Chapter 107 The Situation of the Crew (38)
Why don't you cooperate?
Shen Xudong said concisely and to the point: "Because making movies doesn't make any money!"
"oh…"
Chen Hao nodded, indicating that he understood...
Hong Kong movies have begun to decline from their peak in 1992;
The mainland film market entered a trough in 1993. The total box office nationwide was only 1.3 billion yuan, and the lowest point was only 850 million yuan in 1999.
And due to the strong impact of piracy, this trough period lasted for more than ten years. During this period, many film studios with insufficient strength and scale closed down or ceased production.
The kind of township-level movie theaters that once existed all over the country, including movie theaters in factories and mines, have almost all disappeared. In some places, there are no movie theaters even in counties.
Under this premise, making movies is just throwing away money...
Cheng Xiaodong suddenly said: "Xudong, which TV series do you think the martial arts effects of "The Best in the World" should be benchmarked?"
Shen Xudong thought for a while and said: "... Try to exaggerate as much as possible... If you insist on benchmarking, I think it can be benchmarked against "The Undefeated East"... Duan Tianya's fantasy sword is actually based on the Hattori Qianjun in "The Undefeated East". But enlarging him a bit..."
Feng Boyuan was very curious: "Don't you prefer realism?"
Shen Xudong shook his head: "Realistic scoring themes, martial arts...can't be too realistic, it is fictional...Many viewers watch martial arts, and they only watch the fighting..."
Cheng Xiaodong was stunned for a moment: "So, in the martial arts ranking in "The Best in the World", Duan Tianya can be ranked in the top three?"
"...He can't beat Cao Zhengchun..."
"Do you know the specific ranking?"
"Yes, Zhu Wuwu, Gu Santong, Cheng Shifei, Jie Jie Master, Xiangxi Four Ghosts, Cao Zhengchun, and then Wuwan, Duan Tianya, Guihai Yida... Shangguan Haitang is a little bit closer..."
"That's it, I'll go back and think about it..."
"The Best in the World" is a martial arts film, and the most important aspect of martial arts is of course the fighting scenes!
Therefore, Cheng Xiaodong's role is not under that of director Feng Baiyuan...
Tang Yan lowered her head to eat the whole time...
In this situation, there was no place for her to interrupt, after all, she was a newcomer!
In fact, Zhuang Liqi was already very kind to her. He introduced her personally, which was like telling the directors present that this is one of our own...
If instead "The Best in the World" is a work invested by another company, and then throws Tang Yan into it, that's fine, just wait to accompany the bar.
Although I didn’t speak, I was listening the whole time…
Everyone spoke Mandarin and she could understand it.
That's right. Most Hong Kong filmmakers born in the 1950s had a good command of Mandarin, because at that time, both Shaw Brothers and TVB all spoke Mandarin!
We didn’t drink much at the scene. The filming will start tomorrow and everyone will have a taste...
Huang Weiming drank half a glass of wine and started chatting with Shen Xudong: "The Hong Kong television industry is like a factory, with assembly lines. A large amount of films are shot in a year and there are many types. But in fact, it is a fixed pattern of alternating studio scenes and real scenes. , it’s hard to have another challenge... I remember the first time I went to the mainland to shoot "Book and Sword", I was so scared when I saw the scene!"
"How to say?"
"It turns out that the venues for costume dramas in the Mainland are so well constructed! The place is so big and the conditions are very good. It turns out that the outside world is quite big, but I have never been exposed to it..."
"Haha... the mainland is very big... and there are many film and television bases..."
…
After eating, we chatted for about half an hour and then left.
Zhuang Liqi specifically told Shen Xudong: "These people in Hong Kong are extremely efficient..."
"Uh-huh…"
Hong Kong TV series follow Shaw Brothers' factory-style production method, which is fast-paced and highly commercialized; studio scenes and outdoor shooting are alternately shot, and a drama can be completed in a few months...
"The Supreme Beauty" and "Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" both started filming in the first half of the year and were broadcast directly in the second half of the year!
In addition, the production method of Hong Kong TV series is that the producer grasps the subject matter, creativity and general direction, the director is responsible for production, and various departments are put together into a professional assembly line, so that a work can be completed in a short time.
Shen Xudong is the chief screenwriter, which to some extent fits the work of some supervisors, so these directors are willing to talk to him!
Zhuang Liqi obviously knows this, so... Shen Xudong's position is not only screenwriter, but also deputy director of the production center...
"If something happens to the crew and you can't solve it, just call me..."
"Um…"
"The Chen Xi you recommended is pretty good at what he does..."
"Thank you, Producer Zhuang, for giving her the opportunity..."
Chen Xi?
Tang Yan was a little surprised. Is this the Chen Xi I know?
Is she also related to Shen Xudong?
Is it an artistic relationship similar to Cao Xiwen's?
…
Chen Xi joined the team a month ago and was placed under the supervision of production director Sun Yan...
The composition of the crew of "The Best in the World" is relatively complicated, but the production team is all from Cheng Tian's Reyou, or Zhuang Liqi's people!
The production team has a very heavy task, which is to manage money...
But how to spend money is a science!
Broadly speaking, the production team prepares production plans and budgets, and leads the production department to effectively manage the work of the film crew.
Including overall control and review of various expenses, strict implementation of financial systems, and responsible for film cost accounting and filming work summary on behalf of the producer.
Strictly implement financial systems...
This one is very difficult. The preparation period for the crew is okay, which mainly involves renting equipment, costumes, renting and buying props, etc., and also contacting the location...
But it’s also very complicated!
"There are a lot of things involved here. It doesn't mean that whose products are of good quality, just use those products..."
"Depends on the relationship?"
"Yes…"
In Shen Xudong's room, Chen Xi chatted with him about his gains during this period...
I have seen various ways to squeeze the wool of the crew: "As long as you are not a big-name actor, you have to rely on the management of Life Production. Because in the crew, all the daily life, food, drink, housing and transportation of all the cast and crew have to be taken from Life Production." money!"
"The most common phenomenon is taking kickbacks. A crew, which can range from a few thousand to a few hundred people, has to stay in hotels, eat, and take cars when filming. Lifestyle producers find people to handle these things, and some contracted crews pay for them. Of course, the units that work, live and travel will give kickbacks to life producers..."
"...Who is the life producer of our crew?"
"Brother Sun Yan, I am the life production assistant...Brother Yan and others avoided me at first, but later they thought I was a good person, so they were accepted as one of their own!"
"Why are you treated as one of our own?"
"I negotiated a location deal, eight hundred a day, and I told Brother Yan that we would offer two thousand a day..."
"Then what?"
Hearing Shen Xu Dongdong's question, Chen Xi's expression was a bit dumbfounded: "...Brother Yan said I was too conservative, so I changed it to eight thousand a day..."
You are still trying to make money!
Chen Xi continued: "Brother Yan is already very good. I heard them say that Brother Yan's reputation is obvious to all!"
"Isn't this good?"
"At least he didn't make a fuss about food and accommodation!"
Generally, the daily rent for each cast member is 200 yuan, so the lifestyle producer can compress this 200 yuan to 90 yuan, and the remaining 110 yuan per person is his "black" money.
He can even ask the hotel to add extra beds to accommodate three or four people in a room that can only accommodate two people.
Just imagine that an actor costs 110 yuan, and there are hundreds or thousands of people. There is a lot of money for life producers.
Some producers can afford to buy an ordinary Audi car after completing a movie, which is even higher than the salary of a first-line actor!