Chapter 75 A tough start


    In the office, the three of them talked secretly.


    The style of painting is actually very weird. Wang Yang and Zhu Dexiong are both elderly comrades with revolutionary experience. Chen Qi is the only young man. In theory, it is impossible to sit together to discuss things, but who asked him to propose a route to earn foreign exchange? And you also wrote a script?


    According to the workflow, he should be sitting here.


    The first thing about Tai Chi is the cost.


    Chen Qidao: "If we filmed all the scenes of breaking into the tower, it would be seven duels, which would only take 20 minutes. If we make a 90-minute film as usual, there will only be 70 minutes to tell the story in the first part, which will be easy to be sloppy."


    If you want to do it with ease, you must increase the duration, preferably 100-110 minutes. "


    There are movies over 90 minutes these days, such as "405 Murder" produced by Shanghai Film Studio, which lasts 102 minutes, but they are relatively rare.


    "I think the same way. The tower adventure must be complete, otherwise it will be in vain!" Wang Yang said.


    Zhu Dexiong said: "No matter what our final budget is, it is always right to save what we can first. Xie Tian is preparing for "Tea House" and is making a lot of costumes and props from the late Qing Dynasty. We can borrow them and use them. Just saved a fortune.


    But Xiao Chen, is "Tai Chi" going to show some old BJ streets in the late Qing Dynasty? "


    "It''s best to show off!"


    "Then we have to build outdoor scenes. It''s a big project and it will definitely cost a lot."


    “…”


    Zhu Dexiong fell into thinking.


    The room was quiet for a moment, Chen Qi knew what he was thinking, and after deliberately waiting, he carefully suggested: "It costs money to set up the location, but we don''t need to dismantle it after we finish filming. We can just keep it, and we can use it in the future for filming scenes about the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.


    You see, the film industry is booming now, and television is also developing. There will definitely be more and more film and television productions in the future. If we keep this location, we can also rent it to other crews, which is also an income. "


    Huh?


    After hearing this, Zhu Dexiong suddenly had an idea and hurriedly said: "Old Wang, hasn''t Ling Zifeng been clamoring to film "Camel Xiangzi"?"


    "Well, that''s what happened!"


    "He also wants to build a Xisi Pailou Street. Do you remember that?"


    ""Camel Xiangzi"..."


    Wang Yang held the cigarette in his mouth, took two long puffs, and said, ""Camel Xiangzi" was written during the warlord period. It was a few years after the late Qing Dynasty. Will it be inconsistent?"


    "We can change the signboards on those shops into the style of the late Qing Dynasty, and then build a few new ones according to the situation? It''s always cheaper than building a street by ourselves, right?"


    "Hey, this is a good idea!"


    Wang Yang''s eyes lit up and he nodded in agreement.


    Ling Zifeng, one of the top four actors in Beijing Film Studio, made a classic film "Camel Xiangzi" in the early 1980s, starring Zhang Fengyi and Siqin Gaowa.


    In order to recreate the style of the old BJ, he built a 150-meter-long Xisi Pailou Street in the factory. It was later expanded several times and covers an area of ??14,000 square meters. This is the famous "Ming and Qing Style Street".


    "Farewell My Concubine", "Returning My Princess", "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo", "Kangxi Private Interview in Private", etc. were all shot here. This is also the first scene in China with the attributes of a "film and television city".


    "We haven''t started filming this drama yet, so we''re going to start researching how to use chickens to lay eggs!"


    Wang Yang shook his head and asked: "Lao Zhu, how much does it cost Ling Zifeng to build this street?"


    "We made preliminary calculations, at least 200,000!"


    "200,000!"


    Wang Yang was speechless, stood up, turned around twice, and waved his hand: "Jian! It''s not just for "Camel Xiangzi" and "Tai Chi". Xiao Chen''s idea is good. After filming, the street scenes will be preserved and can be used later!"


    "What about the money?"


    "I''m going to ask the Ministry of Culture to apply for a special grant!" Zhu Dexiong also explained to Chen Qi: ""Camel Xiangzi" is a masterpiece. We said we wanted to apply for a special grant to make a masterpiece, and the superiors were willing to give it. When we asked to apply for a grant to make a martial arts film, where? Where are you going?"


    “Be taught, be taught!”


    Chen Qi nodded quickly.


    "Tai Chi" starts off very humble, with the fox pretending to be the tiger''s power, borrowing the chicken to lay eggs, and can only take advantage of others. There''s no way, it''s "Teahouse" or "Camel Xiangzi", your crackling fights have no style.


    “In the final analysis, we still have to raise the upper limit.”


    Wang Yang sighed: "I still have to go and make trouble with China Film and ask them to raise the purchase price. If the purchase price is raised, I can grant more budget. You don''t need to do this. This is my task. You guys are responsible for handling the film." Just do it well.


    Xiao Chen, do you still want to hire a martial arts instructor from Hong Kong? "


    "Well, it would be best to be the martial arts director of "Drunken Master". His name seems to be Yuan Heping. You have also seen that movie. The action design in it is wonderful. I would like to hire him."


    "Comrade Fu Qi came to the symposium, and you heard it. Hong Kong is evasive to us, so it''s not easy to invite us. Moreover, their wages are high, which will increase the cost. How about looking for someone in the mainland?"


    "Old director, how should we design the last seven fights of "Tai Chi"? We have to come up with something new so that audiences at home and abroad will like it. You can try to contact them first. If they don''t want to come..."


    Chen Qi paused and said, "I can exchange it for something."


    Hong Kong''s top four, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan are currently popular, and they will definitely not come to the mainland. Liu Jialiang is good at southern martial arts and looks down on mainland China. When the director of "Shaolin Temple" was changed, he was approached first. After he refused, Zhang Xinyan was hired.


    The biggest difference between Yuan Heping and them is that those three are all big stars in front of and behind the scenes. Yuan Heping is the person behind the scenes, and coming to the mainland as a martial arts instructor will be relatively flexible.


    Moreover, Yuan Heping had no nonsense. He would design whatever the director asked. Later, he collaborated with mainland China many times, such as "The Kung Fu Boy", "The Master of Tai Chi", "Water Margin" and so on.


    Seeing his request, Wang Yang had no choice but to agree and said, "Where is the protagonist? Do you have a favorite candidate?"


    "I want Li Lianlian to play Yang Yuqian. He is the right age, has good looks, and can be photographed."


    "Why do you all want to find Li Lianjie?"


    "Because he plays really well!"


    "Zhang Xinyan has already booked it, how can you find it? Is it possible that we can wait until "Shaolin Temple" is finished and we can shoot it again? Then it will be the year of the monkey and the month of the horse??"


    Although Wang Yang likes Chen Qi, he will not just tolerate it.


    Chen Qi thought for a moment and said, "If I have a way to ask Director Zhang to give it to us first, would you agree?"


    "He is willing to give in, so of course I agree!"


    "Well, I want to take office now and recruit a group of actors before the Spring Festival."


    "You have to issue a military order. You will be held responsible if you fail to complete the task!"


    "Hey, the military order is only valid for Ma Su. Do you think I look like Ma Su?"


    Wang Yang was amused by his words, and he waved his hand and kicked him out of the room. Zhu Dexiong looked at it with great interest and said, "Old Wang, you really care about this boy."


    "Reform is not easy these days. He is a young man with no feet. If I don''t give him a backer, who will? When he grows up, I really hope that he can be like a monkey and cause havoc in heaven. ”


    Wang Yang thought for a while and said: "Let''s second him first, with the title of planner."


    Beijing Film Studio has a planning position, which is combined with the literature department. Because a movie is born from a script, the literature department not only connects writers, but also has another responsibility: actively find themes, identify screenwriters, and write scripts...


    Chen Qi''s appointment to this position is tantamount to indicating that "Tai Chi" was born from him.


    (End of chapter)