Chapter 143 Film Festival and Tangtang
In April, Gu Wei was invited to participate in the 4th Beijing International Film Festival.
Originally, Gu Wei didn't want to participate because although "The Sword Identity" was shortlisted for the main competition unit of the Tiantan Award at the film festival, he himself was not shortlisted for any award.
The Beijing International Film Festival does not have an award for Best Newcomer. His acting in "The Blade of the Assassin" was only decent and he was not nominated for Best Actor.
But Senior Brother Lu Yang called him and invited him to attend the Beijing International Film Festival.
Now it was difficult for him to refuse. After all, Lu Yang had helped him a lot. Lu Yang had a good chance of winning an award at this film festival, and he wanted Gu Wei to attend with him.
"The Sword Identity" was nominated for two awards: Best Director and Best Screenplay.
Coincidentally, both the director and the screenwriter are Lu Yang.
Since he couldn't refuse, Gu Wei had to ask the crew for a few days' leave and flew back to Beijing overnight.
The Beijing International Film Festival is guided by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, and hosted by China Central Radio and Television and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. It is an international film festival second only to the Shanghai Film Festival in China.
The Beijing Municipal Government attaches great importance to this film festival, which has only been held for four years, and attempts to make it a platform to promote the public's understanding of film culture and film technology, inspire visitors' love for movies, and build the most direct bridge between the film industry and consumers.
In addition to award selection, the most important thing for the entire film festival is to provide a platform for selling excellent films from home and abroad. The Beijing Municipal Government and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television are trying to imitate the models of the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival to create China's own international film festival.
After returning to the capital, Gu Wei first went back to the company and took some time to handle some matters.
The crew of [Yu Zui] has started filming, and the director has chosen Shenzhen as the filming location.
Producer Zhao Mingcheng brought the entire crew and all the actors to Shenzhen.
Unlike [The Princess Weiyoung], [Yu Zui] received widespread attention in the industry as soon as it was launched.
Zhang Yishan already has some traffic, and coupled with the popularity of Zhang Tianai at the time, and her team is also the filming team of "The Princess Weiyoung", all these make everyone full of expectations for this TV series that has just started.
The three major video platforms, Tencent, Kiwi, and Youku, plus the recently rapidly developing LeTV Video, all called Gu Wei's company to inquire about the filming of "Yu Zui" and see if they could reach a cooperation agreement with "Wei Ming Tian Xia" in advance.
After all, the three major video platforms that were originally evenly matched took a big step forward in early 2014 because of an online drama. Its market share surpassed Youku from second place to become the first.
These other two companies, including the up-and-coming LeTV, have all taken note.
Although Tencent Video later paid Gu Wei's company over 100 million yuan, all of this money was earned from membership fees and in-program advertisers generated by "The Princess Weiyoung."
It can be said that in the broadcast of "The Princess Weiyoung", Tencent did not take any risks and only enjoyed the benefits brought by the huge success of the online drama.
These are what other video sites envy.
The TV series can be said to be popular before it is even aired.
Sun Zhonghuai, the CEO of Tencent Video, even called Gu Wei personally, hoping that the two companies could continue to cooperate.
"Mr. Sun, I'm very grateful for your appreciation. It's not that I won't give in, the key is that the film hasn't been shot yet.
So, I also really want to maintain a long-term cooperative relationship with you. I can make you a promise that under the same conditions, I will definitely choose our Tencent Video."
"Okay, Mr. Gu, I'm relieved by your words. I look forward to our happy cooperation in the future."
Gu Wei hung up the phone and sat in the office, looking at the preparation plan for the web drama "Yu Zui" that his assistant brought to him.
【Yu Zui】is a joint production of two seasons, 12 episodes per season, for a total of 24 episodes.
The total investment is 30 million RMB, which is 10 million higher than the investment in the original time and space version 2000.
The main reason is that except for Zhang Yishan in the original time and space, the rest of the actors are all 18th-tier unknown actors.
Now this version has the most popular online drama heroine Zhang Tianai, and Li Xian also has a certain degree of popularity.
In addition to the higher expenses for the actors, the production of the crew also has to be more sophisticated than the original, so the budget expenditure is also higher.
However, Gu Wei was not worried about the profitability of "Yu Zui". Taking advantage of the fame of "The Crown Princess", "Yu Zui" shouted out the slogan created by the original team of "The Crown Princess", and attracted a large number of sponsors during the preparation stage.
After all, "Yu Zui" is a modern drama, which is convenient for product placement. Many products can be placed in the drama, which will bring in a lot of income for the crew.
Finally, after careful selection by the crew, without affecting the smoothness of the plot, five manufacturers were chosen: Lay's potato chips, Rejoice, Uni-President Iced Black Tea, Master Kong Instant Noodles, and Mengniu Milk, and product placement sponsorship contracts were signed.
The total cost of all product placements was 15 million, and half of the cost had been recovered before the TV series even started filming.
For the company, this has already minimized the risks of the TV series.
In fact, product placement as a profit-making method is common in today's film and television dramas.
Just like director Feng Xiaogang who competed with Gu Wei at the end of last year, whenever he shoots a modern drama, he must first rely on product placement to make a profit, or even make a direct profit.
As for the movie after it is released, no matter how much the box office is, it will make money.
Of course, this premise is possible because his movies are popular with everyone.
Advertisers are not fools. If they know that your movie or TV series will be a big hit, they will be willing to invest money in advertising.
If it is a small and unknown production, no advertiser will pay attention to it even if you try your best.
In the afternoon, Gu Wei made an appointment with Lu Yang and drove to the National Grand Theatre accompanied by his team members.
Meet Lu Yang at the door first.
The number of participants in this Beijing International Film Festival from the "Assassin's Blade" crew was rather pitiful, with only Lu Yang, Gu Wei and Wang Qianyuan. Many of the others were busy filming on the set and had no time. After all, there is a big gap in fame between the Beijing Film Festival and the Golden Horse Awards.
The female lead Liu Yifei also came to the film festival, but she was unable to join Gu Wei and the others.
Liu Yifei also participated in the film festival with her own film "The Last War", but this film was not nominated for any awards. It was purely used to promote it at the film festival to see if it could sell the copyright fees.
Some people may not know the movie "The Last War" but it was later renamed "The Legend of White Ghost: The Desperate Escape", which is also a Sino-foreign joint venture movie.
The starring roles are Liu Yifei and Nicolas Cage, but Cage is not worth much at this time. He is still taking on bad movies to pay off his debts. He will act in any movie as long as the money is enough.
When Gu Wei arrived, he happened to see Liu Yifei and her crew walking the red carpet. There was no Cage, only the film's foreign director and a few actors.
I waved to her from a distance, but there was no chance for us to communicate.
"Gu Wei, you're finally here. There's only one thousand yuan for the three of us at this awards ceremony."
When Lu Yang saw Gu Wei, he greeted him warmly. It was obvious that Brother Lu Yang was a little nervous. After all, he had two nominations, and he was quite concerned about the awards at this film festival.
"Brother Lu, Teacher Wang, let's go."
The three people met and greeted each other, and before they had even chatted for a while, the staff notified them to go on stage and walk the red carpet.
Gu Wei and the other two were all wearing black suits. They didn't waste any time on the red carpet and strode into the venue.
"Gu Wei, this way~"
After entering the venue, Liu Yifei, who had just greeted Gu Wei, called him from the side.
Gu Wei and Lu Yang said something and walked over.
"Sister Yifei, nice to see you again. You're not very nice. Why don't you join the crew of [Embroidered Spring Blade]?"
Liu Yifei felt a little embarrassed.
"The crew of [The Last War] came to sell the film. They were unfamiliar with the place, so as the host, I had to help them out.
Don’t we have you and Director Lu Yang in our crew?”
Gu Wei looked at the other people from the "The Last War" crew standing not far away.
"That foreigner is the director of this movie, right?"
He nodded in that direction and asked Liu Yifei in a low voice.
Liu Yifei glanced in the direction Gu Wei pointed.
"Yes, he is the director of this film, Nick Powell. The film was originally completed last year, and the director brought the film to the film festival to sell it."
"Tsk tsk~ I heard that Sister Yifei is working with Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage in this movie. How does it feel to work with an Oscar winner?"
Gu Wei asked curiously.
Liu Yifei recalled Nicolas Cage's performance during the filming and smiled somewhat reluctantly.
"It's okay, it's pretty good. You can try it if you have the chance."
Then she thought of Gu Wei's identity as the boss of the film company and urged him to speak.
"Cage is quite short of money right now. As long as you are willing to spend money, he can also appear in your movie."
Gu Wei smiled and said, "I don't need foreigners in my movie for the time being, let's talk about it later~"
After chatting with Liu Yifei for a while, the opening ceremony of the film festival was about to begin. Gu Wei returned to his seat and sat with Lu Yang and Wang Qianyuan.
This year's Beijing Film Festival can be said to be a gathering of stars, with many entertainment industry big names that Gu Wei did not know participating.
The festival's highest award is called the Tiantan Award. This year's Tiantan Award jury is chaired by renowned director John Woo, and includes emerging directors such as Ning Hao and Lu Chuan.
Big-name stars such as Huang Xiaoming, Deng Chao, Fan Bingbing, Xu Zheng and others also attended the film festival with their own films.
The National Grand Theatre was suddenly filled with stars.
Soon after the opening ceremony performance ended, the award ceremony began.
The first awards to be presented are the less important awards such as Best Cinematography and Best Music.
Then came the Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards. Perhaps to highlight the international nature of the film festival, these two awards were given to Lee Rae, the supporting actress in the Korean film "Hope", and Alan Rickman, the supporting actor in the French film "Love Is Not Blind".
The Best Actor award was then given to French actor Guillaume Gouix.
Just as everyone in the audience was discussing, the Best Actress award was finally given to domestic actress Zhang Ziyi.
Her performance in "The Grandmaster" is indeed worthy of the female lead.
Next, the Best Screenplay and Best Director awards will be announced.
Lu Yang, who was sitting next to Gu Wei, became noticeably nervous.
The result disappointed Lu Yang. The Best Screenwriter award went to "Chinese Partners" and the Best Director award went to Wang Jiawei from "The Grandmaster".
Lu Yang, who hadn't harvested a single grain of rice, looked quite disappointed. Gu Wei patted his arm to comfort him.
"Brother, don't be sad. Our film is very well made, and being nominated is an honor. Moreover, the Beijing Film Festival didn't give us an award, but we still have a chance to win other awards in the future."
After hearing what Gu Wei said, Lu Yang calmed down and returned to normal.
Just as Gu Wei said, being nominated is also an honor. Even if he didn’t win this time, he can come back with other works next time. He has confidence in himself.
After accompanying Lu Yang to the award ceremony that night, Gu Wei flew back to the Hengdian crew early the next morning.
The filming schedule for Nirvana in Fire was very heavy, and he didn't ask for too much leave from the crew.
After Gu Wei came back, he naturally integrated into the crew's filming plan.
After a period of busy and intense filming, the plot of the TV series has advanced to more than half.
Some actors have finished filming one after another. For example, Jin Dong, who played "Lin Chen", had few scenes to begin with, so he left the crew after filming was complete.
I left my contact information with Gu Wei, and we agreed to have dinner together in Beijing when we have time.
"Xie Yu" played by Liu Yijun and "Yan Hou" played by Wang Jinsong from the later group also left the stage due to plot needs.
What we are going to shoot today is a scene where "Mei Changsu" and "Princess Nihuang" recognize each other at the long pavilion.
It is considered a climax scene for the male and female protagonists in the play.
Inside the long pavilion, Tang Yan, who plays the role of Princess Nihuang, throws herself into the arms of Gu Wei, who plays the role of Mei Changsu.
"I know it's you. I know you are my brother Lin Shu."
"Mei Changsu" looked a little confused and at a loss. After a pause, he slowly hugged "Princess Nihuang" with one hand.
He raised his eyes and looked into the distance, his face showing confusion and hesitation.
"Mei Changsu" restrained his emotions, opened his mouth several times but didn't speak. After hesitating for a long time, he called out "Nihuang~".
As soon as the word "Nihuang" came out, "Mei Changsu" admitted that he was Lin Shu.
Then "Nihuang" cried and said, "Brother Lin Shu, Brother Lin Shu, please never leave me again," and threw herself heavily into the arms of "Mei Changsu".
Unlike last time, this time "Mei Changsu" hugged "Nihuang" tightly, and actively put his face close to "Nihuang". The two of them rubbed their ears together, and were very close. There was no longer the distance between them as last time when they hugged each other.
During this embrace, Mei Changsu admitted his feelings for Nihuang and how he had always loved her. He said, "I should have always taken care of you. I thought I would always take care of you."
"Cut! Okay, this scene is over~"
"Huh~" After the director shouted, Gu Wei also breathed a sigh of relief.
He and Tang Yan shot this scene together almost ten times before finally passing it.
Tang Yan was still in his arms, tears in her eyes, crying like a pear blossom in the rain.
While controlling her emotions, she said to Gu Wei, "I'm sorry, Gu Wei, my poor performance has caused you to repeat it with me."
Tang Yan always fails to get into the emotions in this scene.
After director Kong Sheng explained the play to her in detail, he no longer paid any attention to her. If she didn't perform well, he would shoot it over and over again. If she couldn't cry, she would find a way to cry herself.
In any case, the Noon Sunshine crew would definitely not provide Tang Yan with eye drops.
Finally, with the help of Gu Wei, she completed the performance by herself.
"It's okay, Sister Tangtang. Look how well you performed the last time. I think your acting has improved a lot."
Tang Yan listened to Gu Wei's gentle words. Although her eyes were still red, she couldn't help but smile, and then came out of Gu Wei's arms.
That night, Tang Yan came to Gu Wei's room as usual.
Today she wore a thin white top and a blue miniskirt, revealing her long, white and delicate legs.
With a little makeup on her face, she looks mature and lazy.
Gu Wei opened the door and let Tang Yan in.
Tang Yan was not polite at all and sat on the sofa with her long legs.
Gu Wei also sat down next to her, turned on the TV, and the two of them watched "Parents' Love" together.
Before they knew it, an episode was over. Tang Yan had placed her two long white legs diagonally on the sofa and leaned her body against Gu Wei.
Gu Wei didn't mind. He naturally stretched out one arm from behind Tang Yan and placed it on her waist.
Neither of them said anything as they maintained this position; it felt perfectly natural.
"Gu Wei, thank you.
In the Nirvana in Fire crew, you really helped me a lot."
Tang Yan suddenly spoke.
"Sister Tangtang, you don't have to be so polite to me all the time."
Gu Wei answered her softly.
At this time, Tang Yan raised her head slightly, looked at Gu Wei with her beautiful big eyes, and her lips slightly closed, looking very seductive.
She looked at Gu Wei's angular face, high nose bridge, deep eyes, and thin lips that were extremely sexy.
She swallowed unconsciously.
Gu Wei noticed her gaze and turned to look at her with some confusion in his eyes.
The two people looked into each other's eyes, their faces so close that they could feel each other's breathing.
Tang Yan couldn't help herself, she leaned her head forward and kissed Gu Wei's lips lightly.
This kiss was like a signal to Gu Wei to start a war. He pushed Tang Yan to his side and pressed his whole body on her.
Tang Yan decided when to start, but she couldn't decide when to end.
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(End of this chapter)
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