Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 305: Lunar New Year Box Office Chaos
Beep, beep, beep…

Beep, beep, beep…

Beep, beep, beep…

I called three times but the line was always busy. The office was dead silent with only the heavy breathing of Director Chen.

It was obvious that his anger value was almost full, but this was not his territory, so the cup could not be dropped.

Han Shanping changed his number and answered the call quickly.

"Hello, Mr. Han!"

"Xiao Chen? Where's your Mr. Lu? Why can't I get through on the phone?"

Chen Zhixi smiled and said, "Did you forget? He just finished a roadshow in South Korea with the crew of 'Tangshan'."

"I'm currently in Kuangou for the second round of bid presentations. The security level is very high, so my cell phone must be turned off."

Han Shanping slapped his thigh: "Oh! That's right!"

"By the way, Xiao Chen, I have something to ask you. Have you seen that 'Mantou' video online?"

The guy with the flat head turned on the speakerphone and showed Chen Kaige and his wife that he was fair and impartial.

Chen Hong was speechless. How could you give the evidence to the other party before judging a case? Isn't this giving them time to deal with the aftermath?

How could this female assistant admit it?
"I saw it."

Chen Kaige and Chen Hong exchanged a glance, then looked at Han Shanping together, their eyes clearly showing:

See? See?
He admitted it himself! He saw it a long time ago!

However, Chen Zhixi's subsequent explanation left them somewhat baffled: "The video came out on the 24th, the day after our premiere of 'Tangshan'."

"Director Lu told me to quickly block that user's account, so Mr. Han, you can check it out. It's not on the Askjie video."

"We also have operation logs and evidence of the company's internal OA processes. We can provide them if needed."

Han Shanping and his wife looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Okay, Xiao Chen, let's do this for now."

"By the way, after you contact your boss Lu, give me a call back."

"Got it, Mr. Han. That's it for now."

Han Shanping hung up the phone, and before he had time to explain, Chen Kaige was already angrily slamming the edge of the sofa and analyzing.

"Boss Han, this is called a guilty conscience!"

"You discovered it right away, why didn't you tell us? We're all colleagues in the industry. I'm not talking about seniority or not. We're all Beijing Film Academy alumni, right?"

"They're even talking about operation logs and process evidence. Isn't this just an attempt to cover up the truth, waiting to distance themselves from the incident once it's happened?"

Chen Hong chimed in, "Boss Han, this guide has always been an unconventional person and is extremely smart. You heard what that little girl said just now."

"Since he's determined to cheat our Old Chen, his methods must be flawless. We won't be able to find any faults even if we want to."

"But you're the leader, you have to keep your eyes open and make the decision for us, right?"

The couple's words echoed each other, leaving Old Han a little confused. How could they sentence someone with just a few words?

It seems that the truth of the matter has not been clarified yet?

But after their analysis, Old Han did become a little suspicious.

Apart from anything else, Hua Yi has been completely subdued in the past two years. The methods used were so cruel and sharp that they were not what a young man of 23 or 24 years old should be.

To be honest, Old Han is somewhat biased towards Boss Lu.

I won’t even mention the huge profits I’ve made from investing in or participating in the distribution of movies in the past two years.

The film "Alien Land" won the domestic box office championship in history, exported national culture, and won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, directly removing the "secondary" label from its head.

But "The Promise" is indeed a project that China Film Group has invested heavily in. It has only been less than a year since Lao Han promoted it, so of course he has to protect it.

"How about this? I'll contact you as soon as Lu Kuan finishes his bid and I'll definitely get to the bottom of this."

"Let's take some measures now to reduce the popularity of this video to a minimum. It's still half a month away from being taken down!"

Chen Kaige stood up suddenly: "My dear President Han! Please stop trying to smooth things over at this time!"

"I'm putting this on hold! If China Film doesn't give me an explanation, I'm going to go find Director Tong, and if that doesn't work, I'm going to the General Administration!"

"I just don't believe it. Is this film industry just one person's dictatorship? Or is it just one person's private domain? There's no logic at all."

Chen Hong looked at Han Shanping's increasingly gloomy expression and thought to herself that it was not good. If she really annoyed him, things would become even more complicated.

Now we need to unite with our comrades and we can’t push Han Shanping towards Lu Kuan!

"Boss Han, Kaige was just saying that out of anger. Please don't take it to heart."

"After we received the news and confirmed the truth, the first thing we did was to come to China Film to bother you. That's pure trust."

Chang'e, still charming, smiled and said, "I'll do as you say. Let's deal with the problem first and wait for Lu Kuan's reply."

The bald guy's expression finally eased a little. If he didn't know that Chen Kaige was just like that, he would have scolded anyone else.

With whom?

"Okay, then you two can go back first. I still have some official business to attend to."

Even though Chen Hong spoke softly, he didn't react much. He returned to his desk, picked up the teacup, and took a sip.

This means seeing someone off.

Chen Hong followed her furious husband downstairs and sighed secretly as she saw his still straight back.

Fortunately, I came along this time, otherwise the situation would have become too awkward and we might have become enemies.

Many of the grudges between adults are like undercurrents underwater. By the time you feel them, you have already been caught in the whirlpool.

I didn't even know when the conflict occurred.

Chen Hong sat in the driver's seat and had just started the car when he was stopped by Chen Kaige.

"Go around and get to Building No. 2."

"Ok?"

Chen Hong looked at the passenger seat in confusion: "Aren't we going back?"

Chen Kaige glanced at his phone silently, adjusted his chair, and lay down comfortably: "Director Tong will be back from the meeting in half an hour. Wait."

"this?"

Director Chen looked at his ignorant wife. Her oval face was still charming, her red lips were slightly pouting, and a strand of hair by her ear added a touch of girlish charm.

The romantic poet was as interested in teaching as he was two days ago, especially when it came to the beautiful and charming women.

"Just now, I deliberately angered Old Han. His butt is already crooked and he can't be relied on."

"The impact of this incident has already been caused. There is no point in saying more."

"The impact of the video must be eliminated, but as the victim, we cannot give up the compensation we deserve!"

Chen Hong stared at Chen Kaige in a daze. She hadn't expected her husband to reach this point. "You mean? Director Tong?"

Her mind raced, and suddenly an idea struck her: "Oscar?"

"That's right!"

Chen Kaige said with a determined look on his face, "I've already told several of my uncles and aunts that we must get the nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at this Oscar."

As mentioned earlier, the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film is mainly based on submissions from each country's film regulatory authorities.

in the country, the decision-making power lies with the International Exchange Department of the Film Bureau.

However, in recent years, almost all the works that are eligible for submission have been invested in by Han Shanping's China Film Group, so he has more say.

The 2006 Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 3, and there is no doubt that "The Promise" will be a candidate.

But with the sudden appearance of Boss Lu in this life, there are some suspense.

At least in Han Shanping's opinion, the final decision can only be made after both films are taken off the screen.

Whoever is better can be chosen. Anyway, they are all invested by China Film Group and they are all political achievements.

If none of them are good, that’s also simple, let’s go to “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”!

According to the Oscar rule of requiring preview screenings before nomination, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is fully qualified.

For Chen Kaige, the Oscars are an opportunity to change his destiny.

One nomination for Best Picture means a $3000 million increase in box office revenue and doubles the number of awards won.

Even if he is only competing for the Best Foreign Language Film, it would be a good move if he packages it properly and sings a good play of flowers blooming outside the wall and fragrance inside the wall!

In this era, domestic audiences and movie fans have a blind worship and adulation for the Oscars.

I have been nominated for important awards such as Best Foreign Language Film. Can those blind and incompetent film critics in China take a break?
The Oscars are the best public relations for the film's deteriorating reputation.

Director Chen's move today was to first write the word "victim" on his forehead, and then provoke Lao Han to give up and deal with the matter coldly.

He again went to Director Tong with a feeling of "grievance", and with the help of his uncles, he got the quota for the Best Foreign Language Film.

Chen Hong looked at the man in front of her with admiration. In her impression, this talented man who had always been aloof and arrogant actually had such extraordinary wisdom.

She sighed deeply, took her husband's right hand and held it in her palm: "Open the song, I still have a lot to learn from you."

"Haha, take your time."

This sentence instantly hit the poet's G-spot, causing him to have an immediate brain orgasm.

Looking at the gorgeous and elegant wife in front of me, in this slightly dimly lit car, there is a sense of elegance and grace.

The car was quiet for a while, and Chen Hong asked doubtfully, "The road is wide...what should we do?"

Chen Kaige pondered for a few seconds. The letter paper was indeed suspicious and might be a frame-up, but he absolutely could not admit it.

Things have come to this point. If he wants to get the Best Foreign Language Film award, the dirty water will definitely be thrown on Lu Kuan.

His face was solemn: "What should I do? What should I do? I am afraid of a young man."

Forty minutes later, in the Film Administration Office in Building No. 2.

This time, Chen Kaige and his wife did not have the courage to interrupt the director's contemplation and "movie watching".

After he finished reading, the leader pondered for two seconds before he said carefully: "Kai Ge, I suggest you handle this matter through legal channels."

Chen Hong said with embarrassment: "Director Tong, this..."

Old Han may still have some gangster spirit, but Director Tong is a standard leader who will not get involved in these meaningless disputes unless necessary.

This might have been done by Lu Kuan, or it might have been done by you and Chen Kaige, he has no way of telling the difference.

If you want the bureau to take a stance, then the conclusion of the judicial authorities will be the basis, and no one will be able to say anything strange at that time.

Chen Kaige said in a deep voice: "Director Tong, Lu Kuan is also the vice president of the Film Association, and has various other official titles."

"If this matter hadn't been taken too far, we wouldn't want to make a big fuss and expose such a scandal in the mainland film industry."

Director Tong smiled and said, "I understand! Of course I understand!"

"Both 'Aftershock' and 'The Promise' are blockbusters invested by China Film Group, and we have high hopes for them, including the Best Foreign Language Film nomination you just mentioned."

"The bureau has discussed this, and it should be finalized in the next few days. After all, we need to give you time to go to North America for publicity and PR."

"Kai Ge, Chen Hong, the bureau will pay attention to this matter. I have received your request, so we will handle it as we should!"

Although Director Tong did not offer a cup of tea to see the guests off like the man with the flat head did, he was writing on the document with the pen cap unscrewed in his hand, and Chen Kaige and his wife had no room to interrupt.

Chen Hong drove to the company: "What should I do if I want to start singing?"

"If you need a lawyer, find one. If you need to speak out, speak out."

The poet's face was gloomy. He didn't expect that Lu Kuan had a great influence in Director Tong's eyes.

At least despite my anger and complaints, my leader did not budge at all regarding the Best Foreign Language Film nomination.

He sat on the right side of the back row, took out his cell phone and started contacting his uncles and aunts.

I will not offend others unless they offend me. Since there is no official way to coordinate privately, let's be open and honest. After all, I am not the one who is in the wrong.

Let the people of the whole country and the whole industry see what dirty things you, the sixth richest man, a genius director, and an Olympic bidder, have done!

Thinking of the young director's brilliant past achievements, Chen Hong glanced at her husband's face through the rearview mirror and felt a strong sense of unease.

But the pressure of "The Promise" is there. If the trend continues, losses are inevitable. She has to consider her husband's professional honor and reputation.
-
The second round of proposals for the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies will definitely have much higher standards than the first round.

Judging from the leaders who attended, in addition to Liu from the Olympic Committee, Deng from the Disabled Persons' Federation, and two senior leaders from the General Administration of Sports and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism were all present.

The reporting pressure faced by the five teams today is indeed enormous.

With the opportunity to supplement the materials and explanation materials, the second round of reporting by the Wenjie team was much easier.

The core logical clue is still the harmony between heaven, earth and man, but the carefully produced effect display of Butian Film made the leaders unable to take their eyes off it.

Tracing back to the origins of the Chinese nation, the harmonious coexistence of various cultural images such as the Four Great Inventions, Tai Chi, bronze ware, and colorful clothes, coupled with the agile and powerful scientific and technological means, has truly achieved the integration of classical culture and modern technology.

Of course, the IOC had already informed the specific regulations before the second round of bidding.

There will be eight judges on site who will be divided into five teams to score the 22 items. The team with the highest score will be the winner.

The final Olympic plan will be based on the winner of these five plans, and will then be selected, adapted and integrated from other bidding plans.

This is no different from later generations.

Previously, DJI had established contact with the National Science and Technology Commission through the relationship of Leader Liu. During the final handshake and farewell, Leader Liu emphasized the importance of Lukuan to Leader Deng and others.

All the leaders were very curious about this young director.

By the time all the bid presentation teams walked out of the conference room, it was already pitch black in Beijing at 7:30. Lu Kuan and Zhang Yimou were walking towards the car while smoking.

"The box office performance of 'Aftershock' is not optimistic." Obviously, Zhang Yimou was also concerned about the situation of this movie.

Boss Lu remained calm: "Yeah, let's see."

It mainly depends on when the reputation of peers will decline!

After four or five days of release, although the word of mouth remains as good as ever, the screening schedule has not changed much. It is gradually beginning to take over the audience of "The Promise", but the growth rate of the numbers is too slow.

In his expectation, if there is no strong upward trend after a week, he may have to give rebates to theaters.

This is a formal business practice.

Zhang Yimou's phone rang: "Hello, President Han?"

"what?"

He turned his head to glance at the junior fellow student from Beijing Film Academy beside him: "Looking for you, saying your phone is always turned off."

Boss Lu took the phone in confusion: "Hello?"

The crew cut was getting impatient: "Director Lu! Did you know that the entire northwest of Shanxi is in chaos?"

"Bright Sword" was a hit on Travel Satellite TV last year, and many of its lines and characters became popular memes.

"What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain over the phone. Do you want to come to Xiaoxitian, or should I go to Wenjie?"

Boss Lu looked at his watch and said, "Director Zhang and I are together. Let's have a meal together and talk while we eat."

"Okay, I'll send you the address." Han Shanping hung up the phone and arranged for Gao Chengsheng to prepare food.

While I was still on the road, Chen Zhixi called me: "Boss Lu, the 'Mantou' video has gone viral. It's all over the internet."

"Boss Han called me, and from the tone of his voice, he might be suspicious of us."

Boss Lu didn't take it seriously: "I see, I'll talk to him."

"I don't care what others think, just watch the video." "Yes!"

At 8: in the evening, in a private restaurant near Xiaoxitian, Boss Lu heard everything calmly.

"I heard about it. Why is this dirty water directed at me?"

Han Shanping laid out Chen Hong and Chen Kaige's convincing "chain of evidence" and motive predictions, leaving the young director stunned.

This is a disaster from the sky!

"Write a piece of letter paper and wrap the money in it and send it to the person."

"No one with a brain would do this, and no one with a brain would believe this."

"Boss Han, just tell Chen Kaige that the innocent will be innocent. I don't need to prove myself at all."

Old Han spoke to him a little more casually, lowering his voice and asking, "It really wasn't you?"

"Oh no! After all, The Promise is also invested by China Film Group. I'd cheat anyone but you, Mr. Han."

"Haha, that's true. I don't believe it either. This work is too rough."

The crew-haired man sneered, "But the person who framed you seems to have assumed that Chen Kaige would make a big fuss, just to muddy the waters."

"Think carefully about who you have offended recently."

There was no need for him to remind him, because the vengeful Boss Lu had just pulled his enemy over and given him a good beating.

The most likely candidates are the Japanese artist Kasai Ou and Hua Yi, although I don’t know how they were able to accurately capture this “Mantou” as the entry point.

Huayi: First of all, I didn’t mess with you this time!

"Dong dong!"

There was an urgent knock on the door, and Han Shanping's secretary Gao Chengsheng pushed the door open with a laptop in his hand.

Boss Lu joked, "Director Gao, you're working overtime even though you're having dinner with the boss?"

"No! Something happened!" Gao Chengsheng's face was wrinkled like a bitter gourd, and he hurriedly put the computer on the table.

"Chen Kaige and his wife have issued a notice to sue you!"

The three people in the room were shocked when they heard this, and immediately looked at the statement on Chen Kaige's official blog.

A letter to movie fans:

A few days ago, I was shocked to hear that a spoof video targeting "The Promise" went viral, which maliciously tampered with, edited, and vilified the work we worked hard on for three years.

This has gone beyond the scope of normal comments and opinions. It is not only hurtful to me, but also to everyone who has contributed to "The Promise".

What's even more tragic is that, with the assistance of the police and based on the existing clues, this was most likely instigated by our competitors.

I even gave your company the special effects for "The Promise" because we share the same origins. How could you be so shameless?!
The "Promise" crew will take all necessary measures, including legal means, to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. We also ask the entire society and the industry to supervise, distinguish right from wrong, and refrain from spreading malicious content. Thank you!

Just over ten minutes after the statement was issued, Blog.com, Xinlang, Wangyi, Penguin, and Sohu had all collapsed.

Wherever people go to have fun on the Internet, this manifesto by Chen Kaige and Chen Hong has been directly or indirectly reprinted.

Since his debut, many people have scolded Boss Lu online.

In addition to ordinary netizens who make fun of him, people from the literary and art circles such as Zhu Dake are frequent visitors.

But apart from the first "Whiplash", where he was publicly denounced by Zhang Jianting and his Hong Kong crew because of his low profile, this was the first time that someone in the mainland publicly denounced him online.

Lao Mouzi looked at it for a long time and finally figured out what was going on: "This is a misunderstanding. Let me tell Kaige, don't make a big deal out of it."

As he was about to get up and go out to make a phone call, Boss Lu grabbed him.

"Director Zhang, this really isn't a misunderstanding."

"what?"

Han Shanping and Zhang Yimou looked at him in disbelief. Is it really you?

Boss Lu waved his hand, indicating they had misunderstood. "Chen Kaige and I have no past or present grudges. Just because of the video incident, he doesn't seem to need to go to such lengths to fight me to the death, right?"

He pointed at the words in Chen Kaige's statement on the computer: "Based on the current clues, 'very likely' are words of disclaimer. This means they're not 100% sure it was me."

"It's not like I don't have contact information. Wouldn't it be difficult for him to call me and find out?"

"Why did you immediately go to the China Film Corporation to put pressure on me, President Han, and then take the moral high ground online?"

Zhang Yimou smiled bitterly and said, "To be honest, this reaction to the song is a bit like Wei Ping."

Even Zhang Yimou could see that this move was full of hype, much like Zhang Yimou's new director, who would do anything to hype up anything he could get his hands on.

Han Shanping looked surprised, he was thinking more.

For example, in the afternoon, Chen Kaige acted like he wouldn't let anyone in in his office. Isn't that like him?

Although this old guy is a bit stubborn, he is not unreasonable. Why is he so impulsive and out of control this time?
Late at night, everyone dispersed after the banquet, and the meal was tasteless.

The great poet Chen was indeed a low-key person in the past. This risky move made Lu Kuan and Lao Han unable to figure out his true intention for a while.

Maybe we just have to let the bullets fly for a while longer.

A Fei drove the boss back to Ideal International Building. Chen Zhixi was still communicating with the public opinion department and had not left.

Lu Kuan asked her some details in the office: "Have the police come to investigate?"

"No."

"Didn't Chen Kaige confidently post pictures online, and what about the letterhead from the world?"

Chen Zhixi spread her hands and said, "This kind of thing is too easy to obtain. The company exchanges so much documents with the outside world every day, and some employees even take some home and use it as ordinary paper."

"Well, go draft the statement and send it out as soon as possible."

"Ok."

Poet Chen took the initiative, occupied the moral high ground on the Internet, and gained sympathy by posing as a victim. Naturally, the media had to respond in a conventional way as public relations.

It's not so easy to throw dirty water.

In fact, at this point, Lu Kuan was more confused than worried.

In the past, I always got involved in the game myself, setting up the game and breaking it, but this time, it seemed like I was suddenly dragged into it for no reason.

He couldn't help but think of Osamu Kasai, who had contacted him many times by phone and had taken the liberty to visit him during the Nippon Benz roadshow.

It is not surprising that there are many private and semi-private foundations and associations with such backgrounds in the United States, Japan and other countries, and they play many secretive and private roles.

Is this the killing formation they set up?
But he definitely didn't believe that Chen Kaige was bribed to use an accidental incident so accurately to provoke a dispute between the two sides.

The poet's personality and behavior are sometimes unpleasant, but he is, after all, a famous director who has won the Palme d'Or and has a clean family background, so he is not completely without any stance at all.

It could only be that an insider who is familiar with all aspects of the domestic entertainment industry was involved in the instigation and arrangement.

Having lived two lives, strictly speaking, Boss Lu is indeed not a "good guy" in the traditional sense.

But there were indeed times when he was wronged.

For example, in this life, many romantic interests that Xiao Liu has never encountered are closely linked to him, and he has no way to refute it.

For example, in this "Mantou" incident, even though he had been avoiding it as much as possible and did not want to be involved in these consequences, he still took the blame for no reason.

Of course, it is not necessarily true that he was wronged.

After all, if he had a good relationship with Chen Kaige, he could have told him about the video and resolved the issue before it got out of hand, so as not to cause such a big impact.

Boss Lu was looking forward to watching the show, but he ended up being drawn into it passively.

Since you are in the role, you must sing well.

Late at night, just hours after Chen Kaige and Chen Hong’s manifesto was announced to the domestic entertainment industry, Wenjie used its even greater influence on online public opinion to issue a clarification statement.

I, Lu Kuan, would like to make the following explanation regarding the "Mantou" issue mentioned by director Chen Kaige in his statement.

First, I am the honored vice president of the Film Association, and Director Chen and I both graduated from the Beijing Film Academy. Although we cannot say that we have a very close relationship, we have always respected and recognized each other. We would not do what some people have said, such as adding fuel to the fire, taking advantage of others' misfortunes, or even hiring people to create negative news about competing films.

Secondly, the special effects for "The Promise" were a collaboration that Director Chen personally negotiated with Butian Films in 2003. I'm sure everyone can see the quality of the effects. Compared to "Aftershock," they're on par, right? If I were to engage in these unseemly industry battles, why would I put so much effort into it? Alternatively, if I really wanted to cause trouble for "The Promise," I could just ask Golden Harvest to not schedule a single "The Promise" screening. Wouldn't that be more convenient?

Third, I have mentioned one point countless times in the past, including when I attended industry conferences, accepted interviews, and participated in official and semi-official seminars, including the original intention of announcing the establishment of the Pan-Asia Film Academy at the Cannes Film Festival: the whole world is now a dumping ground for Hollywood movies, our enemies are outside, not inside, and the domestic film market is only the size of a palm, so we should take a long-term view.

Fourth, regarding the police investigation evidence and conclusions cited by Director Chen Kaige, I fully respect and acknowledge the official findings and am willing to provide all necessary support for the truth to be revealed. Pending the final conclusion of the matter, I demand that Director Chen Kaige and his wife, Ms. Chen Hong, immediately cease all false statements to avoid misleading the public and harming my reputation and personal dignity. If necessary, I will pursue legal action to safeguard my legitimate rights and interests.

Finally, the innocent will be cleared. All movie fans and media colleagues are requested to base their actions on the law and facts and stop spreading the relevant rumors. Thank you!

After becoming famous, Lu Kuan rarely posts on blogs or interacts with fans online.

But starting from May of this year, countless topics related to him included the car accident, Liu Yifei's confession, the Olympics, the movie "The Great Earthquake", and the sixth richest man.

The blog post I posted at 10pm had already caused a frenzy in the entertainment industry and the online world before 11pm!

"You rubbish washing machine! So you are this kind of person! I will never watch your movies again!"

"The washing machine says it didn't play with women, but I don't believe it. The washing machine says it didn't play with Director Chen, and I believe it!"

"Honestly, Washing Machine can make more money just distributing some DVDs overseas than tearing off your lousy The Promise movie, The Emperor's New Clothes. Stop dreaming of being a victim."

"If you don't understand, then I'm asking, is the 'Promise' you're talking about 'Murder Caused by a Bun'? I think it's pretty good. Why are you all bashing Director Chen? That's too much!"

"If you want to become a master, you still need to be pure. Director Lu's career is too big, so there's no need for such a life-and-death struggle."

"This time, I support the washing machine! The washing machine only deceives women, and all the movies are amazing. Chen Kaige only fucking deceives the audience, and all the women are amazing!"

From a passerby's perspective, Lu Kuan has already surpassed Chen Kaige in status both in the international and domestic film scene. Perhaps only Zhang Yimou can be compared with him in terms of honor. He has absolutely no motive to do evil.

Whether it is his fans or his black fans (Liu Yifei fans), most of them are making fun of him.

However, the voices of ordinary people are small and powerless after all. Nan Fang and many loyal dogs like Xiao Ying have been barking frequently.

Under the names of highly educated people, industry celebrities, art celebrities, and senior journalists, they often give out moral lectures or cite some fictitious data and facts, which scare netizens.

The debate on the Internet was intensive for two days. During these two days, due to the complete collapse of the reputation of "The Promise" and Boss Lu's passive hype, the box office trend of "Aftershock" reached a turning point.

On the morning of the 30th, the seven-day box office of "Aftershock" in mainland China was released. The figure of nearly 1.3 million made the industry breathe a sigh of relief.

The downturn in the first three days made Gao Jun, Zhong Lifang and others feel worried, but fortunately the trend in the later period was exactly in line with Boss Lu's expectations.

This wave of traffic that "The Promise" could not handle still went into the mouth of "Tangshan".

1833、2240、2199、1900、1987、2811、3300。。。

The first day was Friday, and the weekend box office accelerated over the next two days before falling back.

Obviously, the box office turning point came in the last two days when "Mantou" became popular and Chen Kaige fired at Wenjie and Lu Laoban.

If, like in later generations, there was only one blockbuster movie, The Promise, on the market, then the widespread criticism of it as "bad" would not have destroyed it, but would have aroused the audience's curiosity.

I want to see how bad it is!
But now with a film like "Tangshan", which is still criticized by only a few serious critics, it can easily attract more audiences with its excellent reputation and overwhelming publicity.

This box office counter-trend has a snowball-like effect. The audience, word of mouth, and screening schedule will promote each other and accelerate the amplification of various positive effects.

At the same time, in overseas markets, in addition to the upcoming release in North America, the frequent good news coming back from South Korea and Japan is also encouraging, and has a good effect of making the film bloom outside the wall and smell good inside the wall.

In the Japanese market, "Aftershock" grossed 2822 million yuan in its first week, surpassing local masterpieces such as "Wolf Girl" and "Tokyo Zombie".

Among foreign language films, it is second only to the Hollywood blockbuster "Memoirs of a Geisha" which premiered on the 10th with a box office of 6000 million yuan. The latter eventually won nearly 9000 million yuan in the Japanese market.

Due to the dominance of Li Meijing's CJ Entertainment in the Korean market, "Aftershock" also achieved outstanding results, surpassing local films such as "Typhoon" and "The Rules of Pickup", and the total box office in six days was reported to be 2431 million.

Unfortunately, a phenomenal movie will be released in South Korea on December 12th - "The King and the Clown" which made Lee Joon-gi famous.

There is not much time left for "Tangshan Earthquake".

For "Tangshan", whose film cost and marketing expenses total more than 3 million yuan, now is also a critical period for box office performance.

Putting aside the fact that the European copyright was sold to Europa Films for US$400 million, the remaining big box office sources are Greater China, South Korea, Japan and the United States.

The turning point of the domestic and Hong Kong and Macao box office has appeared, and a steady pace will lead to a smooth sailing.

With the North American premiere approaching, promotional activities and appearances on TV shows are inevitable. Chen Kaige and Lu Kuan now face the same dilemma:
Oscar nominations in March.

Director Chen needs to get a nomination to clear his name, offset and break the broken car effect brought by "Mantou", and avoid falling completely into the box office abyss.

Boss Lu also needed this nomination to give a shot in the arm to the box office in South Korea, Japan and the United States, and successfully complete "Tangshan", a project that was destined to be difficult from the beginning.

However, the eligibility for the Best Foreign Language Film award has been debated for a long time within the bureau, and no decision has been made between "The Promise" and "Tangshan".

There are many reasons to choose "The Promise".

The first domestically produced magical epic romance film, with an all-star cast, has a greater international influence.

The key point is that China Film’s investment is extremely wasteful, and no one wants to see such losses.

As for "Tangshan", leaving aside the box office figures, there is nothing to say about its reputation and the director himself.

But the only thing is that although Chinese people are happy to see the positive energy of the film's portrayal of unity between the military and civilians and the national spirit, this kind of plot is seen as over-glorifying a certain army by North American audiences and viewpoints.

If it is deliberately misled by public opinion and defined as a government propaganda film, then it will have no hope of being nominated.

Instead of this, it would be better to give the spot to "The Promise".

Of course, these arguments mainly come from the uncles and aunts to whom the poet turned for help.

Online, disputes and verbal battles continue.

Offline, the investigation into whether Brother Hu was bribed and instructed by the media is still ongoing. It is too difficult to investigate such a thing that has no beginning or end.

Lu and Chen were constantly competing for connections in the company, and the situation was at a stalemate for a while.

Before the players in the game can break out, the next move by the mastermind has already been made.

At noon on January 2006, 1, West Coast time, the crew of "Tangshan" arrived in Los Angeles after a long flight to prepare for the North American premiere.

At the same time, at the Changfu Palace Sakura Restaurant on Liangmaqiao East Street, Taro, wearing glasses, looked at Wu Kebo and Kasai Xiong across from him with excitement.

There is actually a wealthy Japanese businessman who wants to get to know me. Could it be that he wants to invest in my movie?

"Director Lu, let me introduce you to Mr. Kasai Ou, one of the shareholders of NEC Corporation."

"Mr. Ge Xi, this is Mr. Lu Chuan, a famous young director and rising star in China."

The two shook hands warmly, both feeling that they had met too late.

Not many people know the true identity of Kasai Ou.

When he contacted Lu Kuan before, he was just expressing his investment and willingness, but the hacker was keenly aware of the abnormality.

For Lu Chuan, both the wealthy businessman with a prominent status and Wu Kebo, who is already on par with Huayi, are considered to be very high-quality investors.

He really lacks opportunities!
This time, Taro's fate was also "tampered with", but "Looking for a Gun" brought him considerable reputation as always.

But "Kekexili" can directly elevate him to the quasi-first-line position of the sixth generation in the future!

Just look at the honors he won in later generations for "Kekexili":
The 17th Tokyo International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize;
Best Film at the 41st Taiwan Golden Horse Awards;
Best Asian Film at the 25th Hong Kong Film Awards.

There are also some domestic Huabiao Awards for Outstanding Feature Films, Golden Rooster Awards for Best Feature Film, etc.

He was unlucky in this life because he was implicated in revenge for being a lackey of Huayi and Zhou Jun. His film "Kekexili" was reported for plagiarism and he only got some scraps.

The three of them toasted each other and talked about some common topics, such as the recent disturbances in the domestic entertainment industry.

Kasai Xiong sighed and said, "To be honest, I used to admire Director Lu Kuan very much, but his personal character is really disappointing..."

Wu Kebo smiled and said, "Don't be discouraged, Ge Xi-san. Every industry is bound to have its share of bad actors. Most domestic directors are decent."

He gestured to Lu Chuan in front of him: "Director Lu comes from a family of scholars. His father is a great writer and critic in the National Writers Association."

"I heard that when filming 'Kekexili', Director Lu personally crawled on ice and slept in the snow, which led to this unique documentary-style feature film, which is very rare."

"Haha, you're too kind! This is all work, hehe." Taro couldn't hide his pride, and he almost treated the two people in front of him as close friends.

Who understands the feeling of being talented but not being recognized?
Ge Xixiong and Wu Kebo looked at each other and both felt that the time was ripe, and the latter patiently persuaded them.

"Director Lu, do you have any movie plans recently?"

(End of this chapter)