What factors are needed to promote the development of the film industry?

1. Prominent contradictions among the production, distribution, and exhibition industries

As we all know, the reform of the Chinese film industry has entered a critical period, and the reform of the film system has entered a critical stage, which has touched upon A critical period when the original distribution of interests and power structure changes. In recent years, the contradictions between the film production, distribution, and exhibition industries have become more and more prominent. In a sense, the film industry has become a pioneer in the reform of the entire cultural industry. However, the reform process has not been smooth, and it is far from the development of the film industry. A larger distance is required. Insightful people in the industry have realized that the development of Chinese films is faced with an imperfect system, a benign mechanism has not yet been formed, investment methods need to be optimized, there are many obstructions in the intermediary system, there is still a shortage of excellent programs, the tax burden is still too heavy, and competition There are also issues such as inequality.

These many contradictions have not been resolved. The main problem is that the management of films is still in a state of needing further regulation, and the film market is still disordered and chaotic. Previously, the Chinese film industry has always used film distribution as a link throughout the industry. However, since distribution companies at all levels are set up according to administrative regions, distribution and screening units at all levels are under the jurisdiction of various levels of government, which inevitably forms different affiliations. relationships, especially interest mechanisms. The self-interest protection mechanisms of administrative regions and film companies hinder the healthy operation of the film market mechanism. For example, the fragmentation and fragmentation of the film industry in cities and counties has been severely restricting the development of the film industry and the normal development of the film economy. The epitome of these situations is the recent contradiction in the bill sharing ratio between distributors and theaters.

Last month, the five major film distribution companies, China Film, Bona, SMG, Enlight, and Huayi, issued notices to the theaters. It is required that the revenue sharing ratio of the nine Lunar New Year movies should not be less than 45%. As we all know, the division of movie box office accounts means that production companies, theater companies, distribution companies, and theaters all divide the net box office, that is, the total box office is divided after the box office revenue after deducting the special film fund and taxes. Usually, the net box office accounts for more than 90% of the total box office. The production companies and distribution companies participating in the accounting sharing share about 43% of the net box office, and the theaters and theaters share 57% of the net box office. This time, the producers and distributors took the initiative and demanded that the account sharing ratio be increased by 2%. The five companies mentioned above are both producers and distributors, and they want to win an extra two percentage points from theaters. Speaking of which, this makes some sense. Originally, it was to encourage the downstream development of movies and support the construction of theaters. However, now that movie screens are developing rapidly, the upstream production and distribution industries are experiencing some difficulties. If they want to earn 2% more, assuming that the annual box office of Chinese movies is 150 billion, 2% is 300 million yuan, which is not much for major film companies.

However, from the perspective of downstream theater chains, these 2% are snatched away in vain. You make profit and I lose. For theaters with better box office, the damage is not big, but for theaters with better box office, the damage is not big. For some theaters that are not easy to operate, this is a big problem unless it is passed on to the audience. Over time, it will become even more difficult. The two sides are constantly arguing. In the eyes of the audience, why doesn't the film industry make the cake bigger and share more of it? Why is it so eager to share the money?

Fortunately, on the 25th of last month, Huayi Brothers’ 30 major theater lines across the country reached an agreement on three films including "1942", "Twelve Zodiac Signs", and "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" Zhao Jun, general manager of the Guangdong Provincial Film Company, announced as a representative of the theater chain that 30 major theater chains across the country, including Wanda, New Film Alliance, and Shanghai United, will launch a new cooperation with Huayi Brothers. Share: The box office for less than 300 million yuan is divided into 43:57, the box office for more than 300 million yuan is divided into 45:55, and the box office for more than 800 million yuan is divided into 47:53. Qin Hong, general manager of Xingmei Pictures, also announced that "The King's Feast" will be split with theaters in a ratio of 43:57 for the first week, 41:59 for the second week, and 39:61 for the second week.

It is not difficult to see that this kind of stepped accounting is in line with the development trend of the market mechanism. It also indicates that the new accounting method of Chinese films is developing in a mature direction that adapts to the market mechanism. This will also help promote the marketization process of China's film industry. It is gratifying that the conflicts between the production, distribution and exhibition industries have been temporarily resolved in line with the direction of the market mechanism.

Although attempts are being made to resolve the conflict between film studios and theaters through negotiation, this conflict reflects the paradox of the domestic film market in recent years: a few films are profitable, most films are not, and most theaters Profitability, the profound reason for the contradiction does not lie in the cutting of the account sharing ratio, but in the fact that the development of the Chinese film market has long been in a single model that relies on product-driven profits. This urgently requires all parties in the industry to establish a platform for mutual communication. The industry The association should play its due role so that the Association for Science and Technology can regulate and promote the healthy development of the industry.

2. There are prominent problems in the connection between capital and industry when social funds enter the film industry and the film industry, which currently has an imperfect market mechanism.

Since 2010, some domestic blockbusters have The huge success at the box office has pushed the Chinese film box office market to exceed 10 billion yuan. The Chinese film industry has shown a rapid development trend, which has brought surprises, excitement and investment enthusiasm to people in the film industry and film industry investors. In terms of production, The fruitful results achieved in theater chains, movie product placement and pre-roll advertising, distribution and marketing, online video and other fields have aroused huge interest among film industry investors. Following this, film industry investment funds also emerged rapidly.

It can be said that film investment funds are an inevitable product for the development of China's film industry. Social capital operates through professional teams and invests in high-risk, high-return film industry. This will be one of the best development models for the docking of capital and industry. one. In recent years, China's film and television funds have gradually emerged. In 2009, Yiyi Film and Television Investment Fund was established. In 2010, Huili Film and Television Investment Fund, Starry Sky and Earth Culture Media Fund, etc. were also established one after another. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently 10 film and television investment funds currently being established or planned to be established. There are more than ten film and television industry investment funds. The intervention of film and television investment funds will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the Chinese film industry, and the financing and listing of film companies will greatly accelerate the process of capital affecting the film industry. When a group of people who are both familiar with the operation of the film industry and have skilled capital skills When professionals enter the film industry with large amounts of social funds, where do they invest their funds? Of course, it is to invest in film companies that can maximize profits.

However, our country’s film system was originally established under the conditions of the planned economy. At that time, the main considerations were political propaganda and educational effects, rather than commercial profits. In 1993, the film industry was transformed into a market-oriented industry. Mechanism reform broke the monopoly of the film industry. However, all aspects of the industry were poorly prepared at that time. The initial reform caused disorder and chaos in the film market. Later, the industry mechanism reform was further advanced and great progress was made. However, so far, There are still quite a few problems. Some large companies that used to take advantage of the system, although they have been restructured, still have advantages and have the upper hand in competition; some film companies that have developed rapidly and accumulated large resources earlier also have advantages; some have international reputation and influence With the help of foreign capital and sophisticated commercial operations, big-name directors use extraordinary hype to ensure and obtain high box office revenue; developed provinces, big cities, large theater chains, large cinemas, and large films occupy an increasing market share. These advantageous companies, big-name directors, big cities, large theater chains, large theaters, etc. have naturally become the main flow of investment funds. Capital is invested in these institutions and profits are huge. At the same time, capital investment has strengthened the greater influence of these institutions. However, it is difficult for second-tier film companies, second-tier directors, and second-tier cities to attract large capital investment and can only produce low-cost films. It is almost impossible for low-cost films to enter mainstream movie theaters. The China Film Association's "2012 China Film Industry Research Report" pointed out that in 2011, my country's feature film production was 558. Although overall, film investment and financing showed a relatively hot trend, there were nearly 300 films with an investment scale of 1 million. It is difficult for most films to succeed in the market, and some films cannot enter the market at all. More than half of the investment in film production cannot be recovered. This situation has caused a very prominent "false fire" phenomenon in the field of domestic film investment and financing. This is obviously not the healthy development trend we expect for the film industry. This shows that the current operating model of Chinese films and Chinese film industrialization still has structural contradictions in the system, mechanism and the film market itself. In the state where the market mechanism of the industry is still relatively imperfect, in terms of production, distribution and screening of films, There is polarization. Moreover, this polarization phenomenon has also caused the entire industry to show a kind of abnormal prosperity. Five hundred movies are produced every year, and everyone is competing for directors, actors, screenwriters, producers, and even photographers, assistant directors, etc. Large companies seize the opportunity first, but they always seize those people. The industry seriously lacks an innovation mechanism. It is obvious that the current growth in the number of films does not match the improvement in quality. While the quantity is growing, there is a lack of improvement in quality. This inevitably leads to the roughening and unprofessionalization of many films.

Therefore, we must vigorously promote institutional reform, create conditions to promote an equal competition mechanism, and issue corresponding policies to actively create environments and conditions for second-tier enterprises, second-tier directors, second-tier theaters, small and medium-sized cities, etc., and mobilize The tilt of film resources to film industry policies will attract more capital to invest in these secondary and second-tier areas. Only in this way can we truly and effectively solve the problem of social capital entering the film industry and the current market mechanism of the film industry with less perfect market mechanisms. The outstanding problems existing in the docking have enabled the Chinese film industry to develop in a healthier and optimized manner.

3. The rapid development of film technology applications and the spiritual height expressed in film content form a striking contrast

As the country gradually increases investment in the cultural industry, the film technology industry has With rapid development in recent years, innovative technologies such as 3D stereoscopic technology, film special effects, post-production, and 4K projection technology have gradually been applied in the domestic film industry. The technical quality of film shooting and printing processing has been steadily improved; in terms of the technical quality of films, films using SRD digital stereo now account for about 50% of the total, films using SR analog stereo account for about 36% of the total, and films using mono The number of films continued to decrease; in terms of copying technology, most of the copies submitted for review met the technical requirements for standard copies. R&D and scientific research results in film technology have increased rapidly, and the level of innovation has steadily improved. With the rapid development of film digitization, films have created new market application space. With the help of digital technology, the film multimedia and new media markets are gradually being deeply developed. In addition to traditional urban cinemas, televisions, and home audio and video, mobile screenings in communities and rural areas , special movie screenings, and business segmentation application models using the Internet, mobile terminals, etc. began to emerge.

The level of cinema design and decoration construction, cinema projectors, amplifiers and speakers, screens, seats, decorative materials, mobile projection servers and other equipment and facilities is also constantly improving. Obviously, Chinese movies have entered a high-tech period.

However, on the whole, while Chinese films are rapidly improving their technology and making their pictures and sound effects increasingly refined, they cannot conceal that their pursuit of the spiritual level is stagnant and even declining. The film's pursuit of the cultural spirit is hardly satisfactory, and is even considered to be increasingly degenerate. Some people say that most Chinese movies in the past 10 years, whether they are blockbusters or art films, have become further and further away from reality and have lost their spiritual height. Others say that Chinese movies in recent years have a serious trend of spectacle. Directors are keen to let people watch movies in a tourist way and guide people to watch the strange landscapes in the movies, without caring about the culture and spirit expressed in the movies. This is the big crisis faced by Chinese films after the marketization of the film industry.

Films need to have a cultural spirit. Director Xie Jin once said: "A true artist should also be a thinker and should speak out on some social issues through his films." At the moment, busy Directors who use exquisite pictures and large-scale hype to attract audiences into theaters are accustomed to joking and not accustomed to thinking. The films they shoot lack spirit, culture, and thinking about profound human nature. In fact, for a movie, the audience not only needs to be able to experience the audio-visual spectacle, but also needs to have aesthetic and cultural factors and express the height of cultural spirit. As Mr. Zhang Hongsen, deputy director of the Film Bureau, said: "Chinese films must reach a spiritual height. This is a very important element, or a very basic condition, that is indispensable for Chinese films, whether they are blockbusters or small and medium-sized films. "In Mr. Zhang's view, current movies "often appear in the form of entertainment, so it puts all public content and all cultural content in the cloak of entertainment, so cultural content and spiritual life become It becomes an accessory or appendage of entertainment." Mr. Zhang emphasized: In the complex and rapidly changing atmosphere of the times, Chinese films must establish spiritual coordinates and find spiritual heights. He said, “If we banish the spirit universally and on a large scale, lower the height, and universally distance ourselves from the soul, especially from the inner world of each person in a complex and rapidly changing social form, it will be harmful to us. We will feel at a loss about the future of Chinese movies."

It is very well said. Movies only have high technology but no spiritual height, and only have beautiful pictures but no cultural connotation. Even if they have high box office, they will only have high box office. It may be the rise of "false fire", but it cannot be regarded as healthy development. It is no wonder that the audience will make all kinds of sharp criticisms and severe faults about the movie. If the spiritual factors of the movie do not even meet the audience's aesthetic taste, it will not be ignored. Audience accusations? Can it be called a healthy development of movies?

Not long ago, the famous screenwriter Wang Xingdong made severe criticism in an exclusive interview. He believed that the current phenomenon of "emphasis on directors, stars, and screenwriters" in China's film and television industry has caused the industry to taste the bitter consequences. In his view, it is difficult for Chinese films to open up the international market because they are not original. Many directors and producers "sell the meat of a sheep instead of a mouse", taking the script created by the screenwriter but not filming according to the script. He believes that now people have realized that the first round of competition in the film and television market is the competition of content, and the core is the competition of originality.

In fact, the lack of attention to screenwriters is a prominent manifestation of the current neglect of spiritual heights in Chinese films, and the contempt for screenwriters has further aggravated the superficiality and poverty of film content and spirit. This situation needs to be changed urgently. .

Fortunately, the situation is beginning to change now. It is said that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is preparing to spend 20 million yuan to support movie scripts. The Chinese Writers Association has established a film and television committee, which will include film scripts in the awards. This is an improvement in the system and expands support for original works. Mr. Wang Xingdong hopes to promote screenplay awards and subdivide them into best original and best adaptation.

Currently, we should continue to take measures to change the lack of spiritual heights in Chinese films as soon as possible. As Deputy Director Zhang Hongsen emphasized: the film industry must "check itself and wake up" and "establish a climbing standard in Chinese films." A high level of spiritual confidence, courage and strength is urgent and imperative.

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