China Entertainment: I became a capital tycoon

Chapter 642: Box office failure, cracks appear

Huayi has set the release date of "1942" on December 23rd, and it is the first of many films that want to avoid the Lunar New Year period.

But what they didn't expect was that even though they avoided Feiyu's "The Blade of the Assassin", "So Young", and other movies, they encountered the more terrifying "Avengers".

Maybe it was because "1942" was too tragic, or maybe it was because "Avengers" was too powerful. After the premiere, Wang Zhongjun no longer saw any hope.

Even if the online reputation is so-so, if this movie, which cost 180 million yuan to make, wants to make money, the box office must be at least 500 million yuan.

Judging from the current situation, it seems very difficult.

Therefore, Wang Zhongjun could no longer care about many things and had to get the comedy script adapted by Cao Yu today.

When he arrived at Feiyu Entertainment, Cao Yu was in a meeting, so Wang Zhongjun had to sit in the reception room and wait.

Wang Zhongjun came here once two years ago. Now, two years have passed, Feiyu’s development is even better than before, and everyone in the company seems to be in a different spirit.

On the other hand, at Huayi, Fan Erbing and Huang Xiaoming are gone, and the successful Li Shuangbing rarely shoots any movies.

Huo Siyan and Li Xiaolu, who are responsible for carrying the main force, are still not very famous now.

However, Yang Mi, Zhao Liying, Liu Yifei, Ni Ni, Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang from Feiyu have all come from behind and become the hottest first-tier stars in the entertainment industry.

In addition to these, there are Jing Tian, ​​Liu Shishi, Song Qian and others who also have great potential.

Putting aside the movie box office, in terms of artists, Huayi cannot compare with Feiyu.

There used to be Nan Tian Entertainment and Bei Huayi, but now it seems that there is only one most powerful one in the entertainment industry, and that is Feiyu Entertainment.

"Hey"

Wang Zhongjun was sighing about the unpredictability of life when he heard the door open. Boss Cao walked in accompanied by his secretary.

"Boss Wang, I'm sorry. I was just in a meeting to arrange the start of production of several films for next year. I kept you waiting for a long time."

"It's okay, just keep busy."

Although he had waited for nearly an hour, Wang Zhongjun could only smile along.

Cao Yu noticed that Wang Zhongjun's smile was filled with sadness, so he consoled him, "Boss Wang, I've seen the movie 1942. It's actually quite good. I believe it will do well at the box office."

He was not deliberately satirizing Huayi. There was nothing wrong with the script of "1942" and the acting skills of those veteran actors were also very good.

The disadvantage is that Feng Xiaogang's filming is too loose and the portrayal of human nature is not deep enough, which cannot be compared with Zhang Yimou's "To Live".

"Thank you, Mr. Cao, for your kind words."

Wang Zhongjun now just hopes that the box office of this movie won’t be too bad.

Cao Yu understood the other party's mood and took the script of "Personal Tailor" from the secretary: "Mr. Wang, please take a look first to see if there are any problems."

"Mr. Cao is worthy of being the best screenwriter at the Oscars. He finished the script in just a few days."

Wang Zhongjun immediately became alert, took the script and read it carefully.

The original script of "Nobles" did not have the section about Fan Wei. Cao Yu added this section, making the script more ironic and interesting.

However, after reading it, Wang Zhongjun frowned and said, "Why does it look a bit like the setting of Party A and Party B?"

“The setting is somewhat similar, but the essence is different. Many of the settings in it have kept pace with the times and the plot.”

"hiss"

Wang Zhongjun thinks the setting is quite interesting and might do well at the box office.

But he still felt that Boss Cao was fooling him.

Cao Yu asked with a smile: "Boss Wang, what does Huayi need most right now?"

"the most needed?"

Wang Zhongjun was stunned. What Huayi needs most now is of course the box office.

The film "1942" is bound to lose money. If there is no other hit film, the company will probably be finished.

He took another look at the script of "Personal Tailor" and then asked, "Can it really make money?"

Cao Yu smiled and said, "I will definitely make money, but I can't guarantee how much."

"Okay! Let's take this shot!"

Wang Zhongjun didn't care whether the script was similar to the "Party A and Party B" of that year. The most important thing was to make money at the box office.

He immediately asked again: "Mr. Cao, how much do you think this script will cost?"

"Is one hundred million definitely enough? I can invest fifty million."

"Then it's settled!"

As long as Feiyu entered the scene, all of Wang Zhongjun's worries disappeared. He smiled and said, "Since you wrote the script, what do you think about the actors, Mr. Cao?"

"The male lead will naturally be Uncle Ge, and the second male lead will be Zheng Kai from our company. As for the two female leads, one will be given to Song Qian, and the other one can be arranged by Boss Wang himself."

"Then thank you, Mr. Cao."

Although Feiyu directly occupied two important roles, Wang Zhongjun not only did not object, but also thanked Boss Cao for his kind heart and being very considerate.

After discussing the details, both parties finalized the contract and planned to start filming after the Chinese New Year and release it during the Lunar New Year holiday next year.

"Boss Cao, I'll go back and prepare. Let's drink together when we're free."

After finalizing the collaboration, Wang Zhongjun happily returned to Huayi with the contract and the script.

As soon as I entered the company, Feng Xiaogang came over and asked, "Boss Wang, what kind of script did Cao Caoyu write?"

"You said something about courting disaster before, but you know what? Mr. Cao has appointed you as the director of this movie."

Wang Zhongjun handed the script of "Personal Tailor" to Feng Xiaogang, and then said: "Director Feng, we should look forward to the future. Let the past go and don't dwell on it."

"I am also worried about the company. Cao Yu is too ambitious and we have to be on guard against him."

Feng Xiaogang sighed and flipped open the script. After taking a few glances, he angrily said, "Boss Wang, that guy is fooling you. This plot setting is clearly plagiarized from our "Party A and Party B"!"

"It's not plagiarism." Wang Zhongjun explained with a smile: "It's just that the setting is similar, everything else is different, how can it be called plagiarism? And the plot of the story is completely different."

"Boss Wang, you must have been fooled by him. Even Master Shuo could have made up a plot like this. Why are you looking for him?"

Feng Xiaogang really doesn't want Huayi and Feiyu to cooperate, so it's inevitable that he speaks a little anxiously.

Wang Zhongjun was already unhappy about the poor box office performance of "1942", and he became even more unhappy after hearing this. He snorted, "He has simply run out of ideas. If you say he can write a script, why hasn't he done it in the past few years?"

Feng Xiaogang then realized that he had not measured his words: "Boss Wang, I'm sorry, I was a little anxious just now."

Wang Zhongjun was still angry: "Alright, stop talking. The contract has been signed now. If you can direct it, go ahead. If you don't want to, I can let someone else try."

Feng Xiaogang was also very upset, and he said stubbornly: "Then Mr. Wang, please find someone else!"

The reason why he dared to say this is because the setting of this drama is very similar to that of "Party A and Party B", and he believes that no one except his own company can shoot it.

After saying that, he returned the script to Wang Zhongjun and left.

"Without Zhang the butcher, we will eat the hairy pigs?"

Looking at Feng Xiaogang's back, Wang Zhongjun muttered to himself, and returned to the office, thinking secretly: "Apart from Pants, who else can direct this play?"

At this time, Wang Zhonglei, the second boss of Huayi, was in his office reading the audience's comments on "1942".

Suddenly, Feng Xiaogang came in angrily. As soon as he entered the room, he picked up a cigarette from the desk, lit it, and took a deep puff.

"What's wrong with your pants?" Wang Zhonglei asked curiously when he saw Feng Xiaogang's look.

Feng Xiaogang sighed, "Mr. Wang, this guy Cao Yu made a script similar to "Party A and Party B" and fooled your brother. I want to persuade him, but Mr. Wang is still not happy."

"That's it?"

Wang Zhonglei had heard his elder brother talk about this before, so he smiled and lit a cigarette, saying, "The online reputation of 1942 is polarized, and Huayi's stock price is falling again. Now as long as there is a script that can make money, it doesn't matter who wrote it."

"."

Feng Xiaogang originally wanted Wang Zhonglei to persuade his eldest brother, but it turned out that the two brothers were of the same mind.

I became an outsider.

Forget it, do whatever you want, just don’t regret it in the future.

He put the cigarette he had only taken two puffs of into the ashtray, shook his head, and left in disappointment.

Wang Zhonglei looked at this company veteran and thought to himself, "It seems that Pants' thinking is really out of date."

Christmas in 2011 fell on a weekend, and the box office of "" finally increased from million to million.

But this result is still not enough compared to the 150 million of "Avengers".

What's even more terrifying is that on Christmas Eve, this blockbuster produced by Marvel actually earned 120 million US dollars, which not only shocked Hollywood, but also caused a wave of movie-watching craze across the country.

Everyone in the domestic entertainment industry is sighing that Boss Cao is making money at a crazy speed.

On December 29th, the two movies "So Young" and "Knife of the Assassin" were released at the same time.

Yang Mi previously collaborated with Cheng Long in "The Chinese Zodiac", which made her very popular and well-known. "So Young" was just released. This low-budget youth drama grossed 59 million on the first day of its release.

As for the martial arts drama "Blade of the Assassin", although the director is not very famous, because the female lead is Ni Ni, many people still went to the theaters, and the box office on the first day was 45 million.

Although the release of these two films had some impact on the box office of "Avengers", it dropped to more than 80 million.

But the impact on "1942" was even greater, with the single-day box office only reaching 27 million.

The next day, "So Young" grossed 62 million and "Knife of the Assassin" grossed 53 million.

Although "So Young" had a higher box office, "Knife of the Assassin" had a better reputation, especially the audience recognized Ni Ni's performance.

This is her second time playing a prostitute after The Flowers of War, but she portrays her beauty that is untainted by the world quite well.

Some viewers also felt that this movie was not like other martial arts films where the characters could fly over rooftops and walls. Not only were the fighting scenes realistic, but it also truly returned to the essence of martial arts films.

Some people also praised the film's architecture, weapons, costumes, etc. for being well-made and carefully crafted.

Of course, the most popular part is Zhou Yiwei's line "You have to pay more", which evolved into many memes after the movie was released, making the film's reputation rise again.

Many viewers actually bought tickets and went to the cinema just for this sentence.

With such achievements, Wang Zhongjun was envious and at the same time, more determined to cooperate with Feiyu.

On the third day, the box office of "Knife of the Assassin" directly surpassed "So Young" and reached 65 million, while "So Young" dropped to 63 million.

However, Jiang Shuying, who played a supporting role in the latter, was remembered by the audience for the first time.

Of course, the most discussed topic online during this period is not these movies, but the second New Year’s Eve concert held by Feiyu Entertainment and Feie Video.

"Haha, luckily I used Ni Ni to replace Liu Shishi."

On the last evening of 2011, Cao Yu sat in a box at the New Year's Eve party, enjoying Yang Mi's massage, sipping tea made by Zhao Liying, eating fruit peeled by Liu Yifei, and watching the dances of Song Qian, Nazha and others on the stage. He felt very comfortable.

"Brother, is there going to be a sequel to Blade of the Assassin? I also want to play a martial arts master."

Although the box office of "So Young" was good, Yang Mi's reputation as an actor was not as good as Ni Ni's, which made her very dissatisfied.

"The next one?"

Yang Mi does appear in "Assassin's Blade 2", but Cao Yu feels that Yang Mi's acting is not good and the role of Hokusai is not suitable for her.

Even when the film was released that year, some people commented that the film would have been perfect without Yang Mi.

All everyone remembered was Xin Zhilei's stunning sword strike, and no one remembered Yang Mi, the so-called heroine.

Although Yang Mi's acting skills have improved a lot, Cao Yu still can't agree to her.

Replacing Liu Shishi as the female lead in the first part of "The Blade of the Assassin" has brought the quality of the film to a higher level. If Yang Mi's Hokusai had been replaced, perhaps "The Blade of the Assassin 2" would have been even better.

He patted Yang Mi's arm and said perfunctorily: "We'll see when the time comes. The script hasn't been written yet, so it's a bit early to consider it now."

"I just want to be a martial arts master for once, and this is not allowed?"

Yang Mi pouted and deliberately ignored Cao Yu. Instead, she said to Liu Yifei, "Xixi, how is the filming of The Four Great Detectives going?"

Liu Yifei picked up a piece of mango flesh and fed it to Cao Yu, saying with a smile: "We can finish the shooting after the New Year."

Yang Mi pretended to be pitiful and said, "I really envy you. You have "The Four" and after a while, you will have the big-budget "Mulan". It is said that the crew of "The Palace of the Golden Phoenix" also invited Xixi."

"You are the only one who has many things to do!"

Cao Yu snorted unhappily, "Why don't you switch with Xixi, let her film Transformers 4 and Tiny Times, and you play Mulan?"

"I do not!"

Yang Mi certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to trade the opportunity to make a Hollywood blockbuster for Mulan.

"Then do more and talk less!"

Cao Yu yelled at Yang Mi, then found Zhao Liying was just quietly making tea, and thought to himself, "This girl is still the most obedient."

At this moment, EXO was performing on the stage, causing cheers from the audience from time to time.

Although Yang Mi was yelled at, she was not afraid at all and suggested, "Brother, why don't you let Lu Han star in Tiny Times? He's so handsome."

"That's not a bad idea."

Cao Yu rarely praised him and nodded, saying, "Tell Xiao Si that Lu Han should play Gu Li's younger brother Gu Zhun."

Feiyu's New Year's Eve concert will not only feature popular singers and groups such as Phoenix Legend, Jane Zhang, EXO, and Girls' Generation, but what many Chinese audiences want to see most is the novel Chinese style girl group Qiduo.

Tonight, they will perform another song that has not been performed live much but is very popular with the audience, "Hong Zhaoyuan".

Not long after Yi Yang Qianxi and others performed, seven girls, all dressed in red, appeared on the stage holding fans.

The cheers from the audience were even louder than when EXO appeared in previous performances.

"White hair on the pillow in the roaring quicksand, gestures in the cup of wine, the elegance of youth in fine clothes and galloping horses, but it is only a moment, it is inevitable to miss the childhood under the eaves, unpredictable changes, separated by mountains and seas, turning around, calmly brewing tea"

Amid the graceful dancing and singing, the audience waved their glow sticks, and the warm atmosphere was comparable to that of a celebrity concert.

Because of this song, the popularity of Feiyu’s New Year’s Eve concert that night overshadowed all other TV stations’ New Year’s Eve parties.

Ancient style and folk music, the audience began to realize that national music is indeed the most beautiful.

Although the next day was a holiday, many entertainment companies were afraid of being overtaken by others, so they sent invitations one after another, hoping to invite An Yuexi and Li Yitong, the most popular among the Seven Flowers, to star in a costume drama.

"Acting now? It's still a bit early..."

Cao Yu knew the acting skills of several people, so he naturally would not let them act so early, so he asked someone to reject all these invitations.

After the New Year’s Eve party, Cao Yu didn’t take time to rest and headed to Seoul with the FNC group that came to China to perform.

In addition to arranging the drama "Descendants of the Sun", Cao Yu also received an invitation letter from the Seoul Music Awards in South Korea.

(End of this chapter)