The crew of "Hero", to be precise, Director Zhang and the distributor, hate such reporters and such problems. It must be, everyone hates such comparisons. You just announced that my film will invest 240 million, and then immediately there will be a film declaration saying that I will invest 300 million, which will directly slap you in the face. The reporters also asked for your opinion on the fact that you were slapped in the face, isn't this just adding to your blockage?

Of course, with Director Zhang's status in the rivers and lakes, he can naturally understate the quality of the movie when the time comes, and then belittle the movie "Shanghai Fortress". After all, this is an animated movie, and it hasn't been released for two years, and the plot or something has already come out, not at all like the "Hero" he is directing, which is full of mystery. Director Zhang naturally believes that his film will get a high box office, but he is not suitable to comment on "Shanghai Fortress" in a mocking tone, for two reasons: first, the director of this play, Shen Zhenghui, has proved himself greatly in the commercial field, he is now the first commercial director in Asia, although most of the box office is brushed in Japan, but the cumulative box office is already considerable, and the absolute value should be regarded as the first in Asia, and the release of Director Zhang's film in Japan has to be discussed with Kasuga! Second, the investors of this drama are very strong, don't look at the nominal investors, everyone doesn't know much, but the background of these companies is not as small as a small one, and people in the industry only need to see it to understand that this movie was either filmed by order or used by the second generation of red to launder money.

Based on these two reasons, the crew of "Hero" all played Tai Chi when they were interviewed, and said some useless nonsense very objectively. For example, "The final box office is the standard for testing the quality of a movie." Now that the box office has not come out at all, we don't know what will happen in the end, but we are very confident in "Hero" itself, and I believe that it will definitely set a record for domestic films. ”

"Is it more than 400 million yuan at the box office?" There are uninteresting reporters who dare to ask that.

Nima's, "The Assembly" is two parts, and the highest box office is only more than 200 million, you dare to report that 400 million is the box office record of domestic films, whose money did you take? Moreover, at the end of "Assembly Number", there is a big killer weapon like a group ticket, the former vice chairman of the army came out to stand on the platform, and the troops organized to watch it. Can we offset this advantage?

Director Zhang, who was asked, had a pain in his teeth.

"We have a lot of confidence in Heroes." He said. "Such a high investment, mainly in the foreign market, the current "Hero" sold in North America has recovered the cost, the domestic box office or anything is pure profit. At the box office, we don't have pressure. But the higher the box office, of course, the better. ”

"So can you make a prediction for the box office of "Shanghai Fortress"?" The journalist who asked this question had absolutely no ill intentions.

"How can I predict this?" Director Zhang pretended to laugh heartily. "But with what I know about Director Shen, he will definitely not lose money when making movies."

"You mean this movie can win more than 700 million at the box office?" A reporter exclaimed.

Do you have an X in your head? Director Zhang scolded in his heart, "I mean he is very likely to be like us." Before the filming of the film, the copyright was sold to recover the cost, and 300 million yuan was converted into more than 30 million US dollars, which is not difficult at all for a director with channels like him. ”

"Do you mean that our domestic film investment is not up because of a lack of external sales channels? Is this what you're trying this time around? A reporter asked with a snake on the stick.

Director Zhang really didn't have the heart to continue to answer such idiotic questions, so he casually said a few perfunctory words and ended this press conference.

However, under the pen of a reporter who has no discipline, it will naturally help Director Zhang extend more grievances and hatreds, of course, Director Zhang himself will also let public opinion develop in his favor, but he can't control it without tabloids and networks. The reporters wrote happily, thinking that this was a heavyweight direct showdown, and they forgot that at this moment, "Shanghai Fortress" has not even established a crew, and a lot of news has been blown out, except for the director and the investor, there is nothing else.

Shen Zhenghui didn't stay in Japan for a few days, so he had to take his two assistant directors Miyamoto and Lu Yang to the mainland again, this time not only to meet with the investor, but also to meet with the co-filmmaker to discuss the technical issues of shooting, this time in addition to Bayi Factory, Changchun Factory and several other film studios also tried to participate in this, after all, the investment of 300 million yuan, just dig a little is enough to eat for several years. This can be regarded as a huge boost to GDP, after the news is released, not only the entertainment industry, but also the minds of major film studios and film companies have moved, at this time, even Shen Zhenghui will not be able to shoot this movie, and many film producers in the system who are waiting to be fed will also promote the continuation of this 300 million yuan project, so it is not unreasonable for Director Zhang's "Hero" to receive so much preferential treatment.

Therefore, there is enough reason for the warm hospitality that Shen Zhenghui has received on the mainland. There are people who sell props, assistant directors, drama managers, artists, and even scene reporters, not to mention those who sell actors and actresses. "Shanghai Fortress" has already been released as an animated movie, so for the entire story structure, the characters have long been figured out by those who are interested, and others point to the characters and recommend them. In this regard, Shen Zhenghui is overwhelmed.

Fortunately, Wang Anping helped him withstand the pressure of investors, these so-called bigwigs in the entertainment industry are just the same thing, if they really don't give face, they won't give it, the investment of 300 million yuan is responsible for the investors, and you still want to recommend the heroine if you don't have a dime? you! It's good to use your people, don't chirp crookedly, if you have the ability, you can go and be angry with the granddaughter of Vice Chairman of the Military Wei! As long as the CEOs of several state-owned enterprises invested in it don't come out to say to Director Shen, give me a face, and let my little mistress play the heroine, Shen Zhenghui will have no pressure on casting.

However, another side effect of this film projection made waves in Japan, and Shen Zhenghui did not expect that the Japanese media showed endless interest in him to make "Shanghai Fortress" a real person. have tracked and reported, because when "Shanghai Fortress" was released, it was called "Tokyo Fortress 2", but now 2 is going to be live-action! This aroused great indignation among the majority of otaku, and they expressed why Japanese film companies are so uncompetitive, and why "Tokyo Fortress" cannot be live-action, which is simply a shame for Japan, which is known as the two-dimensional Japanese Empire.

The Japanese media also took the trouble to intervene in the controversy, first seeking out a group of so-called senior film insiders to discuss the feasibility and prospects of the film adaptation. A group of second-rate Japanese directors commented on the live-action of "Shanghai Fortress" together, and came to the conclusion that it is not good to shoot it without spending a lot of money, and if there is less money, it is fooling. All in all, it's nonsense. Everyone knows that with more money, you can shoot thrillingly. Cameron is a case in point. It has been several years since a Japanese live-action director has made such a big investment in a high-tech film. All of them looked extremely unconfident. A director said that 300 million yuan might be able to have good visual effects, but if it was made in Japan, 300 million yuan, almost 4 billion yen, would be absolutely unstoppable - not enough money. When Shoji Murahama burned money to make "World Air Battle Story" and "Battle Fairy Yukikaze". The amount of money burned reached 10 billion yen. And Final Fantasy? The cost of making "Deep in the Soul" reached 137 million US dollars. More than 15 billion yen. But this film died a tragic death.

The central idea of these directors is very clear, the animation is live-action, and they want to achieve the same visual effects as the cartoon. The investment is definitely not less than that of cartoons, otherwise it is better to watch cartoons. With such a high investment, in the end, it will face the consequence of not recovering the cost, after all, not every film has good luck.

However, some people analyzed that from the actions of Shen Zhenghui and Haruhi, it can be seen that one of their development ideas is to deeply explore the anime theme and adapt it into a live-action film and TV series, if it can continue to be successful, it can be regarded as a good development direction for Japanese films. After all, Japanese movies are like backwater, if there is any characteristic, it is probably the fact that it is more closely integrated with ACG, and if ACG can be made a breakthrough in the movie, this is also a great merit for Japanese films. This is one of the more insightful views in a number of comments, and the analyst also deliberately said that the reason why "Shanghai Fortress" was filmed instead of "Tokyo Fortress" was that Kasuhi's idea might be to try the waters, and "Tokyo Fortress" must have a higher investment than "Shanghai Fortress" (I don't know how this came to the conclusion, but Japanese public opinion generally thinks so), and "Shanghai Fortress" can attract investment from China, which will have no financial pressure on Kasuga. Therefore, if "Shanghai Fortress" is successful at the box office, Kasuga will definitely start to invest in the filming of "Tokyo Fortress", and Higashimi Masaki's previous work in filming "Yakushiji Ryoko's Strange Incident Book" shows that Kasuga does have plans to join forces with the ACG industry in the live-action film layout.

This point of view soon became a widely recognized view in the public opinion circles, so the crew of "Shanghai Fortress" prepared far away in Chinese mainland attracted the attention of more Japanese reporters, and Japanese reporters even swore that in order to ensure the international box office of "Shanghai Fortress", "Shanghai Fortress" would definitely use some Japanese actors, even European and American actors, and they tried to inquire about this possibility.

At this time, the crew of "Hero" really wants to be glad that their movie will be screened at eleven o'clock, and the release of "Shanghai Fortress" is far away, although the propaganda says that it will be released during the Spring Festival in 2003, but everyone knows that this is very likely to be just an encouraging news, such a big scene and post-production, how can it be enough in less than a year, until now, you haven't even selected the role!

Casting is also a headache for Shen Zhenghui, because it is a domestic investment, so of course the protagonist must use Chinese. Many Hong Kong actors either find connections to recommend, or Mao Sui recommends himself, claiming that the salary can be negotiated, but Shen Zhenghui did not give a reply. Speaking of which, China's domestic film actors are a bit out of gear, and in the future, they will rely on years of market training to raise some big names with box office appeal, even so, the vast majority of actors still have to rely on the cultivation of TV series. The so-called Four Little Flowers or something, aren't they all TV actors? Of course, Ziyi and Gong Li are special cases.

Shen Zhenghui's first consideration was the actor, and this actor didn't need much good acting skills. It is enough for the second middle school to have enough breath, so Zhang Jiayi, Zhang Hanyu and Liao Fan, who have cooperated before, are not very suitable, but the role of Yang Jiannan can be picked from among them. However, Zhang Hanyu and Liao Fan's beards are too individual, and there is no taste if they are removed, so Zhang Jiayi, who has no beard, won the role of Yang Jiannan, anyway, Shen Zhenghui feels that Zhang Jiayi's hesitant appearance in "One Servant and Two Masters" is very in line with Yang Jiannan's appearance as a love loser.

As for the actor, he only needs to be young and good-looking, so many big names in the actor circle were directly brushed down by Shen Zhenghui, and the memory of Zheng Chao came into mind. This guy is currently filming a very popular TV series and starred as an emperor. But compared with the movie characters with an investment of 300 million. The TV series is a fart! It's settled.

In addition, the role of the old general is also very important, and many of Shen Zhenghui's flattering lines are designed for the old general, so the role of the old general is more important than any other character. Uncle Daoming and Uncle Guoqiang, these two styles are too strong and too scene-stealing to be used. Teacher Baoguo can't be used either. These guys stood there and snatched the show. Therefore, a silent old actor is needed to play the role. Shen Zhenghui took the list of deputy directors of Bayi Factory. Looking at it, with his barren experience, he also thinks that Teacher Du Yulu and Teacher Li Xuejian are more reliable. That list of "emperors" can't be used at all, considering that Mr. Li Xuejian is seriously ill and still recovering, it is just right to use Mr. Du Yulu to play, and the age is also worthy.

For this film, Shen Zhenghui still has a bit of a bad taste, he lobbied Wang Anping if he could send a navy who understands aircraft carriers to guide some shooting, in addition, can this director also leave the country in the movie and play the commander of our aircraft carrier battle group.

This construction made Wang Anping a little surprised, "It's okay to ask for guidance, and you have to act, it's hard to get through, right?" ”

"Isn't that propaganda?" Shen Zhenghui said, "You can send someone who often leaves the country!" "Actually, this is almost a designation to let Zhang Juzuo play this role.

"This has to be decided, I'll help you and my grandfather ask." Wang Anping thought for a while and replied.

Almost all of the rest of the roles are made of powerful actors, one is for acting skills, and the other is because they are cheap, and soon Shen Zhenghui will find that compared with male roles, it is much more difficult for female characters to be fixed.

The list of characters quickly circulated, but the female characters only had a recommended list, unlike the male characters who were quickly decided. Zheng Chao, the lucky one, suffered the curse of countless peers in the circle, and the rest of the characters couldn't make waves, and this kind of casting was decent. Many actors who thought they were capable died down after seeing the casting list.

But the list of female characters has attracted much more attention, seeing that there is not a single Hong Kong actor in the list of actors, a newspaper in Hong Kong actually published an article denouncing that this is discrimination against Hong Kong, and also used Maggie Cheung as an example in "Hero" to say that mainland actors are not good at all.

This kind of sour-spitting report is just the wailing of the negative dog, just look at the list, and everyone will know what the nature of this movie is. However, the reference list given to Shen Zhenghui by the mainland's assistant director is too broad, except for the male roles that were selected by Shen Zhenghui early, there are so many female roles that there are no scores, so every actress on the list hopes to be able to fight for it.

Even Ziyi, the queen of director Zhang in "Hero", found a channel to contact Shen Zhenghui, saying that the salary could be paid at a friendly price and play the role of Lin Lan, a female soldier.

Shen Zhenghui hahaha on the surface, but in his heart he expressed contempt, this kind of female soldier who attracts college students, how can a small tablet be able to act? Do you have such a style and temperament? Can you hold up in a military uniform?

Shen Zhenghui didn't realize how much trouble this circulating female role candidate list brought him at this time, but he immediately felt it, not only because the reporter chased after him and his assistant director's ass to get the latest news on the role selection, as long as people who knew him called him to sell the heroine, of course, if you want a supporting actress, we also have it.

Han Sanye made such a call, Huayi's Wang brothers also called to promote their actresses, and in the end, even Shen Zhenghui's father, Shen Xingguo, personally called Shen Zhenghui.

"No, Dad, don't you know that the movie I made is a 300 million yuan movie? What are you doing with a TV actor for me? She has only starred in the TV series you invested in, and she is not the artist you signed a contract with, is there any mistake. ”

"This, Dad, can't I be embarrassed? Otherwise, you can casually arrange to show your face in the movie, and you can have a few minutes of scenes, I'm your father, I always have to give this face, right? ”

"I have more face, more than you have face."

"What do you mean to have more face than me, I'm your father!"

"Did my mom know about you calling this?"

"What's your mother's business again?"

"Are you sure you don't explain to my mom that you don't have unspoken rules?"

", how can I have it!"

These circumstances made Shen Zhenghui feel a headache, and the outside media added even more stringent information, they went to consult the opinions of every female star, and all the female stars said that they would not refuse Director Shen's summons, and Shen Zhenghui felt a lot of pressure. But on the other hand, Heroes is more stressful. The investment of 300 million yuan has drawn the attention of the entire entertainment industry, Director Zhang is anxious to pay attention to entertainment news reports every day, but the reporters are very interested in the casting of the heroine of "Shanghai Fortress", and the report is not tired, and the bigwigs in the entertainment industry are also constantly blowing the wind and doing sales business.

In the end, Wang Anping called Shen Zhenghui, "It's almost enough to hype, don't overdo it, beware that the selected heroine will be under too much pressure and the media will splash dirty water." ”

Shen Zhenghui was extremely annoyed, "I didn't do it to hype this matter. ”

The Japanese media is as active as the Chinese media, and for a long time, Japanese audiences have been mentioning "Shanghai Fortress" as an enthusiastic caster, and the information on the actresses on the exposed list has also circulated in the Japanese media. This effect made many planners feel that the crew of "Shanghai Fortress" really understands the truth of hype.

Shen Zhenghui finally discussed with his assistant director and settled on the first and second female leads, Xu Qing, who played Ren Yingying, won the role of Lin Lan, a female soldier, and Lu Yiyi gave Zhou Xun. If these two accept, the main roles are completely decided.

After the news came out, there was another uproar, and many people lost their glasses in shock. It is estimated that the trend of discussing why this election will last for another two or three months. (To be continued......)