Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 993 Chinese Hard Science Fiction, Domestic Little Broken Planet

With the release of "The Wandering Earth" during the Spring Festival, which once again ignited the market, unscrupulous businesses have also sensed the business opportunity and are eager to make a move, showing the same momentum that emerged during the "Ne Zha" era.

It will be quite difficult for Beyond Cultural and Creative to protect its rights on its own.

Qi Mengmeng then sought help from Chen Mo.

Chen Mo frowned after hearing this. If piracy is not curbed in time, it will not only damage profits, but also the brand reputation that the other side has accumulated over a long period of time.

These businesses can ask them for authorization if they want to make money. They are open to IP authorization, it just means they will earn less. Piracy is going too far, it's like wanting both sides, and then I'm sorry.

He not only has cultural and creative products, but also platform resources and a strong legal team.

If existing technological capabilities are leveraged to deploy AI monitoring systems at the social and e-commerce levels, and technologies such as image recognition and natural language processing are used to conduct big data analysis and comparison of products on the platform, it should be possible to accurately identify infringing activities.

Once infringing products are discovered, an immediate warning will be issued and intervention measures will be taken, such as removing the content from the platform, disconnecting links, and in the most serious cases, directly banning the account.

At the same time, he instructed his legal team to strengthen their efforts to protect rights, resolutely crack down on piracy, and make an example of one to deter others.

After a moment's thought, Chen Mo made several phone calls and clearly issued instructions.

Given his current status and influence in the industry, he can essentially achieve a complete ban on major platforms.

Douyin, which is under his own company, and JD.com, which is under Dongzi's control, are naturally not a problem; and Huang Zheng of Pinduoduo and Zhang Yong of Taobao will probably do him a favor, both publicly and privately.

Qi Mengmeng stood quietly to the side, watching her master easily resolve the problem that had been troubling her for nearly a month with just a few phone calls.

Today she was wearing a sharp light gray suit skirt, and her slightly wavy long hair was tied into an elegant bun at the back of her head, a capable look that her subordinates were very familiar with on weekdays.

But at this moment, her usually sharp and calm almond-shaped eyes widened involuntarily. The complete trust and undisguised admiration softened her entire aura, as if she had shed all her professional armor, revealing the unchanging purity of a "disciple" within.

Seeing her master put down the phone, she quietly took half a step forward, obediently snuggling closer to his side. Her fingertips unconsciously twirled a corner of Chen Mo's suit jacket and gently played with it, looking adorable and charming with a touch of allure.

This small, dependent gesture made the air in the room feel thick and sticky, as if spring had arrived early.

Seeing this, Chen Mo felt a pang of pity and casually pulled her into his arms. The beauty groaned softly as they reunited after a short separation. Under the cover of the night, they snuggled together briefly, getting a moment's respite.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Tong's phone call shattered the tranquil atmosphere.

Chen Mo washed his face before answering the phone.

"What? You mean the box office record that 'Ne Zha' just set is about to be broken so quickly?"

"How about we have a celebration banquet? Everyone has worked so hard for so long, let's have a good time together. Okay, you handle the arrangements, and let me know when it's time."

After hanging up the phone, he was somewhat surprised. He had expected "The Wandering Earth" to perform well with ample funding, a mature team, and comprehensive support, but he hadn't anticipated its immense popularity.

Last month, "Ne Zha" raked in 60 billion yuan at the global box office, surpassing "Wolf Warrior 2" to become the highest-grossing domestic film.
The news that Chen Tong just reported is that "The Wandering Earth" has grossed over 30 billion yuan in seven days, and they expect it to surpass 70 billion yuan.
Is this the allure of the Spring Festival film season?

No wonder every year, all sorts of good and bad movies, even rip-offs, flock to the Spring Festival release window.

Or perhaps, the success of "Ne Zha" ignited the public's enthusiasm for watching movies, and "The Wandering Earth," which shares the same lineage, just happened to carry on that enthusiasm.

Chen Mo could foresee that the merchandise for "Little Broken Ball"—figures, cards, building blocks—would sell out again.

Mengmeng will be so busy for the next while that we won't see her again.

Suddenly, Chen Mo had a thought: this might be an opportunity.

Seeing the woman turn to run away, he said, "Chen Tong is hosting a banquet in a couple of days; you should come too."

"Huh? What kind of dinner party? I've been busy lately."

Chen Mo was too lazy to explain, "Obey orders!"

"Okay, Master."

He's been incredibly busy lately, and his group of women haven't been idle either:

Mengmeng is busy with her cultural and creative merchandise business; Ningning is acting as a financial manager, overseeing investments with her team; Liu Yifei and Jing Tian are working behind the scenes, one following Guo Fan on roadshows across the country, and the other working with Chen Tong to calculate profits; Sister Fuzhen is like a leading lady, outwitting her brother overseas. Even Lingling, with the help of her team, went to Taiwan to integrate supply chain resources to support Xiaomi's production.

Chen Mo supports his women in their careers. He provides resources and teams to those with talent, and those without talent are to obediently act as mascots, keeping an eye on the business operations they are responsible for. As long as they don't read any novels featuring strong female protagonists or engage in any despicable or harmful actions related to palace intrigue, he basically won't interfere.

He then took out his Xiaomi X1 and made a phone call to them.
The 2019 Spring Festival film season was similar to previous years, yet also quite different.

Several blockbusters are fiercely competing on the big screen: Ning Hao's "Crazy Alien" brings together the iron triangle of Huang Bo, Shen Teng and Xu Zheng; Stephen Chow enters the market with "The New King of Comedy" with sentiment; and Han Han's "Pegasus" enters the battlefield with passion and inspiration.

"The Wandering Earth," also produced by Beyond Pictures, carries the expectations of countless movie fans—especially while the popularity of "Ne Zha" has not yet completely subsided.

Perhaps the higher the expectations, the greater the skepticism.

Due to limitations in industrial capabilities, Chinese science fiction films in the past were mostly soft science fiction, or opportunistic works merely disguised as "hard science fiction".

Therefore, "The Wandering Earth" was accompanied by a lot of controversy before its release, especially when it was labeled as "China's first hard science fiction film" and entered the Spring Festival season, where doubts followed closely:

"Will the special effects be cheap?" "Will the plot be stiff and full of holes? Don't ruin the reputation of 'The Other Shore'." "Does an inexperienced director even know what science fiction is?"
Similar criticisms continue to spread online.

Moviegoers and media are analyzing who will win the Spring Festival box office championship, as if it will be another suspenseful battle.

"This plan will last for one hundred generations. Although we do not know what kind of home the new sun 4.2 light-years away will bring, from today onwards, humanity's courage and perseverance will be forever etched under the stars!"
This long cosmic journey, a mixture of despair and hope, lasting 2,500 years, is known as the "Wandering Earth" project.

The camera moves from the underground city to the frozen surface, sweeps over the planetary engines under construction, and finally zooms out to a global perspective, showcasing the magnificent sight of thousands of engines rising from the ground.

In just two minutes, the film uses highly impactful audiovisual language to clearly and stunningly unfold the background of the "Wandering Earth Project," instantly drawing the audience into this grand science fiction world.

As the film played, planetary engines distributed around the world ignited in sequence, sending blue beams of light piercing the sky and propelling Earth on its journey to a new home.

The film culminates in a series of climactic scenes, including the ignition of Jupiter, accompanied by an epic soundtrack.

Instead of applause, the theater erupted in gasps of astonishment: "Holy crap!" "Awesome!" "Absolutely amazing!"

As the first group of viewers left the theater wanting more, exchanging their viewing experiences, word-of-mouth spread like wildfire online.
With the release of "The Wandering Earth", major film review websites quickly spread the word, especially Douban.

"Special effects that rival Hollywood", "Heavy industrial-grade quality", "A uniquely Chinese kind of romance: taking the Earth on a journey~ Liu Cixin's imagination is truly amazing";
"Liu Yifei, who plays a peerless courtesan, a heroic battlefield medic, and a gentle yet strong wife suffering from a terminal illness, can play any role convincingly now. I can't even imagine how happy the men who win her heart will be in the future."
"Why is artificial intelligence called Moss? I saw that senior executives on Zhiyan called Chen Mo Mo. Could it be that the production team was just trying to save time?"
"Well, if that's really the case, looking at the development trajectory of the other side, it has almost always caught the wave of every trend, so calling it Moss makes sense."

These genuine praises from netizens completely shattered all doubts.

Since Douban is now fully controlled by Beyond, there won't be situations where a film is released but the director is tempted to lure audiences into theaters and delays in releasing a rating.

All films released during the Spring Festival season received their ratings within a single day: "The Wandering Earth" topped the list with a score of 9.0, "Crazy Alien" scored 6.7, and "Pegasus" scored 6.8.
The ratings on Douban have, to some extent, become a barometer of box office performance.

With the official Weibo accounts of "Wolf Warrior" and "Ne Zha" releasing joint posters to boost the box office of "The Wandering Earth," it soared ahead of the competition, much like the ignition of tens of thousands of planetary engines in the film.

Its screening share started at 18.4% on the first day, on par with other popular films, but its daily box office revenue bucked the trend and rose sharply starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year, demonstrating strong growth momentum.

Its screening rate has climbed to over 40%, and its occupancy rate has remained the highest.

The cinema was packed, and tickets for the IMAX screenings were even harder to come by. The nickname "Little Broken Ball" spread all over the internet.

People suddenly realized that the seeds of Chinese science fiction had sprouted—

It is no longer a concept, but a reality that is happening.

While "Crazy Alien" and "Pegasus" are undoubtedly excellent, they can only take a backseat to the massive audience surge created by "The Wandering Earth."

This was not an evenly matched contest. While other films still relied on comedic formulas and star power, The Wandering Earth reshaped the film landscape with its heavy industrial feel and Eastern-style homeland sentiment.

Capital and vision from the other side, the dedication and craftsmanship of Guo Fan's team, and the support and praise from countless viewers—all these forces converge into a torrent, propelling this ark of Chinese science fiction, crushing all doubts and prejudices, and flying towards a brand new realm.

From then on, Chinese science fiction films were divided into two eras:
Before and after The Wandering Earth.

This period is historically known as the "Year Zero of Chinese Science Fiction".

(End of this chapter)