Who are you calling powerful?.

Chapter 779 Extra 36 New Soldier Boss Wei, the Unreasonable and Cool Witch

In late July, "Grand Slam" and "Eight Hundred" were released on the same day.

Because of the masks, the premieres were not very grand, and some red carpet processes were cancelled. Even the invited guests sat with an empty seat between them. It looked sparse, but with a little study, you can find that the lineup is still very luxurious.

In addition to the previously mentioned leading actors, "Grand Slam" also stars Boss Wei, Zhao Liying, Dilraba Dilmurat, Wen Muye, Ning Hao, Deng Chao and his wife, Hu Ge, Lu Han, Zhang Ruoyun, etc.

In addition to the leading actors and some artists from Huayi, "The Eight Hundred" also includes Huang Bo, Li Bingbing, Zhang Ziyi, Bai Baihe, Moufan, Li Moufeng, Huang Xiaoming and other artists.

Some busybodies and marketing accounts on the Internet called the premieres of both parties a big showdown between the Beijing and Shanghai circles, making it seem like a tit-for-tat confrontation with full of gunpowder.

This is a bit stereotypical and mindless.

Most of the people on the Grand Slam side are more like the Blue Whale group rather than the Shanghai group.

On the "Eight Hundred" side, in fact, the artists and directors related to Huayi have the same characteristics as those in the so-called Beijing circle in terms of keeping their private circles clean.

Directly dividing these two groups into regions and even forming teams is purely for the sake of traffic and to lead the pace.

Apart from anything else, Huang Bo and Huang Xiaoming have never had any conflicts with Boss Wei, and have even cooperated with him many times in recent years.

International star Zhang Ziyi has also shown goodwill to Blue Whale many times. If it weren’t for Fat Fan blocking her way, she might have cooperated with him.

Not to mention Mou Fan and Mou Feng, even if they had eight guts they wouldn't dare to challenge Boss Wei. If they hadn't filmed the clean "Old Cannon", they might not even be getting involved in this muddy water today.

Blue Whale has used Wang Qianyuan, Xin Baiqing, Zhang Ze, and Ou Hao, the leading actors in "The Eight Hundred". Would they offend Boss Wei, a giant in the industry, for a movie?

So most of these people are just there to attend the banquet as gifts, and they are not even there to stand at the table.

The only ones who are really interested in competing with "Grand Slam" and even the Blue Whale behind it are probably the Wang brothers and Guan Qingqing.

Even Guan Qingqing preferred this schedule. Only the Wang brothers, who were used to being beaten by the Blue Whale, wanted to vent their anger, but they mostly thought about it in their hearts and didn't even dare to say a few words in a roundabout way, let alone say harsh words openly.

Therefore, the so-called gunpowder smell is purely the inner struggle between the two sides. The reality at the publicity and promotion level is so bland that Boss Wei even feels a little bored.

They are the same as Liu Tianxian and Liu Shishi. They might have stabbed each other with voodoo figurines in private, but on the surface they have to wish each other a big box office success.

Hypocritical and boring!
Wei Yang even missed Feng Pants a little bit.

At least this old guy is brave enough to make some noise, which is a bit lively. Now that Feng Kuazi is in trouble, all the people in the Beijing circle have become wilted and no one dares to say a word.

Well, it’s not that there aren’t any. There are a few old-timers in the Beijing circle who have been out of fashion for 800 years and have also talked about it on Weibo and Douyin.

But his status is too low and his influence is pitifully small. Even if all the likes are added up, it would not even reach six figures. Not to mention Boss Wei, even Blue Whale would feel unlucky if they randomly picked two famous people and would not bother to pay attention to them.

In this time and space, due to the appearance of Boss Wei, the power and strength of the Beijing circle suffered a great blow.

Huayi is half-dead, some of its core members from the Beijing circle have gone south or joined major platforms, and even the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards are controlled by Boss Wei.

Therefore, at least in this time and space, the farce of the Xth generation Beijing princess becoming the first Golden Rooster Award winner among the post-00s will not happen.

Speaking of this, Boss Wei also reflected on himself.

Normally, when letting the 85 flowers and Rouba win an award, they have to worry about this and that, trying their best to avoid controversy and ensure the quality of the award. If they are too involved, they have to think about how to avoid suspicion.

Look at this bunch of shameless people, they don’t even want to act. Wei Yang still has the nerve to say that he is thick-skinned.

Compared to others, he is just a rookie!
However, the calm in public opinion does not mean that the competition between the two sides in the box office charts has disappeared.

For commercial films, the box office speaks!
Even if the publicity and promotion department doesn't say anything hostile, suppressing the other party on the box office charts is a powerful slap in the face.

Although Wei Yang attended the premiere of "Grand Slam", his attention was mainly focused on the online reviews of "Eight Hundred" and the feedback from the audience.

What made him happy was that the audience was very supportive of "Grand Slam". There was constant laughter in the theater, and those with a low sense of laughter laughed so hard that they covered their stomachs with their hands.

What disappoints him is that the public opinion of the first batch of viewers of "The Eight Hundred" is relatively positive.

However, this was somewhat within Boss Wei's expectations.

The movie "Eight Hundred" is crooked and has many personal opinions, but putting aside its stance, the quality and rhythm of the movie are definitely top-notch among domestic films.

The whole movie is extremely good at creating a tragic atmosphere, and it makes full use of the sentimentality card. The battle scenes and costumes and props are also above standard.

It is normal for audiences who do not know the history and the truth to be moved by the plot and atmosphere of the movie and be drawn into it and give it positive reviews.

Even though "Eight Hundred" was later exposed for many problems such as ignoring history, glorifying a certain party, having sinister intentions, and having plot loopholes, it still achieved a high box office, and many subsequent short video clips were sought after by many netizens.

Therefore, Boss Wei was right not to take action in advance. The issues involved are too sensitive and complicated, and many people do not care or understand them.

If he acts rashly and is easily influenced by others, Boss Wei might become a "traitor" who suppresses the main theme of anti-Japanese war.

But in this case, the box office performance of "The Eight Hundred", especially in the early stage, should not be underestimated.

However, "Grand Slam" is not without its own advantages.

Not to mention the direct advantages such as luxurious and popular leading actors + excellent quality + Blue Whale’s strong publicity and promotion + high attention to the reopening of the market, and the possibility of revenge consumption by a large number of viewers.

Another hidden advantage is that the style of the film fits the release date.

Just like a family movie during the Spring Festival is definitely more popular than a tragedy.

One of the important reasons why Blue Whale chose this movie as the first shot for its reopening was that it believed the comedy elements of "Grand Slam" would likely meet the entertainment needs of the reopening audience.

How should I put it? After wearing masks for half a year and facing various problems, everyone must be more or less depressed and troubled.

At this time, many viewers do not want to watch movies with too heavy themes, but prefer to watch comedy movies to have a laugh, vent stress and relax.

The same is true for "The Witch" being selected as the first batch of films to be re-released by Blue Whale.

This movie is a refreshing revenge story. Apart from some setbacks in the early stages, the heroine kills from beginning to end, which makes the audience feel very refreshed and can also release certain emotions.

Therefore, in terms of pre-sale box office, "Grand Slam" is stronger, and the first-day screening schedule is also higher than that of "Eight Hundred".

As long as "Grand Slam" advances steadily, its chances of winning are definitely greater than "Eight Hundred".

The half-day box office after the premiere also proved this.

The current box office of "Eight Hundred" is around 4000 million, while "Grand Slam" is about 5500 million.

The gap of 1500 million is not particularly large, but we have to take into account the previous pre-sales and preview box office.

"Grand Slam" has now approached 2.5 million, while "Eight Hundred" is less than 2 million. The box office gap between the two exceeds 5000 million.

Some members of the Blue Whale team were about to celebrate their victory, but were stopped by Boss Wei.

Where is this?
The box office of 5000 million can be exceeded by simply adjusting the screening schedule or creating a hit. It’s not time to be happy now.

Even if the Grand Slam is leading today, the real decisive battle will be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Not only will the box office have an explosion because tomorrow and the day after tomorrow are weekends, it is also a concentrated reflection of early word-of-mouth feedback.

More importantly, today is the first day of reopening. Many people may not know about this or are just waiting and watching. They will only buy tickets to watch movies when they find that cinemas can indeed open normally.

Therefore, to make a relatively accurate judgment, it is not enough to rely solely on the first-day box office of two movies.

Wei Yang encouraged the main creators of "Grand Slam", and everyone was still very confident.

Especially with Shen Teng + Ma Li + Yan Fei and Peng Damo in "Grand Slam", and after "Charlotte's Troubles" and "The Richest Man in Xihong City", these four people are regarded as the top combination in comedy movies, and they are not afraid of anyone except a few people like Boss Wei.

The next day, Boss Wei attended the premiere of "The Witch" which was released immediately afterwards.

The box office of "Grand Slam" has exceeded 5 million, and the gap between it and "Eight Hundred" has widened to 8000 million.

"That's tight enough."

Boss Wei was a little emotional. Although the box office gap is slightly larger than yesterday, considering the scheduling and other factors, the data of "Eight Hundred" is definitely not behind. However, will the entry of "The Witch" and "Mulan" and other two new rivals bring some changes to the situation?

Compared to yesterday's perfunctory attitude, Wei Yang seemed much more focused and serious at the premiere of "The Witch" today.

No one dared to pick a fight with him in "Grand Slam", and in "Witch" he had Liu Shishi, and when she got angry, this woman really dared to bite him...

At today's premiere ceremony, in addition to Boss Wei, Tang Yan also came. Da Mimi was too busy to come, but she sent her blessings via the live broadcast on the big screen.

There were many other stars who came to support the show. Although it was not as good as yesterday's "Grand Slam", it was definitely much better than "Mulan".

To be precise, "Mulan" did not hold its premiere in China, but it had already held a global premiere in North America.

Starring Donnie Yen, Jet Li and others were present. Perhaps because of the masks, the scene was not large and was mainly attended by the main creators of "Mulan".

At that time, it caused a verbal battle between Tianxian fans and Xiaoshizi fans. One side mocked that self-entertainment was too shabby, while the other side hit back that it could only be performed in China.

After today's situation, I guess both sides will have to fight again later.

After the basic procedures, the movie started playing at the premiere, and Boss Wei watched it quietly.

Compared to "Grand Slam", where Boss Wei was more involved in review and coordination, Wei Yang participated a lot in "Witch" because of Liu Shishi.

Even the early outline and later polishing of the script were mainly based on him. If the importance of the screenwriter team was ranked, he would be either the first or the second.

The story of "The Witch" is set in Southeast Asia, but it doesn't specify which country it is. Those who understand will understand.

But the story setting is actually not new. Superhero movies have been made to death, namely the so-called human body modification. The movie focuses on the most mysterious human brain, believing that after the brain is developed, humans will gain some super powers.

This is a bit similar to the movie "Lucy" that Black Widow filmed before, but the plot is different.

"Lucy" is about evolution, and the cause and effect are a bit abrupt. The heroine evolves by accident because of the blue medicine, and then she grabs the medicine all the way, her brain develops 100%, and finally she becomes a "female gorilla", which is so cool without any brains.

"The Witch" is actually also a mindless and exciting movie, but the story logic is relatively more complete and rich, and it outlines a worldview that belongs to the movie.

At the beginning of the story, an evil organization is introduced. Dr. Bai (played by Chen Jin), one of the leaders of this organization, uses children to conduct brain experiments and actually figures out something.

As a result, the best-performing subject, an eight-year-old girl, ran away.

Dr. Bai believed that the girl would definitely have a brain explosion in the future without the organization's drug control, so there was no need to worry about her, so he continued to experiment with another little boy.

The girl who ran away eventually collapsed with wounds all over her body at the doorstep of a couple who ran a farm. She had lost her memory after waking up and was adopted by the kind-hearted couple and named Aci.

Perhaps due to his amnesia, Ah Ci’s brain did not explode as Dr. Bai said. Instead, he grew up safely.

When Aci grew up, he had a gentle and friendly personality, was kind and filial, and was a good child praised by his neighbors.

But Aci also has a worry. As he gets older, his old headache problem becomes more and more serious. He went to the hospital for a check-up, and the doctor said it was a terminal illness and he might only live for three months.

At this time, her adoptive mother was also sick and the farm's output was not good. In order to repay her adoptive parents, Ah Ci, under the instigation of her best friend Xiaoyan (played by Liu Yan), went to the TV station to participate in a singing competition, hoping to win the prize money to treat her adoptive mother.

During the competition, in order to get more points and advance, Aci also performed a small magic trick, making the microphone float in his hand.

Many people were simply amazed when they saw this magic, but those who were paying attention immediately stared at her.

It turns out that in the experiment that Ah Ci participated in, as his brain develops, he will become a superman. His strength, speed, physique, and keen learning ability will all grow at a rocket-like rate, and he will also evolve telekinesis in the later stage.

Because of his amnesia, Ah Ci can only use a little of his ability, but it is enough to be discovered by the organization.

Then, the evil organization stepped in and tried several times, forcing Aci to explode and kill. Finally, because his adoptive parents were threatened, Aci was taken away obediently.

After many years, Dr. Bai was extremely excited to see Ah Ci escape again.

Ah Ci, who was tied to the control chair, looked at Dr. Bai with fear and weakness, and didn't understand why she grabbed him.

Through the conversation between the two parties, the audience learned from Dr. Bai that the reason Ah Ci has not died all these years is entirely due to his personal talent + amnesia + subconscious control of his brain, otherwise he would have exploded long ago.

Dr. Bai injected a new drug, and Ah Ci recovered his memory of the past. He no longer had those sequelae and could use his superpowers at will.

But this medicine can only last for one month, so if she wants to live, she has to listen to Dr. Bai obediently.

Until this time, Ah Ci, who had been injected with drugs to restore his memory and calm down, suddenly put away his previous gentle face and looked calmly at Dr. Bai outside the control room with a slightly weird and crazy smile.

"Doctor, it's been a long time since we last met."

The next second, Aci broke free from the control chair, stomped on the guard's head, looked at the doctor quietly, and played with the guard's pistol lazily in her hand. The next second, she came behind Dr. Bai through the ceiling.

This sudden reversal caused exclamations from the entire theater.

In fact, the biggest highlight of the movie "The Witch" is Gao Shuang's revenge and the transformation of a good girl into a witch.

Many viewers have guessed this, but because of the previous misleading plot, they always thought that the heroine had turned evil.

But in fact, the heroine is not evil, but black pretending to be white. She has been a witch from the beginning, and the good girl is just a disguise.

The plot flashes back and begins to introduce that the heroine has never lost her memory. She fainted in front of the farm couple's door at that time because she saw that the two were kind enough to adopt her.

She has been pretending to have amnesia and dressing up as an ordinary girl to avoid being hunted by the organization.

The reason for being exposed was intentional. She has been controlling the sequelae of brain development over the years, and now it is a bit out of control, so she wants to bring out the organization to find a solution.

Dr. Bai's medicine gave Ah Ci a solution. There was no need to disguise himself, he could just grab the medicine.

Wei Yang originally supported Liu Shishi to play the role in "The Witch". In addition to her expertise in fighting scenes, another reason was that her appearance and temperament were not aggressive.

So in the early stage, the audience was really deceived by Liu Shishi and thought that Aci was a kind and gentle girl.

The more this is the case, the more Liu Shishi switches to the witch form, and the contrast is maximized.

Moreover, watching a gentle and soft girl with a wooden face killing everyone is actually more exciting and tense than those aggressive queen-like actresses.

There is not much to say about the plot after that, it's just Liu Shishi killing people all the way, but the action style is worth talking about.

The Blue Whale version of "The Witch" is not as bloody and brutal as the original version due to its release in mainland China, where people's heads are often slammed into the wall and blood is everywhere.

But Boss Wei, who understood the highlights of the original style, deliberately retained the kind of crushing fighting scenes.

The heroine kills people all the way, just like Tyson beating a baby. For details, you can refer to the scene in "Kung Fu" where Stephen Chow beats the minions at the end.

This unreasonable, crazy and exciting action style makes the domestic audiences who are used to watching the "Ip Man" style of one move after another feel refreshed and comfortable.

There were constant cheers in the cinema, mixed with exclamations such as "Wow" and "That's so enjoyable" from time to time.

At the end of the movie, the heroine Aci got the medicine, but the quantity was not much. She planned to say goodbye to her adoptive parents and go to the American headquarters to take a look.

There is also an easter egg at the end. Aci, who comes back from the United States, finds Dr. Bai’s twin sister and wants to completely solve the sequelae.

As a result, after just a few words, a figure kicked her out and knocked over half of the wall.

The heroine had blood coming out of the corner of her mouth. She held her stomach and stood up. She looked at the person's back with interest and chuckled.

"You are the second person I have ever seen who is strong enough to hurt me."

The movie ends here!

The American copy + Dr. Bai’s sister + the new opponent laid two lines in one go.

If the box office is good in the future, "The Witch 2" and "The Witch 3" can be launched at any time, and even Da Mimi and Tang Yan can be arranged to fight against Liu Shishi.

But Boss Wei suspects that people would rather see Zhao Liying and Fan Xiaopang play villains…

(End of this chapter)