"The Mummy 3: Phantom of the Ancient City" is basically based on the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Loulan in the desert, which has not attracted more media attention in the United States, but has caused quite a stir in China. This should be the first time that a Hollywood commercial blockbuster has focused its lens on China, and for Chinese fans and filmmakers, the news is both joyful and worrying.

People are happy that the rise of China's economic status has brought about an increase in cultural status, and even Hollywood, which prides itself on its pride, has begun to favor oriental culture. While national pride was satisfied, people of insight also raised their own concerns.

Nearly half of the total annual box office share of the Chinese film market is swept away by Hollywood commercial blockbusters, and now Hollywood is "intensifying" and preparing to use commercial films packaged in Chinese culture to make Chinese money, which makes many people sad. At the same time, some people are worried that Hollywood only knows a little about Chinese culture, and if they shoot something that is not like it according to their ideas, it will not only fail to expand the influence of Chinese culture internationally, but will mislead the people of other countries.

Supporters and opponents of World War I engaged in a scuffle of "verbal criticism" in the media, and these discussions, for better or worse, drew people's attention to Zhenbeibao Film and Television City. With the continuous increase of media attention, the phone of Huaxia Western Film and Television City Co., Ltd. began to ring non-stop, and they were all reporters who wanted to make an appointment for an interview.

After sending off a group of reporters for interviews, Zhang Xianliang dragged his tired body back to his office. When he sat down, he felt weak and exhausted, his upper eyelids kept fighting with his lower eyelids, and he didn't want to stand up when he sat in the chair. Although the thought of having a reporter come to interview me later, the spirit of fighting finally couldn't resist the excessive fatigue, like a bubble in the sea, just after getting up, it disappeared again.

During the break, Zhang Xianliang dreamed of some past events from a long, long time ago. In 1961, Zhang Xianliang, who was working on a nearby Nanliang farm, discovered that it had a majestic momentum that was undefeated and a tenacious vitality that came from the depths of the loess. In the 80s, after he was rehabilitated, he wrote Zhenbeibao into his novel "Greening Tree" for the first time, called "Zhennanbao" in the book, and introduced it to the film and television industry, and there were crews who came here to shoot one after another.

The movies "Wrangler", "Red Sorghum" and "The Ballad of the Yellow River" were filmed during this period and won international awards, and the ruins of Zhenbeibao began to attract attention, but the wind erosion and the damage was also serious, and in 1993, the western cinema of Zhenbeibao was established, and the ruins and ruins were repaired as "repaired as the old".

In the new century, Chinese films have entered a commercial era, and Zhenbeibao Western Cinema has also become busy. This ancient castle, which integrates the cultural landscape of historical relics and modern film and television art, has become the best location shooting base for films and television with western Chinese themes and ancient themes that are well-known at home and abroad, and Zhang Xianliang's company has gradually realized the development leap from "selling desolation" to "selling culture and history".

The scale of the film and television city has expanded, and the company's strength has also risen to a higher level as a whole, standing in a higher position, Zhang Xianliang naturally has to see farther than others, he has set his sights on the international film market, but he has not been able to find a breakthrough for a long time.

Just when Zhang Xianliang was at a loss for this matter, an opportunity was sent to the door by himself, and the Hollywood film giant Universal was preparing to shoot an adventure movie related to the desert theme, and they took the initiative to contact Zhenbeibao Western Studios, wanting to build a location similar to the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Loulan nearby.

The overjoyed Zhang Xianliang knew that this was a rare opportunity, and agreed to the other party without hesitation, and the two sides soon signed a cooperation agreement. The construction of the exterior has attracted the attention of all parties, and the name of Zhenbeibao Western Cinema has begun to appear frequently in newspapers and on the Internet. It is conceivable that if that film is successful, more Hollywood crews will come to visit it, and Zhang Xianliang's dream of building an international film and television city seems to be about to come true.

The knock on the door woke up Zhang Xianliang's sweet dream, he shook his head violently, and when he was fully awake, he shouted: "Come in!" ”

Assistant Xiao Wang pushed the door in, and as soon as he saw Zhang Xianliang, he couldn't wait to shout: "Mr. Zhang, good news!" ”

"Tell me, what's the good news?" Seeing Xiao Wang's excited face, Zhang Xianliang also looked forward to it.

"Felix Lin is coming to China!" After Xiao Wang confirmed the news, he immediately rushed back to the company's headquarters, and before he had time to drink saliva, he hurriedly ran to report to Zhang Xianliang. It's in the studio! ”

"What did you say?" Zhang Xianliang Huo Ran stood up, he pressed the excitement in his heart, personally poured a glass of water for Xiao Wang, and said with a pleasant face: "You take a breath first, and say slowly, what is the situation!" ”

After taking a sip of water and quickly sorting out his thoughts, Xiao Wang began to tell Zhang Xianliang the whole story. This morning, he went to learn about the construction progress of the "The Mummy 3: Phantom of the Old City" location, and met two foreigners wearing sunglasses at the gate of the construction site, a man and a woman. At first, Xiao Wang accidentally just two foreign tourists went to the wrong place, but the young foreign man talked to the doorman at the construction site in Chinese.

Xiao Wang was curious, and eavesdropped on the side, the foreigner wanted to go inside to have a look, because there are regulations in the company that prohibit outsiders from entering the house, and the requirements of these two foreigners made the doorman very difficult. After several attempts were rejected, the foreign young man began to spy on the progress of the project, which aroused Xiao Wang's vigilance.

"I went up and questioned the suspicious guy, but he took off his sunglasses." Xiao Wang paused, "Who did you meet me?" ”

"Felix Lin?" The answer is obvious, Zhang Xianliang guessed correctly.

"That's him!" Xiao Wang slapped his thigh excitedly, "This is the first time I've seen him outside of the movie, and I was stunned at that time." ”

Zhang Xianliang began to urge Xiao Wang impatiently, "What happened later? ”

"Later, I did something very inappropriate..."Xiao Wang held the paper cup in both hands, looking like he wanted to say something.

Zhang Xianliang was anxious when he heard it, "You had a conflict with him?" ”

"Not really." Xiao Wang shook his head, "Without your consent, I took Felix Lin to visit the film location. ”

Zhang Xianliang's heart fell suddenly, he laughed, and then patted Xiao Wang's shoulder, "You did the right thing, Felix is the screenwriter and producer of the film, and I can't stop him if he wants to visit." It's just that you still didn't think about it at the time, and you should have notified me as soon as you met him! ”

Xiao Wang scratched his head, "I was so excited at the time that I forgot about it!" ”

Zhang Xianliang didn't blame him, "Then you sent him back to the hotel later?" ”

Xiao Wang took out the address of the hotel where Lin Mingyang stayed, Zhang Xianliang nodded with satisfaction, he was not in a hurry to see Lin Mingyang, but paced back and forth in his office, "Have you ever asked how long he will stay here?" ”

"Probably a day or two!"

"If you want to visit the construction of the location, he should contact us through official channels, based on your observations, do you think he went there today by chance or on purpose?"

"I think he's just here for a tour, and he's just here to take a look!"

Zhang Xianliang stopped and looked at Xiao Wang, "What is the reason?" ”

Xiao Wang reminded: "You forgot, when I met Felix Lin, there was another person with him. ”

Zhang Xianliang realized, "The foreign woman you are talking about? ”

"You also know this woman, Hollywood star, Kate Beckinsale, has acted in a lot of movies with Felix Lin, I heard that the relationship between the two is a bit like that..."

"So he's really here for a tour?" After confirming this, Zhang Xianliang's brows furrowed, "Kate Beckinsale came together, it should be a private hostage tour, do you think he will be willing to appear in front of domestic reporters publicly?" ”

"Although it was only a quick meeting, I feel that Felix Lin is still very reasonable, as long as you sincerely invite, I don't think he will refuse!"

---Zhang Xianliang invited Lin Mingyang and Kate who came with him to a banquet that night, and learned that Kate would also play an important role in this film, Zhang Xianliang's doubts disappeared, and he generously invited Lin Mingyang and Kate to attend the press conference scheduled for tomorrow. Kate didn't want to show up in front of the media anymore and politely declined, while Lin Mingyang happily accepted the invitation.

Hollywood's popular movie star Felix Lin appeared at the western cinema in Zhenbeibao, and well-informed reporters gathered, and the venue with only 150 seats was finally squeezed into more than 200 people, many of whom were standing seats, and some of them sat on the floor with their surnames.

When Lin Mingyang appeared, all the photojournalists rushed forward to take pictures, there were more monks and less porridge, and the scene immediately fell into chaos, and the organizers hurriedly sent additional security guards, which barely stabilized the scene. The reporters in the audience waited patiently for the leaders of the local cultural bureau to end his long and boring speech, and even Zhang Xianliang, who was sitting on the stage, felt the irritability, but the deputy director did not realize this, and he prepared a large speech. After half an hour of speech, the reporters in the audience were drowsy, and even Lin Mingyang had an impatient expression on his face.

When the director finished speaking, the applause from the audience rang out sparsely, Zhang Xianliang took the microphone, only said a few short sentences, and let the reporters in the audience start to ask questions freely.

"Mr. Felix, as the screenwriter of the film, why did you set the sequel to The Mummy in China and not somewhere else?" The reporter who was the first to ask questions was most concerned about the original intention of Lin Mingyang's script creation.

"I probably know more about China than I know about the rest of the world!"

"Do you really understand Chinese culture?" A reporter stood up very unceremoniously, "I have met many Chinese Americans who were born and raised in the United States like you, and some of them can't even speak Chinese!" ”

"Your question reminds me of Zhuangzi? The dialogue between him and Keiko in "Autumn Water", the question of the reporter just now, can I understand it as 'Zi Fei Fish, the joy of Anzhi Fish'? Lin Mingyang's casual "quotation of scriptures" made the reporters in the audience dumbfounded, "Then I will answer you now in the words of Zhuangzi, the son is not me, and I don't know the joy of fish?" ”

The reporters in the audience were a little embarrassed, and the Chinese level of a foreigner made them feel a little embarrassed. After a short period of cold scenes, a reporter finally stood up bravely and exposed the topic.

"As the executive producer of the film, why did you choose to shoot here and not anywhere else in China?"

"Because our story is about desert exploration, only this is the most suitable place."

A reporter stood up: "What do you think of this film and television base?" ”

"I remember that at the gate of the film and television city, there was a big stone monument: Chinese films went to the world from here. Hehe, the tone of the above words is really not small. In the same way that all attractions like to brag about their uniqueness to show their importance, I thought it was an eye-catching slogan at first, and even scoffed at it. ”

"However, when I came out of the studio and passed by this stone monument again, I already agreed with this statement. It is from the red sorghum and the yellow earth that Chinese films have been recognized by foreign counterparts, and these films precisely show the vicissitudes of western China. In the eyes of foreigners, China itself is vicissitudes and mysteries. I know that most of the works and writers that emerged after China's reform and opening up are mainly describing the living conditions of people in the western loess. This is related to the vigorous political movement in China, but it is also this barren and resilient land that breeds a national spirit of self-improvement in the face of adversity. ”

If in the face of the reporter's provocation just now, Lin Mingyang showed the arrogance in the bones of the United States, then now he has become modest and introverted, which is more like a Chinese surname. This attitude, which is very different from before and after, surprised everyone present.

"Will Chinese movie stars be invited to star in this film?" When a reporter asked this question, everyone in the audience hoped to get a positive answer from Lin Mingyang's mouth.

Lin Mingyang shook his head regretfully: "I haven't received a notice of this yet, but as far as the script is concerned, Chinese actors are definitely needed." But there are not many scenes in these roles, so I don't consider inviting Chinese stars to play. ”

(To be continued)