Special feature of 1905 film network As a filmmaker, Chen Guofu has rich experience and many identities. In his early years, he wrote film reviews and magazines, changed scripts for Yang Dechang, and worked as a code word. Later, when he was a director, he made movies, from what Wen Qing must see to the type of thriller, practicing kung fu on the camera; Later, he went to Colombia, Huayi Brothers and other big companies to be a "senior administrator" and began to strategize in a more macro dimension.
For today’s Chen Guofu, people in the film circle are used to defining him as a "gold medal producer". From to, from to, Chen Guofu’s producer works are very famous. He assisted Xiaogang Feng and Tsui Hark, and also supported Wu Ershan and Feng Delun. This time, he brought a new director who he thought was brilliant to the audience. The new director’s name was Xiao Yang, and his film was called.
Chen Guofu and Xiao Yang have known each other for many years, but it is the first time to produce a film for him. When interviewing these two people, they all mentioned Xiao Yang’s experience in editing If You Are the One. Chen Guofu said that he asked Xiao Yang if he dared, and Xiao Yang said that if you dare, I will dare. Xiao Yang said that Chen Guofu asked him if he dared to cut it, and said that if you dare to cut it, I will dare to let you cut it. There is a little discrepancy between the two statements, but the conclusion is: both of them dare.
Every time Chen Guofu is asked about his so-called producer experience, he will start with his initial intention, emphasize intuition and temporarily avoid the consequences. He believes that whether a film is commercial or not also depends on the judgment of the result, not the intention or ambition. For so many years, he has always regarded making movies as a gambling game, and when betting, he relied on his own transcendental judgment. He himself said that in this era of big data, this may be a bit out of place. However, Chen Guofu is still very firm now. Facing all kinds of turmoil brought by the Internet to the film industry, he said that people who really know how to make movies are unmoved.
When Chen Guofu was a producer, he always kept an all-inclusive attitude. He could control the big battle of hundreds of millions of investments, and he could also promote some artistic attempts at a small cost. Many people will think that he is in the actuarial market on the one hand and sticking to the literary pursuit of this Taiwan Province director on the other, but Chen Guofu himself doesn’t think so. He said, there are big things to do, and small things to do. From a psychological point of view, there should be no separation in making movies. Just like the Youth Class he made this time, others thought it didn’t sell well, but he thought his film was "the most commercial". He said that business was not an intention, but a result, and it was not the creator’s decision at all.
1905 Movie Network: When did you notice Xiao Yang and his story?
Chen Guofu: I asked him to cut a preview. I have never met this person before. After cutting, I asked him to meet him. I asked him if I asked you to cut a Xiaogang Feng movie. He said if you dare, I will. That’s how we met. In fact, he didn’t cut any long films before that.
1905 Movie Network: Later, he talked to you about his own experience before he wanted to make "Youth Class" into a movie?
Chen Guofu: Yes, I talked to him about this topic when he was cutting my hair. Sometimes he stopped to have a rest and chat. I asked him about his schooling experience, and he said that he was in a juvenile class. I said what is a juvenile class? I haven’t heard of it. He explained it to me. I think this is very strange. How can there be such a thing? He just has a tangled expression on his face. It was not a particularly pleasant experience for him, I feel. Later, he wanted to be a director and film. I said, why don’t you shoot the juvenile class? He said there was nothing to shoot. I said that if I am interested, it means that many people will be interested. This is how it started.
1905 Movie Network: What kind of movie do you think of Juvenile Class?
Chen Guofu: It is still a youth film, a youth growth film. Of course, when I mentioned Youth Class, I didn’t know which direction he would go. I was just instinctively curious about such a subject. I would like to see it. We are always curious about genius, which is a spectacle. Movies want all kinds of wonders. Later, he wrote a few characters for me to see, that is, Fang Houzheng, Wang Dafa, Mike, Wu Wei and Teacher Zhou Zhiyong, whom we see in the movie now. After he wrote these characters, I was sure that there was a movie here. Because I’ve been trying different things, it’s normal for me to try a different theme or not to follow the fashion. I’ve never been in such a rush in my film-making experience. It’s not surprising to me. I’m willing to bet anyone that it is the most commercial film in the same period.
1905 Movie Network: What is its commercial performance?
Chen Guofu: That’s what I said just now, that is, if there’s a theme that I’m so curious to see realized, there must be a large group of people who think the same way, because I’m a high-standard audience, and I don’t go to the cinema a few times a year. If I can pass my pass, I should be able to pass many people’s pass. Isn’t this business? Because business is not an intention, but a result, that is, some people go to see it, many people go to see it, and the film is recycled or even profitable, that is business. Business doesn’t mean that I want to make a commercial film. The result is business.
1905 Movie Network: You have supervised such big productions as Di Renjie and Ghost Blowing Lights, and also supervised such a small cost. What is the difference in mentality when doing these two things?
Chen Guofu: Many colleagues may not believe me when I say this, but when I choose a theme, I don’t think much about the consequences. My standard is the standard I just said. Even "Turn the Mountain" or "Starry Sky" will still be brought up for discussion with me after so many years, which shows that it is not a failed work, but a work remembered by people. So that’s my only criterion. I just want to make something that can stay. Some things that can stay were particularly popular at that time, and some may not be appreciated until many years later, but it doesn’t matter to me. Therefore, my mood is very close, that is, no matter what kind of movie or what theme it is, I must have high enthusiasm, because you have to realize it from the idea of a movie, and finally you have to promote it. The process is very long and hard, and you often feel that you are struggling with it with your life. If you have a little utilitarian purpose, I think this thing is very hard to do. You might as well sell something. I think, to sell insurance or something, you don’t have to worry about that thing when you go home. How much I can do today, I will have a complete rest when I go home today. But it’s not in our line of work. You work 24 hours a day. Sometimes you dream about whether the shot is taken well, whether the cycle is completed, and so on, so I just believe that voice.
Having been deeply involved in the mainland market for more than ten years, Chen Guofu has witnessed every step of the film marketization in China. As a literary film creator who was born as a film critic, Chen Guofu said: The drive of interests is not an original sin, and the buzzwords can also become the theme after dinner. In the era of Internet companies’ unbridled clamor, Chen Guofu stubbornly maintained a kind of literati integrity, and his general attitude was — — Let’s have a lively discussion, because you are at a loss, so you must always find some topics to talk about, even if you can’t find any serious way out, at least you can alleviate your confusion. I have to say, this kind of self-restraint posture is really awesome.
1905 Movie Network: Now everyone is talking about big data. Are you still so intuitive? Is it a bit capricious?
Chen Guofu: I am really out of date. Of course, I can also say modestly that I haven’t learned those things. Every time I see a noun or a concept appear frequently, I will think and reflect, that is, whether I haven’t kept pace with the times. But I don’t know, maybe I am a big data myself. I think that I have accumulated some experience. I have seen many movies and worked in many different movies. I have made countless attempts, some of which are successful and some are not so successful. These will accumulate a certain concept of data on me. Moreover, this industry is highly gambling. I don’t quite believe that any movie is guaranteed to be successful after careful calculation.
1905 Movie Network: Is your work influenced by the Internet?
Chen Guofu: I am personally influenced by the Internet to a certain extent, because I don’t watch DVDs anymore, but I watch movies online. I watch all the movie previews and promotional materials online, but I don’t watch much. This is a change in my specific life. And it will also change my taste in movies, and my aesthetics will be affected a little. However, our industry always comes back to tell stories, no matter how powerful this platform has become, the concept of movie ticket sales, the increase in the number of cinema screens, the rise of third-and fourth-tier cities, etc., no matter how to make this element more and more complicated, this calculation is becoming more and more difficult, but you just want to come back. Our story is to tell a story, and you just want to tell a good story and then have a convection with the audience. That happened in the cinema. It really didn’t happen in your prior marketing activities. Marketing activities can fool the audience into it, but you can’t guarantee that the audience will get the most full and wonderful experience in the cinema. What we have done is still the most fundamental. This has not changed for more than 100 years. Since the invention of the film, this thing has not changed. You just want to surprise the audience, move the audience, make them laugh and make them feel a little happy in the cinema.
1905 Movie Network: Just like everyone likes to say that the Internet subverts movies now, isn’t it a bit alarmist?
Chen Guofu: That can be said, that is, in any case, we always have some topics after dinner. Another important thing is that our colleagues don’t know how to do this industry most of the time, and they have no idea. When they have no idea, they have to grasp some concepts to summarize and explain, and then there will be a bit of a rush inside for a while, because people who know how to do movies are unmoved.
1905 Movie Network: Do you think there is any progress in the mainland market in recent years? Are there any places that are still very troublesome?
Chen Guofu: Both. There must be progress, because after the market becomes bigger, interests will drive people to exert their creativity. This is an unchangeable law, and this is a very economic thing. The unsatisfied place is that it will take time. Everything has a process. China’s films are developing so fast that many people are very anxious and flustered, and they are always afraid of missing something, but it is impossible to make a good film in such a mood. As I said just now, because every project of yours takes a long time, if you always have that kind of mood without grabbing this one, you can’t tell the audience a good story. It’s all normal. I’m still optimistic about this enthusiasm caused by the enlargement of the market and the increase of interests, because sometimes the motivation of people, the motivation of people’s creation and the motivation of people’s hard work come from interests, and I accept this development quite frankly.
After becoming a gold medal producer, more and more people began to talk to him about the market and economy, as if the label of his businessman temperament was becoming more and more obvious. However, some fans still expect him to be a director himself and make some works like personals, instead of making wedding dresses for other directors blindly. However, Chen Guofu himself has been blurring the concepts of these two positions. He feels that no matter what title you hang on the subtitles, there is no difference in the way you invest in making movies.
1905 Movie Network: Is the investment in a movie like Juvenile Class large or small in your experience?
Chen Guofu: It’s average, that is to say, although it’s not a movie like a stand-up super-first-line star, it has to ensure that all the technical content, all the stories and all the details of the performance are in place, and you have to pay a certain price for this. It is also very important that it should meet an industrial standard, which is guaranteed to be achieved in all the projects I participated in. That is, whether I do Di Renjie, Ghost Blowing Lights, or Youth Class, it must meet this standard.
1905 Movie Network: Because "Youth Class" is Xiao Yang’s first work, you also said before that different directors get along in different ways when making movies. What is it like for Xiao Yang?
Chen Guofu: I have a tacit understanding with him, so the cooperative relationship is very different from that of other directors, not because he is a new director, but because I have worked with him for so many years, and I know the roots well, and the tacit understanding is very high, and communication is barrier-free. Sometimes the experience of cooperation is so pleasant that I have a little doubt whether we will screw this thing up, because you know that sometimes it takes some contradictions, some anxiety and some disputes to make good things, but I have nothing to do with him, so I am satisfied with the result, and I am still happy with the process. This is rare.
1905 Movie Network: When you face such a new director, will you feel some pressure for his future?
Chen Guofu: No matter what director I face, my pressure exists, because I just don’t allow the result of my work to be a failure, so there will be pressure. This is a responsibility and of course a sense of honor. In fact, I don’t regard them as new directors. This factor is unlikely to exist in the process of work. On the contrary, they will remind me that I am not very experienced in this field. What do you think should be done? The director who may have made several plays is embarrassed to mention it. I am embarrassed to mention that his loss is not my loss, because his loss is that he may not get more experience because of his feelings. The new director is better in this respect because he always expects you to give him all kinds of nutrients and give him all kinds of more efficient directions. I am also good at cooperating with such a director with psychological quality, not necessarily the relationship between the old and the new, but because he is willing to open himself up, just for the good results.
1905 Movie Network: Do you regard producer as one of your main occupations?
Chen Guofu: The outside world often asks me this question, but it’s a question that I don’t usually think about. It’s just that when things come, I’m attracted. Sometimes it’s because of emotional factors, sometimes it’s because of the theme, and sometimes it’s because I imagine that the result is particularly exciting, so I’m very forgetful. I didn’t calculate which producer is, which I should direct, and how I should plan in the future. I’m a step-by-step person.
