Zhang Yimou + Sun Tao were originally a strong alliance, and short time and low investment were not a big problem. Johnnie To's "Gunfire" only cost more than 2 million yuan and took 19 days. Speaking of which, Zhang Yimou spent a lot more time and budget on filming than Johnnie To. Times.
In fact, the key to the problem lies in the cast. The male protagonist Zhang Songwen graduated from a tourism vocational school. After graduation, he worked as a printing factory worker, beverage salesperson, air-conditioning installer, hotel waiter, restaurant manager, and finally a tour guide. He won the title of the best tour guide in Guangdong Province. In 2000, he entered the vocational class of the Film Academy and stayed in school to become a teacher after graduation.
This so-called teacher just sounds nice. Everyone knows that the external teachers are actually temporary workers.
Although Zhang Songwen performed well in school, he has no experience. His work experience shows that he has starred in "The Price of Love" starring Jiang Wu, Weng Hong, and Fu Biao. Zhang Songwen's name is not even in the cast list. It is obvious that he He is just a bit player inside.
The heroine Zeng Li used to be a Peking Opera actor. After graduating from drama school, she directly joined the art troupe and had little experience in film and television dramas. The only TV series she participated in was called "Brothers of the Family", but there was no TV station to broadcast it, let alone ratings. By the way, Zeng Li is not the protagonist. He is better than Zhang Songwen, right? Zeng Li's name is in the cast list.
This cast immediately confused the theater chain. Later, someone revealed the inside story. Zhang Songwen used his identity as a teacher at Yanjing Film Academy to help promote the admissions of an art examination school invested by Sun Tao. He even heard that not only He actually took part-time classes to help promote enrollment.
Therefore, Zhang Songwen's choice as the leading actor should be the result of the help from screenwriter and investor Sun Tao. Human nature is sophisticated;
As for the heroine Zeng Li, one glance at her resume shows that she is a college classmate of the current girl Zhang Ziyi. There are all kinds of gossips about pimping, hugging and hugging.
It just so happened that after Zhang Yimou finished filming "Manslaughter", he was suddenly inspired and went to Japan. As for what he was going to do, he didn't say anything on Weibo.
Some people said they saw him getting on the plane with two women, etc., etc. This matches up with the previous rumors.
As for Sun Tao, before the Spring Festival, he suddenly announced that he would be working on "The Voice of China". Compared with film screenwriters, people in the industry recognized his positioning as a variety show star more. The news has been swirling around who the four major mentors are. .
Seeing that the film is about to be released, the director and producer are acting as if nothing is wrong. Well, it cannot be said that there is no publicity at all. Zhang Yimou mentioned on Weibo yesterday: His new film "Manslaughter" will be released on March 5th. This film is a work that I am very satisfied with. The story itself is very interesting and the performances of the actors are also remarkable.
Lao Mouzi finally sent a photo of himself thanking him.
Producer Sun Tao retweeted Zhang Yimou's Weibo,,,,, well, yes, he just retweeted it and that was it.
In sharp contrast to these two people are Zhang Songwen and Zeng Li. They followed almost all their friends and classmates in the circle of friends, but the results were very little. Zhang Songwen only had more than 30,000 followers, and Zeng Li had more followers. Just 120,000, this kind of attention is the level of an ordinary 18th-tier star.
Ranking of the movies most anticipated by viewers on Douban.com.
The first place goes to "The Myth" starring: Jackie Chan, Kim Hee Sun, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Sun Zhou, Shao Bing.
The second place goes to "Initial D" starring: Jay Chou, Suzuki Suzuki, Edison Chen, Anthony Wong, Shawn Yue.
The third place went to the starring actors of "Slaying the Wolf": Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Simon Yam, Liu Qizhi, and Wu Jing.
……
There are five movies on each page of Douban.com, and "Manslaughter" is ranked second to last on the fourth page and nineteenth. It looks very high, but in fact there were only 32 known movies in 2005. According to the past Based on our experience, we don’t even have to say whether a movie can make money or not. There are only a dozen movies that can really last in theaters for a week.
(The contradictory movie was removed from the shelves in two days with a box office of 1.49 million, and Xiao Yang’s film was removed from the shelves in half a day.)
If you think about it carefully, who would buy a ticket and enter the theater if they are not ordinary viewers of the top five movies?
Some commentators predict that the box office of "Manslaughter" will probably not exceed 2 million, and some even think that the movie will be removed from the shelves within one day of its release. Some people also say that it is a good thing that the radio and television did not introduce American blockbusters this year, otherwise films like "Manslaughter" would not be able to enter theaters at all...
——
Li Xiaojun was very happy about Wu Xiaoying's arrival. After introducing the situation nonstop, she sighed softly, "Oh! You have been by his side these days. Do you know that he wants to make a movie again?"
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Wu Xiaoying, "Well, I know that. I was there when he talked to Luo Yu about this in Buckingham that day."
"Qin Shuang, go make two cups of green tea."
"Huh? Oh..."
While she was listening intently, Li Xiaojun unexpectedly asked her to make tea. Qin Shuang was stunned for a moment and realized that she was not yet in the inner circle. She agreed and stood up and walked away.
Li Xiaojun leaned slightly on the sofa, "Sun Tao once told me that if the rich second generation is not talented and intelligent, then the best way out is to be a playboy, eating, drinking, having fun and waiting to die. The most afraid of them is investing in starting a business.
Now I would rather he stop bothering..."
Wu Xiaoying frowned and twisted her head, "What's wrong? In the past, you were the person who trusted him the most?"
Li Xiaojun turned to look at the office, where there was a photo of his son during the day.
"In the past, he was too smooth, almost like a god who could succeed in anything he did. "Manslaughter" will probably be his first hurdle. What I'm worried about is that he seems to be calm on the surface but actually wants to prove himself."
Wu Xiaoying said, "You are afraid that he will fall into a vicious circle in his eagerness for success."
Li Xiaojun lamented, "If it's a small production every time, we can't afford to lose money. I'm afraid that one day he will suddenly get motivated and blame the failure on insufficient investment. Hahaha, what if he suddenly needs to invest tens of millions one day? Making a movie would be a disaster for the company.”
Wu Xiaoying, "Didn't you persuade him?"
"How many times have I called him? You still don't know what he is like. He is always full of confidence, ugh~"
……
Saturday, March 5, 2005.
At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Sun Tao arrived at the Capital Cinema on West Chang'an Street. This is the largest cinema in Yanjing, and most movies will have their premieres here.
There is a difference between a premiere and a public release, and not all movies will have premieres.
Whether or not to hold a premiere is actually decided by the producer based on the type, budget and marketing strategy of the film. Some big-budget films or films with important publicity needs are more likely to hold premieres, while some small-budget or independent films may not hold premieres.
Although "Manslaughter" is a small production, its director is Zhang Yimou after all. (End of chapter)