Amou is right, Cao Baoping is Shen Changlin's senior.

Currently, his full-time job is an associate professor in the Department of Literature at Nortel, and his side job is making movies, being a venture capital judge, etc...

He is a banner of Nortel. He graduated from the Department of Literature of Nortel in 1985. Celebrities in the same class include directors Wang Xiaoshuai, Lou Ye, Lu Xuechang, Zhang Yuan...

If we want to summarize the style, then "Glorious Fury" and "Li Mi's Conjecture" are enough. They are small characters struggling and twisting in uncomplicated stories. The rhythm is tight and the conflicts are fierce. It is reminiscent of Prints by Kollwitz.

Moreover, his works all have a strong sense of suspense, and his style is very suitable for "The Witness".

This is also the reason why Shen Changlin immediately thought of asking him to direct it after writing "I Am a Witness".

Some filmmakers are serious, make some bad movies, use their feelings to deceive people, recruit a few celebrities to win over fans of all ages, speculate on the box office, and earn a lot of money. No matter how bad they are, they still look familiar. .

Director Cao is more down-to-earth, and he is more obsessed with filming itself, so each film is highly completed. From this perspective, he is a good director.

But good directors have requirements for their works.

Director Cao is well-known in the industry for his high demands on actors. Let's put it this way, he once stopped the movie "White Sparrow" which was already in production because the actors could not meet the requirements.

——"Superstar has tried... Well, I think it's possible that I won't be able to get the look I want. The performance of "White Sparrow" is indeed very complicated. If the performances of the two actors are not consistent... Well, it will be very troublesome. "

Which superstar?

It seems that there are 800 million fans!

800 million, just stop it, it shows that we really have high standards for actors!

And "Witness" is also a drama with a female protagonist...

From his perspective, it is understandable that he looks down on Liu Shishi.

There is no need for Shen Changlin to be in trouble with him because of this...

So, I made a phone call and roughly explained:

"Director Cao... I prepared this play for her because she is short-sighted and has astigmatism... so I wrote this play specifically for her!"

"She has many advantages, her fighting scenes are beautiful, and she can endure hardships!"

"...Yes, she is my girlfriend..."

"It's okay. Next time we cooperate, if we have a suitable book, we will definitely..."

Cao Baoping was a little angry at first. After all, he was very optimistic about "I Am a Witness". Otherwise, he would not have shown the script to Zhou Xun!

However, people have said that this is to flatter my girlfriend...

Then...forget it!

Is he an investor, producer or screenwriter...

…

After all, the director needs to be changed!

If the director is biased against the heroine, how can the project proceed?

After hanging up the phone, Shen Changlin smiled at Amou and Nini, and then sat down.

Picking up the cup and taking a sip of tea, Shen Changlin remembered a question that had been bothering him for a long time: "Director, can I ask you a question?"

Amou was very casual: "...just ask."

Shen Changlin said: "That's right, how does a director determine a project?"

"Confirm the project?"

"How do you determine your creative direction?" Shen Changlin added: "You see, after I finished filming "Xiu Chun Dao", I actually had the idea to make a martial arts movie again, but I couldn't find a good angle, so I decided to "Big Shot"..."

"After two consecutive action films, I made "Search" again, but now... I can't find the subject matter for the next work. How did you film one after another? I feel that, except for the Olympics, For several years, you really did one movie a year, and sometimes two movies a year. I won’t talk about your creative passion. I just want to know where you found so many themes?"

Ah Mou said in a leisurely manner: "Actually, the more I make movies, the more difficult it becomes to make a good movie. Everyone has different standards for a good movie, so they always use the highest standard to compare horizontally and vertically to find themselves. Despite my shortcomings, I always hope to move forward and learn. This is also my current mentality, so I work non-stop. I am a person who is willing to work hard, and I just like making movies."

At this point, I had to admire him. Then, Ah Mou continued: "As for the themes you mentioned... they are basically literature. I have consulted some literary magazines, such as "Harvest", "October", "Contemporary" and so on. , all have first-view rights, and my literary planner will recommend some works to me..."

"Literary planning?"

"Yes," Amou asked Shen Changlin in surprise: "You don't have a literary plan?"

"...I have an assistant, because I am also a writer myself, so I have the habit of reading magazines, so I don't really need someone to recommend me..."

"Then no wonder you can't find a creative direction...you have to have a team!"

"I feel like I'm a bit stubborn. If I don't write something, I won't shoot it!"

"You are a writer and you have your own standards of judgment." After a pause, Ah Mou continued: "I have watched "Search" and I think you can go more towards realism..."

Shen Changlin looked troubled: "...Realism?"

“Worried about not selling well?”

"Um."

Shen Changlin did not hide anything: "You should also know about the current market situation. The number of imported films from Hollywood has doubled. At this time, some entertainment-oriented films are needed to attract the attention of the audience... and many big-name actors are willing to cooperate with me. I’m also thinking about the box office…”

"Then what are you still struggling with?"

"...I just want to balance business and art..."

"It's too difficult," Ah Mou shook his head: "It's difficult to balance business and art... Today's directors will always be affected by fame and fortune. Pure artistic creation is a propaganda statement for the media. I think you are only in your twenties. , there are plenty of opportunities for trial and error, so try more.”

Shen Changlin was silent for a moment, and Ah Mou asked, "What was your original plan?"

"I plan to take "Search" to film festivals around the world to see movies from all over the world..."

Hearing this, Ah Mou waved his hand: "There's no need. Let me tell you, just watch the top ten movies of the year released by a few movie magazines. Only the United States and Europe produce good movies every year in the world. Jiang Wen told me that he doesn’t like to watch new movies, he only watches old movies, and I think it’s quite right~”

Well, in a sense, it’s quite true. A writer once said that you can read books by dead people, not books by living people.

The same is true for movies. The so-called "dead" means that it has been filtered by time and is reliable. If you don't spend more than two hours watching a bad movie, why bother?

However, the new film represents a new direction…

I guess none of them expected that Korean movies would rise so quickly.

"If you are confused about movies and can't find the direction, then calm down and recall your first movie in the industry, and then you will understand!"

This is A Mou's last words...

…

There is a saying: In fact, every director only makes one movie in his life, and all his works are just imitations and improvements of his debut film.

This is for auteurs!

Shen Changlin is definitely not an author-director.

He has no idea in this regard. He wants to be a commercial director and actively cater to the changing tastes of the audience.

However, after working in this industry for several years, I have a vague idea that movies are commodities, but they are definitely not just commodities, otherwise they would not be called the seventh art.

Michael Bay's movies have everything they should have. The story is complete, the plot is compact, the scenes are spectacular, and the box office is even more amazing.

No one thinks he is a great director...

I would only jokingly call him Explosive Baby!

Are there any works with realistic themes that not only achieve good box office results but also have artistic influence?
Chapter completed!