the exhibitors are employees and leaders from project development departments or film and television investment departments of large and small film and television companies. The Golden Crane Award is also intended to provide a way for the shortlisted projects this year to communicate with investors.
The second day was the ultimate roadshow, with a jury composed of three well-known directors and producers, and twenty gold medal producers. They reviewed the 30 works one by one and finally selected several major awards.
Works that win the grand prize will not only receive a direct investment of up to one million, but will also be more likely to be favored by major film and television companies.
Therefore, Qiao Yi Qiao focused all his attention on the ultimate roadshow on the second day.
Specifically speaking, it means making PPT.
Although Xiao He is smart, he is not good at doing these things, so they brought in Jiang Simeng.
Although Jiang Simeng had never made a PPT, he was familiar with computer operation. Qiao Yiqiao and Xiao He had already written the basic content, so it was not difficult to do it.
But even so, Qiao Yiqiao still forced a group of people to change P
The PT was revised until four or five in the morning. He had to think carefully about every word and every animation before making a decision.
Fortunately, Qin Duo helped him get the roadshow PPTs of many previous award-winning works. They all followed suit and in the end it looked quite realistic.
Because he stayed up too late, when Qiao Yiqiao attended the mid-term roadshow the next day, he had two big dark circles under his eyes.
After arriving at the exhibition center and seeing that everyone had already started their preparations, Qiao Yi Qiao finally sobered up a lot.
There were only four big words in his mind - "a fight between gods".
Thirty booths filled the first floor of the convention and exhibition center.
All the shortlisted works have tried every possible means to attract the attention of investors.
For some film projects, the directors and screenwriters are already very famous, and they act like living signs just by standing there.
For some projects, the producers are quite capable, so they put a large LED screen in front of the booth to play the producer's pre-recorded videos in a loop.
There are also some projects that have already confirmed some famous leading actors, who were invited to support the roadshow, and naturally attracted a lot of attention.
Even those who are not so well off will make four or five roll-up banners and place them next to their stalls to show off their products.
And Qiao Yi Bridge...
None of these.
He just printed some brochures, but every pavilion project had a brochure, and some even moved, which did not show Qiao Yiqiao's project at all.
The pavilion that Qiao Yiqiao and his team were assigned to was the last one in the northwest corner, farthest from the entrance. If they walked along the main road, they would be completely blocked by the pavilions in front of them and would not be able to see them at all.
Qiao Yi Qiao first reflected on himself. First, he was not well prepared, and second, he had no experience.
The main reason was that the organizing committee of the Golden Crane Award Venture Capital Conference said that only two people could attend the ultimate roadshow for each project, so Qiao Yi Qiao automatically thought that there could only be two people during the intermediate roadshow. He only brought Xiao He with him. Compared with the seven or eight people in front of other booths, it was really not enough.
More than half an hour passed, and only a few investors came to receive their flyers without saying anything else.
The subject matter is not appealing, the booth is remote, and there is nothing fancy about it, so naturally it cannot attract many people.
But Qiao Yiqiao is not the kind of person who gives up easily.
Fortunately, this time when he came to Yanjing, he brought many people from the gang with him and let them see the world at his own expense.
He immediately called Xia Longlong, who immediately rushed to the exhibition site.
If there is no roll-up banner, then let Xia Longlong draw it on the spot.
Here, Xia Longlong was painting when an acquaintance came to Qiao Yi Qiao's stall.
Wu Gong walked over to the booth and smiled, “Director Qiao’s booth is very simple.”
Qiao Yiqiao knew that he would definitely meet Wu Gong this time, so he was mentally prepared.
When he came in, he saw that Wu Gong's small booth was in a prime location right in the middle of the entire convention and exhibition center. In addition, Wang Yige was in charge, so many investors were looking at it.
On the other hand, the stalls on Qiaoyi Bridge looked desolate.
But Qiao Yiqiao's reply was neither humble nor arrogant: "Hello, Teacher Wu."
Wu Gong smiled even more: "Hello, hello, everything is fine, what movie will Xiao Qiao shoot next?"
Qiao Yiqiao handed over a brochure and said, "Take a picture of this."
“Hey,” Wu Gong flipped through the pages for a while, “Your subject matter is quite rare. Are you filming a prison?”
"Yes."
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Wu Gong said with a concerned look, “Prison scenes are hard to shoot. My new film also has a scene where the main character goes to prison. It was really hard to write. Is your scene all set in prison?”
Qiao Yiqiao was too lazy to spoil the story and just said vaguely, "Yes and no."
Unexpectedly, Wu Gong continued, "I referred to movies like Escape Plan, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile from the Lighthouse Country. What did you refer to?"
"I'm just looking around."
Wu Gong was not satisfied when he saw Qiao Yiqiao's lack of interest in him: "It seems that Qiao is not very willing to communicate."
He knew that he probably couldn't beat Qiao Yi Qiao in either scriptwriting or directing, but he was older after all, and he had experience and a good attitude. Seeing that there were not many people at Qiao Yi Qiao's booth, he wanted to play some psychological warfare, but seeing Qiao Yi Qiao's response attitude, he felt a little bored.
Unexpectedly, after hearing what Wu Gong said, Qiao Yiqiao suddenly smiled and said, "I am willing to communicate. How can I not be willing? Teacher Wu, do you want to invest?"
The implication is, Wu Gong, if you don't plan to invest money, then stop talking.
“Tsk, you are still so arrogant,” Wu Gong curled his lips, “Your prison-themed works are difficult to pass the review and difficult to create, and you are a new director, no wonder no one wants to come to your booth.”
After saying this, Wu Gong also felt that he was a bit sharp, so he added: "I just wanted to share my experience with you, so that you don't keep dealing with all these things all day long. That's it, since you won't listen, I'm leaving now."
Qiao Yiqiao still smiled and said, "Teacher Wu, take care."
No matter how anxious he was, Qiao Yi would never show it on the surface. He had a very strong mentality, so Wu Gong naturally couldn't get any advantage from the god.
But in fact, Qiao Yiqiao was quite grateful to Wu Gong in his heart.
Because the points he just mentioned are probably also the concerns of other investors.
But now that he knew what everyone was worried about, Qiao Yi Qiao knew how to do his best.
"Tutu Dog, don't draw that," Qiao Yiqiao took out a document from his bag, "draw this first, and enlarge it proportionally, make it super large. There are a few more sentences, write them in super large size too."
Xia Longlong took the paper, his face full of doubts: "This... Boss, are you sure?"
Qiao Yiqiao nodded: "Sure! Then you can write a few more signs according to my copy, they will be very useful."
"Okay." Although Xia Longlong didn't understand, he did as he was told.
Then Qiao Yi Qiao started to call people.
Although he didn't prepare any complicated LED light signs or screens, his advantage was that he had more people in the gang.
So, half an hour later, many investors were tired of shopping and had seen most of the projects they were interested in, so they walked to both sides of the exhibition hall, hoping to communicate and test the waters with each other.
Then they saw a very inconspicuous exhibition hall.
There were several very...impressive signboards placed next to the pavilion.
The most eye-catching thing is a huge "Proposal for Approval of Film Project".
"What the hell?" Liu Kevin was immediately attracted by the huge document.
Liu Kaiwen is the head of Huacheng Entertainment's film and television investment department. He came here to find some good projects.
He usually mainly makes police and gangster films, after all, that is the best-selling genre in the current market, but he also knows that police and gangster films are difficult to pass review, and his own project has been stuck at the Film Bureau for two or three years, but he never expected to see such a dream film here.
He came over quickly.
"Has your project been approved?" Liu Kevin asked.
You should know that three quarters of the projects participating in venture capital are not approved, and even if those projects have good scripts, it is difficult for them to win the favor of investors.
After all, they all want to make stable money.
Qiao Yi Qiao replied, "Yes." and handed over a project booklet.
Liu Kaiwen immediately flipped through it and frowned: "This is a prison-themed film? Can it pass the review?"
Qiao Yiqiao nodded: "Yes, it has been successfully reviewed, and the Ministry of Justice is also very cooperative."
It's more than just cooperation, it's almost like using all the family savings to support.
"It's quite interesting. Although the subject matter is new, since it has passed the review, I think it shouldn't be a big problem." Liu Kaiwen kicked the booklet into his arms, "What exactly is the story..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw another sign next to it.
Card A: "Based on true events!"
Card B: "It has action scenes, a serious danger that affects the emotions of the nation, touching plots, and a cast of protagonists that you won't see in other movies!"
Card C: "A low-budget commercial blockbuster!"
Card D: "The director won the Golden Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival!"
Under each word card, there is a line of small words.
"This film has been approved~"
Kevin smiled after reading it and nodded: "Your selling point is quite clear."
Qiao Yiqiao also smiled: "It's better to be simple and direct."
"Yes, the project books and materials at other booths are all very varied, but yours with just a few hundred words is more comfortable and simple to read," Kevin looked at Qiao Yiqiao approvingly, "I'll ask other investor friends to come and take a look."
"OK."
Contrary to what most people imagine, the relationship between film investors is actually very subtle. When they do not have projects with similar themes, the relationship is very good because they all want to exchange and see what each other's projects are like.
Liu Kaiwen has been in this industry for more than ten years, so he naturally has many friends, many of whom are here today.
In front of Wu Gong’s stall.
"Yes, yes, yes. Director Wang Yige will be the producer of our project."
"Yes, it's a police film, but the script is innovative."
“Although this is my first time directing a feature film, I have won the top five in the Fledgling Project and have been a screenwriter, so I have some experience.”
Oh Gong is still working hard to promote his project.
But for some reason, all the investors who came seemed to have some concerns and not many of them were straightforward.
"Hey, Lao Li, I saw a very interesting project," Liu Kaiwen squeezed in and patted the shoulder of his old friend in front of him, "Do you want to go and take a look?"
Old Li was looking at Wu Gong's project book without even looking up: "What project?"
"It's a prison theme," Kevin Liu smiled, "The new director has come up with something very new."
"Prison..." Old Li looked embarrassed.
We have all been in the industry for so many years, so we naturally know which topics have red lines and should not be touched casually.
But Liu Kaiwen said softly: "The project has been approved, and the Ministry of Justice is assisting in the review. There is no problem."
As soon as these words were spoken, not only Lao Li, but also more than a dozen investors nearby pricked up their ears.
"The project has been approved?" Old Li was very surprised. "Who is the director? You said it's a new director, right? Then who is the producer? Who is the lead actor?"
He is indeed a seasoned investor.
We all know that a new director’s project would be safer if it were backed by a strong production and starring team.
"The director has won the Rotterdam Golden Tiger Award, and the script consultant is Chen Si," Liu Kaiwen introduced, "but the leading actors seem to be all newcomers..."
Lao Li's eyes dimmed a little: "Will this sell well..."
The people around him curled their lips in uncertainty.
Unexpectedly, before Lao Li finished speaking, a group of people suddenly rushed in from the hall door.
More than a dozen.
Each of those people had a short haircut and dark skin, and they were all strangers.
But in the eyes of a group of filmmakers, the first reaction was: these people have really good looks.
Then, everyone realized what these people were doing here.
Could it be some gangster coming here to seek revenge? !
But I didn’t expect them to bow to each investor obediently and hand over a booklet: “This is the project we starred in, When the Walls Collapse. Please support us.”
All the investors who were surrounded thought “Fuck”.
These people are actually movie actors?
Lao Li was also surprised and asked quickly, "Is this the movie project you mentioned?"
Liu Kaiwen hadn't recovered yet: "Is that so..."
Lao Li: "Isn't this really a performance by a criminal?"
After saying that, he took the project booklet from the group of young men with crew cuts.
Then, there was a piece of freshly copied paper inside, still steaming.
"My Resume"
Old Li was dumbfounded.
Then I looked carefully at that person's resume and was even more dumbfounded.
"He's a top student?" Old Li was completely confused. "How come he just spent more than two months in prison recently... Oh, to collect folk songs. No, why did the Ministry of Justice agree to let them go to prison to collect folk songs? What's the background of these people?"
Not only Lao Li was curious, but other investors were also very curious.
Old Li pushed Liu Kevin and said, "Quick, quick, take me to that stall!"
Liu Kaiwen laughed: "Why, you don't want to watch Wu Gong's projects anymore? Aren't you afraid that he's a new actor or director?"
"I won't watch it anymore. This is just a job. Why do we need to innovate? Who knows what will happen. Don't let me be killed by the innovation." Old Li said righteously, "What's wrong with them being all newcomers? The newcomers are so good-looking and fit the roles so well. You can't discriminate against them!"
After saying that, a group of people left the exhibition pavilion of Wu Palace and ran towards the corner of the hall.
"Hey! Don't leave!" Wu Gong said anxiously, "I haven't finished what I'm saying yet!"
"Let's take a look over there first~"
Investors are extremely perceptive. A group of them left after saying a few words.
Seeing this group of investors walking towards the corner of the exhibition hall, investors in other locations could not help but follow them.
In an instant, the entire exhibition hall had a sense of "sturgeon migration".
The focus of this migration is the exhibition pavilion in front of Qiaoyi Bridge.
Wu Gong looked into the distance and cursed: "Fuck, these guys are just changing their minds according to the situation."
He invested tens of thousands of dollars in this pavilion, but it all went down the drain.
This group of people did not come back until the end of the first day of the intermediate roadshow.
…
That night, until Qiao Yiqiao returned to the hotel, investors kept sending him messages, hoping to get a project book and expressing that they must go to the venue the next day to listen to the final roadshow of his project.
Qiao Yi Qiao calculated that he had sent out more than 400 project proposals today, which means that at least 400 investors knew about his project.
Many of them expressed their interest in the project on the spot and were willing to discuss investment matters.
But those are small companies.
The real giants in the industry, such as Huacheng Entertainment, have expressed a wait-and-see attitude.
Qiao Yi Qiao knew that they still had concerns about the quality of the content.
Because it is impossible for a venture capital firm to send the complete draft of the script to investors. At most, some people will print out the first ten scenes. However, Qiao Yi Qiao did not even show the ten scenes to any investor. He was afraid that an investor with ulterior motives might leak the content.
The only way for these investors to feel the quality of the content is through tomorrow’s final roadshow for the venture capital conference.
For some reason, Qiao Yi Qiao was quite confident.
This may be the confidence that comes after hard work.
But he did not relax. That evening he continued to revise the PPT based on the feedback given by various investors.
It’s another night of “The East is Red”.
Qiao Yiqiao looked at the rising sun.
For some reason, my heart was filled with ambition.
The ultimate roadshow started on time at nine o'clock in the morning.
Each group had a fifteen-minute presentation, followed by a ten-minute review and Q&A session.
The order of the roadshow is based on the order in which the projects were shortlisted. Qiao Yiqiao ranked 29th, and Wu Gong was the main attraction, ranking 30th.
But everyone knows that for events like venture capital conferences, the earlier the roadshow is held, the better.
Because the judges of the Golden Crane Award's venture capital conference will give scores to each project after it is presented, there is no problem of the memory becoming more profound towards the end.
But as time went on, the judges became more tired and their excitement threshold became higher, making it more difficult to perform.
Qiao Yiqiao's ranking is really not pleasing.
And the three mentors who came today are not easy to deal with.
The leader is Zheng Mao, who is over 70 years old, but still has a work released every year. He can be said to be "unremitting in writing". He has long been a regular winner of the Golden Crane Award and is famous for his strict personality.
The other two are also top-notch directors and screenwriters, and just sitting there can scare a lot of people.
However, Qiao Yiqiao's mentality is still relatively calm.
The main reason was that I was too sleepy, and my mind was full of thoughts about my speech, so I had no room to think about anything else.
Qiao Yiqiao originally wanted to listen carefully to other groups’ stories and learn from their experiences.
But unexpectedly, the stories told by the previous few groups were too bland, and the projects were all about urban romance or fantasy, which Qiao Yiqiao was not interested in at all. As a result, he fell asleep after listening to just a few sentences.
Wu Gong sat next to him with a disdainful look.
It was not until Qiao Yi Qiao woke up that he realized that they had reached the 27th group.
This is a low-budget crime film that focuses on realism. Qiao Yi Qiao had read their project book and thought it was pretty good. The two main creators were not too nervous and performed very well, finishing the story in just fifteen minutes.
But unexpectedly, what he got in return was silence from the three final judges.
Half a minute later, Zheng Maocai picked up the microphone.
“You’re the director and screenwriter, right?”
The contestant on the stage nodded seriously: "Yes, it's me, you go ahead."
"Then I want to ask you, what is the underlying motivation behind your protagonist's behavior?" Zheng Mao's voice was very low, and it made people nervous just listening to it.
The person on the stage was obviously panicked and said quickly: "He just wanted to be recognized, so he took the path of crime."
"Recognition?" Zheng Mao was obviously not satisfied with this answer. "Why does a person want recognition? Why would such recognition make him choose to commit a crime? And the crime is murder?"
"Well……"
The creator was speechless and obviously panicked.
"It's still impetuous," Zheng Mao shook his head. "Although your plot design is very exciting, the underlying motivation of the character is completely out of focus. I can tell at a glance that this is not a living character, but a character in your mind. You want him to accomplish this or that thing, so you set it up."
"No..." The creator wanted to explain, but didn't know how to explain it for a moment, "My character is a low-level person, he just wants to do this kind of thing..."
"Have you ever been a low-class person?" Zheng Mao interrupted the other person. "The underlying logic of a person who is hungry and cold is to be recognized? Doesn't he want to make money and solve the problem of hunger first? What kind of personality is this kind of person? Is he cowardly or arrogant?"
"I..." The creator's eyes turned red from choking, "I don't know..."
"Of course you don't know. I don't know either. The question I asked just now was to see if you knew it yourself, but you didn't explain it clearly." Zheng Mao shook his head, "This shows that you don't know much about your own role. I always advise creators not to write characters they don't know much about when they first start creating. That's just a bunch of idiots, superficial!"
The creator couldn't hold it in any longer and started to cry.
Qiao Yiqiao couldn't help but become nervous.
Zheng Mao waved his hand and said, "You can't even stand what I said. How can you stand the bad reviews when the movie is released? You should think about your career again. Go away."
The contestants on the stage were crying their eyes out, and the people in the audience were too scared to make a sound.
Qiao Yi Qiao also clenched his thumbs nervously.
He always knew that Teacher Zheng Mao was strict, but he didn't expect him to be so strict.
Just a few words are enough to persuade people to leave this industry.
This also greatly affected the performance of the following group of contestants, causing them to forget the lyrics like crazy.
After the presentation, Zheng Mao didn't even ask any questions, but just waved his hand and said, "With your mental quality, you can go down."
The atmosphere on the scene is about to reach freezing point.
Zheng Mao did not forget to add: "There are no good projects today. I don't know if the judges are lenient or if they just let in people who have box office appeal in those projects. If the Golden Crane Award continues to be like this, why not just not hold it? You can just let investors invest in big directors, screenwriters, and actors. Wouldn't that save a lot of trouble?"
The whole audience was shocked by these words.
In this atmosphere, Qiao Yi Qiao went on stage with everyone's distressed gazes.
Qiao Yi Qiao took a deep breath and then clicked on the first page of the PPT.
In the fifteen-minute narration, Qiao Yi Qiao talked about the conception and intention of the film bit by bit, then gave a general explanation of the plot, and finally Xiao He talked about the budget and shooting period of the film.
Everything was just like they had rehearsed.
Very smooth.
But he didn't expect that after he finished telling the story, Zheng Mao would still remain silent.
This time the silence lasted for a minute. Zheng Mao even closed his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking.
Then Zheng Mao opened his eyes and asked the first question.
"Tell me, after the earthquake, why didn't the protagonists run away?"
"Generally speaking, this can be divided into several levels," Qiao Yiqiao said without hesitation, "First, these prisoners tried to escape from prison but were stopped. The punishments after being stopped, such as 'Sunset Red' and 'Horse Kneeling', caused them great pain. They subconsciously associated this pain with escaping from prison."
"Secondly, these prisoners have established deep friendships with the police officers during the subsequent reform process. For this reason, they are unwilling to escape immediately."
"Third, in the process of building friendships with the police officers, the kindness of these originally vicious criminals was also aroused. When they saw so many of their compatriots still in the ruins, their first reaction was no longer to escape, but to save people."
"Fourth, there is a practical problem. Aba Prison is surrounded by thousands of square kilometers of mountains and forests. After the earthquake, there were heavy rains and mudslides. These prisoners have thought about escaping, but considering that the environment outside is so unsuitable for survival, they can only stay for now and think about it later."
Qiao Yiqiao answered in a neither humble nor arrogant manner and looked at Zheng Mao steadily.
Although Zheng Mao didn't say anything, his expression softened a lot.
He then asked, "How did you conceive of the scene in the middle of the film where the prisoners sang together for the long-term prisoners released from prison? How did you come up with this idea?"
"I saw it at the scene," Qiao Yiqiao answered truthfully. "I stayed in Aba Prison for two months, and this incident happened during that time. The only difference was that they sang "Flower Heart" instead of the original song in my film."
"Live here for two months?" Zheng Mao suddenly raised his eyebrows. "Then why don't you use "Flower Heart" and create something original?"
Qiao Yiqiao was silent for three seconds: "Because the copyright of "Flower Heart" is too expensive, I can't afford it."
After hearing Qiao Yiqiao's answer, the audience was silent for three seconds.
Then, there was a burst of laughter.
This is the first time today that the atmosphere is so good.
Zheng Mao also laughed: "You are quite honest, boy."
"I came to the venture capital meeting to ask for money," Qiao Yiqiao also replied with a smile, "If the investors are willing, I can also use "Flower Heart" or "My Heart Will Go On"."
Everyone was happy.
Zheng Mao let out a long sigh of relief: "Today, I finally have a decent project. Did you really stay in jail for two months just for this film?"
"Yes," Qiao Yiqiao nodded. "My first few drafts didn't go smoothly. The characters were problematic and the details were vague. Thanks to the Ministry of Justice for letting me experience life in prison, things got a little better."
"It would be great if all creators were as down-to-earth as you," Zheng Mao asked again, "I can't find fault with the logic of your character's behavior and the entire plot. Not only is the plot smooth, but some parts are also very exciting, such as the scene where everyone sings. But I want to ask, why did you choose the prison theme? You have to know that this is likely to not be a hit."
"At first I didn't want to do it, but I was working with the Ministry of Justice, and I only had a relatively good understanding of the project," Qiao Yiqiao sighed, "But after I finished it, I realized that this is not just a prison theme."
Zheng Mao became interested: "What is that?"
"In the final analysis, this is still a story about how people change," Qiao Yiqiao replied. "Some people go to prison and become confused, while others become better after entering prison. Prison is an adversity and a cage. Everyone has his or her own way of dealing with it. How to act depends entirely on one's heart."
Zheng Mao fell into silence again, and after a while he said, "Yes,
How you deal with it all depends on your heart.”
Then, he suddenly smiled again: "Actually, I can't judge your film."
The whole audience was in an uproar.
What does Teacher Zheng Mao mean by this?
Zheng Mao continued: "Because I have also been in prison."
The more than 30 judges and one hundred and eighty investors at the scene looked at each other in bewilderment.
No one expected Zheng Mao to say this!
Zheng Mao continued, "So, I know what life is like in there. The word 'prisoner' doesn't mean prisoner in the physical sense, but prisoner in the psychological sense. Do you understand what I mean?"
Qiao Yiqiao nodded seriously, "I know."
Although he didn't know exactly when Mr. Zheng Mao had been in prison, based on his age, he thought it was around that time.
"Every era has its own cage, and each person has his own cage," Zheng Mao smiled. "You are so young and yet you have thought of this. I won't ask you about your specific experiences. But I hope you can do a good job on this project. Don't be discouraged even if it doesn't sell well. With your attitude, future projects will go smoothly. That's all I have to say."
Qiao Yiqiao was deeply moved and bowed earnestly: "Thank you, Teacher Zheng Mao."
Does he have a cage in his heart? Probably yes.
But along the way, even though he was pushed forward by his younger brothers and the Ministry of Justice, he always felt that he had met too many good people.
The audience burst into warm applause.
After Qiao Yi Qiao stepped down, many investors unexpectedly lowered their heads and typed frantically, and some even went out while talking on the phone.
Qiao Yiqiao had seen this scene at the Rotterdam shopping mall.
He knew that these people were going to discuss investment with the boss, and he high-fived Xiao He.
Wu Gong couldn't help feeling a little sour when watching this scene.
Qiao Yiqiao... always seems to be able to make the impossible possible.
But he believed he could do it.
The atmosphere was now very good. Wu Gong silently encouraged himself in his heart and walked onto the stage.
He spent a lot of money to hire a professional designer to make his PPT.
He spoke with confidence throughout the entire fifteen-minute talk.
After he finished speaking, he even got so excited that he recited a poem on the spot.
"With great ambitions and aspirations, who says you can't achieve your goals in middle age?"
Everyone in the audience: "..."
So embarrassing.
This time, Zheng Mao did not remain silent. He took the microphone and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Wu Gong: “Ah?”
Zheng Mao frowned: "Your project is actually Wang Yige's script, right?"
“Yes,” Wu Gong nodded. “Because I won the Chick Project, Director Wang Yige gave me this project. I spent another year revising it and finally got the current version.”
"I've read Wang Yige's script. It's pretty average. Although it doesn't have many highlights, the character motivations and other aspects are all acceptable," Zheng Mao said mercilessly. "What the hell are these changes you made?"
Wu Gong's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
"Your character is a mess, it looks like Rambo (First Blood), Lavis (Taxi Driver), and a bit like Breslin (Escape Plan)," Zheng Mao sneered, "You simply take the dregs and discard the essence. I think you spend all your time making PPTs, right?"
Oh Gong: “Ah.”
Dare not speak.
Everyone at the scene was holding back their laughter.
It seems that Teacher Zheng Mao is really angry.
It feels so good to scold.
"You are an experienced veteran in the industry, why don't you set an example for young filmmakers?" Zheng Mao shook his head. "I don't even want to comment on your work. I'm so angry. Please leave."
Wu Gong walked off the stage with a pout.
The ultimate roadshow ended here.
It was already past three in the afternoon when the final roadshow ended, and the finalists had not left yet, waiting for the awards ceremony in the evening.
Qiao Yiqiao originally wanted to go back to the hotel to take a nap, but he didn't expect to be contacted by various investors.
Wu Gong felt his back teeth break when he saw Qiao Yiqiao being treated like a star.
However, there was no trace of Wu Gong in Qiao Yiqiao's eyes.
His hands were full of business cards and he felt a little embarrassed for a moment.
In my life... I have never fought such a rich battle! !
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