I really don't want to be the top streamer anymore

Chapter 275: All parties want to get Xu Kong
"Although I had prepared myself before going, I still find it hard to accept this kind of plot involving a scumbag and a mistress..."

"The three views of the male and female protagonists are all problematic. Anyway, when I watched it, I really felt that I couldn't adapt to it at all."

"Movies are about stories and plots, and characters are not necessarily good or evil. Whether a movie is good or bad has little to do with the shortcomings of the characters themselves."

"Let's put aside the controversy over Xu Kong's "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" for now, but what I want to say is that there are indeed some places, such as some factories, where migrant workers who can't go home for several years form pairs of film and television men and women for various reasons, and the movie does not deliberately exaggerate or guide this aspect."

……

As expected, after "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" was released for three or four days, as the popularity of the movie grew, debates about the plot also arose.

Of course, such controversy was actually anticipated when Xu Kong decided to make this movie.

This is mainly due to changes in the social environment.

If this film was released at that time in the previous life, few people would question the plot.

The most discussed topic is actually the box office and subsequent awards.

But at this point in time, the Internet is too developed, and most audiences are accustomed to there being no particularly certain male and female protagonists, so naturally the acceptance level has decreased.

However, the public opinion in this regard was not as big a storm as Xu Kong had imagined.

The main reason is that although I haven’t heard any relevant discussions, the box office of "Sweet Honey" is still rising steadily.

After four days of release, the total box office has exceeded 700 million.

The box office has exceeded 100 million yuan for almost four consecutive days.

This also includes two weekdays, when the box office declined but remained stable.

……

"The number of moviegoers in Kimchi has exceeded one million!"

"The total box office in overseas markets has also successfully exceeded 100 million yuan, and is heading towards 200 million yuan."

After hearing what the film and television department staff said, Yan Rui's expression became somewhat complicated.

For him, in fact, as early as the end of the previous preview, he had guessed that the box office of Xu Kong's "Sweet Honey" would not be low.

But the biggest surprise for him was the film’s performance in overseas markets.

Although Xu Kong acted like he took it very seriously before, he actually didn't take it too seriously.

I was indeed a little surprised at this time.

"Director Xu has already started his kimchi activities..."

Yan Rui thought about it and finally gave a few instructions.

Although "Sweet Honey" has already invested a lot in publicity and promotion in overseas markets.

But judging from the current situation, it is still worth their continued investment.

The main thing is that if "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" is really successful, it would mean that after the glory of Hong Kong films, it would be the second time that Chinese-language films have achieved such obvious success overseas.

Not to mention anything else, just the fame it brought to Xu Kong alone.

This means that in the future, Xu Kong’s works, whether he is the director or the lead actor, especially the lead actor, will be able to negotiate a good copyright price.

Most domestic film and television companies, including Fengge, actually lack such a breakthrough.

As the domestic market has almost been developed into a red ocean market, no one will not be envious of some overseas markets.

"Comrades: Almost a Love Story has already ranked first in the box office in Korea during the same period!"

"And it beat the new film of a famous actor over there, so it's really valuable."

At this time, another middle-level manager in the film and television department spoke up.

Before that, he was in charge of Fengge’s overseas markets in some countries surrounding China.

Therefore, I know more about the film and television markets with great potential, such as Korea and Japan.

Although Manager Yan Rui was already surprised enough.

But only he himself knows what the huge popularity of Xu Kong's "Sweet Honey" in Korea means.

……

"I've analyzed it. The reason why Xu Kong's movie performed so well in Korea is that Almost a Love Story really has the style of our movies from the last century..."

At this time in Hong Kong, the box office performance of "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" was also quite good.

With almost no special publicity, it still took first place in the box office during the same period.

Although the Hong Kong film market has been sluggish for many years.

Now, including many of their own local films, the main market is in mainland China.

But after all, it has been the foundation for so many years, and no one wants to give up.

I don’t know how many Hong Kong filmmakers hope to return to the golden age.

At the very least, we could have made a Hong Kong film that had the same influence as it did at that time.

As a result, after so many years, I haven’t done it.

Instead, it was a young mainland director like Xu Kong who fulfilled the ideas of so many people.

"Comrades: Almost a Love Story" is naturally a mainland movie. Although it was filmed in Hong Kong, according to the unspoken rules, the producer is the one who decides everything.

But let alone the filmmakers in Hong Kong, even those who have a little more experience in watching movies and have watched enough Hong Kong movies can feel that Xu Kong's "Sweet Honey" does have a strong flavor of Hong Kong movies from the last century.

The only difference may be the development of today's era. Whether it is picture quality or other aspects, the progress is relatively huge.

Even if Xu Kongyou can restore the flavor of the period drama, it still needs to be a lot more "new".

……

Of course, this is all just discussion.

For the talented Cao Bentao, he is indeed in a very good mood at the moment.

He was very fortunate that as early as when Xu Kong had just decided to shoot "Sweet Honey" in Hong Kong, he took the initiative to show goodwill on behalf of Fengxiang Pictures.

Moreover, during the filming of "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" in Hong Kong, it can be said that Fengxiang Pictures, a local film and television company, really helped a lot.

Cao Bentao believes that his judgment of people has been relatively accurate over the years.

So he knew that Xu Kong was definitely the kind of person who would remember the kindness of others.

At least the agreement with Xu Kong before about inviting him to help shoot a movie should not be a big problem.

……

"Director Cao, I don't quite understand why you have to invite a director from the mainland to film this?"

At this moment, a senior executive present suddenly spoke, causing the atmosphere to become eerily quiet.

"I think it's not impossible for Lao Lu and Li Zai to take photos..."

He saw that the atmosphere was not right, but he did not shut up immediately. Instead, he whispered again.

The two people he mentioned just now are both local directors from Hong Kong, and they are also considered to be new directors with good potential in recent years.

Several of the films he made have achieved good commercial results at the box office.

Of course, it is definitely incomparable to the exaggerated box office of four or five billion in mainland China.

"I have my own plans, so don't mention this kind of thing in the future."

“Especially in front of some of our partners.”

Cao Bentao's expression was not very good.

He knew that this company executive was quite xenophobic.

It seems that we are still immersed in the golden age of Hong Kong’s film and television industry.

He thinks he looks down on his counterparts in the mainland and always acts superior.

Several previous collaborations, such as inviting mainland actors to guest star, were deliberately blocked by the other party. Later, they were simply not allowed to get involved in related business.

But the other party had indeed followed me since Fengxiang Pictures was just starting out, and they had a good relationship privately.

In such a public occasion, Cao Bentao was still willing to give the other party a little face.

……

But it is obvious that the other party's ideas are outdated.

Do you really think that it is because of the market in mainland China that you frequently seek cooperation with companies, directors, actors, etc. there?
This is only one reason.

Another major reason is that Hong Kong’s film and television industry has indeed been stagnant for too long.

There simply isn't that much talent pool.

If you look at it now, those popular Hong Kong artists are still the old antiques left over from the last century.

But on the mainland, the situation is completely different.

It can even be said that the two are no longer on the same level.

Not only are the number and quality of newcomers far ahead, but the most important thing is the development of the market itself.

In today's mainland, the film and television market has long surpassed that of Hong Kong during its heyday.

Not to mention now, it's totally incomparable.

Without sufficient market and commercial support, the future development of Hong Kong City will be hopeless if it does not rely on the mainland market.

In fact, Cao Bentao had seen this clearly several years ago.

It’s just because Fengxiang Pictures is indeed too big, and it has many people under it, and they are of mixed quality.

It can be said that the situation is difficult to reverse.

Cao Bentao can only take it step by step.

In his opinion, the appearance of Xu Kong was the best opportunity.

It is not only to restore the future glory of Hong Kong films.

The most important thing is to hope that Xu Kong can help some newcomers in Hong Kong City find a suitable way out.

Instead of completely giving up Hong Kong and going directly to companies in the mainland.

……

In addition to Fengxiang Pictures, the continued high box office of "Sweet Honey" has also put pressure on many domestic film and television companies.

Large companies like Huayuan Pictures, which are of similar size to Fengge, also held high-level meetings specifically targeting Xu Kong.

"I said before that Xu Kong would definitely cause a lot of trouble."

"You didn't take it seriously. Now that Xu Kong has started filming the movie, you're starting to get anxious..."

On Huayuan's side, someone who has been in charge of the company's TV and online dramas spoke in a sarcastic tone.

That’s right, before, many senior executives of Huayuan didn’t actually take Xu Kong seriously at all.

Although the other party is indeed a newcomer with great potential and outstanding performance in all aspects.

But perhaps it’s because Xu Kong is just an artist, a star, and it’s not thought that he can cause much of a stir.

There are only some senior executives in charge of TV dramas and online dramas.

Only then did I realize how outrageous Xu Kong’s somewhat unreasonable dominance was.

There's nothing I can do. I'm just scared of being beaten.

Before, after Huayuan chose to cooperate with Kiwi, its "Mysterious Valley" was premiered on the same day as Xu Kong's "The Legend of Sword and Fairy".

As a result, he was completely pressed to the ground and rubbed.

Such a hugely invested drama failed so quietly.

This would have been completely unreasonable in the past.

But it is what it is.

From popularity, traffic, to the most basic audience, almost all of them were absorbed by Xu Kong's "Legend of Sword and Fairy".

All dramas produced in the same period have become basic cannon fodder.

This has nothing to do with the quality of their drama itself.

Because the movie "Uncanny Valley" actually doesn't have any major flaws.

It's simply a case of being born at the wrong time.

Then there is "The Long Season", a drama with such a slow pace, unclear plot conflicts in the early stages, and the boldness of using several timeline narratives.

It’s okay that it has a high rating, but the most important thing is that it’s also a hit.

Although not as good as the previous Fairy Sword, it is enough to illustrate the problem.

Xu Kong is no longer just a simple actor or director.

Instead, he became the kind of person who could pose a threat to Huayuan Film and Television at any time.

……

"Don't say such sarcastic words at this time..."

Li Wanshu, the vice president of Huayuan, couldn't help but speak up to mediate.

In fact, he didn't take Xu Kong seriously at first.

Until the box office results of "Sweet Honey" came out, a little simulation showed that if Xu Kong chose to release this movie in the summer, then their subsequent big production with an investment of over 400 million yuan would most likely be threatened.

It is not certain whether the expected box office can be achieved, but it is also unknown how much of a discount it will receive.

In this regard, we have to take it seriously.

The most crucial point is that Xu Kong is currently a member of their old rival Feng Ge’s team.

"Who do you think Xu Kong will choose to follow if the subsequent news is accurate?"

Seeing that the scene had quieted down, Li Wanshu couldn't wait to speak.

This is the main purpose of his holding this high-level meeting.

"According to the information I have received so far, Xu Kong has a good relationship with Song Fuquan's daughter Song Youyou, and once he entered Fengge, his status was different from that of many artists..."

"It is highly likely that Song Fuquan will keep him here."

Someone said.

Obviously, for many people, Feng Ge’s recent changes, or future situations, are no longer a big secret.

"Whether Xu Kong is poached by Zhu Changyun or stays to work for Song Fuquan, it is not good news for us."

Someone expressed the thoughts of many people at the scene.

Li Wanshu, as the highest-ranking executive of the company attending the meeting, was lost in thought at this moment.

After a while, he spoke, as if talking to the people present, or perhaps talking to himself:
"As far as I know, Xu Kong's contract actually only has a little over a year left."

"And even now, if he wants to leave, it's not impossible to talk about it."

"We at Huayuan are still willing to pay his penalty for breach of contract."

"But in the end it all depends on him, whether he is willing or not..."

Of course, he also knew that they were not the only Huayuan family who had such thoughts.

But at the same time, if Huayuan really has enough strength and capital, it will definitely be Xu Kong's best choice in the future.

……

(End of this chapter)