The only sun in Huayu

Chapter 104 Those who followed Shen Shandeng all became rich!
"The success of 'The Eunuch' can be completely replicated; it's not mysterious. It's simply a combination of Chinese core themes and Chinese visual spectacle. That's the key to 'The Eunuch's' success and the secret to future historical action films."

Shen Shandeng gave a resolute answer.

There are multiple considerations behind revealing the creative concept.

From Shen Shandeng's personal perspective, he still hopes that better works will emerge and change the status quo of the industry.

From a profit perspective, Shen Shandeng cultivated the first batch of visual effects talents through "The Supervisor".

If this model succeeds, he could make a fortune even if he didn't make movies, just doing post-production.

Previously, gold miners didn't make money, but those who opened brothels, sold jeans, and sold tools did. Now, short video creators might not make money, but those who teach others how to make short videos and sell courses will.

Therefore, Shen Shandeng directly revealed the answer!
His formula is not the distorted narrative of works like "The Hidden Dragon and the Hidden Tiger" or "Creating Sins," but the real code to wealth.

After calming down, Jingwei realized that Shen Shandeng was no ordinary successful director; his vision and ambition far exceeded her imagination.

She continued to delve deeper into Shen Shandeng's "historical light" and "wealth code".

"Director Shen, you mentioned the 'wealth code,' which is a very straightforward and attractive concept. Your film 'The Eunuch' has undoubtedly mastered this code and achieved phenomenal success. But there are many coincidences in the success of a film, aren't there?"

“There is inevitability within chance!” Shen Shandeng smiled slightly, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable power.

"I can hardly believe the success of 'The Eunuch'. I thought it would break 100 million, but I never thought it would break 200 million. Now it's heading towards 300 million. While I find it hard to believe, I've also come to understand a principle!"

This is absolutely true; the success of "The Eunuch" is an exaggeration!
In other words, Shen Shandeng has memories of his past life and has seen relevant cases.

Is Wolf Warrior 2 such a great film?

It's simply telling the story of a Chinese hero using Hollywood's standard narrative, and it's still a story of an individual hero.

The plot involves someone being bullied and running home, but it's filmed with many twists and turns.

Moreover, the main characters' power-ups weren't as grand as those in the American Wolf Warrior movie; the flags were small, not the giant flags hanging in the air.

The same applies to "Ne Zha 2".

It can only be said that it is a normal work in the development of the times. This is best reflected in "Ne Zha 1". Due to insufficient production costs, a part of the plot was still hand-drawn.

The box office success of "The Eunuch" and "Wolf Warrior 2" all illustrate the same point: audiences' demands are very simple.

Cultural workers should be cultured, directors should know how to direct, screenwriters should know how to write, and film budgets should be spent on films, earning money from audiences and serving them—that's all.

Jingwei was infected by Shen Shandeng's emotions. After Shen Shandeng unleashed his full aura, Jingwei seemed to have entered his spiritual realm and was involuntarily moved: "What's the reason?"

Shen Shandeng said: "The audience's requirements are very simple! Chinese core + Chinese visual spectacle. To be more specific, it is based on real history and Chinese values, with costumes, props and sets that conform to Eastern aesthetics, a smooth and tense plot + a thrilling narrative that fights against darkness and promotes light + the light of history."

"The film as a whole showcases our nation's self-esteem and self-confidence, which is the most powerful 'wealth code' now and in the future."

Shen Shandeng's tone revealed the high spirits of a young man, and even more so, the irrepressible urge to share his discovery of a treasure.

He wants to make a big promise to the film industry, to major investors, and even to the audience across the country!
"I would only say this in an authoritative interview like this; otherwise, I would never reveal such a secret to making money."

"All I can say is that everyone who follows me gets rich!"

Jingwei listened intently and couldn't help but ask, "So you're confident that you've found a creative path that can be replicated?"

“It’s not that I found it, it’s that the audience proved it.” Shen Shandeng paused briefly and said, “The competition in the film market is essentially about the audience voting with their feet and choosing with their hearts.”

"The core of 'The Eunuch' lies in the fact that it tells a story about safeguarding and dignity, a story based on Chinese values ​​that are rooted in real history."

"The audience was thrilled because they felt their own core values, and felt the chivalry and passion that comes from our own cultural heritage."

"China Film Group had the largest share of this film, and there have been constant doubts about it, but now China Film Group is making the most money! More than ten times! Other production companies such as Enlight Media and Bona Film Group are also making huge profits!"

"This is just the current box office revenue; the movie is still showing in theaters! And that doesn't even include the copyright revenue later on, which will only be more."

"Besides that, I would like to express my gratitude first, but I must say that the suppliers of costumes, props, and post-production for the film 'The Eunuch' have also reaped both fame and fortune."

"The manufacturers that make our costumes, props and sets are now overwhelmed with orders! Movies are the best advertisements, and audiences have also expressed their desire for movie merchandise. We plan to release a batch as a way to give back to our audience."

"There's also the Wuxi Film and Television City, which was built for us, and many tourists go there specifically to experience it."

"This includes the special effects for the visualization of martial arts, the motor manufacturers that funded us, the fiber optic manufacturers that simulate the flow of internal energy, and the hospitals that provided us with assistance in terms of human anatomy."

"With the film's success, we achieved a win-win situation for both of us!"

"The audience also gets good entertainment products, so it's a win-win situation for everyone, from the market to the participants!"

"Who would have thought that a film without a star-studded cast and with a moderate production value could achieve this level of success?"

"This shows that the Chinese film market is huge, but the films that will ultimately achieve great success are those that embody our values ​​and have amazing visual effects, those that are rooted in our own land and resonate with our people."

Shen Shandeng put it bluntly: money talks.

At this point, you have to be down-to-earth.

We need to tell a replicable capital story that allows industry capital and cultural capital to see the enormous profits involved.

Don't think that capital is short-sighted or impatient. In fact, capital is patient, especially when there is a good story.

In order to experiment with IP strategies, they were willing to tolerate failures and came up with a model of big IP + big director + big traffic.

Of course, this model has absolutely no ability to tap into the IP itself.

Take, for example, fantasy and martial arts dramas like "Battle Through the Heavens" and "The Legend of the Savage Land." They just borrow the name and then the illiterate people in the entertainment industry make random changes.

Before the success of "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality", it was always the male-oriented online novels that were wrong, that male-oriented online novels had no value, and that audiences didn't like fantasy and martial arts dramas.

It wasn't until "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality" succeeded that people realized the problem lay with the production team, not the original works themselves.

Similarly, in the future, cultural capital, film and television capital, and entertainment capital will not be afraid of failure in order to establish new paradigms.

Works like "Half Lake Green," "Young Lion," "The Determination to Leave," "Good Things," "The Sacrifice," and "Dongji Island" are not just about completing tasks; they are indeed about capital seeking new, replicable paths.

"Half Lake Green" is the culmination of a combination of a big IP, a big director, and a big audience.

Is there any IP bigger than Yue Fei and Man Jiang Hong?
A renowned director, with Zhang Yimou personally directing.

Shen Teng, who has box office appeal, and the phrase "the most popular celebrity."

In addition, there are various talented actors.

The biggest problem is that it's read as Yue Fei, but it's actually the story of Qin Hui. And the box office champion is a murder mystery movie that was filmed over several months.

From the audience's perspective, it's a total rip-off.

But from the production company's perspective, this is much more profitable than "The Wandering Earth"!
The reason for criticizing "The Wandering Earth 2" during the same release period is to try to use "The Wandering Earth" to gain popularity and revive this dying formula.

Unfortunately, the audience has become enlightened and is now eating food that will lead to their own demise.

As for why I didn't create any solid works?
Because it's difficult to tell a story.

These investors need a compelling story to generate profits in advance.

When Shen Shandeng made "The Eunuch," Bona Film Group and Enlight Media, which entered the market later, all paid premiums. This was before the rise of film and television capital.

Once film and television capital rises and goes public, cinema chains, internet companies, and other types of capital enter the market. Film projects, like venture capital, undergo several rounds of investment, which can influence the stock price of listed companies and even involve performance-based agreements.

With financial involvement, there are now too many ways to play the game.

This doesn't even include things like dual contracts and money laundering; it's just what's out in the open. The movie hasn't even been released yet, but they've already made money through the story.

That won't work in the future. On the one hand, the audience has become smarter, and on the other hand, the landlords have run out of surplus grain.

The market logic has changed. Big investors don't have as much money to move out, nor do they dare to, because the outside world is where they say, "Grandpa, I want it."

No, it should be, "Grandpa, I want it."

But this logic still holds true now, and for many years to come.

Capital is better off investing in the paradigm created by Shen Shandeng than in films like "City of Life and Death" or "The Flowers of War".

Shen Shandeng spoke enthusiastically about the secrets to wealth and the power they contained, which made Jingwei's eyes flash with disbelief and astonishment.

The producer offstage reminded Jingwei, and only then did she come to her senses, a hint of reproach flashing in her eyes.

Shen Shandeng snatched the topic from her and ambushed her, the host!
Jingwei quickly steered the conversation back on track: "The key to wealth lies in being rooted in the land and empathizing—that's very well said. We've also noticed that 'The Eunuch' has brought tremendous innovation to action design and visual presentation, such as the concretization of 'internal energy realm,' especially the final design of using cannons to fight against a martial arts master, which is very impressive and has sparked a lot of discussion. What was your original intention in designing these?"

“Break free from constraints.” Shen Shandeng’s gaze sharpened. “Martial arts should not be ethereal and abstract; it can be systematic and logical. What I’m thinking about is establishing a set of standards, which is also the future direction of martial arts fiction. We can see that the martial arts craze is waning.”

Jingwei asked, "Retreat?"

“Yes,” Shen Shandeng said, “because fantasy and xianxia have become popular. Perhaps their writing style and story pacing are not as good as Jin Yong and Gu Long’s, but even if they are just simple words, because of the difference in energy level, wuxia seems boring in front of fantasy and xianxia.”

"The upper limit of martial arts power cannot change the terrain, while fantasy and immortal martial arts can destroy a mountain with a single palm strike."

"Even the best writing will appear pale under such a power imbalance. Besides, the writing style of fantasy and martial arts novels will also evolve."

Jingwei asked, "What does this have to do with the movie?"

“It has a lot to do with it.” Shen Shandeng said with a nostalgic tone, “I’m young, and I really like online literature and its boundless imagination. But let’s think about it, is this energy difference only reflected in literature?”

"It's also reflected in movies. When Hollywood learned from Hong Kong's action design, they directly surpassed it with their excellent production and film industry system."

"Take slow motion for example. What is the effect of 'The Matrix'? What is the effect of 'The Hidden Dragon'? What effect are we copying? The sense of power they contain is very different."

"I believe that the development of martial arts is about the realm of art, and behind the realm of art is the manifestation of energy. Just like the martial arts visual effects in movies, which only last for a few minutes, can still shock many viewers."

"It must be visible and tangible to be truly moving."

Jingwei delved into the topic: "Many viewers compared it to Transformers. In particular, the final showdown between Grandmaster Wu Zhenhai and the cannon with his internal energy and flesh became a visual spectacle that viewers talked about and reminisced about after leaving the theater, presenting the most direct and shocking movie-watching experience on the screen."

"This is Director Shen's concept of making martial arts concrete. Many viewers want to know how it was achieved. Is it computer-generated special effects? Has computer-generated special effects in China developed to this level?"

(End of this chapter)