The changes in the "territory of power" in the film circle are both quiet and incomparably naked.
"Lone Moon" broke 1.5 billion at the box office in just a few days after its release, accounting for 93.4% of the box office on the first day, and also broke the record in film history.
Shen Teng's box office appeal was once again proven.
In contrast, another "10 billion film emperor" is somewhat lonely.
He is Huang Bo.
If it were not for the release of "Mozart in Outer Space", Pi Ge would have forgotten that there is such a top actor in the Chinese film industry.
Embarrassingly, "Mozart in Outer Space" also seems to verify the phrase "it is better to see each other than to miss".
This movie, which was originally one of the "outer space trilogies" that was highly anticipated by the audience, collapsed after its release, and the box office was not ideal, with only 220 million in 21 days.
I thought it would sit in the first seat of the summer slot, but it was only released for more than half a month, and I couldn't see much of the schedule.
Chen Sicheng's blood was thick, and it was nothing to plant such a heel.
But for Huang Bo, this blow is a bit big.
Huang Bo has really been unlucky in recent years.
Pigo can't remember the last time the movie he starred in hit at the box office was when.
In the "10 Billion Filmmakers Club", his box office content is also looked down upon by many people.
From 9 years ago -
"Journey to the West" sold well, which is considered to be stained with the light of Zhou Xingchi;
"Heart Flower Road Release" was a big hit, and it was considered to be tied to Xu Zheng and Ning Hao;
"Dragon Hunt" sold well, which is considered to be the heat of rubbing IP;
"Crazy Alien" sold well, and is believed to be a dual-core with Shen Teng, plus Ning Hao's own "crazy" buff;
Oh, and a platter movie like "Embracing You Through Winter"...
The most capable of playing, on the contrary, is his directorial debut "A Good Drama", which grossed 1.355 billion.
However, in the year of release that year, it was also ranked outside the top ten, and there were also big names such as Wang Baoqiang, Shu Qi, and Zhang Yixing in the starring role.
After talking about the box office, Huang Bo's dilemma in acting skills is even more lamentable.
In the past, Huang Bo's performances gave people the feeling of being full of spirit.
Whether it is the black skin and yellow hair in the "Madness" series, or the bull two in "Bullfighting", or the beef in "Killing", people feel the vitality of the face.
That unadorned wildness is Huang Bo's past golden signboard.
However, over the years, Huang Bo's fame has become more and more famous, and the aura in that role seems to have disappeared.
What's the problem?
1、
Chen Sicheng's prophecy
We don't have to blame Huang Bo.
The "misfortune" that happened to him actually reflects the tragedy of the entire Chinese film market.
From a certain point of view, in the past few years, the rise of Chinese films has also taken a downward trend.
In the 1990s, works such as "Farewell to the Overlord" and "Alive" were engraved on the monument;
In the 1900s, works such as "The Devil Is Coming" and "Coco Xili" were recorded in film history;
In the 10s, works such as "Let the Bullets Fly" and "I Am Not a Medicine God" have been lingering.
In the past few years, look at the big screen.
Comedy, sci-fi and the main theme movies are already flying all over the place.
Today's domestic movies also remind Pi Ge of Chen Sicheng's prediction 2 years ago.
At the 2020 Beijing Film Festival Forum, Chen Sicheng described the future direction of cinema films.
He said that for a film to be successful in theaters, it should have one of the following two characteristics:
One is that it reflects the strength of the film industry, and that kind of immersive audiovisual experience is irreplaceable by watching streaming at home;
The second is that the film story can reflect the reality of the moment and can resonate widely with the audience.
Chen Sicheng was indeed right in saying this.
The first type of heavy industry visual blockbusters, such as "Chosin Lake" and "The Wandering Earth".
Although it belonged to different tracks, it was a success at the box office.
The second type of film is talking about "realistic themes".
The most representative is "I am not a medicine god".
Both types of film directions have difficulties.
The former is a technical reason at the production level, while the latter needs to face a "technical reason" at the censorship level.
It's just that the first kind of difficulty can be solved, nothing more than spending money, spending time, and engaging in technological upgrades.
The second difficulty is easy to be daunting.
Therefore, more and more directors at present will choose the first track and use the "blockbuster route" to win the box office.
But this chase inevitably leads Chinese films into a narrow alley.
We've started to realize it over the years.
The colors of the big screen are becoming more and more gorgeous, the special effects are becoming more and more realistic, and the stars are piling up more and more.
But those moving good stories and good scripts are getting less and less.
Without a good story and a good script, even the top actors can only go around in the clichés of commercial films.
In commercial films, their performances are still qualified, which will make you cry and make you laugh.
But it is difficult to "seal the gods" anymore.
The reason is that their performances lack that power, which needs to be supported by the thickness of reality.
Before 2019, the box office of domestic films has been climbing steadily, and beautiful figures can cover up the lack of domestic film content, and the entire film and television industry is also rejoicing.
However, after the epidemic, the film market has weakened, and the shortcomings of Chinese films have been exposed.
Therefore, we say that Huang Bo's dilemma is essentially the dilemma of Chinese films.
2、
The silent majority
Who needs to solve this problem?
Of course, capital cannot be relied upon, and capital is not obliged to do this.
Or you need to rely on the director.
In Pigo's impression, there are not many talented directors in China.
But slowly, they became the "silent majority."
For example, Hao Jie.
As soon as he made his debut, he made films with rural themes such as "Single Stick" and "Beautiful Sister", and the boldness of the scale and the fierceness of the imagination made Chen Kaige feel shocked.
He won the Best Director Award at the FIRST Youth Film Festival, and when he presented the award, he twisted his neck and tilted his head in front of Xu Zheng, saying some "arrogant" words, looking at the world.
But then under pressure, he transformed into a commercial film "My Adolescence", and the result was that the word-of-mouth box office was very average.
Hao Jie was directly depressed and disappeared in the film industry for 6 years.
When he reappeared, the spirited young man was gone.
He added a few strands of white hair to his head, and the whole person cowered and cowered, talking to the actors was very frightened, and everyone couldn't understand the things he was shooting.
And Zhang Meng.
On his debut, he filmed realistic films such as "Blessed with Ears" and "The Piano of Steel".
His works are not so critical, focusing on the small things in small people, full of life interest, Fan Wei and Wang Qianyuan have also become recognized acting schools by starring in his films.
But then Zhang Meng also transformed.
He became a producer and made bad commercial films like "Unexpected Encounters".
In 2019, he returned to his true colors to shoot "On the Balcony", but there was no taste of that year.
There is also Guan Hu, Huang Bo's true nobleman.
"Bullfighting" and "Killing" are two films full of wild tension, showing Huang Bo's strongest acting skills, and also making him a Golden Horse Film Emperor.
Later, Guan Hu made movies such as "Cook Drama Leper" and "Old Cannon", which were less and less wild and more commercial.
After "Eight Hundred" and "King Kong Chuan", he jumped into the camp of commercial film directors with the main theme.
Therefore, there is no shortage of talented directors in China.
It's just that the ending of these directors is nothing more than two.
First, like Jia Zhangke, insist on taking the road of "curving to save the country", blossoming in the wall and incense outside the wall, relying on foreign awards to seek a place to stand in the country, but this sheep intestine trail is too tortuous and difficult to walk.
The second is to transform into a commercial film director under pressure or subjective will.
Most art film directors will take the second path, but the length of time they will persist is different.
Why do they have limitations when they make commercial films?
For example, Guan Hu filmed "Eight Hundred", and several soldier roles set up in the film, from personality to performance, are actually imaginable.
Even if it is Wang Qianyuan and Jiang Wu, it is difficult for the performance to escape the stereotype.
Commercial films are like this, from the script to the characters, the shell can not be removed.
3、
Passive actors
When directors have begun to turn to the "mainstream", more and more distinctive acting schools can only go with the flow.
Huang Bo is not alone.
Typical is also Qin Hao.
Once upon a time, he insisted on only acting in literary films: "Only one film is made every year, and the next year it will definitely be shortlisted for international film festivals." ”
In the face of the TV series and variety shows invited by the door, he refused them all.
"I'm asking for myself according to the requirements of an art film director."
But Qin Hao's next words were poignant:
"Until I saw the big directors I respected, they all started embracing traffic. In that moment I felt that I had been deceived by them. ”
He is still waiting for a good role in the movie, and the road left for him is naturally getting narrower and narrower.
Later, under the persuasion of Zhou Xun, he also "figured it out":
"Even an actor of Zhou Xun's level can't touch a good script, so I don't screw it."
So he took the web series.
Qin Hao was lucky enough to meet such a role as "Zhang Dongsheng".
In contrast, Yu Nan is somewhat lonely.
When she fell in love with a certain director, she successively starred in "Sting", "Lunar Eclipse", and "Tuya's Marriage", all of which are realistic masterpieces, and the characteristics of Yu Nan are perfectly presented.
After that, she starred in good movies such as "No Man's Land" and "Witnessed by the Whole People".
Those thick lips and soul-destroying eyes were full of wild beauty.
In the past few years, what are her works?
"Shanghai King 2" with a Douban score of 3.8, "Lie Detective" with less than 6 points, and "Hostage Train" starring Bao Jianfeng.
In these works, her aura also disappeared, and she could only routinely perform the script for the audience to see.
There are also Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi, the coffee position is big, there are enough awards, and the acting skills have been affirmed many times.
Because there is no good script and good role in the movie, I turned around and acted in a TV series.
One "Ruyi Chuan" and one "Shangyang Fu", the two have no aura, and the effect presented is also old-fashioned.
Look, when a good actor can't meet a good script, even if you are a movie emperor and a movie queen, you are in vain.
Qin Hao smiled at the camera and concluded: Out of the comfort zone, open yourself, I see the bigger world.
But "a match made in heaven" like "Zhang Dongsheng" will not be the norm.
How long Qin Hao could "hold out", no one knew.
4、
Some "bad things" are happening, but "change" is also happening
Every generation of directors in the past has carried a strong quality.
The fifth generation of directors represented by Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige is characterized by paying attention to humanistic feelings, and most of the films they shoot are about the country and the world;
The sixth generation of directors represented by Jia Zhangke and Wang Xiaoshuai is characterized by more emphasis on individual consciousness, so their films are full of criticism and reflection.
And new-age directors are hard to define.
The definition is that they are all free.
The price of freedom is that these directors have invariably rushed to the camp of commercial films, and in this fast-food era, few people have stuck to the camp of art films.
But the progress of Chinese cinema cannot be defined solely by the success or failure of commercial films, and other art films are equally important.
Or take Jia Zhangke.
In 2006, his "Good People of the Three Gorges" encountered Zhang Yimou's "Golden Armor in the City", and he shouted: "In the era of worshiping gold, who still cares about good people?" ”
This year's main theme film was a big hit at the box office, and it was Jia Zhangke who stood up and said: "Chinese films cannot be made into only the specialty of the main theme film." ”
In Pigo's view, such a deafening speech is still too rare, and the "silent majority" in the director should be expressed.
Especially the new generation of directors, they are fierce enough, they dare to think, they can break through.
But we don't have to be too pessimistic, a lot of filmmakers are already aware of these dilemmas, and we can see a lot of changes.
The first major change is to "bring the old to the new" and roll it out in an all-round way.
For example, we have seen more than two years of "Let's Shoot" and "Director Please Advise" and other variety shows that dig up new directors, although the praise is mixed, but directors like Hao Jie, who have been hit to depression, have the opportunity to come back.
For example, we saw that Andy Lau used the "Asian New Star Director Program" to excavate Ning Hao, and after Ning Hao became famous, he used the "Bad Monkey 72 Change Movie Project" to dig out Wen Muye, and he also helped Guo Fan, who also paid tribute to Andy Lau at the end of his "Wandering Earth".
Xu Zheng was not idle there.
Last year, he joined hands with Wu Jing and Guo Fan to open the "Golden Key Venture Capital Program" to explore new creators in the Chinese film industry, and Shao Yihui, a post-90s female director he supported, wrote and directed "Love Myth" last year, and also gained excellent reputation.
Even if the box office is average, the artistic exploration of this work is urgently needed in the current Chinese film industry.
The second major change is that there are more "terminal carriers".
In 2016, the China Art Film Screening Alliance was officially launched, with the aim of giving art films more opportunities.
Originally there were only 100 cinema halls, but now they have grown in size and spread across major cities.
At present, the audience has a certain demand for art films.
For example, art films such as "Water Moon in Hand" have also achieved nearly 10 million box office after being screened through art theaters.
Last year's "Siberian Tiger" and the recently released "Hidden in the Dust" are all masterpieces of realism, the actors' acting skills are amazing, and they have also achieved nearly 20 million box office.
Producers no longer need to kneel down to compete for scheduling.
The screenwriter is willing to write with a deep heart, the director also dares to shoot with confidence, and the actors also have a window to express their acting skills.
Only in this way, in the future, we will recall the current era, and we will not only recall those visual blockbusters.
Finally back to Huang Bo.
He is the embodiment of the embodiment of Chinese cinema, there have been peaks, there have been glories, and now the dilemma, we feel sorry for him.
But there is no need to be too pessimistic.
Obviously, Huang Bo was already aware of the problem.
His "Wade through the Sea of Anger" with Cao Baoping and Zhou Xun and "Dog Town" with Guan Hu are ready to go.
These films may help him regain his long-lost wildness.
He is not alone, behind him is the Chinese film that has just risen after the fall, some bad things are happening, but some changes are also happening, and these changes are the hope of the real rise of Chinese films.
Text/Pippi Film Editorial Department: A Chicken
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