Chapter 461: Dedicated Filming
Chapter 461: Dedicated Filming
The news of the groundbreaking of [Galaxy Park] was broadcast on CCTV's news channel that evening.
Of course, this news did not cause much response on the Internet. After all, the construction has just started, and it will take another four or five years before the theme park is officially opened. When that time comes, it is hard to say what the specific situation will be.
But for Shangjing City, especially the local government of TZ District, this is undoubtedly a grand event worthy of publicity.
After all, the launch of such a large-scale cultural and tourism project as Galaxy Park means that the entire area may undergo earth-shaking changes in the next few years - not only will it bring huge economic benefits, but it will also become a new landmark for urban culture and tourism.
During this process, leaders at all levels naturally frequently appeared at the construction site, participated in inspections, and took photos. Whether it was to demonstrate the government's efforts or to increase the exposure of the project, they all hoped to take this opportunity to demonstrate their leadership ability and presence.
This seemingly everyday "political show" actually contains huge social and economic potential. Even before the project started, the real estate market and cultural tourism industry in the TZ zone had already ushered in a wave of great development.
As the project progresses, this area will become a key development zone in the next few years, attracting a large amount of private investment, tourists and media attention.
However, compared with those leaders' frequent "tours", Wang Hao seemed more calm and focused.
He returned to the crew of "Ball Lightning" and continued to devote most of his energy to the filming and production of this work.
For him and the crew members, the adaptation of this film was a bold challenge.
Because there are obviously certain problems in the narrative structure of the original work.
The simplest thing is that the original novel is written from a first-person perspective. Although this gives the novel a stronger sense of immersion, it also makes the whole story a bit confusing.
In addition, there are certain problems with the content of the story. It is not four or five years later now. It would not work to just shoot it according to the conflict in the original book. Even if Wang Hao has the strong support of his leaders and even if this is just a movie, it would not work.
Therefore, Wang Hao and the screenwriter team made drastic adjustments to the content of "Ball Lightning". It can even be said that the structure of the entire story has undergone fundamental changes.
Moreover, during the adaptation process, Wang Hao not only had to solve the problems of plot and perspective in the original work, but also hoped to show deeper artistic pursuits through innovations in the film structure.
After all, he is an internationally renowned director. It is not excessive for him to have some pursuit in the art of film, right?
Of course, he is well aware that movies, especially his own movies, are all commercial and are tools for entertaining the public. It is a waste of time to plunge into the framework of film art like Feng Xiaogang did, hoping to express ideas, explore human nature, and present aesthetics through his works.
He is just not satisfied with the traditional narrative method, but hopes to bring a brand new viewing experience to the audience through a more experimental structure.
In particular, the creation of the important role of Dr. Chen Ang in "Ball Lightning" is the top priority in film production.
Dr. Chen is not only one of the two protagonists of this film, but also a very distinctive thought carrier in the entire [Galaxy Cinematic Universe]
He embodies too many complex elements: wisdom, loneliness, emotional struggle, and the desire, exploration and pursuit of the unknown world.
In order to make this character more charming and profound, Wang Hao not only required actor Wang Zhiwen to perform to the utmost, but also was strict with his co-stars and Li Jian, who played the young Dr. Chen.
At the same time, he also hopes to give this character a kind of "style" in visual language - a sense of depth that is beyond the scope of ordinary people's understanding.
Therefore, every scene and every detail in the movie must be carefully designed to add more depth and meaning to the characters and the story.
Every frame and every line of dialogue strives to show Dr. Chen Ang’s unique personality and inner world.
For Wang Hao, this work is no longer just a purely commercial film, it is also an expression of artistic creation and a bold attempt by him as a director in film language and emotional expression.
This is indeed extremely bold, because compared with Wang Hao's previous works, "Ball Lightning" is completely original. Before Wang Hao traveled through time, this novel was still in the process of project establishment. He did not have any reference materials, nor did he know how to shoot this work so that it would be accepted by the public.
But he is not afraid. On the one hand, his hard work and success over the years have given him enough courage and experience. On the other hand, he has great confidence in the film industrialization system he has built.
This is the result of Galaxy Group's 10 years of hard work and development, representing the most advanced technology, personnel, venues and equipment in China's film and television industry. If after so many years of development, he still can't make a good science fiction commercial film, then Wang Hao would have wasted his title as a time traveler.
Therefore, he is confident that his film "Ball Lightning" will be an extremely challenging and experimental work in the history of Chinese cinema.
Whether it is the breakthrough in narrative structure or the complexity of character creation, it will give the audience a brand new movie-watching experience. In the future, the audience will also be able to discover more levels and excitement in this work.
Wang Hao's high standards and high requirements for this film naturally put a lot of pressure on the members of the "Ball Lightning" crew.
"Crack!"
Wang Hao watched Wang Zhiwen's performance on the monitor and shouted.
"Teacher Zhiwen, you need to be more indifferent to emotions. Dr. Chen is already in a state of transformation at this time. From soul to body to mind, he is no longer human. Human emotions are not that strong in him. It is more of a taste and an experiment."
Wang Zhiwen stood in front of him, listening to him talk about the play while thinking deeply. After Wang Hao finished speaking, he nodded.
"Okay, Director, I'll try again."
After tidying himself up, Wang Zhiwen returned to the camera, calmed his breathing, gathered his emotions, and then nodded slightly.
Wang Hao, who had been staring at him, immediately noticed this and quickly shouted "Start".
"boom!"
Wang Zhiwen slammed the table. The sound was not loud, but the force of his slam was enough to scare the white supporting actor who was acting opposite him.
Then we saw Wang Zhiwen starting to speak his lines with suppressed anger, and the rhythm of his lines was very rhythmic, which made people unable to help but listen attentively and subconsciously think about what he said.
After Wang Zhiwen finished reading his lines and the actors he was acting with gave corresponding feedback, the scene was quiet for a moment and everyone's heart was lifted.
They had been filming the scene for nearly an hour and a half since 10 a.m. If they continued, not to mention whether Wang Zhiwen could handle it, the filming schedule would have to be adjusted later. "Okay, this time we passed!"
Finally, Wang Hao shouted out the words that everyone wanted to hear. The staff hurriedly took their positions, cleaned up the venue, and prepared to take the time to eat lunch and rest.
As for Wang Zhiwen, although the long and high-intensity performance consumed a lot of his energy, he still brought a lunch box to Wang Hao during meals and discussed character-related issues with him.
In this tense state, Wang Hao and the crew members of "Ball Lightning" spent almost the entire month of November in the studio of [Oriental Galaxy Movie Metropolis].
Unlike other crews, it is not easy to ask for leave for Wang Hao.
Galaxy Pictures has extremely strict management of its crews. Even the most big-name actors and stars have to abide by the rules and film according to the plan.
Moreover, under the perfect industrial system, the shooting and production of movies are different from the past. Everyone's responsibilities are clearer. Every member of the crew is like a part of a precision instrument, and each member has their own role. This makes their crew look very busy, and the management costs seem to have increased a lot, but the efficiency has increased significantly.
The loose management model of traditional China is rarely seen in [Oriental Galaxy Movie Metropolis]. What is left is only bustling and orderly.
The crew members worked hard and the filming of "Ball Lightning" was progressing rapidly.
Of course, during this process, Wang Hao was promoted to the chairman of Galaxy Group. It was impossible for him to be completely indifferent to the outside world and the company's affairs.
Apart from anything else, it is already November now, the New Year's Day period is approaching, and the Spring Festival period of the new year is not far away. Of course, the Galaxy Group must also start preheating the movies for these two periods in advance.
Among them, the New Year's Day period in December is full of blockbusters.
The war-themed disaster film "The Crossing", produced by Pony.com and Youzu Pictures, directed by John Woo, and starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Ziyi, Tong Dawei and other international movie stars, will be released in mainland China on December 12.
The film is based on the sinking of the China United Shipping Company's ship Taiping, which was sailing from the mainland to Taiwan in January 1949. It tells the story of how three couples from different backgrounds were affected by the tide of history over a period of more than 1 years, experienced war and disaster, and finally found happiness.
The Galaxy Group did not pay much attention to this movie.
Although Wang Hao and his company have been consciously suppressing and winning over the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment circles in recent years, the changes are too fast.
Wang Hao also didn't expect that because of his participation, the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment circles would decline even faster than the circle in his previous life.
This has led to the fact that movies dominated by these two circles are not as popular in the country as they used to be.
What is more crucial is that Xiaoma Pentium Culture Media Co., Ltd., the leading party of "The Crossing", has encountered big trouble.
The company is actually similar to Galaxy Pictures. It also started with CCTV and took ten years to reach the top. It was once considered to be a dark horse in the film and television industry besides Galaxy Pictures.
Perhaps people outside the circle may not know its name, but when it comes to the film and television works it has been involved in, many people are definitely familiar with it.
Behind works like "The Founding of a Party", "Love is Not Blind", Gao Xixi's version of "Three Kingdoms", "My Brother is Shunliu", "Comrades: Almost a Love Story", "No Man's Land", "The Treasure Box", "Robot" and so on, there is Xiao Ma.
It’s a pity that ten years of success turned into nothing in two years. The rapidly declining Pony is now facing the risk of liquidation.
All this is only because Pony.com completed its last round of financing before its listing in 2011.
The financing was led by China Construction Bank Culture and the amount reached 7.5 million yuan, which was considered the largest financing in the Chinese film and television industry at the time.
When Xiaoma Pentium was conducting a financing transaction with China Construction Bank Culture, it also signed an "Investment Supplementary Agreement". One of the clauses in the agreement laid the groundwork for Xiaoma Pentium's defeat today.
若小马奔腾未能在2013年12月31日之前实现合格上市，则投资方建银文化有权在2013年12月31日后的任何时间，在符合当时法律法规要求的情况下，要求小马奔腾的实际控制人一次性收购建银文化所持有的小马奔腾的股权。
This is clearly a big taboo in entrepreneurship - "betting on listing".
"Listing bet" is no joke. Over the years, many companies have declined due to failed listing bets. Zhang Lan, the founder of South Beauty, which was once at the peak of its career, was "left with nothing" after losing the bet against CDH Ventures; Li Tu, the founder of Taizi Milk, lost the bet against three major investment banks including Actis, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, and personally gave up all his shares.
However, in the film and television entertainment industry, gambling is more favored by celebrity companies.
Wang Hao and Galaxy Pictures are actually partly responsible for this.
Because of the butterfly effect they brought, China's film, television, culture and entertainment industry is undoubtedly more prosperous than the same period in Wang Hao's previous life.
The "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" and those film and television works promoted by Wang Hao are no joke. They have truly expanded the scale of China's film and television industry and allowed more capital to pay attention to this industry earlier.
This naturally makes life better for domestic film and television industry practitioners and companies.
After all, the bigger the cake is, the more everyone can get.
But it is precisely because the market is booming and capital is pouring in that some people have become more impetuous.
Why do some entrepreneurs still make the same mistakes as those that failed due to gambling agreements? It’s simply because they are in a hurry!
Either they are eager to go public and cash out, or they are eager to expand rapidly and urgently need funds to gain a foothold in the fierce competition. Pony.com also has these reasons.
With Galaxy Group as an example and Huayi, which is not yet in decline, as a demonstration, coupled with the cooperation with LeTV and the encouragement of Boss Jia, Pony.com, which is eager to go public and reap the dividends of the huge development of the film and television industry, naturally stepped into the big pit of "betting agreement".
Of course, the most crucial thing is that God does not seem to be on Xiaoma Pentium's side. Not only did it fail to go public as scheduled, but on January 2014, 1, the second day after the expiration of the bet agreement, an unfortunate event occurred. Xiaoma Pentium's founder Li Ming died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 2.
This became the turning point for Galloping Pony to completely decline.
(End of this chapter)