"We often treat Avatar's 1,600 visual effects shots as the entry threshold, but what truly limits creation is the fear of not even daring to attempt a closed-loop narrative with an investment of just five million RMB."
Guo Fan used his own film Source Code as an example: "We usually regard A-level blockbusters as Hollywood's hallmark, and that is indeed true.
But we shouldn't overlook the fact that while we are stunned by Avatar's astonishing 3D effects and mesmerized by Optimus Prime's imposing presence,
Hollywood creators can conquer audiences with one compelling story after another, and these stories often don't require massive investment.
Take Source Code for instance. The film's production budget was 40 million dollars. If it were placed in the Chinese film industry, I believe it could be done with 60 million RMB."
Guo Fan continued, "In reality, because of a lack of confidence and a shortage of imagination, our creators set limits on themselves.
I remember a rainy afternoon when the lighting team for Source Code completed all the lighting for the quantum capsule using just two LED panel lights and mirrored stainless steel panels.
The producer Liu Ji suddenly said to me, 'Isn't this exactly the method commonly used in Hengdian back home?'"
Guo Fan's words made the guests participating in the discussion thoughtful, and his remarks were taken seriously.
Watching the film professionals carefully reflecting on what he said, Guo Fan suddenly understood why Gilbert had told him that he needed fame and status.
It wasn't for personal power, but so that his words would no longer be ignored.
Don't underestimate the difference—if one wants to change the Chinese-language film industry, this is extremely important.
Guo Fan continued sharing his experiences: "I once talked with Toby Emmerich, the screenwriter of Frequency, and to this day, his studio still has the original concept board of Frequency hanging on the wall.
This film received high praise from director Gilbert, who considered it a model of low-budget science fiction cinema.
I discovered that the concept board was densely covered with more than 300 sticky notes, recording all kinds of deductions—from the grandfather paradox to the principles of television imaging.
To verify these deductions, Toby Emmerich even consulted quantum physicists. This wasn't to add gimmicks, but to make the characters' logic self-consistent.
I once discussed this idea with domestic investors, and the response I got was: 'Audiences won't understand this. Just add more romance.'
That's why no matter what we shoot, romance always takes up the largest portion, while Hollywood flourishes in diversity—romance, family bonds, friendship, encompassing everything."
At this point, a guest stood up to ask a question: "Director Guo, you once worked on director Gilbert's film set. Can you tell us what it was like inside?"
At the mention of this, Guo Fan had plenty to say.
"I can say that it is the best film crew in the world, with the best people working together. Under director Gilbert's wise leadership, they produced one outstanding film after another."
As he spoke, Guo Fan also displayed photos of the interior space of the Batmobile from The Dark Knight, including various parameters.
These details, even in places never shown on screen, were still meticulously presented, with no perfunctory treatment just because the camera wouldn't capture them.
"Details—the pursuit of detail—is the reason director Gilbert has stood at the pinnacle of the world for so many years."
At this point, Guo Fan also felt a sense of pride: "I believe the greatest gap is not an industrial one, but one that comes from people.
However, with the development of the times, one day we will also be able to make Hollywood blockbusters and make them even better than theirs."
After this discussion at the college student film festival in China, Guo Fan later mentioned it to Gilbert, who affirmed Guo Fan's ideas after listening.
Whether right or wrong, at least it opens up a path.
Back in Hollywood, as Avatar was sweeping various records, Inception, in its third week of release, continued to deliver strong results.
What surprised people this week was Robin Hood, the epic action-adventure film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, directed by Ridley Scott, and starring major names such as Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.
Robin Hood is a very famous character, portrayed by many stars in the past. When Russell Crowe played this version of Robin Hood, he was already 45 years old, becoming the oldest actor in history to portray the role.
The second oldest was Sean Connery, who played Robin Hood in the 1976 film Robin and Marian, when he was not yet 45.
As a side note, after suffering heavy blows, Sean Connery has completely disappeared from Hollywood. It is said that his wife—now his ex-wife and even his son no longer keep in touch with him.
This irritable old man now works as a farmer on a rural farm in the English countryside, living a rather miserable life, paying the price for his willfulness.
Returning to Robin Hood, back in 2007, Disney, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Columbia Pictures, and Paramount had all competed for the rights to this film.
However, because of Gilbert's advice, Disney quickly withdrew from the competition. The project eventually fell into the hands of Universal Pictures and subsequently caught the interest of Ridley Scott.
Gilbert once said to Robert Iger, "Ridley, when he isn't making epic films, is one of the best directors in Hollywood. As for Gladiator, that was an accident."
In fact, this assessment was indeed accurate. After the failure of Kingdom of Heaven, Ridley Scott nearly collapsed completely.
Afterward, he went on to make several drama films, served as a producer on television series, and managed to recover some of his reputation through American Gangster.
However, Ridley Scott clearly wasn't satisfied. He soon took on Robin Hood, yet reality once again dealt him a heavy blow.
This epic blockbuster, with an investment of two hundred million dollars, earned only 36.06 million dollars at the North American box office during its opening weekend, an extremely dismal result.
By comparison, Inception continued to hold onto the weekly box office championship, earning 38.03 million dollars in its second weekend and maintaining its strong momentum.
Its North American box office climbed to 295.72 million dollars, while its global box office reached 853.35 million dollars, dominating both the North American and worldwide box office charts.
On one hand, this was because Inception itself was truly high-quality and capable of sustaining its strong performance. On the other hand, it was also due to the weak showing of the new release Robin Hood.
This marked the second two-hundred-million-dollar investment blockbuster to flop this year, the first being Tron: Legacy.
But there was no helping it. No matter how high the investment, if audiences don't want to watch it, they simply won't. So a box office disaster was nothing unusual.
And the poor performance of Robin Hood undoubtedly put Ridley Scott in an awkward position.
The British old man possessed the stubbornness and refusal to admit defeat typical of the British, but the reality was that Robin Hood had indeed flopped, and this time he couldn't even find an excuse.
Clutching the box office report in his hand, Ridley Scott felt a sharp pain twisting in his heart.
Could it be that he could only fall back on his old achievements again?
As for Ridley Scott's predicament, Gilbert felt some sympathy, but the film market is just that cruel and gives no one any special treatment.
After holding the box office championship for three consecutive weeks, the good days of Inception were also coming to an end. The following week, DreamWorks Animation's Shrek Forever After was set to be released.
During the summer season, one should never expect to dominate alone. Being able to hold the box office crown for three weeks, Inception had already reached its limit.
Next, it was time for new players to enter the stage.
...
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