Chapter 404: Trip to South Africa
Chapter 404: Trip to South Africa
There is often a dual relationship between investors and producers in the film, television and entertainment industries. They are both partners and opponents.
This is actually the same as some of the civil engineering projects that Wang Hao participated in in his previous life, and is even similar to the decoration of ordinary people's homes.
People who spend money want to see that their money is spent effectively and they want to get what they pay for.
People who contract projects or take on jobs naturally want to make more money.
As for the methods of making more money, it is nothing more than taking advantage of information asymmetry, or deceiving and misreporting.
This situation is not uncommon in the production of film and television projects in the entertainment industry.
There is no need to elaborate on the common problem of inflated prop prices for film crews. A bow costs 70 yuan, and a costume costs more than 10 yuan. Sometimes, filmmakers even use this as a promotional point.
In addition, some big directors are most keen on building large-scale projects under the name of making movies, especially Zhang Da Huzi and Chen Shishi.
Of course, it would be nice if, like Hengdian, Tangcheng and Xiangshan, after large-scale construction of a movie, a film and television base could be left behind to promote the development of local tourism and economy.
But some directors and crews spend money and manpower to build the set, shoot a movie and then abandon it. There are some tricks involved.
Yes, that's right, I'm talking about the movie that claimed to have an investment of 5 million yuan, but was actually a script-killing movie performed in two large courtyards.
In this regard, the costumes and props in the traditional film and television circles can be said to be the hardest hit areas, and the water is extremely, extremely, extremely deep.
In the new era, newcomers in the film and television industry also have new methods, such as special effects, which are more convenient than costumes and props.
Well, I would like to criticize Meng Ershan by name here. He did the same thing in the "Fengshen Trilogy". Not only were his methods rough, but they were also very straightforward and bold. He directly set up a visual effects company called Modou Meisi Film Technology and held 70% of the shares.
The company has an office in Beijing and Los Angeles. It outsources the concept design of domestic film special effects to foreign companies, including eight outsourcing companies in Australia, the United States, New Zealand, South Korea and other countries, including Weta (the visual effects company).
The key point is that the special effects company only had one person involved in the insurance program, which really underestimates the audience's IQ.
However, these things have nothing to do with Wang Hao and the Galaxy Group. Wang Hao had personally intervened in the service, makeup, props and special effects departments of the Galaxy Group since the filming of "Buried", and had trained, managed and expanded them bit by bit.
Wang Hao doesn't dare to say that there are definitely no problems with his company, but he can absolutely guarantee that his company is a leader in the industry.
As for the "Wolf Warrior 2" currently being filmed, with Wang Hao as the director, there is no chance of any problems.
"Wolf Warrior 2" itself was invested by Galaxy Group and filmed and produced by Galaxy Pictures. The slum location built by the crew was not expensive and was used for destruction during filming.
After filming this part of the scene, the crew will raze the slum to the ground and then build other exterior scenes in the movie.
After the entire movie is completed, this place will be transformed into an amusement area with a military movie theme. This can be regarded as the first step for [Galaxy Movie City] to move towards an amusement park.
[Galaxy Cinematic Universe] There are still many military war action scenes, such as "Wolf Warrior", which can become the theme elements of this military amusement area.
For example, the real-life CS battlefield, the "Xingtian" mecha performance in "Wolf Warrior", military equipment exhibitions and experiences, and shooting games that take a boat through the jungle...
These can all be developed to become new profit-making projects for [Oriental Galaxy Cinema Metropolis]. On the one hand, they can provide an entertainment venue for Beijing citizens and tourists from all over the country. On the other hand, they can also strengthen the brand building of [Galaxy Cinematic Universe].
Universal has Universal Studios, Disney has Disneyland, and China also has Oriental Galaxy Movie Metropolis which combines the film and television with the amusement park industries.
This is not Fantawild or Happy Valley. The existence and future development of [Oriental Galaxy Movie Metropolis] will inevitably become a new business card for China's film and television cultural industry.
Of course, it is too early to say this now. The construction of the first phase of the amusement park project will not start until Wang Hao and his team finish filming the movie "Wolf Warrior 2".
Given the film industrial strength of Galaxy Pictures, the shooting speed of "Wolf Warrior 2" is actually not slow.
This film was invested and produced by four companies including Galaxy Group, Huaying Group, Moying Group and Wanda Film and Television, and produced by Galaxy Pictures. The production cost was as high as 4 million yuan, the publicity and promotion cost was million yuan, and the total cost was million yuan.
The film will be shot in May. The plan is to shoot at Oriental Galaxy Cinema for three months, then move to South Africa for 5 days of shooting, and finally return to China to complete the remaining scenes at the Galaxy Cinema in Hangzhou Bay. The entire shooting plan will take 20 months.
Currently, 2% of the first phase of shooting for Wolf Warrior 90 has been completed.
It was the end of July, and the first batch of promotional materials about "Wolf Warrior 7" were released.
The makeup posters of the relevant personnel, as well as the film's start-up and shooting and production highlights, all appeared on Galaxy Pictures' own official website and major media.
Some soft articles that were initially used for publicity and promotion have also begun to appear frequently in front of the general public of movie fans.
Galaxy Pictures has planned 1 million Chinese yuan for the publicity and distribution costs of this film. This money has to be used, at least to ensure that from now on, "Wolf Warrior 2" will appear in front of the public from time to time.
On Weibo, topics related to "Wolf Warrior 2" were quickly pushed to the top of the hot search list.
#Looking forward to "Wolf Warrior 2"#
#Wang Hao's new film#
#Wolf Warrior Wu Jing attacks#
#Yang Yang once again stars in "Wolf Warrior 2"#
Countless fans of the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe", as well as most military fans, science fiction fans, and Yang Yang's fans, have left messages under these topics, expressing how much they are looking forward to this movie.
Some veteran movie fans are even trying to speculate what new weapons and equipment will appear in Wang Hao's new military science fiction film based on sporadic information from the behind-the-scenes footage and final photos.
Just when the enthusiasm of these movie fans was ignited, the crew of "Wolf Warrior 2" finally completed the first phase of filming.
Everyone began to clean up the venue, pack their bags, and prepare to go to South Africa for the second phase of filming according to the plan that had been made long ago.
Just a few days before departure, Wang Hao received a call from South Africa.
"What? Robbed? Where's the person? Is he okay?"
Wang Hao's face changed when he received the call, and he immediately asked the person on the other end of the phone.
After receiving the information that everyone was safe, he immediately criticized the person in charge on the other end of the phone with a serious face.
"What did I tell you to be careful? I told you to be careful, be careful, be careful, and be careful. What did you do?
How can I feel at ease when you guys are doing this before the main force arrives?"
Wang Hao's call lasted about half an hour. After he hung up, Jing Tian walked to his side and handed him the tea.
"What happened?" Jing Tian asked softly.
Wang Hao took a sip of the warm tea from the cup, and his anger subsided a lot. He replied:
"The advance team of the crew in Africa was robbed locally."
"Ah, is he okay?" Jing Tian was surprised. Wang Hao shook his head, "He's fine, just a little frightened by the gun pointing at him."
"That's fine, that's fine."
Jing Tian patted her chest, and because she was wearing a silk suspender nightgown, ripples of white light appeared on her chest.
"What's good about that? Before we set off, I told Lao He, who was in charge of the frontline battle, to be careful when he went out.
It's different over there than in China, there's no gun ban and the situation there is chaotic. Once you get there you must listen to the tour guide and security personnel, which resulted in this kind of thing happening.
Fortunately, he was fine, otherwise he wouldn't have to stay in the company.
No, I still have to emphasize the safety issue of going out again. "
Wang Hao said angrily.
The next day, all the members of the "Wolf Warrior 2" crew who planned to go to South Africa received the instructions sent to them by director Wang Hao.
[The work belongs to Wang Hao, but life belongs to himself. During the filming of the movie "Wolf Warrior 2" in South Africa, the crew is requested to abide by the following disciplines.
1. It is strictly forbidden to act alone. If you insist on traveling alone, please inform your family of your bank card number and password in advance.
2. Chinese and African staff should always maintain unity. If communication is not smooth, please do not habitually use the English words you are most familiar with. At the same time, be careful not to say "this" or "that" when speaking Chinese. If communication is necessary, please contact the translator in time to avoid misunderstanding.
3. When shooting in the wild, do not trespass into unfamiliar environments, especially in the lion park. Do not stretch your limbs out of the window. Open the window and stretch your hand out, and your loved ones will burst into tears.
4. Don’t act cool on rainy days to avoid being struck by lightning. Cherish your life and stay away from big trees.
5. Pay attention to your words and deeds during work and life. As a representative of the motherland, you can get tanned, but you cannot smear yourself.
6. If you encounter danger, please promptly reveal your Chinese identity and remember the contact information of the crew leader and the local embassy. Sometimes your passport may save your life.
...]
The few things to pay attention to made the crew members of Wolf Warrior 2 nervous.
Because every point of attention in these matters seems to indicate that their filming trip to South Africa is not that safe.
Some members who originally thought that this overseas work trip was similar to a trip, put away their relaxed attitude towards play.
At least they all knew that their boss was an extremely reliable person. If the matter was not really serious, he would definitely not send these things to them personally.
Soon after, the precautions written by Wang Hao were posted online by some member of the crew, and quickly aroused widespread heated discussion among netizens.
Especially when netizens saw the 8 precautions below, most of them almost laughed like crazy, thinking that these things were both dangerous and funny to write down.
Of course, the crew members of "Wolf Warrior 2" couldn't laugh, but no matter whether they laughed or not, when it was time to set off, they had to board the plane with the main group.
However, when they actually landed in South Africa, they found that the actual situation in South Africa was slightly better than they had imagined.
At least when they came out of the Zambian airport, several cars and a dozen black guys immediately protected them and escorted them to the hotel in the embassy area.
For a period of time afterwards, these black guys appeared around the crew closely to protect them and also to prevent any accidents to the members of the "Wolf Warrior 2" crew.
This was all thanks to Wang Hao's instructions to the advance team before departure, asking them to double the security scale.
Of course, according to the local tour guide hired by the crew, doing so is actually useless.
Because hiring bodyguards is mainly for guarding against wild animals, it is useless for guarding against people.
The so-called black bodyguards are actually a few people who have paid protection fees and serve as human slogans to tell others that you have paid the money and don't mess around. If you really encounter something, they will only run faster than you, and they will be the first to surrender when a fight breaks out.
In addition, the tour guides also told Wang Hao and his friends that they must carry cash when traveling here, and it would be best if they could exchange it for some gold, not for consumption, but to save their lives at critical moments.
Once you encounter a robber, give him whatever he wants. Even take off your underwear and give it to him. It is not shameful to go home naked, but if you lose your head, you really lose it.
Anyway, what the tour guides and bodyguards said was very scary, and this successfully made everyone in the crew calm down and follow the group to complete the filming task honestly, without any trouble such as running away.
Although no one caused any trouble, the crew still encountered many small problems while filming in this strange foreign country.
When the crew arrived at the wild lion park in South Luangwa National Park to shoot relevant scenes, a photographer in their crew was bitten by an unknown poisonous spider.
I have to say that the poisonous creatures here are very powerful. Although the crew sent the photographer to the hospital as soon as he was bitten, the whole process was still very thrilling.
A fist-sized purple lump immediately appeared on the ankle of the bitten photographer. The medical staff in the group immediately made an incision with a scalpel, squeezed out the black poisonous blood, and performed cleansing at the same time.
However, even so, on the way to the hospital, the photographer still suffered paralysis on one side of his body.
Fortunately, his condition was not uncommon in the local area, and the doctors in the hospital were accustomed to it, so they immediately provided treatment.
By the third day, this member of the photography crew was able to walk successfully.
The crew of "Wolf Warrior 2" traveled through many countries in South Africa amid numerous difficulties and dangers, filming in Soweto slums, African savannah, South Luangwa National Park, Masai Mara National Reserve and other places. Finally, according to the original plan, they successfully completed the overseas filming mission in early September.
After completing the mission, the crew members did not stay in the local area for long. They were almost eager to board the plane, just to return to China as soon as possible.
However, when the crew of "Wolf Warrior 2" arrived at Xiaoshan International Airport after a long flight, their return failed to attract the attention of media reporters.
Because just two days before they returned to China, that is, at around 9:13 in the evening of September 7, the famous singer and actress Wang Fei posted an important message on Weibo.
The content of the message is:
"This is the end of our marriage in this life. I'm fine, take care of yourself too."
(End of this chapter)