However, Chen Xuanting still doesn't appreciate Johnny To's attitude of treating actors as tools in his personal style works, a good actor can save a movie, which everyone knows. Although he really admires Johnny To's ability to teach actors, Johnny To can make Andy Lau realize his dream of being an actor, can make the fat Lin Xue the best supporting actor, and can make the vase Sammi Cheng shortlisted for Best Actress at the Golden Statues... This is already very worthy of Chen Xuanting's learning.

At least Chen Xuanting has always believed that among directors, one of the directors who knows how to teach actors best must be To Qifeng. It is no exaggeration to say that the reason why Galaxy Imaging's films are so obsessed with several people is that the performance factor is definitely quite large.

Then again, in terms of personal labels, Chen Xuanting is a little special, he was born as a screenwriter, and then directed TV series, but there are very few movies, but where is his identity, the president of Thunder Group, a world-class tycoon of 100 billion, if he doesn't put a personal label in his own big drama, it really can't be said.

The film officially began, without a lengthy beginning like Hollywood films, and the feature of Hong Kong films is that they can quickly let the audience enter the extreme sensory stimulation. Originally, Chen Xuanting considered using the narration technique of his previous life to explain, but Chen Xuanting reminded that this is a science fiction film produced in Hong Kong, or to conform to the habit of Chinese people to read stories, do not engage in that kind of aircraft, so he gave up and adopted the method of flat and direct narration.

Fortunately, the audience was fortunate enough to enjoy the background of "Avatar" on TV or magazine, but they waited for the surprise with peace of mind. The director's name recedes, and the title appears, and then the title gets smaller and smaller, as if the camera is rapidly regressing.

This is a beautiful and rich jungle, the camera flashes, a strange little monkey is playing on the tree, suddenly, a fierce monster jumps out from behind the tree, opens its bloody mouth and swallows the little monkey into its mouth!

This picture and the "surprise" obviously startled the audience, and the screams were immediately heard. Soon, the screaming girl became shy, because she noticed that everyone around her was staring at her.

At the same time, before the ferocious monster could roar a few times and show its majesty, it heard a bang, a bomb, and blew it to the ground!

Almost immediately, the camera began to move upwards, only to see several space fleets suspended in the air directly above the jungle, and then artillery fire, the beautiful and rich jungle was destroyed in an instant - Chen Xuanting smiled slightly, and then he realized that he was really influenced by Hong Kong movies. Of course, he is referring to the directorial technique, Hong Kong films like to use sudden ways to create the beginning of the film in order to attract the audience, which seems to be similar to traditional Chinese martial arts novels, grasping the audience's psychology at the beginning, and then unfolding the storyline.

This is actually a good thing, and the use of cinematic techniques is always improving. Just like when we watch the films before the New Wave of Hong Kong cinema, we always feel very dull, and that is because the directors at that time had a preference for long and still shots.

After the New Wave, the films were very different, and it was a very flexible feeling. The rapid maturity of editing techniques has given directors a habit of piecing together the desired image with shorter, as short as a few tenths of a second, which creates a sense of flexibility.

Chen Xuanting has always believed that in terms of techniques and technical aspects, the use of Hong Kong films from 1987 to 1997 is still the most flexible and inspiring. Although Johnny To and Galaxy Imaging emerged after 97, the use of film techniques appeared in a more personal direction, but that was only an individual. Most of the films that came out in the decade before that were full of genius and the thrill of free use.

When it comes to long shots, Chen Xuanting can't help but laugh, he plans to use quite a lot of long shots in his new work. In fact, insiders know that long shots become an extremely dangerous thing, especially when people are cutting their shots shorter and shorter.

Directors have never dared to try this extremely risky approach, based on a very simple example, if a person is on the phone, and the camera stays on that person, it must be unbearable for the audience. If you intersperse other pictures in between, you can adjust the atmosphere to create tension and the like.

The use of long shots by some directors in the West, especially in Europe, is extremely interesting, and quite a few of them have gone to extremes, and there are even many examples of the entire film being done in one shot.

For example, the world-class horror movie "The Shining", in which there is a child running in the corridor on a bicycle is a long shot, and it is praised by critics as a classic shot, so a director came out and shot a film that reflects the Russian court, this play was shot with only one long shot from beginning to end, and it was very tiring to watch, and the people who filmed were also very tired, and it is said that thousands of actors were used in this play.

Of course, there are also many classic and bad examples of Chinese long shots. The classic is the scene where Fa Ge hides a gun in the corridor with a toothpick in his mouth in "The True Color of Heroes", which is basically done in one go and has become the object of imitation in many later movies; And the worse is the scene where the actor Zhang Dongjian runs in the movie "Wuji" directed by Chen Kaige, which seems to be very beautiful to outsiders, but it is a bit deliberately contrived to insiders - a miserable cry that tore through the silence of the theater sounded in the theater, and the strong and realistic effect made Chen Xuanting come back to his senses from his own thoughts and stare carefully at the screen. On the screen, there is no scene of the Na'vi people being slaughtered in "Avatar", but only the beginning of the human attack on the animals on this planet.

The filming location of this film was chosen in a jungle in Guilin, and the environment of this jungle is great. At this point, Chen Xuanting, as the director, and Zhang Yimou, who later joined the play, as the art director, naturally played a lot bigger.

It's hard to describe whether this special effect can be compared to the original "Avatar", after all, it's already a deep memory. But Chen Xuanting can completely judge that this is already extremely true. In fact, the makeup artists and special effects masters of the Raiden Vertical special effects team spent a lot of effort to create models of these planet monsters, and then made mobile machines by top mechanics, and finally remotely controlled their movements to get a more perfect model.

In post-production, with the model, computer effects can be modified more flexibly in some places, so that they evolve into hideous monsters with sharp teeth on screen.

In fact, there is no shortage of top-notch computer technology talents in the Hong Kong film industry, but there is a lack of talents in special effects such as models and makeup.

Without the support of this aspect, the computer special effects often have no texture, and they look very virtual and floating, which is the feeling that the special effects in Hong Kong films often look weird.

At the level of techniques, the cooperation between Chen Xuanting and Zhang Yimou is obviously more powerful. Zhang Yimou is quite talented in humanistic care, and a kind of discussion and reflection began at the moment when humans slaughtered the beasts of the planet. And Chen Xuanting also has a set of action scenes, perhaps the master's approach is similar, he and his subordinate Tsui Hark's techniques are very similar, both use the gradual release of fear. In the process, a sense of fear is gradually created, and a more intense ** is created in the middle and at the end, which makes people satisfied.

This film is nearly two hours long, and Hong Kong films are usually only 90 minutes. Because a 90-minute film can be played one more time, and a 120-minute film will definitely be played up because of time. One more game means one more game, and on the face of it, it's very reasonable.

It's just that people tend to overlook that some stories that would have taken two or three hours to tell are far more complete than those that take only 90 minutes. Chen Xuanting has the impression that the American blockbuster "Titanic" almost took more than three hours to tell the story of a shipwreck. But it is such a tome that has set off a Titanickic storm around the world.

Therefore, only good-looking films will people be willing to go to the theater again and again. This is not Chen Xuanting's speculation, but the result of the investigation by the planning department. Historically, the box office of Hong Kong films mainly focused on the local market with a weak market, so it was necessary to race against time for quick success, but now it is not needed. The 100-minute film gradually became mainstream.

Chen Xuanting didn't finish watching it, he didn't think he needed to watch it anymore, and the constant screams and fear from the audience were enough to prove the success of the film. Leaving the theater, Chen Xuanting was a little distressed.

He was distressed that there were no directors in Hong Kong who were practicing science fiction, which led to the inability to shoot many ideas. If he is the only one to shoot by himself, I am afraid that he will not be able to shoot so many classic science fiction films in his chest in his life.

It's a pity that Chinese films, whether in the past or in the present, have always been weak in the field of science fiction. It is very difficult to develop human resources in this area.

Having said that, in fact, Chinese can't make good sci-fi films, which is related to China's exam-oriented education, studying in China is to cope with exams, many young people's minds are imprisoned, and there is no chance to use that kind of imagination. In contrast, the encouragement and liberal education in the United States have made talent diversity explode.

Sci-fi films are the weakness of the Chinese!

It's not the first time Chen Xuanting has considered this problem, the film industry currently lacks science fiction directors, which is not the most critical, the most important thing is the lack of directors who are good at big scenes, directors who are good at epic themes, and directors who are good at war films.

Similarly, it is precisely because Chen Xuanting is aware of this that he feels urgent.

A famous director once said that there is no such thing as a pure subject matter in Hong Kong. There is love in comedy, and there can also be science fiction in love, this kind of free creative school Chen Xuanting really likes. It's just that as he gets bigger and bigger, he realizes that it is necessary for the subject matter to be clear and pure.

If it's a slapstick comedy, it doesn't matter how the director and screenwriter want to play it. But in other subjects, it needs to be a little purer. Fortunately, Chen Xuanting's approach at the beginning was faintly in line with the road of purifying the subject matter, and gradually guided Hong Kong films on the right path. It's just that filmmakers still don't like some themes very much, because they are limited by geography, so it is difficult to control certain themes.

Filming science fiction films, this time Chen Xuanting is the first time to try the knife, as for horror themes and war and other themes will definitely appear in the future.

There are also many types of sci-fi films, ranging from small-scale sci-fi stream-of-consciousness movies to large-scale sci-fi epic films.

For a large-scale production like "Avatar", Hong Kong can successfully control absolutely no three. And Chen Xuanting can be called the founder of Hong Kong's science fiction scene. Although the future achievements of this drama are still unknown - as the great director Tsui Hark commented on Chen Xuanting, although he still has many flaws in the subtleties of the movie, his control of big shots and big scenes makes him like a general who has experienced a hundred battles, and what he understands is what many people lack!

In this regard, Chen Xuanting doesn't know what to say except for a wry smile, and his directing experience and experience can allow him to quickly judge the best treatment plan. However, he didn't think it was all his own. After all, I've never eaten pork, haven't you seen a pig go?!

In addition, Chen Xuanting is known as the filmmaker who is the best at investing in films in Hong Kong and even the world. Basically, every drama he has invested in has been a great success, both at the box office and word of mouth, it is first-class. Chen Xuanting knows this very well. It can only be said that he invests in 100 dramas, at least 80% of them can make money, and the remaining 20 or so make money.

It's just that under Chen Xuanting's strong control, and with the judgment of the planning department, situations like this often rarely happen. At least in terms of the proportion of smashing, it is much lower than Hollywood. It's just that there are very few examples of failure.

The huge success of "Avatar" seems to need no specific description, when Hollywood's reliance on a "Terminator" sounded the alarm for Hong Kong cinema for the first time.

This time, Chen Xuanting quickly counterattacked back with this piece, and relied on it to kick open the door of the world film market.

"Avatar" was released for a week, and the Hong Kong box office collected more than 13 million Hong Kong dollars! You must know that the total population of Hong Kong is only more than 6 million, and the weekly box office of the best drama in the past was only four or five million, and now "Avatar" is more than three times as much!

Of course, this is thanks to the tourists who have traveled thousands of miles to Hong Kong to see it, and their surging arrival has indirectly contributed to the miracle of the Hong Kong box office.

Immediately afterwards, "Avatar" was released in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and other places - immediately caused a wave of movie-watching craze like a tornado!

But Chen Xuanting was not satisfied, he called the mainland, hoping that the mainland could introduce this drama, but there was no response from there. In order to let the Chinese see the sci-fi film shot by their own people for the first time, Chen Xuanting gritted his teeth and made another call to the mainland, promising that if this film is released, the box office will be divided into three or seven points!

In other words, in order to let this drama enter the mainland market, Chen Xuanting completely gave up a large part of the benefits he deserved.

The high-level officials of the Cultural Bureau of the mainland are not fools, and now the whole of China is engaged in reform and opening up, and they are all shouting for economic development as the center, in this case, why not do such a cheap thing? So the senior management of the Cultural Affairs Bureau called the head of Zhongnanhai and explained to him the great economic significance of the introduction of this opera, and said with certainty that if this opera can be allowed to enter the mainland, the cultural department can earn at least 100 million yuan!

The chief adheres to his motto - no matter whether it is a black cat or a white cat, as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat.

Hence the nod.

In this way, "Avatar" rushed into the mainland market in an invincible dark horse posture, and the mainland people at this time were culturally hungry, and the movies they watched were basically revolutionary model dramas, or they were very bitter tragic dramas, or some shoddy martial arts films made by unpopular directors, where have you ever seen this kind of sci-fi film with 3D glasses? !

But in terms of ticket prices, ten dollars a piece!

For the mainland, such fares are inevitably a bit expensive. But the Chinese are like this, the more expensive they are, the better they think!

So at the gates of major movie theaters in China, there was a long queue to buy tickets!

There are 1.1 billion people in China, and even if only one percent of them watch "Avatar", the box office will collect more than 100 million, not to mention the current great development of China's economy, there are so many people who can afford to pay ten yuan to watch a movie, so the overall box office has shocked the world!

In just one month, the cumulative box office of "Avatar" in Asia has reached 1.7 billion Hong Kong dollars!

Of course, compared with the investment of 300 million US dollars, equivalent to 2.1 billion Hong Kong dollars, this has not yet paid off. But such a shocking box office result has made the entire world film industry boil.

At the same time, Hollywood was even more stunned, all along, they thought they were the best in the world. Even though Hong Kong films have developed vigorously under the leadership of Thunder in recent years, and there are always more than one film that can get more than 50 million box office in North America every year, they still don't care too much, how can the emerging forces compare to the old film companies.

But with the full release of "Avatar" in the North American market with a thunderous momentum, those ghosts who are used to watching Hollywood blockbusters have experienced the charm of Chinese movies for the first time.

The entrance of a movie theater in New York, USA.

A blonde woman dragged her boyfriend into the movie theater, looked at the movie posters posted around her, and then set her eyes on "Avatar".

"Honey, shall we watch this show?" The blonde asked her boyfriend.

"It's a sci-fi film made in China, and I don't know if it's good or not?" The boyfriend frowned.

"That's why I'm curious, I heard that it's still in 3D!"

"Alright then, honey, you're in charge, we'll go in and have a look."

…… A white man enters the movie with his son eating popcorn, looking left and right.

"Mike, what movie should we watch? Well, here's a movie about baseball—" the white man said to his son.

"No, Dad, I don't want to watch a baseball movie today, I want to watch that sci-fi movie!" The son pointed to the blue Avatar poster.

"Sci-fi? Filmed in China? Oh my God, I heard that this drama is selling well in Asia! ”

"Then let's see!"

"Okay, Mike, I'd love to see what Chinese sci-fi looks like!"

…… Before the release of "Avatar" in North America, there was often such a scene, Americans have a great curiosity about science fiction films shot in China, the United States has always been the boss of science fiction films, they do not think that the Chinese can make movies beyond them. But the play's fame in Asia was so great that Americans couldn't resist going into the cinema one by one.

A week later, it's still the entrance of the New York movie theater.

It's just that this time the people who walked into the cinema no longer hesitated in front of the poster, and walked straight to the hall where the Chinese sci-fi "Avatar" was released.

"Great, that's amazing!"

"I can't believe that this is a sci-fi film shot by the Chinese themselves!"

"The visual shock of 3D is incomparable, and this drama lets us know what tech fiction is!"

"I have deep admiration for the wisdom of the Chinese, and it is rare to be able to intersperse humanist feelings in the play!"

…… This is the comment made by many American viewers after watching "Avatar". It's also their voice.

As for the entertainment media in the United States, they did not miss this rare opportunity to speak.

The Washington Post wrote under the headline "We were wrong": We were wrong, we underestimated the creativity of the Chinese in science fiction from the beginning! Their sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar" is being released gives us a glimpse of what 3D sci-fi with Chinese characteristics is! If in terms of technology, our Hollywood sci-fi movies have always been the top of the best, now we have to say that our opponents have appeared! We're not afraid of any challenge, but we have to face the reality that Hollywood's path to dominance will be difficult in the future! Because of the appearance of "Avatar", because of the creation of all these miracles, Chen Xuanting was born!

It can be said that the launch of this film has really given Hollywood an extremely loud alarm bell. Let them know that Chinese movies can also be so awesome!

"Avatar" shocked the mainstream market in North America, which also made Lucas, who was good friends with Chen Xuanting, even more shocked, and the first thought was that the extremely famous thunder symbol of Thunder appeared, and then remembered Chen Xuanting. He immediately made a phone call and was shocked when he was sure that it was a computer special effect.

He didn't expect that a science fiction movie could be made like this. He had always thought that the special effects of light and magic were the best in the world. However, he never expected that Thunder's Thunderbolt Vertical and Horizontal Special Effects would be able to make computer special effects such a realistic effect.

This is inevitable, in terms of science and technology, Thunder is a large amount of investment, Thunderbolt continues to gather masters from all walks of life around the world. Coupled with the abundant funds of the head office and the rapid development, it is a natural thing.

In fact, it's not that Light & Magic doesn't have such technology, it's just that I didn't imagine that science fiction movies could do this in 3D. Sometimes the difference between things is often caused by the difference in thinking between people. After that, the light and demon fought hard to catch up, and sure enough, for many years to come, it was on a par with Chen Xuanting's thunderbolt, which was naturally not mentioned.

This time, because of the clever arrangement of the planning department in commercial elements, for example, the black buddies in the North American market are definitely one of the main forces. As a result, Thunder added a black buddy role in "Avatar", although his surname was still in danger in the end, but after balancing the trailer and so on, he still attracted the black buddies to contribute to the box office of this film.

There are countless commercial arrangements like this, and for example, in order to compete for the market for female surnames, the planning department specially replaced a character in the film who can last until the second half of the film with a woman. This is the extremely particular aspect of film production, otherwise where do you think those hundreds of millions of box office come from?

Planning this film, Chen Xuanting spent a lot of effort. Strive to strike a balance between trailers and posters, and even merchandise, so that men, women, and children can eat all of them. As a result, what can be described as the most successful project of Asian and global cinema was a huge success.

In the end, the North American box office reached 330 million US dollars, and the global box office reached more than 600 million US dollars. Became the third all-time box office in North America, listed below Star Wars and ET Aliens.

Under such achievements, the Thunder is destined to have no way to go unnoticed. No one could have imagined that such a technical thing could be created by an Oriental film company. Regardless of asking, it can be seen that Thunder has become the most prestigious company in the world in one fell swoop, which is naturally needless to mention.

The Raiden computer special effects team and even the entire creative team have become world-famous, and Charlie Lee and others have been qualified for a share because of this, because the film has received a reward of 10 million intermittently, which is much higher than the salary.

But that's all for later. Because the Thunder needed to fight to win a Hollywood company before October, Warner was willing to pay a sky-high price of $50 million to buy out the North American rights (including video tapes) after watching the film, and the Thunder did not do it. Just kidding, Chen Xuanting is not stupid, since he is talking about the acquisition, why let this money be made by Hollywood.

Not to mention the number one global box office of "Avatar" in history, with a box office of nearly 700 million US dollars in North America, in this figure, if Thunder acquires Columbia or Universal to distribute it, it can get nearly 100 million profits. Moreover, there is also the right to broadcast TV, and in history, NBC bought the right to broadcast TV, and only broadcast it four times, and had to pay 70 million US dollars. Moreover, there are also huge profits such as video tapes.

Because of this, Chen Xuanting decided to spend a large amount of money to buy an old American film company, in order to expand his cinema chain in North America and expand his film empire.

As for who will be the target of his acquisition?

Chen Xuanting has a plan in his heart - MGM!

(To be continued)