msmithbooks Chapter 151 The Founding of a Republic
Chapter 151 The Founding of a Republic
The requirements for Tang Yan in this drama are not high. She doesn't need any explosive acting skills. She just needs to quietly portray the kind of white moonlight that Jin Yichuan misses.
Just standing there, with a sweet smile, her natural beauty is already half the battle won.
But Liu Shishi's roles have much higher requirements.
Zhou Miaotong, a courtesan burdened with a blood feud, appears aloof and cold on the outside, but harbors turbulent emotions within. This is indeed a bit beyond the scope of Liu Shishi's current acting style.
It has to be said that the teachers at the Central Academy of Drama have an amazing foundation; the results of this private tutoring are outstanding.
He managed to turn around that unnervingly expressionless demeanor, and after several key scenes, his watery eyes started to shine.
At least the audience won't say I'm blind.
Gu Heng stayed on set for a few more days. Not to mention how incredibly cool his action scenes were, his dramatic scenes... were truly hilarious.
His roguish, incredibly irritating expression left the entire crew utterly dumbfounded.
Every time he yelled "Cut!", the whole set burst into laughter.
Some of the bolder assistant directors even joked privately that if Director Gu had more screen time, they might as well rename "Brotherhood of Blades" to "Miao Blade," and then there would be no chance for Zhang Zhen and the others!
After that, Gu Heng only has one major scene left on the grassland, which will be filmed when the crew moves to Inner Mongolia.
Seeing that there was nothing more for him to do in Huairou, Gu Heng packed his bags and left the film crew.
No sooner had he left the film studio than Han Sanping called him.
"Hello, Third Uncle?"
"Xiao Heng, the script for 'The Founding of a Republic' has been approved. Come and join the creative meeting as soon as possible."
Without saying a word, Gu Heng told Wang Gang to step on the gas and head straight for China Film Group.
Upon arriving at the China Film Group building, Gu Heng was intercepted by Han Sanping's secretary before he could even go to the conference room, and was taken directly into the chairman's office.
Han Sanping was looking at the documents when he saw Gu Heng come in. He smiled broadly and pulled him to sit down on the sofa.
"Third Uncle, what important instructions are there today?" Gu Heng poured himself a cup of tea familiarly.
Han Sanping snatched Gu Heng's teacup, took a sip, and laughed and cursed.
"Stop playing dumb with me. I know you're feeling resentful; that 'Red Cliff' project drained all the money you and Yuanjian made. This time, I've personally arranged for Yuanjian to have a 10% investment in this big production. How about that? Isn't your Uncle being generous to you?"
Gu Heng knew perfectly well that "The Founding of a Republic" was a major patriotic production made with the full support of the entire industry. There were many investors eyeing this lucrative opportunity. There were a total of 9 investors, and Vision was able to take 10% of the shares. That was a really big favor!
"Look at what you're saying, how could that be! I've always firmly believed that following Uncle San will bring you good fortune." Gu Heng flattered him with a grin.
After finishing their business, the two casually chatted about Ning Hao's film "No Man's Land".
The first version of the film had already been edited out, and Ning Hao happily submitted it for review, but it was immediately rejected by the higher-ups.
The reason is simple and blunt: there isn't a single good person in the entire movie!
Han Sanping also looked helpless: "Go back and give Ning Hao a heads-up, and tell him to revise it again. There are some fundamental issues that we can't stubbornly resist. If we can't get past the censorship, everything else will be in vain."
Gu Heng realized that it was simply a matter of adding more water to the flour and more flour to the water.
He then asked Ning Hao to add a positive character who only had a few minutes of screen time, without affecting the style of the film.
After the two finished their cigarettes, it was almost time, so they got up and headed to the conference room.
Pushing open the conference room door, you'll find quite a commotion inside.
Huang Jianxin, Chen Shiren, Jiang Wen, Feng Xiaogang and other top domestic directors are already sitting inside.
Upon seeing Gu Heng follow Han Sanping in, Jiang Wen grinned and immediately waved to him, gesturing for him to sit down.
However, the atmosphere in this meeting room seemed rather strange.
Feng Dapao and Kai Zi sat at opposite ends of the long table, one with a long face and the other with an air of superiority. They were worlds apart and didn't even exchange a glance.
Gu Heng plopped down next to Jiang Wen and asked in a low voice, "Holy crap, what's going on? This atmosphere's weird, is a group fight about to break out?"
Jiang Wen stroked his chin, and explained in a low voice with a hint of schadenfreude, "It's all because of the Lunar New Year film season."
Gu Heng laughed upon hearing this.
The fierce competition during the Lunar New Year film season has provided plenty of entertainment for those in the industry.
Feng Xiaogang's "If You Are the One" and Kai Zi's "Mei Lanfang" are going head-to-head, with only a week's difference in their release dates.
How high is the quality of the show "If You Are the One"?
Not necessarily.
But Feng Xiaogang's comedies have such a solid fan base in China that just having Ge You standing there is a guarantee of box office success.
The movie easily surpassed 100 million yuan in its opening week. The young star is now riding high, walking with a swagger.
In contrast, Kai's version of "Mei Lanfang" is rather disastrous.
The film was in good preparation, but then the photo scandal broke out at the beginning of the year. To save the film, Brother Kai cut all of Ah Lian's scenes overnight.
This deletion had a serious impact; the structure of the entire second half of the movie completely fell apart!
There wasn't enough time for reshoots, so we had to grit our teeth and make some minor adjustments on the editing table.
Gu Heng had seen the full movie in his previous life.
To be honest, the first half, which depicted Mei Lanfang's early fame, was really well done, brimming with artistic flair.
But in the second half... it was as if it had been slashed in half, starting strong but ending weak, leaving the audience completely confused.
So now, seeing Feng Dapao's smug look, it's no wonder that Brother Kai is unlikely to give him a friendly look!
This guy is probably cursing under his breath.
"Alright, everyone, quiet down." Han Sanping walked to the head seat and sat down, patting the table.
The creative session officially began.
The main reason for bringing these industry giants together is to discuss how to film this movie, and also to assign specific tasks to the directors present.
It's worth noting that "The Founding of a Republic" involved a total of nine directors, including the chief director Han Sanping and Gu Heng.
This lineup and this spectacle are unprecedented and will likely never be seen again!