Chinese entertainment director starts with filmmaking

Chapter 87: Wrap-up Party, Racing Car Draft Completed

Aside from Han Sanping, Wang Changtian was also busy, pulling Gu Qing aside to inquire about investing in movies.

"Mr. Wang, are you planning to invest, or are you going to film it yourself?"

Gu Qing asked a bit more probing questions, mainly because he was planning to rest for a while and didn't want to be rushed like a donkey.

He has been in the industry for two and a half years and has only made two movies and one short film, which is quite dedicated.

He wrote the script and manuscript himself, which was very tiring, to be honest.

"I've tried investing before, this time I want to find someone to film it myself."

Wang Changtian nodded; he had already thought it through.

Enlight Media is a well-funded company, considered a leading media company in China, with annual revenue exceeding 100 million yuan. Otherwise, how could they afford to produce animated films?

He had previously followed Bona's lead and cast several films, but none of them were very successful.

"Mr. Wang, I can't help you with that right now. The scripts I have aren't really suitable. But if you're interested in investing, I can introduce you to a few."

Gu Qing wasn't exaggerating; he did indeed have a few notebooks, but these weren't things to be given away carelessly. If they succeeded, great; if they failed, it would be his fault.

"Oh? We can talk about this in detail another time."

Although Wang Changtian was reluctant, he did not refuse the other party's kindness, because he really needed good projects.

Gu Qing looked at Wang Changtian, seemingly lost in thought.

There are only a handful of directors in China who have achieved success, and most of them have signed contracts.

Investing in newcomers isn't worthwhile, so Enlight Media has no choice but to turn its attention to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Youth Light Pictures is the company that Wang Changtian uses to invest in and produce movies.

He was also Ning Hao's mentor, investing in several of Ning Hao's films.

Wait, Ning Hao? He seems to have forgotten something very important.

After the reporters finished their interviews, everyone took their seats. Some were relatives or friends, while others brought their artists, making it quite lively.

Wang Changtian brought two female companions, Liu Yan and Xie Nan, who are considered his leading ladies. He has a group of hosts under his command, but it would be a waste to leave them there to stand around. That's why he wanted to organize his own event.

A few months later, unable to resist, they capitalized on the popularity of "Painted Skin" and made their own version of "Painted Wall".

Li Binbin brought his younger sister, Li Xue, to the event. Although she is his sister, she is also his manager.

The latter is also the manager of Huayi Brothers' artist management department.

Huayu Entertainment's "The Forbidden Kingdom" flopped, and with "If You Are the One" still in preparation, expanding one's network of contacts is still very important.

Getting to know Li Xue wouldn't be a problem; he was also thinking of having her introduce him to the TV drama industry.

However, now is clearly not a good time to delve deeper.

The banquet didn't end until the afternoon. Gu Qing exchanged contact information with several media reporters he got along well with. Having more reporters would help him keep an eye out for who might be plotting something behind the scenes.

After arranging the end of the event, Gu Qing returned to Jing Tian's side to keep her company.

"Take a good rest these days and go out with your roommates and classmates."

"I probably won't have time to spend with you. The movie needs to be edited as soon as possible and then sent for special effects production."

Gu Qing took a sip of tea, which helped her sober up a bit.

Although he tried his best to decline at the dinner table, he still inevitably drank a few more glasses than usual.

"Okay, I'll go home now. It's been a long time since I've been home."

"Qing-ge, don't overwork yourself. Let's go watch the opening ceremony together."

Jing Tian held Gu Qing's hand, her expression somewhat reluctant to part. She was still thinking of taking advantage of the summer vacation to travel and enjoy the scenery with Gu Qing.

Lu Zheng watched speechlessly from the side; he was still there.

You know it's been a long time since you've been home, and you haven't even called home a few times. Now your old man is asking me about it.

"Uncle Lu, how's that short film going?"

Gu Qing wanted to spend more time with Jing Tian, ​​but there was still this big third wheel here.

"Things aren't going very well; we've encountered many setbacks."

"Because the actors aren't big names, and there are limitations to short films, they're not easy to sell. But with you as the screenwriter, Ning Hao as the director, and Tian Tian's popularity rising recently, quite a few people have offered to sell to us."

Lu Zheng tidied up and explained the situation to Gu Qing.

Nowadays, due to a lack of awareness about copyright, most of the content on these video websites is used without authorization.

Several websites were interested in broadcasting the content because of the three of them, but the price was pitifully low.

"What about Sohu? How are they doing over there?"

After thinking for a moment, Gu Qing also asked his old partner.

At this time, Lao Zhang should be throwing a party on the rooftop. This guy is so invincible that he's become self-destructive. I guess I have to provoke him a bit.

"They're offering to buy out the copyright for 100 million, and they want you to go to their headquarters to discuss it."

Lu Zheng paused for a moment, then looked at Gu Qing with a surprised expression.

He hadn't expected Gu Qing to have such a big reputation.

"This price is quite fair. Okay, I'll go take a look later."

Gu Qing was quite surprised. His Golden Bear short film was only priced at this price, which was obviously inflated. Ning Hao hadn't made any movies in the past two years, so his fame had declined somewhat. Jing Tian, ​​on the other hand, didn't have a single representative work, so it was clear that he was targeting him.

It seems there are some experts at Sohu. The reason they invited him over wasn't just for a casual chat; they probably wanted to discuss a collaboration. He does seem to have some ideas about the upcoming web series.

After chatting with Lu Zheng for a few more minutes, Gu Qing got up to leave.

Although Lu Zheng's professional skills are not very good, he is wholeheartedly devoted to Jing Tian. He is not afraid of being incompetent, but he is afraid of making things worse.

Jing Tian was reluctant to leave, turning back almost every few steps. Before getting into the car, she even made a gesture to Gu Qing as if she were making a phone call.

Tencent QQ recently launched a video call function, but it's only available on PCs; the mobile version will have to wait until WeChat appears.

If you miss him, you can have a video call.

After seeing Jing Tian off, Gu Qing followed her to China Film Group and also participated in the film editing work.

This job is a bit tiring, but for the sake of the film's quality, we didn't use secondhand materials.

Different people can produce different effects even with the same clip.

Fortunately, he was only responsible for acceptance testing; he wasn't needed for editing.

"Hey, Hao-ge, what's up?"

A week passed in the blink of an eye. He stayed in the editing room of China Film Group, but Gu Qing suddenly received a call from Ning Hao.

"You have the nerve to ask me what's wrong? I'm asking you, do you even remember what you promised me?"

"Oh? You mean a movie script? Oh dear, I completely forgot. Okay, this afternoon... never mind, I'll head over now!"

Gu Qing slapped his thigh. Oh dear, he had really forgotten about it.

He said he felt like he had forgotten something very important.

He immediately told Chen Ze and drove away.

On the other end of the phone, Ning Hao hung up and smiled as he spoke to Xing Aina.

"I knew this kid must have forgotten, otherwise he would have come long ago."

"If you ask me, we should just write it ourselves. Xiao Gu just finished filming a movie, and he probably has a lot on his plate."

"No way, that kid is exploiting me. It's not easy to catch him like this."

Ning Hao got up and stretched, looking quite relaxed.

Xing Aina, who was standing next to him, shook her head speechlessly and turned around to pour him a glass of water.

You're such a grown-up, yet you're still as petty as a child.

More than an hour later, Gu Qing also arrived at Ning Hao's rented room.

The other party has now moved into the house they bought, which cost over four million yuan. It's a large duplex, and they even invited Gu Qing over for a visit.

However, having lived in the rented house for quite some time, the two were reluctant to leave, so they bought it from the landlord and converted it into a studio.

"Brother Hao, you're busy."

Gu Qing smiled apologetically, picked up an apple from the table, wiped it, and started eating.

"We've written a draft of the script, but something doesn't feel right, so we're asking you to take a look."

"You're the expert, let's brainstorm together."

Ning Hao didn't press the matter further and casually handed Gu Qing a bound booklet.

Xing Aina came in, poured a cup of tea for the two of them, and then sat down next to Ning Hao.

"I'll have to take a good look at it, but I'm not very good at this kind of dark humor, so I don't think I'll have any good suggestions."

Gu Qing didn't stand on ceremony and took it. He glanced at it and saw the words "Silver Medal Driver" written on it.

He knew this must be the masterpiece of dark humor, "Crazy Racer," though it wasn't called that yet.

The three subplots converge into one, absurd yet humorous, truly demonstrating great skill.

I flipped through it with a bit of excitement, and soon became engrossed in it.

Ning Hao was also quietly drinking his tea, his mind already working on some loopholes in the script that hadn't been properly addressed.

There's generally no problem, I'm just a little insecure.

Before Gu Qing, this script was not written by the couple alone, but by their team of four or five writers.

But Gu Qing has a keen business sense, so it's more reliable to have him take a look.

In a short time, Gu Qing finished reading the entire story.

"This script is really good; it's a significant improvement over 'Stone'."

"By the way, why isn't your script called 'Crazy Series' anymore?"

Closing the notebook, Gu Qing felt a surge of admiration; he didn't need Gu Qing's help at all.

"It took a long time to write, and it was also the result of brainstorming. As for why it wasn't continued, I think that's another story."

Ning Hao was quite pleased to receive Gu Qing's praise, but he hesitated greatly when it came to the title of the script.

"Brother Hao, you're really concerned about your image. 'Crazy Stone' was great. If this one didn't have no stones, I'd call it 'Crazy Stone 2'."

"Since this movie revolves around racing, let's call it 'Crazy Racer'."

Ning Hao finally made up his mind. After almost two years, he was determined to make a name for himself this time. If he wanted to ride on his own coattails, so be it; there was no shame in it.

Gu Qing was pleased. The movie was originally called "Crazy Racer," and with his reminder, Ning Hao would be able to worry about it for a few less nights.

"Xiao Gu, how can I add some professionalism to these two assassins?"

"Add some action to these two; don't assassins in Hong Kong movies always burn photos?"

"It would be even better if the hotel staff could speak a mix of Chinese and English."

Based on her memory, Gu Qing was also doing a final check and filling in the gaps in the film.

Actually, the script is already perfect. Each part connects seamlessly with the next, and there are no unnecessary or redundant plot points. You could say it's just a collection of jokes that make up the movie.

He originally intended to help write it in advance, but he was so busy that he forgot the time. Fortunately, it finally came in handy at the last minute.

"Brother Hao, in this gas explosion scene, how about we use a long take to lighten the oppressive atmosphere and create a contrast with some humorous poses?"

"Damn, that's why I say you're my brother! This scene should be filmed like this!"

Ning Hao was overjoyed and slapped his thigh hard, realizing that his brother was thinking the same thing as him.

"Hey, I just finished filming 'Source Code,' and there's a scene in it that's exactly the same. That's how I came up with that."

Gu Qing smiled, realizing it was just what she had remembered.

Using a series of slow-motion long shots to treat a very serious matter as a silent film is a common technique.

The first person in China to use this technique was Stephen Chow. In "Kung Fu Hustle," Sing steps on someone's toes and then sends them flying into the air, which is this method.

The same applies to Crazy Racer, and the one who truly popularized this technique was the hospital shootout in Detective Chinatown.

However, the origin of this story can be traced back to the Coen brothers' film "No Country for Old Men".

The Coen brothers and Guy Ritchie had a profound influence on Ning Hao, inspiring both of his works.

However, being able to capture the essence of the original work already makes one a qualified screenwriter; some people can't even plagiarize properly.

Ning Hao put his arm around Gu Qing's shoulder, and the two chatted happily. In the end, Xing Aina also joined in the creative process.

Xing Aina graduated from the Chinese Department of Beijing Film Academy. She has strong screenwriting skills and most of Ning Hao's works are written by her. Gu Qing also benefited a lot from participating in the project.

He was also thinking about adding some dark humor to the movies sometime.

Afterwards, Gu Qing also felt perfectly justified in getting Ning Hao a free dinner.

He used to eat boxed lunches on set, which actually made him lazy, so lately he's been eating at the China Film Group cafeteria.

In the days that followed, Gu Qing would go back to the company to handle business in the morning, have lunch at China Film Group, and then go to Ning Hao's studio in the afternoon to help revise the script. In the evening, she would video chat with Jing Tian and write some scripts along the way.

These days are so fulfilling, and time flies by in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Hao, is the investment for this film adequate?"

"The estimated investment is ten million. We have already found investors. But if you want to invest, you can also contribute some. The more the better. I'm open to all kinds of investment."

Ning Hao stroked his chin, agreeing to Gu Qing's investment.

Anyway, if this movie loses money, it shouldn't be by much.

His first movie earned him three million, and his second movie only earned him ten million. There was nothing he could do; he had seen too many movies flop and was afraid of being poor.

He didn't even dare to dream about Gu Qing mentioning that the movie's box office would exceed 100 million; that would be incredibly prestigious.

"Okay, then I'll invest two million to get the cameras and props up. Maybe this will become a masterpiece."

"Haha, thank you for your kind words."

Gu Qing was very happy, not only because the film made money, but also because she was happy for Ning Hao, who became the fourth director in mainland China to have a film gross over 100 million yuan.

But this time, he should be able to get ahead of the other side.

Sorry, Hao-ge, you'll have to be fifth.