Chapter 60 Power On
The next morning, the entertainment sections of major news outlets published the news.
“When a new actor becomes a new director, is that confidence or arrogance?”
"Spending 70 million yuan of his own money to make a movie, is that a sign of confidence or a foolish act with too much money?"
"As soon as I could walk, I wanted to fly. This is the dream of a director for a student in the Performance Department of Yanying Film Academy!"
The media generally did not have a positive view on the idea of new director Gu Wei making a movie.
The media with good relations with the three major companies used gentler words. After briefly describing Gu Wei's identity and the new movie that was about to start shooting, they expressed doubts about the ability of Gu Wei as a new director.
Regarding the fact that Gu Wei paid for it out of his own pocket, I feel that the director is very courageous. Finally, I am looking forward to what kind of movie Director Gu can bring us?
As for news media like Southern Metropolis Daily, which has nothing to do with the news and prioritizes entertainment, they are very rude.
There's no need to doubt it, just mock it, and there's no need to worry about what the movie will turn out to be. Just jump to the conclusion now and say it's a bad movie.
The reason given was that Gu Wei was just a new actor, and it was simply unrealistic for him to want to be a director when he couldn't even act well.
Moreover, Gu Wei is a student at the Film Academy and is a sophomore majoring in acting.
What kind of good movie can a 21-year-old student make? Although he paid for the filming himself, he is just stupid and has a lot of money. In the end, he will lose everything.
It's no wonder the media reported it this way. Gu Wei, a new director who turned actor, could pay so much money out of his own pocket to make a movie. This is indeed newsworthy enough.
Regardless of his age, occupation and identity as an investor, they are enough to attract readers' attention in this matter.
What do news media value most? The truth? Wrong. Sales are what matter most. They will report in a way that attracts the most readers.
Everything comes first.
After all, to put it bluntly, private media is just a company doing business.
What's more, in order to attract attention, some tabloids and self-media published articles saying that Gu Wei's out-of-pocket investment in bad movies may involve money laundering, and suggested that relevant departments conduct a thorough investigation!
…
"Mr. Gu, have you seen today's media reports? What a mess they are reporting!" Chen Zhixi pushed the door and walked into Gu Wei's office, holding a roll of newspaper in his hand, and said angrily.
"Sister Zhixi, you don't have to be angry.
I had anticipated these things. After all, it's normal for people who don't know me to be pessimistic about my filmmaking.
But you see, no matter how they report it, our movie has gone viral and is popular before it even gets released.
You understand marketing. If you don't make a movie and get criticized, you're afraid that no one will know about it.
Moreover, there is still a long time before the film is completed and finally released, and we have enough time and opportunities to reverse the public's impression of this film later.
The harsher they scold now, the more painful it will be when they are slapped in the face in the end!"
Gu Wei explained in detail to Chen Zhixi.
In fact, Chen Zhixi also understood this truth, but the news she saw in the morning was so annoying that she was angry for a while. Now after listening to Gu Wei's words and calming down, she can figure out what's going on.
"However, criticism is acceptable, and pessimism is also acceptable, but some news that is directly malicious and slanderous cannot be tolerated."
Gu Wei frowned as he looked at some news on his computer. Then he asked Yang Liwen to come to his office.
"Sister Yang, some tabloids are reporting that our company is laundering money by making movies. Please notify the law firm we're working with, gather evidence, and then send them a lawyer's letter.
Ask them to retract the report and apologize in the newspaper. If they don’t agree, then sue them.”
"Understood, Mr. Gu, I'll do it right away."
Chen Zhixi listened and said
"Mr. Gu, I'm afraid these tabloids won't compromise so easily. They're not afraid of lawsuits. Win or lose, it will only increase their publicity. Even if they lose in the end, they'll just apologize, which won't cause them too much damage."
"It doesn't matter. First of all, the company must immediately clarify the rumors that we have violated the law. Suing is the best way to prove that we have no guilty conscience.
If we remain indifferent, over time, things that did not exist will leave traces in the minds of the public, and they will think that we have acquiesced, which is extremely detrimental to our image.
Secondly, if these media outlets can take us to court, it will also be beneficial to maintaining the popularity of the film. At least it will not lack exposure. The legal fees I paid will be used as the current publicity costs."
"Mr. Gu, you are really a genius in marketing." Chen Zhixi said with admiration.
[Detective Chinatown] has officially started filming and the actors have also joined the crew.
The first scenes to be filmed were two scenes in China.
One is about why Tang Ren went abroad, and the other is about why Qin Feng went abroad.
Tang Ren, played by Bao Qiang, caught his bride having an affair with his younger brother on her wedding day in the village.
When word got out, Tang Ren became the laughingstock of the entire town, with everyone looking at him with pity. Unable to continue living in China, Tang Ren finally chose to go abroad and live in Thailand.
This section is inserted into the plot and is Tang Ren's memory. It also explains the reason why Tang Ren went abroad and the origin of part of his character.
This scene was very simple to shoot. The crew had already found a shooting location, and the people in the village were all extras from the Beijing Film Studio.
Tang Ren found two prominent supporting actors for his newlywed wife and younger brother, after all, there was only one shot for them.
Originally, Gu Wei wanted to suggest to Wang Baoqiang that his wife Ma Rong make a guest appearance, but later he thought it was not a good idea and did not bring it up.
Baoqiang's agent was very clean-looking, which didn't fit the image of Baoqiang's younger brother. So the idea was abandoned.
Baoqiang has no lines in this whole scene, except for his younger brother who said "Brother, I misunderstood" after being caught.
With Bao Qiang's acting skills, it was very simple to shoot this scene, basically it could be done in one take. Gu Wei added another take just to be on the safe side.
It was also very novel for Gu Wei to be a director for the first time. He was a bit like a Hollywood director, and everything on the crew was arranged in an orderly manner by the producer and several assistant directors.
He was only responsible for shooting according to the script and shot storyboard, looking at the effect presented on the monitor, and then comparing it with the movie scenes in his memory. If there was no problem, he would shout it out, and if there was a problem, he would reshoot it.
If he saw something he was not satisfied with during the filming process, he would directly point it out to the relevant people to make changes, whether it was the costumes, props, or even the actors' actions and lines, until he was satisfied.
If there is anything you don't know or don't understand during the filming process, producer Lu Yang is there to act as an all-purpose helper.
This made him feel that being a director was an easy job when he was filming.
One of the scenes in which Qin Feng, played by Gu Wei, takes place during an entrance interview at the Criminal Police Academy.
When asked why he wanted to apply to the Criminal Police Academy, Qin Feng said expressionlessly and stammered, "I want to commit a perfect crime."
For Gu Wei, whose acting skills have reached the "proficient" level, interpreting the role of Qin Feng is a piece of cake.
The downside of directing and acting is that after filming his scenes, Gu Wei has to quickly go back to the monitor to check how the footage looks. It's a bit troublesome, unlike being an actor who only needs to film and not worry about anything else.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
