Chapter 207: The Dragon-Slaying Youth Finally Becomes the Evil Dragon

(The previous two chapters were censored; please wait.)

Fairly speaking, Lu Kuan felt full of sympathy for this group of Sixth Generation directors who possessed an independent spirit.

He was also full of empathy.

In his past life, he too had been a young man harboring a cinematic dream, single-mindedly pursuing artistic ideals.

It was just that the "Seven Gentlemen," including Jia Kezhang and Wang Xiaoshuai, were struggling to survive under official suppression, while he had suffered a miserable defeat under the iron hooves of capital.

In this life, Boss Lu, who had made up his mind to turn himself into capital, was today acting as the mouthpiece for the authorities in front of a group of film artists; it really did fulfill that saying.

The dragon-slaying youth finally becomes the evil dragon.

It was just that this evil dragon was the reincarnation of the youth from his past life.

However, knowing the future development of the domestic film industry well, he knew that the tone set by the authorities was correct and in line with the historical trend of the film industry's development.

The 1 billion in domestic box office revenue in 2003 would become 10 billion seven years later.

And this group of underground directors who were being unbanned today would blossom and bear fruit in three years:

Jia Kezhang's *Still Life* would win the Golden Lion at Venice in 2006, and Wang Quanan's *Tuya's Marriage* would win the Golden Bear at Berlin that same year; this group of Sixth Generation directors would enjoy infinite glory on the international stage.

Han Shanping had pushed him out to be the challenger, but it was clearly not the right time yet.

This group of Seven Gentlemen was currently filled with righteous indignation; even if he wanted to seize political capital for himself, he couldn't just walk into the line of fire, could he?

The tongues of intellectuals were more vicious than one another; didn't you see that sentimental display by Jia Kezhang just now, Old Han?

A Film Bureau official cleared his throat: "Everyone, time is precious. Let's return to today's topic."

Han Shanping, being deep and calculating, looked at the bureau chief's gloomy expression and immediately took the microphone.

"In the last two years, there has been a young director in the country whose works have been quite good in terms of both recognition at international film festivals and domestic box office figures."

"Director Lu Kuan, would you please talk about your views on the development of domestic commercial cinema first?"

Boss Lu cursed the old thief for being unscrupulous in his heart, but still took the microphone with a smile on his face.

However, he was also quite cunning; he would absolutely not put himself in an unfavorable position, so he decisively dragged Zhang Yimou into the water as well, so that he wouldn't appear so abrupt.

"Speaking of domestic commercial cinema, to be fair, it started with Director Zhang Yimou's *Hero* last year."

"Of course, domestic commercial cinema currently still has room for improvement in terms of subject matter and supporting infrastructure, but at the very least, a blockbuster like *Hero* attracted audiences into the cinemas; this is the greatest benefit for commercial cinema."

Jia Kezhang countered sharply: "Director Lu might have misunderstood. We are not blindly rejecting commercial films, but rather, domestic commercial cinema is increasingly moving toward industry monopoly and rule-breaking."

"Not to mention anything else, I went to the cinema to watch your *The Thief*; the quality of the film is very high, but at the same time, I could even see advertisements for your film in the elevators of my hometown, which really surprised me."

"As a director of non-genre films, I feel worried about this combination of film art and monopolistic power; this is a non-benign seizure and utilization of public resources!"

In his past life, Jia Kezhang had a war of words with Zhang Weiping over the screening arrangements for *Still Life*.

He said these things partly out of lamentation that art films lacked the conditions for market marketing, and also to highlight the so-called democratic spirit in his heart.

Judging from his blog posts and social commentary in his past life, Jia Kezhang called this kind of all-encompassing film marketing "diffuse film fascism," which, from a sociological perspective, destroyed the principles of equality and democracy.

A strange way of thinking.

Between the lines of Jia Kezhang's words, he was subtly mocking him for acting as a mouthpiece for the authorities and not standing in the same camp as a fellow director, which made everyone present secretly gasp.

This group of Sixth Generation directors was truly brave; they were too daring to speak.

Liu Yifei, wearing a red vest on the side, was looking at Lu Kuan with bright eyes, her pretty face unconsciously wearing a smile.

She especially liked listening to Lu Kuan talk about the inside stories of the film world, such as when he told her about Hong Kong leftist filmmakers, or the stories of Princess Sisi and Visconti...

Liu Yifei felt that whether Lu Kuan was filming or doing things related to film, he was particularly spirited, as if he had become a different person, no longer that "washing machine" with a human face and beastly heart.

The whole person became particularly pure.

Boss Lu was naturally not afraid of such a debate and immediately retorted without thinking.

"Director Jia's thinking seems to still be stuck in the era of the planned economy, stuck in the 70s when you all started and grew up."

"I think it is inappropriate for Jia Kezhang to demonize the normal marketing of films as an encroachment on public opinion and power!"

Just as Jia Kezhang was about to reply, he heard Lu Kuan speaking incessantly.

"Film has three attributes: first, film is technology; second, film is art; third, film is a commodity."

"Film is not just the artwork you speak of for liberating thinking and tearing through the iron curtain of public opinion; it is even more so the most ordinary commodity in industrial development."

"The filming, post-production, distribution, promotion, and screening of a film all require costs. If Jia Kezhang were a writer, he could very well start creating with just a pen and a piece of paper; if satisfied, he continues to write, and if not, he tears it up and starts over."

"But can a film do that? If you are all making films just to express your personal ambitions and emotions, artificially severing the commodity attribute that film possesses is a great irresponsibility to investors and the audience!"

Boss Lu paused and dropped a bombshell.

"If you all still cannot recognize the changes in the times and the industry, today you have walked from the official underground to the ground."

"Tomorrow you will still walk into the commercial underground! The dark underground!"

Once these words were spoken, the reactions from all sides varied.

Bureau Chief Tong and the others nodded in approval, acknowledging his judgment; the commercialization trend of the film market was irreversible. If you insisted on doing non-mainstream work, you must be prepared to be abandoned by the times.

When the times abandon you, they won't notify anyone.

Zhang Yimou, Jiang Wen, He Ping, Chen Kaige, and others also fell into deep thought. These Fifth Generation directors had instead "betrayed" the art film camp first and were the first to start exploring commercial blockbusters.

After *Hero*, there were *Warriors of Heaven and Earth* and *Zhang Wuji*.

Other industry practitioners, however, were very approving, such as Yu Dong, Dong Shuangqiang, and others.

They were all links in the film industry chain, either investors or distributors.

If domestic filmmakers all engaged in personal creation like Jia Kezhang and Wang Xiaoshuai, and were banned as soon as they were filmed, they would be the ones most hurt.

For example, Dong Shuangqiang, who had suffered a major setback with *Devils on the Doorstep*, had never touched Jiang Wen's films since then.

Only the volunteer students from the Beijing Film Academy were a bit confused, not knowing who was right and who was wrong between the two.

Boss Lu didn't say these things to provoke or shoot without a target; instead, it was more like a friendly reminder.

Because this was based on the facts of the future.

Still taking Jia Kezhang's *Still Life* and Wang Quanan's *Tuya's Marriage* as examples.

Admittedly, the works of these two underground directors won recognition at international film festivals, but they also inevitably walked into the commercial "underground"!

*Still Life* competed in the same screening window as *Huang Jinjia* and was ultimately only screened in 40-plus cinemas; it had an 8.1 on Douban, winning acclaim but not the box office, with a domestic box office of over 1 million.

And what about *Huang Jinjia*? It had a 5.5 on Douban and was crazily mocked; it was in this film that Wang Shuo mocked Zhang Yimou for being a "renovator."

The result was a global box office of 80 million USD.

*Tuya's Marriage* was the same; it was released in April 2007, competing against Hollywood blockbusters, and ultimately had a box office of 1.2 million.

Going back further to 2005, Wang Xiaoshuai's *Shanghai Dreams* won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, with a box office of around 1.5 million;

The big trash film *Zhang Wuji* in the same period had a box office of 180 million.

Where can one go to reason?

Therefore, Boss Lu's first two films tried every possible way to find a balance between art and commerce; if they could win awards, that was naturally good.

Even if they couldn't, he would definitely try his best to make a profit.

Because the film market in this period was truly too withered, and it hadn't given him the opportunity to create and express personal emotions to his heart's content.

How to survive was the most important thing.

Wang Xiaoshuai had the most explosive temper among the Seven Gentlemen and also liked to fire shots in the media the most. Seeing Lu Kuan, who was twenty years younger than him, "spouting nonsense," he couldn't help but jump out to fight!

"Director Lu, hello. I have seen your two works; to be honest, I like them very much, and I also dislike them very much."

"I think that in order to please the audience and create a gimmick, you deliberately vulgarized two films that could have discussed human nature on a deeper level."

Directors understand directors after all; Boss Lu's thoughts couldn't be hidden from these art film directors who engaged in auteur theory all day long.

"I admit that your films have achieved a good balance between art and commerce, but since Bureau Chief Tong has said that bygones are bygones and we can speak freely today, I also want to put forward some points of view. Can we collide and discuss them?"

Lu Kuan hadn't sat down since he finished speaking. The Seven Gentlemen opposite him had started a wheel war against him; it looked like they were sworn to cut down this official running dog with their mouths.

"Of course, please speak."

Wang Xiaoshuai said: "Director Lu has his own film company, and also has high-quality advertising channels and distribution capabilities; of course, you can have art in one hand and commerce in the other."

"But I don't know if you have seen that the current domestic art film is already in jeopardy, even more declining than the overall trend Bureau Chief Tong just mentioned."

"As far as I know, the screening arrangements for domestic art films this year are few, the showtimes are marginalized, and the times are inhumane, which has already exceeded the normal scope."

"I think that the country's inclusion of the cultural industry into the macro-pattern of strategic development is not just for its commodity attribute, but also for the cultural connotation and cultural mission that film itself carries!"

"Therefore, it is unfair to just put art films into the market for survival of the fittest; it violates the laws of scientific development, and art will definitely be distorted!"

Wang Xiaoshuai's argument sounded very convincing at first listen and immediately caused whispers at the scene.

Bureau Chief Tong and Old Han looked at each other silently, thinking that even though this group of people had been unbanned, they were still single-mindedly engaged in their art films, completely lacking a sense of the big picture.

It was just that such an argument sounded hard to refute; who could say that the country's development of the cultural industry was just to create economic benefits?

Did they not want the humanistic connotation and social benefits of film anymore?

Only Lu Kuan keenly captured the loopholes in these words.

"Director Wang has touted the cultural mission and value of art films too highly, or rather, he has looked down upon the ability of commercial films to export and carry culture too much."

Lou Ye couldn't help but refute him: "Director Lu, these words are biased."

Lou Ye had communicated with Lu Kuan at Cannes, and the two were relatively friendly. Boss Lu explained patiently:

"Director Lou, don't be impatient. Let me give a few examples."

"What does Hollywood use to export their culture? It's commercial films."

"In Hollywood films, those who save the world are always the great, bright, and righteous Americans, while those who destroy world peace are mostly Russians and Chinese. They are committed to promoting American-style democracy and individual heroism."

"In recent years, the Korean Wave has been rampant. Last year, a Korean film *My Sassy Girl* premiered in the mainland; how much influence did it cause?"

"Girls under thirty in all of China know that 'brother' in Korean is 'Oppa,' know that 'I love you' is 'Saranghae,' and even Hong Kong filmmakers tailored a period film *The Lion Roars*; isn't it copying the concept of *My Sassy Girl*?"

"Director Wang, Director Lou, let me ask you, does this count as cultural export?"

Wang Xiaoshuai and Lou Ye looked at each other in dismay, but Bureau Chief Tong and Old Han on the stage were overjoyed.

You sour, pedantic intellectuals, you really need someone like Lu Kuan, who is capable in both literature and martial arts, to cure you!

Boss Lu saw that they weren't speaking and pressed his advantage: "Let me give another example of our own."

"In film, what is the most effective tool for China to export culture currently? It is also commercial films, genre films, and kung fu films!"

Lu Kuan walked to the open space in the middle of the symposium and talked eloquently. Since he had made up his mind to be a gun for the Film Bureau today, he would do the job beautifully and pave the way for his own future plans.

He continued to output violently.

"Director Wang just mentioned that we should protect art films and keep them from falling in fierce and unbalanced market competition, but is protection really useful?"

"In 2002, I went to Taiwan to run the distribution for *The Drummer* and chatted with Director Hou Hsiao-hsien at night. He told me about the withering of the Taiwan film market."

"In the early 90s, the Taiwan authorities launched a policy called the Film Guidance Fund, mindlessly supporting art films and suppressing the economic value of commercial films."

"The result was that in less than two years, art films became the mainstream of the Taiwan film industry, and the worst consequence was that audiences would no longer walk into cinemas. Local Taiwan films completely died. If you go to see it today, 80 percent of the market share is occupied by Hollywood films!"

"When drinking, Director Hou Hsiao-hsien told me that he regretted it! He regretted filming *A City of Sadness*. Can everyone feel this pain?"

*A City of Sadness* was the film that won Hou Hsiao-hsien the Golden Lion in 1989. Why would he regret filming it?

Everyone stared at Lu Kuan, eager to hear the answer.

Boss Lu paused before saying word by word: "Hou Hsiao-hsien regretted it because he filmed an art film that won the Golden Lion in 1989, giving the Taiwan government the wrong guidance, thinking that art films were the mainstream and could save Taiwan film."

"The very next year, in 1990, the authorities proposed the Film Guidance Fund policy, providing high subsidies for art films, making all young directors in Taiwan embark on the path of obsessing over art films, ultimately causing the entire Taiwan film market to completely fall!"

"Last year, there were only 15 local films in Taiwan, with a total box office of less than 20 million. What kind of concept is this?"

"Everyone, I can say this: if you blindly pursue the creation of art films in your own style, that is your freedom, but never try to influence surface-level policies with the excuse that art films need protection."

He suddenly deepened his tone: "Otherwise, you will become the sinners of mainland film! Sinners who drive away audiences and harm investors!"

"This! How can you say that!"

"Are we wrong to make the films we like?"

The Seven Gentlemen looked indignant, and even Lou Ye, who looked like an old farmer, had his face flushed red.

How could he say that? Just because they filmed some art films, they became sinners of Chinese film?

Where could one go to reason!

The whole audience was in an uproar; only Bureau Chief Tong sipped his tea with satisfaction in his heart.

This Lu Kuan should come to mix in the system; this pot of shit was dumped without leaving a trace. Good work!

Fortunately, this kid is my subordinate today!

The debate that lasted for thirty minutes at the scene was truly too wonderful; the Seven Gentlemen fought a wheel war, and Boss Lu did not fall behind.

The key was that he could always cite classics, present facts, reason, and list data, making his points substantial.

This simple explanation not only made the professionals at the scene but even the volunteer students from the Beijing Film Academy nod frequently.

This was the global perspective from a reborn person; he jumped out of this small segment of history to overlook the entire development process of domestic film. How could he still have an opponent?

Jia Kezhang was the youngest among the Seven Gentlemen. Seeing that his brothers were all unable to cope and instead let Lu Kuan sing a one-man show, he resolutely stepped forward.

He changed his strategy and threw the question to the other side.

"Director Lu, do you acknowledge the value of art films?"

Lu Kuan nodded: "Of course, this is the private plot of every film director, including me."

"That's good. If, as you said, protection policies should not be implemented, tell us, tell everyone, how should art films be supported?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang, Han Shanping, and others all frowned; this question was very tricky.

You, Lu Kuan, said we couldn't do this and couldn't do that, and were almost about to destroy Chinese film.

Then you tell us, how should it be done?

Bureau Chief Tong, didn't you push him out to challenge us? Then you have to acknowledge what he says, right?

If Lu Kuan proposed some policy without a sense of proportion, Jia Kezhang would immediately climb up the pole and ask the authorities to agree to his measures and consider implementing them.

Liu Yifei broke out in a sweat in her palms. She looked at Tian Zhuangzhuang's tightly furrowed brows opposite her and knew this was not an easy question to answer.

There were many pits.

It was just a pity that Jia Kezhang met an opponent as cunning as a fox.

Boss Lu decided to draw the firewood from under the cauldron, jump out of this strange circle of protection or no protection, and slap these self-indulgent directors in the face.

Lu Kuan sneered: "I want to correct a wrong concept for everyone first."

"Why do art films need protection? Why do art films have no audience?"

"Is the Japanese director Ozu an art film director? His historical total box office ranks in the top ten in Japan."

"Is Kubrick an art film director? *2001: A Space Odyssey* cost 10 million USD, and the North American box office was 56 million USD."

"There are also Woody Allen, the Coen brothers, and even Ang Lee. Can you say the box office of *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* is not good?"

Boss Lu concluded with malice: "Everyone, as directors, perhaps we should reflect on ourselves. Have we worked hard for so many years? Why do other people's art film directors have box office, while ours are ignored?"

"Instead of struggling with the issue of protection or not!"

Wang Xiaoshuai had a violent temper and immediately slapped the table and stood up: "Lu Kuan, you might not have been born when we were filming. Is this how you talk!"

"Do you know how to respect?"

If the previous debate was still about the matter itself, then Lu Kuan's last words directly rose to the level of questioning their artistic talent.

The Seven Gentlemen collectively flushed red and were completely broken!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 208 =====