A marathon
No matter what Taiwan filmmakers shoot, the guiding principle should be: Don't mess with your own approach just because you want to do a joint production with a mainland film company.
"Joint productions with mainland companies just represent a new option!" says Yeh Jufeng of Ocean Deep Films. Whether producing a film entirely in Taiwan, or working on a co-production with mainland Chinese, Europeans or Americans, each of these options just represents one choice. The scale of the film depends on how much money you raise; but the depth and feel of the work should remain the most important thing.
Yeh, who has been an executive producer for many new directors in Taiwan, says we shouldn't criticize new directors for always describing their own youth. New directors have to shoot their first films on GIO grants of just a few million NT dollars. "Could they shoot a ghost film on that?"
Although she appreciates creative talent, she nonetheless feels that many Taiwanese directors seem too willing to stay in Taiwan and shoot music videos, commercials, shorts and corporate introductions, vainly enjoying the prestige that comes from saying they are directors. They aren't willing to condescend to be an assistant director and go participate in and learn about making a big picture. That kind of attitude and approach has got to be changed.
Yeh spent eight months with director John Woo shooting Red Cliff. She was the lone representative of Taiwan in the production crew of 800. She was responsible every day for the money for food and drink, and for the schedules of 120 vehicles and 120 drivers.
The preliminary preparations for Red Cliff and the size of the production opened up a new world for Yeh. For instance, the crew built Cao Cao's castle on a field outside of Beijing that they rented for three years. In the first year, they used earth to cover the field, making it gradually level. In the second year, they built the sets, and in the third year they returned it to its original appearance. There couldn't be any delays.
Beijing Mandarin, Shanghainese and Cantonese were all used at work. But a certain amount of cultural and linguistic barriers engendered feelings of loneliness. Yeh wanted to bring some people from Taiwan over with her, but, she noted, "If you bring your own people over, they've got to be up to it. They can't be lethargic or indecisive. They've got to be diligent and able to suffer hardships. And you've got to be able to withstand some sarcasm occasionally directed your way. Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it because you're a guest in someone else's land." Thinking it over, she decided just to go by herself.
Cross-strait co-productions have opened up a new sales door for Taiwanese films, but it's still a big question as to what kinds of films will be produced as a result. Whether in terms of talent, financing, creativity or marketing, one thing is for sure: making a film isn't a sprint but a marathon. Those working in Taiwan's film industry need to ask: Are we ready?