Chapter 813 Hollywood and Drama
Things in the capital were almost settled, and Gu Wei flew to Zhejiang Province to join the team and start filming [Changjin Lake].
There are three directors in Changjin Lake, and each has its own division of labor during filming.
Chen Kaige is good at filming literary dramas, and is responsible for Huzhou, Beijing, and the expedition; Lin Chaoxian is good at action scenes, and is responsible for the Incheon landing battle, rock formations, and village battles; Xu Ke is good at visual effects and action, and is responsible for a few literary dramas, the ice sculpture company, and the daily routine of the U.S. military.
Of course, this is just a rough idea. The actual shooting was not so detailed, and the three directors were involved in many scenes.
[Changjin Lake] is said to star Wu Jing and Gu Wei, but it is essentially a group drama.
The brothers Wu Qianli and Wu Wanli serve as central characters to connect the entire "Changjin Lake" story.
Others, such as Li Chen and Hu Jun, platoon leaders of the seventh company, instructor Zhu Yawen, sniper Han Dongjun, commander of the third battalion Duan Yihong, etc., each role is very full.
In addition, teacher Tang Guoqiang's chairman, teacher Liu Jin's prime minister, Zhang Hanyu's commander of the Ninth Corps, Huang Xuan's Mao Anying, Ou Hao's Yang Gensi and other real figures in this period of history.
Everyone jointly presented this great and difficult historical episode.
For the filming of "Changjin Lake", Yu Dong almost cast aside actors with tough temperaments who are suitable for playing military roles.
After Gu Wei joined the group, he first met with the three directors.
Lin Chaoxian was an old acquaintance and there was nothing to say. The two of them had a drink together more than half a month ago.
Xu Ke is very enthusiastic about Gu Wei.
"When we were filming [Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons], Stephen Chow and I both wanted you to play the role, but unfortunately we couldn't work together in the end. Now that I think about it, I still feel a little regretful"
"Sing Yeh and Director Xu are both directors that I like very much. I was very sorry that I missed the opportunity to collaborate because there was no schedule at the time."
As for greetings, of course you praise me a few words and I compliment you a few words. They are all beautiful words. It doesn't matter whether they are true or not. With this attitude, the relationship between everyone can be shortened quickly.
"When I was a child, I especially loved watching Director Xu's Once Upon a Time trilogy, as well as the previous film [Flying Swords of Dragon Gate]. In my mind, they are both classics of martial arts movies."
"Haha, you don't like my movies, you like Li Lianjie"
"It's not contradictory. I always think that in Director Xu's movies, Mr. Li Lianjie is the real Kung Fu Emperor!"
Tsui Hark was very happy with what Gu Wei said and kept saying that he would definitely invite him to shoot a kung fu movie in the future.
"I have seen your performance of [Xiu Chun Dao]. You have good skills and look beautiful when playing.
I can make more action movies in the future.
You are still young now, and your international influence may not be greater than that of Chen Long and Li Lianhe in the future.”
In terms of popularity and domestic box office results, Gu Wei can now beat the two Kung Fu superstars.
But its international influence is far less than that.
Especially Cheng Long, whose global popularity is incomparable to that of Gu Weiyuan today.
But as Xu Ke said, Gu Wei is still young and has unlimited possibilities in the future.
Cheng Long and Li Lianlian may not be able to beat him at his age.
"Director Xu is so commendable. Brother Cheng Long and teacher Li Lianlian are international superstars who have influenced a generation. I am still far away."
"Your popularity has reached a peak in China. Have you considered going to Hollywood for a while?
Although the domestic film market is already very large, it is ultimately a single market. If you want to become famous globally, you still have to rely on Hollywood films.”
Xu Ke's ideas are a bit old-school, but there is nothing wrong with what he said.
Judging from Gu Wei's achievements over the years, he has basically reached a peak in domestic entertainment. If he wants to reach a higher level, he must either go to Hollywood like Cheng Long and Li Lianlian, or wait for China to surpass the United States and become the global entertainment industry. The largest country, by then Chinese films will naturally be as popular around the world as Hollywood blockbusters are now.
"In fact, in the past two years, many Hollywood film companies have come to invite me to act in movies. Unfortunately, the scripts and roles are not good.
Even if I want to make a Hollywood movie in the future, what I want is for everyone to work together and take the path of co-production.
I don’t want to join simply as an actor.”
Xu Ke nodded.
"That's okay. With your status, if they want the domestic market, they should make concessions"
After chatting with Xu Ke for a few words, Gu Wei met Brother Chen Kai again.
Unlike Xu Ke's enthusiasm, Director Kai Ge was much more reserved when facing Gu Wei.
It was also the first time for the two of them to collaborate. After meeting, they chatted a few words to get to know each other better.
It felt to Gu Wei that Director Chen wanted to have a relationship with him, but due to his status as a senior, he couldn't take the initiative to do anything, which gave people a sense of contradiction.
"How is it? Director Xu is pretty good, right?"
Wu Jing arrived a few days earlier than Gu Wei, and he came to visit Gu Wei as soon as he settled in after joining the team.
"Director Xu was very enthusiastic and we chatted for a few words. He said that he would definitely invite me to play the leading role in his new drama in the future."
"Haha, I think he may have had this idea before, but he just didn't have the right opportunity"
Gu Wei shrugged: "I like many of Director Xu's works, so having the right opportunity to collaborate is not a problem.
He also advised me to develop my career in Hollywood if I have the opportunity."
"Oh? What are your plans?" Wu Jing asked curiously.
As one of the two people with the highest box office performance in domestic entertainment, Wu Jing's fame and appeal are second only to Gu Wei.
A company from Hollywood also approached him, so he wanted to know Gu Wei's thoughts.
"Plan? No plan.
Our basic base is the domestic film market. I will definitely not go back to Hollywood, but I will not exclude cooperation if there are suitable scripts and opportunities.
Of course, the premise is that I am satisfied with the script and the characters. ”
"It makes sense." Wu Jing couldn't help but nodded.
"In fact, Disney approached me last year and wanted me to play the leading role in a superhero movie."
"Oh? Is there such a thing?
Didn't you agree? "Wu Jing asked in surprise.
He doesn't know much about Marvel and DC comics, but he knows that current Hollywood superhero movies are the real mainstream.
[Avengers 4: Endgame] has a global cumulative box office of US$2.7 billion, second only to [Avatar], ranking second in global film history.
The film's cumulative box office in China has also reached 4.895 billion yuan, making it the box office champion of China's imported films.
"No, I asked Disney to play [Shang-Chi].
This superhero is suspected of insulting China and is too controversial for me to accept.
I read the script of [Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings], and Disney did make a lot of compromises in order to please the domestic market, but it’s a pity that the character is not fundamentally sound”
Wu Jingding nodded.
"You really can't play such a controversial role.
But for the protagonist of a superhero movie, this kind of opportunity is really rare.”
Wu Jing and Li Lianlian have a very good relationship. They both came from Shichahai Sports School and can be regarded as brothers.
In his early years, Wu Jing wanted to follow the path of his senior brother Li Lianlian, but unfortunately he never became famous, let alone developed in Hollywood.
However, as a rare action star in the industry, he has always had great expectations for filming Hollywood action movies.
His "Wolf Warrior" series is essentially based on classic action movies such as "First Blood".
"Haha, there is nothing to regret. If there is one, there will be two. [Shang-Chi] It was Disney who came to me proactively, and it was not me trying to fight for the opportunity.
Now, unlike more than ten or twenty years ago, Hollywood is coveting the domestic market and will naturally find ways to please us.
Don’t talk about me, Brother Jing will also have opportunities in the future, and I don’t know when a Hollywood film company will come to visit.”
Gu Wei remembers that Warner Bros. came to him and asked to cooperate with Wu Jing in "The Meg 2".
[Changjin Lake] is really difficult to photograph.
Gu Wei has made more than ten movies in so many years in the industry, but this is the first time he has made such a difficult movie.
First of all, the crew of [Changjin Lake] is too huge.
The crew has had thousands of people working on site every day since filming began, and sometimes there are tens of thousands of people including extras.
Every shot and every scene almost requires the mobilization of a shooting team of more than a thousand people and extras.
This makes coordination a top priority for the crew.
Secondly, the movie has almost no interior scenes, all shots were shot on location, and there are a lot of night scenes.
It's January now, and the filming location is in a mountainous area. The temperature is usually over ten degrees below zero, and the wind is very strong in the mountains, making the shooting conditions very difficult.
"Bah, bah, bah!"
After filming a scene, Gu Wei, who was lying on the ground, sat up and spat out the "snow flakes" in his mouth.
The scene just now was a scene in the snow.
There was no snow in the sky, but the snow flakes made of sweet potato powder were blown by the blower installed by the crew, and they easily got into the eyes and mouth.
"Would you like some hot water?"
Wu Jing next to him handed over a water glass.
"Thank you~"
Gu Wei took it and took a sip.
"Your movie [Tang Detective 3] has been very popular these days. To be honest, I'm looking forward to it. I've watched the first two movies"
"Thank you, I won't let you down"
"The competition for the Spring Festival this year is very fierce, but I feel that if there are no surprises, your movie will definitely take the top spot.
Then there may be Lu Yang’s [Assassination of Novelists] and Zhou Xun and Chen Kun’s [Samurai God Order].”
As an actor and director, Wu Jing is very concerned about the upcoming Spring Festival in 2021.
With the blessing of the "Tang Detective" series IP and Gu Wei's own fame, "Tang Detective 3" is undoubtedly the biggest hit this year.
Then there are Lu Yang, Lei Jiayin and Yang Mi's "Assassination of Novelists" and Zhou Xun and Chen Kun's "Samurai God Order". Both of them are fantasy action movies, and they are also very exciting judging from the trailers.
"[Tang Detective 3] is definitely fine, but I'm very excited about Jia Ling's movie [Hello, Li Huanying]."
"Shen Teng's comedy?"
Jia Ling's directorial debut still used the Shen Teng card when promoting it.
“Brother Teng is the supporting actor, but it’s not important.
Her story is quite touching, and comedies are always popular during the Spring Festival.
By the way, are we going to transfer to Taizhou Xianju tomorrow? ”
Wu Dingding nodded: "Go over there and shoot the script and start the scene"
Gu Wei thought for a while: "I have to talk to the director after the show today. I have sorted out the scenes for the character Wu Wanli, and many of them need to be revised.
I just took this opportunity to propose it, and I can shoot according to my ideas in the future."
"You really changed the script!" Wu Jing was a little surprised.
"Did you think I was joking with you before?
Since I took this role, I have to be responsible for the movie and my role. ”
Although Wu Wanli had a clear growth line in the original script, Gu Wei felt that the character was actually a bit templated and not realistic and full-featured enough.
The first is the appearance. Wu Wanli is rebellious and stubborn, a naughty boy who has not yet grown up, but in fact he should show a certain amount of admiration and yearning for his brother Wu Qianli, instead of simply being disobedient and confronting him.
Although he was not sensible, he could vaguely feel that what his eldest and second brothers were doing was something great and worthy of pride. This was also the reason why he later took the initiative to join the army without telling his family.
Then there is the growth line behind Wu Wanli.
In the script, he has excellent bomb-throwing talent. After several battles and life and death, he finally became a qualified soldier.
But this is not enough.
The reason why our army is strong and tenacious is that the People's Liberation Army is the people's army, and every soldier knows why he fights.
The growth Wu Wanli needs is not only in military skills, but also in the transformation of personal thinking.
Being able to shoot and drop bombs, learning to kill is nothing, knowing what to fight for, and becoming a proletarian revolutionary warrior with faith is the real growth.
And these can be reflected in the movie through some detailed descriptions.
For example, the conversation with Thunder Lord, the teachings of his brother and the instructor can completely transform the characters in the several battles in [Changjin Lake].
"Um~ Do you want me to come with you?" Wu Jing thought for a while and asked.
"Do you also have ideas for your own role?"
"A little bit, mainly in literary and opera aspects."
Gu Wei nodded.
"In this case, I will call the producers Yu Dong and Huang Jianxin, call the three directors, and we will have a small exchange meeting.
As you said before, we are all for the good of the movie, and we will discuss and resolve any issues."
"That's OK."
The exchange meeting in the evening was relatively successful. Of course, this was Gu Wei's fault.
In response to his various suggestions for revising the script, Lin Chaoxian smiled and looked as if he had expected it. Xu Ke was a little surprised, but he was not very good at grasping the content. He felt that Gu Weixian's opinions were very reasonable. There were no comments, only Brother Chen Kai frowned from beginning to end.
"If we do this, some of the originally planned scenes will have to change. What about the personnel scheduling issues involved?" Brother Chen Kai questioned.
"Actually, the impact is not big. Most of the changes I made were my own scenes, mainly in terms of lines and expressions, and some dialogues with other actors. The specific shooting scenes have not changed."
Director Chen wanted to say something else, but Yu Dong was on the side to smooth things over.
"What Mr. Gu said makes sense. According to his ideas, the depth and conception of the characters have indeed improved to a higher level.
We can decide it first and then see the effect when shooting.
What does Teacher Lan think? ”
As a screenwriter, Lan Xiaolong smiled: "I have no objection. When I wrote the script, I focused on the big picture and didn't delve so deeply into each specific character.
I feel that Gu Wei has really understood the character of "Wu Wanli" and wants to play him well."
Brother Chen Kai opened his mouth to say something, but when he looked at the other two directors and other creative staff sitting in the room, he suddenly felt that he was alone.
Feeling a little uninterested, I waved my hand.
"Then let's do this for now."
(End of chapter)