On the afternoon of January 20, 2003, the conference hall of the Westin Hotel in Peking was packed with reporters. Everyone received an invitation from China Film Group, saying that there was a very important film press conference.

However, China Film did not disclose the specific information of the film, neither said who the actor was, nor who the director was, but only said that this is the biggest film in the history of Chinese films, and there will be many famous international filmmakers to join.

Chinese films so far, the film with the largest investment is Zhang Yimou's "Hero", which has a box office of nearly 200 million since its release. However, this movie was invested by Xiangjiang Anle Films, so reporters think that China Film should see the box office popularity of "Hero" and plan to follow the trend to make a blockbuster.

There is a huge poster on the stage of the press conference, which reads the four big characters of "Time and Space Warrior", as well as the black silhouettes of two men and one woman, and it is impossible to see who the actors are, but this has whetted everyone's appetite.

Before the time for the press conference arrived, some reporters exchanged ideas with each other: "Do you have any inside information? Who is the director? This time, the China Film Group has done a very good job of keeping secrets, and there is no rumor at all!"

"No, but I heard that this time, the lineup is unprecedentedly strong! In addition to Zhang Yimou, the domestic director who can make blockbusters is Chen Kaige, and Chen Kaige is the only one who can make blockbusters, I heard a few days ago that Chen Kaige is scouting the scene, it may be this movie!"

An older reporter chimed in: "When Zhang Yimou was a photographer for Chen Kaige, he wanted to be his own director, and he often pointed fingers when shooting. Chen Kaige was very annoyed, so he said to Zhang Yimou, Yimou. Director: Not everyone can eat this dinner, you still have to be an honest photographer! I didn't expect Zhang Yimou to change careers to become a director. has won all the international awards, and Chen Kaige is naturally not far behind. made full efforts to shoot "Farewell My Concubine". Now that Zhang Yimou has filmed the commercial blockbuster "Hero", Chen Kaige will definitely not be convinced, and he will definitely be in the blockbuster!"

"My subordinates are more beautiful than myself now, so I can't be comfortable with anyone. No wonder in recent years, there has been no intersection between the two at all. It seems that today should be Chen Kaige's new film!"

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Jin Wei, the host of the movie channel, walked on the stage wearing a hollow dress, and the whole person was pure and revealed a trace of sexiness: "Distinguished guests, media friends, good afternoon! Welcome to the scene of the media conference of the movie "Time and Space Warrior". I'm today's host, Jin Wei!"

The otherwise noisy scene burst into warm applause. However, this applause is courteous, and everyone is looking forward to Chen Kaige's appearance.

Jin Weishou held the microphone and announced loudly: "Now we have invited Mr. Han Shanping, chairman of China Film Group, the producer of the film, Mr. Luc Besson, the famous French director, and director Zhang Ran to the stage!"

Hearing Han Shanping, the reporters didn't think there was any problem, all movies produced by China Film will have Han Shanping's name in the producer column, but when Luc Besson appeared in the ears of the reporters, the whole scene suddenly exploded: "I heard it right, the host seems to say that Luc Besson?"

"I think I heard that, too!"

"I'll go. It can't be Luc Besson who filmed "This Killer is Not Too Cold", isn't it the same name?"

Amid the discussion of reporters, Han Shanping, Luc Besson, and Zhang Ran slowly stepped forward from the backstage and walked to the chairs placed in front of the huge poster.

The reporters saw the chubby Luc Besson clearly. Immediately caused an exclamation: "It's really Luc Besson, it's incredible!"

"Damn, China Film Group is making a big news!"

In addition to the shock. The reporters frantically pressed the shutter, and the clicks came and went. It's like a locust eating the dealer, and the flash lights are so bright that the sun explodes, making it hard to open your eyes.

Wait for Zhang Ran and they to sit down on the chairs in the center of the stage. Jin Wei looked at Zhang Ran and smiled: "Director Zhang Ran, you are the producer and director of this movie, everyone is very curious about this movie, you can introduce it to everyone!"

Zhang Ran took the microphone, signaled the reporter to calm down with his hand, and then said: ""Time and Space Warrior" is a sci-fi action film jointly produced by Qingying Studio, China Film Group, and French Europa Films, with an investment of 120 million US dollars, and there will be Hollywood production teams and Hollywood first-line stars to join, it is the highest investment film in the history of Chinese films, and will be released worldwide in 2004. The movie is based on Mr. He Xi's science fiction novel "Six Beings", and the story is mainly about the life-and-death duel between two people with the ability to cross space......"

Zhang Ran briefly introduced the movie, and when the media reported it, many people would definitely look for the novel of "Six Beings", so they did not maintain the so-called mystery. Of course, he won't reveal too much, after all, movies and novels are different, and he has made great changes to the whole story.

Hearing that the film invested $120 million and that Hollywood superstars had joined, the reporters on the scene gasped and were shocked again. Last year, the annual box office of Chinese films was only 940 million, and the investment in this film was higher than the box office of last year.

Soon, under the auspices of the host Jin Wei, the current reporter began to ask questions. The first reporter stood up and asked: "Director Zhang Ran, this movie is a sci-fi action movie, with director Luc Besson as the producer, and the investment is as high as 120 million." Why did they choose you as a director?"

In fact, this question is also what other reporters want to ask the most, Zhang Ran has made two movies so far, of which "Time Prisoner" is still a TV movie, which has not been broadcast in cinemas at all, although "Burst Drummer" won an award in Tokyo, it has not been released in China, and most people don't know how the movie is. Just such a director, suddenly cooperating with Luc Besson to direct a 120 million movie, everyone feels like a dream.

Zhang Ran replied happily: "Actually, it wasn't they who chose me as the director, it was me who took the project to them to seek cooperation." Originally, I was looking for a collaborator in the United States, but since Mr. Luc Besson was the president of the festival when I attended the Tokyo Film Festival, I showed him the project, and he was very interested in the project. The matter was settled, and then we found Mr. Han of China Film. Let's do it together. ”

The second reporter who stood up to ask a question was so excited that he didn't hold the microphone steady when he stood up. Almost fell to the ground: "Hello, Monsieur Luc Besson, I am your movie fan, and I am very happy to meet you." What are your reasons for becoming the producer of this film, Zhang Ran is the new director, what did he rely on to impress you?"

Luc Besson smiled: "At the Tokyo Film Festival, I watched Zhang's "Burst Drummer", which was a very good movie. After the film festival, he came to me with a project. The story is excellent, and the funding plan is detailed, this is a very good project, and I have no reason to say no!"

The reporter asked again: "But Zhang Ran used to make small-budget movies, and he didn't make big productions." Now there is a lot of criticism against him in China, "Bursting Drummer" was withdrawn by the film company, and he is not optimistic about Mr. Zhang, and some film critics even say that Zhang Ran is not capable enough. Aren't you worried that such a big production will fail?"

For being scolded, Luc Besson felt normal. He was often scolded in France, but he found it a little difficult to understand what the reporter said: "Zhang's incompetence? God, is this an April Fool's joke? The person who said this is ridiculous! Zhang is a genius." Although Zhang has never made a big production, the essence of the movie is the same, and what tests the director's ability in terms of lens, composition, rhythm, scheduling, etc. Zhang is fully capable of handling this movie!"

After listening to Luc Besson's answer, the reporters at the scene remembered four days ago. Zhang Ran's words, "It's not up to you to decide whether I have the ability or not, and it will be clear on January 20." Now it's time to see it. Saying that Zhang Ran was incapable, Luc Besson directly swollen the faces of the people who said this. You have the ability to say that Luc Besson is incompetent!

A reporter held up the microphone and asked, "Director Zhang Ran, how does a big production with an investment of $120 million recover its costs? Have you considered cultural differences? Can your film be understood by foreign audiences? Aren't you worried that it will fail?"

The smile on the corner of Zhang Ran's mouth seemed to be engraved on his face: "My confidence comes from three aspects. First, we have a good story, second, we have the best team, including the cast and crew, and third, we will invest $60 million in special effects to ensure that the visuals of the film are among the best in the world. As for cultural differences, there are definitely. In fact, it is very simple, action is visual, and who can't understand a fight? Our film focuses on special effects and action, and the cultural differences are relatively small, so we are not worried that foreign audiences will not be able to understand it. Our film certainly won't fail!"

After saying this, Zhang Ran looked at the reporter below, with a smile still on the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were extremely firm, as if he could control the world and control his own destiny.

In fact, Zhang Ran has a better choice, he can copy the successful commercial blockbuster from his memory, and the risk will be much smaller. But he didn't think it was interesting, he still wanted to shoot the story he was interested in, the story of China.

Although this is very risky, as a director, Zhang Ran has enough confidence in himself. He also knows that if he directs such a movie, there will definitely be many people in China who doubt him, but he believes that he will be able to shoot this film successfully. When the time comes, I can slap the face of the person who sings about this movie swollen!

"Then may I ask Director Zhang Ran, you just said that there are Hollywood A-list stars joining, have the actors signed a contract? Can you reveal specific information?"

"We have a lot of investment in this film, and if we want to distribute it globally, it will definitely not work without the joining of big-name stars. So, at the beginning of the preparation of the film, we started the casting process. By now the casting of the main characters has been completed and the lead actors have been finalized. Zhang Ran smiled, revealing a hint of cunning in his expression, and said, "Several leading actors are in the background now, and everyone will be able to see them in a while, but it will be kept secret for the time being!"

In this way, half an hour passed quickly. The questions asked by these reporters are basically related to the film "Time Soldier". The subjects of the inquiries basically focused on Zhang Ran and Luc Besson, and Han Shanping was almost regarded as air. No way, although he is the old man of China Film, he is not the protagonist of this press conference. Zhang Ran is now on the cusp of the storm, Luc Besson is an international director, and he will definitely not be able to steal the limelight from Zhang Ran.

Jin Wei saw that the time was almost up, and asked Han Shanping and Luc Besson to go backstage to rest, while Zhang Ran continued to stay on the stage. Immediately, she began to invite the leading actors of this drama to enter: "Please clear out the three leading actors of "Time and Space Warrior" with warm applause, and invite Mr. Keanu Reeves, Mr. Adrien Brody, and Miss Zhang Ziyi to play!"

The whole scene was silent instantly, and the reporters all opened their mouths as if time had stopped, and then erupted with a bang, like a volcanic eruption. (To be continued.) )