At the end of March 2004, Angela came to China again, but this time the destination was not Beijing but Shanghai, and the team was not as rushed and low-key as before. It was only because of the sudden incident that the Chinese reporters got the news after she left the airport, so the trouble of being besieged at the airport was saved.
"In fact, even if they come, I won't say anything. You know, I came to Shanghai without even having a good rest." Angela, who was slumped on the sofa, told Alizee after checking into the suite of the Hilton Hotel. said.
"Understood, I'll tell them not to disturb you." Alizee's expressionless expression remained the same.
Angela then groomed a little and lay on the bed with clothes on. She was really tired this month, and she had to take care of every aspect of the "Rabe Diary" that was being prepared. For example, Huayi was required to build the set completely according to the draft she drew, and the main part must be delivered for use at the end of the month. Of course, as long as it's a problem that money can solve, it's not a problem, and with the financial oversight that Pixar has sent in the past, you don't have to worry too much about anything going wrong.
In addition to this, there are also costumes - she required that the costumes of Chinese actors must meet the requirements of the Republic of China, and there should be no such thing as wearing a crown and wearing a crown. In the end, she simply packaged it and handed it over to Huayi. And the soundtrack—this should have been considered later, but over the years, she has been thinking about it more than once, wanting to combine the sound of the erhu with the violin, so she is composing music when she is resting.
In fact, the various drafts about the set were accumulated over the years in the process of constantly knocking down and repainting, otherwise how could she have taken it out so quickly.
And then there's keeping in touch with a couple of the main actors, talking to them about the script and the characters, and asking and answering questions or making drafts of the storyboards and so on. It can be said that if it is not for the lack of understanding of lighting, props and modeling, she will definitely grasp these in her hands. Simply put, everything has to be according to her idea. Fortunately, the employees are basically used to cooperation, and for them, they are just busier than before, and they are still within the tolerance range.
Although it is very tiring, at least there is a benefit. Angela has no time to think about anything else, and Alizee has reduced the information that was originally in the itinerary every day, so her head was completely covered by the "Rabe Diary". "occupied. Even if Keira called and said a few words, she would be hung up. Although Keira was a little dissatisfied, she didn't complain anymore after learning about the situation from Annie and Alizee.
The next day, after a long sleep, Angela's spirit was still not very good. The jet lag is not so easy to reverse, and she was still with Steve Busmi two days before arriving in Shanghai. And Heinz Matthias discussing Rabe and Wilson's relationship, so it's normal to have that.
"There are six in total." Ellie Key, who was slightly better than Angela, organized various invitations for her at this time.
"I've pushed everything away, I'm not here to attend the reception." Angela said with a frown.
"All? Are you sure?" Alize took these invitations in front of her, and after a few quick glances, Angela's brows furrowed deeper, and after thinking about it, she said again, "Leave the Shanghai Municipal Government. Yes, let the others go."
"What Huayi has prepared for you is also rejected?" Alizee asked.
"A few more days? I won't reply for the time being." Angela replied after thinking for a while, "Also, tell them that I won't attend the press conference in the afternoon, and just let McKinley, Steve, Heinz and the others go. ."
Alizee seemed to want to say something, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out, she just nodded to show she understood. Looking at the figure of her leaving, Angela shrugged, she knew what Lily wanted to say, but she didn't think she did anything wrong.
As early as a week or even two weeks ago, Chinese entertainment news began to vaguely report something like "According to people familiar with the matter, Huayi will spend a lot of money to put "Rabe Diary" on the big screen. Especially on the Internet, some people say that they have nose and eyes, saying that Huayi plans to invest nearly 70 million yuan this time to make this diary that witnessed the massacre into a movie. As for the actors who will direct these specific content, but Tongtong did not explain.
However, Huayi CEO Wang Zhongjun has been silent on this. In the eyes of many people, keeping silent is equivalent to not denying it. Therefore, people, especially netizens, suddenly became agitated and applauded for Huayi's behavior. Although some experts expressed concern in the media that doing so may affect Sino-Japanese relations or something, they were soon overwhelmed and unable to make waves.
After Alice Zhang's book and later the documentary were introduced to China in various ways, "Rabe Diary" was highly praised by many people, especially netizens, so they expressed their support for Huayi's actions.
With the repeated press of the media, Wang Zhongjun said that he will indeed invest 70 million to make the film "Rabe Diary", but it will be in cooperation with foreign film companies. In addition, he did not say that the total investment is 40 million US dollars, nor who the cooperation partner is, nor who is leading, in short, except for the investment amount, everything else is ambiguous. Rao is like this, the media are still enthusiastic about it, and the gossip on the Internet is more exaggerated - I have to say, Wang Zhongjun is still very good at creating public opinion. to this point.
Angela didn't care about the other party's small actions, anyway, it was written in the original contract, even if they were allowed to invest, the ownership of the movie was still in her hands. It's just that she is not interested in cooperating with Huayi to do this kind of propaganda, just like she made a compromise to allow funds from China, but as long as those people dare to point fingers, she will immediately stop leaving, and this is also implicitly told Wang Zhongjun. . So, do your little things, but don't get me involved.
As for the media who may say that she is playing a big name, it is good to play a big name, anyway, this is my movie. Angela said so in her heart, and then sighed softly. Also just my movies.
After a short break and a few phone calls with the Pacific Ocean, Angela, who made a few adjustments, set off for the reception held by the city government after dark. There is nothing to say, most of the people attending the reception are high-ranking government officials, as well as some wealthy people with status, oh, and the American consul and his wife. Although Angela's communication skills have been honed well, she doesn't like to attend cocktail parties after all, and this is the first time she has dealt with a senior official of the Chinese government. So she did her duty a bit, and then went back to the hotel to rest. She wanted to recover as soon as possible so that she could officially start filming.
To her surprise, the next day's newspaper did not mention any news about "playing big names" at all, and all the entertainment front pages were occupied by the news that "Angela Mason went to China to film "Rabe's Diary". All the details, such as the total investment amount and the entire preparatory work, as well as the positioning of Huayi, were written down.
The repercussions after the disclosure were huge. Such a gap made many people unacceptable for the first time. In their opinion, it would be better for such a theme to be produced by a domestic film company. Unexpectedly, the capital of 70 million is only a quarter of the other party's investment, and all the dominance is in the hands of the other party. Huayi, who vowed to spend a lot of money to put "Rabe Diary" on the screen, only It's just to fight others, how can people accept this
However, it didn't take long for most of them to change, because the production company was Pixar, which won the best film Oscar for six consecutive years, and the director and producer was the legendary Hollywood woman Angela Mason.
Angela's popularity in China is also quite high, just because she can speak Chinese fluently and has written and sung Chinese songs, it is enough for her to gain the favor of Chinese people more easily than others. What's more, she has intervened in so many classic movies, plus she began to write scripts at the age of 11, became a director at the age of 16, and has been nominated for the best director Oscar for 6 consecutive years since 1998. Background; and the two countries are still separated by the Pacific Ocean. Under the effect of beauty generated by the distance, they have naturally received extraordinary support. Even the Chinese Forum was established as early as 2001.
Although some people wonder if she can grasp this subject matter, but when she thinks that she made a movie like "The Pianist" at the age of 19, in terms of strength, she is fully capable of making "The Diary of Rabe" into an excellent film. Movie.
Besides, influenced by American movies, the Chinese people have an unusual obsession with Oscars, so people quickly accepted this fact and became very excited, hoping to see her make "The Diary of Rabe" and then win the Oscar for best film— Pixar won the best film six years in a row, but it was her hand.
At the same time, McKinley's speech at the press conference that afternoon also added a lot of points to her: "A few years ago, Miss Angela was very surprised when she read "The Rabe Diary" As far as I know, I also know how much suffering China suffered in the war decades ago, but this is the first time I know that such a terrible disaster happened. She collected some information on this, but found that it was almost a period of time. Forgotten history, many things are shelved, and no one will touch except the researchers, so the idea of bringing "Rabe Diary" to the screen came up."
This sentence was naturally approved by Angela, and after it was published by major Chinese media, it immediately aroused heated discussions. Most people are complimenting them. After all, for many Chinese people, as long as someone is nice to them, then they should be nice to that person. Even if there were one or two sentences of doubt, disdain, and ridicule, they were immediately drowned out. So no one cares whether Angela attended the press conference or not. Didn't the organizer say that it was because the jet lag hadn't been adjusted and the body felt a little uncomfortable. This is normal, isn't it
The attitude of the domestic media in the United States is different. Angela has done a very good job of keeping secrets before. Although many reporters have deduced that she may be preparing a new movie based on various clues, it was not until she arrived in China because Pixar revealed message and really understand.
"Obviously, she once again set her sights on the war theme, and her six consecutive defeats made Angela's eyes turn to the theme closest to the best director." A newspaper reported this.
"Angela is obviously disgusted with Oscar, and this time she went to that far country to make a movie. Hollywood has to be careful, their injustice is costing us something." There is also such a report.
"Miss Angel picks up film subjects related to World War II and the Holocaust again, but this time not in Europe but in the more ancient country across the Pacific. There is no doubt about her ability, but with The Pianist ahead, and That country is relatively unfamiliar to us, so whether it can reach the level of "The Pianist" is unknown." There are also such reports.
In general, most people were surprised that Angela had made a war movie again, but also thought it was no big deal. Although the country seems to have a lot of problems, many people went to learn about China because of this, and the sales of the English version of "Rabe's Diary" also increased a little.
There are also activists who said, "How can an American national idol openly support a hostile country", on the grounds that they have accepted funds from Chinese film companies with "official backgrounds"! In addition, some people were watching reports related to China through some TV stations, and they were quite complaining about why she went to such a place, so some people hoped to unite and ask Angela to abandon this "inexplicable" movie plan.
Of course, these people's voices are very small, and the mainstream society's opinion is that it is her freedom to make whatever movie she wants to make, and more people like to discuss what kind of movie Miss Angel will make this time. Angela had already entrusted Sparrow when she left the United States. This time, she must use resources to guide public opinion. It must attract people's attention and controversy as before, but it must not rise to certain levels too uncontrollably. .
Well, no matter what the media in the two countries are saying or what the people in the two countries think, "Rabe Diary" started on March 31, 2004, on a set built on the outskirts of Shanghai.
December Notes (14)
The Japanese have already entered the city. I thought the situation might improve, but unfortunately it is even more chaotic. I don’t know what the Japanese are thinking. In addition, although the number of refugees that can be accommodated in the safe zone is close to the limit, there are still many Chinese people running here. It is said that Japanese soldiers shot and killed at will in the city. Although the committee wants to continue to accept it, this is a heavy burden for the safe area, but...
Putting down the pen, Rabe sighed, took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and put the back of his hand on his forehead, looking tired. At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and his assistant and secretary Han Xianglin walked in after permission.
"What's the matter, Han?" Rabe asked, putting on his glasses and trying hard.
"We urgently need medicine now. Dr. Wilson suggested that the security committee let you come forward to negotiate with the Japanese embassy." Han Xianglin walked up to him and said in a low voice, with a wry smile on his thin face, frowning and worrying about something.
"Dr. Wilson?" Rabe couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Okay, I'll go to the committee now, you..."
He thought for a while: "You should stay in the safe area, Han, you are a good assistant, I don't want anything to happen to you."
Han Xianglin was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "Okay, Mr. John."
"Cut!" Angela called out from behind the camera, giving a thumbs up despite her tensed face, "Good job, Jiang Wen and... Heinz, this shot is over."
Following her words, the two of them on the set finally breathed a sigh of relief, and after Angela announced the break, they sat down in their seats and took the assistant's cup to drink water. Angela, who was also slightly relieved, originally wanted to go over and say a few witty words to them, but when she thought about how she had been in the past few days, she immediately dismissed the idea with a wry smile in her heart.
In addition to repeated shooting or repeated shooting, even a simple cutscene has to be shot 7 or 8 times from different angles, and after turning on the camera, her face has been tensed and there is no smile at all, as if everyone present owed her Like hundreds of millions. Even actors like Jiang Wen and Heinz who collaborated with her for the first time thought she was a little strange, not to mention the tacit employees.
Angela herself knows that this is not good, and she also wants to adjust herself to the previous state as much as possible, but she has planned this movie for too long, and other conditions have basically been in place, the only worry It's the quality of the movie, so she had to make it with 120,000 points of spirit.
Fortunately, the actors are very dedicated. For example, Heinz specially visited Rabe's house and even imitated Rabe's accent, posture and demeanor under the guidance of his family. Jiang Wen, on the other hand, honestly lost 90 pounds in one month. The originally strong body was so thin that it seemed to fall down when it was blown, and some of the rounded Chinese characters also sank and lost a lot of weight. When we met again, Angela almost fell. I didn't recognize it - on the set, I was completely obedient, doing what I had to do, and never raising any objections. This made many Chinese staff who knew Jiang Wen quite surprised. How could this guy be so good as a little rabbit? !
So, the key now is in my hands. Angela sat in her place, closed her eyes and rubbed the sides of her head tiredly. Only to succeed and not to fail.
"What are you worried about?" Alizee, who was sorting out the records for her, asked in a low voice.
"No, it's nothing, don't worry." Angela raised her head and smiled at Alizee. Although the expressionless expression on the other side never changed, she still heard the concern and worry in it.
In the past few years, which time is it not only allowed to succeed and not to fail? It's just that this time it's a little bit more stressful than before. Angela clenched her fists.
I have been preparing for so many years, everything is in place, how can I fail!