Chapter 813 Hollywood and the Play

Things in the capital were almost settled, and Gu Wei flew to Zhejiang Province to join the team and start filming [Changjin Lake].

There are three directors in Changjin Lake, and each has its own division of labor during filming.

Chen Kaige is good at filming literary dramas, and is responsible for Huzhou, Beijing, and expedition parts; Lin Chaoxian is good at action scenes, and is responsible for the Incheon landing battle, rock formations, and village battles; Xu Ke is good at visual effects and action, and is responsible for a few literary dramas, the ice sculpture company, and the daily routine of the U.S. military.

Of course, this is just a rough idea. The actual shooting was not so detailed, and the three directors were involved in many scenes.

[Changjin Lake] is said to star Wu Jing and Gu Wei, but it is essentially a group drama.

The brothers Wu Qianli and Wu Wanli serve as central characters to connect the entire "Changjin Lake" story.

Others, such as Li Chen and Hu Jun, platoon leaders of the seventh company, instructor Zhu Yawen, sniper Han Dongjun, commander of the third battalion Duan Yihong, etc., each role is very full.

In addition, teacher Tang Guoqiang's chairman, teacher Liu Jin's prime minister, Zhang Hanyu's commander of the Ninth Corps, Huang Xuan's Mao Anying, Ou Hao's Yang Gensi and other real figures in this period of history.

Everyone jointly presented this great and difficult historical episode.

For the filming of "Changjin Lake", Yu Dong almost cast aside actors with tough temperaments who are suitable for playing military roles.

After Gu Wei joined the team, he first met with the three directors.

Lin Chaoxian was an old acquaintance and there was nothing to say. The two of them had a drink together more than half a month ago.

Xu Ke is very enthusiastic about Gu Wei.

"When we were filming [Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons], Stephen Chow and I both wanted you to play the role, but unfortunately we couldn't work together in the end. Now that I think about it, I still feel a little regretful."

"Singye and Director Xu are both directors that I like very much. I was very sorry that I missed the opportunity to collaborate because there was no schedule at the time."

As for greetings, of course you praise me a few words and I compliment you a few words. They are all beautiful words. It doesn't matter whether they are true or not. With this attitude, everyone can quickly get closer to each other.

"When I was a child, I especially loved watching Director Xu's Once Upon a Time trilogy, as well as the previous film [Flying Swords of Dragon Gate]. In my mind, they are both classics of martial arts movies."

"Haha, you don't like my movies, you like Li Lianjie"

"It's not contradictory. I always think that in Director Xu's movies, Mr. Li Lianjie is the real Kung Fu Emperor!"

Tsui Hark was very happy with what Gu Wei said and kept saying that he would definitely invite him to shoot a kung fu movie in the future.

"I've seen your performance of [Xiu Chun Dao]. You're very skilled and look beautiful when you fight.

I can make more action movies in the future.

You are still young now, and your international influence may not be greater than that of Chen Long and Li Lianhe in the future."

In terms of popularity and domestic box office results, Gu Wei can now beat the two Kung Fu superstars.

But its international influence is far less than that.

Especially Cheng Long, whose global popularity is incomparable to that of Gu Weiyuan today.

But as Xu Ke said, Gu Wei is still young and has unlimited possibilities in the future.

Cheng Long and Li Lianlian may not be able to beat him at his age.

"Director Xu is so award-winning. Brother Cheng Long and teacher Li Lianlian are international superstars who have influenced a generation. I am still far behind."

"Your popularity has reached a peak in China, have you considered going to Hollywood for a while?

Although the domestic film market is already very large, it is ultimately a single market, and if you want to become famous globally, you still have to rely on Hollywood films."

Xu Ke's ideas are a bit old-school, but there is nothing wrong with what he said.

Judging from Gu Wei's achievements over the years, he has basically reached a peak in domestic entertainment. If he wants to reach a higher level, he must either go to Hollywood like Cheng Long and Li Lianlian, or wait for China to surpass the United States and become the global entertainment industry. The largest country, by then Chinese films will naturally be as popular around the world as Hollywood blockbusters are now.

“In fact, in the past two years, many Hollywood film companies have approached me to invite me to act in movies, but unfortunately the scripts and roles are not very good.

Even if I want to make a Hollywood movie in the future, what I want is for everyone to work together and take the path of co-production.

I don’t want to join simply as an actor.”

Xu Ke nodded.

"That's okay. With your status, if they want the domestic market, they should make concessions."

After chatting with Xu Ke for a few words, Gu Wei met Brother Chen Kai again.

Unlike Xu Ke's enthusiasm, Director Kai Ge was much more reserved when facing Gu Wei.

It was also the first time for the two of them to collaborate. After meeting, they chatted a few words to get to know each other better.

It felt to Gu Wei that Director Chen wanted to have a relationship with him, but due to his status as a senior, he couldn't take the initiative to do anything, which gave people a sense of contradiction.

"How's it going? Director Xu is pretty good, right?"

Wu Jing arrived a few days earlier than Gu Wei, and he came to visit Gu Wei as soon as he settled in after joining the team.

"Director Xu was very enthusiastic and we chatted for a few words. He said that he would definitely invite me to play the male lead in his new drama in the future."

"Haha, I think he may have had this idea before, but he just didn't have the right opportunity."

Gu Wei shrugged: "I like many of Director Xu's works, so having the right opportunity to collaborate is not a problem.

He also advised me to develop my career in Hollywood if I have the opportunity."

"Oh? What are your plans?" Wu Jing asked curiously.

As one of the two people with the highest box office performance in domestic entertainment, Wu Jing's fame and appeal are second only to Gu Wei.

A company from Hollywood also approached him, so he wanted to know Gu Wei's thoughts.

"Plan? No plan.

Our basic base is the domestic film market. I will definitely not go back to Hollywood, but I will not exclude cooperation if there are suitable scripts and opportunities.

Of course, the premise is that I am satisfied with the script and the characters. "

"It makes sense." Wu Jing couldn't help but nodded.

"In fact, Disney approached me last year and wanted me to play the leading role in a superhero movie."

"Oh? There is such a thing?

Didn't you agree? Wu Jing asked in surprise.

He doesn't know much about Marvel and DC comics, but he knows that current Hollywood superhero movies are the real mainstream.

[Avengers 4: Endgame] has a global cumulative box office of US$2.7 billion, second only to [Avatar], ranking second in global film history.

The film's cumulative box office in China has also reached 4.895 billion yuan, making it the box office champion of China's imported films.

“No, I asked Disney to cast me as [Shang-Chi].

This superhero is suspected of insulting China and is too controversial for me to accept.

I read the script of [Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings], and Disney did make a lot of compromises in order to please the domestic market, but it’s a pity that the character is not right at all.”

Wu Jingding nodded.

“It’s true that you can’t play such a controversial role.

But being the protagonist of a superhero movie, this kind of opportunity is really rare.”

Wu Jing and Li Lianlian have a very good relationship. They both came from Shichahai Sports School and can be regarded as brothers.

In his early years, Wu Jing wanted to follow the path of his senior brother Li Lianlian, but unfortunately he never became famous, let alone developed in Hollywood.

However, as a rare action star in the industry, he has always had great expectations for filming Hollywood action movies.

His "Wolf Warrior" series is essentially based on classic action movies such as "First Blood".

"Haha, there's nothing to regret. If you have one, there are two." [Shang-Chi] It was Disney who took the initiative to come to me, it was not me fighting for the opportunity.

Now, unlike more than ten or twenty years ago, Hollywood is coveting the domestic market and will naturally find ways to please us.

If you don’t talk about me, Brother Jing will have opportunities in the future. You never know when a Hollywood film company will come to your door."

Gu Wei remembers that Warner Bros. came to him and asked to cooperate with Wu Jing in "The Meg 2".

[Changjin Lake] is really difficult to photograph.

Gu Wei has made more than ten movies in the many years he has been in the industry, but this is the first time he has made such a difficult movie.

First of all, the crew of [Changjin Lake] is too huge.

The crew has had thousands of people working on site every day since filming began, and sometimes there are tens of thousands of people including extras.

Every shot and every scene almost requires the mobilization of a shooting team of more than a thousand people and extras.

This makes coordination a top priority for the crew.

Secondly, the movie has almost no interior scenes, all shots were shot on location, and there are a lot of night scenes.

It's January now, and the filming location is in a mountainous area. The temperature is usually over ten degrees below zero, and the wind is very strong in the mountains, making the shooting conditions very difficult.

"Bah, bah, bah!"

After filming a scene, Gu Wei, who was lying on the ground, sat up and spat out the "snow flakes" in his mouth.

The scene just now was a scene in the snow.

There was no snow in the sky, but the snow flakes made of sweet potato powder were blown by the blower installed by the crew, and they easily got into the eyes and mouth.

"Drink some hot water?"

Wu Jing next to him handed over a water glass.

"Thank you~"

Gu Wei took it and took a sip.

"Your movie [Tang Detective 3] has been very popular these days. To be honest, I'm looking forward to it. I've watched the first two movies."

"Thank you, I won't let you down."

“The competition for the Spring Festival this year is very fierce, but I feel that if there are no surprises, your movie will definitely take the top spot.

Then there may be Lu Yang’s [Assassination of Novelists] and Zhou Xun and Chen Kun’s [Samurai God Order].”

As an actor and director, Wu Jing is very concerned about the upcoming Spring Festival in 2021.

With the blessing of the "Tang Detective" series IP and Gu Wei's own fame, "Tang Detective 3" is undoubtedly the biggest hit this year.

Then there are Lu Yang, Lei Jiayin and Yang Mi's "Assassination of Novelists" and Zhou Xun and Chen Kun's "Order of the God of Samurai". Both are fantasy action movies, and judging from the trailers they are also very exciting.

"[Tang Detective 3] is definitely fine, but I'm very excited about Jia Ling's movie [Hello, Li Huanying]."

"Shen Teng's comedy?"

Jia Ling's directorial debut still used the Shen Teng card when promoting it.

“Brother Teng is the male supporting actor, but it’s not important.

Her story is quite touching, and comedies are always popular during the Spring Festival.

By the way, are we going to transfer to Taizhou Xianju tomorrow? "

Wu Jingding nodded: "Go over there and start filming the script."

Gu Wei thought for a while: "I have to talk to the director after the show today. I have sorted out the scenes for the character Wu Wanli, and many of them need to be revised.

I just took this opportunity to propose it, so that I can shoot according to my ideas in the future.”

"You really changed the script!" Wu Jing was a little surprised.

"Did you think I was joking with you before?

Since I took this role, I have to be responsible for the movie and my role. "

Although Wu Wanli had a clear growth line in the original script, Gu Wei felt that the character was actually a bit templated and not realistic and full-featured enough.

First of all, Wu Wanli is rebellious and stubborn, a naughty child who has not grown up yet, but in fact he should show a certain admiration and yearning for his brother Wu Qianli, instead of simply disobeying and going against him.

Although he is ignorant, he should be able to vaguely feel that what his elder and second brothers are doing should be a great thing to be proud of, which is also the reason why he later took the initiative to join the army without telling his family.

Then there is the growth line of Wu Wanli.

In the script, he has an excellent talent for throwing bombs. After several battles and life and death, he finally became a qualified soldier.

But this is not enough.

The reason why our army is strong and tenacious is that the People's Liberation Army is the people's army, and every soldier knows why he fights.

The growth that Wu Wanli needs is not only in military skills, but also in the transformation of personal thinking.

Being able to shoot and throw bombs, learning to kill is nothing, knowing why to fight and becoming a proletarian revolutionary fighter with faith is the real growth.

And these can be reflected in the movie through some detailed descriptions.

For example, the dialogue with Lei Gong, the teachings of his brother and the instructor, can completely make the characters transform layer by layer in the several wars of [Changjin Lake].

"Uh~ Do you want me to join you?" Wu Jing thought for a while and asked.

"Do you have any ideas about your role?"

"A little bit, mainly some literary dramas."

Gu Wei nodded.

"Then I'll call Director Yu and Huang Jianxin to supervise, and call three directors, and we'll have a small exchange meeting.

As you said before, we are all for the good of the movie, and we can discuss and solve any problems."

"That's fine."

The exchange meeting in the evening was relatively successful, of course, this was Gu Wei's artificial.

For his various suggestions for modifying the script, Lin Chaoxian smiled and looked like he had expected it. Xu Ke was a little surprised, but he himself was not very good at grasping the content. He felt that Gu Wei's suggestions were very reasonable and had no objection. Only Brother Chen Kai frowned from beginning to end.

"If this is done, some of the originally scheduled plays will have to be changed accordingly. What about the personnel scheduling issues involved?" Brother Chen Kai questioned.

"It doesn't really have much impact. I changed most of my scenes, mainly in terms of lines and performance, and some conversations with other actors. The specific shooting scenes haven't changed much."

Director Chen wanted to say something, but Yu Dong tried to smooth things over.

"What Mr. Gu said makes sense. According to his ideas, the depth and intention of the characters have indeed been improved.

We can decide on it first, and then see the effect when we shoot.

What do you think, Mr. Lan?"

As the screenwriter, Lan Xiaolong smiled and said, "I have no objection. When I wrote the script, I focused on the big picture, and didn't dig that deep into each specific character.

I feel that Gu Wei really understood the character of "Wu Wanli" and wanted to play him well."

Brother Chen Kai opened his mouth to say something, but when he looked at the other two directors and other creative staff sitting in the room, he suddenly felt alone.

He felt a little bored and waved his hand.

"Let's do it this way for now."