Oriental Charm Building!

Zhuo Botang stood at the door of the building, looking at the six gilded characters of the dragon flying and the phoenix dancing, and couldn't help touching it with his hand. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Seeing this, Lin Niantong asked with a smile: "What, do you want to go back to work?" ”

"Of course, you are in full swing in Hong Kong, but I can only be a cold bench in Taiwan." Zhuo Botang shook his head and said with some emotion: "I didn't expect so many changes to take place in just over a year. ”

"yes, it's incredible to think about how much has changed in a year." Lin Niantong also sighed with emotion, and then said tentatively: "Since you want to come back, why don't you find a chance to apply with Mr. Shen?" ”

"Let's talk about it." Zhuo Botang was undecided, and said while walking towards the building: "In fact, the work in Taiwan is quiet and comfortable, and the salary is as high as yours, so it stands to reason that there is nothing to be dissatisfied with, but the Taiwanese film industry is a stagnant mess, and staying in that place is boring, and there is a feeling of wasting time." ”

"That's also something that can't be helped, Taiwan is still under martial law, and the politics are high-pressure."

"I don't know when it will end, after the Academy Awards, many people thought that there would be a big move in Taiwan's film industry, and now it's almost September, I haven't even seen a splash, or it's business as usual, continue to make movies that talk about, fall in love, love love, love beauty, I look at next year's Academy Awards, Taiwan may not receive anything."

"It's not like it, director Li Xing's "Native People" is good, I went to see it last week, it was very exciting, it should win at the Academy Awards, and "Yuan" at the beginning of the year, it is also a movie with a lot of depth and breadth, Xu Feng acted very well, I am very optimistic that she will win the award."

"How much can one or two movies make waves?" Zhuo Botang sighed and said: ""Yuan" was originally a 3 hours and 30 minutes movie, in order to cater to the market, it was shortened to 2 hours and 10 minutes, the editing was messy, and many details were not clearly expressed, which seriously affected its quality. Oh, by the way, is the jury for next year's Academy Awards decided? ”

"Not yet, Chen Baisheng has made a list of 50 people, and Mr. Shen is still thinking about it."

Zhuo Botang sighed, he stood in front of the elevator, looked at the empty and quiet hall, and asked, "The Hong Kong Film Culture Center has moved?" ”

"I moved to Shaw Brothers Cinemas in Clear Water Bay, where the venue is large and there are many crews, so I can teach on the spot." Lin Niantong pointed to the corridor on the left and said, "The vacant space is now lent to several newly established associations for free. ”

"What association?"

"Hong Kong Performing Artists Guild, Hong Kong International Film Critics Association, Hong Kong Film Directors Guild, Hong Kong Professional Photographers Association, Hong Kong Screenwriters Guild, Hong Kong Film Action and Stunt Directors Association."

Zhuo Botang was amused by his series of registrations as if talking about cross talk, and said with a smile: "It's really amazing, Hong Kong has been making movies for sixty or seventy years, and there has never been any association, and now there are so many at once!" ”

"Hong Kong films used to be scattered, companies dismantled each other, artists were jealous, and they couldn't organize at all, Mr. Shen took the opportunity of the Academy Awards to stand up and talk to everyone together, he took the lead, so he started it, next year's Academy Awards, these associations will select some professional awards."

"In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", it is said that the snake is not good without a head, and the soldiers are chaotic without a head, Mr. Shen is generous in his work, has a high vision, and is willing to come out to be a leader, which is a fortunate thing for Hong Kong films." Before Zhuo Botang entered the elevator, he pointed to the right side again and asked, "What about over there?" ”

"Over there is the 'Charm Friend' club, Oriental Charm Friend, referred to as Charm Friend, is the Oriental Charm Film Company's fan gathering place for activities, it was just established a while ago, and now it has been less than a month, and there are tens of thousands of members, which is of great help to the company's image and film promotion."

"It's an interesting idea."

The two chatted and went up to the third floor, and entered the editorial office of "First Film Review", Zhuo Botang glanced at it, and then said with a smile: "Heh! So free. ”

Truly free......

Some desks are horizontal and some are vertical, some chairs are large and some are small, some people are wearing suits and leather shoes, some people are T-shirts and shorts, some people are immersed in writing, some people are pacing and reciting words, and everywhere shows a relaxed and casual atmosphere, which is very different from the traditional rigid and serious office......

"Mr. Shen said that as long as they can deliver the manuscript on time, they can toss it as much as they want, so I don't bother to care about them." Lin Niantong opened the door of the editor-in-chief's room, invited Zhuo Botang in, and asked, "Sit casually, drink tea or coffee?" ”

"Coffee." Zhuo Botang did not sit, but stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looked at the messy editorial office, and said: "Some people in Taiwan say that Mr. Shen is a dictator, and they should really be allowed to come and have a look." ”

"Because of Mr. Shen's speech in Singapore?"

"yes, it's that elitist authoritarianism." Zhuo Botang smiled and said: "It is said that Taiwan's President Chiang appreciated that speech very much, and even asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask for a live recording from the National University of Singapore, so those democracy fighters said that Mr. Shen was an authoritarian. ”

"I've read the report on that speech, it's nothing, Mr. Shen just said that many people don't know what they need, and they don't know what they want, so they have to use topics like elite management companies...... Here, coffee. ”

"Brother Nian, you are first-class in writing film reviews, but you don't have a good sense of politics." Zhuo Botang took the coffee cup, sat down on the sofa, and said: "You are not in Taiwan, you don't know a lot of things, Mr. Shen is talking about enterprise management openly, and secretly saying that the government should appoint elites, and use authoritarianism instead of democracy to maintain social stability and guide economic development...... Forget it, you're not interested in this, I'm also hearsay, don't talk about it. ”

"I'm really not interested in Mr. Shen's speech in Singapore, but I have a manuscript here that you should be interested in." Lin Niantong picked up a bound manuscript on his desk and said: "You know, at the beginning of last year, Mr. Shen proposed the concept of the new wave of Hong Kong films, which later had a great impact. ”

Zhuo Botang put down the coffee cup, took the manuscript, and asked, "Mr. Shen wrote it himself?" ”

"Yes, it will be handed over to me as soon as I return to Hong Kong the day before yesterday." Lin Niantong sat down beside him and said: "It is very well written, the idea is very high, it not only summarizes the past, but also looks forward to the future, which is very instructive for Hong Kong films and even the entire Chinese film, and I am going to use it as the finale of the special issue." ”

Zhuo Botang opened the manuscript and looked at it carefully.

The first half of this long essay is a summary of the phenomena of the New Wave of Hong Kong cinema since 1979, and the second half is devoted to the issue of genre film.

"The process of industrialization, urbanization, and modernization has rapidly transformed Hong Kong from a traditional society to a mass society, and the expansion of individual freedom and the estrangement and alienation between people in modern society further require the relaxation of individuality and the satisfaction of the individual, because of this, the audience is eager for extremely flamboyant 'carnival-style' entertainment, and the characteristics of traditional films such as individuality, authenticity, enlightenment, criticism, and artistry have been replaced by the following characteristics of popular culture - repetition, standardization, entertainment, commodification and secularization......" (Note 1)

"How do you get people to come into the theater and watch your film? If there are no big stars, then the only thing to rely on is type - to standardize the production of things that have been tried and ...... succeeded" (Note 2)

"Romance movies can be subdivided into many genres, such as pure beauty romance movies for teenagers, romantic romance movies for youth, and life romance movies for adults...... Action movies can be subdivided into many genres, such as Cold War spy films represented by 007, urban police films represented by "Die Hard", and folk kung fu films represented by "Shaolin Thirty-six Rooms...... Horror films can be subdivided into psychological horror films and sensory horror films......"

"Genre is an inevitable consequence of the commercial society, and in the New Wave, when all the new ideas have been tried, Hong Kong filmmakers will face the dilemma of conforming to the rules and being different from others, creating a sense of intimacy and introducing something new...... Stereotypes and genres are not only a framework for filmmakers to create, but also an opportunity to show off their skills – if you can't break the rules, then it's better to play tricks. (Note 3)

Zhuo Botang watched it for more than 20 minutes, and when the coffee was cold, he finished the last page, he closed the manuscript and said: "After reading this article, I feel that I will be able to make a movie soon, and it is guaranteed to be a hit." ”

"I feel that way when I watch it." Lin Niantong took out a cigarette, divided one, and then said: "Mr. Shen has thoroughly explained the key points and creative techniques of genre films, how to target the audience, how to set up the relationship between characters, how to deal with contradictions and conflicts, etc., all clearly, this manuscript is like a standard movie shooting manual, shoot according to it, even if it can't be a big seller, but it will definitely not lose money." ”

"This kind of business experience is logically a company's secret." Zhuo Botang put the manuscript away and asked, "Why did Mr. Shen write them all out and then make them public?" ”

"That's what I asked, Mr. Shen said that film genre is an inevitable trend in the future, and these things, even if you don't talk about them, others will be able to figure them out in a few years, so it's better to just release them." Lin Niantong spat out a cigarette and said: "Mr. Shen also said that movies are actually no different from canned food, the type is just a glass bottle, whether it is delicious or not, the key depends on the taste of the food." ”

"Having said that, as soon as this article is published, it will definitely create a lot of competitors for Oriental Charm." Zhuo Botang was still a little puzzled, and said: "Hong Kong people are the best at following the trend, they used to just watch the excitement and didn't know how to follow, but now with theoretical guidance, what Mr. Shen shoots, they will follow immediately, which will take away a lot of the box office." ”

"Mr. Shen's attitude is that the more competitors, the happier he is, natural selection, survival of the fittest, elites, are all out of competition, not raised."

"What a hero!"

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Note 1: Based on the text in "Passing Years: The New Wave of Hong Kong Films".

Note 2: Adapted from Wong Kar-wai's remarks.

Note 3: Based on the text in "The Secret of Hong Kong Cinema".