Cultivating Film Talent

"The Mouth of the Madman" is scheduled for release on May Day!

This news was a bombshell for the media, who were idle after the Qingming Festival.

New film by Chinese horror director Lu Ban announced, scheduled for release on May Day.

He's back! That man is back with his new film!

"Lu Ban, the 'Catalogue of Domestic Horror Films,' Releases New Film on May Day: Hot Topic Analysis"

A 10,000-word article to help you analyze the worldview of Lu Ban's new work.

Reports like these are everywhere, and many people are now focusing their attention on Lu Ban.

Some people are looking forward to the new film, some hope to see Lu Ban's career collapse, and others are just having fun, thinking that Chinese films are hopeless and are just spreading rumors everywhere.

Lu Ban himself was completely unaware of the situation, and even went to see a movie.

When his half-apprentice Ye Cheng's movie was released, Lu Ban even went to the premiere of the horror movie called "No. 9 Huangmei Street".

At the Jiangcheng Cinema, the premiere was sparsely attended, consisting mainly of fans of the participating stars and reporters; there was no lively atmosphere whatsoever.

Lu Ban's appearance suddenly enlivened the previously quiet atmosphere.

When the reporters saw Lu Ban, they all rushed over to interview him, leaving the original film crew standing aside, which was a bit awkward.

"Director Lu, why did you come to the premiere? Is it because you feel that this film has a lot of learning value for you?"

"Director Lu, could you please tell me what the highlights of your new movie are?"

"Director Lu, are you here to watch the premiere of a similar film at this time because you were involved in its production?"

"Some people say that ' The Mouth of the Madman ' will break box office records again. What do you think of this statement, Director Lu?"

Faced with questions from reporters, some serious and some with ulterior motives, Lu Ban did not answer. He simply pointed to the main creators who were left standing aside.

"I'm just here to watch the movie, you should go and interview them."

He then sat down and did not respond to any of the reporters' questions.

Some reporters tried to force their way to sit next to Lu Ban to ask questions, but for some reason they all left disappointed and didn't get a chance to speak to Lu Ban again when the film started.

"No. 9 Huangmei Street" is a classic haunted house movie.

The protagonist's family elders passed away, leaving behind a house. The relatives, each with their own ulterior motives, staged a power struggle within the house. However, the house itself turned out to be haunted, and as a result, the opportunistic relatives died one by one, leaving only the kind-hearted protagonist alive.

It's a very simple script, but perhaps too simple.

As a seasoned horror film director, Lu Ban was completely immune to this kind of plot and scene setting.

Moreover, the actors' performances were jarring, and the costumes and props were of very low quality. The most criticized part was that after the eldest brother died in the movie, the eldest sister-in-law and the second brother staged a passionate scene in front of the eldest brother's funeral hall, which can be described as a prime example of selling movies at funeral halls.

As for Ye Cheng, he played the eldest brother's son, a rich second-generation who liked to court death, which was a natural fit for him. Although his acting skills in normal situations were not very good, his performances in the ghost scenes were quite good, capturing the essence of fear, which satisfied Lu Ban.

Perhaps because Lu Ban watched the movie, it gained some attention amidst a sea of mass-produced horror films, and the number of viewers increased slightly.

Within two days, "No. 9 Huangmei Street" was still able to appear on the box office charts.

Most of the reviews for the movie were negative, but Ye Cheng's acting was the only one that received praise.

"This movie is boring and not scary at all. The acting is awkward. I really can't imagine why Lu Ban would watch it."

"I just couldn't understand that passionate scene between my sister-in-law and second brother in the mourning hall. The director's imagination is really rich, but it seems to have been used in the wrong place."

"I must say, that guy's son's acting is pretty good, especially the scenes where he encounters ghosts. His performance has that feel of Lu Ban movie."

"I think the biggest benefit of this movie is that it discovered the actor Ye Cheng. He seems to have a lot of talent for acting in horror movies, and he may become a great star in the future."

"Is it possible that we went to see a horror movie, while Lu Ban went to relax and watch a comedy?"

At the end of April, Lu Ban received a call from Ye Cheng.

"Director Lu, thank you so much. My acting skills have been recognized. Although the movie's box office performance was not ideal, many more film and television companies have contacted me."

Ye Cheng sounded quite happy. After all, entering the entertainment industry was his dream, and now that his acting skills had been praised, he should be very happy.

"That's great."

Lu Ban was also happy for Ye Cheng.

"Yes, there is a problem now."

As Ye Cheng spoke, his mood suddenly dipped.

"What's wrong?"

"Those film and television companies all come to me to make horror films and want me to play the lead role, even though I'm clearly not the type of person who specializes in this genre!"

Ye Cheng said helplessly.

"It's okay. If you do well in one genre, people will remember you. Look at some actors, they only play one or two roles in their whole lives, and people still remember them. If you can specialize in horror films, your future is very bright."

Lu Ban comforted her.

With the opening up of the horror film market, actors like Ye Cheng, who are good at acting in horror films, will definitely gradually receive more attention, Lu Ban thought.

With the premiere approaching, Lu Ban didn't rest; he went to the Jiangcheng City Mental Hospital.

He didn't come here for a medical consultation.

Ye Cheng's situation spurred Lu Ban into action.

He believes that with the rise in popularity of horror films, people's demands on horror film directors, screenwriters, and actors will continue to increase. Compared to ordinary films, horror films have more specific requirements, and talented individuals are even harder to find.

Lu Ban can only produce one movie every few months on his own. If he wants the whole world to accept those strange things and gradually change their perceptions, then the efforts of all mankind are needed.

Lu Ban has always believed in the people's view of history. He himself is just one of the people in this wave. True history needs to be created by the masses.

Therefore, the contradiction between the people's growing demand for horror movies and the backward production of horror movies became the main social contradiction in Lu Ban's opinion.

To resolve this contradiction, Lu Ban needs a manual to guide the production of horror films, which can be used to educate and train new horror film talents.

The method Ye Cheng used to improve his acting skills by personally experiencing terrifying events was very primitive, backward, and inefficient. What Lu Ban needed was an industrialized production standard.

Therefore, he came to the Jiangcheng City Mental Hospital to gather material, intending to seek help from the patients there and improve his theory of horror film production.

Although Lu Ban did not make this public, given that "The Mouth of the Madman" was about to be released, film and television reporters naturally seized on any rumors and did not let Lu Ban's every move go unnoticed.

Many reporters had already found out about this in advance.

They were preparing to interview Lu Ban at the mental hospital.