Bee Conference Center, General Conference Hall.

Where the light is focused, from left to right, there are four single sofas, each with a doctor sitting on it.

Atletico Ma on the far right is an honorary doctor of computer science, next to him is Zhao Wentao with a doctorate in brand risk management, Zhang Yimou on the left in a tunic is an honorary doctor of art, and Wang Zheng, the host on the far left, also has a doctorate hat in radio and television journalism.

Although Atletico and Zhang Yimou's doctorate hats were only kindly awarded by Egret Island University and Yale University in the United States, no one would think that they were incompetent, after all, where are the works of these two people.

The reason why these four people are sitting together is related to a cooperation that has just been announced.

Just now, Atletico Madrid, on behalf of Bee Group, reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Zhao Wentao's West Film Group, and the two sides will carry out comprehensive cooperation in the construction of film and television city, talent training, special effects research and development, film and television production, tourism development, etc. Among them, the first project in the field of production is the special effects epic film "The Biography of Zhang Qian", directed by Zhang Yimou, and now it is the discussion time after the press conference.

As for the royal system, he was recommended by the province to Lao Zhang's consultant, who had driven the whole Silk Road with the team the year before last, and had an intuitive understanding of the customs and customs along the way, which could bring a lot of help to the preparatory work. With the presence of the former CCTV celebrity, the host who was originally contacted by the bee could only reluctantly back down, and then there was a scene of four doctors talking about Zhang Qian.

The 66-year-old Lao Mouzi has directed many films and stage performances that reflect the national culture, and the coffee position of a cultural master has long been cast; Zhao Wentao was born on campus and is a cultural promotion expert specially invited by Qin Province to serve the policy of "strengthening the province with culture"; 52-year-old Wang Chuangzi is a senior television media person, and he also has rich insights accumulated over time.

In comparison, the youngest, engineering-educated Atletico should have become a shortcoming, but he is an open-minded person, the alien system E7U has already transformed him into a humanoid library, even if he lacks personal insights because of his lack of life experience, he can also quote scriptures to do a good job of "male version of Wang Yuyan", and he is also not left behind.

Of course, the theme of today's event is, after all, "Strategic Cooperation between Bee and Western Film" and "Zhang Qian's Biography Project", and it cannot be like the "Symposium to Commemorate the 2130th Anniversary of Zhang Qian's Death" to analyze the characters and evaluate the merits and demerits.

As the host, Wang Zheng quickly pulled the topic to the movie itself, and turned to Zhang Yimou diagonally opposite, "Director Zhang, you are still the chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies of this year's Asian Chamber Martial Arts Conference, and this time you also made a special flight back from Turkmenistan." And what made you decide to take on this film? Can you tell us about it?"

"There's no other reason," Lao Zhang waved his hand, "just a sense of responsibility." Just like Mr. Zhao said just now, Zhang Qian is the Sanqin Township Party of Mr. Ma and me, and has made great contributions in history, but for various reasons, there are few film and television literary works based on him in the past. It is very difficult to establish his image in the minds of young people based on a few words in history textbooks, which is very undesirable. So when Mr. Ma approached me and invited me to direct this film, I agreed. ”

After breathing a sigh of relief, he said: "As for the issue of time and energy, everyone can rest assured that 'Zhang Qian's Biography' is a big project, and it will take quite a long time to prepare for it, and I should return to China at that time." ”

In fact, the reason why Lao Zhang agreed to take over the filming is completely multifaceted, "Gluttony" is unsatisfactory at the box office, and he needs to prove his strength in the commercial field; Bee Film and Television has technical and financial resources and is a good partner; Western Film Group, the co-producer of "The Legend of Zhang Qian", has a love affair with him, without the Western Film Studio, the predecessor of Western Film Group, there would be no "Yellow Earth Film", and it is difficult to say what it will develop into later.

Speaking of which, he only hated that this cooperation came too late, and it was deeply regrettable that he could not finish filming before the death of his mentor Wu Tianming (then the director of Western Film Studio).

Just thinking about these things, Wang Zheng threw out a new question, "Director Zhang, can you tell us more about the 'various reasons' you said?"

Not only is Zhang Qian rarely "electrocuted", but the presence of Qin and Han themes in the film and television industry is also very low, but it is how many Qing court film and television dramas there are. This phenomenon has lasted for more than 20 years, and it has naturally attracted the attention of TV viewers for a long time, and there are different reasons for this, one of which is very popular, that is, the famous "AIA surprise theory", which is believed to be caused by the improper stock of radio and television farts.

However, everyone thinks too much, the real situation is far less complicated, and the reason why there are fewer Qing palaces in the Qin and Han dynasties is completely the result of market choice.

Zhang Yimou reached out to cover the headset on his cheek, coughed and let go of his hand, "The 'various reasons' I mentioned are mainly some technical and investment problems. The Han Dynasty was more than 2,000 years ago, and there were too many things submerged in the long river of history, and the architecture, clothing, food, and utensils were very different from later. In this way, when the crew was preparing, they had to find ways to build new Han Dynasty-style city houses and prepare Han-style furniture and clothes, which greatly increased the difficulty of preparation and production costs, and the crew naturally tended to choose projects with low cost and low difficulty. ”

Atletico interjected at this time, "Director Zhang is right. Let me give you a few examples, cotton did not become popular until the Yuan and Ming dynasties, before the rich and noble families wore silk, ordinary people could only wear hemp, and the appearance color of linen cloth was completely different from cotton; in the Qin and Han dynasties, kneeling was popular, and the furniture system at that time was very different from that of later generations. Moreover, the stories of the Qin and Han dynasties that have been handed down are all major historical events, with a large number of participants, a large span of space and time, and many horses are needed, so it is really difficult to shoot well. ”

At this time, he suddenly raised his voice and said: "I think that the most responsible for the popularity of Qing court dramas should be domestic TV stations, especially Hong Kong and Taiwan TV stations." ”

Wang Ji raised his eyebrows slightly, "Mr. Ma, can you talk about it carefully?"

"Of course," Atletico Madrid waited for this sentence, naturally he would not refuse, looked around the stage, and turned his gaze back to the other party's eyebrows, "There are many private TV stations in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and what they value most is the input-output ratio, and due to the total viewing population, the funds they can use for TV shooting or procurement are quite limited, and they can only tend to low-cost TV dramas with high ratings." ”

"When it comes to high ratings, it is natural that it is the romance of Jingu Wuxia and Qiong Yao. Although there is no shortage of big scenes in Jingu martial arts, the cost of the film and television company's TV station is limited, so it has to be deleted and modified, Song Bing only needs two people A and B, and one or two sets of costumes are enough, anyway, the audience tolerance at that time was very high. And Qiong Yao's story is even simpler, the scenes of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China are easier to find, the costumes and props are not too difficult, and even the hairstyle problem of the actor who affects the efficiency the most has been solved by them 'smartly'. ”

Speaking of this, Atletico Madrid looked at the audience without saying a word. seemed to think of Huang Feihong and Wei Xiaobao's black hair, and bursts of laughter soon came from the audience.

When the smile stopped, Atletico continued: "When mainland TV stations start to reform ratings, the film buying department is also facing the problem of input-output ratio. If you want to turn the limited funds into the most impressive ratings and the easiest way to save money, it is natural to directly buy old Hong Kong and Taiwan films, Jin Yong's martial arts dramas, Qiong Yao romance dramas, and legendary dramas of the Republic of China have been introduced into China in large quantities, which has enriched the screen ecology at the same time, but also objectively affected the audience's viewing taste. ”

"When domestic companies start to make their own TV series, the safest way to save money is naturally to continue down this road. Hanging Weiya shoots martial arts requires special wires and professionals, and can only come to romance and legend first. There were still many old houses in the ancient town at that time, and they could be used as scenes by putting on old-fashioned furniture, and then putting on the robes and horse coats that the actors had bought from Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television companies, and they could joke about Kangxi and Ji Xiaolan. Later, I found out that the ratings were good, so I filmed them one after another, and it went more and more smoothly. ”

"Over time, there are more and more wigs and braids, and antique scenic spots have been built and built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the production cost of Qing palace dramas has always been kept low, and consumers have not been completely bored, and film and television companies are naturally taking advantage of the good money to shoot more. ”

Seeing that the ridicule and ridicule in Atletico Madrid's words were getting heavier and heavier, Zhao Wentao hurriedly interjected, trying to guide the topic back on track.

"In addition to the cost, I think the biggest problem is the lack of storytelling. Now there are a lot of Qin and Han film and television cities, and there are many more Qin and Han costume props and swords than back then, but the number of film and television dramas with Qin and Han backgrounds is still small, except for a few high-quality products, most of the rest have modern lines and blunt plots. The reason for this lies in the original story. ”

"It's not that there are no good stories in the Qin and Han dynasties, Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin, Xiang Zhuang Hongmen's sword dance, and Huo Quai's sealing of the wolf Juxu, these historical events are all good stories. But the problem is that there are not only big events in the film and television script, but also a lot of secondary content to be responsible for the beginning and end, and it is precisely because of the lack of these 'small things' that the plot seems stiff and artificial. This is also the reason why the Qin and Han dynasties have loved the 'Three Kingdoms' in film and television dramas for hundreds of years, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms itself has a rich enough story, and there are also a large number of legends as a supplement, and the difficulty of film and television adaptation is much less. ”

"That's true," Zhang Yimou, who hadn't spoken for a long time, said, "The Qin and Han dynasties are too far away from now, and they have high requirements for literary creation, and there is naturally no good script without a good story." ”

"Director Zhang is right," Atletico nodded in agreement, "The difference between two thousand years is too great, and the screenwriter must not only be proficient in history, but also understand social geography, architecture, food, etc., and the difficulty of weaving a story has suddenly increased a lot." And if you ignore the rationality of the details, and directly let the people of the Qin Dynasty eat watermelon and let the people of the Han Dynasty chew spicy seeds, it is easy to create a sense of disobedience in the hearts of the audience and prevent them from accepting the story. Rather than this, it is better to simply set it up, directly saying that it is a story that takes place in fictional time and space, and the sense of disobedience is much smaller. ”

Seeing that the topic had finally reversed, Wang Zhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and asked, "So Mr. Ma, what did Bee Ying do?"

"Naturally, it is necessary to be realistic, and strive to make every episode and story consistent with the environment at the time, so as to avoid rigid clichés, otherwise if Director Zhang is not satisfied with the script, they will have to change it. ”

Hearing this, Zhang Yimou said with a smile, "I have already read the first draft of the script, and the first version of Previz provided by Bee Shadow, the story is very interesting." ”

As soon as Director Zhang said this, Zhao Wentao immediately drew his attention, turned to Atletico Madrid and asked, "Mr. Ma, are you all so fast?

When he said this, there was also an element of Xingshi asking guilt: what about the co-production? What about the co-development? You have done a good job of 3D storyboarding, what do we do with Xiying?

Atletico smiled to reassure the other party and explained: "What I showed Director Zhang was just a video clip recorded by the screenwriters. The official previz will not start production until the script is determined and Director Zhang has designed the storyboard. ”

Mr. Zhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, Xiying has been in decline for many years, and its influence and strength are not as good as before. If the two sides really break up, it will only be their own side that suffers. Thinking of this, he asked playfully: "Previz production is still quite troublesome, Mr. Ma, is it okay for you to do this?"

"No waste, no waste at all," Atletico smiled and stretched out his finger and shook it, "The screenwriters experience life and design the plot are all completed in the game, and the actual cost is quite limited." ”

Except for a few insiders such as Zhang Yimou, the others were suddenly shocked, and their faces were full of "Can it be like this?"

"Ordinary games are naturally not good, the scenes are too small, there are too few NPCs, and the interaction is also lacking. Fortunately, our 'Silk Road' is an epic sandbox game that emphasizes realism and focuses on substitution, and these annoyances are much lighter. ”

There is another sentence that he did not say, the main line of the script of "The Biography of Zhang Qian" is actually born from the main story of the abandoned "Silk Road". The game's development team originally intended for players to witness the prosperity and decline of the Silk Road through historical scripts, but in the end, the effect was very bloated, and the plot that overemphasized rationality was too abusive, and the result was unanimous disgust from the test team and trial users.

It wasn't until Atletico took over and cut off most of the plot with one slash, leaving only the purest trade and adventure, that the whole game became clear. And those plots that have been sorted out and adjusted for a long time, and were tragically abandoned at the last moment, are not wasted, plus some side plots and game plots that have also been cut, have been sorted out into movie scripts and sent to Lao Mouzi.

Wang Zhengle: "So, 'The Legend of Zhang Qian' is actually a movie born out of a game like 'Warcraft'?"

Except for a few films such as "Resident Evil" and "Warcraft", most of the game-based movies have ended up with a poor reputation and poor box office. Atletico Madrid didn't want their films to be labelled as such, shaking their heads against the claim, saying: "There is a connection between the two, they share the same world, they have a similar historical geography. But that's all, the 'Silk Road' game does not have a definite main plot, which is very different from 'The Legend of Zhang Qian'. ”

"In the final analysis, the role of the game is actually just to provide a concrete experience space for the screenwriter and director, so as to save everyone the trouble of reading Chinese and working hard to make up for it. The specific movie script can only be determined after Director Zhang and the screenwriter team meet. ”

(End of chapter)