China Entertainment's Standout

Chapter 624: Shenzhou sinks, project finalized

"The Battle of Myeongryang" is a blockbuster movie in South Korea. The producers are coveting the big cake of the Chinese film market and have spent a lot of effort to promote it by flooding various press releases in the Chinese media.

It can be said to be Sima Zhao's intention.

Including director Kim Han-min, and leading actors Choi Min-sik and Lee Jung-hyun, they have been participating in promotional activities in China in recent days.

However, it was of no use.

After the movie was released, the box office only grossed 590 million on the first day, which was somewhat unsatisfactory.

The reason is also very simple.

It is simply a fantasy to expect the Chinese people to understand the main national sentiment of South Korea.

No matter how well it is filmed, the audience still doesn't feel involved.

The expected situation of two large ships intercepting "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" did not happen, and many people in the industry were disappointed.

The casting change controversy in Nirvana in Fire also caused a small earthquake in the circle. Previously, Jiangdong Entertainment announced two S-level projects at the end of the year.

There has been no definite news until Jiangdong Entertainment and Noon Sunshine suddenly issued an announcement confirming that Hu Ge will play Mei Changsu.

Many artists in the circle are indeed envious and jealous, as if they were bitten by a lemon.

Since "Chinese Paladin III", Hu Ge's popularity has been very high, but his entry into the film industry was not smooth and he failed several times.

It was the loyalty of the Grand Commander of Jiangdong that saved Hu Ge.

The "Now You See Me" series alone is enough to make Hu Ge stand out among the popular young actors except Zhou Yutang.

Now, he is playing the leading role in another S-level costume drama produced by Jiangdong Entertainment. It seems that Hu Ge is really on the verge of ascending to fame.

"The Righteous Grand Commander."

"This is Lao Hu's benefactor, thank you, Boss Zhou."

"Hahaha, I wish the Grand Commander will have endless romantic opportunities."

"In the future, Mr. Zhou's movies, Pepper fans will give their full support."

Hu Ge's fans, Hu Ge Fans, celebrated the New Year in advance, flooding the internet with messages and almost setting off fireworks to celebrate.

Every time there is a movie to be released in Jiangdong, Hu Ge would book out the theater to show his support, and this time's "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" is no exception.

Zhou Yutang has always been generous to his friends.

Not to mention Hu Ge, even Yuan Hong, who started his own business after terminating his contract with Tangren, became a little popular again for playing the eldest prince in Joy of Life.

He is not that popular, but with his resume, many projects in the circle have approached him.

"How did Yuan Hong get involved with her?"

When chatting with Liu Shishi, the topic of Yuan Hong came up and Zhou Yutang was a little surprised.

Another popular young actress in the circle, Zhang Xinyi, caused a sensation in the circle when she divorced her husband, director Yang Shupeng. She said that it was to make everyone believe in love, and then she seamlessly got together with Yuan Hong.

The news has not been exposed yet, but Mao Xiaoyu, the gossip queen under Zhou Yutang, has received the tip-off and posted a lot in the group.

Zhou Yutang ate the melon in silence for a while.

It is worth mentioning that Director Yang Shupeng and Yuan Hong are good brothers.

When Director Yang married Zhang Xinyi last year, Yuan Hong was the best man and he smiled brightly.

Now we are truly fellow travelers.

This is called love.

What else can I say? I can only wish Yuan Hong happiness.

Speaking of which, Zhou Yutang and Zhang Xinyi are not very familiar with each other.

I just remember that every time there was a new play in Jiangdong, I could see this girl eagerly running to audition, but she was always squeezed out by various people with connections.

I have dealt with both of her ex-husbands several times.

Wang Zhifei is an old actor with a good reputation in the circle, and Yang Shupeng is also a well-known director.

The contracts for all actors in the final season of "Joy of Life" have been finalized, including Yuan Hong.

Zhou Yutang met with Huo Wenxi, the strong woman of Yinghuang Company, and Zhong Lifang, the general manager of Xiaoma Pentium, at the Jiangdong Building to discuss the share of "Operation Mekong" and project preparation.

Li Dagou was drunk and was admitted to the hospital. He almost died, but he was still thinking about this project, so naturally he had to be taken with him.

Brother Big Dog has a very simple logic for employing people.

As long as someone catches his eye, he will give them money and resources and will fully support them.

Ning Hao was like this in the beginning. When Zhou Yutang first started out, he also experienced his working style of "trust people when employing them, and don't employ people if you don't trust them."

It was probably because of Big Dog's personal charm that Zhong Lifang refused the poaching offers from various entertainment giants and stayed in Xiaoma, managing various company affairs for him and dealing with internal disputes, and she was doing very well.

In terms of ability, she is definitely not inferior to Li Shuang, the second most important person in Jiangdong.

Huo Wenxi is also a well-known strong woman. Together with Li Shuang from Jiangdong’s own company, three well-known strong women in the industry are present.

The issue of the share of Operation Mekong was also agreed upon in advance.

"Soochow Pictures owns 40%!"

"Pony Gallop accounts for 20%!"

"Yinghuang Group holds 20%!"

As for the remaining 20%, it was given to Golden Shield, Wanda and other companies for resource exchange.

After signing the contract, Zhong Lifang had some urgent matters at her company and left in a hurry, but Huo Wenxi stayed.

"Sister Mani, how is the situation in Hong Kong these days?"

"hehe."

Huo Wenxi sneered: "It's hard for a few clowns to stir up trouble."

This matter was a bit sensitive, so no one talked about it for long. Instead, they talked about Operation Mekong. Huo Wenxi smiled and asked, "Atang, what do you want to do this time?"

"We've already got the documents from above, let's first decide on the director."

"If you want to hire someone, just ask and I'll help you get it."

The charming lady patted her chest, worthy of being Boss Yang's favorite. She really had the flavor of a heroic and strong woman.

The movie "Operation Mekong" is defined as a co-production between the two places, which adds another layer of armor.

Zhou Yutang is preparing to hire a Hong Kong director.

It is an indisputable fact that the Hong Kong entertainment industry is in decline, but it is undeniable that it does have some merits.

Having been professionally shooting police and gangster shootouts for decades, the martial arts guidance teams currently active in the Mainland are basically from the Hong Kong circle.

In terms of experience in shooting such exciting action blockbusters, they do have stronger control than mainland directors.

At that time, we will bring directors from the mainland into the crew to learn from their experience, and we can gradually catch up with the pace later.

"Chen Musheng, Lin Chaoxian."

Zhou Yutang quickly named two people: "Sister Mani, what do you think of them?"

Chen Musheng is an old friend of mine. From "The Man from Lonely Planet" to "SPL 2", he has solid skills, is obedient and easy to use. It has been a pleasure working with him along the way.

Lin Chaoxian started out as Chen Jiashang's henchman, and later made a name for himself by starring in "Witness" and "The Informer", which helped Zhang Jiahui become the best actor.

Zhou Yutang was deeply impressed by him. That year, Yinghuang's "Reverse War" had a large proportion of action scenes, with all kinds of bombardment. Unfortunately, he had some problems controlling the rhythm of the plot.

The violent aesthetics are not supported by enough plot, so it is only natural that it failed.

"Director Chen has a good control of the rhythm and is trustworthy. Director Lin has a good understanding of high-intensity action scenes."

Zhou Yutang tapped his finger on the table and said, "Let them co-direct this time."

"Okay, I'll talk to them."

Huo Wenxi also nodded readily.

These days, every community has two people in charge.

Film projects also have to keep up with the times. "Cold War" was co-directed and produced by Lu Jianqing and Liang Lemin.

It is reasonable to let two great directors, Benny Chan and Lin Chaoxian, work together on this 200 million commercial production for the Six Doors Headquarters open bidding project.

Anyway, they are responsible for filming, and Zhou Yutang has the final say on the final product.

"Sister Mani, ask Director Chen and Director Lin to come to Jiangdong as soon as possible. I will ask Lin Liang to contact them and arrange a field investigation."

Once the director is determined, subsequent arrangements will be much simpler.

With the official letter in hand, we followed the guide to investigate the cultural landscape and daily life of the Golden Triangle.

When Zhou Yutang works on film and television projects, he always puts the audience's viewing experience first.

Only by paying enough effort to the real details can we finally present a work with sufficient visual impact to the audience.

Huo Wenxi also firmly believed in Zhou Yutang's decision.

"By the way, Sister Mani."

Zhou Yutang suddenly remembered something: "There are still some files related to the case that can only be viewed inside the Six Gates headquarters building."

He had seen the internal confidential files piled up in a pile more than thirty centimeters thick.

In addition, there are several large boxes of recordings, interviews and other materials related to the case. After reading them, he would probably lose a lot of hair, but it is not his hair that will fall out, so it is not a big problem.

Huo Wenxi took Zhou Yutang's words to heart, and after flipping through the script, he gently closed it, smoothed out the wrinkles with his slender hands, and asked, "Yutang, aren't you going to act yourself?"

“I won’t act anymore.”

Zhou Yutang shook his head and glanced at the beautiful lady casually: "Sister Mani wants to push someone?"

They are all thousand-year-old foxes, so there is no need to play any kind of fairy tale.

Huo Wenxi immediately laughed: "Ah Tang, what do you think of Xie Tingfeng? If he's suitable, I'll let him come over to audition for the role of Fang Xinwu."

The script of this movie is set up with two male protagonists, Gao Gang and Fang Xinwu.

The former is the captain of the special operations team. He is both wise and brave, and has the style of a great general.

The latter's role is relatively complex. As a Chinese drug enforcement intelligence agent who has been lurking in the Golden Triangle for many years, his background must be clean.

It was just that his experience was a bit tragic. His beloved girlfriend committed suicide due to drug addiction, which gave Fang Xinwu a huge shock and made him obsessed with becoming a flour dealer.

That's why he shot the drug dealer to death after catching him in the end, hoping for a clear mind.

Strictly speaking, it has a bit of a good-versus-evil vibe.

Xie Tingfeng is the prince of Yinghuang Group and the number one general under Huo Wenxi.

As for his temperament, he is actually quite suitable for playing this kind of cool role that is both good and evil.

After a brief pause, Zhou Yutang nodded and said slowly, "You can let him come over and try, but he must be mentally prepared, as this role is difficult."

"Atang, thank you very much." Huo Wenxi said gratefully.

"Sister Mani, we are all family, so there is no need to be polite." Zhou Yutang smiled softly, "It depends on whether he can catch it. If it is not suitable, we still have to change someone else."

"Well, I know."

Huo Wenxi nodded solemnly.

You can do favors, but you must also say it in advance.

Zhou Yutang would not joke about the company's money-making projects.

Fang Xinwu is a ruthless man who can survive in a devilish area like the Golden Triangle.

Not to mention the hard training in the army like Wu Jing, Xie Tingfeng would have to undergo devilish special training at least a few months in advance, so his image would have to be convincing enough.

Not everyone can endure this kind of suffering. If the young chef can't do it, Zhou Yutang will definitely not show mercy and will directly replace him.

The entertainment industry is so big that you can’t find a three-legged frog, but there are a lot of talented actors who want to improve themselves.

After chatting about the details of the film project for a while, both of them were somewhat relaxed. Zhou Yutang sank into the large boss chair and said, "Yinghuang has been very active recently. Congratulations to Sister Mani for recruiting another strong general."

The Hong Kong entertainment industry is declining day by day, and without Xie Tingfeng and Principal Koo, it seems sad that there is no one to take over.

Raymond Lam is considered a young actor in the Hong Kong circle with pretty good conditions in all aspects. This year, his 15-year contract with TVB expired, and Boss Yang personally stepped in.

The staggering price of over 100 million in three years brought down this rising star of the Hong Kong circle.

"How can I compare to you, Boss Zhou? I'm almost losing money on these projects."

Huo Wenxi crossed her legs, picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip, with a smile on her face: "Atang, I'll have to rely on you to help me in the future."

A few years ago, Yinghuang shouted the slogan of "5 million big project" in the mainland, which caused a sensation.

As a result, all the big directors came out to shoot movies, but each one ended up in a huge loss, leaving a mess behind.

If it weren't for the huge success of "SPL 2" which he collaborated with Zhou Yutang, Huo Wenxi would be under tremendous pressure within the group, and Yinghuang would almost become a laughing stock in the industry.

"In the next three years, there will definitely be opportunities for at least two co-production projects."

Zhou Yutang has always maintained a good cooperative relationship with Yinghuang.

This was thanks to Boss Yang who had placed a bet on him before he even got started, and of course Huo Wenxi's contribution was also a credit.

For some projects, it is difficult to pass review if they are done in the mainland.

But if it is a co-production between Hong Kong and Taiwan, it will promote cultural exchanges and will always receive some preferential treatment.

This is the case with "Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils". With just a few minor modifications, it passed the review easily, and Zhou Yutang didn't have to do much.

Since the cooperation with Yinghuang, there is no need to worry about anything else. All matters concerning Hong Kong are settled by Yinghuang, which saves Zhou Yutang a lot of trouble.

"What kind of movie?"

When it comes to co-produced movies, Huo Wenxi's eyes instantly lit up.

“Mainly action movies.”

Zhou Yutang talked with Huo Wenxi about future projects, and the round-faced young man came to his mind.

After meeting Xie Miao at the cocktail party on the evening of the premiere, he began thinking about signing him.

After seeing off Florence Huo, Zhou Shufang was called over by phone. "Boss, you have a good eye. When I went to find Xie Miao, several agencies had already approached him."

"It's really fast."

Zhou Yutang shook his head and laughed.

Xie Miao must be a little transparent.

But since he spoke a few more words to her at the cocktail party, some of the agencies couldn't help but notice it.

The top entertainment agencies may not take him seriously, but there are always some small and medium-sized agencies that want to develop their business, and Xie Miao has become a popular commodity.

This is like buying stocks. Everyone wants to get a potential stock at a low price in advance.

"You didn't sign with the company?"

"It hasn't been signed yet. Xie Miao's wife is in charge of his agency business."

Zhou Shufang continued to report: "I heard that Jiang Dong is interested and wants to sign a ten-year contract."

"Are you here for retirement?" Zhou Yutang shook his head and laughed.

"The last regular contract signed was 7 years."

"Seven years or so."

Zhou Yutang took Zhou Shufang's background check information and glanced at it: "You go inform Lin Liang and give her a role in Nirvana in Fire. You can also give her a role in Operation Mekong. You can also arrange for her to be a guest on Running Man for a few episodes. Baoqi will retire next year, and he will take her place."

The company's background check was very clear. Xie Miao has a good foundation in martial arts, is a stable person, and has a good image.

All he lacked was opportunity.

With the resources controlled by the Jiangdong faction, it would be easy to feed him.

People born in the 1980s and 1990s are actually not unfamiliar with him. Once he has accumulated enough national popularity, he can be brought to star in kung fu movies co-produced between the two places.

Wu Jing and Zhang Jing are both born in the 70s. Xie Miao looks mature, but he actually debuted as a child star. He was born in 84, only four years older than Zhou Yutang. He can be considered a member of the new generation in mainland China.

Zhou Yutang's move can be regarded as a breath of fresh air for future mainland kung fu stars.

After finishing the report, Zhou Shufang was reluctant to leave. She observed Zhou Yutang's expression and finally said hesitantly, "Boss, what do you think about letting Meng Ziyi practice in Nirvana in Fire?"

"Why ask me about such a small matter? Just do it yourself."

Zhou Yutang threw the file aside and said with a half-smile, "Sister Fang, you've been with me for so many years, why are you becoming more and more restrained in doing things?"

"There's no need to worry about Yang Tianzhen. She can do her thing and you can do your thing. I've seen all the contributions you've made in the past few years. Just go ahead and do your job."

"Boss Zhou, I feel relieved with your words."

Zhou Shufang, who took a reassurance pill and was scolded at the same time, finally felt relieved because the heart that had been hanging in her throat for a while.

When I came out of the CEO's office, I felt the wind blowing in my steps, and the air was filled with sweetness.
"The Taking of Tiger Mountain by Strategy" rode on two big ships and soared all the way to the second week, but the box office finally and inevitably began to decline.

However, it still leads the entire Lunar New Year box office.

Mr. Zhou's movie "A Woman Who Acts Like a Pampered Child Has the Best Luck" has surpassed the 200 million yuan box office mark.

Even this chick flick with a bad reputation can surpass "The Crossing", but there are also many voices questioning Zhou Xun's acting skills.

Huang Xiaoming was badly criticized for starring in two bad movies.

Zhou Yutang sent a message of condolence to this brother, hoping that his heart would not be broken and affect the filming of "The Blade of the Assassin 2"
In late December, "Fleet of Time", which had rushed into the Lunar New Year box office, ended perfectly with a box office of 12 million yuan, becoming the dark horse of the Lunar New Year box office, and director Zhang Yibai also became famous.

The most anticipated one was Jiang Wen's "One Step Away", which received mixed reviews after its premiere.

Those who like it praise it highly, saying that it continues Jiang Wen’s strong personal style, while those who don’t like it think it is pretentious and have trouble understanding what kind of story Jiang Wen is trying to convey.

Soon, the film market gave the answer.

Including midnight screenings and online pre-sales, the film grossed 9800 million on the first day, slightly better than "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy".

With the foundation laid by "Let the Bullets Fly", a masterpiece nominated for World Heritage, it aroused great enthusiasm among moviegoers. The film continued to rake in 3.35 million yuan at the box office in the first weekend, still slightly surpassing "Tiger Mountain".

The cinema chains gave great respect to two of the three giants of the Lunar New Year period, with the two films "Tiger Mountain" and "One Step Away" occupying more than 90% of the screenings.

However, the word of mouth from most audiences is still mixed.

The score on Douban was 6.2, which also set a new low for director Jiang Wen's films.

With the eldest brother and the second brother fighting each other, there is no room for other movies to survive.

The failure of "Myeongryang" was expected. Another film directed by Zhou Xun and Tong Dawei, "My Girlfriend Is Not Enough", and directed by South Korean director Kwak Zairong, was a complete failure, with a box office of only 9000 million in the first week, which was completely beyond the expectations of the industry.

Although Jiang Wen's life was not easy,

But Wu Baige's life was even worse.

The Oriental Titanic was already half-dead, with the total box office barely reaching 1.65 million, and then it started to stagnate, and now it has been trampled into the ground.

The failure of "The Crossing" put Wu Baige in a very embarrassing situation.

You know, this epic masterpiece was cut into two parts due to its length.

The second part hasn't even been released yet, but there's already been a barrage of criticism, making Wu Baige extremely anxious.

Judging from the box office performance of the first film, it was undoubtedly a huge loss. Wu Baige only wanted to recoup the cost of the second film. It is said that he has contacted Xu Ke and invited him again to help with editing and adjust the rhythm of the film.

The final list of "Langya Bang" was delivered to Zhou Yutang's desk.

With Guli Nazha sitting on his lap, Zhou Yutang listened to her chattering about some trivial things she encountered at work while flipping through the casting list.

There is a reason why Noon Sunshine is in a hurry to push forward this project. Another spy war project "The Disguiser" has been put on the agenda.

"Hu Ge's Mei Changsu, Teacher Bai's Princess Nihuang, King Kaikai's Prince Yu"

They were basically all acquaintances. Nazha saw a name and suddenly asked, "Brother, why is he in this drama too?"

"Ok?"

Zhou Yutang paused, and looked at the actor who played the young Lin Shu: "He is from Yu Zheng Studio. Do you know him?"

"I met him on a variety show. He took the initiative to add me on WeChat."

Nazha twisted her body in Zhou Yutang's arms and started to act coquettishly: "Later, she wanted to ask me out for dinner."

Snapped!
A slap landed on Nazha's little butt.

"Brother, why did you hit me?"

Nazha began to show her acting skills, her mouth pursed, her brows furrowed, and she looked like she was about to cry.

It’s true that the special training at Yamashita School is quite helpful. His acting skills have really improved a lot.

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

“People thought you were busy.”

Nazha felt a little aggrieved, but seeing Zhou Yutang's gradually gloomy face, she felt a little scared, so she hugged his arm and acted coquettishly: "Don't be angry, good brother, I deleted his WeChat a long time ago, it's no big deal..."

"I'm very angry right now."

Zhou Yutang patted her head.

Naza was very obedient, she knelt down in front of him and lowered her head obediently.
To be honest, Zhou Yutang has a strong desire for control.

When doing a project, you must have full control and there is no room for negotiation. This is especially true for women.

Liu Tianxian, Liu Shishi and other beauties are all around him as his spies and insiders.

In fact, things like Nazha's are not uncommon. After all, such a beautiful woman will always have suitors wherever she goes.

It’s just that some people in the circle know how powerful he is, so they keep their distance and dare not provoke him.

But the world is so big and there are so many categories, there are always some brainless guys who want to try it.

Try and die.

(End of this chapter)