Starting From Textual Research

Han Sanping's secretary, Liao Yun, also came to inquire.

The project was approved, but it was only approved by China Film. It still needed to be registered, followed by expert review, and then financial approval.

The registration with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television required Shen Shanden's copyright authorization.

Compared to the lax copyright awareness of this era, Shen Shanden, as a reborn individual, understood the value of copyright even better.

"The Grand Director" had already registered the entire chain of copyrights: film, television series, music, and even clothing, including the design of the prop, the Feiyu uniform. Anything that could be registered had been registered.

"If the film doesn't turn out well, it's a small matter if I suffer losses myself. I'm just afraid the Director will be criticized. The Director has done too much for me; I'm already overwhelmed. Please tell Director Han through Secretary Liao that I, Shen Shanden, will first use my own money to build a framework, and then China Film can come in."

Shen Shanden's reply was calm and collected.

"This way, President Han will face less criticism within China Film," Han Sanping's secretary said, looking at Shen Shanden with newfound respect.

People are usually generous when spending public money, but rarely so with their own.

It seemed Shen Shanden wasn't just good with words; he could truly handle responsibility.

Upon hearing this, Shen Shanden knew there was a misunderstanding, but he didn't clarify, letting it stand.

"Secretary Tian, I want to invite some experts as consultants and need to use China Film's name."

After obtaining permission.

Shen Shanden asked Zhou Qifeng to go to China Film to handle the procedures.

Before the team framework was established, he tried to avoid appearing at Beijing Film Studio.

He had heard some whispers from Yu Jianhong.

Shen Shanden had worked in a state-owned enterprise in his previous life and had seen plenty of messy situations.

However, the most important thing now was to build the team; then, everything would be resolved easily.

Shen Shanden entrusted external liaison and other errands to Zhou Qifeng, letting his junior handle them.

Shen Shanden focused on content creation.

With Han Sanping, he had made some artistic adjustments. The inspiration for "The Grand Director" did not come from "Brotherhood of Blades."

Initially, Shen Shanden wanted to write a script to compete for awards overseas.

But he didn't want to touch realistic themes, as that might lead to winning an award but losing his future.

So, he concocted a story about a eunuch emperor.

A young boy, who suffered a disaster, entered the palace as a eunuch and, through a twist of fate, eventually became the emperor.

The civilization's treasure of ancient China, the unified system, the most resolute, yang, and supreme emperor, was held by the most soft, yin, and submissive eunuch.

It was absolutely bizarre and stigmatizing.

Is it difficult to win awards for realistic themes?

No need to worry, the Olympic opening ceremony will come to the rescue.

The Olympic opening ceremony was a cultural event, and the West would definitely try to block it.

The three major European film festivals were ideological machines, established during the Cold War.

Even today, they still carried a strong Cold War color.

In a world where everything was political, the theme issue was a minor one.

Moreover, the West mastered the art of "winning."

Not giving an award to a realistic theme demonstrated that film festivals accept talent from all walks of life, this is win one;

It showed that they could adapt within the existing framework at any time, reflecting the flexibility of the system, this is win two;

In the face of art, even cold systems had to yield, this is win three.

In short, they were utterly triumphant.

Shen Shanden could think of three points just by casually pondering.

Similarly, where there is winning, there is also losing.

The criticism leveled against "The Grand Director" indicated serious problems within Eastern culture, this is loss one; "The Grand Director" receiving such recognition from the temple of art should be met with gratitude, this is loss two.

If he were luckier, the West might even link the Eastern traditional image with eunuchs, and Shen Shanden might even be featured in reviews and analyses in various Western major newspapers.

Was this idea too bold?

But later, Shen Shanden gave up.

The sacrifice was simply too great.

If he had been reborn in the 1990s, there would have been no choice. The domestic film industry was in decline, and film studios couldn't survive, so they had to rely on overseas resources.

In the 1980s, the gap between China and Europe/America was large, and earning foreign exchange was very tempting.

If you are kept, don't talk about having an independent personality.

Don't talk about art; just honestly make what they like.

Now it's 2007. Five years have passed since the reform of the cinema chain in 2002. The domestic market is gradually maturing, and the future lies in China.

There are many uncontrollable factors in overseas awards, and Shen Shanden has no connections in that regard. His advisor only has some connections in industry and policy research, but not enough to get help from professors in the directing department who have overseas connections.

Therefore, to aim for awards, the film selector has to contact people themselves and travel between film festivals to campaign for awards.

At this stage of preparation, he actually still had hesitations.

Because he could choose to use only his graduate student period, preparing in his second year and campaigning for awards in his third. If he won, he'd profit; if not, he'd just move on.

However, as he delved deeper, Shen Shanden's understanding was somewhat damaged.

After all, to win an award, a basic persona is essential.

For overseas awards, whether it's the film itself or what the creators say, it needs to cater to Western narratives, making them feel like they've won big.

Shen Shanden tried it and found the sacrifices were too great.

He wanted to win!

Not winning was no different from killing him.

What if he got labeled and ostracized later?

He wasn't from a privileged background; reaching this point would basically ruin his life.

Therefore, Shen Shanden decisively made his escape.

And concluded that the path to overseas awards was one even dogs wouldn't take.

To break into the directing profession, there are roughly three paths.

One is the domestic academic route, where you bite the hand that feeds you, relying on domestic government funding.

Another is campaigning for overseas awards, relying on foreign funding.

The third is to face the market and rely on the audience's support.

The domestic academic route was the first one Shen Shanden ruled out.

This path was controlled by the directing department.

Shen Shanden could only say he was self-taught, studying film management, but not as a direct protégé.

And these professors, department heads, have their own children, friends' children, lovers, and disciples. It's a case of too many monks and not enough rice.

For example, Ning Hao gradually progressed from short films to features, making two decent story films. China Film found funding for him for the Crazy Stone project, but he couldn't use the young director fund; the money came from Hong Kong Island.

These financial funds are all allocated, and even Han Sanping has no good solutions.

The Grand Director also went through normal investment channels. Funds like the young director fund for this year were already distributed, so they could only apply for next year's. It would take time to go through the process and wait.

Of the three paths, there seem to be three, but for Shen Shanden, who had no background, there was only one.

That is to serve the audience and face the market.

Although he gave up on the path of overseas awards, this brief, superficial attempt, like an accidental dive into a cesspool, left Shen Shanden with unforgettable memories.

In a sense, reversing it was also an invaluable asset.

Turning to the path of serving the audience, Shen Shanden reset the plot of The Grand Director.

It changed from a fictional setting to one based on real history, set in the Jiajing era.

But because it was initially aimed at overseas awards, it inevitably had flaws.

The first meeting for The Grand Director's content and creators.

It was held in an empty classroom at Beijing Film Academy.

"Textual Research!"

First, Shen Shanden wrote "Textual Research" in large characters on the blackboard.

"For a project, the most basic and most important thing is the textual work. This work requires little investment but yields great results."

"Therefore, the most crucial task for The Grand Director right now is textual research, to delve into the text and work hard on the script."

"Let the script return to its rightful place! Return to being the foundation of the work! The talent and role of screenwriters should not be buried!"

"We have two teams: one is an offline team, and the other is an online team. Some bestselling online novel writers will serve as consultants for emotional pull, increased satisfaction, and martial arts settings."

"Later, Ming Dynasty history experts will join the team as our historical consultants. Whether it's the literary script or the shooting script, I have only one requirement: smooth pacing and an exhilarating plot."

Shen Shanden made demands of the three on-set editors.

These three screenwriters were all students or recent graduates from the Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Film Academy—youngsters fresh out of the oven.

He didn't need them to be highly experienced; he needed them to be smart, eager to prove themselves, willing to contribute, and possess a certain degree of obedience and team spirit.

Shenzhen.

Wu Jing was basking under a sunlamp to heal his injuries. He had major wounds and needed to rest after working in Hong Kong Island for a while. He particularly couldn't stand the humid environment.

However, today, a guest from BJ brought him a letter.

Wu Jing stared at the envelope, stunned.

"Have you understood the meaning of film? Do you truly want to stand tall on the big screen?"

"YES OR NO?"