Text: Wei Ying
It has been two months since the summer of this year, but the overall box office has only reached 1/3 of last year's summer file, which can be said to have shrunk significantly. Since March this year, the film market has shown a continuous downturn, and investors have begun to tighten their wallets, and film investment of more than 50 million will be more cautious.
For young directors, the market environment can be described as more difficult, but fortunately, the channel can be aligned with the market through venture capital. Although the project as a whole is relatively homogeneous, there are also many masterpieces with novel ideas, such as the literary film "Flower" that won the market award, as well as the fantasy genre film "This World is Not Sick" and the sci-fi genre film "Memory Resonance".
Gu Duo had a dialogue with the directors and producers of "This World Is Not Sick" and "Memory Resonance", they are all directors who are not limited to the author's expression, but also hope to get market returns. In the feedback of professional judges such as director Qiu Litao, producer Liang Jing, and Zeng Jiyuan, CEO of Lianrui Pictures, they also know more about what the project is optimistic about by the employer. To put it simply, it's fast-paced, high-concept and an emotional resonance that hits the pain points of the times.
To comedy, or to be heavy?
At this venture capital meeting, the fantasy movie "This World is Not Sick" is a project that has attracted much attention. The tone of the project is light-hearted and humorous, but the theme is heavy, and director Wong Ka-cheong wants to tell the story of teenagers struggling with suicidal ideation in the style of a monster movie. As the judges said: "The sentence that resonates most with the audience in this movie is 'Those children who choose to die actually want to live more than anyone else.'" 'It's a very sharp genre film. ”
It is precisely because the entry point of the story is of great social value that after being exposed for the first time at the venture capital meeting, in just two days, Huang Jiachang conducted preliminary negotiations with more than 20 film and television companies on project financing. This project also received 100,000 yuan in cash sponsored by Le Kaihua Pictures at the market award ceremony.
Feng Yanxi, a producer at Le Kaihua Pictures, said that this is his favorite project of this year's venture capital: "I think the storytelling method of this project is very novel, the theme is also very socially valuable, and the psychological trauma of teenagers needs the public's attention." And this project is very commercial, full of the confrontation of genre films, teenagers stand in the two-dimensional world and fight monsters on one side, and stand in the real world and fight depression on the other side. ”
Director Huang Jiachang talked about the origin of this project when he talked to Gu Duo. "Originally, my screenwriter Shiyang wrote the concept of a story about teenage suicide, because I like to read comics and feel that the story can be made very bloody, and we also hope to make it easier for the audience to enter the story and the protagonist in a relaxed way, so in the creation of the later script, we added more humor and joy and elements of secondary two blood. On the one hand, I do like genre films, and on the other hand, in the current film market, genre films are easier to recover costs than literary films, and as a new director, I don't want to risk making a feature film with a heavy tone. ”
The biggest advantage of "This World is Not Sick" is that it jumps out of the limitations of individual private experience and takes care of social issues in public space, whether it is the sharp reality of teenage suicide or the generation gap between teenagers and parents, which has resonated with the audience. Producer Liang Jing thought of her son when she saw the project book, "I sometimes tell him 'come on', and he says, 'My parts don't move, and you still let me work hard, which makes me very painful.'" ’”
But the theme of the story and the emotional needs of the market also need to be balanced, that is, how to balance "heaviness" and "comedy". Zeng Jiyuan, CEO of Lianrui Pictures, put forward a suggestion, that is, to weaken the heavy theme of "teenage suicide" and strengthen the fantasy worldview and character building.
Faced with this problem, Huang Jiachang has also thought of a corresponding solution. "In terms of proportion, the first 80% of this movie is a cool movie, and the last 20% is the deep core of the reversal, and it turns out that the monster fighting with teenagers is a suicidal idea. This movie will not be made into a hilarious comedy like "Catch a Doll", but a light-hearted fantasy youth drama action film, and the benchmark film and television work is the Korea TV series "Super Stranger". Although there are not many in the market for this type, we are also trying something newer. ”
In Gu Duo's view, the reason why this project has received so much attention from the management is largely due to the huge contrast between the subject and the form that creates a wonderful chemical reaction.
Judging from the recent market performance, the audience's preference is to prefer lighthearted and funny things to dispel the cruel indifference of reality. In this context, films that are consistent in theme and form, such as "Diary of a Youth," a realistic film about teenage suicide, can be thought-provoking and bring tears to the eyes of many viewers. But judging from the market performance, the "heart-piercing" realism of this movie has persuaded many audiences.
After all, reality is cruel enough, and movies should play its role as a dream-maker, providing people with a refuge and looking at reality in an absurd and fantastical way. Although it is an escape from reality, it is not shameful, but it gives people the courage to face suffering again in a way that deconstructs it.
And the fantasy elements of this project make Gu Duo think of the texture of many current comic dramas, whether it is the second sense of middle school in "Under the Alien", or the burning sense in "Youth Song Xing", they all tell the story of young people in a fantasy and martial arts way. The mourning of teenagers and the burning of teenagers are unique memories of youth, and they can also be combined with anime a lot.
Therefore, "This World is Not Sick", which integrates a variety of elements, allows the management to have enough imagination and may surpass the ceiling of a youth film, and include the comic audience, youth film audience, and parents of children in the box office.
No matter how high the concept is, it will fall on the emotion
In this venture capital, a rare sci-fi film project "Memory Resonance" appeared. Science fiction movies have always been a relatively scarce genre in the market, and the famous film producer Wang Hongwei once bluntly said that Chinese science fiction movies have always been thunderous and rainy, "I estimate that more than 600 movies will be launched in 2023, and only 1%-2% of science fiction films will be released, and there will be more than 10 at most." But its influence is very large, as long as there is one, everyone will stare at you for success or failure. ”
According to Li Xiaoyuan, the producer of "Memory Resonance", observed: "At present, the successful cases in China's science fiction market are in a state of polarization, with the head of the industrial production "The Wandering Earth" at one end, and the relatively low-cost and small-scale production of "Space Exploration Editorial Department" at the other end, but there are relatively few science fiction films with small and medium-sized investment in the waist. ”
And "Memory Resonance" is precisely a science fiction film project with an investment of about 40 million. This movie is positioned as a big heroine science fiction film, starting from a female perspective, telling how the memory alteration technology invented by a scientist couple finally broke their lives, and also incorporates elements such as thriller and suspense, with a strong sense of genre. The film's director, Song Jincheng, graduated from the London Film School, and the screenwriter Tobias · Sinagoga is United Kingdom.
The addition of United Kingdom screenwriters undoubtedly brings an international perspective to the project, but at the same time it may encounter localization problems. More than one judge also raised the differences between Chinese culture and Western culture.
Regarding the localization problems that the judges were worried about, director Song Jincheng responded: "Our core creators are all Chinese except for screenwriters, and screenwriters have also lived in China for many years. Our understanding of 'localization' is whether the Chinese audience can empathize with the characters and emotional relationships in the film, and whether we are telling a moving story. Don't worry too much about how to make a work made by a Chinese more suitable for the Chinese market, a good story can definitely touch people's hearts across borders. We attach great importance to localization, but we also take care to avoid going too far and setting limits on the dissemination and exchange of creativity and even culture. ”
In addition, how to balance high concept and emotional expression in science fiction movies has always been a difficult point in creation. Zeng Jiyuan, CEO of Lianrui Pictures, said: "We will see dozens of soft sci-fi scripts about memory themes a year, but sci-fi settings cannot replace the plot, and the common problem of this kind of script is that a lot of settings are written and the characters are not written well. But "Memory Resonance" combines the sci-fi setting and the relationship between the characters very well, and puts the focus on the emotional relationship between the sexes. If the emotional relationship between the sexes is written thoroughly, it will resonate with many audiences. ”
After experiencing the advice of the market side, director Song Jincheng and producer Li Xiaoyuan also believe that the relationship between husband and wife is where this film can really connect with the audience. Producer Li Xiaoyuan said: "We wanted to find a link with the audience and the market through the emotional relationship of the characters in a high-concept setting. In addition to this, it would be better if the audience could still resonate with tech anxiety. Because this is also the embodiment of the contemporaneity of this film. ”
"Memory Resonance" received 100,000 yuan sponsored by the "Lianrui Pictures Little Carpenter Film Project" on FIRST, and also participated in the venture capital of the Shanghai International Film Festival before. When discussing content in depth with investors, creators can more intuitively understand the market demand. Director Song Jincheng said: "Ningmeng Pictures asked me if there are elements of oppression and resistance in the script of the big heroine, whether it is in an intimate relationship or in the company system. The second is whether there are issues related to childbearing and women in intimate relationships. Both elements are present in our script. It can be seen that the situation of women in the social environment and intimate relationships has become a hot topic in the creation of current film and television dramas.
And producer Li Xiaoyuan's intuitive feeling when communicating with the employer is: "Everyone is paying attention to the genre of science fiction, and most companies have some science fiction projects in reserve. Coming to venture capital is a good way to test the market feedback of a project, we can efficiently establish a connection with the market in a short period of time, and listen to suggestions from the market side. ”
Literary films should also be fast-paced
In addition to these two genre film projects that have attracted much attention in the market, the film projects that won the market award on FIRST and have more FIRST attributes are family films and literary films. This is also related to the style of FIRST, and the venture capital units of the Beijing International Film Festival and the Shanghai International Film Festival prefer commercial films.
The first thing worth paying attention to is the "Flower", which won the market award in this venture capital, this film tells the story of Aunt Hua after retirement, because of contact with her neighbors in Syria, she gradually realizes that her original happy life may be an illusion. This project focuses on the current aging and debt problems, forming a clever contrast with the survival plight of Chinese, which is quite humanistic and practical.
Bi Feiyu suggested that the main creator "should pay more attention to women's self-deception instead of focusing on immigration." He also appealed to the investors present: "Some films may not be able to get enough economic returns, but if this film can leave a mark in the history of Chinese film, it is also worth investing." ”
The second is "Knocking Dad's Skull", which received special recommendations from Xin Baiqing and Zhang Jialu, and also received 100,000 yuan in cash invested by Zhang Tianai. This script comes from the screenwriter's real-life experience after the death of her father, and tells the coming-of-age story of a girl and her mother who deal with her father's death together. But because the theme of the creation is not clear, it caused confusion among the judges: "You have to think clearly about what the creative point is, whether it is the youth growth of the heroine, or the reconciliation of the mother-daughter relationship." Your film style can refer to "Stop and Go", if the style is very light, then the emotion must be penetrated. ”
There is also "Yong'e", which won the Beijing Wonderful "Wonderful · New Future" award and a cash sponsorship of 100,000 yuan, the story is also based on the author's personal experience, focusing on the growth story of mother and son. Zeng Jiyuan, CEO of Lianrui Pictures, rarely did not give advice on the market side, but said: "This theme is very FIRST, this kind of film should not consider the market, but focus all the narrative on the 'mother' in the eyes of his son, and the ontology of this story is enough to carry social topics." ”
Producer Liang Jing said: "There are commercial opportunities for real art films to be the extreme. "Art films that have been successful at the box office in recent years include "Mistake by the River", "No Name", etc., as well as the literary film "Stop-and-Go", which recently broke 100 million yuan in the Dragon Boat Festival. These movies all have a common feature, that is, the pace is much faster than other literary films.
Qiu Litao, a famous commercial film director, said: "Now the audience's tastes are changing rapidly, and I don't know what the audience likes to watch. But there is a little experience, that is, filmmakers can shoot in a relatively approachable way, which means that the pace is faster, not only for fans, but also for the general public, and the fast pace can make them more acceptable. ”
Although the market situation is relatively sluggish, the investors have not lost confidence in the film and are still looking for scripts with real investment value. The investment value of the script is reflected in the emotional connection with the audience, whether it is the oppression and resistance in the female theme, or the adolescent depression in the fantasy theme, or the national psychology in the realistic theme, it is the key to be able to leverage the high box office with a small cost.
As the old saying goes, "When the tide goes out, you don't know who's swimming naked." "When the film market is not good, it is better to test the value of a script and the vision of investors.