Posture is not important, Chen Kexin: The result is the most important box office | Chen Kexin | Posture

"Success is not easy, we must compromise and persevere." "I am a warm realist with a warm sense of faith, believing that tomorrow will be better." "You must be honest with yourself in order to make good movies." "I have never violated my conscience and created works that I do not believe in." "To 'calculate' what the audience likes to see, not only for box office, but also for resonance."

On June 11th, director and producer Chen Kexin visited the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival Film Academy. The Master Chen Kexin class lasted until 12 noon. After the performance, in the elevator and restaurant, the audience who were still unsatisfied were still discussing Chen Kexin's golden lines.

The only movie that made me drift

From working as an assistant, producer, and producer in a film company during the summer vacation, from directing his debut film "Twin Cities Story" to filming a "Chinese drama that the world can see", Chen Kexin has directed 17 works and supervised nearly 40 works in his nearly 40 year career, receiving over 400 award nominations and winning over 230 awards.

"I deeply believe in myself, but also doubt myself." The words spoken by tennis player Li Na in the movie "Li Na" directed by Chen Kexin are also Chen Kexin's self-evaluation. He dared to reveal his vulnerability in public, "No one doesn't care how others think of you. Saying not to care is all a lie. There is only one way to praise you, and there are many ways to criticize you. I only watch movie reviews that criticize me."

"High end film critics frequently appeared during the 90 minute Master Chen Kexin class, saying, 'My work is not the most profitable, maybe because I can film the dark side of human nature, but I don't make art films. Art films depict the bloody darkness, and I always believe that difficulties and hardships can be solved. Therefore, high-end film critics believe that my film is a compromise of business.'"

Chen Kexin has numerous popular works, including "Sweet Honey", "If Love", "Investing in Name", "Martial Arts", "Chinese Partner", "Dear", "Winning the Championship", etc. His producer works include "Ghost", "Disciples", "Fortress Besieged in October", "July and Ansheng", Junji Iwai's "Hello, Zhihua", etc.

During the master class, Chen Kexin spent a lot of time recalling the 1994 film "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves" starring Leslie Cheung, Joey Yung, and Carina Lau. "Golden Branches, Jade Leaves" was released continuously for two months, grossing nearly 30 million yuan at the box office, and won the annual summer box office championship, ranking among the top ten high grossing films of the year in Hong Kong. "In the month of the release of 'Golden Branches and Jade Leaves', I was' floating' all the time. I waited for thirty years and never 'floating' like that again. Later, each movie either had a bad reputation or box office, and they all fell short."

Chen Kexin's "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves", which he had been reciting for 30 years, was actually a topic essay. "Two years ago, we wanted to collaborate with Leslie Cheung, but he went to shoot" Farewell My Concubine ". After" Farewell My Concubine "was finished, Leslie Cheung chose our company. Big stars, how could we make a film for him?"

Chen Kexin has prepared two topics, "The first one is down-to-earth and belongs to the content that I am very familiar with, but it is not suitable for Leslie Cheung. There is also" Golden Branches and Jade Leaves "tailored for him, which has a lot of entertainment industry content, and I have a deep understanding of it. Moreover, it is an old-fashioned Hollywood film route that can reach the maximum common denominator among audiences."

"Jin Zhi Yu Ye" is still the top grossing film in Hong Kong among Chen Kexin's works to this day. "Jin Zhi Yu Ye has a world like Jin Zhi Yu Ye, telling the fairy tale story of the prince and Cinderella, which is completely opposite to my view of love. I have never watched Disney movies since childhood."

Unpredictable success or failure

The success of "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves" gave Chen Kexin the opportunity to shoot his favorite themes. "I want to make a film that I believe in - a young mother who traded with the Grim Reaper for ten years to save her dying son, Fan Fan..." As a result, "Mother and Jade Leaves" suffered a disastrous box office defeat, and his small company consisting of five directors was acquired as a result. The capital's acquisition condition was for Chen Kexin to film "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves 2". "Only the male and female protagonists could live happily ever after. Because 'Golden Branches and Jade Leaves' was a great success, the second film went smoothly with green lights throughout the filming process. At that time, the Hong Kong film industry was at the bottom, making it difficult to find scenes, but the big hotels opened their doors to' Golden Branches and Jade Leaves 2 'and finished filming in over a month."

Chen Kexin's representative work "Sweet Honey" was filmed simultaneously with "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves 2". "I want to shoot" Sweet Honey ", but the management is unwilling. I proposed that if I want to have" Golden Branches and Jade Leaves 2 ", I need to shoot" Sweet Honey "."

Chen Kexin is worried that once the filming of "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves 2" is completed, the management will renege on their promise. So "Sweet Honey" was the first to start filming, and halfway through, he went to shoot "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves 2" to catch up with the summer season. "Maggie Cheung roast that" Sweet Honey "is like a mistress and is not valued."

In August 1996, "Golden Branches and Jade Leaves 2" premiered in Hong Kong. "Friends who hadn't seen me for over a decade all came to me to ask for tickets." On the second day of its premiere, Chen Kexin flew to New York to film the remaining "Sweet Honey". "Every day when I received calls from Hong Kong, the box office of" Golden Branches and Jade Leaves 2 "continued to decline, and it didn't win over the critics."

"Jin Zhi Yu Ye 2" suffered a box office failure, and "Sweet Honey" became a neglected child. "There was no schedule or release plan, and I was sent to the cold palace, feeling very frustrated. At that time, I could finish cutting a movie in five to eight days, but I had a lot of extra time and spent a month cutting" Sweet Honey "."

In November 1996, "Sweetheart" premiered at midnight at Tsim Sha Tsui Cinema. "Listen to the opinions of the first group of viewers and see if we need to modify the content." At around 2am, the movie ended and Chen Kexin walked to a nearby caf é. It only takes 10 minutes from the cinema to the caf é, and he walked for an hour and a half. "Every colleague grabbed my hand and told me how much I love 'Sweetheart'," he said

How should I cry? Famous scene almost deleted

"Directors need to adhere to their beliefs. Some people will constantly criticize them. Both the management and actors may deviate from the initial direction, which may not be good. The director may not be the most powerful person. When we do multiple-choice questions, it is very likely that we have chosen the wrong one, and not all of them are right."

As a successful director, Chen Kexin never lay flat. "I want to enjoy life, complete a movie with enthusiasm in a year and a half, and then travel around the world to find new inspiration. The fact is, there is no intermediate stage in our work. The more successful the film is, the greater the pressure, and the higher the requirements for the next one. For me, I want to make every movie well, but who knows when there is inspiration?" Sweet Honey "is the most comfortable and stress free."

30 years later, "No one cares" and "It took a month to edit" of "Sweet Honey" were crowned as gods. In the film, when Zhang Manyu saw the body of Zeng Zhiwei, she laughed and burst into tears, which was repeatedly mentioned and became a textbook for acting in the short video era. This performance was not recognized by Chen Kexin at the time.

"I didn't expect Zhang Manyu to act like this. She suddenly laughed, and I was confused. 'No, you're acting, it's not realistic enough.' I can understand her motives, but I think the best time for Zhang Manyu to look is to cry expressionless. Her vulnerability is innate and she can't even learn it."

Chen Kexin filmed 8 scenes of Zhang Manyu's crying scene, which ended with Zhang Manyu complaining, "I really can't cry anymore.". "Zhang Manyu said, 'I've thought about it over and over again that everyone in the family has died, including the dog.' And I said, 'Alright, that's enough, let's go back and cut it.'"

At the screening of "Sweetheart", everyone agreed that the scene of Zhang Manyu laughing first and then crying was the best, and Chen Kexin also thought it was good, but there were traces of performance. "The film with the problem was shot to the end, and I couldn't remove her smile. I accepted it because everyone liked it, but I didn't understand it for many years until I saw this situation with my own eyes."

In December 2003, Jacky Cheung voiced "Golden Rooster 2" produced by Chen Kexin in the recording studio. Chen Kexin received a phone call, and their mutual friend Ke Shouliang passed away unexpectedly. "I pulled Jacky Cheung out, pushed him against the wall, grabbed his shoulder, and told him that Xiao Hei had left. He actually smiled like a character in" Golden Rooster 2 "before crying."

Chen Kexin is a sensitive person who often cries while watching and filming movies. "When it comes to filming 'Wuxia', I can also cry while talking to actors, which is quite embarrassing." On the other hand, he feels that it is difficult to express emotions in public.

When filming "Winning the Championship," Chen Kexin asked a performance teacher to guide amateur actors, "I asked the teacher to teach me how to cry. There are several occasions where I have to cry, and I'm worried that I won't be able to cry. It's difficult to cry. Three months ago, my dad left, and I received a phone call at 3 o'clock in the middle of the night. My first reaction was how it was possible. 11 years ago, my mom passed away, and I've been worried about what would happen if my parents got older. I'm afraid of being seen expressing emotions. My dad is so important to me that I hardly ever cry. Many friends say I cry..."

During the master's class, Chen Kexin cried and choked up, saying, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to release today."

I empathize too much with Takeshi Kaneshiro

Love, martial arts, entrepreneurship, and sports, Chen Kexin has made various types of movies. "I want to survive, I make everything. For high-end film critics, this is a disadvantage, and I am not the author or director. To be honest, making movies is not particularly profitable. Every movie is difficult and stressful. I have a sense of crisis and am willing to change according to the market, but only in terms of form and geography. You have to stick to what you want to say. If you change it, it will not look good, which is more damaging than losing money or having no reputation." Chen Kexin summarized, "Change is for the sake of change, otherwise you cannot survive. Young directors think it is difficult, but in fact, it is even harder for me. I cannot go against my beliefs."

Chen Kexin is not shy about his likes and dislikes. "I don't like musicals. My daughter wants to study musicals. Influenced by her, I only watch musicals. I don't watch any sports games, and I don't play sports in high school. When I make sports movies, I always watch the producer and assistant director. I also hate action movies. When I see fights, fast forward, and subtitles stop."

"My weakness lies in my skills, including special effects, actions, and camera selection. I am not interested in the scenes," Chen Kexin said bluntly. "Winning the championship," "Li Na," "If I Love," and "Investing in the Name" were painful filming, all thanks to the support of the characters in the films. "In terms of technology, I can find experts to help me complete it. It's all me, good or bad, and I accept compromises. Based on the current situation, I do my best and live up to it."

"I like comedy, but I don't know how to be funny, which is a bit of a disadvantage. Fun is the greatest common divisor." Chen Kexin self analyzes and is only interested in people and emotions. "I like moving people, finding places to cry, such as talking about scripts. I can see at a glance that the audience will definitely cry here. Film critics think this is emotional, but in fact, not liking is emotional, liking is emotional."

Chen Kexin still remembers chatting with director Zhao Liangjun of "Golden Rooster" at Starbucks in Liangmahe, Beijing about "If Love". "Zhou Xun left the basement where Takeshi Kaneshiro lived, and it snowed. Takeshi Kaneshiro looked through the window of the basement and only saw Zhou Xun's shoes. I cried uncontrollably. I empathized with Takeshi Kaneshiro too much, and he integrated the most into my personal experience. I am well aware that the camera cannot be placed outdoors to shoot Zhou Xun running or her face. When filming, you have to like it yourself. If you don't like it, what if the whole world likes it?"

Don't please, and don't be too arrogant

In 2023, at the age of 61, Chen Kexin began another favorite thing - streaming short dramas. "I have enjoyed watching short dramas since my high school years in the 1970s. From 1976 to 1980, many American dramas were adapted from best-selling novels, with only eight to ten episodes, which had a greater impact on me than the Italian New Realism and the French New Wave."

My previous work experience in Hollywood has benefited Chen Kexin a lot. "It taught me how to face bosses. Hollywood has systems everywhere, and proposals and reviews are needed at any time. Filming is constantly changing, and actors, cinematographers, and art directors have come up with good ideas for bonus points. Do you use them? Hollywood just doesn't need them. A change requires email or phone call to the headquarters, and confirmation from the highest team before it can be changed. Hollywood is not suitable for me, and there is no flexibility. The questions I received when I went to Hollywood are greater than in mainland China. I have been filming in mainland China for more than ten years, and I am very happy, without losing money, and the response is good."

Chen Kexin's goal is to watch eight short dramas in just one weekend. "There are too many beautiful stories in China, and when exporting overseas, we need to find a connection point to make Chinese people like them and foreigners understand them." The filmmaker and audience are separated by the platform, promotion, funding, and production, and one or two out of ten dramas are successful, which is already a fortunate thing. Chen Kexin was full of confidence, "We have so many viewers, which is the greatest common divisor. There must be good stories, but we should not make fixed images that please foreigners, we should make progress; we should also not be too arrogant and want others to be interested."

"I am more worldly wise, maintain naivety, result is most important, posture is not important." As an optimistic pessimist, Chen Kexin said, "I am lucky, I am doing what I love and can still make a living from it."

Chen Kexin's new film has been planned for five or six years. "I belong to the troublesome director that screenwriters hate the most. I like to chat with screenwriters about scripts. Problems that cannot be solved in life can be explored together by talented people. There are nine screenwriters in" Invest in Name ", and one can't sit in a small bus. This is one of the few ready-made scripts written by others."

When it comes to selecting actors, Chen Kexin is pragmatic. "Of course, I want celebrities. Without celebrities, there would be no investment, no movies. The director needs to find traits that celebrities have not been filmed before. Regardless of how firm and strong male and female actors are, they should have a sense of vulnerability, which is what the audience likes." Faced with young colleagues who are thirsty for guidance, Chen Kexin said that he belongs to the youth and does not know the taste of sorrow. He emphasized his sorrow in writing new lyrics, "There are some things that I do not understand, some things that I have not experienced, but I like feelings and have a good aesthetic."

Chen Kexin pursued a new era from his daughter, "To young filmmakers, I am playing the role of a listener, but to my daughter, I cannot ignore it. Believe in young people, I may not agree with their ideas, but I am willing to understand, learn, and listen. I watch whatever my daughter sees, such as cartoons, musicals, and Marvel dramas, which are quite silly dramas. Watching sitcoms together, she is laughing and I am crying, and we can finally communicate again."