Chapter 437: Flying Tiger

The global box office success of "The Young Yi" has really given a great stimulus to filmmakers from all over the world.

Everyone has seen the amazing explosive power of the global box office, and the investment and expectations for this special effects blockbuster have risen to a new level.

With such a big piece of cake, everyone wants to take a bigger piece!

Disney and Marvel immediately announced the overall planning schedule of the Marvel Universe. After "Avengers 1", they ambitiously took the steps to dominate Hollywood.

Time Warner responded tit for tat, and simultaneously launched "Dawn of Justice: Batman v Superman" and "Wonder Woman", and widely publicized that Hathaway will play Wonder Woman Diana Prince, attempting to compete with the Marvel Universe.

Other Hollywood film companies are also not to be outdone, and have also announced their own special effects blockbuster plans. "Interstellar", "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", "King Kong: Skull Island", "Godzilla 2" and other special effects blockbuster productions have come forward.

China is no exception. Ning Hao's "Take Her Eyes" has a global box office of over 600 million US dollars, and Shanhe's "Youth Yi" has a two-week box office of 1.1 billion, which has given domestic filmmakers a real shot of chicken blood.

Domestic science fiction novels have suddenly become a hot commodity. The copyright of Liu Cixin's novels has been monopolized by Chuhe Film and Television, but Chinese science fiction novels are not limited to Liu Cixin. The copyrights of novels by "Galaxy Award" winners such as He Xi, Wang Jinkang, and Jiang Bo have become the focus of competition among various Chinese film companies.

As a Chinese film giant, Chuhe Film and Television naturally followed the boss's footsteps and immediately announced several blockbuster news:

First, directed by Zhang Yimou, in cooperation with China Film Group to invest 800 million yuan, China's first monster movie production "The Meg" has been approved and will start shooting next year.

Second, directed by Xu Ke and Wuershan, the domestic fairy tale fantasy masterpieces "Zhu Xian" and "The Legend of the Gods" have entered the brewing and preparation period at the same time.

Third, Chuhe Film and Television, Golden Shield Film and Television Center, and China Film Group jointly invested 500 million yuan, and Shanhe's new work "Operation Mekong" was approved and is expected to start shooting next year.

A stone stirs up a thousand waves. Major domestic film and television companies are impatient and ready to move by the big hand of Chuhe Film and Television.

Within a few days, news of various large investments and large productions came out one after another. The preparation and brewing information of movies such as "Time Hunter", "Fortress of Magic City", "Master of Memory", "RoboCop", "Wesley", etc. were uploaded on the Internet, true and false, and abuzz.

After Shanhe learned about it, he couldn't help laughing. The craze for Chinese-language movies was really set off by himself in advance!

Some of these movies are in my memory, and some are completely unfamiliar. I hope they can all be successful!

Whether it is true or false, the Chinese film market is in a hot state.

Brother Chen Kai looked at the hustle and bustle in front of him and could no longer hold back his inner turmoil. They are all representatives of the fifth generation of directors. I can't be worse than Lao Mouzi!

How can a domestically produced film with large investment and production lack me, the former leader of Chinese-language films!

In Chen Kai's opinion, when it comes to large investment and production, you still have to go to Chuhe Films and Shanhe.

Others are really unreliable. They know you are not short of money, but what's the use of money alone!

The disastrous failure of "The Promise" taught Chen Kai enough lessons. Shanhe was right. You can't be too self-righteous when making a movie. You still need a reliable team!

A project with an investment of hundreds of millions of RMB, without a complete supporting shooting, production and distribution team, is too risky. Once it fails, the blow to the director is difficult to make up!

So, a few days later, Chen Kai appeared on the Chuhe set with his beautiful wife. He needed to have a good chat with Shanhe!

The studio shooting of "Room" has entered the final stage. The film has been shooting for a month and has been going smoothly.

For Hathaway, this shooting was her easiest and most difficult experience as an actor.

The reason why she was relaxed was that she had made sufficient preparations before the filming. She not only experienced the entire novel writing process with her husband, but also spent more than a month with the Fritzler family. She also participated in the script adaptation and lived and trained with the young actor Jacob for several weeks. As soon as the filming started, she quickly entered the role of Elizabeth.

For the same reason, her interpretation process was very difficult. After entering the role of Elizabeth, she spent almost every day in pain and depression.

A woman who has been imprisoned in the basement for several years has only her son as her only hope. This psychological state caused Hathaway, who is already a mother, to have several emotional breakdowns during the filming process.

Especially when she went home to see her son, or when her son came to visit the set, Hathaway almost always hugged the little bear and burst into tears.

Qiu Yanche, the little bear, has become more and more afraid of his mother in the past month. He doesn't understand why his mother always cries and sheds tears when she sees him?

Don't everyone like me? Grandpa and grandma, great-grandpa and great-grandma, great-grandma and great-grandma always smile at me, not to mention my aunt. Even if my father pretends to be angry, he can feel that his father is happy.

But my mother is different. Little Bear can feel that my mother is really crying, and she is crying very sadly!

A thought naturally appeared in Little Bear's little head:

Mom is different from other people in the family. She can't be provoked. She cries more than me, and she cries so hard that I feel helpless. I just want to cry with her!

As a husband, Shanhe is a little worried about his wife's condition, but as a director, he is quite satisfied with Hathaway and Jacob's performance.

Shanhe has always been very confident in Hathaway. He originally thought that the performance of child actors would be a great variable in the filming process.

But with the company of Hathaway and Jacob's father, although little Jacob sometimes has a childish temper, it does not cause too much trouble to the crew.

Not only that, little Jacob's genius performance even brought Hathaway into the role scene several times, which amazed the entire crew.

When Chen Kaige and his wife arrived at the shooting site, the crew was just shooting the last shot in the studio, which is also the ending of the movie:

After escaping from the basement, the mother and son once again returned to the place where they had been imprisoned for several years, and bid farewell to this small world forever.

Little Jacob walked into the basement. As soon as he entered the door, there was a toilet with a sink. There was a small wardrobe at the corner. Then there was the bed at another corner. He continued walking forward. The narrow passage was the hiding space that Elizabeth dug out for her son with an iron spoon.

Jacob looked at the room carefully.

"Mom, is this the room?"

"Yes!"

"Why is it so small? Has it shrunk? Where did all the things go?"

"All of them were taken as evidence to prove that we once lived here!"

Little Jacob touched everything in the past in the room, and suddenly said to Hathaway, who was standing aside in a low mood:

"Because the door is open!"

Hathaway looked at little Jacob with a puzzled look on his face.

"What?"

"If the door is open, this is not a room!"

"You want me to close the door?" ...I'm not going to close the door?"

"I'm not going to close the door?"

"I'm not going to close the door?"

"I'm not going to close the door?"

"I'm not going to close the door?"

"I'm not going to close the door?"

"If the door is open, this is not a room!"

"You want me to close the door?"

"I'm not going to close the door?"

"I'm not going to close the door?" Close it?"

"NO!"

"Tate, can we go now?"

"YES!"

Little Jacob said his last goodbye to the items left in the room,

"Goodbye, Miss Potted Plant!"

"Bye, Chair One!"

"Bye, Mr. Table!"

"Bye, Uncle Wardrobe!"

…

Finally, Little Jacob walked under the skylight, looked up at the sunlight shining down from the skylight,

"Bye, Mr. Skylight!"

He walked past Hathaway and whispered to his mother. Said,

"Mom, say goodbye to the room!"

Hathaway looked up at this nightmare room, a trace of relief appeared on her heavy face, and she murmured in a voice that only she could hear:

"Bye, room!"

…

"Cut!"

Shanhe's shout interrupted this long shot shot by several cameras at the same time,

"Very good! Our interior shooting has all ended, everyone can rest for a few days, and the next exterior shooting will continue in Canada, Jacob, you can go home!"

"Yes! I miss my mother so much!"

"Great!"

…

Amid the loud cheers of the crew, Shanhe walked towards his wife who was still in the role and gently hugged her,

"Annie, you did a perfect job. Now you need to accompany your son. Little Bear is waiting for you at home!"

Hathaway hugged her husband with her backhand and buried her head in Shanhe's arms,

"I'm fine, don't worry, with you and Bernier here, I will never be in trouble!"

The couple hugged silently for a while, and Shanhe found Chen Kaige and his wife standing beside them with a smile.

"Brother Chen, sister-in-law, why are you here?"

Hearing this, Hathaway pulled herself out of Shanhe's arms, turned to look at the visiting guests, and smiled reluctantly,

"Hello, Brother Chen, sister-in-law!"

"Hehe... you two have such a good relationship, how come you have finished shooting all the interior scenes?"

"Filmed!"

Shanhe responded with a smile,

"There are very few scenes in this play, because of the Venice Film Festival, it has been delayed for ten days, otherwise the studio shooting would have ended long ago!"

"That's good, if we came a little later, I guess we wouldn't be able to visit the set!"

"Haha... it's better to come at the right time than to come early!"

Shanhe looked at Brother Chen Kai and smiled , he knew at a glance that Director Chen wanted to talk to him about something, most likely about filming a movie or a new project,

"Brother Chen, how about we find a place to have a couple of drinks tonight?"

"Sure!"

Brother Chen Kai said to his wife with a smile,

"Chen Hong, you and your sister-in-law go see the kids later, Shanhe and I have to have a good chat tonight!"

"You men drink, we women take the kids shopping!"

Chen Hong smiled and walked to Hathaway's side,

"Sister-in-law, you are too tense, filming is absolutely fine, but now is the rest time, you have to relax!"

"Yes, this role is very depressing, it is the most difficult role I have ever played!"

"That's perfect. Let's go shopping with Little Bear. Shopping is the best way for women to relax!"

…

In Beijing, Shanhe is far inferior to Brother Chen Kai in terms of local familiarity. He is a local tyrant who was born and raised in Beijing.

That night, Shanhe followed Brother Chen Kai into an old private restaurant with an ancient and quaint style.

"Shanhe, don't look at this restaurant as small, but the ancestors were real imperial chefs with authentic skills. It's just that the old man is too lazy, and his children and grandchildren are unwilling to inherit his skills, so they just keep it mixed up. Otherwise, it would have become a big restaurant long ago!"

"Really? Then I have to try it!"

"Let's not drink Moutai or Wuliangye at night. Let's play "The food is just for show, let's go for the authentic Beijing braised dishes!"

"Okay, you decide, I'm waiting to eat today!"

"You'll have to listen to me, I'm a Beijing gourmet, I know how to eat!"

…

Brother Chen Kai's recommendation was indeed correct, this restaurant is indeed authentic Beijing style, Beijing dishes such as fried tripe, stir-fried mutton with green onions, three-no-stick, fish slices in wine, and it's like honey are paired with local braised dishes, Shanhe eats very comfortably.

The two chatted while eating, gossiping about the current Chinese film industry,

…

"How many people in the current circle can really make good movies? They are all here for the money!"

Brother Chen Kai clinked glasses with Shanhe, drank the wine in the cup, and then said,

"It's not that we don't make money. It's natural to make money, but we have to have some airs of a director and a writer. We can't just fool people and make money!"

Shanhe drank the wine cup and responded with a smile:

"The domestic market is growing too fast, and hot money is coming in too much and too fast. Our film and television industry needs time to adapt. The key is the lack of qualified directors and behind-the-scenes teams!"

"That's right!"

Brother Chen Kai filled Shanhe's glass and sighed to Shanhe,

"In terms of domestic reliability, it has to be your Chuhe Film and Television. The supporting industries and team cultivation are the most complete. You had too long-term vision at the beginning. Look, special effects animation, production center, studio management, theater distribution, a complete set of film flow Cheng, you are both very capable, I admire you!"

"Hehe... This is not my credit, it's all Zhong Lifang and Yang Liu who are operating and executing!"

"Without your support, they can't do these things!"

After praising Shanhe for a while, Brother Chen Kai then stated his purpose,

"Shanhe, do you still remember the Flying Tigers you told me about two years ago?"

"Of course I remember!"

Shanhe looked at Brother Chen Kai and smiled,

"Why, do you have any ideas about this subject?"

Brother Chen Kai nodded and replied:

"To be honest, seeing that everyone is rushing for big investments and big productions, I am also itching in my heart, but after thinking about it for a few days, I still think your idea is the most reliable. The war theme has a market, the background is grand enough, and it can also add enough special effects production, which is also in line with the current domestic trend. How about we brothers cooperate?"

Listening to Brother Chen Kai's words, Shanhe also felt a little regretful about the subject of "Flying Tigers".

Originally, I wanted to write it as a novel, but the information needed was too huge, and this was a real history, related to the complicated diplomatic history between China and the United States, so there was no room for too much fabrication, and there was too little room for me to play.

In addition, considering the future relationship between China and the United States, Shanhe still put this idea on hold. Now Brother Chen Kai wants to film it, which is not a way for Shanhe to make up for his regrets.

"Brother, do you have a general plot and direction?"

"Yes!"

Brother Chen Kai took out a few folded manuscripts from his pocket and handed them to Shanhe,

"In fact, since you told me this idea, I have never put it down. I often think about it for a while when I have nothing to do, and I have also checked a lot of information. Every time I read the information, I am moved to tears by these heroes!"

Brother Chen Kai raised his glass and drank the wine cup, and continued with some excitement:

"In the eight years of the War of Resistance Against Japan, 6,200 people died in the Chinese Air Force, including 4,321 pilots, and this number is almost the total number of Chinese pilots at that time, with an average age of only Before the age of 23, none of them surrendered! Almost all of the Chinese pilots died in the sky. Many pilots were forced to fly fighter planes to fight the enemy before they even completed their training. The students died, but the teachers followed. They were fearless. You should know that they were the most educated and elite talents of that era. They could have comfortably enjoyed the superior life of the upper class in the rear, but they chose to devote themselves to the country. These people deserve any boasting and deserve to be remembered forever by the country and the nation! "

Shanhe looked at Chen Kaige, whose eyes were red and emotional, and a sense of sadness rushed to his eyes!

He had also read some historical materials of the Chinese Air Force and even seen photos of young pilots.

These young people are almost all college students, second-generation rich, and from prominent families. Before joining the Air Force, they knew that their destiny was in the sky of the motherland, but they came happily and left calmly!

At that time, the training cycle of the Chinese Air Force pilots was half a year, and this cycle was the time from graduation to death of each generation of pilots.

They created the most tragic human aviation history and defended their oath with their lives, "I die for the country, and I die with honor"!

Shanhe and Brother Chen Kai were silent for a long time, and Shanhe raised his glass to the air and said to Brother Chen Kai:

"Let's toast to the heroes!"

The two saluted each other from a distance, and then spilled the wine in the glass on the table, and then Shanhe picked up the manuscript and read the contents.

Brother Chen Kai's plan was very grand, and he defined the movie as a whole series of three films at once, from the first batch of Chinese Air Force to the Flying Tigers, and then to the Hump Route, telling the heroic history of the entire Anti-Japanese War Air Force.

Shanhe spent nearly 20 minutes reading Brother Chen Kai's general idea, and looked up and asked:

"Brother, how long do you plan to take to complete this idea?"

"Six to eight years!"

Shanhe shook his head and answered directly:

"This is unrealistic!"

Shanhe's answer confused Brother Chen Kai. He thought Shanhe would make suggestions and make large-scale changes, and even politely use "consider it" to shirk, but he didn't expect Shanhe to directly deny it.

"Why?"

Shanhe poured a small amount of wine for Brother Chen Kai and answered slowly:

"Because by then The movie can't be released. China is developing too fast. The national conditions and international situation won't allow it!"

"Hmm..."

Brother Chen Kai was stumped by Shanhe's question. He stared at Shanhe for a long time before coming back to his senses.

"You mean, in the next few years, China's international situation will change?"

"Yes, brother, this series will definitely not be released!"

"Ah!"

Brother Chen Kai is not a fool. Without Shanhe's reminder, he wouldn't think so far, but once Shanhe said it, he thought about it carefully and things became quite clear!

Disappointment and discouragement immediately appeared on his face.

"You are right. I did not consider this matter enough. Alas, you Shanhe have a far-sighted vision. I really did not expect this situation!"

Shanhe smiled slightly and then said:

"Don't be discouraged, brother. Let's not make a trilogy. How about making a movie with two parts?"

"Parts one and two?"

"Yes, we can shoot both parts together. Three years is enough. It should be released in 2016!"

"Oh, it will take a lot of investment to shoot them together, and the risk is huge!"

"Money is not a problem. Making a movie is risky. Besides, my luck is always good!"

Shanhe's words made Brother Chen Kai put away his frustration. Shanhe was right. He was famous for his good luck. Didn't he come to him because he saw the strength of Chuhe Film and Television and Shanhe's luck?

"So is this done?"

"Brother, let me say this in advance. The film must be operated according to the process of Chuhe Film and Television. From screenwriting to shooting and distribution, we must concentrate the wisdom of the team, and you have to take care of the early preparation of this film. I don't have time here, and I have national tasks to complete!"

"Then we are co-directors?"

"You are the leader of this matter, and I will be the producer!"

"Hehe... Then I will benefit from your glory!"

"Don't be embarrassed if you laugh at me. I hope that the entire Chinese film industry can benefit from my glory!"

"Haha... Good, you are bold! I am convinced by my brother Chen Kai!"

…