assistirfilmes Chapter 13 How to Get Started
Chapter 13 How to Get Started
To be honest, Ye Bingcheng has seen many people who can speak eloquently and at length, but there are very few among the young people.
Today, Ye Bingcheng met Zhang Jun, who talked to him about the scale of the film market, the influence of film culture, and the prospects of combining it with real estate and cultural tourism projects.
To be honest, Ye Bingcheng thought Zhang Jun's words made a lot of sense, and quite a lot of sense.
Zhang Jun continued, "Mr. Ye, I know you are a real estate businessman, which gives you a natural advantage in entering the film industry."
As real estate projects progress, you can build cinemas across the country, thus forming a cinema chain alliance.
Fortunately, the Chinese film industry does not have a separation of production and distribution, so you can invest in film companies to produce content and fill your theaters.
And to produce high-quality content…
"We need excellent content creators like you," Ye Bingcheng continued.
Zhang Jun nodded: "That's right, and I'm the best."
That statement was arrogant, but when Zhang Jun said it, it didn't sound arrogant at all. Others would just think that what he said was perfectly reasonable, that it should be this way.
"Xiao Zhang, right? Why don't you stay here tonight and have dinner together?"
Ye Bingcheng did not immediately give Zhang Jun a clear answer, but said, "I need to think about what you're talking about."
Zhang Jun expressed his understanding: "Of course, this involves Mr. Ye's real estate group's business strategy and requires careful consideration."
After dinner, Zhang Jun went to his guest room to rest. Ye Bingcheng and Ye Xiaoyi talked about Zhang Jun: "He's not a genius, he's just a madman."
But I dare say, barring any problems, he will definitely succeed.
Ye Xiaoyi asked expectantly, "Dad, are you going to invest in him?"
"From the moment he walked in empty-handed, I understood what he meant. He believed that no gift could compare to himself."
Ye Bingcheng said, "So at that time I decided to give him a sum of money and see what he could do."
Later, I wanted to learn more about him, but I didn't expect this kid to be so good at arguing.
Ye Xiaoyi clapped her hands happily: "Dad, what about me?"
"you?"
Ye Bingcheng patted his daughter's head: "I'll set up a company to invest in his movie and give it a try. You should go to school first."
If the company is still alive by then, you should go and manage it!
The next day, Zhang Jun met with Ye Bingcheng again. This time, however, he wasn't alone; he was also accompanied by He Xuan, a senior manager from Ye's real estate group.
In addition, lawyers and relevant personnel hired by Ye Bingcheng were also involved in drafting the contract for this collaboration.
The company is registered in Beijing with a registered capital of one million yuan. He Xuan will handle the company's business registration and other related matters, and will join the company as a manager.
Ye Bingcheng's Chengxin Real Estate Group will lend this newly established company a sum of money for making a movie.
However, none of this had anything to do with Zhang Jun, because he had no say in the shares. It was mainly Ye Bingcheng's arrangement; the company's shares were in Ye Xiaoyi's hands.
Ye Bingcheng is only temporarily managing the company; he will hand it over to Ye Xiaoyi after she graduates.
Zhang Jun was incredibly envious. Is this what life is like for a rich kid?
While Wang Yiwan next door gave his son 500 million yuan to practice with, Ye Bingcheng directly started a company for his daughter to run after graduation.
Zhang Jun expressed his jealousy!
However, Zhang Jun quickly put his jealousy aside. Although the company was still in its infancy, Ye Bingcheng and Zhang Jun reached a preliminary agreement on investing in and producing a film.
This agreement offered little guarantee; Ye Bingcheng could tear it up at any time. However, it had secured Zhang Jun the opportunity to direct a film.
After a lot of verbal analysis, Zhang Jun got this opportunity. He felt it was a good deal, since he didn't spend a single penny.
However, this does prove one thing: real estate company owners are harder to fool than coal mine owners.
After resolving the administrative and legal issues, Ye Xiaoyi asked, "What should we call our film company?"
Ye Bingcheng offered an idea: "How about asking Chengxin Film Industry?"
Ye Xiaoyi rejected the idea with a look of disgust: "It sounds awful. This company isn't even a subsidiary of Chengxin Group. Choose another one."
Zhang Jun said, "How about calling it 'Guanzhi'? The idiom 'to be amazed at' praises something as perfect as possible. It expresses the ambition to pursue the ultimate and create top-notch works."
Ye Xiaoyi nodded in satisfaction: "That's more like it. That's the kind of name a student from Tsinghua University would say."
Ye Bingcheng also gave a thumbs up and said, "Well-educated!"
And so, the newly established Guanzhi Pictures was born. He Xuan went to Beijing to complete the business registration process, and then rented office space in the Chengxin Plaza office building near the Guomao area in Beijing.
This Chengxin Plaza is similar to the Wanda Plaza next door; both are new real estate concepts that have been introduced in the last two years.
So when Zhang Jun and Ye Bingcheng talked about combining cinema chains with real estate projects to create new-concept cultural tourism projects, Ye Bingcheng understood immediately.
So while He Xuan was busy with the company registration process, Ye Bingcheng was also holding a meeting at Chengxin Group to discuss the matter and sending professionals to conduct research.
He thought Zhang Jun's words made sense and were very promising, otherwise he wouldn't have attached so much importance to them.
However, these things had nothing to do with Zhang Jun. After returning from Tianjin, Zhang Jun continued to devote himself to writing his first feature film script.
First and foremost is the choice of topic, which is very important.
Looking at the film market in recent years, it can be seen that period dramas are very popular.
The successive successes of Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and Zhang Yimou's "Hero" have inspired many in the film industry to enter this field.
But since it's a blockbuster, it must be a high-budget production, with big scenes and big stars being indispensable.
But for Zhang Jun, he is not qualified to act in period dramas, nor does he want to join in the fun.
Zhang Jun chose comedy films, which are easier to make a name for himself. They have low investment and don't need to hire any big-name stars. As long as they can make the audience laugh, they will succeed.
However, comedy cannot be mere comedy, funny for the sake of being funny. Otherwise, people might as well watch sketches on TV programs instead of buying tickets to see them in theaters.
Although the audience who haven't seen much of the world don't understand this, they can eat both coarse grains and fine bran.
But Zhang Jun felt that they should first show them something good, to show the audience what comedy films should be like.
Perhaps in the future, when all sorts of terrible comedies explode in popularity, audiences educated by Zhang Jun's comedic style will be able to spot these bad comedies and thus refuse to go to the cinema...
These bad comedies have less room to survive, and in order to win the support of the audience, they are forced to improve their quality.
Of course, the above is the ideal situation.
Zhang Jun chose "Little Miss Sunshine," an American comedy film. He was particularly impressed by the film's use of color and its soundtrack.
However, simply copying it directly is obviously not feasible; transplanting American personal dreams and American family styles directly would result in problems due to cultural incompatibility.
To localize a film, it's essential to understand its adaptation logic; reconstructing that logic is the core of localization.
Zhang Jun bit his pen and wrote the following sentence on the paper: The core is to transform the American "personal dream" into the Chinese society's "hoping one's son becomes a dragon" family collective dream framework.
His version of "Little Miss Sunshine" should present a human comedy about a Chinese-style "loser" family.
It should be said that the film uses the premise of a family escorting their child to a competition as a backdrop to actually depict the emotional bonds and existential anxieties of ordinary Chinese families amidst economic transition and the impact of diversified values.
And the process of ultimately transcending worldly definitions of success and returning to the true essence of family affection.
Once he had a clear idea of the core adaptation, Zhang Jun began to adapt and write the script, and completed the first draft in less than a week.
Meanwhile, He Xuan also completed the company registration, and Guanzhi Pictures was officially established.
However, the establishment of the company does not mean that filming can begin immediately. According to the regulations of Big Scissors, Guanzhi Pictures still needs to obtain a "Film Production License".
Without this license, even if you bid, you won't be able to get the leading company's license.
However, to obtain this "Film Production Permit", one must first have invested in and filmed at least two films in the form of "Film Production Permit (Single Film)".
So He Xuan took Guanzhi Film Industry's business license, proof of the source of film and television production funds, and the literary script provided by Zhang Jun to Big Scissors again.
Fortunately, after joining the WTO, the determination to marketize the film industry became stronger, and the green light was given to film and television production all the way.
In less than five working days, the approval for the film was granted, and Guanzhi Pictures obtained the "Film Production License (Single Film)" and enjoyed the right to produce the film all at once.
Producers can produce independently or in collaboration with other production companies.
By the time all these things were settled, it was already late July 2004, the height of summer, and the sweltering heat in Beijing was unbearable.
However, inside Guanzhi Film Studio, located in the Guomao Chengxin Plaza office building, the atmosphere was even more intense than the heatwave outside.
"Once we get the license, it means our film can officially enter the preparation stage. But with so many things to do, how do we even begin?" Ye Xiaoyi asked.
It was summer vacation, and Ye Xiaoyi didn't want to waste time at home, so she simply returned to Beijing to participate in the company's registration and other related matters.
Zhang Jun, sipping his iced cola, said upon hearing this, "The script registration has been completed, and the script work is all done. Next, we'll focus on a few aspects."
First, the rental of equipment and venue, as well as the preparation of location scouting, costumes, props, and sets.
Second, the selection of actors.
Zhang Jun took a sip of cola and continued, "First of all, making movies is not child's play. Once you start, you can't stop."
The daily expenses are astronomical, so the early preparation is crucial, and every task at every stage must be done well.
This film is a road movie, so we can't complete the production in the film studio. We will have to shoot a large number of scenes on location.
Therefore, it is necessary to conduct preliminary research, plan the route, and consider aspects such as filming locations, food, accommodation, and transportation along the way. These are all tasks that you, as the producer, need to undertake.
Of course, as the director, I also do these tedious tasks.
Ye Xiaoyi clicked her tongue: "So complicated?"
"There are many more complicated things, but fortunately, Manager He has already invited several film and television industry professionals to do it. Your task this time is to learn from them and see how they do it," Zhang Jun said.
"All right!"
Ye Xiaoyi looked at Zhang Jun's finalized script: "What about casting?"
Zhang Jun readily agreed: "This is the issue I, as the director, need to consider. Don't worry, I already have someone in mind."