I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Chapter 48: A Victorious Tale of Time-Travel Novels

Because of the strong ultraviolet rays in XZ, her skin became very dark. As a result, some people at school disliked her appearance because of her dark skin.

"No, I absolutely have to whiten my skin."

Tong Yaya finally understood that if she wanted to become famous, she needed to change her skin color, since beautiful women are more likely to stand out in the entertainment industry.

Seeing that Tong Yaya was silent, Wang Zhi assumed that she was in a bad mood like herself, so she reached out and tugged at her sleeve and said, "Don't be sad. We've just started school, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

"I'm not sad? Zhizhi, do you know any beauty salons near the school that offer whitening and skin-rejuvenating treatments?" Tong Yaya asked, coming back to her senses.

"what!"

Wang Zhi was startled, then saw the pleading look in Tong Yaya's eyes. Her good friend was complaining about her dark skin and unattractive appearance, but surely she didn't need to get plastic surgery!
"Yaya, beauty treatments aren't very reliable. If you're not careful and it goes wrong, your future will be ruined," Wang Zhi said.

"What kind of plastic surgery? I just want to go to a beauty salon and ask if there are any ways to whiten my skin," Tong Yaya said, pouting.

She did consider getting plastic surgery, but she didn't have the money!

Moreover, what she needs most right now is skin whitening. As the saying goes, fair skin covers a hundred flaws. Her features are already quite good, so as long as her skin is white, she will naturally be more beautiful.

"You really need to be a bit whiter."

Looking at her best friend's darker skin, Wang Zhi covered her mouth and laughed.

Tong Yaya rolled her eyes at the other woman. What a good friend, actually stabbing her in the back.

After clapping, the eldest brother calmed down from the shock of the movie plot, looked at the youngest brother, and said, "Maybe I was wrong. We should have done our best to recruit Cheng Sheng."

"Ah."

Although Mr. Wang doesn't pay much attention to company affairs and likes to pursue female artists within the company, he is still quite discerning.

Anyone who has seen the movie "The Great Tang Dynasty - Origins" would probably have no doubt about director Cheng Sheng's abilities.

"Mr. Wang, didn't you say that you can't make money making historical films?" Li Shuangbing asked in confusion.

“My previous statement was a bit too absolute; Director Cheng Sheng might be an exception,” said Boss Wang.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Mr. Wang.

The king was burning with excitement. If he could win Cheng Sheng over, Huayi would have more than just Feng Dapao in its hands. As long as they held onto this trump card, they probably wouldn't have to worry about box office or awards in the future.

Historical film!

It might not be as bad as people say.

Historically, the industry has rarely touched upon historical films, especially realistic historical films.

Because no realistic historical film in history has ever been a high-grossing box office success; in fact, every film made loses money.

There are five main reasons why historical films often lose money at the box office.

First, the audience is relatively small. There isn't a large audience that enjoys historical themes because many viewers may not be interested in the historical background or know about the relevant historical events, which limits the film's appeal.

Secondly, cuts lead to fragmented plots. In order to meet the needs of theatrical screenings, historical epics usually need to undergo a lot of cuts, which can result in fragmented and disjointed plots and reduce the viewing experience.

The third factor is commercial appeal. Historical films are not very profitable, which makes them less competitive in the market.

If the investment is too high, the cost won't be recouped; if the investment is too low, it won't be a historical film, but rather a children's game. Fourthly, the publicity and distribution methods also affect box office performance. For example, although both "1921" and "The Revolutionary" are high-quality films, the difference in their publicity and distribution methods led to a significant difference in box office revenue.

Finally, there's the issue of audience fatigue. With so many patriotic films being released at once, audiences may have grown tired of this genre, which has also affected box office performance.

Although Cheng Sheng's film has these five shortcomings, I always feel that Cheng Sheng will be an exception because this film is really too shocking.

The lights come on.

As the applause subsided, the film's creators took to the stage, and the applause, which had just stopped, rang out again.

After things quieted down, Cheng Sheng led the main cast and crew in another interaction with the audience, explaining the plot of the next film.

Then came the interview with reporters.

"Director Cheng, why did you want to make a historical film about the Tang Dynasty?" a reporter asked.

Zhang Weiping calmed down for a few minutes, his heart filled with complex emotions.

He looked down on Cheng Sheng and even harbored some hatred towards him, after all, this scoundrel had insulted him.

But as a filmmaker, he still has high standards.

From a film perspective, Cheng Sheng's directing ability is absolutely first-rate, and he may even be able to surpass Zhang Yimou.

"I've actually addressed this question before. I love history, and my dream is to let the Chinese people understand their own history. As for why I chose the Tang Dynasty..."

Cheng Sheng paused for a moment, glanced at the people below, and said in a strong voice: "In the more than 5,000 years of Chinese history, countless regimes have emerged, but only 24 can be called dynasties... Among these dynasties, large and small, the Tang Dynasty undoubtedly holds the highest position in the hearts of the Chinese people."

The theater was completely silent as Cheng Sheng spoke, as if listening to a leader's speech.

"Indeed, that's right. The Tang Dynasty is indeed the most respected dynasty in the hearts of the Chinese people." The director of the National Museum nodded in agreement.

"There are many historical time-travel novels online. I'm sure some of you here have read them, right?"

Upon hearing Cheng Sheng's words, a small number of people in the theater echoed, "We've seen it."

"I've read 'A Step into the Past'."

"The novel 'Back to the Ming Dynasty to Be a Prince' is a classic, pioneering a unique genre of time travel combined with political intrigue."

"The New Song Dynasty"

"..."

When Cheng Sheng heard many people mention the names of historical time-travel novels, he smiled and said, "It seems everyone quite likes history!"

"I also enjoy reading time-travel novels, but when it comes to traveling back to which dynasty in China, opinions vary. However, I prefer the Tang Dynasty because it was a culturally prosperous, socially open, economically thriving, politically stable, and internationally influential period before the An Lushan Rebellion."

"As for other dynasties, if a time traveler went to the Ming Dynasty during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, it would be a nightmare. Zhu Yuanzhang's governing philosophy was 'to govern a chaotic world with severe punishments.' He believed that the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed because of lax management, so he adopted extreme measures to maintain the stability of the country. This harsh way of ruling made ordinary people living in Zhu Yuanzhang's era live in constant fear and their lives were extremely difficult. Such a life would be very unfriendly to modern people."

"And then there's the Qing Dynasty. As the saying goes, 'Wearing Qing clothes means you won't rebel, but you'll end up with a chrysanthemum covered in a power drill,' hahaha. Of course, this is just a joke, but it shows how unpopular the Qing Dynasty is in the eyes of modern people."

"And the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty, and so on..."

The people below were all stunned when they heard Cheng Sheng talk about time-travel novels.

(End of this chapter)