On the opening night of the Shanghai Film Festival, the entire Internet was fried! Liang Chaowei's harsh words tore apart the industry's fig leaf, and the scene was so noisy that no one could hear the other.

Jiuzhiwang Shanghai News (Editor: 1326 XJ01) On the evening of June 12, in the evening breeze by the Huangpu River, the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival officially kicked off. No one expected that this supposed star-studded film event would not be swept by the red carpet and the press, or be swayed by celebrity scandals. Instead, it relied on four sharp questions that broke the industry's window and directly caused the entire Chinese film and television industry to quarrel until 3 a.m.
From the closed-door forums of industry leaders to the circles of friends of ordinary audiences, from the hot searches on Weibo to the Douban group, everyone is debating the same thing: Where is the future of Chinese films?
Hot point 1: Leung Chaowei's "AI soulless theory" exploded the audience, and the technical team hit the table on the spot to counterattack
The most famous scene of this year's Shanghai Film Festival appeared under the spotlight of the Golden Jue Award judges 'meeting.
When asked by reporters how to view the current wave of AI creation sweeping the world, Chairman of the jury Liang Chaowei did not have any official formalities or ambiguous statements. He bluntly threw out a shocking sentence: "AI has no soul. It is like an artificial diamond cultivated in a laboratory. No matter how bright and perfect it is, there is no temperature and story of natural diamonds that have been precipitated through hundreds of millions of years of geological changes. "
As soon as he finished speaking, the audience was silent for three seconds, and then the situation exploded in an instant.
The camp standing on the side of human creation instantly gathered together: Xin Zhilei answered on the spot,"I have been acting for a whole 20 years, and those life experiences of crying, laughing, loving and painful can never be reproduced by cold algorithms"; veteran actor Li Xuejian said loudly,"If AI can play Jiao Yulu alive, then we actors can all pack up our things and go home."
However, the technical counterattack came quickly and violently, almost tit-for-tat on the spot:
Director Huang Jianxin directly refuted: "Within three years, 90% of editors, special effects engineers and even junior screenwriters will be replaced by AI. AI cuts a trailer in 10 minutes and works for humans for a month, and the cost is only one-tenth. You talk to capital about soul? Capital only talks about input-output ratio! "
The CEO of a certain head special effects company even made harsh remarks: "Nowadays, many so-called human creators write scripts that are logically confused, and the scenes they perform are expressionless. They are not even as good as the content generated by AI. Who are they qualified to talk about souls? Let's first find your soul back! "
The comment area was directly divided into two camps, and there was an uproar:
Human: "Can AI write the crazy devil in" Farewell My Concubine "? Can you film the suffering of horses and iron in "Hidden into the Dust"? Can you perform Fugui's despair in "Alive"? "
Tai AI: "Don't take exceptions as universal! Nowadays, 80% of domestic bad movies are not as smooth as AI's writing, and the actors are not as expressive as digital people. How dare they talk about souls? "
The most heart-warming comment received 230,000 likes: "In fact, Liang Chaowei is not scolding AI at all, but human creators who have long lost their souls and only rely on traffic to make money. "
Hot point 2: The myth of tens of billions vs. mass attacks on the streets. Is the IP economy a wealth code or a scam to cut leeks?
If the AI battle is the ultimate battle related to the future, then the IP battle is the battle of life and death related to the present.
The core theme of all forums at this year's Shanghai Film Festival, without exception, is "IP full-cycle operation." Wang Jun, chairman of Shanghai Film Group, spoke loudly at the main forum: "The ceiling of a single box office is not the end of the film industry, but is precisely the eve of the explosion of the entire IP industry chain. Movies no longer end immediately after they are released, but are the starting point of IP. Together with cultural tourism, trendy entertainment, food, and derivatives, you can earn 10 times the box office money! "
Before he could finish speaking, a senior producer under the stage who did not want to be named fired on the spot: "Stop drawing big cakes! Now 90% of the so-called IP operations are essentially changing tracks to cut leeks! "
Reality is indeed cruel:
On the one hand,"Nezha's Devil Boy Causing the Sea" grossed 11 billion yuan in box office, surrounding derivatives sold 3 billion yuan, and the theme park lined up for three hours on the first day of its opening;
On the one hand, countless small and medium-sized IPs have been hit in batches. The box office of the adapted movies is not enough for publicity and distribution fees, and the trendy toys they make are piled up in the warehouse and moldy, and the costs cannot even be recovered.
Differences in the industry have reached the point of irreconcilable:
Optimistic people firmly believe: "As long as you deeply cultivate content, IP can become an endless cash cow. What Disney can do, our China films can also do. "
Pessimists bluntly said: "Domestic IP has no long-term doctrine at all. They just make a quick wave of money and run away. Stirring cold rice, selling feelings, and cutting leeks will sooner or later completely stink the word IP. "
The netizen's question hit the nail on the head: "Why does our IP only make sequels and stir-fried rice, but cannot create new classic IP? Do we have no imagination, or do we just like to make quick money? "
Hot point 3: Directors born in 1995 entered the main competition, and contemporary directors and actors were collectively anxious
The most surprising thing about this year's Shanghai Film Festival is the youngest shortlisted lineup since the establishment of the Golden Jue Award.
Three post-95s directors fought their way through the encirclement with their debut films, competing with the works of Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and other high-level directors. Their works have sharp themes and bold styles, focusing on practical issues such as domestic violence, workplace PUA, and left-behind children that have been ignored by mainstream films. They are called the "Generation Coming with a Knife" in the industry.
What subverts the industry's perception is that these young directors simply do not follow the rules: some people use a mobile phone to shoot a complete movie at a total cost of less than 500,000 yuan; some people refuse all celebrities and use all amateur actors; some people even don't find a traditional distribution company, planning to directly launch streaming media to meet the audience.
The strong breakout of the new generation instantly pushed the Mesozoic to the forefront.
Netizens began to sharply question: "Many Mesozoic directors are still filming the old routines of ten years ago. They have long been abandoned by young audiences by dating, tearing, and love triangles. "
Some people even spoke bluntly: "If the Mesozoic era does not break through itself, in five years, it will be completely replaced by directors born in 1995 and 2000. "
Under pressure, even Zhang Songwen, who has always been calm, said frankly in an interview: "I live in anxiety every day, for fear that I cannot keep up with the audience's aesthetics and be eliminated by this rapidly changing era. "
However, some people complain about the Mesozoic era: "Young directors have spirit, but they also have obvious shortcomings. They lack resources, experience, and the ability to control large-scale production. Chinese-language films need new blood, but they also need the Mesozoic era to take on the lead. "
In this war in which the old and the new alternate, there is no winner or loss, only life and death. If you don't make progress, you will be eliminated.
Top 4: Films from 125 countries have registered but Hollywood is absent. Is the Shanghai Film Festival a real breakthrough or a false prosperity?
The international report card delivered by this Shanghai Film Festival is gorgeous: it attracted 4100 films from 125 countries and regions around the world to actively register, the main competition unit and documentary unit achieved 100% world premieres, and received Ghana and Mozambique for the first time. Participating films from African countries such as Mozambique.
The official announcement was full of joy, saying that "the Shanghai Film Festival has become the first international A-category film festival in Asia and the third in the world."
But doubts also followed, and became louder and louder: "Why are so many countries signing up, but Hollywood's top blockbusters collectively absent? Why are almost all the international films shown on display niche art films that no one knows about? "
Some netizens bluntly said: "The so-called internationalization is just a bunch of niche movies from third world countries to support the scene. A true international A-category film festival should have the participation of the world's top films and stars. "
But some people think this questioning is too harsh: "It's their loss that Hollywood doesn't come. The Shanghai Film Festival should have supported films from developing countries and made Asia's own voice heard. Why must we please Hollywood? "
The deeper game is actually: If Shanghai Film Festival wants to become an international film festival with truly global influence, it must find a perfect balance between internationalization and localization. It is necessary not only to attract outstanding films from around the world, but also to set a stage for China films to go global.
This road is obviously still very long.
Written after this industry storm
This year's Shanghai Film Festival, there is no false prosperity or boring gossip, only naked issues and tit-for-tat disputes are left.
Some people say that this is the most anxious year for Chinese films, because AI is subverting production methods, IP is failing to realize logic, newcomers are rewriting the talent landscape, and the international landscape is reshaping the status of the industry.
But I think this is exactly the best year for Chinese films.
Because real progress will only happen when the industry is no longer immersed in the false prosperity of box office numbers and begins to face problems, debate problems, and solve problems.
This war on AI, IP, the replacement of old and new, and internationalization has just begun.
Whose side are you on? Do you think AI will eventually replace human creators? Do you think the IP economy is a wealth myth or a leek cutting scam? Are you optimistic about the future of directors born in 1995?
You can tell me your point of view and let's have a good argument.