Director’s Legend

The script of "Buried Alive" is quite thoughtful. The protagonist is an American, a hired driver of a multinational company, working for a CRT company. He was hijacked somewhere in Iraq and buried alive. The robbers left him with a flashlight, a mobile phone, two light sticks and a knife. He also has a small pot of wine, a bottle of medicine and a lighter. The robber asked him to call to raise 5 million US dollars.

The background of the whole story is not terrorist attacks or retaliation against American soldiers, but just a process in which an Iraqi took a criminal path after losing his job because of the expansion of a US company in Iraq. In the eyes of this robber, Americans are rich. But from the entire process of self-rescue for the hostages, what the film shows is that as ordinary Americans, they are equally poor and have no guarantee of life.

Throughout the process of struggling to save himself, this American named Paul called 911. The State Council, the FBI, the company he served, his family, friends, etc. were all subjected to varying degrees of indifference, shirk responsibility, and bureaucratic institutions. The irony of the film is quite strong, and it also explores the relationship between people in modern society.

It has connotation, depth, low text, and simple content. This is a very suitable script for Shao Shuaijun's current situation of being poor and white.

Such a script is made into a movie, and in terms of positioning, it is not suitable for large-scale screening. In fact, "Buried Alive" was originally bought at the Sundance Film Festival by Lions Gate Pictures for US$4 million. After a small-scale screening, it received a box office of US$20 million. After the DVD was released, the sales were quite good and made a lot of money.

In order to transfer the story to the Chinese background, Shao Shuaijun had to restructure the content. Fortunately, the content of the story is not the content, but the connotation, which is not difficult to change. First of all, the place where the story takes place is still somewhere in the desert underground in Iraq, or in a coffin, but the protagonist is renamed Luoshan.

Luo Shan also called many organizations, most of them were American organizations. After all, at that time the Iraq War had just ended and was taken over by the United States. Finally, the agency that came to the rescue, Shao Shuaijun was changed to a force sent by the Chinese government. It belittles the American imperialism and raises the country, which makes the final review of the film easier.

The general story content was quickly completed, and the rest is carving. As a small-cost, single-role, single-scene movie, if you want to not become dull, you must work **** the details. Shao Shuaijun had to scrutinize the highlights of the US version of "Buried Alive" and modify the various sub-shots of the Chinese version of "Buried Alive". This is a laborious task.

Early the next morning, Shao Shuaijun was awakened by the ringing of his mobile phone. He changed the script to late night last night and slept late. He was still confused when he answered the phone.

"Hello, who?"

"Is it Mr. Shao Shuaijun? I am director Zhang Yimou's assistant, and my last name is Pang."

"Hello, Miss Pang."

"That's it. Director Zhang read the script you handed over yesterday and wants to talk to you in detail. Do you have time to come to our crew this morning?"

"Yes, I'll be there right away and will be there in thirty minutes."

"Okay, I will pick you up outside the crew."

After hanging up the phone, Shao Shuaijun washed his face and brushed his teeth. He bought an early meal on the street and hurried to the crew of "Ambush on Ten Sides". Under the leadership of Ms. Pang, I came to the crew's studio and met the well-known director Zhang Yimou. As the banner figure of the fifth generation of directors, Zhang Yimou has been very popular in the past two years. A "Hero" opened the era of domestic blockbusters. Together with this recent most popular and anticipated "Ambush on Ten Sides", it tops all mainland directors.

Zhang Yimou was shocked when he saw Shao Shuaijun. He thought that the person who could write "The Love of Hawthorn Tree" was at least 30 or 40 years old, but he did not expect that he was a young man.

"You really wrote this script?" Zhang Yimou couldn't believe it.

Shao Shuaijun nodded: "Of course." Facing the big director, he was not cramped. Although he was not famous in his previous life, he had also drank and ate with many big directors. The entertainment circle says that the big is big, the small is also very small, the mix is ​​longer, and the people of all kinds are more knowledgeable. The big stars and the small actors are all humans, and there is no difference.

This composure made Zhang Yimou look at it twice: "It's not easy, are you 18 years old this year?"

"Just turned eighteen."

"Tsk tusk, tell me why I remember writing such a story?"

"The story originated from an elder I knew, and I wrote it on a whim. In order to restore the background of that era, I also specifically consulted many older generations. Director Zhang, what do you think of this script?" Shao Shuaijun edited it. Excuses.

"I'll just say it straight. I like the script very much. I plan to buy it, but I will not shoot it now. This year I already have a plan to make a film. It is also a literary film. You write the script and you definitely don't want to be buried. I will definitely shoot. , But it will be delayed for a few years. I will make up for the price. How much do you plan to price?"

Shao Shuaijun knows that Zhang Yimou will be shooting "A Thousand Miles of Riding Alone" this year, and he doesn't care whether "The Hawthorn Tree Love" is being filmed or not. As for the script Xuezang, in 2006, Amy published the original work. What should I do if the two conflicts? Shao Shuaijun wanted to come. Amy only started to write novels in 2005. I can wait to make money later, find the door to go to solve the problem, and kill Li Gui hit Li Kui. Case……

"I'm just a newcomer. I don't understand the rules of the industry very well. Zhang, please set a price." Shao Shuaijun kicked the ball back. A well-known director like Zhang Yimou will not blackmail him.

Zhang Yimou thought for a while: "Well, how about it, a price of 150,000 yuan?"

One hundred and fifty thousand is much better than Shao Shuaijun imagined. According to the current script price on the market, one hundred thousand is basically the capped price. The extra 50,000 should be moved by the script. After all, Zhang Yimou himself was from that era, otherwise he would not rush to make "The Hawthorn Tree Love" with others.

"Row."

It was almost noon when signing a contract, taking money, and transferring money. Zhang Yimou planned to invite Shao Shuaijun to have a meal. Shao Shuaijun declined to decline. Drinking and eating is one of his worst things, especially with some unfamiliar people.

After returning to the rental house, Shao Shuaijun buried himself in the script creation. It took three days to finally sort out the sub-scene script, and then wrote the actor script. The actor script, as the name suggests, is a script for actors. There are only two characters who show up and talk, the protagonist and the woman in the mobile video.

But the person the protagonist calls has many lines of dialogue.

It took another day to incorporate props, equipment, lighting, scenes, etc. into the script. "Buried Alive" is officially launched, and it's time to find the protagonist.

The protagonist of the American version of "Buried Alive" is Hollywood's popular movie star Ryan Reynolds, and the remuneration alone is as high as $2 million. However, Shao Shuaijun felt that he did not help the film much. This kind of film does not rely on attracting eyeballs to win. The connotation is on the one hand, and the acting skills of the actors are also on the other.

Just find someone who can act and has no reputation. There are many such people in Hengdian.