"Peace Wheel" is directed by Wu Yusen, with James Cameron responsible for the special effects production and serving as the producer. As for the actors, it brings together top stars in the Chinese film industry. The heroines are led by Lin Qingxia, Zhong Chuhong, and Chen Hong. The male protagonists are Chen Dao Min, Leslie Cheung, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai play the leading roles. There is absolutely no second such lineup in the history of Chinese-language films.
So in this round of comparison, the Hong Kong media are basically not very optimistic about "The Thirteen Hairpins", but the American media made different voices.
In their view, although the main creative lineup of "Tai Ping Wheel" is strong, its influence is only limited to the Chinese-speaking region, and "The Thirteen Hairpins" is different. Whether it is director Steven Spielberg or starring Tim Robbins has more influence in the international film industry, and in mainland China, the main box office battlefield of these two movies, "The Thirteen Hairpins" has a natural advantage. Although the two most important characters in the film They are all played by newcomers, but the other supporting roles are all played by well-known film and television actors who are familiar to mainland fans, which is more "down-to-earth" than "The Wheel".
The media in Hong Kong and the United States were quarreling over this issue, but in the end there was no dispute and no result was reached. They had to acquiesce that the two films were equally matched in terms of their creative lineups.
Hong Kong media was not satisfied with this, and soon found another battlefield and extended the discussion to a comparison of the themes of the two movies.
This time, the American media did not join in the fun, but there were differences of opinion within the Hong Kong media.
Some people think that a movie about Japan¡¯s war of aggression against China, such as "The Thirteen Hairpins", will be better because the publication of "China Can Say No" is very popular. This period of time coincides with the rise of nationalist sentiment in mainland China, and many people will go to the cinema to watch "The Thirteen Beauties" for this reason.
? And opponents have seized on this. In recent years, there has not been much friction in Sino-Japanese relations. From the official level, it is difficult for "Jinling Thirteen Hairpins" to obtain direct support. However, in mainland China, the resources that the government can mobilize are beyond people's imagination, even far beyond imagination. beyond the role of the market.
If the theme of the movie meets the current political needs, the mainland government can even organize all government departments, enterprises, institutions, and schools to watch the movie collectively. This group of people alone can bring extremely objective box office revenue to the movie.
Judging from the current Sino-Japanese relations, it is unlikely that "Jinling Thirteen Hairpins" will enjoy such treatment.
But "The Wheel of Peace" is not the case. The current relationship between mainland China and Taiwan has always been the focus of international attention, and "The Wheel" reflects the history of the late civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and has strong political significance for both mainland China and Taiwan.
Since the filming of "Taiwan" began, the mainland government and the Taiwan authorities have always attached great importance to the film's relevant information. Both sides will provide support for the release of the film for their own different purposes.
As soon as this point of view was put forward, it won the support of many people. However, some people countered that because Lin Youlun has always been pro-mainland, the movie "The Wheel" will be more pro-mainland. This can be supported by Lin Youlun's recent practice of continuously reducing his stake in Taiwan TVBS.
With this statement, there were immediately rumors that Lin Youlun would completely abandon the Taiwan market after the relationship between the mainland and Taiwan deteriorated further.
At first, it was only the Hong Kong media who said this, and later the Taiwanese media also joined in. Coupled with the recent military exercise conducted by the mainland government in the Taiwan Strait with the false goal of seizing the island, the Taiwanese people's pessimistic expectations for cross-strait relations have become even more aggravated.
In this case, even if Lin Youlun didn't want to respond, he had to stand up and express his attitude.
Of course, the way Lin Youlun expressed his attitude was not to hold a press conference to clarify. If a businessman openly talks about politics, he is simply causing trouble for himself. The best way is to arrange an interview to express your attitude and tendency sideways.
In line with the principle of keeping money from outsiders, of course this interview was left to Ming Pao.
Lin Youlun explained the matter, but he didn't expect that "Ming Pao" would send someone he didn't expect.
"Mr. Dong, why are you here?"
Lin Youlun put down what he was doing and looked at Dong Qianli who was invited into the office by Lin Zhiling with a surprised look on his face.
"I can't last long at Ming Pao. Before I retire, I have to interview Mr. Lin in person. Otherwise, it will be a pity."
As early as two years ago, Dong Qianli proposed to resign as editor-in-chief of "Ming Pao" because of his advancing age, but Lin Youlun always refused. Later, Dong Qianli repeatedly asked and even persuaded Jin Yong to speak for him, and Lin Youlun finally resigned. Relented and agreed to start looking for a new editor-in-chief candidate, and after finding the right candidateCurrently, Dong Qianli still has to stay in office.
After this period of candidate inspection, Lin Youlun has several candidates in mind, but he does not plan to announce them yet. He wants to keep Dong Qianli for a while longer.
Dong Qianli probably saw through Lin Youlun's plan, so he took the initiative to interview Lin Youlun this time. In fact, he used this method to express his intention to retire.
"Mr. Dong, why are you doing this?"
Lin Youlun sighed and raised his hand to ask Dong Qianli to sit on the sofa aside.
"After all, time is not forgiving, and since I have always occupied this position, the people below will also have opinions." Dong Qianli spoke sincerely, and it was obvious that he was really determined to retire.
Lin Youlun took the tea cup from Lin Zhiling and personally delivered it to Dong Qianli.
"Mr. Dong, why should you belittle yourself? With you in charge of Ming Pao these years, I can sit back and relax. If it were anyone else, to be honest, I would be a little worried."
Lin Youlun¡¯s words to retain him were obvious, but Dong Qianli had already made up his mind.
"Ming Pao was founded in the hands of Mr. Cha, and we are fortunate enough to have an insightful person like Mr. Lin take over. The future development of Ming Pao is promising. With Mr. Lin's knowledge of people, he will definitely be able to choose good generals for Ming Pao." , if the business of "Ming Pao" goes further in the future, it will be a good story if it spreads."
"Okay, anyway, Mr. Dong is not in a hurry to retire. We will discuss it later."
Although Lin Youlun reluctantly agreed, his expression was somewhat desolate.
Dong Qianli is very satisfied with the result. Of course, he has not forgotten the real purpose of this visit. However, due to his relationship with Lin Youlun, the interview will only be conducted in the form of chat.
"Recently, Taiwanese media have been discussing the issue of marginalization. Mr. Lin must have heard about it, right?"
"Political factors aside, in fact Taiwan has never entered the mainstream, so how can we talk about marginalization?"
Lin Youlun's rhetorical question stunned Dong Qianli.
Thinking about it carefully, what Lin Youlun said does make sense.
In terms of politics, Taiwan has always been regarded by the United States as a pawn to check and balance the mainland. As Sino-US relations improve, Taiwan's role as a pawn has become smaller and smaller. In terms of economy, with the rapid development of the mainland's economy, Taiwan's role as a pawn has become smaller and smaller. With the rise of Taiwan, as one of the four Asian Tigers in the past, Taiwan's status has also declined. In terms of culture, Taiwan has not made much achievements, especially in film and television entertainment, and has completely become a foil to Hong Kong.
In the early 1980s, the Taiwan market was extremely important to Hong Kong films, but this situation is long gone. Hong Kong films have successively opened markets in Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea. Taiwan's market position is not as good as before, and it is still in Asia. With a market like the mainland with a huge population and unlimited potential, the box office showdown between "The Thirteen Hairpins" and "The Golden Wheel" was the most heated discussion. Everyone talked about the mainland, Japan, and even North America, but they didn't consider it. Passed Taiwan.
"Mr. Lin is not optimistic about Taiwan's future development?"
"It's not that we are not optimistic, but Taiwan needs to find its own position. The same principle applies to Hong Kong. Don't always look at the changes in neighboring countries with a superior mentality. This mentality cannot be reversed. In the future You will only make yourself unhappy."
"The rumors about divestment"
"Nothing. I just transferred my personal shareholding in TVBS to holding it in the name of Wireless. This is some adjustment made to adapt to the Taiwan authorities' restrictive regulations on foreign shareholdings. It has nothing to do with politics. It¡¯s irrelevant.¡±
"The topic of divestment first arose from the box office showdown between "Thirteen Hairpins" and "Tai Ping Huan". I wonder which of these two movies has a better chance of winning in Mr. Lin's eyes?"
"Why do we have to differentiate?"
Lin Youlun's answer was indeed unique, which was not beyond Dong Qianli's expectations.
Before Dong Qianli could ask further questions, Lin Youlun continued: "I have read all the discussions in the newspapers during this period, but none of them reached the point. Why should I put these two movies on the same schedule? It's all me. It doesn't make any sense to me who is better than the other in the movies I invest in. Since I don't care, is it a little bit that everyone is so concerned about this issue"
"The emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is?" Dong Qianli said quickly.
Lin Youlun smiled noncommittally, "This is what you said, I didn't say anything."
¡°That means you don¡¯t really care about the box office results of these two movies?¡±
"Indeed, from the beginning, I did not expect these two movies to make money. As long as the cost can be recovered, I will be satisfied, even??As long as I don't lose too much, I can accept it, but it doesn't mean that I don't pay attention to the box office of these two movies. On the contrary, I attach great importance to this result. Of course, the focus is not on which movie has a higher box office, but on the two movies. The film¡¯s shooting mode, technical application, and market response. "
¡°In other words, these two movies are experimental in nature.¡±
"It can be said that if everyone can accept these two movies, it can be regarded as exploring a feasible way for Chinese-language big-budget movies."