The names of more than 12,000 staff members scrolled for eight minutes in the ending subtitles, and Yu Dong was full of emotion.
At the age of fifty and having been in film for nearly 30 years, Bona Pictures’ chairman Yu Dong brought out the film “Changjin Lake” with the highest investment, the longest preparation period, and the largest crew scale in Bona Pictures and even in China’s film history. On September 30, “Changjin Lake” officially met with the audience.
As of press time, Maoyan Professional Edition data shows that“Changjin Lake” has reached 193 million box office today. Today, the lineup accounted for 53.5%, the attendance rate was 17.1%, and the average attendance was 25.
At this moment, what “Changjin Lake” carries is no longer the honor or disgrace of Bona Pictures.
With a quarter left in 2021, the total box office of national films has just exceeded 30 billion yuan, which is only half of 2019. The sluggish air has been lingering in the industry for too long, and it is too necessary for a magnificent and popular blockbuster to bring back the audience who are about to lose their viewing habits to the cinema!
During the epidemic last year, the national film industry was shut down and movie theaters did not know when to restart. As the founder and chairman of Bona Pictures, Yu Dong felt unprecedented pressure.
When the movie market was so difficult, Yu Dong decided to shoot “Chinese Doctor”, “Changjin Lake”, “Anonymous” and “Chinese Pride Trilogy”, and carried the “Big Salvation Banner”. But it was shut down as soon as it was turned on, and it was just about to be released and rescheduled… Today, the heavyweight “Changjin Lake” finally came. As the producer of this film, Yu Dong accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from “Daily Economic News”.
Previously, on September 25th, “Changjin Lake” held its premiere in Beijing. Image source: Photo courtesy of Bona Pictures
Use the bottom team
“A classic that can still move the audience after 50 years”
After “Changjin Lake” was set again, many people felt that this year’s movie market rescue work has finally come.
The decision to restart the filming of “Changjin Lake” required a lot of courage for Yu Dong at that time. This epic war movie, which was originally planned to be released in 2020, had to be stopped due to the epidemic. Last October, “Changjin Lake” restarted. In order to catch the progress of the construction period, “Changjin Lake”, which was launched for the second time, brought together three directors: Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, and Lin Chaoxian, with Huang Jianxin as the producer, and Wu Jing and Yi Yang Qianxi as the leading actors.
“We can’t miss it anymore.” Yu Dong said. At that time, there was only one idea, and it was necessary to complete “Changjin Lake”. “Regardless of the changes in the film industry in the future, since we have moved this theme, we must complete it.” For this reason, Bona used all the team at the bottom of the box.
For the specific investment amount of “Changjin Lake”, Yu Dong only said that “it should be the largest production in history.” Why is it so expensive? Where is the focus? “The script is 130,000 words long, and the preparation period alone is more than two years. Three directors led three groups of people into the filming, using ultra-large-scale military equipment, over 100 kilometers of action design, and more than 70,000 extras. Performance, and the support of nearly a hundred post-production special effects companies…” he enumerated.
Picture of “Changjin Lake” stills Picture source: Photo courtesy of Bona Pictures
Until May of this year, with the stimulation of the Spring Festival, investors’ tentacles were also awakened. Those who had been inquiring about “Changjin Lake” from various channels before were finally persuaded by Yu Dong. Soon, the “national team” made a move, and Bayi Studios, China Film Corporation, and China Film Studio successively followed up on “Changjin Lake”.
“Before leaving, my daughter asked me why I was going to fight this battle. I know that if we don’t fight this battle, we will have to fight in their generation. We are fighting this battle because they can’t fight it.” This is A dialogue between Zhu Yawen and Wu Jing in “Changjin Lake”.
Zhu Yawen plays Mei Sheng, the instructor of the Seventh Company in “Changjin Lake”. Source: Photo courtesy of Bona Pictures
This is reminiscent of the newsletter article “Who is the cutest person” published in 1951 that recorded the Korean War to Resist U.S. Aid and Aid Korea: Dear friends, when you get on the first tram to the factory in the morning, when you carry the rake When you walk into the field, when you finish drinking a cup of soy milk, and when you walk to school with your schoolbag, when you sit quietly at your desk and plan your work for the day, when you put an apple in your child’s mouth, when you When taking a leisurely walk with your lover, friend, do you realize that you are in happiness? You may be surprised to see me: “This is normal!” However, people who return from North Korea will know that you are living in happiness. Please realize that this is a kind of happiness, because only if you realize this can you have a deeper understanding of the reason why our soldiers are desperate in North Korea.
Fight with one punch to avoid a hundred punches! Time is quiet and good, because someone is bearing the burden for us to move forward. People in the past have not forgotten the victory of the arduous war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea and the peace in exchange for later generations, nor should people in the present and in the future. In Yu Dong’s heart, “Changjin Lake” is not only filmed for young people today, but also for young people fifty years later.
The book of “Changjin Lake” touched countless netizens. Picture source: Photo by reporter Dong Xingsheng (data map)
“Shangganling” and “Heroic Sons” are films that have a profound impact on our growth to resist US aggression and aid Korea. Today they are still high-quality films. So I was thinking that although it is possible to make a good film without spending so much money, but I just want to choose the hardest path. We have to let young audiences like it today, and let young audiences 50 years later also like it. This is a classic that can survive. When you create with this idea At that time, the production pattern, production philosophy, and production methods of the movie were completely different.”
Before the release of “Changjin Lake”, Bona first handed over “Chinese Doctor”, a film that truly showed the arduous struggle against the epidemic. “We quickly gathered to make such a movie, so that everyone can see so many people working hard for us, let us cherish the present and cherish the people around us.” Yu Dong said that contemporary people’s life pressure is very great. , The pressure of work, the pressure of mortgages, and the large family expenses… “But if this movie can give you a little spiritual comfort and give you a little courage to live, it will be enough, it will be enough. This is our movie. The responsibility of the worker.”
Picture source of “Chinese Doctor”: Photo courtesy of Bona Pictures
The main theme movie market is already a red sea
How does Bona make the main theme again?
“Changjin Lake”, “Chinese Doctor” and “Anonymous” constitute Yu Dongkou’s battle for the escalation of the main theme. With the release of “Chinese Doctor” and “Changjin Lake”, Bona Pictures, which is at the helm of Winter, played the third section of “Main Melody”-“China Victory”. Prior to this, Bona has completed the “Mountain, River and Sea Trilogy” (“Take the Tiger Mountain”, “Operation Mekong” and “Operation Red Sea”) and the “Chinese Pride Trilogy” (“Decisive Moment”, “Heroes of Fire” “And “Chinese Captain”).
These six films brought Bona more than 10 billion box office, and also successfully established Bona’s leading position in the main theme commercial film in China. And dripping stone wear is not a day’s work. Yu Dong composed this movement for nearly ten years.
At the end of 2009, Bona Investment’s “October Besieged City” was released with the Republic of China as the background, about a group of revolutionary volunteers from all over the world protecting Sun Yat-sen. The movie showcased the little people’s life-giving righteousness, and eventually won a box office of nearly 300 million yuan, becoming the runner-up at the box office that year, and also won the 29th Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Picture.
That was Yu Dong’s attempt to enter the main theme commercial blockbuster. In 2013, when Yu Dong started filming “Take the Tiger Mountain Out of Wisdom”, the mainstream of the movie market at that time was film themes adapted from online novels such as fantasy and tomb raiders. Leading actor Zhang Hanyu once recalled that for this red classic theme, the big data company’s prediction at the time was “not recommended to shoot.”
Picture source of “Take Tiger Mountain out of Wisdom”: Maoyan Professional Edition
In that environment, Yu Dong still decided to shoot a 3D version of “Take the Tiger Mountain Out of Wisdom”. The film draws on the production methods of Hollywood commercial films, and changes the rhythm, context and routines of the main melody films in the past. “There is always a wall between the main melody movie and the market. This time we opened the wall and let young audiences feel refreshed about the main melody movie. This film won 880 million box office that year, a record high in the history of the main melody movie. .”
“Operation Red Sea”, released in 2018, became the champion of the Spring Festival with a box office counterattack of over 3.6 billion. The wall between the main melody movie and the commercial market was demolished by Bona. The main melody movie can also be popular and popular, and it is not a flash in the pan. From “Taking the Tiger Mountain out of Wisdom” to “Captain of China”, in 5 years, 6 films, with a box office of over 10 billion yuan, the main theme commercial blockbuster became Bona’s signature.
Picture source of “Captain of China” stills: Maoyan Professional Edition
But once and for all, it does not exist in the film industry. Once the vane of making money is raised, it will become a new red sea. In 2019, the main theme movies became the main theme of the market. From “Wandering Earth” in the Spring Festival file to “My Motherland and Me” in the National Day file, the main theme movies are blooming everywhere. The homogenization competition becomes more intense and difficult, and Bona has to take a new path if it becomes the main theme movie. “In fact, Bona wants to do one thing for the industry-upgrade, take the main theme commercial film road we have created, and push it one step further to achieve genre breakthroughs, aesthetic breakthroughs and visual breakthroughs.” Yu Dong said.
According to Yu Dong, “Changjin Lake” will become a new benchmark for Chinese war films. Its coordinate significance is not only to push the industrialization of Chinese films to a new level, but also that Chinese films can calmly face the equivalent of Hollywood A Large production and large investment in high-level production.
Industry bottoming out requires head work
The biggest bottleneck is still financing difficulties
Last year, when Yu Dong decided to shoot the “China Victory Trilogy”, what he saw before his eyes was the reality of the long-term closure of cinemas and the serious loss of audiences. This year’s Spring Festival, “Hello, Li Huanying” sold 5 billion yuan, which seemed to stimulate the market, but the repeated epidemics later poured cold water on the market.
The 2020 pandemic has given the film industry a pause. In the six-month cold winter, Bona, who had been so ambitious, had to worry about survival. “Last year was the most difficult year for filmmakers, and Bona was not completely immune to it.” Yu Dong said, as a film group integrating investment, distribution, theater management and theater projection business, Bona Cinemas will be in 2020. During the 2009 epidemic, income was minimal.
Director Chen Kaige Picture source: Photo courtesy of Bona Pictures
In order to save himself, Yu Dong increased the online sales of Bona’s film library, while begging the owners and developers to reduce the rent of the theater. “Through this incident, I am particularly emotional. In addition to the country’s rescue policy, entrepreneurs help entrepreneurs in times of crisis. This also reflects the resilience of China’s economy from the side.”
In the face of difficulties, it seems safer to retreat in enclosures, while facing up to difficulties, you need to manage risks and opportunities.
Yu Dong said that it is impossible to say that there is no worry about such a large investment, but in the process, he tried his best to deal with it. “Don’t worry about it now. After the filming, everyone is very satisfied.”
“Changjin Lake” starring Wu Jing and Yi Yang Qianxi. Image source: Photo courtesy of Bona Pictures
In Yu Dong’s view, the effective recovery of the film market requires a two-way pull. The market’s recovery depends on the head content, and the production of the head content depends on the head company to withstand the pressure and come up with the “hard dish” of heavy investment. “Everyone has no confidence anymore, and they are beginning to recover the funds. At this time, Bona is going to buck the trend. Launch the largest project and use the ultimate production to mobilize the confidence of the film market to bottom out and the confidence of the demand for viewing. “
When it comes to the biggest bottleneck for personal and corporate development, Yu Dong said, financing is still difficult.
“I actually have a lot of ideas and want to shoot a lot of subjects, but what we really encounter is funding difficulties. We are now relying on the development of our own funds, which is not enough for the company to become stronger and bigger. We really want to become a world-class company. , It needs the support of the financial system. Simply using its own box office recycling to operate and run, the company is still not big, and it is still unable to compete with the six major Hollywood companies.”
“In recent years, due to various negative events in the film and television industry, all sectors of society have also looked at this industry with colored glasses. Now is the most difficult time for this industry. According to incomplete statistics, few film and television industries have been listed in A shares in recent years. Listed.” Yu Dong said.
“Operation Red Sea” stills picture source: Maoyan Professional Edition
Over half a hundred years of youth
I want to make a hundred more movies
In the past 10 years when the film industry was advancing, Yu Dong felt that it was not difficult to make movies. It was not until the epidemic that he realized that film companies had begun to take survival as their top priority, and that the industry was too difficult to get to this day. As the leader of Bona, Yu Dong will lead the company through the cold winter and win.
“Changjin Lake” Premiere Photo Source: Photo courtesy of Bona Pictures
For the “Chinese Victory Trilogy”, Yu Dong needs not only the decisiveness to dare to think and do, but also to be a leader. “Retain the green hills and win the future.” Yu Dong said, “Being a boss is not the same as being a producer. The boss doesn’t spend money. The boss has to settle the accounts, and find out where the money comes from. You have to prepare bullets and money for the team behind the scenes. NS.”
The last part of the “Victory Trilogy”, “Anonymous”, tells the story of underground members of the CCP during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and will be directed by Cheng Er. In 2016, “Romantic Demise”, which brought together powerful actors such as Ge You, Zhang Ziyi and Asano Tadanobu, made this very personal style director known by more audiences.
Yu Dong revealed that “Anonymous” was originally supposed to be filmed in April, but because Cheng Er revised the 13-draft script, it was officially launched in August and strived to be released within the year. Compared with the directors of the other two parts of the trilogy, there is a certain distance between Cheng Er’s past work style and commercial blockbusters, but Yu Dong is looking forward to it. “Cheng Er will have his style. What we have to do is to transform his style elements into commercial film elements. This is also the most valuable attempt in his cooperation with Bona this time.”
Image source of Yu Dong and Cheng Er: Maoyan Professional Edition
Regardless of the subject matter or genre, Yu Dong has never stopped trying to make movies, and he really can’t stop. The “Victory Trilogy” has not yet been completed, and he already has a new filming plan. During the filming of “Chinese Doctor”, Yu Dong came into contact with Academician Zhong Nanshan and was moved by his story, so he wanted to make a “Biography of Zhong Nanshan”, a film about how personal life closely collides with the times, and how to learn from individual lives. See a movie that epitomizes the era. Yu Dong said: “The profession of a doctor is a worldwide subject. I want to make a purely humanistic film.”
Yu Dong, who was born in 1971, is 50 years old this year. There is an old saying that “you know the destiny at fifty.” Yu Dong once planned to retire at the age of 50 and return to the film school as a teacher. But now, he feels that this point of time is too early. He hopes to do more for the film industry and make more good movies when he is young and vigorous, because he feels that it is his own resource ability, thinking ability, learning ability and When the mental state is at its best.
He said that a good movie is like a sermon. It conveys a spirit. It is the mission of artists and artists to use movies to arouse everyone’s courage to challenge difficulties. At the end of the interview, Yu Dong said that he hopes to keep his body healthy so that he can make another 100 good movies.
Reporter|Ding Zhouyang, Bi Yuanyuan, Zhu Peng (internship)
Edit|Dong Xingsheng Lu Xiangyong Du Hengfeng
Proofreading|exercise
｜Daily Economic News nbdnews Original Article｜
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