Chapter 358: Things About the Film Industry
Of course, Lee Hyori's album title song needs a music video, but Lee Hyori can't sing this song live yet, so she won't promote it, but this will reduce her exposure, so she needs a stronger music video. The company discussed internally and decided to use the story of "Waiting for Husband" as the blueprint to shoot a music video, but after studying it for a long time, they felt that this was too old-fashioned.
After considering for a long time, the final decision was to use the story of the Wife-Waiting Rock as a plot point, and observe the protagonist of the MV from a bird's perspective, such as shots of the protagonist traveling through the city.
At the beginning, Zheng Xiuheng had already thought about it and wanted to shoot it beautifully, so he decided to shoot a scene of dancing in a wheat field in Korean clothes. The main purpose was to give Hong Jin Young a small push. Therefore, during this period of time, Hong Jin Young has been sent to a famous traditional dance teacher by the Big Three. I heard that she was almost "tortured" to death.
The MV is roughly like this. It seems that there is no special story, but at the end, the protagonist of the MV returns to the famous Korean Husband Waiting Stone to shoot, probably to create suspicion. The protagonist of the MV has to touch the stone tenderly, then lie there, close his eyes as if he is asleep, until the end, the beautiful lady dancing at the beginning appears and lies there, and finally ends with a flock of birds flying.
This is what we are going to shoot for the title song MV.
Zheng Xiuheng told Qiu Changmin everything at once. He trusted this director who was good at making comedy, romance and art films, so he decided to ask him to direct the MV. This was really a great idea.
Qiu Changmin was somewhat interested, but asked in a somewhat strange tone: "From this perspective, it is quite interesting. What does the ending mean?"
"It's not very interesting. Just like Luo Hongzhen's question script, many of them have no answers. If I have to say it, it's to make people curious after watching the MV, or to make them remember the MV. Of course, it would be best if they could watch it a few more times!"
Qiu Changmin was a little speechless. A director like him is very sensitive to stories. He thinks the story told by Zheng Xiuheng is a good one, but too messy and trivial. However, it is still very interesting to make it into a music video or a short film . However, when he heard that Zheng Xiuheng himself had no idea, he felt speechless, but that's the fact. In the film and television industry, many doubts that are overly debated by the audience may not have been considered by the screenwriter at all, so Qiu Changmin can understand it.
However, Zheng Xiuheng suddenly added: "Anyway, this is an idea provided by a trainee in the company. Her idea is that although the two are lying together in the ending scene, they are actually in two different time and space. She also hopes to reveal some 'clues' at the end that can let the audience see this sense of distance."
There is no doubt that Zheng Xiuheng did not have such an idea, and the source of this idea was Kang So-ra, and the story was decided after discussion with Lee Hyo-ri and the Big Three. Zheng Xiuheng did not intervene too much.
Qiu Changmin was actually quite interested, so he asked in surprise: "This is a great idea, and this method, if performed in the right way, could really spark discussion. After all, it's Lee Hyori's comeback theme song, and I believe it will definitely attract a lot of attention. I'll take over this job, it's already the end of the show, and there's less to shoot. I was planning to take a few days off, but now it seems that's not possible!"
Zheng Xiuheng thanked Qiu Changmin with a smile, and then the two of them started talking about film investment. Qiu Changmin also saw that Zheng Xiuheng had the idea of joining the film industry, but although he was a filmmaker, he would not cheat others casually, so he always told him all the twists and turns in this circle.
For example, in terms of unspoken rules, it is generally impossible to get the leading or second role by relying on sexual transactions. Most of the artists who can play the leading role by relying on unspoken rules basically got their positions through investors. In this circle, a good investor is the most welcome among all filmmakers.
There are also directions for film investment. There are many low-budget independent films, and some of them are big sellers. But in Korea, you have to remember that when choosing investments, mainstream films need to be selected based on the script, while more niche films like "The Chaser" with social themes can be invested in. But you must remember that there are many taboos in investing in this kind of theme, just like "The Chaser" is more about satirizing government departments, but if the satire of the whole film is aimed at Koreans, telling about the indifference and shortcomings of Koreans, no matter how realistic and well-made it is, it will not sell.
"This kind of movie is bound to fail!"
Zheng Xiuheng nodded and listened to Qiu Changmin's story very seriously. Then Qiu Changmin gave him another example, which was the famous Korean director Kim Ki-duk, who had won many awards internationally, but his movies were like excrement in Korea, not only were they despised by people in the same circle, but even the public disliked them very much.
"Also, if you really decide to invest, you must first fully understand the other party. You can also invest in independent filmmakers, but they must be well-known in this circle. Don't just invest in any director in his twenties or thirties who comes to you with a good script. After all, if a good script is not filmed by a good director, the final product may be very different from what you imagined!"
"But this is not a problem. We should keep in touch in the future. A scheming guy like Zheng Dongren has been in the music industry for a long time, so he knows a lot of things very well!"
Qiu Changmin licked his upper lip, took a short break and then said, "Anyway, remember, investment is all about caution. You can invest in unpopular themes, especially those that satirize the government and the police. But don't invest in films like Kim Ki-duk's that simply analyze human nature. Also, horror films and campus films are good investment projects because they require little investment and have a large potential audience base. As long as they are not too bad, you generally won't lose money. Of course, you won't make much either, unless the performance exceeds a million."
"Oh, and there are also romance films. For this kind of film, it all depends on the director and the script, but there are too many possibilities. If there is really an investment opportunity, it is best to choose a script adapted from a popular novel or comic, and the director is also well-known. Of course, generally, many people are scrambling to invest in this kind of project, so there should be no shortage of money. Anyway, if you look at the box office distribution in the past two years and some film publications, you should be able to know the current situation of Korean films. In terms of investment, I can only tell you some taboos, and the rest depends on your own vision!"
Zheng Xiuheng nodded, digesting Qiu Changmin's words, and then Qiu Changmin continued to talk about the tricks of investors and producers. For example, in the casting of a movie like today, there are generally no unspoken rules to stuff people in, because the investors are the directors and their group. As a low-budget horror film, it can be produced independently, so this casting is also real casting, and at most it is just selling favors under equal choices.
Also, the status of screenwriters in the film industry is different from that in the television industry. For example, the famous screenwriters of the three major TV stations may have more influence than the directors, and many times the directors have to give in. But in the film industry, scripts are mostly one-time deals, or the screenwriters shoot their own scripts, so the influence of the screenwriters is much smaller.
Zheng Xiuheng is now very clear-headed. Apart from the so-called development, it is more important to make money. Although no matter how much money he makes, he can't compare to those chaebols, but in the highly corrupt society of South Korea, money can do a lot of things.
After all, it is impossible for Zheng Xiuheng to go into politics, and he doesn't have any backing, but Zheng Xiuheng has always cared about one thing, which is what Li Xiaole said, "Lee Myung-bak will be president", "Park Geun-hye will be a female president", and "Korean Wave will go global."
Zheng Xiuheng did not forget these words. Instead, he carefully learned about who these two people were. If Lee Myung-bak became president, it would most likely be the general election in December this year, and his relationship with the Samsung Lee family seemed to be very fishy. Anyway, there were many boring speculations from netizens in the community on the Internet.
However, Park Geun-hye, as the highest member of South Korea's Grand National Party, also has the qualifications and strength to run for president. On June 11, 2006, Park Geun-hye officially announced her candidacy for the Grand National Party's 17th presidential candidate.
But if Lee Myung-bak really becomes president, Zheng Xiuheng believes that Park Geun-hye may also become president, but it should be in the next term. She will lose this term, but if Park Geun-hye wins, then Lee Myung-bak will take office in the next term.
No matter what the outcome is, Zheng Xiuheng feels that there are many things he can plan within four years, but the prerequisite is that he has sufficient ability.
Zheng Xiuheng was not so enthusiastic about work before, but after meeting Li Zaixian last time, he really developed a sense of career, or even his own ambition. He no longer worked for this or that, nor simply for the sake of how others struggled, so naturally he worked harder.
“It’s out!”
Qiu Changmin looked at the door of the room over there, opened it, and Bai Zhenxi appeared, so he called out.
Zheng Xiuheng watched Bai Zhenxi walk up to him timidly with a unhappy expression, and he probably understood the result.
"You have such an ugly expression, didn't you get chosen?" Zheng Xiuheng asked with a smile. He didn't really want her to get a role in this crew. It was just a normal audition. After all, it was not like the situation with Zheng Dabin before. Zheng Xiuheng would not do it himself, so he would not be angry if she was not chosen.
"I'm sorry, President!" Baek Jin Hee apologized to Jung Soo Hyung with some concern.
