China Entertainment 1997

Regarding the casting of "Painted Skin", it lasted from November to December. Various actors and actresses frequently resorted to tricks. The crew of "Painted Skin" deliberately spread the popularity and had an ambiguous attitude.

During the hottest period, several companies even exposed each other's dirty information. Tianya and Tieba were all crazy about it, eating everything to the fullest.

But no matter how lively it is, it will eventually end one day.

"Painted Skin" publicly stated that Zhao and Li Bingbing did not fit the roles of the crew, and they withdrew from the campaign.

Hong Kong and Taiwan actresses such as Zhang Yunv were just scratching the surface at the beginning, and it was impossible to compete for roles among artists under Fanxing. Sun Niangniang, Xu Qing and others had limited spots for famous stars, so they were basically just accompanying people.

So after a fight, although some people were still hyping other actors, some media and industry gossip experts basically selected a few final candidates.

Hu Jing, Fan Xiaopang, Gao Yuanyuan, Zhou Gongzi and Jiji Zhang.

Hu Jing doesn't need to say much. There are even rumors that one of the two female leads has been decided, and the rest is just a fight for one of them.

Fan Xiaopang is a strong competitor for the first sister of Fanxing. She has previously played the heroine of "New World" and "Xiu Chun Dao 2", so "Painted Skin" is very likely to be a joint performance of the two generations of first sister of Fanxing.

Gao Yuanyuan is also a star star. Although she is not as good as the first two, she can still be regarded as an A-list actress. She has also had the experience of starring in star movies, so she may have the opportunity to make a counterattack.

But soon, Yinghuang announced that Gao Yuanyuan is the first female lead in Cheng Long's new film "Baby Project".

Although this does not mean that Gao Yuanyuan is out, the chance is definitely much smaller.

As these three artists under Fanxing, according to Cao Xuan's habit of giving priority to his own people, the outside world is more optimistic about their promotion.

But Mr. Zhou and International Zhang still have many people supporting them, and they also have their own advantages.

Cao Xuan has always admired Mr. Zhou's acting skills and once publicly stated that Mr. Zhou is the business benchmark for actresses of his age in his opinion.

Afterwards, Cao Tianwang was almost "domestic-violated" by two actresses who did not want to be named...

More importantly, Mr. Zhou and Cao Xuan have been friends for many years. They have been very good friends since 1999. They have also been involved in scandals and have been photographed at private gatherings. They support each other and speak up for each other no matter what.

[Master Zhou] This nickname also came from Cao Xuan.

The original time and space Mr. Zhou has this nickname because in the movie "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate", a woman disguises herself as a man, has quite a temperament, and is slowly called away.

Cao Xuan used to call Zhou Xun Mr. Zhou, and he once let it slip in the media. He later explained that he felt that Zhou Xun's character was heroic and bold, but his appearance was also beautiful and agile. The combination of the two gave him the chic and handsome look of an ancient prince. So I called her Mr. Zhou.

Mr. Zhou himself liked this nickname.

She feels that "gongzi" is not a gender, but a summary of personal temperament. She especially likes the feeling of being unrestrained and unfazed by honor and disgrace in the word "gongzi".

The family was happy, so under the leadership of Cao Xuan, friends gradually started to shout out, and even fans used it as a nickname.

The same thing happened to Fan Xiaopang, although she was not fat at this time, not even plump, and a little thin.

However, due to his large frame, he inevitably looks a little "strong" in the camera. Once, Cao Xuan teased Fan Xiaopang on the set of "Xiu Chun Knife 2".

However, Fan Xiaopang didn't like this nickname very much, but she didn't dare to refute the boss's words, so she could only hold back and lose weight.

But fans of Fan Xiaopang really like this nickname. They think it is a bit cute and it avoids the conflict between "Bingbing" and another one. Now fans' comments on her blog are often "My little fat".

Of course, there are also some small fans who like to use two nicknames to attack Mr. Zhou as a "fake man" and Fan Xiaopang as "obese".

Anyway, there are pros and cons. Everything has two sides, just like Liu Tianxian. Her nickname originally meant ridicule, but later it became a synonym for immortality and a nickname.

Cao Xuan's own nicknames such as Cao Daguanren, Cao Ma, Cao Thief, and Ba Bai Zhan also have multiple purposes such as ridicule, fan nicknames, and ridicule.

There are various signs that Cao Xuan and Mr. Zhou have a very good personal relationship. There have been rumors on the Internet that Mr. Zhou may join Fanxing, although the rumors were later refuted by both parties.

But there is an emotional basis here. Many people think that although Mr. Zhou is not a star artist, he still has advantages.

The situation for international chapters is more complicated.

At the end of November, "Memories of a Geisha" starring three major Chinese actresses: International Zhang, Gong Li, and Yang Ziqiong, was released in the United States, and the box office results were pretty good.

International Chapter became famous in one battle, and coupled with the accumulation of previous movies, she has established a firm foothold in Hollywood. The nickname International Chapter is worthy of her name.

Sure, it did well at the box office, but the movie was panned in Asia.

Domestic people feel that three Chinese actresses, including two pure Chinese (Gong Li did not change her nationality in 2005) playing Japanese women, hurt national sentiment.

The Japanese side was even more scolding. They were angry about why the Japanese wanted a group of Chinese to act, and many details in the movie were not at all true to the facts.

This is actually not surprising. The movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" is adapted from a novel by an American man.

The original book and movie are full of Western men's obscene thoughts about certain things. To a certain extent, they can be regarded as an alternative version of "Miss Saigon". It would be strange if the Japanese find it enjoyable.

Fortunately, Kokusai Chapter played a Japanese geisha this time. Although she was scolded, she was not punished to death. If the film had been set in China, the consequences would have been even more serious.

It is no exaggeration to say that if there is a domestic version of "Miss Saigon", the actor will be nailed to the pillar of shame for the rest of his life.

Especially in the current tense environment between the East and the West, consider changing careers as soon as possible.

But it's hard to say that the later "Squinted Eyes Boy" still went against the trend and committed crimes. Not only did the box office reach 250 million, but Douban scored 8.3 points, making it the highest-scoring Chinese movie in 2021.

It is difficult for ordinary people to imagine the integrity of capital and the lower limits of certain people, so a certain platform deserves to be rectified...

But no matter what, the box office and performance of "Memoirs of a Geisha" are here. International Zhang is also the only Chinese actress who is expected to take over 100 million U.S. dollars in box office.

Not to mention, last year she won the Golden Rooster Best Actress, and this year she won the Golden Rooster Best Actress again for "2042".

Combining his popularity, achievements, influence and awards, he deserves to be number one among his peers, and has faintly surpassed a certain Zhao to become the number one little flower in China.

Even if it weren't for the mediocre popularity and word-of-mouth reviews, she would already be the number one little girl in China.

Under such circumstances, Huayi was under pressure to invite International Chapter to participate in "The Banquet". Although the outside world was not optimistic about it, they did not dare to remove International Chapter from the candidate list of "Painted Skin".

Don't forget, International Chapter is Hu Jing's college classmate and "best friend". A lot of things can change if the pillow blows.

There is a lot of noise from the outside world, but in fact, in December, the crew of "Painted Skin" has basically decided on the relevant starring roles.

Cao Xuan plays Wang Sheng, Hu Jing plays Pei Rong, and Xiao Wei is played by Mr. Zhou.

The role of Sun Niangniang in the original version was really redundant, so it was deleted. The role of Zhen Bullet is still there, and it has been combined with Sun Niangniang's role to resemble a demon-conqueror like Yan Chixia.

But there is no emotional drama between this demon-conqueror and Pei Rong. He just came to conquer demons and eliminate demons just to eat people's hearts.

The main highlights of the original "Painted Skin" are the special effects and the confusing human-male love triangle.

But I don’t know whether it was to make up for the running time or to praise the actors. In addition to the three core actors, another hexagon was created.

The lizard spirit likes Xiao Wei.

The role of Zhen Dan is Pei Rong licking the dog.

Sun Niangniang fell in love with Zhen Tuan again.

Talking about falling in love in circles is a mess. It not only breaks the rhythm, but also adds a bit more blood to the movie.

The Starry version of "Painted Skin" retains the two major selling points of the original version, while cutting off some useless details and reducing the bloody settings.

The demon slayer is played by Duan Long, and the lizard spirit is also retained, but there is no emotional scene with Xiao Wei, he is just a tool for his younger brother.

He was once rescued by Xiao Wei and is loyal. At the same time, it is a metaphor that he may like Xiao Wei but has never confessed his love. He is an invisible licking dog, played by Huang Bo.

These two talented artists are now the main stars of Stars and are aiming to develop into movies. They have participated in supporting roles in several Stars movies, especially Huang Bo, who is now a bit like a clown.

However, for Huang Bo, it is great to be able to participate in a movie and get a role that is not weak. Moreover, even if the role is ugly, there is still room for excellence in the role.

In addition, the plots of other movies are roughly based on the original version, but there are also many detailed changes, trying to dig deeper into the "love" and "evil" selling points of "Painted Skin".

Although "Painted Skin 2" has an excellent box office, its reputation is too bad, and there is no way to make it. The story has been told, and it can only be fried. Except for the skin-heart exchange, it has some highlights. The rest is almost entirely supported by Zhou Gongzi. .

Cao Xuan does not plan to make another "Painted Skin 2". He plans to work more on "Painted Skin" and strive to make it a classic.

The role has been decided, and Fanxing is already signing a contract with Mr. Zhou. In order to get this role, Mr. Zhou only has to pay a friendship price, and the total of all the conditions is only about 500,000.

The current market price of Mr. Zhou's movies is 1.5 to 3 million, and in most cases it is less than 2 million.

There is no way around it. Although she is a young actress, her box office value is average and she has no international influence. Her film projects are more wolf than meat, so her pay will definitely be lower.

In fact, the salaries of domestic top-notch movies are mostly at this level. There are more and less, but almost none of them can break through the 5 million threshold.

Don't brag based on the press release. The cost of the movie is here, and most of the female leads are not one-stop. If the film salary is really millions or tens of millions, the investors will have a lot of money.

At present, the salary ceiling for domestic female film actors is Gong Li, but it is only around 10 million to 20 million. This time the international chapter enters Hollywood, it is expected to rise.

Other films that do not have impressive box office results and international influence basically only have around 1 million to 2 million.

Of course, for some gray film crews or films that cannot attract stars, they can only spend money.

As for high-quality projects like "Painted Skin", many people are willing to pay low pay or even no pay to compete for roles.

For example, Li Bingbing bluntly stated that he did not want to be paid, and Zhao and Zhou Gongzi also lowered their prices significantly.

For an A-list actress like Zhou Gongzi, with at least a 2-month filming schedule, a 1-month publicity schedule, and other support, 500,000 yuan is definitely a bargain.

Xu Laoguai's directorial fee is 6 million, Hu Jing's salary is 2 million, Duan Long and Huang Bo are both paid 200,000, and Damimi, who plays the little maid, is 50,000.

Because it is a joint venture, the artists from Fanxing did not take the internal price, but the market price, some of which were even higher.

For example, Da Mimi and Huang Bo, for a normal crew, the former would be paid 18,000 yuan, while the latter would definitely have to be priced below 100,000 yuan.

Old Monster Xu’s 6 million is not too much. After all, he is also a great director with two films worth over 100 million. In addition to this 6 million, there are also follow-up bonuses in the contract.

If the revenue and box office of "Painted Skin" reach a certain limit, it can easily earn tens of millions, or even more.

Great directors are very popular in the industry!

For example, Director Chen not only has a guarantee but also receives dividends. Feng Xiaogang is more comfortable in Huayi than Old Monster Xu is in Fanxing.

He had traveled to Huayi before, and Cao Xuan was eyeing him. The Wang brothers wanted to hold him in their hands and cut off a lot of his flesh, for fear that he would run away.

Lao Mouzi is a bit miserable. Boss Zhang in the new picture is picky about this. At least compared to people outside, the money he gives to Lao Mouzi is not much.

Afterwards, the two parted ways, partly because of Boss Zhang's interference in artistic creation and all kinds of troubles, and partly because of the lack of money given by Boss Zhang.

He even deducted money from others because a certain project was not profitable. No matter how good-tempered Lao Mouzi was, he couldn't stand it. The two sides had a big fight and broke up.

Cao Xuan is not generous to the director, but he is definitely not stingy.

Some of the directors who have worked with him think that he interferes too much, some think that he is too strong and difficult to get along with, and some even have conflicts, but no director has ever questioned Cao Xuan on the issue of money.

Old Monster Xu, Ning Hao and others are willing to join Fanxing. Cao Xuan wants to recruit Lin Chaoxian, and he is immediately interested. Artists also aim to join Fanxing.

Although Fanxing is strong and has wide channels, Boss Cao’s reputation for being generous and generous also contributes a lot.

They are all part-time workers, who wouldn’t want to find a good boss who pays well...

………

The characters of "Painted Skin" have been decided, and the filming date has even been set. It will be filmed in March next year at Star Cinema and other places.

However, the news has not been announced to the outside world. Gao Yuanyuan and Fan Xiaopang are the smoke bombs released by the stars to help maintain the popularity.

As for the international chapter, they probably want to use this incident to suppress the negative reputation of "Memoirs of a Geisha". In addition, Huayi also wants to ride on the popularity.

"The Banquet" and "Painted Skin" are both big productions for next year, and tying them together is a good marketing hype.

Huayi is not the only one who thinks so. After entering December and seeing the Lunar New Year holiday approaching, "Xiu Chun Dao 2" and "The Promise" also automatically started to be bundled and hyped.

The premiere of "The Promise" is on December 15th, and the premiere of "Xiuchungdao 2" is on December 12th. There is only three days difference between the two parties.

No way, the Lunar New Year schedule is not like the summer schedule, where there is a gap of 15 to 20 days between the two blockbusters.

Because the Lunar New Year movies have to compete with New Year's Day, they are basically released in mid-to-late December, and very rarely at the end of December.

This year, because the Spring Festival is at the end of January, the schedule has been squeezed, so it can only be released in early to mid-December.

But this is not bad, at least there are still a few days of buffer, if you are lucky, you can squeeze out ten and a half days.

It took shape during the Spring Festival a few years ago and was released on the first day of the Lunar New Year. It was a head-on fight with real swords and guns, and there was no buffer room at all.

Of course, the short three-day gap is less of a gimmick than the release on the same day, but it is not inferior.

Cao, Xu, Fan VS Chen, Xie, Zhang, Liu

This Lunar New Year war has excited countless people. In addition, Lao Mouzi's literary film "Ride Alone for Thousands of Miles" and "The Great Sage" starring Chef Xie have also announced their participation in the Lunar New Year war.

The gimmicks and cast of these two movies are on the weak side, but they should not be underestimated.

But despite Lao Mouzi's fame, the starring role is Gao Cangjian, who has a certain influence in the mainland.

"The Great Sage" is directed by Liu Zhenwei, a well-known comedy director in Hong Kong. It stars popular Hong Kong rising stars such as Chef Xie and Twins. The most important thing is that it has been a part of "Westward Journey".

In the past two years, Xingye's "Westward Journey" has become more and more popular, almost becoming a god, and has wide influence among movie fans.

Under such circumstances, the original director Liu Zhenwei has made another love movie based on the magic of "Journey to the West". How could it not make people daydream?

To put it bluntly, "The Great Sage" was even more popular than Lao Mouzi's "Riding Alone" during the Lunar New Year this year.

But even so, more than 70% of the attention in this year's Lunar New Year holiday is on the two movies "Xiu Chun Dao 2" and "The Promise".

Whether it is the two crews themselves, the media, or the public, they are all interested in bringing the two movies together intentionally or unintentionally, making them different from each other.

At the end of November, Cao Xuan came out to promote "Xiu Chun Knife 2" and expressed his confidence in an interview with "China Movie Channel".

"We have made a series of extensions and refinements to the plot and fighting scenes of "Xiu Chun Knife 2", and we have also retained the characteristics of the previous film. We used small things to break the situation, peel off the cocoons, and reveal a larger conspiracy...

Director Xu and I talked about it. Based on the popularity of the previous film, we think the box office should catch up with "Xiu Chun Knife". "

The box office of "Spring Knife" is 150 million. Cao Xuan said that he wants to catch up and surpass, hoping that the box office of "Spring Knife 2" will be more than 150 million.

You know, it's almost the end of the year, and the total box office in 2005 is less than 2 billion.

Experts estimate that the Lunar New Year market will only be around 300-350 million, with a high probability of not exceeding 400 million.

Cao Xuan opened his mouth to ask for more than 150 million, which is already a very confident performance.

However, no matter how confident Cao Tianwang is, he is still a younger brother to Director Chen. Director Chen said publicly in another interview.

“I think the market and the audience will give 100% respect to a film that is full of sincerity.

I won't predict the box office of "The Promise", that is for the future, but I hope it is good enough. "Titanic" is a good film, but it should not be the representative of China's box office charts. "

As soon as these words came out, countless media netizens applauded and praised Director Chen's domineering attitude.

There are also people who are trying to suppress Cao Xuan, saying that catching up with the box office of his previous films is nothing. A good filmmaker like Director Chen who is dedicated to adding luster to Chinese films is a good filmmaker.

Cao Xuan was a little dumbfounded.

To be honest, Director Chen's mentality is worthy of praise. "Titanic" firmly ranking first in the mainland box office list is a knot in the heart of all Chinese filmmakers.

But ordinary filmmakers really don't dare to say that it will catch up with "Titanic". Director Chen dares to say so, which is absolutely commendable.

If it were other times, Cao Xuan might have given it a thumbs up, but thinking about "The Promise", he really didn't know how to evaluate it.

Director Chen of the original time and space was not so arrogant. Why is he so fierce now?

After thinking about it, Cao Xuan could only suspect that this summer's "New World" had a box office of 225 million, giving Director Chen enough market confidence.

So, he prepared to kick Cao Tianwang, beat up Lao Mouzi, trample Cameron under his feet, and shout that I am the king of Chinese...

The overwhelming support made Director Chen feel even more excited.

When accepting an event held by Penguin News, the host Liu Yan who was specially invited to interview asked what to do if the box office did not meet expectations. Director Chen became furious and walked away on the spot.

Afterwards, she scolded Liu Yan at a press conference, saying that she had ulterior motives for asking this question. Before the movie was released, this question was like attending a child's full moon party and asking what to do if the child is going to die.

How should I put it, Liu Yan's question may be a little inappropriate, but it is indeed within the normal range. Similar interviews are actually very common.

For example, when Cao Xuan was promoting "Xiu Chun Dao 2", some people asked what to do if the box office and word-of-mouth were not good, and everyone would make some remarks to smooth over the matter.

Director Chen's reaction was too intense, so he just walked away. Afterwards, he even scolded Liu Yan, which seemed a little narrow-minded.

There was also such a thing in the original time and space, and Liu Yan was also interviewed, and the situation was generally not bad.

At that time, Liu Yan was still a newcomer. After offending the great director, she was so frightened that she had nightmares for a month. When she talked about it on the show, she apologized repeatedly.

However, now that Liu Yan is the host of Fanxing, she has a big tree behind her, so she has no fear of Director Chen.

On the contrary, Liu Yan very stubbornly posted the interview transcripts and video materials on her blog where she interviewed Cao Xuan, Liu Tianwang, Cheng Long, Lao Mouzi and other similar issues.

When asked the same type of questions, other celebrities were very calm and even acted very modestly. The interview atmosphere was extremely friendly.

Although Liu Yan only posted pictures and did not say a word, it is worth a thousand words.

While the media excitedly reprinted the story, they were also shocked by Liu Yan's toughness and suspected that Cao Xuan was behind it.

In this regard, Boss Cao can only say——

You guessed it!

Liu Yan was very aggrieved before. She was so angry that she cried when she went backstage, but she didn't dare to challenge the director. She was ready to endure it. She even wanted to apologize through her blog, but Cao Xuan stopped her.

Boss Cao, who protects his shortcomings, doesn't care whether you are Director Chen or Father Arthur.

If Liu Yan was wrong, he wouldn't protect her, but Liu Yan was right, and Director Chen couldn't bully his Fanxing people.

Do you think his surname Cao is dead?

He didn't directly start a fight, mainly to save Mr. Han's face. In addition, Director Chen and his master Li Xuejian still had a romantic relationship, and he was too embarrassed to take the initiative to provoke them.

But it was inconvenient for him, and the person involved could come, so Cao Xuan called Liu Yan.

If you endure it, I don't care.

If you don't want to endure it, don't worry, I'll help you deal with the consequences.

Of course Liu Yan didn't want to bear it. She wanted to apologize before because she was afraid of offending Director Chen. Now that her boss is protecting her, she can just do it.

Not long after, Liu Yan and a news crew from Sohu went to Yunnan Province to conduct an urgent interview——

"A Movie Ruined Shangri-La"

When Director Chen's "The Promise" was shot in Shangri-La, it caused irreparable damage to some of the local natural scenery.

For example, the crew bulldozed 40 to 50 square meters of century-old alpine rhododendrons, paved a crude gravel road that had hardened and could not be restored, and drove more than 100 piles in Tianchi, leaving behind a large amount of construction and domestic garbage.

In fact, this matter has been revealed before, but almost no one paid attention to it. Who would have thought that Liu Yan was brave enough to directly bring someone to report it.

This news was a slap in the face to Director Chen and the crew of "The Promise", and the negative effects it caused were immeasurable.

The local official deputy was directly dismissed from his post. Director Chen and the crew publicly apologized. Not only did they cover all the costs of restoring the scenic spot, they were also fined more than 900,000 yuan.

If it weren't for Mr. Han and China Film's protection, "The Promise" might not have been released smoothly, but the film's prospects have been cast into a haze.

No one expected that Liu Yan, a weak woman, could have such terrifying fighting power. Even Cao Xuan looked at her with admiration.

He originally thought that Liu Yan could only have a verbal spat with Director Chen. Afterwards, "The Promise" hit the street, which was a good time to mock him. Unexpectedly, Liu Yan came up with a big move and almost took "The Promise" away.

Liu Yan herself was very relieved. Didn't she say that her problems were harmful to others? Not only was she harmful to others, she also personally poured medicine into the "child" to treat him to death.

As the saying goes, never underestimate the consequences of offending a woman...