Following Zhao Yingjun, Zhang Zhao, the former CEO of LeTV Pictures, died of illness, once again shaking the film and television circle.
The stars sent out tributes.
Zhang Yimou misses: Every time I chat with him, I talk about movies, but unfortunately, my ambition is still there, and my ambition is not rewarded... Zhang Zhaoyou has gone all the way, I think you will talk about movies and do your favorite things every day in another world, right? ”
Director Huang Jianxin is sad: "Every year, I will drink tea with Zhang Zhao and chat for half a day. I wanted to open a spring invitation, but I did not expect to say goodbye to spring forever. Woe to you! I looked up and I was in tears. ”
Chen Sicheng said at the first time: "Brother Zhang Zhao's good walk, the idealist's way back must be warm and bright." ”
Subsequently, zhang Zhao's list of funeral committees was exposed, and the 71-year-old Zhang Yimou personally served as the leader of the group, and Han Sanping, Jia Yueting, Liu Heping, Hu Haiqing and other bigwigs in the circle were listed.
Perhaps many people have not heard of Zhang Zhao's name before this, but behind him can hide the top film and television industry bigwig resources.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > from director to businessman</h1>
Zhang Zhao was born in 1963 into a family of high-ranking intellectuals, the son of China's first generation of nuclear submarine research experts.
His family lived in a military compound opposite a tannery with a small television that often played Some Vietnamese movies.
Perhaps it is the experience of lying in the crack of the door when I was a child, the thickness of the black-and-white movie, the light and the contrast between light and shade of the picture brought Zhang Zhao a strong sense of shock, and a dream about the movie was buried.
When he was admitted to college, Zhang Zhao secretly reported to the Department of Military Art Directing, and after his father knew about it, he forced him to transfer to the Computer Department of Fudan University.
But sometimes fate is so wonderful.
In January 1988, "Red Sorghum" was screened at Fudan University, and Zhang Yimou sang a "Dionysian Song" on the stage wearing a military coat: drinking this bowl of wine, seeing the emperor without prostrating.
Zhang Zhao was shocked, and the movie dream was revived with blood.
However, soon after, Zhang Zhao suffered a heavy blow in his life, and both of his parents died of illness.
Sadly, Zhang Zhaoyuan traveled to the United States to study.
Half a year later, Zhang Zhao still changed the philosophy major to film production, "thirty and standing, not the family business, but the ambition."
At school, he filmed "Wood and Words" and won the student Oscar, so the domestic Film Group extended an olive branch to him and invited him to return to China to shoot a drama.
He gladly agreed that after filming several works such as "Space Hijacking" and "Emotional Visa", he would usher in a dismal period of domestic films.
Filmmakers have turned their attention to TV series, and Zhang Zhao also decided to give up the director's dream: "We are building cars, learning a skill, but there is no road at all, what do you do when you build a car?" ”
In the winter of 2003, in an old office building in the "Wanshou Temple North Lane" of the West Third Ring Hutong, Zhang Zhao met with Fudan's disciple Wang Changtian.
The two saw each other very happily, and from the evening conversation until twelve o'clock in the evening, Zhang Zhao felt that he was hungry. Wang Changtian took out a large box of dumplings and three kinds of hot sauce and said, "This dumpling was wrapped by my mother." ”
After eating the dumplings, Zhang Zhao decided to start a business with Wang Changtian. In the following four years, Zhang Zhao and Wang Changtian jointly created the Light Film Industry to produce and distribute more than 20 commercial films, creating a "speed of light" that has attracted the attention of the Chinese film industry.
The local network distribution model pioneered by Zhang Zhao has led a revolution in the field of traditional film distribution, and has been rated as "one of the most influential figures in China's film industry" by many film media.
From director to businessman, Zhang Zhao also completed self-reform. However, he is different from the traditional businessman's style of acting, not good at socializing, not like to drink, but instead won the trust of directors and artists in the aesthetics of film artistry.
On the eve of the listing of the light, Zhang Zhao turned away, looking for a film and television company that really belonged to him. In 2011, at the Kunlun Hotel in Liangma Bridge, Zhang Zhao and Jia Yueting saw each other as they were.
Jia Yueting wants to be an Internet company, and Zhang Zhao wants to use the Internet to create "China's Disney", and the two hit it off. Starting from scratch as a LeTV film industry, Jia Yueting gave him the greatest support and freedom.
This "grace of knowing the encounter", Zhang Zhao has been chanting. Until the end, LeEco was messed up by Jia Yueting, and Zhang Zhao still lent him money regardless of his disregard, and tried to turn the tide and do a good job as "LeEco's last night watchman".
At that time, Jia Yueting probably couldn't imagine that many years later he would mourn bitterly on the other side of the ocean: "I was awakened in my sleep, and I overheard that Zhang Zhao had left us, shocked, saddened, and heartbroken!"
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > died before he could get out</h1>
An employee who used to work at LeTV Pictures said in an interview: "He is really a person who is always passionate, always passionate, always has a lot of ideas. ”
Zhang Zhao is deeply respected by his colleagues because he is a good leader.
In addition, Zhang Zhao's popularity in the film circle is also very good. His dedication and enthusiasm for the film has attracted star shareholders, including Sun Honglei, Huang Xiaoming, Liu Tao, Qin Lan, Jia Nailiang and many other artists, becoming a valuable network asset in the Ecology of LeTV.
He has cooperated with Zhang Yimou many times and formed a deep friendship. In 2012, Zhang Yimou fell into a low ebb because of the "supernatural incident", and Zhang Zhao found him and told him the story of a shadow stand-in.
It wasn't until five years later that the film "Shadow", which contained ink and white tones and a unique oriental charm, came out in a Zen martial arts way.
In May 2013, Zhang Zhao officially signed Zhang Yimou as the director of LeTV Pictures, hoping to use Zhang Yimou's influence to promote the transformation of Chinese films from the industrial age to the Internet era.
The first film they collaborated on was "Homecoming", starring Gong Li and Chen Daoming, the first film in China to be released in 4K resolution, with a box office of 291 million yuan.
In 2016, "The Great Wall" was launched. The cooperation with Hollywood made Zhang Zhao realize that only by being China's own superhero can there be a future.
He already has the majestic territory of "China Marvel" in his heart.
In addition to signing Zhang Yimou, Zhang Zhao's proud works are Guo Jingming's "Small Times" series and "Jueji" series.
Due to the plagiarism incident, "Qingya Collection" was taken down, and Guo Jingming's Weibo was suspended for a month, but in the early morning of February 3, Guo Jingming posted a deep condolence:
"Behind my back, from my twenties to my thirties... Late at night, people's emotions are more fragile, and I am sad at this moment, but I think that I and many people will always remember the strength you have brought to us and will leave us. It is the infinite dedication and sincerity of the film dream. Mr. Zhang Zhao, all the way good. ”
Yes, as the producer of Guo Jingming's first film "Little Times", Zhang Zhao gave him the same support as always:
"A lot of people look down on 'Little Times' and say it's a PPT movie. But how many people have been touched by "Little Times"? It gave shape to China's 15- to 25-year-old youth film market for the first time. In the past, Chinese films were all for the white-collar class. ”
The "Little Times" series and the "Traces" series, with a total box office of 9.966 billion yuan, are undoubtedly successful.
From 2016 to 2017, it was LeEco's darkest moment. Jia Yueting took 1.7 billion from LeTV Pictures. In the desperate situation of drawing salaries from the bottom of the cauldron, Zhang Zhao was indomitable, and waited for Sunac to have today's LeTV Cultural Creation.
In June 2019, Zhang Zhao left LeTV Pictures, which had been sticking to it for 7 years. After a hard journey through the crumbling time, but leaving at the crack of dawn, Zhang Zhao's choice is quite puzzling.
Two months later, Zhang Zhao became ceo of Fosun Group, and just 8 months later, he turned around and left.
In Yunnan, he visited Chu Shijian's orange garden and once again decided: "The 75-year-old man can start a business again, I am only 58 years old now, of course, I can start again." ”
He wanted to promote the better development of the domestic film industry, and Orange Pictures came into being.
Hearing that Zhang Zhao started a business, many investors took the initiative to come to the door for help.
The first is Fang Gang, chairman of Hualu Baina: "Zhang Zhao has a strong personal charm, rich industry experience and clear strategic awareness, which can provide strategic suggestions for the development of Hualu Baina. ”
Zhao Wenting and Zhang Zhao, founding partners of Domain Capital, were old partners, and now he is standing by his side again as a financial advisor.
Hu Haiqing, a partner at VC institution Asahi Venture Capital, braved the biggest rain of the summer to go to the appointment, only because he liked Zhang Zhao's personal background and industry experience.
However, as soon as Orange Pictures completed the A round of financing, Zhang Zhao was knocked down by the disease and fell in Lichun in 2021, a day that should have revived everything, and there was a great sadness of dying before he could succeed.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
There was once an interview detail: on a business trip, at 11:45 p.m., at a dark noodle restaurant, Zhang Zhao talked about the future of the film industry with the brand general manager on a bowl of 10 yuan of dumpling noodles.
"If you look at eating this bowl of noodles now, you are actually quite happy, and the other things are outside the body." But you have to figure out what your ideals are, what are the things you pursue? ”
All his life he has pursued a film dream, no matter the good times and adversities have never been far away, using the scale of life to measure the film.
In his obituary, he wrote: Mr. Zhang Zhao is diligent in his knowledge, motivated to go far, always walking non-stop, moving forward with determination, and continuing to explore new possibilities for China's film industry until the last moment of his life.
Because of love, there is light. His light attracts many people in the same way, and also illuminates many people.
As Wang Changtian, chairman of Guangguang Media, said: "Friends said that he hoped to engrave the words 'Son of Film' on his tombstone, and I think these words have long been engraved in the hearts of all those who know him." ”
#Movie#, #张艺谋 #
Author: Flower Blue
Editor-in-charge: Zeria
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > selected in previous periods</h1>
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